We at Shock and Awesome are taking a break. Some of us are still drunk from last weeks Van Halen concert, some of us are going to Jamaica for a month and some of us never really got over the Jets not making the playoffs. Whatever the reasons, none of them as serious as what James Murdoch is facing at News Corp, we need some time to retool the show and take it in a new direction. In a few weeks, when the show is back, we will still look at topics through our unique lens but we are going to take our listeners on a deep dive centered around interesting topics instead of strictly being about social commentary and political gossip jokes. We are interested in presenting ideas in a “stream of conciseness” way where the show is held together by a common thread but takes the listener far from the point where they started listening. It will resemble those curious days spent searching on the internet where link after link, click after click you find yourself many topics away from the initial bit of info you where interested in defining. The show will be about discovery in an organic way… plus hookers and blow… and great stories.
Who DOESN’T love an underdog? Jeremy Lin has more points in his first three games as an NBA starter than anyone since 1977. Not bad for a guy already cut twice by other NBA teams. A player who last week was the 15th Knick and a potential for being cut once veteran Baron Davis got healthy enough to return. Not anymore.
Davis will play BEHIND Lin now when his injured back is ready to go. This thanks to this national sensation leading the Knicks from being a selfish disorganized unit, into becoming a pass first, look for the open player team. A team that was down in the dumps but has now thanks to Lin, won four straight.
The struggling Knicks, owners of three marquee stars were desperate to find the one who could glue the club together. In choosing to give Lin a shot four games ago since nobody else they had tried at the quarterback position of point guard could do the job, they have miraculously found that guy.
The next goal will be for Lin to find his own apartment. The days of sleeping on his brothers couch on the Lower East side, are over. This ain’t no overnight sensation. This is the guy who is bringing the buzz back to the Garden.
New York city is exciting in a different way when the Knicks, the city’s team playing the city’s game, are a contender. Lin’s story is testimony to the fact that dreams DO come true as long as you hang in there and refuse to quit.
This could be the beginning of a magnificent ride.
Paul “Fitzy” Fitzgerald is hilarious. Period. His stream of conscious rants, parallels to pop culture, and delivery, are worth the wait folks. Listen to TJ and the TUX dial up “Fitzy” for his thoughts on “Gisele-Gate,” The Welker “Butterfingers” controversy, Gronkowski’s post game Soul Train Dance-A-Thon moves on a high ankle sprain, and the new internet fad called “Bradying,” tommorrow on the Shock and Awesome podcast “Believe.”
Above is a look at a pre Super Bowl 46 piece he did for his website www.townienews.com
Fred Wertheimer is the Founder and President of Democracy 21, a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization that works to strengthen our democracy and ensure the integrity and fairness of government decisions and elections.
Wertheimer has been described by The New York Times as “the country’s leading proponent of campaign finance reform,” by Washington Post columnist E. J. Dionne as “the eminence grise of the campaign reform movement,” and by Brit Hume of Fox News, as “Mr. Campaign Finance Reform.” The Boston Globe described Wertheimer as a “legendary open-government activist,” and The Washington Post said “Democracy 21 is one of Washington’s foremost watchdog groups.
In an interview with Shock and Awesome today, Wertheimer lamented about the new SUPER PAC culture, that has driven the pace of the 2012 race. “We have a system now where super rich people and corporate spenders have far too much influence on the outcome of elections.” Ones who “are able to buy influence with the people that are elected.”
Hear the entire interview with Wertheimer Thursday on the Shock and Awesome podcast “Believe” then listen to the Tux ask why rich people don’t simply spend their money on cool ideas like “cars that drive themselves,” instead. Since when did being wealthy become about imposing your values on the rest of the country?
When you are champions like the Giants, you get parades. When you lose the final game like the Patriots, you are forgotten. Cruel, but that’s how it goes. Downtown New York City was packed moments ago along the Canyon of Heroes as Big Blue received keys to the city. Congrats to the Super bowl champion G Men.
Why is it that when teams lose big games, their fans, media, and players always talk about what THEIR side didnt do? That it was THEIR own fault for losing the game, not the other’s teams ability to win the game?
