It appears as though New York State Governor Elliot Spitzer is continuing his postioning for a future run as President of the United States. It’s long been said by both political analysts, as well as some in New York State government, that Governor Spitzer is less concerned about New York State, and more concerned about positioning himself for a run for President.

First it was his numerous trips to Presidentail political hotspots in the name of fundraising. Then it was the setting up of various organizations so he can both receive and donate money to federal political agencies. Now he’s blatantly going after the illegal vote with legislation to give illegals official New York State drivers licenses.

Give me a break. As a former Attorney General one would think Governor Spitzer would be more interested in enforcing and upholding the law instead of enabling people to break the law. But no, instead the so-called lawyer turned Governor wants to give illegals a legal drivers license. His reasoning? The Governor says by giving illegals a legal license the accident rate will go down and so will insurance premiums. In the words of President Bush - “That doesn’t make any sense.”

Someone needs to remind the Governor that the terrorists who flew into the World Trade Center 6 years ago, right in New York State, used a drivers license to obtain flight training. Come on Governor Spitzer, stop looking for the vote, and start leading for the legal people.

Just my two cents,
Dr. Rus

In the continuing saga of the weird in Hollywood news, Britney Spears has been ordered to undergo random drug and alcohol testing twice a week and meet with a parenting coach for at least eight hours a week. The judge overseeing the custody dispute between Spears and her ex-husband Kevin Federline said — quote — “Based on evidence presented, the court finds that there is habitual, frequent and continuous use of controlled substances and alcohol by Spears.” Among other things, Spears has went on recent rampages over the past year involving incidents which included fighting with paparazzi, firing staffers, shaving her head, stripping to her underwear and swimming in the ocean in front of photographes, and checking in and out of three addiction treatment centers.

When handing down the ruling, the Judge also stated the parenting coach will report back to the court on the singer’s parenting skills and interaction with her two sons. The coach will report back to lawyers for both sides in October and the court in November. Additionally, both Spears and Federline were ordered to meet with parenting counselors and complete a court-sanctioned “Parenting Without Conflict” class.

There are so many issues to be address in this story, but the most outrageous aspect of this whole situation revolves around the fact that if this were anyone else, the children would have been taken out of the environment and the parents charged with endangering the welfare of a child. But not so here! No, instead the star struck culture empowered out of touch Judge decides to leave the kids in a bad situation with drugs and alcohol, giving the star a slap on the hand and a pat on the head.

Give me a break, it’s the kids who need a pat on the head here and Spears needs to hear the clanging of jail cell doors as she’s locked up for endangering the welfare of her two young children.

Just my two cents;
Dr. Rus

Barry Bonds* made history, but in my opinion it’s not for hitting homeruns. Instead it’s for cheating and using what’s now referred to as performance enhancing medication. Yeah, right. Let’s skip the PC vocabulary and call it what it is — steroids. Barry Bonds*, and others in Major League Baseball who used steroids, are cheaters and should forever be remembered as cheaters. In my book the real winners are those who made it into the record book the old way. Through hard work, sweat and tears, and all the time remembering where they came from, and remembering the fans are what it’s all about.

After hitting number 756 out of the ball park many have wondered what should be done with that particular Bonds* baseball. It was sold over the weekend in a Sotheby auction for $752,467 to Marc Ecko, a hip-hop–fashion designer. Of course after the purchase, the next question was obvious; What will Ecko do with the ball?

The world now knows. On Monday of this week Ecko announced he’s going to let the world decide what should be done with the baseball. He even set up a website where people can vote on what should be done with the ball. There are three options;

1. Send it to Cooperstown without an asterisk.
2. Send it to Cooperstone with an asterisk.
3. Launch it into space where it will never be seen again.

Rather creative if you ask me. Ecko, who collects other popular-culture items as well, including “Start Wars” memorabilia and art, said he bought the Bonds* baseball so he could have a collective experience with the public. He says he wants to democratize the process by which the fate of the ball will be decided.

