Coke v. Pepsi. ATT or Verizon.
Conan O'Brien and Jay Leno.
In ordinary times, the battle between two millionaire mainstream comics over hosting a television show would seem frivolous. Against the backdrop of Haiti, it lurches from trivial to evil.
These men are court jesters who earn millions of dollars each year.
Conan is hoping to extract a 25 to 50 million dollar settlement from NBC.
You see his dreams have been crushed.
Oh wah.
Hosting the Tonight Show apparently has been Conan's dream his entire life. Well, he reached his goal.
And because of his contract, after litigation, he never has to work again.
Late night television was pioneered by Steve Allen and Jack Paar.
I never discerned Allen's appeal although he tirelessly reminded folks of how multi talented he was,
Paar was more intellectual, and better suited to the early morning.
Carson came along and claimed before and after midnight as safe for middle America.
He was familiar and non-threatening. Sometimes he would put on silly costumes or assume cliched characters.
Later, the Tonight Show, under the auspices of Carson, became both an incubator and launcher of new talent,
When Carson retired, television had grown from three channels- 5 in New York City plus Public Television, to the hundreds of station roulette that exists today.
Also, viewership shifted from the box to the computer and people can control the time and place of broadcasts.
Since Carson's reign, folks are able to watch movies in their home, both through cable offerings and Blu-ray technology. Many opt out of weekly, complex, interlocked programs and wait to watch the entire season at once, found on disc.
Other technology allows viewers to eliminate commercials while the Internet provides previews of anticipated advertisements as well as unlimited airings of such.
But I digress. Back to the men of late night. One is a leech, the other a hack, the third is deemed quirky.
None elicit bone jarring laughs or thoughtful reflection, like a Bill Maher or John Stewart. Just guys working an antiquated system.
They, even leering Letterman, are better people than most of the United States Senate. But frankly, who isn't?
Here is the important issue today.
Support the relief efforts in Haiti.
It has been reported that George W., together with Bill Clinton. is overseeing American aid.
Why not?, he did such a smashing job with New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina.
Better yet, let the Red Cross and other relief organizations do their job and indict Bush.
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