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Today's cuppa: Green Mountain breakfast blend from the Keurig (alas Tassimo, farewell)

In this social-media world, I'm wondering if tape-delay might have to go the way of eight-track tape and giant-tube TVs, especially for those of us in the Mountain and Pacific time zones (not to mention the folks in Alaska and Hawaii).

Take, for example, ABC's Monday-night competition show for "Dancing With the Stars." (That's Maksim Chmerkovskiy and Melissa Gilbert above.)

Unless I assiduously avert my eyes from Twitter and Facebook starting at 5 p.m. Pacific time, I will start seeing comments and links to stories about the night's dances and cannot avoid some level of spoilage.

Yes, I could log off social media entirely, but it's part of my job, and my workday is still going on at 5 p.m.. Yet, the ancient rules of TV dictate that I must wait until 8 p.m. rolls around in my time zone to watch the show (of course, there is Slingbox or one of the other ways to get around that, but that requires extra work and expense, and I resent both).

I also get the joy of being reminded throughout the Pacific time airing that the "live" show that I'm watching was live for those privileged folks in the Eastern and Central time zones -- when it was actually taking place just a few miles from where I live -- but is on tape delay for me.

Blessedly, that no longer happens for the Oscar, Golden Globe and Emmy Awards, which have finally leaped into the 21st Century and reality and air live both in the Eastern time zone and in the time zone where they're actually happening (imagine asking the denizens of Broadway to wait three hours to watch the Tonys).

As for the Tuesday-night "Dancing" results show, before I finish dinner, I can find out who was eliminated, thereby eliminating any need to actually watch the show. Granted, that saves me time on a Tuesday, but it doesn't do ABC's bottom line much good.

Whether it's "Dancing ..." or "American Idol" or any other reality-competition show featuring live elements, it may be time for the networks to bite the bullet and go live in all time zones.

Barring that, perhaps the shows could stream live over the network's Website -- which makes a kind of sense since it's Web-savvy folks that are most likely to suffer from social-media spoilage anyway. If you're not on the computer during the Eastern-time airing, you're not going to mind waiting until 8 or 9 p.m. Pacific to watch the show.

(By the way, it's great that the sharks go to the trouble to live-tweet ABC's "Shark Tank" on Friday nights. I just wish I knew what the hell they were talking about, but I don't, since they're only doing it for the Eastern/Central time airing. Stream it online, ABC!)

Then there's the question of the network morning shows, which are also tape-delayed. A former "Good Morning America" and "Today" devotee, I haven't watched any of them since I moved to the West Coast. They're three hours old by the time they air here, and if I'm going to watch news, I want fresh news, not stale news (OK, I also miss David Hartman, Tom Brokaw, Jane Pauley and Bryant Gumbel, but stale is still stale). I want to know what's going on right now, not what went on three or more hours ago.

I did give in to the temptation to check out Sarah Palin's appearance on the Tuesday, April 3, edition of NBC's "Today" show. But, I put it on the DVR and fast-forwarded only to her parts and skipped the rest. Oh, well, NBC.

When I get up in the morning, on goes a local morning show or cable news. Back in the '90s, it was all about CNN, but these days, I'm a Fox News viewer. But, I didn't start watching FNC until I moved to Los Angeles, so my experience of the channel is a little different than an East Coaster, and I suspect that's true of any Pacific-time cable-news watcher, no matter which channel you're on.

I never see FNC's morning show, because I'm still sleeping. "The Five," for me, is at 2 p.m. The 8 p.m. primetime lineup actually starts at 5 p.m.. I work at home if I'm not out on a set visit. By that time, if I've had news on as background all day, I'm tired of it after Bret Baier signs off at 4 p.m., so I put in screeners or catch up on the DVR until dinner.

Unless I make a point of putting "The O'Reilly Factor" or "Hannity" on the DVR -- usually because of a particular guest, or it's Wednesday and Dennis Miller is visiting with O'Reilly -- I usually don't tune in again until "On the Record With Greta Van Susteren" at 7 p.m. (my favorite FNC news show, along with "Your World With Neil Cavuto"), after which I'm into entertainment programming.

From anecdotal evidence, it seems that FNC's pop-culture/news roundtable "RedEye W/Greg Gutfeld" may be even more of a hit out here than it is back East, since we get it at midnight instead of 3 a.m., and some folks actually stay up for it (not me, it's my favorite breakfast viewing on the DVR).

