Tornados and TaTa's

I know, that seems like an odd combination, doesn't it? You'll see the link, I promise.

I go through cycles of watching the news and I try not to. I always try to guilt myself into watching the news because I like to have an inkling of current events, but I find the news just so irritating that I tend to go days, sometimes weeks at a time without watching, or reading it at all.

Why do I find it irritating, you may ask? I think it's mainly due to what people feel is news, compared to what I feel is news. Take tonight, once again I got to hear about Angeline Jolie's mastectomy and reconstruction because she and the hubby went out to some event last night. This is news? Even more irritating is the fuss surrounding her decision to have a mastectomy in an effort to fend off a high likely hood of developing breast cancer. Why anyone thinks that their opinion regarding someone they will never actually meets breasts matters a damn I will never know.

I could argue either way here pointing out the benefits of either decision she could have made, but why? One, it's done been did. Two, Angie doesn't give a damn what I think about her breasts or lack there of, as she shouldn't. They're hers. Not mine. Period. She had the money to pay for it, she had the information regarding it and she made a decision that was right for her. My opinion on it doesn't matter and neither does anyone else's so I would appreciate not hearing about them again. I know, tomorrow at Safeway I'll see a headline about them so this is pointless, which brings me on to tornados.

Yes, tornados. Friday it seems three tornado chasers were killed in Oklahoma by a storm that caught many people in its grasp. On the news, yes, we're still discussing the news show tonight, they made a fuss about whether storm chasers risks were acceptable. Once again, I could argue either way to come up with some meritable conversation but in the long run, my thoughts don't matter. I don't chase them, nor am I going to. I personally am scared shitless of tornados and would be happy to never see another. Give me a good earthquake over a tornado any day. One I'm trying to get at is why is this discussion news worthy? It should have been simply that these three men died while fulfilling their job. That's it.

The decision to chase storms belongs to those who make a living doing so. Not me, not Brian Williams or any other new caster on John Q. Public. Their employers or contractors see the benefit to do so whether it's scientific, news related, or simply good money and cool pictures. I don't really care if they do so or not. I think on the science side of things, the more data they collect the better for all of us. Let's discuss that data in the news. As for those that make a living as tornado tourism guides or what not, well I'm trying to keep this post a little more polite than the language required for me to describe my true feelings towards that stupidity. But truly, as long as their actions are not harming others and they're aware of the risks as they make their discussions... I hope they stay safe.

What I guess I'm getting at is, when did the news become a place to air our opinions instead of reporting the facts? I know that in the end, our own opinions always color our words so newcasts always our skewed a bit, but it seems like there is no longer any effort to not do so, and the ridiculous crap they consider news. Then when we have truly newsworthy events it's covered to the point where you're just sick of it. Case in point? The Boston bomber apprehension. Why did I need to see the sequestering of the neighborhood they thought they had him in from three different ground crews, at least on helicopter and digital maps? Yeah, I'm sure that all helped with crowd control. Maybe I just need to go with reading my news daily. Don't worry, I'm sure I'll find something to gripe about with that too.