I didn’t plan to get mad at my local newspaper this morning. I planned to work out, read more of the Civil War book that is taking me far too long to get through, do whatever my wife told me, and play with our dogs.
But a friend sent me this note on the Los Angeles Times’ Letters page written by the editor of that page, and despite my best efforts at stoicism, I was pretty upset.
I’m upset because of the headline — “Shots for them, but not for you” — and the line about my boss, “But Arnold…
I know it’s a tough day for you, because it’s a tough day for me, too.
It’s hard to digest, but it’s here. President Trump is the 45th President of the United States, joining a list that includes Washington, Lincoln, and Kennedy… and also Buchanan, Harding and Hoover.
If any of us are being honest, we don’t know what the next four years will bring. But we do know what today brings: anxiety, concern, and for some of us, rage.
I won’t tell you not to be anxious. I won’t advise you that your concern is misplaced. But just for…
This is not a thinkpiece about fake news.
Fake news is the worst. But I’d like to take a moment to look at one example of how our new and exciting “real” media model can skew a message. If you prefer to read a preachy thinkpiece about the state of digital news, you can scroll down, but I am going to lead with the substance and close with the fluff.
Let me get this out of the way first. I am biased in this example. You couldn’t unskew me with the jaws of life. …
My head aches and my heart hurts while I watch what’s happening in Ferguson.
My heart hurts for the unarmed man who was shot dead in the street, of course. It hurts for the good police officers who are tainted by their more despotic colleagues, and it hurts equally for the peaceful protesters who are sullied by moronic criminals who see the opportunity for mayhem.
But my head aches for America. The response to Ferguson seems to be the response to everything that qualifies as news.
If you have opened up Facebook or Twitter, you’ve seen it.
It is divided…
I was here in Santa Monica. Where does the gun debate go now?
I woke up to sirens today. I’d slept in late because I worked an all-nighter. It wasn’t the most natural way to wake up.
My fiancée was home from work as well. As a teacher, her last day finished very early so the kids could get ready to graduate, and she found herself coming home to me to ask what was happening. I told her it might just be the President’s motorcade.
Then we heard helicopters. So I told her to go outside so she could see Marine One. In a fit of reason, she turned on the news instead…
Daniel Ketchell
Dog: Hank; Team: Dodgers; Work: @Schwarzenegger. What more do you need to know? Views are my own but I also understand I should be fired if they’re horrifying.
