Bee-otch of the Day: April 2020

Thursday, April 30, 2020

4.30.20 Hero of the Day: Jeff Gibbs

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Bee-otch of the Day honors are awarded Monday through Thursday; Bee-otch of the Week is awarded Sunday morning on Chuck69.com.

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A SPECIAL HERO OF THE DAY!

Name: Jeff Gibbs
Age: 65
Occupation: filmmaker
Last Seen: Traverse City, MI
Awarded For: making a thought-provoking movie about the truth about green energy

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The world sure has changed because of COVID-19, has it?

Just think that because of the coronavirus, the internet has become our dear friend. Instead of going to the movies, we watch them online or from an old pile of VHS tapes and DVDs. Some of us read books. Others do jigsaw puzzles or sit and listen to old records.

Of course, Hollywood's still gotta make money. Universal decided to release "Trolls: World Tour" digitally for $20 as opposed to releasing it in theaters because of the pandemic. Because of this, two theater chains, AMC and Regal have both said that they will no longer play any of Universal's films. Because of the pandemic, it's not expected for most cinemas to open until July or August. If they do, many might severely limit and distance their seating.

The good news is that pandemic or not, we're still seeing great movies. And one of them hit the web last week for the low, low price of... free.

"Planet of the Humans" is a movie that was completed last year and made its debut at the Traverse City Film Festival. The movie was made by Jeff Gibbs, a longtime producer of Michael Moore's movies. Moore himself produced 'Humans'. In the movie, Gibbs discusses the dark side of the green energy business. He talks about the fact that the materials used to make solar power and wind turbines are the result of mining. He also takes a shot at biomass and how plants that burn garbage stink up communities and are built near schools and parks.

'Humans' also takes shots at several well-known groups like the Sierra Club and even avowed environmentalists like Bill McKibben and even Al Gore for siding with biomass industries and the billionaires that fund them. The movie shows scenes of trees being logged and burned in areas like the Amazon and sugar fields being plowed all in the same of false green energy.

Since the film's release onto YouTube, it's gotten good reviews, though some so-called environmentalists have blasted the film for its attacks on solar and wind energy. True, it's still somewhat better than getting its energy from coal, but the sad reality is that there's no real solution to the world's climate change problems.

Well, sorta.

As I've mentioned not long ago, Pope Francis proclaimed that the COVID-19 pandemic is God's way of allowing us to control climate change. Thanks to the stay-at-home orders many states have, downtown Los Angeles is smogless for the first time in decades. Gasoline is affordable for the first time in ages since nobody's traveling. And since restaurants are closed and social distancing is a must, singles like me won't be fucking for a while.

In 'Humans', Gibbs says that the only really good way to stop climate change is for people to not procreate. The world is too overpopulated as it is. In the past several years, it's gotten too expensive to have children as-is here in America. A lot of the women I meet online end up only becoming pen pals because some work six or seven days per week. They have scary amounts of college debt and high rent to pay. Having a kid is out of the question.

The tragic trend I've noticed is that there's one group of people who are having children: stupid people. Two years ago, I had a so-called "girlfriend" who used me financially and did heroin behind my back. I manned up and kicked her out of my life. Just a few months later, she got married and gave birth to a kid. Just this past week, a cousin of mine and his stupid ho wife had their third child in three years. He's never had a long-term job. The only reason why they have money is because of her real estate job and the fact that when his mom, my aunt was dying of brain cancer, they forced her to sign her $1,500 per month retirement - which was supposed to be given to my uncle, who lost his job and used up his 401(K) - over to them. They're devout Catholics and use their religion as an excuse to bring more kids into this Earth and attack the rest of our family because we're not up to their so-called standards.

Sadly, I'll be 39 in less than a month. When I started this site 21 years ago, I promised that I would only end updating it when I get married. Well, 21 years later, that reality hasn't happened yet. Maybe that's a good thing because one of the sad lessons I've learned about women is that I'm not boyfriend material. Before the pandemic, I was working over 40 hours per week and I've always paid my bills. Yes, I'm a responsible adult. But I see too many women dating assholes who end up being total bums. And when a woman finally breaks away from that loser, she's already had two or three kids with him. And guess what? Once a woman becomes a mom, she's dead to me in the dating game.

But because of the fact that this world has collapsed tremendously since Reagan was president, I do ask IF it's morally acceptable to even bring a child into this world. Since I was born, we've dealt with AIDS, countless wars over oil, 9/11, recessions and now, coronavirus. I was raised to trust the president, but in my lifetime, it can't be possible. True, I'd love to create a sixth generation of family, but should it be allowed in this day and age?

Folks, the American dream is a trophy we all want in life. But as long as it's billionaires and not Democrats and Republicans running this nation, it can't come true. I sometimes compare my life to my parents' lives growing up. My father did OK for somebody who didn't graduate high school. My mother graduated, but in my situation, so did I, plus a vocational degree. I've worked at my company for 18 years and didn't make a living wage until just a few short years ago. Thanks to the wealthy, plus the baby boomers who voted in Reagan, this is what we get.

We should be proud the coronavirus is teaching us that Earth is fragile. It's too bad that now we have morons crying to lock Gretchen Whitmer up, but that's their problem. Sadly, we will have to go back to our old ways, but we need to give it time. We need to listen to science and not politics. We need to simply chill and give Mr. Gibbs two hours of our time.

And besides, it's free!

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Bee-otch of the Day Archives can be seen on http://beeotchoftheday.blogspot.com

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Wednesday, April 29, 2020

4.29.20 Bee-otch of the Day: Donald Trump

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Bee-otch of the Day honors are awarded Monday through Thursday; Bee-otch of the Week is awarded Sunday morning on Chuck69.com.

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Name: Donald Trump
Age: 73
Occupation: Cheeto
Last Seen: Washington, DC
Bee-otched For: being a poison to the country

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As some of my longtime readers know, this website and blog started as a crappy WebTV site called "Bring Howard Stern to Northern Michigan Radio and TV".

Growing up in boring northern Michigan, none of the media companies wanted to do business with Stern. They had their excuses, like "he's too expensive" and "he's too raunchy".

And yet, several of the media companies that had radio stations aired shitty shows like slut-shaming Rush Limbaugh and the racist and homophobic Dr. Laura.

As a teen, Howard was my idol. It was a shame that my cousins in Detroit and Grand Rapids got to listen to him every morning while the best northern Michigan could do in my teenage years was the extremely unfunny Bob and Tom Show. Personally, KLT should have picked up Stern since B&T's station was ganging up on them in the ratings. But since KLT's former owners were cheap assholes who replaced their morning shows like underwear, nothin' doin'.

Twenty-one years after this site's formation, I'm still a fan, though not as much. I feel that in a few ways, Howard's slowing down and the show itself is getting repetitive with its guests. But the good news is that Howard's still got a fire in his belly.

On Monday's show, the King of All Media proclaimed that Drumpf should go on TV to inject Clorox in front of his supporters while they do the same. This is after the reality show president on Saturday claimed that people should take disinfectants and be under UV lights to fight COVID-19. Since the broadcast, he has gotten some flack, even from longtime fans.

But you know, this is Howard Stern we're talking about here.

Back in the olden days, Drumpf was a frequent guest of Stern's. However, the two have royally distanced themselves from each other since Drumpf announced his candidacy for president five years ago. Drumpf asked Howard for his support, but he declined. Part of the reason, obviously was because Drumpf's supporters included the same Jebus freak groups that wanted him off the air in the first place, like the so-called American Family Association.

It's quite obvious that those protesting every stay-at-home order in America are those who probably slept through both science and history class in school. Of course, being wealthy all of his life, Drumpf had every right to sleep through those classes, because he didn't have to work his way through society like the white trash that voted him in as president in 2016. The same retards who go to Gretchen Whitmer's private residence flying their Confederate and Gadsden flags pretending that Michigan is a bordering state to Alabama and Mississippi. When these people protested the Governor's stay-at-home order, they put themselves at risk of getting COVID-19, which is a death sentence for some, especially those with underlying conditions.

