The smiths and joneses, p.24
The Smiths and Joneses, page 24
part #4 of 2015 Second American Civil War Series
Wolf thinks to himself, “There goes President Bloomberg’s plan, I wonder how they're going to fill tonight’s time slot? I need to get a message to the President. How do I do that without alerting Sean?”
The pilot leaves the cockpit to meet with Sean and Wolf, “Gentlemen, I’m sorry to have to inform you that due to the rough air we are going to have to divert to Denver. Two of your people have serious injuries; we should be landing at Denver in one hour. I need to have the ground crew inspect the airplane to ensure we didn’t damage the plane. I’m sorry. However, we won’t meet your broadcast schedule for this evening’s program. If the airplane didn’t sustain any damage, we should be able to leave in two or three hours after landing.” Before the pilot can continue he’s paged to return to the cockpit. Upon entering the cockpit, he notices the red warning light on engine one. “Scotty, what’s going on?”
“Dan, fire in engine one, I’ve declared an emergency to Denver tower, they’ve given us a direct in path and have cleared the runways for us.”
“Have you noticed any other damage?”
“Not yet, we’ve lost airspeed due to the loss of engine one.”
Sitting down and strapping into to his seat the pilot says, “Scotty, I’ve got the plane, instruct the flight attendants to prepare the passengers for a potential crash landing. Denver has informed us they have 25knot cross winds which will make the landing a little interesting.”
“Dan, how bad are the two injured passengers?”
“Not life threatening, however, they need medical attention as soon as possible.”
“Are the network bigwigs OK with us diverting?”
“They don’t have a choice do they?”
“Is this going to have an impact to our contract?”
“No, I discussed the situation with both of them, they understand, they want their staff taken care of. They told me not to worry about the program, they have enough pre-recorded video to carry them for tonight. I think they plan on Sean and Wolf opening the program from one of their Denver stations.”
“As long as they don’t cancel our contract. We’re making great money flying the production crew back and forth across the country.”
“Scotty, make sure everyone is ready, I’m going to start our descent.”
The descent is very bumpy. Overhead compartments open, baggage falls out, a drink cart breaks loose and rolls down the aisle towards the cockpit door. The cart picks up speed as it travels towards front of the airplane. A couple of the production crew try to grab the cart, however, the cart is moving too quickly and is too heavy for the passengers to stop while seated and buckled in. The cart slams into the cockpit door. The shock surprises the pilot and copilot who jerks the controls, pushing the airplane’s nose down speeding up their descent. The speed alarm screams in the cockpit, the airplane is hard to control on a single engine, the pilot finally gains some control, however not enough to make a controlled landing. The airplane slams into the runway breaking the nose landing gear. The airplane makes a sharp right hand turn into the grass bordering the runway. When the airplane finally comes to a complete stop, the flight attendants open the doors, deploying the emergency slides. They start sending the passengers down the slides. Ambulances, fire trucks and other emergency vehicles are racing to reach the plane which has smoke coming out of the second engine. The flight attendants push the passengers to get away from the plane as quickly as possible. Sean slides down to the ground where he is helping the crew get away from the plane, he helps the injured; he uses his sports jacket to make a sling for the crewperson with the broken arm, he helps her walk to safety. Wolf ran from the airplane. He looks around for Sean and sees him helping the crew; he starts toward the broken airplane when a DHS vehicle pulls up telling him to get inside.
Emergency vehicles circle the broken airplane; some are spraying foam into both engines, and others are trying to get the passengers to safety and into ambulances. Armed Denver airport police circle the airplane to keep the media away from it. The airlines send a car to pick up the pilot and copilot for questioning.
In Washington, DC, the presidents of both Wolf and CNN watch the scene from their local reporters, they jointly agree to run prerecorded footage tonight while also showing the airplane crash landing so their millions of viewers understand why the regular programing is delayed. Randolph tells John, “We have two injured crew people, the rest seem to be OK, Sean and Wolf are fine. Some of our equipment is ruined from the crash.”
“Do we know what caused the crash?”
“Yes and no. By that I mean they lost an engine in very rough air. Three of our crew were injured; the pilot decided to divert to Denver, which was having powerful crosswinds that struck the airplane. Since the plane had only a single engine they had issues controlling their descent, they came down hard, hard enough to break the landing gear. The pilot and copilot are giving statements to the FAA and the NTSB, we’ll be forwarded a copy. The NTSB told me, it’s a miracle they didn’t crash and kill everyone. I think we ought to throw our support behind the crew, so the company doesn’t fire or bench them. This is the flight crew I want flying our people.”
