Because you have all abandoned this forum and probably don't even check to see if any new posts have been added, I can say anything I want without worrying about who's listening.  Hmm.  I could say just what I really think, can't I?  I don't have to worry about rubbing somebody the wrong way or even having someone come back to disagree with me.  Say, I'm thinking this situation has possibilities.

Let me start with Channel 10, the Fox Network station.  Last night they reported that a Swim School owner and his wife were arrested when police found 4 ounces of weed in thier club.  They said the police raided the club and found the stuff and arrested them both.  They showed a picture of the businessplace, with its name in nice clear focus and a picture of the couple.  They repeated the name of the swim school more than once and the names of the owners more than once.

Tonight they reported they had been wrong.  The police, they said, didn't find the stuff in the club, but rather in their home.  They said the police didn't have “probable cause” to search the club and again repeated they were both arrested when 4 ounces was found in their home.

Okay, lets look at the facts of the case, as reported by the Fox folks.  Thousands of viewers heard the couple was arrested.  Perhaps thousands more heard they were arrested for having a pinch of the illegal substance in their home but the business wasn't searched because the police had no authority to enter the club.  Put yourself in the viewers place and let us read between the lines (I'm sure 90% of the viewers followed this line of thought).  The only reason the police did not find illegal drugs in the business is not because it wasn't there, but because they had no excuse to enter it.  I'm still thinking here, just like most viewers were thinking.  “I'll bet they had the bulk of their stash in the business and I'll bet they were selling it to the little underage customers.  You can be sure they were not simply using it for their own enjoyment, with no intent to distribute.”

How could so many viewers come to such an unfair conclusion?  Well it may just have something to do with the fact that the Fox farts showed a picture of the businessplace.  You know, the businessplace where it was finally decided there is no evidence to believe there was one tiny shread of the substance.  They showed that same picture of the businessplace even tonight, when they were explaining that last night's report was incorrect.  Not only that, they showed head shots of the man and his wife both nights.

Now let us ask ourselves why Fox 10 would devote two segments of news coverage to this story?  Was it that newsworthy?  Hmm.  The Pastor of a church in Tillman's corner got a traffic citation today for failing to come to a complete stop at an intersection.  They didn't show his face, a still of his church with the name prominantly displayed and they didn't even cover the story.  Could it be that somebody connected with Fox 10 had a son who flunked out of swim school and that somebody decided to use his/her position at Fox 10 to exact revenge on the couple?  Could it be that that same person had shared a joint or two with the business owner and his wife in the past, and therefore knew they kept a small amount of the drug in their home?  Could it be that same person called a “friend” on the police force and encouraged the policeman to do his duty, get a warrant and raid the couple's home?  Could it be that person knew how such a story would be devistating to the business?  Last question:  What color is that kind of journalism?

I remember a couple of decades ago when news anchor Walter Cronkite was named “The Most Trusted Man in America.”  Whatever happened to responsible newspeople?  When did credibility become so low on the priority list?

Well, I've gone on and on, talking to myself again.  Few will see this and those that do won't have the DLEs (dangling lower extremities) to respond.  But I got it off my chest.