Have You Noticed

I tend to notice "strange" things sometimes.  Here are a few...

It's nearing the end of a campaign season (thankfully). You've undoubtedly seen in tv ads a candidate interacting with "real" people (usually to a narrated background).  Have you noticed that the candidate is the one most often running off at the mouth?  Aren't these politicians supposed to LISTEN - to - US?

Another "Have you noticed?": does is seem like Antiques Roadshow ALWAYS has on Civil War memorabilia that is confederate?  I have seen a few Union artifacts on it but more often than not such things are from the confederacy (and I REFUSE to capitalize that!).  A map once owned by Gen. Lee was just on, and the appraiser was gushing at how this was an important piece of U. S. History.  Spare me.  Is it a part of "our history"? Maybe, but I can't bring myself to be enthusiastic about it!

This was quite a few years ago: 1996 - 1997.  NASA had the Pathfinder mission to Mars, with the rover which landed on its surface and performed successfully for 12 times longer than its designed time.  The rover was named 'Sojourner', after the famed abolitionist and civil rights activist Sojourner Truth. This name was suggested by Valerie Ambroise, then 12, of Bridgeport, CT; I believe she won a contest.  What I noticed was that in all the news reports about this I heard, I don't believe one reporter or anchor referred to the rover by its NAME.  I don't think there was much tv coverage at all about the gal naming the rover (I can't remember where I read about it; either in some magazine or just maybe online...) - which would have been a nice boost for girls!  BTW, I also believe the leader of the Sojourner team was a woman - who did get a mention, though I wish she'd received a bit more notice!

Here's another one from some years back.  The Today show ran a competition for an all expenses-paid wedding to be planned by the show and viewers and held on air (or at least parts of it to be...)  The winners that year were an African-American couple; the groom was a veterinarian, I believe.  As the wedding party made their way down the aisle I remember the hosts announcing the names and and things like so and so graduated from University so and so with honors...  I found those announcements quite interesting.  Did they think their viewers would be surprised by so many African-American degree holders?  I was always curious if they got any feedback from viewers expressing amazement at seeing so many highly-educated African Americans.

Any other things we should take notice of?