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Have you stopped lately to listen and think about what is being thrust at you on the news? Recently I feel like I am lost in a carnival funhouse as I sit watching the evening news, which used to be a time of clarity in sometimes chaotic days.
We all know that news is a constantly changing beast. But when you are given information that should remain valid for at least 24 hours, and is contradicted within that timeframe you feel as though you are going insane. This is especially true when you have passed the information along to somebody you know. Later, they get back to you to tell you that your information is wrong. As you are being told, you sit there with the famous dog head tilt with a look in your eyes like you have lost your mind.
That is, if you feel secure enough in what you have just seen to pass it along. The next time we have an earthquake in the morning and you feel compelled to pass along the magnitude to someone you know, you may want to hold off until the evening news. I can guarantee that in that time you will hear at least three different numbers, more if you channel surf from station to station.
This one I find particularly bizarre. All it takes is one call to Cal Tech and their needle doesn’t lie. It’s not like they are reporting casualties, which of course is a work in progress, and can sometimes take days. In their attempts to one up another, it seems that every news station has their own seismic meter. Apparently to go along with whatever the current incarnation of the Doppler system they’ve got. What you end up with is a misreading multiple times over of the earthquake size. I know that it’s not a big deal unless you are at the epicenter, but this just an example of how you can begin thinking that everything you know is wrong.
And while we are on the topic of the ol’ Doppler radar and the weather people that use them, why is it that no two stations have the same weather report? Nothing makes me feel dumber than within a couple of hours of seeing a weather report, that my wife and I discuss the day’s weather and we have two different reports. I am about to throw on my usual uniform of shorts and a t-shirt and she is looking for a parka. I know that predicting the weather is by no means a perfect science but can’t we at least get in the same ballpark?
Then you have the news stories that leave you staring blankly at the TV screen and shaking your head. These are not the ones that are faulty reporting. Unfortunately these stories are just indications of how screwed up our world is and makes you wonder what the priorities of the powers that be are. Regardless of who is making the news they leave you feeling as though you are slipping into madness, especially when the TV stations don’t group “like” stories together.
Last week while I was watching the evening news there was a story and footage of a group of protesters who were up in arms about recent raids on certain neighborhoods by the I.N.S. The I.N.S. had targeted these areas because of the high numbers of illegal aliens there. The protesters were not complaining about any forms of police brutality or improper behavior on the part of the I.N.S. They were protesting because they didn’t like them doing it.
Well gee, I’m so sorry that you don’t like the fact that for once the I.N.S. is actually doing what they are paid to do, which is to find and deport people who are illegally in this country. If you have a problem with this, perhaps you should go back to your country of origin where this wouldn’t be a problem for you. I’m sure that would be fine with the I.N.S. and it would certainly get a cheer out of me.
Not more than 15 minutes later on the same channel, during the same broadcast, another story ran in which L.A.P.D. Chief Bratton was standing at a podium addressing a group of illegal aliens. He was promising everyone in attendance that he would do everything in his power to make sure that they all got California State Driver’s Licenses or State I.D. Cards. I think that there is a major lack of communication here, or at the very least, the lack of a common goal.
You know, now that I think about it, it wouldn’t have made any difference if they grouped these stories together or not. It’s shear insanity that two government agencies are not working together to achieve the same outcome, while working in the same area. It says to me that nobody is going to get anything done until one unified message is sent by both. It may be too much to ask of a news agency to point out how ludicrous these stories were, but to show them so closely together without any mention of the other story, points to how little the news agencies think of our collective intelligence level. Maybe in this case it serves no useful purpose to shoot the messenger. After all, it is a governmental problem, maybe we should just maim him a bit.
I guess I could stop watching the news and become one of those uninformed dopes I occasionally have the misfortune to run into, but I don’t want to join that club. So I guess I will have to take the information that is given to me via TV with a wait and see attitude.
Sometimes news is more accurate when aged.
The Shrub Speaks: But we've got a big border in Texas, with Mexico, obviously -- and we've got a big border with Canada -- Arizona is affected. Washington D.C., June 24, 2004.
B.D.’s Response: Dubya, I think you missed a few states in between.
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