Jay Kersting's Blog

There are a few things that just set me off here at work.  One of those is the "Free Credit Report . COM" ads. 

First, the credit reports are NOT free.  They are free if you purchase some credit monitoring service it is included.  BUT that is not why I hate those ads.  It is the STUPID jingles that go with it.

The other one is an inaccurate local spot about pocketwatches.  Billion not million....but there is more.  A simple visit to a large retailer's website can clarify what else makes it inaccurate....but the basic point does still pertain.  Just hearing it dozens of times a day is what is annoying.

Same goes to the guy serving tourists in T-shirts.  (Now that stupid jingle will be in YOUR head too!)

I want to shoot the radio, like Elvis and the TV, everytime those come on.  In my line of work, that is way too often. 

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Met a very interesting man on Saturday night.  I was working at the Kansas City Royals game and was set up in a room with other radio folks.  And one other.

Sitting next to me was Steve Palermo.  Immediately, I recognized the name and it took me to a minute or two to remember his story.

Steve Palermo was the American League umpire who was shot while trying to break up a mugging outside a Dallas restaurant back in 1991.  He was told he would be paralyzed after the bullet hit his spinal cord.  Well, he walks with a brace and a cane today.

I learned about his current gig as a supervisor of umpires.  Basically, while the rest of us watch the on-field action, he is watching the umpires.  Not the balls and strikes, but really he notes any close calls and umpire positions and so forth.  His job is to keep the umpires doing their jobs at that Major League level we all want to see.

Interesting guy to chat with.

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Did you see Barack Obama on Fox News Sunday yesterday?  It took him 772 days from the time that he promised to appear to actually appear.

Why did he wait?  Does he ALSO suffer from Fox Derangement Syndrome as many liberals do? (That is a term coined by Bernard Goldberg in his last book, similar to Charles Krauthammer's Bush Derangement Syndrome.)

He implied that it was a scheduling issue.  Uh, huh.  Sure.  Right.

What did I learn from this appearance?  Not a lot really.  Chris Wallace asked several tough but fair questions.  The one that stuck out to me was about how Obama positions himself as a moderate but that when there have been times for him to reach across the aisle and prove himself to be, why hasn't he?  The quick answer was that those situations were not times when he thought it was prudent to work with the Republicans.  

What I took from that was that when he wants to be a moderate he will be.  But we will not know when that is.  Because he isn't one, he just likes sounding like one.

I think he handled the Reverend Wright stuff pretty well.  I think he handled the criticism over his recent struggles by admitting that the American people are just getting to know him.

Just getting to know him...... does that really give you confidence in voting for him?  In a primary, sure.  But come November...yikes.

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Back to Saturday, Luke Hochevar got his first Major League win for the Royals.  In an interesting coincidence, I got to not only witness this win, but also either his first collegiate win, or his first collegiate win at home.  OK, so only I am reading into it.  Luke did tell me to wear my Tennessee raintop the next time I cover one of his games.

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Have a GREAT Week!!  E-mail and comment as you have time.