Why I Didn't Watch The Super Bowl #374
By Hank Silverberg
Commentary
No, I did not watch the game, nor any of the hype leading up to it. First, I'm not a football fan, so I have no attachment to the sport, and I have not watched it in the past either.
But this year, with all the nastiness about Bad Bunny and the halftime show, I was particularly turned off. In the past I have turned on just the half- time show, like when Sir Paul McCartney was the performer. Or Bono. But who wins, who loses the game, or the halftime show nonsense is irrelevant to me, and frankly, I think much of the country. Sure, fans in New England and Seattle cared. But for the rest of the country the game is just a reason to invite friends over, drink beer, eat chicken wings and have some fun. Great. No problem. So why bring politics into it?
I have to say, there is one thing about the Super Bowl that had me laughing. The alternative half- time show put on by Turning Point USA with Kid Rock as the headliner, was totally hypocritical. TP has touted its moral principles and claims the high ground on ethics and faith. Have they seen these lyrics from a Kid Rock song from 2021??
"Young ladies, young ladies, I like 'em underage, see.
Some say that's statutory, But I say it's mandatory"
No moral high ground there for TPUSA. Just more hypocrisy.
One more comment about this week's political nonsense before I get to real news.
Several members of the USA Olympic team are being criticized by the right for saying negative things about the current immigration policy and ICE raids while in Italy for the games. The hypocrites on the right are saying they should be brought home and banned from the team.
For pete's sake. Being able to criticize our government without retribution is what separates us from countries like China and Russia. There's nothing more American than speaking your mind on public policy and the faults of our leaders. So MAGA, GET OVER IT . Go Team USA!
News You May Have Missed!
Democracy Dies in Darkness?
That slogan has been on the masthead of The Washington Post since 2017. But the venerable newspaper, which helped bring down Richard Nixon after Watergate and has provided balanced coverage to the Washington, D.C. readers since 1877, is now nothing more than a shell. Jeff Bezos, the billionaire owner of the Post, turned out most of the lights, darkening the future of the newspaper last week when he fired the entire sports department and one-third of the staff, including dozens of reporters. It was done in a cold-hearted way. First an announcement on a Zoom call, then to each employee by e-mail. One of the reporters, Lizzie Johnson, was fired while in Ukraine covering the war with Russia.
Then we got word on Saturday that Will Lewis, the CEO who was nowhere to be found as the layoffs were occurring, has also resigned. He had been brought in three years ago by Bezos to turn the newspaper around.
Supposedly the layoffs were made to save money for a newspaper which has struggled to stay profitable ever since Bezos took over. Print newspapers, in general, are struggling across the country under pressure from new technology and the internet.
But the "revenue loss" explanation was hard to swallow for the employees and the public after Bezos spent $75 million to produce the "Melania" movie, and he continues to be one of the richest men in the world. Critics noted he has turned down several offers from others to buy the Post.
The Post will now concentrate on news out of the White House and Congress, but the people of D.C. will suffer the most from the loss of local news coverage.
History Erased
Revisionist history is one of the first things an authoritarian government tries to do as it consolidates power. And that is being done now by
A spokesperson for the State Department told NPR the move is meant "to limit confusion on the U.S. Government policy and to speak in one voice to advance...the administration's goals and messaging."
This is just the latest in an effort to purge history from government websites which began as soon as Trump took office for his second term. Just last week, the CIA took down its World Factbook, a global reference guide that has been available to the public on the internet since 1997.
Dumbest Quote of The Week!
This weeks dumb quote goes to White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt, in her response to reporter's questions on the meme the President posted that pictured Barak and Michelle Obama as apes. She said:
“Please stop the fake outrage and report on something today that actually matters to the American public.”
Well first, most of the American public does not like racism coming from the thoughts of the President, which is what the post was. So it did matter. Later Leavitt tried to claim that the post pictured Trump as "The Lion King," and the others as characters in the movie. But there were no apes in "The Lion King".
Then came the explanation that the meme was posted by an aide and not by the President. That leads to the question, why does an aide have access to the President's personal media account, and has this aide been fired for this post? I'm not sure a reporter asked that question. I'd love to hear the answer.
(Your suggestions and comments are welcome)
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