“I agree. Let’s place a joint call to their chairman. We can tell him we’ll toss in some discount advertising.”
“I agree.”
@@@@@
At 8:00 PM 256 million families tune into the fourth episode of the Smiths and the Joneses to see Sean and Wolf standing in a different sound stage. Wolf kicks off the program by saying, “Ladies and gentlemen as you can see we’re not at the Smiths this evening. You may have seen the news reports of our airplane crash in Denver today. Frankly, none of us, except for maybe the pilot and copilot, thought we were going to make it. We had a couple injured crew members. The pilot decided they required immediate medical treatment, so he diverted to the closest airport which was Denver International. We’d already lost one engine; on landing the airplane was hit by powerful crosswinds which tossed the airplane around. We came down very hard injuring a few more of our broadcast crew. We broke part of landing gear; the airplane jerked right and went off the runway. All of our people will be fine. Here’s video of our crash and us using the emergency slides to leave the broken airplane. You can see the smoke pouring from the number one engine; you can see the airplane nose down. Here are pictures of the airport fire department spraying foam on the airplane to stop the fire from spreading.”
Sean picks up the discussion, “Since we weren’t able to make it to the Smiths, we decided to use some of our prerecorded video for this episode. We’ll return to our regular program when we next meet with the Smiths again. Our prerecorded video will attempt to show aspects of daily life in the LSA. These videos aren’t complete stories, think of them as brief views into a closed society. We hope these videos open discussions about what’s right and wrong.
“To start off our images, we’re going to start in a typical airport.” The images on the displays surrounding the hosts show the screening lines at the JFK international Airport in New York City. Sean provides the voice over to explain what everyone is seeing. “Here we see people waiting in a line to be screened for air travel, notice they are not allowed to have any carry on baggage except for a small pocketbook, which has to be clear so it can not only be X-rayed, but also easily seen into by everyone. The only electronic equipment allowed to be hand carried onto an airplane are smartphones that are controlled from the cockpit. The LSA has installed jamming devices in their airplanes. The pilot keeps the smart phones unusable until the flight reaches 10,000 feet. No incoming or outgoing calls are allowed to be made during the flight. Internet usage is allowed when the service is purchased from the carrier. The phones can also be used to watch movies and listen to music. When the flight starts descending, while it crosses below 10,000 feet the jamming device turns on forcing all of the phones to be automatically turned off. The only other electronic devices allowed to be used in flight are electronic e-readers that have their wireless ability jammed by the internal flight jamming device mounted in the cockpit. Computers, tablets, recording devices and cameras are all forbidden. Any banned devices found being used are confiscated by the flight crew. All such confiscated devices are not returned; the passenger who was caught using them are also fined $350.00 which has to be paid before the passenger can leave the terminal.
“Outside food is not allowed on flights that originate in the LSA. The reason behind this rule is, passenger carried on food might offend other passengers. For example, a passenger might bring a ham or bacon sandwich on board that would offend any Muslims on the flight. This follows the LSA policy of everyone is equal and not offending anyone. By the same token, no alcoholic beverages are served on LSA flights because alcohol might offend certain passengers, the abuse of alcohol might lead some passengers into becoming unruly and a potential risk to other passengers. Of course, smoking is forbidden as it is across the entire LSA. One unusual aspect of flying on an LSA charter air flight is the use of marijuana is allowed as long as the smoking light has been turned on by the pilot. If the pilot allows the use of marijuana on the flight, he or the copilot must be in an oxygen mask which supplies pure oxygen to the flight crew.
“Anyone not following the instructions from a flight attendant is usually removed from the flight and made to pay the cost for the flight to divert to another airport. Once a couple of flights were diverted due to unruly passengers who then were invoiced $25,000 for the airline’s additional costs, and they found they couldn’t fly to their destination because their names had been added to the no-fly list. These events were well publicized which shook up the flying public. No one wants to be fined and put on the no-fly list because within the LSA there’s no appeal to get off the list. Once on it, you’re banned from flying forever. The same procedures are also applied to subways and trains. The LSA TSA provides screening security for all of the country’s mass transit.”
