I’m glad I to be a member to a group of people that believed sticks and stones can break my bones, but words won’t ever hurt me. We don’t push our way of thinking onto others unlike the minority of people being heavily promoted when they eat Tide Pods and smear Gorilla Glue in their hair or to red solo cups and attaching it to their lips after watching other people do it. Nor do I have the urge to set up a Go-Fund-Me account to ask people to help me for the surgery get the glue out of my hair. Some things, you just don’t do after observing other people do it and seeing the results. Some people just aren’t born stupid and had better parents than others who had common sense in the matters of health and well being.

     We also don’t care if you are fond of a historical time in our nations history because it seems happier than the moment we are currently experiencing. Who can honestly say the people of our past would want to live in our present? We don’t know that because that is just like asking our great-great- grand children if they would like to live in our current time. We have to believe the struggles we make on a day-to-day basis is to make our children’s future better. Did you know there was a time when lead (https://www.webmd.com/children/news/20070815/lead-poisoning-and-kids) and mercury (https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/mercury-and-health) was considered “safe” for our children? Guess we can say “science” scored big on that one, huh? Well, eventually, it did after doing more intense research.

     I realize that most women who put on a bra each day run risk of contracting something that might not be pleasantly expected, such as rashes or other forms of irritation (including mental / attitude) because of a chemical inside the manufactured piece of cloth, plastic, or metal. Take for example, Formaldehyde and polyurethane (used to glue layers of fabric together in the bras), those are pretty dangerous chemicals in high doses to have direct contact on the skin (https://www.davisenterprise.com/forum/opinion-columns/shouldnt-we-find-out-if-our-bras-are-slowly-killing-us/). Even though those are risky, most women still buy the products that they are contained in from manufacturers in other countries (*cough* China *cough*), probably because they are cheaper would be my guess. It doesn’t help that certain big chain box stores are promoting / selling them without questioning the manufacturing practices. However, women still buy them, most likely out of some sort of necessity or fashion (as my guess). There is research showing worldwide statistics on breast cancer is that it is highest in cultures where women wear bras. There are some fashion styles and articles of clothing where going braless is encouraged or required. Did you know there are some countries / populations that do not wear undergarments of any kind? Where are the people who are offended by that? My point is this: why is it okay for one form of fashion that is possibly deadly on some levels better by today’s society standards than something as historical and lavishing as a bit of clothing from a historical period of time?

     Let me take it one step into a darker mode: It is perfectly acceptable for sexual attire that is designed to be warn in the form of “fun in the bedroom (or basement)”, but there are those who insist on wearing it outside in public, including in front of young children. Hey, if you want to get dressed up in a leather outfit and whip / spank someone who is handcuffed / tied down with a gag ball in their mouth, I’m fine with that as long as it is among consenting adults. Yes, I know women like Madonna, Jennifer Lopez, Lady Ga Ga, and whoever else gets a free pass because they are “Celebrities” who have to try getting the attention any way they can because it’s a “show”. Well honestly, I get more of a show whenever I used to go to the strip clubs and it was cheaper (among other little benefits), but why is that different when it comes to fashion? It’s seen on almost every TV network, sporting events, video games, online, magazines, ect… Why is all that acceptable, but not wearing a historical dress that covers everything from head to toe dating from a historical period that reflects a cultural heritage offensive (https://screenrant.com/bachelor-tayshia-clare-men-condemn-chris-harrison-dale/)? Personally, I don’t think it has anything to do with race at all. It’s more of controlling the narrative of society.

     Most entertainment that we consume will have people wearing clothing in some form of fashion statement. Perhaps we should stop wearing clothing all together or maybe switch over to wearing uniforms? That might solve the issues that a minority seems to be screaming about. If I had a choice, I would go naked instead of wearing a uniform, I mean I’ve already done that for the U.S. Army. Speaking of which, I’m sure that the uniforms worn by all our military soldiers are offensive to either a group of people or culture somewhere around the world. Are we going to demand that the women and men of our armed forces to go naked? Then again, wouldn’t that be offensive to somebody or culture? 

