Two Week Mash Up

Having been away, I have been feeling full of rants.  Didn't take notes and may just use this forum to throw up some thoughts.  

The Supreme Court. Where do I begin?  I don't really know when the ultimate court in the land became a partisan forum.  I really don't. I know that at some point over 35 years ago, abortion became the touchstone for all things political.  All of a sudden, when the Supreme Court ruled that abortions should be legal in Roe vs. Wade, every judicial candidate has covertly been asked about their feelings about abortion.  Ah, the litmus test.  It kills me because the holier than thou speak about the Supreme Court Justices as impartial until there is an opening and then they want to know how the Justice ruled on abortion. So how does that really work with impartiality? Almost every big decision by the Supreme Court now is drawn along political ideologies. That is a tragedy for justice in America. When I was a kid, we had trust in the rulings of the Supreme Court. Now, not so much. Can we ever get it back?  I fear not.  The system is so corrupt and entangled in "sides."

While on vacation, we had few television stations, but two available...CNN and Fox News.  I thought, well, I will give Fox News a chance.  I did and found it so unbearable to watch. Fox shows one side and one side only. There is no pretense of two positions. The talking heads seem credible which is why it is terrifying if that is your only source of news and information.  One anchor was ripping the 3 big networks to shreds for spending so much time on Rush Limbaugh's disparaging remarks about Sandra Fluke. Their argument was when Bill Maher called Sarah Palin a slut or some other "liberal" person calling another Republican woman names that it got zero hits on the networks. The difference and it is a huge difference, Sandra Fluke is a private citizen not a public figure. That is a distinction that cannot be overlooked. I am not for pejorative comments but do not undervalue that difference. Watching Greta Van Susteren was so disturbing. She has had so much work done that her face doesn't even move and can't believe that she is in news of any sort. I can't imagine sitting opposite her during an interview and keeping a straight face. What a waste for a bright woman. 

Watched a lot of NCAA basketball, too. It dawned on me that the most archaic and pointless rule is the backcourt violation penalty. Before the shot clock was instituted, it made sense, but with the introduction of the shot clock...it makes zero sense. Who cares if you cross the half court line? It's to your team's advantage to get down to the basket.  If you choose to stand around the opposite basket for 10 seconds, 15 seconds, who cares?  So, can the powers that be of all basketball rules and regulations committees drop the backcourt violation penalty?  Can we bring the game up to speed???????

SIDEBARS:  How desperate does The Today Show seem having Sarah Palin co-host while Katie Couric co-hosts GMA?  A stunning morning television development. Read Wendy and the Lost Boys (bio on Wendy Wasserstein), The Hunger Games, and Rules of Civility on break.  If you are a theatre person, I think everyone should read the Wendy bio, though a little sad about how it was. All three books are worth the read depending on your tastes. 

As always, feel free to re-post or forward to a friend.