Is the media as delusional as Charlie Sheen?

"What's going on in the head of Charlie Sheen?" That was the question leading off the ABC interview of Sheen on 20/20 Tuesday night, but Sheen was allowed to ramble on incoherently for the next hour without the question ever being answered.

One thing is clear. Sheen is coming mentally unhinged in a very public forum.

Originally the story was an actual news item. CBS had canceled filming on Sheen's sitcom Two and a Half Men for the rest of the season. Then the story began to focus on Sheen's odd behavior. Every major news network, including politically-oriented networks like MSNBC and Fox News, have taken the story and run with it, even as it has turned into something less like a news item and more like a desperate scramble for ratings at the expense of Sheen's mental health.

Celebrity addiction expert Drew Pinsky told TMZ: "It's no joke. He's getting manic. These are bipolar, manic symptoms."

Many medical professionals agree with Pinsky that Sheen is exhibiting bipolar symptoms, although they caution against diagnosing him based on media sound bites.

Whether bipolar disorder is the cause of Sheen's erratic and grandiose behavior, or whether it is caused by drug intoxication or even withdrawal, the question is no longer: "What's going on in the head of Charlie Sheen". It's "What's going on in the heads of TV news executives who report Sheen's manic rantings as news?"

Unlike other celebrities who have suffered similar meltdowns such as Britney Spears and Lindsay Lohan, no one in Sheen's inner circle is able to reign him in. So he's out there, rambling incoherently, and the news reporters are hanging on every word, laughing at every "joke", as if Sheen is actually making any sense.

The media can be excused for wanting to jump on the ratings bandwagon, but it is clear that Sheen is delusional, and the real question is: "When someone is coming mentally unhinged and in serious need of medical attention, how can it be ethical to enable him by encouraging his delusional behavior?"

What may be amusement for TV viewers is serious business. Unless someone steps in and helps Sheen, the only way this story ends is in complete destruction.

Political rhetoric blamed for Arizona shooting

The news spread quickly. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords was fighting for her life after a deranged gunman went on a rampage in a scene that is becoming all too familiar in this age of mass shootings and homegrown terrorists. The shooting in Arizona left six people dead, including a federal judge and a nine-year-old girl.

The Virginia Tech shooting in 2007 sparked intense debate about gun violence, gun laws, the system of treating mental illness, and the media's coverage of these types of tragedies. Since the shootings by a Virginia Tech English major, hundreds of people have been injured or killed in similar events. The media has been blamed for inciting copy-cat incidents, played out by people with mental problems and a paranoid hatred of government policies.

Not long after the Arizona massacre, news stations were playing an interview with Giffords from last march urging Republicans, especially Tea Party members, and specifically Sarah Palin, to cool the rhetoric. Palin had posted on her Facebook page showing her congressional district in the crosshairs of a gun.

The gunman's motive is not yet known, but in Arizona's Pima County, Sheriff Clarence Dupnik suggested "all this vitriol" in recent politics might be connected to the shootings. "This may be free speech," he said at a news conference, "but it's not without consequences."

The debate has spread at a speed unprecedented even in the age of the Internet, with liberal bloggers and social media commentators blaming the attack on Palin and the violent imagery evoked by some Tea Party candidates and other conservatives during the recent midterm elections.

In a Facebook posting, Palin did not address the past language she has used but offered her condolences to the shooting victims. It was widely reported in blogs and in the media that Palin has taken down the crosshairs map from her web page.

The attack on Giffords comes after what has been a particularly ugly season in American politics, especially when it comes to last year's passage of the health care reform bill. Last March, the glass door of Giffords' Congressional office in Tucson was smashed in the middle of the night.

"Community leaders, figures in our community need to say 'look, we can’t stand for this'", she told Chuck Todd on MSNBC a few days later. "This is a situation where the rhetoric is firing people up and, you know, for example, we’re on Sarah Palin’s targeted list. But the thing is that the way that she has it depicted has the crosshairs of a gun sight over our district. And when people do that, they’ve got to realize there’s consequences to that action."

