Prestondan's Blog

I thought about this again today as I was driving to my office.
Have you noticed how many "breaking news" stories become vastly different fron the original reports as actual facts surface?
Is is possible that in the quest to "break a story" reporters and other members of the media fill in the blanks with supposition, probability, and good ol' fashoned guesses a little too much?

All I heard this morning regarding T.O. is a good example...
First it was an allergic reaction... then a suicide attempt...his stomach was pumped...no wait, his stomach was not pumped... then a police report that was released "prematurely" according to Dallas P.D.(and mysteriously only available to one news station) ...then a statement from his publicist that denies a suicide attempt...then he is in the hospital...not he is at home...maybe he is in rehab???...

I finally had to retrieve the CD case from the glovebox and listed to a little Johnny Cash...at least I knew for sure he was dead.

I want to be kept current as much as the next person, but the way the "news" is reported reminds me of a conversation with a 5 year old. New "facts" and details with every passing sentence, and the last ones don't count anymore. It is almost to the point that I have to treat "news" like a treat the weather forcast. Sure I listen to it, but I only believe it after the predictions have passed and the facts are available.

This started as a question regarding "news" being fact checked... but quickly turned into a rant. Maybe I'm the only one who wants a refund on my time that is wasted by frivolous, non-factual, gossip reported as "breaking news"...but I doubt it.

This morning I watched as you left the Elementary school where you probably dropped off a child of yours.
I saw you turn onto Arkansas ln. and undoubtedly head for your home or office to start your busy day.
I saw you approach me from behind and pass me...I'm sure you were wondering why that guy in the Chevy truck was going so slow.
And then I found that I was next to you at the next traffic light...so I rolled down my window and after getting your attention I politely informed you that you just sped through a school zone.
I was suprised to hear you tell me to..."mind my own f---ing business" and then speed away.
I wanted to take this opportunity to apologize for intruding in your business and alerting you to something as trivial as the safety of other people's school children, after all you had already dropped yours off... I promise I won't bother you again.

However I did want to caution you to be more polite in the future... or at least take precautions such as obscuring your license plate and removing your parking pass from your place of employment. I forwarded my complaint regarding your offensive driving and language to the Arlington Police this morning... along with your name, address, and place of work that I was able to find with your license plate and my computer. I hope that the police heed your warning and mind their own business as well...but you never know, they just might want to speak to you.

I hope you were not late to wherever you were going this morning, and again I apologize for the intrusion.

Your fellow motorist.

"JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) -- Gov. Frank Murkowski instituted a state hiring freeze Wednesday because of the millions of dollars Alaska is losing in tax revenue and royalties due to the Prudhoe Bay oil field shutdown."

“The expected loss of 400,000 barrels per day at today's oil prices means the state is losing about $6.4 million a day in royalties and taxes, Revenue Commissioner Bill Corbus said. The state receives 89 percent of its income from oil revenue.”

I just read that and hit the calculator to confirm that the State of Alaska gets about $16.00 per barrel of oil in royalties and taxes...

How much does that affect the cost of oil on the market?