NBC Vancouver Closing Ceremony and 'The Marriage Ref'

This was a very strange move on NBC's part.

NBC's network prime time coverage of the Winter Olympics left the Vancouver closing ceremony abruptly to air its new program, The Marriage Ref.

Really an odd thing to do.

NBC can't seem to get its act together.

Vancouver Closing Ceremony (Photos)

The closing ceremony of the Vancouver games was pretty nice, but it included some awkward, inappropriate things.

I wasn't exactly in the mood, still feeling a bit spent after the gold medal hockey game.

It was especially annoying the way hosts Bob Costas and Al Michaels kept bringing up Canada's win.

Basically, the ceremony was run-of-the-mill stuff, but it also contained an unusual, unbridled, and, in my opinion, unbecoming nationalism.

At times, it didn't seem like the closing ceremony of the 2010 Winter Games. It seemed like a celebration of the success of Canadian athletes, not the achievements of the athletes of the world. It was a Canadian self-congratulatory event.

Still, there were some pleasant moments.

It was kind of cute the way it opened, making fun of the Olympic flame cauldron malfunction of the opening ceremony. A guy with clown makeup managed to get the fourth arm up.


A clown playfully connects two power wires to raise an arm from the Olympic Cauldron during the closing ceremony for the Vancouver 2010 Olympics in Vancouver, British Columbia, Sunday, Feb. 28, 2010. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

Sochi, Russia, the site of the 2014 Winter Games, did its presentation.

Neil Young sang "Long May You Run," a reprise of his farewell to Conan O'Brien. It served as a reminder that Jay Leno returns as host of The Tonight Show on Monday night.


Singer Neil Young performs during the closing ceremony for the Vancouver 2010 Olympics in Vancouver, British Columbia, Sunday, Feb. 28, 2010. (AP Photo/Gerry Broome)

The Olympic flame was doused during Young's song apparently. All of sudden it was extinguished. I missed it.

William Shatner's recitation was goofy.


Canadian actor William Shatner delivers a monologue during the closing ceremony of the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics, February 28, 2010. REUTERS/Jerry Lampen (CANADA)

Catherine O'Hara's monologue was sort of funny and a little crude.


Actress and comedienne Catherine O'Hara performs during the closing ceremony for the Vancouver 2010 Olympics in Vancouver, British Columbia, Sunday, Feb. 28, 2010. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

Michael J. Fox talked about his pride in Canada. He said he's lived in the U.S. for thirty years but Canada is his home team. Fox said, "If I'm watching the U.S. and Canada playing hockey, I'm sorry, I'm wearing a maple leaf on my sweater." OK.

Michael Buble sang "Maple Leaf Forever."

The giant hockey player figures wearing red and white uniforms and gold medals around their necks were more than a bit in-your-face.


Performers skate during the closing ceremony of the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics February 28, 2010. REUTERS/Gary Hershorn (CANADA)

There were lumberjacks running around with inflatable beavers and moose.


An inflatable beaver is rolled on the stage during the closing ceremony for the Vancouver 2010 Olympics in Vancouver, British Columbia, Sunday, Feb. 28, 2010. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

It was so very heavy on Mounties and "O Canada."

Enough with the maple leaf already.

Closing ceremonies usually have more of an emphasis on the party and celebration and world unity than on tourism and the pride of the host nation.

I don't remember the Beijing ceremony being such a hometown pep rally.

Chris Plys, member of the USA curling team, shares on Twitter that some athletes were put off by Canada's celebration rally posing as the closing ceremony.

He writes:

i think canada crossed the line tonight in the closing ceremonies. this was the olympic closing ceremonies not the canadian after party....

it really has nothing to do with culture, that was great. but athletes that lost today were present and it was kinda disrespectful

not that i was affected by it personally but talking to the athletes that were affected, they were offended.

The closing ceremonies are a celebration of unity. That's why we all walk in together. I think that's why it upset me

That's coming from an Olympian, an athlete, a person at the ceremony.

I had the same vibe watching on TV, like it was Canada's after party, a celebration of the Canadians' achievements.

What happened next was really strange. The closing ceremony didn't end yet, but when it hit 9:30 CT, NBC left the festivities and went to its premiere of a new program, The Marriage Ref.

Yikes!

That was weird.

No five minutes of closing credits. No goodbyes from Costas. Just a reminder to catch the "closing party" at 11:30 ET. There was no smooth transition. It was very abrupt and handled very, very poorly.

Really strange.

I've got to believe NBC is getting some complaints about that move.
__________________

The NBC network coverage returned after its "pause" to air The Marriage Ref (I didn't watch it) and local news.

Bob Costas referred to it as an "intermission."

No, it wasn't an intermission. It was a blunder.

When NBC resumed coverage there were more musical acts, fireworks, and a few interviews with athletes attending the closing ceremony.


Fireworks explode over the BC Place after the closing ceremony of the Vancouver Winter Olympics in Vancouver, British Columbia, Sunday, Feb. 28, 2010. (AP Photo/Bela Szandelszky)

A brief segment plugging the Summer Games in London 2012 was shown.

Al Michaels and Bob Costas gave their closing thoughts.

Then came at least ten minutes of credits accompanied by scenes of the Canadian landscape and some moments from the Olympics.

Who was the last highlighted athlete? Canada's Sidney Crosby.

Thanks, NBC, for sticking in the knife and then twisting it.

Angie 'the Anti-Theist' Jackson's Abortion

Angie Jackson (aka Angie the Anti-Theist) wanted to share her abortion with the world.

Jackson used Twitter and YouTube to allow others to vicariously participate in her experience.

How generous!

From ABC News:

Angie Jackson says nothing is off-limits on Twitter, not even the details of her abortion.

The 27-year-old has turned to the micro blogging site, and to her blog and YouTube videos, to chronicle her experience taking RU-486, commonly known as the abortion pill, in an attempt to "demystify" abortion for other women.

The posts, which have drawn outrage from abortion opponents online, can be graphic.

"Cramps are getting a bit more persistent," Jackson typed into Twitter on Feb. 21 under her username "antitheistangie."

A few hours later she posted, "Definitely bleeding now."

Jackson told ABCNews.com that she's always turned to her online friends for support, and that her unwanted pregnancy left her needing it more than ever.

Jackson had an IUD, a device that is placed into the uterus to prevent pregnancy, but it failed.

Already the mother of a 4-year-old son with special needs, Jackson, who lives in Tampa, Fla., with her boyfriend, said that after a difficult and life-threatening first pregnancy her doctors advised her to not get pregnant again.

If becoming pregnant again could kill her, then why didn't she take steps to guarantee it wouldn't happen rather than using an IUD?

"I had made a decision when my son was born to try to not get pregnant again, and if that failed I'd planned that I would get an abortion if I needed one," Jackson said.

This "try to not get pregnant again" stuff is a load. Jackson is irresponsible. She's using abortion as birth control.

She found out she was pregnant Feb. 13, a little more than three weeks after she conceived, early enough that she could choose RU-486 rather than a surgical abortion to terminate the pregnancy.

"My goal is to stay alive, and the best chance of that is to have an abortion," she said.

That's sickening. "My goal is to stay alive."

Good grief.

She could have achieved that goal without taking the life of another by not getting pregnant in the first place, by taking steps to assure that she wouldn't conceive another child.

Video.

ANGIE JACKSON: I just want to let everybody know that, uh, you too can have an abortion if you want one. So, it's OK. It's not shameful. It's not secret. It's not killing a child. I have a little boy. You guys have seen him on my video channel. He is my world. I want to stay alive and be his mom a lot longer. So I'm having an abortion. I hope everybody on YouTube has a great and godless day. Peace.

This is really, really sad.