The sad reality is that just the other day, it was announced that more Americans have now died from COVID-19 than the Vietnam War. Over 61,000 Americans have died from the coronavirus while 58,318 American soldiers were killed in action during the Vietnam conflict. The big difference between our brave men and women who fought for this country 50 years ago vs. those dying now are that many COVID victims didn't have to prepare to die just a short time ago.

And don't get me started on Mike Pence not wearing a mask at the Mayo Clinic. Since he had to ride in a car around Mackinac Island, it only shows how much of a pompous ass he is. And yes, the anti-gay shit he pulled as Indiana governor.

It's a sad shame that because of the morons who got this prick in the White House in 2016, we can't have nice things. The morons who protest in front of the Michigan State Capitol and bitch to Whitmer are the REASON why their businesses are closed and they have to collect unemployment if they can. It sucks to be them. Drumpf's ignorance is why over a million Americans have now been infected with this virus.

You see, I'm not racist. I'm not homophobic. I just don't like stupid people, period. I don't like people who talk all over me because they think they're more-important than I am. I don't like people who allow others to think for them. I think it's sad knowing that Drumpf's fanbase is nothing more than sheeple who watch Fox Propaganda Channel or worse, One America News Network 24/7. They might be smart enough to not drink bleach - although barely - but, they do drink the Kool-Aid.

Look, if you're offended by what Howard had to say, it sucks to be you. I've had friendships tarnished because of my opinions and others' opinions as well. Howard has opinions, Rush has opinions, Oprah has opinions and I have opinions. I would imagine that if he was still on terrestrial radio, some stations would cancel his show. Why? Because he's not a fucking conservative wacko. When Natalie Maines from The Dixie Chicks told a London crowd how ashamed they were being from George W. Bush's home state, Cumulus and other radio groups pulled them off their stations. But, when Ted Nugent told the media that "in a year I'll probably be dead or in jail by now", hinting that he wanted to kill President Obama a few years ago, those same radio groups continued on playing "Cat Scratch Fever" and "Stranglehold" like nothing happened. Scott Stapp from Creed also made threats against Obama and right now, some station somewhere is spinning "My Own Prison". Not only that, he currently has a song on the Active Rock charts called "Survivor", which is from his latest album "The Space Between the Shadows". The album, which has been out since last year has been a total flop so far.

Everybody is controversial in their own way. If Howard wants to call for the assassination of Drumpf, the world is his oyster. Controversy sells. The media will cover him and his personal stock market will rise. People will wonder what he'll say next, which means more SiriusXM subscriptions. More SXM subs mean less people listening to his replacements, i.e. some shitty, private label morning zoo or some dorky soccer mom morning show with an old dude and a fat bitch whose pussy stinks from pooping out three kids. Now that SXM is free during the pandemic, he's gaining a new audience. And since he hates Drumpf like anybody whose IQ is over room temperature, his discussions are a breath of fresh air.

Which, BTW is better than a shot of Clorox.

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CHUCK69.COM IS ALWAYS ON!

Tuesday, April 28, 2020

4.28.20 Heroes of the Day: The Simpsons

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Bee-otch of the Day honors are awarded Monday through Thursday; Bee-otch of the Week is awarded Sunday morning on Chuck69.com.

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A SPECIAL HERO OF THE DAY!

Name: The Simpsons
Age: 33
Occupation: everybody's favorite animated TV family
Last Seen: Sundays at 8 p.m. on Fox
Awarded For: lampooning my old hometown newspaper

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You can easily say that Matt Groening might be psychic.

Or even better, from the future.

If you've watched The Simpsons for over 30 years like I have, you know that the show does a good job of predicting the future. On one episode, the 20th Century Fox sign has a byline of "A Division of The Walt Disney Company". Years later, guess who owns Fox? It also predicted the invention of smartwatches, Drumpf being president, Siegfried and Roy being attacked by a tiger and the invention of autocorrect.

Well, as we all know, it takes months for one episode to be made. It's gotta be written, laid out, animated and so on. When Sunday's episode was being made, maybe - just maybe - the producers knew a few things about my birth town of Traverse City, Michigan.

On Sunday's Simpsons, First Church of Springfield hires a new assistant pastor, played by Pete Holmes. Immediately, he becomes so popular that the church elders fire Rev. Lovejoy. Angry, Lovejoy and his wife try to dig up some dirt on the new pastor. They Google him up and find nothing. Desperate, the Lovejoys go to Michigan, where the new pastor came from. They end up in Traverse City at the town's fictional newspaper, the Traverse City Press. Using the paper's microfilm system, they find out that the new pastor was part of a scandal. The article they read had the headline "Handsome Pastor in Easter Ouster". The film catches fire from the hot lightbulb while the paper's elderly publisher utters "I should have digitized the paper".

To add insult to injury, the Press' slogan is "All The News That Fits On Two Pages".

In all fairness, Traverse City does have a decent daily paper, the Record-Eagle, and yes, they do have a cohesive digital presence. As a matter of fact, sites like NewspaperArchive.com have archives of the R-E dating back to the 1890s (but ya gotta pay). Usually, the R-E is way more than two pages; it's more like 20.

And speak of the devil, there was a Traverse City Press that was around in the 1910s. This particular edition had eight pages.

But here's where I think Groening and Co. had their Carnac hats on. Just a day before the episode aired, R-E's publisher and editor made a tough announcement. Because of diminished advertising revenue and fears of COVID-19 among their office and print staff, they have abandoned publishing on Mondays and Tuesdays at least temporarily. They will still publish a digital edition of the paper on their website for the time being, though it clearly shows how the combination of COVID-19 plus the fact that the majority of people who buy newspapers these days probably own parrots like my mother. Monday's edition only had 12 pages total. Today's edition just had ten with no Sports section.

The funny thing is that there are links between northern Michigan, the R-E and The Simpsons themselves. Julie Kavner, Marge Simpson herself has a home near Torch Lake. As for the R-E, it was once owned by Dow Jones until 2006 when it was sold to Community Newspaper Holdings, Inc. Two years ago, the company was sold to Retirement Systems of Alabama, the former owners of Raycom, which owned NBC affiliate WPBN 7&4 in the 1990s. A year after the R-E was sold to CNHI, Dow Jones was sold to Murdoch.

Maybe because of all this, Helen was able to pronounce "Mackinac" correctly.

When a person, place or thing gets lampooned, it's usually an honor. Years ago, Nirvana claimed that they knew they made it when Weird Al Yankovic parodied "Smells Like Teen Spirit" as "Smells Like Nirvana". However, some were angry over his parodies, like Coolio when his "Gangsta's Paradise" was parodied as "Amish Paradise". In the case of satirical magazines like Mad, many enjoyed seeing themselves drawn by their great caricaturists like the late Mort Drucker, Jack Davis, Jack Rickard and the very-much-still alive Angelo Torres and Tom Richmond. As a matter of fact, Quentin Tarantino commissioned Mad and Richmond to create several fake covers in regard to Leonardo DiCaprio's fictional TV show in his recent movie "Once Upon a Time in Hollywood".

Obviously, I originally created this site to tell the broadcasters in northern Michigan to simply be better when it comes to serving its audience. After all, northern Michigan has long been a far-from-perfect market for media. After all, Traverse City didn't get its first radio station until 1941, eleven years after the first commercial radio station, KDKA Pittsburgh signed on. It was also in 1941 that the first TV station, what is now WNBC-TV New York made its first broadcast. Television didn't come to northern Michigan until 1954. FM radio first came around in the late 1930s. Northern Michigan? Early 60s. The list goes on. However, the R-E has been around since 1857. It started nearly 100 years after America's oldest paper, the Hartford Courant began publication. It is older than many other well-established papers like the Chicago Sun-Times, The Grand Rapids Press and The Detroit News. When the paper celebrated its 150th Anniversary in 2007, Michael Moore even put an ad in the paper thanking them for not going the cookie-cutter route like other papers have in terms of real journalism. He commanded them for their coverage of the scandal involving Meijer wanting to put a massive new store in Acme and the chain's plan to get elected officials fired for opposing the plan. Of course, Meijer got their way. Thanks to them, M-72 is loaded with confusing roundabouts and there's not one, but two abandoned buildings on US-31 that once housed a Kmart and a locally-owned Tom's Food Market.

