What is Important?

[puppetmaker]

But first a quick reminder that I am still taking questions this weekend. So ask 'em if you got 'em

In the age of the Internet, one can sort out what is important to them and what they want to read about rather quickly.

I have a number of feeds that give me the news I want when I want it.

But I am rather disappointed in the American new media right now.

The Russians have rolled tanks into Georgia after rebels within the country were attacked by the government. The attacks on their own citizens are not denied. The Russians claim that they are helping the rebels against an oppressive government. I don't care what they claim, the Russians want their Black Sea ports back and will use any excuse to do it.

14 people were killed in Texas in a bus crash and 40 were injured. The front tire blew out causing the accident. This was a group of Vietnamese Roman Catholics out on a pilgrimage.

The Beijing Olympics opened to much pomp and circumstance. The fireworks were amazing as was the pageantry. Cecil B Demille would have been proud.

Oil fell and the dollar regained some of its lost value. The Stock Market looked better than it has in weeks. No banks failed.

Oh and the Attorney General's office finally apologized to Dr. Steven Hatfill after destroying his career by labeling him as a person of interest in the Anthrax attacks. Sure the government paid him and his lawyers a whopping sum of money since he can no longer find work in his chosen profession but they still hadn't said that they were sorry about the matter. For six years he has been living under a cloud of suspicion that cost him more than one job and made him a pariah in his scientific community. That one is buried in every newspaper in the country and it should be up there for all to see.

And what is the first story on all the feeds?

John Edwards didn't keep it in his pants. And not only that but he did this back in 2006. This is not a current affair but something that happened two years ago to someone who is no longer running for political office. What is the frelling point other than to have yet another Democrat that the Republicans can point to as a moral failure and therefore that must be true for the whole party? That is the only thing I can come up with.

There was an exception this morning. The New York Times led with the conflict in Georgia rather than Edwards. But the majority were foaming at the mouth about Edwards.

And Edwards showed a little class by admitting he was stupid and had, in his own words, "over the course of several campaigns, I started to believe that I was special and became increasingly egocentric and narcissistic." He admits to making some really bad calls and hurting his family. This is the story that should have been on page 6 or even the gossip pages rather than front page news.

I am grateful I can read the news that is a little more important than yet another old sex scandal.

Comments

[bainidhe-dub.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I thought the Edwards story was a little tasteless, given her health - she already knew what happened, so why the hell did everyone else in the world need to know? So we could go "oh that poor woman" even more? It's ridiculous. Let her at least enjoy the time she has left, ya know, instead of trying to save face in the storm of stupid media people.

I am thoroughly disgusted with the media.

[e-cunningham.livejournal.com]

Americans need to GET OUT OF OTHER PEOPLE's BEDROOMS.

As a culture, we are prudish AND prurient; hypocritical, yet pathetically eager to expose hypocricy. "News" has become the province of small-minded gossips and Chris-Matthews-wannabe misognynist assholes. This state of affairs totally sucks.

There was absolutely no need to run this story. Senator Edwards should not have to answer questions of this nature. And "journalists" should rightfully be regarded with incredulity and contempt when they ask questions such as "Have you always been faithful to Cindy, Senator McCain?" Or ignored completely--WITHOUT the implication that silence implies guilt.

To any questions of a highly personal matter, the only appropriate and reasonable answer is, "None of your effing business."

/rant

[stephen-dedman.livejournal.com]

There's an old joke that the US was settled by Puritans while Australia was settled by criminals - so we Australians won that competition.

[hazelwitch.livejournal.com]

I honestly thought this news would get more coverage:

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/oly_china_american_killed

Don't get me wrong, I'm glad that Edwards finally admitted the affair. I think it will help his family move on, no matter what it does to his political status. And I think when a political figure bareface lies about something, especially for so long, we're all in trouble, so it's newsworthy. But no, not page 1, by any means.

Sometimes I think people just don't want to focus on the news that is real and actual and means something. I don't know if it's just sensory overload from our information-driven society (where millions of tragedies are just a click away on every news feed), or if they just can't be bothered to care about anything other than gossip if it doesn't involve them. It's hard to say. But I'm glad that some people like yourself actually take the time to be a citizen of the world.

[ceruleanlobster.livejournal.com]

I like the Huffington Post because they at least have the decency to put the Georgia/Russia story over everything else. That said, though, the Edwards affair is relevant, in my opinion. His name was bandied about as a possible VP candidate or Attorney General appointee. I'm not so much concerned with the affair itself, but I am deeply disappointed that he so fervently lied about it. Really, my issue is with the fact that I trusted him (as much as someone can trust someone they don't know). I believed him and now I cannot believe him anymore. He specifically denied the allegation, bringing his wife into the lie by remarking that she was a beautiful, sexy woman and it would be absurd to suggest he'd betray her. He went out of his way to portray himself as a family man. He used the word "moral" when describing himself. I'm angry that he obviously used his family for his own political gain. It's the whole hypocrisy argument--it's why I was so mad at the Spitzer affair. If you're going to fervently present yourself a certain way, then be that way. Don't say one thing and do another. It makes me wonder if I can believe anyone in politics.

Oh, hi! I'm Lola, by the way. I'm a friend of clauderainsrm. He was telling me about you because we were talking about Dragon*Con. He mentioned that you were going and that you were an interesting person.

[wherdafux-d-cat.livejournal.com]

This made me insane(r) when I checked the news feeds yesterday. Georgia/Russia was third down below Edwards and I don't even remember the second item.

[popfiend.livejournal.com]

Agreed.

I was thinking about this earlier today.

*sympatico*