Rob on Air America Radio tonight
I'll be on the air about 11:30 EST, 8:30 Pacific with Jon Elliot. Listen in! Call in.
What did I miss in the news?
You'll see, below, that I was on a news fast for six days. Sure, I can and have scanned OEN to see what I missed. But I 'm curious what you think is important, that I missed. So I'm posting this as a diary too. Please click here to add, with a comment, your thoughts on what was the major, most interesting news for the week.
Back From A Six Day News Fast
I do an annual fishing trip with cousins and, this year, both of my sons, since my youngest turned 18.
We drive 420 miles to Ontario, spend the night, then drive another five or six hours before hitting the final stretch of logging trails-- a two hour drive over what look like dry creek beds. Then we reach the outfitter's lodge, where we go the last eight miles by boat, to arrive at our cabin-- no toilet, no hot water, wood stove heated. There is a generator. We have gas for a few hours of electricity a day.
And so, leaving at about 8:00 AM on Thursday, from Ottawa, I start my news fast going far, far into the western Qebec bush. How far? On our way back, three hours into the return to civilization we were still far enough out in the boonies to encounter this moose.
Okay. So I tried to catch some news about eight hours into the trip, when I had a last moment three minutes to check the internet at the lodge, where they have satellite access. But We were rushing to load the boats and three minutes didn't get me anything of interest.
And it turned out that one of the other new generation participants had brought along an XM satellite radio receiver player. Problem was, we were staying in a one room cabin-- nine guys. And no-one else wanted to hear the news. They just wanted music. So I snuck a listen for three or four minutes and lreaned that something happened to Ted Kennedy. What happened to him, Wolf? I kept listening. They showed people talking about Kennedy, but no answer to my question. Finally, on the way home, I picked up a daily paper and found out it was a brain tumor.
But overall, I went for six days with zero news. I call that a news fast. No internet, no, radio, no newspapers, no television, not even cellphone or blackberry service.
CNN reports how the newest polls show that non-college educated whites support Hillary more, and that they are more likely to vote for McCain if Obama runs against him.
As I write, Obama is talking to a Jewish community in a synagogue.
Let's add this up. McCain repudiates Hagee, Polls show less educated Whites supporting Hillary and Obama reaching out to the Jews, attempting to prove his support for Israel.
If I were a white, blue collar, born again, I'd be feeling neglected and taken for granted. Expect McCain to redouble his efforts in the next few days to show that he is a kindred spirit with evangelicals. Look at the people his staff has pt behind obama, in view of the camera. They're the people Hillary is getting the most support from-- older whites.
More news. Hagee has withdrawn HIS support from McCain and he says he's not going to be involved in the 2008 race. Hah!! Talk about being put in his place and marginalized.
And oil is in the news-- barrel prices past $130. This is just getting started and it is going to produce disastrous, catastrophic results. We're feeling the bite at the pump today. Prices in Ontario were over $1.30 a liter-- about $5 a gallon. I paid over $4 a gallon in New York, then refilled again at $3.79 in PA. It's a deeper cut into my wallet, but I'll survive. But when I was out on my fishing trip, we used gas to run the generator that lit our lights and powered that XM satellite receiver. We used gas in the motor boats that took us to where we fished for walleyes and pike (we ate the walleyes, threw back the pike.) Now remember, we drive two hours on dirt roads to get to that fishing lake. Imagine what it costs to bring gasoline out there. Already, it costs a lot more for the gas. Imagine in far removed villages in South America, Africa, Asia, how these huge increases will affect people who depend upon gasoline to run generators, to power tractors. Already, food prices are massively increasing. And now, these poor, rural villagers, rural farmers face exploding energy costs. Whatever technological progress they were making will vanish as costs rocket.
Then let's talk about how Canada's dealing with that horrible mortgage mess. Oops. Guess what. There is no mortgage mess up there. Turns out that their financial policies (read that regulations) protected them from the abuses, excesses, stupidity and corruption that led to the economic catastrophy that the mortgage mess in the USA has become. And they have a conservative Prime minister. But they don't have the worst president in history. They don't have the most despised leader in human history. Just imagine if the US had a real conservative. I know. That's like wishing for asthma instead of cancer. But at least we wouldn't have a neocon nutjob who will ignominiously go down in history as the archetypal stupid, soulless, corrupt traitor. Then again, There are all those people who supported him and STILL continue to support him. Maybe we can forgive the people who voted in 2004, but the ones who still support this criminal? I want to be tolerant. I want to love everyone, even the worst, most vile people. But it's really, really hard to tolerate these fools. You know what I mean?
I feel like I'm babbling. I'm working on three hours sleep and need to keep going through 'til midnight. Nuff said. More to come. That's a promise, a warning and a threat. <G>
tight lines!!! (a fishing chant.)
rob kall
