Twitter And Breaking News

Matthew Ingram's article on GOGAOM reviews a study done by IBM on Twitter 'coverage' during the evolving reporting in the immediate aftermath of the Boston Marathon tragedy. It is no surprise that much of the early Twitter feeds were wrong. Some were rumors, but some were reporting information derived from police scanners, which were also wrong. I tend to follow CNN and they got it initially wrong.

During the reporting of the Benghazi attacks, I followed coverage via BBC radio. Their reporter was on the ground in Benghazi and got in touch with the landlord of the U.S. Consulate. He lived next door to the consulate and watch the whole thing from his window. His accounting was that a peaceful crowd of demonstrators gathered in front of the consulate and shortly after an armed group in pick-up trucks ran them off and began attacking the building. Never heard anymore about his guy and his account. I don't know if his witness was accurate or not as things began spinning off on who was at fault.

Anyway, in this day of instant reporting I, like Mr. Ingram, suggest that whatever source you follow, take it with skepticism and maybe even follow multiple sources. In any case it may take one or two days before an accurate report begins to form from the myriad sources we must deal with today.

Let's Go To Hell And See If It Is Really That Bad

I believe that in any relationship a catharsis is sometimes needed. The relationship with our government has reached that point.

Let's just let the government stay shut down and let's just default on our debt and let's just see if Hell  really exists. We will all have 'skin' in the game. As citizens let's 'call the bet' on the politicians and if they lose make them pay.

It's no longer about the machinations of the politicians it's about us being fed up with the  lack of governance.

Abortion and RU486

From The Christian Science Monitor, we learn that the Supreme Court of the United States wants the Oklahoma Supreme Court to review their ruling on Terry Cline v. Oklahoma Coalition for Reproductive Justice.

What confuses me here is that the U. S. Supreme Court wants the Oklahoma Supreme Court to determine if RU486 is banned by the Oklahoma legislature. The Oklahoma Attorney General seems to have a different take. He says that the legislature just wants to insure users of RU486 follow the FDA label directions from 2000. These directions restrict use to 49 days after the last menstrual cycle.

The Oklahoma Coalition for Reproductive Justice counters that their are new procedures that extend the  period from the last menstrual cycle from 49 to 63 days and the State of Oklahoma is in effect violating Roe v. Wade.

Now, I cannot find any new label revisions on the FDA web site changing 49 days to 63 days. The last revision (Revision #4) was on June 8, 2011 and label instructions still limit use to 49 days.

So where does this 63 day thing come from? It comes from the National Abortion Federation: "Depending on the prescribing physician's protocols, mifepristone and misoprostol can be used for early abortion up to 63 days after the start of the last menstrual period."

Where Are The Better Angels?

"Patriotism is supporting your country all the time, and your government when it deserves it."

Mark Twain

Sleep eluded me for awhile last night. I was overjoyed by Tampa's victory over the Texas Rangers. I like it when Dallas teams lose at baseball, football, basketball, croquet … well just anything. Can't explain it, it's a Houston thing. I had to quit watching college basketball. It became an obsession. I think that started back in 1958-59 when my high school won the state championship.

Some of you may not have had a restful night because the government shut down. I don't care about the shut down … none of my teams are playing. These are people you elected, who care only about being re-elected. To be re-elected they need enormous amounts of money and must obligate themselves to enormous amounts of favors. Sure they must listen to their constituents, but their constituents only listen to pundits and talking heads with whom they agree. These pundits and talking heads make enormous amounts of money from people who want you to vote for those candidates who will subsequently owe them enormous amounts of favors. You are thus responsible for the silly state we find ourselves in today.

 I am very pessimistic. From whence comes my pessimism? Not from the politicians, the money men, or the 'lame' stream media. It comes from you, my fellow citizens. You are being manipulated and played by selfish people who have no interests in your day to day struggles. There is a TV show called 'Newsroom" in which the character, Will McAvoy, calls the Tea Party the American Taliban. A bit over the top for my taste. It isn't the Tea Party that is an existential threat to our nation it's an uniformed electorate manipulated by those forces I have previously mentioned. You, my friends, are lazy citizens, being played and don't realize it.

If you cannot rest tonight it's your fault. If I can't rest tonight, it's because Pittsburgh lost to Cincinnati.