     The cancel culture mentality is getting obscene with their demands. You can call it “Wokeness”, “Race Training”, or whatever, but it is just another word for Censorship. I, along with many others like-minded, consider Censorship obscene. It comes in all shapes, forms, and sizes sugar coated with decency and usually with the sales pitch phrased as “the right thing to do”. I’m not going to sit here and tell you it is wrong for you to think that way, but to force your way into my way of living is not only unacceptable, it is an infringement on the rights bestowed to each person by God and the United States Constitution under the First Amendment. If I don’t want to watch Madonna shake her wrinkled, pruned-up, dental floss covered crotch, scooting across the stage of a sporting event, then I can turn off the show by watching something else while she is on. The same goes for J-Lo and soon to be Lady Ga Ga. However, if Cher wanted to, maybe (thank God for plastic surgery and class).

     It makes no sense to me to have a minority group of like-minded individuals who are quick to point out the so-called “Cultural Insensitivities” of the majority because they don’t agree with their ideals. In other words, the Cancel Culture has got to go, preferably back into their mothers basement until they get a clue on what it means to be alive in a time where division needs healing. This whole idea of making someone conform and pay for their sins of wearing a simple costume or dress in a picture is about as stupid as the day is long (and this time of year it’s getting longer). Whatever happened to repentance and forgiveness? Then again, why should someone have to apologize for being human and living in the moment? What part of time is acceptable to live in peacefully? Apparently, as of now, it wasn’t before or after the Civil War. Come to think about it, maybe similar like it is today, but a bit reverse, hmmm?

     Here’s my suggestion to all those who are in the cancel culture movement that are “peacefully” and “whole heartily” attempting to re-educate the public on how to live our lives under a communistic ideal using a propaganda method of dispensing social justice by shaming people in the name of racial integrity: STOP SEGREGATING THE PEOPLE! Do you not understand by your own actions, you too, are dividing this country into groups? Yes, you are! It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure it out. If you need help, just ask, I will be happy to assist in you by pointing out what you are doing is no different than making people where uniforms with the scarlet letter on them. Always saying to other people “oh, you must be one of them…” You, by your own actions, your words, are not helping the situation already hurting this nation, at all.

    If you don’t have anything better to do, then I recommend having a heart-to-heart with Jesus Christ to determine your life path on this planet as a productive member of society in the way our heavenly father, God, could have designed for you in the beginning. If you don’t believe in God, any gods, or a supreme being of any kind, then that might be something you want to consider, among other questionable life choices you may have made in your past. Humans, in the past during one time or anther in their individual lives, have always fallen to their knees realizing either a philosophy or religion. By religion, I don’t mean an organized or government / society mandated structured belief system. I strongly urge against any and all cult or cult-like activities as well. I spiritual kick to the head might be what is needed in your case.

     So before you carry on with the rest of your day (or night), perhaps you should spend a few moments of your “time” to reflect on the periods of your life that you enjoyed the most and think about what actions you did or said that might be considered “insensitive” or “offensive” to those around in your geographical area in this current environment. I’m willing to bet you did something that could (and would) be considered offensive to someone today, right now, in this particular moment that we seem to be sharing now. How would you feel if someone threw that back up in your face? The past is the past and last time I check, we were supposed to be moving toward the future where it is brighter for ALL of us.

     Don’t you think it’s getting pretty bad when people have to put up with this kind of radicalism at work? Coke-a-Cola, in there infinite wisdom, has decided to become the “Woke-a-Cola”, as I like to now call them (https://www.rt.com/usa/516114-coca-cola-race-training/). The soft drink giant has reportedly implemented mandatory training course via a social media website, Linked In, called “Confronting Racism, presented by Robin DiAngelo, author of White Fragility:  Why It’s so Hard for White People to Talk about Racism”. After getting some backlash, the course has been removed from Linked In, but the book can still be ordered if you want to know how much of a racist you are (https://www.robindiangelo.com/publications/). The course promised to address “white privilege – the relative immunity white people (people of European origin) enjoy relative to the challenges people of color face.” One eleven-minute segment of the course, entitled “Understanding what it means to be white, challenging what it means to be racist,” has reportedly become mandatory training for Coca-Cola employees (https://youtu.be/FRWfS0SmNqw).

