No News

So I tune into CNN last week to catch the general gist of Obama's jobs speech (admittedly I knew better) and got only another several seconds of personal impotent fury. Because Anderson Cooper begins with a question that makes the assumption that the first stimulus bill was an abject failure, which question was answered by Donna Brazile with numbers proving that it wasn't, whose response was then refuted by somebody from the other side of the aisle, after which I turned the whole mess off.

Because after that I didn't even believe Donna anymore. And not one of them actually told me anything. Anything at all.

Anderson - please ask questions that might reveal you've read something other than public opinion polls.

Donna, back up those numbers (so many million jobs created or saved, so many this, so much that) with some specifics (who would have been fired and wasn't, what project was completed that would not have been and what did it do for that community? How many school districts would be without teachers? Who got to go to school? Whose payroll tax break saved their bacon? I actually believe you when you say it worked in ways that are nearly invisible t6 the majority of us, but the numbers you're throwing out there don't stick to me.

Opposing side - do something besides tell us what a failure it has all been. Admit that some features have worked as promised. Say something about what other features could have worked better. Try to pretend you care.

Both of you - say things you actually think. Burn the talking points papers.

Journalism - stop talking about what politicians claim and find out if there is any basis in fact for those claims.

In the meantime, you'll find me with one eye on the BBC or Al Jazeera and the other eye on my latest video game. Er, I mean, the next novel I'm writing. Because I've got no time to tune in to No News.

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