Two axes to play today
In the wake of an "exciting" week with the GOP Convention, two things are on my mind this morning:
1. The tragedy in the Russian school. Prayers go out to all the people who have had their lives altered by these events--and I fear the number of people that fall into that category is not going to be "peaked" for quite a long time. My brother really sums up things fairly well. The world today is unlike any we have lived in before--and what a sad development that is.
2. President Clinton is in the hospital. I wish him a speedy recovery--but that's not the only reason why he is on my mind. First, the coverage the AP provided of the Bush rally in Wisconsin is one of the most low-brow acts of faulty reporting ever. Seriously, does the AP know no decency? I had seen the video of this part of Bush's appearance on FoxNews several times before I read about the AP story (via Powerline), and was rendered totally speechless by how they reported the crowd's reaction to the announcement. And they can retract the story away all they want--reporters and wire services have a responsibility to be as correct as possible the first time out. This kind of bias isn't just harmful to politics--it's harmful to the country. Way to go, AP--as if your "coverage" of the war in Iraq hasn't already done enough damage!
Secondly, good ol' Sen. Clinton couldn't leave the politics aside, even with her husband facing major surgery in a couple days. She "delighted" in the fact that they have good health insurance and hoped that someday everyone will be able to say the same thing, reported the Washington Times this morning. I saw the announcement live, and even at the time she said it I couldn't help but think that it wasn't the classiest of moves. First of all, former President Clinton would have had health coverage REGARDLESS of Mrs. Clinton's current employment in the Federal Government. Secondly, I would love for ANYBODY to produce a person who was denied a necessary surgery (especially of the importance of a heart bypass) due to their health insurance status. Maybe I live in a bubble, but from that little bubble I still believe that emergency medical services will be provided when they are necessary, and the settlement of cost will be figured out later. In light of these facts (well, one fact and one hopefully-not-to-be-proven-wrong assumption), how petty does Sen. Clinton's statement last night look? Seriously, separate yourself from the politics for just a week, would you? Let your husband have--and hopefully begin recovery from--the surgery, and THEN if you feel it is correct you can put it in political play. But this was so . . .poorly calculated. Maybe the text of the message was supposed to be helpful to the Democratic cause--but the execution leaves them looking heartless and unfocused on the things that really matter (such as the life of your loved ones). Not the message they should be sending about "values", I do believe.
1. The tragedy in the Russian school. Prayers go out to all the people who have had their lives altered by these events--and I fear the number of people that fall into that category is not going to be "peaked" for quite a long time. My brother really sums up things fairly well. The world today is unlike any we have lived in before--and what a sad development that is.
2. President Clinton is in the hospital. I wish him a speedy recovery--but that's not the only reason why he is on my mind. First, the coverage the AP provided of the Bush rally in Wisconsin is one of the most low-brow acts of faulty reporting ever. Seriously, does the AP know no decency? I had seen the video of this part of Bush's appearance on FoxNews several times before I read about the AP story (via Powerline), and was rendered totally speechless by how they reported the crowd's reaction to the announcement. And they can retract the story away all they want--reporters and wire services have a responsibility to be as correct as possible the first time out. This kind of bias isn't just harmful to politics--it's harmful to the country. Way to go, AP--as if your "coverage" of the war in Iraq hasn't already done enough damage!
Secondly, good ol' Sen. Clinton couldn't leave the politics aside, even with her husband facing major surgery in a couple days. She "delighted" in the fact that they have good health insurance and hoped that someday everyone will be able to say the same thing, reported the Washington Times this morning. I saw the announcement live, and even at the time she said it I couldn't help but think that it wasn't the classiest of moves. First of all, former President Clinton would have had health coverage REGARDLESS of Mrs. Clinton's current employment in the Federal Government. Secondly, I would love for ANYBODY to produce a person who was denied a necessary surgery (especially of the importance of a heart bypass) due to their health insurance status. Maybe I live in a bubble, but from that little bubble I still believe that emergency medical services will be provided when they are necessary, and the settlement of cost will be figured out later. In light of these facts (well, one fact and one hopefully-not-to-be-proven-wrong assumption), how petty does Sen. Clinton's statement last night look? Seriously, separate yourself from the politics for just a week, would you? Let your husband have--and hopefully begin recovery from--the surgery, and THEN if you feel it is correct you can put it in political play. But this was so . . .poorly calculated. Maybe the text of the message was supposed to be helpful to the Democratic cause--but the execution leaves them looking heartless and unfocused on the things that really matter (such as the life of your loved ones). Not the message they should be sending about "values", I do believe.
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