Prince Harry's a what?

You know, I was all ready to do a post about our wonderful holiday, complete with pictures, until I fell out of bed this morning, turned on my tv and was subjected to yet another round of dramatic drivel disguised as "news". Thanks to CBS, I was slapped in the face with the "news" that Britain's Prince Harry...(dramatic music here)...is a racist. The basis for this claim? A video, taken and narrated by Harry, has surfaced wherein he points the camera at a fellow cadet and calls him a "Paki". The fellow cadet was indeed a Pakistani but, apparently, "Paki" is a derogatory term for Indians or Pakistanis. Who knew? Now I haven't heard any response from the aforementioned Pakistani cadet, but his uncle has managed to make the news by telling the world just how insulting Prince Harry's comment was. Huh. Wonder if Australians are similarly offended by the turn "Aussie". Come to think of it, I've also been known to refer to those from Great Britain as "Brits". Certainly didn't mean any offense by that, but perhaps I assumed too much, eh? Better check on these things before I make an unintended faux paux. But, back to Harry - lest you think the news is making much ado about nothing, there's further proof that the Red-Headed, Third-in-Line-to-the-Throne, Wild Child-of-the-British-Isles is indeed a racist pig. In yet another video shot by William's little bro, Harry spots one of his comrades with what appears to be some camouflage netting over his head and as he looks up at the lens, Harry says: "It's Dan the Man... F*** me, you look like a raghead." (For those of you who aren't current on offensive slang, "raghead" is a racist term for Arabs.) Well now. That just goes over the line, don't you think? What a jerk. What an insensitive, arrogant, unthinking jerk. I'm appalled that the Royal Family still claims him.

Okay. So that's not how I really feel. I really feel that what passes as so-called news these days is really nothing more than salacious gossip. I feel that, while racism is ugly and intolerable, the world has gone too far into the "politically correct" stage and anything and everything can and probably will be misconstrued as racist if heard by the right (or the wrong) person. I feel that some people are too thin-skinned and that there are false proponents of those people who will raise the specter of ugliness and hatred for their own purposes without thought to the strife their actions will cause. I feel that we, the people of the industrialized nations all across this planet, spend way too much time listening to people who claim to be bringing us the "news" when those people have absolutely no idea of what the basic tenets of journalism actually are. I feel that our ability and willingness to let other people formulate our opinions over issues ranging from Prince Harry's latent and/or blatant racism (depending on how you view this latest "news", of course) to which of our potential leaders' shady associations are really worth thinking about is going to lead us into ruination and chaos. And most of us will be standing there asking "How'd this happen?". Well let me just tell you ahead of time...it happened because we were all too damn lazy to find out facts for ourselves. Having it force fed to us by plastic faced talking heads on so-called news shows was just easier. The Politically Correct Police have informed us that Prince Harry is a racist, therefore he will be labeled as such forever more in the minds of many. Just like the Politically Correct Police told us that Obama's associations with the likes of Tony Rezko, William Ayers and ACORN were unimportant and not worthy of scrutiny. Far too many of us said, "Duhhhhhh, okay. If you say so.", and let those issues fall to the wayside. Whether or not they were worthy of scrutiny may never be known because we were told it didn't matter and we excepted it. Probably because we were too busy watching Britney Spears' latest mental breakdown or agonizing over who would win the "big prize" on the latest Must See reality show. Priorities are everything, eh? It happened because we gave far too much trust to those who are supposed to earn it from us and were too lackadaisical and/or ignorant to take that trust back when we knew we should.

Okay. I'm done for now. Note to self: stick to reruns of Monk in the A.M. and avoid "news" channels like the plague.

I'll be back with some Christmas pictures later on today...once my blood-pressure has returned to normal. And just so you know; hearing that Prince Harry issued an "apology" for his "racist" remarks really didn't go a long way towards accomplishing that. I think I'd have felt better if he'd have told the world media to "piss off" instead.

Well, gee, I heard it on the news so it must be true, right?

