Wacky Weather, Sharpton Offends Mormons, Hitchens Hates Religion, Raw Politics, Inspiration Through Cancer, And Congo Update (Wednesday's Show)
Hi everyone. We're kicking off the night with an Anderson piece on our wacky weather. Floods, fires, tornadoes, and tropical storms, oh my! Mother Nature is mad as hell and she's not going to take it anymore! Okay, so we already know about the fire in California, but they're raging in the southeast too because it's so dry. In fact it's so dry in Florida they're actually excited about sub tropical storm Andrea coming for a visit. However, rain isn't wanted in the midwest where there's some major flooding going on. So I'm telling you, Mother Nature? Not happy. Next Anderson talks with Will Heritier, one of the firefighters that we saw in the footage the other day when a wall of fire forced them to take cover under a bridge. Will tells us that his captain acted as a lookout to tell them when to take cover. One of the other firefighters got cut off and when Will tried to use the hose to protect him it actually ruptured from the heat. Craziness. They're okay, BTW.
Transitioning now to an Anderson piece on how Al Sharpton has gotten himself into a little bit of hot water with Mormons. I know I've said this before, but the man is everywhere. Is there any issue Sharpton won't involve himself in? Anyway, Sharpton was involved in a debate on God when he said the following: "And, as for the one Mormon running for office, those that really believe in God will defeat him anyway. So, don't worry about that." So...that's a problem. The "one Mormon" is of course Mitt Romney and he was none too happy, calling Sharpton's comments "bigoted." Then Sharpton tried to correct the situation by saying his comments were out of context, but then says, "If, prior to '65, '78, whenever it was, they did not see blacks as equal, I don't believe that as real worshipers of God, because I don't believe God distinguishes between people." He's not very good at this, is he? So he was taken out of context...except not really. I particularly like his firm grasp of the facts here. Blacks were seen as equal in 65'...78'...whatever.
Next up, since we're all into Mormons now, we get ourselves a little introductory course. And who better to teach us than our Faith and Values correspondent Delia Gallagher? We learn that there are 5 million Mormons in the US and they consider themselves Christians. Joseph Smith founded the church in the 1820's and the religion's followers believe The Book of Mormon, their other holy book in addition to the Bible, was divinely revealed to him. Mormons differ from Christians in that they think the Bible actually has some errors. Hey, maybe I'm actually a Mormon. Because Leviticus? Not a fan.
Moving on to the new segment "America Divided: God & Politics" and we're joined by Ralph Reed and James Carville. Anderson starts by bringing up the Sharpton comment and asks what they think. Ralph finds it sad and he believes the comments were offensive. He's all upset "that religion is being used as an instrument and a weapon, rather than as a force of healing and reconciliation." And I'm sorry, but I'm going to have to pause to laugh hysterically. Is he kidding? Using religion as a weapon is what people like him and Dobson and all the others do. Or maybe railing against the evil gay agenda really does promote healing and reconciliation-though probably not for gay people. James then says Sharpton isn't stupid and he takes him at his word. Okay then. Anderson brings up a poll that found only a third of those polled thought Mormons were Christians. He asks Ralph what his views are and Ralph dodges. Anderson then tries again and Ralph says some nonsense about not being there to talk about his beliefs. Oh, c'mon! Anderson gives up on Ralph, but asked about the broader evangelical community. However, we never get an answer because James butts in to say he believes Mormons are Christians. And then he doesn't shut up for a very long time.
Last night when I was being annoyed at Ralph Reed being on I consoled myself with the thought that it could have been worse. They could have had on Christopher Hitchens....Next up we're joined by Christopher Hitchens to talk about his subtly titled book, "God is Not Great." Anderson cuts to the chase,"What is your problem with religion?" Hitchens says religion poisons everything. He brings up the Pope's feeling on condoms and the Muslim riots over the Denmark cartoons. Okay, but those are extreme views. Not all believers fall into those categories. Anderson wonders if he sees any positives in religion. Hitchens does not, though he does like the cultural aspects like poetry and music. Anderson then points out what I said before: Hitchens is talking about the extremes of all faiths. But Hitchens disagrees with this and says people prefer a conspiracy explanation to life's questions. Anderson asks if the world would be a better place without religion. Hitchen says yes, but admits he'd miss it in some ways. Well of course. You'd have to find something new to complain about. Basically Hitchens wants believers to leave him alone. I can only speak for myself, but...done.
Moving on to "Raw Politics" with Tom Foreman. Tonight's theme is that unseen. Sometimes we have a theme, sometimes we don't. I'll bet writer person is all proud when they come up with a theme. Anyway, first up we learn that Bush went to Kansas to tour the tornado destruction, but we didn't see the governor, who had complained about the National Guard being in Iraq. Next we learn Cheney went to Iraq, but we didn't see the arm twisting of al-Maliki. After that we're informed Mitt Romney's wife donated to Planned Parenthood (uh oh), but she apparently has amnesia about the incident. Finally the Associated Press, who still apparently has nothing to do, "asked presidential contenders to name their hidden talents. Among the answers, Mike Huckabee, celebrity voice impersonations. Bill Richardson, a master of boxing trivia. Dennis Kucinich hits just as well against right-handers as left-handers." Oookay.
