wow. ALL Catholic ALL the TIME on cable "news"

must be a slow day in the war :eyes:

I am so very sorry for DU Catholics who will be in pain, as a matter of fact I peeked into their group to say so, but 24/7 vigil coverage makes me nervous. Who knows what is happening elsewhere while the Terri/Pope watch has been going on.

I do agree it is a very very important story and I think this is one of the few cases were coverage can't be excesive. I'm not a Catholic, but he is the religios leader of more than a billion people on Earth, including 70% of my country's population and this has a big impact.

He is also the only Pope I have ever known, and so the process of succesion is extremely interesting to me. I really don't mind the coverage, in fact, I was pissed off when CNN continued with TerriTV yesterday afternoon, instead of covering what was happening with the Pope.

And even if the Pope wasn't dying they would find something else to play 24/7. If not Terri Schiavo, then Michael Jackson... and to be honest, I'd rather have the Pope than either of those.

I'm not Catholic, but I respect the man, and understand this is a huge event within the Catholic religion.

And, also, I've never seen a succcesion fo a pope either.

I can't think of a situation where such coverage could be more appropriate. He has had a significant historical impact on the Catholic Church and world affairs. If you don't like it, well.... if you have digital cable like I do, there's 300+ channels that don't feature the Pope at the moment.

:eyes:

(ducking)

Though I could name a number of important figures that passed with no where near the spectacle of a Pope I do understand the reasons behind it.

Matcom's Complaint (wasn't that a novel?) is valid though no matter who the figure. News shouldn't play vigil to anyone, even a 15 minute update would be good but it does put everything else on "ignore".

Volume makes news, bay-bee.

without getting into details, she was a "controversial" figure. I didn't care for her and many other atheists didnt. So that narrows her followers down even more. I agree with you about the volume thing and I understand why this is on the news like it is, inspite of my own personal views on it all.

except that she seemed to be perpetually cranky.

I had heard that when she died she didn't want a bunch of "Christers" praying over her. So when she disappeared some said it was expected.

Did it turn out she'd been murdered though? Thought I'd heard that.

I know at least one of her kids found religion.

In a way she reminds me of some of the atheists I knew on the usenet group alt.atheism. They were complaining about the little cross memorials you will see on a roadside where someone died.

When several posters took these posters to task for worrying about a harmless, personal thing that would only turn folks against atheists for arguably good reasons, they countered with by suggesting that setting up these memorials was bad from a road safety standpoint. Because, you know, when you think atheism, you think road safety.

Was she something of a "mountain out of a molehill" person? What was it about her that grated even fellow atheists?

To me it was that she was always hopping mad about something, a la the "Christian" fundies of today. Cranky and petulant. I guess I am more a separation of church and state without alienating the faithful type.

And I have indeed encountered atheists who struck me as having a similar fundy furvor.

I appreciate your approach. And as a Lutheran, albeit a liberal one, I strive to be sensitive to those who don't share my point of view.

Truly, the evangelizing efforts of the abrasive fundy cults of today pushed me farther from religion than anything else. Regardless of my differences with the Vatican, his passing does make me sad. I just worry about what Bush is cooking up while this 24/7 coverage is going on, but I needn't worry...they don't care, they are ruining this country in full view :)

the whole missing bodies/murder thing..but I digress...

Her body wasn't found for years. So--no vigil.

However, although my current beliefs tend toward the atheistic side of agnosticism--I didn't regard her as my leader. She lacked charm.

And I wish JuanPablo a peaceful journey....

regarding the peaceful journey bit.

It was much the same. Even though the Catholic Church does not represent a majority of the population the historical continuity of their institution still resonates in our society. Such a condition is notable to the public at large.

That being said the shifting of Popes also carries with it a potential social shift on a large scale. If the new Pope has any drastically different views it will be reflected down through the Catholic faith. And again, while not a majority, such a shift can have a huge impact on your's and my society. We can all only sit, watch, and hope for the best.

Something so important to an organization that 1 in 4 Americans belong to is hard to overlook.

very little research, investigation, etc. just a few talking heads and a camera at the Vatican.

Pretty much on autopilot.

What war, where? I thought the only things going on were 'death watches' and celebrity trials.

My mistake.

April Fool. :)

Correction: CNN calls it "watch on the health of..."

so since I don't share it, I'll be reading a book and watching DVDs this weekend and keeping my big mouth shut.

I don't resent it nearly as much as I resent the tabloid garbage and the lying by omission that usually parades as news. Yes, this will be overdone according to my taste, but at least it IS NEWS.

I just wish the blow dried bobbleheads would stop speculating over every little thing. The Vatican will announce the death in their own time. Until then, speculation is highly inappropriate.

The blow dried bobbleheads that is. Kind of morbid they way they focus their camera on the Papal apartment as if they are hoping to catch any glimmer of movement or activity.

he is a pretty influential person in the world

Remember that song? I think it was by Don Henley. It pretty much sums up what the media has become. Why 'waste' money by doing investigative reports, when it is much easier to keep saying the same thing over and over and over and over and...well, you get my point. While I do not deny that this is an important event, there are other important events happening world-wide at this very moment.

Wait, they are.

I'm sorry, but this is a huge deal. I drove my girlfriend to church at noon today because of this.

People care.

so the world has stopped for the day? :eyes:

Over Terri Schiavo?

It always amazes me that people complain when their desires are not reflected by CNN.

If I ran CNN....midget wrestling.

Then you would have something to complain about.

how about 9/11 WMD (LIE) reports?

how about Tom Delay CORRUPTION

how about SUDAN?

how about THE FUCKING WORLD?

or am i simply asking for too much "information" ? :eyes:

Redstone

peacemaker as well as the leader of the worlds oldest Christian religion. His death is always newsworthy as well as are his diplomatic efforts. No other pontiff has done as much for ME peace. What part of news maker don't people get? He was more important to the fall of communism than Regan! and much more important internationally. He deserves recognition!

He is pushing 50, not "mid 40's" lol.

You got me! :D

Kick for Guckert!

In 1978, the Pope's death would have gotten ten minutes with Walter Cronkite and a banner headline in the New York Times. And the rest of the day's news would have gotten the rest of the hour with Walter. And that's it. That's all you got.

Would you be complaining that "One Day at a Time" was distracting people from something?

10 minutes and a banner would be about right

"General Hospital" was ALWAYS better btw

Fundies are a tiny blip compared to Catholics and this admin would like to count Catholics as part of it's "pro-life majority".

It's no wonder why the Repubs and cable news are kissing up to Catholics at this time.

Heaven forfend!

i.e., the last two weeks.

i.e., the next few hours.

And then comes the second best-loved media item: the funeral.