Smileworthy Events

Things haven't been too fun lately, for a lot of us. I'm not going to try to explain why. If you don't feel that way, you should count yourself very lucky.

Still, I've seen a couple of things today that ought to induce a smile or two. The first is at Naked Capitalism. Go to today's links, and scroll down the the "antidote de jour". If that doesn't bring a smile to your face, then I suspect you've had a really bad day, and I'm sorry.

The second is a bit more subtle, and this blurb explains it:

Visit NBCNews.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

As I mentioned somewhat obliquely recently, MSNBC has done its best to be the "other" Fox News, a place where one could reliably be told how great the Democrats were and how awful the Other Guys are. It's the place where they hired "news anchor" Al Sharpton, who had announced that he wouldn't criticize President Obama. I don't care how good a President is, there will be times when he (or she) deserves criticism. I would make no such vow regarding anyone I supported for President, because, as we saw even with Jill Stein, my favored candidate last time, there is no reason to think that any candidate will do everything the way I'd want him to. If you're not willing to criticize, you're not a journalist. You're a propagandist.

MSNBC is also the network that fired Phil Donahue for telling a truth that the Democrats were uncomfortable admitting back in 2002 - that the basis for our war with Iraq was bogus.

All of which tells me that it's amazing Chris Hayes got this chance. He's a rare thing in television news - someone who loves the intellectual challenge of discussing an issue beyond the conventional view of party politics. Since the departure of Dylan Ratigan, he seems to be the only reporter there who is willing to discuss topics, and points of view, that MSNBC's advertisers might be uncomfortable with. In short, the guy's a journalist, and a good one. That's so rare in television news these days that even thoughtful conservatives ought to find his show interesting.

I don't get cable television, but I'll try to tune in somehow. Meanwhile, if you have cable, I recommend you give it a look.