Can't dazzle them with brilliance, bluff for attention

This post may seem way off topic but as I watched this man, I began to wonder how it is that the media could be so desperate to fill air time, they would put someone like this on.

Fake Yo-Yo Master Cons His Way to TV Fame
May 12th 2010 By Simon Crisp

A man who claimed to be a "yo-yo master" conned his way onto five TV shows where he performed such "tricks" as hitting himself in the face. Hard.

Going by the names of Kenny Strasse, Kenny Strasser and K-Strass, the prankster contacted various TV stations telling them of his amazing yo-yo ability. Emails from his "agent" said Kenny was an award-winning yo-yo swinger who worked with a non-profit organization, ZimZam Yo-Yo, to dazzle children with his skills.
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Fake YoYo Master Cons His Way to TV Fame

Given the fact that he pretended to have talent he obviously does not, he bluffed his way onto the air. Isn't there another important thing they could have used to fill air time?

Yo-yo con man appears on 5 stations
Published: May 11, 2010 at 2:26 PM

MILWAUKEE, May 11 (UPI) -- Four Wisconsin TV stations and a Missouri station said they were tricked into putting a man on air who claimed to be a yo-yo champion.

The stations, including WFRV-TV, Green Bay, and KQTV, St. Joseph, Mo., said they received e-mails purporting to be from a man named Joe Guehrke, saying he represented ZimZam Yo-Yo, "the world's first 'green'" non-profit toy company and a man whose name was variously given as Kenny Strasser, Kenny Strassburg and K-Strass, the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel reported Tuesday.
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Four Wisconsin TV stations were involved in this. We have to wonder why they wouldn't cover something like this instead.

Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and Mental Health
www.WisVets.com/PTSD

Nearly 20 percent of military service members who have returned from Iraq and Afghanistan — 300,000 in all — report symptoms of post traumatic stress disorder or major depression, yet only slightly more than half have sought treatment, according to a 2008 RAND study commissioned by the Pentagon.

In the study, researchers found about 19 percent of returning service members report that they experienced a possible traumatic brain injury while deployed, with 7 percent reporting both a probable brain injury and current PTSD or major depression.

Left untreated, PTSD can result in more serious health and socio-economic outcomes. Left untreated, PTSD can result in an increased risk of suicide.

Wednesday, December 5, 2007 Homeless Veterans Shelter opens in Wisconsin so they could have maybe asked how the shelter is doing now, how the veterans are doing now and maybe, just maybe ask if there was anything the public could do to help. That could have filled air time for them instead of this.


They could have done something like this too.

Saturday, December 22, 2007 Nation makes them combat veterans but states have to heal the warriors?
Illinois: Will require screening of all National Guard troops returning from Iraq and Afghanistan for traumatic brain injuries. Screening will be offered to other returning veterans. A 24-hour hotline will be set up for veterans who need counseling.

Minnesota: Offers "Beyond the Yellow Ribbon," a program that helps reintegrate returning veterans into communities, including counseling for family members even before soldiers return home. This year, the Minnesota National Guard funded the program from money intended for training; the state legislature appropriated $1.5 million for next year.

While these posts go back three years, the problems veterans face has not gotten old. As a matter of fact, they have gotten worse. When it comes to Yo-Yo reports maybe they should have done a report on how the troops and National Guards have to endure a Yo-Yo ride of their own between being cheered as they deploy and ignored when they come home. There are some great things being done to help them, as you read above but if the general public is not reminded of the need these servicemen and women have, then they forget. I'm sure they won't have a problem forgetting this stunt and how this PR nightmare happened to five TV stations!