Donald Trump’s Insults Bill Cosby for Challenging him to Put up or Shut up

Donald Trump and Bill Cosby both appeared on the Today Show last week. Trump spewing his birther talk and Bill Cosby touting an initiative. At the end of the Cosby segment Meredith Vieira asked Cosby his opinion of a Trump presidential run. Cosby said he should run or shut up. Cosby also said of President Obama that people need to remember that he is trying to repair 8 years of damage prior to him taking office. Cosby did not say Trump was dumb or an idiot he simply said put up or shut up. Well “ The Donald” can not tolerate criticism of any kind from anyone. Here is his response: “The other day on The Today Show right after I was interviewed by Meredith Vieira, a terrific person and reporter, I happened to watch Bill Cosby who was on at the end of the show. While I have never been a fan of Cosby’s, I had always assumed he liked or respected me because every time I met him—the last time at the David Letterman show where I preceded him as a guest—he was always so nice, saying “let’s get together”—asking me out to dinner, and being polite to the point of offering to buy me a suit because he has a “great tailor.” In any event, as I watched the show, the subject of Donald Trump came up.  I was surprised to hear him blabber, somewhat incoherently “you run or shut up.” The hatred was pouring out of his eyes when he said this. As I am sure he must know I cannot run until this season of Celebrity Apprentice ends. I know that he has taken a lot of heat over the years  in that he seems to be talking down to the people he’s talking to and purportedly trying to help. Actually, based on the way he acted, things are not looking too good for Cosby. I wish he would be more honest, and if he doesn’t want me to run because he’s obviously an Obama fan, he should state the reasons and not come into my “green room” in front of numerous witnesses and treat me like his best friend, only to denigrate me when I’m not around. Sadly, he got more attention talking about me than he did on the merits of his own appearance—maybe he is not as dumb as I thought.” Cosby did not denigrate Trump he simply said run or stop talking about it. If Trump writes a letter every time he is criticized he won’t have time to run.

Donald Trump the toast of Manhattan, but will Middle America love him?

Donald Trump was on Morning Joe, The Today Show, and CNN today and he had one message, and that is he does not believe that President Obama is a citizen. In a NBC/Wall Street poll Trump is the #2 choice of Republicans that were polled. Mitt Romney leads Trump by only 5 points. So this birther message is resonating with the base, but while Trump is a master showman does he really want to be president? Right now he is having a good time being the media darling. He is a great campaigner as long as that campaign goes on within the confines of Manhattan news studios, but can you imagine him on the stump?  Can you imagine him shaking hands with people who believe front teeth are optional? How will he deal women who are more familiar with Payless than Prada? Can you imagine him shaking hands with all the people waiting at the rope line. I must admit I watch his show Celebrity Apprentice and Sunday night he showed a little of the real Trump. the challenge involved an art show fundraiser, and when country singer John Rich volunteered to be project manager for the men’s team Trump seemed surprised. Rich asked him why did it surprise him Trump gave a non sensical response, but it seemed like he had a hard time reconciling the art world with the country music world. This morning after the Trump Today Show interview Meredith Vieiria was interviewing Bill Cosby and she decided to get Cosby’s take on Trumpmania, and Bill Cosby said it succinctly run or shut up and that is what I also say to Trump. Once he really declares he will find out his life will be an open book and people will start asking him some tough questions, but that’s only if he actually declares. http://www.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.thegrio.com%2Fvideo%2Fcosby-on-trump.php&h=e093b

Why no looting in Japan?

Today show host Meredith Vieira asked the question this morning “why was there no looting in Japan?” I thought it was an odd question, but I have seen it asked on several blogs today. Fox News asked the question on its website and one of the commenters accused them of race baiting, but I think that might be a cop out. Sadly, we have seen looting go on in all of the natural disasters that our  country has endured in recent years. We saw it in the LA riots (not a natural disaster but a state of emergency), we have seen it in Hurricane Katrina and Andrew. In some cases people have been getting provisions to survive, but in other cases we have seen criminals taking advantage of the situation. Why is this not happening in Japan? Tell me what you think.

A Grateful Ted Williams Appears on the Today Show

“A story of talent, redemption and the power of the Internet” these are the words Matt Lauer used to describe the story of Ted Williams. Williams was just another beggar by the highway until a reporter read his sign and listened to him speak. He is on a whirlwind now. He has job offers from all over the world. He will get the opportunity to see his 92 year old mother who had not seen for over 10 years. Lauer said to Williams how did he maintain his “civility” despite his hard life. Williams said that he learned these lessons from his mother, but he also gave glory to God. He has learned to be grateful. Lastly, Williams said “don’t judge a book by a cover.” Words to live by.

My Princess Boy Revisited

A few months ago I wrote about a young boy that liked to wear dresses. His mother, Cheryl Kilodavis actually wrote a book about her son, Dyson and called it  My Princess Boy. Her self-published book has now been picked up by a major publisher and it now has a greater distribution. She and her son appeared on the Today Show this morning. Meredith Vieira asked her why did she write the book and she replied “Two things. 1) I wanted to get the dialogue started about embracing uniqueness and 2) Simply, I wanted to create a space in our world where my son would be accepted for who he is.  My turning point was when [8-year-old son] Dkobe said to me, “Why can’t you just let him be happy, Mom?”  I realized at that moment that this was my issue, not his, and not Dyson’s nor [husband] Dean’s.  After taking a second to do some self-searching, I realized I had years of preconceived notions from my childhood, spiritually and culturally.  After journaling, I printed a prototype of my book at a local copy center and used it as a tool to share my feelings. It explained how exclusion hurts, and how even a basic level of acceptance can really change lives.  I showed it to a few people, and it was as if they got it — instantly. This was about a child’s happiness… and if it worked for me, I thought it might work for other parents too. ” As the mother talked the son seemed uncomfortable and one wonders did this start out simply being about his happiness and now it has turned into something else.  The footage that accompanied the piece showed Dyson at home and in that private venue he seemed comfortable, but on the show the host Meredith Vieira asked him to twirl around it seemed contrived. What do you think about this? Is it alright for a little boy to wear dresses? Should his parents encourage this or discourage it? Tell me what you think.

