Myth Meets Physics: Modern Science vs Popular Beliefs - "Mandela Effect"

Ever hear of the The Why Files? They present themselves as an engaging platform for exploring mysterious and peculiar topics, including conspiracy theories, paranormal phenomena, unexplained mysteries, historical oddities, and cutting-edge scientific ideas. While primarily a form of entertainment, the channel delves into unusual and often controversial subjects, blending intrigue with storytelling. So effectively, speculative entertainment.

I got to thinking not so much about them, but an episode they did on the "Mandela Effect" that someone sent me after my joking about it related to a film I could not find, that I believe I had seen decades ago. 

I conjectured that a film I cannot now find, with actor David McCallum playing the lead role that Ian McShane played, in the 1968 comedy, "If It's Tuesday, This Must Be Belgium". must be my "Mandela Effect" example as it's not listed on McCallum's IMDb page, and he's not in the film. 

But I clearly remember watching the film on TV once, wondering why he'd be in such a cheesy film, after being such a TV superstar when "The Man From U.N.C.L.E." ended in 1968. I expected great things  for him as I was a big fan of the show and both him and the Robert Vaughan character.

In the end McCallum did have a long beloved run on the TV police show, "NCIS".

So. Does the film exist? Did it (or does it) exist in another timeline, universe, dimension, or simply just in my mind? What can we say about this "Mandela Effect" thing? 

First, let's take a look at this "The Why Files" thing.

Here's a breakdown of its approach and accuracy:

Accuracy

1. Research & Presentation:

   • The channel often incorporates well-documented historical events and credible sources, but these are interwoven with speculation, folklore, or pseudoscience.
   • Episodes typically begin with factual or widely accepted premises but may segue into less substantiated claims to maintain intrigue.

2. Balanced Skepticism:

   • Many episodes include a "skeptical breakdown," where the narrator (or his animated sidekick, Hecklefish) humorously debunks or questions the more fantastical elements. This adds balance, though the entertainment aspect can blur the distinction between fact and fiction.

3. Exploitation of Belief:

   • The channel leverages public fascination with the peculiar to draw viewers. While it does not always endorse conspiracy theories or fringe beliefs, it often leaves room for interpretation, which can fuel belief in unverified claims.

4. Entertainment Focus:

   • The content prioritizes storytelling and entertainment over rigorous academic scrutiny, making it less reliable as a purely factual source.

Takeaways

• If you're looking for an introduction to peculiar topics with some skeptical commentary, The Why Files can be entertaining and informative.
• If you're after highly accurate or scientifically rigorous analysis, it should be considered a jumping-off point rather than a definitive resource.

The Mandela Effect is a fascinating psychological and phenomenological phenomenon where groups of people collectively misremember or inaccurately recall certain events, facts, or details. A phenomenological explanation would focus on the lived experience of these individuals, considering their perception, memory, and shared reality.

Phenomenological Explanation of the Mandela Effect

1. Collective Subjective Experience:

   • Phenomenology emphasizes how individuals perceive and experience reality. The Mandela Effect emerges as a collective subjective experience where people’s memories do not align with documented facts.
   • Individuals are convinced their memories are accurate because their perception of the past is deeply rooted in their sense of reality and identity. When confronted with conflicting evidence, they may feel disoriented or even alienated.

2. Memory as Constructive and Dynamic:

   • From a phenomenological perspective, memory is not a static recording of events but a dynamic, reconstructive process. People unconsciously fill gaps in their memory with plausible information, often influenced by cultural narratives, personal biases, or external cues.
   • The Mandela Effect reveals how the brain synthesizes past experiences into a coherent narrative, which may deviate from objective facts.

3. Shared Realities and Social Cognition:

   • Human beings are social creatures, and our perceptions are influenced by communal contexts. When individuals discuss their memories and find others with similar recollections, this shared reality reinforces the belief that their memory is correct, even if it isn’t.
   • This collective reinforcement contributes to the strength of the Mandela Effect as a phenomenon, creating a "false consensus" about a shared, albeit inaccurate, memory.

4. Disruption of Ontological Security:

   • The Mandela Effect challenges people’s sense of ontological security—the belief that the world operates in a predictable, stable way. Discovering discrepancies between memory and fact can create a phenomenological "crack" in their worldview, prompting feelings of unease or fascination.