SNL: Tiger Woods, Gatorade

From Saturday Night Live's "Weekend Update":

SETH MEYERS: Gatorade this week officially dropped Tiger Woods as their spokesperson after realizing that his thirst would never be quenched.

USA Four-Man Bobsled - GOLD

The last time this happened Truman was president.

The Americans won gold in four-man bobsledding.

The Night Train rules!

Video: NBC Analysis: Four-man bobsled.


The United States' USA-1, with pilot Steven Holcomb, second from left, Steve Mesler, far left, Curtis Tomasevicz and Justin Olsen, far right, celebrate their gold medal finish during the men's four-man bobsled final competition at the Vancouver 2010 Olympics in Whistler, British Columbia, Saturday, Feb. 27, 2010. (AP Photo/Michael Sohn)

WHISTLER, British Columbia (AP) -- Steve Holcomb never flinched.

Not when tasked with ending a 62-year drought for the United States in sliding's marquee race.

Not when trying to navigate the world's most treacherous track.

And not when Germany's Andre Lange valiantly tried to hang on to his Olympic title.

Holcomb handled it all Saturday, driving USA-1 to the gold medal in four-man bobsledding, the first American pilot to do so since Francis Tyler at St. Moritz in 1948. By winning, he cemented the status of his famed "Night Train" sled and push team of Justin Olsen, Steve Mesler and Curt Tomasevicz as sliding's best.

"This will take a while for it to sink in," Holcomb said. "You work so hard and when you finally get there it's like, 'Well, now what? I don't know what to do.' We've worked so hard and gone through so much in the last four years. To end on a high note like this is huge. It's overwhelming."

World champions, 2009. Olympic champions, 2010.

"You can't do any better," said U.S. coach Brian Shimer, a bronze medalist in 2002, the year the Americans also got a silver in four-man with Todd Hays joining Shimer on that podium.

With that, Shimer started to cry, unable to hold back any longer.

...On the trackside podium for the flower ceremony - medals come later Saturday - Tomasevicz pulled off Holcomb's hat, planting a smooch on his pilot's bald, sweaty head. Sealed with a kiss, it was, and then the four teammates stood together and did what's known as the "Holcy Dance," the little shuffle step that Holcomb does to keep his team loose.


The United States' Curtis Tomasevicz, right, kisses the top of the head of pilot Steven Holcomb after their team won the gold medal during the men's four-man bobsled final competition at the Vancouver 2010 Olympics in Whistler, British Columbia, Saturday, Feb. 27, 2010. (AP Photo/Michael Sohn)

"It means an awful lot," said Darrin Steele, CEO of the U.S. Bobsled and Skeleton Federation. "This has been a long road. But all the components came together. You put a sled and a team together, and you never know how it's going to go."

Holcomb was walking around trackside about an hour before the final heat, shaking his finger, mouthing the words "one more." With a lead of 0.45 seconds over Rush, all Holcomb needed to do was get his sled down the mountain without a huge mishap, knowing his lead was such that no one could catch him.

All he had to do was not wreck before Curve 13, this track's most dangerous turn, the one Holcomb himself dubbed "50-50" after seeing roughly one out of every two sleds crash there last year.

Holcomb and his sledmates grabbed each other by the hands one last time, took one last look down the hill and prepared to push the "Night Train" - the menacing, flat-black, super-high-tech sled that is coveted by almost every bobsledder in the world - into Olympic lore.

Holcomb's final message, Olsen said, was: "One more run. Let's do it."

A mere 51.52 seconds later, they did.

This gold medal is so, so sweet.

Congratulations, Team USA: Steve Holcomb, Justin Olsen, Steve Mesler, and Curt Tomasevicz!


Steven Holcomb, Justin Olsen, Steve Mesler and Curtis Tomasevicz of the United States listen to the national anthem after receiving their gold medal for the men's four-man bobsled during the medal ceremony of the Vancouver 2010 Olympics in Whistler, British Columbia, Saturday, Feb. 27, 2010. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)

Video of medal ceremony here.

Ryan Miller Prank Call and MSNBC (Video)

More shame for MSNBC.

Willie Geist did a three minute phone interview with a prankster he thought was Hockey Team USA goalie Ryan Miller.

Oops!

The fake Miller filled the interview with trash-talk.

FAKE RYAN MILLER: I just want to say that we're almost as confident to guarantee victory in the gold medal game.

Eventually, the real Ryan Miller spoke with Geist by phone during Chris Matthews' program.

Geist said, "We were the victims of a prank."

How did this happen? Did this fake Miller call MSNBC and he was just put on the air?

WILLIE GEIST: First and foremost, Ryan, please accept our apology. It's a mistake that never should have happened. We misrepresented your name, and we regret it deepfully, and I personally feel terrible about it.

RYAN MILLER: No problem. I appreciate a good prank, but, you know, I do try to keep my reputation intact here. And up here in the Olympics, you know, I think, especially Canada, everybody's taking things very personally, and so, I just want to clear up that I wouldn't be guaranteeing a gold medal. I look forward to a great game to compete for a gold medal though.

...

I don't make predictions. I like to play the games.

...

I just wanted to clear things up. I got a few messages from friends and a lot of different PR staff on different NHL teams are getting a hold of people asking if I'd really become that much different and that cocky because of this. I assure you I'm not that kind of a person. Anybody who knows me knows, you know, I'm pretty laid back, pretty quiet. I just enjoy playing the game.

GEIST: Well, I thought it sounded fishy at the time and I'm sorry I didn't stop it sooner than we did.

Good grief.

MSNBC is such a mess. Unbelievable.

Miller, on the other hand, is a real class act.

Video.

Joannie Rochette and Bob Costas (Video)

On NBC's Friday prime time coverage of the Olympics, Bob Costas interviewed figure skating bronze medalist Joannie Rochette.

Part of the interview aired in prime time and more footage was shown on the late night program.

Watch video of the interview, Part 1.

Watch video of the interview, Part 2.

There's no question that Joannie Rochette's story is very compelling.

The fact that she was able to maintain her composure and concentration and win a medal speaks to what a tremendous, gifted athlete she is.

When she broke down after she completed her short program on Tuesday night, I'm sure viewers all over the world were brought to tears. I was.

I congratulate her for her accomplishments on Olympic ice, and I wish her the best as she deals with the sudden loss of her beloved mom. My heart goes out to her and her family.

Now, I'm beginning to find the way NBC is dwelling on her story, calling it the stuff of Olympic legend, to be a bit too much.

Rochette was on the Today Show Friday morning. Her story merited time on Friday's NBC Nightly News with Brian Williams. Then, Costas told her story again, the same one we've been hearing for days. He asked many of the same questions she answered on Today and elsewhere in the media.

Apparently, Rochette is such ratings gold that NBC ran the interview with Costas in two parts. It's beginning to feel like exploitation to me.

Want drama? Does anyone remember the name Nodar Kumaritashvili?

I guess a 21-year-old athlete dying during a training run just hours before the Vancouver opening ceremony isn't the sort of drama that brings in viewers.

Want a story of courage and determination, teamwork and friendship?

Mary Carillo did an interview with Nordic Combined athletes and medalists Johnny Spillane and Billy Demong. It aired in the wee small hours of the morning.

Watch the interview that should have been on the prime time program here.

They are such great role models and such good guys.

After Billy won the gold on Thursday and after the medal ceremony, he proposed to his girlfriend, Katie. It's a very sweet story, though not quite good enough for prime time. Better to keep the camera on Lindsey Vonn I guess.

Bottom line: There have been incredible tragedies and triumphs at the Vancouver Olympics, just like in life outside the Olympic bubble and the TV ratings race.

