Bee-otch of the Day: December 2020

Wednesday, December 30, 2020

THE 2020 BEE-OTCH OF THE YEAR!

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

THE 2020 BEE-OTCH OF THE YEAR!

Well folks, here it is, the 2020 Bee-otch of the Year.

For over 20 years, we've given this, well, not very prestigious award to people who simply suck ass. People who simply make other people's lives miserable and pretend that their shit doesn't stink.

Long-time readers of this site know the drill. We hand out the Bee-otch of the Day daily and on our socials on Sunday, we dish out the Bee-otch of the Week. Every month, I hand you Bee-otch of the Month out of the Bee-otches of the Week.

So, without further adieu, here's the list.

----

8th Place: Detroit Lions
The biggest sports story of all of Detroit this year belonged to the always-woeful Detroit Lions, who are to football like the Red Sox and Cubs were to baseball for decades. A lot of the blame went usually went to team owner William Clay Ford, especially since the Lions only won one playoff game in all of the years of his ownership. Now, he's dead, and the Lions are still sucking, especially after the team fired Jim Caldwell several years ago and replaced him with the lowly Matt Patricia. Caldwell went 36-28 in his four years in Detroit while Patricia went 13-28-1.

7th Place: The National Cherry Festival
For the first time ever, the overrated Traverse City tourist trap had to cancel their yearly event thanks to COVID-19. And it serves them right, too, since the Blue Angels were supposed to perform. If you're a longtime Simpsons fan, you probably know them as "America's favorite waste of taxpayer dollars". This year, instead of wowing the masses at the Cherry Fest, the Blue Angels were flying over hospitals as Drumpf's 'thank you' to the front-line workers who all wanted proper masks instead. Not only that, the Cherry Fest shot themselves in the foot last year when for their big rock show, they called on the talents of 2000s has-been douchebags Trapt, best-known for "Headstrong" and "Still Frame". In recent years, Trapt's star in the world of music has been severely fading over lead singer Chris Brown's idiotic rants on social media. As a matter of fact, Twitter banished the band's account not long ago when Brown defended statutory rape. Brown also defended the Proud Boys and even made a post reading "rich Jews shouldn't make trap music". Granted, the Cherry Fest had booked the much-more respectable Everclear and Collective Soul for this year's event, but, you know. COVID.

6th Place: Studio C! (aka Celebration Cinema)
It's a known fact that the movie business struggled this year because of COVID-19 shuttering cinemas left and right, plus only allowing for partially-packed auditoriums. Only a few major films were released post-COVID, including "Tenent", which became a bust due to a lack of open theaters. Here in west Michigan, one major cinema closed for good: Celebration Cinema at Woodland Mall. However, it was not closed because of COVID. The reason for its closure was because the family that owned Celebration Woodland tried to run a monopoly in Grand Rapids and bombed at it. The Woodland cinema opened as a Cinemark in 2005. Just three years later, the Loeks family bought the Woodland cinema and Cinemark's sister at Rivertown Crossings. Since it was now the smallest cinema of Celebration's locations with 14 screens, plus the fact that it was only a ten-minute drive to 18-screen + IMAX Celebration North, the Loeks turned Celebration Woodland into a combination subrun and indie house. However, the new format was a bomb and earlier this year, Celebration chose not to renew its lease with Woodland Mall, citing that it never broke even in its 12 years under their ownership. With a $100 million renovation last year, Woodland was hoping for more new stores to arrive at the popular mall. But, with the closures of the cinema, TGI Friday's, Express and a few other stores here and there, it put a damper on its 2020.

5th Place: Rush Limbaugh
Now, as somebody who's lost loved ones to cancers of many kinds, I have sympathy for most who have the disease. However, I make exceptions. Over the years, the FCC had transformed from being a fair government agency to one that's overly far to the right. In 1987, the Fairness Doctrine - which helped to create a fair media - was revoked. Because of this, it created a whole new format for terrestrial radio: conservative talk. Rush was its biggest rock star with over 600 affiliates and over 15 million listeners. However, El Rushbo was known for saying a ton of not-so-nice things on his show, including calling women "feminazis", telling his audience that drug addicts need to rot in prison while he himself was caught abusing OxyContin and using warped conspiracy theories to make his point. Earlier this year, Limbaugh was diagnosed with terminal Stage IV lung cancer. He continued with his shit show, even being rewarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by Drumpf. He's only the third radio personality to be handed the honor, along with Paul Harvey and Edward R. Murrow. On his final show of the year last week, Limbaugh announced that doctors predicted that he would be dead by now. Too bad it hasn't happened yet.

4th Place: the media
Back in March, I wrote about how the media seemed to only care about Joe Biden and championed him after his primary win in South Carolina. Granted, I was rooting for a Bernie Sanders win, but bear in mind that I wrote the article just days before the pandemic began. My, how times have changed. We went from caring more about healthcare, lower taxes for the middle class and a better life for all to wanting to kill the damn coronavirus. At least Biden makes a helluva lot more sense than Drumpf.

3rd Place: Covidiots link 1 link 2
One of the biggest problems we've all faced this year is the fact that we had to deal with losers who denied the existence of COVID-19. They didn't believe in not wearing a mask, staying away from others or not gathering. We've seen it all: secret raves and concerts, restaurants staying open during lockdowns and so much more. And oh yes, the unwashed masses stalking and harassing politicians such as Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer. We just hope that once COVID-19 is dead and gone, these dickheads will finally STFU.

2nd Place: Tom Eckerle link 1 link 2
Up until August, most of us could have cared less about the doings of the Leelanau County Road Commission in northern Michigan. However, the shit hit the fan when two-year commissioner Tom Eckerle refused to wear a mask at one of the meetings, blaming COVID-19 on what he called "those niggers from Detroit". Petitions were flying around the area, calling for his resignation. Even the area's state rep, former WTCM-FM morning man and Howard Stern's intern at WWWW Detroit, Jack O'Malley begged the 75-year-old to resign. Well, he did. On August 10, Eckerle handed in his resignation letter and drifted into the sunset.

AND THE 2020 BEE-OTCH OF THE YEAR IS..... (OF COURSE, IT'S NONE OTHER THAN....)

DONALD TRUMP!
Ya know, I don't even know where to begin, or maybe I actually do. When he was elected president, I actually feared that he'd be worse than Bush in terms of catastrophes. Boy, was I right.

