Even newer! 720 word thread!

All of the talk about politics and society, etcetera really gets my motor going. It’s wonderful to see so many opinions expressed, and I consider most of you here (whose journals I read, anyway) educated and independent women. However, there are so many people out there who skim a few articles (note I didn't say books; do people even read anymore?) or watch a few news programs and think they have all the answers. Bottom line: it is essential that we think for ourselves, which is not an easy thing to do with the limited ways in which we get our information, not to mention the lack of time we have in which to get it, with our busy lives made SO much easier with technology . It’s so frustrating, and I see it so often now, especially in the younger generations. Some of them consider Dateline and MTV News to be hard-hitting journalism. True journalism barely exists anymore. As a former journalist, I can tell you that most news-reporting agencies are more like conglomerate-owned puppet shows whose end product is orchestarted from the beginning under the watchful conductor of the advertiser. And if you don’t think that money slants a story, then please send me some of what you’re smoking. O.K., this is quickly turning into a rant, but basically I just want to send a message to those interested and aren't doing so already: Arm yourself with lots of varied information! Go to more than one source! Read conflicting viewpoints! It’s getting harder and harder to remain objective these days, but the more we educate ourselves, the better we’ll be able to operate as citizens, community members, and cohabitants on this planet. There. Maybe I should rent a soapbox and stand on a downtown corner and enlighten the public with my wisdom. I can set up shop right next to the guy who wears an aluminum-foil fedora and shouts indecipherable obscenities (or what I think are obscenities) to the people who drive by. God bless us, every one.
In other news, the in-laws have left the building. Praise the sweet little baby Jesus. Whew, love ‘em to death, but it’s nice to have my house back. Not much going on around here lately: lots of cleaning, errands to Target, grocery shopping and the like. O.K., I’m setting foot into the underworld that is domesticity and “crafts” (again, you must hear the accent: cr-aaaay-fting in my sl-aaaay-cks): SCRAPBOOKING. I’d really like to get started (Do I even know myself anymore? Next stop: Minivan and soccer-mom hair. And as a side note within the parentheses, I absolutely am NOT mocking the suburbs or minivans. I have close friends and relatives who live this life, it’s just a very foreign type of life to me right now. But I never thought I’d be married and with child, so who the frick knows, right?) ANYWAY, does anyone know how this is accomplished (in case you don’t remember, scrapbooking)? Every time I go to the scrapbooking section in the craft store (or Target, which, by the way, has an EXCELLENT, newly expanded aisle), I get so overwhelmed by all of the stuff. Stickers, papers, cutters, books, who knew? Anyway, how did you all get started? Any how-to books? Classes? Or did you just jump in?
O.K., I apologize for all the capital letters, parentheses, and run-on sentences, not to mention the absolutely schizophrenic nature of this entry. I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend, relax, enjoy your loved ones, etc. Big hugs and babydust to those who need it!
This is just my opinion of how we should change our policy on punishing criminals. What we should do, by crime:

Increases in Penalties:

Any type of Murder: life without bail, no death penalty (but that's a different debate)
Rape: a minimum of twenty years
Domestic violence: minimum of 20 years in prison
Sexual Abuse of a minor: 25 years for first time offense, second time life
insider trading: 15 years
Violent Robbery: 30 years
Sale of Drugs other than marijuana: 15 years, 20 if sale is to a minor


Decreases in Penalties:

Sale of Marijuana: should be controlled by the government, individuals selling it should receive fines up to 10 times the value of the marijuana

Personal Use of Drugs: Rehabilition, Mandatory Rehab

Please recommend some good news sources in print, TV, and online. Your opinion is highly valued.

Hey Neehai, nice rant ( like the occasional rant)

I totally agree about the news source thing, I try to go to as many diverse sources as possible. The google news feature is great as it automatically gives links on the top stories from sources all over the world. Sites like the Guerilla News Network and Democracy Now can be very informative although they do have their own special bias, but at least they're honest about it. I often like to read the western coverage of international news stories and then compare coverage from the relevent regional news sources (Al-jazeera for mid-east stuff, Xinhuanet for chinese news etc.).

Scrapbooks: What's all this business about fiddling around with bits of paper and sissors?

I keep a digital scrapbook with personal digital pics, interesting stuff from the net and my own little comments in it. Oh, then there's the news scrapbook with hundreds of articles saved and filed under different topics, and oh yeah, the writing and art files... Oh forget it, I just realized my whole computer is one big scrapbook. Have fun with doing your own however you see fit.

Neehai is posting something copied out of an online pregnancy journal site? C'mon, Neehai, at least do the forum mavens the honor of baiting with original material.

(And what the hell is "babydust?" I know what baby POOP is, I saw plenty of that with two kids... but... babydust? Huh?)

OMG!!! People do this? Plagarize other people's forum postings?! I feel so disoriented...

haha, I just googled a random website and pasted it into word to count 720 words.

I didn't really read what is said. It is actually 2 different pages as the first only took me to 670 or so.

Baby dust comes from decaying dead babies.