Wolf interjects, “I know that some of these rules seem harsh. However, we’ve never had a hijacking or a terrorist use our mass transit system to attack us. We stop them before they can gain access to our airplanes, subways and trains. We take the security of our people and especially our children, very seriously. Our transit rules may seem a little harsh, but seen in the big picture, you’ll agree the best defense is a strong offense. We look at security as being on the offense against terror. We will not rest as long as there are threats against our children. Can the USA say the same?
“Let’s look at travel in the USA. The TSA has been disbanded. Airlines and airports are responsible for providing screening that meets the standards that were accepted by the airlines and the Department of Justice. Airlines are allowed to set their own rules on what is acceptable for carry-on baggage; some airlines allow one bag, some up to three bags. Most types of electronic equipment are allowed on USA flights. Outside food is allowed, as is alcohol. Think about the potential insults to others who see passengers eating or drinking what some consider to be forbidden foods. These poor people will have been insulted because the passenger bringing on the food didn’t spend a minute considering the feelings of the other passengers. Most people in the USA don’t spend the time considering how their actions make others feel. This proves that in the USA people aren’t equal. Some are of a higher caste than others.
“You in the USA preach about the founding fathers who established a country that welcomed everyone. A country where everyone was equal, where there was freedom of religion, where people had the right to be armed, where slavery was outlawed, yet the government made slaves out of its people. The founding father’s dream turned into a nightmare for most people in America. Slavery tore the country apart, even after 160 years after President Lincoln freed the slaves. Most African Americans don’t share the same opportunities as whites; many opportunities aren’t even available to blacks. Racial tension runs very high in the USA. While in the LSA, we’ve broken the racial barrier by treating everyone equally. We’ve achieved in twelve years, what the USA hasn’t in over 260 years. Ask yourself which country is more advanced?”
Sean picks up on Wolf’s discussion, “Please do ask yourself which country is more advanced. The one that spies on you 24/7 and controls every aspect of your life, the one which has outlawed God and any expression of religion, the country where boys and girls use common rest and shower rooms? Like sports? Then which country allows sporting events to play until there is a winner? The country where you can’t bring your own sandwich onto an airplane? Yes, please do ask yourself in which country you’re free.”
Sean stands, shifting the images in the large display, “Let’s look at some other aspects of life in the LSA; the display shows street lamps with cameras under them recording everything in their sight. Lines of people waiting to purchase common items. Neighborhood watch groups that record unacceptable differences in house design, length of grass and even flowers which aren’t approved. Cars aren’t allowed to be parked on the street. Children aren’t allowed to bring homemade food to lunch, and most of all, parents don’t have the final say on how their children are raised. Let’s look at images of how children go to school, all wearing uniforms, all marching, all saluting President Bloomberg, doesn’t this remind you of Germany in the mid 1930’s? Notice the children wearing armbands and small rank tabs on their collars. Is the LSA raising children or a paramilitary group? When the LSA claims they don’t have a military is it because they’re molding a new military, their children?”
Sean shows images of the streets of Portland, Oregon, most of the cars look the same; he shows videos of parts of Portland experiencing brown and blackouts. Videos of the lights dimming and going out for hours at a time in different sections of the city, large square blocks go black. Videos of rolling blackouts in New York City and Boston are shown. “The LSA has closed all of their coal-fired power plants; they have closed all of their nuclear power plants; they haven’t issued permits to build a single new power plant in twelve years. The LSA is running out of electrical power in the name of global warming and reducing pollution. While President Bloomberg claims he’s saving the planet, the average temperature of the planet hasn’t risen in more than twenty years so why is he bringing harm to his own people? It’s all so the LSA government can have more control over their lives.”
Wolf shows images of race and class riots in the USA saying, “Is this freedom? Is this the equality the founding fathers envisioned?”
Sean jumps up saying, “Wait a minute, these videos are all over twelve years old; they are images of riots that the progressive government launched. Obsma’s DHS was behind these riots. This isn’t a fair view of what’s going on inside the USA today. I’d like everyone to notice that when the progressives can’t win with facts, they bend the rules and make up the facts to suit their position.”