Tom Brady’s world famous supermodel wife Gisele was caught on camera pissed off and grumpy after taking heat from Giants fans. So naturally she stuck up for her husband in blaming the receivers for dropping balls in Super Bowl 46, not Tom himself.
Couple that though with this jerkoff’s column in the Boston globe noting how the “loss” was all Brady’s fault and his legacy is now tranished, and you have yet another blame game running full circle.
Here’s some breaking news for those of you calling your own out, up in Beantown. The Super Bowl was WON by the Giants. Not LOST by the Patriots.
Big Blue played within themselves, avoided huge mistakes, and capitalized on the Pats Rob Gronkowski, Brady’s top target, not being at 100 percent, by staying attentive to the entire rest of the New England wide receiving corps.
Eli Manning made the biggest play of the game with the clutch 50 yard completion to Mario Manningham with less than 4:00 left. As he had done all season, in what was his best season as a pro. The Giants led the NFL in fourth quarter scoring in 2011. It was not luck that the Giants came back and did so against a maligned Patriots defense.
The Patriots? They HAD a chance to win late, but Wes Welker couldn’t make the tough catch off a difficult throw from Tom Terrific. So what? It happens. It wasn’t a choke by Brady or Welker on the play. In fact if anything, Boston writers should remember that if the Ravens’ Lee Evans could have held onto that ball that two weeks back, one that he’s caught a thousand times in his life, New England would have been watching the Super Bowl at home just like we were.
The Giants have beaten the Pats three straight times now dating back to 2008, unlike any team has in the NFL. They’ve done it thanks to their speed defensively up front which has sped up Brady and his decision making in all three games. Instead of pointing fingers, the Patriots and their extended family need to regroup and obtain their own pass rush, in order to slow down the likes of Eli Manning and other pass happy machines going forward.
The losing side has to quit blaming people and see the whole picture instead. Not just one isolated play, or a handful of them. In Super Bowls, the other team is always damn good too.
There were no goats last night, only heroes, who go by the name of “G-Men.”
Former Governor Buddy Roemer joined us today for our Thursday podcast “The Lame-Churian Candidate.” Roemer, is running for President with no desire for Super PAC money or endorsements, while having been left out of most of the debates that have taken place.
Roemer may currently be on the outside looking in, but the Weekly Standard reported today that that 33% of GOP want a new candidate injected into the mix. The upcoming days and weeks could be Roemer’s moment to shine. Here are a few tidbits from the interview, which can be heard here and on East Village Radio Thursday.
Roemer on his idea of forming a “Unity Party” by running with a Democrat on the ticket “I don’t want to build a party. I want to build a Nation.”
Roemer on why leadership is in disarray “Noone’s in charge. They’re bought.”
Roemer on entering the race: “My time’s gonna come.”
For more info on the candidate go to www.buddyroemer.com
Newt Gingrich fought off what many analysts felt was to be his last stand with a defeat in South Carolina. He punched, clawed, and simply played smart in turning the tides. Dumping two tax issues on Romney while spinning an ex wife’s “open marriage” claims into an advantage. Remaining calm amidst other charges that he is too hot headed to be the Republican nominee. In doing so, Gingrich overcame a ten point deficit days prior to upset frontrunner Mitt Romney by twelve points on Jan 21st. Now as early voting begins in Florida (an estimated 40 percent will have voted by the actual primary date of Jan 31), it is Romney who must come out of his shell and go on the attack against the “Comeback Kid.”
Romney has maintained a well rehearsed smile on debate stages since the first one last Spring. He has kept comments directed towards Barry “the Cigarette” Obama, not the players beneath him in the GOP polls. Why stoop down to their “also ran” level right? Wrong. Not anymore. Forget Rick Santorum’s “win” in meaningless Iowa. Newt Gingrich is the one who won in South Cackalacky. Where they’ve picked Republican Presidents since 1980.
