Afternoon Post

Greetings and good afternoon.
I apologize for the lack of updates to the site lately. I have been really busy with work the past few days. Then my wife and I moved this weekend and our new place does not have internet access. So I am stuck pounding out copy whenever I can get to it. I have been thinking about what I am going to do to keep the site viable. I am going to write my copy offline and when I get to a computer with the internet, I will post the entries. So check back often to see if the site has been updated. Fewer entries but longer entries. I think it is a good trade off. More later.

Afternoon Update

Good afternoon...Short update today.
I have been busy the past few days with work and other stuff. I may have another job coming up soon. It is a position that I really want and that I am excited about. I am also moving. So it has been hectic this time of the year.
The congress is going to pass this new intelligence reform bill and the president will sign it in a big ceremony shortly after. The news now is who is going to be the new intelligence big man. Rumors are going around with different names such as Porter Goss, the new CIA director, Gov Tom Kean,Rep Pete Hoekstra and a few others. I think an excellent choice would be Senator Joe Lieberman. This is a man who has integrity and respect from people on both sides of the aisle.
It was reported earlier today that Dick Clark has suffered a stroke. Best wishes for a full and speedy recovery and holiday wishes to him and his family. It just wouldn't be the New Year without Dick Clark in Times Square.
I saw something interesting today in Wal Mart. The third season of 24 is out now and the sticker on the box said that the fourth season premier is going to be two hours long. I am all over that next month.
More later.

Afternoon Update

Good afternoon. Welcome back to Joey’s Jots and the start of a whole new week. I apologize for the lack of updates the past few days. I was busy with work. I will try to make a better effort this week to pound out more copy. Which leads me to this weeks…
Up Front and Center
Two things to lead off the week; Steroids in baseball and the Salvation Army bell ringer controversy with Target. I have a very interesting view on both.
The Target stores have come under attack in the past week by banning the Salvation Army from placing its bell ringers and kettles in front of Target stores. Target’s position is that it doesn’t allow any solicitation in front of any of its stores and wouldn’t make an exception for the Salvation Army. This has drawn fire from many people calling for bans of Target and calling Target Scrooges.
This may surprise some of you, but I’m going to side with Target on this one. The Salvation Army is one of the best charity organizations out there. I know people who work for the Salvation Army and belong to the Salvation Army church. I always give to the kettle when the holidays come around because I am a soft touch. I will try to give something to the charities that stand out in front of stores, often to the chagrin of the people that I am with. With that said, Target should do what they think is right. If they don’t allow solicitation, then they shouldn’t allow the Salvation Army. If you let one in then you have to allow all of them in. For every Salvation Army or Red Cross, you get those “charities” that no one has ever heard of that harass you all over the parking lot and can even get nasty if you don’t give something.
If you want to give to the Salvation Army, fine. Give to the Salvation Army. The kettles will be at countless other stores this holiday season. And if you don’t want to shop at Target, also fine. There are numerous other places that sell the same items as Target. If you want to hurt Target, then vote with your pocketbook or wallet.
Then there is steroids in baseball. This story got on my nerves about 45 seconds after it broke. If Jason Giambi or Mark Mcguire or Barry Bonds have done steroids, fine. It doesn’t bother me at all. Should they be playing baseball now? Of course not. But that is the responsibility of Major League Baseball to clean up this mess. If it bothers you as a fan, then again you have to vote with your money. Don’t watch the games and don’t go out to the parks. Send the league a message that they have to clean up their act. This is the way to go, not through some legislative way. If we are upset with something in the world of sports, then we can deal with it on our own. We don’t need the government to step in and try to clean up every little mess for us. More later.

Afternoon Post

I come from a long line of Carolina fans. That’s the University of North Carolina Tar heels to you among the great unwashed. We in the Harris family bleed Carolina Blue. As the fight song indicates, I’m a Tar heel born, and a Tar heel bred, and when I die, I’ll be a Tar heel dead. It even caused a minor scandal when I married an N.C. State fan! I look at that as going behind enemy lines to get the real battle plans for my team.
So this is the best time of the year for me. John Bunting and the Carolina football team fought hard this year in the face of adversity. Hard fought wins at the ending of the season pulled a respectable 6-5 record and a birth to the Tire Bowl in Charlotte against future ACC school Boston College. Roy Williams and the Carolina basketball team are also doing very well this year. They have a tough game coming up tonight against Indiana in the ACC-Big 10 challenge.
For years many basketball fans that I know have railed against the commentating of Billy Packer. He is anti-Carolina or anti-Duke too much they say. I dismiss most of that as bias against a commentator that isn’t a cheerleader for your particular team 100% of the time. That isn’t Billy Packers, Dick Vitale, Dan Bonner, or any other network commentators job. If you want to hear a broadcast tilted toward a certain team, then dial in Woody Durham or Bob Harris or Tony Haynes. They all do wonderful jobs, even if their jobs are different than the network coverage.
Billy Packer isn’t bad, but I think his son Mark is one of the better radio hosts that I have ever heard. His daily “Primetime with the Packman” and weekly “Primetime in the A.C.C.” shows are entertaining and informative. He is tuned in to the pulse of sports around the area and knows his stuff. I had the time of my life listening to his show last night driving back home from my parents house.
With tonight being the last night of Tom Brokaw doing the evening news, the focus shifts to Brian Williams as he begins his tenure as NBC’s lead anchor tomorrow night. I like Williams a lot. I don’t think that he is that bad of an anchor. I used to watch his newscasts on CNBC and MSNBC before he switched over to the network to take Brokaw’s place. He may lean toward the liberal side, but no more than any of the other anchors. He will give the conservative viewpoint a chance from what I have seen of his newscasts. That’s more that what other anchors have done.
Which leads me to Dan Rather. Or more specifically, to his successor. CBS is still looking for the person to fill Rathers seat come next March. The latest news is that they may go to a rotating basis with a few different people. They would love to have someone like Tim Russert come in and take the chair. The problem with that is Russert signed with NBC through the 2012 election. So here I am to offer the ultimate solution to the problem. CBS should offer the job to…………me.
Seriously. I couldn’t do much worse in the job than what is being done now. CBS is already third in ratings and down in the dumps as far as viewer reliability. I will even renounce the top editor and producer job that comes with it. All of the reporters and producers can do their jobs and stories any way they see fit. I will announce the reports and let them dig themselves into a big hole or whatever else they see fit to do. All I ask is that when I am reporting the news of the day the people at the CBS news division allow me to write my own copy and report it my own way. That’s it. Think CBS will go for it? Hey CBS, you want the resume? All you have to do is email me. More later.