Should be this one. The top way to spot a B.S political story, according to it, is:
The Headline Includes the Phrase “Blow To”
Basically, It’s …
Neglecting to explain hugely important policy changes in favor of focusing on the drama, and how it affects the personal political careers of the politicians involved.
OK, you know about the huge fight over health care reform in America, right? Whether you think it’s a good or a bad plan, you can’t deny that it’s freaking huge (to the tune of a trillion dollars over 10 years, and 31 million people getting health insurance). It will impact almost every single human being living in the United States, either through their personal ability to get coverage, or their taxes, or changing health care costs, or changing rules to their existing coverage—there are dozens and dozens of new regulations that completely change the landscape of one of the largest sectors of the national economy.
So, when the Supreme Court recently threatened to completely overturn this gargantuan piece of legislation, how did it get reported?
“Supreme Court’s health-care ruling could deal dramatic blow to Obama presidency”
The ruling could deal a blow to the “Obama presidency”? Fuck you.
I don’t give two shits about the “Obama presidency” except in terms of what legislation it gets passed and how it changes the country and my life. I’m not following this story because I think it’s a freaking Barack Obama reality show and I’m really eager to see how his life turns out. I don’t see no goddamned crab boat. I’m following it because I want to know what it means for my own goddamned life and for the lives of the people I care about.
I think you must be right: as Alejandro1 points out, the #1 item on the list is pretty much exactly what I described, even down to the healthcare headline example. I generally don’t go on Cracked, since I find it maybe a quarter as bad as TVTropes in the sucks-you-in-forever department, but something I read must have linked to it. Thanks for finding it!
http://www.cracked.com/blog/5-ways-to-spot-b.s.-political-story-in-under-10-seconds/ ?
Should be this one. The top way to spot a B.S political story, according to it, is:
It goes on, but you get the idea.
There was also this LW discussion link to a similar Cracked article a few weeks ago:
http://lesswrong.com/lw/epx/link_politics_is_the_mindkiller_a_la_crackedcom/
And this (on a less related topic):
http://lesswrong.com/lw/89s/link_cracked_on_pitmk_fundamental_attribution/
I think you must be right: as Alejandro1 points out, the #1 item on the list is pretty much exactly what I described, even down to the healthcare headline example. I generally don’t go on Cracked, since I find it maybe a quarter as bad as TVTropes in the sucks-you-in-forever department, but something I read must have linked to it. Thanks for finding it!