Weekly Report

The accumulation of bad news lately has made me grow tired. Or maybe I am just old. But walking to and from work has become more of a burden lately -- it takes twice as long as it used to. On the other hand, I have been meeting and hiring more young people who want to be journalists. That is a very nice thing.

This is somewhat amazing, given how low paid we are and how many dangers lurk for those of us who try to practice this craft. Think about it -- lawsuits, death threats, insults, being called the 'enemies of the people' by he who purports to be our President. He who doesn't even know what play those words are lifted from. He is an uneducated idiot.

Yesterday I met John Yoo. the UC Berkeley professor who is best known for writing the memo justifying President George W. Bush's use of torture against Al-Qaeda suspects. It was a great pleasure talking with him, as he is one of the most thoughtful intellectuals I have met in a long time.

He invited me to speak at his constitutional law class. I doubt I will do that because I have completely quit driving. But I enjoyed our talk.

Most people, I realize, do not know me, in the political sense of that term. They do know know I am not a liberal, conservative, nor a radical. They do not know that I am none of those things at all. They do not know the thing that I am.

The best news I got this week is that my sister Carole and her husband Tom will be able to visit my youngest, Julia, on 'family weekend' soon at Goucher College, just outside Baltimore.

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National Unity

NFL players and other athletes all over this country are protesting Trump's insulting comments Friday night about what "loyalty" is. Thank God for them.

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Country Music

All of my kids, but probably only a few of my friends, know that I have always loved country music. It doesn't seem consistent with what people think of me, but it is the truth. I can't tell you how many times people have told me they assume I am a "Berkeley liberal."

I've never lived in Berkeley and I've never considered myself a liberal. In fact, from the moment I arrived here, I couldn't stand the politically correct people I was forced to endure in the course of my work.

I am not now, nor have I ever been, a conservative or a liberal. I am some sort of combination of both. I see both sides. As for music, I love all kinds. Last night, in a nostalgic mood, I revisited some of my favorite country songs. I especially love those by George Jones  -- the sad sorrowful songs. I don't know why.

I guess I'm drawn to the blues.

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Sanibel

Tonight I am worrying about my favorite place on earth, Sanibel Island. I visited and lived there for over 20 years, wrote my books there, and watched my older kids grow up there.

It seems hurricane Irma has Ft. Myers in her sights. That city is right across the bay from Sanibel. A slender flat barrier island could easily be destroyed in the process.

Here are webcams.

I hope not.

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Happy Birthday Aidan!

Yesterday he turned 23 and we took him to dinner at Dosa on Valencia for some delicious spicy Indian food. He is such a fine young man, now single and working full-time.

At work we are tracking the hurricanes in the Atlantic and the Gulf of Mexico; also the earthquake and hurricane hitting Mexico -- lots of news this weekend. And, of course, all the political news that never seems to stop coming.

I've been interviewing candidates for some new hires at work. We are going to seven-days-a-week news coverage!

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Today's News

In these difficult days, with the awful tragedy in Texas, it is best that we connect with each other and find moments of hope.

Today, Aidan and Dylan picked me up at KQED and we went to lunch at Toast on 24th Street.

It was a wonderful break from the news cycle

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If You're Coming to San Francisco...

It's a sunny day here here in the city by the Bay. Thousands of people are expected to fill the streets -- most of them marching against the hate groups that called rallies here. The hate groups have been sending mixed messages about whether they will go ahead with their plans or not.

At KQED News, we have a number of teams going out to various points to report on what goes on. My own sense is that if a very large number of counter-protesters -- tens of thousands -- come out, then *that* is the story.

We have a hate-inciting President, who has inspired these fringe groups to emerge from the shadows where they belong.

I'll spend the weekend coordinating our digital news coverage.

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