On Tuesday morning I posted a quick blurb on Facebook extolling the virtues of the page as a rapid means to spread misinformation at the speed of light.
Perhaps I should clarify that post just a little. Facebook has been on the leading edge of telling people what they want to hear.
The Hell with facts.
Take the Boston Marathon explosions. Within hours, I was informed through various sources that there were at least a dozen people killed and hundreds injured. One of those killed was an eight year old girl who was running to honor the 26 kids killed in Newtown last month. It was an "inside job" - a "false flag" operation. There were groups accusing "the evil left-wing media" of accusing "the evil right-wing militias" without cause and justification.
Need I go on?
The sane among us know that there were only 3 deaths and scores of injuries, including a young boy who was there to be with his father after his father finished the Marathon. The Marathon runs 26.2 miles every year. No, it wasn't adjusted to commemorate Newtown. And quite honestly, no one knows who is responsible and we may not know for a while. It took police a couple of years to find out who the bomber was at the Atlanta Olympics.
So there.
In as far as the groups whining (again) about the evils of the "left wing media elite" manipulating the media stream, well, with the internet, we have reached an age where we can reach people with messages that people want to hear.
For instance, I received a photo the other day which "proves" that President Obama is a Muslim because of a book he was shown carrying had a title written by a Muslim about a "Post American" world. The photo was presented in the same format seen in grocery store "Tattle Sheets"; newspapers which have told us about such things as "President (insert name of sitting President here)'s Steamy Affair which will Destroy his marriage" or "(Insert name of lovable TV/Movie personality)'s Sad Last Days" or "Elvis Seen Greeting Space Alien". The technique is called "Photoshop". It's universally used (well, almost universally used) with results which can range anywhere from funny to damning. In this case, the person sending the photo wanted to hear that the President is a no-good, stinkin' Muslim out to destroy our country and send decent folks into slavery, so, the person decided that the photo was genuine and without a further thought, passed it along.
I wonder if that person ever gave a thought to the possibility that the book being carried by the President was photoshopped in by someone wanting to manipulate that person's opinion.
The hits just kept on coming quickly and furiously to the point where folks who have been known to blatantly manipulate public opinion were pointing fingers to other groups, accusing them of blatantly attempting to manipulate public opinion.
It's getting to the point where it's difficult to find some good, honest journalism these days.
I really don't want slanted news. If a newsman or woman has an ax to grind involving a news story, then they need to get the hell out of the business. It's like having a Judge who does not excuse himself from hearing a case in which he has a vested interest. It's not ethical, if not downright dishonest.
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Enough of the soapbox.
Despite the goings on in Boston yesterday, I managed to bang out over 2k words toward The Magnolia Chronicles and discovered a couple of aspects about one of the characters. Those aspects and a couple of other events are shaping the story in what I will term an evolutionary fashion. I hope to have the story completed and edited by this time next month, the good Lord willing the creek don't rise.
Actually, I am hoping for an interruption in the form of a job. I'm headed out in a short while to a job fair. So far all I've received are invitations from people wanting me to sell life insurance and a job offer from a company claiming to be located in Nevada, but, possessing an internet address attributed to a person in Poland. Perhaps it's a defensive move as my blog is getting hits from people in Germany and Russia!
Anyhoo, nothing more to report at the moment. Thanks for putting up with me.
Be Seeing You!
bdharrell
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