In many ways, the R-E is a helluva lot more-respected than TV and radio stations in the area. In northern Michigan, four TV stations are owned by two companies through back-deal agreements and several radio stations are off the air due to either poor management or the fact that they're up for sale. It is kinda sad that instead of attacking the broadcasters in the area, The Simpsons had to pick on the R-E. But then again, like many other native northern Michiganders, I've had my beefs with the paper that some have nicknamed "The Wretched Beagle". But then again, better them over other papers like The Grand Rapids Press, which has a right-lean and hires morons like "Huge" Bill Simonson to write shitty articles for them.

IMHO, the Traverse City Record-Eagle should enjoy their two seconds of fame, even if the producers got the name of the paper wrong. Sometimes, being parodied or being criticized makes one better. Years ago, I was constantly making fun of a Howard Stern wannabe morning show in northern Michigan. The show got sacked. Well, one of the members of that morning show and I had a few conversations about broadcasting and the business itself. Turns out that he and the show's host were huge fans of my blog! When they got hired by a competing station, he actually told me that he didn't mind my criticisms of that show. Believe it or not, they felt that they could use them to make their show better. And you know what? He's right!

As somebody who's a fan of people like Jon Taffer and Gordon Ramsay, the lesson is that people need criticism to make their lives better. When people can't accept criticism, their lives are doomed. My former boss was like that. When people criticized him for going on vacation every two minutes while we haven't had a raise in ten years, he'd find an excuse to fire them. There was no pleasing him. But, when he retired, our company was on the verge of bankruptcy. Of course, new management heard us and soon, we were getting raises. Even through these tough times, we're getting incentives to stay employed, like getting paid if there's no work.

The point of any business is that even though you might be the boss, you still have a boss, and it's us. Look at KLT in northern Michigan: I fucking hate that station, but the boomers love them. If you love butt rock, KLT is for you. But, since they have decent ratings, plus the fact that they added a new signal in Alpena, they might be around for a little longer. Personally, Rock 105/95-5 is my jam up north musically. Why? They play newer music, plus the rock from my teenage years. Once the boomers die off, then I'll predict that KLT will have to change right then and there.

I haven't heard any response from R-E's management or staff regarding the Simpsons blurb. If they think it's funny like me, then hallelujah. But, if they're going to beg the producers for an apology, then they're assholes. Hell, when she was lampooned on a cut sketch from Saturday Night Live last weekend, Gretchen Whitmer gave it her thumbs up, though she corrected them for the fact that she was chugging a Labatt Blue. Us Michiganders love our Bell's.

After all, they who laughs last, laughs best.

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CHUCK69.COM IS ALWAYS ON!

Monday, April 27, 2020

4.27.20 Bee-otch of the Day: Darren Arriens

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Bee-otch of the Day honors are awarded Monday through Thursday; Bee-otch of the Week is awarded Sunday morning on Chuck69.com.

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Name: Darren Arriens
Age: was 52
Occupation: former radio personality and programmer
Last Seen: in a morgue
Bee-otched For: falling victim to karma

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Yeah, yeah, yeah. It's not nice to piss on one's grave.

It's not nice to laugh at somebody who died of cancer, or AIDS or in this time around, COVID-19. But, when they help to take something you loved dearly and took a sledgehammer to it, you'll never think highly of them ever again.

In the 1990s, the one radio station I admired the most was WKLQ 94.5 here in Grand Rapids. It had Howard Stern in the morning and kickass rock the rest of the day, plus, DJs who didn't mind sharing a beer with you at the bar. Living in northern Michigan, I wished I could have listened to it more often. Of course, there was a now-defunct and very shitty country station at 94.3 called "The Bee" (no relation to B93) that blocked it. There was another shitty country station at 94.5 in Mount Pleasant that also did an awesome job making sure that I didn't get to listen to WKLQ. But, that's what happens when you're forced to live in an area where the only rock station is run by morons from North Dakota, managed by a schmuck from Grand Rapids and use a boneheaded, annoying lezbo as their programmer. One time, I was able to hear KLQ during a hot summer night. They were airing some goth/industrial program and heard The Cure and Lords of Acid's "Pussy". Ah, good times.

Thankfully, I moved to west Michigan in 2000. First, it was to attend school for a year and again in 2002 and have been there since. KLQ at the time was well-programmed by the great Mark "The Head" Feurie. Back then, they embraced nu-metal and the hard rock and metal that embraced rock radio at the time.

And then, it all went to hell.

By 2002, KLQ's general manager had began to sink his claws into the station. Matt Hanlon demoted Howard Stern around Christmastime to their shitty, low-powered AM station WBBL 1340. The station even started to butcher Stern's show, airing commercials at the wrong time and even cutting the show off at 10 a.m. sharp to go back to ESPN programming. Rumor had it that KLQ was looking to re-hire the morning show they had from the 1980s until 1994-ish, hosted by Scott Winters and the now-late Rick Beckett. The two had been fired from 97.9 WGRD for poor ratings, plus Beckett's problems with drugs and alcohol, which ultimately triggered his diabetes, which killed him in 2009 at age 54.

Throughout the 2000s, Hanlon was making mistake after mistake not just with KLQ, but with Citadel's other stations. His only achievement was with 97 LAV. Otherwise, all of his stations were getting defeated by their competitors. Moving KLQ to 107.3 was not a good move, either, since that frequency does not cover Kalamazoo.

The programming director chair was like musical chairs thanks to Hanlon. Mark Feurie was fired and replaced with Hunter Scott, who co-hosted a Stern clone afternoon show called Man-Made Radio with a guy named Sean Kelly.

Now, enter Darren Arriens.

When Scott was fired from KLQ, Arriens replaced him. Unfortunately, KLQ by then had become a shadow of itself and Darren was only making things worse. Apparently, edgier bands like Rage Against the Machine were demoted to nighttime airplay only while thanks to the Airhead, acts that should NEVER be played on an Active Rock station like Billy Squier, Ted Nugent and Lynyrd Skynyrd made their way onto the playlist. Thanks to the work of Matt Hanlon, Darren Arriens and Citadel brass, KLQ's ratings dipped 75%. To add more to the embarrassment, one former KLQ jock told me that when he came to KLQ, Arriens looked like he came from market #347, complete with a mullet.

In all fairness, Arriens *did* program Buzz 95, Lansing's awesome, yet, short-lived rock station (IIRC, the owners of Q106 bought it to simply shut it down). He also worked at WIOT 104.7, Toledo's heritage butt rock-friendly station.

Arriens left KLQ in the late 2000s for sunny Tucson where he ran down a classic rock station, KHYT. After Arriens left, KLQ was still struggling with Michael Grey at the helm. In 2009, KLQ left the airwaves for good. Hanlon was fired when Cumulus bought out Citadel and left Grand Rapids for good not long after he was arrested for drunk driving in 2012.

Well, Hanlon eventually ended up in Charlotte, NC where he began running Entercom's cluster of stations. Not long after he took control of Sports WFNZ, 50KW News/Talk WBT and Hot AC 107.9 The Link, guess whom Hanlon hired to help him run the cluster? Why, it's Darren Arriens! Of the three stations Entercom has in Charlotte, only WBT has good ratings because, you know, Rush. Obviously, WFNZ's ratings suck because most Sports stations don't have good ratings, plus Charlotte is stuck with two shitty sports teams.