     Woke-a-Cola is jumping of the division cliff with this one. From what I understand, it’s not only upsetting white people either with this crap. For example, one slide in the course explains that becoming less white is to:

• be less oppressive
• be less arrogant
• be less certain
• be less defensive
• be less ignorant
• be more humble
• listen
• believe
• break with apathy
• break with white solidarity.

Clearly, the message here is that whiteness conveys oppression, arrogance, certainty, defensiveness, ignorance, lack of humility, inability to listen, inability to believe, apathy, and is imbued with white solidarity. It does not get any more racist than that, folks. Another slide proclaimed:

• “In the U.S. and other Western nations, white people are socialized to feel that they are inherently superior because they are white.”
• “Research shows that by age 3 to 4, children understand that it is better to be white.”

Glaringly absent from these claims is any sort of reference or footnote to back them up. The training ends with a slide instructing viewers to: “Try to be less white”.

     Another form of intrusion when it comes to free independent thought is when members of the Subcommittee on Communications and Technology of the Committee on Energy and Commerce along with a talk show host, Soledad O’brien (https://matteroffact.tv/about-soledad/https://matteroffact.tv/about-soledad/), has to have a meeting yesterday (2/24) on how Conservative voices need to be silenced on cable and satellite platforms (https://energycommerce.house.gov/committee-activity/hearings/hearing-on-fanning-the-flames-disinformation-and-extremism-in-the-media?fbclid=IwAR3hg3vO1oseh_YNH6NZg_SPTVtLKSVgz-qAj7pz-lizOjfpwCXmr_yqW7A). WOW! No real surprise about this. It stems from a letter sent from two Representatives to cable and satellite providers explaining why they need to remove Conservative news channels, such as Fox News, OANN, and NewsMax, from their lineup (https://eshoo.house.gov/sites/eshoo.house.gov/files/Eshoo-McNerney-TV-Misinfo%20Letters-2.22.21.pdf). The left / Democrat’s attack on having a “fair and balanced media” is pleading their case for removing Fox News, OANN, and Newsmax from cable and satellite providers. So if there is any Conservative voice or point of view, it’s wrong and doesn’t need to be seen / heard on a distribution platform.

     They are actually having a “hearing” to discuss how these networks (among other sources online) oppose their ideology. This smells of the Fairness Doctrine (https://www.britannica.com/topic/Fairness-Doctrine) that goes against the first amendment. These are people who have nothing better to do than to hide what they do, cover it up by pointing out what you do, and blame you for doing what they have been doing all along. Your point of view is wrong and they are the victim. I love the fact that Federal Communications Commissioner, Brendan Carr, wrote a letter calling on his FCC Colleagues to join him publicly denouncing this attempt to stifle political speech and independent news judgment (https://docs.fcc.gov/public/attachments/DOC-370165A1.pdf). He went on to say “Debate on matters of public interest should be robust, uninhibited, and wide open. More speech is better than less. Yet the concerted effort by Democrats to drive political dissent from the public square represents a marked departure from these First Amendment norms. A newsroom’s decision about what stories to cover and how to frame them should be beyond the reach of any government official, not targeted by them. To the House Democrats that used their official letterhead to launch this inquiry, I would say this: Your demand to know the ‘moral principles’ that guide a private entity’s decision about what news to carry cannot be reconciled with bedrock principles of free speech and journalistic freedom.”