24 hour news shows may very well have spelled the end to honest and factual news reporting. I'm not the first one to say or think that. Far from it. The 24 hour news channels have to keep the news "fresh" and they have to "beat" their competition to the "big stories". That often means that they forget to check the facts before they air those stories. And that often results in erroneous "reporting" of items that are presented to us, the public, as actual and factual "news". This concerns me for many reasons, not the least being that so much of America relies on these "news" shows for our information about things that actually matter to us as a nation. Things like: which candidate is the best qualified to be our next president? It used to be that you could look to the news to get an understanding of what a candidate stood for, what their goals were, what vision they hoped to implement if elected. You could do that because news anchors and reporters used to be "neutral". They reported the news, period. They didn't try to influence us one way or the another. And they sure didn't tell us their opinions about what a great guy this candidate is or that candidate is. They left the opinion-giving to the editorial folks. When you saw or read an editorial, you knew it was an opinion and not a fact. Nowadays, you can't tell the difference. It's all presented as "news". For instance, during recent election coverage, MSNBC's Chris Matthews all but salivated when he talked about Obama and I damn near wanted to offer him a cigarette when he was done talking about him. When Matthews told viewers how he got "chills up his legs" when he heard Obama speak...well, let's just say I thought that fell into the category of T.M.I. (Too Much Information) and was, in no way, appropriate for a so-called "news" person to say. Meanwhile, he eviscerated Hillary Clinton every chance he got and he spoke as if the Republican front runner, John McCain, would merely be a name on the ballot come November, not a serious candidate to win. Granted, Matthews is more a pundit and a talk-show host than an actual "news" person, but he has (according to him) made "a commitment to cover politics", a commitment he wants to "honor" and that prevents him from "getting involved in actual politics himself". Newsflash for you Chris: You're not covering politics if you're doing more editorializing than reporting. You are, in fact, campaigning under the guise of covering. Big difference.
I generally get my morning news fix from a variety of sources; CBS, ABC, CNN Headline News and FOX. I used to watch NBC in the a.m., but just can't do it anymore. The show grates on my nerves like fingernails on a chalkboard and I'm not even sure why. I also used to watch MSNBC's Morning Joe, but had to stop because they weren't imparting any news anymore. They had become yet another part of the Obama for President Campaign. I can't watch FOX exclusively because they are more the "give me a Republican for President - I don't even care which one" school of thought and I can't watch the main CNN channel because they are of the "the whole world is going to hell, it's all the fault of Republicans but Democrats are too flaky to fix the mess we're in so let's just sit here and shake our heads at how much the world hates us" school of thought. I only watch CBS and ABC because, well, heck...at least the faces change even if the stories don't. But overall, I come away from my morning news show viewing wondering if what I've heard is really true or if it's unsubstantiated bull hockey. It's gotten to the point where I take all that I've heard, combine it with all that I have read regarding a certain situation and try to figure out what really rings true. What a way to get a view of the world, eh? Oh, and do I have proof that the news really isn't the news anymore? Well, yeah, I think I do. Does anybody remember the recent story (carried by all the networks and cable news) about the kid who supposedly baked LSD and/or pot into some cookies and then delivered them to Ft. Worth area police stations as part of his community service commitment to MADD (Mothers Against Drunk Driving)? This story was everywhere - on every channel, on the internet, just everywhere. Well golly gee, a day or so after the story ran, they got the test results on those cookies back. No drugs. What was reported as fact was a mistake. An error. Someone jumped to a wrong conclusion and the media ran with it. Good job, guys. Another story had to do with sightings of great white sharks off the coast of Martha's Vineyard, which just happens to be where they filmed "Jaws". Yeah, the sharks were spotted, beaches were closed, people were all a dither. Quite a coincidence, it being the filming location of one of the scariest shark movies in history. I mean wow! How strange is that? And what potential for a great story, right?!! What if someone was actually attacked there? Boy...you could just see the news people's eyes glowing at the thought. But wait a tick. The next day came the news that the story was a hoax. Not that I saw anybody reporting that on the morning news, mind you. I read it online. But yeah, it was a falsehood, a fake, an untruth. It was reported as fact, but....as it turns out, it was just some dipstick making stuff up and, again, the media ran with it. (Gosh, they do great work.)
If they don't even bother to get the little stuff correct, how can we trust that they're actually getting the big stuff right, either? But hey listen, don't worry about it too much. I mean, at least the news channels are still reporting on the really important stuff. Stuff like Christie Brinkley's divorce and Angelina Jolie's womb happenings. You know, the stuff of legends. The stuff that makes the world go 'round. And it's brought to you by the people who are determining what information and which stories matter to America today (and shame on us for going along with this drivel!!). Now let me ask you something...are these really the people you're going to rely on to help you determine who you'll vote for to be the leader of the Free World????
Think about it....And before you get all upset with me for talking politics...know this; I don't care who you vote for. Rather, I care that you vote from an informed position, that you believe in your chosen candidate and that you make up your mind based on your research, not some talking head's. Don't just vote for a buzzword. Buzzwords won't change the world, they merely look good on a t-shirt. Don't just vote along political party lines, either. Not all party candidates are worthy of that sort of blind devotion. Scratch that. None of them are. Know the candidate, not just his/her affiliation. And don't just vote for someone because you think it's the right thing to to. Know that it is. Your vote counts, it matters, it's important and voting is a privilege, not a bother.
And that's our story here in beautiful downtown Bugtussle, Texas. Reporting to you live, this is
Kari.
Now back to you in the newsroom, Jim.

