Cnn @ MindSay

Interesting new radar evidence of a UFO in Texas presented on CNN's Larry King Live!!


Part One: at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OB_tga-NQZU

Part Two: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rEatNubgR4k&feature=related

Part Three: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yGMlEvxtMIs

"After six months, can Democratic race be over?" screams the CNN headline.  Yes, CNN, after over a YEAR, this bizarre scene is finally over.  Take Wolf Blitzer to the methadone clinic. Keep Anderson Cooper away from the razor blades. Put the crack pipe down.  Make your decision for Christ.  It's over.  Oh, yeah, and someone put David Gergen back in the nursing home!

Actually, CNN, it's been over for three months, but I'm impressed that you finally noticed.  I was beginning to wonder if you ever would.  Does this mean that lame touch-screen goes up in the attic with all the Christmas ornaments?  I just don't know.  One can certainly hope the deflation won't crush too many egos over there.

I was beginning to miss the "dog bites man" stories.  Gone were the days of "Woman kept 180 cats in captivity," "30 bodies from a mortuary stacked in daycare playground,"  and "Breast can cause cancer, study shows" human-interest stories.  Oddly, something inside me missed those heady days when penises, corpses, and disasters dominated the news-tainment offerings.  After all, if 400 kids getting stolen from their parents/husbands/wives/uncles doesn't get national attention, what will?  The last break in the action was when 32 people got killed...somewhere.  Don't look at me like that.  The segment was short, and I couldn't remember where.

*Sigh*  So, I fully expect this summer to be a slow news era.  Someone will diddle someone, and a panic will ensue.  Some woman who woke up this morning in a mobile home that is encrusted with cat feces will star prominently.  Maybe someone will cover the war I hear about sporadically. It's somewhere in Oceania, if I recall.  While we're at it, how about them gas prices?  Blah...

Somewhere, a news junkie is having a crisis of faith.  A serial killer is penning a tell-all book that some politician's mistress will get fired for publishing.  A dog is getting ready to bite a child.  A driver on a cellphone is getting ready to kill someone.  A congresscritter is getting ready to use global warming to enhance corporate welfare programs.  Maybe Natalie Holloway will return from a 2-year acid trip in South America.  Anything is possible in this magical time.

Yes, CNN, the primary season is over.  Back to the usual dreck.  Better luck in the fall.  Until then, you can return to your normal, gross-out, bizarre fare.  *TV off*

This clip may be from the last presidential election four years ago but I think the points that Jon Stewart makes are still very relevant in the Liberal Vs. Conservative style news coverage created by CNN and Fox News.

I saw the hour-long special "We Have Autism" on CNN this afternoon.  Some of it brought tears to my eyes.

Not about the kids, though.  Seeing little ones who were working with their sensory integration while painting their hands to seeing an adult who had found expression -- poetic expression -- through a keypad and pencil and paper because he couldn't speak.... Well, that was just cool.  Wonderful.  Beautiful.

No, what saddened me was the way that all but one of the parents confessed to a horrible, shell-shocked, brick-in-the-face feeling when they heard their child's diagnosis.  One mother, in China, shared how she thought (though it horrifies her, now) of killing her child and committing suicide, because she couldn't bear the thought of the "terrible life" her child would lead.  That brought me to tears.  Other parents shared their initial hopelessness, the fears, the utter ignorance about what to do to 'fix' the problem.

Thing is, of course, one doesn't "fix" anyone who has Autistic Spectrum Disorder.  One just sees the current limits and teaches the autistic person how to see beyond and around them. Or even, just to want to see.  As I've described it before, in my mind, a person with autism has some bridges out in their brain. We can't put those bridges back.  All we can do is show them where the stones are, show them as well as we can and then help them to understand what's on the other side.  And when they're ready, we help them cross.

Please, if you or someone you know is new to this life of being "the family with autism" -- please know that it is not a bad thing to be so "labeled."  Doors will open (with some tugging) and help can be found for someone with ASD.  Truly, it is helpful to know what's out there and where help can be found -- even if it means reading books and becoming your child's personal therapist.

The financial burdens can be rough (for an example, a simple cavity at the dentist means a trip to the hospital, general anesthesia, medical attendants, surgical prep and so forth, which adds up!) beyond the costs of speech or physical or occupational therapies. But there is hope out there, and assorted grants and other options open to families who are living with autism.

CNN will be repeating this show sometime tomorrow, I believe.  Record it or TiVo it or whatever it is you do, and share it with folks who could benefit from seeing it. 

CNN is my at-work news source.  Last night, I was watching this informative short about inflation impacting Americans working for the government in Europe, when I saw a chart that didn't look quite right.  Inflation is taking place, but the line on the chart was suspicious.

That's about the time I noticed the Y-axis units:
I guess that makes it official.  The dollar is being intentionally demolished and the media is right there to help it die.