As for me, I’ve already placed my vote. Let’s get rid of the baseball representing a tainted record attained by a cheater and send the thing in to outer space, boldly going where no man has gone before.

What will your vote be? Head on over to the Vote 756 website and place your vote now. Voting ends at the end of this week, and then the votes will be tallied and the fate of the Bonds* ball will be decided.

That’s Vote756.com — Just click here and place your vote now!

Just my two cents,
Dr. Rus

In true Hollywood form last night during the Emmy Awards, some Hollywood elites decided it was time to make some rude and crude comments. As a result, Emmy Award directors bleeped out a few comments made by some people. Included in the illustrious list; Grey’s Anatomy star Katherine Heigl, comedian Ray Romano and Sally Field.

Sally Field was bleeped as she started cursing and swearing about the war in Iraq. Emmy producers panned to another shot as Heigl mouthed an expletive and Ray Romano was bleeped as he joked about his former co-star Patricia Heaton sleeping with former Fraiser star Kelsey Grammer in a new fall sitcom. Actually, they really weren’t bleeped, the sound just suddenly disappeared and everything went silent.

Now, the most amazing thing about this whole story is how some of the media outlets covered it. Many said the trio were censored. Give me a break. They weren’t censored, they were bleeped. There is a very big difference.

And people wonder why the media has such a bad rap.

Just my two cents,
Dr. Rus

A headline on the news section of a Rochester, New York website declared Illegal Citizens Arrested. What!? I thought to myself…illegal citizens arrested? Give me a break. The proper term is illegal alien.

The story went on to describe the arrest of two men, one from Guatemala and the second from Mexico. Making matters even worse, these two so-called citizens had been deported once before. Whoever wrote that news story should be embarrassed and called up on the carpet for obviously showing his or her bias. The person should also go back to school and learn what it takes to either become a citizen of the United States, or at least how to become a legal resident of the United States. There’s nothing citizen about the pair of illegals in the news story. They were not born in the United States. They had not moved to the United States legally, and they’d already been deported once before.

Now they’re facing up to 10 years in prison and a fine of up to 250 thousand dollars. Of course that’s kind of stupid when you think about it. After all, if they get sent to prison, the United States legal system still has to pour tons of money down a hole to support a pair of illegals. Since they’re already in the country illegally, it’s probably safe to say they do not have 250 thousand dollars to pay a fine. And last, but certainly not least, the two men in question have no regard for the law. After all, they’d already been deported once before and figured they’d break the law again and come into the country illegally. They will only do it again until the borders of this country are better patrolled.

There’s got to be a better way to deal with this.

Just my two cents,
Dr. Rus

Where were you on September 11, 2001 when the World Trade Center was attacked?

I’ll never forget where I was — having breakfast with a friend at the Log Cabin in Macedon, New York. As my pager went wild receiving news bulletins of a plane hitting the World Trade Center, it was like we were numb and in some kind of a time warp. I casually mentioned to my breakfast appointment that a plane had flown into the World Trade Center. He said, it must be a terrorist attack. But, the words didn’t really sink in. Not until we started seeing the images on TV did it sink in what was really going on.

This year marks the 6th anniversary of that terrible day when an enemy of the United States, and really an enemy of any free country, lashed out against innocent people with no regard for human life. On this anniversary of that fateful day, lets put aside the political grumbling and mumbling, and remember those who died in the senseless attack, and those who continue to die while fighting to defend our freedom.

Keep encouraged,
Dr. Rus

I hear it almost every day and it really points to a subtle news bias within the news media industry. When referring to President Bush some news anchors seldom refer to him as President. Instead it’s either Mr. Bush, or even worse, just Bush.

I find this amazing on a number of levels. First off, it shows not only a lack of respect for the Office of President, but it also shows a lack of respect for President Bush himself. After all, he is the President of the United States. If nothing else, the news media should at least show a respect for the highest Office in the nation.

