So much to be angry about and so little time. Okay, everybody. I just want you to tune in and mellow out, as they said in the commune before it was time-shared into a condo. Take a few deep breaths and count to ten. Now tell me, as calmly as you can: Why are we all so angry? Why all the sputtering and spitting? Have things really reached such a sad state? How is it that we’ve [...] READ MORE
Sometimes the scale is tipped by a heavy-handed grip. I recently reported on Facebook that a book I wrote is about to be published. I received my printed copy —the first off the press—at the beginning of this week, and its availability is scheduled to be announced in a week to ten days. I have been working on rounding up names of family and friends, along with their email and postal addresses, to whom I’ll ask the [...] READ MORE
Newspapers are struggling to survive. Do they have to sell out to stay in business? What’s the news across the nation? According to one highly informed source, the country is becoming an “expanding news desert.” It’s hard to believe when you can access breaking news any time of day, whether via cable news channels or internet websites. Not only can you get your news, but you can choose your kind of news, customized to fit your personal [...] READ MORE
Brainstorming with his conspiracy theory consultant. So why is everyone so caught up in blaming conspiracies for everything from the wearing of face masks to the existence of a small group of very powerful men who are orchestrating the pandemic and will do the same with the upcoming presidential election? “Conspiracy theories contribute to an increasing pollution of the information environment, a distrust of expertise, scientists, and the very idea of truth,” says Peter Knight, a professor of [...] READ MORE
I know a little something about fake news. I manufactured a news article years ago in an April 1st issue of another newspaper and stirred up a storm of controversy. Anyone who read beyond the headline and the introductory paragraphs would recognize that it was not on the up and up. That’s on the up and up, as in factual and legitimate, and the article had become so outrageous by the final sentence, concluding, of course, with “April Fool!” [...] READ MORE