Since the pandemic began, over 20 million Americans have been diagnosed with COVID-19 and just today, we had our 350,000th death from the disease. Also just today, we lost actress Dawn Wells of Gilligan's Island fame from COVID.

COVID-19 doesn't care if you're old or young, white or black, fat or skinny. It can and will kill. Unlike other nations around the world, Drumpf was slow in preventing Americans from the disease. We now have vaccines to stop it, but sadly, getting to all Americans has been painfully slow.

Thankfully, Drumpf won't be getting a second term as president, even though he's kicking and screaming that he still won in November. Hopefully on January 20th, Joe Biden will get to work and fix this country.

So, for the stupidity, xenophobia, bigotry and idocracy that you've brought to America, here's to you, Drumpf.

THE ARTICLES THAT GAVE TRUMP BOTD:
1.6
1.7
7.28
7.30
9.2
9.3
9.28
9.30
10.5
10.12
10.14
11.4
11.5
11.16
14 ELIGIBLE ARTICLES. WAY TO GO, DRUMPF!
--

----

Got a Bee-otch to nominate? E-mail us @ chuck69dotcom@gmail.com. All suggestions (except for me) are welcome!

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

Bee-otch of the Day is a production of Chuck69.com, Grand Rapids' site for Stern, politics and more!

CHUCK69.COM IS ALWAYS ON!

Thursday, December 17, 2020

12.17.20 Bee-otches of the Day: the DeVos family

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

Names: the DeVos family

Age: various
Occupation: none
Last Seen: Grand Rapids
Bee-otched For: fucking up this city

----

For nearly 50 years, Purple East is the first name people think of when it comes to head shops in Grand Rapids.

People have long been supportive of the store, which moved to a bigger location downtown in the 2000s. And they deserved it, too, since they were one of the sponsors of The Howard Stern Show when it aired on WKLQ here in Grand Rapids. While the corporate elite in west Michigan ignored Stern, Purple East took Stern's show as an opportunity to get the word out regarding their business.

However, a few years ago, Purple East made a giant mistake. They decided to expand their operations to four locations. They still had their flagship in downtown Grand Rapids while they ended up with three more smaller stores in Comstock Park, on Plainfield and in the shadow of Woodland Mall in Kentwood. Revenue remained flat. To makes matters worse, COVID-19 severely hurt their business. In April, they filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. As a result of their troubles, Purple East closed all of their locations, except for their Plainfield store, which is a mere fraction of the size of their downtown GR shop.

So, what's happening to Purple East's former flagship? They're becoming a homeless shelter.

The City of Grand Rapids is using the former Purple East as an alternative to the tent cities that lined up Heartside Park. The city is currently renovating the store to house 100 men and women up to five months. It's nice that the park will be a lot nicer looking, but it's a sad state of affairs knowing that some people end up out on the streets because of sad circumstances.

One current ad airing on local TV is one for a homeless organization - I believe it's Guiding Light Mission - that shows images of homeless people. While the grim images are shown, words appear on the screen talking about how Grand Rapids is one of the best places to live and how it's one of the best places to raise a family.

Tragically, Grand Rapids is just like most other cities in America where there's a giant gap between the wealthy and the middle class. Downtown is loaded with buildings named after local billionaires: DeVos, Van Andel and Meijer, just to name a few. Yet, if you work hard and make what you think is a decent living, you know that the rent is too damn high.

As of this writing, President-elect Joe Biden hasn't made his final decision yet on who will be his next education secretary to replace Betsy DeVos. Honestly, I hope to God that it's somebody who has actually taught a class and knows how to treat teachers. In a meeting with her department recently, DeVos told her employees - who will remain when Biden takes over January 20 - to resist.

"Be the resistance against forces that will derail you from doing what’s right for students. In everything you do, please put students first - always."

This, of course is coming from a fucking cunt who has NEVER taught a class in her life and only got her job because she and her husband forked over a ton of money to Drumpf's campaign. Thanks to Drumpf's oligarchy-led staff, we have businesses left and right being forced to fail, people filing unemployment in droves and missing out on rent and their mortgage.

Look at other countries. Spain is paying workers a basic income. The Netherlands and Denmark are paying up to 90% of workers' salaries. The UK is almost the same with 80%. But here in America? One $1,200 check. Period. For most, it's not enough to put food on the table and pay the rent.

And yet, here's Miss Betsy in her mansion with no worries in this world. She would oppose somebody who makes way less than her to make an extra $1,200 per month, heaven forbid.

But, that's the logic of the DeVos clan. Jesus loves them, but not you because they have all the money on Earth. They love to buy out both Democrats and Republicans. Take a look at Grand Rapids mayor Rosalynn Bliss. As I've said before, I'm a supporter of strip clubs. In 2006, Grand Rapids' strip clubs were in danger of falling victim of a new ordinance banning nude dancing. The owner of one club, Parkway Tropics offered then-city commissioner Bliss to come over to prove that his club was a clean operation. She declined, and voted to pass the ordinance. It's sad because she's a supposed Democrat. It comes to show that just because there's a (D) after your name, it doesn't mean that you are in real life.

I feel sorry for this town. In 2020 alone, Grand Rapids has had 36 homicides, the most in this town's history. We had a massive riot downtown that was caused by a police department who harassed protesters. Our city is the most-depressed city in the country and it shows. Gee, I wonder why? Oh, yes! IT'S BECAUSE IT'S OVERRRUN BY WEALTHY ASSHOLES LIKE THE DEVOSES!

Thankfully, Betsy will be out of a job soon, though she'll still have her billions made by her folks and Dick's 'rents as well. It makes me happy that I tend to be finicky with my money and I tend to avoid companies that are overly evil, period. So, if you want me to buy a car from Fox Motors, forget it. I've never attended a Griffins game and I definitely won't be calling my local scAmway rep soon.

You know, I might have to go up to Plainfield some time soon. My ex-"girlfriend" took my old bowl.

----

CHUCK69.COM IS ALWAYS ON!

Wednesday, December 16, 2020

12.16.20 Bee-otch of the Day: the religious right

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

Name: the religious right

Age: ageless
Occupation: assholes
Last Seen: everywhere
Bee-otched For: getting PPP'd on

----

Right now, America is about to lose a ton of businesses.

Yesterday, I watched a news story about a popular bar in Grand Rapids that may close within a month because of COVID-19. They simply cannot survive on take-out alone. Other retailers might not survive the year, either.

Tonight, I heard that the old Purple East building here in GR is being converted into a homeless shelter. Purple East - a long-time seller of bongs, pipes and other weed paraphernalia - filed for bankruptcy earlier this year. They still have a location open on Plainfield.

