Bob CollinsThere are days I wonder what we’d talk about if we didn’t have fools, crooks, and liars. This is one of those days.
Hitting us first today was news that the woman who gave birth to 8 children this week, already has six kids and had the 8 embroyos implanted. There also doesn’t appear to be a father in the picture, and the grandfather — with whom she lives — has gone back to Iraq to try to make some money to support them all. That was the top story on the TV news today. Seriously.
That was followed by a story that Barack Obama showed a rare moment of anger when he found out that $18.4 billion of the bailout money — you’ll recall it was originally supposed to help people and banks with foreclosure problems — went to Wall St. bonuses. “That is the height of irresponsibility. It is shameful,” Obama said while hosting a meeting in the Oval Office with Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner and Vice President Joe Biden.
Then we have Illinois Gov. Rod R. Blagojevich, who was given the political death penalty, by the Illinois Senate on Thursday. “He reminded us today in real detail that he is an unusually good liar,” Republican state Sen. Matt Murphy said.
Closer to home, John Harold Richardson, 40, was charged Thursday morning with felony theft. He allegedly stole a laptop from a blind woman on a bus. It was a special Braille laptop.
What would we be talking about if it weren’t for these people?
Maybe the swell 6th birthday party Gabriel Hurles had in his kindergarten classroom on Wednesday. When he opened a large wrapped box, it was his dad, who shipped out to Iraq last summer. Earth-changing news? No. But neither is a woman with 14 kids.
Or maybe we’d be talking about the Minnesota kids who are wrapping up Catholic Schools Week by “donating a truckload of household items they collected for Bridging, a Twin Cities nonprofit that provides dishes, beds and other items for families in transition.”
What’s MPR covering today? It’s day 5 of the Coleman-Franken election trial. Toni Randolph has a piece on All Things Considered tonight on ice sailing. Midmorning’s first hour focuses on “the allure of Pluto and the public outrage over its recent demotion from planet status.” (I had no idea there was such outrage. I was paying attention to the big gift-wrapped box). Gov. Pawlenty is continuing his public appearances to support his budget proposals, speaking primarily to business groups. As I mentioned yesterday, the Minnesota Department of Health today is unveiling its plan for deciding who gets immediate help when the flu pandemic comes.
What are people talking about around your water cooler?
