Headline Rants

Well, I’m back from the land of the “wish-I-was-dead” after a bout with the flu. (Worst flu I’ve had in years, even my hair hurt.) It seems that most of our little corner of Blogopolis was sick last week, too, so I don’t feel so bad about ignoring blogging and blog reading in favor of caring for sick children and a hubby, writing for clients, and studying for finals. I did miss all your smiling gravitars though, and it’s good to be back.

I have several posts planned on business tools, keywords, and SEO, but I feel the need to rant a little first. I suffered a bit of culture shock this morning after cocooning for over a week- I watched the news.

Naked Confrontation

Okay, perhaps I’m tired and still a little drained and I can blame it all on the flu, or perhaps today was a wake-up call for me.

I may be a little idealistic, but I found CNN down-right offensive today. I was sitting in the local McDonald’s with my boys and my ears perked up at the mention of a conflict between the Chinese navy and one of our own ships in International waters. The reporter stated that a Pentagon spokesperson described the incident as “one of the most aggressive actions we’ve seen in some time.” (Well, what a wonderfully typically vague political statement.) So, I continued to watch through the commercial to find out what happened. That’s when the disgust hit. The headline posted at the bottom of the screen read “nearly naked confrontation”.

What?

It seems that the USNS Impeccable felt threatened by the Chinese ships and responded with the only “weapon” they had- a fire hose. They soaked the sailors, who stripped to their underwear and continued the harassment.

Okay, the whole thing is a little comical if it were a Saturday morning cartoon, but this was real life. It disturbs me that CNN would stress the nakedness of the Chinese sailors over what such hostility actually means. At the end, the reporter quickly mentioned that pentagon officials speculate the Chinese government is testing the new U.S. president.

Not So Personal and Private it Can’t be Headline News

I changed channels. On Headline News, Nancy Grace was up in arms over “personal, private home videos released of Caylee Anthony and her mother”. People flashed across the screen and debated whether these videos were released to help Casey Anthony’s defense. Callers argued that the videos clearly show that the woman loves her child, therefore she couldn’t have murdered her.

What?

Casey Anthony refers to Caylee as “that little girl” when telling reporters how much she misses her daughter. Would you refer to your then-missing daughter in such an impersonal, third-person description? And who says mothers can’t suffer from mental illness, or get mixed up with some guy who wants the little bundle of joy out of the picture? Do these scenarios sound familiar? Perhaps the mother associated with the wrong people and they killed Caylee to make a point, or get even? What do home videos of a mother playing with her daughter prove? Do you really expect to see someone shooting home videos of Casey Anthony telling her daughter she is unloved, unwanted, a mistake? (Point a camera in my direction and I instantly smile. We put on our best Happily Ever After face.) Yet millions tuned in to watch the videos, because we have a sick fascination with the case. The show went on to talk about the interviews, book deals in the making, and thousands of dollars paid to Casey Anthony and her family for their stories. Does this not make anyone else nauseous?

Your Pain, My Gain

Next up on the news is everyone’s favorite feel-good talk show host- Oprah. She’s pictured telling Rhianna that Chris Brown WILL hit her again.

Okay.

Girl, if she didn’t get the the message as her lover’s fists pummeled her face and choked her into unconsciousness, do you really think telling her it will happen again is going to have any effect?

But it’s good showmanship to speak out against domestic violence and give the appearance of “helping”. Goof for you, but if you’re going to talk the talk, walk the walk. Roll up your sleeves and volunteer at a domestic violence shelter, send Dr. Phil to her house for free counseling. Don’t preach at the girl when you have no idea what it’s like to be a victim of domestic violence. Rhianna is a victim, she doesn’t deserve to be humiliated or brow-beaten over her situation.

Nauseous News

Do we have to resort to sensationalism and sex for every event? Are we that depraved?

Oh, but nearly naked sailors, pictures of bodies lined up in the streets of a foreign country, pictures of bloodied swollen faces of beautiful stars, and stories of mothers who kill their children draw ratings!

B J sent me a heads up about a recent poll on religion. It shows more and more Americans are abandoning organized religion, and giving up faith all together. I don’t blame them, organized religion smells. It’s tainted, corrupt, discouraging.

So what can we do? Pray for this country. Pray long, pray hard. Fast on behalf of America, grieve for our nation. We need it.

Rant Complete? Check.

Up later this week: Office Tools for Your Online Business. You probably have an invaluable business tool sitting unused on your computer right now. We’ll show how to save money and work smarter with common software programs you may already own.