When You Watch The "News," Ask WHY?

I seriously believe that many school systems have stopped teaching critical thinking. I worry that many institutions that hold themselves out as being "colleges" don't teach critical thinking. I'm sure that real colleges and universities do. But whether they do or not means nothing if people don't apply critical thinking.

I'm thinking about this as I watch the evening rerun of Meet the Press. Personally, I think this show has gone way done hill since Tim Russert died, but that's neither here nor there. Given all the events of this past week, i.e., President-elect Obama naming his economic team, the prospect Senator Hillary Clinton becoming the Secretary of State, indeed whether Hillary Clinton CAN legally be confirmed, oh yes, and of course the terrorist attack in India, Brokaw is interviewing Laura Bush about women's rights in Afghanistan and Ted Turner.

HUH? Why?

I don't believe in human led theocracies, so the way women, or men that matter, are treated by the Taliban matters to me. But Taliban treatment, or mistreatment people is nothing new. The Taliban has maintained the same modus operandi for years...like way back when the Bush Family and their oil and gas compatriots were trying to do natural gas deals with them prior to 9/11. So why is Laura Bush all of a sudden concerned about the oppression of women in Afghanistan? I've never seen the Bush Administration, or the Republican Party as a whole champion the rights of women anywhere, especially over the last 8 years. The treatment of women in Dafur comes quickly to mind. Then there is the NBC piece of this. Neither NBC, nor it's parent company General Electric, has won any awards for their treatment of female employees. In fact, I have a buddy who's cousin, a former GE attorney, made out REALLY well in a sex/race discrimination case. I won't go into details but she doesn't have to practice law anymore. So why is Laura Bush on Meet the Press decrying Taliban persecution of women in the face of all the other immediately pressing news facing America? Ted Turner coming on Meet the Press for a full interview to pimp his new book makes sense. Turner has a healthy and profitable relationship with GE. It doesn't make good sense, in light of all the hot news this week. But when a news organization is owned by a major corporation, and is supposed to be a profit center, like any other GE subsidiaries, promoting the interests of one of your partner/investors, is easy to figure. But Laura Bush, after 8 years of nothing now pushing for women's rights in Afghanistan, of all places, is interesting to say the least.

Maybe after reading this, you may be curious, too. Here are a few links you may want to read. This, hopefully, will prime the pump for you to begin your own research as to why the Bush family, all of a sudden, cares about women's rights in Afghanistan.


1. http://books.google.com/books?id=KbQNfg0ws-IC&pg=PA176&lpg=PA176&dq=%22George+W.+Bush%22%26%22Taliban%22%26%22natural+gas%22&source=web&ots=tB4AFfTQt8&sig=hf2c_MENij7HN9UhlXzLADHduzc&hl=en&sa=X&oi=book_result&resnum=5&ct=result

2. http://www.worldpress.org/specials/pp/front.htm

3. http://www.historycommons.org/context.jsp?item=a0799talibanvisit

4. http://www.alternet.org/story/12525/?page=3

5. http://newsaic.com/f911chap4-3.html

6. http://www.progressiveaustin.org/hell2pay.htm