Secondly, we live in a society where many people complain there’s no respect for anyone anymore. I’m constantly amazed at how people chuckle, even people who should know better, when I refer to governmental leaders by using their title. I’ll never forget the day I sat at a meeting with a Principal of an area school and school teachers laughed when I referred to the Principal as Principal (insert last name). As the teachers laughed I sat stunned when the conversation then turned to how students don’t respect them. I thought to myself, it’s no wonder! You don’t even show respect to those over you, so why should the students show any respect to you.

Thirdly, and I know there are plenty more points I could bring up here in the area of news bias and respect, but I find it amazing how glaringly clear the bias is in the news revolving around respect for the President. While some news agencies refer to President Bush as Mr. Bush or simply Bush, they always refer to former President Clinton as President Clinton. He hasn’t been President for 8 years now. The proper designation for him, as with any other President once out of office is, Former President Clinton.

Maybe some of the news media, and some of those in other places of leadership, should go back to school themselves and learn all over again a little common courtesy.

Just my two cents,
Dr. Rus

An amazing phenomenon is taking place right before our eyes. News organizations are turning to celebrity news, while celebrity news comedy shows are turning to hard news.

When did this shift in the news media take place? It’s been amazing to watch over the past few months, especially in the world of politics. Just when you think one candidate will know better, he too stoops to the world of comedy to make his important announcement about entering the Presidential race. Now one might expect it from this particular candidate since he’s an actor turned politician, then politician turned actor, and now actor turned politician again. But still, I must admit, I expected more from him.

Just in case you’ve been living in a bubble somewhere, Fred Thompson announced this week he’s tossing his hat in the Republican ring, and he will run for President of the United States.

For many the announcement comes as no surprise. He’s been testing the waters for a number of months, and sounding very Presidential for quite some time. The political pundits have been scampering around the Thompson camp for a while too. Some flip-flopping like a John Kerry bobble-head on whether they like Thompson or not, but they have indeed been doing a lot of talking about him.

Now it’s official. Fred Thompson, the former Law and Order star, is in the race. He made the announcement in a 15 minute broadcast on his website, as well as on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno. I don’t get it, and I ask the question again - When did comedy shows become hard news shows and when did hard news shows become celebrity scandal shows?

I’ve been in the broadcasting industry for a long time now and this has been very interesting to watch. I’m sure it’s all for a share of the audience, and the ever coveted buying segment of society, but I have to wonder if this is a good thing. It’s a morphing of the news media right before our very eyes. There was a time when the only political commentary on a comedy show came in the way of political jokes. But not so now. I believe just about every 2008 Presidential candidate has announced they’re running for office on either The Tonight Show or the David Letterman show.

Robin Williams pokes fun at this morphing of the news media in his 2006 movie Man of the Year. Williams plays the character of Tom Dobbs who’s made a career on his late night comedy show of joking about the political system. One night someone from the studio audience suggests he should run for President. At first it’s nothing more than a joke, but then it turns into reality as he finds himself on the campaign trial.

Going into the movie we weren’t sure what to expect. After all, here’s Robin Williams playing the role of a comedian running for President. But, after about a half hour of the movie I leaned over to my wife and commented on how quiet it suddenly got in the theater. All the left wing political radical movie critics who figured the flick would be a bash-Bush frenzy got quiet as they didn’t know what to do because the movie made a shift. If anything, Man of the Year illustrates the flaws of the left thinking as computer glitches led to the election of someone who didn’t win the race. Instead of hanging chads, which the left still fight over, it was the very system the left wants to put in place to make the political voting system safe. Let’s bring in computers they say, but the very computer program the left think will save the political system, failed terribly in the movie.

In the end when Dobbs concedes the election, he makes his announcement on the set of Saturday Night Live. In his final speech he makes the comment that he’s come to the realization that he’s not supposed to be the king. No, he’s the court jester, and that’s where he should remain.