For Mitt Romney’s camp, the “play it safe and run out the clock” approach has to stop before Florida. The Newtster is finding some ryhtym now and momentum can be a dangerous weapon. Especially since the former Speaker is now cementing a consistent message to go along with it. That HE is the Reagan conservative. That HE can beat Obama in debates. That the “three wives” controversy is dated and a left wing media attack. That Romney is NOT one of “us” but instead a moderate elitist. With a bank account too great to have any empathy for the working class.
Romney must go back to those old Bruce Lee karate films, and study them. Symbolically. Preparing to go on the offensive, and counter any moves made by Newt in a more aggressive way. In other words, get ready unleash a few roundhouse kicks. No more Mr. Nice Guy. Challenge the unpredictable Gingrich to remain disciplined and calm. Using whatever means necessary to regain control of a narrative that only weeks back, read that of all the Republicans, only Mitt was the electable one in a general election. That may mean that opening shots and retorts aimed at Newt have to start containing more lethal power once again.
Gingrich was publicly furious about Romney’s negative ads against him in Iowa and vowed revenge. In South Carolina, he got it in the form of a huge win. Mitt helped out however, by taking the bait in not keeping up the pressure on his rival down South. Meanwhile Gingrich counterpunched by raising Romney’s record twenty years back at Bain capital relentlessly leading up to the South Carolina primary. This as he complained about the historic nature of an ex wife’s tales from just ten years ago. While not a peep came from Romney about his rival’s historical hypocrisy of wanting to sideline only his own past. A more recent one at that as well.
Mitt Romney better start to employ some more emotion and fight on Gingrich than Obama starting Monday. There will be plenty of time to go after a sitting President should he be the last one standing. As for now, he is not. Florida is a two man battle thanks to the final score in Carolina. If Romney does not agree, and thus fails to alter the gameplan on Gingrich as a result, he may be in for another Southern surprise.
When he called his third place finish in New Hampshire a “ticket to ride,” Jon Huntsman appeared ready to fight it out in South Carolina. So much for that. The GOP field shrunk again as Huntsman announced he was dropping out of the field. Endorsing Mitt Romney as the only one capable of taking on Obama, while taking a shot at the campaign vitriol on his way out the door. “This race has degenerated into an onslaught of negative attacks not worthy of the American people and not worthy of this critical time. At its core, the Republican Party is a party of ideas, but the current toxic form of our political discourse does not help our cause.
”
Doh! Newt Gingrich forgot to apply in time for the March 6th Virginia primaries. That’s alright Newt, we understand. We’ve been there. TJ and the Tux in their lifetime, have forgotten to apply for class at college, forgotten to renew their visas, vehicle registrations, and alot more. Overlooking deadlines for state primaries during Presidential campaigns though? No. Can’t say we’ve done that.
However, who are WE to say this type of behavior is uncalled for, or unacceptable. It’s human. That’s what it is. Better not need those 50 delegate votes when it’s all said and done though Mr Speaker. It would be a shame to lose the nomination simply because you forgot to sign up for something, like a drunk frat kid.
On Tuesday, Shock and Awesome interviewed Sue Terry, currently a senior research scholar at Columbia University’s Weatherhead East Asian Institute, on the current transition taking place in North Korea. This in light of the recent death of Kim Jong Il and the transfer of power to his 28 year old son, the enigmatic Kim Jong Un. Terry is also a former Senior North Korea analyst at the CIA, Deputy National Intelligence officer for East Asia at the National Intelligence Council, and Korea Japan director at the National Security Council. The complete interview will be available here on Thursday. Read Terry’s piece from the Wall Street Journal on Dec 21st entitled “Containing The Young Kim,” co written by Sung Yoon Lee. Mr. Lee is a research fellow of the National Asia Research Program, a joint initiative by the National Bureau of Asian Research and the Woodrow Wilson Center.
Writer Brian Clark of the Virginian Pilot said “It’s a tradition at Navy homecomings that one sailor is chosen by raffle to be first off the ship to kiss a loved one. Wednesday, for the first time, the reunited couple was same-sex.” It’s about time. We wonder if there will be more labels once seen as fringe behavior, that will become part of the mainstream in 2012. As the U.S tries to finally be what we say we are. A free country that is tolerant of all races, religions, and so forth.
