Main Stream Media Abandons the Truth

FYI:  I am in favor of a special prosecutor; if Trump did nothing he should be cleared, if he did do something it needs to be cleaned up, whatever that means.

It seems as if Mollie Hemingway, a writer for The Federalist, in a May 16^th story, may have her finger on the pulse of the fake news that is being passed around as gospel.  Hemingway takes aim at a few recent Washington Post “breaking news” stories, based on leaks from “anonymous sources” that appear to be wrong.

One such story was that former FBI Director Jim Comey had recently asked for more funding for the “Russian” investigation.  Another was the report that “Deputy Attorney General Rod J. Rosenstein threatened to resign after the narrative emerging from the White House on Tuesday evening cast him as a prime mover of the decision to fire Comey.”

Of course, Rosenstein himself responded saying that he had no intention of leaving his job.  But what is behind all of this “misinformation” really?  What’s behind it is the main stream media’s desire to flip the script and attack the president with any random negativity they come across, whether or not it is true?

Often, they would much rather run on a weak story that pushes their narrative forward without regard for the truth, or what most people call “facts.”  When I was a reporter, I had to have three sources before I was allowed to publish a “breaking news” story.  In fact, there were several stories that I knew about but because they were handed to me by “anonymous” sources they died on the vine.  But in the end, the stories wound up being true, I just couldn’t prove it.

So what’s a reporter to do?  Well, in the current era it seems that anything that even remotely appears to support your agenda is fair game to print.  After all, why let facts get in the way of a good story?

No matter where you fall in the political spectrum, the way the news is being doled out today lacks any adherence to facts.  The rush to ridicule is outrageous.  It’s no wonder “fake news” is the term of the decade.  They don’t even grace it with the term, lies.  It used to be near impossible to put out information that was so far from the truth. Now, it’s the run of the mill.

For me, it’s almost impossible to believe anything the current news folk put out.  The closest thing to truth we get from the media today is the weather report.  In days past, the weather report was the least likely to prove true.

Hemmingway put together a list of 9 things to keep in mind when reading reports in today’s newspapers.  They follow:

1.      In the immediate aftermath, news outlets will get it wrong.

2.      Don’t trust anonymous sources. If democracy dies in darkness, anonymity is not exactly transparent or accountable. Unless someone is willing to put his or her name with a leak, be on guard. Pay attention to how well the reporters characterize the motivations of the anonymous leaker. All leakers have motivation. Does the paper seem to have a grasp on how the motivation affects the veracity of the leak?

3.      If someone is leaking national security information in order to support the claim of a national security violation, be on guard.

4.      If someone is claiming a serious national security crisis but not willing to go public with the claim and resign in protest of same, be on guard.

5.      Compare sources willing to put their name and reputation on the line.

6.      Big anti-Trump news brings out the fakers.

7.      Pay attention to the language that the media uses. Is a story about something unimportant being written in such a way as to make it seem more important?

8.      Beware confirmation bias. Everyone has the tendency to interpret new evidence as confirmation of one’s existing beliefs or theories. Be on guard that you don’t accept critical or exonerating evidence to match your political preferences.

9.      Pay attention to how quickly and fully editors and reporters correct stories based on false information from anonymous sources. If they don’t correct at all, it’s an indication of a lack of respect.

Sounds like good advice to me; what do you think?

Happy Mother's Day, Jackie

Staying in a relationship for 30 years is a pretty long time by today’s standards. It seems today that a relationship, that is a marriage, doesn’t last much longer than a package of disposable razors.  And, I suspect that most marriages today sort of forget about all that to have and to hold, for better or for worse, for richer or for poorer junk that seems paramount in the old school marriage vows, but today just seem to be part of the recycle routine.

Tired of your spouse? Just dump him or her in the big green vessel and a truck comes by and takes him or her away every other Friday.  Heck, if you leave them curbside some poor misbegotten scrapper may even pick them up.

But even so, some marriages just have staying power.  I would like to say that some relationships are the cuddly kind.  All sweetness and sap, what my mother used to call Saccharin sweet.  For those who don’t remember, Saccharin was an early artificial sweetener that really overplayed its hand.  It was beyond sweet.  When my mother used the term it was for someone who was way too sweet to be a real person.  You know the kind of person who for one reason or another insists on being all sweet and light and lovey-dovey.  The kind that makes you wonder if they are not really just putting up a façade to hide the serial killer they really are.

I’ve never really been that snuggly kind of person.  You know the one that needs constant close attention from their significant other.  Perhaps it’s just the time I spent on my own, not having to deal with anything other than myself and my own problems.  Nobody ever took much time to cuddle with me, and I wouldn’t have allowed it anyway.

So what does this have to do with the price of tears in heaven, you might ask?  Well, for those of you who have not seen Guardians of the Galaxy part 2, this probably won’t ruin the plot. But while watching that show Sunday afternoon, I realized that my alter ego was playing a part on the screen.

All things taken together, to me there is no doubt that they based this character’s disposition on me.  Had I only known in time enough I might have been able to get a cut of the cinematic pie and be rich beyond my dreams. Move over Publisher’s Clearing House, here I come.

But then, it’s probably a little hard to put a price on an attitude.  And it came to me in a rush, in a joke actually, when Drax told Mantis it would be okay to pet his dog, Rocket.

So at this point, I have probably lost everyone who reads this, well everyone who has never seen either of the Galaxy movies (shame on you).  So, for those who don’t get the idea, Rocket is a raccoon-based genetically and mechanically engineered critter.  The very last thing in the world someone should try to do with him is pet him or cuddle with him.  He is much more fond of explosives and large futuristic guns.  Oh yeah!, to quote Rocket.

So with that realization, you know that in some ways Rocket’s character was derived from me, I have a new understanding of just how fortunate I was to grab a wife like Jackie when the time came around.  At times, even a crotchety old goat like me gets a turn on the merry go round and selects the golden ring.

So my dear, for all those times past and future, when you really really really needed a hug, and I just wasn’t a hugger, this one is for you.  And for all of you other Mother’s out there, hope you have a great Mother’s Day too.