In this insane political year, when many of us are wondering if Donald Trump is the Beast of the Apocalypse, the angriest controversy on the Internet is over the loss of Stana Katic (Kate Beckett) on ABC’s “Castle.” It’s huge. Gigantic. Cataclysmic.
It’s more important than our lemming-like rush to national oblivion.
Although I watch more television than I did when I was young and working, I can’t imagine being so invested in a show that I would display such vitriol about it. Garry and I watch “Castle.” We’ve enjoyed it, but the show has been drooping for the last two seasons. It’s probably past its prime and deserves honorable retirement. Nonetheless, ABC is going to give the show a full face lift, starting by ditching one of its two primary players. I doubt it’ll work, but hey, it’s their show. If they want to give a try, what’s the harm, right?
But man, the people on all these TV web sites are frothing at the mouth. As far as they are concerned, this is personal. They’re ready to take up arms in defense of a character on a television series.
Everyone is in a state of rage about something. Constantly. What used to be minor annoyances are now reasons for killing rage. Road rage is a great example. When did fender benders become cause for violently attacking each other? Maybe that accounts for why we’re locked into a national political suicide pact.
It’s generational. Our younger generations from Gen X through my granddaughter and her crowd — all of them are convinced the world has cheated them. Stolen the good life to which they were (by birth?) entitled.
Things have been a lot worse in this country than they are now without everyone going wacko. We’ve forgotten how to lose, so every contest — political, sporting, or whatever — is life or death. Surely we know that in any contest, one side wins and the other loses. Why is everyone going ballistic if they find themselves on the losing side?
When did a sense of entitlement replace commonsense and reason? If the good stuff doesn’t happen, if life doesn’t go as hoped, we are angry. Enraged. Failure no longer is a spur to greater effort, to rethink career goals, go back to school, find a better job, or work harder. We prefer to look for someone to blame. We could hold a national “Scapegoat of the Year” contest. Vent our national spleen on whichever group is the current favored object of collective wrath. It would be the only contest no one would mind losing.
Muslims. Mexicans. Brown people. Asian people. Democrats. Atheists. Poor people. Disabled people. Old people. Those People. What potential!
Pogo – Walt Kelly
Whatever is wrong with the world, it didn’t get that way without our help. We elected the morons who got us here. Time to look in the mirror, then point an accusing finger at the real source of our woes. Us.
Oh, and Beckett is leaving Castle. Get over it.
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Categories: Entertainment, Humor, Politics, Show Business, Television
SERENDIPITY - SEEKING INTELLIGENT LIFE ON EARTH 
It has been such an interesting debate going on here. I may not contribute much but yes I came to know so many facts and updated on your country’s political scene.
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Noo, Save Our Beckett!
On the plus side, Trump appears to be mellowing. He has announced that if he becomes president he might make an exception for Sadiq Khan (the newly-elected Mayor of London) to enter the USA, even though he’s a Muslim. So it’s not all bad!
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Yes, and he has PROMISED to bring us all together in harmony. What a remarkable statement from a man with orange hair.
Yes, alas, Beckett was fired by ABC, or to be precise, they did not choose to pick up her option. So she is gone after one more show. Don’t know if they are going to kill her off or what, but it’s been all over the Internet. The worst kept secret in show biz … and those TV fan sites are going WACKO. They are worse than the political websites.
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That’s because people actually care about TV 🙂
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Beckett is leaving?????????? OMG I never even knew? But you are right about the rest of it, how did we let it get like this? It’s not just the US it’s in Australia too (quite probably everywhere), did we really teach our children (as a generation) that they must succeed at any cost and they are entitled to anything their heart desires, without thought for the fellow man (or woman)? Everyone is so angry all the time, get over it people, concern yourself with the real problems and let the little stuff slide.
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Yup. Absolutely right. I think it really IS our fault. It’s all that “everyone wins, there are no losers. Show up and collect your prize” stuff. We wanted to give them an easier life, but I think we failed to consider that it’s difficulties that give you the toughness to cope with the crap life throws at you.
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Exactly……….all that ‘ it’s not how you play the game, everyone’s a winner ‘crap. I had to fight hard to get where I am……it made me WHO i am
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Parents, teachers, everyone. We all need to rethink whether or not we want our kids to be introduced to reality or we want to wrap them in bubble pack as long as we can. Personally, I think the bubble pack has not worked out. You never get strong if you never have to face down obstacles and problems. Losing is not the worst thing that can happen to a kid. Success is NOT automatic and kids shouldn’t be misled into thinking that “all you have to do is REALLY REALLY WANT IT … ” Every time I hear people saying that garbage to kids, I think it’s the biggest lie we tell our kids. Life isn’t like that. Real work comes with mean bosses, catty co-workers, difficult working condition and very often, little recognition and lousy pay. AND long hours. You have to pay your dues before you make your mark. But we don’t tell kids that. And when they discover that life is not at all what they were led to believe, they get mad. At us, at everything.
