So Wheeler and I went out to Pizza Hut for lunch as it is one of the better places to get a good cheap buffet without little kids running around. Sadly, the place typically has FOX News dialed in and I'm forced to watch/listen to that trash while I digest. I've not yet decided if I prefer the little rugrats at Cici's.
But I digress... so we were at Pizza Hut and eating as we watched the aforementioned news station, particularly Dayside with Linda Vester. Now for those of you not familiar, of all of FOX News' distinguished crew, I'm pretty sure Linda Vester is the stupidest. She rarely has anything unique or original to say, even in breaking news... and more often than not is just plain wrong. So we watched with the typical pain accompanying this sort of torture and ate our pizza and attempted to distract ourselves from the TV.
And then she announced the next segment as a discussion of the US discouraging athletes from displays of patriotism at the 2004 Olympic Games Athens. So Wheeler and I looked up intrigued and sat glued to the set and diligently awaited the coming discussion. What a let-down...
First let me tell you that the fact that I cannot find a newsprint basis for this discussion anywhere on FOX News' website tells me something about the nature of the discussion from the get-go. Linda Vester was bored and decided to make a story, and an anti-patriotic discussion of the American flag seemed to appeal. To that end, she had called in the senior government liason to the US Olympic Team and Mike Gallagher (an idiotic conservative talking head.)
The US Olympic Official made very clear that Vester's summation of the conflict was fallacious and incorrect. He went on to clarify that the main concern being expressed by the US Olympic Committee was the ensurance of good sportsmanship and honorable treatment of the American Flag. He went on to clarify that there had never been an attempt to get American olympians to stop waving the flag or using it respectfully.
At this point, all Vester and Gallagher had were conflicting quotes that had been obviously ripped out of context. If I was the official, I would have told the pair to go to hell and hung up... but that's just me. In the end, all I really want to do is note that while CNN sucks, so does FOX News. I just wish there was one news outlet that didn't suck.
Posted by Vengeful Cynic at May 17, 2004 11:52 PM | TrackBack