Now, 107.9 The Link had been a very successful soccer mom music station for years. The station's the homebase of the nationally-syndicated Bob and Sheri Show, which mostly airs on smaller radio stations. Here in Michigan, the show tanked on a few stations, like 106.7 The Peak in northern Michigan. Currently, only one Michigan station carries the program, and it's tiny WQBX 104.9 in mid-Michigan.

Since Hanlon hired Arriens, The Link has been the stink; in their last ratings book, the station has tumbled to a puny 2.4. It's clear that The Link is simply a radio station that 1990s soccer moms loved, but their children sure as hell don't want to be caught dead listening to two old boomers like Bob and Sheri (Bob, BTW is 71). But considering that the first morning show that Hanlon had on 105.3 Hot FM here in GR was the puke-worthy Dave and Geri, anything is possible.

Now, Hanlon's little friend is gone.

Darren Arriens died last week at the age of 52 from COVID-19. Apparently, he also had some underlying health issues which increased his chance of dying.

Now, I personally never knew Arriens the man. Some people *did* like him. Hell, even the female half of their afternoon team of Matt and Ramona released a tear-filled video paying tribute to their fallen boss.

The reality is simple: when a radio station suit utters "it's time to go in a different direction", it usually translates to the wrong way. KLQ's idiotic changes made by Hanlon, Arriens and other idiots did NOTHING but alienate their long-time fans. Hell, before their end, the only person I knew who still LOVED KLQ was a moron I worked with who reminded me of Mater from the Cars movies. Sadly, he loved Opie and Anthony and even asked me one time, "do you know that sound effect they use on O&A that..." Yeah, like I care about two fucking Stern clones whose ratings on KLQ pretty much consisted of him and maybe a few other folks. Not only that, but Anthony Cumia is a fucking asshole for making racist posts on Twitter about a black woman who kicked his ass, plus the fact that he assaulted his girlfriend. Good thing that not only O&A are off KLQ, but SiriusXM as well.

THANK GOD WGRD made the right move by hiring Jerry Tarrants to fix the station. In the 2000s, GRD was a wussy Alternative station without a decent morning show when Rick and Scott were canned. The S&M Morning Show with Stephanie Webb (now at HSN) and Michael Grey (now at some station in BFE, Montana) proved to be a short-lived dud. And guess where Grey ended up? KLQ! GRD knew that KLQ was damaged goods, plus the fact that Alternative was simply not working well in Grand Rapids, period. Adding Free Beer and Hot Wings and shitcanning a lot of the wuss music HELPED GRD. Hell, they were #1 in the ratings at one point! True, GRD was never as cool as pre-Hanlon KLQ - especially now - but seeing them succeed over the destruction Hanlon did to KLQ was well worth it. It's proof that the Active Rock format is alive and well in the Furniture Capitol.

As for Darren Arriens, all I can say is that he's one less person whom radio is now safe from.

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CHUCK69.COM IS ALWAYS ON!

Wednesday, April 22, 2020

4.22.20 Bee-otch of the Day: National Cherry Festival

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Bee-otch of the Day honors are awarded Monday through Thursday; Bee-otch of the Week is awarded Sunday morning on Chuck69.com.

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Name: National Cherry Festival
Age: 95
Occupation: tourist trap
Last Seen: Traverse City, MI
Bee-otched For: karma

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Thanks to a little tiny bug, people won't be driving hundreds of miles and wasting gas just to eat cherries.

They won't be participating in cherry pie eating contests, watching several parades or clogging up Munson Avenue to watch one of the biggest wastes of military funding fly over Grand Traverse Bay. And they won't be watching shitty butt rock concerts, either.

For the first time ever, the National Cherry Festival in Traverse City has been canceled thanks to coronavirus fears. And personally, I couldn't be happier.

I know, the Cherry Fest was probably the biggest economic boon for the area. It was $25 million in the pockets of hotel owners, restaurateurs and t-shirt shop runners. But this July, if COVID-19 is still around, Traverse City will be a ghost town.

But 'cha know? Traverse City needs to cheer up.

Look at the Blue Angels. For years, they've come to Traverse City, usually every other year. They were even mocked on an episode of The Simpsons when they were introduced as "America's Favorite Waste of Taxpayer Dollars". What's tragic is that we live in a country where people can't afford basic healthcare, can't pay off their debts and are stuck working shit wages. Yet, the government is proud to send these painfully loud jets to Traverse City. I've talked to people who know recent veterans of the fake wars Dubya started. When the Blue Angels come to TC, their PTSD flares up and they have panic attacks and other effects of their disorder. Simply put, the Blue Angels are nothing more than a flying advertisement for our country's bloated military.

And yes, I just gotta talk about concerts, too.

You see, northern Michigan used to have some kickass places for concerts. There was the Glacier Dome in the 1970s, Castle Farms from the 70s to 1994 and Streeters, which closed in 2018. Of course, the Glacier Dome was long gone when I was a kid and I was a wee bit too young to go to Castle Farms. When I turned 13 in 1994, Castle Farms' longtime owner, Art Reibel made a deal to sell Castle Farms to a 4H group. Throughout much of my teenage years, I only went to a handful of concerts because of the lack of facilities in northern Michigan. The good news was that the Cherry Festival picked up the slack by bringing in bands like The Wallflowers, Third Eye Blind, Eve 6 and Collective Soul. The bad news? It simply didn't last long.

You see, the Cherry Festival had two stages for concerts: free concerts were at the Open Space while the concerts that had an entrance fee were at the Northwestern Michigan Fairgrounds. However, people who lived around the Fairgrounds all complained about noise and even profanity from the rock concerts. So, the Cherry Festival kissed their collective asses and toned it down for a few years by only allowing country and pop acts to play. Well, it was a bad idea. Sheryl Crow canceled and so did Don Henley. As a matter of fact, I think they only had two acts play their final year at the Fairgrounds: some shitty country act and Christina Aguilera. After that, they moved all concerts to the Open Space and an admission fee was added there.

Thankfully, Streeters started having rock concerts in the 2000s to prove that Traverse City could support good, live rock 'n roll. Of course by then, I had moved to Grand Rapids where I saw many concerts at BOTH Intersections, Van Andel Arena and the now-defunct Orbit Room. Streeters had a good run and even The Cherry Festival started having decent bands again with Pop Evil, Shinedown, Greta Van Fleet and Three Days Grace stopping by. As I've mentioned, Streeters closed in 2018 when owner Doug Street sold it to a church. Once again, the Cherry Capitol has become a shithole when it comes to concerts.

And because of this, the Cherry Festival knows that they've become a monopoly when it comes to bringing big-name concerts up north.

Now, when a business becomes a monopoly - especially when they're the only thing going for miles - they have a right to suck. It's like driving down a rural freeway severely hungry and you can't find a good restaurant. Lo-and-behold, you find one. You order something and it's loaded with mold. You complain and the manager shows up, screaming at you. You walk out, except that the manager is now pointing a gun at your head, screaming "you ate it, you bought it". You pay the guy, you go to the cops to try to get the asshole charged for attempted murder, but then you find out that the police chief is a good friend of the owner of that deranged restaurant. They laugh you out of the police station and you go home knowing the hard way that you're better off just avoiding that place the next time you travel.

Now, the Cherry Festival is like that when it comes to rock concerts. Don't like what have to offer? Tough shit.

Now, this year's modern rock offering was going to be two 1990s rockers: Collective Soul - who have been at the Cherry Fest several times before - and opening act Everclear. Granted, Everclear's lead singer, Art Alexakis - who is a hardcore lefty - has Multiple Sclerosis and coronavirus is probably a bad thing for his immune system. The Festival's other big announced concert was going to be 1980s butt rockers REO Speedwagon.

Granted, this year's Cherry Fest modern rock offerings were tolerable and I would have paid to see Collective Soul again. But sadly, this year's cancellation is pure karma regarding last year's big modern rock offering.

And that, my fellow readers, is none other than Trapt.