"But in fairness, campaign rhetoric and war rhetoric have been interchangeable for years," Todd said, and then asked, "And so, is there a line here? I understand that in the moment it may look bad, but do you really think that’s what she intended?"

Giffords' response: "You know, I can’t say, I’m not Sarah Palin. But I can say that in the years that some of my colleagues have served - 20, 30 years - they’ve never seen it like this."

Giffords brushed off Todd’s idiotic comments that campaign rhetoric has borrowed from war rhetoric over the years, noting that it’s much worse now than it ever has been.

Thomas Hollihan, a USC professor of political rhetoric, said people like the Arizona shooter "get affected by a kind of toxic political culture that makes them angry and paranoid that their government is being taken away." But he warned against coming to any conclusions. "People who commit crimes like this are often just unhinged," he said.

The information slowly coming out about the alleged shooter, 22-year-old high school dropout Jared L. Loughner, did not suggest he had any clear political motivation. Although he complained in online diatribes about terrorism and "mind control", what drove him to violence has not been established.

"We don't yet know what provoked this unspeakable act," President Obama said from the White House. "But we're going to get to the bottom of this."

While we still have no clear explanation of the shooter's motive, and we may never know (so far he's invoked his right to counsel), Saturday's shooting set off an eruption of anger, much of it by bloggers, but also on Web sites like Twitter and Facebook. If you spend any time online, the Tea Party seems to be the number one instigator, getting most of the blame, followed closely by Arizona's permissive gun laws and conservative media pundits such as Glenn Beck.

When asked by The New York Post if his daughter had any enemies, Giffords' father responded: "Yeah, the whole Tea Party."

In this age of the Internet, when figuring out who is responsible for the political rhetoric that set this tragedy into motion, it doesn't take long to see who the clear winner is. It's Sarah Palin.

Letterman Appologizes To Palin - Sort Of

David Letterman offered something resembling an apology for jokes he made earlier this week about Sarah Palin and one of her teenage daughters. The "Late Show" host made his statements on his show, letting the controversy add to his current ratings boost. Letterman joked on Monday's show that Palin's daughter "was knocked up by Alex Rodriguez." The joke appeared to be referring to Palin's 18-year-old daughter Bristol. In his apology, Letterman said he was referring to Bristol, not her 14-year-old sister Willow, who had been at the Yankees game. Indeed, Bristol Palin has been the subject of countless jokes by comedians who have referred to her status as a single mother who has paradoxically come out in the media as a spokesperson for safe sex. So, while Letterman denied that he would ever make a joke about sex with a 14-year-old girl, he seemed to be saying that jokes about an 18-year-old are OK. Letterman acknowledged he was guilty of poor taste, but interspersed jokes along with his apology. Responding to Sarah Palin's comments that charged Letterman with "sexually perverted comments made by a 62-year-old male celebrity," Letterman deadpanned "I am not a celebrity. I'm 62 years old, but I'm not a celebrity." In addition to his near-apology, Letterman invited Palin to be a guest on his show. "Governor Palin, if you're watching, I would like you to consider coming to New York City - you and Todd as my guests - or leave Todd at home," he said, tossing in a little humor with his apology. Sarah Palin's spokesperson Meghan Stapleton said: "The Palins have no intention of providing a ratings boost for David Letterman by appearing on his show. Plus, it would be wise to keep Willow away from David Letterman." Now that's a pretty funny response right there, keeping up with the comedy theme. On his MSNBC show yesterday, Keith Olbermann, who also happens to be a David Letterman fan and has appeared as a guest on his show, weighed in. "In political humor, does anything go?" he asked. "Are John McCain age jokes OK, but "Barack the Magic Negro" songs not?" He referred to sexual jokes going back to when Clinton was president. "Is the outside of the envelope the nightly, endlessly sexual jokes?" Wanda Sykes got flack for her jokes at the White House Correspondent's Dinner in May. About Rush Limbaugh, she joked: "You want Obama to fail? I hope your kidneys fail." She went on to skewer both Republicans and Democrats alike, but the Republicans were the ones complaining, and Sykes was the lucky recipient of their scorn. She has signed with Fox to host her own talk show. It's fair to say that comedians have a little more latitude in being able to bring up controversial subjects by nature of their job description. But this is an age where gender specific remarks and racial slurs are dangerous territory, even for comedians. We are protected by the First Amendment, but David Letterman works for a major corporation, CBS, and he has to follow their rules. You'd think they would intervene. For example, Radio Host Don Imus was fired a few years ago for using a racial slur on the air. Evidently, with Letterman's ratings on the rise, CBS is happy with the controversy. And Craig Crawford, an MSNBC analyst, said on Keith Olbermann's show that he doubted that Sarah Palin was really offended by Letterman's remarks. "I mean, I think she was probably secretly thrilled to be in the 'Top 10' of Letterman," Crawford said. "She has definitely sought political advantage here." If you ask me, it's a win-win situation for Palin and Letterman. Letterman's ratings are up, and Sarah Palin is back in the news, which is where she wants to be.

