James Hirsen
Tuesday, Dec. 11, 2001

Three months after the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, prime-time television is pushing a one-sided agenda, according to the New York Daily News.

Earlier this week, ABC's "NYPD Blue” had a story line that dealt with an illegally detained Arab-American.

Sunday's episode of the ABC drama "The Practice” revolved around a woman’s efforts to find out why her husband, an Arab, was being detained by federal agents.

On Wednesday, the plot of CBS's "The Guardian” focused on vandalism of a restaurant owned by an Arab-American.

In CBS's Richard Dreyfuss vehicle, "The Education of Max Bickford,” a student decided to do community service in Pakistan.

One would think that the only lessons to be learned from Sept. 11 are that "hate crimes” really, really hurt people and racial profiling is a bad, bad thing.

At least CBS's "The District” featured an episode where beat cops were heroes.

What a novel idea.

Enviros Target Naked Chef's Can

"The Naked Chef," a cable show that airs on the Food Network, is taking heat from environmentalists, reports Ananova. In the show, 20-something British sensation Jamie Oliver uses the theme of "stripping down recipes to their bare essentials.” Environmentalists are criticizing Oliver for his seemingly cavalier attitude toward fruit peelings. He throws them into the trash can.

A British group, Joint Waste Management Strategy, sees Oliver as a serious threat to the environment.

A spokeswoman for the group, Maggie Kutasi, says: "We were so horrified, we've written to him about it. If we don't change our habits, there could be some real environmental impacts in the future.”

The Left Coast Report speculates that the next charge against Oliver may come from disappointed viewers who expect him to live up to the program’s name.

America's Sweetheart to Shed Image Apparently, Julia Roberts is poised to live up to the title of her upcoming flick.

Roberts will star in a sequel to "sex, lies & videotape.” The new film, originally called "How to Survive a Hotel Room Fire,” underwent a name change after Sept. 11. Now, supposedly, it will be called "Full Frontal.”

According to reports, America’s sweetheart is ready to do something she has always shied away from in the past. She’s going to do the "Full Monty” thing.

The Left Coast Report thinks Julia may be receiving career counseling from Demi Moore.

Challenging Erin Brockovich

Reuters reports that Erin Brockovich, whose life script was made famous by Julia Roberts, is going to have her own prime-time special.

The show will be called "Challenge America with Erin Brockovich: The Miracle in Manhattan,” and is set to air on ABC.

It was Brockovich’s legal battle against Pacific Gas & Electric that became the plot for the movie that bore her name.

In the special, outgoing New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani will give Brockovich an as-of-yet unspecified "seemingly impossible task ... to accomplish in only a week's time.”

The Left Coast Report has a "seemingly impossible task” of its own to suggest to Brockovich: Get trial lawyers to quit obstructing tort reform.

Beamer Inspires Neil Young

After reading a newspaper article about Flight 93’s lead hero, Todd Beamer, legendary rock artist Neil Young coined a tribute song. It’s called "Let's Roll.”

Young was inspired by the Sept. 11 story about passengers who decided to fight back against hijackers of United Airlines Flight 93, according to Reuters. As was heard through an on-board telephone, Beamer was the stand-in commander who gave fellow passengers the order: "Let's Roll.” Flight 93 crashed shortly thereafter.

The sure-to-be hit song will appear on Young's next album, which is due out in early 2002.

Globalist Strolls Down Sesame Street

U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan appeared on "Sesame Street” last week. The Nobel Peace Prize winner attempted to instruct Elmo and friends in the art of diplomacy.

It seems the puppets were arguing about who would get to sing the alphabet song when Annan came up with his suggestion: Why not sing the song together?

The secretary-general said that he agreed to make the appearance on the show because "it is wonderful to be able to reach the young to try to give them the spirit of the United Nations.”

The Left Coast Report notes that the spirit of the U.N. appears to be useful for some puppets, but when it comes to our children, the spirit of the U.S. is what they need.

Bill Maher Gets a Political Correction White House adviser Mark McKinnon offered a semi-apology to Bill Maher during a panel discussion about post-Sept. 11 Hollywood. Maher has taken flack for his "Politically Incorrect” comments regarding the Sept. 11 attacks.

White House Press Secretary Ari Fleischer piled on a day later by stating that Americans "need to watch what they say.”

McKinnon, a Bush media consultant, called Fleischer's comments "pretty Big Brother-ish.”

The Left Coast Report agrees with McKinnon and thinks it unwise for the White House to discourage the free exchange of ideas.

Wahlberg Goes Ape

Leonard Taylor, former bodyguard of Marky Mark Wahlberg, has filed a $2 million civil suit against the actor.

The lawsuit claims that, outside a lower Manhattan restaurant, Wahlberg punched the bodyguard in the face and bit him on the arm.

Taylor is seeking $1 million in damages to pay for hospital bills and another million in punitive damages. The Left Coast Report is surprised that Taylor didn’t ask for additional damages for having been forced to watch the premiere of Tim Burton's version of "Planet of the Apes.”

The Left Coast Report is put together by James L. Hirsen and the staff of NewsMax.

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