Raayyeerr!! With Brian Williams

Variety clip show The Soup on the E! network is a weekly compilation of humorous footage that the ever-expanding world of cable and network television has to offer.

One of host Joel McHale's favorite segments over the last year or so has featured NBC's lead news anchor, in which the narration of insignificant stories is clearly sarcastic in tone - called Raayyeerr!! With Brian Williams since its inception.

He even made a guest appearance on the show in early February to play along with the running joke. Long before that however, The Soup's team of video editors watched every Nightly News and Rock Center intently in order to find the next comedic gem they could use.

2013 Oscars: What Else Is On?

Hollywood’s elite will be congregating at the Dolby Theatre (formerly the Kodak) on Sunday, Feb. 24 to collectively pat themselves on the back once again. The last awards show of the season is scheduled to commence at 8:30 P.M. EST on ABC, with over four hours of red carpet coverage prior to the big event. So tune in early if celebrity fashion critiques are of interest to you.

Hosting this year for the first (and probably last) time is Seth McFarlane, best known for developing and lending his voice(s) to three crass animated comedies on FOX. Family Guy is the longest running among them, officially premiering in 1999 and returning in 2004 after a two-year hiatus. Going on to become one of the highest paid people in the television industry afforded him the opportunity to release a sophomoric movie into theaters last summer called Ted, which earned him a nomination in the ‘Best Original Song’ category.

Billy Crystal, who returned to host for the ninth time last year as a safe bet has reportedly been giving the novice some advice on how to start and sustain the show. McFarlane has said however that he doesn’t want to let his fan base down.

Among the many other storylines, one has to wonder what film stands the best chance of winning, among the nine that have been nominated for best motion picture. A category that was expanded in 2009 in a brazen attempt to attract more viewers and increase broad-based appeal, which begs the question – how culturally relevant are the Oscars really?

Back in 2005, comedian Chris Rock ruffled a few feathers as the host by joking about his own and America’s willful ignorance in general. At one point in the telecast, Rock was rolled a clip featuring several off-the-cuff interviews with movie-goers outside of Los Angeles.

Simply asking which nominated movie they had enjoyed the most, not even one responded that they had seen one of them yet. One couple excitedly proclaimed that White Chicks, a slapstick comedy starring the Wayans brothers was their favorite movie of the year. Rock will be a presenter on Sunday, the first time he has been invited back since.

This humorous anecdote is a representation of just how pretentious and out of touch Hollywood can be. They’ve prided themselves on their ‘trend-setting’ progressive agenda, delusions of grandeur, and hostility towards conservatives for decades. This is especially evident in the documentary category, where 2016 Obama’s America (one of the most successful of all time) has been shut out from contention.

Then there was the palpable hypocrisy of their gun control crusade more recently. The Business and Media Institute conducted a study last month that found 65 violent scenes and 185 victims in the top-5 movies at the time. 

Considering all of this and more, will you still watch the 4 hour-long flattery fest? If only the Razzies were televised, a ‘celebration’ of the worst movies Hollywood churned out last year. That might be more fun to watch. 

In Obama's America, It Pays To Be On Welfare

According to a recent Heritage Foundation study titled The Unfinished Work of Welfare Reform, there are at least 11 states that now have more people on welfare than they do gainfully employed. Over 100 million total, which is just over a third of the entire population. 

Their research revealed that the average household below the poverty line has received $168 per day of financial assistance from the government, which is a combination of unemployment, food stamps, Medicaid and other benefits. This is based on the Senate Budget Committee's own published statistics from the 2011 fiscal year.

Adding insult to injury, the median household income is just over $50,000, averaging out to just over $137 per day. That means welfare recipients are being paid the equivalent of $30 per hour over the course of a 40-hour 'work' week, and the average job only pays $25 an hour.

More than 100 million Americans received aid from at least one of the nearly 80 federal welfare programs in 2011, at a total cost of $717 billion. When state programs were taken into account, the figure soared above $1 trillion, making it the largest item in the federal budget. 

That's only the tip of the iceberg however, as Robert Rector and Jennifer Marshall pointed out in their report:

Since the beginning of the War on Poverty in the mid-1960s, government has spent $19.8 trillion (in inflation-adjusted 2011 dollars) on means-tested welfare. By comparison, the combined cost of all the wars in American history — from the Revolutionary War through the current war in Afghanistan — has been $6.98 trillion (in 2011 dollars). The War on Poverty has thus cost three times as much as all of our real wars combined.

Meaningful reform was passed back in 1996, increasing self sufficiency levels, but it has since been gutted by the Obama administration. With sensitive issues like sequestration and amnesty for illegals being debated on the congressional floor, one has to wonder if the subject of welfare reform has been seriously considered for its overwhelming relevance to both.