P.S. There, did you see how easy it was for me to fake being a reporter?? LOL

News of Today....Shocking Stuff....and a Sad Commentary on Our Nation's Unwillingness to Help the Less Fortunate

Today's Headlines:

Lindsay Lohan Does 84 Minutes in Jail

Okay. May I just say....fascinating story. Really. Another Hollywood starlet drives drunk, again, and is harshly punished by having to spend less than an hour and a half behind bars. For those of you who have failed to keep up with this riveting case, let me recap: Ms. Lohan was cited for drunken driving offenses twice, the first time when she crashed her Mercedes into a tree. Both instances, Ms. Lohan was found to be in possession of cocaine. But hey, they were small amounts of cocaine so let's not get too carried away with the condemnation of the poor dear. The judge, a severe taskmaster if ever there was one, sentenced her to four days in jail, which is the mandatory minimum for a second drunken driving offense. (He then gave her credit for 24 hours already served.) Ms. Lohan then opted to complete 10 days of community service (would love to know what that entailed!) in lieu of 48 hours in jail (thank goodness she was given that choice!), thereby bringing her total plea deal to this: she had to enter treatment (and goodness knows she could afford the best in rehab/spa locations), spend a day in jail (since when did a day translate to 84 minutes????) and perform that mysteriously unknown community service. Wow. When I think of that pitiful child languishing behind bars (or rather, in the inmate reception area) for those long, painful 84 minutes, I get all choked up. Luckily, I've become nearly immune from the outrage I used to feel at the way our justice system treats sad, defenseless girls like Lindsay and Nicole Richie and Paris Hilton. I mean, after suffering along with Paris in her tribulations and then witnessing the degradation that sad little Nicole endured with her 82 minutes in jail (also for her 2nd DUI conviction, but who's counting, right?), well....I'm pretty much drained of my ability to stand up and fight against such atrocities. That's what happens when we, as a society, don't stand up and defend the first victim...it becomes that much easier to stand silently by when the next person is targeted. And the next. And the next and so on. Soon, we've lost the ability to defend even the most precious amongst us...like Little Lindsay Lohan. (heavy sigh, heavy heavy sigh). Seems like our nation's willingness to show sympathy and support for those less fortunate has gone the way of my Christmas Decorating spirit...that is to say, into a black hole from which I fear it may never be recovered. Ah well...what can you do? Lindsay, Paris, Nicole...they're all young and strong and I'm sure they'll bounce back from what our country has done to them. Now Britney? Whoa, now. That's a whole different story. Just don't even get me started!

P.S. I have got to quit reading the news online. Remember when your mom used to tell you that if you "kept rolling your eyes like that", they'd stick that way? I'm afraid that's what's going to happen to me if I read one more piece of "news" like this. And what is "news" anyway? I thought it was stories of things we needed to know. But I was wrong, Scooter. "News" is whatever titillates our senses...the dumber, the more salacious and the more vacuous the better, apparently. Geez. I weep for the future of our country. I truly, truly do. The good news is, we'll be too stupid to realize we're sinking into oblivian because our I.Q.'s will have been lessened so much by garbage like this "news" story. Hey, who says there's not a silver lining in everything, eh?