5. Perception of Time and Multiverses:

   • Some phenomenological interpretations (albeit speculative) suggest that the Mandela Effect reflects a disruption in how individuals experience the continuity of time and memory. This can lead to imaginative explanations, such as the existence of parallel universes where the "remembered" reality occurred.

6. Cultural Anchoring and Media Influence:

   • Cultural artifacts, such as movies, books, and advertising, play a significant role in shaping collective memory. For instance, the misquoted line "Luke, I am your father" from Star Wars resonates deeply because of its pervasive presence in pop culture, even if the original dialogue differs.
   • From a phenomenological standpoint, the Mandela Effect can be seen as a consequence of how individuals co-construct reality through cultural interaction and media reinforcement.

Conclusion

The Mandela Effect, from a phenomenological lens, highlights the interplay between subjective memory, social consensus, and the human tendency to seek coherence in a complex and often uncertain world. It underscores how our experience of reality is shaped not just by objective facts but by the intricate web of perception, memory, and cultural interaction.

Philip K. Dick’s exploration of reality, perception, and memory aligns intriguingly with the Mandela Effect, offering a unique lens to view it through his philosophical and literary frameworks. Dick’s works often question the nature of reality, subjective experience, and the possibility of parallel worlds or altered states of consciousness.

Philip K. Dick’s Perspective on the Mandela Effect

1. Reality as Subjective and Fluid:

   • In Dick's worldview, reality is not a fixed, objective construct but a malleable and subjective experience. His famous quote, "Reality is that which, when you stop believing in it, doesn’t go away," emphasizes the tenuous and fragile nature of our perceived reality.
   • The Mandela Effect could be interpreted as a symptom of this subjectivity, where collective misremembering highlights the instability of what we consider “real.”

2. Parallel Realities and Multiverses:

   • Dick frequently explored the idea of multiple realities existing simultaneously, as seen in works like The Man in the High Castle and Ubik. The Mandela Effect fits within this framework as evidence of "bleed-through" from parallel universes, where differing versions of events coexist.
   • People who experience the Mandela Effect might be subconsciously remembering events from alternate timelines or realities that somehow intersect with our own.

3. Simulated Realities:

   • In stories like A Scanner Darkly and Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?, Dick delves into the concept of simulated or artificially constructed realities. The Mandela Effect could reflect glitches or inconsistencies in a simulated world, akin to the idea of the “Matrix.”
   • This aligns with Dick’s fascination with Gnosticism, where the material world is seen as a flawed or deceptive construct, created by an imperfect demiurge.

4. False Memories and Mind Control:

   • Dick was deeply concerned with the manipulation of memory and perception by external forces, as seen in We Can Remember It for You Wholesale. He explored how false memories could be implanted, leading individuals to question the authenticity of their experiences.
   • The Mandela Effect could be explained as a mass implantation of false memories, whether through cultural conditioning, media influence, or even more conspiratorial ideas (a theme Dick would likely embrace).

5. Gnosticism and the Veil of Reality:

   • Dick's spiritual experiences, particularly the 2-3-74 visions, led him to believe in the existence of a deeper, hidden reality behind the one we perceive. He often wrote about a "Black Iron Prison" or a deceptive layer of reality obscuring the truth.
   • From this perspective, the Mandela Effect could be seen as cracks in the veil of consensus reality, offering glimpses into hidden truths or alternate layers of existence.

6. Time Slippage and Orthogonal Realities:

   • In novels like VALIS and Flow My Tears, the Policeman Said, Dick explored the idea that time and space are not linear but layered, with events from the past, present, and future coexisting in strange ways.
   • The Mandela Effect could reflect moments where these layers momentarily intersect or shift, causing discrepancies in collective memory.

PKD’s Personal Connection to the Mandela Effect

Dick himself experienced what could be considered "Mandela Effect" moments during his life. For example:

• His 2-3-74 visions led him to believe he was living in two time periods simultaneously: the Roman Empire and 1970s California.
• He often spoke about feeling that his memories didn’t align with the reality he was living, suggesting that he might have related to the phenomenon of collective misremembering.