Yes, Trapt, the 2000s has-been rockers best-known for "Headstrong" and "Still Frame". Their lead singer has been using the power of social media to show the world that he's an asshole. Chris Brown - no, not the retard who beat up Rihanna - has been using their Twitter page to kiss Drumpf's ass. Not only that, but he's also using the page to wage losing Twitter wars with other bands and even posting the ever-so-offensive "rich Jews shouldn't make trap music".

As somebody who has been to a few electronic music festivals over the past few years, I can easily tell you that they have a better vibe than a Trapt concert. There's more people and definitely more chicks! But sadly, it also speaks volumes about the state of current rock music. Apparently, people have been posting pics of recent Trapt concerts and, well, there were definitely more people at Breakaway last year.

I know, getting good bands to play an otherwise sparsely-populated area is hard and not that profitable. But, let's face it: when I was young, my cousins lived in Grand Rapids and Detroit while I was stuck up north. In the 1990s, there wasn't much for a teen to do up north year round, except maybe go to the mall. My cousins got to go to a TON of concerts and got to listen to Stern every morning and kick ass rock all day. Me? In the 1990s, TC was lucky to get one(!!) good concert per year and we were stuck with a shitty butt rock station that's sadly still in business.

So, if the Cherry Festival organizers are depressed, well, that's their damn problem. Hopefully, COVID-19 will go away and we'll live our lives. I agree that 2020 is not a good year so far, and part of it's because of Chris Brown's hero, Drumpf. Then again, the asshole who started the Great Depression, Herbert Hoover came to the Cherry Festival 90 years ago.

Be thankful, Traverse City. Your town won't stink during the Fourth of July week because it won't be loaded with assholes.

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CHUCK69.COM IS ALWAYS ON!

Tuesday, April 21, 2020

4.21.20 Bee-otch of the Day: states that are already reopening

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Bee-otch of the Day honors are awarded Monday through Thursday; Bee-otch of the Week is awarded Sunday morning on Chuck69.com.

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Names: various
Ages: various
Occupations: US states
Last Seen: mostly in the Southern US
Bee-otched For: premature evacuation of the quarantine

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Have you ever eaten a frozen TV dinner that you didn't cook long enough?

Let's say that you got one of those Hungry-Man TV dinners and you didn't follow the cooking directions. The package says five minutes, but you nuke it for only two. You yank it out of the microwave and it's still partially frozen. But, you're hangry and ya gotta eat 10 minutes ago. True, there's still frost on those fake mashed potatoes and the chicken is lukewarm. But your stomach thanks you... temporarily.

But then, the excitement begins. You wake up in the middle of the night with severe intestinal cramps. You sit on the crapper and then you realize that the food you ate a few hours ago is also coming out of the other end as well. Congratulations! You now have food poisoning. You should have let the chicken cook.

Well, that's how I think of reopening America too damn soon.

Several states are planning to reopen within the next few weeks, COVID-19 or not. Georgia plans to reopen some businesses by the middle of this week while Tennessee plans to reopen next week. South Carolina and and Texas plan to reopen next week as well.

Arkansas, Iowa, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota, Utah and Wyoming currently do not have stay-at-home ordinances.

Meanwhile, with them being 10th place in population and 3rd place in COVID-19 infections, Michigan may be able to reopen some businesses when Governor Gretchen Whitmer's stay-at-home order ends May 1st.

It's true that the curve isn't totally flattened yet. But sadly, some people think that it's OK to go about with their lives, especially since millions of Americans are out of work. Granted, doing things like social distancing are a compromise, but even that might not be enough.

But sadly, people simply are starting to forget WHY many of us are under quarantine. As a result, we have morons waving their pathetic Don't Tread On Me flags at state capitols during this dangerous pandemic. "Oh, dis here COVID-19's treatable!" "Thuh only people getting coronuhvirus are all niggers!" "The media's lying to us!" Well, when you're six feet below the ground, then you have no room to talk.

The reality is that if one person gets coronavirus, it can infect 40 people and so on. A plethora of Summer events here in Michigan like Traverse City's Cherry Festival and Rothbury's Electric Forest have both been canceled. Many food processing plants around here in west Michigan like JBS and Herbuck's have been hit with COVID-19. But by God, we need to reopen those bowling alleys down south post haste! Same with hair salons. Hair can't cut itself unless you choose to go bald!

Look, the world ain't over, at least yet. I know that many of us want our lives to return to normal and it will in due time. The weather will warm up and will kill coronavirus. I hope by then, we'll have a formidable cure for it and we can all move on. We can enjoy being with friends and family, go picnicking, swimming, traveling and other Summer activities we all love. And yes, I hope that America can get back to work, too and not worry about what the next day will bring. But for now, we need to flatten the curve and not flare this bitch up again.

Good things come to those who wait.

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CHUCK69.COM IS ALWAYS ON!

Monday, April 20, 2020

4.20.20 Bee-otch of the Day: Oprah Winfrey

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Bee-otch of the Day honors are awarded Monday through Thursday; Bee-otch of the Week is awarded Sunday morning on Chuck69.com.

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Name: Oprah Winfrey
Age: 66
Occupation: negro woman of the south
Last Seen: Los Angeles
Bee-otched For: opening two Pandora's Boxes

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What does Dr. Oz, Dr. Phil and a duck all have in common?

Quack, quack, quack.

If you haven't heard by now, the two doctors are in boiling hot H2O because of idiotic comments they both made regarding COVID-19. On his show last week, Oz called for the reopening of the nation's schools. He simply thought that children needed to get away from television and back in a position for learning, even if an extra 2% of Americans die from the disease.

And then there's Dr. Phil. He, like the hilljacks who protested Lansing last week, has called for reopening the economy since he's crying that there's more people who drown in swimming pools every year than those who have died from COVID-19. As of this writing, 42,000 Americans have died from the virus and it's claimed ALMOST 170,000 worldwide.

With COVID-19 going nowhere, it's a shame that these two assholes go on TV daily to tell our government how to do their job during a pandemic. I know, I know. Oil prices are now in the negative territory. More and more people are filing for unemployment. Just today, Michigan announced its youngest coronavirus victim: a five-year-old girl from Detroit.

In this world, there's folks who get a free pass in life. Some billionaires get one for giving back to their communities. Over in England, entertainer Jimmy Savile got one because he helped children and helped with many charities. He was even knighted. However, after he died, it was finally revealed that he molested hundreds of people, young and old. Since then, the BBC have yanked many of his TV shows from circulation. Here in America, Bill Cosby got a free pass because he could prove that a black man could be clean, intelligent and to some, funny. Of course, he's in prison for the drugging and rape of a college student, though dozens of women have all claimed that he drugged and raped them all, dating back to the 1960s when his career started to blossom.

And then, there's the reason why those two fake TV docs even exist: Oprah.

Long before she was born, if you were a fat black woman, the entertainment business looked at you as a maid. Hell, Tom and Jerry's original owner was one named "Mammy Two Shoes". In their first short from 1940, "Puss Gets the Boot", Mammy kicks Tom out the door, screaming, "O....W....T....OUT!", showing her lack of intelligence. I know, Oprah changed daytime TV. She wanted to show the world that a black woman with a history of weight issues could rule the world of syndication, and she did.

I'll admit, daytime TV was a helluva lot better 25 years ago. Yes, Oprah had her audience, but Jerry Springer had a much better show. Hell, Springer kicked Oprah's ass in the ratings. Of course, everything changed thanks to Jenny Jones humiliating a straight man on national TV by pairing him up with his gay acquaintance, only to murder him. Because of this, even Jerry was forced to tone down because of an outcry from parents groups and critics. But, Oprah played her fiddle while Rome burned.

True, there's Maury finding out who the babydaddy is and Steve Wilkos and the occasional fights that happen on his show. Springer's still around, though his old show's in repeats while his latest show is a court program called Judge Jerry (he was a lawyer, you know). However, most daytime TV programs totally blow, and it's because they're all from the House of Harpo. Dr. Phil came about when Oprah went to Texas because cattle ranchers were suing her. Dr. Oz got his own show because a clip of him on her show talking about poop went viral.

