[quote]I personally don't get any papers or watch the news. I think that the
media is destroying us little by little.  They control exactly what we
here and tend to like to hop onto trends like all the kidnappings that
are going on would have you believe that the world seems to be coming to
an end and nobody is safe anywhere, but in reality kidnaping are
actually down quite a bit this year and it's just the medias latest pet
story.
[/quote]

I completely agree with the media destruction theory.  I work in law enforcement, and see situations I've worked (in radio) completely skewered beyond understanding by the local media.  It's amazing just how much they make up, or spin based on EXTREMELY limited information they may find themselves privy to.  As for kidnappings, you are also right.  Sadly, the media didn't pick up on this with full steam until a rich white girl was kidnapped.  The first 'big' kidnapping was a black girl from a lower-income area back east (I believe).  The moment the white girl was taken, all media spotlights repositioned.  In fact, I even participated in a NAWAS conference call regarding the girl that was taken from Riverside, CA and found in NV.  Occasionally teletypes come in regarding 'missing involuntary' or 'kidnapping', but nowhere near the scale the media portrays.

And with that, I'm done.  This is a listserv about geocaching, and not the joke we call media.  :)

Brian
Team A.I.
I haven't lost my mind.  It's backed up on disk somewhere.