Is it just me or is actor Sam Elliott’s rich, baritone voice being heard more and more today? I say rich and baritone, but darn if that manly voice isn’t getting downright irritating the more I hear it.

He’s the voice of Smokey Bear telling me, in that rich, baritone way, that only I can prevent forest fires. Then he’s growling “Ram” in Ram truck commercials. Then he’s telling me Coors is the “banquet beer.” The man is in a thousand and one commercials, plus he’s in movies. Frankly, I’m sick and tired of that rich, baritone voice. The guy is married to stunning Kathryn Ross but I have to wonder if she doesn’t get sick of hearing him. “Honey, get me a banquet beer out of the fridge.” Surely she cringes after all this time.

I’ll tell you something else: I’m sick and tired of analysts and experts, particularly those of the sports and political persuasions. Talking heads shouldn’t be able to, well, talk so much. Does anybody ever fact check ESPN, CNN, Fox or MSNBC talking heads to see how often they are right in what they say? It would be interesting to find out. My guess would be 50 percent or less correct would be the norm. For example, I didn’t hear any of the national sports analysts or big-time sports writers pick Auburn to beat Alabama this past weekend and they analyzed both teams to death. In an election year just listen to all the prattling that goes on. Really, how right is the average political pundit in what he or she says? And does it matter? It isn’t about being right any more. It’s more about being wrong but making it seem right to insure that right-thinking people will take it the wrong way.

Here’s something else I’m sick of hearing: “Too big to fail.” That usually refers to one of the mega-banks like JP Morgan Chase. Really, if things are too big to fail wouldn’t there be a First National Bank of Babylon or Assyrian Federal Credit Association or Prussian Global Financial Management Co. somewhere in the world? Honestly, doesn’t everything eventually fail?

“Middle class.” I’m sick of that too. Call it what it is: “working class.” When that alarm clock goes off in the morning you’re not headed to the middle. You’re headed to work. You don’t have a middle station; you have a work station. You’re a worker, not a middler. You’ve never seen a middlebench or filled out a middle sheet. Get hurt and just try to get middlemen’s compensation. Make no mistake about it: If you’d been born with a rich, baritone voice like Sam Elliott, you’d be doing voice-overs for lots and lots of money. You didn’t get the voice; you got a workweek.

Bob Morgan is a retired, award-winning journalist and an author.