A Canadian View On the US: Comedian Hal Sparks and the Platforms He Uses to Express His Views on Current US Issues”

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By Jo-Ann “Jo D NL” Duke

Hi, it’s me again, your friendly Canadian observer, back again but with something a little different. This time around I am writing about Hal Sparks and his views on what is happening in the US, which he expresses through both his radio show and his online chats.

As many of you know, Hal Sparks is a comedian, actor, singer and director. He always says that he is not a celebrity, he’s a comedian, he works for a living.

He started his comedic career in Chicago as a teenager; and he has been working since then. He has done stand up comedy, has acted on tv and in movies; he has also taken part in several celebrity based programs through the years.

Hal is perhaps best known for his roles in the Showtime series QAF where he portrayed Michael Novotny, one of the main characters in the show. He played Michael for the whole run of the show, where he was involved in some very important storylines that showcased many issues faced by the LBGQT community back then, and some still today.

To then show his acting versatility, he also starred in the Disney show, Lab Rats, as billionaire Donald Davenport; during this lead role, he also directed several episodes of the show.

Nowadays, like the rest of us, parts of Hal’s career have also been temporarily interrupted due to the Covid-19 pandemic. However, even during this time, Hal is still managing to do his weekly radio show.

The show is the Hal Sparks Radio Program Mega Worldwide, it’s based out of Chicago, on Chicago’s CPT from 9:00-11:00 a.m. PST, every Saturday.

The radio show is a mixture of political commentary, of current issues affecting both the country and the world; during the various shows, Hal has spoken with guests on many different issues, and it also features a chance for people to call in and speak about their take on the issues that they are concerned about that are happening.

As Hal is known to say all the time; even if you don’t agree with him politically, he still wants everyone to have the chance to speak their mind; because after all, that is the purpose of free speech, a concept that is so highly valued in the US. He will interact with all his callers, even those with whom he is diametrically opposed on political issues.

On top of the radio show, Hal also hosts an informative but also entertaining chat through his own social media page, Infotainmentwars.com. The chat takes place most days of the week.

It can be streamed through Youtube, Facebook, Twitch and Periscope; so people can catch the chat through any of those social media platforms, whichever one they prefer to use.

The chats take place nearly every day at 3:00-5:00 p.m. PST, and they cover what hot topic, or topics, that have happened that day or very recently.

Many of the chats cover and breakdown various White House briefings, plus the president’s roundtables, and any other items that are affecting the country as a whole.

They also used to cover the Coronavirus Task Force briefings until they abruptly ended after the president’s bleach and light debacle. However, according to information that has been stated recently, those are supposed to restart today.

I feel confident in saying that I am sure that Hal will cover these new briefings as well during the chats, to see if they carry any new information on the Covid crisis.

Shortly after the lockdowns worldwide began, I was looking around the internet for more information on the horrific novel virus that was rapidly bringing our world to its knees, I began searching for all the information I could find.

The way I looked at it, and still do, the more information you have, the better you will know how to deal with the situation you are facing. This has always been my way of dealing with new medical issues.

Ironically, after reading through many websites, this is how I originally found the chats myself; and I will admit that I do watch these chats as much as I can.

I do so because I believe that it gives many people a different point of view of the subjects being discussed; as well an analysis of what is happening, that perhaps is not shown on the mainstream media shows.

I wanted to have an alternate source of information than what was being presented by the regular tv channels and their websites; because for me, they all seemed to just repeat what was being said by the officials, without seemingly digging into it, and verifying what they were told.

For me, at least, it seemed that way in the beginning, because for the first few weeks, none of the networks seemed to question anything said by the people who were involved in the CTF briefings, until the virus began to quickly decimate parts of the US.

The chats also give the people viewing a chance to express how they are feeling about what they are seeing happening in the US day by day; especially without them being attacked for stating how they feel, which unfortunately happens quite frequently, depending on which site you state how you feel about certain topics.

While the chat is happening, Hal breaks down the different events through showing the different videos or briefings, and offering his commentary on what is being said or done, as well as including some of the comments from the chatters who are present.

As many of the chatters have said, the humorous comments Hal makes during the chats, sometimes it is responsible for helping them retain their sanity after hearing so many inflammatory remarks from certain individuals each day, and the seemingly uncaring indifference displayed by the administration towards so many important matters.

The commentary that Hal gives during the chats is not prepared ahead of time; yes, he selects the clips, but what Hal is saying is what he thinks as he hears what the different people are saying.

Hal has said that he wants to see the information for the first time with everyone taking part in the chat, that he wants to go with his first reaction and thoughts when seeing what has been done or said.

When something has been said by politicians that has been shown or can be proven to be false, Hal will call it out, and offer proof to show the truth, such as President Trump claiming to have gotten the VA Choice bill approved, which is blatantly untrue.

If you look up that particular Act, you can see that it was approved and signed into law in 2014 while Barack Obama was still president; a fact which is never challenged by any of the media when the president is taking credit for getting that bill passed and signed into law.

Hal is bluntly honest while doing the chats; especially when he is dealing with trolls, Trumpers, KAG and MAGA people who get into the chat, and start insulting him or the rest of the people in the chat, for not bowing down to Trump or his minions in the administration.

It’s actually funny to see him interact with people who obviously don’t like what he is saying, and they will say to him, on his page thank you very much, how dare he have the nerve to say such a thing especially about their beloved leader, and he will always tell them that if they don’t like what he is saying, they don’t have to watch the chat.

Many of them insult him frequently, and sometimes the chat members, which to be honest, well, unless they get really hostile, they are ignored by pretty much everyone there.

He will block some of the trolls if they get too bad, but they usually have to cross a line for him to do that to them. However, this does not mean that he hates those people, as he has said repeatedly, he doesn’t want anyone to get sick or die from Covid.

Another point is that whenever someone on either side has said anything violent or about using violence, he has been completely opposed to that idea. That is unacceptable to him, and he will tell people right out, that he does not and will not condone violence from either side.

As well, he has repeatedly said that he just wants people to vote, whether or not they vote the same way that he will. To him, as he has said the most important thing is that people get out and vote.

To him, it is important that they do so, because they are lucky enough to live somewhere that they have the chance to speak their minds by casting their ballot. By voting, this will allow them to have the government that is needed.

I have heard many times on the chat that Trump supporters will be accusing him of hating the president. When this is said, he will quickly clarify that he does not hate, in fact, that he greatly respects the office of the presidency.

He is openly proud of being an American and he loves the great country that the US is and always has been. He just wants to see it come back to that standard that until recently it had always been looked at by the majority of the world.

However, he is quite clear that he hates the man who is presently sitting in the office of the president, that he is seriously unsuitable to be president, and is hurting the US. This is because of everything that man has done, that he is trying to destroy the country, with both his actions and his inaction on many subjects over the length of his presidency.

Hal is an openly proud democrat, and he has stated that he will vote for Joe Biden on November 3, 2020. He is a proponent of the First Amendment, the basis for free speech in the US.

He wants people to realize that even doing something like burning the American flag is just a form of exercising free speech. People may be surprised, but he has never supported people looting or rioting; and he has openly spoken out against the CHOP.

He is not an anarchist, or someone who identifies as being on the far left. He is someone who is hoping that in November, that there will be a change that will help heal the divisions within the US.

In conclusion, I believe that Hal Sparks is just a good man who wants to use his voice to offer a different perspective on what is happening in the country he dearly loves, and give others a place where they can do the same. That is what he is doing with his radio show and the chats he does almost daily.

Well, once again I am signing off here from Canada, sincerely wishing all of my American friends the best, those both old and new, and much love to all of them.

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