Assault on Our Senses (and Sensibilities): Don't look now, close your ears, hold your nose...

Following Foolery: Come again?! Did April Fools Day converge with Groundhogs Day?! Was this for real or surreal this morning?! If I had not heard the following trifecta of too-tough-to-digest tidbits thrice in one hour, if I had not followed up by reading them with my own eyes (reading glasses assisted so as to ensure accuracy) over and over and over again, I would have thought I was being played a fool. Certainly none of them passed the smell test! But, based on the prosaic press presentation, maybe it is just me...you judge for yourself. But first, a quick set up...

Conspicuous by Their Absence: Loud voices of reporters, that is. Prior to the first official Q & A of the current presidential administration (punctuated not by rancor but by reading of questions the president apparently screened a bit prior), we became aware that the white house press as well as the national news, had experienced a decline in their ratings. While they initially celebrated the vanishing "rough rhetoric" that characterized the prior 'Pres', some of these same press reps thought twice about countering the 'counterpuncher in chief' (something Donald Trump has always been known for), when they received layoff (now called furlough) notices. I wondered when I viewed the white house press room whether some of these empty seats were a result of increased distancing, layoffs, or the incessant interest in the departing president, which finds plenty of press still in tow. Also absent was some hard throwing correspondents, apparently replaced by those trained in underhand softball pitching. No political statement here, more a critique of style or, to be more accurate, credibility (without which there is not believability on our end). So, I will come in to pinch hit, or more apropos to the metaphor, a relief pitcher, and serve as the cynic in residence, which we had grown accustomed to from the press in and around our nation, as well as abroad (e.g. BBC) throughout the past four years, applied in the three stories I found just a bit incredulous this AM, with no questions from the 'other side', no devil's advocate anywhere in sight...

-From North Korea, Benevolence: News that Kim Jong-un was keeping his athletes home this summer from the "2020 Olympics" in Tokyo, ostensibly to keep them healthy and safe. Has anyone read accounts of those who have, only through assiduous planning and life risking horrendous journeys, escaped such a 'safe' haven?! Not one skeptical reference was made. No comment. Swallowed whole. Lucky I was working out, not eating breakfast...

-Iran, All Over Again: "We just want to develop nuclear energy, we didn't intend on developing nuclear warheads..." Which immediately took me back to President Reagan's reference to how he was approaching nuclear disarmament with the Soviet Union: "Trust, but verify". So far, the press coverage seems to be doing all the first but not much of the latter...again, maybe it's just me, you be the judge...

- Beautiful Thing, Hunter: The tone itself, even without the content of the the coverage of Hunter Biden's tell-all "Beautiful Things" to be released TODAY (and featured this am on the show bearing the same, no doubt), reminded me of the soothing tones of a late night radio DJ...if we are to believe Hunter, it's just a coincidence that the book is being released just a few months after his father took up residence in the West Wing gives me pause (two cliche's, "timing is everything" and "location, location, location" may apply here). The coverage this morning included excerpts of an interview with the author: if we are to take Hunter at his word (would you, at this point?) he wrote these 272 pages in an attempt to come clean in order to 'stay clean'. On the other hand, an account/critique by an addiction expert asserted that it hardly passes the smell test here, not worthy of a look on behalf of those seeking real recovery advice. Another slightly cynical version provoked thought as to how he'll utilize any earnings (assuming anyone has the attention span and tolerance), whether he might have to transfer some funds to some heavy hitting tax attorneys, given the trail that follows him to the Ukraine to China, to D.C....where his father does not yet seem to be distancing himself from his son YET. I wonder if Hunter is going to be to his father what Billy  was to his brother (President Jimmy Carter, that is) while in office. One more thought: do you recall the 'meme' then Vice President Biden became known for (i.e., "this is a big effing deal!" as he 'whispered' to President Obama upon passing the health care bill?), after which he became scarce for while...do you think Hunter will be muted in a similar way?  Oh, and if you're tempted to order a book from Simon and Schuster today, you might want to wait a few weeks and get one for free as they start begging for readers...

Collectively, if these tidbits represent what we can expect from a 'free, independent, objective press' for the next four years, you and I may have to step up and ask the difficult, challenging questions. Otherwise, we are tempted to shutter our ears and eyes. Finally, I am reminded of the trip we took 25 years ago to a destination with plenty of horses as well as lots of  fudge, during which our three year-old daughter asked, "what smells?!" while holding her nose...out of the mouths of babes...