Turned on the TV. Fox was covering Saddam, but CNN was running an election-themed piece on stem cell research, and MSNBC was reporting on the hot prospects for the Harold Ford campaign. You'd think this would deserve more attention than that . . . .
Oh, wait, they just teased a coming story with "Will Saddam Hussein's sentencing spark more violence in Iraq?" I should've figured on that spin, shouldn't I?
The coverage of news in this country repulses me. My son, as he and I talked of the Saddam verdict, remarked to me that a soldier came to his school recently and talked of the good being done in Iraq and then Nick said, "Why don't we hear about that in the news? They never would have reported just negative stuff in WWII." And then we talked of the declining numbers in newspaper circulation figures. They get what they deserve with those.
Saddam is a horrible human being who killed his own people by the hundreds of thousands and permitted no freedoms that we ourselves enjoy in this country. Of course he deserves death. Cutting out tongues and raping and meat grinders... to make any comparison of Saddam to Bush is utter and sheer idiocy. But there are many who do, including those who the report the news. Anyone who believes in such a comparison has no moral compass whatsoever that is worth trusting because of the equivalence they make. That depth of bias deserves no audience.
This weekend was Nick's birthday, and although I completely forgot to take pictures (duh...) I did manage to take a few outside. Here are the younger boys in the leaves...
And Nick from a recent pool-playing extravaganza with Tamara, Aaron, and me.
And here's the movie of some of the leaf raking that took place.
I recorded this a while ago. My son, Aaron, and I are talking in the background while I'm playing this. I really ought to do something with this bass line.
I really enjoy reading Camille Paglia. I don't agree with all of her points, but she's so lucid that to ignore her thinking is dangerous, in my opinion. This link starts the beginning of a 5-page read, but it's worth the time and her honesty is refreshing.
My son, Aaron, came to me the other day and asked for a new wardrobe. Over the summer, he changed his hair style and started growing some hair on his face. He's 15. He's coming into his own and therein lies the confidence to be his own man.
He asked Tamara to go shopping with him and help him coordinate. Her impeccable style sense was perfect for that request, and so the two hit the stores.
Here he is in 2005 - a typical teen.
But if you know Aaron, that image doesn't fit him.
This does...
As his dad, I'm pleased to see him be unafraid to express himself in his own voice. It's been a cool transition.
