Pope John Paul II died today. I'm not Catholic, but I admired the Pope. He was one of the great men of the last half of the 20th Century.

I tried to watch the news broadcast of the ceremony in Rome. ABC, CBS, and NBC, had their talking heads droning on and on, interviewing several people, and ignoring the story unfolding in St. Peter's Square. The NBC talking head even talked about how the crowds in St. Peter's were having difficulty moving around the city and that the public transport was doing everything it could to keep up. But he studiously ignored the service.

If there's one thing I've learned, if you want to watch a solemn ceremony without droning commentary about how the common man will be affected, watch Fox News. Until the singing started, they showed the ceremony. But even their talking heads couldn't stay quiet forever. So I switched over to Web of Faith. The reception sucked, but at least I could watch the news as it was happening, without someone telling me about the effect this man had.