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Doom Sells!

Published by Janus on March 12, 2009

The following headlines were taken from the front page of Foxnews.com 10 minutes ago:

Space Station Crew Given ‘All Clear’ After Climbing Into Escape Module
Helicopter Carrying 18 Crashes in Atlantic
William Ayers Accused in 1970 Bombing
U.S. Wary of Upcoming N. Korea Missile Launch
Health Care ‘Value Gap’ Hurts U.S., Report Says
Ala. Gunman Depressed Before Massacre
Mexican Drug Lord Makes Forbes Richest List
Croc Decapitates Girl After Canoe Capsizes

The following are from CNN:

Satellite debris passes close to space station
Madoff: ‘I operated a Ponzi scheme’
Ex-millionaire now has to live with parents
Commentary: Loners, losers — and killers
Town pulls together after killing rampage
John Edwards dodges morality question
Clark Howard: What to do if you’re laid off
Mom patrols U.S. border from her den
Twin doctors accused of sex abuse
Cops robbing motorists, lawsuit alleges

The following are from MSNBC:

Prolonged downturn has left little opportunity to reinvent, recover and rebuild.
Ala. gunman was ‘just a normal person’
General Electric loses top credit rating
Pope admits sadness over Catholic ‘hostility’
Newsweek: Obama’s job is harder than FDR’s
Gunmen abduct aid workers in Darfur
Pakistan cops block opposition protest march
Mexico blames U.S. for drug violence
FBI searches D.C. govt. office, arrests man
U.S. retail sales edged down in February
Jobless benefit rolls rise to record high
Job fears take toll on mental health

The following are from Al’Jazeera:

Impact of US bank ‘fraud’ deepens
World banks hit by US fraud case
Hundreds of anti-government lawyers and activists begin demonstration in Karachi.
N Korea sets rocket launch date
Aid workers kidnapped in Darfur
Sri Lanka army takes Tiger hospital
Mauritania crisis mediation fails
Australia jobs rate worst in years
Sri Lanka mulls new security steps
Crisis threat for Russia’s leaders
Arctic ice ‘could melt by 2013′
Morocco severs relations with Iran

How can we do anything BUT panic?

… I guess we could always turn to our friends, family and loved ones. I guess we could always look around us and realize life just isn’t that bad. I guess we could gather our own data from our own experiences and put things into perspective. I guess we could take a moment to just calm down and breathe.

Eh, screw it. EVERYBODY PANIC!

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3 Comments

Tip of the hat to Scooter.

 Comment by Janus on March 12, 2009 @ 12:16 pm

LOL! I believe I used the exact words, “Doom Sells”, in my comment to yesterday’s essay, Janus. Nice work on the research though.

It’s well known to those of us cursed with self-awareness and with a probing mind that mass media is geared towards reporting that “the sky is falling.” But they do that because nobody wants to read a paper with a headline that says “Things Are Generally OK.” We, the people, revel in disaster. In the words of the famous comic strip “Pogo”, we have met the enemy and he is us. You’re too young to remember that one Janus but I’m sure you can find it on the Net.

The real problem is when the media manufactures disasters based on sketchy or non-existent information. And the general public is all too willing to accept what is reported at face value. As another poster said yesterday, we need to teach critical thinking to our youth.

Speaking of teaching, I’d love to hear your thoughts on American education, the teachers unions, and the President’s latest proposal for universal taxpayer-funded pre-K.

 Comment by Bad Scooter on March 13, 2009 @ 1:40 pm

Oh, I guess it was you that said that. I had that phrase stuck in my head when I wrote this. I can edit posts with the best of them! There, no harm, no foul, right?

 Comment by Janus on March 13, 2009 @ 4:51 pm