Bee-otch of the Day: August 2020

Monday, August 31, 2020

8.31.20 Hero of the Day: Chadwick Boseman

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

A SPECIAL HERO OF THE DAY!

Name: Chadwick Boseman
Age: was 43
Occupation: actor
Last Seen: in the heavens above
Awarded For: being a wonderful human being, albeit for a very short time

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Hollywood has lost another great way too soon.

Chadwick Boseman had only been appearing on TV shows and movies since 2003. After appearing on many television shows in the 2000s such as All My Children, Third Watch and ER, he started to blossom as a movie star in movies like "42", where he played Jackie Robinson, "Get On Up" where he was James Brown and "Marshall", where he was Supreme Court justice Thurgood Marshall.

However, he'll forever be known as T'Challa in "Black Panther", the beloved superhero and ruler of Wakanda, Africa. "Black Panther" was a box office monster, ranking in $1.3 billion worldwide and was lauded by critics. Boseman himself won several awards for "Black Panther", including two MTV Movie and TV Awards (Best Performance in a Movie and Best Hero), a Screen Actors Guild Award and a NAACP Image Award.

Sadly, Boseman did it all while hiding a deep secret from his fans: he had stage III colon cancer. He was diagnosed four years ago at 39. He continued to work in between treatments, though the cancer progressed to stage IV. With his wife Taylor and family by his side, Chadwick Aaron Boseman's way-too-damn-short 43-year life on Earth came to an end on Friday.

To say that Boseman did more in just 43 short years on this planet than most people is 100% truth. He was a likable man who deserved so much. Tragically, he died from something that is common with older people. The CDC recommends colon cancer screenings for those over 50. However, it can be common for those under that age as well, especially among African Americans like Boseman. It's also important to look into your family's heredity and what other members died from. If cancer runs through your family - like mine - it's important to eat the right foods and exercise. Sadly, my aunt who died two years ago was an unfortunate example. She exercised, ate healthy, never smoked and was not a heavy drinker. Yet, she died of brain cancer at 60. And the funny thing is that my father and her brother - now 68 - has been puffing on Marlboros since he was 11.

Sadly, cancer can happen to even the healthiest person. We're told to avoid fatty foods and smoking, but we can still get sick because of genetics. This is why visiting the doctor yearly is important, even if you think you're too healthy to see one. I'm watching "Black Panther" on ABC as I'm typing this and Boseman was running around with six-pack abs. True, he looked healthy on the silver screen, but now, he's another image of cancer.

Chadwick, Rest In Power, and Wakanda Forever.

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Thursday, August 27, 2020

8.27.20 Bee-otch of the Day: National Rifle Association

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

Name: National Rifle Association
Age: 149
Occupation: hate group
Last Seen: Washington, DC
Bee-otched For: causing another mass shooting

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When anybody is 17, they make mistakes.

Mistakes are what makes us smarter and wiser. We learn from those mishaps so we don't make them again.

Which is why a 17-year-old should not be running around with a Smith and Wesson semiautomatic rifle during a riot.

We've all heard about Kyle Rittenhouse, the young punk from Antioch, IL who stormed the streets of Kenosha "protecting businesses" and killing two men in the process. One of those he killed had a two-year-old daughter. Rittenhouse has been charged six times with first-degree homicide for murder and injuring one other male.

On social media, Rittenhouse told the world that he was a fan of Drumpf and also was a supporter of the police. He was "protecting" an auto dealership and when police spot him, they offered him water.

The riots in Kenosha are a response to the police shooting of a 29-year-old black man, Jacob Blake. Blake survived the shooting, but he may be paralyzed from the waist down as a result. Blake had an arrest warrant against him for criminal trespass, domestic abuse, and sexual assault.

Because of Blake's shooting, the NBA, NHL and Major League Baseball canceled all games to protest the unrest in Kenosha. Meanwhile, the group who helped to get a gun in the hands of Rittenhouse are telling people not to vote for Joe Biden in November.

The National Rifle Association has been airing commercials featuring a young woman running into her car while being chased by attackers. She has a handgun in her car, but according to the NRA, Biden's gon' take ur guns! Ya know, she *can* just get in her damn car and DRIVE OFF! DURH!

Over the past few decades, the NRA has simply tried to make the Second Amendment the First Amendment. They buy our politicians and drive so much fear into gun nuts that they end up buying the most-powerful guns they can find. They create assholes like Kyle Rittenhouse and others who all think that killing people is the answer.

Folks, this is what we're up against. Kyle killed innocent people to "save businesses" that have insurance. As long as businesses have good insurance, all's well. They can rebuild. But lives are different.

I just hope that they go out of business soon. Let's not forget that they're close to bankruptcy and New York Attorney General Letitia James filed a civil suit to have them dissolved over the fact that head Wayne LaPierre uses their money for lavish vacations.

Just hope that their hands will be cold and dead soon.

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CHUCK69.COM IS ALWAYS ON!

Wednesday, August 26, 2020

8.26.20 Bee-otches of the Day: People STILL not wearing masks

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

Name: various
Age: various
Occupation: various
Last Seen: everywhere
Bee-otched For: not showing respect

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For most of us, it was the summer that never was.

By now, I would have gone on a few trips and a concert or two. I brought a new car, but I have not driven it out of state yet. The farthest I've driven it is to Benton Harbor and back in one day.

But now, the summer season is winding down and kids are either going back to school or doing theif learning virtually. For many businesses up in Northern Michigan, they did quite well this year, COVID-19 or not.

Hopefully, it means less assholes who think that it's ok to harass the hard workers of businesses just because they don't want to wear a mask.

Recently, Brilliant Books in Traverse City put up a post on their website urging all of their customers to wear masks. They also talk about how important it is to be patient with them because of everything from the fact that they're short-staffed to the fact that they can only allow X amount of customers per state law because of COVID-19.

The sad reality is that the law's the law and nobody's above it. Trust me, I once had an ex-"girlfriend" who loved to cut people in line at Meijer. She was a 180 of me at all times thanks to her heroin use. When I hear about assholes who go into stores without masks or love to fight with store employees over mask use and social distancing, I think about her. I would imagine that many of those anti-maskers might be on drugs. After all, they probably get some of their anti-mask info from Alex Jones.

Granted, it'll be nice when business owners in TC will be in the off-season and not have to deal with these assclowns. But at the same time, it is tourism that's their bread and butter. But also, COVID-19 can kill.

So, for the umpteenth thousandth time, MASK IT OR CASKET. IF YOU ARE ANTI-MASK, I HOPE YOU GET COVID-19 SO IT WILL MAKE YOUR LIFE A FUCKING HELL. END OF STORY.

The more people wear masks, the sooner this will all end, period.

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CHUCK69.COM IS ALWAYS ON!

Tuesday, August 25, 2020

8.25.20 Bee-otches of the Day: organized religion

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

Name: organized religion
Age: ageless
Occupation: a thorn on our ass
Last Seen: everywhere
Bee-otched For: creating morons

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It's sad when the people who tell us how to go to Heaven do hellish deeds.

It's also sad when the children of assholes end up worse than their parents. Jerry Falwell was a royal pile of horseshit, but his son is now showing the world that he's also a bigger pile, albeit dinosaur shit.

The head of Liberty University announced his resignation because of a sex scandal involving him, his wife and his pool attendant. Giancarlo Granda had an affair with Falwell's wife, Becki and Falwell often watched the two having sex.

Apparently, if you're an asshole like Jerry Falwell, Jr., being cuckold is a-ok biblically.