Populations are shifting, and now with DVRs and lots of folks cutting the cable cord to stream TV over their computers and other devices, time slots are shifting as well. The toughest thing for any TV channel to do these days is to get someone to actually tune in for a show as it broadcasts the first time, whether it's a live event or the initial airing of new drama, comedy or unscripted reality episodes.

Social media -- whether through check-ins or live-tweeting -- can add to that, but the greatest value comes from the experience of bringing people together in one place, at one time. Just ask those advertisers about the eyeballs the Super Bowl delivered. Right now, for a lot of us on the Left Coast, that's often not an option.

On my cable system, some of the HD versions of cable channels are in Eastern time, so I get to see new episodes the same time as everybody back East does.

And I like it. More, please.

Today's cuppa: English breakfast tea

Today's cuppa: coffee after lunch

Let me say up front that I have no idea who or what's going to replace "The Glenn Beck Show" when it goes off the 5 p.m. ET slot on Fox News Channel after the June 30 episode. One suspects that the good folks at FNC know, but why hasn't there been an announcement yet?

Could it be that they are ....

(Cue portentous music)

....waiting to see if the possible host jumps into the 2012 presidential race?

Or are they waiting to see if the host is willing to work two jobs?

Is ready for TV?

Is ready for not-quite-primetime TV?

Here are my entirely uninformed guesses and the rationale behind them ...

Sarah Palin: The former Alaska governor, 2008 GOP vice-presidential candidate, author, social-media diva, TLC TV star and Fox News contributor has the mainstream media following her around like ducklings (when they're not rooting through her old emails like pigs at the trough).

The rest of the time, she's selling books, supporting candidates, writing Facebook posts and Tweets on current events, and being the subject of a new documentary, called "The Undefeated," coming out July 15.

If Palin decides not to jump into the presidential fray, she could be host of a show that hits on some of the more successful Beck themes --such as hidden American history, the Constitution and the Founding Fathers -- but likely without the "spooky dude" stuff.

After all, did she not just do a bus tour highlighting historical sites? And she even snookered many in the mainstream media by being correct about Paul Revere's ride while some of her critics seem to have relied on Longfellow's "Midnight Ride of Paul Revere" for their history.

BTW, that's a poem, not a history book.

And goodness knows, Palin's got the gams to qualify as an FNC host.

Dennis Miller: The longtime comic and former "Weekend Update" anchor from "Saturday Night Live" has carved himself out a nice niche on talk radio, blending his right-of-center politics with pop culture, entertainment and comedy.

The "sage of Southern California," as Bill O'Reilly calls him when he makes his weekly Wednesday appearances on FNC's "The O'Reilly Factor," is headquartered in Santa Barbara, Calif. north of Los Angeles.

After doing three hours a day on the radio, I'm not sure Miller would like to extend his schtick to the 5 p.m. ET slot, but, after all, that's the 2 p.m. PT slot, and he'd be done in time for tea.

On a personal note, now that my local radio station (yeah, talkin' about you, KRLA) has moved Miller out of evening drive-time into the night, I'd love to be able to have him on my DVR.

Mark Steyn: The bearded columnist, political commentator, author and cultural critic was born in Canada, educated in the U.K., and now lives in New Hampshire. Granted, this does make the logistics of a daily show a bit challenging, especially in the winter.

But Steyn has filled in for Sean Hannity on FNC, so he has TV experience, and he's a frequent radio guest (and substitute host for Rush Limbaugh), so he's got media chops.

Also, Steyn's got a great accent, is fiercely witty and smart and has more than enough pointed and "polarizing" opinions to keep both Beck's critics and fans engaged.

As a bonus, he's also put out a couple of Christmas music CDs with Jessica Martin -- "A Marshmallow World" and "Gingerbread and Eggnog" -- so he could even have a band, a la FNC's weekend show "Huckabee."

Greg Gutfeld: The host of FNC's latenight pop-culture/politics roundtable -- golly, that's a polite way to describe Gutfeld's band of merry pranksters and the outrageous things they say and do -- pitched in on Beck's show today as host of a game show featuring people and events Beck has discussed.

(Gutfeld even joked about, "When I take over the 5 p.m., things will be different.")

