Liberty Egg

Bermuda = Relaxation

I have taken other vacations that have been more exciting and more interesting, but I have never taken any that have been as relaxing as my trips to Bermuda. Maybe it is because we intentionally limit our excursions and spend plenty of time just hanging on the beach, but whatever the reason, Bermuda is a cure-all.

News sucks…commentary rocks.

An addendum to my previous rant on news. What is funny about today’s “news” environment is that while the LCD on current events has moved down toward uninformed, the options for those of us for whom ideas and policy discussion are important have widened in recent years. It is rare to find good news on the networks these days, but many of the commentary shows that provide multiple points of view are decent, and some (like Meet The Press – thanks to Tim Russert) are outstanding. I find there is a corollary in the written press as well. The scope of good day-to-day reporting has diminished in most of the quality dailies (to say nothing of the widest read paper, USA Today – the Regis and Kelly of newspapers), but the quality of ideas presented in the commentary is excellent. Tom Friedman of the NYT and several of the Boston Globe regulars provide good coverage and excellent writing. And there are many fine bloggers, such as Jeff Jarvis, that give wide-ranging debate to important issues. Finally, there is still The Economist, a shining beacon of journalism in an age when Time magazine puts more and bigger photos to replace writing and coverage that has dropped off the charts…

Now if we could get America interested in seeking out news and ideas instead of being spoon-fed quasi network news…or even worse...being spoon fed opinions without discussion of intellectual merit.

Complex thought good...simplistic thought bad.

I have decided a big problem in our society is the lack of complexity that is discussed in our issues of the day. Like it or not, the world's problems cannot be described or solved by 5 word sound bites. I have been saying for years that the news is too superficial and lacks enough substance. Local news is the nightly death and mayhem report, morning shows feature Dr. Phil on why we're all fat, and the nightly news show far more human interest stories than actual news.

Being a strong leader should not be a campaign issue - plans for our future should be. Perhaps if our country was a little more versed in the issues that face us, then we could have an honest debate in our politics. God knows there are enough important issues facing us that we could use a real debate on issues, not just posturing to appeal to the least common denominator that our public discourse has become.

I blame the news.

Getting Older...Getting Better

I went to Rush's 30th Anniversary tour the other night. My ears are still ringing and the smile is still on my face. In an age of "let's get back together and go on a rape of America tour" tours, with bands re-forming to milk their old fan base, Rush is still doing it right. Sure I clapped as loudly as anyone for the old stand-bys, but their newer stuff is just as good, and they are still among the BEST musicians around.

May they keep touring until 2112...

A Boon To Comedy

Even if you hate W, you have to admit he is one of the best to lampoon in a long time...

If you haven't seen jibjab.com yet, that's equal opportunity humor.

If you miss Will Ferrell as George W on SNL, you don't have to anymore.

See whitehousewest.com

Political Convictions vs. Pork

I once had a colleague who said, in a momentary lapse of normalcy, that he was glad that there was a government that distributed some his money to the needy and that if the government did not do so, he doubted he would in its stead. This was a man who was a successful stockbroker, a self-made man. He was a nice guy, but he clearly believed in personal responsibility and in the merit of making ones own way in the world. To say what he said - after returning from the store where he saw a mother buying food with food stamps - was out of the context of his normal anti-government rant...He saw that day another side of the coin.

Why is it that with the Republicans controlling Congress and the White House, that the party of "fiscal responsibility" finds itself delivering the largest federal budget deficit in history? Is the other side of their coin the needs of a welfare state and a war on terror? Or is it the victory of pork over political ideology?