So much has been going on lately that it's hard to keep up with how rapidly things have been changing. Every day seems to bring some new momentous event in the news cycles that I'm betting that it feels good to be a journalist right now as events keep cascading throughout country after country. No boring slow news days to fill with some trivial local news story that no one could care less about. Every morning I awake to some major development in some part of the world, it seems. Well, as they say, never a dull moment! The things that have been going on have ranged from a massive earthquake in Japan that set off a nuclear crisis as one of their power plants failed from lack of power to struggles over organized labor in various states as governors try to balance stretched budgets to the raid on the Pakistani compound and killing of Osama bin Laden.....unbelievable how much has been going on lately. Mornings are so tough because I really want to be able to thoroughly read the newspapers but the time I have to do so is limited, so mostly I end up just scanning them and trying to read the most important news stories. Of course, I will always catch up by listening to NPR on the radio while driving to work which gives wonderfully in depth coverage of breaking news stories.
There's also the rising "Arab Spring" going on in the Arab nations in the Middle East. It's fascinating to watch, and a little sad to see those dictators struggling to stay in power at any cost. But I wish the young men and young women who are struggling for democracy in that part of the world the very best. I hope that they are successful in their struggle for democratic rule in their nations. It would be very exciting and would put to lie the idea fomented by religious extremists that their way is best. These are the young men and women who are hooked into the electronic media like Twitter and Facebook. Social networking has done a lot to help people organize movements. It's remarkable as a tool. I'm a firm believer in the Internet as a tool of democracy. It's got its plusses and minuses, to be sure, but I'm seeing the effect it's having on the young men and women in the Arab nations who yearn for more freedom. And in that respect, it's very exciting. I have to wonder if other people in other nations will take advantage of Internet access to foment democratic movements. Well, we shall see. I'm saddened by the turn of events in Libya where the rebel uprisings have been met with such bloodshed and I hope for a peaceful resolution to that entire conflict. I'm concerned about the United States being drawn deeper into that war when we're trying to wind down our operations in Afghanistan and Iraq. I don't want to live through another era of seemingly perpetual war like it seemed during the VietNam era. As our nation struggles its way out of this Great Recession, trying to fight wars all over the world is just not financially sustainable. We have needs here at home: infrastructure, health care, jobs, economic growth, etc. that fighting multiple wars is preventing us from being able to accomplish. So we'll see how things play out in this rapidly changing world in which we now find ourselves living.
Can I just say that I am SICK to tears of having a bad left knee? It's bothered me for years now but lately, it's been particularly troublesome and achy. It's been raining pretty steadily here almost daily and it's not been very warm on top of that. The damp chill has been tough on my middle aged joints, so much so that for the first time in memory, I did not participate in the candlelight vigil on May 3rd that precedes the May 4 commemoration at Kent State. It was a very cold wet night and I just didn't feel like being out in the damp chilly night with a cranky knee. I need to lose about 20 pounds and get back to a regular exercise program and I suspect that will help. I'd hoped to get out and get some regular walking in every day but it's been raining and raining and raining to where I feel like we're waterlogged enough here, thank you. What I would do for a week or more of clear dry weather, but for every clear dry day we get, we have 6 more of chilly rain. Now, I know it's spring, but c'mon, already! Enough of the rain! Can we PLEASE have some good, warm, clear dry weather for a while? PLEASE?
So much has been going on lately that it's hard to keep up with how rapidly things have been changing. Every day seems to bring some new momentous event in the news cycles that I'm betting that it feels good to be a journalist right now as events keep cascading throughout country after country. No boring slow news days to fill with some trivial local news story that no one could care less about. Every morning I awake to some major development in some part of the world, it seems. Well, as they say, never a dull moment! The things that have been going on have ranged from a massive earthquake in Japan that set off a nuclear crisis as one of their power plants failed from lack of power to struggles over organized labor in various states as governors try to balance stretched budgets to the raid on the Pakistani compound and killing of Osama bin Laden.....unbelievable how much has been going on lately. Mornings are so tough because I really want to be able to thoroughly read the newspapers but the time I have to do so is limited, so mostly I end up just scanning them and trying to read the most important news stories. Of course, I will always catch up by listening to NPR on the radio while driving to work which gives wonderfully in depth coverage of breaking news stories.
Can I just say that I am SICK to tears of having a bad left knee? It's bothered me for years now but lately, it's been particularly troublesome and achy. It's been raining pretty steadily here almost daily and it's not been very warm on top of that. The damp chill has been tough on my middle aged joints, so much so that for the first time in memory, I did not participate in the candlelight vigil on May 3rd that precedes the May 4 commemoration at Kent State. It was a very cold wet night and I just didn't feel like being out in the damp chilly night with a cranky knee. I need to lose about 20 pounds and get back to a regular exercise program and I suspect that will help. I'd hoped to get out and get some regular walking in every day but it's been raining and raining and raining to where I feel like we're waterlogged enough here, thank you. What I would do for a week or more of clear dry weather, but for every clear dry day we get, we have 6 more of chilly rain. Now, I know it's spring, but c'mon, already! Enough of the rain! Can we PLEASE have some good, warm, clear dry weather for a while? PLEASE?
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