Now there’s a lesson the entertainment world, and the political world, both need to learn well. This morphing of the news media is an amazing aspect of current broadcasting to watch. But at some point the jesters need to remember they’re jesters, and the news media need to remember they’re supposed to cover the news. When that begins taking place once again, then maybe the political leaders will discover they need to stop pandering to the comedy shows, and come back to the real world of news.

Just my two cents,
Dr. Rus

I played a round of golf yesterday with my brother and his wife who were in town visiting for a couple days. I use to play a lot of golf, but these days my golf rounds come few and far between. As a matter of fact, yesterday was just the second time I’d been out this year. If you add the past few years together, I think I may have played golf about 5 times over the past three years. So, you can well imagine just how rusty, and inconsistent I can be on the golf course.

All in all though, I do enjoy a nice relaxing round of golf. Well, when it’s relaxing. If you take the game too seriously, when you’re just a hacker like me, the last word coming to mind is relaxing on the golf course. It’s always interesting to watch the weekend golfer who thinks he’s Tiger Woods screaming and yelling and throwing golf clubs all over the place. A weekend golfer is just that, a weekend golfer. It is suppose to be a time of relaxation where we enjoy time with friends, and yes, even admiring the wonderful scenery on the golf course.

I did pretty well on the golf course. While I didn’t break 100, I must admit I came closer than I ever have before. But then again, if I hadn’t duffed that shot on the 2nd hole, missed those putts on way too many holes to count, and not lost 6 or 7 balls on the golf course, I coulda done a whole lot better.

Ahhh yes, the world of shoulda, woulda, coulda…

I’ve been thinking about that phrase over the past few days as well. A lot of people live in what I call the Shoulda, Woulda, Coulda World. It’s really a world of make-believe where we don’t take responsibility for our actions. It’s really a way of shifing the blame off of us, and putting it onto someone else. I think it may even border on the line of denial of what’s really going on around us. Sure, I missed a few putts, okay, I missed a lot of putts. Sure I lost some balls in the rough, and yes, I did duff a number of shots on the golf course yesterday. But, if I didn’t want to miss all those shots, and I really wanted to break 100, I’d be spending more time on the golf course than I do now. But, I just don’t find golf as a high priority in my life right now. I enjoy the game, and I enjoy the company of family and friends when playing, but I’m just a weekend duffer, not a golfer.

Now, these thoughts didn’t just come out of nowhere. As I mentioned above, I’ve been thinking about the world of Shoulda, Woulda, Coulda over the past week or so in light of a recent report about the tragic Virginia Tech shootings. I really find it somewhat disturbing, and if anything, it’s also a terrible way to remember such a tragady as the loss of so many lives at the hands of one very disturbed individual.

Many news organizations are talking about a report that pretty much takes the blame off of the shooter, and places it on the leadership of Virginia Tech. The report basically says if Virginia Tech leaders had of done more, the tragedy could have been avoided. First off, there’s no big d’oh there. It’s like my parents have always said, Hindsight is always 20-20. It’s easy to armchair any event after it happens and say it’s all your fault. If you had of done this, if you had of done that, none of this would have happened. In other words, it’s the world of Shoulda, Coulda, Woulda rising it’s ugly head once again. In the end, this line of thinking accomplishes very little in the area of actually learning and growing from an experience. All it does is shift the blame, and forces us into a place of denial of what’s really going on around us.

Could things have been done better at Virginia Tech? Probaby. Would things have been different at Virginia Tech if other things had of been done? Probably. But reality is this, a very tragic event took place and a number of people died needlessly at the hands of one very disturbed individual.

The path to healing does not come from tossing accusations around and pointing fingers at others while living in the world of Shoulda, Woulda, Coulda. The path to healing comes when we look to encourage one another through times of tragedy, instead of throwing stones at one another.

It’s like my mother always said; Be careful when you point a finger at someone, there’s always three fingers pointing right back at you.

Just my two cents,
Dr. Rus