Since the beginning of the pandemic, millions have struggled to pay bills and some have lost everything. And yet, the religious right don't care.

A few days ago, the TV show Inside Edition did an expose on Marcus Lamb, a televangelist who owns the Daystar TV Network, which airs preachers taking loot. The network was under fire for taking $3.9 million in the government's Paycheck Protection Program to pay employees. However, videos have shown the Lambs flying around in personal jet planes and taking lavish vacations while Americans struggled to get money from unemployment.

Since the story aired, Daystar has paid back their loan. However, Other preachers and churches took PPP money as well. Many of them are tied to Drumpf. Convicted felon Jim Bakker got around a million or so while he's fighting a legal battle against the FDA for selling a "medicine" that "cures" COVID-19.

Apparently, many megachurches also got PPP loans as well while their pastors play golf in the Bahamas, calling it all a "working vacation".

You know, I haven't taken a vacation since the pandemic began. Hell, I was off work for six days because I was exposed to COVID and had to use my vacation time then! Preachers don't have to worry about the poor. They scream out verses from the Bible and dumb assholes fling them money. Oldest trick in the book. And many of those gullible are beyond poor themselves.

Here's an idea: GIVE ALL AMERICANS A SHIT TON OF MONEY LIKE OTHER NATIONS! We should not have to wait on the Rethugs to iron out a $1,200 bill which might help us for one month. If the government can give fake preachers money, they can give a lot more to the rest of us.

Man, I can't wait til Drumpf's out of office.

----

CHUCK69.COM IS ALWAYS ON!

Tuesday, December 15, 2020

12.15.20 Hero of the Day: SiriusXM

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

A SPECIAL HERO OF THE DAY!

Name: SiriusXM

Age: 30
Occupation: satellite radio broadcaster
Last Seen: New York, NY
Awarded For: giving me a Christmas gift

----

It doesn't take a brain surgeon to know that 2020 was a rough year for everybody, even me.

Instead of using personal time off work for vacations, I had to stay home for six days because I was exposed to COVID-19, though I was not infected. I did buy a new Jeep, but I couldn't take it on any major road trips because of, yep, COVID-19. Simply put, most of us were homebodies this year, even if you wanted to go out and do stuff.

But on the lighter side of things, I gotta give SiriusXM kudos for making my holidays a little brighter. When Howard Stern announced his move to Sirius in 2004, I jumped on board the bandwagon. For years, having it was a must for me, especially since I was angry about how Matt Hanlon and Citadel Broadcasting were treating him in Grand Rapids.

I was a happy Sirius subscriber for many years. But, a car accident and the lack of raises from my asshole ex-boss forced me to drop it in 2012. I figured that I can still listen to Howard online on pirate sites and get my music from Pandora (which is now a subsidiary of SiriusXM). Thankfully, my ex-boss retired and my new bosses realized how hard I worked and gave me several raises over the years.

When I bought a new car in 2018, it had satellite radio functions. Since I had money again, I decided to give myself a Christmas gift and get Sirius again. Not only that, they gave me an Alexa device, which made listening easier.

However, after a year, my rates would be jacked up to $25 per month. So, I decided to call SiriusXM and ask them if there was a way to lower my rate. They did, and I was paying the same money I paid them for the year before. Well, they did it again.

A few weeks ago, I got a letter in the mail stating that I was going to start paying $25 per month for Sirius. So once again, I called customer service. The recorded stated that there was a high volume, so they wanted me to text them instead. I gave them the permission and soon, I was texting with one of their reps. It turned out better than I thought, actually. I was thinking maybe $10 per month. In the end, it turned out to be $5!

That's right! $5 per month for unlimited channels, Stern, audio and video access from their website and so much more! And all I had to do was haggle. Not bad!

I'll admit, SiriusXM probably treats their listeners a helluva lot better than most of the big, oversized radio giants here in Grand Rapids or anywhere else. As a matter of fact, if Howard didn't renew his contract, I probably would have canceled and gone with Spotify full time. True, Spotify ain't bad, but the free version is littered with commercials. One commercial I heard was a political ad in support of Line 5! BARF!

With 35 million subscribers, SiriusXM won't let their listeners down, and for good reason. As a matter of fact, I think a lot of their programming has improved since I came back to them two years ago. I fondly remembered when I got Sirius the first time, it was through their plug 'n play radio. I had three of 'em over the years and they were nice. However, it was difficult getting a signal in my apartment, so I had to tear off my window screen to aim the antenna towards the sky. One time, I had to replace the damn antenna because an asshole who was getting drugs from one of my then-neighbors tripped and cut the wire. Not fun. Another radio I had overheated while I was on the road, so I had to stop at a Radio Shack and replace it.

Thankfully, the plug 'n play models SiriusXM had are now pretty much obsolete. The Sirius in my car is still a satellite model, but since I have streaming access on my computer and Alexa, the days of rigging an antenna outside in the bitter cold are long gone.

In the world of digital media, it's a cutthroat world and SiriusXM knows what the hell they're doing. They're way better than terrestrial radio by too many leaps and bounds that it's not funny. Hell, today, I woke up to WGRD here in Grand Rapids playing the FCC-friendly version of Nine Inch Nails' "Closer". Ick. As I've mentioned in the past, the FCC has gotten worse over the years with their pro-censorship attitude and the fact that they've allowed companies like iHeartMedia and Sinclair to grow too big for their own good. SiriusXM, however, knows what people want.

Yes, it's $5 per month. But, it's $5 "local" radio will never see.

----

CHUCK69.COM IS ALWAYS ON!

Monday, December 14, 2020

12.14.20 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's socials.

Name: Donald Trump

Age: 74
Occupation: as of 1.20.21: none
Last Seen: The White House
Bee-otched For: still kicking and screaming

----

It's no doubt that 2020 was a horrible year for most.

We had to deal with Drumpf, racism and that nasty 'ol bug called COVID-19. When 2020 began, we thought about the connection between the name 2020 and the fact that clear vision was indeed 2020.

Instead, the year 2020 was a giant headache. Instead of going to the movies, we had to watch them at home. Do you love concerts? Tough shit. Dining out? Too bad, ya gotta eat out in your car or at home.

But yesterday, the beginning of the end hopefully came.

The first COVID vaccines from Pfizer to be shipped to American hospitals flew out of Gerald R. Ford International Airport here in Grand Rapids Sunday. Today, a female black nurse in New York City became the first person to officially receive the vaccine. Here in Grand Rapids, the first person to get inoculated was just after noon.

