Over the years Shepard Smith has been known for his opposing views of Republicans and his colleagues at Fox News . More recently he has been critical of President Trump while others at the network fawned over the Commander-in-Chief.
Today the Fox News anchor announced Friday would be his last broadcast
“Even in our currently polarized nation, it’s my hope that the facts will win the day, that the truth will always matter, that journalism and journalist will thrive,” Smith said. The Fox News anchor, hired to join the network at its inception in 1996, said his agreement with Fox meant he would not be reporting elsewhere in the near future. “So recently I asked the company to allow me to leave Fox News, after requesting that I stay, they obliged,” “Under our agreement I won’t be reporting elsewhere, at least in the near future, but I will be able to see more of Geo and Lucia, and our friends and family, and then we will see what comes along.” “This is my last newscast here. Thank you for watching today and over the decades as I traveled to many of your communities and anchored this program, studio B, and Fox Report, plus endless marathon hours of breaking news. It’s been an honor and my pleasure.”
Mediaite.com
While Smith was far from perfect, his departure from Fox News eliminates one of the few voices that challenged the Trump propaganda machine at the network.
Not that it matters to me much as I’m not a frequent viewer of Fox News. I am curious about one thing, did Shep get a farewell cake from Tucker Carlson and Sean Hannity?
As always…
If there is something to be said, “It’s On Broadway” to step up and say it!!
On Sunday as a guest of Charlotte Jones (daughter of Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones) Ellen DeGeneres yucked it up with former President George W Bush while watching the Green Bay Packers beat up on the Dallas Cowboys.
When I saw the moment caught by the NFL on Fox broadcast, my
initial thought was this is going to go viral on social media. I knew there
were going to be a bunch of Twitter fingers angry seeing Ellen having a good
time with Bush. And of course, the outrage mob didn’t let me down. As many
questioned why the 2 were hanging together, others applauded the moment, for people
of opposing views being capable of being civilized.
For me, I wanted to see if Ellen or Bush would speak on the
chill session and not jump to conclusions and start calling anyone a sellout or
giving out any praise.
With social media talking about the moment all-day Monday,
Ellen decided to wait until Tuesday to speak on it during her show…
DeGeneres talked about what led to the moment and explained how
she was invited and that she knew she would be in company of people with differing
views.
“When we were invited, I was aware that I was going to be surrounded with people from very different views and beliefs. And I’m not talking about politics… I was rooting for the Packers,” DeGeneres joked. “So, I had to hide my cheese hat in Portia’s purse.”
Ellen went on to explain that she is friends with George
Bush and how its about not only being kind to people with the same view points
but to everyone
“Here’s the thing: I’m friends with George Bush. In fact, I’m friends with a lot of people who don’t share the same beliefs that I have,” DeGeneres continued. “We’re all different and I think that we’ve forgotten that that’s okay that we’re all different… but just because I don’t agree with someone on everything doesn’t mean that I’m not going to be friends with them.”
After watching Ellen’s explanation, my first thought was, “Awesome Ellen, but…”
“Different views and beliefs”?
I know it has been a while since Bush was president
(2001-2009), but let’s not forget this is the same man that
Opposed the legal recognition of same sex marriage and supported the idea of an amendment that would prohibit same-sex couples from obtaining legal recognition
Threatened to veto the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA) that would prohibit discrimination in hiring and employment based on sexual orientation or gender identity
Threatened to veto the Hates Crime Prevention Act that expanded crimes motivated by a victim’s actual or perceived gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, or disability
To me this is more than just different views and beliefs, and leaves Ellen open to criticism as an advocate for LGBTQ rights.
I’m not saying Ellen should have walked out of the suite
when she saw Bush, or she should have brought up politics while watching the football
game. If this is your “friend” then I hope you are challenging your friends’ dangerous
views and beliefs. And that is something she never mentioned while asking us to
be kind to everyone.
And while Ellen was giving cover to Bush, Dubya was thankful and appreciated his friend sticking up for him…
That’s it?!?
As one person on Twitter noted (unfortunately I don’t have their Twitter handle),
“I have to take issue with this, with all due respect. There’s nothing wrong with being friends with people of different beliefs, but there IS something wrong with being friends with someone who has hurt you and your community without remorse or a change,”
This is what I am talking about, Ellen defends their friendship and Bush continues to stand by his anti-gay record while receiving praise for being able to have a chill session with his lesbian friend
As always….
If there is something to be said, “It’s On Broadway” to step up and say it!!
