Sol's Culture Wars

(Opinion) Politics is the shiny, empty suit worn by self-serving scoundrels to service their campaign donor's agenda, and secure re-election. Taxpayers are the suckers in this shell game of false values, and no real problem-solving goals or moral high ground is established. America and the blessed dream of liberty for a free people swiftly disappears with a too-powerful media forcing the optics of deceitful distortion. What to believe now when the payroll partisan 'fact checkers' protect the biggest lies, controlled airwaves equals controlled minds. Watch and hear now with critical eye and ear because the enemies of freedom are already here, executing a calculated plan. Do you want Beijing Biden and his WH proppers to conclude what is 'true' and 'untrue' speech? Not me. The First Amendment is really all we, The People, still have. But, tyranny's evil, godless globalism looms to take control.

(Opinion) The Californicating of American culture continues. We have so morally confused ourselves, and virtue signalled our way to becoming a sanctuary also for hard criminals, scoundrels, and allies to evil. Simply emptying prisons is no solution. That policy guarantees more victims, as we are seeing in most major crime stats rising, after long-trending declines.  How is it progressive for crime to explode, and respect for authority now a laughing matter? Routine shoplifting is totally ignored today. In my state, up to $900 of theft is not prosecuted, and law enforcement has well publicized this crazy, wrong-headed policy.  So, home invasions, armed robberies, rape, weapons charges, and common assault are also featuring a brazen, no-worries boldness that is unprecedented.  Meanwhile, good cops everywhere, vilified by a profane media and irrational, crime-enabling de-funding, are just giving up to early retirement. Along with demonstrations and very selective media cover...

The meltdown continues for good reason. Folks figured out CNN is the least dependable among scoundrels. CNN is now the sixth-rated cable network in prime time, behind Fox News, MSNBC, HGTV, the Hallmark Channel, and the History Channel. Cartoon Channel- my favorite when I used to watch TV- is now a CNN rival, which somehow seems right.😄

These maybe the Last Days of high deceit, bought-sold values, big media wink-nod foreign pay-to-play money arriving on massive foggy midnight barges of stealth and growing influence. Phony, self-labeled fact-checkers with partisan orders from their corporate payers, be wary of especially the dubious expert, pundit, analyst, research reporter, anonymous or unnamed source, content police, and cancellers disguised as informed authority, they are all propagandists for evil. Your common sense is your boss, the source, and trusted partner. Media is the driver of cultural corrosion, stoked division, and daily disorder of national spirit, like a constant inflammation thru fear-baiting headlines of doom.

https://www.facebook.com/100002074481530/posts/4110962868982822/ (Repost from three years ago.) This isn't fact-based news, just an opinion essay. That's also what this is about: news and non-news. By now, we all know dopey Trump's redundantly self-serving term. The problem with his sandbox campaign construct- a go-to narrative used to dodge responsibility from his own words or deeds- is that there IS a type of fake news in play, and easily identifiable on both sides. While truth-challenged Trump over-uses his term any time reporters ask any question, fake news today is regretfully real. The specific problem I have with NPR, ABC/CBS/NBC, CNN, and FOX News networks: it has become nearly impossible to differentiate between alledged news reporting, and a network's respective political spinning.  It's ALL opinion now, the way news is headlined, framed, and presented. So, I believe journalism in America has radically and drastically changed, the line between fact and spi...

The Loaded Question fallacy has become the standard format for too many fake news reporters. Closely related to the predictable "gotcha" hacks who believe journalism is about trapping the subject after setting the bait. Unfortunately, too many celebrity reporters today make themselves the story- jarringly confirming their own bias over fair and professional codes of conduct. An example of a weaponized loaded question is the always camera-loving Jim Acosta asking a former President "If he'll apologize to the American people for the pandemic?" The Loaded Question always makes a statement first, before any query. For more comically frequent daily examples, check out last-in-ratings CNN's dopey headers. They ALL make a statement, even the headlines not marked "analysis", i.e., just some partisan's skewed opinion.

The Belief Bias is so common to most of us on occasion, it's another one to be vigilant about, both with others and ourselves. It basically involves accepting a conclusion, and ignoring more critical measuring, blindly based on your pre-existing perspective. We love our own opinions on everything, usually too much, so we're reinforcing them all the time instead of re-examining their origin and current relevance. If we already feel a certain way, similar conclusions are embraced easily, and challenged far less. The Belief Bias can easily lead astray, and away from what is true or more accurate. Each situation is best evaluated with some awareness of this nearly universal and ubiquitous bias.  

Strawman arguments are really a distraction technique, a shiny object to direct attention away from other matters or issues. This disingenuous ploy attempts to mischaracterize an opponent's position. It's basically an ugly lie. Or, a strawman argument often answers a question no one has asked, or passionately defends against a position no one's taken. This verbal card trick is meant to confuse and obfuscate the truth. A simple example would be a pundit declaring "The other party won't decide for all of us how much cancer is acceptable!", in a debate about health care funding sources. The demagogue statement creates a bogey man just to knock down. The strawman argument and fallacy is a cheap rhetorical stunt, often tried by weaker or losing debaters.  