Falwell had been on leave since August 7th. A scandal erupted when he posted a picture of himself and his wife's personal female assistant with their pants unzipped. Falwell claimed that it was all done in the name of fun. But since you're supposed to be a good role model, well, it sucks to be him.

If there's one thing about Falwell, at least he's not the worst Christian out there.

In Kalamazoo, a pastor named Stricjavvar “Strick” Strickland and his wife have been charged with felony eleven times for paying children to having sex. Strickland paid four teenage boys, ages 15 to 17 to have sex with them. Strickland and his wife, Jazmonique, paid the boys $100 to $200 for nude photos and to have them have sex with his wife in the basement while Strick watched. Strick himself performed oral sex on one of the boys in exchange for a new car.

The Stricklands preached at Second Baptist Church in Kalamazoo. During the week, Mrs. Strickland worked at Phoenix High School while Strick was a parapro.

I know, some might cry that one bad apple doesn't spoil the whole bunch (and apologies if The Osmonds are now earwormed in your head). The sick reality is that because of TBN, Joel Osteen, Pat Robertson and too many others, if one's bad, they're all bad. With what's going on now in Kenosha, WI, the letters "ACAB" have a true meaning in terms of the police. For the most part, it's the reality with preachers and other types of clergy. Just look at John Balyo: he was one of the top radio personalities in Grand Rapids a decade ago. WCSG has always been a top station in town despite being a left-of-the-dial nonprofit whose income comes from listeners. When it was announced that Balyo sexually molested two pre-teenage boys in two different hotel rooms, it was shocking. To this day, I will not listen to WCSG, whose call letters stand for "We Crave Sexy Gradeschoolers".

Some of you might say, "but, Chuck, you love Ren and Stimpy, right? The guy who created them was a pedo. So were some of the hosts of Top of the Pops!" True, John Kricfalusi is an asshole for accosting two teenage girls in the 1990s, impregnating one of them. But thankfully, he's not involved in the new production of the show, which will be on Comedy Central soon. As for TOTP, yes, Dave Lee Travis and especially Jimmy Savile should burn in hell for what they did. Butt, (and there's a reason I spelled it that way), the only crime Pan's People ever did was causing 12-year-old boys to rush into their bedrooms with a wad of Kleenex.

When people like Falwell and others try to rid this world of porn and other stuff we all love and they can't keep it in their pants themselves, it's time to move on. Thankfully, I'm happy that COVID-19 has limited church attendance, though some are disobeying state orders with their "God will guard us from COVID" BS. But, don't look at me when you get sick.

And Jesus is still weeping.

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CHUCK69.COM IS ALWAYS ON!

Monday, August 24, 2020

8.24.20 Bee-otch of the Day: Mike Pence

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

Name: Mike Pence
Age: 61
Occupation: a crumb to a cheeto
Last Seen: Washington, DC
Bee-otched For: coming to my hometown

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Once upon a time in Traverse City, MI, there were three gas stations all across the street from each other on Front St.

One was a 76 and one of two of that brand in the Cherry Capitol. Another was a brand that I cannot remember what it was and the other was Speedway.

Today, a CVS resides where the 76 was. A bank sits where the other station once stood. The Speedway still stands. However, it closed a few days ago.

Apparently, it was doing OK. But there was a small problem: the lack of employees. At the station's front entrance, there's a help wanted notice begging for future workers.

When the NBC affiliate in town broke the news of the Speedway's closure, its Facebook page was littered with messages regarding how the chain - which was recently sold to 7-Eleven for $21 billion - treats their employees. One person claimed that they knew a woman who worked at a Cadillac location for 30 years and was only making $12 per hour. I've been at my job in Grand Rapids for 18 and make way more than that.

The Front St. location is not the first Speedway in northern Michigan to shutter in recent years. About three years ago, the company closed their Elk Rapids location, which had been a gas station since at least the 1960s. It had been a Speedway/Starvin' Marvin since the late 1980s. Previously, it was with United and Sunoco to name a few. Today, it's an empty lot. Elk Rapids, pop. 1,600 still has three gas stations; two are locally-owned while its Shell station is now owned by True North, based in Ohio.

Speaking of Elk Rapids, it's not known what will happen to the space left dormant by Speedway. Granted, it's one of the biggest cities without a real fast food restaurant, save for a Subway in the town's Mobil station. But, the locals have long cried that the village doesn't need a Golden Arches in their community. Just this past week, the town's only burger joint, Cone Corral was forced to suspend their ice cream and burger services due to a lack of workers. The funny thing is that the mother of one of the employees complained that he was only getting eight hours per week.

Sadly, the same goes with other fast food places. The KFC on Front St. was closed for months recently. The town waited for a Denny's for decades. They finally got one only a few years ago, only to have it operate on reduced hours because of a lack of employees. Other places closed altogether because of a lack of employees that would except crappy pay, including Ruby Tuesday and several stores at Grand Traverse Mall, such as Journey's, Hollister and the now-bankrupt Charlotte Russe and Payless Shoe Source.

Tragically, this type of mindset is why I moved to Grand Rapids 18 years ago. Even though I was a hard worker, I had issues with every year round employer I had. At one place I worked at, I worked with a child molester and every time they hired someone older than me, my hours were severely cut. At the next job, I worked for a drunk Arab who sold his business to a bunch of hilljacks who gave some of my hours to a heroin addict. Thankfully, in June 2002, a year after I graduated tech school, I finally found my first grown-up job. But, I had to move to Grand Rapids and suffer without a raise for a decade.

Since he died in office, many on the left like myself have tried to keep the Democrats as left as FDR. Yes, I can talk up a storm about how fucked up Clinton was, plus the fact that Obama was probably the most liberal president in my lifetime, but he had some flaws. The tragic reality is that because of presidents to the right of Attila the Hun like Reagan and now, Drumpf, the Democrats think that being moderate is the way to go. But, at the end of the day, they're alienating their base, which is why Drumpf is in office.

Not only that, the ideology of a lot of people in northern Michigan is a sad one: Republican - good, Democrat - bad since they make it so black people in Detroit sit on their asses watching Jerry Springer all day. But since it's Drumpf who made it so those whose jobs aren't all that essential can sit on their asses and make $600 extra per week doing so while we have first responders risk their lives daily without personal protection while the Blue Angels fly over their hospitals, well, there you go.

Now, his right-hand man is coming back to northern Michigan. Mike Pence is coming to Traverse City on Friday. He will be speaking at an airport hangar since Traverse City doesn't have a real arena. This is the second runaround for Pence, who pissed people in Mackinac Island not long ago when he came to the Island with a motorcade. With the exception of emergency crews, autos are not allowed on the Island. But of course, Mike Pence is special.

Drumpf himself came to TC in 2016 when his plane landed at Cherry Capitol Airport. He then went to Cadillac for a rally.

The last sitting president to come to TC was George W. Bush, who came to town in 2004 on a campaign trip. The last Democratic presidential candidate who came to TC was Bernie Sanders in 2016.

Sadly, the Democratic establishment doesn't care about northern Michigan. Drumpf doesn't, either, but that's his base. People need to remember that Traverse City is the biggest major city in Michigan that's not even close to a four-year university. And with rent being too damn expensive and wages being low, this is why people like me end up downstate. Since I don't like hanging out with Kaltuckian white trash, either, this is why I prefer visiting over living there.