Of course, medical staff and nursing home patients will get vaxxed first and then eventually, the whole nation will get it. And sadly, it's not a moment too soon. Today, America had 171,000 new cases of COVID with 1,389 new deaths. Nearly 308,000 Americans have died from the disease since the pandemic began.

It's hard to believe that it's been a year since somebody sunk their teeth into a diseased bat at a wet market in Wuhan, China, which was believed to have caused the pandemic. Yes, we Americans thought it would go away like H1N1, SARS and the rest. Boy, were we wrong.

Granted, it ain't over. Tragically, more Americans will get and even die from COVID before they get that shot in the arm. But hopefully by this time next year, America will be jolly again for the holidays.

And already, we know that this time next year, at least we won't have an inept president.

The Electoral College officially elected Joe Biden as the next President of the United States today. Sadly, the process didn't come without controversy as a trifle of protesters showed their disgust over his win in many spots. Today, a group of protesters stood in front of the Michigan Capitol, once again proving that they had ZERO evidence that Drumpf won.

Meanwhile in Dover, President-Elect Biden spoke about his win and talked about how Drumpf won't take it like a man and concede. He has ZERO evidence that the election was rigged. Yes, he did what he could with lawsuits, recounts and even filling the Supreme Court with rightists galore.

Pathetically, Drumpf won't concede and his army of supporters stand by him. On Saturday, Alex Jones told a crowd of his supporters that "Biden will be removed one way or another". Of course, Jones is banned from virtually all social media platforms because of his untrue conspiracy theories.

Just this evening, Drumpf's AG William Barr announced that he was leaving his post the day before Christmas. Yes, the switchover is 37 days away and Drumpf's cabinet won't hold since it was made out of pressed sawdust.

Tonight, Biden sounded more like a human being than Drumpf in his four years in office. I know, many of his Drumpftards all cry that he's winning the war against COVID because we now have the cure. However, he ignored science and the people. His lax handling of the virus has made us the laughingstock of the world since they've done a better job. Hell, in some countries, the government is giving their people money to stay home instead of work. Here in America, many of those who got the virus - and died from it - all got it from working. I know. We need to eat and we need stuff. But, that SHOULD have waited.

I just hope that one year from now, this will be all over. The Drumpftards will be silenced and we can move on. My only problem is that the right will have tricks up their sleeve. When Gov. Gretchen Whitmer runs again in 2022, I'm scared that the right will bitch about her closing restaurants and "not caring about workers". BULLSHIT. Let's remember that the last Repuke governor this state had POISONED Flint. The next one will be a billion times worse. Why? Because Drumpf proved to be worse than Dubya. His wars and 9/11 caused 7,000 deaths. Drumpf? 308,000 and growing.

When January 20, 2021 comes, the death toll should start to crumble.

----

CHUCK69.COM IS ALWAYS ON!

Thursday, December 10, 2020

12.10.20 Bee-otches of the Day: companies too big for their own good

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

Name: big corporations

Age: various
Occupation: various
Last Seen: everywhere
Bee-otched For: merging like crazy and screwing us over

----

In the world of business, it seems that the bad 'ol days are here again.

In 1911, the Supreme Court ruled that John D. Rockefeller's Standard Oil was an illegal monopoly. So, the oil giant was split into seven smaller companies. Today, those "seven sisters" are now back to being four bigger companies: Marathon, BP, ExxonMobil and Chevron.

In 1982, after decades of being the sole phone company in America, AT&T was forced to divest its "baby bells". Today, those bells are what's now Verizon, Lumen Technologies and once again AT&T.

Over the years, the corporation-friendly two-party system has been lax in protecting Americans from monopolies. Today, there's near monopolies in so many aspects of business. And yes, AT&T is one of them. In the world of cell phones, at least they have to go up against Verizon, TMobile and a few minors. Coincidentally, AT&T caused a stir this week when it was announced that all 17 movies released through their Warner Bros. studio in 2021 will be released simultaneously on HBOMax, their streaming service. While it's good news for many consumers, many movie theaters - especially smaller ones - will be feeling the pinch of now having to compete with staying at home. Many critics are pissed over Warners' decision. Christopher Nolan, who directed several Batman movies, "Dunkirk" and the recent "Tenent" - all for Warners - called HBOMax "the worst streaming service ever" and called the studio's decision an insult.

The funny thing is that back in the 1940s, smaller theater circuits fought a massive antitrust suit against the studios because they also owned the biggest cinemas in America. Back then, the studio-owned cinemas were in major cities and often showed their major movies there first. So, if you lived in a small, out-of-the-way town, chances were that if you wanted to see "The Wizard of Oz", you would have to wait well into 1940 at least, depending on how prints were distributed back then. Thanks to a landmark Supreme Court decision in 1948, everything changed. The studios sold off their theaters and could not decide on which theaters could show their movies. One studio, Paramount was forced to divest of its theater chain, which itself merged with the American Broadcasting Company. Paramount, along with Warners even sold off their catalogs to other companies to help make up for the losses they got in the suit. It also allowed for more movies to be produced independently. Thanks to another important Supreme Court case in 1952, all movies were protected under the First Amendment. Therefore, the Production Code introduced in 1934 was practically moot, and producers were allowed to make movies with more profanity and sex that was gradually added before the 1968 introduction of the MPAA Ratings System.

Now, the big brouhaha is over Facebook. New York Attorney General Letitia James announced yesterday that she's suing the social media giant for everything from crushing and buying out rivals to compromising their users' security. In her words, she feels that the company illegally acquired competitors like Instagram and WhatsApp to increase their market share. In a statement, James even claimed that another social media executive claimed that if you step on Facebook's turf, "you will face the wrath of Mark."

Of course, she's referring to Facebook founder and majority stockholder Mark Zuckerberg, who is worth over $100 billion and is the seventh-wealthiest person on Earth. Facebook itself has over $133 billion in assets.

For more than a decade, Facebook has been the dominant social media platform. As a company, they've worked feverishly to make sure that they don't end up like MySpace. Some say its downfall began with News Corporation (i.e. Fox) bought them out in 2005 for just under $600 million. Eventually, Uncle Rupert ended up selling it to (barf) Justin Timberlake, who in turn sold it to Time, Inc. and is now a subsidiary of Meredith Corporation.

