I’ve been spending what is increasingly clearly too much time reading the news lately and think it might have a negative impact on my intelligence.
Here’s one example of why I think this, taken from local news:
A teenager accused of going on a rampage at a gay bar with a hatchet and a gun sometimes glorified Nazism and had a swastika tattoo but never previously expressed any prejudice toward gays, friends say.
I’m sure he was the tolerant, sensitive, pro-gay-rights, secure-in-his-own sexuality kind of Nazi. Thanks Forbes for filling us in. Even if his friends are in fact ignorant enough to believe this, I’m don’t see how the fact of their ignorance is newsworthy.
Here’s another bit from international news
The United States is expelling a Venezuelan diplomat after the Caracas government Thursday ordered an American naval attaché to depart for alleged spying.
…
State Department Spokesman Sean McCormack did not accuse Figueredo of any wrongdoing and did not explain why she was designated for expulsion other than to say she was the “most appropriate” choice.
McCormack said the United States does not like to engage in what he termed “tit-for-tat diplomatic games,” but said that Venezuela initiated the action and U.S. officials were forced to respond.
Copyrighteous spokesman Benjamin Mako Hill reminds McCormack of the definition of “tit-for-tat diplomatic games.”