Sean and Wolf try to outdo each other by flashing images of the other’s country. The images flash quicker and quicker; everyone watching is getting dizzy and confused when a voice cuts through the confusion. “Ladies and gentlemen, this isn’t a contest, this isn’t a sporting event nor is it a campaign to vote on who’s right and who’s wrong. The purpose of this program was to show the significant differences, not for our two beloved hosts to become the program. One of the events that harmed the country was when the reporters tasked with reporting the news decided they could create or be the news, this is what’s happening right now in front of all of us.” President Brownstone’s image fills the screen. He appears to look down on Sean and Wolf, saying, “I’m ashamed of both of you. You're both acting like children. I, and the 250 million viewers, expect more from the two of you. We expect you to have a limited debate, but not to try to take over the show. Everyone knows that each of you will do whatever you have to in order to defend your country. However, we expect you to present the facts in an analytical manner. I’d like to suggest we return to the core of the program and show some of the images recorded from each family.”
Both Sean and Wolf look at the President’s image on the screen, both hang their heads in shame; they’ve been caught with their hands in the cookie jar. President Brownstone treated them as he would a spoiled three-year-old; it worked; he broke their rapid back and forth and tit for tat. He got control of the program and returned it to the production goals of the program.
President Brownstone looked at both of the hosts, “Let’s review what we know, we know that the education system is different, we know that the word freedom means different things on each side of the divide. We know that the equality is different on each side of the divide. We know that parents love their children, they care about their children’s future; on one side the state has a much larger say in that future than on the other side of the divide. On one side of the divide, electrical power is in limited supply while on the other it’s in abundance. On one side, oil and gas are plentiful while on the other it’s in short supply. Both countries offer their citizens medical coverage; both countries are trying to improve the lives of their citizens, the key question to be asked is who should determine that future – the individual or the state? Let’s continue tomorrow with what was planned for tonight’s episode with the Smiths.”
Sean and Wolf nod in agreement; the screen fades to a commercial. The hosts turn off their on air microphones; President Brownstone looks down at the two of them saying, “I’m disgusted with both of you. You were acting like spoiled three-year olds. Shame on both of you. You’re not advancing your cause; you’re turning off both sides. I want you to clam down and get your shit together. Am I clear?”
Both Sean and Wolf nod yes.
“I can’t hear you.”
Both respond with, “YES, President Brownstone, we hear you and agree.”
“Good, now let’s discuss how we’re going to recover from the damage you did tonight.”
@@@@@
“Brad, I thought they were going to come to blows right on the screen. It’s a good thing President Brownstone stepped in and separated them.”
The pilot leaves the cockpit to meet with Sean and Wolf, “Gentlemen, I’m sorry to have to inform you that due to the rough air we are going to have to divert to Denver. Two of your people have serious injuries; we should be landing at Denver in one hour. I need to have the ground crew inspect the airplane to ensure we didn’t damage the plane. I’m sorry. However, we won’t meet your broadcast schedule for this evening’s program. If the airplane didn’t sustain any damage, we should be able to leave in two or three hours after landing.” Before the pilot can continue he’s paged to return to the cockpit. Upon entering the cockpit, he notices the red warning light on engine one. “Scotty, what’s going on?”
“Dan, fire in engine one, I’ve declared an emergency to Denver tower, they’ve given us a direct in path and have cleared the runways for us.”
“Have you noticed any other damage?”
“Not yet, we’ve lost airspeed due to the loss of engine one.”
Sitting down and strapping into to his seat the pilot says, “Scotty, I’ve got the plane, instruct the flight attendants to prepare the passengers for a potential crash landing. Denver has informed us they have 25knot cross winds which will make the landing a little interesting.”
“Dan, how bad are the two injured passengers?”
“Not life threatening, however, they need medical attention as soon as possible.”
“Are the network bigwigs OK with us diverting?”
“They don’t have a choice do they?”
“Is this going to have an impact to our contract?”
“No, I discussed the situation with both of them, they understand, they want their staff taken care of. They told me not to worry about the program, they have enough pre-recorded video to carry them for tonight. I think they plan on Sean and Wolf opening the program from one of their Denver stations.”
“As long as they don’t cancel our contract. We’re making great money flying the production crew back and forth across the country.”
“Scotty, make sure everyone is ready, I’m going to start our descent.”
