Oprah: She's Not Every Woman

Image via WikipediaOprah Winfrey signed off her daily syndicated talk show after 25 years Wednesday.  It was part reminiscence and part inspirational lecture with just her on the stage and a studio audience of invited guests.

Through the years, Winfrey has shared the ups and downs of her life (well, most of it):  Her weight problems, her being a victim of child abuse, her favorite things, her famous pals, her philosophy, Gayle King, Stedman Graham, etc.  Whatever she preferred not to share, the tabloids and TMZ were more than happy to fill in the blanks.

Winfrey was the queen of daytime TV--and sometimes she acted like one too, with the way people genuflected in her direction.  She could make stars like Dr. Phil, Rachael Ray, Suze Orman and Dr. Oz.  And she could break them (see: authors Jonathan Franzen and James Frey).  One mention of a product or a book from Oprah could make the difference between obscurity and best-seller status.  She didn't become one of the world's wealthiest people by not knowing what her audience wanted.

Now Winfrey turns her attention to a six-month old cable channel called OWN (the Oprah Winfrey Network), which has struggled out of the gate so far.  At present, OWN is running "Dr. Phil" reruns, a video version of Gayle King's radio show, "Say Yes to the Dress" from sister network TLC, and old movies on weekends.  Apparently, what this network needs is more Oprah.

Most stations ran Oprah's show in the late afternoon, as a lead-in to local news.  Without her, those stations will either add more news or another talk show such as Ellen DeGeneres and Anderson Cooper come September.  Of all the post-Oprah network news broadcasts, ABC will be taking the biggest hit, though NBC's Brian Williams didn't need her help to top the ratings.

But Winfrey's numbers have been slipping in recent years, even though she still beats out every other syndicated talk show.  It's mostly blamed on younger women in the workplace and older women watching.  In fact, the top-rated program in daytime isn't Oprah.  It's "Judge Judy".

Whether you're an admirer or you're sick to death of her, you can't argue that Oprah Winfrey has made a huge impact on our society.  She's given as much money as she's taken in.  She raised awareness of the dark corners of our existence.  She's been an inspiration to millions.  Just because Winfrey isn't doing a daytime talk show any more, that doesn't mean she's going away.  She's merely turning the page.

Pawlenty Runs As Minnesota Fiddles

Image via WikipediaAs former Minnesota governor Tim Pawlenty finally made official his run for the 2012 Republican presidential nomination, the state he left behind is on the verge of a government shutdown because of a huge budget deficit he's partly responsible for.

Pawlenty made his announcement first on You Tube, then the next day at a rally in Des Moines, where there just happens to be caucuses taking place a few months from now.

The main problem with Pawlenty is that he's not very well-known outside of Minnesota, and that he's boring to boot.  His poll numbers haven't improved much since he started "unofficially" campaigning.  And Michelle Bachmann, the more charismatic (not to mention mistake-prone) congresswoman from his home state, might decide to run herself.  In other words, folks, Pawlenty would be perfect as somebody's vice-president.

Now that the likes of Donald Trump and Mike Huckabee have dropped out (though we have yet to hear from Sarah Palin), Mitt Romney is considered the GOP's front-runner after bending over backwards to disavow his moderate past.  Such as the health care reform he supported as governor of Massachusetts, which President Obama used as a template for his own policy.

Back in the Gopher State, the GOP-controlled Legislature is at odds with current Democratic governor Mark Dayton over how to pay down the deficit that Pawlenty left office with.  The choice is stark:  Cut government spending (as the Republicans want) or raise taxes on the top two percent (as Governor Dayton wants).  Nothing in between.

So how come, as the official session ended Monday, there's no budget deal?  The Legislature wastes everyone's time and money on such things as voter IDs and an anti-gay marriage amendment in the final weekend, while important bills are neglected.  And Governor Dayton won't sign any bill that doesn't meet his criteria.

Because of this budgetary gridlock, the Governor will have to call a special session.  He'd better do it soon because, come July, the state's money will run out and plenty of people and services will be furloughed.

So while Pawlenty sells himself as a fiscal conservative who won't raise your taxes, voters might do well to see where that has gotten him in Minnesota and why it might lead to disastrous consequences.