If people want to see the de facto veep and risk getting the 'rona, they can be my guest. I ain't going up north until it's gone as-is. I'll just stay here and be proud that I'm not on their level. Besides, Biden's way ahead in the polls.

If there's anything that reeks more than the horse shit on Mackinac Island, it's Pence himself.

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CHUCK69.COM IS ALWAYS ON!

Thursday, August 20, 2020

8.20.20 Bee-otch of the Day: Rick Snyder

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

Name: Rick Snyder
Age: 62
Occupation: stuffed turd
Last Seen: Ann Arbor, MI
Bee-otched For: costing Michiganders $600 miilion

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It's a shame when failed businessmen decide that it's a wonderful idea to be politicians.

After all, Drumpf bankrupted several casinos and several of his products were discontinued. Remember Trump Steaks and Trump Ice Water? How about Trump University?

Of course, we had Republican pRick Snyder, who was this state's governor from 2011 to 2019 when he was term-limited. He was replaced with the current governor, Gretchen Whitmer, who has been lauded by many for her response to COVID-19. And yes, hated by Republicans and anti-maskers.

The asshole who ran down Gateway Computers made Michigan a Right-to-Work (for less) state (thanks to his puppeteers the DeVos family) and invaded every African American-heavy city in Michigan by appointing emergency managers to run the city instead of elected officials.

Thanks to Snyder, Flint - still hurting from the disappearance of factory jobs - went from having edible water from Lake Huron to lead-tainted swill from a river that the automakers dumped their waste in for over a century. The water was so bad that the automakers refused to use it because it rusted their parts. As a result, Snyder's whoops became one of the biggest environmental disasters maybe not just in Michigan's history, but in the world's history.

It's no secret that Snyder did all this to be nice to big corporations like Nestle who wanted our water so badly. They only pay $200 per year to pump water from our state and sell it for billions. Us Michiganders are lucky to be surrounded by good, clean water. Yet, thanks to Snyder, Flint became an extreme exception.

Now, we're paying the price.

Today, the State of Michigan announced that they will pay $600 million to victims of the Flint water crisis. Nearly 80% of the money will aid those who were under 18 at the time when the water crisis began. It is well-known that lead poisoning leads to developmental issues and some of the money will also help with special education. However, some are claiming that the $600 million is not enough. Nayyirah Shariff, who runs the group Flint Rising told the Detroit Free Press that she now has seizures from drinking the water. She told the paper that she probably won't get $6,000 from the settlement.

So, whatever happened to Snyder? He's probably sitting and relaxing at his home in Ann Arbor while all the peasants he fucked over in Flint are all having seizures and will probably have to live on EBT forever since they're all brain damaged. It's sick that Michigan got stuck with that douchebag who told us that he would save Michigan money. Now, he's making us pay the price.

Once again, he's one stuffed turd.

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Wednesday, August 19, 2020

8.19.20 Bee-otch of the Day: Mike Lindell

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

Name: Mike Lindell
Age: 59
Occupation: snake oil salesman
Last Seen: Minnesota
Bee-otched For: thinking he's a doctor

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It's no secret that I hate the MyPillow guy, Mike Lindell.

This asshole made his millions with a fucking pillow that looks like it was made with the same shit the dentist shoves in your mouth to take an X-ray, plus the earplugs you wear during concerts. He was never a doctor; hell, before he started MyPillow, Lindell was a bar owner who was also a crack addict.

Since sucking in millions of morons into buying his $49.99 pillow, Lindell has used a lot of the money from that product to aide Drumpf and his bullshit. He's known for buying a lot of ads on Fox News Channel. Hell, when Laura Ingraham lost a ton of her sponsors because of idiotic comments regarding the victims of the Parkland School massacre, it was Mike who purchased all the empty slots. Last year, an anti-abortion movie was made that attacked Planned Parenthood. Not only did Lindell personally invested a million dollars of his own money into the project, but he also made a cameo.

Now, Lindell is at it again, claiming that he has the cure for COVID-19.

He is pushing a botanical extract called oleandrin, which is from a poisonous plant called oleander (which is also the name of a late 90s rock group). Lindell is an investor in the company that makes the potion. However, there's no proof that oleandrin will cure COVID-19.

Sadly, Lindell is not the first Jebus freak who thinks that his horseshit will cure the disease. Remember when Jim Bakker was selling a fake coronavirus cure earlier this year that set his viewers back $125 per bottle? Once again, there was ZERO proof that his product cured COVID-19. Same with oleandrin.

Last night, Lindell went on the defensive with his product with CNN's Anderson Cooper. During the interview, Cooper called it what it was: snake oil.

You know, people need to forget that when we visit a business or buy a certain product, we're supporting politics. Are you a Democrat? Shop Disney, Energizer Batteries, Costco, Axe Deodorant and Popeye's Chicken. Rethugs can go to hell for all I care, or at least Papa John's, Coor's, Chick-fil-A, Walmart and Hobby Lobby. The app called "Goods Unite Us" is awesome for finding what companies give to what and whom.

MyPillow is a joke, plain and simple. Hell, I purchased a pair of pillows from Brookstone a few years ago and they're wonderful. Too bad they closed the one at my mall. If you think that Mike Lindell will lead you to a better night's sleep, think again. All the guy's ever done is sell shit and be a false prophet doing so. Anybody who will fight for a cunt like Laura Ingraham instead of shooting victims is a total asshole, period. I hope like Bakker, AGs will try to shut his shit down.

Thank God I take melatonin.

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CHUCK69.COM IS ALWAYS ON!

Tuesday, August 18, 2020

8.18.20 Bee-otches of the Day: people not wearing their damn masks

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

Name: various
Age: various
Occupation: various
Last Seen: various
Bee-otched For: not wearing a mask... still

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It's a call nobody wants to get. But on Sunday, my mother got one.

That evening, she and I were watching the Oscar-winning film "The Shape of Water" when her phone got a text. It was her niece and my cousin, asking if she could call her. We paused the movie (I've seen it twice, so no hurt feelings) and she called. I knew that it had to do with my aunt in Toledo, who is 75, obese and type II diabetic.

Saturday night, my cousin - who is expecting her first grandchild - and her husband took their camper to Toledo to visit my aunt and her mom. They left their campground Sunday morning and wanted to say goodbye to her mom. However, the phone kept ringing with no answer. Later that morning, my cousin called her sister to check on her. She came over, knocked on the door and my aunt was screaming for help.

My aunt had fallen out of her bathtub and broke her arm.

She laid naked on the floor for four hours, waiting for help. She was thankful her two daughters were concerned about her and without them, who knows what would have happened to her. She was rushed to the hospital where they discovered that her arm was broken by her right shoulder. They wanted to release her because of COVID-19, but her children said that they wanted to keep her there so they could operate on her.

To make matters worse, thanks to COVID-19, only my aunt's son is allowed in the hospital with her.

Sadly, I'll admit that my aunt is far from perfect. As mentioned, she allowed herself to fall apart with poor eating and exercise habits. She once had nine(!!!) cats and they would roam the second floor of her house peeing and pooping all over the place. Not long ago when my aunt was at the hospital for another reason, my cousins went inside the house and noticed that the upstairs floorboard had rotted thanks to years of cat urine. Now, they worry that in order for the house to sell, it would have to be remodeled extensively. Since my aunt is no longer mobile and walks around with a walker, her children are fighting her to move out and live in a place that's more geared towards seniors. But, she's kicking and screaming.

And to make matters worse, she's a Drumpf supporter.

