We all have those very normal days where we do things — perhaps not enough things, or perhaps a great many things — but none of it strikes a triumphant chord. I call this day Wednesday.
Oh, I had turkey for lunch. And Chic-fil-A for dinner! So there’s that. Strike all the above. There are amazing things to write about.
There was a man with his son at Chic-fil-A, where apparently the kid qualified for a free ice cream cone somehow. The boy wanted his father to have one too, but dad did not qualify. Their conversation sounded vaguely like the two had been apart a while. Maybe dad was out of town working. Maybe this is a visitation night.
Three tables away a woman in scrubs was dining with her two children. They finished eating and spent some time in the playground. It seemed a nice respite for mom.
There were some college students and an older couple. And there was me and my book.
So, yeah, my day in the office, then. Like I said, nothing really stands out. In a week it will all be a blur. Some links, then. You can find all of these on Twitter, and it’d be swell if you followed me there.
Things to read …
This won’t go over well. Perks Ease Way in Health Plans for Lawmakers:
Members of Congress like to boast that they will have the same health care enrollment experience as constituents struggling with the balky federal website, because the law they wrote forced lawmakers to get coverage from the new insurance exchanges.
That is true. As long as their constituents have access to “in-person support sessions” like the ones being conducted at the Capitol and congressional office buildings by the local exchange and four major insurers. Or can log on to a special Blue Cross and Blue Shield website for members of Congress and use a special toll-free telephone number — a “dedicated congressional health insurance plan assistance line.”
And then there is the fact that lawmakers have a larger menu of “gold plan” insurance choices than most of their constituents have back home.
While millions of Americans have been left to fend for themselves and go through the frustrating experience of trying to navigate the federal exchange, members of Congress and their aides have all sorts of assistance to help them sort through their options and enroll.
Meanwhile, HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius took a visit to Miami for a photo opportunity. Things didn’t work as, I’m sure, she’d hoped. Here’s the video package:
Meanwhile, hear at home, if you liked your canceled BCBS plan, you can’t keep it, period. BCBS of Alabama decides against renewing canceled plans:
Blue Cross said the decision was not reached easily, but the company said continuing the non-compliant policies could create “significant legal and financial risks to our policyholders, the state and our company.”
Sentiment seems to be changing. More Americans than ever want government to stay out of healthcare business:
A new Gallup poll shows 56 percent of Americans think it’s not the government’s responsibility to provide healthcare coverage. Forty-two percent feel it is the government’s responsibility. Both numbers represent the highest – and the lowest – figures reported since Gallup began asking the question in 2000.
Sports! Here’s a funny story: Where did Cam Newton celebrate win over New England? Waffle House, of course:
Cam Newton turned in the biggest win of his short NFL career on Monday night, then headed to a familiar post-game spot for a certain Auburn coach, according to the Charlotte Observer.
Newton and his family headed to Waffle House, the preferred post-game spot for Auburn coach Gus Malzahn after big wins.
Two paragraphs later, we learn that Newton also visited the Collinswood Language Foundation and presented checks for $25,000 to three Charlotte-area schools. I suggested the lead was buried. Someone replied “Have you ever eaten at Waffle House? It’s awesome.”
That person is in the news industry.
Also in sports, I love smartphones. I love YouTube. This is from the South Carolina game last weekend. One person is explaining to another person how the Auburn game played out:
Finally, some quick journalism links. First, something I suggested years ago at al.com that is now taking place elsewhere: ‘New York Times’ introduces ‘The New York Times Minute,’ thrice-daily video news update.
The paper debuted a new video series this morning called “The New York Times Minute,” a thrice-daily, one-minute news segment highlighting three top stories of the moment. It will air every weekday on nytimes.com at 6 a.m., noon and 6 p.m. The segments can be updated continuously to accommodate fresh reporting on any of the given stories.
It is nice when you see others coming to the same conclusions that you have.
Q&A with Marguerite Sullivan: Why Citizen Journalism Makes Media Literacy Crucial
You need high standards of media literacy when literally anyone can be a citizen journalist. The public needs to be very discerning with what they read and believe.
Why Journalism Needs to ‘Do’ Ethics, Not Focus on Defining Journalists
Considering Ethics for Anyone Who Commits Acts of Journalism
This is a slideshow: These Astonishing Images Convinced Us That Google Glass Will Change Photography Forever. The pictures are by the immensely talented Trey Ratcliff, who makes two great points in that essay about stability and about spontaneous hands-free shots.
But your regular camera is still better. Which is why I should pull mine out of my backpack. Not that either would have gone over well at Chic-fil-A this evening.