The Apocalypse That Wasn't

Image by Getty Images via @daylifeThe world did not end on May 21, as California religious broadcaster Harold Camping predicted.  No earthquakes at 6 p.m. local time.  No heavenly 'rapture' of any kind occurred.  And nobody's pets head to be taken care of by others.

The last time a person claiming to speak for God got this much attention, he was burning Korans in Florida with Afghans rioting in response.

This time, with plenty of help from Camping's radio network, followers and the news media, everyone knew that Judgment Day was coming.  Make your plans now to be saved, or to get left behind and face horrible disasters.

Well, some of those horrible disasters have already occurred in the past few months.  An earthquake in Japan that caused a nuclear disaster there, and tsunamis across the Pacific.  Tornadoes that devastated Alabama and Minnesota.  Flooding in Memphis and points south of the Mississippi River.  Osama bin Laden is dead.  Donald Trump almost ran for President.  Yes, doomsday was upon us.

But on the day of the predicted apocalypse, there were no breaking news alerts from CNN and no warnings from the Department of Homeland Security.  President Barack Obama and members of the government (as far as we know) weren't holed up in a bunker someplace.  Life went on as usual.

The wake-up call from Camping and his followers was a mixed blessing.  At worst, he might have caused some depressed individuals to decide that this might be a good time to take their own lives.

It may not have been Camping's intention, but he may have caused some soul searching among those of us to consider what we would do if it really was the last day of our lives.  Would it be a time of reflection on what did or didn't happen in our lives?  Would we take the time to say goodbye to everyone we knew?  Or would we want to go out in one big blaze of glory?

Camping claimed he got his information from reading chapters relating to the Second Coming from the Bible, did the math, and came up with May 21, 2011.  Then it was noted that Camping made a similar prediction about the world coming to an end in 1994.  So he's 0-2.

Truth is, predictions about the end of the world have been around since there's been a world.  The real purpose, it seems, is to scare people into believing in something that may or may not exist, or in a book that people either consider BS or believe in it totally.  Oh, and a few bucks to support the cause wouldn't hurt either.

Apocalypse-watchers (and we know you're out there) have already moved on to December 12, 2012.  That's when the Mayan calendar is supposed to end, and all sorts of calamities would occur.  We'll believe it when we see it.

Sex, Lies and Politicians

Image via WikipediaThere's nothing like a political sex scandal to distract the world from more important issues.  Such as wars, economic crises, and predictions of the world coming to an end.

Some notable examples:  Edward VIII was the King of England before he gave up the throne to marry a divorcee.  John F. Kennedy's dalliances with other women weren't made public until long after his death.  Bill Clinton nearly lost the presidency (and his marriage) over Monica Lewinsky and others.  And John Edwards ruined his political career and marriage to his cancer-stricken wife by having an affair (and a child) with another woman.

Now for some more recent examples:

• Arnold Schwarzenegger and Maria Shriver announced that they have separated after 25 years of marriage.  Initially, we thought that being Governor of California through a protracted budget crisis must have taken its toll.  But now that he's out of office, we know that Arnold had been keeping company with the family's housekeeper for over a decade, and that they had a child together.
• Dominique Strauss-Kahn, who has been indicted by a New York grand jury for allegedly attempting to sexually assault a hotel maid, has resigned as head of the International Monetary Fund.  He had been talked up as the next president of France.
• Newt Gingrich, the former Speaker of the House who's on his third wife, declared his candidacy for the Republican presidential nomination.  Donald Trump, who's married for the third time himself, decided he'd rather 'fire' apprentices on TV and continue to run his beauty pageants than run for president.  Which means that Ronald Reagan remains the only President who's been divorced.

We're not experts on this sort of thing, but we've seen this movie before.  A powerful man, usually on the side of family values, decides that his own wife and family aren't enough to satisfy his ego.  So he takes up with a younger, more compliant woman.  He gets caught with his pants down, but not before bribing the woman to keep quiet.  He confesses to infidelity in an emotional statement, then resigns from office.  He marries the woman after the divorce leaves him broke.  The ex-wife gets a book deal and confesses her wronged-ness to Oprah, Diane Sawyer, or whomever.  Rinse.  Lather.  Repeat.

