THE TRUMP VIRUS
COVID-19 is
not the only new virus infecting Americans today. There is also the Trump Virus.
While many
people are calling coronavirus the “Trump Virus”, because of his complete
incompetence in handling its outbreak, the Trump Virus is actually a separate disease. The Trump Virus attacks the brain cells,
totally stripping its victims of all intelligence.
The spread of
the Trump Virus seems to be especially high among leaders of the Republican
Party and elected Republican legislators at all levels – federal, state and
local.
The most
severe victim of the Trump Virus is Rudy Giuliani. The disease has turned the man once known as “America’s
Mayor” for his leadership after the 9/11 attack on the World Trade Center into
a complete blathering moron – the second biggest idiot in American politics
today.
You may think
I consider Trump himself to be the biggest idiot in American politics today –
but he is only #3. The biggest idiot in
American politics today is Marjorie Taylor Greene. But she is not a victim of the Trump Virus –
she comes by her ignorance naturally.
It is not
known whether Jim Jordan is a victim of the Trump Virus or if he has always
been a moron.
Similar to
Taylor Greene, and perhaps Jim Jordan, the millions of MAGA morons that make up
Trump’s core cult of ignorant racists, who cheer Trump’s every lie at rallies,
are not victims of the Trump Virus. They
have always been morons.
THINGS NO ONE EVER
TOLD YOU
As we all
know Catholic priests are required to take a vow of “celibacy”, which is
defined as “the state of abstaining from marriage and sexual relations”.
Celibacy is a
“discipline” of the Catholic Church, something that can be changed, and not a
“dogma”, which is considered divinely revealed truth from God and cannot be
changed or revised. There is some
religious and historical basis for the vow of celibacy, but nowhere in the
Bible does it explicitly require priests to be celibate. Actually, for the first thousand years of
Christianity it was not uncommon for priests to have families. The first pope,
St Peter, was a married man. The vow of
celibacy for priests was officially formalized by the Second Lateran Council
held in 1139, and the rule was reaffirmed in 1563 by the Council of Trent.
But the true
reason has nothing to do with religion – it is about economics.
In the Middle
Ages wealthy Catholics believed that their earthly goods were a barrier to
eternity in Heaven, and turned over portions of their wealth to priests and
bishops as a “down payment” on a spot in Heaven. As a result, priests became rich in both
money and land.
Normally,
when a person dies his wealth is passed on to his family – his wife and
children. But the Catholic Church wanted
the wealth to remain with the Church.
Prohibiting priests from marrying and having children, and therefore no
“heirs”, made sure the money and property acquired during a priest’s life would
be go to the church.
ONCE,
YES, ONCE IS DELICIOUS – BUT TWICE WOULD BE VICIOUS, OR JUST REPETITIOUS
Most movie
remakes are at best unnecessary and at worst an insult to the originals. Yet
Hollywood continues to crank out mediocre remakes featuring actors who are
inferior to the stars of the originals (I am waiting for an announcement that
THE WIZARD OF OZ will be remade with Ariana Grande).
The remake of
THUNDERBALL also starred Sean Connery as James Bond. While not a bad movie, NEVER SAY NEVER AGAIN
was totally unnecessary. The sole motivation for making the movie was money –
to cash in on Sean Connery returning to the role of James Bond for one last
time.
Adam Sandler
is no Burt Reynolds, let alone a Gary Cooper (one critic wrote, “Adam Sandler is to Gary Cooper what a gnat
is to a racehorse.”). His remake of THE LONGEST YARD was totally
unnecessary and his remake of MR DEEDS GOES TO TOWN was a true insult to the
classic original. Sandler makes movies
aimed at 5th grade boys (or at least those with the sense of humor and maturity
of 5th grade boys) – and both originals were made for adults.
As an aside –
a good rule of thumb is to ignore any film starring, or produced by, Adam
Sandler.
A literal
shot-by-shot remake of Alfred Hitchcock’s PSYCHO added absolutely nothing to
the original.
There was
even a remake of the iconic Cary Grant-Audrey Hepburn romantic thriller
CHARADE, perhaps "the" classic film of its genre, titled THE TRUTH
ABOUT CHARLIE. One of the worst
decisions ever made by Hollywood, it, rightfully so, lasted about a day and a
half in the theatres.