Funny that we mention Fox because they sold off 20th Century Fox to Disney for over $70 billion last year. Same with AT&T, who bought out Warners for $108.7 billion in 2018. Before the AT&T/Warner deal, some of their companies were spun off, such as Warner Bros. Records, Time Warner Cable (now Charter Spectrum), their publishing division (now Hatchette) and most of their magazines (the "Time" in Time Warner, now a part of the aforementioned Meredith). Today, the only magazine AT&T/Warner now owns is Mad, a magazine that has seen better days, sadly. Since AT&T purchased the humor magazine in 2018 as part of the Time Warner acquisition, almost all of their staff have been let go. As a matter of fact, their latest issue marks the final appearance of 57-year mainstay Sergio Aragones. Their next issue will mark the last new Spy Vs. Spy and Peter Kuper, who has drawn the beloved bird-like spies since 1997. Spy Vs. Spy were created by Cuban refugee Antonio Prohias in 1961, who drew the monthly strips for Mad until 1987.

The pathetic reality is that when companies merge, they get bigger, and the billionaires in charge get nicer paychecks. Even more, it means that your bills increase by a ton. Some of the companies I've mentioned are in the internet business. One thing the media is not covering (obviously) is the fact that some kids who are having to learn from home end up capping their internet usage. As a result, they end up having to do their homework in free wi-fi zones. Another problem is that there's still a myriad of areas in America where there's no high-speed internet. Hell, I have a family friend near Traverse City who almost lives next door to a casino. And guess what? THE LOCAL CABLE COMPANY WON'T GIVE HER EITHER CABLE NOR THE INTERNET BECAUSE HER AREA IS "TOO RURAL"! One problem with Drumpf was that his FCC chair Ajit Pai was a friend to big corporations who craved a lack of competition and ways to fuck over consumers.

The FCC has proven to be an abortion of an organization, at least since the 1970s. It's sad, really, since it was the brainchild of FDR. Back in the olden days, individuals were only allowed to own six AM stations, six FM stations and 12 radio stations total. They were allowed to own a certain amount of TV stations and if they owned a newspaper in the same city, they couldn't own both unless they have a waiver. Back then, their newscasts had to be fair and balanced. If they presented a viewpoint, they had to give free airtime to somebody who had a different opinion. Jackson, MS NBC affiliate WLBT-TV didn't give a voice to their black viewers during segregationist times and the FCC took away their license in 1971.

Of course, the FCC jumped the shark more times than The Fonz. When radio station WBAI in New York City played George Carlin's "Filthy Words" bit, it led to the 5-4 Supreme Court ruling in 1978 that the FCC had the power to fine so-called indecent broadcasts. Bear in mind that the five justices of the high court who approved the ruling were also Republican appointees.

In 1987, the FCC abolished the Fairness Doctrine, which got WLBT in trouble in the first place. Because of this, it allowed radio stations to air one type of talk show only: conservative. Thanks to Reagan's FCC, we ended up with Rush, Hannity, Alex Jones and too many screwballs who simply don't have a normal IQ. Things only got worse in the 1990s when President Clinton signed in the Telecommunications Act of 1996, which now allowed companies to own two AMs, seven FMs and up to two TV stations in a single market with no maximum as to how many stations they own. Because of that, we have ENTIRE radio markets with three radio station owners or less, like here in Grand Rapids.

In the 00s, we had the Janet Jackson nipslip, which caused the FCC to raise fines for indecency. Thanks to them, broadcast television has gotten more boring. Sad, since when I was a teen, NYPD Blue had naked butts galore. Today, they've been relegated to basic cable.

Today, it's a dog-eat-dog world in regards to the media industry. Right now in Grand Rapids, we have two TV stations begging their viewers to call Hulu and Dish Network all because they dropped their channels. Simply put, it's all about raising rates and screwing over you and me. Over time, what has passed long ago has created less of a local voice for you and me. Thankfully, we have the internet and satellite radio as our holy savior. And thankfully, We The People are smart enough to proclaim ixnay on what we don't want in life.

Let's remember this: we're the ones who keep corporations alive. We're a nation where many who live in small towns would rather shop at a billionaire-owned Walmart over the small, family-owned IGA down the street. We're a nation where if a good DJ gets canned, we'll still listen anyway (KLQ was a notable exception here in GR). We're a nation that would rather see a big budget blockbuster made by a major studio that gets 17% on Rotten Tomatoes over a small indie movie that gets rave reviews and is distributed by a tiny outfit. Yes, we're the ones that keep big corporations rolling along while people suffer financially during the COVID crisis.

But, hey! Grand Rapids is FINALLY getting a Whole Foods Market! Too bad Amazon owns them now.

----

CHUCK69.COM IS ALWAYS ON!

Wednesday, December 9, 2020

12.9.20 Bee-otch of the Day: Cumulus Media

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

Name: Cumulus Media

Age: 23
Occupation: media giant
Last Seen: Atlanta, GA
Bee-otched For: not stopping the Thunder

----

Throughout much of the mid-20th century, John Fetzer was looked upon as a broadcasting genius.

He owned several successful radio and TV stations here in Michigan and even the Detroit Tigers baseball team. Under his aegis, the team won two World Series: 1968 and 1984.

Also under his aegis, John Fetzer owned America's most-powerful FM station, WJEF-FM 93.7 here in Grand Rapids. In 1960, the station's power was boosted to a whopping 500,000 watts.

Throughout its history, WJEF-FM/WJFM had a number of formats: easy listening, CHR, AC and classic rock, just to name a few. John Fetzer died in 1991 and a year later, his company sold WJFM, which had lackluster ratings. The new owners decided to flip 93.7 to country music as B93. Almost immediately, B93 killed in the ratings.

Coincidentally, B93 would become sister stations with its competitor, 101.3 WCUZ, a station that *was* GR's #1 country station before The Bee came buzzing into west Michigan. WCUZ would eventually flip to classic country until 2000 when it became classic rocker 101.3 The Fox.

There's no doubt that B93 is to Grand Rapids as WTCM is to northern Michigan, WITL is to Lansing, WYCD is to Detroit and so on. Try to mess with The Bee and you get stung.

Just like Thunder 107.3.

When Matt Hanlon and Citadel Broadcasting launched Thunder 94.5 in 2004, they had hoped to overturn B93 in the ratings. They did not. When Cumulus bought the station, they flipped the name to Nash FM, which was a torrid idea. Then, not only did they kill the Nash name, but they moved Thunder to 107.3, but 94.5 became WKLQ again, only as AAA 94.5 The Q.

