Friday, March 12th, 2010

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‘What Exit?’ and Jersey Toll Collector Road Rage

‘What Exit?’ and Jersey Toll Collector Road Rage

As published at Parcbench on 3 March 2010 While thumbing through my list of sites for show prep today, I came across an article on The Smoking Gun which immediately commanded my attention: Toll collector road rage. New Jersey has been the butt-end of jokes since the days of Peter Stuyvesant and New Amsterdam. Whether it’s Jimmy Hoffa resting eternally in the end zone of the soon-to-be-razed Giants... [Read more]


Tiger: By the Tale

Tiger: By the Tale

As posted at Parcbench on 19 February 2010 The hour had come – 11am Eastern. The focus was on a lone podium with an audience of family and friends, but no reporters. I was stiffing my bias and the questions that whirled around my mind: Will Elin be there? Will he be contrite or combative? Will he walk out after his statement on the mend or a forever-broken man? All this week, the media pondered... [Read more]


Pam Tebow, Pro Choice

Pam Tebow, Pro Choice

As published at Parcbench on 30 January 2010 On Super Bowl Sunday, CBS has decided to air a commercial produced by the pro-life group, Focus on Family, featuring Pam Tebow, mother of Heisman Trophy winner Tim Tebow. Working as a missionary with her family in the Phillipines in the mid-1980’s, Mrs. Tebow fell into a coma after contracting amoebic dysentery. The strong drug regimen used to treat her... [Read more]


Deity Death Match

Deity Death Match

As published on Parcbench on 15 January 2009 When I was a kid, there was a term used to describe a natural disaster. It was called an “Act of God”. As the good parochial school boy I was, the terminology didn’t coincide with my religious teachings. After all, God was one angry guy in the Old Testament. Floods. Fires. Locusts. Lot’s wife. Truly, when there was a natural disaster,... [Read more]


Merry Christmas From Uncle B.O.

Merry Christmas From Uncle B.O.

While many were opening their presents on Christmas, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac received their own Secret Santa presents from uncle B.O. – a couple of blank checks. (h/t Ed Morrissey, Hot Air) While we were celebrating, the administration was calculating  the best time to sign the executive orders allowing the money-sucking GSA’s to receive money above their $200 billion cap. And they... [Read more]


F*** the Vote

F*** the Vote

As posted on Parcbench on 23 December 2009 Eva Amurri and Zach Gilford have a novel idea on how the youth of America can persuade people to support the monstrosity know as the healthcare bill: withhold sex. The young Deluded Duo appears on the RockTheVote.com website to appeal for governmental healthcare to pass. In a cheap knock-off of the Hollyweird’s Demi Moore and Ashton Kutcher’s “I Pledge”... [Read more]


Al Gore’s Year in Review

Al Gore’s Year in Review

As published on Parcbench on 23 December 2009 On my radio show, one of my favorite topics is global warming. I have long argued that while the earth may have warmed over the past 35 years, mankind is not the de facto cause. In fact, some of the sampling may suggest that the recent peak temperatures may have been in 1998. America’s own eco-avenger is obviously the former Vice-president, Al Gore.... [Read more]


George Stephanopoulos – The (New) Manchurian Candidate

George Stephanopoulos – The (New) Manchurian Candidate

As published on Parcbench on 15 December 2009 Before our eyes, we are watching the rise of the latest Manchurian Candidate: George Stephanopoulos. By taking his new job at Good Morning America from Diane Sawyer, Stephanopoulos inches closer to his Extreme Media Makover. You have smart, educated, young idealist named George, son of a Greek Orthodox priest. Cherub-face, wide smile and handsome looks... [Read more]


Clint Eastwood, Mr. Invictus

Clint Eastwood, Mr. Invictus

As posted on Parcbench on 10 December 2009 Just today, Renaissance Man Clint Eastwood said about his acting career “I’m done…You never know where a good story comes from but I’m a senior here (and) you get to a certain stage and you think, ‘Why not just stand behind the camera?’” This comes as a bit of a surprise because I have barely known a time in my life... [Read more]


911NeverForget.Us Rally

911NeverForget.Us Rally

As posted on Parcbench on 8 December 2009 On this chilly day, in frigid wind-swept rain, protesters filled Foley Square in lower Manhattan to protest the decision by US Attorney General Eric Holder’s decision to try Khalid Sheikh Mohammad and four other terrorists in civilian court. Sponsored by 911NeverForget.us coalition, crowds braved the elements to hear speakers denounce Holder’s... [Read more]


Jon & Kate Plus Ei8ht Series Finale (Non-Review)

Jon & Kate Plus Ei8ht Series Finale (Non-Review)

As published on Parcbench on 2 December 2009 If there was ever a ’must miss’ show on TV – cable or otherwise – it had to be Jon & Kate Plus Ei8ht’s series finale. It is the simple case of four years of obscurity followed by a year of uber-hype. I am here to bury J&K, not to praise them. I would say that there has never been less of a reason to watch a show, but... [Read more]


Did Lou Dobbs Have His Howard Beale Moment?

Did Lou Dobbs Have His Howard Beale Moment?

As published on Parcbench on 20 November 2009 In 1976, the movie Network was released about an anchorman (no, not Ron Burgundy) who was being dropped because his ratings were sliding into the toilet. The late Peter Finch played Howard Beale who is fired by the fictional UBS network. That day, Mr. Beale starts his broadcast, like all the others before, only this time, he tells his audience that he was... [Read more]


Going Brogue

Going Brogue

As published on Parcbench on 19 November 2009 In August 2008, a journey began for a forty-something woman. Unknowingly, she had prepared for an almost impossible quest during the prior ten years, improving her craft and skill. Her interview and the vetting were complete. She was ready to begin a campaign that would catapult her into the national spotlight. Virtually from the moment she took the stage,... [Read more]


The Fat Lady Sings

The Fat Lady Sings

As published on Parcbench on 5 November 2009 Or, was it the fat guy? As a lifelong resident of the Blue State of New Jersey, I often feel like I live in a parallel universe – Bizarroland, as made popular on Seinfeld. People vote for higher taxes, corruption and status quo. We embrace the Sopranos because they are cool. We are the butt-end of jokes, as in ‘What exit?’. We the red-headed... [Read more]


Horror Movie Staff Picks: The Omen

Horror Movie Staff Picks: The Omen

As published on Parcbench on 26 October 2009 (Editor’s note: We asked our writing staff to send in a paragraph or two on the horror movies that really got to them. The results will be appearing throughout October here on Parcbench.) When I was a kid, I used to love to watch Chiller Theater on Saturdays. The D-list movie show featured some of the campiest monster, horror and mystery flicks ever... [Read more]


Barbra Streisand Scores Top Spot in Five Separate Decades

Barbra Streisand Scores Top Spot in Five Separate Decades

As published on Parcbench on 21 October 2009 My kids were crushed. Their recent favorite band, Paramore, has its album whisked off the top of the charts. And for whom – Breaking Benjamin, Mariah, Alice in Chains? No, no and ah, no. Try Barbra Streisand. Yep, she may be as old as dirt, but Mrs. Focker managed to score the number one spot last week on the Billboard charts with her release of Love is... [Read more]