As my more surroundings-aware readers may remember, my wife (TMBWitW) works for a newspaper here in the Valley of the Sun. She is not responsible for any of the content, but she is responsible for telling the corporate leadership about the numbers generated by the newspaper – she is, after all, an accountant. She also doesn’t share information with me, so don’t go asking about numbers, because I simply do not know.

Those same readers who remembered the first part might also remember this: at one point in time, I was delivering the paper, in bundles, to businesses who would then re-sell the papers. You know, like convenience stores, supermarkets, and even paper machines (which, to tell the truth, pay the best, but you run the greater risk of having some psycho follow you from machine to machine and break into it, stealing either the papers, or the coin, or both. either way, it’s broken and you have to get a replacement machine.).

At one point during my time delivering the papers, there was a meeting (a lunch meeting) for the contractors (who all worked between midnight and 0700) in order to have a question and answer session. Of course, the first question some smart aleck asked was why they would schedule a lunch meeting for a bunch of people who were essentially vampires. That question was ignored, and the ignoring of the question pretty much answered what would have been my follow-up question of “Why don’t you listen to what is being said, instead of just giving the company line for anything?”

I digress.

The people putting on the lunch meeting, after getting over the disappointment of only having nine people show up from a group of over sixty (see “vampire”), welcomed us all and asked a question of their own, in order to get input.

The question was “How do you think we can increase sales?” and the answers were many and varied. Tossing aside the use of naked models to have strategically placed section of the paper covering them, (no imagination in these sales types. marketing would have gone for it in a flash. so to speak.) they instead focused on the answers we gave them with some serious thought. For example, it was pointed out that constantly telling people they can get more information on the paper’s (free) website would tend to drive people toward the web and away from the paper.

After looking at it from a distance now, I think the answer is more subtle. You see, the print media is leaning more and more to the left. More often than not, the current crop of journalists and editors are coming from the bastions of liberal learning, and starting to have a profound effect on the content of the nation’s media outlets. This is very evident in the larger broadcast media outlets, but let’s concentrate on print media for a moment.

Think back to what Air America tried to do. Seeing the success of conservative talk radio (filled with ‘proud to be an American’ thoughts words and deeds) Air America wanted to copy the business plan and create a liberal talk radio offering that could be syndicated and shared everywhere, uniting the left-thinking in the same way the right-thinking were uniting. The problem is that the liberal talk radio filled up with what the liberal think about – how terrible the United States is, how awful that we are so successful while other countries are stuck in their Third World status, and criticizing the country with all it’s failings. Let’s face it, people don’t want to hear doom and gloom all day, even if they are liberals. The conservative talk radio was supporting the country, giving constructive advice and lifting one another in praising the good things that the country is doing. In the end, Air America failed because it couldn’t keep it’s listener base (along with the money that listener base uses for purchasing and advertising) from being scared off by it’s attacks on the very country that allowed it to exist.

Translate that to the print media. With the liberals writing, editing, and publishing America-bashing articles (even subtly), people don’t want to hear it. Or, in this case, read it. With papers urging their readers to get more information on the web, their readers actually had the audacity to go out and get independent confirmation of the information presented – but not from the paper’s website. They went straight to the sources, and read the straight facts before the facts went through the prism that is present in every newsroom today. Sales start to slide, and then to fall. The paper starts wondering what went wrong, all the time struggling to stay afloat. Reorganizations are tried, services are centralized, and all the while those pesky customers keep taking the paper’s advice of finding more information on the web and, as a result, stop paying for slanted stories.

The papers, meanwhile, are confounded by the fact that they are still telling themselves they are fair and balanced. Refusing to admit you have a problem will prevent you from ever solving that problem. The editorial boards are slowly being taken over by journalists who have slowly advanced to their new positions after graduating from a college system that thinks Noam Chomsky is a patriotic centrist. The new editors are products of a school system that has eliminated as “biased” anything that smacks of conservative or patriotic values – prayer in school, the Pledge of Allegiance, respect for elders – and replaced them with more “inclusive” values – allowance for any religion but Christianity, the display of any flag not associated with the dominionistic policy of the United States, everyone is equal and worth the same – and their world view reflects it. But, the paper is still “fair and balanced” in it’s coverage.

Until the Mainstream Media wakes up to the fact that their business model of reporting with such a slant is what is killing them so softly and quietly, the values of the media outlets will continue to fall. It may take the complete and utter failure of a media giant like Gannett to wake the rest of the industry to facts.

Let’s hope it doesn’t come to that. Let’s hope that they have finally quit hitting the snooze button and are in the process of waking up to reality.

Thank you for stopping by, In GOD We Trust, God bless you all, Time, Inc. is a bunch of weasels, listen to The O Word on BlogTalkRadio, Wear Red on Fridays, and support Warriors for Innocence!