Transitioning now to a Carol Costello on Miles Levin, a 16 year old with a very popular blog. It's not what you might think. Miles is dying of cancer and has two years at most to live. He's been using his blog to document his journey with the illness and his thoughts on life. Now people all over the world read and send him messages. This is one of those stories I don't really know what to do with. My initial reaction is to say it's sad, but I doubt Miles wants to be seen as a victim. And though it's inspiring, it's not a completely uplifting story either because he's going to die. I hope he gets everything he can out of sharing his story. Moving on to what Anderson calls their "ongoing series, 'Dispatches from the Edge'." Ongoing? Well, I guess if you count not mentioning it for many months, ongoing. We're then shown Anderson's reporter's notebook from when they were in the Congo and afterward we're told 113,000 people have had to flee eastern Congo due to warfare and the UN has warned the next six months will be a disaster. Since they're talking about the Congo, Anderson then adds on some book pimping. Or, you know, the reverse is true. Hmm.
The Shot tonight is a black bear running around Connecticut. He was then darted and captured. Okay, we all know what's coming now, right? Yep, Erica raises Anderson's bear clip with a 298,919th viewing of the trampoline bear clip. Anderson then counters with a bear falling in a net. Erica is happy the bears are providing us with such amusing video. "And they're all plotting their next attack on our civilization," says Anderson. Okay, he's obviously been spending too much time with Stephen Colbert. Although they are Godless killing machines. Anderson then tells us, "If you see some amazing video or some bears shimmying up a tree, get out the tranquilizer dart, get out the camera." Anderson Cooper what are you doing?! Dude, don't do that! I occasionally read the blog comments and let's just say I don't want some of those people walking around with a tranquilizer gun. Just saying. I noticed at the top of the second hour Anderson agains notes that they're the only live network. But then they go to tape about 10 minutes later. I think that's cheating, guys. Anyway, I'm just going to end the review here. Okay show. B-
Transitioning now to an Anderson piece on how Al Sharpton has gotten himself into a little bit of hot water with Mormons. I know I've said this before, but the man is everywhere. Is there any issue Sharpton won't involve himself in? Anyway, Sharpton was involved in a debate on God when he said the following: "And, as for the one Mormon running for office, those that really believe in God will defeat him anyway. So, don't worry about that." So...that's a problem. The "one Mormon" is of course Mitt Romney and he was none too happy, calling Sharpton's comments "bigoted." Then Sharpton tried to correct the situation by saying his comments were out of context, but then says, "If, prior to '65, '78, whenever it was, they did not see blacks as equal, I don't believe that as real worshipers of God, because I don't believe God distinguishes between people." He's not very good at this, is he? So he was taken out of context...except not really. I particularly like his firm grasp of the facts here. Blacks were seen as equal in 65'...78'...whatever.
Next up, since we're all into Mormons now, we get ourselves a little introductory course. And who better to teach us than our Faith and Values correspondent Delia Gallagher? We learn that there are 5 million Mormons in the US and they consider themselves Christians. Joseph Smith founded the church in the 1820's and the religion's followers believe The Book of Mormon, their other holy book in addition to the Bible, was divinely revealed to him. Mormons differ from Christians in that they think the Bible actually has some errors. Hey, maybe I'm actually a Mormon. Because Leviticus? Not a fan.
Moving on to the new segment "America Divided: God & Politics" and we're joined by Ralph Reed and James Carville. Anderson starts by bringing up the Sharpton comment and asks what they think. Ralph finds it sad and he believes the comments were offensive. He's all upset "that religion is being used as an instrument and a weapon, rather than as a force of healing and reconciliation." And I'm sorry, but I'm going to have to pause to laugh hysterically. Is he kidding? Using religion as a weapon is what people like him and Dobson and all the others do. Or maybe railing against the evil gay agenda really does promote healing and reconciliation-though probably not for gay people. James then says Sharpton isn't stupid and he takes him at his word. Okay then. Anderson brings up a poll that found only a third of those polled thought Mormons were Christians. He asks Ralph what his views are and Ralph dodges. Anderson then tries again and Ralph says some nonsense about not being there to talk about his beliefs. Oh, c'mon! Anderson gives up on Ralph, but asked about the broader evangelical community. However, we never get an answer because James butts in to say he believes Mormons are Christians. And then he doesn't shut up for a very long time.
