I'm going for it

Airwolf theme

Jose Gonzalez - Heartbeats

Vince showed me this video about three years ago while not doing work in 1717 H Street (VH - you remember that?). Amazing. I WILL make it to California some day.

Drugs for sale

Walking past my neighborhood bar, I spotted their back entrance...

They're all Insane

I can't stand watching more than a few minutes of cable "news" in one sitting, for the obvious reasons:

1) Bias through "balance": giving equal time to legitimate and nutcase viewpoints, thus legitimizing the nutcases)
2) Principled bias: knee jerk, predictable opinions that gloss over the merits of an argument in favor of mind-numbing partisanship)
3) Non-news: Go to CNN's homepage. I guarantee that a featured story will be about the latest car chase in L.A. or a tabloid story (such as Natalee Holloway). Even respectable news outlets are beginning to change for the worse: BBC World had live coverage of the Michael Jackson coverage on Thursday; the same day NPR did a profile on Levi Johnston, the ex-fiancee of Sarah Palin's daughter.

As news becomes more stratified (conservatives watch Fox News, liberals watch MSNBC, economists read blogs, religious types watch CBN, etc.), people are less inclined to question their own beliefs and more inclined to watch news that rationalized their own biases. Continuing this trend, it is not hard to envision a super-partisan world - even more so than what exists now.

This got me thinking - who exactly are the television personalities that we're all listening to? Are they insane, as I think them to be? Or are they simply puppets (albeit smart puppets) who play to what their audiences want? More importantly, who can actually watch Lou Dobbs Tonight with a straight face?

Here's some bios and clips from some of my favorites. It's not a comprehensive list - what are your favorite cable news/opinion moments and personalities?

Glenn Beck
Wikipedia bio
From Wikipedia: "Beck is a self-described recovering alcoholic and drug addict"
Click for Beck making a complete ass out of himself (highly recommended viewing)

Sean Hannity
Wikipedia bio

I can't find any huge malfunctions in Hannity's bio - what am I missing?

Rush Limbaugh
Wikipedia bio
From Wikipedia:

"In the October 23, 2006 edition of his radio show, Limbaugh imitated on the "DittoCam" (the webcam for website subscribers to see him on the air) the physical symptoms of actor Michael J. Fox, who has Parkinson's disease.[18][19] He said "(Fox) is exaggerating the effects of the disease. He's moving all around and shaking and it's purely an act ... This is really shameless of Michael J. Fox. Either he didn't take his medication or he's acting."

Michael J. Fox later appeared on CBS with Katie Couric and said he was actually dyskinesic at the time, a condition that results from his medication."

"In June 2006, Limbaugh was detained by drug enforcement agents at Palm Beach International Airport. Customs officials confiscated Viagra from Limbaugh's luggage as he was returning from the Dominican Republic. The prescription was not in Limbaugh's name.
After he was released with no charges filed, Limbaugh joked about the incident on his radio show, claiming that he got the Viagra at the Clinton Library and was told they were blue M&M's. He also stated that "I had a great time in the Dominican Republic. Wish I could tell you about it."

"On October 3, 2003 the National Enquirer reported that Limbaugh was being investigated for illegally obtaining the prescription drugs oxycodone and hydrocodone. Other news outlets quickly confirmed the investigation.[96] He admitted to listeners on his radio show on October 10 that he was addicted to prescription painkillers and stated that he would enter inpatient treatment for 30 days, immediately after the broadcast.[97] Limbaugh stated his addiction to painkillers resulted from several years of severe back pain heightened by a botched surgery intended to correct those problems.

Previously, Limbaugh has condemned illegal drug use on his radio broadcast and has stated that those convicted of drug crimes should be sent to jail."

I'll post more later. Up next: Keith Olberman and any other liberal wack jobs I can think of. Anyone got any suggestions? Am I holding these guys to too high a standard?