Some remakes
are not really remakes - they simply steal the title and a basic plot idea. The
producers hope to boost the box office of their movie by evoking memories of a
far superior film. The Steve Martin CHEAPER BY THE DOZEN films had absolutely
nothing to do with the Clifton Webb original (or its sequel) other than the
fact that the films are about a family with 12 children.
Don’t get me
wrong. There have been remakes that have
improved and expanded on the original film – though this is the exception and
not the rule. In two of the best
examples of this exception the remake was done by the same director. Alfred Hitchcock remade his THE MAN WHO KNEW
TOO MUCH some 22 years after the original.
And Frank Capra remade his 1933 film LADY FOR A DAY as POCKETFUL OF
MIRALCES in 1961. Although I have not
seen the original films, the remakes are certainly top-notch films.
KING KONG was
remade twice. The 1933 original was a breakthrough masterpiece. The first
remake, made in 1976, was totally unnecessary, and inferior in every way - even
though I was in the film (my friend Howard Bernstein and I were among the crowd
that ran across the top of the World Trade Center to avoid a falling Kong – I
remember seeing Jeff Bridges and Jessica Lange standing alongside what was
supposed to be a dead Kong on one side of the roof). The “threemake” was better, and relatively
respectful to the original. However, the
casting of Jack Black was, in my opinion, a big mistake.
A few years ago,
Kirsten Acuna of BUSINESS INSIDER suggested “10 Movie Remakes That Are Better
Than the Original”.
She does not
mention the two films that I thought were better than the originals, and really
cannot come up with 10 true remakes.
Some of the
films on the list are bogus. “Airplane”
is not a remake of “Zero Hour”. It was a
parody of all airplane disaster movies.
And what is called a remake of “Little Shop of Horrors” is actual the
movie version of the Broadway musical comedy based on the original film.
While I would
agree with “The Maltese Falcon” (I did not know that there was an earlier film
movie) and “The Ten Commandments”, even though I did not see the original
films, I certainly take exception to “True Grit” and “Ocean’s Eleven” (to be
fair I did not see the remakes). I
expect that the remakes were not bad - but they were not better, just
different. Both originals were true
classics, for the casting if nothing else.
YOU CAN
SELL SHIT AND GET THANKS. THAT’S WHAT I LEARNED FROM THE YANKS
From the
Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary –
ex-cre-ment
noun \ ek-skrə-mənt\
Definition of
EXCREMENT
(1) waste
matter discharged from the body; especially: feces
(2) reality
tv
Examples of
EXCREMENT
(1) an
ordinance that requires dog walkers to remove their animal's excrement from
city streets
(2) ABC’s “The
Bachelor” is a steaming pile of excrement
Reality
sucks! Reality tv, that is.
I wish
someone would explain to me why the great unwashed masses are so fascinated by
watching people with limited intelligence and no self-respect behave badly on a
deserted island, in courtrooms, on the runway or at a photo shoot, in a
boardroom sucking up to an over-exposed and self-absorbed millionaire, losing
weight, in restaurant kitchens, in tattoo parlors and beauty salons, or
supposedly looking for a mate.
Once upon a
time television, while not always succeeding, at least attempted to entertain,
enlighten and educate.
Watching
self-absorbed trophy wives - neither “real” nor “housewives” - bitch and moan,
drink like fishes, and engage in catfights certainly does not deserve a
“bravo”.
Watching a
family of ignorant and bigoted hillbillies hunt ducks is neither art nor
entertainment.
Watching the
brain-dead living together in close quarters is not entertaining, enlightening
or educational.
Watching a
bevvy or women throw themselves at a potential mate, who is only in it for the
sex, is nothing more than bad soft-core pornography.
Watching
children being abused and paraded around in inappropriately mature costumes in
dance class or “beauty pageants” is porn for pedophiles.
The above all
represent examples of the genre incorrectly referred to as “reality tv” (the
only true reality tv is the evening news).
I remember coming across the last scene in the tv movie about arrogant
moron Trump while channel surfing several years back. Mark Burnett is pitching the idea for THE
APPRENTICE to Trump. “It’s not
reality,” Burnett tells him. “It’s
reality tv”.
There is more
expression of true human emotion and “reality” in the main characters of BONES
remembering a fallen comrade or android Data trying to learn to be “human” in
STAR TREK: THE NEXT GENERATION than in an entire season of any reality tv
garbage.
While the
motto of the father of reality programs is “Outwit, Outplay and Outlast”, the
real motto of the reality tv genre is “Embarrass, Humiliate and Abuse”.
