Monday Newsbreak: 10/22

To be perfectly truthful, as the great, late Speaker of the House Tip O'Neill used to say, the news of late has not brought much to me in the way of interesting stories.

--I caught an article from the Chicago Tribune published in the Gainesville Sun that now says that moderate drinking, contrary to popular opinion, can put you at risk for various cancers. This is just a small part of a much larger conclusion I have arrived at long ago: being born leads to death!

--The Democrats failed to override President Bush's veto of the SCHIP bill, so it's back to the drawing board with that. The problem with Bush's veto is not that he doesn't want to help poor children: he actually wants to increase this program's funding and reach. No, the problem is that our President never factors into his decisions the debilitating expense he is incurring with his "freedom" war in Iraq, while at the same time he puts on the hat of "fiscal conservatism" whenever the domestic interests of the American people are at the heart of the issue.

--There's a drought that's so severe in Tennessee, northern Georgia and Alabama that the lake supplying water to Atlanta, Lake Lanier, is almost completely dried up. What's going to happen when they run out of water?

--Russian President Putin, taking a break from his scheming to retain political control over his country after his term ends, visited Iran and made menacing noises to the West about how no one had better attack his buddies over there. I think he's right, but not because I give a hoot about what Russia might do. Right now, Putin's just ratcheting up the nationalist bravado talk in preparation for the upcoming Russian parliament elections (he's bucking for Premier). Our American candidates all like to talk tough to the rest of the world as well before elections. Instead of socially shunning the Iranian leadership, our leaders should be taking every opportunity available for dialogue, both publicly and behind closed doors. And Iran and the United States desperately need to reestablish the friendly cultural ties that benefited both nations both in terms of their economies and their collective security.

--The ridiculous presidential campaign continues, with ridiculous debates, ridiculous questions, and ridiculous knee-jerk statements by the candidates (regardless of party). God bless Kansas Republican Senator Sam Brownback for having the (un)common sense to realize his campaign was going nowhere and to graciously drop out!

--There's a scare going around, especially in health care facilities, schools, and prisons, about an outbreak of a lethal, antibiotic-resistant strain of staph bacteria. Congress just voted to throw $5 million at the problem, so I'm sure that solved everything (not)! Proper personal hygiene, especially frequent washing of hands, is probably the best line of defense (besides avoiding health care facilities, schools, and prisons).

--In NFL football, my Miami Dolphins have decided to call this season a rebuilding one after failing to win a single game in seven tries. I wonder whether anyone can beat New England this year, but I remember back in 1985 when people were saying the same thing about Mike Ditka's incredible Chicago Bears, who lost unexpectedly late in the season to the Dolphins (who used to have a good team). That kind of game can happen to the Patriots as well, but it's obviously going to have to be done by a different team than Miami!

--Right now, the most interesting programming I watch on TV is college football, which I believe has turned into America's premier spectator sport. Almost nobody, except in the cities directly involved, is paying any attention to the baseball championship playoffs. And the most exciting college football in the country is being played in the Southeastern Conference!