Skip to main content

breaking news?

You know what's great? On cnn.com when there is 'breaking news' it gets put in a red box at the top of the page in big, bold letters. What was today's breaking news? George Bush is coming home early (two days, mind you) from his vacation to respond to Hurricane Katrina!!!!! This is breaking news? The hurricane, and the people devastated by it - that's important stuff. But is an early end to vacation breaking news?

Sorry, I know it's not a big thing, but sometimes it's just that little thing that crosses you over the line...

Comments

Anonymous said…
Well this doesn't have a lot to do with your post, but my maiden name is Elizabeth Quick and I found your site. I thought it was interesting. :) email if you want beskie84@Hotmail.com
5:07 PM
John said…
I dunno. I've seen a lot of left-of-center blogs criticize Bush for not being there in the aftermath of the hurricane. It seems like he can't win no matter what he does.

Here's another perspective. Shortly after the tsunami, some senior US government officials visited the stricken areas. Hundreds of airlifted flights were delayed for security reasons -- all so these Americans could have a looksey at the disaster site.

Maybe the most useful thing that Bush can do is stay out of the way.
10:01 PM
Jason D. Moore said…
I agree with you, Beth. I don't feel like he needs to be there in person, necessarily - I think John may have a valid point in his second paragraph - but I certainly don't think that the fact that he cut his vacation short by 2 days should be considered "Breaking News."

After all, it's not like he was doing anything special by heading back to Washington. It was the right thing to do to drop everything in order to start dealing with this tragedy (even though he did stop back in Texas for another night before returning). I think it would've been more appropriate to feature his movements if he decided to finish out his vacation.

I could say, as a political jab, that maybe it's breaking news because he isn't really known for doing the right thing so it was, in fact, out of the ordinary and worthy of such a prominant display...but I won't.
11:57 PM
Beth Quick said…
john, jason, thanks for the comments - john, i do agree, bush will be criticized no matter what. i can't argue with that. i guess it was more that it was considered 'breaking news' that struck me as so - weird. oh well.
12:03 PM
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Sermon for First Sunday in Lent, Year B, "Jesus in the Wilderness," Mark 1:1-4, 9-15

Sermon 2/18/18 Mark 1:1-4, 9-15 Jesus in the Wilderness             You’ve heard me say before that the gospel of Mark is my favorite gospel. Part of the reason I love it is because of Mark’s brevity. I don’t love that he’s short on details, exactly. I love that he seems practically breathless in getting the good news of Jesus to us, and that he seems to believe that the news is so good it isn’t even going to take very many words to convince you of his message! His frantic style strikes me as showing both how important and how convincing he believes Jesus’s message to be.             But, then we arrive at a Sunday like today, and I find myself a little frustrated perhaps, or at least a little challenged by Mark. In the lectionary, the series of the first Sunday in the season of Lent always focuses on the temptation of Jesus – his time in the wilderness, where he confronts Satan, and commits to God’s path rather than the flashy alternative Satan presents. This is the fo
Post a Comment
Read more

Sermon for the First Sunday in Advent, "Hope: A Thrill of Hope," Mark 1:1-8

Sermon 11/26/17 Mark 1:1-8 Hope: A Thrill of Hope             Are you a pessimist or an optimist? Is the glass of life half empty, or half full? My mom and I have gone back and forth about this a bit over the years. She’s wildly optimistic about most things, and sometimes I would say her optimism, her hopefulness borders on the irrational. If the weather forecast says there’s a 70% chance of a snowstorm coming, my mom will focus very seriously on that 30% chance that it is going to be a nice day after all. I, meanwhile, will begin adjusting my travel plans and making a backup plan for the day. My mom says I’m a pessimist, but I would argue that I’m simply a realist , trying to prepare for the thing that is most likely to happen, whether I like that thing or not. My mom, however, says she doesn’t want to be disappointed twice, both by thinking something bad is going to happen, and then by having the bad thing actually happen. She’d rather be hopeful, and enjoy her state of
1 comment
Read more

Sermon for Second Sunday in Advent, "Peace: All Is Calm, All Is Bright," Isaiah 11:1-10, Mark 13:24-37

Sermon 12/3/17 Mark 13:24-37, Isaiah 11:1-10 Peace: All Is Calm, All Is Bright             “Silent night, holy night. All is calm, all is bright. Round yon’ virgin mother and child. Holy infant, so tender and mild. Sleep in heavenly peace. Sleep in heavenly peace.”             This week, I read news stories about North Korea testing a missile that perhaps could reach across the whole of the United States.             This week, I spoke with a colleague in ministry who had, like all churches in our conference, received from our church insurance company information about how to respond in an active shooter situation. She was trying to figure out how to respond to anxious parishioners and yet not get caught up in spending all of their ministry time on creating safety plans.             This week, we’ve continued to hear stories from people who have experienced sexual assault and harassment, as the actions, sometimes over decades, of men in positions of power have been
Post a Comment
Read more