Gasoline, rumors, responsibility and common sense
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JoeUser Forums
JoeUser Forums
It's referenced here (time sensitive link, sorry, it will scroll off as the host adds info to the site, but I'll clip the important section and repeat it here): Did 92Q Feed MD Gas Shortage Rumors? - 9/2 - The Maryland govenor's office of homeland security is assuring Marylanders that there is no plan to close gas stations because of shortages of gasoline supplies. A spokesperson for the office tells WBAL radio that all day Friday a rumor has spread that, because of shortages, gas stations will be ordered to close at 4 PM. More from wbal.com. DCRTV is hearing that some rumors may have originated at Radio One's Baltimore urban outlet 92Q, WERQ.....
It's also referenced here (which was linked in original entry at site above): Governor's Office: Rumors Of Gas Station Closings Are Just Rumors
The govenor's office of homeland security is assuring Marylanders that there is no plan to close gas stations today because of shortages of gasoline supplies.
A spokesperson for the office tells WBAL Radio that all day today, a rumor has spread through word of mouth, email and on the internet, that because of shortages, the stations will be ordered to close at 4 p.m.
They say that rumor is "100 percent false."
The rumor became so widespread by mid afternoon that some local police agencies broadcast an advisory to officers in the field, telling them the reports of closings are just that -- rumor.
Marylanders are being told to fill up their tank, but no to panic. The spokesperson says some small stations may close, but that won't be because of fuel shortages. It will be because they can't compete with some of the larger "name brand" stations. But no closing would be the result of supply shortages, according to the governor's office.
Governor Ehrlich tells WBAL Radio that there will be no gasoline rationing or limits in Maryland.
In addition, there were reports on WTOP News Radio 1500 AM (and a host of other stations/call signs that they own in the D.C. area) on the same issue.....
So, now I get to comment a bit about responsibility.
First, if the station mentioned in the first clipping above was even partly responsible for this idiotic rumor, which was also quickly spreading around the internet, through office gossip, telephone calls between worried family members and other parties, then they owe the public a huge apology, and owe the politicians one as well. Whoever started and/or was involved in spreading the debunked rumor was doing nothing more than trying to cause a panic. Something that no one needs now.
The media in general may be just as badly to fault in reporting that "there may be as many as 500,000 job losses" because of Hurricane Katrina. Unfortunately they under-emphasize the "may be" part of that, and soon it becomes a self fulfilling prophesy as people stop buying goods/services and start saving their money and draining that money out of the economy. Will there be job losses because of Katrina? Probably so. Will the numbers be large? Yes, larger than anyone wants, but while some will lose jobs, others will gain new jobs in helping to rebuilt and reconstruct. Probably not the same kinds of jobs, but given the types of jobs that may be lost in New Orleans while the city is rebuilt, the jobs that temporarily replace the lost ones may be much better - they may pay better, include overtime and other performance bonuses to help speed the efforts, and may include benefits where none existed before.
I know we live in a "news blurb" society, where the headlines are all anyone has time for, and it may have contributed to the problems in the first rumor. It will contribute to problems in the note about the job losses for sure. But it needn't do so. Our main stream media, as usual seems to have given up on reporting responsibly, and instead is back to rumor-mongering and/or digging for the bad news. If it bleeds it leads, right? But if the MSM wasn't looking for the dark cloud, they might see the silver lining. They might notice things like I've commented on above. Or they might report on the good will and efforts that are going into helping the refugees of the storm struck areas. Either would have been smart to consider reporting on, but neither would have been the kind of news reports that gins up concern in the public -- enough concern to keep the lemmings coming back to hear the next news report.
Sadly, this is probably because of a lack of common sense among much of the public. Common sense would have told most idiots that the rumors about gas stations shutting down were false. If they were true, they've have been reported by that same MSM (Main Stream Media). It would have been the headline story all around, instead of being debunked for the main story that it was trying to be.
Unfortunately, many people in this country seem to lack common sense. They don't slow down before running off the deep end on stupid rumors. And more sadly, it continues to hurt our economy and feed trolls who look for the one potential item to bash our current leadership on, rather than than reminding themselves that they are also part of the self fulfulling prophesy because rather than volunteer to help, they instead waste time bashing in blogs. Instead of applying common sense to realize that no one man is responsible for everything, and no one political party is responsible for everything in this country, try looking instead for ways to help your own little corner of the world. Volunteer to help collect for the relief effort. Donate time at a local church or relief center. Considering the number of people displaced in New Orleans, and in Mississippi and Alabama, there are going to be refugees spread throughout the country.