Some of those tragic and triumphant Olympic moments are magnified because of media attention. Some happen quietly, but are no less significant.
__________________

I'm really happy that Team USA chose Billy to be the flag bearer for the closing ceremony.

It's an honor he's earned.

Olympic Nordic combined gold medalist Billy Demong will be flag bearer for the U.S. Olympic team at the closing ceremony on Sunday.

The 29-year-old from Vermontville, N.Y., won a gold medal and proposed to his girlfriend on Thursday before being chosen by his teammates to carry the flag.

"Being chosen as flag bearer is a phenomenal honor," Demong said. "It could have been any one of my teammates, and it is meaningful that our peers are taking notice of what we've achieved."

Apolo Ohno DQ, Canadian Judge - (Video)

Apolo Ohno won the gold medal in the men's 500m in Torino.

Things didn't work out so well for him in Vancouver.

He was disqualified.

Some of the reports of the event are misleading.

New York Times:

Over the past two weeks, Apolo Ohno danced with danger, evading crashes, employing strategy and adding two Winter Olympics medals to the most expansive collection in United States history. Sometimes he seemed forever fortunate.

That ended Friday night at Pacific Coliseum with Ohno’s disqualification in short-track speedskating’s 500-meter race. On the final turn, Ohno bumped the Canadian Francois-Louis Tremblay, sending him skidding into the padding. For this, Ohno earned a DQ instead of his eighth Olympic medal.

Ohno didn't bump the Canadian.

Los Angeles Times:

Ohno appeared to push Francois-Louis Tremblay of Canada on the final turn, causing Tremblay and South Korean skater Sung Si-Bak to fall.

No, he didn't appear to push the Canadian.

Did these reporters watch the race?

Here's video of the race and video of a post-race interview Ohno did with Chris Collinsworth.

Transcript

CHRIS COLLINSWORTH: Apolo, tell us what happened out there.

APOLO OHNO: Well, I, uh, I think that was definitely three of the fastest guys off the line I've ever skated against. Um, you know, the 500, you've got to be up towards the front to be able to make any moves. You know, the race was fast enough to where there wasn't any space to move up. So I was just kind of waiting, waiting, waiting, and there was just no space. So going into the last corner, um, you know, I ran up on the Canadian guy. And uh, you know, he slipped and then the Korean slipped. So, I don't know why they called me for the disqualification. Um, I was in fourth the whole race. So, but either way, you know, I'm uh, I'm happy the way I skated. Um, I came here with, you know, no regrets in my mind and I'm leaving with no regrets. But we still have the relay. And uh, you know, I really want to go out there and make sure our guys can get a medal.

COLLINSWORTH: You had your hand on him, but it didn't look like much of a push. Do you disagree with the call?

OHNO: I do. Um, you know, my hand is up to basically just protect myself from basically running into the back of him. Um, so it's more, it's like a cushion. Uh, you know, there's no, I'm not trying to push anybody down or anything like that. But uh, you know, that's the head Canadian ref out there, and we're on Canadian soil. But, you know, the boys skated very, very well, and, um, it was a good race.

COLINSWORTH: Do you feel like that's a factor, the Canadian ref?

OHNO: I think so. Absolutely. But, you know, in short track it's, everything is so subjective. So, um, I just have to be faster.

Was the Canadian ref biased?

I don't know about the Canadian ref and Canadian soil being factors, but I question Ohno's disqualification. I think the Canadian fell. He wasn't pushed.

It seems that the Canadian was lucky and this time Ohno had his hand in the wrong place at the wrong time.

NBC and Canadian Gold Medal Ceremony

I have a problem with some of the choices NBC has made in its prime time coverage.

One annoyance is the way precious air time is being devoted to the Canadian national anthem.

I, for one, don't want to hear it.

I can understand NBC airing the ceremony for Canada's first gold medal won during a home Olympics. Firsts are special moments.

And I can understand NBC making the U.S. listen to "O Canada" when an American athlete has taken the silver or bronze medal. Listening to another nation's anthem in that case is totally fine with me.

However, I don't get why NBC is choosing to waste its prime time program covering medal ceremonies that don't involve the U.S. at all.

For example on Tuesday of this week when the American Nordic Combined team won the silver medal in the relay, a historic achievement, NBC elected to show a Canadian gold medal ceremony at the end of its prime time coverage. No American was on the podium.

Enough with "O Canada."

Give American athletes their props.

Ozzy Osbourne on 'Red Eye'

Ozzy Osbourne, Part 1
Prince of Darkness on 'Red Eye'



Ozzy Osbourne, Part 2
Ozzy recalls dirty jobs of days past



Ozzy Osbourne, Part 3
Ozzy Osbourne, Part 3

Krauthammer: Obama 'Given Up Aura of Presidency'

Charles Krauthammer discusses the fall of Obama, and the real purpose of the health care summit -- setting up the use of reconciliation to ram it through.

In addition, Krauthammer has some very complimentary things to say about Wisconsin's Paul Ryan.

Video.


Transcript

CHARLES KRAUTHAMMER: After seven and a half hours, the president reveals the purpose, practically in the last minute, in which he said we're going to give it a month or so. We're going to see if we can agree. Obviously, they are not going to agree. Obviously, this was all about giving the appearance of reaching out for other ideas, and it was all about setting the premise for a pivot to reconciliation, i.e. meaning the Democrats are now going to try to ram it through on a procedural trick in the Senate and try to cobble the votes required in the House.

Now, I think the Democrats actually helped themselves in the process. They did have a seven and a half-hour show in which it appeared as if they were genuinely open. I think it was quite cynical, but I think it allows at least them to argue to Independents, who want to see a kind of an ecumenical effort, to argue that we tried. We went the last mile, and we failed. So in order to get health care reform, we had to go by this partisan procedure.

However, on the other hand, the Republicans really helped themselves. The argument against them is it's the Party of No. They have no ideas. They're against everything. They're nihilists. In fact, they spent seven hours I think presenting a very strong case. They're knowledgeable. They have ideas. They're interested in reform, but they have differences.

Lamar Alexander was dazzling. Paul Ryan was rapier sharp in rebutting all of the smoke and mirrors that the Democrats had presented. I think it's going to help the Republicans in November on their image, but in the short run, it's going to help the Democrats in trying to ram the thing through.

...

I thought it was rather interesting the president risked his prestige in doing this.

Let's remember, look at the optics of this. Two months ago, he's standing in the Congress on the podium in the House of Representatives addressing the Congress. He has literally at his feet the whole Congress, the Supreme Court, the generals, and he's speaking to the nation on television. He gives a speech, this is in December, on health care. And he strikes out. He gets nowhere on it.

So here is now, two months later, and he's literally at the same level as the members of the House and the Senate. He's given up the aura of the presidency, which is half king, half prime minister. And he's now at the level of prime minister, toe-to-toe with members of Congress. So he diminishes his aura, and I think it doesn't help him in the long run. And then he gets, at the same time, he is so imperious and so self-confident that he nonetheless acts as the arbiter of what's legitimate and what's not. I mean, he would be saying, 'Well, that's a talking point, and that's a legitimate point.'

You know, if you win the presidency, you win the White House. You win Air Force One. You get a personal chef. But you do not become the arbiter of legitimacy in American discourse. And that's what he appointed himself as.

...

It was a day of theater. I think the president accomplished giving the appearance of reaching across the aisle, but his audience is the Democrats in the House and the Senate. He might marginally have advanced the chance of getting it through.

Krauthammer's analysis of the optics of yesterday's health care meeting is excellent.

I love the way he states his point about Obama acting as if he is the "arbiter of legitimacy in American discourse."

Also, very nice words from Krauthammer about "rapier sharp" Paul Ryan.

