I love the quote at the top of your post. My son and his wife in Seattle pay an insane amount for child care for their two children, but their incomes are more than adequate to cover it. I didn't realize that kind of cost was common across the Pond as well. Yes, societies are good at applauding health care workers, "essential employees," etc. but fall short of doing anything meaningful to make their lives better. As a matter of fact, in the US, red states are demonizing teachers for, um, teaching. About history (slavery, civil rights) and science (sex ed, climate change). Oklahoma's officials are particularly vengeful, but of course, God is on their side. (Snark intended.) As for the BBC, it reminded me of the time Tucker Carlson was a frequent "balance" commentator opposite Cokie Roberts on NPR's Morning Edition. I was so incensed I wrote a letter questioning NPR's dedication to truth-telling. I think their corporate masters were guiding them further right during that time. I guess it didn't sit well with other NPR listeners, too, as that era was short-lived.
BBC is currently headed by a man who donated £400k to the Tory party. What was once a subtle tilt in coverage has become unabashed. It isn't the paragon of fact-based reporting that much of the world still believes it is.
We're all watching what the GOP is doing with dismay, especially in Florida and Tennessee (which is unfortunately where my American voting occurs because that's where I lived immediately before leaving the country). There is usually at least a veneer over such things as recent laws criminalizing asylum seekers, refugees in general and peaceful protest. But the USA often looks like a portion of the leadership and population have gone batsh*t crazy.
I love the quote at the top of your post. My son and his wife in Seattle pay an insane amount for child care for their two children, but their incomes are more than adequate to cover it. I didn't realize that kind of cost was common across the Pond as well. Yes, societies are good at applauding health care workers, "essential employees," etc. but fall short of doing anything meaningful to make their lives better. As a matter of fact, in the US, red states are demonizing teachers for, um, teaching. About history (slavery, civil rights) and science (sex ed, climate change). Oklahoma's officials are particularly vengeful, but of course, God is on their side. (Snark intended.) As for the BBC, it reminded me of the time Tucker Carlson was a frequent "balance" commentator opposite Cokie Roberts on NPR's Morning Edition. I was so incensed I wrote a letter questioning NPR's dedication to truth-telling. I think their corporate masters were guiding them further right during that time. I guess it didn't sit well with other NPR listeners, too, as that era was short-lived.
BBC is currently headed by a man who donated £400k to the Tory party. What was once a subtle tilt in coverage has become unabashed. It isn't the paragon of fact-based reporting that much of the world still believes it is.
We're all watching what the GOP is doing with dismay, especially in Florida and Tennessee (which is unfortunately where my American voting occurs because that's where I lived immediately before leaving the country). There is usually at least a veneer over such things as recent laws criminalizing asylum seekers, refugees in general and peaceful protest. But the USA often looks like a portion of the leadership and population have gone batsh*t crazy.
Batsh*t crazy is an understatement.