A Chair full of Bowlies

I was watching Morning Joe (on MSNBC) a few minutes ago, waiting for a computer to open up. Why would I do this when I loathe virtually all political talk shows, especially the morning ones? I'm not entirely sure. Sometimes I also watch CNN's Morning Edition or FOX and Friends for a few minutes. I think it's because of self-loathing on my part.



It might also be because of Mika Brzezinski. The woman just forever pisses me off. I don't ever agree with the Scarborough guy on anything, but he at least comes off as reasonable and affable. Not Mika. She's one angry dame, and there is nothing more infuriating than righteous anger fueled by abject ignorance.

Anyway, just now, I was watching the predictable Rush to Blame about the failed bailout vote. Shockingly, CNN and MSNBC blame Republicans in general (and Bush and McCain specifically), while FOX will blame Pelosi.

(I didn't actually see Fox, but I'd stake my life on this. And, to be fair, Pelosi took some hits on MSNBC, but only so that they could blame Republicans for being so small-minded because of her speech. Yeah, that was what actually happened. They went in there ready to vote for the bill--totally ignoring the 100-to-1 calls and emails against from voters--but then got their feelings hurt. Hey: I hate Republicans and Democrats, and would destroy them both if I could, but give me a break. That's the story you're going to go with? Sadly, watch the Left believe this, just like the Right will believe it was an inside job by Pelosi. Sigh.)

ANYWAY, the reason I am writing this post is because the panel was talking to some Lefty, hitting hard about the market tumble yesterday. The guy pointed out that the market lost 1.2 trillion dollars, or as Joe put it, twice as much as the 700 billion bailout would have cost. (Yeah, I saw the math mistake too. Ignore it and keep reading for the big finish.)

The idea that the bailout would have been (ahem) 500 billion dollars cheaper than what the market lost is so ludicrous as to ALMOST be beyond belief. I have to assume that MSNBC thinks its viewers are that dumb. Hell, maybe they believe it.

But numbers don't lie, Hyperion!

Right. They don't. But without interpretation, they can be meaningless. The spin on MSNBC (and, I'm sure, other places by tonight), is akin to the following:

You walk into the store, and see a sweet overstuffed chair you have had your eyes on. The chair sells for $600, none of which you don't have. However, for some reason it is selling for 50% off!

What do you do? You buy the chair the chair. How do you pay for it? WITH THE THREE HUNDRED DOLLARS YOU JUST SAVED!

Some of you are shaking your head right now. Some of you are trying to do math. Sadly, others are wondering where they can go get that sweet chair!


[this post borrowed from my blog Institutionalized]