Why does the America media hate Ines Sainz ?

Don’t hate Ines Sainz because she is beautiful and she is not afraid to flaunt her sexuality, but over the last few days I have seen panels discuss her fashion choices. Sainz was subjected to catcalls and other inappropriate behavior in the New York Jets locker room.  This morning on the Today Show Meredith Vieira convened a council of matrons to discuss Sainz. The council concluded they would not want their “daughters to dress like Sainz.” No let them dress like Miley Cyrus and Britney Spears.  Last night Keith Olbermann voted Sainz as the 3^rd Worst Person in the world. He said she has done this kind of “stunt reporting” before. Now let me get this straight. This woman wore tight jeans and a tight shirt into a NFL locker room and by doing this she agreed to be subjected to any kind of nonsense the team wanted to dish out. So they are all out of control. If this is the case we better play the song Bed Room Intruder and substitute a few of the words, Hide the cheerleaders, Hide the female reporters, Hide the secretaries no woman is safe in this environment. The team probably suffered the from the herd effect…one jerk says something they all laugh and it simply continues from there. This is simply crazy. This woman did nothing wrong. If anyone should be blamed it should be the front office. They had plenty of conference room available and they should have used one if they knew that the men on their team are out of control, but one only has to look at the coach Rex Ryan and know why this team is off the chain. He is off the chain too and this kind of childish nonsense reflects throughout the team. He was once a contender for the head coaching job of the Baltimore Ravens, but he was passed over and now we know why.

Should President Obama call Shirley Sherrod?

Shirley Sherrod was done wrong this week. Her words were misinterpreted and she was unfairly dismissed from her position with the USDA. In the past few days we have seen her appear on all the major networks, and she has eloquently shared her story. She has been offered a new position and she has not decided if she wants to go back to the agency. She was thrust into the spotlight and she does not seem inclined to leave anytime soon, but today was the first time she made me say “Now Shirley”. This morning  on the Today Show Meredith Vieira asked he if she thought the president should call her and she said yes. I hope he does not. If in fact this was a decision of the agency of which Sherrod was employed this should be handled by them. I would question would she expect a call from the president if he were not the first black president? I don’t know but I do not want a repeat of last year’s beer summit. The president needs to resist the urge to call her because that will just keep giving this incident media legs and as Sherrod has said it is time to move on.

Why was a 16 year old girl sailing around the world alone?

I am watching the parents of 16 year old Abby Sunderland on the Today Show. She was attempting to circumnavigate the globe and she became lost at sea. The question I would ask is why would her parents let her put herself in harm’s way? Sure this is an ego trip for the teen and also for her parents, but when things went terribly wrong they depended on the resources of the host country to save her. TJ Simers, a sports columnist for the Los Angeles Times, called the attempt “child endangerment”. “I just don’t understand the idea of risking life. This kid’s going to be out there all by herself. Death is a possibility. Bad weather. Are you kidding me? Who’s responsible for this? She’s a kid,” he wrote. “Sunderland dismissed the concerns, but said she was aware of the dangers. “I am definitely nervous,” she told ABC before her journey. “But I understand [the] ocean and I understand how dangerous what I am doing is, and I understand how careful I need to be out there.” *In our protective society we have to sign permission ships for our children to go on a field trip to the local museum, but these parents could let their young daughter board a boat and go out on this quixotic journey. Some states will only give a 16 year old a provisional driver’s license which will not even allow them to drive at night, but this girl was allowed to board a boat and sail away as her parents bid her farewell. There ought to be a law.

*guardiona.uk.co

13 year old Today Show Guest uses the word C**t on Live Television

 This morning I watched Meredith Vieira interview a 13 year old girl on the Today Show. She was involved in the beating of a classmate in the spring. The beating stemmed from text message sent. The victim was repeatedly stomped in the head by a teenage boy. Vieira asked the girl about the content of the text and she said the boy had called the girl a c**t. This is a despicable word and ordinarily I would not discuss it on this blog, but I want to make a point. That point is how do our young people talk to each other? I recently got a Facebook page which has given me a glimpse of some of the conversations that go on between young people. My friend’s daughter who is like a silent librarian around us is the ultimate potty mouth on Facebook. If I talked to my friends like they talk to each other I would be friendless.  I can’t just say the young people are the only culprits because I hear adults address each other in the same despicable manner, but this little girl looked so innocent on The Today Show, and she really let the word flow out of mouth with no regard because this is common language and for me that’s a problem.

Is All News Newsworthy?

I have gone out of my way not to watch MTV Jersey Shore.  I know that the show chronicles the lives of 7 twentysomethings as they enjoy summer fun on the shore. Their season has ended and they are still in the news because they managed to get an incredible raise for continuing to act badly for another season. Their season finale was the highest rated show in MTV history. So this is news and it is very happy news to the people at MTV, but why was the cast on the Today Show this morning? Is this truly newsworthy.  Is this something that everyone in Today Show viewing audience is desparate to hear about? I don’t think so. I really can do without having The Situation and Snooki greet me as I have my cup of coffee. So I advise the Today Show to stick to newsworthy stories and stop inflicting the audience with the likes of things found on the shore.