     I guess it’s okay for sources like CNN to make up a truth in their eyes about their favorite players in the Democratic Party or leftists/Marxist movement, MSNBC won’t even cover what is actually happening unless it fits their narrative, and sites like Facebook or Twitter are playing right along “in the surge of deliberate mis-information, false claims, and pushing for division in this nation”. I guess we could just skip them and watch RT (https://www.rt.com/) for possibly more reliable news. Whatever happened on the First Amendment? This sort of thing is the reason we have it to protect free speech. In case you don’t know what the First Amendment says, it states: “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances” (https://constitution.congress.gov/constitution/amendment-1/). I hope Congress remembers that, especially Republicans and Independents who believe that Americans support a more Conservative way of life. It’s like everything they have wanted to do since former President Obama left office is now being slammed down on Americans. The Cancel Culture, Extreme Leftists, power-hungry Democrats, and RINO’s have been pushing for a Marxist movement and are hellbent on making America fall. It makes me nervous when I think about who controls what speech is acceptable and what isn’t. 

     Ladies and gentlemen, what I’m about to say may come as a shock to you, your family, and friends, but in my humble opinion, we need to leave each other alone. Just mind our own business, keep out of where we don’t belong, and quit starting problems by pointing your righteous bony fingers at those who aren’t bothering you. And yes, we NEED an intense and very detailed investigation on the 2020 election, especially since the United Supreme Court REFUSED to hear the case in the five states in question of obvious foul play. No matter the outcome, we still need it to put in the  integrity back into the election before 2022!

     Well here we are once again gathered around the speakers, perhaps in my case this microphone, but the fact is we are together again and that’s why I love being with you because you. We get to hang out together, we get to express opposing ideas, and different opinions. The best part about it is that we do not do it out of anger or hate toward each other. That’s what I love about hanging out with you on these Thursday nights or Sunday nights if you’re listening to us on the replay. Hey, we must not forget about those who were listening on-demand because without our partners, we wouldn’t be able to do what we’re doing right now. I just would like to say, without a shadow of a doubt, you are the best part. I love this show and my daily show that is on from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. central time on the TBJS Radio Network, “The Big John Show”.

    Over the years in my radio broadcasting career, I have poured my heart and soul into this industry, or business if that’s what you want to call it, and I’ve had a rollercoaster of a time. We’ve had some highs, some low’s, and then there are times where we just went under, but there have been some times where we have flown sky high to the moon, so to speak. I’m always interested in doing creative things that I hope you’ll enjoy listening to on the air. Even when I was on terrestrial radio, I always did The Big John Show along with another three, four, or even five hour show for the past 10 years now. To be successful in this business, you have to be a hard worker, sometimes harder working then the other players in the game. Working long hours behind the scenes, stressful deadlines, constant changes, and without mercy against your competition. You cannot take anything granted, this includes the people that you talk to on interviews, the phone calls, or the people you meet up in the streets. Because one day that can all disappear without any warning.

     As morbid as it may sound, my goal is to do what so many have done already and that is to die behind the microphone. That is the great way to go in this industry, crazy or morbid as it sounds, but if you really truly love what you do, you’ll never work a day in your life. And if you really love your job, then you’ll probably think or feel the same way. A good man who has done so much for this industry passed away just yesterday morning. His name was Rush Limbaugh. I know a lot of people don’t like conservative talk on the other side or they don’t want to listen, but the guy tried to make things happen and to bring attention to the conservative thought or movement, if you want to call it that. What the guy did is one thing that not very many people will probably understand as most of those who are in the radio business. I’m not talking about your podcasters or those who live only been on internet radio their whole time, I’m talking about people who actually fought to stay on terrestrial radio. Those people who really struggled to make sure that each show was as best as it could possibly be.

