Boy am I up early

Let's see. What things of note happened this week?

The nation reacted in predictable ways to the Va Tech shootings. I don't think I've ever been at a loss for words the way I was on Monday at work, while Fox News repeated the same gruesome details over and over again. I'm not picking on Fox News, but network news in general. A New York Times article the next day made a really good point about the network news coverage. It's as if we have a protocol now for how to cover a school shooting. The I-Report link for CNN was lit up, every reporter and news anchor had their own thing to say about it, and even the Fox News graphics department only took about an hour to have a flashing "Campus Massacre" graphic to intro each of their various segments.

I think the main thing that haunts me about this particular act is the proximity to my own life. I have friends who know people who died, and being 2 degrees removed from this sort of tragedy is a strange feeling. It just feels so much closer than Columbine, which I was too young to grasp, and any of the mass killings around the globe since then (Baghdad, Darfur, Madrid, Chechnya, Madrid, London, etc.) that I felt no personal connection to. I don't think I really have anything else of value to say about this, so maybe I should just shut up. I hope my cynicism doesn't offend anyone.

Onward. The Supreme Court is on the move!!! The Christian Right is seeing the glory of the coming of the Roberts Court! In a 5-4 vote, the Supreme Court voted to outlaw partial-birth abortions. As much as I am pro-choice, I have to admit that I agree with this decision. This is a practice that should not have to persist in today's medical world. However, the implications of this vote do not sit as well with me. Naturally this is the first time that Bush's appointments in the court have been felt so directly, not to mention the absence of Sandra Day O'Connor. Read this article if you want the details:

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/19/washington/19scotus.html?_r=1&th=&adxnnl=1&oref=slogin&emc=th&adxnnlx=1177154533-3Tk6FHBPeNb1fy4Ov6r3uA

Wow, that's a long link. Crazy-ass internet. Anyway, I still don't think Bush will be able to keep his election promises to the Christian Right, but we may feel the reverberations of his appointments for a long time.

Hey everyone, it's baseball season! Don't you smell that freshly cut grass (not that kind of grass. 4-20 was yesterday). Baseball makes me so happy. My family has ordered MLB Extra Innings again, which means at least one TV in my house will be devoted to baseball every day until the end of October. I love it. Maaaaahhhhhh I love it so much.

Alex Rodriguez. FUCK YEAH A-ROD. KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK.

Boston sure had on some ugly uniforms last night. Boston sure had on some ugly faces last night. I love to hate you, Boston. Don't ever change.

Brooks Peel and I are not giving up hope on YOUR Pittsburgh baseball Pirates. Jason Bay, keep on fighting my comrade! We shall see victory yet!

Will someone please break Barry Bonds. Just break him. Use a crowbar or a golf club or a light saber. Just break him. He represents everything that I hate about modern baseball. He's dumb as a post, beefy and self-laudatory, not to mention doped up and artificial, but he's going to hold the most coveted record in American sports. Not cool, Barry. In the words of the Philadelphia Phillies fans last year, "Ruth did it on hot dogs and beer, Aaron did it with class."

That's all for today. I have a long time before I go to work. How about some laundry?