Obama: Interrupter in Chief

Vowing to establish a bipartisan environment, Obama promised to listen to Republicans at his health care summit.

Add that to the list of promises Obama didn't keep.

From the Washington Times:

At summit, Obama mostly hears Obama

President Obama pledged to "listen" at the outset of his much-ballyhooed bipartisan health care summit on Thursday. Turns out he meant he'd be listening to his own voice.

By the end of the televised event, Mr. Obama had spoken for 119 minutes - nine minutes more than the 110 minutes consumed by 17 Republicans. The 21 Democratic lawmakers used 114 minutes, giving the president and his supporters a whopping 233 minutes, according to a "talk clock" kept by GOP aides.

From the beginning, no one could agree on anything, even how much time each side had used. When a miffed Sen. Mitch McConnell, the Senate Republican leader, pointed out early on that Democrats had controlled 52 minutes to Republicans' 24, Mr. Obama jumped in to dispute even that.

"I don't think that's quite right," he said.

But then, with a twinkle in his eye, he added: "You're right, there was an imbalance on the opening statements because - I'm the president." Half the room laughed. "I didn't count my time in terms of dividing it evenly."

Obama wasn't interested in listening. If he tried to be a good listener, he failed.

Biden: Easy Being VP (Video)

Joe Biden always comes through. He's a source of endless entertainment.

Good ol' Joe has had another open mic incident. This one occurred at yesterday's health care summit.

Biden was chatting with someone about what it takes to be vice president.

Apparently, it's a cakewalk.

Video.


Transcript

JOE BIDEN: It's easy being vice president — you don't have to do anything.

UNIDENTIFIED PERSON: It's like being the grandpa and not the parent.

BIDEN: Yeah, that's it!

Biden spokesman Jay Carney says that Joe was "obviously joking, as any review of his schedule and responsibilities would make abundantly clear."

I don't know.

I think it's possible to have a crowded schedule and still not really do much of anything.

The less Biden does the better.

Ed Schultz: Dick Cheney's Heart

MSNBC has so many disgraces: abysmally low ratings, Contessa Brewer, Chris Matthews, Keith Olbermann, and Ed Schultz.

Schultz seems to be competing with Olbermann for the title of looniest host on the network.

Due to the Winter Olympics, Schultz's program on MSNBC is being preempted.

The Ed Show will not air February 24-26 due to msnbc's coverage of the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympic Games. It will return Monday, March 1.

In spite of temporarily losing his MSNBC platform, Schultz still manages to be as ugly as he wants to be on his syndicated radio show.

Audio, from Breitbart and Gateway Pundit.



Transcript, from The Radio Equalizer:

SCHULTZ (01:59): I just want all of you to know that I get my entertainment through NewsBusters. (laughs, then in mincing voice)

How dare the Democrats make fun of Dick Cheney's heart problems and turn it into a political football. (back to normal voice, to the extent possible) I can just hear some little weasel who's writing that at NewsBusters. You're my entertainment.

Bozell, Bozell and his bozo crew. You're damn right, Dick Cheney's heart's a political football. We ought to rip it out and kick it around and stuff it back in him. I'm glad he didn't tip over. He is the new poster child for health care in this country.

SCHULTZ (04:38): And we want Shooter to make it. Hell, we hope he goes and shoots somebody else in the face. That was a helluva story way back when.

SCHULTZ (05:26): How come Dick Cheney's health care isn't being dropped? Do you realize that if you had five heart attacks, hell, you wouldn't get past two heart attacks and they'd dump you.

But because you're a war criminal and because you are on the take from Haliburton and you had these executive meetings in 2001 back in the, you know, the days of the rolling blackouts and executive privilege on how we're going to develop energy policy in this country, you do stuff like that, hell, you can get the best health care on the face of the earth.

Good Lord. How disgusting! This is truly awful.

Schultz has really gone too far this time. He's sick.

Why does MSNBC employ someone like Schultz?

Bill Demong and Johnny Spillane - GOLD and SILVER

WOO HOO!


Gold medalist Bill Demong of the US reacts after winning the men's Nordic Combined Cross Country at Whistler Olympic Park during the Vancouver Winter Olympics. Demong capped the United States' impressive nordic combined showing at the Vancouver Games by winning the large hill gold medal on Thursday. (AFP/Franck Fife)

Nordic Combined Team USA continues its historic run at Vancouver.

NBC has to give these fantastic athletes their due now.

Demong wins Nordic combined gold

Spillane wins third silver medal; U.S. Nordic combi team wins four medals at Games

Billy Demong and Johnny Spillane have given the Americans a 1-2 finish in the Nordic combined large hill competition that was marred by bad weather.

Demong, of Vermontville, N.Y. ended America's golden goose egg in Nordic sports at the Winter Games by winning the 10-kilometer cross-country leg in 25 minutes, 32.9 seconds Thursday.

Spillane won his third silver of these games, finishing four seconds behind.

Bernhard Gruber of Austria, who had a 34-second head start after jumping the farthest off the large hill after a restart, took the bronze 10.8 seconds back.

Demong, of Vermontville, N.Y., started in sixth place and 46 seconds back, but quickly caught his teammate and Gruber for a three-man race the rest of the way.

They didn't have to worry about some of the best World Cup athletes catching them after worsening weather hampered the top jumpers on the large hill, relegating them too far back in the field to be a factor.

The cross-country race was run in much better weather, but the soft, sometimes choppy snow put a premium on the proper wax and ski setup. Unlike the team relay when Demong was done in by bad skis, he had the perfect combination to put the Americans atop the podium.

But the damage had been done to the sport's better athletes.

"It's a joke," Norway's Magnus Moan fumed of the final Nordic combined race at the Winter Games after managing to jump just 112.5 meters in a driving, wet snow and tail wind that pushed him down early.

That had him starting 2 minutes, 21 seconds behind Gruber, who jumped in much better conditions after a restart earlier in the morning.

Gruber, ranked 22nd in the World Cup standings, capitalized on a rogue headwind that helped him stay aloft for a top jump of 134 meters.

"It's like a lottery. Some guys got good conditions, some others terrible conditions," shrugged World Cup leader Jason Lamy Chappuis, of France, who won the gold in the normal hill 10K but started this race in 29th and finished in 18th.

Todd Lodwick, America's only five-time Olympic skier, did his part to help his teammates.

"Once I saw those two guys pull away, I jumped in front (of the chase group) and tried to slow down the pace," Lodwick said.

It worked perfectly.

By the halfway point, it was Spillane in front, Demong and Gruber within a second and the chase group 41 seconds behind. Demong was in the lead at the three-quarters turn with the chase pack now 49 seconds back.

Skiing in Demong's slipstream, Spillane slipped and fell going around a curve on the eighth kilometer, and Gruber moved briefly into second. But Spillane zipped past the Austrian on the final kilometer and quickly assured the U.S. of an unprecedented 1-2 finish.

He smiled as he watched Demong win gold, then cruised across the finish line with his third silver medal, thrusting both arms into the air as Demong had done.

Spillane's silver medal in the normal hill competition on Feb. 14 was the first U.S. Olympic medal in Nordic combined _ a ski jump followed by a brutal race of speed around a cross-country track. He grabbed another silver in the team relay Tuesday.

Quit whining and moaning, Magnus Moan of Norway!

The Americans have shown throughout the Games that they're great athletes, a great team.

Sure, the weather was a factor, but getting the gold and silver was no fluke. It's an accomplishment born of years of grueling hard work. It's truly historic and deserves recognition.

Congratulations, Bill Demong and Johnny Spillane!


