THE GOOD NEWS

IS THAT THE BAD NEWS

IS NOT THE ONLY NEWS

I introduced you to the phrase above last week. I did not come up with the format of the phrase, I just came across it recently and wanted all of you to have an understanding of it before the Easter Holy Day.

The celebration of Easter is a prime example of the phrase. It is certainly not “bad” news, it is great, grand and glorious news. And . . . we’ve been repeating that same news for something like 2,000 years now.

However, I often tend to put down and criticize the national media for its policy of putting a lot of what I call “bad” news front and center in their daily publications and electronic news. They did cover the Easter Holy Day observances across the world to some extent.

Did you ever notice that in the national electronic (TV and Social Media) media, the ‘excitement’ and presentation of the news is so often intended to draw the listener into the news its-self. They want us to identify with their presentation and with the news its-self so we think they are the only ones we will go to too obtain our news.

We are drawn into their production of the news and so often we don’t go anywhere else to read, hear or see any other presentation of the news.

I’d like to maybe highlight just a few subjects that I feel the national media presents only half of the picture.

• The Catholic Church: it has often been highlighted in a negative light. It is true that in the past that church members have made mistakes. Nobody is excluding those times, but just in the recent past they have corrected some of them and the results are numerous. Some of the results include: Seminaries: today, numbers are increasing, reforms are taking effect and the results are positive for the church and the world. Haven’t heard much of that in the news. Education: In addition to seminaries, Catholic colleges and Adult catechesis seem to be improving and increasing in scope and practices. Numerous examples can be found. Don’t hear that in the nightly news. Parishes and Schools: this basic foundation of the Catholic faith increases and decreases in locations and times, but in general is strong. In fact, in the inner-city, Catholic schools are likely the most effective anti-poverty program in the country. Don’t hear that on the nightly news.

• Abortion: remember after the Supreme Court overturned ‘Row v Wade’ saying the U. S. Constitution does not guarantee abortions to everyone? Well, following that, our president made the announcement through his defense secretary that the Defense Department would use taxpayer funds to pay for abortion travel. I remember the national media made a big deal out of that announcement. It seems now that the Biden administration’s abortion travel policy for service members and dependents was used only 12 times from June through December of last year. Details of the money spent were not included in the report, but the 12 “paid leave” to travel out of state for “reproductive health services” cost the taxpayers $44,791. We didn’t hear that something the media so loudly proclaimed as so necessary, was hardly used and was so expensive. Didn’t hear that on the nightly news.

• Crime: We heard plenty about the criminal justice systems in places like California, Washington, New York, Oregon and a few other places. When they changed laws, or practices to lessen penalties, or eliminate them, the national media made sure we knew about it, and how great that was, and if you objected to the changes you just were not educated or ‘progressive.’ We heard very little about the number of stores that have closed in those cities because of the shoplifting and theft from those stores. The criminal goes unpunished and continues to commit the crimes. Other examples: in Philadelphia since 2018, homicides increased from 271 to 457 last year. In Chicago in the six years before Kim Foxx became state’s attorney for Cook County in 2017, there was an average of 510 homicides per year. The number rose to 660 in her first year. We don’t hear a lot of that and also of the fact that in places the electoral citizens who were initially persuaded to vote for “reform minded” candidates are coming to their senses about the harsh reality of rising crime rates. Didn’t hear that on the evening news.

A O

I got a good laugh last week upon reading about the Presidential Primary election in Jewell County, Kansas, last week in The Superior Express. Seems 2024 is the first time in more than 30 years there has been a presidential primary election in Kansas.

For Jewell County, Kansas, the election turnout was “very” light. Only 220 people chose to vote.

Of the 220 people, only seven voted on the Democratic ballot and only six voted for Joe Biden. On the Republican ballot, 174 voted for Donald Trump.

I realize that a rural county in Kansas with a small population will not make much of an impact when totaled in with the heavy population centers like Kansas City, but I find the results interesting, and I got a good laugh upon reading those results.

A O