     Rush Limbaugh, some would say, actually saved AM radio. Yeah, there was a lot of talk radio personalities before rush Limbaugh, but there was a time back in the mid-to-late 90s when AM radio was considered to be taking its final breath, if you will. Rush Limbaugh was a voice that people started tuning in to AM radio again. AM radio is great for distance, but not so good when it comes to sound quality of highly compressed, overly produced music. When it comes to using your voice on AM radio, then you could have no problem being heard over a vast distance. Try listening to AM radio signals at night and see how many you actually can pick up that are halfway across the country, literally. AM radio, in my eyes, is a very wonderful and exciting frontier. Even though it’s been around for decades, possibly a century, AM radio still is a very vital tool in radio broadcasting, especially for news and information. FM radio is very awesome when it comes to music or other produced audio pieces.

    It is my belief that AM radio is still very young and not in its prime yet, but maybe I’m just a little too nostalgic. FM radio is very nice and so is HD radio on the FM band. Problem is HD is still young and it is still got its kinks. However I’m sure it’ll be worked out as technology advances, but as long as you still have to pay a yearly license to be able to broadcast on an HD platform (https://hdradio.com/broadcasters/licensing/), it will not expand as well as am or FM signals. And I say this because you have to pay a yearly or biannually fee because it is patented and I think that is wrong. I’m all for capitalism, but I’m not for leasing a platform because that is stunting the growth of the future in an industry that I love. I understand paying the Federal Communications Commission license fee to use the airwaves, I just don’t like, nor do I feel it would be good, the idea that we have to pay a license fee to broadcast HD radio signals on FM or AM (https://hdradio.com/all-digital-am/) because one company has got the patent on all HD radio signals recognized by the Federal Communications Commission. In other words to use an HD transmitter, you have to pay for a license fee to this company. It’s not a software issue or free maintenance throughout the year, you pay a fee. So that’s like double-dipping and that’s only stunting, or hurting, the purpose of radio.

     I’m all for free radio and I think free radio is great. And by free radio, I mean picking up the airwaves on a receiver that is being transmitted by a mom-and-pop old as well as corporate radio stations. Hell, I even love the idea of Low Power AM and Low Power FM radio, also known as Part 15 Broadcasting. Don’t get me wrong, there are some big broadcasting companies that do good jobs, but it seems the bigger they are, the more cutthroat and careless they get about their workers / employees. In radio, I think you can get too big and that should be where you fail. Radio was supposed to be local and unfortunately, there is several big companies that own as much as they can in so many markets it really hurts, not only the quality of what goes on the air, but it makes it stagnant reputation in that market. Now I know what I speak is not really interesting to a whole lot of people, but it’s still important enough to be shared with you because of how you get your information.

     You see when you get a national radio show put on a local station, you eliminate a local voice on your radio station in that local Market. Yes, it is bragging rights for a on-air talent to say he or she is in so many markets across the country, or around the world, but you also eliminate the chance for a local voice or opinion to be heard. That hurts what radio is supposed to be, particularly as it is described per FCC regulations (https://www.fcc.gov/media/radio/public-and-broadcasting#PUBLICINSPECTIONFILE). The FCC wants so much percent of the local, the requirement for you to own a radio station is to contribute, to what the market in which you are license to needs or to serve that market better. That’s why you have to have so many Public Service Announcements or local interviews in what they call a “Public Inspection File”. This is a public file that is about local charities or organizations that are doing things and are mentioned, people interview on the air, or that the station participated in without financial gain or profit. You’re supposed to serve your market because that’s why the FCC allows you to have a license for in said market.

     Obviously you were not going to care what happens in Los Angeles California if you’re in Miami Florida. Unless it’s something on a grand national scale or something so horrific, you really don’t care what the local weather is on the opposite side of the country. You don’t care about local politics if you’re not in that area or you don’t care about the businesses that are closing if they’re not in your area. It’s different if you are listening to that station online because you are hearing it from that particular point of contact, even though some have the capabilities to block their local advertisements and play regional or national advertisers in the spot break, but that’s a whole other topic for another time. Basically, you don’t want to hear advertisements from that part of the country on your radio do you? Even though, radio stations need advertisers to stay in business and that’s important.

