To understand the reason for this poster, please visit NextContestant.us.

Note to President Obama: Take a lesson from Johnny Carson’s playbook.

Friday, June 15, 2012

Fifty-four minutes? Really?? In President Obama’s defense, maybe he was auditioning for a teaching position at the community college by giving a lecture in failed public policy.

Johnny Carson, the legendary late night comedian, was a genius at saving bad jokes, often turning duds into his monologue’s funniest moments. One of his techniques was to start explaining the joke, pretending, hope against hope that, if only the audience understood what he was trying to say, they’d realize his comic genius. Sometimes he’d pull down the overhead mike and rap on it to make sure it was working. In fact, it was the faux explanation that was the real joke. What he knew, and leveraged to the hilt, was that, if you had to explain it, it probably wasn’t that funny in the first place.

Barack Obama v. Mitt Romney: Comparing resumes.

Tuesday, May 22, 2012

It’s only fair. President Obama wants us to focus on Mitt Romney’s history at Bain Capital, and the media is on that like white on rice – an expression which made more sense before my wife told me that brown rice is better for you, no political metaphor intended.

While the media and Newark’s Cory Booker are busy wondering whether it’s fair to criticize capitalism, I’d like to take a different tack. I’d like to compare candidate Romney’s resume to President Obama’s prior to his running for President. (We all know what he’s done since then.) If he’s asking us to consider Mitt Romney’s preparedness to be President, we have every right to ask the same question about President Obama.

www.NextContestant.us

Sunday, May 20, 2012

Hi. In recent months, and the past few weeks in particular, I’ve been been writing political pieces about our need to replace non-performing incumbents. Reaction to these posts has been unexpectedly strong, so encouraging, in fact, that I’ve started a new blog, www.NextContestant.us, where I will be posting related materials going forward.

Today, for example, I’ve just posted 8. Ben Cardin v. Dan Bongino: “If our democracy were a business…”

If you’re interested, please go there, to www.NextContestant.us, when you have time. Read the “About” page, look around, and feel free to leave your comments and suggestions.

Thanks.

Update, Monday, May 21:
And I’ve just posted 9. Ben Cardin v. Dan Bongino: “Money buys you access.” It’s about Senator Cardin’s membership on the Senate Committee on Finance’s Subcommittee on Health Care and campaign contributions he’s received from health industry-related PACs.

-wf

US (“Useless”) Airways, Part 2

Tuesday, June 21, 2011

Why would anyone fly US, aka “Useless” Airways if it weren’t absolutely the only way to get from A to B? This is the unexpected sequel to “Wuf?” #7: US Airways.

You know, I said a lot of harsh things about US Airways in a previous “Wuf?” series posting, and now I feel bad. I feel bad because I obviously left some stuff out of my last rant.

Earlier this morning, I flew from A to B on US Airways. Two out of three of the trays in my row were broken. (Let’s hope they take better care of the engines.) The lady sitting by the window used hers even though her stuff kept sliding from right to left in front of her. I couldn’t use mine because the left bracket was so broken it let that side of the tray hit my knee, so I just left it up.

And so I wondered, “Was there a ‘working tray fee’ I forgot to pay?” I reported the tray to one of the Flight Attendants on the way out the door – reflecting as I did on how close “Flight Attendant” sounds like “Lavatory Attendant.” I thought reporting the tray was the right thing to do, and that maybe I’ll get a credit, a tiny credit because I had to hold my cup of Coke in my lap for an hour. Come to think of it, US Airways management probably knew my tray was broken which is why they didn’t offer me anything to eat, or even a napkin to prevent my cup of Coke from sweating a ring on my khakis. How thoughtful.

Anyway, this tray experience got me thinking about what other new fees US Airways might concoct. Maybe a “seatbelt/no seatbelt fee”? (Overweight people who need “an extension” would pay double.) Maybe a “polite/not polite fee” or “smile/no smile fee”? (Have you noticed that some of the Flight Attendants on US Airways don’t look any happier to be on the plane than their passengers – and the Flight Attendants are getting paid. And then the ultimate “crash/no crash fee” which, I’m guessing, should be a huge moneymaker.

US Airways: “Because at 37,000 feet, no one, no matter how bad we treat them, is going to get up and leave.”

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-wf