Normally speaking, I am not one to be “dared” into anything. Let’s face it, I’m too old, and experience (while painful) has taught me to be much more discerning than a certain young man had been in the past. That’s why I no longer jump at the chance to bust fresh powder on any mountain, no matter how much I want to. It’s also why I no longer even try to think that I can climb onto any piece of livestock that has a riding rig on it for the first time ever. Broken bones, long healed, have a way of reminding you to slow down and take it easy.

Luckily, this latest dare is not as physically challenging as the previously mentioned ones could be. You see, my good friend Gawfer just went on vacation and stopped by the factory of my favorite snack food. He picked up two gifts for me. The first, a bag of Belly Flops, is slowly being worked through. (Belly Flops, for the uninitiated, are Jelly Bellys that were rejected by quality control – for cosmetic reasons, or because they are stuck to one another. I can’t taste any difference, so the bag was welcome in my candy dish.)

The other gift:

A box of 1^st edition Bean Boozled Jelly Beans. The label carries the caution, “Contains Weird & Wild Flavors.”

The back of the box illustrates the different appearances of the beans inside, along with the flavors associated with the beans:

Here’s the tricky part. From top to bottom and left to right, there are pairs of beans. They are the same color. The flavor descriptions underneath are … not the same. The two black beans are Skunk Spray and Licorice. Moving left to right, you then have Pencil Shavings and Top Banana, Rotten Egg and Buttered Popcorn, Toothpaste and Berry Blue, Ear Wax and Café Latte, Vomit and Peach, Booger and Juicy Pear, Moldy Cheese and Caramel Corn, Baby Wipes and Coconut, Black Pepper and Plum.

Empty out the box – time to sort them out.

When I sent Gawfer a note thanking him for the Bellys, I mentioned that I may not be trying the Bean Boozled any too soon. He wrote back and said Loon had told him that I would, for sure, try them, to uphold the Marine Corps tradition of fearlessness and leadership. Or words to that effect. Well, you can triple dog dare me all day long, I’m not budging. But if you dare impugn the Marine Corps, then just stand by.

I got them sorted into eleven groups, and a twelfth group of orphans.

Starting at the twelve-o’clock position, we have Black Pepper/Plum, Booger/Juicy Pear, Ear Wax/Café Latte, Skunk Spray/Licorice, Baby Wipes/Coconut, Unknown 1, Toothpaste/Blue Berry, Vomit/Peach, Moldy Cheese/Caramel Corn, Pencil Shavings/Top Banana, Unknown 2, and the three orphans Rotten Egg/Buttered Popcorn (hey, 50-50 odds!), Orange Unknown 3, and Gray Unknown 4.

Wait a minute – there are only ten flavor-pairs mentioned on the back of the box, and I have thirteen total flavors to try. This should be fun.

Since I do not enjoy Licorice or Coconut, I figured I would give those two groups first and second shot respectively.

Licorice group: first one is licorice. (remind me to tell you about why I don’t like black licorice). Second is Skunk Spray. Oh, yuck. A swig of The Real Thing and I’m moving on through the group. Number three is licorice. I am suddenly liking licorice more than I did before starting this adventure. Fourth – Thank Goodness, it’s licorice. Cleanse with TRT.

Coconut group: first one is Baby Wipes. The flavor took a minute to move in, and at first I thought I had gotten lucky. Nope. Not as full as the Skunk Spray, but not Coconut either. Second bean is also Baby Wipes. So is the third bean. The fourth is a very strong Coconut. I actually had hoped I would not have any Coconuts, but there you have it. Cleanse with TRT.

OK, might as well start back at the top of the clock. Plum group: black pepper (about as much as you could stand to grind straight into your mouth from the mill) and a swig of TRT. Black Pepper again. More TRT. Plum! Yay! The final bean of this group is Black Pepper. More TRT. Someone in packaging has a sense of humor. Cleanse with TRT. I need another can.

Juicy Pear: Pear, Booger, Booger. Ew. Cleanse with lots of TRT.

Café Latte: Ear Wax, Ear Wax, Ear Wax, Ear Wax, Café Latte. Wonderful. More TRT.

Unknown 1: Not sure what they were supposed to be. The both tasted the same, but it was not a pleasant taste that you would want a whole bag of. Sort of a dry and dusty yet sticky taste, kind of like bee’s wax that had dried out from sitting in the attic too long. Cleanse with … you get the idea.

Blue Berry: Blue Berry, Blue Berry, Toothpaste (a strong one, like Colgate Mint), Blue Berry, Blue Berry, Blue Berry. (note to self – do not drink Coke after brushing your teeth.)

Peach: Peach. Peach. Vomit. Oh, my gosh. This is worse than Skunk Spray. More Real Thing. Not enough. More! Two beans left in the group. Another Vomit. Uggh. Last one is also a Vomit. Man, this is enough to go to Canada and hunt down a certain bird. Drain the second can of Coke.