It’s time for Bernie Sanders to end his presidential campaign, no more ‘Bern Baby Bern’!
I am not saying this because I disagree with Bernie’s politics,
or because I can’t take his constant yelling during debates, LOL. I am saying
this because the man just had surgery to insert 2 stents to address a blockage
in one artery.
Being President of the United States must be the most
stressful job on the planet and has taken its toll on younger and healthier men
than Sanders. This is not the job for a 78-year old man who just had 2 stents
inserted into his chest.
This is something Sanders must come to grip with, the
writing on the wall. Sanders’ campaign pulled $1.3 million in ad buys that were
supposed to start running in Iowa.
At 78-years old Bernie is not going to have a miracle
recovery that will allow him to campaign at the level he would need to stay
competitive in the primaries. It would be more productive of Bernie to stop his
campaign and to throw his support behind a candidate that shares his beliefs,
and the sooner that happens the better for whoever that candidate may be.
Now will Bernie selfishly stay in the race for his own ego or will do the right thing and put country first?
As always….
If there is something to be said, “It’s On Broadway” to step up and say it!!
The Mickey Callaway era with the NY Mets is now over, and I can admit, I was wrong.
When the Mets named Callaway the manager back on October 23rd in 2017, I was all-in. I believed in what Callaway did as a pitching coach and his belief in analytics and it being used in baseball. While Mickey wasn’t my first choice (Alex Cora) I felt Mickey was the best next thing.
I was so confident in the hire that I talked trash on
Twitter and referred to Callaway as a top 5 managing candidate at the time.
Clearly, I am not ready to be a GM yet, LOL!
Callaway struggled with handling the bullpen, although I
will give him a pass for the most part when it comes to the pen. The talent
wasn’t there and it’s difficult to manage a pen when relievers are not doing
their jobs. What could not be forgiven was Callaway’s in-game moves with pinch
hitters and being out maneuvered by opposing managers.
A perfect example of this was a couple of weeks ago, with the Mets in the hunt for the playoffs. Callaway allowed the Phillies to pinch-hit Bryce Harper to hit against Tyler Bashlor (Righty), and explained he wanted to get Phillies regular old reliever Mike Morin out of game. We are not talking about Mariano Rivera here…
While it’s not great that the Mets must find a new manager, this is different from previous years. This is a Mets team that has talent, a young core in Pete Alonso, Amed Rosario, Jeff McNeil, Michael Confronto, and a pitching staff that is formidable (Jacob deGrom). For the first time in a long-time, this is team that can attract top managerial candidates.
Of the top candidates, Joe Maddon and Joe Girardi would be at the top of my list. As of right now the word is Maddon will head west to take the Angels job. If that’s the case Joe Girardi would have to be the guy previous experience handling the NYC market and not afraid of the bright lights.
But…
If I had a dark horse, Houston Astros’ manager AJ Hinch, who could be looking for a challenge and good friends with Mets GM Brodie Van Wagenen.
As always….
If there is something to be said, “It’s On Broadway” to step up and say it!!
Senator Rand Paul is blocking Senator Kristen Gillibrand‘s attempt to fast-track the 9/11 Victims Compensation bill‘s approval in congress. Stating that the $10B price tag for the bill is too hefty of a price for something that is unpaid for.
“It has long been my feeling that we need to address our massive debt in the country,”
“And therefore any new spending … should be offset by cutting spending that’s less valuable. We need to at the very least have this debate.”
“As with any bill, Senator Paul always believes it needs to be paid for. Senator Paul is simply offering an amendment, which other senators support, to pay for this legislation,”
Spokesperson for Rand Paul
Some have noted that Rand Paul didn’t seem to mind adding to the nation’s massive debt when he voted ‘yes’ for President Trump’s Tax Reform bill. Paul did fight for changes to the bill, and admitted he did not get everything he wanted, but the main thing for him was that the people would be able to keep more of their money and less would be going to the federal gov’t.
The 9/11 Victims Compensation bill will pass, it will just continue to take a lil more hand wringing. I don’t foresee Paul will hold out for it to be 100% paid for but it is something he can hang his libertarian hat on.
As always….
If there is something to be said, “It’s On Broadway” to step up and say it!!
As a Giants’ fan I don’t want to defend Odell Beckham Jr because he’s no longer a GIANT!
New Browns coach Freddie Kitchens said the following during voluntary OTAs when asked about Beckham’s absence
“I just want to see him”
What did he miss?
