Monday, August 1, 2011

Salute to Brad Ochocinco

Here's a shout-out to football player Brad Ochocinco, some of whose fans have flamed him on Twitter for mentioning that he was reading Broke (by Glenn Beck). I'd like to link to the Newsmax published web page that tells this story, but the link in the e-mail I received doesn't seem actually to lead to the page...but I'm sure those who Twitter can find the whole thing.

#1. Reading a book is a very different thing from being a fan of the author. (For example, I'm not attracted to Beck's performances, but I think the work his research team put into Broke is valuable...I might even say awesome.)

#2. Now when we actually follow up on those masses of links that are so helpfully provided in Broke, we find that Beck's presentation has erred on the side of melodrama. I'm not sure that's altogether bad. There's always room for error in interpreting statistics, and at least the melodrama motivates people who care to compare the spin different people are putting on the statistics. And the question is not whether our national economic prospects are grim, but how horrible they are.

#3. Football players have been stereotyped for too long as big dumb oxen who wouldn't know which end of a substantial book to open first. I'm not a football fan, but I am a fan of stereotype-busters and promoters of literacy...and I've just become a fan of Ochocinco.

If you Twitter, please let my new favorite football player (since Jerry Rice) know he's gained a fan.

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