Conclusion

Through the lens of Philip K. Dick, the Mandela Effect could be seen as more than just a cognitive error—it could point to deeper truths about the nature of reality, the permeability of time, and the limits of human perception. In true Dickian fashion, it challenges us to ask: What is real? And how can we be sure?

Combining Philip K. Dick's philosophical musings, the Mandela Effect, and modern physics concepts like black holes and holographic projections creates a fascinating framework for rethinking reality and shared experiences. Here’s how these ideas intersect:

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1. Holographic Principle in Physics

The holographic principle, a leading theory in modern physics, posits that:

• All the information about a three-dimensional space can be encoded on a two-dimensional boundary.
• This principle arose from studies of black holes, where the entropy (or information content) of a black hole is proportional to its surface area, not its volume.

This suggests that our reality might be a holographic projection—a three-dimensional experience emerging from information encoded on a two-dimensional "surface" at the edges of the universe.

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2. Philip K. Dick’s Reality Constructs

PKD’s ideas often align with the notion of reality being a simulation, illusion, or projection:

• He theorized that what we perceive as reality might be a deceptive construct, hiding a deeper, truer reality.
• In VALIS, Dick writes about a “Vast Active Living Intelligence System,” a holographic-like projection influencing human perception.

If the universe operates holographically, Dick’s suggestion that reality is an artificial construct aligns with the physics of a universe that projects a lower-dimensional "truth" into the 3D experiences we live through.

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3. Mandela Effect as a Holographic Anomaly

In a holographic universe:

• The Mandela Effect could be a glitch in the projection, where information encoded at the "boundary" is inconsistently rendered in our perceived 3D reality.
• If reality is a projection, collective misremembering might occur when the encoded data on the universal "surface" shifts, realigns, or is incompletely accessed, leading to discrepancies in memory.

This is analogous to:

• Quantum fluctuations at the edge of black holes, where particles appear and disappear unpredictably.
• A failure in the "resolution" of the projection, causing a divergence between individual or collective memories and physical evidence.

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4. Black Holes and the Nature of Time

Black holes offer insights into how time and information behave:

• Inside a black hole, spacetime behaves non-linearly, and the boundary (event horizon) encodes all information that falls into it.
• The Mandela Effect might arise from similar distortions in how time and information are encoded in our universe. For example:
  • If reality is holographic, events or objects from alternate timelines could occasionally "leak" into our perception.
  • Black holes, often theorized as gateways to other universes or dimensions, might play a role in influencing the projection of reality, particularly if our universe is part of a multiverse.

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5. Perception and Holography

Dick often wrote about the fallibility of perception and memory:

• If our reality is a hologram, our brains might interpret incomplete or fluctuating data in ways that "fill in the gaps," much like they do in visual illusions or reconstructive memory.
• Collective experiences like the Mandela Effect might reflect how shared consciousness processes these holographic inconsistencies.

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6. Dickian Physics: Multiverses and Parallel Timelines

Modern physics suggests multiverses could exist, potentially as distinct layers within the same holographic projection:

• The Mandela Effect might reflect "bleed-through" from parallel timelines encoded in the same 2D "surface" but rendered differently in our perception.
• PKD’s frequent exploration of parallel realities (e.g., The Man in the High Castle) mirrors this: individuals accessing fragments of alternate histories encoded in the same universal framework.

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7. Bridging Physics, Philosophy, and the Mandela Effect

• The holographic universe implies a fundamental unity between information, space, and perception, where the distinctions we experience are projections of a deeper truth.
• PKD’s insights into the artificiality and manipulability of reality resonate with the notion of a holographic cosmos, where memory errors like the Mandela Effect point to cracks or ambiguities in the projection.
• Black holes serve as a metaphor—and perhaps a literal mechanism—for how information is stored, distorted, or redistributed, influencing how we experience time, space, and memory.

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Conclusion

The Mandela Effect, viewed through the combined lenses of modern physics, PKD’s philosophy, and holography, suggests that our reality may be far less stable than we assume. It reflects:

• The malleability of memory and perception in a projected reality.
• Possible interactions between parallel timelines or multiverses.
• Glitches or anomalies in the encoded information that forms our holographic experience.

This synthesis of physics and philosophy challenges us to question: Are we misremembering, or are we catching glimpses of a deeper, more complex truth encoded in the fabric of the universe?

