Meet De Pressing

Kristen Welker is a reason I'm ending my beautiful-women picture blog.

One of the articles of faith the led me to create that blog was that women of all backgrounds, not just actresses, models and dancers, are beautiful.  That would certainly be true, of course, of TV newswomen . . .  like Kristen Welker.  I had always emphasized the journalistic qualifications of women I have featured as much of their beauty, and when I first posted the picture of her above on my beautiful-women picture blog in July 2011, Kristen Welker - then an NBC reporter - seemed to be the perfect example.

And my followers agreed - the post got 56,436 pageviews, the most views any post on my blog had ever gotten.  It was also gratifying and reassuring to see so much interest in Kristen Welker in light of her mixed heritage - she's the daughter of a white father and a black mother.  This led me to write the following paragraph on my blog: 

"I have to say once again that I'm very pleased that a post of a biracial woman, at a time of increased racial animosity in America, has gotten so much [positive] attention. Not just in pageviews, but in comments; my original post of Ms. Welker has received ten comments, all favorable (adjectives used to describe her have included 'hot,' 'smart,' 'beautiful,' 'knowledgeable,' 'articulate,' 'focused,' 'elegant,' and 'professional'). Her transcendental quality as a woman of black and white origin proves that racism is slowly dying."

I was wrong about racism slowly dying, of course, but not as wrong as I was about Kristen Welker, who has since turned out to be just another corporate-news-media stooge.  When I posted this picture of her on my beautiful-women picture blog, in 2011, Kristen Welker was just a reporter at NBC.  But in September 2023, she succeeded Chuckles the Clown (also known as Chuck Todd) as the moderator of  NBC's "Meet the Press."  I eagerly awaited her debut on the program, only to see her "interview" Donald Trump and get run off course by his lies and half-truths instead of countering his falsehoods.   That was bad enough.  But what happened this past Sunday was too much - and inspired less flattering adjectives to describe Welker, such as "appalling," "lunkheaded," "unserious," "clueless" and "derelict."

She brought up in a phone interview with Trump the topic of Trump's ambition for run for a third presidential term and asked if he was just kidding about that, but he said he was "not joking."  He said that his astonishing popularity in the polls demanded that he run again, and he offered possible end runs around the constitutional ban on third presidential terms that has been in place since 1951.  Welker failed to challenge Trump abut his poll numbers - they're actually in the toilet - and at no point did Welker call out Trump or explain to him why he couldn't circumvent the 22nd Amendment and how his ideas to do so were, essentially, illegal.  She just blew it off.

Welker also blew something up - her credibility.

Even though my beautiful-women picture blog will be shut down at the end of May, I went ahead and deleted my two posts of Kristen Welker (the second one was an experiment to see if it would get as many views as the first; it never even came close).  My blog may be only be around for two more months, but I don't even want Kristen Welker on my blog for even two more weeks.  I'm actually embarrassed - humiliated, even - that this blog attempted to feature TV newswomen known for their beauty but still celebrated them for their professionalism and substance as journalists . . . though, when you get right down to it, there I was, objectifying for her looks an NBC reporter who demonstrated the Peter Principle by getting Tim Russert's old job. 😧

And somehow it was my most popular post. 😞

Twenty Years Of This Blog

Yesterday marked the twentieth anniversary of this blog.

I've commented on a lot of issues and topics of this blog, and it's most notable for a voice - mine - you can't find anywhere else.  I hope t keep it going for another twenty years.

I'd like to comment on something right now, but I think I'll take it easy today.  Cheers! 

Hiatus Announcement

I am not going to post on this blog between now and this coming Friday, as I have to spend more time on other writing projects this week, so I'm going to be very busy very soon.

Besides, I need a break from writing commentary about current events for awhile.  I keep trying to spend less time on the Internet, and I still can't seem to cut my screen time.  Rest assured, my Music of the Week feature will be updated as scheduled, and I hope to have some commentary on the 2019 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremonies by the weekend.  I just hope nothing big happens this week - although, given the ongoing crises in Britain and Venezuela, who knows.  

This is not an April Fool's joke.  I'm currently in a mood where nothing is a laughing matter.  See you all soon.         

Miscellaneous Features

Two new features have been added to my blog, and one has been dropped. First, out with the old. The NetworkedBlogs gadget is gone because, when I tried to correct a misspelling on it, I had to delete it when it got screwed up. Attempts to reinstate it proved futile, so I said, to hell with it. But I'm still on NetworkedBlogs, and if anyone goes there, they're sure to find this blog through serendipitous surfing. Why not go over there yourself and look for other blogs? Bloggers need readers! :-D

My two new features are gadgets that allow you to search my blog for a particular post or person,. place or thing mentioned in a post. and the other allows you to subscribe to my posts and/or all comments on my post . . . with ease.

Look to your right, and there they are.

I'm still suffering from Winter Olympics withdrawal. Back later. :-)