Earlier this week the Old Farmer’s Almanac came out with its prediction that the United States will have a colder than average winter this year. An Associated Press article by Russell Contreras is the version of the news that most people will read about this annual rite of fall, mainly because for most non-business, non-local […]
One of the most important principles of logic, employed by scientists, historians and most other researchers, is that things that correlate do not necessarily have a causal relationship. Now that’s a mouthful, but it’s really a simple concept: Just because two things happen at the same time or happen to the same person or nation […]
Someone in the mainstream news media is talking about what has been a major theme in this blog for some time now: the need to foster a more equitable distribution of wealth and income in the United States. (see blogs for November 10, 2009 and June 14, June 15, June 17, June 18, July 22 […]
Once again, the mainstream news media is ignoring, at least so far, a study that demonstrates that a common right-wing myth is false. In this case, it’s the myth that immigrants are bad for the U.S. economy. Two days ago, the highly reputable Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco released a study by University of […]
It seems odd to me that in general the mainstream news media seems so reluctant to report a substantial number for those in attendance at Glenn Beck’s rally dedicated to the care and feeding of racial code words. To my mind, how many people attended would be the most important news about the rally […]
A while back I wrote about Parade’s use of the July Fourth celebration as a platform for worshipping celebrity culture. As I said then, it’s the “modus operandi” (the way it works) in the mass media. This past Sunday, Parade once again reminded us to worship actors and entertainers, this time as part of the […]
Yesterday I analyzed an article by Ron Lieber in the Saturday “Business Day” section of the New York Times. I want to take a broader look at the entire section today, because it exemplifies what has been the norm in business feature reporting for decades. The business section of virtually all American newspapers and news […]
Once again we can count on the New York Times Ron Lieber to present the assumptions of the American ideology of consumerism as facts in an effort to convince readers that the way to happiness is to participate in the great American potlatch and spend lots of money, hopefully beyond your current means. Several months […]
For the first time ever, I’ve spotted a TV commercial that focuses on helping the helicopter parent. So let’s give Wal-Mart the credit it deserves for being the first to go after this upscale target market. I’ve defined helicopter parents before. They’re the ones who take absolute control of the lives of their children, especially […]
Read More… from Wal-Mart makes it official: helicopter parents are a demographic group.
While Ground Zero may have become ground zero in the endless struggle for equal protection under the law, the skirmish in California over same-sex marriage slogs on like World War I’s Battle at Verdun. Every day there’s news about the appeal of Judge Vaughn Walker’s decision to overturn the California ban on gay marriage. Today […]
Read More… from Arguments of those opposed to gay marriage don’t make any sense.