‘There’s a local paper rolled up in a rubber band.
One more sad story’s one more than I can stand.
Just once, how I’d like to see the headline say
Not much to print today, can’t find nothing to say.’
Those words can be found in the first few verses of Anne Murray’s 1983 classic song, “A Little Good News.” The song was written by Tommy Rocco, Charlie Black, and Rory Bourke and was a number one hit for Murray.
The songstress, in her lyrics, was lamenting to her listeners the sad state of affairs in the world back then and that was 42 years ago.
What would it be like to have ‘not much to print’ today? This is what she sang then:
‘Nobody robbed a liquor store on the lower part of town;
Nobody OD’d, nobody burned a single building down;
Nobody fired a shot in anger, nobody had to die in vain;
We sure could use a little good news today.’
How much progress have we made since ’83? Could you use little good news today?
Our society seems to be reeling from so much upheaval.
It seems bursting at the seams; society’s fabric is tearing.
Crime, social misfits, video gurus, mentally disturbed people with knives and guns on the prowl, drug addicts and mentally impaired folk setting up homesteads in tents and cardboard boxes across the nation. Feces and used drug needles dotting the streets in San Francisco.
Angry people on the prowl.
There seems to be no room at the Inn.
Political assassins are being born.
On June 14, 2025, two Democratic leaders in Minnesota were shot dead in their home, and another and his wife were shot and wounded nearby;
Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro’s residence on April 13 was set on fire by an alleged arsonist while he and his family were inside celebrating Passover;
On July 13, 2024, Thomas Matthew Crooks fired eight shots from an AR15-style rifle at Trump wounding his right ear while he was speaking at a campaign rally near Butler, PA;
And just last week, a young, 31-year-old promising Republican star by the name of Charlie Kirk was shot and killed during a rally at the Utah Valley University; ‘Republican Gov. Spencer Cox has labeled this incident an ‘assassination’. Kirk was the Founder of Turning Point USA, a youth activist group; he leaves behind a wife and two young children.
A dangerous animal was roaming the countryside with two legs and a rifle. This shooter was a marksman; hit his target from 200 yards, they say. Now the alleged assailant has been caught, is caged and faces the death penalty.
But who is he? Did social media influence his thinking? Did he have mental problems? Political rage? Was he a member of a subversive group? Did he plan and act alone? Or is he just plain confused about life?
All questions for the investigators.
Habitual criminals too are paroled and released back into the community? Did rehabilitation work? Not in the recent case apparently in Charlotte, North Carolina, where last week a young lady was on a train and a habitual criminal sitting behind her is accused of viciously assaulting and killing her with a knife.
Did the prison cure him of his violent behavior? ABC news reported even his mother was concerned about his mental illness.
And the political shootings, murders and assassinations are still making headlines.
Republicans and Democrats bash and bite at each other with sharp gnawing rhetoric. Their accusations continue to inflame the political fire pit, arousing the populace, until some weak-minded villain with a gun, climbs to a rooftop to fire bullets.
“I have discovered the enemy and it is us” seems appropriate.
And then politicians cry out shamelessly for more gun control.
And a bullet fired an estimated 200 yards finds its prey and kills a young aspiring political activist.
A trophy for this wicked hunter, the villain rejoices, and jumps off a roof in joy.
Afterwards, cries make their way around the country:
“Political attacks cannot be allowed in our society” some cry in distress.
“Political violence has no place in America” others shout across the land.
But what is reality?
The old Grandfather clock in the corner still chimes, and the times do not change.
Are you still wishing for ‘Not much to print today’ like me?
It’s not going to happen, is it?
Sorry friends ~ Peace be with you.
