About Last Week..

6.30.2009

About Last Week…

Wow. The week of June 21 to June 28 for me was one of the most interesting weeks in recent memory. We crowned a US Open Champion at Bethpage Black after a weekend of rain and we saw the ABC Television Network dial in on Healthcare by hosting a town hall meeting with the President at The White House. On the more somber side, we lost two great pitchman in Ed McMahon and Billy Mays, two great cultural icons in Farrah Fawcett and Michael Jackson, and nine ordinary but no less extraordinary individuals in the largest METRO crash in DC History. We watched in horror as images of the Iranian crisis were fed back to us on twitter and we were shocked with an apparent coup taking place in Honduras. And if there wasn’t enough news, a politician decided to destroy his political career by first going MIA from the known world and then admitting to an extramarital affair with an Argentinean lover during a bizarre press conference. Indeed the week of June 21 to June 28 was full of news.

But what did we learn? Well for one we certainly learned that cable news loves the stories aforementioned (minus the Iranian situation and Honduran Coup, not sexy enough for them) and we learned that tragedies do occur and that accidents indeed happen. We learned that death can be long and easily foreseen, while also being sudden and shocking. Finally, we reaffirmed our belief that the majority of politicians are greedy and lustful and in the end will get caught.

While proper reflection on each of the previously mentioned stories would quickly turn this blog into a book, I can share with you some brief opinions I have on the stories we watched so closely during these past few days:

1) Congrats Lucas Glover for winning the US Open, although I wanted Phil to win so badly and applaud him for playing such an extraordinary round of golf.

2) Great job ABC. You challenged the President on his healthcare plan and left many GOP’ers biting their tongue after accusing you of broadcasting an Obama infomercial.

3) So long Ed…from one Catholic University man to another

4) Billy Mays…so sudden…so schocking…it just shows you how life is so fragile and why it should always be treasured

5) You’ve got guts Farrah. While most terminally ill people prefer to go into seclusion during their finals days, you chose to be brave and tell your sad story with the world reminding us all of the evils of cancer.

6) Michael..oh Michael. The sad thing is that your death perhaps resurrected your legacy more than any concert or newly released album ever could. After all, even I have found myself downloading MJ tunes on Itunes after hearing them during these past few days.

7) Metro…clearly something went wrong that shouldn’t have and innocent lives were lost. I only hope that Metro learns from their shortcomings and make a conscience effort to ensure that what happened on that faithful rush hour evening will never happen again.

8) Iran…Obama is doing the right thing by being tough on the acts but not interjecting himself into the process. One thing must be remembered: regardless of who is in charge Iran will be an enemy to the United States.

9) Honduras..being in Honduras just 3 months ago…I am saddened by the recent events. Honduras is full of loving people who sadly will be negatively affected by the coup. My thoughts and prayers are with everyone in Honduras, especially the folks at APUFRAM and Mission Honduras and I hope the situation is resolved peacefully, swiftly, and DEMOCRATICALLY.

10) Governor Mark Sanford…you sicken me. Nothing disgusts me more than people who claim to be pious and so God loving and then behave in such a ridiculous manner. You lucked out sir. If their weren’t so many deaths last week, you would have your resignation submitted already and I hope you get what you deserve. Whose the winner in this? Haley Barbour? Yes. He is quickly becoming a favorite among Republican candidates for a possible 2012 run.

Okay so there are my thoughts and I hope that this week is much quieter for all of us. After all, we need time to reflect on what occurred.

Joe St. George