“A lot — the offense”
Mary Kay Cabot, Cleveland.com
Last week Kitchens downplayed Beckham’s absence from voluntary OTAs
“I have never disputed the fact that it’s not important for him to be here, but it’s also also important for him to be mentally ready to be here,’’ said Kitchens. “I’m not giving him an out by any stretch of imagination, and nobody here knows the conversations that Odell and I have. I’m just saying it is better for him to be here when he can present his best self – emotionally, physically, everything.’’
It never fails when summer rolls around and NFL teams start their voluntary OTA programs; the media, fans and coaches talk about players who don’t participate in voluntary workouts. And it’s the fans that trip me out the most. These fans should take a look at themselves in the mirror and ask the question, would you go into work voluntarily if given the choice?
Of all the criticisms of Odell, there is no disputing his work ethic when it comes to practice and knowing the offense. Browns’ receiver coach Adam Henry stated
“He’s a worker,”
“He’s a guy who works hard. He’s always in condition. You’ve got to save him from himself when he’s practicing because he’ll just go and go and go. He’s like the young person with the ball. If there’s a ball being thrown or kicked, he wants it. He wants to play. So even in the course of practice, the offense may not be going, the defense is going, he’s doing something. He’s a busybody that way.”
Cleveland.com
So Cleveland relax, stop the shaming, and enjoy the show Odell and Baker Mayfield about to put on for you.
According to Merriam-Webster
As always….
If there is something to be said, “It’s On Broadway” to step up and say it!!
Those who know me, know I have definitely caped for Melo over the years. He’s a Cuse guy who brought a National Championship to Syracuse, and he took on the challenge of trying to bring a NBA chip back to NYC.
Even though he fell way short in NYC, I still appreciate he wanted the challenge. I can only hope he will now get another shot to end his career on a higher note than where it is now.
I had planned on writing about something different this week, however, I have to touch on the Billie Eilish video. Aria sang that song, Hostage, by Billie Eilish on Saturday, February 2nd, 2019. Four days before she passed. I posted a video of that performance on my Instagram. Along with a paragraph explaining how proud I was of her professionalism when the events of the day did not turn out exactly as planned. That performance was supposed to be a duet. Her friend got the flu and couldn’t perform. Aria forgot her keys and couldn’t get into the house to get her Ukulele. I was already at work, so I couldn’t help. She had an hour to change her song choice and prepare. STILL with all the chaos, SHE DELIVERED. I was so proud, still am. Not only of her beautiful performance but mostly how she rose to…
When Robert Mueller completed his investigation into possible Russian interference during the 2016 elections, and/or coordination between the Russian government and the Trump campaign. Mueller submitted ‘The Mueller Report’ to United States Attorney General William Barr, for his review.
Barr took all of 48 hours to put together a 4-page document that stated Mueller’s investigation,
“does not conclude that the president committed a crime, it also does not exonerate him.'”
NBC News
48-hours to review a report that took about 2-years to complete didn’t make sense, especially when it’s being reported that Mueller’s report is over 300 pages long.
After a week of criticism Bar wants you to believe that his initial 4-page document was never meant to be a summation of Mueller’s Report. Barr is now saying that he wants Congress and the American people to have the opportunity to read the Mueller Report, but there is sensitive information that has to be redacted. The plan is to work with Mueller’s team to properly redact the report, and have it ready for release by mid-April.
“Our progress is such that I anticipate we will be in a position to release the report by mid-April, if not sooner,”
NBC News
“Although the president would have the right to assert privilege over certain parts of the report, he has stated publicly that he intends to defer to me and, accordingly, there are no plans to submit the report to the White House for a privilege review,”
NBC News
IF that was the case, why not say that from beginning, and rush a response 48-hours after the investigation was completed?
Well we know the answer to that question, it’s because Barr thinks we are stupid, and he’s partly right…
Conservatives, Trump Supporters, and Trump jumped on Barr’s summation and went ham on Twitter touting the presidents innocents and damning the ‘witch hunt’ (Mueller’s Investigation). Trump called out the media that pushed the Mueller Report / collusion story. Trump was taking his victory lap.
But the criticism grew and with public support growing for the release of the full report, Barr has to try to save some face. The release of the full Mueller Report may reach the anticipation level of Drake dropping a new album, lol. Well, at least in the political world.
As always….
If there is something to be said, “It’s On Broadway” to step up and say it!!
It's On Broadway 