We're not sure about Gingrich or Strauss-Kahn, but one would think that Schwarzenegger's political career is toast at this point.  He does have his acting career to fall back on, even though he's suspended it for the time being.  Hollywood tends to be a lot more forgiving in matters like this than Sacramento is.  Just ask Charlie Sheen.

But what's really at work is our expectations of who we elect to political office.  We expect them to not only serve our state/country to the highest standards, but to also have stable marriages and lives.  We tend to be setting the elected official up for a fall when he/she does the job well, but their personal lives fall apart.  Should that disqualify them from serving?  How can you tell if the decision-making has become  compromised due to a roll in the hay with an office staffer or the children's nanny?  Do we expect too much from them?

Maybe we should recognize that politicians should be judged on how they do in office, and not what they do with their free time.  Let their spouses handle that one.

Building a "By The Book" State

Image via WikipediaRepublicans took control of the Minnesota Legislature on the promise of creating jobs and solving the state's massive budget deficit.  So why are they so fixated on right-wing trivia?

So far in the current session, the GOP's majority in the House and Senate are laser-focused on such issues as an amendment to ban same-sex marriage, restricting abortions, tweaking the gun laws to help defend homeowners against criminals, and requiring photo identification at the ballot box.  Do any of those things create jobs?  And as for that budget . . . well, that can wait.  So can the Vikings football stadium.

Take the "defense of marriage" act, in which the GOP wants to constitutionally prohibit Adam and Steve or Mary and Jerri from tying the knot.  Such a law already exists on the books.  Now the Republicans want to make it redundant by putting the amendment up for a vote in the 2012 election.  The Senate has passed such a measure, and the House is expected to follow.  It does not need Democratic Governor Mark Dayton's approval.

Constitutional amendments to allow same-sex marriage have been rejected wherever it's been put to a vote.  That must be what the proponents are counting on.  The Minnesota proposal could also be worded in such a way as to force voters to decide one way or the other.  Declining to answer might be counted as a 'yes' vote.

So while education and social services starve, unemployment remains steady and state services are endangered, your elected GOP officials want to transform Minnesota into a "by the book" state.  And that book happens to be the Bible.  As far as they're concerned, it's much easier to legislate morality than to balance a budget.  Who needs reality when you can create your own political utopia?

Media Musical Chairs

Image via WikipediaJust like in any other business, the TV industry is undergoing a springtime transformation.

• Scott Pelley is replacing Katie Couric as "CBS Evening News" anchor starting in June.  Pelley is a "60 Minutes" correspondent (a position he'll likely keep) who says he wants to bring the sensibilities of the news magazine to the evening broadcast.  (If he's talking about long-form pieces and hard-hitting investigations, that's one thing.  If he's referring to Andy Rooney dropping by once in awhile to talk about the stuff on his desk, that's another.)  But as Couric learned, it's not a good idea to reinvent the wheel.  The millions who still tune in to watch the evening news expect to see the world wrapped up in 22 minutes or so, and not much more than that.  Pelley also faces an uphill battle in getting folks to switch from Brian Williams or Diane Sawyer.  CBS has been in third place at the dinner hour since Couric took over in 2006.
• Meredith Viera is leaving as co-host of NBC's "Today", reportedly to care for her ailing husband.  This seems to be a time of transition for the morning news broadcast that's been on the air since 1952.  Ann Curry will take over for Viera while Matt Lauer's contract expires at the end of 2012.  The program is now four hours long, and three of them are devoted to topics other than the news of the day, to put it mildly.  It's as if NBC doesn't have any ideas on how to program daytime, other than to add another hour of "Today".
• Michele Tafoya is replacing Andrea Kremer as sideline reporter for NBC's "Sunday Night Football"--provided, of course, there's a season.  Tafoya had the same job for years on "Monday Night Football" until ESPN demoted her and Suzy Kolber to pregame work.  Tafoya's also keeping her afternoon-drive talk show on WCCO-AM in the Twin Cities, much to the disappointment of those who believe she should stick to sports rather than discuss conservative politics.

