The fact that the nation is bitterly embroiled in a "culture war" was declared over a decade ago at the 1992 Republican Convention by Pat Buchanan, even though millions of Americans had already been aware of it for years. But, apparently, the news is just now reaching the buffoons at the Los Angeles Times. Unfortunately, boobs like Tim Rutten still don't get it.

        In one of the dumbest pieces he's written (and that's saying a lot, considering his witless body of work), Tim Rutten, in his brainless "Regarding Media" column (Sat. 12/18/04: "Yule tidings of a culture war"), tried to deflect the notion that modern secularism in America is hell-bent (pardon the pun) on destroying Christianity in this country. Rutten began his column by citing a new study by the Parents Television Council which concluded that television shows have little respect for religion (surprise!). But rather than face the sobering truth about how things really are (which includes the fact that he doesn't know what he's talking about), Rutten ignored the findings and aimed his driveling spiel in a different direction. Instead, he launched lame ad-hominems against Brent Bozell (of PTC), William Donohue (Catholic League), and Bill O'Reilly (TV host, author) by shamelessly implying that they each fit the mold of a "Jew-baiting bully boy." He then huffed about the United States, "You can hardly spit without hitting one or another God-bothering pol invoking divine blessings." Ugh.

        Rutten's strategy: If you can't attack the message, attack the messenger.

        And amidst Rutten's senseless rant, he went wild on his "facts":

1. Bill O'Reilly finds "little traction in our public square" ... "Little traction" ?!? This is laughable. Like him or not, O'Reilly has the #1 show in all of cable news ... by far. He frequently scores an audience four to six times larger than Chris Matthews on MSNBC. O'Reilly is also the author of three #1 New York Times bestsellers. That's hardly "little traction." Meanwhile, Rutten has his silly newspaper column, and this is the only book that TheMediaReport.com has found with his name on it: a dim memoir with Johnnie Cochran about the lawyer's O.J. Simpson escapade.

2. "Hollywood, by and large, has no respect for women ... minorities ... or anything else, except ratings" ... Puh-leeze. Where does one even begin to refute this? In the interest of time and space, allow me to use just one name to respond: Oprah Winfrey. Any questions?

3. "[M]illions of Americans go to church on Sunday morning and watch 'The Sopranos' on Sunday night." ... This loony remark nicely illustrates how out-of-touch Rutten really is. Rutten would like to think that church and a dizzy TV show have an equal cultural and societal impact. The truth? It is estimated that well over 100 million Americans attend church on Sunday. Meanwhile, The Sopranos finished last season with an average weekly viewership of 9.8 Americans. And, judging by the fact that HBO (the Sopranos' network) is most popular in secularist strongholds like New York City and Los Angeles, it's a good guess that most of those viewers are not among those who regularly attend religious services.

 

TheMediaReport.com says ... "Los Angeles Times: We have a problem ... with writing a story."