TV Viewers Jump To Cable

Television viewers are changing their viewing habits in light of the strange behavior of top executives at the major networks. Budgets are being cut on scripted shows because of the struggling economy. Reality shows such as "American Idol" and "Dancing With the Stars" continue to do well, although "Idol's" ratings are slightly down. There will be more reality shows to come, because in this economy, the cheaper the better. But what about the long-term. The end of network TV as we know it ends in September, when Jay Leno moves to 10 pm five nights a week. Compared to scripted shows, Leno's hour will be extremely cheap to produce, but it will come at a cost. More viewers, especially the 18-to-49-year-olds coveted by advertisers, are flocking to cable, and the 59-year-old Leno won't be able to keep more of them from flipping channels. Cable television, led by networks such as HBO and Showtime, has been giving viewers an option for a while now. But it's the emergence of basic cable channels such as AMC, FX, and TNT, that are changing viewers habits. Talented writers, who are losing their jobs at the major networks, are ending up working on critically acclaimed shows such as AMC's "Mad Men," TNT's "The Closer", and numerous other shows requiring a script instead of a host. Even though we all like Ryan Seacrest, Howie Mandel, and Regis Philbin, we don't need to have them hosting multiple shows which neither challenge the intellect nor add anything original to the television landscape. The network executives are challenged by the economy, but they are either not interested, or are being forced by higher-ups, not to look toward the future. For the viewer, the future of TV couldn't be better. The choices are many. For the major networks - ABC, NBC, CBS, and Fox - the future is now. By September, when the new "Jay Leno Show" premieres in prime-time, the audience will already be mostly made up of 50-to-80-year-old non-college-educated former auto-workers and their pets. So while your dog is watching Jay Leno at 10 pm, be sure to DVR the latest episode of "Dexter" on Showtime.

63% Of Americans Cutting Back On Entertainment!

Because of the uncertainty in the economy, Americans have drastically cut back on entertainment. A Time magazine poll puts the number at 63% who are spending less on things such as dining out and going to movies and sporting events. Gun sales are up. Liquor sales are up. People are staying home and getting drunk while watching television and protecting their property from the newly unemployed who have turned to crime. Even with other options such as video games and the internet, people are watching television in record numbers. The major TV networks are cutting back on scripted shows in favor of cheaper reality programming. It makes me want to shoot my TV. Luckily there's cable, and that's where the viewers are going. With quality movies, TV shows, and the incredibly popular news outlets CNN and MSNBC, cable TV is the future of home entertainment. I've set my DVR for tonight's 8 p.m. showing of Disney's "Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen". Right now I'm getting drunk and watching Keith Olbermann.