Another exciting adventure in data manipulation

The Wall Street Journal's opinion page is placing the potential demise of America's credit rating squarely on President Obama. To do so, they use equal parts of spin and data teasing. Witness the following graph used as "evidence" of Obama's guilt.

Eegats! That's a humongous change in spending! Why Obama goes from almost the bottom of the graph to the top in just TWO YEARS! This is unprecedented! That socialist! That cad! Think about our children's futures...they'll be serfs to the government's debt for the rest of their lives!

Wait, what's that you say--the bottom of the graph is set to 17% and the top is 26%? So Obama didn't take is from the top to the bottom in two years? And Obama didn't take over office until 2009 when it was already at 22%? You mean George Bush is responsible for that horrendous increase from the bottom at 17% to 22%? But the way you tell the story, Mr. Editor, and the way the graph looks, it's as if Obama took us from a balanced budget to total meltdown in just over two years. Leave it up to that liberal media to distort stats to make a democrat look bad.

Too much sarcasm? Sorry, sometimes I find it humorous the way graphs are manipulated to go along with preconceived notions. The amount of politicking from non-politicians, flip-flopping on the debt, blaming Obama for Bush's debt etc., tends to crack me up. Enjoy.

Alien lovin'

Katy Perry is blowing up the airwaves again. This time it's with her summer jam, E.T., which explores romantic encounters during alien abductions. Sound bad? it is.

The abduction analogy is carried on too long, and the extensions vary from comical to downright sick. After describing the joys of foreign, alien touch, Ms. Perry waxes poetic about her muse. "You're so supersonic" she announces, with no justification of how a fast lover can be a good lover. But spending time with the lover is not enough, she wants him to take her. "Take me," she commands, "wanna be a victim--ready for abduction." Anyone else creeped out by that abduction fantasy?

The song mightavoid outright laughter if not for the cameo by Kanye West. Kanye warms up with some space lifted from the Jetsons. "I know a bar out in Mars where they driving space ships instead of cars. Cop a Prada spacesuit about the stars." West really hits his stride when he announces that he has abducted Katy and "tell me what's next, alien sex." He rhymes "disrobe" and "probe" his victim, with a delivery that leaves no guess what instrument will be probing his abductee. Kanye is in on the rape fantasy. When his lover tries to leave "I abducted you! I tell you what to do, I tell you what to do!", he barks. Asserting his domination over the masochistic victim.

Not your type of loving? me neither. When I get around to it, I will post some of my favorite alien love songs.