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Another hot and blistering day in Austin and I am grateful for the news coverage of the protests in Iran. Grateful perhaps is not the right word to use when people are dying (or are killed, to be more precise), yet any people yearning for freedom deserve not only coverage but support as well. We were there once as well, a couple of hundred years ago. Many Americans have a special place in their heart for anyone trying desperately to be free. That would be news, yet that is something unspoken all of us know.
The fact the news is still about the unrest and fear in Iran is heartening only because we Americans don't really get much real news. I wonder what would happen if someone did a study of the major cable channels and investigated just how much relevant reporting is done. That would be newsworthy, alright.
Of course, Mr. Obama's response to Iran's unrest has not been supportive, although I can't fault the man since he has to look at the Big Picture. Just once it would be nice for someone to realize every Big Picture is made up of Little Pictures, and sometimes those littler pictures turn out to be the Only Picture. That would be news.
The Republicans are upset with Mr. Obama's tepid response to Iran's leaders, which is odd considering there is no coherent response from the Republicans. It would be nice to have some politician say something from the heart (or the gut) regardless of consequence. That would be news.
The immediate days after the Iranian election found most cable news channels chattering on and on about the breakup of Jon and Kate (plus however many exploitable children they have now). Of course it is a ratings blockbuster, and those viewers who tuned in to this farce perhaps saw the irony that this show is on something called The Learning Channel. I wonder what would happen if a grass-roots movement began to exploit the exploitation of this show (pun intended!) and wean America from the teat of sensational television. That would be news.
I could go on and on, of course. I won't, only because I have learned when to stop. Something many politicians, television commentators, and celebrities could learn.
I wonder if that would be news.
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