That's right folks, it's that time of year. There was plenty of economic bias in 2007 and the Business & Media Institute had a hard time whittling it down to just a top 10 list, but we did it.
10. Airlines are solely to blame for the unfriendly skies.
Media myth: Blame the airlines for all those flight delays; never mind the obsolete government-run agency creating the gridlock.
9. Consumer spending is the be-all, end-all of the economy.
Media myth: Without excessive consumer spending - especially at Christmastime - the U.S. economy will collapse.
8. The stock market is trouble, whether it goes up or down.
Media myth: One day the stock market can't sustain growth; the next, we're just one drop away from another crash.
7. Anyone who ‘denies' global warming shouldn't be taken seriously.
Media myth: Global warming could cause a ‘century of fires,' just as it has created allergies and ended winter fashion. If we don't do something now (i.e. spend hundreds of billions of dollars), it's only going to get worse.
6. You'd better not eat/drink that!
Media myth: Forget the right to eat as you please; the nanny-state knows better.
And that's not even the top five, so here's the rest of the list complete with video for each section.
Editor at Large
Comments Policy
"The stock market is
Thu, 12/13/2007 - 17:28 ET by Chris Norman"The stock market is trouble, whether it goes up or down."
Just like it's a result of "Global Warming", whether the temperatures go up or down?
Is this a lesson learned from the GW crowd: to frame the argument so no matter what the facts are, the conclusion is the same?
Salad/Carbon Credit Comparison
Fri, 12/14/2007 - 09:39 ET by ecnirPHere's my favorite truism from the article:
"carbon credits do no more to limit CO2 emissions than your salad lowers the calories from your double cheeseburger, fries and milkshake"
#6 is sadly becoming less of a "media myth" by the day.
Thu, 12/13/2007 - 17:27 ET by sarcasmoI'd reword it. After all, a tobacco prohibitionist (or maybe more than one, but definitely Huckabee!) is a "conservative" Republican frontrunner at this point. With them, good-tasting food and drinks are always next, either "for our own good," or "for the children!"
JMR
Rally online with fans of Dr. Ron Paul. (All purpose anti-slander-link, sadly-needed these days...)
Take it from a pilot
Thu, 12/13/2007 - 17:28 ET by niner-four-whiskeyTake it from a pilot, the airlines hold a LOT of culpability for their delays. There is a tremendous shortage of flight crews. The regionals will now take F.O. candidates with a scant 500 hours of flying time and almost no multi-engine experience!!! One flight crew that times out or gets weathered in can ripple and cascade through the entire airline system causing dozens of flights to be delayed for crewing problems.
However, the biggest single cause for delays is weather.
The next challenge is not airspace, but runway space. The airlines have shifted to using smaller planes, like CRJ and ERJ's to boost their load factors and provide greater numbers of flights each day. This is all fine and dandy, but there are only so many flights that can land or depart on a single runway per hour. If they all want to operate at the same fields and depart at the most popular times, we get the 20-jet conga line at JFK and ORD.
For proof, log on to Flightaware and go to live statistics, and see how many regional jets are flying compared to larger 737's and so on.
The FAA has stupidly embarked on a course that put them into an adversarial relationship with their ATC employees. Now ATC is in fact, short-handed.
So there is lots of blame to go around and the airlines are indeed, culpable for a lot of their own problems.
And from a controller
Thu, 12/13/2007 - 19:41 ET by kgBy far the biggest reason for delays is the weather. I would say upwards of 80+%.
Another factor is the large amount of planes flying. The public really has no idea on how many flights there are each day.
Scheduling is another factor. The airlines want the planes to be at the airport at the same time so passengers do not have long layovers. This also causes some in-flight delays. Most airports do not have the ability to expand to handle more planes.
A small amount of delays enroute are due to to traffic.
ATC personnel can cause delays but this is rare and the FAA will not admit it.
ACT equipment, while some being old, works and mostly works well. It costs so much to replace systems that they have to make it last. I know the sound quality of ATC/Pilot transmissions leaves something to be desired but it does work.
After all is taken into consideration, the biggest reason by far, weather, cannot be controlled. The second biggest problem, size of airports, probably cannot be changed either.
Better scheduling meaning longer layovers for passengers is possible solution. More runways would be a big help too.
Nobody but the airlines
Thu, 12/13/2007 - 22:48 ET by niner-four-whiskeyNobody but the airlines themselves are responsible for their surly customer service, dirty aircraft, overbooking, lost bags, and general indifference to passenger satisfaction. Can't blame none of that on the gu'ment.
Julia's blog is primarily business focused and how the media treats corporations.
I have to say though, that big business does not equate with conservative or negative coverage necessarily indicate a liberal bias.
There are LOTS of big corporations that are major funders of democrats and other liberal causes. Where did guys like Soros and Peter B. Lewis get all their money from?