Happy Semiquincentennial

 Happy 250th Birthday United States of America!

I am blessed to live in the USA. We are still the richest and most powerful nation in the world. But more importantly, I'm allowed to worship as I please. I am able to express myself and criticize our leaders as I see fit due to the Bill of Rights of this great land.

We are passionate about how our nation should be run. We are more divided now than I remember when we celebrated the Bicentennial on Sunday, July 4, 1976. But in the end, we are all still Americans wanting the very best for our democracy, our heirs and future generations of Americans.

We are one of the longest running democracies in the history of this world. This has been accomplished through the sacrifice of thousands upon thousands of patriots going back to the Revolution against the British. It continues today with our troops deployed in Iran and other Middle East hot-spots. The brave men and women of our military paid the ultimate price for our liberty. I have no good way of sufficiently expressing my gratitude to them and to those who have served in conflicts such as the War of 1812, the Spanish American War, World War I, World War II, Korea, Vietnam, Afghanistan and now Iran. I say thank you to all of our armed forces, past and present! Because of you, I'm able to live in what I truly believe is the greatest nation in the history of the world! Happy Semi-quincentennial America! May God bless America! Long may she stand!

Where Has the Month Gone?

It's the end of June and this is the first post of the month. Not much here to really write about, but I have a few thoughts on my mind.

-The World Cup Soccer Tournament is underway here in North America. Numerous tourists are here to watch the "Beautiful Game". I've watched the US play its three Group D matches, including a real 'who cares" game Thursday night. Türkiye beat the United States 3-2 on the final kick of the match. Türkiye gets to save a lot of money on hotels and food and go back home early. The US moves on to face Bosnia and Herzegovina in the round of 32 on July 1st. Being retired, I've seen parts of quite a few games on TV. One of the things that has impressed me is the support of fans from around the world for their country's team. They are loyal and spend a lot of money following their teams. They've been complimentary of the host nations.

-This month also saw the completion of the NCAA Men's Baseball and Women's Softball College World Series tournaments. Congratulations to the Oklahoma men and Texas women. Gee, isn't it interesting both of these teams are members of the Southeast Conference. That's the same collegiate conference my beloved Missouri Tigers compete in. Personally, I rooted for both the schools' opponents in the finals. I wanted Texas Tech to knock off Texas and North Carolina to beat Oklahoma.

-We also saw the US Open Golf Tournament on Long Island, New York. It was played at Shinnecock Hills Country Club in the Hamptons. Wyndham Clark not only had to beat a very difficult course but also deal with a lot of nasty New Yorkers who didn't want him to win. More than just a few of the fans were assholes, but as one of my buddies put it, "they don't know any better. That's how they're raised".

-There's been a tempest in a teapot in Washington, D.C. over United States President Donald Trump's newly "refurbished" Reflecting Pool. After years of doing its job of reflecting the Lincoln Memorial and other monuments on the mall, Mr. Trump decided he wanted to paint it another color. Trump's cronies got a contract to do it, and now it looks like an algae-filled cesspool. The president is angry and claims his enemies put a "250 foot gash in the pool liner." Seriously? Mr. Trump is aware there are a multitude of security cameras trained on the mall at all times.

I'll tell you the same thing I do each month; "I plan to write more in the coming days", but, in reality, I'll probably have just a couple of posts and one will come at the end of the month to keep my monthly submission streak alive. Have a nice July.

Memorial Day in the United States of America

Thank you to those who have paid the ultimate price to keep this great nation free. I also say thank you to the brave men and women of our armed forces who put their lives on the line each and every day to keep the rest of us safe especially those in harms way today in the Iran War. Happy Memorial Day! May God bless the United States of America!

The image above was taken in early September of 2015 at Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington, VA. The view is looking east across the Potomac River towards the Washington Monument in Washington, D.C.

Happy 21st Birthday Anti-Post!

Today marks the 21st anniversary of this blog. I started it on this date, May, 21, 2005. I didn't really know what to expect but was gung-ho to jump on this new form of communication called a "blog". At the time there were literally thousands of blogs popping up on the web. As you are probably aware, since then many of the blogs that existed have gone away or have been abandoned by the authors. There have been several times when I thought I was done with "The Anti-Post".

My favorite topics have been sports related. I love writing about my beloved Missouri Tigers and ripping on Major League Baseball's incompetence. I also love to rip on local and national media when they screw up or attempt to pass off commercials as news. (It happens more frequently now, then it did 21 years ago. Now, you'd be surprised how many stations are compensated for news coverage or product placement).

Sometimes it's been a blast to write for, God only knows, who reads this. Other times its been a drudge to find a topic and write. My current goal is to post at least once a month. So, with this birthday post I've doubled my average monthly production!

I will keep writing as long as I'm able if you will keep reading. I very much appreciate your patronage!

A Sad Day for Radio News is Approaching

Following almost 99 years of operation, CBS News Radio will go dark tomorrow night at 10:30 p.m. CDT. The CBS Radio Network started the news service in September 1927. Rather than attempting to paraphrase its history, read this Wikipedia article.

As a broadcast journalist who spent much of my life reporting, writing and anchoring newscasts, this makes me sad. CBS was the gold standard for radio news and was the source for many Americans getting their news from the second world war. Edward Murrow covered the blitz of London, the numerous battles as the fascist Axis powers plowed through much of Europe and North Africa. That was followed by the D-Day Invasion of France and the eventual liberation of much of Western Europe. Murrow was also the first American radio journalist to break the news of the existence of German POW camps near the end of the war.

CBS Radio News also broke the news that President John Kennedy had died in Dallas on November 22, 1963. They scooped all other outlets with a source in Texas who verified the fact the President was dead, before others had a clue what was happening at Parkland Memorial Hospital. I use the word scoop in this post because that's what a scoop is. Not the baloney tossed about today by cable networks and local newscasts.

In January 1986, CBS News broke the news to its listeners the space shuttle Challenger had exploded shortly after it lifted off from Kennedy Space Center. The CBS Radio News network also told listeners of its affiliates about the attacks on the World Trade Center in Manhattan on September 11, 2001.

CBS News was the only network of which I'm aware that featured a ten minutes newscast at 6 p.m. every weeknight. It was called the "CBS World News Roundup" and gave its listeners every significant story that happened domestically and internationally that day.

I have a personal tie to the CBS News format and style. I studied Journalism at the University of Missouri, in the early 1970s which had a strong relationship to CBS. I was taught how to write a newscast following the CBS style that included re-writing the AP "A" wire, pulling voicers, wrap arounds and actualities from the CBS feed to affiliates. My efforts were graded and my professors must have liked what they heard. That education served me well through my 40+ year broadcast career.

Friday will be a sad day for me both professionally and personally. CBS Radio News you will be gone but the stories you covered will live on in my memory.