What I'll never get is why Oprah gets a free pass. Right around the same time of the infamous Janet Jackson nip slip during the Super Bowl in 2004, the FCC was aiming their guns toward Howard Stern and other shock jocks. They fined his Detroit affiliate, what is now WXYT-FM 97.1 The Ticket somewhere around $286,000 because of a bit on his show they claimed was too raunchy. On the particular show, Howard and his crew were talking about sexual definitions. One of them was "blumpkin", in which somebody is receiving oral sex while pooping. Oprah, on the other hand never was fined for an episode where she and some so-called "experts" were discussing teenage sex parties. Her guest claimed that teenage girls would use different shades of lipstick while performing oral sex on the boys at the party. It turns out that the parties did not exist and Oprah was never fined for the broadcast. Why? Simple: she's wealthier than Stern and her audience of saggy old white women are a lot more highbrow than that of Stern's fans.

Recently, Pope Francis proclaimed the positiveness of COVID-19. One of them is that without traffic, the Earth can recover from climate change. People in major cities like Los Angeles haven't had major smog issues in weeks. With the problems caused by climate change, maybe the North Pole can be nice and cold again. Maybe the ice caps won't melt as much. Maybe we can buy the Earth a lot more time.

But, there's another plus in regard to the coronavirus. You see, it was 21 years ago today that 17-year-old Dylan Klebold and 18-year-old Kyle Harris opened fire at Columbine High School near Denver, Colorado, killing 13 people before committing suicide in the school library. Their motive was inconclusive, but it was a known fact that between the two, they had very few friends. They were bullied because they were different from the other classmates. The media even labeled them "cultural icons for disenfranchised youth".

You know, many of you and myself have been there. When I was in high school, the cool kids disowned me and the losers loved me because I had a car. I never got a thank you for giving people rides, let alone money and from the girls, a piece of their ass. Fuck, one of them FORCED me to listen to the fucking Spice Girls because she hated KoRn. Because of how the girls at my school treated me, I look back and wished that I simply made the long drive to a Deja Vu instead of dragging a 300-pound white trash hambeast from Manceltucky to the prom.

People of my generation know how it feels to be disenfranchised. Harris and Klebold's answer was to blow people away with TEC-9s and Hi-Point Carbines. My answer was to create a website to piss off the media for not giving two shits about my generation. Well, 21 years later, this blog is still going strong. True, I've pissed off a few folks along the way, but because of them, these Bee-otch of the Day articles write themselves sometimes. I'll be honest, my personal Facebook feed can be sad reading sometimes. Not long ago, I friended an old acquaintance from my school years. He's gained a lot of weight, never married, never had kids and worked as a cook at a bar before COVID-19 reared its ugly head. Not only that, but his mother passed away several months ago. Another one of my FB friends also talked a lot about being lonely and ignored. But not long ago, an abandoned kitten came to his house. He decided to keep it, and because of this, I think he's a lot happier.

The true reality is that the #1 cause of the world's problems are from people themselves while animals do quite the opposite. This virus was started by a Chinese asshole who ate a diseased bat. Drumpf made things worse with his ignorance. In reality, the government needs to pay EVERYBODY throughout this whole ordeal until COVID-19 is entirely gone, period. I don't care if it's not until next Winter, or ever. I don't care if I totally lose my job and I gain 50 pounds by sitting on my ass all day. We gotta flatten the curve. Getting back to work right away is only going to make things worse since it will flare up the virus again. Rednecks flying Confederate flags at the Michigan State Capitol isn't going to help. Companies forcing employees to work in conditions where social distancing isn't an option ain't helping, either. And yes, the words of two fake TV docs aren't going to help as well.

But since Oprah Winfrey's worth $2.6 billion while Dr. Oz has $35 million and Dr. Phil has $450 million, they can social distance all they want. After all, they're all essential to the stupidity of the retards who watch them.

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CHUCK69.COM IS ALWAYS ON!

Thursday, April 16, 2020

4.16.20 Bee-otches of the Day: people who want America to reopen... NOW

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Bee-otch of the Day honors are awarded Monday through Thursday; Bee-otch of the Week is awarded Sunday morning on Chuck69.com's social media pages.

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Name: various
Ages: various
Occupations: various
Last Seen: everywhere
Bee-otched For: wanting to reopen America a little too early

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Sometimes, you have to wait for the things you want.

For the past few weeks, many Americans have been staying home, only doing out for essentials. Many should be at work, but they're home instead because their jobs aren't essential enough per the rules of their state.

Here in Michigan, you can't sit a restaurant, go to the movies or go to a concert. Now, COVID-19 has killed off the main reason why millions come to Traverse City every year: the Cherry Festival.

Today, the event's organizers decided to cancel the popular tourist trap, which pumps some $25 million into the area's economy. The event is known for its parades, cherry pie-eating contests and concerts loaded with Country and Rock.

The concerts that had been confirmed for this year's Festival were 1980s butt rockers REO Speedwagon and 1990s alt-rockers Collective Soul and Everclear on a double bill on another evening.

No word on what will happen to another Traverse City fan favorite, the Traverse City Film Festival. It's expected that its organizer, Michael Moore will announce what will happen to this year's festival - usually held the first week in August - sooner or later.

Here in Grand Rapids, the annual B93 Birthday Bash has been moved to August amid COVID-19 concerns. It was scheduled for June.

Now, granted, warm, muggy days will kill COVID-19. In China, where it originated, the disease is all but gone. It's also very hot in China, with temps in the 70s. Arizona is currently in the 80s and only 3.800 people have been infected by the virus. Michigan - which had snow yesterday - has over 29,000 cases.

With Lansing being littered with illiterate hillbillies yesterday all begging for Governor Whitmer to be recalled, some people are calling for Michigan and other states to reopen. The sooner, the better. Curve, or no curve. Vaccine, or no vaccine.

As I reported yesterday, 400 people at a Smithfield pork processing plant in Sioux Falls, SD all tested positive for coronavirus. And yet, it's an essential business because they make food. People are still dying from COVID-19 because they have to enter the front line every day. These people are nurses, doctors, grocers and others. Should somebody die because they helped somebody who seemed healthy try on a shoe at Foot Locker? How about a waitress who served a family whose kid sneezed all over her with the virus? Or even hundreds of music fans at a concert?

Tonight, Drumpf revealed a plan to reopen the economy. True, work helps keep the world moving, it's worth asking if it's even worth infecting even more Americans for it. It's true that not all states have a stay-at-home order like Michigan's. But, our state needed it because there's more people with coronavirus than those who live in Traverse City.

True, the warm Summer temps will shrink COVID-19 cases, but they will flare up in the Fall. Some even speculate that if coronavirus comes back, it will be with a severe vengeance.

Look, forcing people to get sick is definitely not a good way to get the world moving again. I know, there's some businesses struggling to survive. Look at the movie business: for the past few weeks, there's speculation that AMC might be going bankrupt. Then again, guess who partially owns AMC? THE CHINESE! Goodrich Quality Theatres here in Michigan also filed for bankruptcy prior to COVID-19 and it's not clear if they will reopen or not.

I simply think it's sad that Drumpf and others want to reopen the country when not everybody is cured of this disease. Then again, it's Drumpf's fault for ignoring everybody like any good little Repuke.

I know. We can't sit around forever. I personally have more faith in the scientists trying to save us vs. the assholes trying to create a hostile environment where safety doesn't mean shit. I have a friend who works in a medical supply factory and one of her jobs is to take peoples' temperatures. Anything over a 99.4 and they're sent home. However, not all restaurants and grocers can do that and a lot of other workplaces, too.

Folks, we need to listen to scientists and not assholes like Drumpf and governors who haven't issued stay-at-home orders. I think our health and safety is a hellvua lot more important than being at a place where getting sick is imminent. If we can, we ALL need to stay home unless we need to shop. And if businesses do go under because of COVID-19, it's all because the owners of those businesses all voted for an asshole president who denied its existence until people started dying from it.