Since the move to 107.3, Thunder has done anything but taken west Michigan by storm. As a matter of fact, their ratings have been crashing ever since. Now, Thunder 107.3 is an official ratings abortion, scoring a big fat 1.0 in the latest Nielsen ratings book.

And guess who's #1? B93.

(BTW, We Crave Sexy Gradeschoolers was #2, WOOD-AM/FM was #3 wile GRD and LAV rounded the top five.)

I believe that in too many cases, a heritage station can never be beaten by the new kid on the block. Thunder/Nash had 16 years to beat The Bee, but it's time for a change. How about something like urban to go head to head against flea-powered-but-successful Magic 104.9?

One thing is definitely fo' shizzle: it was also a shitty move moving WBBL back to 1340 and putting on a translator on 106.1. Because of this, good 'ol Big Huge Retard and Co. are floundering at a .1 in the ratings. Meanwhile, rival ESPN 96.1 is sitting pretty at a 1.7.

It's funny that when Cumulus bought out Citadel, I was hoping for positive change. True, KLQ is back on 94.5, though with its hipster format, it's still not as fun and edgy as the old KLQ was 20 years ago. Even worse, it may never come back. But, let's remember that Cumulus DID replace Howard Stern in many of their markets with shitty, forgettable morning shows like Lex and Terry many years ago. And yes, don't get me started on what they did to The (Dixie) Chicks.

But, don't look at me; I'm going to renew my Sirius subscription now that Howard Stern's resigned for five more years.

----

CHUCK69.COM IS ALWAYS ON!

Tuesday, December 8, 2020

12.8.20 Bee-otches of the Day: idiots who still think that Trump still won the election

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

Name: various

Age: various
Occupation: various
Last Seen: everywhere
Bee-otched For: still thinking that Trump won the election

----

It was supposed to be a peaceful evening for a 43-year-old mother and her young son last weekend.

On Saturday, the two were about to watch the beloved Dr. Seuss Christmas classic "How The Grinch Stole Christmas" at their Detroit area home. However, the mother and the young boy were then surrounded by a group of armed, angry old white men surrounding their home. It was a sight no four-year-old should ever see.

That four-year-old's mother is Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson.

The angry protesters were infuriated that Benson, a Democrat certified Joe Biden as the President-elect of the United States. of course, these losers are all pissed that Biden won because of in their probable words, "those niggers in Detroit". They'll cry over the bruhaha in Antrim County and Dominion Voting Systems. But, the sad reality is that they have ZERO proof that their beloved Drumpf won. In Antrim County, it was human error and not the voting machines that ensured Biden's temporary win in the predominately-Republican county Election Day. It wouldn't shock me if the person who counted the ballots there was probably from Mancelona.

The tragic truth is that Biden won, fair and square. Even the overly-conservative Supreme Court rejected Pennsylvania Republicans' attempts to try to overturn Biden's win there. Even Texas' AG, Ken Paxton has asked the SC to stop Pennsylvania, along with Georgia, Wisconsin and Michigan's positions in the Electoral College.

Sorry, not sorry, folks. Biden won, and the Repukes need to give up their fight. It's pathetic that my home state is loaded with losers who want to interfere with the home lives of our Democratic politicians by being violent. They all believe in LIES. PERIOD. Look at the shit they all believed in over the years: WMD in Iraq, Obama born in Kenya, Drumpf's votes all stolen and Drumpf's tax cuts creating jobs. ALL. FUCKING. LIES. Why those lies were all created is anyone's guess. My guess is simple: fear and the need for the Drumpftards to get their mouths around Alex Jones' cock.

Sadly, Repukes and conservatives are professionals in regards to believing in lies. Even when a lie is proven to be a lie, they think it's the truth. There's still assholes who all think that Obama was born in Kenya, so therefore, he can't be president. Even though he did supply a birth certificate and the newspaper announcement of his birth exists, there's no way one can change a Repuke's mind.

Michael Moore talked about it in one of his 2015 flick, "Where To Invade Next". He talked about how Texas only allows abstinence-only education in public schools and the fact that pregnancy and STD rates among teens is some of the highest in America. He showed a clip of now-former Texas governor Rick Perry bitching that the state's sexless education program actually works with no fucking proof that it does.

I know. The Democrats are broken and have been for decades. But, we elect them simply because the right keeps diving too far to the right to the point where they're wearing red tinfoil hats with "Make America Great Again" engraved on there. Sadly, the sane Repukes are now voting Democrat only because Joe Biden has a better mental capability over Drumpf. Because of this, the Dems are becoming more centralist and moderate than ever before. To me, it's like a station that's supposed to play rock music, but plays a steady diet of Maroon 5, Counting Crows and anything Lilith Fair instead.

Granted, I want a true progressive in the White House, but that will wait, obviously. But, it's even more painful that the current batch of Rethugs keep viewing him as a socialist who's going to take away our guns, raise our taxes and force us into sharing our doctor's office with poor black people because we're all on the same (FREE!!!) health plan.

And in the great words of Maury Povich reading lie detector results, "that's a lie".

----

CHUCK69.COM IS ALWAYS ON!

Monday, December 7, 2020

12.7.20 Bee-otches of the Day: people STILL not protecting themselves during the pandemic

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

Name: various

Age: various
Occupation: various
Last Seen: everywhere
Bee-otched For: acting like COVID is a hoax

----

When the pandemic began, we had all hoped that we would never have to deal with it ourselves.

We all heard the horror stories. Loved ones dying alone in a hospital with a ventilator shoved down their throat. Perfectly healthy people losing organs and limbs. A society crying that children can't get the virus, yet, some have indeed died from it.

To me, I view coronavirus as a game of Tag. Tag, you're it! Another mental game is the one where I ask who would be the first person I know who got it (a former co-worker of mine). Another was the first family member (a maternal cousin) and would it ever infect my place of work (and sadly, it did).

Thankfully, new COVID vaccines are being rolled out all across the globe. America should be getting them sooner or later, though who will be getting them first is a very sensitive question.

Sadly, there's no sugarcoating what I'm about to say. COVID-19 has now hit my immediate family. On Friday, it was announced that my mother now has the disease.

It all started on Tuesday of last week when she got out of work and developed a deep cough. She went home, went to bed and was coughing the whole night. She called me on Wednesday to warn me not to come over for dinner. She called her doctor and was told to get checked for COVID-19. A day later, she was diagnosed with the disease.