     Just like any business needs people that have money to come in and buy their goods or services so they can stay in operation. That goes for online radio stations like the TBJS Radio Network, shows like the Big John Show, or Bravo Sierra with Big John, we all need advertisers or sponsors willing to take a risk on us so we can continue doing what we do. We have listeners that might want to hear about your products, goods, or services as well. When that doesn’t happen, we have to move to alternative means of cash flow. That’s why I asked for partners to join The Big John Show and in return, we offer features that unlock on our websites, among other hidden offers. If a station can get local advertisement from local businesses, that makes radio shows sound even more local. I think that’s kind of where a lot of these national syndicated shows gets confusing because they’re national shows that allow local advertisers as well as the big-name advertisers to be heard during their time slots. Therefore if you hear local advertisement, you might think that show is more local in your neck of the woods than really sitting in a concrete building somewhere around Los Angeles, California.

     If you enjoy the show, that’s not a problem to you and there’s a lot of really good shows that I listen to on national stage,but then you also have to realize that those national voices don’t really care about what goes on Main Street in your town, your county, or even in your state unless it is a huge event. So where do you go to get your local news or information? You could listen to your local radio station and sometimes they may offer a local morning show or afternoon show and then that’s it. A lot of mom and pop radio stations can’t afford having a full staff if they’re in a small town like here in Southeast Oklahoma. So they subscribe to a major media provider who will give them top and bottom of the hour news, important news breaks, or they’ll work a partnership deal with the local TV channels to get the weather and news information. When you deal with a major news outlet, you’re going to get there spin on a news story and again it’s not going to be local. When you work a deal with a TV station that’s in your market, you might get a local news story here in there, but chances are if you’re like in our neck of the woods in Southeast Oklahoma, you’re going to get a lot of news about Northwest Arkansas that really is not relevant to your geographic location.

     So again you’re stuck trying to find out the news for your area. Yes, granted you could possibly work a deal with a local reporter or two or your local newspaper if you have one, but a lot of them don’t have time to go on the air. And what do you do if they have a point of view that’s different than yours or what you want to project out from the local radio station? There’s a lot of things you got to put in perspective and if you really want to share accurate information, you really have to go to the source and it really gets tough if you’re already stuck at one location, you can’t leave, and there’s nobody else to help you. The reason why I’m telling you all this is because I want you to understand the chain of information and how it works. Or how misinformation can easily be produced on a local level. If you get it wrong, you could cause a mass panic or worse. And if you get it right, then maybe half of the people paying attention will really care. That is nothing against the listeners or anyone else that don’t pay attention to current events, but those who rely on their local media for updates on current events or rely on a source for current events and information, they have to live up to a standard or the bar that was raised for them to hurdle so that way they can continue that relationship with their listeners.

     The same could be said about television, but unfortunately in my experience, there’s so much more wrong with television when it comes to miss information and persuasion then there is a radio. In television, you’ve got audio and visual signals or subliminal messaging. And that can cause some confusion. Have you watched the Super Bowl halftime show in the past 10 years? Have you watched the news on the mainstream media or have you watched most ballgames in the past eight or nine months? You see a lot of messaging there in basketball, baseball, football even with all the kneeling. Yeah, you don’t see or hear that as much in radio unless someone actually mentions it. They, granted what you don’t mention could be just as harmful as what you do mention, but that’s where the personality has to make that decision and bare all cost should he or she do it wrong. You have to remove the agenda and just report the facts so the person listening, or watching if it’s television, can decide for themselves. Those are the days that we, as a society, so desperately hurt for. In my opinion, we need to go back to those days to where we just report the facts and forget about the opinion people. If the opinion supports or has the support of all the facts, then okay I suppose you could roll with that. But when you have more opinion than facts, that is not a good thing. That results in what you have in places like CNN, MSNBC, Fox News, CNBC, all these major news places including ABC, NBC, CBS too.