Good Morning and welcome back to summer!?!

The 'big' news as we wake up this morning is Paula Abdul is LEAVING AMERICAN IDOL!
She apparently used Twitter late last night to alert her fans to the 'breaking news.'
You know, we joke about it sometimes, but this whole 24-hour news cycle has taken the break out of breaking news. In the old days, yeah three years ago, we would have found out Paula Abdul was leaving Idol (like we really care anyway) when the show came back on the air.
Now, though, it's BIG NEWS. It has to get out there immediately. We need to know.
Sure, every once in a while, there is news. The death of Michael Jackson or Joe Sestak telling everybody he is running for Senate (like it wasn't obvious months ago) is something worth talking about.
Those goofballs who show up to shout down our elected about healthcare reform, well, that's news if only to show how ridiculous they look.
Paula Abdul leaving American Idol is not that big a deal. Unless, of course, you are a cable news network who needs to fill time.
By the way, want to know the insignificant things in somebody's life (like when they head to the bathroom), log on to Twitter. Hey, follow me if you are sufficiently bored.

Good Morning, Delaware County!

It's truly amazing and, maybe, a bit unbelievable.
We've become a nation built on fear.
There was a time, probably not so long ago, where we weren't cowering in our milk. We weren't hiding inside our houses. We weren't dreading the next day before this day even begins.
This, at least in one opinion, started back in 1999. Remember when we were told to hoard canned goods and water because, 'Y2K was going to crash all our computers and render us helpless.' Well, that passed, but at least we had canned goods and water.
The tide really turned Sept. 11, 2001. The terrorist attacks on New York changed everybody, one way or another.
We no longer were safe, so we were told. We couldn't expect things to be so rosy. We were going into an extended version of the dark ages.
Heck, many of those who actually voted for good ol' W in 2004 said they did so because they needed to feel secure. A change in administration somehow was going to lead to the downfall of civilization.
Now, it's all about the economy. Turn on any of those 24-hour news stations and you'll hear how bad things are right now. You'll hear about how we are approaching more dark times. You'll hear how the stock market is going to collapse. You'll hear about money woes for everybody.
Yesterday, CNN, with it's 'Issue No. 1' is at the forefront of the fear-mongering, actually had an 'expert' who said we needed to have a year's worth of our salary squirreled away in case of something happening. Without that, forget about everything.
Hogwash.
Yeah, the economy is bad. It's also hot outside in June and gets cold in December. Everything runs in cycles. It gets bad, it gets better.
My grandparents used to tell stories about the Great Depression. About how they had to walk three miles to work for pennies, then try to feed their families. You know what, they made it through. They lived happy lives and were always singing.
Here's an idea: Tune out the fear. Don't listen to these so-called 'experts.' Remember, they are getting paid to make it sound bad and to get you to panic. The more you panic, the more they get paid.


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