Duck Dynasty’s’ Phil Robertson on Indefinite Leave Afrter Following His Remarks on Homosexuality (Update: Phil Robertson Statement – ‘I would never treat anyone with disrespect just because they are different from me’.)

Freedom of Speech & Religion is dead at ‘A&E” … GOOD GRIEF A&E, LET THEM BE!!!

Duck Dynasty is a huge success and loved by so many, but the show may be going the way of the Do-Do bird. A&E has placed Duck Dynasty patriarch Phil Robertson on indefinite leave after he dare speak the truth of his religious beliefs in an interview with GQ Magazine. So once again we see that a network does not believe in freedom of speech or freedom of religion for an individual to make comments on his own time that had nothing to do with the show, Duck Dynasty. The comments that got Phil Robertson in trouble:

“It seems like, to me, a vagina – as a man – would be more desirable than a man’s anus. That’s just me,” Robertson stated. “I’m just thinking: There’s more there! She’s got more to offer. I mean, come on, dudes! You know what I’m saying? But hey, sin: It’s not logical, my man. It’s just not logical.”

Duck Dynasty: Facebook.

Hat Tip: The Drudge Report

It didn’t take long for the LEFT, GLAAD and LGBT community to go after their scalp.

From The Hollywood Reporter:

A note to A&E, Phil Robertson did not say that his comments or beliefs were that of A&E. So much for tolerance at A&E. The reason why 9 million people watch Duck Dynasty is because these folks are common, folksy people that many can relate to and are real. They are not a train wreck like most all reality shows. How shameful that A&E be pressured by GLAAD.

A&E has placed Duck Dynasty patriarch Phil Robertson on indefinite hiatus following anti-gay remarks he made in a recent profile in GQ.

“We are extremely disappointed to have read Phil Robertson’s comments in GQ, which are based on his own personal beliefs and are not reflected in the series Duck Dynasty,” A&E said in a statement. “His personal views in no way reflect those of A+E Networks, who have always been strong supporters and champions of the LGBT community. The network has placed Phil under hiatus from filming indefinitely.”

The news comes after Robertson compared homosexuality to bestiality in an interview with the magazine. He’ll likely appear in season four, which bows Jan. 15, since production is largely wrapped.

“It seems like, to me, a vagina — as a man — would be more desirable than a man’s anus,” Robertson says in the January issue of the men’s magazine. “That’s just me. I’m just thinking: There’s more there! She’s got more to offer. I mean, come on, dudes! You know what I’m saying? But hey, sin: It’s not logical, my man. It’s just not logical.”

Weasel Zippers adds, Phil Robertson said, “It seems like, to me, a vagina—as a man—would be more desirable than a man’s anus. That’s just me.” So true … and I would add that probably 99% of the men that watch Duck Dynasty probably feel the same.

UPDATE I: A&E released this statement from Phil Robertson addressing the controversy:

“I myself am a product of the 60s; I centered my life around sex, drugs and rock and roll until I hit rock bottom and accepted Jesus as my Savior. My mission today is to go forth and tell people about why I follow Christ and also what the Bible teaches, and part of that teaching is that women and men are meant to be together. However, I would never treat anyone with disrespect just because they are different from me. We are all created by the Almighty and like Him, I love all of humanity. We would all be better off if we loved God and loved each other.” Beyond that.

UPDATE II: Just another case of MEDIA BIAS.

Many people have argued over the years, in the face of the obvious evidence, that the media cannot be systematically biased to the Left because it would not make business sense to spurn more than half the population as customers. However, the recent decision by A&E to fire its biggest and most lucrative TV star because it is more concerned about catering to homosexuals than making money vividly demonstrates that politics and propaganda are more important to the media companies than making a profit:

FEAR THE BEARD!!!

A&E best be very careful as a backlash boycott and protest of the network and their sponsors by the 9 million viewers of Duck Dynasty could be right around the corner. A&E might want to “Fear the Beard,” this down home, country family is more popular than A&E.

UPDATE III: Sarah Palin blasts A&E for their suspension of Phil Robertson; Declares free speech ‘endangered species.’

Daily Commentary – Monday, July 1, 2013 – The Learning Channel (TLC) Sinks To a New Low

• With it’s new realty show called “My Teen is Pregnant and So Am I”!

Tony Soprano … Actor James Gandolfini Dies of Massive Heat Attack At 51 in Italy, RIP

Actor James Gandolfini, better known for his role as Tony Soprano, suffered a massive heart attack and is dead at age 51. Gandolfini was in Italy to attend the 59th Taormina Film Festival in Sicily. How very sad, Gandolfini was one of my favorite actors. Maybe because for many years I lived in New Jersey and pretty much knew every location where they shot scenes of The Soprano’s. Like the Bada Bing, that was really Satin Dolls in Lodi, NJ. Then there was Beansie’s pizzeria in Paterson, Bates College was Drew University in Madison and last but not least, Tony’s home in North Caldwell, NJ. How I miss the show and will miss James Gandolfini. He rose to stardom in 1999 when he was cast as Tony Soprano and won 3 Emmy awards as the troubled and flawed crime boss during the show’s six season run.

As stated at IMDb, New Jersey-born James Gandolfini began acting in the New York theater. His Broadway debut was in the 1992 revival of “A Streetcar Named Desire” with Jessica Lange and Alec Baldwin. James’ breakthrough role was his portrayal of Virgil the hitman in Tony Scott’s True Romance. James Gandolfini also stared in some of my favorite movies, Crimson Tide, A Civil Action, The Mexican, The Last Castle, but will always be known for his role as Tony Soprano.

