Sunday thoughts and misogynistic comments towards reporters

Let me just start this off by saying yes, I'm a guy and I like seeing beautiful women. Also, when I see a new female reporter on TV, her looks are the 1st thing I notice...it's human nature. However, it takes a pretty shallow person to focus on looks alone. Buffalo has plenty of very attractive female reporters, including a few former beauty pageant winners but for me, the way they do their jobs is what's most important to me. Personality is a big factor as well. I don't care how attractive a person is...if they have a rotten personality, they could do their report in a bikini and I wouldn't tune in.
The reason I bring this up is because I caught some tweets this morning from Jenna Harner, an attractive sports reporter from WIVB whose enthusiasm for her job shines through in her reports. Apparently, one of her colleagues got an email from a viewer telling she needs to change her hairstyle. There is NO instance in which that's remotely acceptable. A few years back, Erica Brecher got an email from some guy complaining about her glasses. Now personally, I think she's attractive with or without glasses but the only person who needs to be satisfied with the way she looks is herself and, to an extent, her then-fiance now-husband Andrew. Now, there's a reporter who used to work in Buffalo who's changed her hairstyle since leaving and, to be honest, I think her past hairstyle was a lot better look for her, even though she's still a beauty. I still follow her on social media because, in addition to her beauty, she's great at her job and has a great personality. You know what I've said to her about her hairstyle? NOT A DAMN THING...because it's none of my business and it wouldn't be even if she were still in Buffalo. She's been happy with it and presumably her husband has been happy with it as well. No one else needs to have any input on how she looks. It's one thing to pay a beautiful woman a compliment but insulting a woman's looks is never acceptable.
For me, my favorite female reporters are the ones who can cover a light-hearted story that makes you feel good but can also convey the gravity of a tough story to make you aware of how important it is. Erica Brecher and Angela Christoforos are both great with that. When it comes to sports reporting, some guys sadly don't give females the respect they deserve. Melissa Stark and Suzy Kolber are a pair of national names who are great at their jobs while still turning heads. Locally, I loved Lauren Brill before she left for Cleveland because she treated every interview with the same importance, which can mean a lot to a person. I remember when the Bills had training camp in Fredonia and I went regularly and got autographs in my media guide. In 1996, while waiting for players to come by, I witnessed a fan hold out some trading cards for a 6th round pick to sign. When the player told him that he wasn't on those cards, the fan just dismissed him and left. That player looked a little hurt by that but he brightened up when he came to me and I had my media guide opened to his page to sign. It may seem such a small thing to treat people well but it can mean the world to some people...something that Brill understands.
Physical beauty is great for a reporter to have but their looks aren't usually what they have their jobs for and they shouldn't be insulted if something in their looks doesn't please you.

Sunday thoughts---the Wall and Trump’s shutdown

Let me start by saying the very idea of Trump’s wall is STUPID…it’s not about border security….it’s a monument to Trump’s ego and maybe a financial boon to his allies (where’s he planning on getting the steel? His own buildings aren’t built with American steel.)…nothing more.

For one thing, most illegal immigration is a case where people come here legally and overstay their visas so why is Trump focused on the border to Mexico? It’s twofold…it’s well-known that Trump is a racist and to be fair, Mexico has a lot of crime. When that “caravan” was coming that Trump talked about before the election (afterwards, not so much), there were people wondering why they didn’t just seek asylum in Mexico. Why would refugees fleeing a crime-ridden country seek asylum in another crime-ridden country? I swear, if people had to prove they had common sense before posting on social media, the world of social media would be a lot smaller.

Another issue…the length of the border itself. The border between the US and Mexico is 1933 miles…counting natural barriers like the Rio Grande and the Colorado River. There’s a lot of border space that Trump is ignoring along Canada (5525 miles),the coastlines, and the shorelines of the Great Lakes.

https://fas.org/sgp/crs/misc/RS21729.pdf

He claims he wants to stop criminals from coming but what’s to stop criminals from going around the walls….or under or over as they’ve done for years with the current barriers? Not a damn thing! The only people his wall would stop are the poor who are coming here to seek asylum…which is legal. If Trump were really concerned with securing the borders, he’d construct a wall all around the United States but wait…that’s just by land or sea. Most illegal immigrants arrive by air…guess we need a dome. Sounds stupid, right? Just like the wall. There are already barriers in place and yes, some could be improved upon…but in no way, shape, or form, should natural barriers be interfered with in any way.

That brings up another point…the effect on the environment. There are wildlife refuges right where Trump wants to put some of his wall. Humans share this planet with other life forms and we’ve already driven some species to extinction. Our planet has a very delicate eco-system and every species has a part to play in it…though what houseflies and mosquitoes contribute is beyond me. We need to protect our planet. The movie Independence Day featured aliens who visited worlds to plunder their natural resources and essentially kill the planet. Who needs aliens when we’re doing that on our own? We need to protect our wildlife and environment because despite what the orange idiot says, climate change is very real. The movie 2012 looked at what we could be looking at if we don’t clean up our act. Truthfully, the movie did go to extremes…we aren’t looking at an ice age like that anytime soon but our polar ice caps are melting and ocean levels are rising while the habitats of some animals are disappearing. We’re not past the point of no return yet but it’s not far off if we don’t work on cleaning up our acts.

https://www.vox.com/2018/3/28/17152644/trump-border-wall-texas-environment-refuge-butterflies

Back to the shutdown. It’s been going on for over 2 weeks. Some people are out of work because of it. Some are stuck working with no pay. Neither of those situations is acceptable to anyone with a soul. The Democrats have come up with plans to reopen the government and fix those situations. Republicans have been in favor of these same plans…but Mitch McConnell, whose love for blind obstructionist tactics is well documented, refuses to let anything happen unless his fuhrer is ok with it. When did Congress stop being about checks and balances and go to being a rubber stamp on whatever the President wants? Trump is about as evil a politician as we’ve ever had but let’s face it, enablers like McConnell are complicit when they refuse to do the jobs they were elected to do…not to block an agenda or to serve an agenda, but to serve the American public to do what’s right for the nation.