THE DAILY NEWS.

Television news has no appeal to me. Even the radio can be aggravating, as in a recent program a new local anchor was going on and on about a bee theft. He was saying things like, "...well how can you steal bees? They must be flying around, how did they get them in the truck? And who would buy bees anyway?" He was serious and his ignorance continued.  I wanted to stop the car and call the station and try to educate him. Nah!


Magazines on-line and in print are a better source in my opinion. Readers catch mistakes, if they are made, and keep editors on their toes. I've subscribed to all the above, but not at the same time. Subscribing for short periods of time, off and on because I don't have time to read a years worth of everything I order is the better way. ODE For Intelligent Optimists I like, but strangely, good news comes with a  high price tag.  Scientific American I subscribe on-line, only. There is one newspaper I respect for its honesty and balanced reporting,  The Christian Science Monitor. 


I watched the telly on New Year's Eve and rung in the year with guests and listened to a lot of news leading up to the big event and it put me in mind of John Bogart's famous statement, "If a man bites a dog, that is news."
I thought it would be fun to sort through the various quotes about News and see how they compare with today.
"Four hostile newspapers are more to be feared than a thousand bayonets":  Napoleon (Rings true.)
"When we hear news we should always wait for the Sacrament of confirmation."  Voltaire
(We now have fact checkers on-line, but nobody listened to Voltaire, and no one uses the fact checkers after they read the paper.)
"Every editor of newspapers pays tribute to the devil."  La Fontaine  (I can agree with that, I've been there.)
"Let me make the newspapers, and I care not what is preached in the pulpit or what is enacted in Congress."  Wendell Phillips    ( Sounds a lot like today. Do anything to get your face in the news.  Phillips, an abolitionist, died in the 1800's.)
"Were it left to me to decide whether we should have a government without newspapers or newspapers without government, I should not hesitate a moment to prefer the latter."  Thomas Jefferson.   (Wise tribute to the importance of a free press. There are only two Free Presses that I know of in existent today, unlike days of yore.)
"Nothing can now be believed which is seen in a newspaper. Truth itself becomes suspicious by being put into that polluted vehicle."  Thomas Jefferson. 1807.   (Looks like Jefferson saw the evil a newspaper can bring and changed his mind. I found three more quotes about the news by Jefferson in which he states "... it is disreputable to state a fact on a Newspaper's authority...I do not read a newspaper and feel the happier for it...I shall never take another newspaper of any sort." )
"Perhaps an editor might begin a reformation in some such way as this. Divide his paper into four categories, heading the first, Truths, the 2nd Probabilities, the third, Possibilities and the 4th Lies. The first chapter would be very short."   Ibid
Sad to say, there were more negative than positive quotes about newspapers.

Andy Rooney was one journalist who had a lot of good things to say in a few words.

I've learned ....

 That the best classroom in the world is at the feet of an elderly person.

 I've learned ....

 That just one person saying to me, 'You've made my day!' makes my day.

  I've learned ....

 That being kind is more important than being right.

 I've learned ....

 That sometimes all a person needs is a hand to hold and a heart to understand.

  I've learned ....

 That simple walks with my father around the block on summer

 nights when I was a child did wonders for me as an adult.

  I've learned ....

That money doesn't buy class.

  I've learned ....

 That it's those small daily happenings that make life so spectacular.

 I've learned ...

 That under everyone's hard shell is someone who wants to be appreciated and loved.

I've learned ....

 That to ignore the facts does not change the facts.

 I've learned ....

 That when you plan to get even with someone,

 you are only letting that person continue to hurt you.

  I've learned .... 

That love, not time, heals all wounds.

 

There were many more where these came from, but anyone can find something in his wisdom to celebrate.

POLITICS FRONT AND CENTER.

