News Round Up

Reading through the headlines today, I am struck by our inability as a nation to identify that which we truly care about and our rampant ADD which requires us to have fresh news about stupid things all day.

Here is a smattering of what the AP thinks is important, if not, top news.

The United States government, not to be deterred by obviously shizo guy not getting the death penalty, has decided that the next, greatest weapon against the terrorists, is to make said terrorists appear inept. I wonder to myself if this wasn't dreamed up after watching the AFT agent shoot himself in the foot (or was it leg) while telling young children that only trained professionals like himself should handle weapons. (Sorry I don' t have the link for that one, but it came with a VIDEO.)

Alternately, top news includes the very desired information about the status of Heather Locklear and Denise Richards' friendship. Ok, I can see why Heather would no longer be Denise's friend, but why is it framed as Richards No Longer Friends With Locklear? Honestly, I am sure it was Heather that took her dolls and went home. And what I really want to know is, how is this related to the restraining order Denise got against Charlie a few weeks ago? Now I may find the answer to these questions and many more if I actually read the article, but I am not really that interested. So I will just continue to read the "top news" headlines and marvel how often Denise appears. I mean isn't she Charlie Sheen's estranged wife who happens to be an actress? Oh yeah, she has a new show, and a press release happy publicist, apparently.

Now, if you really want a chuckle, you can read about someone heckling our fabulously effective and productive Secretary of Defense. I support anyone who hurls questions about Rummy's motives in public, but I just don't think ultimately it will be effective. I mean, if retired generals can say they don't think he is all that and should step down, and it gets ignored, what can us lowly civilians hope to accomplish?

Or, you can cringe while you read about the Minutemen types being given the authority to ARREST as many illegal aliens as they can find in Phoenix. I had to read this article because I need to know just how they are going to tell... and maybe I should get an airline ticket to Phoenix, only speak Spanish while I am there and not carry my social security card. Would that get me arrested? I would love to slap those assholes with a wrongful arrest suit.

Lastly for this posting, if you weren't disgusted enough by the last article, you can move right into the one about the man Haley Barbour won't pardon even though he went to jail for 7 years for allegedly asking someone to steal $25 of chicken feed. Forget for a minute that it was a trumped up charge (who the hell came up with that one? or was it just convenient that they had a guy in jail who had stolen $25 of chicken feed?) and just focus on the logic of sentencing a man to a year in jail for every $.57 of feed. His real crime was trying to integrate the University of Mississippi. It seems relentlessly cruel to not be willing to pardon someone who was falsely arrested, tried, convicted and inhumanely sentenced. I am sure there are many, many child molesters who never served anywhere near 7 years for their crimes. Proving once again that driving while Black is far more dangerous (and, apparently, criminal) than almost anything in the world.

I am sure there is much more to detail here, but I can't bring myself to do it.