A Tale of Two Headlines, Abused to Death, or Tragic Accident?

by Chuck Ness

On July 10, at 6:39 ET, the BBC ran a story with a headline that stated, "Pony 'beaten' into Hampshire lake dies".I am sure millions around the world had the same reaction as I did when I first read the accounts as reported by the BBC. We really do owe a debt of gratitude to the nameless reporter who informed us of this heinous act. Well, that is what many must have thought as they read the story first thing Monday Morning before they headed off to work. Then again, what if the reporter was telling a tale that was wrong? What if the "facts" reported to the world early Monday morning are totally different from what actually happened?

Well the truth of the matter is actually 180 degrees opposed to what the nameless reporter stated in his story. The truth is that I would not even have a story if it were not for the BBC's correcting its nameless reporter's misguided lies. That's right, 27 hours after the BBC allowed a lie to be posted on its news site, the truth came out. That's better than the Daily Mail which still stands by its misleading story. The incident was not an act of animal cruelty as was reported. It was, in fact, a tragic accident that almost took the life of a man who attempted to save the horse from drowning. So 27 hours after the lie was allowed to circle the globe, the BBC ran this story, "Man kicked helping drowning pony in Hampshire".

Redneck Skeet Shooting and a Foxworthy/Jackson Bonus, "Redneck games"

There is a famous comedian that has made a career out of making fun of rednecks. He is so good, that when he is in town performing, rednecks will do go out of their way to share their stories with him. All in the hopes that he will use their real life experiences in his standup routine. Of course I speak of none other than the very talented, Jeff Foxworthy.
Jeff Foxworthy is one of the most respected and successful comedians in the country. Besides holding the record for most sales in comedic recording history, Jeff is also a multiple Grammy Award nominee, a best selling author with more than 26 books in print, and he has conquered television, and the big screen. Jeff's humor involves everyday family interactions and human nature, a rare combination that has made him the modern day equivalent of Mark Twain. Just ask the hundreds of millions of fans around the world, and they will tell you that he is one of the greatest to ever grace a stage.



When I first watched this video, I was unsure just what angle I would take in my introduction. However, the more I watched it, the more I realized I had no choice but to use the Foxwoerthy angle as a segue. So along with the video of the "Rednecks Shooting Skeet", I am also offering you a video by Jeff Foxworthy and Alan Jackson they call, "Redneck Games".  But first, I present to you: