I believe you a right on, Lixy ...

When thinking about the news, remember the incident surrounding this year's Superbowl where CBS retreated from airing a one minute commercial because the White House didn't like it.

In the past, we had the likes of Eric Severeid, Howard K. Smith, Walter Cronkite, Edward R. Murrow, et al that came up through the trenches, correspondents reporting the news from first hand accounts or superb journalism. We impeached a president because of outstanding investigative journalism. [Remember that ... "I am not a crook" -- Richard Millhous Nixon]. Well ... yes he was.

Today we have people reading the news. And they aren't reading the real news, they're reading what the network mucky-mucks want them to read. What they think will sell, what isn't offensive to some political hack, and what won't, heaven forbid, upset their sponsors.

Turn on GMA any morning of the week and you get five minutes of "news" followed by what's happening with Jacko the Wierd, Cobe Bryant, and Scott Peterson. Blah, blah, blah. News? For whom?

But GMA didn't tell you about the government's reduced funding for Section 8 housing, putting an estimated 8 - 10 million people in this country out of reach of affordable housing. And you didn't hear about how the government has virtually eliminated the Federal Summer Jobs program for disadvantaged youth because, quoting Mr. Bush, "we just don't have the money for those programs."

And we are spending $250 billion in Iraq? That's one-quarter of a trillion dollars. [Approximately $210 million of which was for outfitting GI Joe Bush in his flight suit and putting him on the flight deck to proclaim the end of combat operations.] NOW, that was news.

Where are the on-going accounts of the failures in Afghanastan, North Korea's growing nuclear threat, the International Court's indicment of Cheney in Europe?

There are few. No, the FEDs would rather twiddle with red/yellow/orange/chartreuse and muave alerts. It keeps your mind off of other things going on they'd prefer we not hear too much about or dwell upon for too long.

By the way, what ever happened to that missing 727 that is STILL missing?

I am a news junkie. Having said that, I prefer to listen to CBC (Canadian Broadcasting Company), BBC (1 or 2), or NPR. Besides getting news that is unaffected by American sponsors, it's refreshing to hear another slant on the unfolding events and opinions around the world from other than an American (commercial/political) perspective.

Sorry ... (stepping off peach basket). I don't believe we are hearing the news -- we are hearing what the White House (a wholly owned subsidiary of the drug companies) want us to hear and believe.