Another reason I could never be in broadcast news

Hahaha, if I was in broadcast news, I would probably have a breakdown on live TV because of stories that I don’t think belong on the news. And that breakdown would probably look a little like this.

 

What is going on with the Supreme Court?

I know I just posted a blog, so I’m sorry if this is overload.

What is going on with the Supreme Court? They are basically undoing, piece by piece, every bit of progress that has been made in the past 30 years. First they put constraints on abortion. Then last week they ruled that freedom of speech does not extend to schools when they ruled that students in Alaska were wrong for holding up a sign that said “Bong hits for Jesus.” Now, today I read that they’re basically turning back the clock on Brown v. Board of Education. No, they didn’t actually reverse the decision, but they have made a decision that says school districts cannot enforce integration by focusing on race. Um, isn’t that the whole point of integration?

The majority ruled that school districts will still be able to allow for integration by drawing boundaries in such a way that there isn’t segregation. Sure, I bet that will happen in the south. Like those people haven’t just been waiting for this opportunity to resegregate their schools. As though the black/white boundaries aren’t still found in their communities. What are they going to do, draw a squiggly line so they can get some minorities in there? Ugh again today.

And a quote from the New York Times story:

“In his written opinion, Justice Breyer said the decision was a “radical” step away from settled law and would strip local communities of the tools they need, and have used for many years, to prevent resegregation of their public schools. Predicting that the ruling would “substitute for present calm a disruptive round of race-related litigation,” he said, “This is a decision that the court and the nation will come to regret.”

Read the whole story here. Sorry, but the link will only work for today if you don’t have a login with the NYT.

 

Turning back the clock

I’m sure most of you have read already that, in a 5-4 vote, the Supreme Court decided today to ban partial birth abortions, essentially changing their minds on a decision only made seven years ago.

From The New York Times:

“The majority upheld the Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act, whose very name can set off heated debate. The procedure addressed is known medically as “intact dilation and evacuation” or “D and X,” short for dilation and extraction. It involves partly removing an intact fetus, then destroying the skull to complete the abortion.

Doctors and other abortion-rights advocates who challenged the law maintained that the procedure is often the safest to use late in the pregnancy, because it minimizes the chances of injury to the uterus.“

Granted, I’m not a big fan of this procedure, but if it’s safer for the woman than other forms of late-term abortion I think it ought to be allowed. For the record, they did NOT outlaw late-term abortions, they’ve just made it more dangerous.

Again from NYT:

“But Eve Gartner of the Planned Parenthood Federation of America said the ruling “flies in the face of 30 years of Supreme Court precedent and the best interest of women’s health and safety.” The ruling sends the signal that “politicians, not doctors,” will make health-care decisions for women.“

Things like this make me remember why I’m looking forward to Jan. 20, 2009.

 

On the subject of diamonds…

I’ve written about the diamond trade before, but I’m rehashing it because of a story I just read in National Geographic. In it a diamond guy says 99.8 percent of diamonds are conflict-free. I’m not so sure I believe this. Maybe only .2 percent of diamonds help pay for wars or conflicts, as is the case in the soon-to-be-released “Blood Diamond,” but the diamond trade is far from humanitarian. Part of the problem people have with the diamond industry is the way it treats people working in the mines. That isn’t even mentioned in the National Geographic article.

I think it’s good that the new Leonardo DiCaprio movie is bringing so much attention to this subject. Seriously, if I ever have the chance to go to grad school I want to go to Africa and research/document the diamond mines. It’d probably be dangerous though.

Other news:

I don’t know if you guys have seen the new NYT blog “The Lede: Notes on the News,” but it’s a really good find. It’s a quick and entertaining way to find out what’s going on in the world. Plus, they  have links to the actual news stories. I’ve been reading it ever since it was hatched last month. Check it out if you’re interested.

Oh, and for the record: the bra has been tossed out.

 

Military crimes against civilians

One of the questions that should really be asked as we continue on with the Iraq war is how we are portraying the people we are trying to “help.” I just read a very disturbing article about a group of soldiers who gang raped a little girl and killed her family simply because they were bored on traffic duty.

“One of four U.S. soldiers accused of raping a 14-year-old Iraqi girl last spring and killing her and her family pleaded guilty at Ft. Campbell and agreed to testify against the others.

The military judge presiding over the case, Lt. Col. Richard Anderson, asked Barker why he participated in the attack in Mahmoudiya, a village about 20 miles south of Baghdad.

