Archive for the 'Show Prep' Category

Hide yo kids, hide yo wife. The FCC is proposing changes to its guidelines that would allow more racy content on TV during hours when kids are awake and could tune in. The American Family Association and Parents Television Council are both going ape. Do parents need the government to keep their little snow flakes from seeing/hearing objectionable material or can they police that themselves?

The New Trier School Board wants kids to start using iPads instead of school books and paper. They argue that it’ll save them and parents money in the long run. Some parents are upset because they say they can’t afford. iPads are pretty pricey, $350-450. Is it fair to ask parents to buy something that expensive?

Once again the US Court of Appeals has ruled that the Osama bin Laden death pictures ought not be released. Judicial Watch had filed a FIOA request. It’s been a while, do you need to see them?

Gutsy: Oklahoma Senator Tom Coburn wants any disaster aid for tornado victims to offset by spending cuts. That’s putting your (aid) money where your mouth is.

Story guaranteed to make Amy Jacobson cry: A Moore, Oklahoma woman who lost her house was reunited with her dog live on TV. She had been separated from the dog and call for it when she climbed out of the ruble, so she thought that it had been killed.

Awkward Media Moment: CNN’s Chris Cuomo scolded a Congressman for people in Washington politicizing thing like disaster aid in the wake of the Oklahoma tornado. His guest Mark McBride isn’t a Congressman… he’s a state representative.

Most awesome story of the day: Former Republican Presidential candidate Michele Bachmann has inspired a new steamy romance novel. In it, an uptight politician is trying to “bone up” (Yeah, I said it) on foreign policy, and ends up stranded in the woods with an attractive stranger.

A college student in my former stomping grounds of Atlanta is accused of faking his own kidnapping to avoid telling his parents he was failing a class. Now he is charged with making a false report, false statements, tampering with evidence and terroristic threats. So yeah, the parents probably don’t care much about the failing grade anymore.

New York college student accidentally shot by police during robbery. He had pointed his gun at the police, so I think they would argue they had to act, but he had her in a headlock at the time. So if you’re a law enforcement officer, do you shoot the guy with an innocent person in such close proximity?

The state Senate approved the medical marijuana bill on Friday. It already passed the House last month, so now it goes to Governor Quinn. He says he’s “open minded.

One thing Quinn did sign over the weekend was the bill allowing tougher penalties for “flash mob” attacks coordinated on social media. Which I still think is idiotic. If you attack someone, that’s a crime. It’s not a “super” crime because you Tweeted about it. Confusing activity and accomplishment.

Rand Paul told Candy Crowley that there is a written memo instructing the IRS to target conservative groups. He says that he hasn’t seen the memo, yet, but he’s confident that it will eventually come out. No one would actually be stupid enough to write something like that down… would they?

Geeky Space Story of the Day: NASA reports a boulder sized meteoroid slammed into the surface of the moon back in March. The explosion was actually big enough that if you had been looking at the Moon at just the right time you could have seen it with the naked eye.

A 5th grader in New York says that a teacher told him to lick his desktop clean after he was caught drawing on it. The parents are none too pleased about that. Over the top or good ole fashioned ‘Murican discipline? How would you react if your child had to do something like that?

Wussification of America, Part I: A second grader in Virginia was suspended for pointing his pencil at another student and making gun noises. Doesn’t that actually violate both the 2nd Amendment right to bear arms AND his 1st Amendment right to freedom of speech?

Wussification of America, Part II: A father in Massachusetts is outraged after his childrens Lego blocks included one with a construction worker shouting “HEY BABE!” He says that Lego is “normalizing street harassment and cat-calling,” Lego has issued an apology and says that they will never produce the offending blocks again.

Just FYI: Amanda Berry’s mom appeared on ”The Montel Williams Show” in 2004 and a celebrity psychic told her that her daughter was dead. So she died thinking that her daughter was dead, at least in part because of that fraud.

Former Comcast SportsNet reporter Susannah Collins has issued her first public statement since her hiring. She apologized for the colorful nature of the Sports Nutz web series that caused such an uproar. She said, ”The intention of that show was to present a satirical, tongue-in-cheek approach to sports but, unfortunately, some of the material it contained was off-color and offensive.” She said it was always her dream to come to Chicago and report on her favorite teams.

A school in North Carolina has banned a 17 year old from holding her son in her yearbook photo. They say it could promote teen pregnancy. The school invited seniors to include a prop in their senior picture that represents an achievement or something that best represents them. There were no rules or requirements for said prop. She picked her son as her “prop.” She says that his birth led her to work harder, which led to her graduating early. She also works 30 hours a week to pay for college. Seems like a good example of how to handle adverse circumstances, doesn’t it?

Mark Kirk wants the Feds to come in and do something about gang violence in Chicago. Dick Durbin agrees but thinks that it might be tough to find the cash. Is it time for a 21st century Elliot Ness to come in and clean up the place?

The 9/11 museum at Ground Zero will charge people admission, about $20-25. 9/11 victims family members are outraged, saying that the museum is trying to make money off of the tragedy. They have to keep the doors open and the lights on, why wouldn’t they charge admission?

The Schaumburg Boomers have issued a press release offering the Cubs use of their ballpark as “co-tennants” if the Cubs decide to leave Wrigley Field. All they ask is that they get the first choice of dates. Makes sense, the Boomers will probably have a better year. Your move, Mr. Ricketts.

Ted Cruz challenged Vice President Biden to a debate about whether a shotgun or a semi-automatic rifle would be better for self defense. I’d be careful if I were Cruz. The last person to get into a gun fight with the Vice President was Alexander Hamilton and it didn’t work out too well for him.

Texas Governor Rick Perry recorded a video introduction for his speech at the NRA annual meeting featuring him shooting a semi-automatic rifle.