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That was the narrative on CNN this morning. The bobblehead droned on for a couple of minutes about how new heart health drugs and procedures and some other medical marvels have boosted our lifespans.
At the bottom of the screen there was a little tag that read "American lifespan has more than *3 dozen* countries with longer lifespans".
Now I'm paraphrasing a little bit as this was many hours ago... but I nearly spit out my coffee at the carefully crafted presentation. Though they presented the deplorable state of our healthcare system, the *3 dozen* part was about 5 fonts bigger than the rest of the blurb, and the wording of it would leave a cursory glance with the impression that our healthcare was great.
Besides, it is well known that people will generally listen before they read (if they bother to read), and their minds will naturally meld the latter information with the first. IE, they will ignore the contradictory information if not carefully focusing on both bits and weighing them equally.
It is a subtle game they play. We need LAWS that somehow remove corporate and political influence from the media... I don't know how but by the noodle we are doomed without an objective and unbiased media.
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