[loikrso]

First Anna Nicole. Than Imus and now Baldwin. Even the VTech massacre, as newsworhty as it was, completely monopolized the news for days and crowded out other legimate news stories that may have had worldwide reprucussions. I mean, did anything eles of note happen on those days? You would never know it unless you really digged. I find it really disturbing.

Ed, I have no idea how old you are, but I (now age 45) ate breakfast and dinner to the TV news of Vietnam and the Cold War. Treated to footage of wounded, permanently disabled and dead U.S. soldiers and body bags every day. Footage of bombs exploding and scary talk of the U.S.S.R. and China were also daily news items. And they were the TOP stories!

Ever since Bush has been in power, I have felt like I am reliving the Vietnam War and Cold War -- only this time, the situations seem to be far worse, and the stories often take back burner to tabloids. Like you, I find this situation very disturbing.

Somehow I'm managing to turn my worries into enormous positive energy -- which is enabling me to help combat the problems at hand. It's an upward spiral.

Truthfully, after I said "never again" in 1975 and 1989, I thought that my days as a political activist were over. Bill Clinton made it so easy! I never thought I would be so involved in so much Liberal/Democratic work in my middle years...

So I put as much time as I possibly can into aiding the effort to straighten out America. If it works out in the end, well, Hallelujah! -- if not, at least I can be at peace with myself, knowing that I did my best.

Ed, I was wondering how you are handling the problem of America. I'm not being facetious, I would really be interested in knowing. Maybe you can teach me something.

[duceswild]

...and when you squeeze a lemon too hard you get lemonade. Oh, but you only know about dog poo.

Actually, no.

You get lemon juice.

You only get lemonade if you already have the sweetness.....


And you do not know about dog poo?

[cindygirl]

Uh....would you pass that by me again? : "....divorced gay men who because of their gender preference, are not allowed, or hardly ever allowed, to visit their children?"

I know that you live in Italy, but you have traveled -- both physically and virtually. You don't know of any man who fits this description?

[irridgita]

That where not allowed to see their children because of their sexual preference? No. None. Could you mention an example anywhere in the western world. Thanks.

[prpaims]

@Rapunzel

I am 48 years old, and like you I remember how Vietnam dominated family and other social situation discussions. I also remember the reporting... people like Dan Rather who cut his teeth on Vietnam updates... that is really what is missing today.

In fact, the situation on the ground today is probably as serious as it was than, but I do not see the same sense of public urgency today as I did than, and a lot of the reason has to do with the way we get our news. Brian Williams recently did nightly updates on the war from Iraq. That lasted a week. Good for him, but we used to get updates like that everyday from all three networks on Vietnam. And they were much closer to the combat than Williams was. We are all to preoccupied with Anna Nichole and Don Imus to worry about Iraq.

And as you may or may not have implied, maybe people like me are part of the problem. You asked what I am doing... not much... I regret to say. You're right.. we all need to do more.