respublica

And here we stay

The rules are getting tighter and tighter these days. I'm past the point where I can watch the news without feeling it's all hopeless. We're getting tighter on our rules for people coming onto the seminary campus as well. More of our signs have been placed to let local people know what they can and cannot do while using our campus for outdoor walks and bike rides.

As for our daily life, I can hardly bear the thought of going to get groceries, the news makes this seem like I'll be walking into a germ infested, threatening place.

In any event, it's best to keep the news off for most of the day. We are keeping on keeping on. I clean things around here a dozen times a day as well as puttering in the gardens. Dale has been working in the yard and in his isolated office doing seminary work. Last night was just tv, Dale has put on a baseball retrospective on MLB every night this week. Past games re-played. You can just imagine how exciting this is.  Mainly we sit up for awhile and find ourselves going to bed earlier and earlier just to forget about all this.

Here he was last night looking at pictures people put up on Facebook. I will say I, and probably many others, are thankful for such a thing as Facebook. It keeps us in touch, makes us laugh, and gives us information (good of bad).

 

 

What we need now is less hysteria

We are equal opportunity cable news watchers. Most days we watch all three cable news stations. MSNBC in the early morning, CNN over the noon time hours and in late afternoon/supper time we look in on Fox News. We do not watch nighttime cable of any kind.

Since the Coronavirus made its appearance there has been a noticeable uptick in cable news people hysteria. I mean, it's gotten to the point where we are close to not watching at all. There is uncontrolled, shrill, temper tantrums going on with many of these people as they practically scream for someone to do something about this.

When a cable news show does actually come on where the hosts are even tempered, rational and even able to make us laugh a bit, it's welcome. Take this virus seriously but for pete's sake news people should not be causing even more fear with their worst construction on everything. And, it's not about politics, quit making it so. This virus is an equal opportunity disease, hitting people of all political persuasions.

Honestly

Two things during this trying and boring time:

1. I wish it would quit raining and the sun would come out.
2. I wish every news channel would quit breaking in to tell us of any new individual who has been diagnosed with the virus. Also too many news conferences.

Strong but needed words

From someone on Twitter:

"Dear reporters, PLEASE stop doing this. Stop trying to increase panic and make things sound worse to score political points. It's really not helpful in a crisis where we need the public to trust the things you report."

Exactly. Take it seriously but don't make up stuff that could happen. That makes it worse and I'm talking to you CNN.

But are they listening?

From Adam Housley senior news corespondent:

"To the media outlets who are bashing each other for coverage. To the politicians bashing other over politics. You...are...the....problem. The majority of us..are over it and over you. We want professionalism. Facts. We want leadership. Not panic and politics."

Panic buying

With all the constant reporting on the Coronavirus, one story keeps popping up. We are all "rushing out" to stock up on toilet paper. Images are showing empty toilet paper shelves in various Walmarts. Cnn even has a post titled,  The Psychology Behind Why Toilet Paper Has Become So Important, which tries to answer just why toilet paper stocking up seems so important. It's a panic buy! Why the panic?

You can read the psychology according to CNN, but I'll just toss this out as one big reason. Ever since this virus has appeared, cable news and its local affiliates have been non-stop with their putting out the worst and scariest predictions about it. All day, all night, news just somehow finds another instance in which we fear being too far from a place to wash our hands. The daily reporting about someone who must isolate themselves at home makes everyone think they may be next and so stocks up on things they can't do without. Toilet Paper. It's as simple as that. No psychology needed. What we need is for cable and other news people to just stop this. 

Actually on Sunday afternoon I had to go to Walmart for, you guessed it, toilet paper. We were pretty much out and I was wondering if I'd even find any on the shelves. Well, yes I did.

Yes we need to be aware, but not every waking minute. And, stop rewarding those who are cancelling everything and hiding in their homes for no reason.

Presidential crowds

I've been reading Five Presidents,  a new book by Clint Hill, a secret service officer who served 5 presidents beginning with Eisenhower. It's a fascinating read and events this week mirrored what he described back in 1959 while on a presidential visit to India.

