Cable news going to the dogs

Morning briefing

The political discourse in our country hit a new low this week.

Newsmax, a cable news network I have never watched nor ever will, sank to whale-manure low with an attack on a member of President Biden’s family - Champ.

There used to be unwritten rules about family members being off limits, but Newsmax and its cable news host, Greg Kelly, erased that from the rule book by going after the president’s best friend.

Champ is President Biden’s 12-year-old German Shepard. 

“Did you see the dog? I want to show you something I noticed,” Kelly said on his show before showing a photograph of the graying Champ at the White House.

“That dog needs a bath and a comb and all kinds of love and care,” Kelly said before adding, “I don’t know how much love and care he is getting. This dog looks like, I’m sorry, from the junkyard.”

The public howled its disapproval on social media.

Brian Williams, the MSNBC host, had this to say about Kelly’s observations:

“Think of it this way: If Champ were to meet Greg Kelly, he would probably love Greg Kelly unconditionally. That’s what dogs do. Probably also why there are no dogs anchoring Newsmax.”

And hopefully fewer people watching.

Champ and Major should be off limits and I don’t think there are many of his viewers that will love him unconditionally.

Another commentator was more personal: “He is in better shape than any of you - and smarter than all of you combined.”

Stefanik: Biden won

Tom Dimopolous, the Saratoga Today writer who used to write for The Post-Star in our Saratoga bureau, put up a post on Facebook Tuesday and labeled it “Breaking” news.

Dimopoulos reported that Rep. Elise Stefanik, while addressing the Saratoga County Board of Supervisors, referred to the leader of the free world as President Biden.

I guess that is progress.

Most of us knew that information a week after the election, but this was some new information from Rep. Stefanik. Perhaps, she gets her news from Newsmax instead of a more reliable local newspaper.

Stefanik went on to promise financial relief from the Covid relief package while complaining about a national minimum wage in a state where it already has been implemented.

Prison editorial in Post-Star

Sadly, the North Country has too long depended on prisons as an economic development arm for our local communities. When there were more guards employed at Mount McGregor than inmates, the state closed the prison.

That was the right decision.

The Post-Star came out this past weekend with an editorial praising the state with a plan to close more prisons for a very sound reason - they have far fewer prisoners.

Well paying blue-collar jobs in the North Country are tough to come by, but prisons should never be for economic development.

Springsteen and Obama.

It was a treat to listen to the first installment of the Bruce Springsteen-Barack Obama podcast on Spotify this week.

It seems like an odd pairing, but the two claim they became friends after crossing paths multiple times over the years. The podcast is not so much about politics as it is about too old friends talking about their journey through life, their country and what keeps them up at night and we get to listen in.

The two wouldn’t appear to have much in common, but it worked with Obama leading gently as the moderator only to have Springsteen jump in and start asking the former president questions about his own upbringing and father.

It is worth a listen.