Random Thoughts the Day Before Thanksgiving

President-Elect Joe Biden looks frail. I hope they bundle him up if it's cold on January 20. William Henry Harrison got sick on Inauguration Day (March 4 in those days), and he died a month later. I'd like to see Biden finish his term. I met him about 25 years ago registering our daughters for a field hockey camp, and we talked for 30 minutes about our law school, Syracuse. Nice guy, but we lost touch after that.

Christopher Hitchens famously said: “I became a journalist because I did not want to rely on newspapers for information.” Unfortunately, I cannot become a journalist (or reporter in any medium) at this stage in my life. I have to trust that the sources of news I read are accurate enough, without ever accepting that they are gospel. Given that you cannot trust most news sources, why on Earth would you ever rely on Facebook, Twitter, or other social media for factual information? There was a time when a news organization would not report a story unless its own staff had independently confirmed the information. It might say that "the New York Times is reporting," but it would never unequivocally call "news" that which it had received from another news source. That is no longer the case. In fact, most news organizations will pick up a story from another source, change it to suit their "spin," and report it as the truth. Consequently, it may end up being a spin on a false story.

Governor of New York Andrew Cuomo is turning out to be just another loud-mouthed New Yorker, just like another New Yorker turned Florida resident. I understand he criticized the media today for not treating Trump with respect. I guess it's ok to do that now that Trump is a lame duck.