Yesterday I turned on the television and flipped through the channels. Infomercials, cable company complaining that a distributor raised rates, old reruns. I landed on CNN where the anchor was talking about arming teachers and outlining both sides of the argument. I groaned. Then a senator talked about how he's pleased to be invited to the White House to discuss gun policy after the Florida high school slaughter. I turned the television off wondering why I even try television news. 

The problems are these: 

1. There aren't two sides to the idea of arming teachers
2. Acting pleased to discuss problems with this administration is a lie or the height of foolishness. 

Arming teachers isn't serious policy. It is meant to distract. Arming teachers won't keep anyone safer and almost guarantees more bullets will fly. Think just a moment and apply logic to this. The next steps are to arm teachers with automatic weapons and to armor kindergartners in bulletproof vests. It's frighteningly laughable but the likely end of arming teachers. 

Arming teachers is aimed and loaded to protect gun manufacturers and the right to bear any arm anywhere. The other intent is to distract from the fact that being awash in guns, our nation is awash in our own blood. 

As for that senator's pleasure, he's going to an unhinged White House. It is the house of Twitter and when was the last reasoned and enlightening discussion on Twitter? It is no place for debate and neither is this White House. Twitter is dominated by name-calling and bullying. Note the Twitter feed of the White House's chief occupant. It is a sewer pipe. 

Which leads to why I've turned off television and radio news: they report government by tweet as something reasonable. I used to listen to NPR all the time, but they insist on covering his every tweet and boast. I've gone to print media where I can bypass tweet-talk and false equivalencies. Those really bother me. 

Listen for a moment. The Earth is not flat. There is no debate. Flat-Earth arguments are unworthy of equal time because they've been proven false. There are no two sides to the shape of the Earth. Such notions do not deserve equal time. 

Arming teachers is about as reasonable as believing in a flat Earth. 

The CNN anchor went out of his way to seem fair and balanced about arming teachers rather than calling out propaganda for what it is. That's not news or good journalism.

The Senator who acted as though he will be dealing with a fair-minded and reasonable group in the White House isn't being honest. What he thinks he's doing, I don't know.  

None of this is good for our nation. Ignoring facts, giving time to distractions, and respecting ideas that do not stand up to rigorous examination is likely to end in the deaths of more school children. 

I would like to hope for better from us.