Portland, Oregon

Portland, Oregon

Monday, January 23, 2017

Information by Firehose

Wow! What a week it was. Between all the information coming from Washington, the Women's March, Twitter, Facebook, newspapers, podcasts, and audible books I felt like I'd been water boarded.


I knew I was in trouble last night when I realized I was knitting so tight on the metal needles I was using that I could no longer move the stitches along the needles. I tend to be a tight knitter. When that happens I switch to bamboo needles. They're more fragile and force me to relax to avoid snapping them in two. This morning I decided I needed to relax about other things as well.

"Alternative facts" seems to be the buzz phrase now. It seems the White House is having some trouble distinguishing the difference between alternative facts, falsehoods, truth, and facts. Years ago a professor explained the difference between truth and fact to me. He said, "When Johnny tells the kids on his block that his mother bakes the best cookies on their block he has told the truth. That's what he believes. It is not fact until all the mothers on the block have baked cookies and they've been judged by an impartial panel of cookie tasters. Only then does Johnny's truth become fact."

Given the White House's difficulty understanding these terms it puts the burden of seeking facts on us. I read an awful lot of stuff in a day. It is time consuming to fact check everything I read from this administration. I've decided I'm going to turn some of that work over to a few people I trust that have staff people to do the digging.

One will be David Fahrenthold of the Washington Post. He is probably the best judge of what's fact and what's "alternative fact" coming out of the White House.  He's been researching and reporting on President Trump and his empire for quite some time. He is "meticulous, aggressive, and calm in his presentation of the news.  He evacuated the self-dealing Tump Foundation as if he were an archeologist and published a series of patient stories that resulted in a penalty against the foundation and its planned closure." I'll be looking to see what he has to say in the coming days, months, and years of this administration.
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This said, I am off now to get my hair cut. Have already been to the grocery store. It's on then to housework that has been sadly neglected. All this activity is possible because the sun is shining and has lifted my spirits significantly. Have a good day.

16 comments:

  1. Are your fushia socks a coincidence to the pussyhats or did you plan it that way? I'm going to look for something that color to wear when I'm feeling in an activism mood.

    I honestly don't understand why Mr. Trump's supporters are okay with his and Kellyann's lying so much. Your professor had a great why to teach the difference between fact and truth.

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    1. Nope, just a coincidence on the pink socks. That was many years ago, probably 1987, that I learned about truth and fiction but I've never forgotten that story.

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  2. So happy for your sunshine. You know I wished it on you.
    I will surely pass on to my grands your professor's definitions of truth and fact.

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    1. I've tol that truth/fact story many times over the years. It's very helpful to me in times like this.

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  3. Glad the weather has taken a turn for the better. It's amazing how a sunny day can make our spirits soar!

    When I was still working, I went through a difficult time when my dad died. I just could not raise my spirits. I bought one of those light therapy lamps and did 30 minutes every day prior to going to work.

    Once I retired, I no longer needed it. I had plenty of access to being outdoors and getting enough sunlight. Also, I was happier because I was no longer working!

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    1. A lot of people here use those lights. We have a lot of windows and I use several kinds of lighting so I'm not usually bothered too much by cloudy days if a sunny day comes along now & then. I have problems in the summer if the temps go high enough to need a/c. I find that very depressing.

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  4. I have a sunlight lamp that sits on the floor and radiates over my right shoulder as I sit in my recliner and do handiwork. I used to get the February Blues every year. Since using this lamp, I don't get the S.A.D. anymore.

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    1. I have a real thing about light coming over my left shoulder, drives me crazy if it doesn't. Light coming from the right causes shadows. Perhaps if I were left handed I'd like light over the right shoulder, don't know. Only know I insist on light over my left shoulder so I don't have to deal with shadows.

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  5. For those who really care this business of stretching things has gone too far.

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    1. In a crisis anything they say will be meaningless.

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  6. I'm having a little battle with myself over information "by fire hose". There is so much to take in, and I don't want to miss anything important, but I also want to have a life. I have to find a balance.
    I am contemplating an online subscription to the Washington Post, but I can't get all the reading done that I want to now.

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    1. I was having a hard time being allowed to read links in the Washington Post as a non subscriber. I often find links on Twitter to articles in the WP that I want to read. Finally I just did a digital subscription.

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  7. I believe in staying informed but I have determined that does not mean reacting to everything that pops up on FaceBook and Twitter -- that is just reacting. I had a free subscription to the Washington Post that came with my Kindle fire which just expired. Now you have given me that little push to go ahead and subscribe.

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    1. I don't rely on Facebook for news. I like Twitter a lot for the links I get to articles and columns in a wide variety of publication. I'd never subscribe to that many publications. A very few insist on subscription to be able to read, but not many. I have a digital subscription to NYT, Washington Post, and the New Yorker.

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  8. Interesting distinction between truth and fact. You're right: It's exhausting trying to sift through the facts and the alternative facts on FB. It's wearing me down. Glad to see your knitting needles are flying. I developed a sore arm last week and finally decided it was because I was tensed up as I tried to knit while the inauguration loomed closer and closer.

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    1. I have to be very careful with my knitting. I frequently develop soreness if I'm not careful. Besides that I have benign tremors to deal with. Sometimes it's discouraging to knit. I was extremely tense last week with the inauguration stuff. I don't get any news from Facebook but I'm totally addicted to Twitter for the links I get to good articles and columns.

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