Americans prefer mental masturbation to critical thinking

In the summer between high school and college I had a wonderful job, working on a railroad construction crew. Not only did it pay well but swinging a spiking hammer and wrestling with railroad ties all day in one hundred degree heat was getting me in great shape to play basketball in college. However, to beat the heat of late afternoon we had to be at the construction train for a ride to our work site by six AM. At that time in the morning we had just enough time to get a cup of coffee and pick-up a copy of the New York Daily News to read the sports page.