Gutfeld, a former Huffington Post blogger and magazine editor, who's also written a couple of books, has taken "RedEye W/Greg Gutfeld" -- which just celebrated its 1,000th episode -- from nearly complete obscurity in the wee hours of the morning Eastern time to a show that has scored higher ratings than CNN primetime (while still airing in the wee hours of the morning).

Gutfeld is a charming wiseacre with a soft spot for his mother (a recurring "RedEye" contributor).

He delivers monologues with snarky brio about the events of the day, making serious points in between references to unicorns and unfortunate houseboys.

Is he ready for TV when the sun is still shining? More importantly, is America ready for Gutfeld in the naked light of day?

Of course, there's always Anthony Weiner, unless CNN (UPDATE: or Current TV) has snagged him first.

On an unrelated note, we hear today that "America's Most Wanted" host John Walsh is not taking Fox Broadcasting's demotion of his weekly crimefighting show to specials lying down, but instead he is shopping it around, even to FNC.

For what it's worth, I think that's a super idea, and would slot in nicely after "Huckabee" on FNC's Saturday-night lineup.

Today's cuppa: Breakfast blend coffee

All this week, Fox Business Network (FBN) devotes much of its coverage to looking at how the government -- both on the federal and state levels -- is spending taxpayer money (which is the only money government has to spend).

Also examined are the repercussions of unchecked government spending and borrowing, with a particular emphasis on the debate over the national debt.

This is not a new issue. Back in 1996, "Schoolhouse Rock" took it on with "Tyrannosaurus Debt."

Of course, the debt discussed in the video seems like pennies compared to what we're facing now. Click here to watch the National Debt Clock in real time (including how much you, and I, owe).

One of the FBN journalists working on "Red Ink Week" is British-born Stuart Varney, a graduate of the London School of Economics, who used to work for both CNN and CNBC before coming to FBN.

He took the time to answer some email questions about the tough issues we are facing and what we can and should do about them:

Q: What are the biggest drivers of our debt?

A: The biggest debt drivers are Medicare and Social Security. Both have a dedicated tax revenue source, but outlays on these programs are so large, they "crowd out" other spending as a proportion of total spending. They push overall spending into deep deficit. And, outlays on both are rising rapidly. The 25% increase in spending in other non-defense areas under the Obama administration, has not helped.

Q: At what point will servicing the debt overtake our entire GDP (Gross Domestic Product)?

A: There is no specific date when debt service (interest payments) overtake GDP since that depends on future economic growth rates and interest rates. But it is generally assumed to be within two decades.

Q: What tax implications does the debt have for those who have just graduated from college?

A: Today's college graduates surely face an alarming tax outlook. They must pay for the Medicare and Social Security of a vast, currently retiring baby boom generation. Further: they must pay the interest on the vast debt that baby boomers have accumulated. Throw in the $1 trillion worth of student loan debt already on the books, and today's graduates have a daunting outlook!

Q:  What are the national-security implications of the national debt?

 A: The national debt of $14.3 trillion poses a significant security threat: if we rely on foreign lenders, they have leverage over our foreign policy. Plus, a nation that cannot pay its bills has difficulty imposing its will on the world: it loses clout.

A: What implications for those who will start high school or kindergarten this fall?

 A: I have six grandchildren; they are all in my will. With this debt burden on their back, run up by my generation, I feel an obligation to help them from the grave, IF this administration will get its hands out of my estate.

Q: Is there anything that can be done in the short term that will significantly reduce the debt?

 A: There is no short-term fix available for a "significant" reduction in our debt. If we refuse to raise the debt ceiling and try to "live within our means" immediately, we will default...that is wrong, irresponsible in the extreme and borders on national lunacy.

Q:  In the long term?

A: In the long term we need to do several things: turn away from expensive, bureaucratic government programs as the automatic solution mechanism for social policy, reform entitlement programs with privatization, and expand the tax base, either by taxing the income of a broader spectrum of income, or a consumption tax.

Q: What should we stop doing right now?

A: Stop the demagoguery. The Democrats recently put out an ad showing granny being thrown off a cliff because of the Ryan Medicare proposal....that poisoned what should be a rational debate. Reform now, or go bankrupt later. Voters need a reasonable debate around that premise.

(Click here for a video in which Wisconsin GOP Rep. Paul Ryan explains his proposal. Google "Ryan Medicare Proposal" for a whole list of articles pro and con. Click here for the ad Varney referenced, which is from The Agenda Project, not the Democratic National Committee.)