Compiled with the aid of ChatGPT

Walkabout Thoughts #71

Thoughts & Stream of Consciousness, rough and ready, from an award-winning filmmaker and author you've never heard of, while walking off long Covid, and listening to podcasts…from walk on 4/3/2024

Weather for the day… starting out, 56° broken clouds, nice sunny day

Podcast, Prosecuting Donald Trump, ep., The Fair Administration of Justice

Second for the day, Pod Save American, ep., Trump's Veepstakes Begin

NOTE: This is the next day when I'm ill with the flu now (see the end note). Rather than edit this, I just can't...this is what it looks like without editing in one read through. Most of the mistakes are voice to text errors due to environmental noises or stream of consciousness issues. Probably be a while before I feel well enough to edit this so I'm just tossing it out there for reasons of timing. I wish you well!

So after I regretfully, took half of a melatonin at 2.5mg to get to sleep last night as usual, I woke with “wet” lungs, and not feeling that great. Thank you on Covid and who knows whatever else might be going on. But I’m out walking. Wish it was just a tad bit less cool.

Just want to mention something about energy. I’ve been a strong believer as a long time computer “power user”, being someone who utilizes all and more of what a computer and program can supply, an energy power user believer. Yes, I do believe in Green energy, and I believe we need to conserve under our current circumstances. But I also have a belief that we should be utilizing all the power we can access. And the reason for that, is we need to solve the issues about the power grid being updated and as much energy as free as possible to every human being. That might sound counter to the paradigm with green energy but I would say it’s parallel to it. If tomorrow we solve cold fusion and we upgrade our power grid and our battery situation for peak usage times and somehow it’s so profitable it’s free to everybody than everybody would be able to use all the power they want and we would be able to enhance the quality of the human experience overall as well as the ecology and through time we would become ever more green with more usage price goes down and cost goes down as in the cost to anything.

The film many should be seeing, rather than the propaganda they are...

Against All Enemies goes deep inside the violent extremist movement in America, with members of the Proud Boys, 3 Percenters and never before seen footage of the Oath Keepers. These groups -- organized and led by highly-trained, highly-motivated military veterans -- pose the greatest threat to the United States today. And while most veterans are successful in their transition to civilian life, after the longest wars in our nation's history an increasingly radicalized element has been drawn into the insurrectionist movement.

That being said, I got onto green energy with Puget Sound Energy along time ago and they first offered it. It was a little more expensive and I only did a parcel. I then built up to half of my energy being green and went full green as soon as it was available. That being renewable energy sources and avoiding fossil fuel energy production.

Something called Arcadia came up and I signed up for that along time ago. They recently changed over to Sal systems. Whatever that is. And now we’re at a point where this is all just confusing me. I just got notified that I had a double energy bill. I paid it and reset up automatic payments. Still not sure what happened with that but in reviewing my energy situation, I’m finding myself a little confused. So I’m completely. Signed up with Puget Sound Energy again and trying to figure out what the hell is going on and what I should be doing.

I just wanted to mention that in case anyone else is confused or interested in going more or completely Green because I’m pretty high-tech and I’m finding this confusing. Not because of the technology, but because of the bureaucracy.

I’ve done well in digital currency. I got about that same amount in my stocks. For various reasons my 401(k) from retirement is gone. But I still have Social Security and my retirement from the company I retired from. I will never understand what the hell Republicans are doing making so much noise about things like Social Security when it isn’t what they’re selling it as. But then again, they’re in this information and keep it alive the Spectre of the old Soviet. That’s not partisan banter that’s commentary from someone who studied the KGB and the Soviet system for decades and noticed in the 1990s it suddenly, I saw the GOP evolving using KGB tactics, including this information that is only gotten worse until they served us a Donald Trump.

The podcast is talking about the gag order on Trump and how would that works with most people. And one thing in certain conditions is you can’t possess a gun or carry a gun anyway. I just like to say from someone who has been trained in Firearms beginning in 1968 I was in the military And has played the role of bodyguard armed bard bodyguard multiple times in the past when you have Secret Service protection in the last thing you need to be doing is carrying a guy because who you gonna end up shooting if you ever need to pull your gun. Show how often People are shot with their own gun, but my concern here would be a dumbass like Trump and a coward, such as he is accidentally shooting a Secret Service member or a civilian. Even if he shot a criminal, I would not be surprised to hear. But the bullet went through and hit, or killed a Secret Service agent, or a civilian. Because that’s who, and what Trump is. Cowards tend to not do well carrying firearms in dangerous situations. Which is why we need more controls over who’s allowed again and who’s allowed to conceal carry again or who’s allowed to open carry gun.

