The slow demise of unvarnished facts on the YBR. Is truth on life-support?

I am neither a scholar nor a sage. In truth, no one gives a rat’s ass what I have to say, but say it I will even if no one reads this blog post.

In the spirit of being transparent, I will admit without embarrassment that I am a fact-checker despite the fact that I am continually told that I should not let facts get in the way of a good story. Should it matter if the family event happened on Thanksgiving in 1982 or if it happened at Easter in 1983? It shouldn’t matter as long as the purpose of the story is told as folklore, but not to “prove” something of some importance. That’s when facts matter. But, what is just as important (in my opinion) is if the facts are
unvarnished and not tainted with prejudice. I would also add that a fact not told is as bad as a lie.

I am an ardent believer and supporter of “facts” when those “facts,” after being scrutinized without prejudice, are deemed to be “unvarnished.” Then and only then can a just “argument” be made.

Arguments are actually meant to clear the air and bring about change that is true and just. Unfortunately, arguments today fail to take “all” the facts into account. Despite the “fact” that I might want something to
be “true,” I have to be willing to fully evaluate the unvarnished facts before what I believe is actually true,

I love to harvest facts. I harvest them by listening to different voices. I do not limit my reading and research to one set of “beliefs.” Of late, I am of the opinion that we have lost the ability to find out what is
true. We are more interested in “proving” our point, instead of finding or learning the truth.*

The airwaves, internet, and print are filled with stories coming out on the June Sixth hearings and the Hunter Biden Laptop. In both cases, I don’t believe either the arbiters of the hearings or the investigators of the laptop are out to find out what is true. I fear that in both cases the decision of what is “true” was decided long before any hearings or investigations began.

We have become so divided that to use a trite expression we can’t see the forest for the trees. I listen to the ladies of the View and to the WABC radio hosts. etc. While I admit to being “View-sided,” I don’t take sides before I can harvest the facts. The problem with many facts is that they are not sagebrush. Facts have long roots that run deep. There is no denying, again in my opinion, that what happened at our Nation’s Capitol on January 6, 2021 was a travesty. The how and why it happened needed to be investigated. But, instead of an unprejudiced hearing, a mob mentality often tainted the proceedings. 

There have been a plethora of “facts” divulged by the “witnesses” at the hearings. Is what they said the truth and nothing but the truth? Or were some of the “right” questions not asked because the answers might have challenged some of the other facts? 

The same logic applies to the Hunter Biden laptop investigation. If the investigators are only out to prove they are “right,” more than likely they won’t be asking questions that don’t fit their scenario.  There is, I “believe,” a greater truth in all that is happening today. And that truth is we are so divided and so angry that we have become blind to the truth. Hatred is killing all of us. If we can no longer be objective when it comes to finding the truth, we will be a nation built on a mountain of opinions.

And that I believe is our current state of affairs. Statements are made by politicians, broadcasters, and people in the media in a “factual” tone. Many of us take these statements to be solid, unvarnished facts when in truth they are not.

Call me an “unbeliever,” but when facts are thrown at me, I need to do some homework. And even then I often need to do more “fact-checking.”

OZ NOTE: To tie this into the YBR. Emerald City was not green. When the young man who landed in Oz after a balloon mishap was declared the Wizard of Oz, he set out to build “his” city. Since he loved the green of the Land of Oz, he called it the Emerald City…but since it was not green, he made all the people wear glasses with green lenses. The people never took them off. The fact that Emerald City was not green didn’t matter to them. Hmmm. Does that sound like us?

*I use the word truth here with some hesitancy because “truth” is a philosophical/religious construct. It is about “self-evident” matters. Truth and true are not the same things.

 

Read Full Post »

The 2020 Presidential Race with Muck and Mire on the YBR? Is history repeating itself…again?

Preface in the name of transparency: I could never run for political office because I don’t wear a hat I could throw in the ring. I never have and never will wear a MAGA hat. I also won’t wear a hat bearing any symbols of the party that embraces donkey icons.