United States' Johnny Spillane, silver, left, and United States' Bill Demong, gold right, celebrate after the Men's Nordic Combined Individual event from the large hill at the Vancouver 2010 Olympics in Whistler, British Columbia, Canada, Thursday, Feb. 25, 2010. (AP Photo/Elaine Thompson)

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Note to NBC: Show the full medal ceremony in PRIME TIME. Bob Costas should do an interview with the Nordic Combined team in the Vancouver studio in PRIME TIME.

Louise Slaughter: Dead Sister's Dentures

Louise Slaughter, Democrat representative from New York, is trying to help convince Americans to get on board with Obama's health care plan by telling a story she says we won't believe.

Transcript

LOUISE SLAUGHTER: I even have one constituent, you will not believe this and I know you won't, but it's true. Her sister died. This poor woman had no dentures. She wore her dead sister's teeth, which of course were uncomfortable and did not fit.

Did you ever believe that in America that that's where we would be? This is the last chance as far as I'm concerned, particularly on the export business. We have fallen behind. We're no longer the biggest manufacturer in the world. We've lost our technological edge. We have an opportunity to do that, but a major part of the success of that is getting this health care bill passed. Thank you very much.

Huh?

The poor woman wouldn't wear her dead sister's dentures if we'd get back our technological edge?

That's quite a leap.

The Republicans are bringing ideas and facts to the table, wanting to be included in crafting health care reform legislation.

The Dems are bringing self-proclaimed unbelievable anecdotes to make their case for ObamaCare.

Video.

Obama and McCain, Health Care Summit (Video)

The health care summit is providing some juicy moments, such as the exchange between Obama and McCain.

OBAMA: Let me just make this point, John, because we're not campaigning anymore. The election's over.

That is priceless.

Obama is pissed. He does not look like the president at all. He's even failing to play one on TV.

Obama: Time Imbalance

The Democrats are monopolizing the time at the health care summit. Obama interrupts the Republicans, cuts them off and shuts them up.

Obama's arrogance is showing.

Not pretty.

OBAMA: You're right. There was an imbalance on the opening statements because I'm the president. And so I made uh, I didn't, I didn't count my time in terms of dividing it evenly.

Mark Neumann and Scott Walker: Jobs

Mark Neumann went on offense yesterday.

He's not focusing his attacks on Democrat Tom Barrett. He's at war with Scott Walker.

Here's a release from Neumann's campaign:

STATEMENT FROM MARK NEUMANN

WAUKESHA, Wis. - Feb. 24, 2010 - Gubernatorial candidate Mark Neumann today questioned the qualifications of his primary election opponent, Scott Walker, to make claims regarding bringing jobs to Wisconsin.

Walker and Democrat Tom Barrett hold the top political positions in the largest metropolitan area in Wisconsin. They are the leaders of Milwaukee and have been for six and eight years, respectively.

Recent studies found that Milwaukee is doing even worse than nearly anywhere else in the country. Milwaukee has lost more jobs on a percentage basis than any other major metropolitan area except Detroit. A second study shows similar results, with Milwaukee being the third worst in terms of job loss. A third study looks at small business climate in Milwaukee and finds it to be the 96th worst of the 100 areas in America that the study reviewed.

“The Milwaukee area was once the envy of the nation, but my opponent’s track record makes it borderline ridiculous that he would now claim to have a plan to bring jobs to Wisconsin.

“If Scott Walker had a plan to bring jobs to Wisconsin he should have implemented it in Milwaukee sometime during the last eight years. It is very telling that metro Milwaukee suffered far worse than virtually the rest of the nation in job losses and overall climate for small business development.

“It is more politics as usual from a career politician who has little real world experience outside his government office. Promise the world to get elected and try to hide from your record. The people of our great state will evaluate my opponents on their records. They must each be held accountable for their part in the Milwaukee area’s massive job losses.

“Six months ago, I released a detailed plan to balance the state budget, lower taxes and create a business climate that will encourage businesses to stay in Wisconsin and expand, and also to attract businesses with their jobs from all over the world.

“As Walker and Barrett stood by watching as the metro Milwaukee area bled jobs, I have been in the private sector creating jobs – even expanding my businesses last year at the same time metro Milwaukee was posting record job losses.

“Before my opponents make lofty promises without a shred of detail or any evidence that they are actually up to the task, they should first explain why metro Milwaukee has lost more jobs than virtually every other major area in the nation.”

I don't like these sort of tactics at all. I expect Walker to deal with sleazy attacks from the Doyle-Barrett Democrats, but not from a fellow Republican.

I know this is the way our system works. We have primaries. That's not the issue. What's disturbing is Neumann's negativity. I see nothing wrong with presenting legitimate differences between candidates, but it's dirty to distort the record and qualifications of one's opponent. It's so much wasted energy.

I'm very disappointed in Neumann.

Tom Barrett and the Democrats have to be loving this.

The Scott Walker campaign answered Neumann's accusations.

Walker Campaign Spokeswoman Jill Bader Statement on Walker’s plan to bring 250,000 jobs to Wisconsin


Wauwatosa – Walker Campaign Spokeswoman Jill Bader today released the following statement on Scott Walker’s plan to bring 250,000 jobs to Wisconsin

“Under Governor Doyle, Wisconsin has become a tax hell that’s bleeding jobs monthly – last year alone we lost 170,000 jobs and that number will continue to grow unless we fundamentally change the way government functions.

When you see that over 250,000 people are out of work in Wisconsin, and the approximately 20% of our citizens who are underemployed or have given up on finding family supporting jobs it’s not only clear we need to reverse the Doyle-Barrett job killing proposals like combined reporting, but we must also jumpstart an aggressive plan to bring these jobs back to Wisconsin like Scott Walker has laid out.

Beginning on Scott’s first day as governor and in every single day in office he will be working to lower the tax burden on families and employers, and ease regulations on businesses to get government out of the way the bring back 250,000 jobs to Wisconsin by the end of his first term.”

Click here for more information more information on Walker’s plan for job growth: http://www.scottwalker.org/press-release/2010/02/scott-walker-unveils-plan-bring-250000-jobs-and-10000-new-businesses-wisconsin

I like that the response from the Walker campaign stayed on message. No need to take direct swipes at Neumann.

Mud-slinging is self-destructive. Walker's taking the high road and showing confidence in his record.

Keith Olbermann: 'My Father Asked Me to Kill Him'

Keith Olbermann creeps me out. His Wednesday night performance was absolutely creepy.

Last night, in a "Special Comment" on the eve of the Obama health care summit, he shared the story of the health problems and tremendous suffering his father has endured.

Although he promised "[n]ot to get too clinical or too grotesque on you," he did get too clinical and way too grotesque.

He also divulged to his audience, pathetically small as it is, that his father asked Olbermann to kill him.

Good grief.

I think Olbermann wanted to establish that all-important "moral authority" in his commentary, as though detailing his father's experience would lend his words the weight of divine revelation.

Just because his father has struggled with severe health issues, Olbermann seems to believe that puts him in a position to mercilessly slam Sarah Palin, Betsy McCaughey, the Republicans attending Obama's health care summit, and anyone opposing Obama's health care plan. He seems to think that he has the moral high ground.

He's wrong. He doesn't.

Video.


NewsBusters has the complete transcript of Olbermann's rant.

Transcript excerpt

KEITH OLBERMANN: And as I left the hospital that night, the full impact of these last six months washed over me. What I had done, conferring with the resident in ICU, the conversation about my father's panicky, not-in-complete-control-of-his-faculties demand that all treatment now stop, about the options and the consequences and the compromise, the sedation, the help for a brave man who just needed a break. That conversation, that one, was what these ghouls who are walking into Blair House tomorrow morning decided to call "death panels."