To me, Drumpf supporters are in a sea of denial, just like my aunt. She thinks that Obama was the Antichrist, but Drumpf is a man of God. And this is a woman who can't even see most of her family all because of the fact that because of Drumpf, America is one of the worst nations on the fucking planet because of the disease. Sorry to say this, but she did it to herself.

Because Drumpf is not tough on masks, we have morons who all think that COVID-19 is a lie. As a result, they tell others that masks are optional. But when people cough and COVID-19 drops touch another person, they will end up with the disease.

Up near Charlevoix in Antrim County sits Atwood, a small town known for golfing and tractor dealerships. It's also the home of Friske Orchards, whose owners are now suing Gov. Gretchen Whitmer because they think her mask mandate is unconstitutional. As a matter of fact, their lawyer is also representing two other lawsuits against the Governor, even though her mandate is legal based on a 1945 ruling.

Ya know, I was hoping that the warm weather would have killed COVID-19 by now. But, no. Instead, it's getting worse because of assholes who love to travel - pandemic or not - and make people sick. Why? Because they don't give two shits about others. They don't wash their hands when they use the bathroom, they don't socially distance and they sure as hell don't wear a fucking mask!

Finally, yesterday, I saw a report on the sister of Sharon Stone's sister battling COVID-19. She's in a hospital with trouble breathing from the virus. In a statement, Stone said that she's voting for Joe Biden and is telling people "don't vote for a killer".

If people wore a mask no matter what the situation, COVID-19 would be gone by now. It's time to wake up. I'm happy that Whitmer has beefed up mask wearing in Michigan and that every shop owner has the right to kick out everybody who doesn't wear one. Also, SHAME on anybody who goes into Short's Brewpub in Bellaire who has threatened their staff just because they come in without a mask. It's time to wake up, people.

As for Sharon Stone, we'll never forget that famous scene in "Basic Instinct" where she exposes her private parts. However, those who don't wear masks are bigger pussies.

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CHUCK69.COM IS ALWAYS ON!

Monday, August 17, 2020

8.17.20 Bee-otch of the Day: Donald Trump

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

Name: Donald Trump
Age: 74
Occupation: cheddar cheese
Last Seen: Washington, DC
Bee-otched For: being an embarrassment

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As someone who grew up in a heavily rural area, I know how important the mail is.

I didn't grow up in a town per se. As a matter of fact, my local post office was seven miles one way. Our mail lady had a big route, to say the least.

Sometimes, I would wonder what life would be like if the Postal Service was privatized. Would areas like mine be well-served if that were to happen? Bear in mind that northern Michigan has become a somewhat decent barometer when it comes to failed chains. When Blockbuster closed up north, the whole chain followed. Same with Toys 'R Us, Charlotte Russe, Express and the most-recent example, teen girl retailer Justice.

And for those watching the slow demise of the Grand Traverse Mall, Hollister just closed. Just 16 years ago, Grand Traverse Mall was gaining new stores left and right. Thanks to Traverse City's high rent and low wages, well, WYSIWYG.

Tragically, northern Michigan is a hellhole when it comes to those who support Drumpf. Hell, he landed his jet in Traverse City and campaigned in Cadillac. Hillary in 2016? Well, Chelsea came to town and stumped for her. Bernie Sanders, OTOH came to the Cherry Capitol.

Northern Michigan ain't perfect. There's towns that don't have a grocery store or even a gas station. And some towns don't have a drug store. Some of those towns' residents are seniors who rely on the US Mail for their prescriptions. But with Drumpf slowing down the mail for the sake of preventing so-called election fraud, it's also slowing down the lifeline for some of those who need it the most. Thankfully, Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel and other state AGs are fighting to stop the de facto president from slowing down the PO to get the mail sent.

There is that part of me that says "sucks to be you" to the seniors who voted this monstrosity into the White House. Do you need your meds and the nearest pharmacy is ten miles away? Tough shit! You helped get this asshole into the White House and now, you're at a major disadvantage. Wanna vote for Drumpf again? Chances are that by the time he ends his second term, the PO will be privatized and you might have to drive 50 miles daily just to pick up your mail.

Last weekend on Southpaws, temporary co-host Katy Steele-Barone told the story of her reading a book about Nazi Germany. She claimed that she had to put the book down constantly because some of Hitler's tactics to get him reelected were the same as Drumpf's is today. Needless to say, the Repukes shutting down voting centers in predominately black cities and fucking up the Postal Service might have an unfortunate impact on November's presidential election. I am, however thankful that I live by my local government office so I can hand them my ballot in person. No stamps and no waiting, period.

One other thing mentioned on last weekend's Southpaws was how important it is to get Drumpf out of the White House. However, Steele-Barone and main host Darren Gibson were disgusted that the Dems chose a centralist like Joe Biden and Kamala Harris to fight against him. Even though Biden's ahead nine points and is likely to win the Electoral College, it irks them that these are the people who the establishment wants to win.

Speaking of Harris, of course Drumpf had to use unproven sources to claim that she wasn't born in America. Harris - who is of Indian and Jamaican descent - was born in Oakland, CA. Bear in mind that Drumpf was a leader in the birther movement in regard to former President Obama, claiming that he was born in Africa. That's what a racist does: if a person of color wants to hold high office, they make up lies that they were not from here, period. That goes especially to those like both Harris and Obama who had parents of different races.

Look, even though Biden might win the election, I doubt if I would vote for him because I'm a progressive. True, during tonight's Democratic National Convention, Bernie Sanders will tell his supporters to show support for Biden. However, in the past, he's said that if he told people to vote for another person, he'd be lying. He's simply doing this to show positive sportsmanship.

Folks, we need to fight. This country needs to treat people of color better. We also need to raise taxes for the wealthy, make healthcare more affordable and make it so that all people can live on a livable wage. Oh yeah, we need to get rid of COVID-19. Some of that *might* happen with Biden. Even though he is a step up from Drumpf, we can do better.

Any way possible, we gotta get this embarrassment out of our lives.

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CHUCK69.COM IS ALWAYS ON!

Thursday, August 13, 2020

8.13.20 Bee-otch of the Day: a certain northern Michigan radio station owner

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

Name: guess who?
Age: guess!
Occupation: radio station owner
Last Seen: Petoskey, MI
Bee-otched For: a secret we learned about that particular person from long ago

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It's always nice to learn from the past.

Back in the olden days, if you were done with a newspaper, you threw it away, used it to burn wood or used it to line a birdcage. It wasn't worth it to many to keep yesterday's news.

However, old newspapers are a link to the past. Without them, we wouldn't know what was going on back in the day. We wouldn't know where people shopped or what existed way back in olden times.

Thankfully, many websites have archives of old newspapers. Even better is that some of them are free! One site I've been checking as of late is one that's run by a cemetery in Petoskey in northern Michigan. They have faithfully digitized THOUSANDS of newspapers - mainly the Petoskey News-Review - dating all the way back to 1874.

Thanks to that site, I know a little more about the history of the Petoskey region. I know that there was an old Kroger downtown that became a short-lived IGA in the 1950s. There was once a prominent supermarket called Crago's in town that would become the town's Oleson's and is now Kilwin's. Up in Harbor Springs, the current IGA was once called Mac's Super Market and there was a paper that devoted its back half to the opening of the then-new IGA in Alanson. Back in 1952 when that IGA, Doyle's Supermarket opened its doors, it was a whopping 2,300 square feet. Today, there's convenience stores that dwarf that by many leaps and bounds.

