This article will shower some rare praise of mine on a journalist (for that matter, it's rare that I praise the logic of any public figure!), along with a bit of criticism.  Just a bit.

On July 15, 2011, Time Moneyland published an article by Zachary Karabell, titled: 

"The U.S. Is Not Drowning In Debt."

Karabell writes: 


 
Before I make my point, let me first provide some context:

Today, CNN reported: 

"Test results released in June showed that fewer than one quarter of all students are 'proficient' in American history.

Many of the fourth grade students asked about Lincoln on the tests could identify him, but few could say why he was an important president.

At the memorial in Washington, students who saw the president's image on a postcard identified the tall, bearded man as Lincoln. When asked why the 16th president was important, some answers were spot-on, some were entertaining -- and some were disheartening. 

One student said he was important because he had a beard.

Another said he was killed at a puppet show.

Their answers aren't surprising.

'The Nation's Report Card: U.S. History 2010,' the tests results report by the U.S. Department of Education's National Center for Education Statistics, showed 20% of fourth graders, 17% of eighth graders and 12% of 12th graders showed 'solid academic performance' on the tests."


 

Today, CNN reported: 


 

On Sunday, Joseph Curl of The Washington Times asked:

"Is Obama a Pathological Liar?"

He writes:

 

On Friday, The Washington Times reported:

"Organizers of a petition to suspend Maryland’s Dream Act collected more than 108,000 signatures, state elections officials said Friday.

Opponents of the law, which would allow in-state tuition for many illegal immigrants, collected 108,923 valid voter signatures in an effort to send the law to referendum, according to a final count by the State Board of Elections.

The total nearly doubled the 55,736 votes needed to suspend the law and force a November 2012 statewide vote, making it Maryland’s first successful statewide petition drive in 20 years."


So, let me get this straight.


 

Before I present my solution for global gridlock, let me provide some context.

On June 26, CNN published commentary by Bill Ford, executive chairman of Ford Motor Company.  The title of the article is: "Why the world faces a massive traffic jam".

Here are some of Ford's comments:


 
Let me introduce a new section of my site:  Logic's 'Liars'!

The section lists the names of well known people and experts whom I consider myself to have outsmarted!


 
Regular readers of mine know what my daily news commentary is about:

On a daily basis, I provide commentary and "a-ha" moments of insight about a particular news article.

My articles usually expose flaws in others' work.  Such people are often well known, experts or thought leaders in their field, such as:


 
In light of the debate about the national debt, I've noticed that several sources have been making an incorrect claim about a very serious topic!



 
On May 12, 1987, The New York Times ran an article titled:

"REAGAN URGES A RISE IN DEBT CEILING".

The article states:

"Warning of dire financial consequences, the White House urged Congress today to raise the national debt ceiling before the Government runs out of authority to borrow money..."

'We cannot overestimate the effect of such a dereliction of duty...'

But a number of conservative Republicans refuse to heed the Administration, and White House legislative strategists say they do not have the votes to assure passage of such a measure."

"The debt ceiling - now at $2.3 trillion - is the amount of money the Government is allowed to owe its creditors."

"The problem is that conservative Republicans have never been eager to raise the debt limit, and see the vote as an opportunity to assail the Democrats as big spenders."


Sound familiar?