Steve Fossett, Missing

Steve Fossett, a US adventurer known for flying around the planet in a hot air balloon and airplane, was missing after taking off from a private airfield, Nevada media reported Tuesday.

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Two News Helicopters Collide over Phoenix

ABC news is reporting that two news helicopters have collided and crashed over Phoenix. The two helicopters, as well as others, were videoing a police chase at the time of the crash.

One of my pet peeves about television news is that they have a tendency to cover things that aren't news. Not only will they cover non-news events, but they actually compete to cover them.

Unfortunately, it will probably take a tragedy like this to make some television news stations realize they aren't covering news. The definition of news isn't "we've got video", even if people are willing to watch it. A story of a police chase is only worthy of Section D of the newspaper, but tomorrow this police chase is going to be on the front page.

Is There Playoff Hope for the New York Mets?

And why I'm not paying attention...

The New York Mets beat the Cubs tonight, 2-0. They are 56-54, two games over .500 and only 7½ games behind the Braves. Normally, if this was the case, I'd start paying attention to the sports pages daily, and catching as many games as possible on the telly.

But, this season is different. While they seemingly are still alive, they are actually in last place in the National League East. All five teams have a winning record. All five are ahead of the Padres, the leaders out West. Four of the five have actually led the division at some point this season. (Only the Mets have failed to ever be in first.)

With 54 games left the Houston Astros are the wildcard leader with four National League East teams within 3 games. Eight teams are legitimate contenders for the wild card spot.

It's shaping up to be one of the best runs to the pennant in recent National League history. The American League isn't quite as deep, but whenever the Yankees and Red Sox are only three games apart in first place, there is excitement there too.

If this were any other season, I'd be devouring baseball. But, not this year.

Why? One word. Steroids.

I'm completely burnt out of stories about steroids. Congress is calling special committees. (Aren't we at war? Shouldn't they be fighting terrorism? Heck, my property taxes are too high, and education is still under funded. Shouldn't they be focusing attention elsewhere?) Every sports writer in the nation has written the word steroids or lockout more often in the past eighteen months than they have in the balance of their entire careers.

The Red Sox won the World Series. The White Sox are dominating their division, and clearly have the best team in baseball right now. The National League has more parity than ever before. We should be celebrating baseball for the first time since Mark and Sammy were chasing the record.

Instead, we can't open the sports page, log in to our sports site, and definitely can't watch ESPN without hearing steroids. We, not only, can't celebrate this year, but we are even calling into question past celebration. Was Mark juiced? Was Sammy corked? Is Johnny Damon really Jesus?

I'm sick of it. I'm turning of the television. And just clicking the standings page to get my updates sans steroids.

And please no more stories about when Barry will or won't come back.

Terri Schiavo Has Died

I've received several emails, and many questions from friends, about my feelings surrounding Terri Schiavo. I think people perceive that someone with a life threatening disability, who still has a positive attitude, should spew pearls of wisdom.

Honestly, I am very mixed up about this case. I guess if it was an easy decision, there wouldn't be much talk about it in the news.

Here's just a couple thoughts running through my head, which I'm certain have run through most of your brains as well. Nothing earth shatteringly exciting or insightful, just thoughts.

First, I feel bad for the husband and her parents. Their views are polar opposites, however my impression is that they are all good people who truly loved Terri. In the political debate, both groups of people had been portrayed as monsters, but there are no monsters here.

If Michael Schiavo was a monster, he'd have jumped ship immediately after her brain damage. Perhaps he would have waited until he became involved with his current girlfriend to divorce Terri. He's been offered money, substantial money, to walk away. A monster would have cashed the check.

Terri Schaivo's parents, the Schindlers, aren't monsters either. They love their daughter regardless of her condition. Many parents have stopped loving their children for less, while other parents have continued to love their children through worse situations. They are fighting and hoping, and ultimately fighting to maintain hope. Their biggest shortcomings simply lies in hoping too much for a daughter's return.

Starving to death is a slow and painful demise. My stomach turns to think about it too hard. Try taking a large drink of cool water, then not eating or drinking anything for 24 hours. You would feel miserable in less than a day. I can't even imagine the pain of 14 days. Had she been respirator dependent, death would have been quick coming, and occurred about five years ago, when her first feeding tube was removed.

I read an opinion poll. I wish I could remember the source, but it said 56% of people, when asked, said Terri Schiavo's feeding tube should be re-inserted. However, the same group was asked, if they were in her position, would they want to continue living. 82% said they'd rather not continue living. Lycos has noted huge increases in searches for "living wills", clearly indicating that people have interest in making certain their wishes will be carried out without debate.

Finally, the bottom line...

If it were me, I'd want Kristen to make the hard decisions on my behalf. I trust my wife far more than I trust the Florida Supreme Court, the Georgia Circuit Court, congressional committees, or Jeb, George W., or Laura Bush who all have voiced opinions and had influence.

Ultimately, in retrospect, I support Michael Schiavo, not because I support euthanasia or the right to die, but I support him because he's her husband. I support that he was the person she chose to make tough decisions. He made the toughest decision, and survived the flames of dissenting opinion.

This is usually the spot in my articles where I invite opinions. I encourage people to disagree. I enjoy spirited debate. Not this time. Please keep your opinions to yourself. It's painful to think about, and way too personal. If you must, simply send me an email saying "well written" and nothing more.