Answers
Why do poets/music artists use literary devices (similes, metaphors, hyperbole, kennings) instead of just saying the story "straight"?
Because the purpose of art is not to tell a story but to show it.
The Straight story - a film by David Lynch
Songs like 'The Fox, the Crow, and the Cookie' by MeWithoutYou or 'Carolina Drama' by The Raconteurs.
Bowl of Oranges - Bright Eyes
I know the national debt doubled from $5.7 Trillion to $11 Trillion during the GWBush 8 years. Some people say Obama has quadrupled that. If so, how can our national debt still be close to $11 Trillion?
They are talking about his projected deficits. This isn't the same as the national debt. The deficit is how much the annual budget is in the red.
It adds to the national debt.
The deficit was a little over 400 billion under bush. In 2009 it is projected to be 1.85 trillion by the congressional budget office. quadrupled is close to being right.
This is to do with all of the different christian sects.
According to my World Religions Instructor, there are more than twenty thousand Christian sects.
20,000
I wonder which one got it just right.
In a framed story the narration is expained. For example, the stories in Canterbury Tales are all framed by the fact that they are told during the pilgrimage to Canterbury. In a straight line story the narration just begins.