Aside from retail, The News-Review had TV listings. I even found an article about WPBN-TV 7 Traverse City finally agreeing to carry The Tonight Show in 1956. They only carried the first third of the program since NBC allowed stations back then to air the show in thirds in case they chose to close at midnight, which WPBN-TV did. Of course, 7&4 did eventually clear the 12-12:30 a.m. section of the show, but it wasn't until the late 60s when they finally decided to air the whole program. They might have been the last NBC affiliate in the country to do so.

Of course, there were nice photos of Summer life in the Petoskey and Charlevoix regions. Lots of people swimming and eating ice cream. Yes, the region is usually hopping this time of year and it might still be, COVID-19 and all.

On the radio front, I decided to type in some call letters in the search engine. I found some old radio ratings (KHQ was #1 throughout much of the 80s) and some old ads for KHQ, WMBN, WJML, WWPZ and WKPK. I even found an article where KHQ was suing WKPK for infringing on their image (i.e. they were called '107 KPK', they used the "one hit after another" liner, etc.) and won.

For shits and giggles, I typed in the name of someone who has been a figure in northern Michigan media for more than 40 years. I've heard some, um, not-so-nice things about this person. I was expecting the News-Review to only publish your typical Chamber of Commerce shit about said person. But, boy, was I wrong.

And if I ever asked that person to drive me, I'd shoot myself.

In 1983, said person got into an accident in front of the Arby's in Petoskey. A 21-year-old woman named Melody Speigl was injured when she was getting a Beef 'n Cheddar when said person smacked into her as she exited the parking lot. Now, granted, from the sounds of things, Speigl was probably at fault. She was probably more-focused on her Curly Fries and Jamocha over caring for the safety of others.

But, that's not all, folks! Twenty-four years after that accident, said person ended up spending some time behind bars for a DUI.

According to the News-Review, said person "was sentenced to serve 36 days in jail with credit for one day served, five days community service work in lieu of jail time and 30 days held in abeyance, six months probation and pay $1,260 in fines and costs on a charge of driving while visibly impaired."

So, who was this person who fucked up and spent some precious time supposedly in the Emmet County Drunk Tank? Why, it's none other than Patricia MacDonald-Garber, the owner of several northern Michigan radio stations including 106 KHQ, Lite 96.3, 104.5 Bob FM, 96.7 The Bull and several crappy AM stations including 1240 WATT in Cadillac, aka "Rush Radio".

Yes, a woman owning a radio station named after the asshole who called Sandra Fluke a "slut" some years ago. Kinda reminds me of this old Far Side comic.

For some reason, I never thought that Trish would ever be the type that would be locked up in jail. Hell, I knew that she was somewhat religious (on her Facebook profile, she's wearing a cross). Not to mention the fact that KHQ tends to play the "super censored" version of some songs ("sex" is muted on Post Malone's "Circles" and ironically, "binge drinking" was chopped off "Black Beatles" from Rae Sremmurd). But since KHQ has had a long history of canning certain songs long before Trish bought the station (when they were hits, tunes like Digital Underground's "The Humpty Dance", "Tic-Tac-Toe" by Kyper and others were edited out of their Sunday countdown shows like American Top 40), it was no wonder why in the 1990s, the now-defunct 106.7 The Peak was a much-better station.

And sadly, Trish now owns what's left of that station, with a new format coming soon.

Now, I do wonder WTF this wasn't news when all this happened in 2007. Granted, radio station owners aren't all famous and most drunk driving arrests don't make the 6:00 news. Hell, I wonder if many in the media community even knew that Trish was a jailbird. AFAIK, it was never even discussed on Michigan media message boards at the time. Well, now we all know.

And oddly enough, a few years after Trish was busted, Citadel GM Matt Hanlon got busted for the same thing. Yet, it made waves in the radio industry and made it onto The Grand Rapids Press. Yet, Trish's sentencing only made it to the court blotter.

My theory, too is that the media up north is too nice to idiots like Trish. After all, radio stations do advertise on TV stations and other media. Heaven forbid that either 9&10 or 7&4 arrest on Trish's bust because it's no big deal.

It kinda reminded me when one of the owners of several radio stations in the UP got busted for drunk driving some time ago. Marquette NBC affiliate WLUC-6 had the story on their website, but took it off. Part of me thinks that it was a cease and desist order because that company, Sovereign Communications reportedly is having money issues and is selling off all their Marquette stations.

You see, a business owner is a celebrity, especially if it's their name of the company, like MacDonald-Garber Broadcasting. Usually to avoid negativity, they'll do shit like give money to charity or local events like festivals. If somebody spreads the truth about that owner, they're simply biting the hand that feeds them. But since I've been blogging about Trish on and off for over 20 years and have not been given one order from her to stop, well, it sucks to be her.

Look, if you do bad shit like drinking and driving, you deserve to have your ass handed to you. I've heard horrible stories about people getting killed in drunk driving accidents while the drunk driver gets to live. In situations like these, I'm happy that a cop found Trish and slapped cuffs on her. However, I think her $1,260 fine was simply chump change for a rich woman like her. The only good thing about Trish's DUI is that she ain't the first media personality to be busted for it, nor sadly, she won't be the last. I just hope she learned her lesson.

And judging by KHQ's bland, watered-down playlist these days, I wonder if she got plastered on Schlitz.

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CHUCK69.COM IS ALWAYS ON!

Wednesday, August 12, 2020

8.12.20 Bee-otches of the Day: the Democratic Party

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

Name: The Democratic Party
Age: 192
Occupation: political party
Last Seen: Washington, DC
Bee-otched For: STILL not being progressive enough

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Today and yesterday, history was made.

Kamala Harris became the first woman of color to be chosen as an American Vice Presidential nominee. The 55-year-old California senator will be the running mate for Democratic Presidential nominee Joe Biden. Harris has a Jamaican father and an Indian mother.

Harris' nomination ends weeks of speculation on whom Biden would pick as his veep. Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer was rumored to be on Biden's shortlist. However, Biden was pressured by many to choose a minority in light of recent problems involving people of color.

Harris is a known centralist, especially with her views on healthcare and crime. She's pro-choice, anti-death penalty, anti-gun and pro-LGBTQ+. However, in the beginning, she was against legalizing pot, but does now. She even co-sponsored Bernie Sanders' Medicare for All bill.

Granted, she's not a few steps up from our current veep, Mike Pence, she's many floors beyond. At least Harris wears a mask in public and would probably ride a horse and carriage in Mackinac Island. Not to mention that she probably wouldn't pass a fucked-up law that would allow businesses to discriminate against the LGBTQ+ community.

True, even though Biden has a 10-point lead over Drumpf, the question is, is that will people come out and vote for him?

Granted, America is desperate. This country had massive economic prosperity until Drumpf came and fucked it all up. Now, people are wondering if this country can get through COVID-19 and move on.

Folks, we're the most-hated nation on Earth because of Drumpf. Same with BusHitler and the fake wars he started. It seems that with every Repuke since Reagan, America gets worse and worse.

But, does that mean that the Democrats have to be assholes, too?

The Dems seemed to have forgotten about 2016. The people wanted Bernie, but we got Hillary instead. Even with three million votes more than Drumpf, Hillary lost the election. Why? Simple: to the Repukes, Drumpf is Jesus. The Dems simply voted for Hillary because they didn't want a psycho billionaire in the White House. Guess who won?

Sadly, I see a helluva lot more Drumpf 2020 signs over Biden signs. Simply put, Biden is just another guy who is Drumpf Lite, especially with his rape allegations. Granted, he is the lesser of the two evils vs. Drumpf. But, is it worth voting for a man who's 78, and can he make it to 86 if elected two terms?