That wasn’t about a gag order above but more than a gag order, which is being considered because of Trump‘s ill behavior. Trump doesn’t act like a ex president in this court situation he acts like he thinks he’s king. For those people who think that’s admirable it’s not. Extreme lowlife act better in court, which says something about Trump‘s character. Trump acts like a poor person who thinks he’s rich acting how he thinks a rich person should act which is basically like an asshole because he can get away with it. That is a bully. Nobody likes a bully. But those it or not favor authoritarianism find that person as a positive positive role model of an alpha male, or a leader. Trump is one of the most horrible leaders I’ve ever seen in my life and the type of person I have always avoided.

It’s been accurately noted that since this trial stuff has begun, Trump has attacked judges, 117 times and threats against the judiciary has doubled.

That’s not the behavior of a former United States president. that’s the behavior of a spoiled, petulant, oppositional behavior, tight child

My older MAGA brother, who is bought into toxic conservatism as labeled me, repeatedly live tired, and TDS, which the joke is on MAGA because that’s what they have. I just find it interesting that throughout my life, my studies into things like the KGB, who are much more professional than anyone like Trump or the GOP, although very underhanded means… All those people I have understood to be, and learned by behaviors to be the worst possible types of leaders, and people is exactly what Trump is and many of those who follow him.

From the beginning, when Trump started running it, POTUS, I didn’t care about his politics. In fact, I didn’t care if he said and promised everything I want in a president. Certain types of people you do not hand power to. Pathological narcissist is one personality type. And I don’t say this is a partisan, it is someone who studied psychology and from my objective point of view, Trump is the last person you give the most powerful office in history of humanity to. I mean, if you have a clear head look at what he’s done and all the damage he’s fomented, and what he’s promising to do more of.

I keep saying this. People who are complaining who like Trump are complaining from a point of democracy and how this country is now. If they hand power over to Trump, he will take it this time in his final second term with no fear of either being elected again or ever leaving office and these people will be living in will not be with their complaining from now where they have the freedom to complain.

As someone said, business leaders, and the wealthy who are now supporting him to get what they want, and to enriching themselves need to face the reality that all it takes for them to be in serious trouble or their company, slandered, and ended for themselves jailed or some MAGA supporter killing them, is to have a child who posts on social media something against Trump. And Trump taking this favor to them or their company or cause. And suddenly they will wish they had never heard the name Trump. Now is the time to not want to hear that name not when it’s too late.

Who is the most dangerous people on the planet? Theocratic extremists. And Trump is siding up to them and they are supporting him because as they say in their own words, he’s doing this for us and he’s being prosecuted for us. And in the whole Christian religion, we feel that deeply and support him even though he’s a sinner in fighting for us.

That is so much nonsense it borders on mental illness

I was posting elsewhere today that to debate requires common ground of reality. Until we were, they heal from their psychosocial illness we have no common ground on which two debate with MAGA or some of the GOP and that’s kind of a problem. Luckily they’re in the minority. But when you have an entire political party who refuses to follow rules or decency or ethics from morality that put those in the correct lane of the national highway following the rules of the road while others are taking potshots and ignoring the speed limits.

All of America outside of MAGA needs to understand and actualize. This is not standard operating procedure or up against, and that has been weapon against us.

In 2000 I voted for vice president Gore as POTUS. While I knew George W. Bush wanted to go to war against so I’m Hussain in Iraq. He had no recourse to do so. When America elected Bush, I threw up my hands but I realize they’ve been duped. It takes us back to the Awareness I had from early 90s that the GOP was tired of losing and had taken on underhanded tactics if not glean from the KGB definitely paralleling them.
The 911 hit and all bets were off and Bush could do whatever he wanted. The Intel community told him there were no WMD. Every time they told him the Oval Office sent them back out “to find some.”

