It’s a dog’s world

Who would have thought when the season began, that Giants/49ers would end up being a marquee matchup.  That’s the great thing about football — you’ve got the week-long buildup to the event, and the deeper into the season you get, the bigger and better the hype.

I’m a sucker for sports hype, and I love listening to the radio guys talk about Sunday’s game.  The San Francisco sports talk radio hosts are  a surprisingly good listen.  They’re not nearly as vitriolic as the New York hosts, and they have a light-hearted way of infusing humor into the broadcast.  In New York, between the caustic hosts and the hysterical callers, you feel like you’re listening to Wagnerian opera.  Don’t get me wrong, I listened to those New York guys religiously, but sometimes the banter would become too heavy-handed and drone-like. 

On the other hand, it’s funny what upsets the west coast guys.  Early in the week, by way of stirring the pot up for this Sunday’s game, one of the hosts was recalling the end of the 1989 football season.  The Giants needed the 49ers to win in order for them to make the playoffs.  The 49ers, who had already clinched, rested most of their star players and ended up losing, thus ending the Giants season.  Phil Simms, the Giants quarterback, told the press that “the 49ers laid down like dogs!”

Really?  That’s all you got, Frisco media?   

Is he Moslem, or is he Memorex?

Every once in a while I tune into the cable news networks, and almost every time I come away feeling unclean. Tonight was no exception. I realize that the filter of the media is strong, yet it is difficult to watch these shows for any amount of tine and not come away astounded at the ignorance of the American people.

Tonight, courtesy of the Larry King show, I learned that 25% of Americans believe that Barack Obama is a Moslem. One in four people, despite incontrovertible evidence to the contrary, believe that our president is lying about his religion. One in four!

Why should I be surprised? This is the same populace who supported a frivolous impeachment of president Bill Clinton over a romantic dalliance, yet vigorously supported an illegal invasion against Iraq.

But I am surprised. This, even more than Iraq, is willful ignorance. The pundits who slime Obama with innuendo — “I’m not saying he’s Moslem, yet there are inaccuracies.” – are the very same dolts who screamed bloody murder over his having belonged to a radical church. Well which is he, a radical Christian, or radical Moslem?

As usual it is blatant racism which fuels the argument — as if being a Moslem equates with dissidence or inherent evil. There is a significant portion of the population who could not process the tragedy of September 11th without demonizing an entire religion. If you ask me, this is the height of cowardice.