As of now, she's still coughing, but resting at home. Because she's 65 and vapes, I worry about her health. As soon as I heard about my mom's diagnosis, I got tested for the second time since the pandemic began. Thankfully, I'm negative. However, because I was with her earlier last week, I've been told to stay home from work for a week as a precaution.

How my mom got COVID-19 is a mystery. She works in retail and works around people with various ways of responding to the virus. Yes, there's many who mask up in public and wash their hands. Others - you guessed it - think it's a hoax and we shouldn't be worried about it. It's a shame that my Mom and I are from the area where an asshole preacher is telling people to get COVID.

Pastor Bart Spencer of Lighthouse Baptist Church in the vastly-conservative town of Holland is receiving backlash for telling his parishioners on November 14 that that he had COVID and there shouldn't be any fear regarding it. In his sermon, he told everybody one of the dumbest things I've ever heard spewed from a preacher's mouth: "COVID, it’s all good. Several people have had COVID, none have died yet. It’s OK. Get it, get it over with, press on."

This past weekend, it was announced that COVID-19 will be the second-largest cause of death in America, right behind heart disease, at year's end. It's tragic that there's still idiots out there who don't think it's that serious and we see them at rallies without masks at all. They don't realize that when and if they get COVID, they can spread it to dozens of people. They make it into a political issue instead, crying that the media created it for ratings. When they post their lies to Facebook and Twitter and when they either get banned or factchecked, they act like children and move over to Parler.

Now that my mother is suffering with COVID, all I can say is that I hope everybody who denies its existence gets it so they know what my mother has to go through. I'm happy that Drumpf and his cronies are getting it. Last weekend, it was announced that Rudy "Toots" Giuliani has COVID. It's nice when all the wrong people on Earth get it and not the ones whom you need the most.

Thankfully, the vaccines are coming out and we'll get them hopefully soon. I'm tired of this shit, period. I want to live my life normally again. But, if we all keep wearing our masks and wash our hands regularly, this will end sooner or later.

Nobody needs to suffer, period.

----

CHUCK69.COM IS ALWAYS ON!

Thursday, December 3, 2020

12.3.20 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's socials.

Name: Donald Trump

Age: 74
Occupation: Cheeto
Last Seen: Washington, DC
Bee-otched For: still not conceding

----

As usual, when it comes to Drumpf, where do I begin?

For starters, he's in a stir when it comes to realizing that he lost the 2020 election. He uses false information, telling the media that he won and that Biden's voters included unregistered voters and dead people. Of course, he bases his information on nothing at all, just like the fact that for years, he claimed that Obama was from Kenya and was a Muslim. In fact, Obama 1) was born in Hawaii and the newspaper clippings announcing his birth exist, and 2) Obama is a Christian, and unlike Drumpf, he goes to church on Sunday.

It's been a month since the 2020 presidential elections and sadly, Drumpf hasn't conceded. Instead, he believes that he still won, plus, he thinks that Biden's win was a scam. He paid for recounts only to prove that he lost.

Now in Michigan, it's turning into drama as the Repukelican state legislature is now conducting hearings regarding so-called voter fraud. Earlier this week, the Michigan House Oversight Committee heard from ultra-right-winged talk radio host and convicted felon "Trucker Randy" Bishop, who hails from Antrim County (and now lives in the neighborhood where I grew up, sadly). Antrim County made headlines recently when it was discovered that their results were lopsided. Originally, the traditionally-Repuke county is red, but went blue until it was discovered that human error was to blame. However, Bishop and other wackjob nutbags claim that other counties in the state used the same software.

Bear in mind that Bishop had tax troubles some 20 years ago and was caught. Therefore, he's a convicted felon, meaning that he cannot own a gun or even a radio station. His show, Your Defending Fathers is heard on both the internet and on a radio station owned by his wife, Victoria, WCHY 97.7 in Cheboygan. Oddly enough, WCHY's signal doesn't even reach Antrim County.

Well, guess who came to town yesterday? Why, it's the master of hair dye himself, Rudy Giuliani. Once again, defending Drumpf, he bitched about numbers that simply made no sense. He claimed that there were 700,000 fraudulent votes while there's 250,000 that were tabulated. Meanwhile, state AG Dana Nessel posted a tweet bashing the state House for calling Detroit "corrupt" for their treatment of the ballots being counted.

Drumpf won Michigan by only 10,000 votes. Why? Because fucking Hillary didn't care two rat's asses about this state, or even the Midwest. She and the DNC fucked over Bernie and they ended up fucking themselves in the ass HARD. Now, we've realized that Drumpf is a torrid president, especially with how he treated COVID-19 and just about everything else.

When I think about Drumpf supporters, I think about losers like "Trucker Randy" - who was also pals with the militia cunts who tried to kidnap and kill Gov. Whitmer - and not about the hard-working Americans who live paycheck to paycheck. It's sad that because of him, our country is now loaded with assholes who believe in fake conspiracy theories instead of the TRUTH. We have morons who leave Twitter and Facebook over fear of being censored fact-checked and they end up spewing their shit on Parler.

Even more pathetic is how Drumpf refused to honor Ruth Bader Ginsburg's wishes when she died. Recently, the Supreme Court ruled that churches can have full services because of the First Amendment. And guess who was the deciding vote? Why, it's none other than the cunt-ass hobag who replaced RBG, Amy Cunty Barret. I shake my head every time I see a crowded church with nobody wearing masks. And yet, we have perfectly-healthy people who die of COVID-19. Just ask the late, great Honestie Hodges. Three years ago, then-11-year-old Hodges was placed in handcuffs at her house by the Grand Rapids Police. Because of how the cops treated her, the Police Department unveiled the "Honesty Policy" and retrained the cops as a result. Sadly, Honestie died last week at the tender age of 14 from COVID-19. It wouldn't shock me if the brutality she faced as a young girl caused her immune system to weaken.

Folks, we voted. We spoke out. It's time for Drumpf and his Repuke buddies to give it a rest and move on. They failed and they don't care. From the looks of things, Drumpf will have to be dragged out of the White House kicking and screaming. Well, tough shit. Us Americans wanted an adult as the president, and we'll be getting one in 48 days.

In other news, "Trucker Randy" actually owns a suit. That, I'm shocked about.

----

CHUCK69.COM IS ALWAYS ON!

Wednesday, December 2, 2020

12.2.20 Bee-otches of the Day: any restaurant doing indoor dining during the pandemic

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

Name: various

Age: various
Occupation: restaurateurs
Last Seen: throughout Michigan
Bee-otched For: going from big boys to little failures

----

If you own a restaurant, you're a risk-taker.