Media Continues to Ignore Mounting Evidence of Voter Fraud

With plenty of anecdotal evidence to back up his claims, WorldNetDaily's Editor-in-Chief Joseph Farah is convinced that something shady and underhanded contributed to the outcome of the election last week. Prefacing his article with a vow of impartiality, Farah presented information from all of the reliable sources he came across.

It should be noted that none of these reports originated from the liberal-leaning broadcast media however, who have openly celebrated Obama's "decisive victory" -- as if they don't care how it could've happened. They are just glad that it did. 

If anyone has a balanced approach to the realities of political life in America, it’s me. I’ve looked at life from both sides. I know the arguments of the other side and can still spout them before most of today’s practitioners of so-called 'progressive' thought can. I also know that the reigning ethos of this movement represented so ably today by Obama is this... 'by any means necessary'... What it means, in short, is that the ends justify the means.

 Voter turnout was thought to have been considerably down this year, but some counties in key swing states like Colorado, Florida, Pennsylvania and Ohio recorded numbers that far exceeded what was expected. In St. Lucie County of Florida for instance, there was a 141 percent turnout. That means almost 72,000 provisional ballots were cast by unregistered or ineligible voters. Coincidentally, this county included Rep. Allen West's district as well -- where a recount has been conducted.

There were many more statistical anomalies in urban areas, where the president won nearly 100 percent of the vote or more in some cases. Obama miraculously won every single vote in all 21 districts of Cleveland, and somehow came away with 108 percent of registered voters in Wood County nearby.

The Philadelphia Inquirer reported that in the city of Philadelphia, Gov. Romney did not garner a single vote from its 59 voting divisions. Obama also received more than 99% of the vote in more than 100 precincts in Cuyahoga County, Ohio on election day. In fact, there were a substantial number of precincts where Romney got exactly zero votes. So how in the world did this happen? Third world dictators don’t even get 99% of the vote.

The Election Protection Coalition fielded over 70,000 complaint calls last Tuesday alone, but little could be done to fix the litany of problems across the country. Touch screens weren't calibrated correctly, Obama banners were spotted on the walls of polling places, and instances of voter intimidation was reported. While volunteers from the Tea-Party backed True the Vote group were illegally banned for quite some time in Ohio, the Black Panthers were seemingly allowed to intimidate voters at the polls in Pennsylvania.

For all the concerns voiced by the Left and echoed in the media pre-election about potential voter intimidation, voter suppression and disenfranchisement, it is unfortunate that no one in the traditional press has cared enough to address voting problems that plagued the military vote. A plane full of their absentee ballots crashed weeks before the election, and repeated requests to rectify problems in getting ballots to and from troops stations overseas were ignored by Attorney General Eric Holder.

President Obama won election handily and its very unlikely that real instances of voter fraud and voting irregularities tipped the balance, but with that being said, the complacency of the media in this regard is troubling to say the least. The watchdog of government corruption continues to represent itself as more of a lapdog, which is a disservice to every American who legitimately cast a ballot, not to mention America's heroes in uniform who were unable to do so.

Making A Case For Conservatism

Mr. Cool 

Mr. Competent

                

More than any other demographic, the last election was decided by the youth. With the mainstream media on his side, Obama secured the vast majority of voters under thirty. After successfully pandering his way to the oval office with an onslaught of viral marketing, he's raised more than enough money to do the same thing again. The same enthusiasm that existed back then will be harder to manufacture this time around, but that doesn't change the distinct advantage the incumbent has over any candidate who dares to face him this Fall. A sizable portion of the population is still taken by his effortless charisma. The challenge we face as conservative patriots is to expose the glaring faults of this administration before it's too late. 

The unemployment rate has steadily risen over the last three and a half years, especially for twenty-somethings. What would appear to be the most impressionable voting bloc is in dire need of real hope and change, not just more empty campaign promises. Fifty-seven percent of them are either unemployed or underemployed. Eighty-five percent of the most recent group of college graduates are moving back in with their parents. The statistics are readily accessible, but the criticism isn't as prevalent as it should be. The media spin blames Bush for starting the recession. Obama was just dealt a bad hand they say, making no mention of what has prolonged the stagnation.

The constant indoctrination of radio, television and film has resulted in millions more democrats than there should be. Minorities in urban environments are almost required to vote this way. They'll be shunned by friends and family for having a different opinion. Overly altruistic blue state politicians, also known as bleeding heart liberals, love to say that they champion the cause of the poor. Excuse the expression, but there's no such thing as a free lunch. Safety nets exist for a reason, but we must help these people help themselves in the long run. 