(Opinion) American parents of all backgrounds oppose the abuse of their childrens' minds thru openly Marxist ideology. This includes the morally unqualified Critical Race Theory, a branch of general Critical Theory- attacking a society's institutions as the first step to overthrowing those in power. It's uncloaked, hiding in plain sight extremist doctrine in our schools. Parents oppose CRT because it's factually wrong, categorically false, and also abusive to young minds and childrens' self-identity. Growing numbers of parents of color oppose CRT, it's not some privileged concern. American immigrants from totalitarian regimes recognize familiar evils of state manipulation, cancelling, and censoring.. Racial awareness, the historical value of social justice are best taught without identity politics as a driver to even more division thru labeling, generating more mistrust among Americans, and more intentional conflict. CRT is not education. It's indoctrination...

https://nypost.com/2021/06/12/my-top-10-media-lies-goodwin/

How much should we trust our own  government and media? Not a whole bunch. And, that is by brilliant design.  Our uncannily wise Founders intrinsically trusted gov't so little, the 2nd Amendment comes right after our most precious 1st. This order of ideas always makes me smile. As John Adams noted, power is always suspect and monitored. A people- so valuing those most basic human rights granted by God, will only live if living free. A people who value the bounty of life over the tyranny of false rule. A people who may die defending their autonomy.  An American people, blessed with the courage of democracy, honed by the harsh reality of fear, or humiliating loss of self-destiny, trained by the long suffering of bondage, an extraordinary people, yet no different than you and me.

Do political independents and conservatives have to run against their opponents AND media? While CNN and most of main-scream sensational coverage just seems to repeat the news day's chosen and distributed talking points ? The blatantly false crusades from the race and fear hustlers in the media/Democratic Party point to self-made straw men narratives, cravenly blind fallacies, and template partisan bias. In fact, in spite of the inflamed daily rhetoric, votes are not being suppressed. White supremacy is not America's #1 threat. The Republic is not in imminent danger. It's textbook, banner headline, fear-signaling hogwash. In fact, it is not about race at all, the networks' #1, time-proven go-to ratings spiker. It is about global totalitarian dominance. These communist monsters are the regime controlling China. I'm hating them precisely the same if they're Russian, Cuban, North Korean, American, or terrorist Mullah. It's faithless communists and othe...

The last President- among other lacks justified or unjustified, fates rendered or over-focused, brand myth myopics driven, reflexively spinning his own narratives. Yet, it's beyond debate that hard evidence now proves that the mainstream networks conspired and colluded to undermine the Republican Party and their leader. The media elected itself the big influencer and D.C. king-maker because it simply could; it's just that monster powerful now, add  Google, Twitter, Facebook,  Microsoft, Instagram, YouTube, Yahoo, Netflix, Disney, Hulu, Apple, Associated Press, NY Times, Ebay, Hollywood, Harvard, Yale, and Amazon. Overwhelming, culture-wide control of message. They can try to hide away the busy billionaires, hedge funds, and fundraisers, but the Left is clearly the Big Money player today- the ubiquitous platforms drive the content as mega-major definers.  Republicans have Fox and Newsmax, and syndicated radio. Top management programming strategy outlined a daily narr...

Groupthink is an intensely personal, complicated bias everyone experiences, from playground to workplace to burial ground. We're always group beings. "No man is an island" John Donne writes, and the big movie, Ten Angry Men effectively examines dynamics in groups of compelling pressured outcomes. Independent thinking can be extremely stressful. Groups may affect good judgement, be wary.

Slippery Slope is a common fallacy that has its own momentum, often based on fear. Arguments that declare how if A happens, then Z will happen are self-defining, weak thru unproven assuming, and often articulating a dreaded result far from likely. For example since, oh, let's say always, many dopey backward men thought that recognizing women's rights would be a slippery slope towards female dominance. Of course, some slippery slopes may be true. 😎

Appeal to Emotion: this is a viscerally motivated fallacy, where an attempt is made to persuade opinion by stressing feelings over rational facts, or logical analysis. Emotion over reason can be a gripping ploy to distract away from critical details. The mainstream media at this 2021 moment in time is framing their coverage of the Israeli and Palestinian fighting to subtly suggest the suffering is all in Gaza. There is an appeal for mercy and empathy, but certain contextual facts are absent: IDF pre-announces and notifies its action to minimize civilian injury. And this warning is done after the Hamas staging of missile launchers from homes, hospitals, scools, and mosques. Be wary of appeals to emotion that purposefully omit big picture facts, this fallacy is used by all.

Halo Effect is another example of a nearly universal bias we all have in so many different situations, almost any time a likeable person influences us. Our judgment may be impaired if we like someone too much to be truly objective. This can be disastrous, if major decisions or choices aren't analyzed accurately. Agreement without exception may also be a time to reflect, perhaps reassess. Everyone likes a swindler, at first.

Fair World Bias A good bias to start with as most of us have this one by nature. We want to think there is a goodness and fairness directing the universe. A just God is in charge. We believe in a just world, but reality contradicts this bias every time bad things occur to the undeserving. It's scarier to consider that the world isn't as fair as we may imagine. It's debated, but there is no (satisfactory) biblical, philosophical or rational explanation for why evil is allowed. All witness inconsistent 'karma" when bad guys hurt good folks so often. The bias is understandable, still distorting. The fallacy that our noble actions always produce noble results may lead to disillusioned ideals, confusion, or loss of positivity. We may want a just world, as we also understand human fallacy.

Ad Hominem Latin for "to the person", this fallacy involves a focus on the individual, irrelevant to opinions expressed. In media and debate, ad hominem attacks are often used as distractions meant to divert attention from a losing opinion or perspective.  Ad hominem example: A family member mentions "exploding" Covid stats during a CNN segment on the virus. You mention the fact that media can distort virus coverage by using stats without also providing all-important context. Your relative instantly becomes hysterical, then accuses you of being a brainwashed Breitbart white supremacist. The topic went from media and stats to you personally. That is ad hominem.

Critical Thinking Identify the problem or question.  Gather data, opinions, and arguments.  Analyze and evaluate the data. Identify assumptions. Establish significance. Make a decision/reach a conclusion.