The Not Fake News Update, 02 March 2021

Well, COVID is still raging, though there’s now a third vaccine approved in the US. Trump showed up at CPAC to wild applause, and whether or not that’s a Nazi rune on the floor, there was actually a golden Trump idol you could get a picture with. Oh, and we’ve got a couple new robots exploring Mars.

All this is true, and it’s news; so far so good. But if you think that’s all the news, you’ve got another think coming. Here’s just a few things that happened over the past couple of weeks that you might have missed.

(more…)

How To Be Rich

A Tongue In Cheek Guide For The Working Poor

There’s an old truism we had in the used and rare books business: The secret to having a small fortune? Start with a large one.

Similarly, most of the advice on how to get rich starts with the word “Invest”. This is at one and the same time entirely truthful and completely useless. Only around one in ten Americans feel they have the luxury to invest anything; the rest are living paycheck to paycheck (or, truth be told, well beyond their means just making do).

(more…)

The Not Fake News Update, 16 February 2021

Trump’s second impeachment is over in record time, and of course they didn’t convict him. The big question is, what did you miss while the big show was playing?

Here at The Not Fake News, we keep track of these things for you so we can bring you these periodic news digests. So sit back, queue up your favorite sea chanteys, and relax while we tell you what really happened.

(more…)

Of Course They Didn’t Convict.

Trump’s second impeachment is over in record time, and of course they didn’t convict him. They were never going to.

Some among you are disappointed, but what’s unsettling is that a few of you are actually surprised. You seem to have been under the misapprehension that this was a trial or something instead of the latest installment of the D.C. Bread And Circus Show (Hold The Bread).

(To be fair: I also thought it was a trial. My bad. -Editor)

(more…)

Free To Pose The Question

Are celebrities different from the rest of us?

Well, in some ways of course they aren’t. They’re just people, living their lives as best they can. Sports stars, actors, and those famous for being famous are as human as the rest of us; cut them and they bleed red.

In another and very real sense, they are definitely not. They are the public faces of entertainment corporations, skilled at their jobs and little more. When they adopt causes (which they so often do) it isn’t through expertise but rather exposure to charismatic activists; due to their isolated condition, those activists are usually the fashionable type sponsored by corporate investors. When they get involved in politics, it isn’t generally through their profound grasp of economic theory and social policy.

(more…)

Worse Than January 6th

This morning I was confronted with a Twitter poll about which date was the worst in American history. The choices were: the Kennedy assassination, September 11th 2001, Pearl Harbor, and January 6th of this year.

Now, I won’t say any of these days was a particularly good one. Pearl Harbor and 9/11 were especially bad. But let’s keep some perspective here; on August 24, 1814, an invading army actually burned down both the White House and the Capitol after inflicting a pitiful defeat on American defenders at the Battle of Bladensburg — and even that, while a bad day for America, wasn’t our worst.

(more…)

The Not Fake News Update, 08 February 2021

“Well, it’s Groundhog Day. Again.”
-Bill Murray, “Groundhog Day”

Aside from that, not much really seems to be happening. Except… is there? While the major news networks are full of reports on topics ranging from the erratic entertainment value of the Superbowl to “Uncle Joe’s” flying home for the weekend in the face of COVID lockdowns, isn’t it possible you might have missed an event or two of actual importance?

We at The Not Fake News think so, which is why we bring you these periodic news digests. Buckle in; I promise it’ll be a ride.

(more…)

Impeachment Again: What You Need To Know

On Monday, the second Trump impeachment trial in the Senate is scheduled to begin.

(I know; just when you thought he was finally gone, right? Wrong. Trump is back in the headlines for another few weeks — and it’s a good thing for everyone. But more on that later. -Editor)

In order to prepare for the upcoming outcomes of these events, there are a few aspects of the proceedings that you should be aware of going into this so you can adjust your expectations. That way, there are few surprises and there will be little room for disinformation going forward. The proper correction for fake news is, after all, a strong infusion of the truth.

(more…)

My Battery Is Low And It’s Getting Dark

“My battery is low, and it’s getting dark.”
– NASA Rover Opportunity, last words

Actually, it’s been dark for hours. I’ve been trying to write again tonight, using the post-midnight silence as a kind of mental blank page, a way to pull the thoughts and feelings that normally stream freely through my chaotic brain into a sort of order. I put on jazz and got some tea and wrote.

(more…)