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Anna Maria Tremonti: "What do you think of the way the media has ... You're putting what's gone on in Baltimore in a wider context, and you're making some very strong links to other ills in America. What do you think of the way the media Has covered these issues?"

Chris Hedges: "They haven't covered it. They only cover it when it erupts. So the poor in the United States are invisible. [...] They have been rendered invisible; news, especially on the commercial networks, is judged solely for its entertainment value and its ability to attract advertising dollars; under Clinton we deregulated the FCC, so the airwaves have been consolidated in the hands of about six corporations [...] and it's all about catering to corporate interests in order to extract corporate money and promote a corporate agenda. And that has meant that the vast majority of the media in the United States has utterly walked away from what should be their role, which is giving a voice to people in the society who, without their presence, would not have a voice (and you just did that on the CBC)."

-- from the CBC radio program The Current, on 2015-05-13 [bold emphasis added; underline emphasis reflects what I heard while transcribing]

There are a bunch of other interesting points in the interview. If you've got twenty five minutes, give it a listen. (Do any of y'all have the patience to transcribe the bit about effects of unfettered capitalism and our history of violence, from 11:55 to 13:11, maybe all the way to 14:00?)

(1) The garage says they can't reproduce the problem with my van that freaked me out a week ago when I thought it was stranding me and happened again in the driveway the day I dropped it off. I'm not sure what comes next (they talked to Mom).

(2) I'm looking for a ride to the cardiologist tomorrow (14:45, not sure how long I'll be there -- echo, doppler, & consult) ... The office (Bowie) is two miles away, so if I'm having a really good day I guess I could walk, but the reason I'm going is because I haven't been having any really good days lately. (I find myself wishing for a bicycle. Or my van back.)

(3) I have about a half dozen things I really need or want to get done today, and my body is saying, "nope, done." *grumble* Maybe the "nap now and o things after a recharge" trick will work ... for a change?

(4) There's enough uncertainty today that adding any details at all to my Balticon plans (I hope to show up one afternoon and ghost the lobby just to say hello to folks I don't see enough) feels premature despite how soon that is. Too many unknowns.

(5) *grumble*   *yawn*   *grumble*