News on a Snowy Day

Watched about six hours of news on the toob while we was snowed in yesterday.

What’s LE’s take on the news of the day?

Well, for one thing, I think that killer whale at Seaworld needs to be put down. This is the third human death that the creature was involved in, directly or indirectly. Kill it. If it was a dog, it would have been put to sleep. What’s that adage they say about an animal that’s tasted human blood? Again, I say, kill it.

And the “press conference” that Seaworld put on, with the CEO coming out in his jaunty sporting vest, was absolutely disgusting. It was like, yes, we lost a family member (the trainer, that is), but hey, let me go down a list of all the good things Seaworld is doing and the great benefits we provide the children of the world. With a giant orca ballet orchestrated in the tank directly behind the podium. Absolutely shameful. A woman was killed by a beast that’s killed before, and we’re shown an “invest-in-Seaworld” seminar presentation by the CEO. Never been to Seaworld, and haven’t seen a dolphin show since I saw one at Great Adventure in the mid-80s, but I will never go to this place on principle.

Good news: David Paterson, NY’s embattled governor, who, six days ago vowed “you can only remove me from office by the ballot box or in a pine box,” well, he suspended his reelection campaign. New York’s something like 40 billion dollars in debt and Paterson has something like 40 billion state attorney generals investigating him and his administration. The guy is way over his head and did a lot – and I mean a lot – of damage to his state. Reminds me of another guy in the news a lot lately …

There was talking head speculation that Elliot Spitzer might be manipulating behind the scenes for a potential run. The man is lower than a slug in my estimation, but, frighteningly enough, I wouldn’t put it past the New York electorate to put him back in the governor’s mansion. I mean, it’s been, what, two years since he slithered out of the public limelight. Surely that’s enough to rehabilitate a reputation destroyed by extramarital flings with prostitutes, right?

So the wife says Rudy should run. Rudy Giuliani. The man who’s too liberal for Republicans and too conservative for Democrats. The man who’s in love with being woo’d, but never really runs for anything with any amount of enthusiasm or competence. I’m not a big fan of Rudy post 9-11. Though I did enjoy his speech at 2008’s Republican Convention.

And the whole play-by-play of the show trial that was the Health Care Summit … I’m too bored to comment. Well, I’ll say this: Drop it, and focus on those things that will show you are pro-business. I’m tired of this recession. Oh wait – sorry, have to report a comment I heard by Jonah Goldberg. Regarding the Democrat’s insistence that the Republicans don’t want health care reform, he said something like, “just because you don’t want to eat an old shoe for lunch, doesn’t mean you’re not hungry.” I thought that was brilliant.

Live coverage of Jenny Sanford being granted a divorce from her husband, the Republican governor of South Carolina. Now I despise divorce in all its forms and never, ever advocate it. But this guy is a loser of the same caliber as Spitzer. They splashed a quote from him onscreen how he nobly admits responsibility for his moral failures. Yeah, and I bet he’s still b***ing his Argentine “soul mate” while his wife and children are suffering. So if Jenny says she can’t reconcile with him, I suppose marriage suicide is the second-best thing for all concerned.

Gosh, I realize I’m being awful judgmental here. And during Lent, of all times. Guess that’s what watching the news will do to you. Fortunately we got a lot on the DVR to go through – a half-dozen Craig Fergusons (the wife’s current late-night fave), The Birdman of Alcatraz, An American in Paris, Way of the Dragon, a “Locked Up Abroad,” four or five “Travelers Guide to the Planets,” something History’s-Mysteries-ish about the Ark of the Covenant, something about the “Nevada Triangle,” an area in the southwestern US which has something like more plane crashes than any other part of the world. So, lots of better stuff to watch. And yes, “better” used here is highly subjective, especially when talking about the Nevada Triangle.

Oh, and as I’m writing this my wife’s gotten a phone call. It seems our really good friend D came down with a bad case of appendicitis yesterday, so bad she needed to be operated on immediately. Fortunately she got to the hospital before the snow crippled the roadways. So D has called C from her recovery room, and my wife’s gonna go visit her. D, remember you are in our family’s prayers. Good luck and a speedy recovery.