IS THE DEATH OF NEWSPAPERS WHAT IS MEANT BY A PAPERLESS SOCIETY?

The New York Times is seeking a buyer to bid for the Boston Globe. As automobiles phased out the local blacksmith, so is progress and the Internet phasing out the printed newspaper. The breakfast habit of coffee and time to read the paper; reading the paper on the train ride to work; quietly kicking your shoes off and sitting in an easy chair with a pipe in your mouth and a dog at your feet while your wife cooks supper....these have become memories for most.

If circulation numbers are of interest in the top 100 newspapers, check here.

In my own unscientific poll, I asked friends why they still read newspapers. It seems that most do it out of habit. Some find change difficult and others reacting to the assault of constant change hold onto those things which are still there for them. Some don't like to sit at a computer or one is not available to them. Occasionally some have said they like the features that are not available on line, though classifieds, ads and obits were never my reasons for reading one. I've discovered that when I miss the death of someone I am interested in, someone will tell me. If I am not told, the person still remains dead and probably never learns that I hadn't heard.

If there ever was a day in which newspapers were there to give people the news. that day has passed. Now they are money making machines who, like many others, have stopped making a profit and are suffering death throes because the original reason for their existence has been lost. News is rarely accurate nor reported on, but opined. Local news is not enough for most of us any longer...the Internet has shown us that there is a huge world more interest than our town out there.

Today, you don't have to buy a paper, you buy a hand held invention that seems a miracle. You can talk to people on a phone, read all the world news as well as local wherever you wish, take pictures on the spot as you see them, send them to your home computer, pick up messages left for you, read your email..type messages, listen to music...about all your hand held can't do is have sex with you. (No, that's the other hand!)

Switching to plastic toothpicks and dropping newspapers might make my world greener.

THE RABBLE HAS BEEN ROUSED ENOUGH

There is a new perspective from others I have recently seen on the bail-outs that came from ReasonOnline. While I not infrequently disagree with many writers and find them less than reasonable, in all, the magazine generally challenges one's thinking, thus a good read. Amusingly, it writes: "These days, every politician assumes that because he has a driver's license and an ATM card, he must have all the necessary skills to run an automaker and operate a bank. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid, for example, said Detroit should use its bailout money to become "a global, competitive leader in fuel efficiency." It goes on to say, "Of course, some taxpayers feel that members of Congress should forfeit their salaries in years when they fail to balance the budget. But our leaders' contempt for failure applies only to the private sector." The old saw about "Do as I say, not as I do." is what the Congress runs on.

While I have been writing for days at the unfair and naive response by the Congress to the whole Bail-out and Stimulus packages, the Washington Post writes: "After a week of unexpected setbacks for an industry accustomed to deference, bank executives said they were now racing to convince Congress and the Obama administration that imposing punitive taxes on bonuses would unfairly punish thousands of people for the sins of a few. Executives also argued that hitting banks would hurt the broader economy."

Are we to believe that, after the Media frenzy of stirring up the masses by the Media's ignorance of facts, some people who matter are beginning to see the bigger picture?

Meanwhile, all problems are not about money, bonuses or politics. The Space Agency reported: 2:00 PM, 3/22/09, Update: Urine flow problem forces station crew to delay processor test A critical test run using the space station's presumably repaired urine processor system was called off today when the lab crew ran into problems loading the system with stored urine. After several hours of troubleshooting, mission control told station commander Mike Fincke to close the water recovery system rack and call it a day. The troubleshooting steps we just did to try to resolve this problem with the UPA (urine processing assembly) were no joy," Rick Davis called from mission control shortly before 2 p.m. "We are going to stand down from UPA activities for today so that we can get everyone looking at it to come up with some additional ideas." Perhaps the Congress might shut down for a few days to give people with ideas an opportunity to solve the problems in a more productive way than spending all the time trying to find out a person to blame.

Why does a Boston Globe headline seem to me to cheapen the purpose of attending church? Churches vie to be Obamas' spiritual home Will there not be Divine Intervention to make sure the right one is attended?