Joe Camel: From cool to out in the cold. Washington legislators can’t agree on much of anything anymore when it means crossing party lines, but they do seem to find common ground on one thing. That’s right, something has to be done about Facebook. A Senate Subcommittee heard testimony this week from a Facebook insider who was part of a “misinformation team” intent on stealing the hearts and minds of our youth — and, undoubtedly, a whole [...] READ MORE
Casualty list of America’s daily and weekly newspapers grows. 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 needs, beliefs and desires. And, as [...] READ MORE
Boomers killed America’s love affair with smoking before it killed more of us. Skill Note: Most of following was written in July of 2015 as a newspaper column several years after retiring from 39 years as a reporter and editor for three different newspapers. Aside from several edits, addendums and asides, it remains the same. I know the range of age for retired people grows wider and wider with each passing year. For starters, people retire a [...] 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
Is that your head or someone’s misshapen big toe? Just one letter can change meaning. The political landscape is getting crazier and crazier, but is it crazy in a good or a bad way? Are facts important to you— such as the things people actually do and say— or do we really have the option of alternate facts? How about the alternative of optional facts? My recent blog about the overwhelming evangelical support for President Trump was [...] READ MORE
How much plastic are you ingesting? I’ve been doing a lot of research the past couple of weeks on quackery and consumer scams, mainly because there has been such a tremendous increase of such chicanery and it is keeping state attorneys general busy across the country. This outbreak has been triggered by the pandemic that as already changed our lives and will recast our future as a country and, sadly I think, hastening our exit from the [...] READ MORE
Talking heads and promises abound… The following fake report is brought to you as a public service by SYMIC— Stop Your Musing It’s Confusing. And now a few words from our stars in a recent comedy or drama, depending on what does or doesn’t make you laugh. President Trump at April 23rd Briefing: (Addressing his medical experts) …And then I see the disinfectant, where it knocks it out in a minute, one minute. And is there a [...] READ MORE
Forget that "more perfect union" our founders called for. It's us-versus-them from hereon in. To me it’s a little scary that everyone is so locked into political party regardless of what is right or wrong, true or false and moral or immoral. Where have all the nuances gone on what constitutes a Democrat or Republican? I think of myself as being a moderate, whether as a Democrat or Republican (and I’ve been both), but I don’t know [...] READ MORE
Staying ignorant of the truth is literally a no-brainer. We live in an epidemic of lying. Research shows that about 60 percent of adults lie at least once in a ten-minute conversation. About 40 percent lie on their resumes, and 90 percent lie on their online dating profiles. — Dr. Amit Sood, Director of Research, Mayo Clinic’s Complementary and Integrative Medicine Program I’ve been thinking a lot lately about why people lie, and why some seem incapable [...] READ MORE
Far right and far left? Just far apart. Why do conservative Republicans see themselves as common-sense candidates, depicting those with so-called liberal views as “the radical left?” Why do liberal Democrats see themselves as more sensitive and caring, dismissing those with more conservative agendas as “the radical right?” The truth is that a conservative Republican is no further to the right than a liberal Democrat is to the left. The typical liberal Democrat and conservative Republican in [...] READ MORE