Of course, it was George Carlin who said, "it's one giant club, and you ain't in it!" Well, the Rethugs are creating a club for those in the middle class, and it's at the graveyard.

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CHUCK69.COM IS ALWAYS ON!

Wednesday, April 15, 2020

4.15.20 Bee-otches of the Day: morons STILL not taking COVID-19 seriously

BECOME AN AFFILIATE OF T-SHIRT HELL AND MAKE SOME MONEY!

Bee-otch of the Day honors are awarded Monday through Thursday; Bee-otch of the Week is awarded Sunday morning on Chuck69.com.

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Name: various
Ages: various
Occupations: various
Last Seen: everywhere
Bee-otched For: STILL not taking COVID-19 seriously

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Sometimes, you have tough decisions to make.

For many during this pandemic, it's either to work and risk being infected or stay home and go broke. True, many on unemployment are getting paid way more by sitting on their asses, some simply want this world to start moving once again.

And these people want to start moving too soon.

Today in Lansing, thousands of protesters lined up in front of Michigan's state capitol, claiming that Governor Gretchen Whitmer is causing small businesses to close for good. The protesters were mainly angry old white men similar to the hilljacks on South Park who yell "DEY TOOK OOR JERBS!" The protest was labeled "Operation Gridlock" and even though the organizers told the protesters to stay in their vehicles, some got out and some didn't practice social distancing.

Sadly, these jerkoffs don't know how to read, and even though parts of it are vague, Whitmer's executive order says everything in stone. What I mean is that these retards are pissed that Meijer and Walmart can stay open to sell clothes while family-owned stores are not essential enough. Well, guess what? NOT ALL PLACES THAT SELL FOOD HERE IN MICHIGAN ARE BIG BUSINESSES! Hell, there's a plethora of family-owned grocery and convenience stores here in our great state. Some of them have prices comparable - and even lower - than the chain stores, especially if they're supplied by SpartanNash (Our Family), retailer-owned Associated Wholesale Grocers (Best Choice) and other wholesalers (and I think both distribute IGA brands all across the state, too).

The reality is that the protesters and others simply don't want the government to tell them when they can shop, where they can work and that they can't just simply go to their mother's house for dinner. Once again, these assholes don't want the gub'ment what they can or can't do to their bodies. Weird, since many of them sadly are also so-called pro-choice, judging by the pro-Drumpf banners some of them were carrying. The truth is that they helped to bring COVID-19 to 'Mur'ca because their less-than-supreme leader disassembled Obama's medical task force and lied to us, telling us that the people who had COVID-19 in the beginning would be OK in a few days. Over 640,000 cases and 28,000 deaths later in America alone, it's safe to say that the assholes who were waving their "don't tread on me" flags all need to know what it feels like to have COVID-19.

Look at South Dakota. Over 400 people who all work at a Smithfield processing plant are now stricken with COVID-19. Even worse, the state's Rethug governor, Kristi Noem refuses to issue a stay-at-home order similar to Whitmer's and other governors. She claims that an order wouldn't have prevented a situation similar to Smithfield's simply because they're an essential business since they process meats.

And guess who just happens to own Smithfield? A CHINESE COMPANY! Hey, they started this bullshit with the wet market that served up bats (which has reportedly reopened) and now, they run the factory where many get their pork from. Yeah, I think I'll be personally boycotting Smithfield for a long, long time. Same with their sister brands Cook's, Eckrich and John Morell.

The reality is that COVID-19 is serious. I don't want to hear shit like "oh, ______ kills ____ per day and it's not banned". True, there's people out there who have never smoked and got lung cancer from second-hand smoke. Some have never had a drop of alcohol in their lives and they get killed by a drunk driver. But when it comes to COVID-19, tag, and you're it.

I know, Michigan has 27,000 COVID-19 cases and nearly 1,800 have died from it. That's a lot more people than any of the towns in Antrim County, where I'm originally from. This is why staying home whenever possible is very crucial. Just because you can't go to the bar or the mall doesn't mean that it's the end of the world. Just because you can't hang out with your friends in person doesn't mean that you can't Facetime them, either. I know, I didn't vote for Gretchen. I'm a progressive and she's too friendly towards big companies. As a matter of fact, I voted for Jennifer Kurland, the Green Party candidate in 2018. Even though I didn't vote for her as governor, better her over pRick Snyder, the asshole who left Flint with one of the worst environmental disasters in American history. With his pro-business stance, I would imagine that Michigan would have a much-worse situation with COVID-19 if he was allowed a third term as governor.

People, once the curve is flattened and once a cure for COVID-19 is materialized, then yes, we need to move on. But now isn't the time. The only thing I wish for these loonies who protested Whitmer and other who are against social distancing is for them to get COVID-19 themselves. And guess what? SOME HAVE!

So for now, chill. Because if you can't, please feel the consequences. And when you do, stay the hell away from me.

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CHUCK69.COM IS ALWAYS ON!

Tuesday, April 14, 2020

4.14.20 Bee-otches of the Day: corporate Democrats

BECOME AN AFFILIATE OF T-SHIRT HELL AND MAKE SOME MONEY!

Bee-otch of the Day honors are awarded Monday through Thursday; Bee-otch of the Week is awarded Sunday morning on Chuck69.com.

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Name: various
Ages: various
Occupations: various
Last Seen: everywhere
Bee-otched For: being corporate Democrats

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As a young boy, I learned a word in P.E. that a lot of us should practice: sportsmanship.

Sportsmanship is expressing that your competition is better and congratulating them when they win. Usually, when someone loses and they won't thank the other team for being better than them, then they are seen as poor sports.

It's understandable that yes, Bernie Sanders was far behind in the delegate polls for the Democratic nomination for president. So, even with the primaries only halfway done, he pulled out though he'll still accept delegates. Considering the fact that he had a heart attack and the COVID-19 pandemic has hindered his ability to campaign, he threw in the towel last week.

Yesterday, Sanders endorsed his former opponent, Joe Biden. His support is good news for the Democratic Party in hopes of attracting more progressives who have felt that the party has been disenfranchising them. Sanders admitted that he doesn't agree with everything Biden does, but he does support some of the things he does. Just today, Biden's ex-boss, former President Barack Obama endorsed him as president also.

Of course, Biden had what Sanders didn't, and it was support from billionaires. Sanders' campaign was funded primarily from his followers whereas Biden's friendly with Wall Street.

Kissing corporate ass has been a problem with the Democratic Party for years. Clinton supported NAFTA, resulting in the loss of millions of jobs. As a matter of fact, I'll betcha that many of those who voted for Clinton in 1996 only did so because Bob Dole wanted to rid the world of gangsta rap music. In his second term in office, Clinton signed the Telecommunications Act, which allowed less competition in the broadcasting business. In some areas, only one company now controls all the radio stations, like Sault Ste. Marie, MI. Clearly, the Dems have veered themselves away from the visions of FDR, and they are paying dearly.

The 2000 presidential election was the first one I could have voted in. But, I didn't. Why? It was because I didn't like either major candidate. George W. Bush was a right-winged asshole and Al Gore chose one to be his running mate. Of course, we all knew what our punishment was for not choosing Gore: 9/11 and Bush's ignorance toward making sure it never happened, plus all the fake wars over oil he started. In 2004, we voted for John Kerry. We didn't care about his stances, we only cared for him because he had a (D) after his name and he would end all the wars Bush and his boss, Dick Cheney started. But guess what? Bush's team showed a new Osama bin Laden video days before the election.

If there's any four-letter word starting with an F that political candidates are good with, it's FEAR. People tend to vote for candidates based on what they WON'T do in terms of prevention. In a perfect world, Rick Astley would be our president since he wouldn't, well, you've heard the song a trillion times. But since he's British, he can't be our president. So, it's all become a "Cry For Help".