The descent is very bumpy. Overhead compartments open, baggage falls out, a drink cart breaks loose and rolls down the aisle towards the cockpit door. The cart picks up speed as it travels towards front of the airplane. A couple of the production crew try to grab the cart, however, the cart is moving too quickly and is too heavy for the passengers to stop while seated and buckled in. The cart slams into the cockpit door. The shock surprises the pilot and copilot who jerks the controls, pushing the airplane’s nose down speeding up their descent. The speed alarm screams in the cockpit, the airplane is hard to control on a single engine, the pilot finally gains some control, however not enough to make a controlled landing. The airplane slams into the runway breaking the nose landing gear. The airplane makes a sharp right hand turn into the grass bordering the runway. When the airplane finally comes to a complete stop, the flight attendants open the doors, deploying the emergency slides. They start sending the passengers down the slides. Ambulances, fire trucks and other emergency vehicles are racing to reach the plane which has smoke coming out of the second engine. The flight attendants push the passengers to get away from the plane as quickly as possible. Sean slides down to the ground where he is helping the crew get away from the plane, he helps the injured; he uses his sports jacket to make a sling for the crewperson with the broken arm, he helps her walk to safety. Wolf ran from the airplane. He looks around for Sean and sees him helping the crew; he starts toward the broken airplane when a DHS vehicle pulls up telling him to get inside.
Emergency vehicles circle the broken airplane; some are spraying foam into both engines, and others are trying to get the passengers to safety and into ambulances. Armed Denver airport police circle the airplane to keep the media away from it. The airlines send a car to pick up the pilot and copilot for questioning.
In Washington, DC, the presidents of both Wolf and CNN watch the scene from their local reporters, they jointly agree to run prerecorded footage tonight while also showing the airplane crash landing so their millions of viewers understand why the regular programing is delayed. Randolph tells John, “We have two injured crew people, the rest seem to be OK, Sean and Wolf are fine. Some of our equipment is ruined from the crash.”
“Do we know what caused the crash?”
“Yes and no. By that I mean they lost an engine in very rough air. Three of our crew were injured; the pilot decided to divert to Denver, which was having powerful crosswinds that struck the airplane. Since the plane had only a single engine they had issues controlling their descent, they came down hard, hard enough to break the landing gear. The pilot and copilot are giving statements to the FAA and the NTSB, we’ll be forwarded a copy. The NTSB told me, it’s a miracle they didn’t crash and kill everyone. I think we ought to throw our support behind the crew, so the company doesn’t fire or bench them. This is the flight crew I want flying our people.”
“I agree. Let’s place a joint call to their chairman. We can tell him we’ll toss in some discount advertising.”
“I agree.”
@@@@@
At 8:00 PM 256 million families tune into the fourth episode of the Smiths and the Joneses to see Sean and Wolf standing in a different sound stage. Wolf kicks off the program by saying, “Ladies and gentlemen as you can see we’re not at the Smiths this evening. You may have seen the news reports of our airplane crash in Denver today. Frankly, none of us, except for maybe the pilot and copilot, thought we were going to make it. We had a couple injured crew members. The pilot decided they required immediate medical treatment, so he diverted to the closest airport which was Denver International. We’d already lost one engine; on landing the airplane was hit by powerful crosswinds which tossed the airplane around. We came down very hard injuring a few more of our broadcast crew. We broke part of landing gear; the airplane jerked right and went off the runway. All of our people will be fine. Here’s video of our crash and us using the emergency slides to leave the broken airplane. You can see the smoke pouring from the number one engine; you can see the airplane nose down. Here are pictures of the airport fire department spraying foam on the airplane to stop the fire from spreading.”
Sean picks up the discussion, “Since we weren’t able to make it to the Smiths, we decided to use some of our prerecorded video for this episode. We’ll return to our regular program when we next meet with the Smiths again. Our prerecorded video will attempt to show aspects of daily life in the LSA. These videos aren’t complete stories, think of them as brief views into a closed society. We hope these videos open discussions about what’s right and wrong.