Bob Wian defined it to a T in 1936 when he traded in his car for a 10-seat diner near Los Angeles. In an interview from the 80s, Wian talked about the lack of quality greasy spoons had at the time. He called their cooks "winos" and their waitresses "a ready date". Regarding the quality of the food, Wian claimed that if they served burgers, chances were that their customers were eating questionable parts of the cow, including the ears.

Wian was a stickler for quality and customer satisfaction. He would even grind hamburger in front of his customers to prove that they were getting the best food money could buy. He wanted his restaurant to be clean and family friendly. So friendly, that a young boy named Richard Woodruff would come in repeatedly to enjoy his double deck hamburgers. He came in so often that Bob would call him "Big Boy", and the name stuck.

Sadly, Mr. Wian died 28 years ago at age 77. But, the spirit of that little kid in a checkered suit and suspenders still lives on at nearly 200 locations in the US.

But, last week, that beloved statue disappeared for good in Sandusky, MI, pop. about 2,700.

The Big Boy there was forced to drop all references to the company after corporate rescinded their franchise. The reason why is because the idiot owner did something that even Bob Wian himself probably wouldn't do right now: retain dine-in service.

Troy Tank owns the former Big Boy, which is currently nameless. When the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services ordered all restaurants to end dine-in service a few weeks ago, Tank decided to defy the order and kept dine-in services rolling at his Big Boy. Since the order began, he's received more than $5,000 in fines, but has raised over $10,000 on a GoFundMe page. On his Facebook page, Tank bitched about a public health official screaming at employees and even one of his cooks, whom he claims has health issues and doesn't wear a mask while working. He also cries about his restaurant having "25 families that depend on this place to pay their bills" and yet, on his personal Facebook page, he's got a ton of photos of him holding dead deer and fish. I think he can skip a few hunting trips if he's that adamant about keeping his employees' bills paid.

Since the state's new dine-in ban started, some have defied their orders and have seen fines and even their liquor licenses revoked. And guess what? A judge has ruled in the favor of our great state. Until when she says so, Michigan's restaurants and bars are to remain dine-in-free until Gov. Gretchen Whitmer gives the OK.

I know. Most restaurants can't live on takeout alone. But, they gotta do what they gotta do. Surprisingly, the Big Boy in Wyoming near Grand Rapids is the direct opposite of the former one in Sandusky. Turns out that Paul Simons, the owner of that BB is a progressive and supports several causes, such as Southpaws. His BB is only one of five locations within a 25 mile radius of Grand Rapids. His son posted on Facebook that he's fearing that their BB will close. Because of this, Southpaws host Darren Gibson has given that Big Boy free advertising on his show. This weekend, I plan on visiting that location to lend them my support through this tough time. I'll be a good boy and eat out in my car.

Look, 2020 has been a tough year for me, for you and almost everybody else. When the pandemic started, I wondered if it would ever hit my family. It has. One of my maternal cousins and one of the daughters of another maternal cousin of mine - who just happens to be pregnant - now have COVID-19. I am hoping that both will get through it in good health.

Folks, COVID-19 IS REAL. END OF STORY. SURPRISE! TOO MANY ASSHOLES WHO GET COVID END UP GETTING IT THEMSELVES! If you own a restaurant and you're still allowing people to sit and eat, SHUT IT DOWN! Here's an idea: keep your waitstaff and operate your restaurant as a drive-in! Hell, many Big Boys were drive-ins way back when!

So, do us all a favor: keep wearing your masks and stay six feet apart. Don't like it? TOUGH! Besides, the vaccines will be out soon.

Please do it for yourself. Do it for Bob Wian.

----

CHUCK69.COM IS ALWAYS ON!

Tuesday, December 1, 2020

12.1.20 Bee-otch of the Day: Detroit Lions

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

Name: Detroit Lions

Age: 90
Occupation: pee-wee football team
Last Seen: Detroit, MI
Bee-otched For: another year, another failed and fired coach

----

Too many times, sports talkers and announcers can be annoying.

Don't get me started on people like Howard Cosell, Jim Rome, Scott Ferrell and - dare I say his name - "Huge" Bill Simonson.

But sometimes, sports people can say some very intelligent things. Saturday afternoon's Penn State - Michigan game was no exception.

Around 3 p.m., one of the play-by-play announcers said probably the smartest thing to ever come out of the mouth of somebody in their trade: "The Detroit Lions should have never fired Jim Caldwell".

Yes, Jim Caldwell, the winningest coach the Lions had in 50 years. He was also the winningest coach since the Ford family bought the Lions in 1964. In his four years as coach, Caldwell took the Lions to the playoffs twice, only to get defeated in the Wild Card games.

Granted, it was the great Wayne Fontes who gave the Lions its sole playoff win in Ford family ownership history during the Barry Sanders era. But, with a 62-50 record with the Lions, Caldwell was their best coach at least during my lifetime (the worst, if you're keeping track, was Marty Mornhinweg, who only won five games in two years). But, it was Caldwell who was the sole coach in my lifetime that was over .500.

So now, the Lions have an interim coach, Darrell Bevell. Rumor has it that the team does have a few names in mind. One is 49ers defensive coordinator Robert Saleh. He's a Detroit native and since he's Arab, he would be a good news for the Lions' compliance with the Rooney Rule.

The question is, is that can we trust the Lions to make the right decision, or will it be another pointless cycle where they switch coaches every three years? Look, Bill Ford was rumored to be a humble man and a likeable guy. Sadly, he sucked as an owner. Hell, when he hired Steve Mariucci, he didn't even bother considering interviewing people of color, pissing off the NFL. The Mariucci years sucked. Hell, the Matt Millen years sucked worse!

Now, Bill Ford is dead, and his family has been picking up the pieces since. Thankfully, the Caldwell years were some of the best in the team's history. But, they replaced a Chevy with (too soon?) an Edsel.

All I can say for now is that Sheila Ford Hamp *did* help her mom rebuild the team in the beginning and their mistake cost them. Now that Sheila's the de facto owner, only time will tell if a new coach will make a difference. After all, the Lions have been rebuilding since 1957.

Remember, folks: the "WCF" on the Lions' jerseys aren't just a tribute to William Clay Ford, who died six years ago. To the average fan, it stands for "We Can't Football".

----

CHUCK69.COM IS ALWAYS ON!