When Hillary Clinton was the Democratic nominee - and not by choice - in 2016, we all into preventive mode once again. True, she had her fans, but the reality is that she's the type who'll promise to do something until somebody throws her a few wads of cash. Even though she won the popular vote, she still lost the election and we got Drumpf.

Now, it's 2020 and many of us are cooped inside our homes because we sure don't want the 'rona. Companies are now going out of business because only time will tell if the curve will officially be flattened. Granted, if Hillary was president, she would have listened to the task force Obama put together to prevent situations like the one we're in now. But now, we're fucked. Then again, we sure as hell wouldn't have universal healthcare, no college debt and a $15 per hour minimum wage, either.

The point is that there's a reason why in my lifetime, we've only had two Democratic presidents. It's because the Repukes do a good job serving their audience while the Democrats have become poseurs. It's like the radio dial up in my old stomping grounds of northern Michigan. For years, the big rock station had been KLT. Hell, their slogan just happens to be "The Rock Station". In the late 1990s, they refused to touch artists people of my generation wanted to hear while downstate rockers like Detroit's WRIF and Grand Rapids' WKLQ embraced them. Why? It was owned by a company that didn't give two tin shits about my generation. Hell, they bought the popular Top 40 station, 106.7 The Peak for $3 million only to shut it down. But, guess what happened? In 1998, another radio company started a alternative station, The Zone, which later evolved into what's now Rock 105 and 95.5. Yes, the north finally has a real rock station while the company that owned KLT was forced to sell for WAAAAAAY less than what they were worth. In my terms, KLT is the Democratic Party while Rock 105/95.5 is the Green Party. The Greens have been doing an OK job of getting angry Democrats who have long felt that the party has sold out.

I know, Bernie is supporting Biden out of respect and yes, good sportsmanship. But, will his fans support Biden himself? Like I said, if they do, it's because once again, we're in prevention mode. Let's remember that Bush's lies killed 3,000 people on 9/11 and he STILL got reelected in 2004. Anything is possible.

Remember, when we were in the Great Depression, FDR didn't pussyfoot around like most current Dems do. He got shit done, PERIOD.

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CHUCK69.COM IS ALWAYS ON!

Monday, April 13, 2020

4.13.20 Bee-otches of the Day: people who are selfish during the COVID-19 pandemic

BECOME AN AFFILIATE OF T-SHIRT HELL AND MAKE SOME MONEY!

Bee-otch of the Day honors are awarded Monday through Thursday; Bee-otch of the Week is awarded Sunday morning on Chuck69.com.

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Name: various
Ages: various
Occupations: various
Last Seen: everywhere
Bee-otched For: being careless about COVID-19

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Man, do I feel old.

When I was a third grader at Lakeland Elementary School in Elk Rapids, MI some 30 years ago, we experienced some high winds that knocked down a power line. I fondly remember the late, great Donald Hopp, who doubled as a bus driver and playground supervisor rushing to get his bus out of the way of the line since IIRC, there were gas tanks in that area for the buses. A voice over the intercom - probably Principal Nancy Muhlig - told everybody to come to the gymnasium immediately. A policeman sternly told us kids that we needed to go to the Middle School across the field right away. Well, as soon as we made it to the Middle School, that line was smoking and fire crews were busy making sure that it didn't spread to Lakeland. Needless to say, Lakeland was spared and has stood firm for over 60 years.

Today, that young cop who helped us kids from that dangerous situation is now Elk Rapids' mayor.

James Janisse - now 53 - is now trying to save people of all ages by asking Michigan's governor to strengthen her edict involving what northern Michigan locals call fudgies (of course named after the fact that northern Michigan is known for making, well, fudge). In his letter to Gretchen Whitmer, Janisse is asking the governor to tell residents with multiple residences to choose one and stay with one during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Elk Rapids - population 1,600 - is the largest community in Antrim County, population 23,000. One huge reason for ER being the largest town in the county is because of its proximity to Traverse City. It's also the most-major town closest to a hospital. The closest hospital to Elk Rapids is Munson Medical Center, which is a half-hour ambulance ride, depending on traffic since it's on the other side of downtown.

Now, Traverse City *did* have two hospitals at one time. The other hospital was the much-smaller Osteopathic Hospital, which was closer to Elk Rapids. However, it closed some 25 years ago when Munson bought it out and tore much of it down to make way for a clinic. Even though Munson has long been the penultimate care facility for the Grand Traverse Region, Traverse City Osteopathic did serve a purpose. As a matter of fact, it was where I was born. My parents lived by Torch Lake and even with Osteopathic being slightly closer than Munson, my father told me that he was driving my mother down US-31 at 80 MPH at 6 a.m. when her water broke. Thankfully, I gave them an extra five hours before I entered this Earth.

Now, those in the eastern part of Antrim County aren't as lucky. It's a longer drive to any real hospital from any other town like Bellaire, Central Lake or Manceltucky. True, there's hospitals in towns like Cadillac, Petoskey and even Kalkaska, but all they do pretty much is fix you up with a Band-Aid. If you get COVID-19, they're probably gonna tell you to go home and quarantine, or worse case scenario, ship you off to Munson or even downstate.

You see, northern Michigan has long been a haven for vacationers and those with summer homes. Many of these people are from major cities, namely Detroit where the pandemic has created overflowing hospital rooms and beyond-exhausted nurses. Sadly, the pandemic has affected northern Michigan hospitals as well.

Over the weekend, the pandemic claimed five grocery workers here in Michigan. They worked at two of the state's biggest chains: Meijer and Kroger. Sadly, these people were exposed to others who are quite self-centered. They are those who sneeze and cough without covering themselves. In Detroit last week, a bus driver died of COVID-19 after complaining of people on his bus coughing without covering themselves.

Sadly, one person to be very selfish in all this is none other than Drumpf. He's telling the media that he wants America to reopen on May 1st. True, the curve is flattening, but let's remember that COVID-19 is very highly contagious. When the rules of wearing masks and social distancing are reduced, the virus can quickly flare up again. I proclaim that if Drumpf is smart, he'd reopen the country only when Dr. Fauci says so, or better yet, when a vaccine is finally developed. I know we're closer, but the tragedy in all this is that Dr. Fauci was telling Drumpf to shut down the country while he was shrugging him off. Because of this, 23,000 innocent Americans are now dead.

Even worse here in Michigan is that people are now calling for the recall of Governor Whitmer. Some are calling Whitmer's edict Unconstitutional because of the travel ban, plus the fact that now, garden supplies cannot be sold. At least 3,000 Michiganders are planning to protest Whitmer's order at the State Capitol on Wednesday. These assholes are all crying that Whitmer is allowing big box stores to remain open, but smaller, mom 'n pop stores are now hurting. They think it's unfair that clothing stores have to close, but Meijer can still sell that same shirt since they also sell food.

Of course on Easter Sunday, some churches across the country opened their doors despite strict orders to keep closed. However, many have been streaming their services online. Probably the best quote from all this came from Pope Francis himself, who proclaimed that the coronavirus is God's way of healing the Earth. Since the virus hit, air quality in smog-riddled cities like Los Angeles have cleared up severely. But still, there are the morons who cry that we need to give to the church during the crisis and even if we end up losing our jobs in the long run.

Like many of you, I have $1,200 on my way and I'm planning to put it to good use. I need new furniture since my couch is falling apart. If you're getting a stimulus, I suggest that when America reopens to spend that money wisely. Hell, if you know someone who is unemployed, buy them a meal.

Look, the coronavirus is damn real. It's sad that some people don't take it seriously and they're ASKING to be infected. If you get infected by doing something stupid, like getting close to others and then you get me infected, I hope you eat shit and die. If I get my family sick because of you, I hope you rot in hell. This is serious. There's too many assholes out there and this is not the time to go out and do stuff. Once the curve is flattened and all's well, then the economy can restart.

But for now, stay home.

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CHUCK69.COM IS ALWAYS ON!