‘I hated Iraqis, your honor,” Barker answered. “They can smile at you, then shoot you in your face without even thinking about it.’”

A second marine entered a guilty plea in a separate case yesterday for killing a civilian man. I’m really concerned that our continued involvement in this war is going to cause more strikes against America, especially as news of these horrible human rights violations surface. I know people hate when we left-leaners compare this war to Vietnam, but I can’t help but think the morale in Iraq is lowering to the point that we could one day have another My Lai Massacre.

 

I want to tack this week’s front pages to my wall

This week’s news makes my heart smile every time I think of it. Dems Take the House! Yay! Dems Control Senate! Woohoo!

But NOTHING made my heart flutter more than seeing RUMSFELD RESIGNS splashed across every newspaper in the area.

My whole persona lights up with a glowing smile every time I see a front page story. I’m seriously thinking of framing one and putting it on my wall because it has seriously lifted my spirits more than just about anything has in recent months. It’s as though the fog has lifted and America can finally rejoin the wider world. Of course, there’s more work to do but it’s the beginning of a change….I hope.

 

Hodgepodge

I went the entire weekend without turning on my computer, and I was at home! I would have never thought it possible.

This was seriously one of the best weekends I’ve had in a long time. I think mostly because I spent most of the weekend relaxing. I did manage to get some rockclimbing in and hung out at R15 for a bit.

Also, I finished the fifth Harry Potter book, finally. I couldn’t put it down and it still took me almost a week to read. I’ve already bought the sixth one, but am trying to take my time reading it because I think Tony is beginning to feel neglected.

Oh, but the real purpose of today’s blog is to brag that Sofia and I are going to meet Frank Warren on Friday! Frank Warren, if you don’t know, is the creator of postsecret and now has two books featuring some of the postcards he has been sent. I have the first book and I’m going to get it signed since I have Friday off for Veterans Day.

From today’s postsecret page:

Somehow this seems more tragic to me because it’s written in French. “One must suffer to be beautiful.” I’m sure there are hundreds of people out there who can relate well with this sentiment. If I had written it I think I would have written “Faut souffrir pour etre belle?” “Must we suffer to be beautiful?” Same words just a question mark at the end and the meaning changes almost completely. Either way, it’s something to think about.

PS Is it bad that I automatically assumed this postcard was written by a woman? I guess it goes to show how the media has us programmed.

 

Repeat, repeat, repeat

What is it with the media that they think if they repeat themselve often enough their message will get through? Like when you hear the same songs on the radio every hour on the hour. Or the same commercials on TV during every single show.

The truth of the matter is I just tune them out. I get sick of the same songs and I turn the station or turn my radio off all together. I record TV shows so I can fast forward through the commercials. Even more often, I just don’t watch it at all.

I’m sick to death of all of this repetition. Even in the newspapers and on the news we get stories regurgitated day after day. The headlines and the stories scream the same messages over and over and over again:

Terrorists!
Global Warming!
West Nile Virus!
Avian Flu!

Personally, I think there should be a limit to how often they can use these words. Maybe they could even ban them for awhile just to give us a some time to repose. To be perfectly honest I don’t even read stories carrying the above headlines anymore.

 

Bears can be cited for drunk in public too?

This poor bear got drunk from eating rotten apples and stumbled into an urbanized area looking for food. Poor thing was shot with a tranquilizer then tagged for its first offense. I wonder how many offenses it gets before it gets shot with a real gun. It’s not the bears’ fault we decided to build where they used to live.

Honestly though, I think they end up in a zoo, not dead if they have too many offenses. Folsom Zoo has some of the most well-known problem bears, who work for Yosemite National Park to test bear-proof container prototypes before they can be sold to backpackers.

PS Check out the video with the story. I’ve never seen a drunk bear before. Actually, I never even though about whether other animals could get drunk before. I guess it’s only common sense that if humans can get drunk so can other animals. Hmm….I wonder how many guys out there are plotting crimes against their girlfriend’s pets at this very moment…

 

News Update Returns (Again)

Saw some interesting news today and thought I’d share just in case you all didn’t have time to read the paper between your work and myspacing.

First, the morning-after pill has finally been approved by the FDA for over-the-counter sale. Irresponsible men and women everywhere should be rejoicing (as long as they’re over 18).

Second, Pluto has changed categories. It is no longer the ninth planet, but the first dwarf planet. There goes all our science lessons on the solar system.