Wussy Weekend

I thank the fates for the three-day weekend. Last week was very taxing on my personal energy reserves. But, I rested and I'm feeling considerably better. I did major laundry today and did Betty's grocery shopping and that's about as productive as I've been this weekend.

I've been watching the news / weather with everyone else and pondering some things. A comment recently about the reporting style of a particular news network surprised me. You know I can see political orientations on different news channels sometimes, but on the whole, I think the news we see from 6 - 7 PM or whatever, is really pretty restrictive. I see political bias in publications like Reader's Digest occasionally, and I've never thought for a moment that Fox News is really balanced. On the web I tend to read most of my news from Reuters. I kind of think that Reuters is a little more in-depth than most of the other news services. I don't read MSNBC or focus on the AP site. Reuters is a little more global I guess; not completely focused on the US to the exclusion of almost every other country or world event.

It's really shocking to me that a lot of what goes on in the world never makes it to our local or national news programs. Understanding how the US fits into the the global situation is important or we become naive to the larger picture. I'm personally worried about the Dalai Lama and his being sick. That hasn't been reported in American news much. I pray for him to have a swift recovery, but worry that that if he does die soon, the Chinese will nominate and push for their own selection for the next Dalai Lama and make him a puppet. This one has become an artist in diplomacy and advocacy in non-violent ways. Too many have died already. I hope he gets well soon. I am concerned about the situation in Indonesia where over a million have died in political strife and yet we don't hear about that here. I want to understand better why the Prime Minister of Japan just resigned, and why we don't hear much of anything about McCain's two sons: one is at Annapolis and the other enlisted at 17 after graduating from high school. OK, so Palin's daughter is a teen statistic, but what about mom and her 17-month old 5th child with Down Syndrome. Who is Palin's hubby and what is he like? Are they Catholic? I don't know....do you? Gustave appears to have left New Orleans largely intact, but Hannah goes up the east coast and Ike is zooming our way. That's all we hear about right now. It's important but not everything going on in the world.

I think most readers and news consumers are smart enough to perceive the political subtleties that are put out there during newscasts. Anyone who doesn't think propaganda goes on today, is asleep at the wheel. By the same token, I don't think most folks talk about it overtly. My favorite paper is The Philadelphia Enquirer because they print the Supreme Court majority and minority opinions in their entirety. I think that is so cool. I don't think it's cool enough to take a subscription or anything. I read some on the web from The New York Times but it's so reliant on the AP that I know it's not the be-all-end-all of news. To be perfectly honest with you, I'm way more interested in surviving day-to-day. News is something I filter in late at night when I'm not sleeping. I'd be curious what you think about the political leanings of news sources and how you get around them -- but restrict your responses to 50 words or less. I don't care more than 50 words. I'm just curious how you filter your news sources or if you even care.

I'm setting the alarm and getting ready for another week (albeit a shorter one) back at work. It was, I admit, awfully nice to get paid this past week and not have to live off disability. Wherever you are this night, I hope you are dry, warm enough (or cool enough) and that you and those you love are safe. And everyone send positive vibes to the Highland Pearls who I think are likely to leave Carrollton soon for San Francisco for their 3-Day walk. It's a big, big commitment and I'm so proud of them and their efforts. Godspeed to Catherine, Hazel, Martha and Julie. I wish you no blisters, lots of fun, and beautiful weather.