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13 September 2011

A Tale of Two Stories

As everybody knows... a good headline sets the tone for the whole article. A skillful writer can have folks leaning this way, or that, before they even finish that first paragraph.

The first headline here is a classic. Despite using the word "flirted"... it still manages to confer a certain gravitas and, more importantly... states one thing while implying exactly the opposite.
halls of macadamia/The obvious takeaway here is that this man is a loose cannon, a candidate for blackmail... and thus a danger to his country.

How exactly do you respond to this kind of thing?
"Bob Dechert says voters will dismiss a report that he wrote flirtatious emails as a non-issue, because there was 'no wrongdoing' in the incident, for which the parliamentary secretary was not arrested or charged."
Yeah, yeah, I know how weak that sounds... and in fact, Bob Dechert actually said nothing of the sort... but, then again, maybe he should have.

'Cos... you've got a glib excuse and a sympathetic media following... forget all about those triad pimps... you can get almost any headline you desire...
halls of macadamia/
"Jack Layton says voters will dismiss a report that he was once found in a massage parlour by police in 1996 as a non-issue, because there was 'no wrongdoing' in the incident, for which the NDP leader was not arrested or charged."
I dunno... I suppose we should all be used to men in positions of power tripping all over their erections... and flirty emails and sketchy late-night shiatsu are probably the tip of the iceberg.

But don't you find it interesting how these two less-than-seemly tales are portrayed as near-reciprocals of each other in the media?

I'm almost ready to go pitch CBC on a new reality show... "SURVIVOR: Byward Market".

**********

UPDATE: Brothel? What Chinatown brothel?

Who is this Layton you speak of?
good ol saint jackGotta have priorities, huh?