The 2020 Presidential Race on the YBR. Here we go again.

This is not the first presidential race where I scratch my head and say, “is this the best we can do?”  And while every presidential race is important, this one, I firmly believe, carries with it a weight that might even surpass that of the elections during World War I, the Great depression, and World War II. In 2020 we are going to the polls not only to elect the next president of the United States but of a world leader with 20/20 vision because POTUS has to have a world vision.

I ask, is this possible since we have, for lack of a better name, Muck and Mire running for office.

So we are all on the same page here, let’s refer to Mr. Funk and Mr. Wagnalls: muck is slimy mud while mire is deep mud.

Donald Muck is, without a doubt, slimy mud.  Putting aside both the ass-kissers who would follow Mr. Muck into hell and the brainless haters of the Muck who wouldn’t approve anything he did even if he walked on water, he is slimy. Giving him credit where credit is due and calling him out on some of his most egregious decisions, there is something slimy about the man. And that is not meant to be a disparaging term for a man who holds the highest office in the land. President Muck came up through the slime that comes from years of wheeling and dealing, rolling in the money, playing kissy-kissy with mindless jet-setters, and playing the part of a celebrity.

There was no way that anyone who lived such a life could not have been covered with muck. And as far as I know, there doesn’t seem to be a cure for muckiness because an inflated ego can never be cleaned.

At this point in time it appears the former Vice-President Joe Mire is going to be the candidate endorsed by the Democrats.  Joe Mire appears to be a nice and decent guy. In fact the first word that comes to mind is “harmless.”  Harmless? Is that the penultimate quality we want in our next president?  He might have served as vice-president under President Obama for eight years, but the only image I have of him reminds me of a great-uncle who smiled a lot, but was never in the room when important matters were discussed.  (And let’s be honest, Obama was playing it politically cool during the early days of the Democratic run-for-the White House.)

Joe Mire didn’t get to his political pinnacle the same way Donald Mire scaled the heights of richdom, but Good ‘ol Joe is deep in the political mud.  He played the right games, kissed the right assess, and made the most banal comments to get him where he is today.

OMG! Muck and Mire!  If there is a God can we all get down on our knees and pray for a do-over.

My gut tells me that the next four years are going to be wasted years.  The Dems don’t want to present us with greatness in any shape and form for fear that it would destroy that candidates political career in a race against Muck. And of course any sensible (if there are any left) Republican realizes it would be impossible to offer America another candidate.

Politics is not only a dirty game, it is sinful.  Our two party system is totally outdated.  It’s like an eight-track player in a day when everyone is streaming their music.  Instead of having only two boring stations to listen to, people are listening to their music, their way.

At my age I won’t live to see it happen, but I pray that my children and grandchildren will live at a time when instead of another presidential race with the next Muck and Mire, they have a chance to vote for Ready or Willing and maybe a third candidate Able.

Wouldn’t it be wonderful to have a candidate who was really ready to take the presidential oath of office and swear they would uphold and defend the Constitution of the United States. How refreshing would it be to have a candidate ready to consider the needs of ALL Americans without playing petty party politics..even if it mean only serving one term.  Can you imagine a president ready to take on the challenges of helping the world become a place where all people are all entitled to those inalienable rights of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness!

And what about a Willing candidate?  Is it possible to have a president who is willing to break the chains of partisanship? Can you envision a time when President Willing doesn’t have to reach across the aisle because there is no aisle that divides Congress? What a new day it would be if we had a president who was willing to put the people first instead of the party.

Candidate Able could also be a viable candidate, but, they might not be necessary as long as both candidates Ready and Willing were able to lead with the qualities found along the Yellow Brick Road… intelligence, heart, and courage…to do the right thing.

(Please note that no alcohol was consumed while posting this blog.)

Read Full Post »

Are the dems a little dumb? It’s really not debatable. Too bad.

