Anyone read the Calgary Sun?

If newspapers were a school, I sort of picture the Calgary Herald as the brainy student, the Globe and Mail as the teacher with the short-sleeve dress shirt with necktie, the National Post as the substitute teacher who wears the golf shirt with jeans, and the Calgary Sun as the gossipy shit disturber who talks like an "A" student, but gets "C's" on the report card.

This mental picture could have been more solidified after reading the Calgary Sun's reporting of the City choosing not to emblazon their vehicles with the large "Support the Troops" decals (pronounced in Canada like "deckle" not "d-KAL"). Check it the article here.

Note the use of language.

"The city has issued an edict". Aside from the grammatical error of not capitalizing the proper noun "City", you usually think of the word "edict" as something hostile, like some despot ruler issuing a decree that all citizens are to bow to his image every morning. This sentence sets the tone for what's to come.

"Stickers were ripped from garbage trucks..." Wow. I have this vision of a group of four thugs arriving on the scene removing these stickers while the City worker begs, with tears streaming, for mercy. "SILENCE!" Bellows the bully, while brandishing a blood-speckled baton.

"Not sure if (they'll) defy the order" The word "defy" you immediately think of someone sticking up for himself, right? David defied Goliath. That Chinese protester-guy defied the tank in Tienanmen Square. The Sun continues to set the scene as a struggle against an oppressive and unjust force.

The article, as a whole, gently suggests to you that the City hates the troops. The report doesn't have the guts to say it, but the general theme is unmistakable. Does this not conflict with the City's track record on charity causes? What about the United Way campaign every November when we try to raise a million bucks for the less fortunate? What about the Breast Cancer fundraising? What about the "Support the Troops" decals that the City will be selling at its facilities? OOPS!! I guess the Sun forgot to mention that last one, eh?

Anyway, friends. Read for yourself. By all means, continue to read the Sun if you prefer. Hey, every once in a while even the healthiest person grabs a Big Mac.