Okay we have some paperwork to do before I let this one out. First off Todd Holdman, of the world famous punk band Nobody's Children Holdmans, left a note about Brett Favre's ride....
that is a nice truck and i think you should sell your house and buy it. what's he driving now? Prius?
Todd
Umm, Todd I am not sure if I ever took Number 4 for a Prius guy. Of course we all know that now he is just driving his lawn mower.
AND a first time caller to the show, Round Guy, of the Des Moines Iowa Round Guys, drops this little ditty on me...
Yo CP,
what's to say you buy the truck,...then a week later Favre changes his mind and wants it back??????
"ROUND GUY"
Round Guy you are truly a guy who I need to consult in the future when I decide to make an impulse purchase on eBay. Your thought process on this sale is spot on. What the hell would I do if he asked for it back. Would I tell him I did not think he was in the 'right mindset' to have the truck back? Or would I just go with the 'that train has left the station' blast? Oh and more importantly which media outlet would I use to get my side of the story out? Sure as hell won't be Fox News. If I was GM and Coach of that fine truck I would accept what Brett wanted to drive only one truck in his career and give him the truck back. Because no one wants to see the greatest QB of all time go and buy a different truck and then drive around in it even if he had a better year in that truck. It would tarnish his image.
Anyway, Round Guy, maybe you should advise me on this eBay auction before I buy it... Ric Flair signed Robe. What do you think? Do you think you could give me some advice on how to sneak it into my house with out Donna seeing it? Or how about what country I should move to and hide in when she does see it?
NEXT:
As you all know I am a member of the dreaded left leaning Media that has ruined the country and your children's future. We all know it wasn't because you are a bad parent, it is completely on the Media for your child turning out the way it did. That is a whole different rant that I won't go into today. I have other fish to fry.
The media. Let me tell you that I believe that there are two kinds of media out there. Media with a capital M and media with a lower case m. The capital M is a media that works as it was designed to work. As a public service to the community. One that asks questions from both sides, informs the public, and holds those in power accountable. Oh and if you are entertained along the way that is a plus. Entertainment is not number one. Information is. Sadly that kind of Media is few and far between now a days.
Then there is the more prominent media that exists. The kind that thinks it is more show business than it is to inform. The kind that is more responsible to it's advertisers than it is to it's viewers.
The story I am going to tell you today is about a local media outlet. We here at TundraTalk are a big proponent of the Media being a service to the community not a service to advertisers. We should always tell both sides of a story, when possible, and never use the Media to our own advantage. Okay, so maybe not TundraTalk so much.
Well here is the part of the story that I will NOT put the word 'allegedly' in front of. About a week or so ago a TV station did a story on an old woman (81) who had her power cut off from SaskEnergy because she could not afford her bill. Of course there was the ubiquitous shot of her in her non heated house. Her talking about how cruel it is to turn the heat off on a defenseless old lady. This story of course got the community all involved and volunteering to pay her bill. Eventually a guy came in to SaskEnergy and paid cash for the bill. This story took off across the country and was picked up by many media outlets.
Nice story right? Real power of the media to do right right? Here is where the story gets fuzzy. The story showed the old woman sitting on her rocking chair in a sweater and a blanket. Of course it did. You know what else it showed? The old woman sitting in front of her electric stove heating the house. Uh, not to cool there. It also had an interview with the son saying stuff about why would they shut off the gas on my mom and stuff.
Of course the reporter interviewed SaskEnergy and they towed the company line that if you do not pay you do not play. As well they should right?
Okay, maybe I am a burned out old bastard but my first thought would have been "Hey jerk off son. Why the hell did you not pay the bill for her?" I know that I would do everything in my power to pay MY moms bill if she came up short. Who knows, maybe he is unemployed and can only afford to pay for his families bill. Oh, did I mention that the bill was around 900 dollars? Oh, and did I also mention that she had not paid for over 6 months?
Here is where I put the big word in my story ALLEGEDLY everything from here on out will fall under the allegedly category.
Come to find out, the son lives in the house, ALONG WITH HIS ADULT SISTER. WTF!!! You are telling me that this woman lives in the house with her ADULT son and daughter, have not paid for their heating bill for over six months, and I am supposed to give a flying crap? I don't think so.
Do you really think that the guy who paid the 900 bones would be happy that he paid the bill for an old lady when in actuality he paid the bill for a deadbeat kid(my opinion) and his sister and their mom just happens to live there (allegedly)? I would be pissed.
It is no wonder why people hate the media. Well, I know that the son and daughter love the media. They just got their bill paid by the media. I think I might just call up the local station and see if I can get them to come over and do a story on me and maybe I can get a credit card or two paid off. I mean really.
I don't want to point too many fingers at the reporter, cause I don't know him, but, did he know these people? Was he doing a favor? Or was he just wanting to do some 'good'. Maybe he thoght he was 'sticking it to the man'. Why the hell did he not ask the son why he did not pay the bill? Or better yet, ask him where he lived? C'mon people, do your homework.
As a camera guy, I have ALWAYS raised my voice when a situation came up that may or may not be ethical. I have gotten in trouble at times for vocalizing my concern with a stories angle or lack of both sides of the story, I do not care if I catch heat for that. At least the question is asked. I am not sure if this reporter shot it himself or if there was a camera man involved. I know I would have been screaming to whoever would listen if I was at this shoot. No way in hell I would have 'staged' the shot of the old lady in front of the stove. NO FREAKING WAY.
I have always been against being a part of the media with a lowercase m. I personally own a shirt that has a picture of a dog on the front with the quote "Why do we go live?" and on the back says "because we can". Which in the biz is a 'dog lick live'. You know the old quote, "Why does a dog lick his balls? Because he can". I hate those. You know the ones, "We are her live" at the location, in the dark, 24 hours after the accident happened. Save the live truck for something immediate. I am going off on a tangent a bit but I am trying to make my point that the Media needs to serve the public in giving information that they need, not to help pay their bills that they are too lazy to pay themselves.
I guess I still want to believe that a Media outlet can exist today and do the right thing. I also know that sometimes people make mistakes. I hope that this is the case where a 'mistake' was made. I am thinking that probably is not the case but who knows.
Anyway, that is my rant and I am sticking to it.
Have a great weekend. Now GET BACK TO WORK!!!!
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