THE TYGRRRR EXPRESS

For a brief fortnight, America became serious. The Virginia Tech massacre forced us to ask tough questions about controversial issues. While we as Americans disagreed about solutions on matters ranging from gun control to immigration, at least the discussions were intelligent and meaningful. Even Greta Van Susteren and Geraldo Rivera were watchable.

Then it happened…a break in the Natalie Holloway case.

NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO.

I am sorry, but she is deceased somewhere far away, and that is where this story needs to be. I will spare the politically correct pablum about how much pain I feel for the Holloway family. Of course I feel it. People I care about have died. I do not get interviewed about it. People die every day. It is not news.

There is a real world out there involving Islamofacists. We also have homegrown terrorists, including the Virginia Tech killer. Yes, he was a terrorist. It is vital that hard news be on our television, much as it can trouble us. Perhaps somewhere out there is an Afghani or Pakistani citizen watching television. They recognize the picture of an Al Queda henchman because they are watching Fox News, CNN or some other news program where actual news such as Al Queda is being discussed. This henchman lives in the same village. The citizen reports the henchman, who is apprehended. The henchman rolls over and gives up Bin Laden.

The above scenario cannot happen if the news consists of nonsense. Natalie Holloway is the Bill Clinton of the current news cycle. She sucks up the Oxygen that belongs to the War on Terror. She is the Bill Murray character in “What About Bob.” That is the movie where the Richard Dreyfuss character snaps at his family when describing Bill Murray’s character “Gone! He’s Never Gone!”

This is amusing when it is a comedy movie. It is not amusing in real life. Even those who say there is enough room for Natalie Holloway, the problem became that when the Natalie Holloway story broke, there was no room for Al Queda or the War on Terror. Natalie Holloway was the news. Even Anna Nicole Smith had less staying power.

There is a place in life for nonsense, powderpuff human interest stories. Hard Copy (ironically named), 20/20 (Barbara Walters used to discuss actual news), Inside Edition, Access Hollywood, and Dateline can discuss nonsense. Katie Couric can discuss Ron Burgundy (Will Ferrell in Anchorman) and pandas giving birth. She should not do it on the CBS Evening News.

When Bill Clinton was president, like him or not, he was occasionally relevant (not due to anything he actually did, but his title). He is now a private citizen. If he had expertise in a particular area, such as Richard Nixon dealing with China or Ronald Reagan dealing with the USSR, he could discuss that. However, given his need to publicly express his opinion on everything, he becomes relevant about nothing. The argument that he becomes relevant if Hillary Clinton gets closer to the White House is credible if one accepts that Laura Bush makes nightly news when she speaks. She does not, nor does she claim to do so. Bill Clinton was a master political strategist, but that is tactics. That is not policy. Bill Belichick is the head coach and master strategist of the New England Patriots, but he is relevant during the sports section of the news, not the entire broadcast.

This horse needs to be flogged repeatedly. We are at War. The fate of the free world is at stake. There is no room for nonsense, especially not during the news.

Ron Burgundy is fictional. Bill Clinton is a former world leader who needs to build houses somewhere…quietly. Natalie Holloway needs to rest in peace.

Otherwise, we will dumb down the news to where it is too stupid for even the lowest common denominator to tolerate (“The View” interviewing Alec Baldwin, anyone?). We will be even less informed than we are now.

On May 6th, the French elect their new leader. I never thought I would live to see the day when anything happening in France is more relevant than what is happening in the USA.

We need an Al Queda capture now. Putting their faces on screen again would be a good start. That is what news broadcasts are supposed to do.

eric

This entry was posted on Tuesday, May 1st, 2007 at 11:48 pm and is filed under POLITICS, Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.