Q: The House of Representatives already rejected a bid to raise our debt limit, but another vote will come up. What sort of cuts should be demanded to justify raising the limit again?

A: If we raise the debt ceiling by, say $2 trillion, we should agree to cut spending by $2 trillion. That is a credible borrowing and spending-cutting plan.

Q: Are you optimistic or pessimistic that we can reverse our current course?

A: Pessimistic. Bankruptcy/default is a very real possibility. I came to America because of its liberating, positive culture, so different from Europe. I am saddened by the turn America has taken under this President, but I remain hopeful that we can turn back from the brink, and become once again the dynamic, positive society that I have come to know and love.

Today's cuppa: English breakfast tea (double-bagged, in the big mug)

From the labor-union protests in Madison, Wisc., yesterday afternoon, to the LAPD raid on Charlie Sheen's house and the devastating earthquake and tsunami in Japan last night, I've begun to think that TV is the killer app for Twitter, and that Twitter is the killer app for TV.

Both are live and continuous, with tweets reporting and reposting what's happening on TV, and TV news taking in reports via Twitter (and Facebook, although Twitter is faster and more sensitive moment by moment).

TV awards shows and news events are live-tweeted (one could almost "watch" the Oscars just on Twitter), and tweets stream across TV screens.

And some TV-news personalities, like Eric Bolling ( @ericbolling on Twitter, left) of Fox Business Network's "Follow the Money," and CNN's John King ( @JohnKingCNN , right) like to tweet right up to the beginning of -- and sometimes during -- their live TV broadcasts.

On the entertainment side, fans of CBS' "Survivor" are really missing out if they're not following host Jeff Probst's ( @JeffProbst ) frank commentary on his blog and Twitter.

It's getting hard to remember what it was like to watch TV without Twitter. No doubt my friends and relatives are relieved not to get calls during their shows just because I have a comment I can't wait to share.

Was amused the other day to see a breathless piece by David Carr of the New York Times about the supposed slide of Fox News host Glenn Beck (below, left), characterizing him as a "conservative Jeremiah" painting a dark view of the future.

Perhaps the Gray Lady was tired of seeing Pinch the talking paper on FNC's overnight news/comedy roundtable "RedEye W/Greg Gutfeld." The pompous puppet is named after NYT publisher Arthur O. Sulzberger, Jr., and is known for sarcastic rhymes spoofing on the names of Times reporters and columnists.

(Click here for one of a series of "RedEye" shorts called "Pinch & Me," featuring the the paper and its human alter-ego, Bill Schulz, on an adventure in NYC.)

I don't pay too much attention to the horse race of cable-news ratings, but I'm pretty sure that even if Beck's ratings have dropped from their peak, they're still numbers that FNC's competitors probably can't hope for in their wildest dreams at 5 p.m. ET.

Of course, picking on a popular and controversial figure like Beck might increase the revenue of the Times itself, which is not the financial media powerhouse it once was (decline being a thing it understands very well).

In the interests of full disclosure, I watch "Glenn Beck" every day (except when Judge Andrew Napolitano is guest-hosting, because his monotone bellow is a bit much after a few minutes). It's fascinating. I've never seen anything on TV like it.

Since he's discussing such sexy topics as the Founding Fathers, monetizing the debt, early 20th-Century Progressivism and the decline in Americans' personal morality and reliance on God, it's a wonder that anybody watches. Really.

Why do they? Can't speak for them, but I'm mesmerized by how he blends radio drama, stage theatrics, visual aids (magnets, blackboards, pieces of pie, cupcakes), semi-Shakespearean soliloquy, portentous video clips, graphs, charts and physical comedy.

And blessedly, when he does have guests on, they 're not yelling at or talking over each other. Such a relief.

If only the rest of the TV commentariat could break away from their apparent fascination with sitting behind a desk and trying to look like Edward R. Murrow and cut loose a bit.

I don't buy everything Beck says, but then I don't buy everything anyone says. Contrary to the assumptions of many of Beck's critics, I'm capable of rationally weighing evidence and opinion and making up my own mind -- and I didn't even have to go to an Ivy League school to do it (in fact, that's possibly a big help in that area).

And I haven't bought any gold or food insurance.