Because most politicians leave a bad taste in my mouth, I’m going to turn the microphone over to the Scarecrow for his thoughts on the current Democratic presidential race for the White House.

“My head might be filled with straw, but after following the Dems on the debate stage I’d have to admit I could do a better job than the Dems left in the race.

“Bottom line, the Dems in the race have one thing in common. They want to beat Trump in November. You know that adage about shooting yourself in the foot? Well, that’s what I think the Dems in the race are doing…and they are doing a great job.

“Debate-after-debate they are acting like children (my apologies to the children in the world who could do a better job). Now that Bloomberg is in the race the other Dems in the race decided to bring out the heavy artillery to blow the former mayor off the stage.

“What in the world are they doing? Bidden is attacked by Warren. Warren is given a gut punch by Sanders. In turn Buttigieg slams Sanders, who in turn is castigated by Klobuchar.

“Do they really think they are doing the Democratic Party a favor by throwing one punch after another at each other? Don’t they know that in the end the Dems will nominate a loser because that’s what they are calling each other. And to make the whole ridiculous situation more ridiculous, after ONE of the Dems in the race is given the nomination nod, they will get the full support of the people who told us that the nominee is an idiot.

“Why can’t the Dems grow up and try something new. Instead of finding serious faults with the other candidates, why can’t one of them say something like this:

I’m not here to find fault with my fellow nominees.  It serves no purpose to tell you why you shouldn’t nominate my fellow challengers. In fact it hurts our party.  Instead, my purpose going forward is to just tell you what I hope to do as the party’s nominee for president.

Understand I want YOU to determine why I am the right candidate based on what I say I want to do.  I want to be asked tough questions and I want to restrict my answers to where I stand on the issue at hand. I don’t want to say that my opponents are wrong. That’s where you come in. I don’t want to resort to character assassination to make you believe in me and my candidacy. I want to leave Milwaukee with support, not division.

But what do I know. I’m only the scarecrow in the room. All I can say to the Dems in the race is if you want to beat Trump, stop beating each other up on the debate stage.

 

Read Full Post »

Donald Trump is…or as…the WOTUS.

Although the Wizard is a central character in the Wizard of Oz, he does not get as much attention as the other famous Oz character do.  Save for some orange hair tint, the Wizard bears an uncanny resemblance to a man who is operating behind the booth, not in Oz, but at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.

This blog addition is not intended to demonize the POTUS, but rather to look at him with an open mind…if that is at all possible and perhaps to come to an understanding, not just of the man, but why he is so hated and why he is so loved.

I usually avoid using the classic film as the basis for a blog, but in this case I will make an exception by weaving together Oz, the great and magnificent from both the movie and the book.

In the movie we meet Oz, not as Oz, but as Professor Marvel. Critics have labeled him “a well-meaning charlatan.”  Right there I begin to scratch my head because most definitions of “charlatan” all say the same thing: A charlatan (also called a swindler or mountebank) is a person practicing quackery or some similar confidence trick or deception in order to obtain money, fame or other advantages via some form of pretense or deception.

Many other definitions add what I think is an important ingredient: a charlatan is a person who pretends or claims to have more knowledge or skill than they possess. 

Remember, Oz is not called a charlatan; he is called a well-meaning charlatan.  I ask. How is that possible? How can you deceive, swindle, or fool someone but still remain well-meaning?  Isn’t that a contradiction of terms?

Certainly in Oz the movie, the ultimate purpose of Professor Marvel was to “convince” Dorothy to go home.  Certainly he used all the tricks common to a charlatan, as seen in this clip:

Marvel the magnificent and well-meaning charlatan

but…was this the only way he believed he could convince Dorothy to go home?  Has there ever been a time when you were trying to convince someone (often times a child in their teens) not to do something or to do something else?  If you tried logic you quickly understood that logic would not work because the issue was usually an emotional one. So, you might have tried a little trickery to make a convincing argument that satisfied your listener.

It reminds me of the means justifying the end.

