What's all the hubbub about?

Some of the news lately has been very bad for my state of mind.

For instance, until the other day I used to enjoy watching the squadrons of robins turn over leaves on the lawn. And I used to enjoy watching flocks of crows harass a hawk. But then Linda pointed out to me that the news experts have been reporting that a "flock of birds" caused that airliner to crash up in New York last week. How can I look with equanimity on those flocks of robins and crows now?

Then again, I used to enjoy watching the local youths skate on the pond in former winters. But I can no longer look on them with such equanimity since the news media began reporting that generic "youths" were responsible for the rioting and burning of thousands of cars in France. For all I know those youths down by the pond will become riotous one day and burn my car.

And further, as I've been pondering on this matter of the news media limiting it's descriptions to such broad terms as "youths" and "flocks of birds," I've been moved to wonder what all the hubbub is about on the national scene. For surely, if it's sufficient to blame a generic "flock of birds" for the airliner crash and a generic group of "youths" for the riots and mayhem in France, it must also be sufficient to describe the current turnover of power down in Washington in terms that render it no big deal.

What's all the hubbub about? Why is everyone so excited about this inauguration being a historical event? In terms that CNN and The New York Times use in other contexts the ceremony at noon today will result in no more than one mammal replacing another mammal atop the great dungheap down in Washington. Heck, the two mammals involved even belong to the same genus and species.

The most important issue in this election

This news video spells out the most important issue facing us as we decide how to vote in November. It's worth watching two times, once for the audio and once to read the scroll at the bottom. Hat tip to John Derbyshire, the crankiest poster on The Corner, which is one of National Review Magazine's blogs. Mr. Derbyshire did the investigative journalism to uncover this important information.

http://www.theonion.com/content/video/poll_bullshit_is_most_important

Update - just after I posted the link to the election video above I came upon a post by Jonah Goldberg at National Review that made me scratch my head until I realized how obviously true it is.

It seems that someone ran a poll that showed pet owners tend to prefer McCain while people who don't have pets tend to prefer Obama. It sounded unlikely at first but then I realized that my brother Sam, who has a stouthearted dog, prefers McCain, while my brother Jas, who doesn't have a pet, prefers Obama. I have a loyal frog, and guess what, I prefer McCain. My son Alex, who doesn't have a pet, prefers Obama.

http://corner.nationalreview.com/post/?q=NDA2MDEyOTgwYzhjY2UwYjVjZDk4MTQyYTQyZTdkNjA=