Your right to have that conversation with a doctor, not the government, but a doctor and your right to have insurance pay for his expertise on what your options are when Dad says "kill me" or what your options are when Dad is in a coma and can't tell you a damn thing, or what your options are when everybody is healthy and happy and coherent and you're just planning ahead, your right to have the guidance and the reassurance of a professional who can lay that all out for you, that's a, quote, "death panel," unquote.

That, right now, is the legacy of the protests of these subhumans who get paid by the insurance companies, who say these things for their own political gain or like that one fiend for money. For money, Betsy McCaughey told people that this conversation about life and death and relief and release, and also about no, keep treating him no matter what happens, until the nation runs out of medicine, she told people that's a death panel and she did that for money.

It's a life panel, a life panel. It can save the pain of the patient and the family. It is the difference between you guessing what happens next, and you being informed about what probably will, and that's the difference between you sleeping at night or second-guessing and third-guessing and thirtieth-guessing yourself. And it can also be the place where the family says, "We want you to keep him alive no matter what, we believe in miracles," and the doctor says yes. Nobody gets to say no except the patient and the family. It’s a life panel, and damn those who call it otherwise to hell!

Oh, God.

First, best wishes to Olbermann's father, that his health will take a turn for the better and he'll be glad to be alive.

Second, Olbermann doesn't get it. He thinks Obama's plan will bring freedom for patients, families, and doctors to choose their course of care. That's not it all. Under Obama's plan, it's likely that Olbermann's father would be dead, a victim of rationed care and Ezekiel Emanuel's "complete lives system." Chances are, bureaucrats would have cut off care for Olbermann's father long ago. He may have died before ever asking his son to kill him. I don't think Olbermann has been paying attention to the plan.

Robert Reich put it best:

We are going to have to, if you're very old, we're not going to give you all that technology and all those drugs for the last couple of years of your life to keep you maybe going for another couple of months. It's too expensive, so we're going to let you die.

Third, Olbermann isn't the only one with a close family member who has been in agony. He doesn't have absolute moral authority when it comes to the issue of health care. His experience doesn't make him right.

Olbermann says: "It's a life panel, and damn those who call it otherwise to hell!"

I could say: "It's a death panel, and damn those who call it otherwise to hell!"

I could say that but I wouldn't. I wouldn't damn someone to hell for disagreeing with me.

Obama Health Care Summit: Live Coverage

UPDATE: The Obama infomercial is in full swing. Obama just introduced Kathleen Sebelius, Secretary of Health and Human Services, to give a presentation.

That moment came right after Obama completely dissed John McCain.

There should be no doubt that this meeting is an Obama White House propaganda production.

From what I've seen, it's a disaster for Obama.

He's showcasing the Republicans, giving them an opportunity to point out that the Dems have spewed baseless health care talking points and allowing them to challenge the Dems' disgraceful process of bribes, closed door meetings and backroom deals.

Obama and the Dems are on defense. Actually, they've done the Republicans a huge favor.
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UPDATE: Obama just slapped down John McCain. Really inappropriate. I don't think McCain is happy.
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UPDATE: Exclusive: What happens next in health care

After a brief period of consultation following the White House health reform summit, congressional Democrats plan to begin making the case next week for a massive, Democrats-only health care plan, party strategists told POLITICO.

A Democratic official said the six-hour summit was expected to “give a face to gridlock, in the form of House and Senate Republicans.”

Democrats plan to begin rhetorical, and perhaps legislative, steps toward the Democrats-only, or reconciliation, process early next week, the strategists said.

Keep that in mind while watching this joke of an alleged bipartisan effort to work together to create a health care plan.
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UPDATE: The White House is doing live spin of the health care summit on Twitter.
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UPDATE: The Democrats are not coming off well. They aren't giving Republicans equal time. Of course, the stuttering, stammering, teleprompter-less Obama has an explanation for that:

"I don't count my time because I'm the president."

Sounds like the deck is stacked and Obama has no problem saying it.
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From Carrie Budoff Brown, Politico: "The big bipartisan lie"

Heading into Thursday’s summit, there’s been a lot of talk on both sides about how they’re the reasonable ones, willing to meet in the middle — and it’s the other side that’s to blame.

But the reality is, both sides have been responding to the overwhelming incentives to play to the home team, and to tailor their positions to seek partisan advantage and political gain.

So in the end, the health care summit seems most likely to clarify what has been an obvious reality lurking just below the surface at almost every turn in this episode, which is that neither side is really on the level when they say they were committed to bipartisanship.

Nor do they really want to split the difference — to do something in six hours at Blair House that they wouldn’t do all year.

The parties have become so entrenched in their positions that Republicans say they will never accept the Democratic comprehensive reform bill, and Democrats say they will never start over and adopt the GOP’s scaled-back, market-driven approach.

What a royal waste of time!
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This is it!

Are you ready?



Funny.

Health Care Summit Won't Be Seen Live on Most C-SPAN Channels

Despite pleas for greater access to coverage of health care reform debate, viewers may not be able to watch live coverage of Thursday's White House health care summit on C-SPAN -- or even C-SPAN 2.

You won't see it on C-SPAN. More than a year after candidate Barack Obama promised that the entire health care debate would be broadcast live on the channel, and after months of Republican complaints that Democrats were negotiating behind closed doors, Thursday's health care summit will not be broadcast on C-SPAN.

Obama's top-level bipartisan summit won't even be seen on C-SPAN 2.

Television audiences who rely on C-SPAN and C-SPAN 2 for uninterrupted coverage of public affairs events will have to tune to C-SPAN 3 or other cable outlets, including Fox News, to watch the event.

FoxNews.com will stream live coverage of the White House summit in its entirety.

C-SPAN may have to bail out because it is committed to its long-standing tradition of airing live floor proceedings in the House of Representatives, and C-SPAN 2 does the same with the Senate. Even when bills, amendments or votes are not scheduled, the two channels will always air procedural business, such as special orders and morning business.

Both congressional chambers are expected to be in session Thursday while lawmakers attend the day-long summit at Blair House. The House is taking up intelligence authorization; the Senate's schedule is not set.

So what is C-SPAN 3, and who gets it?

C-SPAN 3 picks up the slack when events are not covered by the other two channels, and at other times it airs archival historical programming. For example, earlier this week C-SPAN 3 aired the Toyota recall hearing, which was a committee hearing held while the House and Senate were in session.

Direct TV and DISH Network do not carry C-SPAN 3, leaving a paltry 31 million households who get it from their cable systems.

This thing is going to be such a joke.

Anthony Stancl: 15 years

Anthony Stancl learned his fate yesterday.

He's going to prison for 15 years for the crimes he committed.

From the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel:

Anthony Stancl, who used the Facebook social networking site to deceive and coerce fellow New Berlin Eisenhower High School students into sexual acts with him in 2008, was sentenced to 15 years in prison and another 13 years of extended supervision Wednesday.

Waukesha County Circuit Judge J. Mac Davis imposed the sentence because he said Stancl had proven he was manipulative, excessively self-centered and could still be dangerous.

"I am afraid of what he can and might do," Davis said.

As outlined in the criminal complaint, Stancl, 19, of New Berlin, posed as a female on Facebook and persuaded at least 31 boys to send him naked pictures of themselves. He then used the pictures - and the threat of releasing them to the rest of the high school - to blackmail at least seven boys, ages 15 to 17, into performing sex acts.

Before the sentence was imposed, Stancl apologized to the victims and their families, the New Berlin School District, and his own family, especially a brother and sister who continued to attend New Berlin schools and faced what Stancl called a hostile environment.

"I put you through a terrible situation," he said.

District Attorney Brad Schimel asked for "substantial" prison time, without being specific. No victims spoke at the sentencing, but some had sent letters asking for substantial prison time. Some of the victims required hospitalization for suicidal thoughts, medication or have had to undergo therapy, Schimel said.