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exactly……….I never bubble wrapped my kids, I think they are (usually) quite level headed, but there is still a little bit of it there, maybe it’s also a maturity thing?
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My granddaughter shows intermittent signs of latent maturity, but it’s an approach-avoidance sort of thing. If her mother were exactly the wrong example, she’d have a better chance. Being a grandparent can be hard on the nervous system.
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good to know, i’m not there yet, kids refuse to reproduce yet lol
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A new Revolution is in order.
But all the children are pacified or asleep.
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Or wrapped in a cartoon fantasy world.
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I think being Swiss I just regard everything from a distance. We don’t like the States because of the bank disagreements, otherwise you are all OK, just leave our banks alone. Being a Brit I am just pleased that at least one of our colonies seems to have progressed. They even have our London Bridge somewhere because we did not want it any more. I am not so happy about Donald Trump, but Hilary Clinton is also not my cup of tea. couldn’t you choose perhaps George Clooney as president, after all Ronald Reagan was also a film start, although he didn’t look so good.
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I think we need to go without a president for a while. So we can stop blaming one person for all the problems in the world.
Switzerland has some very dark secrets of its own, but since they also hold much of the world’s money, nobody feels inclined to bring them up. The gnomes of Zurich can’t lose, not when they have The Vaults.
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But why does everything have to be a contest? That is where all the anger comes from. Road rage? Lost your job? It happens. Not a contest. Pick yourself up and get over it for gosh sakes.
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I agree. And anyway, some stuff IS a contest. Elections. Sports. Someone, some team wins. Which mean the other doesn’t win. It’s not the end of the world. Whatever happened to being a good sport?
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Hey, listen up!! The Red Sox have scored 27 runs in the last two games. They’re in first place in the AL East by **HALF** a game. Only 5 months to go in the season.
Hallelujah!! Hold Page one!!
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Let’s face it, what is happening is catching everyones attention. People are very upset.
Leslie
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That may be the ONLY good thing to come out of this horrible year … that a lot more people are suddenly paying attention. Pity they’ve had their heads in the sand for so long.
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Leslie, I keep saying it. The Donald and his merry jesters have me watching national news again. So, he has accomplished something. I just hope all the upset people regain their senses come November.
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We are praying for you.
Leslie
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I think it’s more than the morons who got us here. For several decades, this country was on a super up-swing, some of which was real and some just a house of cards. It’s natural that, when the cards collapsed, the people in that house would be upset, disenchanted, even angry, and they would take with them many of the people who had not known the real good times. We point fingers at the leaders because, after all, they are the leaders, whether or not they had anything to do with the collapse. And we point fingers at those who promise to “make it better,” because they can’t do it by themselves. And we don’t want to do the work that could make it better collectively., so it has to be everybody else’s “fault.”
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Actually, that’s kind of my point. Along with knowing that in every contest there are losers, there’s also the historical reality that whatever goes up — including an economy — WILL come down. That’s the way that the world goes round.
There are cycles. We’ve been through a bunch of them already in our lives. Recessions, and upswings, downswings and collapses. Rebuilding and more rebuilding. War, peace (not much of that) and all that goes with it. In the end, what the world is doing is what the world is doing. It’s up to each of us to do the best we can with whatever is available. Scapegoating minorities makes people feel good — not this people, but other people — but it has never solved any problems anywhere in history.
If, as a nation, we are going to continue to buy into empty promises from blowhards who are clearly out for themselves alone — we are going to get what we paid for. Was the economy going to deflate after Clinton? Probably. Did Bush make it much worse? Probably. Has Obama totally fixed it? No, but at least he’s trying. Will things ever be just like they used to be? Which “used to be“? The past is past. It isn’t coming back.
The future will have ups and downs. Some generations will have an easier time than others, but electing leaders who have a sense of duty to the people he/she/they serve, we might have a better chance.
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In the words of our granddaughter, “Let’s round up an angry mob and storm the place – (ABC).
Today’s New York Daily News headline: “54 % vrs Lice President: Trump”
Sub head — “Twice as many would rather have head bugs than Trump in White House Poll”.
Ah, the good old Daily News — all the news not fit to print.
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I think that goes “All the news that fits we print.” It’s all about column inches and advertising sales.
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Hell, just print it.
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