NEW CASTLE —
I don’t spend much time watching those 24-hour news channels.
That’s because they don’t have enough real news to fill the air time. So they either resort to repetition or punditry as filler.
I spend even less time reading political blogs on the Internet. Most of the material is stolen from other sources. And this particular breed of blogger tends to see the entire world through some sort of ideological prism. Every belch, every scratch, every pause of speech they perceive is loaded with deep and dark conspiratorial meaning.
Out here in the real world, things are different. The sun shines, birds sing and nuance is everywhere. In my world, there are lots of colors and countless shades of gray. For the bloggers and TV pontificators, it’s all in simple, clear black and white.
At least that’s how they portray things to those gullible enough to be glued to this stuff. The more outrageous the claims, the more diabolical the plot uncovered, the higher the ratings and the web hits.
Every now and then, I take a peek at what’s happening in this odd and ugly world. It’s astonishing how these blatherers from the left and right fixate on the arcane, portraying it in life-and-death terms, with the fate of the republic at stake.
It’s not at stake, I tell myself, because these clowns and their drivel aren’t what matters.
But maybe I’m wrong.
Last week, the blog and cable dreck oozed out into my world, big time. It all began when some right-wing blogger posted a video of Shirley Sherrod, a black U.S. Agriculture Department official who was speaking to a gathering of the NAACP in Georgia.
In the video, Sherrod described her resentment in dealing with a white farmer early in her career. She recalled what she viewed as his condescending attitude toward her and how she, in response, did the minimum for him.
It was a disturbing depiction of bias by a government official. And it prompted a response that soon led Agriculture Department officials to force Sherrod to resign. Ah, the power of the blog.
Unfortunately, there was a bit of a problem with the editing of this particular video. Specifically, it grossly distorted Sherrod’s message. Rather than bragging about her bigotry, Sherrod talked about confronting her own racial demons and recognizing how wrong she had been in dealing with the farmer. She went on to work closely with him and become his friend.
Oops.
So how did an inspiring story of personal revelation and redemption get twisted into an ideological hatchet job? Well, nice stories don’t pay the bills for the yahoos on the Web. They have to massage, manipulate and mutate them until the venom flows.
And the way things work with the ideologues is that the rants of one blogger are picked up by his fire-breathing brethren. It happens all the time, because that’s the way they create a frenzy.
Unfortunately, in this particular instance, no adults bothered to spank these children. Administration officials swallowed the bunk on the posted video and canned Sherrod. When the real story came out — courtesy of that dull and tiresome mainstream media — everyone up to and including President Obama was obliged to apologize to Sherrod.
Thus, we have government guided by nitwits, policy filtered through foolishness, sound judgment overwhelmed by ideological idiocy.
I easily can avoid the buffoons on TV and the Web. But that’s not possible when this ilk is initiating the decisions made by government. We need to seal off some of the breaches from this bizarro universe.
Current
DEAR READER: When idiocy sets the tone of public policy
- Current
-
-
‘Queen of Disco’ Donna Summer dies
Disco queen Donna Summer, whose pulsing anthems such as "Last Dance," ''Love to Love You Baby" and "Bad Girls" became the soundtrack for a glittery age of sex, drugs, dance and flashy clothes, has died. She was 63.
-
Video: Vehicles strike downtown store
Two vehicles crashed into Germani’s Jewelry & Gift Store on North Mercer Street this morning. The accident took place around 9:50 a.m. A car involved in the accident sustained heavy damage, while a truck appeared to have minor damage.
-
‘Old news’ outlines local life in 1914
In addition to World War I headlines, the nearly-98-year-old newspaper gave a look at life here in 1914. Found in the cornerstone of the former Elks building, the Sept. 7, 1914, issue of the New Castle News told of a man who had dropped three chickens in his efforts to escape police. The story said the man was arrested later — with two ducks.
-
Viral video: Tornado touches down on sunny day
Storm chasers frequently capture video of tornadoes touching down in dark, stormy weather. But this video of a bizarre tornado in the French town of Toulouse was captured amid sunny, blue skies.
-
Missing man found dead behind school
The case of a missing man was tragically solved yesterday when police found his body behind Lockley School. Michael McCune, 18, of 211 S. Ray St., had been missing since Thursday.
-
‘Bandstand,’ New Year’s legend Dick Clark dies
Dick Clark, the ever-youthful television host and tireless entrepreneur who helped bring rock 'n' roll into the mainstream on "American Bandstand," and later produced and hosted a vast range of programming from game shows to the New Year's Eve countdown from Times Square, has died. He was 82.
-
'Beautiful Day': Singer wins Big Apple gig
Tarra Layne says she can’t remember a time in her life when she was not singing. “I’ve been singing ever since I was super small,” the Pulaski Township resident said. “All through school, I was in choir, and competitive choir. I was addicted to my mom’s old records and I grew up on MTV."
-
Judge rejects request to release Jordan Brown
Jordan Brown will remain in custody, at least for now. Lawrence County Judge John Hodge ruled Tuesday afternoon against a defense request to release him pending proceedings on the juvenile allegations against the 14-year-old boy.Instead,
-
City man gets funky with Kool & The Gang
To say Joe DiThomas was hooked when he heard Kool & the Gang perform 32 years ago is putting it mildly. The sights and sounds from that 1980 concert at the Scottish Rite Cathedral lit a fire in the New Castle native that still burns.
-
Man dies in North Beaver collision
A car and tractor-trailer collision left one man dead Saturday in North Beaver Township. State police said Thomas F. Hughes, 78, of Pittsburgh, was killed on Interstate 376 at the Mt. Jackson exit. His 2003 Ford was struck from behind by the tractor-trailer.
- More Current Headlines
-
