Light/Breezes

Light/Breezes
SUNRISE AT DEATH VALLEY-Photo by Tom Cochrun

Wednesday, October 11, 2017

FACTS OF LIFE and STRAIGHT NEWS

twilight for the elders?
    They are the largest and among the oldest living things on  planet earth and after thousands of years they are in peril.
     A recent retreat to Sequoia National Park and the Sequoia National Forest produced a shocking bit of information.
     The keepers of these ancients say that because of global climate change they can no longer guarantee the health and well being of the giants.


    I am among those who are awed, inspired and spiritually moved by the magnificence of these ancients. They have stood silent witness to the history of this globe for millennia. 
     Now we are told that, for whatever reason(s) you may chose to ascribe as the cause(s), the climate change is doing what nothing else has, threatening these giant elders of life  on this blue marble.



     It seems we are of an age where we must endure and brave incalculable loss and violence to our own species and to our elders.

straight news
    All news organizations have spent more time dealing with Donald Trump's character than with his policies according to new data from the Pew Research organization.
     This is true for news operations with right or left leaning audiences and for those with a mixed audience.
      However the research on over 3000 stories found a wide variance in the "sources" used by the 24 news platforms that were studied. The important take away is that right leaning news organizations used fewer sources, fewer types of sources and less comparison in their reporting.
      Right leaning news organizations offered more positive and fewer negative evaluations of trump and the reporters "were less likely to challenge something the president said than those with audiences that were more balanced or were left leaning."




     It is telling that the lowest use of Trump or his administration as a source for reporting came from the right leaning administration. That combined with the fact right leaning news groups used fewer sources in reporting a story should be a warning to those who rely on them.

sad
    Californians are shell shocked and deeply saddened by the fires in Napa, Sonoma and Mendocino. The devastation and loss of life is horrendous. To our friends in that part of the state, the best we can do for you now is send prayers and thoughts. Rebuilding efforts will prompt more response later.

      See you down the trail.

5 comments:

  1. The damage in and around Santa Rosa is nearly unbelievable. Looks like the damage we caused in two Japanese cities from the atomic bombs.

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  2. One week of good news. That's all I need. One damn week.

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  3. I don't know if you're seeing the smoke-filled skies yet, Tom, but my city is warning us who suffer from asthma to stay indoors --and, if we must drive, set the car's ac on cab-recycle instead of outside intake. I've never heard such warnings before. Called friends in Sonoma and Santa Rosa and they say they've got their "go-bags" ready for evacuation. Sanctuaries are packed, so they don't know where they'll end up. It's never been this weird before.

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  4. Our friend George Johns client in Santa Rosa had the fire stop 200 feet from his radio station. Gordon's stations, 3 FMs suffered no damage, but then as George said, "they no longer have a news department so what the hell difference did it make."

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