Defense attorney Craig Kuhary had suggested five years in prison and 10 years of supervision. He said that Stancl's crimes stemmed from his internal struggles with his homosexuality, especially after he was "outed" by an older boy with whom he had a sexual relationship in school.

"Once word got out that he was gay, everything shut down," Kuhary said. He went from being marginally popular as a member of the Academic Decathlon and golf teams to being isolated and feeling cornered.

Kuhary said that psychologists with long experience in testing for sexual deviancy concluded that Stancl was not a deviant, such as a pedophile. He said that while Stancl does need therapy and psychologists think he could be treated in the community, he deserves punishment for the harm he did to others.

Schimel said substantial prison time was needed because of the number of victims, the scheming nature of the crime and the impact on victims. He also said that the very nature of the crime - repeatedly coercing sex by extortion - was a pattern of deviant sexual behavior.

Schimel also cited a 2004 juvenile case in which Stancl, then 13, was found delinquent for sexual assault of a 3-year old in a home where he was a babysitter.

Who cares what some psychologists, alleged experts, concluded?

Stancl isn't a sexual deviant?

He certainly displayed sexual deviancy. If Stancl's behavior doesn't fall into a clinical definition of deviancy, then I think psychologists are working with inadequate categories. They need to establish one that fits Stancl's sexual abuse and perversion.

I don't buy the argument that Stancl himself was a victim. He was victimized by a society that doesn't accept homosexuals.

That's lame. Stancl wasn't driven by others to commit his crimes. He exercised his free will.

...Stancl, in the statement of apology he read, said he'd learned through the criminal case that what matters is how he treats others and what he thinks of himself.

He said he was working hard to treat others with respect, and he learned that there is nothing wrong with being different, whether dark-skinned or gay.

"I am determined to become once again a productive and law-abiding citizen," he said.

More victim drivel -- "dark-skinned or gay."

The president of the United States is "dark-skinned." Stancl was very involved in Obama's campaign. He celebrated Obama's victory on Election night. What's this "dark-skinned" crap?

Academically at least, Stancl is somewhat bright. We're to believe he just learned that there's nothing wrong with being different?

Oh, come on.

Stancl's uncle, Al Turk, from California spoke on behalf of the family saying his nephew and godson was loving, intelligent, athletic, a former altar boy and a technological whiz kid who worked at a software company while going to school and maintaining good grades.

"Like many young men his age, he's made a serious mistake," Turk said. Emphasizing his Catholic upbringing in a supportive and forgiving family, Turk said he remains a joy to his family who'll be there for him when his "penance" is served.

No, no, no.

Stancl is NOT like many young men his age. Thankfully, young men who make "serious mistakes" like Stancl are not common.

Stancl was initially charged with a dozen felonies, including repeated sexual assault of the same child, possession of child pornography, two counts each of second- and third-degree sexual assault, five counts of child enticement and one count of causing a bomb scare.

As part of a plea agreement, he pleaded no contest was convicted Dec. 22 of two felonies - repeated sexual assault of the same child and third-degree sexual assault. In exchange, 10 other felony counts were dismissed but considered in sentencing. He could have faced 30 years in prison and 20 years of extended supervision.

Davis banned Stancl from having any contact with the victims or their families, or the New Berlin School District, or any minors except with permission of his correctional supervisor. He must register as a sex offender and cannot use the Internet except with permission of his supervisor.

How is his use of the Internet going to be monitored?

That's silly.

...After the sentence was imposed, with Stancl taken immediately to prison, Schimel said outside the courtroom that he wasn't sure this case, with all its publicity, was getting through to kids because new cases of sexting have continued to occur.

"I'm just not sure they're hearing this message," he said. "I hope their parents are."

Parents need to keep an eye on what their children are doing in two different worlds, the real world and the virtual world, he said. Parents should take a good look at whether their children really need cell phones, or ones that take pictures, or text, he said.

I think it's important to remember that Stancl's case went well beyond sexting. Not to diminish the seriousness of that, but Stancl was convicted of sexual assault.

It's true that kids continue to do stupid and illegal things in cyberspace, in spite of these high profile stories.

Some haven't learned from Stancl's case. It's similar to drug use. A young person dies and others are scared away briefly, but soon return to the risky behavior.

Even when the consequences can be so dire, some kids, and adults as well, never learn.

About Stancl's sentence --

I think 15 years is appropriate. That's a significant amount of time lost. He'll be in his mid-30s when he gets out of prison. Stancl will be missing out on a lot.

2025.

Video, from FOX 6 News:
 

Joannie Rochette's Father, NBC's Mistake

The drama of Canadian figure skater Joannie Rochette's short program Tuesday night wasn't manufactured for the TV viewing audience. It couldn't have been more real, and more heartbreaking.

Video here.

VANCOUVER (AP) -- Canada's Joannie Rochette fought back tears for her entire heart-wrenching short program. When she finished, she couldn't hold back.

Skating two days after her mother's death, Rochette finished third in the short program Tuesday night at the Vancouver Olympics. Technically, it was almost perfect. Emotionally, it was exhausting.

Rochette put her hand to her mouth to stifle her cries while taking her bows, her eyes wet. After waving to the fans in each corner of Pacific Coliseum, she headed to the end boards, where coach Manon Perron waited. They hugged tightly as Rochette buried her head in Perron's shoulder and wept.

With fans still applauding her performance, the 24-year-old skater composed herself and awaited her marks. When she saw she was third, Rochette again began sobbing while blowing kisses to the crowd and patting her heart.

"I have no regrets," she said in a statement released by Skate Canada. "It was a very nice warm welcome -- hard to handle, but I appreciate the support. I'll remember this forever."

What a feat for Rochette to do her program so beautifully under such painful circumstances!

My heart goes out to her and her family.
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Before and after Rochette's skate, NBC repeatedly showed shots of a man in the crowd identified as her father.

Problem: It wasn't her dad.

NBC apologizes for inaccurate identification
During the NBC broadcast of Rochette's routine, the network identified a spectator as Rochette's father, Normand. NBC later said the spectator was actually a family friend, Denys Valiquette, and apologized.

NBC Olympic late night host Mary Carillo read a statement on air that said: "We were given his seat assignment by Skate Canada. It turned out that information was incorrect. We are deeply sorry for the mistake."

Though NBC did apologize, it didn't take responsibility for the mix-up, instead blaming Skate Canada for the inaccurate information.

It was a major mistake, but I think it's fair for NBC to explain why it identified the wrong man as Rochette's father. It was a very unfortunate but innocent error. The men do resemble each other a bit.



Denys Valiquette, February 23, 2010


Normand Rochette, center, father of ladies figure skater Joannie Rochette, of Canada wipes his eyes as he watches his daughter work on her routine during a practice session at the Vancouver 2010 Olympics in Vancouver, British Columbia, Sunday, Feb. 21, 2010. Rochette is practicing, only a few hours after learning of her mother's death. Therese Rochette, 55, had a massive heart attack after arriving in Vancouver on Saturday and was pronounced dead at a hospital in Vancouver, said David Baden, Rochette's agent. (AP Photo/Mark Baker)




Normand Rochette, father of ladies figure skater Joannie Rochette, leaves the arena after her short program at the women's figure skating competition at the Vancouver 2010 Olympics in Vancouver, British Columbia, Tuesday, Feb. 23, 2010. (AP Photo/Mark Baker)

U.S. TEAM NORDIC COMBINED - SILVER

History was made at the Vancouver Games yesterday by Brett Camerota, Todd Lodwick, Johnny Spillane, and Bill Demong.