“To start off our images, we’re going to start in a typical airport.” The images on the displays surrounding the hosts show the screening lines at the JFK international Airport in New York City. Sean provides the voice over to explain what everyone is seeing. “Here we see people waiting in a line to be screened for air travel, notice they are not allowed to have any carry on baggage except for a small pocketbook, which has to be clear so it can not only be X-rayed, but also easily seen into by everyone. The only electronic equipment allowed to be hand carried onto an airplane are smartphones that are controlled from the cockpit. The LSA has installed jamming devices in their airplanes. The pilot keeps the smart phones unusable until the flight reaches 10,000 feet. No incoming or outgoing calls are allowed to be made during the flight. Internet usage is allowed when the service is purchased from the carrier. The phones can also be used to watch movies and listen to music. When the flight starts descending, while it crosses below 10,000 feet the jamming device turns on forcing all of the phones to be automatically turned off. The only other electronic devices allowed to be used in flight are electronic e-readers that have their wireless ability jammed by the internal flight jamming device mounted in the cockpit. Computers, tablets, recording devices and cameras are all forbidden. Any banned devices found being used are confiscated by the flight crew. All such confiscated devices are not returned; the passenger who was caught using them are also fined $350.00 which has to be paid before the passenger can leave the terminal.
“Outside food is not allowed on flights that originate in the LSA. The reason behind this rule is, passenger carried on food might offend other passengers. For example, a passenger might bring a ham or bacon sandwich on board that would offend any Muslims on the flight. This follows the LSA policy of everyone is equal and not offending anyone. By the same token, no alcoholic beverages are served on LSA flights because alcohol might offend certain passengers, the abuse of alcohol might lead some passengers into becoming unruly and a potential risk to other passengers. Of course, smoking is forbidden as it is across the entire LSA. One unusual aspect of flying on an LSA charter air flight is the use of marijuana is allowed as long as the smoking light has been turned on by the pilot. If the pilot allows the use of marijuana on the flight, he or the copilot must be in an oxygen mask which supplies pure oxygen to the flight crew.
“Anyone not following the instructions from a flight attendant is usually removed from the flight and made to pay the cost for the flight to divert to another airport. Once a couple of flights were diverted due to unruly passengers who then were invoiced $25,000 for the airline’s additional costs, and they found they couldn’t fly to their destination because their names had been added to the no-fly list. These events were well publicized which shook up the flying public. No one wants to be fined and put on the no-fly list because within the LSA there’s no appeal to get off the list. Once on it, you’re banned from flying forever. The same procedures are also applied to subways and trains. The LSA TSA provides screening security for all of the country’s mass transit.”
Wolf interjects, “I know that some of these rules seem harsh. However, we’ve never had a hijacking or a terrorist use our mass transit system to attack us. We stop them before they can gain access to our airplanes, subways and trains. We take the security of our people and especially our children, very seriously. Our transit rules may seem a little harsh, but seen in the big picture, you’ll agree the best defense is a strong offense. We look at security as being on the offense against terror. We will not rest as long as there are threats against our children. Can the USA say the same?
“Let’s look at travel in the USA. The TSA has been disbanded. Airlines and airports are responsible for providing screening that meets the standards that were accepted by the airlines and the Department of Justice. Airlines are allowed to set their own rules on what is acceptable for carry-on baggage; some airlines allow one bag, some up to three bags. Most types of electronic equipment are allowed on USA flights. Outside food is allowed, as is alcohol. Think about the potential insults to others who see passengers eating or drinking what some consider to be forbidden foods. These poor people will have been insulted because the passenger bringing on the food didn’t spend a minute considering the feelings of the other passengers. Most people in the USA don’t spend the time considering how their actions make others feel. This proves that in the USA people aren’t equal. Some are of a higher caste than others.
“You in the USA preach about the founding fathers who established a country that welcomed everyone. A country where everyone was equal, where there was freedom of religion, where people had the right to be armed, where slavery was outlawed, yet the government made slaves out of its people. The founding father’s dream turned into a nightmare for most people in America. Slavery tore the country apart, even after 160 years after President Lincoln freed the slaves. Most African Americans don’t share the same opportunities as whites; many opportunities aren’t even available to blacks. Racial tension runs very high in the USA. While in the LSA, we’ve broken the racial barrier by treating everyone equally. We’ve achieved in twelve years, what the USA hasn’t in over 260 years. Ask yourself which country is more advanced?”
Sean picks up on Wolf’s discussion, “Please do ask yourself which country is more advanced. The one that spies on you 24/7 and controls every aspect of your life, the one which has outlawed God and any expression of religion, the country where boys and girls use common rest and shower rooms? Like sports? Then which country allows sporting events to play until there is a winner? The country where you can’t bring your own sandwich onto an airplane? Yes, please do ask yourself in which country you’re free.”
