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Sen. Tim Wirth said Wednesday that the press was just too cynical these days, which is one reason he's getting out of politics.
Maybe he's right, and the press is more cynical than the rest of the public. We can determine the truth if you'll just take this short, simple test:
1. Consider these premises:
A. While in the House, Representative W supports legislation which will take away the power that cities once enjoyed to regulate cable television monopolies.
B. When he ascends to the Senate, Senator W opposes any effort to re-regulate cable monopolies, even though the average cable bill has risen much faster than the rate of inflation.
C. When he appears to be a candidate for re-election, Senator W holds a fund-raising reception, and walks away with $80,000, most of it from cable operators.
Question: Are premises A, B and C somehow related, or is it mere happenstance that Senator W gets money from cable monopolies and also supports their interests?
2. President B appoints Judge T, a young, inexperienced federal judge who happens to be black and conservative, to the Supreme Court, and says that the young judge's color and political philosophy had nothing to do with the selection; Judge T was, in fact, the best-qualified person in America to serve on the nation's highest court.
Do you believe President B spoke the truth, or do you think that, of the 757,000 lawyers and judges in America, at least one of them was more qualified?
3. Shortly after he took office, President B began to slip in the polls. He launched an invasion of the Republic of P, and saw his standings rise. Sometime later, President B's ratings fell. He orchestrated a war against Dictator H, and his rating rose to an unprecedented 90 percent.
Now that President B's polls have fallen again, would he again consider some sort of military action somewhere even if his country were not actually threatened?
4. Representative S is a frequent critic of military spending. But when the Pentagon announces plans to close Air Force Base L, she works to keep it open. Is Representative S sincere about her desire to cut the military budget?
5. Certain land speculators own property near a new airport proposed for the City and County of D. When there is an election about building the new airport, these speculators assist in its passage. Were they acting for the good of the community, or could there possibly be some other motivation for their generosity?
6. Auto Executive I says Americans should buy
American-built cars. Yet the parts in his
American-built
cars often come from Japan. Do you
find reason to question his sincerity?
7. Billionaire P made much of his money with government data-processing contracts and is at the moment hustling government money to expand his private airport. Yet he wants you to believe that he is a self-made entrepreneur who could be persuaded to become president and solve all our problems. Do you believe in him?
Scoring is simple. But if you read this far, you're probably too cynical to care.
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