Author: Becky Sarwate

Missing in Action: The Week’s Overlooked News Stories

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missing

Welcome to May! Is a reporter fired for an unusual Prince tribute a “Sign O The Times?” Can we make a supermarket terrorist eat his weapons? And a dedicated, waitressing granny enjoys a pleasant surprise from one of her customers. It’s a mixed bag this week…. 

Sports anchor fired over his love for Prince

The staff of BeckySarwate.com continues to struggle with the loss of one of the world’s all-time greatest musical minds.  As information surrounding the life and death of Prince continues to trickle out, the multi-layered devastation of his passing becomes more clear. Drug overdoses are preventable, and after a career devoted to clean living, it’s sad and ironic that pain and addiction may have produced a stereotypical rock star end for a truly unconventional artist. As we consumed everything Prince-related that circulated through the news this week, this story got our attention. A reporter from Nashville was relieved of his duties after he gently wove Prince lyrics into a sportscast.  We find the line “The clock hits 00:00. Oops, out of time. It’s the Ducks who are going to party like it’s 1999,” to be clever and, frankly, perfect. Prince was a huge sports fan and enjoyed a good pun. The reporter’s bosses didn’t agree. If we had jobs to offer, Dan Phillips wouldn’t be in the unemployment line. As the Purple One might have asked, “Why You Wanna Treat Me So Bad?”

Michigan man sprays toxic mix of chemicals on open food in grocery stories

Toss this one in the “humans are senselessly disgusting” file. It’s our job to monitor it of course, but the news can be depressing. It reminds us of how flawed and awful man can be. But this story? Ugh. Another level. The FBI got involved in the case, and says this punk (we won’t use his name) targeted about 15 different stores in cities across Michigan, including Flint. Because Flint hasn’t suffered enough. Whatever the maximum punishment is for this sort of criminal filth, I hope the courts levy it.

Grandmother raising triplets gets a special gift

Well, we need a shower and a healthier page turn. So we bring you this heartwarming story from North Dakota. A waitress was proudly discussing her triplet grandsons on the job. Shiela Weisgerber has been raising the four year-old boys on her own since shortly after their birth. One of her tables, a husband and wife visiting the area from out of town, overheard the conversation and decided to leave a large tip and a kind note on their receipt to show their support. For every crazy poison sprayer, there are generous, empathetic people. That’s how society keeps its balance.

The Media Doesn’t Care About Terrorism Unless It Happens In The West…And It’s Our Fault

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“It’s easy and tempting to blame the media for heartlessly misplaced priorities. Wolf Blitzer routinely renders himself a convenient target. As our own Justin Baragona recently observed, Blitzer is among “the goddamned worst” in lazy, misinformed reporting. But if we’re being totally honest about our ignorance regarding Syria and other ravaged nations, we have to start by indicting ourselves. Let’s be real, America. Just as we didn’t end up with all-Trump-all-the-time by accident, it follows that the media’s terrorism engagement strategy is an echo of our will.”

Read the full post at Contemptor.

Missing in Action: the Week’s Overlooked News Stories

Becky SarwateLeave a comment

missing

Parents could be on the hook for kids who bully. The media fails to care about terrorism in countries with brown people. And one man does things in a wheelchair we can’t fathom, but they are awesome. Here’s what you missed during this last week of April….

Small Wisconsin town takes big step toward stopping bullies

If your kid is a jerk, you could pay the price. That’s the idea behind a new ordinance in Shawano, Wisconsin. Police in that town are working with the school district to identify bullies, then notify their parents. Mom and dad have 90 days to intervene, and if the bullying behavior continues they are slapped with a fine of $366. The fines progress if the same child is found harassing another within a year. Controversial? Yes. Effective? That remains to be seen. Either way, I’m finding it hard to argue against giving it a shot.

Another awful thing has happened in Syria, and you haven’t heard about it

The media continues its trend of cherry picking which awful acts of terrorism are worthy of coverage (basically only if it happens in the U.S. or Europe). If 27 people, including children, were killed in an airstrike at a pediatric hospital in the West, we wouldn’t be hearing about anything else. But this one happened in Aleppo, Syria so whatever.

Man in wheelchair proves we are all wimps

Ever twist an ankle and then spend time loudly lamenting your life karma, how you can’t do anything, how you wish everything was normal again? Yeah, we’re drama queens too. After reading this article, we have to cancel our pity party. This week’s feel-good story comes from 24 year-old Aaron Fotheringham,  who was born with spinal bifida. Instead of feeling sorry for himself and growing bitter, he became a record-setting extreme sports wheelchair competitor. His bad-assery is unlike anything we have seen in a while. Team Aaron!

One Of Us? Prince, Sports And The Enduring Underdog

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Prince_at_Coachella

“In other words, Prince was really no different from my dad, utterly incapable of paying full attention to an activity when his team was in the mix. Except that Prince was leading a band, doing the splits and rocking a stadium while sneaking peeks at the score, whereas my father struggled to balance headphones with eating pizza. But somehow this notion of the fantastic, magical Prince as one of us only adds to his allure – and our collective grief at his loss. As GQ’s Jack Moore recently observed, ‘in typical Prince fashion, the very idea that a genius, other-dimensional being, Rock God could be obsessed with something as normal as basketball seems super weird. And cool.'”

Read the full post at Contemptor.

Post-Schwarber Injury, Maddon & The Cubs Prove They’re Karma Chameleons

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Cubs

“Then Schwarber was carted off the field. The 23 year-old lefty hit 16 home runs in 69 games for the team last season, and was anticipated to be an integral part of the Cubs 2016 offense. As he left the diamond with the help of trainers P.J. Mainville and Ed Halbur, you could hear the collective groans inside the park and out. This is how the implosion starts, right?…

In a highly competitive NL Central Division, the Chicago Cubs are off like a shot with a 14-5 record that puts them ahead three and a half games over the Cardinals. It is but April and there’s much baseball to be played, but the Cubs are so stacked with talent, from the office to the dugout to bullpen and field, that the old cynicism model appears hopelessly outdated.”

Read the full post at Wrigleyville Nation.