I think Americans are tired of establishment politics, plain and simple. It explains why once again, if people vote Democrat, it's gonna be to get Drumof out of office. Will it be enough? It wasn't for Al Gore, it wasn't for John Kerry and it sure wasn't for Hillary.

Only time will tell. If all else fails, it should be AOC in 2024. IF we're still alive.

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CHUCK69.COM IS ALWAYS ON!

Tuesday, August 11, 2020

8.11.20 Bee-otches of the Day: anybody who thinks kids need to go back to school in person

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

Name: various
Age: various
Occupation: various
Last Seen: everywhere
Bee-otched For: wanting our kids back in school

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It's the scene that should not be made right now.

As some of you have heard, a school in Georgia made headlines when several students were suspended for posting a photo of the school's hallways. Now, North Paulding High School is closed after nine students came down with COVID-19.

Alcoa, TN schools were the first since the pandemic began to reopen, and soon after, someone tested positive for COVID.

And yet, Betsy DeVos and the Drumpf administration wants all kids to go to school, in the flesh and in person. The sad truth is that yes, kids can get COVID and DIE from it. They might not get the virus, but it still can get passed to loved ones, like their parents and grandparents. And with weakened immune systems, it's just not cool that kids have to go to school and bring home something that will kill Grandma.

Reportedly, Betsy DeVos really ain't doing much to stop it. She's simply relaxing in her mansion that her daddies paid for and riding her bike. The good news is that there's an organization, Protect Our Public Schools that's rolling around Michigan cities with a billboard that reads "quit hiding in your mansion" and "protect our kids".

Yep, just somebody who never worked a day in their life just pretending that the world will move on, feast or famine.

But shame should also be put on the morons who have kids and want them to go to school while they stay home in front of their laptop. In my years at school, I've brought home colds and stomach viruses. It ain't fun. But thanks to Drumpf and his nearsightedness in terms of protecting America, well, this is what happens.

Folks, we gotta get this asshole out of the White House. If we have four more years of him, the real question is, is that will we be around in 2024? By any means necessary, and how.

Because after all, our children are our future.

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CHUCK69.COM IS ALWAYS ON!

Monday, August 10, 2020

8.10.20 Bee-otch of the Day: Tom Eckerle

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

Name: Tom Eckerle
Age: 75
Occupation: road commissioner
Last Seen: Suttons Bay, MI
Bee-otched For: being a quitter

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The people have spoken and hell officially froze over in Leelanau County, Michigan, over by Traverse City.

Last week, we reported on Tom Eckerle, the Leelanau County Road Commissioner who got himself into deep shit. He came to a meeting without a mask and when he was asked, he blamed the coronavirus on "those niggers from Detroit".

Eckerle's comment was not supposed to be heard by most ears, but it got out anyway. As a matter of fact, international websites reported on his outburst.

The rest of the Road Commission and other fellow Republicans such as state rep and former radio personality Jack O'Malley called for Eckerle's resignation. Many in the area even started petitions for his removal. For a while, Eckerle said that he planned to serve out the rest of his six-year term, which began two years ago.

But now, Eckerle is a goner.

Today, he submitted his handwritten resignation letter to the Commission. The letter stated that as of 8 a.m. on Tuesday that he will resign his "set" on the Leelanau County Road "Com." He ended with "Thank you and God Bless".

Meanwhile, local authorities are investigating why somebody defaced that Road Commission's sign by slapping on a piece of paper saying "RACISM", covering the word "Road". The vandal also covered the road sign in front of the commission's building, which states that it's on Eckerle Road. Apparently, one probable reason for Eckerle being on the Commission as-is was because he has some history in the area.

As I've written about last week, sadly, northern Michigan has its problems with racism. With its population 90-95% white - depending on your whereabouts - you're going to have to deal with racism. It doesn't matter if you're in a shithole like Manceltucky, Kalkaskatucky or Rapid Citytucky or if you're in a nicer town like Harbor Springs or even Traverse City. Even here in Grand Rapids, I hear the n-word occasionally. I was at the Meijer at 28th and Kalamazoo not long ago and overheard a phone conversation from a young woman who referred to it as the "nigger Meijer". Sadly, that location is long-known for being a hotspot for beggars, even though some of them are white. In my case, some have begged me for bus money.

I understand. African Americans aren't perfect. Then again, neither are the white trash who populate northern Michigan. I'm glad Darren Gibson from Southpaws even touched on Eckerle's problems by stating that if you want to go up north, you know you're close if the banjos get louder. As I've said, sometimes, I feel ashamed to come from up there. It's one reason why I blog.

Earlier today, one of my Facebook friends - whom I went to school with - announced that he unfriended someone whom we both went to school with. On his Facebook account, he has a picture of a street that's supposed to say "Black Lives Matter", but says "Get a Fucking Job" instead. Well played. Several of my up north FB "friends" are like that, too, including some family members.

The point is, is that this is why Drumpf needs his ass kicked out of the White House in November by any means necessary. Let's tell these yokels that they're in the minority and that it's time to make America TRULY great again.

As for Eckerle, maybe he'll just sit on his "sit" and watch his Rome burn.

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CHUCK69.COM IS ALWAYS ON!

Thursday, August 6, 2020

8.6.20 Bee-otch of the Day: Tom Eckerle

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

Name: Tom Eckerle
Age: 75
Occupation: road commissioner
Last Seen: Suttons Bay, MI
Bee-otched For: being a racist asshole

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Sometimes, I feel ashamed that I had to spend the first 19 years on this planet in Northern Michigan.

And why is this? It's because it's loaded with morons who moved up there for one reason and one reason only: they hate people of color.

And Tom Eckerle is one of them.

Eckerle has been a road commissioner in Leelanau County, MI near Traverse City since 2008. During a recent meeting, he was seen not wearing a mask. When asked, he simply responded, "Well, this whole thing is because of them niggers down in Detroit."

When word got out about Republican Eckerle's outburst, the community became outraged. Now, there's several petitions calling for his resignation. Right now, he has four more years on his term and has no plans to resign.

A reporter for the Traverse City Record-Eagle talked to Eckerle, who said that Black Lives Matter is more than the n-word and that he's no racist.

OH, BULLSHIT.

State representative and long-time northern Michigan radio personality Jack O'Malley is also calling for Eckerle's resignation and so are many other Republicans in the district. For a recall effort, 3,000 signatures are needed.

You know, it sickens me that a lot of people who live up north are beyond ignorant. In 2008, Barack Obama was elected president. And guess how a gun shop, Hampel's in Traverse City responded to having a black president? They hanged the American flag upside down! Not only that, but the store's manager was nice enough to tell a reporter for the Record-Eagle that Obama was... the n-word.

Sadly, I lived in northern Michigan for many years. A huge reason why my parents moved up north was because so my father could be closer to his cousin. Tragically, racism is an unfortunate part of that section of the family. I remembered having a conversation about Obama with his parents and they compared him to Kwame Kilpatrick. Not only that, his brothers post racist shit on Facebook constantly.

I'm friends on Facebook with many of my former neighbors and they post stupid shit all the time. I see their idiocy and ask myself, "why in the fucking hell did I ever hang out with them?" Plus, I feel ashamed that I live in the neighborhood where ultra-right-winged cocksucker "Trucker" Randy now lives. He's the convicted felon whom through his wife owns a shitty talk and oldies station in Cheboygan that spews hate.

