Two similar crashes. Two media reports. Can you spot the difference?

Crash # 1: Two vehicles collide on Mineral Point Road, one eastbound, and one westbound. Westbound vehicle operator turns left, failing to yield to eastbound vehicle operator.

Crash # 2: Two vehicles collide on University Ave, one eastbound, and one westbound. Westbound vehicle operator turns left, failing to yield to eastbound vehicle operator.

Can you spot the differences in the way the incidents were reported? Same reporter, although many times the newspaper reports are a verbatim repeat of the police reports, so it may not be the reporter's fault.

Stimulus money at work in Illinois

Today's Wisconsin State Journal (or the letters at Madison.com) ran a letter from a couple that wrote about all the projects, funded by (American Recovery and Reinvestment Act) ARRA money, they noticed on their road trip out west. They complained that the right has been claiming that the stimulus has done nothing, and none of the "shovel ready" projects have been started.

I know how they feel. While on my road trip to Chattanooga, my first two days of driving through Illinois were marked by constant detours and slow downs due to road projects, most of which had signs noting that they had been funded through ARRA. Everywhere I went, there were orange barrels.

At the same time, as I crawled along interstates and two-lane rural roads, I listened to the talking heads of the right complaining that the President had lied to the American public about getting people back to work. They said over and over again that the stimulus money had funded almost no projects to date.

Can I suggest that these mouthpieces try driving the route I took? When they have yet again been detoured by an ARRA funded project on their way to the next town, we can interview them about the "nonexistent" stimulus projects, and how no one has been put to work.

Such negativity to good ideas!

Most of the news I consume these days is on-line. Sorry, newspapers, but not only don't I miss the clutter of the paper, but there is so much repetition between news sources that it makes it easier - via an RSS feed - to delete the duplicates.

I used to like the option of reading the comments posted after the articles in the Wisc. State Journal and Cap Times, but no more. Almost every one is filled with sourness, negativity, and bile.