Several current news stories puzzle me.

Gotbaum - Carole Anne Gotbaum may indeed have been a "wonderful woman" and a good mother and her death is horrifying, to say the least. One expects police and security guards to safeguard people, not endanger them. BUT. She was en route to rehabilitation and was alone. Why on earth was she alone? If she was in the delicate mental condition that her husband maintains, and if she was "plagued by a history of drinking and depression," because of which he says he made several calls to the police who were holding her, how could they have let her travel across the country by herself? Since irresponsibility and emotional imbalance are famous hallmarks of both alcoholism and depression, it seems unbelievable that she was traveling so far and so importantly, alone. Not that it's any of our business and I don't even particularly want to know, but there is more to this story than we are hearing. The people I really feel miserable for are her children who have to have dealt with her, leading up to this, and now have to deal with their mother's death as well as the weird stories.

Madeleine - The disappearance or abduction of Madeleine Mann is another horrifying event in recent news. Her kidnapper(s) should be imprisoned for decades. BUT. It is difficult to get beyond the parents' strange affect of self-righteous indignation, not to mention the mother's remarks in her diary that the children were driving her nuts. Or why on earth the parents had gone to dinner out of the building in which the children were sleeping. I understand that Europe feels more homey and less ominous than America, although I doubt that feeling is based on facts. In any case, children as young as 3 and 2 cannot possibly guard their own safety and there is no way it made sense to leave them alone even if one assumed a maid or front desk person was attentive and helpful. Babysitting at long distance is simply not babysitting. So I conclude that kidnapping is possible, although unlikely since there would have been physical evidence in the room and hallways, but that it's far more likely, most unfortunately and sadly, that the parents were complicit whether on purpose or by accident. Which goes back to my first point about their affect. And, by the way, which is a better conclusion? her parent killed her or she's in child slavery? How incredibly sad, either way.

Interesting that both of these stories deal with guarding physical safety and leaving people alone who should not, under any way of making such decisions, be left alone.

Rudy - Much much much less important in terms of personal safety, but I'm baffled that Rudy could have thought there was any logic whatsoever to answering his cellphone during his speech the other day. Sure, this is a non-story in many ways. But I can't imagine what I'd think if I was listening to a speech and the speaker's phone rang and he answered it!! First, I'd assume the person's children and spouse had been in an accident and needed his immediate attention. When that turned out to be clearly not true, and if it turned out to be some kind of weird joke, I'd be appalled and think the guy was mildly insane. Maybe, like many candidates before him, Rudy is shooting himself in the foot, but I'd hate to seem him lose the election by stupidity or foolishness.

Larry Craig - In one of the most absurd news item of the day, apparently Larry Craig has been chosen for induction into the Idaho Hall of Fame. Although the nomination was made in March, before all the broohaha of his mens room escapade, he was already more than dubious for such an honor since his voting record is doctrinaire and judgmental, and the rumors of his personal hypocrisy and unkindness to his family have long abounded in Idaho, if not nationally until recently. Hardly the stuff which any hall of fame might honor, seems to me. Which leads me to the conclusion that hardly anyyhing makes any sense any more.

Which, in turn, leads me to recommend Laura's recent post and conclusion that we're cracking up.

Labels: headlines, reading