Why Blogs are important...

Blogs are important. Blogs and other alternative news sources are critical to a functioning democracy in our country.

Not this blog, of course. Although you never know who Google is going to throw your way. I've already had some random person link to my Beer Can Chicken with a it of the Captain in him post. And maybe something I've written will be read by someone who wouldn't have come across some information anywhere else.

I couldn't believe this when I saw it. And I saw it on a blog. It's the same edition of Newsweek, but localized to a variety of regions.

And I know I saw lots of copies of Newsweek in the airport and a lot of people buy it. It's no wonder it's hard for me to have a discussion about current events and politics with people who rely on the traditional media for their information.

Just in case it's too small for you to see - that's the headline "Losing Afghanistan" in Europe, Asia, and Latin America. In the U.S., we get "My Life In Pictures" about someone whose most recent contribution to media and the arts is home baby pictures of Tom Cruise's latest spawn.

It's sick.

"I'll take Manhattan in a garbage sack with Latin writ on it that says, 'It's hard to give a shit these days.'" - Lou Reed

That line keeps popping in to my head on the fantastic Nautilus Elliptical I've been riding for the last couple of days.

But I do give a shit. For Jake's sake, if not our own.