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It's all about the daily struggle

What times we're in right now. While most of us are still trying to get by day by day with a virus which will not go away, the political class is obsessing over the coming election. Frankly, while I normally rather enjoy most election years, this one just seems as crazy as the life we have to put up with.

News media of all types are fully engaged in reporting every darn thing that is said or done by candidates and their supporters. They're even analyzing each party's digital media group. All the political back and forth is just so much like the sounds and orchestra makes while warming up.

Some wag made a joke about '2020' being the new curse word. "What the 2020 are you talking about?" And so on. Substitute 2020 for your favorite swear word. Totally acceptable.

Photo memories

Yesterday all the news talk was about Joe Biden and the woman who accused him of improper behavior. There was lots and lots of commentary on how differently he was being discussed as opposed to how media went after Justice Kavanaugh.  I will say we watched Morning Joe's interview of Biden with Mika   Brzezinski and she was pretty tough. But, back with Kavanaugh, we sat through weeks of media  and democratic frenzy which brought on the protesters. There were protests everywhere, many pretty scary.

This reminded me of the day loads of Kavanaugh protesters stormed into the Senate Office building where our daughter happens to work. As time went by that afternoon the mobs moved out of the lobby and got up to all floors where they hung out screaming. She called me as this was going on and said "this is the first time I've ever been nervous here."

The protesters had signs, masks, weird clothing in many cases. All were yelling constantly. So don't think now is being treated the same because it isn't. Here is a link to a blog post I put up at that time with a couple of pictures she sent me.

While stuck at home, try boxing

We watch the morning local news every day, sometimes channel 2, other times channel 5 and we've become fascinated by KSDK (5) in St. Louis' traffic reporter, Monica Adams. Like many TV reporters, she's reporting from her home and it turns out she's quite the fitness fanatic. Most every day she is shown in her basement surrounded by all types of professional fitness equipment. Every day we're more amazed by what she's showing us what we can do.

We had a huge laugh when she focused on her professional boxing bag hanging from the basement ceiling. Rather several big boxing bags. She put on the gloves and began whacking the bag while describing how this can help our fitness. Another day the full basement was shown with all the machines. It has been quite an eye-opener and so different from other reporters who report in their kitchens or office in front of bookshelves.

Here is a link to all of her basement reporting. Scroll down to the videos and one is the boxing lessons. The others are great too even though not many of us could duplicate this.

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.