Sean stands, shifting the images in the large display, “Let’s look at some other aspects of life in the LSA; the display shows street lamps with cameras under them recording everything in their sight. Lines of people waiting to purchase common items. Neighborhood watch groups that record unacceptable differences in house design, length of grass and even flowers which aren’t approved. Cars aren’t allowed to be parked on the street. Children aren’t allowed to bring homemade food to lunch, and most of all, parents don’t have the final say on how their children are raised. Let’s look at images of how children go to school, all wearing uniforms, all marching, all saluting President Bloomberg, doesn’t this remind you of Germany in the mid 1930’s? Notice the children wearing armbands and small rank tabs on their collars. Is the LSA raising children or a paramilitary group? When the LSA claims they don’t have a military is it because they’re molding a new military, their children?”
Sean shows images of the streets of Portland, Oregon, most of the cars look the same; he shows videos of parts of Portland experiencing brown and blackouts. Videos of the lights dimming and going out for hours at a time in different sections of the city, large square blocks go black. Videos of rolling blackouts in New York City and Boston are shown. “The LSA has closed all of their coal-fired power plants; they have closed all of their nuclear power plants; they haven’t issued permits to build a single new power plant in twelve years. The LSA is running out of electrical power in the name of global warming and reducing pollution. While President Bloomberg claims he’s saving the planet, the average temperature of the planet hasn’t risen in more than twenty years so why is he bringing harm to his own people? It’s all so the LSA government can have more control over their lives.”
Wolf shows images of race and class riots in the USA saying, “Is this freedom? Is this the equality the founding fathers envisioned?”
Sean jumps up saying, “Wait a minute, these videos are all over twelve years old; they are images of riots that the progressive government launched. Obsma’s DHS was behind these riots. This isn’t a fair view of what’s going on inside the USA today. I’d like everyone to notice that when the progressives can’t win with facts, they bend the rules and make up the facts to suit their position.”
Sean and Wolf try to outdo each other by flashing images of the other’s country. The images flash quicker and quicker; everyone watching is getting dizzy and confused when a voice cuts through the confusion. “Ladies and gentlemen, this isn’t a contest, this isn’t a sporting event nor is it a campaign to vote on who’s right and who’s wrong. The purpose of this program was to show the significant differences, not for our two beloved hosts to become the program. One of the events that harmed the country was when the reporters tasked with reporting the news decided they could create or be the news, this is what’s happening right now in front of all of us.” President Brownstone’s image fills the screen. He appears to look down on Sean and Wolf, saying, “I’m ashamed of both of you. You're both acting like children. I, and the 250 million viewers, expect more from the two of you. We expect you to have a limited debate, but not to try to take over the show. Everyone knows that each of you will do whatever you have to in order to defend your country. However, we expect you to present the facts in an analytical manner. I’d like to suggest we return to the core of the program and show some of the images recorded from each family.”
Both Sean and Wolf look at the President’s image on the screen, both hang their heads in shame; they’ve been caught with their hands in the cookie jar. President Brownstone treated them as he would a spoiled three-year-old; it worked; he broke their rapid back and forth and tit for tat. He got control of the program and returned it to the production goals of the program.
President Brownstone looked at both of the hosts, “Let’s review what we know, we know that the education system is different, we know that the word freedom means different things on each side of the divide. We know that the equality is different on each side of the divide. We know that parents love their children, they care about their children’s future; on one side the state has a much larger say in that future than on the other side of the divide. On one side of the divide, electrical power is in limited supply while on the other it’s in abundance. On one side, oil and gas are plentiful while on the other it’s in short supply. Both countries offer their citizens medical coverage; both countries are trying to improve the lives of their citizens, the key question to be asked is who should determine that future – the individual or the state? Let’s continue tomorrow with what was planned for tonight’s episode with the Smiths.”
Sean and Wolf nod in agreement; the screen fades to a commercial. The hosts turn off their on air microphones; President Brownstone looks down at the two of them saying, “I’m disgusted with both of you. You were acting like spoiled three-year olds. Shame on both of you. You’re not advancing your cause; you’re turning off both sides. I want you to clam down and get your shit together. Am I clear?”
Both Sean and Wolf nod yes.
“I can’t hear you.”
Both respond with, “YES, President Brownstone, we hear you and agree.”
“Good, now let’s discuss how we’re going to recover from the damage you did tonight.”
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“Brad, I thought they were going to come to blows right on the screen. It’s a good thing President Brownstone stepped in and separated them.”