After The Raid

Image by Getty Images via @daylifeThe aftermath of the killing of Osama bin Laden continues, with the wild (and uncalled for) celebrations having been replaced by President Barack Obama laying a wreath at the site of the former World Trade Center in New York.  A roundup:

• The President has decided that no pictures of Bin Laden's body would be released, citing the concern that the Muslim world would explode if they saw what happened to him.  Under normal circumstances, it's usually a good idea to keep grisly pictures from seeing the light of day.  However, we live in an era where you can't just say, "Trust us, he's dead".  We need proof that it really happened, otherwise there will always be speculation that the real Osama bin Laden is out there somewhere.  Look no further than the recent flap over Obama's birth certificate.  Oh, and government officials could have found a better way to explain the decision without treating the American people like third-graders.
• The code name the military used for the killing of Bin Laden was "Geronimo".  Oops.  Apparently, the military considers the Native American leader to be just as much a terrorist as Bin Laden was.  It's just another incident in the long history of the U.S. government not caring what Native Americans think.  After all, the only good terrorist is a dead terrorist.  Now where have we heard that before?
• Other tidbits from the raid:  Government officials now say that Bin Laden was unarmed when Navy Seals came to shoot him.  His daughter was witness to the whole thing, which could mean problems down the road.  And Pakistan is not happy with how it all went down because (A) they had no idea Bin Laden was in their back yard, and (B) the U.S. didn't consult them first.
• The death of Bin Laden changed everything and nothing as far as the threat of terrorism goes.  In fact, the stakes may have been raised because Bin Laden is now considered a martyr.
• The so-called "Arab Spring" seemed to have passed Bin Laden and Al Qaeda by, with citizens from Libya to Egypt to Syria demanding reforms.  But it's still too early to see what kind of governments will emerge from the uprisings.
• The demise of Bin Laden is certainly a feather in Obama's cap, taking away the one political weapon the Republicans have been using for years to scare people into voting for them.  As 2012 approaches, however, it's still about the economy, stupid.

Osama Bin Laden: Gone, But Not Forgotten

Image via WikipediaThe death (some would say assassination) of Osama bin Laden may have caused jingoistic dancing in the streets in front of the White House, as well as at the construction site in New York where the World Trade Center once stood.  This is not a cause for celebration.

Hunted down and killed by Navy Seals, with President Barack Obama's blessing, we learned that Bin Laden wasn't hiding in a cave after all.  Instead, he and his associates have been spending the past few years living in a mansion in a suburb outside of Islamabad, Pakistan.

Bin Laden was the man responsible for terrorist attacks that haunted the administrations of Presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush.  Since 2001, however, he has been little more than a figurehead in the Al-Qaeda organization, hopscotching from cave to cave making taped threats along the way.  Others have been carrying out attacks in his name.

Meanwhile, the United States is still involved in wars that were originally intended to root out the evils of terrorism, but have since devolved into remaking other people's governments in our image with mixed results.

Back at home, the reaction to Bin Laden by the U.S. government has been to clamp down on its own people.  Everyone is searched at airports, government buildings and sports stadiums regardless of age, race and gender.  Passports are now required to enter Canada and Mexico.  A new cabinet department was created with the ominous name of Homeland Security.  Racism directed at people of Muslim descent has become rampant.  Laws have been passed to strip away civil liberties in the name of a safer America.

Don't expect any of this to go away soon, if ever.  As the need for security lessens, the government will always find an excuse to keep the restrictions in place.

Even though Bin Laden is gone, there are plenty of others who are ready and willing to take his place.  Al-Qaeda is now based in countries around the world, as if it were a fast food franchise.  Apparently, their goal is to kill as many people in the name of jihad as McDonalds has sold burgers. Americans have their own unique brand of terrorism.  They're called "lone wolves", who didn't need Bin Laden's help in shooting up shopping malls, military bases and college campuses.

So, as you misguidedly wave the American flag and shout "USA! USA! USA!" because Our Guys killed the baddest man on the planet, ask yourself this:  Does this make us any better than Osama bin Laden?