Just to be
clear, when I refer to “reality tv” I am not talking about legitimate talent
contests or home improvement shows likes those on HGTV or DIY. You know what shows I am talking about.
What does
reality tv do? It takes greedy
self-absorbed individuals, totally devoid of self-respect and common sense and
with questionable intelligence, puts them in unnatural situations, encourages
them to act outrageously, and films everything they do. This has nothing to do with “reality”.
In my younger
days the criteria for determining if a book or movie was pornography was the
lack of any “socially redeeming value”. I dare anyone to show me any socially
redeeming value in any reality tv program.
Back in 2008
USA TODAY did a cover story on reality tv with interviews panels of “stars”
from various shows of the genre. When a
panel from cable channel VH1 was asked about the most memorable moments from
their shows, Flavor Flav said, “One of the most memorable moments in the
history of reality TV was when that girl shit on my floor.” Someone else responded, “No, I’d say it’s
Mini-Me pissing on the carpet” from THE SURREAL LIFE. Need I say more?
One of the
programs in this heinous genre was a show called THE BIGGEST LOSER. Just who is
the biggest loser when it comes to “reality tv”?
It goes
without saying that those who participate as hosts and contestants on a reality
program, and those who actually watch the garbage, are indeed losers, in every
sense of the word. Also on the list of losers are the multitude of actors,
writers, directors, and other creative personnel who are unemployed as a result
of the proliferation of these programs.
No actual
creativity is needed for reality tv. The
director just tells the participants to act outrageously and the cameraperson
points and shoots.
But the
biggest losers are those of us who recognize the genre for the crap that it
truly is, and therefore avoid it like the plague. For every hour of “reality”
programming that pollutes the airwaves we are deprived of an hour of real
television drama, comedy, documentary or news programming. By putting shows
like THE BACHELOR and THE BACHELORETTE on its prime-time schedule, ABC has
denied us what may have been the next ALL IN THE FAMILY, M*A*S*H, THE MARY
TYLER MOORE SHOW, DESIGNATED SURVIVOR, THIS IS US, or 60 MINUTES. The only winners in “realty tv” are the
networks and the shows’ producers, who are laughing all the way to the bank!
Reality tv is
a result of, and a major contributor to the ongoing continuance of, the
“dumbing down of America”. A result of
this vile genre is the creation of a new breed of “celebrities” –
self-important narcissistic buffoons with no talent who are merely “famous for
being famous”.
One of the
best descriptions ever of so-called “reality tv” and the making of its pathetic
“stars” into “celebrities” appeared in an episode of the BBC tv show JUDGE JOHN
DEED, starring Martin Shaw as the judge, over a decade ago. In “Popular Appeal” an angry contestant in a
British reality tv show called “The Dungeon” kills another competitor on
camera, and the show's producers face charges of manslaughter in Deed's court.
The prosecution contends that they acted recklessly and engineered conflict in
order to get higher ratings. A
psychiatrist working for the station that airs the show testifies that the
producers purposely look for psychologically flawed “contestants” who can be
easily manipulated and angered, which clearly represents what reality tv
producers do in “real life”.
Judge Deed,
speaking to the producer of a reality TV show after the jury has returned its
verdict, correctly observes –
“Celebrity:
the pursuit of the talentless by the mindless. It's a common disease of the
twenty-first century. It pollutes our society, and diminishes all who seek it
and all who worship it, and you must bear part of the responsibility for
foisting this empty nonsense onto a gullible public.”
Reality tv is
dangerous. It teaches bad lessons to
young viewers –
* Greed is
good.
* Money is
more important than self-respect or human dignity.
* It is
acceptable to publicly humiliate people.
* A cat fight
is an appropriate form of conflict resolution.
* You don’t
need education or even intelligence to be a success in America – any brain-dead
idiot can become wealthy by appearing in reality tv nonsense.
In her excellent
and spot on blog post “The Danger of Reality TV” Canadian Rhonda Scharf
correctly observes -
“The
reality of reality shows is that they effectively affect our society.
Television tells us what is normal and accepted and eventually it worms its way
into our subconscious.
These
messages are wrong. They instill a workplace mentality of winning at all costs.
They have no compassion, no understanding, and no reality about the world we
actually live in.”
A news item
from 2012 reported –
“The Girls
Scouts are warning of the dangers of reality tv after a study by the Girl
Scouts Research Institute concluded that reality shows are having a negative
effect on young women.
