Red-Shirting

I have known for quite a while that CBS News was a hopelessly biased news organization. But I hoped in non-political coverage it would be a little more fair. I was wrong.



This casts parents who red-shirt as even villains who are trying to push their children into success in sports at the expense of other kids.

In our school district the cutoff date is October 1. So our August babies will always be among the youngest in their class.

We briefly talked about red-shirting Chase when we sent him to preschool a couple weeks after his second birthday, while some kids were just a couple months short of turning 3. Chase has done well in preschool and his teachers saw no need to keep him back. So he'll go to kindergarten in the fall as scheduled.

We were also contemplating it with Julian, who seemed in greater need of maturity, but lately he has had an explosion of language, and coupled with his enormous size, red-shirting likely won't be necessary in his case either.

But what if we felt it was? That should be a parents decision. I resent the implication that red-shirting is cheating, or somehow harming the other kids. And even if it were, why should what's marginally better for some other child supersede what you feel is much better for your own?

I also resent the implication that this is just for fathers who want their sons to be sports stars. What's so wrong with wanting your child not to be one of the smallest kids, to avoid bullying? Or for him to at least be good enough at sports to build his confidence, to make him be the first kid picked not the last, to make him feel an important part of the group instead of a benchwarmer. I think all parents want those things for their kids. Regardless of what that old fossil Morley Safer thinks.

The Fashion Police

In November 2008 Michelle Obama appeared on The Tonight Show and Jay Leno (in an obvious set-up) asked her how much her outfit cost. She said it was J. Crew and the liberal media went nuts, praising the First Lady for being an everywoman, for shopping where you shop and still being the “Commander in Chic.”



Fast forward to 2012, the State of the Union Address. Here’s what people.com wrote about the First Lady’s dress: “As the President declared his intent to help buoy the 99%, his wife dazzled in a cobalt sheath from Barbara Tfank’s resort collection. While reps for the brand won’t reveal the item’s retail price, a similar style from the collection is currently available at Barney’s New York for $2,400.”



I don’t have a problem with Michelle Obama wearing fancy clothes. I really don’t. My problem is the liberal media who tried to make her out to be a normal woman who had no use for the expensive things her no celebrity would provide her.

Vogue called her “the First Lady the World’s Been Waiting For.” No she isn’t. She is a greedy pig just like every other politician, politician’s wife and celebrity. They will take whatever they can get their hands on. Michelle Obama is not like you and me. And she probably hasn’t worn J Crew once since that stunt on the Tonight Show.

Does the New York Times Hate the Fourth of July?

The Obama Re-Election leaflet once known as the New York Times published a stunning op-ed this week. It was written by Brian Palmer and it questions many of the most sacred traditions of July 4th. It literally goes after apple pie.
In "Fire Up the Grill, Not The Atmosphere" Palmer says cooking is a big culprit of greenhouse gas emissions.

Here's Palmers take on three July Fourth barbecue staples:

Hamburgers and hot dogs: Beef is an environmental disaster, no matter how you cook it

Potato salad: sometimes appetizing but always wasteful. An overwhelming majority of the energy in boiling goes into heating the water rather than cooking the potatoes.
Direct-heat methods are more efficient and usually tastier. Cubed and pan-fried potatoes take just 10 minutes to cook and require less than one-third the energy of boiling.

Apple pie: Skip the pie. Baking is so energy profligate...

Is there anything more American than apple pie? Is there anything less American than saying skip the pie?

Basically this all comes do to your perception of the author's intent. Palmer does offer several disclaimers about not wanting everyone to give up meat, or use the microwave, which is the most energy-efficient. But I doubt his sincerity. To me, this doesn't come off as "tips to have a greener barbecue" it comes off as a lecture on what we are doing wrong and why we as Americans are gluttonous pigs who are ruining the environment and getting obese all at the same time.


Moving on, the July 3rd issue of the New York Times featured a front page story about how states are incrasingly allowing the sale of fireworks because of the revenue it brings in. New York, Massachusetts, Delaware and New Jersey are the last four holdouts. Residents of those states travel across state lines to purchase fireworks.

The article was accompanied by a picture of a New Jersey resident, Reggie Noble, loading up on fireworks in Easton, Pennsylvania.



“My father took me to buy fireworks, and now I’m doing it for my kids,” said Reggie Noble, who was filling his cart with fireworks at the Phantom Fireworks in Easton one day this week. Mr. Noble, 41, who is better known as the rap artist Redman, said it did not make much sense that he cannot buy fireworks in New Jersey, where he lives.

“I can see the dangers they are trying to prevent, but it’s still happening,” he said. “I vote that they should lift it up.”

How Was This Not the Biggest Story in the Country?

I recently heard a story that I could not believe I missed when it came out a few months ago. Maybe I just missed it, but someone exposed to as much news as I am probably should have heard this one, unless the liberal media covered it up.

The White House released its visitor logs for the first 6 months of the Obama Presidency. The names William Ayers and Jeremiah Wright were both on the list. Ok, annoying, but no huge deal. But wait, there's more. The White House says it's not the William Ayers or Jeremiah Wright you are thinking of. The people who visited the White House are different people with the same names.

No I am not making this up.
It was reported by ABC News, the Washington Post, the New York Times and even the White House's own website.


The Obama Administration has promised to be the most transparent administration ever. Now, I expect all administrations to lie, to cover stuff up (and no this is nowhere near as bad as lying about a reason to go to war) but it is insulting to the American people to feed us this blatant lie and expect us to buy it. I can't imagine even the most ardent liberal Poophead buying this "same name, different person" story.

As we learned with Watergate, it's not the infraction that kills you, it's the cover-up, I guess that's unless you have the entire news media rooting for your success.