"True Facts,"  SANTA
And other Musings

 

True Facts:  RIP

United we stand divided we fall. -- ancient proverb
The truth shall set you free. -- Jesus
Nothing dollarable is safe, however guarded. -- John Muir

[It is not generally appreciated just how dollarable data/information has become in the digital age. It can be shamelessly massaged and manipulated to produce whatever "facts" are desired. These "facts" are often fiction, yet many buy into it.]

True facts. Given that a fact is supposed to be a true piece of information, "true facts" should be a redundancy. However, in a world increasingly devoid of truth, "true facts" is becoming oxymoronic. If there is no truth, there can be no facts. Instead we have alternative facts, pseudo facts, faux facts, wannabee facts, what-ever-you-want-to-believe facts, what-will-make-me-money facts, etc. In short, everything but actual true facts. This is a BIG HUGE GINORMOUS problem that is tearing us apart. Without a common set of true facts that everyone accepts, there can be no meaningful dialog, no rational decisions can be made regarding our nation's future, and we will (continue to) be unable to work together to solve our nation's problems. We can't even agree to differ.

The purpose of the news media should be to report true facts. An informed public armed with the truth is the cornerstone of any democracy or republic. That's why we desperately need a source of news that we all can believe and believe in. I still propose SANTA.

We Need to Believe in SANTA

We need to establish a national news agency: SANTA (Source for All News That's Appropriate). No, don't laugh, I'm not talking Pravda. SANTA would be a non-profit congressionally funded national news agency chartered by Congress to be as apolitical and as independent as possible. Its editors and staff would be professional journalists. SANTA would have a mandated long term budget, and its staff would have secure fixed term positions, so as to make SANTA largely immune to political and financial pressures. SANTA would be charged with reporting all appropriate news (in all appropriate media) in a factual and unbiased manner covering all relevant aspects and sides of the issues. How could you possibly not like SANTA? But seriously, if we can't come up with a source of news that we can all believe and believe in, our divisions will just keep getting worse. In more detail:

SANTA needs to be considered a non-profit service whose first priority is to inform the public about the important issues of the day. If profit is first priority, then all else is secondary and subject to compromise. If it's more profitable to entertain the public with newsy fluff rather than inform it about important issues, then let the dollars rule. SANTA will educate and inform the public (hopefully) in an engaging manner.

SANTA needs to be staffed with professional journalists, who have been selected by their peers for their experience, integrity, and demostrated excellence in their craft; journalists who know what the important issues are, and who have a thirst for digging out the truth and presenting the complete story in a compelling manner. Any redneck yahoo can be entertaining by making up stories people want to hear. Journalists present the truth and provide the information people need to hear.

SANTA needs to be financially and politically independent so that it cannot be used for political expediency, turned into a government mouthpiece, or used to "sell" news that's profitable, and does have to cater to popular whim. SANTA cannot be independent if it's run for profit.  It cannot be independent if it has to beg for funding every year.  A mandated long term congressional budget and secure fixed term positions for its editors and staff are necessary to achieve this independence.

We desperately need a source of news that we all can believe and believe in. We need SANTA.

The World According to Red and Blue

The fact that about half the people love Trump and the other half hate him has really got me thinking about how our perceived reality is so relative, and how our senses are so susceptible to manipulation.  In other words, what you think you see may not really be there.  Con artists and hucksters thrive on this fact and are masters of illusion, deception, misdirection, and deflection.  For fun, the pictures below help to develop this theme.

News Flash!! In the pictures below, the skulls are the same color, and all the balls are the same color.
	Some people will probably say, "That's crazy, any fool can see that they aren't." That's just  fake news.  And that will be that. Other people, who realize looks can be deceiving, might say, "Really, could they be?" and investigate further and discover the truth.
We live in a world of illusions.  Often you need to look very closely to distinguish reality from illusion.  I assure you, the skulls are the same color, and the balls are all the same color.  You need to shift your point of view and filter out the non-essential information deliberately meant to distract you and fool the mind.

Once again, it's all relative,
	<<If you are standing on your head or have been strung up by the heels, this is how you might view Trump. If you have your feet firmly planted on the ground, you see something quite different.>>
Interesting, same picture, totally different impressions.  Does reality even exist?

Conservative people, especially those with a religious bent, might take one glance at the images below and conclude it's naughty erotica and not deign to look more closely.  Curious people, might find the images intriguing, and investigate further. They will find that the images are not erotica, but:  weeds blowing in the wind, stick figures dancing, dolphins frolicking, and just a tree.
First impressions can be deceiving and are often wrong.

Continuing the thought:  Some people might glance at the photos below and immediately conclude that I'm posting pictures of trollops and perverts and avert their eyes in disgust.  Others, who dare to look more closely, will see that all the pictures are perfectly innocent.
Always be on guard.  What you think you see may not really be there.  Sort of like Trump and his election fraud rantings.

There's really nothing impressive about Trump.  He's all show and no go.  Some people are fooled by his illusion and how he projects himself.  Others can see what he really is.
In this increasingly complex world with its increasing powerful and sophisticated tools for mind manipulation, it's becoming increasingly difficult to separate fact from fantasy, and reality from illusion.

A few more for fun:
	<< Is this woman naked i.e. sans clothing?  Define clothing.  Does paint count?  They say we're all beasts clothed in a veneer of civilization.  If Trump has even the slightest veneer of civilization, it's as thin as a coat of paint.  Before the 2016 election friends of mine asked why I didn't like Trump.  I said I saw the potential for disaster (was I right?).  Some people look at this picture and see only a pretty arboreal face.  Others look behind the illusion and see the impending storm.>>
We've all been told, don't be mislead or distracted by just a pretty face.

I'll  end with a couple of Magic Eye pictures.  If you can't look below the surface, you will never discern the true nature of Trump.
	<<Trump's view of women.  Caution:  Rated R. What Trump has been doing to this country for the last 4 years (at least)!  Warning:  Rated XXX.>>