Caramel Corn: the first bean brings sweet memories of the county fair, and the many local events in downtown Glendale. The second bean makes me wish I had stopped at the first bean. (TRT) The last bean is also Moldy Cheese. Not a pleasant taste.

Top Banana: Banana, Pencil Shavings (even the hint of graphite dust), Banana, Pencil Shavings, Banana. At least that group began and ended well.

Unknown 2: Again, the first one is not a describable taste – kind of – ew, it just came in as I was typing. Rotten Egg. The color is not the same as on the box. The second is also Rotten Egg. I wonder…

Buttered Popcorn Orphan: Ugh. Rotten Egg.

Orange Unknown 3: Vomit. This is so not fair.

Gray Unknown 4: (and believe me when I tell you that the end of this taste test did not come soon enough) Café Latte! Again, the colors threw me off a bit in the grouping.

I gotta tell you, the Jelly Belly company is a very creative place. I swear by their (normal) product, and the Flops are not bad at all. I will, however, have to draw the line on the Bean Boozled ever again. In fact, if I never see another box of Bean Boozled it will be too soon.

Gawfer, thanks again for the gifts. As gross as some of the “off” flavors were, it is still a joy to have Jelly Bellys in the house. Loon, just stand by. It’s a good thing we’re friends.

Thank you for stopping by, In GOD We Trust, God bless you all, Time, Inc. is a bunch of weasels, listen to The O Word on BlogTalkRadio, Wear Red on Fridays, and support Warriors for Innocence!

I love this entry over at Shootists’ Scribblings by Lewis Burwell:

I find it infinitely amusing, and somewhat disturbing, that liberals will condemn the use of labels and stereotypes out of one side of their mouths, while labeling conservatives as racists, bigots, islamophobes, homophobes, religious zealots, and intolerant, out of the other side of their mouths.

Conservatives usually label liberals as….well…liberals.

Just got this in the comment section on this post:

Ed
ed.nicholson@tyson.com | 199.66.1.5

Labor Day Reinstated as Paid Holiday at Shelbyville, TN, Plant
Tyson Foods Requested Change from Union

Springdale, Arkansas – August 8, 2008 – Tyson Foods, Inc. announced today it has reached a new agreement with the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union (RWDSU), an American union, reinstating Labor Day as one of the designated paid holidays under the contract for covered employees in the Shelbyville, Tennessee, plant.

Tyson made this request on behalf of its Shelbyville plant employees, some of whom had expressed concern about the new contract provisions relative to paid holidays. In an effort to be responsive, Tyson asked the union to reopen the contract to address the holiday issue, and the union agreed to do so. The union membership voted overwhelmingly Thursday to reinstate Labor Day as one of the plant’s paid holidays, while keeping Eid al-Fitr as an additional paid holiday for this year only. This means that in 2008 only, Shelbyville employees will have nine paid holidays.

For the remainder of the five-year contract period, the eight paid holidays will include: New Year’s Day, Martin Luther King Day, Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Thanksgiving Day, Christmas Day and a Personal Holiday, which could either be the employee’s birthday, Eid al-Fitr or another day requested and approved by their supervisor.

This issue concerns only the plant at Shelbyville, Tennessee. Labor Day has always been celebrated, and continues to be, at the other 118 Tyson plants across the country.

The Shelbyville complex employs approximately 1,200 people. Approximately 1,000 workers are covered by the RWDSU union agreement at that location.

Note: The Shelbyville plant has 250 Somali employees, not 700, as was previously erroneously reported. They were employed at the plant via the Tennessee Department of Employment Security.

http://www.tyson.com/Corporate/PressRoom/ViewArticle.aspx?id=3021

From Tyson Foods, 2008/08/08 at 8:08 AM

Nothing like a little dander getting up to produce some results, eh?

Hey, Tyson foods – how’s your wallet feeling?

Note – I normally don’t include e-mail addresses in these types of releases, but I feel that the inclusion this time is needed for authentication. I also didn’t think this little backwater would garner this kind of corporate attention, but there you go.

Are ya wearing it? You should be!

On today’s The O Word, I talked about the New Orleans Saints game against an anonymous JV team in a pre-season game at the University of Phoenix Stadium, James Doohan’s ashes didn’t make it too space this time, the Olympics are a wonderful love-fest by the MSM to China, Osama’s driver was sentenced to a wrist-slap, Obama’s new salute, and the armed invasion of US soil by armed Mexican Army members – show #20!

I’ve added a badge in the sidebar – for the White Talk Radio Network – where everybody knows your name. Come on over! If you want an invite to join, drop me a line in the comments.

Have a great weekend!

Thank you for stopping by, In GOD We Trust, God bless you all, Time, Inc. is a bunch of weasels, listen to The O Word on BlogTalkRadio, Wear Red on Fridays, and support Warriors for Innocence!