Wednesday, February 01, 2006

Anything but slow...

Tuesday, the last day of January, 2006 was anything but a "slow" news day. First, and foremost to my mind, was the passing of the gracious and dignified Coretta Scott King, the "First Lady" of the Civil Rights movement. While her recent health problems made the news of her passing a little less of a shock than it might have been, it still was a moment of profound sadness and a reminder to me of the mortality of all of us. More about this great American later.

January 31st was also the last day of Alan Greenspan's tenure as FED chairman. Greenspan was in many ways as influential as any President during his 18 years on the FED. His ideas and pronouncements shaped both national and international economic events and policies. It will be interesting to see if his successor is as much of a media star as Greenspan was.

During the day, the Senate confirmed Samuel Alito to take over the Supreme Court seat held by Sandra Day O'Connor. Alito will probably be less reactionary and conservative than the radical Republicans who threw over Harriet Miers for him think. Only time will tell. The fact that one of his first actions was a death penalty delay granted shows him to be open minded. Bet that's killing the crowd that hated Miers...

Last, but not least, the day was one of the craziest or annual sports events, Super Bowl Media Day. Want to know "everything" about your favorite Super Bowl team players? Just listen to the inane questions asked by the media on this day of days. My all time favorite? When Redskins QB Doug Williams was asked "how long (he) had been a black quarterback", his reply? "All my life," said the bemused Williams, proving once again that journalism majors should actually be forced to learn something in college...