Newt Gingrich’s knockout punch to CNN’s John King in the televised debate on the eve of the South Carolina primary was, arguably, the primary (no pun intended) reason Newt trounced Mitt Romney, the favorite contender.

Gingrich was trailing Romney by double digits in all polls when two things happened that changed the outcome, almost overnight.

The first was ABC airing the ‘tell-all’ interview with Newt’s ex-wife – a revealing conversation that hardly painted Newt as ‘conservative’!
In fact, I have my doubts that many, if any, conservative couples would agree to living an ‘open marriage.’

The second thing was moderator King’s huge mistake in opening a presidential debate with a gossipy tidbit more likely heard on ‘Entertainment Tonight.’

The audience apparently thought likewise and cheered Gingrich’s 1-2-punch to King, demonstrating its animosity towards the media.

CNN went home with a black eye, and Gingrich walked off with the primary.

Now, I’m hardly a fan of Gingrich. Besides all the dirty laundry he’s carrying around in his suitcase, I still remember how he went after then President Clinton, doing all he could to drag the popular Democratic leader down for his peccadillo (no pun intended) with Monica. I well remember Newt’s ‘holier-then-thou’ stance as he railed at Clinton from his House perch – not unlike history’s Cotton Mather, as he condemned witches to death.

And at the same time he was damning Clinton to hell … well … let the gossip rags fill in the blanks.

So, as I said, while I’m not a fan of Newt’s, I couldn’t help smiling when Gingrich delivered his knockout punch. And King deserved it.

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Does anyone else feel like they were gypped out of Thanksgiving?
The turkey on the table hadn’t even cooled down yet before the stores opened for ‘Black Friday’ bargain hunting – a day early. Moreover, weeks before Halloween, the stores were putting up Christmas decorations!
What happened to Turkey Day? It seemed to just fly by (no pun intended).
And if you happened to be watching TV while digesting the super-duper dinner, you might have seen all those ads prodding people to forget the bird, company, dessert, and head out to the store to beat your neighbor to the bargains.
And, in way too many instances, that’s exactly what happened … your neighbor got beaten – literally beaten!
Watching news reports of bargain hunters rampaging through the stores, knocking people (and children) over and causing injuries, not to mention the pepper spraying, just to get their hands on something first, convinced me that our transformation is now truly complete.
The United States has warped into the “Jerry Springer Nation.”
How sad.
Many of us saw it coming, but were unable to halt the tacky trend. It overwhelmed us with all the vulgar reality shows and talentless talent shows.
In a world where anything goes, where there’s no such thing as taste, class, manners, or simple consideration for your fellow man, is it really surprising what took place on ‘Black Friday?”
I mean, you’d have to have a death wish to venture out on that day among your ‘neighbors.’
Lord know what Christmas and Hanukkah will bring?

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Almost everyone has a personal ghost story to tell, either one they experienced themselves or one that happened to somebody they know.

So, being that today is Halloween – this seems a good time to tell mine.
It happened to me about ten years ago, but I think of it often. I was down with the flu and, unable to sleep due to a stuffed up nose and constant coughing and sneezing, was lying on the sofa surrounded by tissues, Vicks Vapo Rub, and bottles of typical flu medicine. It was late and I couldn’t sleep so I lay there watching the late, late, late show.

It was about 12:30 a.m., as I recall, when all four of my cats jumped off the sofa where they were commiserating with me – and gingerly crept into the dining room just off the living room. They gathered together and just sat there like statues, eyes wide open, staring into the corner of the room. A corner that was completely empty – not even a wayward bug was visible.

Unnerved by their constant gaze fixed on absolutely nothing, I began to call them away. They ignored me, and kept on staring at the blank wall. They apparently saw something I didn’t – or couldn’t. Feeling the hairs starting to stand up on the back of my neck, I began throwing things at them to shoo them away. It didn’t work. They kept sitting and staring.

Finally, only half jokingly, I called out – “What is it? … Do you see a ghost or something?”
This creepy incident went on for about 15 minutes before they suddenly stopped staring and walked away. I was glad it was over because I had an overwhelming perception something was in that corner of the room – something I couldn’t see, but felt.

Two days later, I was back at work when I received the phone call. One of my best friends (actually, he was really my best friend) had passed way. He had been recovering from surgery more than 1,200 miles away in New York and was doing fine, by all accounts. But, something went very wrong and he was rushed back to the hospital where he died two days before – just after midnight!

You can call it what you want – coincidence, imagination, or whatever. But you’ll never convince me that my best friend didn’t stop by to say goodbye.

