As IF Times

Source: Harvard Study Reveals Huge Extent of Anti-Trump Media Bias | Heat Street

The cacophony of shrill voices baying at any and all alleged transgressions by Donald Trump appears to be reaching a final crescendo.  The frenzied media are like crows at a picnic as they caw and shriek over every speck of food that appears,  no matter how inconsequential.  As the linked story reveals, it’s not the imagination of those of us that try to consume news.  It should be abundantly clear that the offerings of news from the mainstream outlets are about as unbiased as doting parents at their children’s soccer games.

And speaking of children, the political and media voices that invoke Russia and impeachment like they are hyphenated words are reminiscent of children who have lost an argument but keep repeating their whine as if it will make a difference.  The political zeitgeist of the United States has moved strongly from comedy to farce, since now, the loudest and most publicized voices are those of ‘comics’ and entertainers.  Think about that. People who are paid to juggle, sing and tell jokes for a living are the go to voices for political opinion.  Stephen Colbert as a political savant.  Really? That this is the case is simultaneously comical and tragic.  Can we imagine the direction of any other nation state being influenced by cultural gadflies?

It’s bad enough that the western system of democracy allows for the election of representatives of truly dubious intellectual capacity but whom nevertheless have risen to the top of their particular constituency.  Al Franken’s election was supposedly an aberration, but now, I dunno. Maxine Waters aka Muddy Waters, Raging Waters or Shallow Waters, anything but Deep Waters, sets new low water marks every time she says anything. Barring any outrageously stupid remark from these people, the general public would never hear of them.  But because of today’s ubiquity of ‘news’ conduits, both online and mainstream,  not to mention airport TV screens, the obtuse and shrill views of a very small few are magnified many times beyond their deserved influence.

The linked article is definitive proof that any objective news reporting by most of the large media concerns has been jettisoned in favor of breathless mean girls style of tabloid coverage. The convergence of objective news and paid for entertainment comedy is on full display.   It’s not even news now.  It’s all performance art.

Source: Uber lost more than $2.8 billion last year despite growth | Daily Mail Online

Whether we like it or not, we have become increasingly used to the irrational antics and bleats of large segments of western society.  What’s particularly alarming is the vapidity of the opinions and sentiments often displayed by the generation of people going through the college process; those that will one day determine the shape of the nation.  Rather than representing any insights into genuine social issues, entire armies of students are expressing naive and illogical views propagated by their academic mentors, who are typically estranged from reality as well.

This gossamer skinned worldview typically bursts once they collide with the realities of living in the actual, non academic virtual world.  When the harsh reality of a theoretical education bumps against the need for practical skills, the resulting shock of having no marketable knowledge becomes horrifying.

The business world has historically been the ultimate reality check for those who had been weaned on fairy dust, since success or failure in business is mercilessly matter of fact, exempt from the wishful thinking of academic theory.  At least that’s how it used to be.

This notion is being put to the test however as quite a number of large scale enterprises have managed to defy the very basic premise of a successful business; that is, that it makes money.  While there have been some notable enterprises that have succeeded on the basis of projected revenues in the face of sizeable startup losses, notably Amazon, apparently the emphasis on projected revenues is dominating in top finance circles as justification for valuations.  Imminent profitability has moved way down the checklist in the valuation exercise.

The accepted wisdom in finance circles appears to be, “if you build it, they will come”. The most marketable metric these days is ‘eyeballs’, or the supposed number of lurkers and app users that will translate into hard dollars once the venture hits its stride.  It’s actually amusing how many of America’s top valued public companies today rely on exactly that model.  Facebook, Snapchat, Netflix, Google, Yahoo and no doubt many other yet to be famous  internet wunder companies waiting in the wings.

Tesla, while not strictly speaking an eyeball driven company, it has nonetheless managed to achieve a valuation larger than venerable auto makers Ford and GM on the premise that their electric car solutions will be the dominant paradigm.  Maybe.  But they still have to make money while making cars, regardless of the idealism of ‘free energy’.  So far, not.

Uber, the ride share company is recognized worldwide for revolutionizing the taxi business;  so much so, that Uber has become a verb in modern day language. While seen as a boon to intoxicated people everywhere, it has only cost them a mere $2.8 billion dollars in losses to be an iconic part of modern culture.  It’s the opposite of the Starbucks model, wherein they overcharge consumers for a commodity product…which is brilliant.

If Uber can stay in business long enough to eventually become solvent, then we really look forward to the day when the airline business goes Uber.  Can’t wait to fly to Hawaii for 12 bucks.