The above headline came from CNN on my daily news feed this morning. It sounds pretty dreadful that 153 hospital workers have refused to be vaccinated. These are the types of titles that get all the attention. The greater shock value the more likely they will be seen. CNN, and just about everyone else, knows this.
The problem is that the title is a very misleading statement. In reality, the Houston Methodist System has 25,000 employees, so less than 1% are refusing the vaccine. But, if they came right out and said that, no one would pay much attention. Those 153 people probably don’t belong in the organization anyway, the same as rogue cops don’t belong in today’s police forces.
Almost all news sources are driven by view counts, what is reported is of lesser consequence. The second major problem is just who is the “press”. It seems that anyone can now claim that title, including me. “Freedom of the Press” is a bedrock item in our democracy, but it is getting tarnished by the change in the times.
Another example of this exaggeration is something some “notable” organization put out saying recently that less than 25,000 people are killed in shark attacks world wide. While that is not false the real number is more like 150! That certainly is less than 25,000 isn’t it?
Just like everything else in the world today. The “press” could use some major reformatting to stay relevant in today’s democracies.
RJ's Corner 
I needed to find a new barber yesterday. Thought I would share some of the comments I heard relating to covid, It was all just a government plot to scare people and gain more control over them. The deceased did not die from covid they died from all the worrying the government induced in them. Anyone that took the vaccine was a fool. Hospital workers should not be required to take the vaccine. We need everyone to be free thinkers. Obviously thinker was not the word I associated with this person by the time the haircut was complete. The haircut was good and I tipped appropriately. Folks that are this far out in left field cannot be reasoned with.
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Thanks for the story Fred. It sounds all to familiar to me.
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“If it bleeds it leads” remains the byword of too many in the press. Of course, the “press” today includes every newspaper, blogger, podcaster, and social media member. That all-inclusive nature allows for varying degrees of blame, power, and applause. But, as always the case, readers must consider the source and not rely on just one source of information. When we become lazy or love to exist in an echo chamber of our own beliefs, situations like W Fred’s in the barbershop occur.
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Thanks for the thoughts Bob, we for those of us in LMPI Trumpi country Fred’s story is all too familiar. As of yesterday, I am now out of the environment for the most part. I moved 30 miles to a senior community in a college town, and the difference is amazing. I will be blogging much more regularly now that my wife and I are together once again, at least for a little while…
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