A Clean Jim Morrison?

Florida Governor Charlie Crist is trying to give something to The Doors frontman Jim Morrison that he rarely experienced in is life as a rockstar-- a clean slate.

Crist has made a public statement of his intention to "submit Morrison’s name to a state clemency board next month."

He is trying to clear Morrison's name for the infamous incident in 1969 when Morrison allegedly exposed himself to a concert crowd in Miami during a particularly "raucus" performance. He was issued five one felony and misdemeanor charges. Morrison "was fined $500 and sentenced to six months in jail but never served the time; he was appealing the conviction when he died in Paris in 1971 at 27. "

The New York Times offers great insight into what the governor intends to do, how the people who worked with the case when it initially happened are reacting to the news and what the DA's office plans to do with if the clemency board looks into the matter.

While Crist, an Independent and former Republican, explained that he wants to clear Morrison's record because he feels "that maybe an injustice has been done here."

"Claude R. Kirk Jr., who was Florida’s governor from 1967 to 1971, seemed annoyed to be asked about the Morrison case by telephone this week. "

He felt that the right that had been done when the case came before the state and Morrison was found guilty. He also had quite an opinion of Morrison's manner of death.

"Morrison died in the condition he elected to die," Kirk said.

The district attorney of Miami-Dade County, Katherine Fernandez Rundle, said that if the case were brought to her office, she would not "waste [her] lawyers’ time in an effort to fight an attempted pardon."

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Many Doors fans are elated at the news of a possible new record for Morrison. Many people are not so happy to see it happen, posthumously or not. However, in a society where an heiress can cry her way out of a drug sentence, an actor can murder his wife and get away with it, and large businesses can take millions of dollars from investors and tax payers alike and not face any liability, I personally see no reason to not give Morrison a pardon. After all, there was actually no tangible evidence in his case, and he did not get his fair appeal that was rightfully his.

Gross Journalism

We are in an era of talking heads. A time when we let far right or far left wing nuts spoon feed us our news, based on our political preference. It is sickening, really. But the least you can do, when you are CLEARLY not a news network, but a thorn in the side of real news journalism, is admit what you truly are.

The New York Times reported that Keith Olbermann would be allowed to return to work. His show "Countdown" is described in the Times as being a "megaphone for Democrats and the most popular program on MSNBC."

What was Olbermann suspended for, you ask? Giving money to three Democratic candidates. Although donating money to candidates is not against MSNBC's policy, potential gifters must first clear it with the network, which Olbermann did not do.

Now, I do not think that it was bad that he have the money to the candidates. I think that he was appropriately punished. I think that he did not deserve to lose his job. My problem lies with another MSNBC network "news" host.

Rachel Maddow had the audacity to say because Olbermann was punished, it "confirmed that that Fox News was a 'political operation' while MSNBC was a 'news operation'." In my humble opinion, Maddow is off her rocker.

Fox News markets itself as being "fair and balanced", even though they are clearly supporters of the Republican/Conservative cause. By my standards, it is not a legitimate way to get 'fair and balanced' news. However, neither is MSNBC. The fact that Maddow felt the need to make a distinction makes no sense to me. Just because the network does not use its name as a fundraising tool does not mean that it is not tainted. The bias-fuled, one sided news that you see on MSNBC is not too different than what is on Fox... it just has a better presentation.

...And that's how I feel about that. It's just gross journalism, plain and simple. Entertainment.

The Bears? Really?

So the story that I'm blogging about this week is an old one... but that is what makes it so great. The Bears game facing the Longhorns was discussed in a section of the New York Times weekly collegiate football picks, where the Times unanimously supported Texas for the win against Baylor.

The author flat out said that "A loss to the Bears, no matter how talented they are, would be a low point for Texas under Mack Brown."

Well, looks like ole Mack has hit rock bottom. Almost a week after the Bears took the win from the Horns, making them 7-2 this season, the team is ranked 22nd in the nation.

Although I am generally not a competitive person, the outright dismissal of Baylor football was a bit hard to deal with, and I cannot deny the joy that swelled when we finally won the game. Perhaps this win will convince other doubters that the Bears are hungry for wins and a real force to be reckoned with.