Here is a brief description of the welcome Eisenhower received in India:

"I could hardly believe what I saw when I stepped off the aircraft in New Delhi. People were stacked twenty deep behind rope lines, and still thousands more were seated in bleachers. There had to be seventy thousand people waiting on the tarmac". While driving from the airport to the residence of India's president, "the streets were lined with people as far as you could see and where there was a higher vantage point, be it a roof, a balcony or a tree limb, those spots were also jammed with people."

After having read this part last week I was interested in seeing how President Trump was greeted while on his trip to India earlier this week. In 2010 Obama traveled there and had similar greetings by huge crowds and the news covered that pretty much cover to cover. I found almost nothing much reported by our media this week during Trump's visit. One news outlet, ABC News had this to say on the first day:

"It was a massive gathering of the world's largest cricket stadium with tens of thousands cheering for the two leaders. Senior White House correspondent is traveling with the president and first lady and said, President Trump loves a big crowd and today India's president delivered his biggest one yet. Thousands lined the streets of Ahmedabad to watch the motorcade go by and more than 100,000, a sea of Trump fans packing into the world's largest cricket stadium."

After that nothing from the rest of Trump's visit on the news. Each of the evening newscasts allocated just a single news brief to Trump’s trip, all on February 24 (the first day of the visit). NBC and ABC spent a paltry 13 and 15 seconds respectively on the Presidential excursion. CBS gave 23 seconds with only one sentence.

And there are those who still wonder about media bias. In 2010 Obama went to India and all the networks reported all 3 days.

ABC and NBC found Obama’s time in India so compelling that both networks led off two consecutive evening broadcasts with the story. These reports included details such as the purpose of the visit and updates about what the President had accomplished — none of which was present in their coverage of Trump’s visit.

Unsurprisingly, the tone of the 2010 coverage was predominantly positive. For example, NBC correspondent Lee Cowan claimed on the November 6 NBC Nightly News that Obama’s negotiations “could create more than 50,000 US jobs.”

Oh, wait. Trump's visit was to encourage a trade agreement. Not worth mentioning. It seems India's people love American Presidents no matter who they are.

 

Can you find Ukraine?

News people have been all over Ukraine these days more often than not trying to play the gotcha game with political types by demanding to know if they could find that country on a map. Some political types have turned this question on irritating reporters as well. So I ask you, before looking at a map of Europe, can you visualize about where it is?

Frankly, I'm getting weary of all the cheap shots coming from everywhere aimed at everyone these days. But, here is a map of Europe and there's Ukraine. Click it to enlarge for better seeing.

I can identify

click to enlarge

Don't believe the experts

This morning I came across an online post from USA TODAY Sports in which their hockey experts made their predictions on who would win the Stanley Cup game 7 championship. Here are their guesses:

Kevin Allen, Bruins 3, Blues 1:  Home ice advantage. Big-game experience. Hot goalie. Dangerous power play. The Bruins have too many factors going for them. They are confident after going into St. Louis and beating the Blues 5-1 to force a Game 7. The Bruins’ trademark this season has the been the consistency of their effort.

Jimmy Hascup, Bruins 4, Blues 2: Tuukka Rask and his .938 playoff save percentage on home ice against a rookie netminder? A top line that reawakened with four points in Game 6? A future Hall of Fame defenseman (Zdeno Chara) logging shutdown minutes like he's in his prime? Yeah, give me Boston to finish this off.

Mike Brehm, Bruins 3, Blues 1: Would love to see a Bruins defenseman score in overtime, go flying through the air and get a statue outside TD Garden. But Boston should get this done in regulation. Blues goalie Jordan Binnington, who rebounds well after a loss, will keep the game tight, but Tuukka Rask's strong play and the Bruins' experience should win out and Boston will get an empty-netter to make the difference.

Jace Evans, Bruins 3, Blues 0: Tuukka Rask has been unfairly maligned by a segment of the Boston fanbase for years. But a shutout in Game 7 of a Stanley Cup Final – which predecessor Tim Thomas accomplished in 2011 – that would come with the Conn Smythe Trophy would be a good way for the winningest goalie in Bruins history to cement his legacy. A shutout would also be impressive based on the Blues' road dominance: they're 9-3 away from Enterprise Center these playoffs, and they have already won two games in Boston this series. 

So....Their experts went 4 for 4 in being wrong. So so satisfying. It's kind of like when all the political experts had Hillary Clinton to win in 2016