Last night when I was being annoyed at Ralph Reed being on I consoled myself with the thought that it could have been worse. They could have had on Christopher Hitchens....Next up we're joined by Christopher Hitchens to talk about his subtly titled book, "God is Not Great." Anderson cuts to the chase,"What is your problem with religion?" Hitchens says religion poisons everything. He brings up the Pope's feeling on condoms and the Muslim riots over the Denmark cartoons. Okay, but those are extreme views. Not all believers fall into those categories. Anderson wonders if he sees any positives in religion. Hitchens does not, though he does like the cultural aspects like poetry and music. Anderson then points out what I said before: Hitchens is talking about the extremes of all faiths. But Hitchens disagrees with this and says people prefer a conspiracy explanation to life's questions. Anderson asks if the world would be a better place without religion. Hitchen says yes, but admits he'd miss it in some ways. Well of course. You'd have to find something new to complain about. Basically Hitchens wants believers to leave him alone. I can only speak for myself, but...done.
Moving on to "Raw Politics" with Tom Foreman. Tonight's theme is that unseen. Sometimes we have a theme, sometimes we don't. I'll bet writer person is all proud when they come up with a theme. Anyway, first up we learn that Bush went to Kansas to tour the tornado destruction, but we didn't see the governor, who had complained about the National Guard being in Iraq. Next we learn Cheney went to Iraq, but we didn't see the arm twisting of al-Maliki. After that we're informed Mitt Romney's wife donated to Planned Parenthood (uh oh), but she apparently has amnesia about the incident. Finally the Associated Press, who still apparently has nothing to do, "asked presidential contenders to name their hidden talents. Among the answers, Mike Huckabee, celebrity voice impersonations. Bill Richardson, a master of boxing trivia. Dennis Kucinich hits just as well against right-handers as left-handers." Oookay.
Transitioning now to a Carol Costello on Miles Levin, a 16 year old with a very popular blog. It's not what you might think. Miles is dying of cancer and has two years at most to live. He's been using his blog to document his journey with the illness and his thoughts on life. Now people all over the world read and send him messages. This is one of those stories I don't really know what to do with. My initial reaction is to say it's sad, but I doubt Miles wants to be seen as a victim. And though it's inspiring, it's not a completely uplifting story either because he's going to die. I hope he gets everything he can out of sharing his story. Moving on to what Anderson calls their "ongoing series, 'Dispatches from the Edge'." Ongoing? Well, I guess if you count not mentioning it for many months, ongoing. We're then shown Anderson's reporter's notebook from when they were in the Congo and afterward we're told 113,000 people have had to flee eastern Congo due to warfare and the UN has warned the next six months will be a disaster. Since they're talking about the Congo, Anderson then adds on some book pimping. Or, you know, the reverse is true. Hmm.
The Shot tonight is a black bear running around Connecticut. He was then darted and captured. Okay, we all know what's coming now, right? Yep, Erica raises Anderson's bear clip with a 298,919th viewing of the trampoline bear clip. Anderson then counters with a bear falling in a net. Erica is happy the bears are providing us with such amusing video. "And they're all plotting their next attack on our civilization," says Anderson. Okay, he's obviously been spending too much time with Stephen Colbert. Although they are Godless killing machines. Anderson then tells us, "If you see some amazing video or some bears shimmying up a tree, get out the tranquilizer dart, get out the camera." Anderson Cooper what are you doing?! Dude, don't do that! I occasionally read the blog comments and let's just say I don't want some of those people walking around with a tranquilizer gun. Just saying. I noticed at the top of the second hour Anderson agains notes that they're the only live network. But then they go to tape about 10 minutes later. I think that's cheating, guys. Anyway, I'm just going to end the review here. Okay show. B-
posted by eliza at 6:43 PM
2 Comments:
I sent the following to Rev. Al. I hope he proves he is not a hypocrite.
To: Rev. Al Sharpton, National Action Network a
The comedian, DL Hughley recently made the following comments on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno:
"There were some nappy headed women on the team and those are some of the ugliest women I have ever seen in my life.” DL HUGHLEY on Jay Leno.
Where is the outcry from mainstream media, the African American community, or all these people that called for Imus' head on a platter?
The Rutgers Women's Basketball team members are beautiful! When the world gave them an opportunity to rage and unleash a fury toward Imus, they didn't. That's beautiful. When they had the eyes of the world on them, the exhibited grace and dignity. That's beautiful. When they had every reason and opportunity to malign and attack Imus, they forgave him. That's beautiful. D.L. Hughley's latest venture was canceled so he tried to piggyback on a painful period in our history by attempting to get a laugh on the cheap and THAT. WAS. UGLY!
WhatAboutOurDaughters.org is dedicated to combating negative portrayals of African American Women in popular culture. Apparently after Studio 60 went belly-up, DL landed at BET, the bastion of black empowerment ( NOT!). His new show on BET is called S.O.B., a hidden camera reality show. Ask Viacom, the owner of BET, if this is the kind of message it wants to send to African American women and girls. What about our daughters? Or are you only concerned when the degradation of Black women comes from outside the community?
@gem-Thanks for the comment. I don't understand the context of Hughley's comment though. Was this a joke made after the Imus incident?
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