Friday, October 04, 2024

Fact-checking the fact-checkers

 I've always felt the so-called fact-checkers come to the conclusions they want to come to.  A lot of people know the fact-checkers are biased.  They always seem to be helping the liberal cause if you notice.  Confirmation bias.  One of my issues is the sheer speed with which they come to some of their conclusions.  Let's say a Bigfoot was spotted in Central Park.  Less than a day goes by and Snopes will authoritatively pronounce it false.  Yes a ridiculous example for levity's sake but as usual don't take their word for anything.   Do your own research.  If your conclusions dovetail with those of the fact-checkers all well and good.  If you feel as Joe Rogan does that they're full of shit that's fine too as you've probably done more homework than them anyway.


When it comes to hard objective news the msm is great.  The horrible human tragedy of Hurricane Helene they can be relied upon for giving you the most basic facts of the situation.  Our hearts and prayers.  Other stuff however the social and the political area I find myself gravitating more towards independent media.  Sure Russell Brand is big on clickbait but you get more on your plate.  Everybody's biased but you're a grown adult you can figure it out.  You don't need everything handheld for you by the fact-checkers and the strained puree of data they give you.


Have a good day.  Don't be lazy.  Do your homework. 

38 comments:

  1. Bigfoot in Central Park? My sources say that was either a big buddy of
    Diddy or Amon Bundy.

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  2. Hard to ascertain what the facts are sometimes. With my Mom I have a folder at home with elders care law and guardianship law. Read it a few times. Still don't understand it. Can Snopes help?

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    1. Sat down with a lawyer years ago to write up a will. He put in things like codicil, predeceased, executor, testator, probate,
      intestate, etc. He explained them and I still didn't have a clue.

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    2. I'm guessing we're the predeceased. Can't they just give the rest of us a dummified version we can keep in our drawer?

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  3. Not understanding the media's ongoing obsession with true crime. Erstwhile respectable news outlets now somehow feel obligated to cover every marriage that ends in murder.

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  4. The infamous Kohberger case is dragging out here. Stabbed 4 college students one night. Case seems air tight. His lawyers claimed everyone hated him and thought he couldn't get a fair trial, then his lawyers tried delay tactics and complained that the court took too long. Of course they blamed the media and the Judge ordered all media to not report on the case. But the cat was already out of the bag. Latest is he will be moved to Boise where he might
    get a 'fair trial'. Meanwhile the victims parents are going broke traveling and staying 300 miles away...and the trial has been delayed until the Summer of 2025. Thing about murderers, it's everybody's fault but theirs.

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  5. It's like they say the prisons are full of innocent people.

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  6. Sitting on the porch before for a pipe session. Nice red car parked in a local handicapped spot. He has the handicapped thing on his rear view mirror. Man in his late 40s maybe. Casually walks to his car no limp no hobble gets in and takes off. Can this be fact-checked and can I get one?

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    1. Maybe he inherited it from Aunt Bessie when she passed away?

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    2. I'm thinking the same he didn't come by it honestly. Probably a lot of people do this so they can park closer to the mall.

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  7. What's the deal with pipe tobacco tins? Says easy to open insert coin under lid and twist. I have trouble.

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    1. Hmm. I figured the tobacco tin was made by the same outfit that made the Fancy Feast.

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  8. Lawn service came yesterday, last treatment of the season. Guy says they would e-mail me the bill. The usual $66.75, but with a new twist - "If you liked Doug's work, add a tip for $10, $20, $30 or more". Huh? What's next tip the mailman? The cardiologist? Google? We tip the pizza guy and at restaurants. Rural Idaho ain't Los Vegas.

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  9. Tip the gastroenterologist after getting a colonoscopy.

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  10. How much you tip the Yonkers Sidewalk Enforcement guy?

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  11. So my friend after work used his debit card at the ATM in the lobby of a Wells Fargo. Message said sorry can't return card. He had to call up his own bank to cancel the card and to get a new one. What is it about Wells Fargo?

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  12. Wells Fargo went to heck after the covered wagon days. IMO, it should have been them that folded rather than Lehman Brothers in the 2008 financial crisis. Theirs has been a somewhat shady operation.

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  13. Sketchy to say the least. Last I read people would make deposits to cover their bills yet the deposit was somehow stalled and people wouldn't be able to pay their bills on time even though they were doing the right thing. Safer to keep some money under the matress.

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  14. Beats me they have any customers at all -
    https://www.consumerfinance.gov/about-us/newsroom/cfpb-orders-wells-fargo-to-pay-37-billion-for-widespread-mismanagement-of-auto-loans-mortgages-and-deposit-accounts/

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  15. Time for me to order 2 cans of Prince Albert. BNB in Virginia, I think.
    They have lots of cigar deals too. Still get pipe cleaners locally.

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  16. No more Crosby Square though.

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  17. Best pipe tobacco ever &%*(#@

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  18. What is your best alternative tobacco?

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  19. Tried Half & Half and a few like that. Too harsh for me.
    Mixture #79, a companion of Crosby Square, has been around for a long time. That would be my first choice if Prince Albert kicks the can, so to speak.

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  20. You like long flake or flake cut? Tried the MacBaren Navy Flake. Pretty good. Better be for $45.

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  21. Flake cut. Crosby was sort of a chunk cut. IMO the long flake is hard to tamp. After awhile it is whatever you get used to. I guess some
    pipe guys like to switch all over the place. Not for me. Used to be a guy with a pasture out back. Sat on his big chestnut stallion, pulled a foot up on the pummel and rolled himself a cig. Regular Marlboro cowboy. Read he died last week. 94 - don't know if it was the cigarettes or he got stepped on by a Clydesdale.

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  22. I'm thinking you could break apart the flake a little? Experimenting at the moment. Not a pipe authority yet.

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  23. Got an old pipe. Developed a crack along the outside of the bowl.
    Filled it with tacky white glue. Still works good. Looks funny.

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  24. You got quite a collection.

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  25. Got another 2 cans Prince Albert in transit. Looked at the reviews on ther BnB website. Some guy has been smoking it for 70 years. Can
    you smoke a pipe with false teeth? Holy Crap, I been smoking for 66 years- out in the woods, in the canoe, in the explosives lab(shish), basement, mowing the lawn. And no, I don't have falsies.

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  26. I will still on occasion buy cigars but that's gotten too expensive for me. Pipe smoking saves money over the long haul. Only difference is pipes don't stay lit for long. With a cigar I can go to the bathroom quick and feed the cat, go back on the porch and a quality cigar I don't have to relight. Not so with a pipe. Can't wait too long between puffs in my experience.

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  27. True. They stay lit better if tamped down during the process - keeps the
    burning ash next to the unburnt. I use a metal tamping tool, as finger tamping can be painful.

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  28. I also have a pipe pick for dealing with tar buildup. Learned the hard way.

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  29. My pipe tool has a little shovel, a pick, a tamper and sort of a corkscrew. Swiss Army knife for the pipe afflicted.

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  30. I have all three except the corkscrew. Wine with your pipe?

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  31. Too big for a pipe. Maybe a colonoscopist instrument?

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  32. It has been said that smoking a pipe makes your look extinguished -
    oops, I mean DIStinguished.

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