Consider the following...

The ten poorest cities in America have something in common, they've tended to vote democratically in every single local election for decades. The statistics speak for themselves.

City, State                        Below Poverty Level          Last Republican Mayor
1. Detroit, MI	32.5%                            1951
2. Buffalo, NY	29.9%                            1954
3. Cincinnati, OH	27.8%                            1984
4. Cleveland, OH	27.0%                            1989
5. Miami, FL	26.9%                            Never
6. St. Louis, MO	26.8%                           1949
7. El Paso, TX	26.4%                           Never
8. Milwaukee, WI	26.2%                           1908
9. Philadelphia, PA	25.1%                           1952
10. Newark, NJ	24.2%                           1907

Favorite Political Quotations

"They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety, deserve neither liberty nor safety." 
-Benjamin Franklin


"The two enemies of the people are criminals and government,so let us tie the second down with the chains of the Constitution so the second will not become the legalized version of the first."

-Thomas Jefferson

"You cannot help the poor by destroying the rich. You cannot strengthen the weak by weakening the strong. You cannot bring about prosperity by discouraging thrift. You cannot lift the wage earner up by pulling the wage payer down. You cannot further the brotherhood of man by inciting class hatred. You cannot build character and courage by taking away people's initiative and independence. You cannot help people permanently by doing for them, what they could and should do for themselves." 

-Abraham Lincoln

"My fellow Americans, ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country."

-John F. Kennedy

Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction. We didn't pass it to our children in the bloodstream. It must be fought for, protected, and handed on for them to do the same.

-Ronald Reagan 

Wealth is the product of man's capacity to think.

-Ayn Rand

If I wanted America to fail... I would never teach children that the free market is the only force in human history to uplift the poor, establish the middle class, and create lasting prosperity.

 Instead, I’d demonize prosperity itself so they will not miss what they will never have. If I wanted America to fail... I suppose I wouldn't change a thing. 
-Ryan Houck

What a bunch of garbage, liberal democrats and conservative republicans. It's all there to control you, two sides of the same coin! Two management teams, bidding for control of the CEO job of Slavery Incorporated! The truth is out there in front of you, but they lay out this buffet of lies. I'm sick of it, and I'm not gonna take a bite out of it! Do ya got me? Resistance is not futile, we're gonna win this thing, humankind is too good, we're not a bunch of underachievers, we're gonna stand up and we're gonna be human beings! We're gonna get fired up about the real things, the things that matter like creativity and the dynamic human spirit that refuses to submit!  
-Alex Jones

God Bless America

         As citizens of the United States, we need to be reminded just how lucky we are compared to the rest of the world. It may seem like our elected officials are leading us down a path of accelerated entropy, but there is much to be thankful for. I'm not advocating an 'ignorance is bliss' lifestyle, but perspective is one of the key components of contentment.

        Despite the recession, the American Dream is still alive and well. At least that's what over a million immigrants seem to think each year, even after going through the rigorous process that precedes legal citizenship . Millions more around the globe can only dream they had the same freedoms we take for granted.

        In the HBO documentary Citizen USA, filmmaker Alexandra Pelosi (Nancy's daughter) travels to all fifty states in order to gain some insight into this ongoing phenomenon. We're initially introduced to her Dutch-born husband, who didn't want to be a foreigner in his own family when their son was born. After passing the civics test, he takes an oath to prove his loyalty with hundreds of others. Claiming to be transformed afterwards, Pelosi decides to embark on a journey to see why so many people are willing to start over here.

       Through short interviews with brand new citizens, viewers are reminded what patriotism is all about. Coincidentally, the film was released in the first week of July last year. This overt nationalism exists for good reason however, having more to do with relief than pride. There is more social mobility, cultural diversity, gender equality, and religious tolerance here than anywhere else.

       Naturalized teenage girls from China spoke of their ability to surf the web freely. Men from Jordan were appreciative of the more "hands off" approach the police take here in comparison to what they're used to. A gentleman from Afghanistan enjoyed holding his girlfriend's hand in public without being scrutinized by onlookers. A Korean woman was thankful for the loans she received, and another woman from Thailand was impressed with the responsiveness of 911 emergency personnel. Others mentioned the importance of their newly found freedom of choice, and didn't quite understand what all the constant complaining is about.

        In what is essentially a fluff piece, there are brief moments that make it worth watching. Former secretaries of state Madeleine Albright and Henry Kissinger discuss their meteoric rise through the political ranks, despite their emigration from Europe. Where else but America could this be possible?

And May God Continue To Bless It!