Sorry about the absence - life, on occasion, gives us a wake up call and we have to leave the comfort of our preconceptions in move into the real world for a while before once again curling up in our coccoons of rationalized comfort.

I have, however, been following the actions of the G "NO" P and the nomination of Judge Sonia Sotomayor with some amusement.  It will be interesting to see what emerges out of the self-marginalization of the conservatives to accomodate the actual majority of moderates in this country that they are trying so hard to alienate.

George W Bush on the other hand is doing the first intelligent thing that he has ever done in his life, he is keeping his mouth shut and his head down.

This little piggy went to market,
This little piggy stayed home,
This little piggy got Tamiflu,
This little piggy had none.
All the little piggies got swine flu
and went sneeze sneeze sneeze all the way home.

Apparently this strain of flu is resistant to Tamiflu.  Go figure.

A friend of mine who is pretty far, (compared to me), to the right mentioned to me that NPR was so far to the left that it was "socialist".  I consider MSNBC to the left, but I have always considered NPR pretty good about telling both sides of a story.  Since this concerned me, I decided to do a comparison of top US stories from both FOX news, which I consider right and NPR which I don't.  I am leaving MSNBC out because they spend most of their time making fun of FOX.  At about the same time this morning I captured the national "top stories" from both sites dated April 20th and 21st.  They follow, with a vague attempt to categorize the story.

An analysis shows that the important distinction lies more in what is not covered than what is covered.  FOX covered many of the more violent stories across the nation along with a few asides to animal stories and domestic terrorists.  NPR covered health care/insurance stories Pulitzer Prize winners, politics, the economy, and was in general much more widely based in its stories.

If I think about FOX's patrons I can surmise why FOX wouldn't want to cover the anniversary of the Columbine shootings, (NRA), and about the economy (GOP), but I would think that some news is worthy of attention regardless of which side you are on.

At any rate, this is not nearly enough data for a definitive sample.  I will try again with my next post.

Just a side note, no one that I know of from FOX, MSNBC, or NPR has won a Pulitzer in the last 10 years, but a lot of people from what are considered "liberal media" sources have.

FOX
FBI's Newest 'Most Wanted' Terrorist is American April 21, 2009
      Terrorism.
Police: California Man Decapitated His Horse April 20, 2009 
      An "EWWWWWW" story - I suppose they threw it in for variety.
FBI Workers Suspected of Secretly Taping Teens in Mall April 20, 2009 
      Personal privacy issue.
Somali Pirate En Route to N.Y. For Court Appearance April 20, 2009 
      Pirates.
TOP U.S. NEWS PHOTOS April 20, 2009
      News Pictures...
2 Kidnapped Teens Found Dead in Abandoned House April 20, 2009
      Murder is always news.
Police Find 4 Bodies in Baltimore Hotel Room April 21, 2009
      More murder...
Sheriff: Woman Says Sons Slipped from Grip in Lake April 20, 2009
      A horrible story.
Bond Denied for Marine Accused of Killing Colleague April 20, 2009
      More murder.
Judge Keeps Madoff Assets Secure for Forfeiture April 20, 2009
      Big money makes good news.
Ole Miss Coach Cops Plea in Disorderly Conduct Case April 20, 2009
      I don't really understand why this is here except the guys name is Kennedy.
Readings Reveal That Four Corners Off by 2.5 Miles April 20, 2009
      Trivia...
Supreme Court Turns Down Challenge to Jury's Use of Bible April 20, 2009
      I can see where this might be interesting to FOX's base
Kosgei, Merga Win 113th Boston Marathon April 20, 2009
      Sports news...
Supreme Court to Decide If Prosecutors Can Be Sued April 20, 2009
      Lawyer news...
Police: Arkansas Man Kills Self During Traffic Stop April 20, 2009 
      Suicide...
Supreme Court to Hear Animal Cruelty Case April 20, 2009
      Animal news...
Mich. Man, 70, Arrested in Detroit Casino Bomb Scare April 20, 2009
      Terrorism...
Florida Man Bitten by Shark While Surfing April 21, 2009
      Shark bites are always news.

