Fox News, Billy Graham & Scrabble

Greetings and salutations! I am Goose, and unlike every other author on this blessed page, I am unmarried. I am also younger than all those other guys. Therefore, I will be like the little brat of F & Geekery. Pleased to make your acquaintance.

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Since I was a small lad running around the prairies of Eastern Montana, I’ve been oddly intrigued by politics. This led me to chomp up encyclopedias, history books, and CNN in my youth (not literally devour… no worries). To be completely accurate, my family didn’t have satellite television (we were nowhere near enough to an ‘urban’ area for cable to be an option) so I watched CNN when I went to my grandma’s house. It was wonderful. I speak of this to explain that politics remain one of my chief interests to this day.

In the confines of F & Geekery however, I take upon myself a moratorium that I shall not preach my political ideology unto you. However, I will cheat a tiny bit by analyzing the coverage of the news channels quite a bit as a portion of my media geekery. In that vein, I hearken to the bevy of changes at FoxNews as this new year dawns.

The Brit-Bret Connection : The venerable Brit Hume has departed, giving way to Bret Bair (that’s a Bair, not a bear) on Special Report that begins at 6 EST. This is sad not only because of Hume’s huge range of experience and skill at reporting, but because he had a rumbling (at times stumbling) deep voice and one of the driest and best senses of humor you could ever conjure up.

Beck in Moving Pictures: Radio phenomenon Glen Beck has been proffered prime time at Fox, and the man has come aboard. Although never really considered in the topmost tier of the Conservative talk radio stratosphere, breathing the same rarefied air as Rush Limbaugh and Sean Hannity, Beck has strong appeal and a unique style that will be put to use for the Fox-ters at 5 EST.

The Colmes Departure: Potentially the most over matched co-host in world history has now taken his seat on the proverbial bench. Hannity and Colmes became Hannity in name as well as reality at the beginning of this year, and will feature the Sean-ster doing interviews and commentary on all things political. It will remain in the old slot at 9 EST right after the high-powered Bill O’Reilly’s Factor.

With the addition of Beck, Fox goes to battle this year with old foe CNN and newly rejuvenated MSNBC with its strongest lineup yet.

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I think you can learn a lot about life from Scrabble. However, if success in life follows success in Scrabble I don’t anticipate anything too glorious in my future.

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I am rationalizing the next piece of info on the premise that Billy Graham is a bastion of grandeur great enough to actually necessitate a whole brand of geekery dedicated to… Billy Graham. I stumbled upon a Star & Sickle (Minneapolis Star Trib) article, which cautiously postulates that the legendary preacher may be planning a visit to Minneapolis / Saint Paul this summer.

…Rumors have been circulating in local theological circles that he will come to St. Paul for the groundbreaking of a building that will bear his name at Northwestern College, where he was school president from 1948 to 1952.

Then NWC’s Marita Meinerts says,

There also have been rumors that he’s going to come in October for the 60th anniversary of KTIS (NWC’s Twin Cities radio station)….

Other passages in the piece preach caution and point to the fragile health of the 90 year planet-veteran Graham, but enough hope has been kindled in my bosom. That man is an empire.

Have a tremendous evening.