Even more, it's sick knowing how uneducated so many up north people are. Then again, if you grew up in northern Michigan, chances are that you ended up downstate to go to a real college and found a real job. Live up north and make $10 per hour? You're lucky. Own a house in Traverse City without roommates? Ditto. Trust me. NMC is nice, but it's a tiny community college as opposed to a four-year school where people get real training. Hell, the UP has better colleges than NMC!

All I can say is that if Kalkaska can purge itself of its old, racist asshole mayor and replace him with a gay dude, so can Leelanau County. It's time for northern Michigan to grow a pair and realize that African Americans are human beings, too. If they can get this disgusting, old prick out of his position, it will be a good example to all of northern Michigan.

Black Lives Matter, even in northern Michigan.

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CHUCK69.COM IS ALWAYS ON!

Wednesday, August 5, 2020

8.5.20 Bee-otches of the Day: cable channels that change format

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

Name: various
Age: various
Occupation: supposed entertainers of the public
Last Seen: various
Bee-otched For: thinking a change can do them good

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This past weekend, MTV had a big birthday.

The iconic cable channel turned 39. When it was launched, they aired something called "music videos". 'Memba those?

So how did MTV celebrate their 39th year in business? Simple: they showed a marathon of videos of another kind in the form of their hit show Ridiculousness. Now, I've always loved that program. Yes, it's funny and at times, shocking. Same with the videos MTV showed in its first several years on the air.

So, what went wrong? Simple: MTV found out that reality shows and the other crap they produced had a larger audience. I remembered as a teen staying up on a school night to watch 120 Minutes only to have it pre-empted by a fucking Real World marathon. As a teen, I never related to that show and all it taught me was that roommates suck. Maybe that's why I prefer to live alone.

But, it's the truth: shitty reality TV will always out-rate obscure indie rock any day of the week. Maybe that's why 120 would eventually meet its demise. But, considering its weird time slot, 120 continued to be a cult favorite with a small, yet loyal fan base.

Cable TV has been around longer than most people think: since the late 1940s. As a matter of fact, Petoskey was one of the very first cities in Michigan to have cable TV. Cable was simply used to receive more channels and to improve signal quality on some of the local channels. In Petoskey's case, northern Michigan only had two TV stations in the 1950s: CBS WWTV Cadillac (formerly on Channel 13) and NBC WPBN-7. Both shoehorned and few shows from ABC here and there. Instead of regular cable channels, people got out-of-town stations like Grand Rapids' WZZM-13 and virtually all stations out of Green Bay.

Of course, the 70s and 80s gave us the rise of channels exclusive to cable. Many people from that era might remember the early days of HBO, ESPN, CNN and a small children's channel called Pinwheel, which evolved into Nickelodeon. There was a young broadcast mogul from Atlanta named Ted Turner who took a ginormous risk by beaming his tiny independent TV station in Atlanta, WTBS onto many cable systems in America in 1976. Eventually, he bought the Atlanta Braves, started CNN, bought MGM's extensive film library, started several more cable channels and so on. Eventually, he sold his empire to Time Warner in the 90s for $7 billion. He's still worth about $2 billion.

Other superstations followed Turner's lead, like Chicago's WGN. Like Turner, WGN's parent, The Tribune Company, bought the Chicago Cubs. Too bad they sucked under their ownership unlike the Braves. New York's WWOR, Boston's WSBK and Los Angeles' KTLA had similar offerings in regards to cable and satellite.

Thirty to forty years later, cable has definitely changed. True, ESPN is still showing sports, Nickelodeon is still spoiling kids (and yes, I'm giddy that Comedy Central is bringing back Ren and Stimpy sans pedo creator John Kricfalusi) and Lifetime is causing women to buy truckloads of Kleenex. However, cable purists shake their heads at times knowing that the cable networks they grew up with maintain their branding despite changing their programming.

For example: AMC. Originally, it stood for "American Movie Classics". Primarily, they showed old-timey films from before 1980 or so. True, they still show movies, but they're mainly from the 80s and later. A&E stood for "Arts and Entertainment" and up until recently, they were the home of Live P.D., which was like Cops, but it was live. It was entertaining, but watching a cop perform a field sobriety test isn't quite on par with something like Biography.

Some even changed their branding altogether. Remember TNN? It was The Nashville Network. It was even owned by the Grand Ole Opry's owners, Gaylord Entertainment. Well, Gaylord sold TNN (and CMT) to CBS. CBS then realized that even though their ratings were good, their demographics were old. So, TNN started adding some non-country-related shows and eventually, CMT took their slack. TNN became "The National Network" and then Spike TV, a channel devoted to men. Now, it's The Paramount Network, which shows sitcoms, shows like Bar Rescue and movies. When it was launched, I saw a promo where they claimed that they were going to show mainly films from Paramount's vault. However, I see that they're showing some Rocky movies, all from MGM. Kinda like going to an A&W Root Beer stand and getting a Coke, don't you think?

And yes, I gotta touch on BBC America. Years ago, I used to watch this channel here and there. Hell, they even showed old Benny Hill repeats at one time! Now, it seems that they air endless marathons of Star Trek: The Next Generation and movies like "Roadhouse". Apparently, they still show BBC staples like Doctor Who and Monty Python's Flying Circus, but in the wee hours of the morning.

You know, this is why cable is dying and there's an uprising in regard to streaming services like Netflix and Disney+. Hell, even NBCUniversal and ViacomCBS have gotten into the act with free services like Peacock and PlutoTV respectively. And yes, this guy.

The point is, is that it's pure sacrilege when you say that you're a rock station and your playlist is all country. But, that's cable. MTV still had the "Music Television" liner for years until they chopped off part of their logo a few years ago. Granted, MTV does have picked up the slack music video-wise, like MTV Classic and MTVU. But for the main MTV to replace videos with Jersey Shore crap makes me proud that there's millions of channels to choose from.

But still, Bruce Springsteen had that one song called "57 Channels And Nothing On".

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CHUCK69.COM IS ALWAYS ON!

Tuesday, August 4, 2020

8.4.20 Bee-otches of the Day: most northern Michigan radio station owners

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

Name: various radio station owners
Age: various
Occupation: supposed entertainers of the public
Last Seen: northern Michigan
Bee-otched For: ratings? What are they, anyway?

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Well, this is embarrassing.

Twice per year, Nielsen releases ratings data for market 158, aka Traverse City/Petoskey/Cadillac. Usually, WTCM-FM leads the pack with KLT at #2, 106 KHQ at #3 and so on.

But this time around, only two companies had the balls to know how they did in the ratings: Black Diamond and Central Michigan University.

BD's Big Country 102.9 rocked up to one of its best books ever with a 6 share. I'll betcha that Midwestern dropping country on 93.5 and the huge lack of competition helped them a lot. Classic rocker The Bear trickled up to a 3.9 overall while Rock 105/95-5 had one of its crappiest books in a while with a 4.8. Then again, COVID-19 has hurt active rock stations in general in recent months with its mainly younger fans staying home.

Normally, several radio groups up north subscribe to Nielsen. But since the demise of Northern Broadcast, which sold 97.5 WKLT to Midwestern, the owners of WTCM-AM/FM, WCCW-AM/FM and Z93 not long ago, it's no doubt that a lot has changed up north. And not all of it's good.

