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Bill O’Reilly

Presidential Politics (the next great reality TV show)

April 27, 2011 by carol anne Leave a Comment

You know what the world needs? Another reality show. Yup! I said it, another reality show. After this morning’s shenanigan’s with the big reveal of President Obama’s birth certificate and Trump’s idiotic press conference I’ve decided that presidential politics have now devolved into the realm of reality TV programming.

That’s right. I think the 2012 elections should begin in January 2012 with a big launch of 2 new reality programs; one for the republicans and one for the democrats. The shows will be broadcast nightly on CSPAN. Mark Burnett are you listening? We’ll make a fortune. Lobbyists you are free to buy as much commercial air time as you please.

So back to the idea. The project will begin as 2 shows shown nightly from 8-11pm daily on CSPAN. Each party will have a 90 minute show from January through June. Each party’s primary candidates will live in a house together for 6 months at the end of each month there will be a call-in and online vote. On June 30th the candidate with the most votes wins the primary and advances to the general election. No one will be voted off before June 30th so that all candidates have 6 full months to show the country what they are made of. Bill O’Reilly will host the republican program and Keith Olbermann will host the democratic program.

During the 6 month primary season candidates will live and work together. Every Friday there will be a debate on the news of that week moderated by a rotating list of news anchors. Every Sunday morning there will be a special round tablediscussion where the candidates answer questions sent in by voters moderated by Jake Tapper. Each day voters will have the opportunity to see how their candidates for president work with others to solve problems and how they handle stress.

The 2 candidates who advance to the general election will move in together in a new smaller apartment. They’ll be given a budget inline with what the average American family makes and will have to pool their finances to pay rent, utilities and shop for groceries and essentials like socks and toothpaste. This will allow them to understand realistically how much money actual American families operate with on a daily basis. The weekly debates and roundtable discussions will continue and a new feature will be added to the competition. During their stay in the general election house each candidate will have to work on and present aspects of their platforms every Monday and Wednesday. Thursday will be budget day. Every Thursday the 2 candidates will each use 90 mins to discuss how they will manage the country’s finances. They must provide accurate spreadsheets to be uploaded to the show’s website for voters to examine and question.

Late night Saturdays will offer the candidates the opportunity to sit around with the cronies of their choice drinking the adult beverage of their choosing and smoking cigars while shooting the breeze. Bill Maher would be a good fit to host this program.

Mid Summer will be week-long political convention specials. Afterward each vice presidential candidate will also move into the apartment so voters can see how they work as a team. In November voters will go to the polls as always and vote for the candidate of their choice after having watched how they operate and learned about every aspect of their lives for 10 full months.

So that’s it. That’s my idea for how to elect the next president of the United States of America; part Survivor, part Big Brother, part Jersey Shore. What do you think kids? Would you watch? Would you vote? Any ideas for challenges?

Posted in: Political Ramblings Tagged: Big Brother, Bill Maher, Bill O'Reilly, Jake Tapper, Jersey Shore, Keith Olbermann, Mark Burnett, Politics, presidential election, Reality TV, Survivor

Thoughtful Discussion & Working Together (There is more that unites us than divides us)

January 11, 2011 by carol anne Leave a Comment

I really like politics. I really do. And in a different world had I managed to go to college I’d probably have tried my hand at, at least running for city council.

Because I love politics I watch a lot of politically themed TV. I’m a liberal with some conservative leanings but I really do enjoy Bill O’Reilly’s Talking Points Memos. I also like him when he’s feeling reasonable. But I cannot stand to watch him interview someone with a differing opinion. He ends up talking over them and not allowing them to get their point across.

For a while Glenn Beck fascinated me but as the months wore on he seemed to get more hateful, more off the wall paranoid, more dangerous so I stopped watching him entirely. He scares me. I do think he and Sarah Palin are going to end up with blood on their hands if they do not change their ways.

To the same token but on the other side of the coin is Keith Olbermann on MSNBC. I love this guy. He’s erudite, poetic and thoughtful but also condescending, smarmy and smug.

Bill Maher is smart and funny as long as you’re not a Christian with conservative political views. It galls me that he feels the need to belittle people who hold different beliefs than him.

Even John Stewart, who has been hailed as the voice of reason uses a kind of wry observational humor to point out the idiots and the idiocy of it all.

The world would be such a better place if we’d all sit down and talk it out. I really truly believe that vice presidents should not be chosen until after the election and then they have to choose someone from the other party. I don’t think it’s good for one party to have all the power. I know that’s Congress is for but I think the two top guys should have differing opinions.

I think the world would be a far better place if REASONABLE people with differing opinions sat down and started trying to solve the world’s problems one by one.

Historically the republicans have spent more on defense and the democrats are more inclined to spend less. Okay fine. That’s great. Let’s sit the two brightest minds (in regards to defense) of the democratic and republican parties and let them hash it out. Maybe there is a way to spend less and do more. Families do it every day. Perhaps there is outdated technology that can be upgraded and perhaps tanks and other military vehicles can be made with I don’t know, better gas mileage. You get my point.

What if we sat down brilliant people from both parties and made a concerted effort to fix the education system? What if instead of haggling over what the unions want we sit down and decide what is best for our children? No political agendas, no No Child Left Behind nonsense a real and honest overhaul of a failing system.

Imagine if the greatest minds of our generation sat down without prejudice or party lines and really worked on solving the world’s problems. What if we start electing representatives who want to go to D.C. to actually do the work of the people and not the clowns who go there now to get powerful, rich and infamous?

Imagine if we sat down nightly to watch and to listen to intelligent discussions on the matters of the day. Imagine if we all went to bed at night after having listened to and perhaps participated in intelligent discussion. We’d all go to bed filled with hope and our heads full of ideas rather than the nagging inkling that we’re all going to hell in a hand basket.

That bright shining city on a hill can be achieved yet. We can bring about a better tomorrow. We can learn to believe in one another. All it takes is patience and understanding.

Love All, Serve All

Love,

~ Carol Anne

Posted in: Political Ramblings Tagged: Bill Maher, Bill O'Reilly, Glenn Beck, ideas, John Stewart, Keith Olbermann, Politics, Sarah Palin, thoughtful discussion

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