Save yourself some time for the rest of your life. These are the headlines that you will read each year. The only change will be the names and dates:
Politicians criticize each other
the left accuses the right of slavery to corporate greed — the right accuses the left of socialism — Fox News lies about the left again — MSNBC criticizes the right again — CNN pushes its pro-gay, pro-abortion, anti-Christian agenda again — nothing new there
Fiscal crisis again
the right blames the left for overspending on social programs — the left blames the right for overspending on military costs — nothing new there
The Palestinians and Israelis are sending their grandchildren to kill each other again
rockets fired — Gaza blockade — Israel takes more land for another settlement — hopes for a ceasefire fade — nothing new there
Another shooting
30,000 killed by gun violence this year — Americans own more guns per capita than anywhere else — the gun lobby blames lack of guns — nothing new there
Violence in Mexico
inner city gangs — people selling drugs — nothing new there
Iranian leader says something stupid again
American troops are fighting somewhere
coming home sometime maybe — nothing new there
The Russians distrust us
We distrust China
The Arabs hate us, everyone hates us
cuts in foreign aid not on the agenda — Ivory Coast, Kenya and Israel love us — aid given to those who hate us most — nothing new there
Europe has problems
socialism blamed — Spain, Italy, Greece economies tanking — Germany, Norway, Sweden, Finland, Switzerland economies thriving — nothing new there
We are still the world’s best country
our education is tanking — our poor are suffering — our roads and bridges are in disrepair — our middle class is shrinking — our politicians can’t work together — our credit rating is down — our debt is growing — God bless America — nothing new there
300,000 abortions this year
adoptions more difficult for straights — gays adopting and marrying — divorce among straights at historic highs — churches criticized for antiquated morality — nothing new there
Buy American
American jobs moved overseas — the most American-made car is a Japanese model made in the USA — nothing new there
The super wealthy experiencing a boom while the rest suffer
CEO given $30 million golden parachute as he leaves a decimated company — super rich say taxing them will hurt jobs — less economic opportunity for shrinking middle class — small businesses create overwhelming majority of jobs — another Wal-Mart opens — nothing new there
Big bank in trouble again
small banks stable, give personalized service — big banks criticized for poor customer service — no plans to break up big banks — CEO of big bank given $261 million salary package — credit card industry criticized for usury — nothing new there
Congress corrupt
no plans to curtail gross inequality in lobbying or for congressional leaders to wear their sponsors’ logos — wealthy corporations can’t vote like people, but for corruption and bribery of congress they are people — the poor still have no lobby — nothing new there
A quarter of Americans are in poverty
lack of education causes poverty — college costs rise again — college grads in slavery to debt — single mothers live in poverty — churches criticized for antiquated morality — only a third of disabled people find work — domestic abuse a cause of poverty — declining wages cause poverty — wealthy candidate blames the poor for being lazy — congress opposes minimum wage increase for the working poor — CEO criticizes union strike — nothing new there
I once knew a guy who stopped watching the news for 13 years. One day he got curious and turned it on. These were the headlines that he read. He said to himself, "Nothing new there," and turned it off again. Unless you can do something about it, forget the news. Get on with life and do something positive.
Oh, and if you really want to read some good news, try reading what Jesus taught. There is permanent good news.
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