All along, I thought Fox “News” truly truly believed all the crap it foisted off on viewers. I went so far as to label the network a Republican propaganda outlet. But the truth is coming out. Fox is setting the stage to compete with the Comedy Channel.

The British humor of native Australian and media mogul Rupert Murdoch, reveals itself in the satirical morning news program, Fox and Friends, as well as the slapstick Pink Panther antics of Glenn Beck—the self-confessed rodeo clown. Strangely, though, many viewers have difficulty in distinguishing between comedy and reality. This segment of Fox fans are fairly easy to recognize. In fact, while browsing this past weekend in Barnes and Noble, I alerted the manager that Beck’s latest book was displayed on a top shelf, making it impossible for shoppers in straightjackets to reach.

Incidentally, a Washington Post literary critic caused Beck considerable distress by panning his book, The Overton Window—a hilarious imitation of Ayn Rand, the mother of ‘objectionism.” Look up the term on Google. It has something to do with self-sufficiency and taking responsibility for one’s own life. Curiously, Beck’s reaction to criticism is an example of Atlas failing to shrug (a terrible analogy, but I try).    

http://voices.washingtonpost.com/political-bookworm/2010/06/beck_attacks_post_critic.html

Actually, Glenn’s best-selling novel is a rip-off of a self-published book that died in anonymity several years ago, the potential fate of my “less-selling” memoir. Come on, people. Buy my damn book. Anyway, Beck acknowledged that the writer he ripped-off, making his crime of plagiarism a misdemeanor.

Understanding the comedy of Glenn Beck is easy. You only have to watch him on Fox “News” for five minutes or less. People unable to stand the sight of his moon-face can listen to his radio show for a minute or two.

The wit of the trio in residence on Fox and Friends requires a bit more concentration than the pie-in-the-face frolics of Glenn Beck. Sometimes, though, it is not too subtle. Last week, co-anchor Brian Kilmeade had his audience rolling in the aisles with two dimwitted bits. He wanted to know what BP’s robot was “thinking” when it knocked the cap off of the Gulf oil spill. Kilmeade was also puzzled why it is taking months for President Obama to plug the leak when it only took him hours to fire Afghanistan commanding General Stanley McChrystal.

http://thinkprogress.org/2010/06/25/kilemead-robot-obama/ 

Brian Kilmeade is funny, but the winner in Fox’s dueling comic competition is his faithful morning companion, Gretchen Carlson. The former Miss America last week compared the responsibilities of television anchors with those of the President.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/06/24/gretchen-carlson-compares_n_624093.htmlexposé

Far and away, Ms. Carlson is the most talented of the Fox co-anchors because of her talent for concealing intelligence as a Stanford University honors graduate and accomplished violinist. She could be the re-incarnation of actress Judy Holliday or Grand Old Opry comic personality, Minnie Pearl. They were both college graduates with a talent for playing the roles of clueless characters.

As a footnote, I once shared the opera stage with the 1951 Miss America, Yolande Betbeze Fox (no relation to the network by the same name). Four years before she was crowned, a few members of my grammar school choir were selected by the Mobile, Alabama Opera Company to sing in a La Boheme street scene. Miss Betbeze, then 17 years old, played the role of Musetta. This was no half-assed high school production. Indeed, one of the nation’s leading tenors, David Poleri, was recruited as the opera’s lead character, Rudolfo. Poleri’s career later took a nosedive in a contract dispute with the Chicago Opera Company. He walked out during the a final scene in the performance of Carmen, forcing her to die a natural death.

My experience of participating in La Boheme has given me a lifelong appreciation of opera, although my operatic career ended with in Mobile. Nonetheless, my musical tastes over the years have allowed me to comfortably switch CD’s from a collection that includes The Three Tenors and George Jones Greatest Hits. 

And I’m also pleased to report that my Mobile encounter with Yolande Betbeze taught me to appreciate beauty. Following the first night of rehearsal, I told momma of seeing the most beautiful girl I had ever seen— an assessment affirmed by Miss America judges. Impressed?

Yolande Betbeze took a different path in life than Gretchen Carlson, including a decision that caused chagrin among officials of the Miss America competion. She refused to pose in bathing suits for Catalina, a pageant sponsor. The company moved its sponsorship to Miss USA. Instead of posing for cheesecake, Betbeze launched a brief career in opera before marrying and settling in the nation’s Capitol. 

I’m uncertain how I’ve gone off on a tangent of writing about opera, Miss America contestants and topics unrelated to Fox “News.” But this is a free form blog. Read it on a daily basis and become privy to all sorts of trivia.

But returning to Fox, I keep waiting for the network to file copyright lawsuits against the Comedy Channel. Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert are stealing its best material. I really think it’s a plot to gain publicity prior to a future announcement.

Rupert Murdoch will conduct a news conference to say, “Folks, we’ve been putting you on by posing as a news network. Don’t you get it? Comedy is our shtick.

My memoir, Odyssey of a Derelict Gunslinger, is available at amazon.com and independent bookstores. It offers much more than $19.99 worth of laughs. The book is an account of my illustrious (I choose the adjectives) career.