Keith and Rachel - my apologies

I love you both dearly. Especially you, Rachel - your beautiful smile and intellect - I just want to hang out with you and soak you up.

However, I'm reaching a saturation point for angry information about people acting badly. I've come to expect such bad behavior that nothing you share with me is remotely a surprise. It's almost more surprising that it's thought to be noteworthy.

More than twenty years ago, I stopped watching local TV news when our largest local affiliate ran all the way to Shreveport to lead with a murder story. People get angry, they have family arguments, they get drunk and argue, they try to steal sixty bucks from the corner convenience store and someone gets killed. Lather, rinse, repeat - is it news? Is it UNUSUAL?

Some ten years later, I stopped reading the local newspaper. Every single story was slanted toward a particular political and social viewpoint (one that did not include persons of color, as an example).

I was raised believing that watching the news and reading the newspapers were signs of intelligence.

It's a brave, new world.

I began to put my faith in blogs - people who undertook to recreate what reporters USED to do - research, read, assemble. Angry, ranting blogs weren't what I read - blogs that cross linked to original sources or other references so I could (and did) go read for myself were valuable.

Those resources haven't changed. But, all the anger is pointless. We're all raging at symptoms - screaming at a runny nose or a sore throat when the problem is that we should have covered our sneeze, or washed our hands appropriately, or eaten a better diet or gotten more sleep.

We are hip deep in crazy because no one's willing to deal with causes. Causes as in causal issues. Everyone's interested in having their own little world pampered, but there are no big picture thinkers who aren't either Matt Taibbi or the titans of Wall Street.

Frankly, if Matt Taibbi was running Wall Street, there'd be a whole lot more and better money being made and no more bubbles bursting.

KKR has a longer world view. AIG did not. Goldman does.

I'm thinking that the health insurance companies know that long-term, their goose is cooked. I'm thinking that they're looking to make hay while the sun still shines, and maybe extend the time that they reap those benefits.

Which leads me back to my point. I love you guys. I love you. You make me feel like I'm not alone. Yet, we're not making progress. We're tilting at windmills. I already gave up Daily Kos. It's time to go back to fundamentals. We have to re-teach civics and expand understanding. We have to give clear access to facts and provide an alternative to spin.

I know I'm going to be drawn back to you from time to time, but I need to take a break and re-focus.