I don’t know that I’ve ever witnessed so many people change their opinions so quickly. It seems just like yesterday when Democrats were concerned about large deficits and Republicans weren’t. Remember how supportive Republicans were of the government and the president? They used to get so angry when people didn’t talk respectfully about President Bush. Democrats were outraged about the government handing out billions of dollars to banks and other businesses.  Just a few short months ago, liberal talkshow hosts were talking about the end of our country as we know it and conservative hosts were optimistic.  So who do you think are the biggest hypocrites?

Many politicians, government officials,  and business executives should watch and learn how Alex Rodriguez’s P.R. team is handling the baseball star’s steroid use. Rodriguez not only admits to taking a banned substance, he’s actually telling everyone exactly what he took and how and when he took it. He acknowledges that he made a mistake and appears to be truly contrite.

So what else do the hordes of New York sportswriters have to write about ?  Nothing! Rodriguez and his people have completely taken the air out of their sails. It’s brilliant!

I’ll never forget what a character played by Harrison Ford said to a fictitious president in a movie. After the president’s old friend was found dead with a boatload of drugs, his staff was wondering how to handle it. Ford’s character said when reporters ask him if the two were friends, he should say “no - we were very good friends”.  It’s the same concept.

So often the story isn’t about what a person knew, it’s about what they knew and lied about or didn’t disclose. Just ask Roland Burris.

I was going to blog about double standards in politics, but I’m not in a very political mood so I’ve decided to write about something less depressing than politics – death.   

For some reason, I’ve been reading the obituaries recently. I’ve always checked to see if anyone my age has died – I want to know what to avoid - and I look for local celebrities, etc. But, lately I’ve been checking out some of the other obits.  People have fascinating lives.

For example - in today’s Bellingham Herald there was an obituary about Arthur “Pic” Piccolo. He joined the Navy in 1945 and was honorably discharged with a Victory Medal in 1947. Pic married his wife Marlene in 1951 – they were together until his death last Friday – just 17 days before their 58^th wedding anniversary. He owned and operated Marine Drive Service for 40 years and started and taught the auto mechanics class at Bellingham Technical College. He was also one of the founders of the Marietta Fire Department and served as its first Chief. Wow! But that’s just one… 

There’s also Derek Looker who built and flew his own airplane, Frank Lang who served two tours of duty in the Pacific Theater during World War Two, Mary Pearl Fenton who joined the Teamster’s Union in 1948 and worked at several canaries here and Teresa Marie Josh who was married to Howard for 64 years.  

Check them all out and more here.  

We are surrounded by fascinating people – maybe we shouldn’t wait to learn about them in the Obituaries.

Today is my day to blog and I’ve run out of time, so I’m doing something lame - posting my daily schedule.

DAILY SCHEDULE FOR KGMI NEWS DIRECTOR (updated 1/23/09)

11:15 TO 11:40: CHECK E/VOICE MAILS, FAXES, BOXES, TALK TO MORNING PEOPLE ABOUT A.M. NEWS 

11:40 TO 12:00: CHECK A.P. FOR STATE/REGIONAL STORIES, MAKESURE MORNING PEOPLE HAVE VOICED STORIES, TRIM MARKETWATCH, CUT FIFTH SEGMENT OF GLEN BECK, CHECK OUT-TIME FOR END OF NEWS, STACK 12:05 WITH A.P. STORIES AND LOCAL STORIES  

12:00 TO 12:12: FIRST SEGMENT OF NEWS AT NOON 

12:12 TO 12:36 (APPROX) GET TWO VOICERS/WRAPS FROM ABC NEWSCALL PRINT AND PUT AUDIO IN A.V., PRINT 6-7 NATIONAL BRIEFS FROM NEWS MINUTES ON A.P. STACK BOTTOM OF HOUR WITH A.P. AND ABC STORIES, POST NEWS ON WEB.  

12:36 TO 12:40 (APPROX) SECOND SEGMENT OF NEWS AT NOON 

12:40 TO 1:02:  RECORD HEADLINES/WX FOR KGMI AND KBAI,CLEAN-UP STUDIO, TIME OUT 1:00 HOUR. EAT LUNCH

01:00 TO 04:00: ASSIGN, REPORT, WRITE, PRODUCE, ASSIST WITH NEWS, BLOG 

04:00 TO 04:20: RECORD HEADLINES/WX FOR KGMI, KAFE, KBAI 

04:20 TO 04:45: WRITE, REPORT, PRODUCE NEWS 

04:45 TO 05:00: CHECK A.P. FOR STATE/REGIONAL STORIES, STACK 05:05 WITH A.P. STORIES AND LOCAL STORIES 

05:00 TO 05:15: 5:05 NEWS 

05:15 TO 05:30: POST NEWS ON WEB, GET TWO VOICERS/WRAPS FROM ABC NEWSCALL PRINT AND PUT AUDIO IN A.V. PRINT 5 NATIONAL BRIEFS FROM NEWS MINUTES ON A.P., STACK BOTTOM OF HOUR WITH A.P. AND ABC STORIES. 

05:30 TO 05:35: 5:30 NEWS 

05:35 TO 06:00: WRITE/PRODUCE NEWS STORIES, SCREEN PHONE CALLS 

06:00 TO 07:45: WRITE/PRODUCE NEWS STORIES, TEASE ONE STORY, AND WRITE VERBATIMS FOR “A” VERSION AUDIO AND EMAIL TO DILLON.

What do you think - is what you expected?