The Americans won their first medal EVER in the Nordic Combined team event.

They broke through. They grabbed team silver!


Bill Demong, Johnny Spillane, Todd Lodwick, and Brett Camerota (L-R) of the U.S. celebrate during the flower ceremony after the Nordic Combined Team final at the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics in Whistler, British Columbia, February 23, 2010. REUTERS/Kai Pfaffenbach (CANADA)

Patience pays off with Olympic medal

Sometimes, after waiting so long for something to happen, it doesn't just feel good or even great when it finally does. It feels sublime and almost perfect. You feel joy and you feel reflective all at the same time.

Amid gooey, wet snowflakes Tuesday at Whistler Olympic Park, an 86-year wait came to a sudden end for the U.S. men's Nordic combined team. It won silver in the team relay, the first-ever Olympic medal for an American team in the event, which matches ski jumping with cross-country skiing.

The relay silver follows the silver that Johnny Spillane of Steamboat Springs, Colo., won last week in the first Nordic event on the 2010 Olympic calendar, what's called the normal hill event.

Thus -- after going 86 years without winning even one Olympic medal, the Americans now have two.

"This is huge," said Todd Lodwick of Steamboat Springs, Colo, who got a medal in these, his fifth Olympics, skiing second in Tuesday's four-man relay. "I think it's bigger than words to describe it."

There's one more Nordic event left here at the 2010 Games, the large hill, on Thursday.

At this point, Johnny Spillane is the most decorated Nordic Combined athlete of the Vancouver Games.

With one event left, no one can surpass Johnny's medal total.

Spillane, Lodwick, or Demong could win a medal on Thursday, adding to the Americans' success.

...Spillane won a gold at the 2003 world championships. Lodwick won two golds at the 2009 Worlds. Demong won a gold at the 2009 Worlds.

"It's a big difference from having to hope for a miracle," Spillane said a couple days ago, looking toward the relay. "We've always been really close but now we're in a situation where everybody is so consistent."

Indeed, there was nothing miraculous about the relay silver. In fact, the Americans had to overcome wax that apparently wasn't quite right for conditions; that's how good, how consistent, the U.S. racers have become.

"We all did our jobs," Camerota said. "We jumped far and skied fast."

Members of the U.S. Nordic Combined team celebrate after the Nordic Combined Team final at the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics in Whistler, British Columbia, February 23, 2010. REUTERS/Michael Dalder (CANADA)

What these American athletes have accomplished is historic.

I'd like to see their achievements get more attention.

A snippet of the medal ceremony for the Tuesday relay was aired on NBC's late night show, but the camera remained on the Austrians the entire time as the Austrian anthem played. We didn't see the Americans introduced as the silver medal winners. We didn't see them receive their medals. Plus, the segment ran after 1:00 AM CT.

There really is no excuse for that. The Nordic Combined medal was the only one won by Americans on Tuesday. NBC opted to devote much of the late night program to the women's biathlon relay, where the USA was not a contender.

Another problem-- NBC ended its prime time coverage with a medal ceremony that had a Canadian at the top of the podium and no Americans taking silver or bronze. What the hell? I would much rather have heard the Austrian anthem and seen our historic Nordic Combined team than hear "O Canada" again.

(Note: Video of the medal ceremony is available online here. This is NOT what aired on NBC Tuesday night, technically Wednesday, after 1:00 AM CT.)


Silver medallists Brett Camerota, Todd Lodwick, Johnny Spillane and Bill Demong of the U.S. pose during the medal ceremony for the men's nordic combined 4x5km team relay at the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics, in Whistler, British Columbia, February 23, 2010. REUTERS/Stefan Wermuth (CANADA)

I wish the American team would get more coverage, at least as much as NBC devoted to Lindsey Vonn's shin.

It's one of the biggest stories of the 2010 Winter Olympics for the Americans. It took 86 years to happen.
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More on the historic accomplishments of the American Nordic Combined athletes:

US Nordic combined team wins historic silver at Vancouver Olympics

U.S. wins Nordic relay medal

U.S. wins Nordic combi team silver

Nordic Combined (Team): Austria claim combined team gold

'Fourth man' or not, Nordic combined teammates thrilled with Brett Camerota

American Idol: NYT Disses Milwaukee

In an article discussing the promised financial rewards for American Idol winners, the New York Times takes a swipe at Milwaukee, as well as Taylor Hicks.

It is doubtful that any of the remaining 24 contestants on “American Idol” hope that they will be playing the Teen Angel in a touring production of “Grease” in Milwaukee three years from now.

But that’s what Taylor Hicks, the 2006 American Idol winner, is doing. And it shows that winning the most popular talent competition in the country is no guarantee of superstardom.

Easing that potential pain are the substantial financial rewards promised to winners of “American Idol,” regardless of how many records they sell once the show ends. In the year since he stood under a confetti shower in the Nokia Theater here, Kris Allen, last year’s winner, has earned at least $650,000 from “American Idol,” according to contracts that last season’s contestants signed with the show’s producers during the competition.

That amount reflects the minimum a winner would earn. Including performance fees and merchandising royalties from the “American Idol” tour, as well as other opportunities, winners have never failed to earn less than $1 million in the year or so after the contest, people close to the show say.

It is not just the winner who cashes in; finalists who reach the Top 5 this season are likely to earn close to $100,000 from the show — and three to four times that if the “Idol” producers sign them to a record deal. The Top 12 contestants are guaranteed several thousand dollars for their efforts. And that is before accounting for the Top 10 finalists’ earnings for appearing in the summer’s “American Idol” tour.

So American Idol winner hell would be appearing in a touring production of Grease. As if that's not bad enough, the tour would include a stop in MILWAUKEE, the lowest of the low.

Give me a break.

Do Idol contestants dream of superstardom? I'm sure they do.

Although they haven't all achieved that level of success, it's not like being the star of a touring musical production is anything to be ashamed of. It's a better gig than writing for a dying newspaper.

And what's wrong with playing Milwaukee?

Edward Wyatt of the New York Times is a snob.

Milwaukee Planned Parenthood, Undercover Video

The truth about another Planned Parenthood clinic in Wisconsin has been exposed by Lila Rose and Live Action Films.

We saw the deceptive tactics employed by Planned Parenthood in Appleton.

View that undercover video here.

Now, a Planned Parenthood clinic in Milwaukee, 302 N. Jackson St., is revealed to be engaged in illegal activity, failing to report a case of possible child abuse to authorities.

Here's the news release from Wisconsin Right to Life:

Milwaukee Planned Parenthood Clinic Caught on Tape Circumventing Sexual Abuse Reporting Law

Tuesday, February 23, 2010

An undercover video has just been released by Live Action showing staff at the Milwaukee Planned Parenthood abortion clinic counseling a young girl whom they think is a 14 statutory rape victim not to tell anyone about her 31-year-old boyfriend.

In the video, the girl tells the counselor her boyfriend is "much older." The counselor tells the girl whether or not the situation will be reported "depends on the person you're disclosing that information to." When the girl tells the counselor that her boyfriend is 31, the counselor tells her, "Just give them the information that's needed." The counselor confirms with the girl that the 31 year old boyfriend will be paying for the abortion.

"Not only did Planned Parenthood violate the law by not reporting the abuse, but the 'counselor' ignored the 14 year-old's fear that her boyfriend would be 'really upset' if she didn't take care of the problem," stated Barbara Lyons, Executive Director of Wisconsin Right to Life. "How many other minors has Planned Parenthood allowed to be the subject of continued sexual abuse by an older man?"

This video is one of a series of videos from Live Action documenting similar behavior at abortion clinics in other states.

The Milwaukee Planned Parenthood video can be seen at HotAir.com

Video.