Confusion Starts With The Name -- February 23, 2015; Why Is The "Press" So "Down" On North Dakota's Success? -- IBD

Why is the press so "down" on North Dakota's success. Investor's Business Daily is reporting:

The unemployment in North Dakota is a mere 2.8%. The average hourly wage there has climbed 18% since 2009 — more than double the national average. And despite its oft-perceived inhospitable climate, the state's population jumped 11% over those years (vs. 4% nationwide).

And pretty much all of this growth has been driven by the oil production boom, which resulted from the ability of oil producers to recover vast amounts of previously inaccessible oil through fracking.

So what does the Los Angeles Times decide to write about? Increased drug use on an Indian reservation.

It's interesting that a business publication actually wrote something on this. By the way, that's why I seldom post anything "negative" about the Bakken; it's so easy to find those articles elsewhere.

I'm not a psychiatrist so I cannot hypothesize why the press is "so down" on North Dakota's success; I'm sure there's a psychological explanation. East Coast psychiatrists probably have a big word for it. For most North Dakotans, I suppose, jealousy comes to mind. 

And another "by the way." I follow a lot of mainstream media publications. I think the general consensus of many Americans is that the New York Times is the most "liberal" big-city / major mainstream daily newspaper. Not true by a long shot. The Los Angeles Times is much more liberal. So, it's not a bit surprising that the writer of the Investor's Business Daily quoted The Los Angeles Times.

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What's In A Name?

Just because you have Islamist in your name does not mean you are an Islamist organization. If that is accurate, I suppose that just because someone says he's a Christian does not necessarily mean he's a Christian. I was reminded of that when reading this story: why are Americans confused about the president's religion. The confusion crosses political lines:

In June, 2012, Gallup asked, "Do you happen to know the religious faith of Barack Obama?" Forty-four percent said they did not know, while 36 percent said he is a Christian, 11 percent said he is a Muslim, and eight percent said he has no religion.

The "don't know" group included 36 percent of Democrats. (A larger number of Republicans, 47 percent, said they didn't know Obama's religion, as did 46 percent of independents.)

You know the name: Barack Hussein Obama II.

[Update: just a few days after posting the above about "what's in a name," FoxNews reported that a darling of the Obama administration in the bluest of blue states has also "confronted" the president on the issue of "what's in a name."]


You Know My Name, The Beatles