The Not Fake News Update, 23 August 2022

The world continues ever chaotic, with wars, droughts, plagues, famines, earthquakes, and hurricanes galore. So it ever was, and so it shall be until time ends, or so we’ve been reliably informed.

Amid the never-ending cycle of disaster and in-depth reporting, it’s easy to miss the occasional item of import that happens while we’re foolishly paying attention to Donald Trump or some other headline-hogging unpleasantness. What’s worse, sometimes the things we miss are the positive ones; tragedy has a way of grabbing column inches, while triumph often falls below the fold. We at The Not Fake News have undertaken to help correct this tendency with our regular Updates.

And so, without further ado, here we go!

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Post Turtle Ergo Propter Turtle

There’s a hoary old tale that’s been circulating in American politics for generations. It starts with an elderly farmer, because in myth and parable those are our wise men. The English have wizards; the Germans have magic dwarves; Americans have farmers.

Seems this old feller was out mending fence one day and had a mishap, so he went in to see the town doctor. As he was getting his hand stitched up, the doc asked how he’d happened to slip so badly with the fence wire.

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Ranked-Choice Voting: How and Why?

Image: “Never Trump! I’d Rather Die!”

A few states have recently opted to change their elections process to Ranked-Choice voting, a method which, its proponents say, is designed to give third-party candidates a better chance of winning, or, failing that, at least an honest share of the vote.

Opponents have raised objections ranging from the process becoming too complicated to the contention that it’s no longer “one person, one vote”.

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Ignorance And Apathy Revisited

EDITORIAL

The F.B.I. just raided Mar-A-Lago, opened former president Donald Trump’s personal safe, apparently looking for documents relating to… oh, I don’t know; probably something or other, maybe classified maybe not. I’d tell you more except, just between you and me, I really don’t care.

Seriously: I don’t know about you, but I reached my limit of daily Donald Trump in late 2020, and my level of apathy toward him has just kept growing since then. At this point, arrest the man or don’t, and the amount of time I’ll spend paying attention to the proceedings will be zero either way. Why? Because I very much don’t care.

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America: Republic or Democracy?

It has become fashionable among Republicans to refer to their opposition as “the Democrat Party”. This is intended as a reference to both their internal candidate selection process, which even a political neutral must acknowledge more closely resembles monarchy in its use of coronations, and as a derogatory method of condemning their broader policies, the which is rather less just.

Democrats, being by nature an inclusive, forgiving, and understanding people, have responded in large part by terming anyone who disagrees with them Fascists, Nazis, and downright evil.

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Guns Don’t Kill People. Terrorists Kill People.

EDITORIAL

People are upset that the Senate has tabled a bill to ban AR-15s, even though they were the weapon of choice at Highland Park, Uvalde, and Buffalo.

That doesn’t disappoint me; it doesn’t even surprise me. What does is that so very many people continue to miss the most obvious point of all.

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Forward!

A new centrist political party has formed from the merger of the Serve America Movement, Renew America, and Andrew Yang’s Forward PAC. The Not Fake News is proud to endorse them.

While they intend to gain ballot access in multiple states, the initial objective of the new Forward Party will be to offer endorsements to candidates on either side of the aisle who are willing to sign on to their agenda, which is one of progress as opposed to partisan gridlock in Congress. Thus, rather than acting as a spoiler, it will spur active commitment from current candidates to solve problems.

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The Not Fake News Update, 20 July 2022

And Ye Shall Know The Truth And The Truth Shall Make You Free

mural on the wall of the CIA Headquarters building

It’s hot. It’s very hot. England has set records for the heat, and you couldn’t get me back to Texas for love or money.

On the other hand, in some parts of the southern hemisphere, it’s a record cold winter, with blizzards and record freezes. Along the Po River in northern Italy, a record drought is killing crops; in Spain and Portugal, wildfires have claimed over 1700 lives. The first Atlantic hurricanes are making landfall, and the monsoon is hitting Pakistan with flash floods.

So much for the weather. Now let’s discuss headlines.

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