More at Deadline Hollywood.

James Gandolfini,  (September 18, 1961 – June 19, 2013) … Rest in Peace

James Gandolfini, the New Jersey-bred actor who delighted audiences as mob boss Tony Soprano in “The Sopranos” has died following a massive heart attack in Italy, a source told the Daily News.

“Everyone is in tears,” the source close to the 51-year-old TV tough guy said.

A press-shy celeb who got his start as a character actor and became famous relatively late in his career — thanks to his breakout role on “The Sopranos,” Gandolfini has largely avoided the spotlight since the last season of the beloved show aired in 2007.

Entertainment community mourns James Gandolfini.

Wiki:  Gandolfini was born in Westwood, New Jersey. His mother, Santa, a high school lunch lady, was born in the USA, of Italian ancestry, and raised in Naples, Italy. His father, James Joseph Gandolfini, Sr., a native of Borgotaro, Italy, was a bricklayer, cement mason, and later the head custodian at Paramus Catholic High School, New Jersey. James, Sr., also earned a Purple Heart in World War II. His parents were devout Roman Catholics and spoke Italian at home. Due to such influence, Gandolfini had a strong sense of being Italian, and regularly visited Italy.

NY Times Obit.

Mr. Gandolfini’s death was confirmed by HBO. He was traveling in Rome, where he was on vacation and was scheduled to attend the Taormina Film Festival. A cause of death was not immediately announced; a press representative for HBO said that Mr. Gandolfini may have died from a heart attack, though other news reports said he died from a stroke.

Mr. Gandolfini, who grew up in Park Ridge, in Bergen County, N.J., came to embody the resilience of the Garden State on “The Sopranos,” a television drama that made its debut in 1999 and ran for six seasons on HBO.

In its pilot episode, viewers were introduced to the richly complicated life of Tony Soprano, a New Jersey mob kingpin who is suffering from panic attacks and begins seeing a therapist. Over 86 episodes, audiences followed Mr. Gandolfini in the role as he was tormented by his mother (played by Nancy Marchand), his wife (Edie Falco), rival mobsters, the occasional surreal dream sequence and, in 2007, a famously ambiguous series finale which left millions of viewers wondering whether or not Tony Soprano had met his fate at the table of a diner.

Sadly, it appears that there will be no Soprano’s movie now. I was kind of hoping that the cast would get back together as the show ended far too soon. We are only left with the final scene of The Soprano’s.

Final Scene of HBO’s The Soprano’s

NBC News/WSJ Poll: National Rifle Association (NRA) More Popular than the Entertainment Industry.

A new NBC News/WSJ poll shows that the NRA is far more popular than the entertainment industry.  In the wake of the  Sandy Hook Elementary school shooting in Newtown, CT the poll finds that 41% of Americans see the NRA in a positive light, while only 34% view it in a negative light. However, only 24% have positive feelings about the entertainment industry, and 39%  have negative ones. A rather interesting comparison when one looks at President Barack Obama’s recent 23 executive orders on gun control, yet there were no references to anything to deal with curbing the violence spread by the entertainment industry with violence in TV, movies or print. But of course Obama has a chummy relationship with the entertainment industry and has given them a pass.

As Washington prepares for a political battle over the Obama White House’s proposals to curb gun violence after the Newtown, Conn., shootings, a new NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll finds that the National Rifle Association is more popular than the entertainment industry.

Forty-one percent of adults see the NRA — the nation’s top gun lobby — in a positive light, while 34 percent view it in a negative light.

By comparison, just 24 percent have positive feelings about the entertainment industry, and 39 percent have negative ones.

The NRA’s fav/unfav score is virtually unchanged from its 41 percent-to-29 percent rating in the Jan. 2011 NBC/WSJ poll, nearly two years before the Newtown shootings.

Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV) None Too Happy about MTV’s New Reality Show, “Buckwild” … described as “The Jersey Shore of Appalachia”

WOW, the folks at MTV are not too original now are they? MTV’s next venture in the realm of cheap and exploitative reality show that will make fun of West Virginia called “Buckwild”. Like that is new and original. It has been describes as ‘The Jersey Shore” of reality shows. Great. The show will just be an exploitation and play to the stereo-types that people already have of West Virginia  Needless to say, Senator Joe Manchin (D-WV) is none too happy about it. I cannot say I blame him. It probably won’t take one episode before they make an incestuous cousin joke.

Trailer – Buckwild … Honestly, just watching this will cause you to lose brain cells

The show is scheduled to debut next month and follows a group of nine twenty-somethings living in and around Sissonville, W.Va., a town of just 4,000 residents. The program has been described as “The ‘Jersey Shore’ of Appalachia,” referring to the now-canceled reality show that earned the ire of New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R) and state lawmakers.

In the case of “Buckwild,” Manchin said he’s only seen previews for the show — but that the teases that staffers showed him were enough to compel him to send a letter Friday to MTV President Stephen Friedman asking that the network “put a stop to the travesty called ‘Buckwild.’”

A disgusted Joe Manchin went on to further say, “Instead of showcasing the beauty of our people and our state, you preyed on young people, coaxed them into displaying shameful behavior — and now you are profiting from it. That is just wrong.” Sadly, that is what TV programming has become. Even more pathetic, that is what I guess most Americans want to see as if there was no market for these ignorant, exploitative shows that thrive on the misfortune, making fun of and stereotypes … there would be no more of the foolish reality shows. Thus in the end, it is not MTV that is to blame, it is the people who actually tune in.