The study
found that reality television ‘more frequently portrays girls and women in
competition with one another rather than in support or collaboration. This
perpetuates a 'mean-girl' stereotype and normalizes this behavior among girls.’
The study
concluded: ‘Teen girls who regularly view reality tv accept and expect a higher
level of drama, aggression, and bullying in their own lives, and measure their
worth primarily by their physical appearance.’"
Television
can change the world. Pioneers like
Norman Lear and the creative staff behind M*A*S*H changed the world for the
better in the early 1970s. And same-sex
marriage would not have become legally accepted without Ellen DeGeneres and
shows like WILL AND GRACE and MODERN FAMILY.
Today reality tv garbage is resulting in the decline and deterioration
of our society.
Still don’t
think reality tv is dangerous?
Reality tv is
responsible for the death of the Republican Party and the dire mess that
America and the world is in today by giving undeserved credibility to a
mentally unstable narcissistic sociopath and cartoon clown who is completely
unfit to serve in any elected position of power – former President Donald T
Rump.
From the
Thesaurus –
Synonyms for
“shit”:
BM, crap,
defecation, doo-doo, dung, excrement, excretion, fecal matter, feces, manure,
number two, poop, reality tv, stool, waste.
SURFIN’ USA
I
love British television, the unique “Britcoms” that could never be properly
adapted for the American audience and the classic mysteries. Today, with 200+ television channels and
nothing on, I must find online sources for daily entertainment.
Acorn
is the publisher of DVDs of many British and other former “empire” country
television shows and movies. It has
created Acorn.TV, “a subscription streaming service that offers world-class
mysteries, dramas, comedies, and documentaries from Britain and beyond”. My main ACORN TV viewing involves its
inventory of mysteries. You can watch
all seasons, or series, of your favorite shows going back to the very
beginning.
The
site has all the episodes of the “old favorites” like the Agatha Christie
chestnuts Miss Marple and Hercule Poirot as well as lesser known Tommy and
Tuppence Beresford, “Midsommer Murders”, “Inspector Morse”, “Foyle’s War”,
“Prime Suspect”, “Rosemary and Thyme”, and “Lovejoy”, as well as more obscure
and newer shows. I have especially
enjoyed “Blue Murder”, “The Last Detective”, “Murder In Suburbia”, “Vera”, “Agatha
Raisin” and recently “Whitstable Pearl”.
The
shows are not limited to those from the UK.
Australian, Canadian, and even New Zealand tv mysteries are
included. Like “Murdoch Mysteries” from
Canada (a police detective working in Toronto around the turn of the 20th
Century using CSI-type technology to solve mysteries that often involve real
historical figures), “Miss Fisher’s Murder Mysteries” and the follow-up “Miss
Fisher’s Modern Murder Mysteries” (more period pieces), “Mr. and Mrs. Murder”
(about a married couple who run a crime scene clean-up business), “Winter” (a
Prime-Suspect-like procedural) from Australia, and “The Brokenwood Mysteries”
from New Zealand. Each month new shows,
and new “series” of continuing shows, are added.
And
it has “Doc Martin”.
In
addition to the high definition quality, the best part of the subscription is,
unlike free viewings on YouTube, there are no commercial interruptions.
ACORN
TV offers two options: a monthly subscription ($5.99/month) and an annual
subscription ($59.99/year). You can sign
up for a free 30-day trial at signup.acorn.tv. Your free trial entitles you to
a month unlimited access to Acorn TV (new customers only).
ALWAYS LEAVE ‘EM
LAUGHING
A group of
Scientists are running an experiment on the human brain. They are trying to
figure out how well a human brain can function when it is missing various
sections.
They start
off by cutting out half of the first subject’s brain and then ask him to count
to 10. The subject replies "one, five, seven, ten".
The
scientists are intrigued by this. They decide to cut out the entire brain this
time and once again ask the subject to count to ten.
The subject
replies –
"I
can count to ten, I'm the best at counting in the world, I have the best
numbers, the news is fake when they disagree with me, I think, people, when
they think about good numbers, I can count, with any numbers, all the time,
better than China, better than anyone."
TALK TO YOU
NEXT MONTH
Please share this “issue” with your friends and
family. Your comments on this issue are welcomed – email me at rdftaxpro@yahoo.com with BOBSERVATIONS COMMENT in the “Subject Line”.
Copyright © 2021 by Robert D
Flach
