Heard On the Radio

I was going to put up a quick post on this yesterday, but I didn't get it done.

Tuesday morning, on the way into work, the 8:00 AM newsbreak included a blurb on how, and I quote, "Iowans are getting excited about the rainforest in Coralville that is slated to begin construction late this summer."

Really, are Iowans excited about this. Outside of the Ted Townsend rah rah supposed it "fiscal conservatives" (former Gov. Ray, David Oman, and Chuck Grassley) that are cheerleading for it, not one time have I heard somebody say, "Boy, I'm really jazzed about this rain forest in Coralville. I can't wait to take my kids to it." Or, "Man, this is just the thing to help keep our talented youngsters from fleeing the state."

The blurb contained no quotes from Iowans, no studies, and no polling data to support itself. It was just the assertion that sui generis Iowan are excited. Classic bandwagon propoganda. You've probably never heard of it, and you don't know what it is, how much it costs (to build or to operate) but you should be darned excited about it because everyone else is.