A-Musings

Feeling a little better today, but a little bored. I can't really remember the crux of this was supposed to be about. Driving around at 7:30, I had the whole thing written in my head. Five hours later, my mental eraser has wiped it clean. let's just hammer the keys and see what wonder pours out.

In an earlier post, I had railed about how these days, even positive news is covered in crap. You'll first get the good news, then it will be followed with a "but", and a reason why it shouldn't be taken as good news. Example: Casualties in Iraq are down. That's very good. Counterpoint? Casualties in Afghanistan are up. Forget the the bottom line, that the total number of casualties are WAY down. Instead, we'll spin it in a way to make the average listener still think things are going poorly. I heard another similar story of KDWN today.

Now, this isn't the fault of the anchors- they're probably just reading it as supplied to them by the Associated Press. It was a story that dealt with how earnings are down, but not as down as much as some companies thought they would be. Coca Cola, for example. Coke's profits were down 26 percent from the last quarter. Read than sentence again. It doesn't say that Coke lost money. Coke made money. Coke just didn't make as much money as they had in a past quarter. There's your negative. The company is making money, handsomely. But the story is spun that they're not making as much as they had. With the way the story is written, though, the listener will perceive that Coke is hemorrhaging money, and the sky is falling.

It was last week that a major player in John McCain's campaign called the USA a "nation of whiners". He's since been demoted. I don't disagree with the statement, but it could have been phrased a little better. We're spoiled, that's for sure. I have to drive through my old neighborhood to get to work, and that place will never be confused with La Jolla. Still, I see a disproportionate number of satellite dished hanging from their apartment patios. I think the USA has a skewed idea of what "poor" really is. If you've got a roof over your head, and clothes on your back and a few bucks in your wallet and your health's in good shape, you're the envy of a majority of the world's population. But people here don't see it that way. We're driven by consumerism, and we're driving with blinders on.

I got a call last night from a kid with the Obama campaign. I told him no thanks and hung up. I wish I wouldn't have done that. I would've liked to have heard what he has to say. I hope they have the common sense not to call during the dinner hour next time.

I just heard a so-called expert say that as a nation "we're busier than ever". Is this true? More on this next time.