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When Congress recently passed laws regulating bank and credit card charges passed on to its customers, my first reaction was … Yippee!  It’s about time someone’s finally looking out for us.  However, I should have known better. I should have known that banks and credit card companies are way smarter than our esteemed representatives, and that the ‘money lenders’ would find a way around those laws to continue raiding our pocketbooks.

And they did!  In case you haven’t heard, Bank of America, the largest bank in the nation (didn’t we ‘bail’ them out not too long ago?) is tacking a $5 service charge onto your bank account each month if you use your debit card – even once – during the statement period!!!! 

Following in Bank of America’s footsteps is Wells Fargo, who will charge $3 for using your debit card.  All the other banks won’t be far behind.

That’s $60 a year I could make better use of – like an extra fill-up for my gas in tank to make up for the ‘highway robbery’ at the pumps.  It’s also a nice meal for two, or three, at a cheap restaurant (all I frequent these days) – or $60 more I could have deposited in a savings account for ‘that rainy day’ (which could be closer than I think).
So, folks, they have us over a barrel.  Either way, we just can’t win.

And what about all those ‘extra’ charges on our electric bill?  According to my monthly bill, half the total amount is for “fuel only”!  What’s the other half for?  Administration costs?  Paper to print your bill? Postage to send your bill?  Or maybe it’s to finance the CEO’s Christmas bonus???

And, please, will someone explain how the telephone company gets away with all those little ‘extra’ charges on our monthly bill that, in my case, add up to nearly $40 a month.

I just don’t get it. I have a basic ‘flip’ phone. Nothing fancy – but it gets the job done. But my college-age son sports an iPhone – with all the ‘extras.’  Both phones are on my one account (since I pay the bill!) but MY phone number, which used to be the main account number, is now relegated to second-rate, ‘add-a-line’ status!  Apparently, SMART phone users are ‘preferred customers’ at the phone company.

Anyway, all those little ‘extra’ charges, like ‘hook-up charges,’ ‘connection charges,’ city, state and federal taxes,’ 9-11 access – and ‘servicing the space satellite,’ for all I know, are DOUBLED BILLED on my monthly statement. How do they get away with charging me twice!

The point is – who’s looking out for us?  Is ‘moaning and groaning’ about being fleeced by providers of commodities and services we depend on all we can really do?

I’m just about fed up enough to shoulder a placard, and join any protest in favor of “Consumer’s Civil Rights.”

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Okay – I’ll admit to being a news junkie. In fact, I can’t help myself from indulging in my daily dose of ‘doom-and-gloom.’

After the alarm goes off and I stumble bleary-eyed out of the bedroom, the first thing I do, even before firing up the coffee pot, is turn on the TV, which is already tuned to a 24-hour cable news show.

Glancing back over my shoulder, I hurriedly throw my cup of caffeine together and shuffle back to the TV, anxious for the breaking news I missed while I was getting my beauty sleep (which never seems to work).

Anyway, cup in hand, I plop down on the sofa, a thrill of anticipation running down my spine … just as a commercial fills the screen.

“Darn!” I mutter. (Okay, maybe I didn’t exactly say ‘darn’ – which isn’t the typical exclamation in my somewhat ‘colorful’ vocabulary.)

Okay. I hit the remote and jump to another news channel, only to find – you got it – another commercial! Up and down the channels I go trying to find some ‘darn’ news. No luck. For several minutes I’m held prisoner by a series of ads for the kind of products I don’t want to think about so early in the morning – especially before breakfast.

Finally, the ‘talking heads’ come back on, and after a minute or two of mundane prattle between the ‘8 X10 glossies’ who all look alike, by the way, I get a brief two minutes of news before they cut away for yet another commercial!

Up and down I go again – only to have the same scenario repeated, over and over.

In desperation, I settle for scanning the mini-headlines that run across the bottom of the TV screen as the talking-heads babble on. But just as I discover a real piece of news to sink my teeth into, the headlines get the ax in favor of the same erectile dysfunction product pitch shown just 15 minutes ago.

What’s a news junkie to do!

My lament is simple and to the point. I miss my daily newspaper – the way it used to be! TV news and the Internet are okay in a pinch, but they’ll never replace the sheer enjoyment, the utter satisfaction a die-hard news junkie gets while perusing a thick newspaper, digesting all the news from around the country, and around the world, and delivered by seasoned and competent journalists – even though nobody notices the bylines.

And just to think – all that wonderful and enlightening news came without those ‘darn’ commercials!

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