Some of those refugees may be lucky enough to have relatives, but many may be without a friend in the world when they arrive at their new temporary home. They'll need jobs, they'll need money, they'll need a place to call home, they'll need food, and even perhaps a caring shoulder to cry on. Lets worry about them, and stop with the b.s. filled crap rumors that are out there trying to torpedo the economy, or the partially fact based bashing that what happened to New Orleans was all Bush's fault because he didn't budget enough to cover the infrastructure improvements (again, even though Congress is the party that sets the budget, no matter what guidelines they receive from anyone else). Worry about those refugees, and not about stupid points whoring trolling articles on yet another issue that you hope will tar and feather G. W. Bush.
It's also referenced here (which was linked in original entry at site above): Governor's Office: Rumors Of Gas Station Closings Are Just Rumors
The govenor's office of homeland security is assuring Marylanders that there is no plan to close gas stations today because of shortages of gasoline supplies.
A spokesperson for the office tells WBAL Radio that all day today, a rumor has spread through word of mouth, email and on the internet, that because of shortages, the stations will be ordered to close at 4 p.m.
They say that rumor is "100 percent false."
The rumor became so widespread by mid afternoon that some local police agencies broadcast an advisory to officers in the field, telling them the reports of closings are just that -- rumor.
Marylanders are being told to fill up their tank, but no to panic. The spokesperson says some small stations may close, but that won't be because of fuel shortages. It will be because they can't compete with some of the larger "name brand" stations. But no closing would be the result of supply shortages, according to the governor's office.
Governor Ehrlich tells WBAL Radio that there will be no gasoline rationing or limits in Maryland.
In addition, there were reports on WTOP News Radio 1500 AM (and a host of other stations/call signs that they own in the D.C. area) on the same issue.....
So, now I get to comment a bit about responsibility.
First, if the station mentioned in the first clipping above was even partly responsible for this idiotic rumor, which was also quickly spreading around the internet, through office gossip, telephone calls between worried family members and other parties, then they owe the public a huge apology, and owe the politicians one as well. Whoever started and/or was involved in spreading the debunked rumor was doing nothing more than trying to cause a panic. Something that no one needs now.
The media in general may be just as badly to fault in reporting that "there may be as many as 500,000 job losses" because of Hurricane Katrina. Unfortunately they under-emphasize the "may be" part of that, and soon it becomes a self fulfilling prophesy as people stop buying goods/services and start saving their money and draining that money out of the economy. Will there be job losses because of Katrina? Probably so. Will the numbers be large? Yes, larger than anyone wants, but while some will lose jobs, others will gain new jobs in helping to rebuilt and reconstruct. Probably not the same kinds of jobs, but given the types of jobs that may be lost in New Orleans while the city is rebuilt, the jobs that temporarily replace the lost ones may be much better - they may pay better, include overtime and other performance bonuses to help speed the efforts, and may include benefits where none existed before.
I know we live in a "news blurb" society, where the headlines are all anyone has time for, and it may have contributed to the problems in the first rumor. It will contribute to problems in the note about the job losses for sure. But it needn't do so. Our main stream media, as usual seems to have given up on reporting responsibly, and instead is back to rumor-mongering and/or digging for the bad news. If it bleeds it leads, right? But if the MSM wasn't looking for the dark cloud, they might see the silver lining. They might notice things like I've commented on above. Or they might report on the good will and efforts that are going into helping the refugees of the storm struck areas. Either would have been smart to consider reporting on, but neither would have been the kind of news reports that gins up concern in the public -- enough concern to keep the lemmings coming back to hear the next news report.
Sadly, this is probably because of a lack of common sense among much of the public. Common sense would have told most idiots that the rumors about gas stations shutting down were false. If they were true, they've have been reported by that same MSM (Main Stream Media). It would have been the headline story all around, instead of being debunked for the main story that it was trying to be.
Unfortunately, many people in this country seem to lack common sense. They don't slow down before running off the deep end on stupid rumors. And more sadly, it continues to hurt our economy and feed trolls who look for the one potential item to bash our current leadership on, rather than than reminding themselves that they are also part of the self fulfulling prophesy because rather than volunteer to help, they instead waste time bashing in blogs. Instead of applying common sense to realize that no one man is responsible for everything, and no one political party is responsible for everything in this country, try looking instead for ways to help your own little corner of the world. Volunteer to help collect for the relief effort. Donate time at a local church or relief center. Considering the number of people displaced in New Orleans, and in Mississippi and Alabama, there are going to be refugees spread throughout the country.
Some of those refugees may be lucky enough to have relatives, but many may be without a friend in the world when they arrive at their new temporary home. They'll need jobs, they'll need money, they'll need a place to call home, they'll need food, and even perhaps a caring shoulder to cry on. Lets worry about them, and stop with the b.s. filled crap rumors that are out there trying to torpedo the economy, or the partially fact based bashing that what happened to New Orleans was all Bush's fault because he didn't budget enough to cover the infrastructure improvements (again, even though Congress is the party that sets the budget, no matter what guidelines they receive from anyone else). Worry about those refugees, and not about stupid points whoring trolling articles on yet another issue that you hope will tar and feather G. W. Bush.