NPR
Opponents Support Expanding Medicaid Coverage
      Health insurance.
Pulitzer High Offset By Low Newspaper Demand
      Good reporting.
Problem Loans Hurt Banks, Stock Market
      Economy.
Obama Defends Memo Release To CIA Employees
      Politics or the previous administration.
What If Marijuana Were Legal? Possible Outcomes
      Speculation.
'New York Times' Wins Five Pulitzer Prizes
      Good reporting.
Moving On After Columbine: Thoughts Of A Survivor
      Historical perspective and human interest.
For Some, L.A.'s Skid Row Is For Beginnings
      Human interest.
Supreme Court Hears Case On English In Schools
      Controversy on Federal vs. State law.
Storms Batter Southeast, Killing 2 In Alabama
      Weather related deaths.
Vets Blame Toxin In 21 Polo Horse Deaths In Fla.
      Animal news...
Pushing For Better Health Care, One Story At A Time
      Health care.
Fiancee: Wrong Man Arrested In Craigslist Killings
      Murder is always news.
Cabinet Challenged To Cut Budget By $100 Million
      Politics/economy.
Obama Defends Releasing Interrogation Memos
      Politics or the previous administration.
Iran Hints U.S. Journalist's Sentence May Be Eased
      Reporter convicted of espionage.
Under The Spell Of Voodoo Economics
      How accepted formulas on the economy have failed.
Financial Turmoil Grips World Markets
      Economy
Deaths Of Polo Horses Probed In Florida
      Animal news...
Miami Bids For 'Smart Grid' Money 
      Economy/stimulus
Justices Hears Arizona Case On Teaching English
      Controversy on Federal vs. State law.
Food Auctions Help Struggling Americans
      Economy...
Obama Asks Agency Heads For Budget Cuts
      Politics/economy.
Bank Of America's Earnings Are Deceptive
      Economy/analysis.
Obama's CIA Visit Touches On Torture Issue
      Politics or the previous administration.
Nottage, Strout Take Drama, Fiction Pulitzers
      Good reporting.
Sometimes, Filing For Bankruptcy Is Best
      Personal economics.
'Columbine' Debunks The Myths Of The Massacre
      Historical perspective.
CIA Exempt On Torture, But Not Lynndie England
      Controversy...
The Madoff Investment Scandal
      Big money makes good news.
Educators Fight Violence With Empathy
      Historical perspective.
Obama Seeks To Cut $100 Million From Budget
      Politics/economy.
Drug Industry To Push Health Care For The Poor
      Health care.
Iranian Judge Orders Probe Of Journalist's Case
      Reporter convicted of espionage.
Cash Or Credit, Car Deals Abound
      Economy.
Thumbs To The News: Public Turns To Twitter
      Social information networking.

So last night I happened to scan across the channels and stopped on CSPAN where Rush Limbaugh was addressing CPAC I believe, and since I find him immensely humorous I stopped to listen for a bit and for the first time in my life, I heard some serious things come out of his mouth.  Now this was serious in the sense of "not joking or trifling" and "having important or dangerous possible consequences" which is indeed a double hit for him. 

One thing he said was basically, the the recession of the 80's ended because of tax cuts.  He totaly ignores the FACT that Reagan was forced to raise taxes on several occasions before he left office because he screwed up.  Silly me, bringing facts to bear on Limbaugh..

Another thing he said was "Next thing, we've got to stop treating voters as children.  [Applause] Somebody says they want something that's bad for them, do you give it to them just to be nice?  Or do you tell them, regardless of their age, no, you shouldn't have that?", followed closely by "But you still have to have the ability to tell people what's right and wrong. And that's not authoritative. That's not authoritarian."  Lets examine that for a second, so telling voters that they can't have something they voted for is the way government should work?  Isn't telling someone you can't have something treating them like a child?  Isn't telling people what is right and wrong, (relative terms if I have ever heard them), authoritarian?  The word, authority, from which the word authoritarian is derived means ,"power to influence or command thought, opinion, or behavior", so telling people what is right and wrong isn't trying to "influence or command thought, opinion, or behavior"?  WOW, he really has his own dictionary.

He was addressing this body because they granted him the "Defender of the Constitution" Award.  Interesting that the defender of the constitution should be promoting a government where a few people tell everyone what is right and wrong, that doesn't sound like our constitution at all.

Finally, as I was driving to work this morning, thinking of what I had heard last night, I noticed that the car in front of me had a bumper sticker that read, "HATE is not a family value", and I thought, how true, and how typical of the mouthpiece of the party of "Family Values" to so obviously point out their failures though his actions.