In general, I think it would serve all news enterprises well to spend a little less time harping on what their competitors (and yes, they are competitors and therefore, to one extent or another, are rooting for each other's failure) are doing or saying and spend a little more time covering, you know, the news.

(FYI, if I cared what cable-news networks I'm not watching were saying, I'd be watching them.)

Unless a cable-news host or reporter says something demonstrably factually inaccurate about an important topic, or breaks a law, I don't see where it's news.

Because, when we have breaking events like the Japan earthquake, cable news really demonstrates its value. Focus on that, not each other.

Today's cuppa: lots of coffee, from beans I ground myself (but not in a coffee grinder, as I think my Target blender works just fine, and I'm just too cheap to buy another appliance. It also makes smoothies. Try that in a coffee grinder.)

The other day, "Piers Morgan Tonight" earned itself boffo ratings by having Charlie Sheen on for a live interview. At one point during the chat, Morgan referred to Sheen as the "Che Guevara of television."

What is it about showbiz types and killers that look cute on T-shirts?

Speaking of which, I was watching a 2006, I believe, episode of BBC America's "Top Gear" today, and host Jeremy Clarkson was sporting a Che Guevara tee. Would he wear a Hitler or Stalin or Pol Pot tee? Probably not, and anyway, they wouldn't look quite as countercultural and revolutionary chic as the old Che-ster. But I digress.

The conservative American Thinker blog did a lovely evisceration of Morgan's comment -- click here for that -- and in case you were thinking that only right-wing bloggers disapprove of Guevara, click here for a not-very-complimentary review of a movie about the man from Slate.com.

Guevara's mug appears on a wide variety of items other than shirts, such as totes, baby bibs and posters, including one showing rapper Jay-Z wearing the ubiquitous tee.

I have no idea what Morgan and Clarkson do or don't know about Che Guevara or why they feel it appropriate to mention or wear him. Of course, they have the right to mention or wear anyone or anything they want.

But perhaps these two Brits might like to peruse this article from the Times of London first.

Upside, I don't think Sheen did another TV interview today.

Today's cuppa: Barry's Classic Blend tea

A round-up on what's been brewing in my brain today ...

Oscars: Yeah, it was a while ago, and we know it was epic in its awfulness, but, in my mind, the best part was when Billy Crystal introduced a tape of former host Bob Hope.

Or, as I observed on Twitter at the time: Let's face it, the funniest man on the #Oscars tonight was both dead and a Republican. Doesn't bode well for modern Hollywood.

Charlie Sheen: Perhaps I am a humorless drip, but back on Feb. 28, in the midst of all of the general amusement over Sheen's predicament, here were my questions as put out on Twitter: Here are my #Sheen Qs: Has he broken the law? If so, where is LAPD? Has he violated his contract? Is Social Services involved 4 the kids?

Well, Sheen's camp sent out a letter to network CBS and studio Warner Bros., signed by some high-powered Tinseltown legal eagles, so I'm told, so it seems the contract wars are underway.

Then, after Sheen had verbal diarrhea all over several TV networks and TMZ, the police may have taken two of his children away (apparently helping to care for them is Lisa Rinna's former nanny). And there's a restraining order.

Who knows where all this will end, but don't say I didn't ask.

And here's a poll:


iPad2: Since it's no cheaper than the original iPad, that may make current owners feel a bit less like morons for jumping in early -- but this new one is apparently way cooler. Either way, too rich for my brew, so I'll wait for one to arrive in a gift box (hint, hint).

Piers Morgan: I haven't watched every single episode of "Piers Morgan Tonight" on CNN -- there isn't an instrument that can measure how little I care about Howard Stern or Larry King -- but I've enjoyed every one I have seen, and I've learned something new about each person he's talked to. That seems to me to be what a chat show is all about.

He also does fine with the breaking news, of which there's been a great deal since he premiered.

No, it's not "Meet the Press," but then Charlie Sheen and Janet Jackson aren't John Boehner and Hillary Clinton (and if he gets those folks on and softballs them, I'll squawk, too).

TV Show I've Enjoyed Most Lately: "Top Gear" on BBC America. The episode where the U.K. hosts went up against the Australian ones had me in stitches. Only thing funnier on TV is "Community."

Runner up: TNT's "Southland," whose episode on Tuesday had a rip-roaring shoot-em-up at the end, and a great subplot about the drug and back-pain issues of Officer Cooper (Michael Cudlitz).