The debates have everyone atwitter, Biden smiled and chuckled too much, Ryan hesitated too long before answering a question he clearly didn’t expect about abortion, yatta ta yatta ta yatta. I guess the pundits have to earn their money someway, but not one of them mentioned the most telling line from Biden:
The next president will pick two jurists to serve on the United States Supreme Court. If the Romney ticket wins, you can expect a conservative court to be even more conservative. I think having such an unbalanced court is a disaster as in their recent decision giving corporations the same rights as a human. That is something to think about.
Ryan avoids answering the direct question, what is their plan to bring 12 million higher-paying jobs to Americans.  He says they will do it, but he can’t explain how. Biden says the way to get back to work is to let the Bush tax cuts expire and level the playing field for middle class Americans. Help out where needed just like the banks were helped. Working people PAY taxes.
It makes me nervous to watch the debates. I don’t watch the horrible ads I hear about. But, we have so much to lose and be concerned about if our leaders fail us. If there was only some way we could be guaranteed what we hear is honest, and hear plans to solve problems that are clear and concise. This campaign has given the fact checkers a lot of business. There are more, and more fact checkers needed. We should require our congressional leaders to take ethics classes before they take their oath. I would just once like to see a fact checker at a debate slap one of them across the knuckles with a ruler when he or she lies. And, I’d just once like to hear an ad that says, “This message has passed the fact checker for truthfulness.”
(I didn’t hear from the pundits that there was a proliferation of lies at this debate like the Presidential debate.)
And, no one mentioned Republican Senator Larry Pressler’s endorsement of President Obama, and the positive things the Obama Administration has done for veterans.
Yesterday, I proudly endorsed President Obama.
As a combat veteran of two tours of Vietnam with 22 years of service as a Republican member of the U.S. House and Senate, the choice was not easy.
But it is clear: President Obama recognizes that our sacred trust with those who serve starts when they take their oath, and never ends.
That’s why he’s enacted tax credits to spur businesses to hire unemployed veterans and wounded warriors. He implemented and improved the post-9/11 GI Bill, the largest investment in veterans education since the original GI Bill more than 60 years ago. He’s proposing a Veterans Jobs Corps that would help put returning service members to work as police officers, firefighters, and first responders.
President Obama ended the war in Iraq, and has a plan to responsibly end the war in Afghanistan. He’s laid out a clear plan that would reduce the deficit and prevent the mandatory arbitrary military spending cuts that no one wants.
And something that hits close to home: President Obama secured the largest increase in VA investments in decades, so veterans get the care and benefits they earned, like treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and traumatic brain injury. As someone with service-related PTSD, I meet with younger veterans weekly to help them through the treatment and transition. It makes a difference for them knowing their president has their back.
And let me be clear: Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan would be disastrous for America’s service members, veterans, and military families.
When you fail to mention an ongoing war in accepting your party’s nomination to be president, or veterans in a so-called jobs plan, the public praise rings hollow.
Mitt Romney has time and again failed the test to be commander-in-chief of our nation’s military. When he politicized the death of Ambassador Chris Stevens and three other brave Americans in Libya, he demonstrated that he lacks the required resolve and steadiness. He sowed division between “us” and “them” when he wrote off 47 percent of Americans, including any veteran collecting disability like myself. He has still failed to outline any plan to end the war in Afghanistan or bring our troops home.
He has not proven himself fit to serve as commander-in-chief of this nation.
Now, that is clear and concise.

ANDY ROONEY AND 60 MINUTES

I’ve always loved Andy Rooney’s wry comments on the irritating things of everyday life.  Made me think we had something in common. I admired his unflinching honesty and that he stood behind his convictions whether others thought he was right or wrong.  A number of times he apologized if he felt he had  made a mistake. Not often. I gave up watching 60 Minutes some years back when they changed their time slot. And, I gave up watching television almost completely since I’ve been on the road with Jim. Don’t miss it, but I  had to watch 60 Minutes’ tribute to their uncompromising Irishman.  It was an interview of a previously aired program. I was glad I watched it.  I was surprised at how much about Rooney I didn’t know; his years with Godfrey, Reasoner, Cronkite. His original bits with 60 Minutes as a shadow character. His early career and awards.
The Seattle Post Intelligencer aired a video of Rooney’s final goodbye on 60 Minutes.  I had never seen it. I was glad I watched it, too. His final statement that goes something like this:  If you see me out to dinner, just let me eat my dinner.  Typical crusty Rooney. I heard him say that several times over the years. He didn’t like people to bother him during his private time. He never let fame go to his head.  He had substance, a great sense of humor, often serious, funny, sometimes angry, or silly; telling it like it was. Here is a link to  his last program if you missed it to:
http://www.seattlepi.com/ae/tv/tvguide/article/Andy-Rooney-Dies-at-92-2253704.php