Only in the Arizona Republic would you see a front-page headline that says:
Grim economy, but there are silver linings
What’s even worse is the story that follows, desperately trying to ignore the factors that will make this economy very difficult for a long time to come, whatever the increasingly irrelevant GDP numbers say. It would be funny if the cost were not so high from a major newspaper failing to do its job in a) reporting on the real, devastating recession in the state; b) failing to crusade for a more competitive economy, which begins with great schools, and holding legislators accountable; c) continuing to blow the whistle on the unsustainability of the migropolises around Phoenix.
Past headlines we can imagine from this crew:
"Black death devastates Europe, but there are silver linings"
"South secedes and Lincoln calls for volunteers, but there are silver linings"
"Titanic strikes iceberg and sinks, but there are silver linings"
Add your favorites.
John McCain Elected President, But There Are Silver Linings
The Empire Collapses, But There Are Silver Linings
Oh, wait…
I used to work at the Challenger Space Center in Peoria and when the shuttle Columbia disintegrated upon re-entry, the (former) executive director actually said, “the silver lining to all this is that now more people know about us – meaning the space center”. As if there were a silver lining to such a monumental tragedy. Not a headline, I know, but in the same genre.
OK, “Space Shuttle Columbia disintegrates, seven astronauts perish, but there are silver linings…”