Δαφνη Ευτυχια Αρθουρος

I saw an item on network news (I was waiting in a busy nail salon -- I don't usually watch television news (other than ocasionally MPT/PBS) because even network news has a little too much stupid in it for my taste[*]) reporting on a poll that asked whether Obama is doing a good job on health care or not. The answers were "yes" and "no".

No distinction between, "no, because he goes too far," and, "no, because he doesn't go far enough." What's the name of the fallacy where you mistakenly invoke the law of the excluded middle because you didn't realize were were in the middle? Just how useful is that poll for anyone interested in public opinion regarding health care? (Oh, wait, the poll isn't about health care, is it? It's just to use as a basis for talking dramatically about Obama's polling numbers, isn't it? Huh. My bad.)

The other big news item other than Michael Jackson Is Still Dead[**], and Bullies Are Threatening The Only Person In The Gates/Crowley Mess Whose Hands Are Obviously Clean[***], was that tanning beds "increase your cancer risk by 75%"[****] ... but from what base risk? (Admittedly this is an expected omission from any television news story concerning quantifiable risk, but it still rankles.)

[*] And local news has a lot too much stupid in it and even more BE VERY AFRAID sensationalism.

[**] Network news made a big deal about Jackson's Chef Speaks - Now We Have Word From Somebody Inside The House, which amounted to "the doctor looked upset, and people were worried and then paramedics came" ... which is News how? At least the even longer story about The Cool House Jackson Wanted To Buy (But Hadn't Bought) was covered on a more "newsmagazine" type of show after the network news, not in the network news broadcast itself.

[***] And WTF is up with that? Last I heard, even Gates thought she did the right thing by calling 911 (has he changed his mind on that?), and she told the 911 operator she didn't see him well enough before he got into the house to even identify his skin colour as a descriptor (so much for "she should've recognized him"). Whether Gates made accusations of racism too quickly depends on whom you believe. Whether Crowley would've been less likely to treat a white man the same way is hard to tell for sure from here. Either may be clean on those two counts but it's not obvious. (Though the idea that Gates was ultimately arrested for disrespect-of-cop seems reasonably clear, making Crowley, at least on that day, a bully-with-a-badge, racism being a factor or not.) The only one who it seems did exactly the right thing was Whalen.

[****] Since the nail salon I was in also has tanning beds, this story got a bit more attention than the others, at least from the folks working there.

"I don't think the media has a liberal bias or a conservative bias so much as it has a bias toward overreacting to short-term trends and a tendency toward groupthink." -- Nate Silver, 2009-07-23

Dear Perrine,

Dipping your tail in your water dish, then swatting me in the face with it? Not my favourite game. Just sayin'.

-- Damp Eyebrows