--- You know, the internet is really weird sometimes. All of the
bloggers have been aflame over the past day about Kerry's alleged
affair with an intern. I watched and tracked the story yesterday with a
sort of amazement at how the chain works. It was sort of like when you
were at school, you all sat in a circle, the teacher whispered
something into someone's ear and told them to pass it along. When
everyone had been told, you compared the original with what the last
person had. A Gossip Chain. And yesterday's was amazing.

First, you have Drudge who somehow managed to land yet another potential sex scandal regarding a politician. Then the big dogs chimed in---Instapundit and Sullivan. Then you have Vodkapundit,
who opened a thread inviting rampant speculation, and at last count,
had ninety-nine comments rampantly speculating. I don't go to a lot of
blogs. I just don't have the time, but from what I saw yesterday, I
don't know how regular media can compete. Particularly when they
haven't even gotten around to covering the story yet. Now, I don't hold
big media in contempt like many bloggers do. I realize they're biased.
And that's fine with me: I'm intelligent enough to recognize that fact
and weed the bias out of the news. The main problem I have with big
media is the content on the whole---which stories they pick and choose
to report. This is where I don't even get the chance to weed through
the bias. But hell, it's a free market; journalism is a business, and
there's always the internet and The Economist
because they'll give me what I need. I am not a regular Fox News
Channel watcher---just shifting the bias to the right doesn't solve the
problem we have with bias. It just doesn't. Sure it provides the other
side of the story, but it's a non-starter for me: I want people in the
media to realize they're supposed to take their feelings out of it and
their job is to give me the facts---not just as they see them, but as
they are. As long as Fox is as successful as they are, I suspect, this
tendency to polarize news stories will continue. Unlike many, I'm so not surprised this story hasn't hit the
mainstream media yet. Unlike bloggers, they have to worry about being
sued. We don't have that issue---so far. This could change sometime in
the near future, but for right now, bloggers are pretty much free of
any interference from threats of libel by sharky lawyers. No one really
knows how to handle this media. And bloggers are very careful. They
have to be---they don't want to be regulated by the courts. So,
yesterday was a very interesting lesson in base journalistic
ethics. Everyone was very careful about tracing their steps, saying all
the while that it was Drudge who'd reported it first, etc. But now that
it's a mainstream internet story, people are already running with it as if it were a true fact, instead of an allegation.
Yes, they're still covering themselves, but the speculation has run
rampant. By the time big media gets the story confirmed and have
checked their facts---this of course being true only if they choose to
run with it in the first place---it'll be dead in the water. No one on
the internet will care. Really interesting stuff. As far as John Kerry
sleeping with an intern? Well, what do you expect from a politician?
They're never held accountable for their actions when they're in
office. What, exactly, do you think that leads them to believe about
everything else? They think they're safe.
Particularly after the Clinton debacle. My only prediction: no one's
going to be saying, "well, the French do this sort of thing all the
time and no one over there gets their knickers in a twist about it."
Making the statement that the French are so much more advanced than we
are is not going to get anyone any favors this time around. --- I keep
forgetting to post this Ice Palace picture. So, here it is---try and
not to laugh too hard. {the link is dead---if you're interested email
me and I'll send you a copy of the picture}
In 2002, Minnesota got a Republican govenor. One of his big priorities
was to enable people to carry concealed. This was a big deal last
summer. Everyone's biggest fear was that, now that it was legal to
carry concealed, there would be a million more gun related deaths.
Well, it hasn't happened. I knew this would be the case, too. Concealed
weapons statutes are very specific as far as the requirements to apply.
And Minnesota was no slouch in laying down the requirements. People
have to apply, background checks need to be done, classes need to be
taken---all in all---a pretty onerous process. And most of it ignores
the simple fact that the people who are carrying concealed legally are not the ones who are just going to open fire on anyone.
They're carrying for self-defense, not for the thrill of it. It never
ceases to amaze me how silly some people's assumptions about this sort
of thing can be. And it all stems from the fact that guns are scary.
Now, I will admit this much: I don't like guns---not one iota. The
husband, in the past, has mentioned getting one and I said no way---not
in my house. But just because I don't like them does not mean I'm going
to deny a security guard, who works in a really bad part of town and
has to worry about defending themselves on a regular basis, the right
to carry a gun under his jacket if he passes the legal requirements to
do so. It's just not my call to make. But plenty of people think it is
their call to make, even though they've never held a gun. They've never
fired one and the only lesson they have on guns is from the television.
People whip out guns left and right on TV. And Hollywood makes it look
stylish. But they're scary things---and anyone who's ever held one, and
this includes me, can tell you this. My friend D. worked as a security
guard in college to make extra money. He applied for a permit to carry
concealed and was approved, only after he'd jumped through myriad
hoops. At his expense, of course. He went through weeks of classes. And
the main lesson he culled from it: do not ever remove your gun from your holster unless you mean to fire it.
Law enforcement is taught this one simple rule. Soldiers are taught
this one simple rule. Everyone whose professional livelihood requires
carrying knows this simple rule. And I have to say, I felt a lot safer
knowing this rule. D. needed his gun. And I, on occasion, needed D. and
his gun. When I served subpoenas for a living, I ran across some scary
characters---if I had warning about said scary characters, I would call
D. He would come with me while I served the papers and basically all he
ever did was pull his jacket aside so that the gun was visible and put
his game face on. Never had a problem. I don't want to know what I
would have done if something had happened and he hadn't been there, but
the fact remains that there was never a problem because people were
deterred from causing one. Guns are best used as a deterrent. No one,
not even criminals, wants to get shot. A gun says, I take this seriously. You should, too.
So, again, anyone who is legally carrying concealed is going to be
taught the same lesson as law enforcement: don't pull your weapon
unless you mean to fire it. But a lot of businesses complained when the
law went through last year. They didn't want guns---legally carried or
not---on their property. So a compromise was reached. If businesses
didn't want guns on their property, they would need to post a sign. You
see these all over town. A business a few blocks away posted one that
said: I cannot believe I have to do this, but blank business does not allow guns on the premises.
To see this sign at the Ice Palace, however, was just so ridiculous.
It's necessary, yes, but come on, kids! It's an ice palace. It's not
even there anymore!
--- All right. That's enough of that. Have a happy Valentine's Day and
I'll see you on Monday with a movie report.

Posted by: Kathy at 01:42 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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