Right now, there's several empty spots on northern Michigan's radio dial where stations once broadcast loudly and proudly. Of the six stations NBI sold, KLT is the only station that has retained format, albeit on 97.5 only. Of course, 98.9 was spun off to a Christian group and is now Air 1. 94.3 is now airing programming from Central Michigan University, 106.7 was sold to MacDonald Garber with a new format pending, 105.5 was recently sold to Good News Media and will return to the air with a religious format while the future of 92.5 - way out in the middle of nowhere in Atlanta - is up in the (W)air (no pun intended).

And yes, don't get me started on 101.9, 92.3, 99.3, 100.7 and AM 750.

As I've mentioned in the past, it seems that Black Diamond is the only major radio company in northern Michigan that knows what they're doing. For years, northern Michigan radio station owners and their consultants from Florida have all cried that an active rock station wouldn't do well up north. In the great words of one Maurice Richard Povich, "that was a lie". It explains why in the late 90s, Rock 105's predecessor, The Zone was a shitty wuss rocker that overplayed forgettable shit like Jann Arden's "Insensitive", Sinead Lohan's "Diving To Be Deeper" and anything that would give a straight white male douche chills. But when The Zone FINALLY started spiking in KoRn, Rage Against the Machine, Tool and other bands that people *ACTUALLY* like in late 2000s, the ratings went up.

Granted, MacGar - KHQ, Lite 96, Bob FM and 96.7 The Bull's parent - is the worst offender since they haven't subscribed to a book in years.

So, why is Black Diamond the sole company with ratings info? Simple: $$$. Allegedly, it costs $25,000 per book for broadcasters. But thanks to COVID-19, among other factors, well, WYSIWYG. I know, ALL companies are showing signs of struggle because of it. But since much of Michigan is reopened and ad revenue's PROBABLY back up for the Summer months, it would have been nice to know hwo all the major changes affected up north radio.

Hell, I WANTED TO KNOW HOW WKLT DID! Now that Omelette's back and the fact that they're on three frequencies, it would have been cool to see if Midwestern's plan worked or backfired.

I also wanted to see how WCCW-FM did as well. Why? For starters, there's a part of me that thinks that there's not much time left for 107.5. 1) When Dean Berry moved to KLT, they never replaced his afternoon shift. 2) Their sole listed jocks, Charlie D. and Dave Gauthier are close to retirement age. Last but not least, 3) they are the only Midwestern station that does not stream. There's also word that 1310 AM - currently carrying ESPN programming - might not last much longer since the property the station's towers are located is up for sale. It would be somewhat wise for Midwestern to kill 107.5 since they only had a 3.0 in the last book. That way, their listeners would migrate to 97.5. Then, 107.5 would flip to ESPN. Who knows?

The next ratings book should be out in early 2021, carrying the Fall ratings. Some of the questions I have would be: 1) if MacGar signs 106.7 back on, what will be their format? 2) Can Q100 - now on three frequencies - have the ratings KLT, Rock 105 and The Bear have? 3) Can 107.5 rebound to prove that last paragraph is wrong?

All I can say for now is that if we all want to know, northern Michigan's radio station owners need to pay up.

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CHUCK69.COM IS ALWAYS ON!

Monday, August 3, 2020

8.3.20 Bee-otches of the Day: mean celebrities

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

Name: various
Age: various
Occupation: celebrities
Last Seen: everywhere
Bee-otched For: being assholes

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Over the years, cancel culture has played a role in the world of everything.

In the 1990s, CBS pulled Pee-Wee's Playhouse from its schedule because Pee-Wee Herman was caught jerking off in an adult theater. In 1969, the TV show Turn-On was pulled after only one episode on ABC because many affiliates were offended by its sexual content. In 1967, Chicago radio station WLS banned the song "Gloria" by Them (featuring a young Van Morrison) because of the line "She comes around here just about midnight/Ha, she make me feel so good, Lord, I want to say she make me feel alright". So, they hired a local band, The Shadows of Knight to re-record a more-radio-friendly version of the tune. The Shadows of Knight version was a top 10 smash.

Now, the world of cancel culture might be hitting TV sets again. This time, Ellen DeGeneres might be losing her highly-rated daytime show.

There's an investigation going on regarding how the 62-year-old comedianne is treating her staff. Word had it that Ellen has fired employees for everything from bereavement to medical leave. There's also allegations of racism and aggression coming from DeGeneres herself. As a result, she has apologized to her staff in a letter. The investigation is from WarnerMedia, the company that produces Ellen's show.

On her show, Ellen is known for being a lezbo Santa Claus, handing out shit to needy people to people who do good things. I'll admit that I'm no fan of the show, period. She's not funny and I get douche chills when I do watch it. Fuck, Jerry Springer is far more entertaining than her borefest. Not only that, I'm still fuming over the fact that she's buddies with George W. Bush, especially after the shit he threw America into.

It's sad when people like Ellen tell people to "be kind", but yet, she's a filthy cunt. Same goes with everybody who gets a free pass because they're charitable.

Look at Jerry Lewis. For decades, he was the champion for Muscular Dystrophy. He raised hundreds of millions for MDA, which helped countless people. However, it's no secret that he was an asshole. He was often saying racist and homophobic shit (even using the word "faggot" on one of his last MDA specials), which led to him being outed as its spokesperson. When he died, he gave his will to his wife and young daughter, but not to his sons.

Sadly, charity is one way asshole celebs and companies keep afloat. Did something wrong? Here, just give a bunch of money to a charity and all's well. It worked for people like Bill Cosby, Jimmy Savile and so many others.

You see, there's a big reason I'm writing this. I have a dear friend who works in retail. She's in her 60s and is on the verge of retirement. Recently at work, she got an extremely angry phone call from a regular customer who was calling on vacation in northern Michigan. She bitched at her about a service that she needed that was out of my friend's control. Needless to say, my friend was very pissed about all of what happened.

Now, my friend is trying to get her life together. She and her husband divorced after their business failed. The business was mostly funded by the inheritance from her parents. After her ex-husband's mother died and he got a huge inheritance from her, he and his new wife went on a cruise. My friend? She's 64 and lives in a cheap apartment complex.

And this customer who badmouthed her over the phone, shaming her? Why, it's a well-known news anchor here in west Michigan.

Turns out that nobody at my friend's shop likes the people who work at this particular TV station, many of whom are regular customers. Virtually all the women there all act like Karens, pretending that their shit don't stink. I know myself. I used to be Facebook friends with a former weather girl at the station years ago. However, she unfriended me over an April Fools' joke. Another weather girl is a notorious Rethug and so on.

You see, when you treat people like shit, word will spread like wildfire. It might not just be on the internet, but also behind your back. As a native northern Michigander, I knew people who worked in retail and their customers were radio and TV personalities. I knew who was gay, cheating on their spouse and treated people like excrement. It's nothing new. Sadly, nothing's changed a lot. Maybe that's why right now up north, there's a plethora of stations sitting in silence and the FCC doesn't know about it.

Folks, I had a distant cousin who was a mayor of a small town not far from Grand Rapids. He retired as mayor a few years ago. Every year at the family luncheon, I always asked him if he missed being the mayor, and he always replied with a no. When you're a celebrity, whether it's the mayor, an actor or whatever, you might live in a house made of wood and stone. But, the reality is that when you become a celeb, that house is now made out of glass. People know EVERYTHING about you: when you sleep, when you wake up, when you eat, when you shower, when you poop and so on. Don't like it? Start living in seclusion.

In the great words of one A.J. Benza (whatever happened to him?), "Fame, ain't it a bitch".

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CHUCK69.COM IS ALWAYS ON!