- If Alberto Gonzales had just answered "Yes, absolutely!" when accused of political motivation for the U.S. attorney firings, he'd still be Attorney General. Of course, they were political--they are presidential appointees. The president can appoint whoever he wants. Nobody asked Bill Clinton about his motivations for firing all 93 U.S. attorneys after his election to the presidency. It's doubtful anyone ever will.
- If Larry Craig can't restrain himself in an airport restroom, he's a poor choice for senator and should resign. End of discussion.
- If MSM can ignore progress in the Iraq war, leaving it unreported, then the public can ignore MSM, leaving it unread and unwatched. Americans shouldn't need to go to the Department of Defense website to find in-depth news on our military forces overseas. But that's what I do, instead of watching network newscasts feed us nonstop negativity.
- If Greensburg can clean up without whining about the government, New Orleans should be able to do the same. (A link was necessary there, as most of us have forgotten about Greensburg--since they didn't whine.) Imagine if the pioneers who built this country had sat around waiting for FEMA to show up every time they suffered a setback!
- If celebrities are detoxing, relapsing, or recuperating, that's not newsworthy. Few things are more commonplace than a sobriety-seeking celebrity. As a headline, it rates several Z-z-z-z-z-z-z's.
The late Bob Thaves, author of the "Frank and Ernest" comic strip, published a terrific cartoon a couple of years ago. His characters are on the sofa, watching television, and the newscaster's voice announces "And now for tonight's carefully selected news." I liked it so much that I e-mailed Mr. Thaves, asking permission to post it in this blog. He was kind enough to respond a few days later, saying that although my blog was fine, he didn't know where his cartoon might ultimately be used as a result and asked me not to post it.
I certainly understood his reluctance, especially in today's media climate. Much of what qualifies as "news" today, such as celebrity gossip, is not important. It's not news. Much of what is very important, such as stories on the war fronts, either never makes the newspapers or nightcasts, or it's buried on page A-23. That "Frank & Ernest" cartoon remains taped on my refrigerator door, a daily reminder of the agenda-driven distortions we are constantly subjected to in the news we are presented.
I've got news for MSM--I'm carefully selecting my own news.