However, what gave Professor Marvel the right to convince/trick Dorothy into returning home.  Maybe Aunt Em was as sweet and loving as Marvel described her…from a photograph. What about Henry?  He might have been the reason why Dorothy was running away from home. Henry might have been abusive. Henry might have been a horrible creature.  Going home to him might have only continued the abuse. In that case, going home was not what Dorothy needed to do.

In the book we don’t learn much about Professor Marvel’s early years. All we can do is surmise. A charlatan does not become a charlatan overnight. It’s a long process, a process that necessitates the person to become dissociative,  “a mental process of disconnecting from one’s thoughts, feelings, memories or sense of identity.”

The longer one practices chicanery, the harder it is to begin to believe that there is anything wrong with the practice.  And if the dissociative individual is in a position of power, there is a demand placed on subordinates to accept the dissociation as normal…and healthy.

Most politicians are what I call moldable dissociatives, meaning they allow themselves to be formed/shaped by others often to do their bidding as they aspire to be powerful.  As a politician climbs the ladder of power and prestige they tend to believe they are the one in control, when in truth they are still under the control of someone else.

In the business world, the opposite is usually true. The power broker becomes what I call a chameleon dissociative, meaning they will change to meet their specific ends.  The more power they amass, the less they change shape and color.  The more powerful they become the more they like being surrounded by ass-kissers.  They become super rich charlatans who don’t give a damn about being well-meaning unless it serves them and their goals.

I believe that every POTUS is a variant of a charlatan.  They can piss in your ear and convince you it’s raining. A political charlatan always knows deep down inside that there is someone who can bring them down.  A non-political POTUS continues to be a business charlatan. He is immune to other political power brokers. He only wants to be surrounded by (naive) ass-kissers.

Today we have a WOTUS, a wizard of the United States. He is so comfortable in his position that he is able to convince millions of people that everything he does is well-meaning. How does he do it?

To be continued.

 

Read Full Post »

A bunch of political ding dongs on the YBR. A letter from the Scarecrow.

Dear Political Winners and Losers –

Some of you were elected. Some of you were not. Another governor who makes my skin crawl will get to serve a third term.  A senator who should be the face for slime balls got re-elected despite the fact that he has an approval rating lower than acceptable.

The mudslinging of this campaign season was over the top. But, I should realize that a campaign with dignity is never going to happen.

So the Dems got more seats in the House and the Republicans held onto the Senate.  Is that a good thing?  No. It just means two more years of stupid government.

One thing I would like to ask the re-elected and the newly elected is: Who do you think you are?  That’s right. I’d like to know who you think you are.  The only problem with that question is that it will never get an honest answer because ALL politicians lost the ability to be real.  They even lost the ability to speak like human beings.  They speak politics which is not even close to English.

So you winners won. And now you will focus on your agenda…meaning that you will see what you can do to stay in office for another thousand years and work on climbing up the political ladder.

And I’m supposed to be the one who didn’t have a brain!  But you know something, I am real. I don’t have an agenda. You will never see me wearing silly hats and waving flags and banners at any political rally.

Our country is divided because rational people know that there are no simple issues. Our country is divided because people are arguing across the aisle to prove they are right rather than talking to see what is right.  And since you are a politician you don’t have what it takes to realize that right does not wear a political party label.

Even though some of you have a point that POTUS is a certified whack-a-doodle, your vitriol and antics only go to prove that you are as much a jerk as the man in the White House.

You winners and losers are an embarrassment. The only difference is that you winners have a chance to continue being an embarrassment.  You won because you got more votes, but I hate to tell you that you need to serve the people who didn’t vote for you.  You have to mean as much to them as the people who got you where you are.  The people who didn’t vote for you are your constituents, too.

Before I go pull the stuffing out of my head I want to ask you something important.  When you stop gloating, did you ever think of sitting down with your opponent and seeing how you can help to serve the people who voted for them?

Sincerely,

Scarecrow

 

Read Full Post »