Day 1

I wasn't sure how to start The Project for Day 1.  I wanted it to be challenging enough to prove commitment, but I didn't want to (excuse the term) blow my creative load on day one and then have everything else I ever do seem like a letdown.  I wanted it to take thought, but not too much thought.  It just so happened that today is Inauguration Day, which presented itself with a unique opportunity.

Day 1 of the One New Thing A Day Project (Henceforth ONTAD) was to get all of my news from conservative news sources.  

It turns out, I'm an absolute news junkie.  Some of you may be less surprised to hear me say that than I am myself.  Everywhere I turned, there was a liberal bullet to dodge!  Just getting in my car this morning required immediate reaction because my radio was on 620 am (our liberal talk radio station).  Just as I heard "In today's news..." I reached out and turned the volume all the way down.  It was then that I realized I had positively no idea how to find conservative talk radio.  

It would have been easy enough to just avoid news for the day, even with its extraordinary historic significance.  But that wouldn't have been in the spirit of The Project.  So, I made the commitment to still engage in as much news as normal, just from different sources.

In a stroke of luck (good or bad, depending on your frame of reference) it seems every other station on the AM band is conservative talk radio, so I quickly found a station that announced "Your Christian Radio station, where it's all about Jesus."  I thought it was a pretty safe bet, but lost the signal quickly, and finally settled on Fox News Radio.

At work, I spent the day flipping between actual work and sites like rightwingnews.com along with other conservative blog sites.  I had a small mishap when I had do to a screen print and email it to a coworker which showed me with open tabs for work, facebook, and a horde of right wing news sources.  She immediately asked if I was republican and now I have some damage control to tackle or I need to accept that half of the office thinks I'm ultra-conservative.

The bus ride home gave me adequate time to consider the task.  I can't really describe the incredible urge I had to migrate to a friendly news source and celebrate the inauguration.  I felt like I was at a funeral.  Fox News had articles on where all of the republicans have gone to vacation this week and rightwingnews had a blog post where I learned I was one of the vast majority who is so grossly mistaken since Obama is clearly the least accomplished of anyone ever, let alone of the people who've run for the presidency.  I also discovered that I'm an Obomunist, one of many new Obama words you can find in right wing blogs.  

It's not that I expected them to be happy or even congratulatory, I was just so surprised by how much fear there was.  They clearly (for the most part) aren't inspired by the message of hope, not yet at least.

My car offered more Fox Radio, and when I got home I once again had to dodge liberal bullets.

I arrived home prior to my husband and kids, which is unusual.  As soon as I walked in the house, I had to run to the radio which was blasting liberal talk radio.  We leave it on all day as to indoctrinate our pets, naturally.  I mean, who doesn't?

I poured myself a glass of wine, sat down to watch some news and when the TV came on I realized it was on CNN.  Again, thanks to my lightning quick reflexes I avoided news and commentary.  Everywhere I went today I had left liberal land mines.  This is just further proof that I am a total news geek.

I learned a few things today:

1.  There are some seriously bitter people out there.

2.  There are some incredibly intelligent conservatives that have legitimate concerns about the future.

3.  Near as I can tell, right-wing bloggers hate everything Canadian

4.  I have no idea how to locate Fox News on the TV or any right wing radio.

5.  My husband is hesitant at best to embrace The Project, but finally relented and we "enjoyed" a little Fox News after the kids went to sleep.

6.  I can't help but wonder if there's someone out there, a Bizarro Sarah, if you will, who spent the day trying to embrace liberal news and is struggling with it as much as I am.

7.  Star Jones just can't get enough of herself can she?