Until finally, they found someone who would and did, and we went to war with an Iraq.

up to that point after 911 hit, I kept telling people America was hurt and they were frightened, and they’re going to punch some country in the mouth most likely one who had nothing to do with 911

In case you haven’t noticed that exactly what happened

When they reelected bush, which is expected during a war, I really threw my hands up and gave up on America. Once I get that fool me twice you’re lost cause

And then we elected Barack Obama, and there was hope again. And eight years of that made us complacent just like decades of Roe versus Wade protecting women’s rights made us complacent.

I graduated high school in 1973. I went in the Air Force in 1975 as Vietnam era. my last semester of high school was civics and world problems by a person who had actually worked in that field who had met Chag KI Shek in an international working group in Taiwan. I received a good education just in that. Looking back it was probably the best things I learned in all of high school so I didn’t think so at the time I love the class because of the teacher.

When Rovers Wade happened it was much rejoicing, and from that point on, I started to think OK good but now you have to have Congress actually make it a national federal law don’t rely on a court case which we did. And now we regret that.

Of course, having three conservative justices elevated to Scotus, who swore it was a done deal and they wouldn’t mess with it when they got the opportunity they did exactly that and again here we are today

Just turning around at the one and a half mile mark… Yay, it’s warming up. Whenever I make this walk, I leave the house and head south on the peninsula. When it’s cool, cold wind hit me in th when I turn around and head home in the half mile. It’s at my back and sometimes I don’t even notice if it’s cool. Today one of those days were both directions I’m in the face with the wind.

Where is all those MAGA second amendment nutcase is out there, whose children have been slaughtered in a mass, shooting to say that those are crisis actors, or to continue their support of insanity or to continue believing the faucets of things like trickle down economics, and only a good guy with a gun can stop a bad guy with a gun, both of which have been proven fall so many times it really does border on mental illness to continue on that toxic capitalistic path actually. Because if you dig down into any of this, it’s all about power and money for the right or power and money for the wealthy or power and money for the powerful. And while you can poke fingers that Democrats are independence is only one party of big business who overly claims to be that, the GOP who are no longer grand and haven’t Been grand for going on 40 years now

From the podcast: they’re saying this is essentially what Trump is claiming in his court situation: “I’m running my mouth, so I shouldn’t have to go to trial.”

So do I ever get sucked into conspiracy theories? No. Not since I first stumbled across them in the early 70s. I came across my first conspiracy theory reading the book struck me something is not right. And it was written by very high military leader. So I couldn’t disprove what he was saying which has since been disproved, and in fact, that book is completely disappeared. But I did learn about conspiracy, theories, and from that point on, I’ve never fallen for conspiracy theories. A few times, I may have it lasted only as long as I vetted the information and found it false and that has been literally took me 30 seconds a couple times to disprove typically a few minutes and it’s never gone on longer than a few days or a week, and I actually can’t remember it lasting a week but maybe. What I discovered about MAGA when Trump took off his POTUS and there were so many conspiracies and lies and bullshit MAGA denigrating the rest of us who were based in reality what I found is a university, trained researcher and a previous senior, technical writer, you can get more based in reality than that not to mention degree in psychology, was that I would vet the crap that people threw at me and I would find the first thing I found, supported it, and sometimes the second layer down, supported it, but almost never the third or fourth layers down. And I took that to. mean one thing. That conspiracy theorist I was dealing with either did not vet their information and believe the memes they were seeing or the information thrown at them, back, then the misinformation, and soon they’re after the disinformation, and that is nationally where, as internationally Russia was hammering us with disinformation tactics, but so was the GOP. That if you could even find someone who said yes, I vetted my information. Especially if they said I do my own research. That’s a huge red flag. Because most people doing their own research is vastly different from someone like when I do my own research. Because it’s childhood my aim has always been truth not my beliefs.

Starting mile three…

Anyway, when I would ask these conspiracy divers, did they vet their information? And into what they did for those who would admit it, they would go look it up somewhere typically on a conservative info bubble website. But not going out as you should at least three disparate information sources who would typically disagree with one another. Because that’s the gold standard. If enemies agree on reality, you’re probably somewhere near to it.

I would say, most of these people did not vet their information at all. “I believe my source “ sometimes I’d ask who’s your source and they’d say Donald Trump. Did I say more? For those who vetted it was they go to one website maybe two and that was it. There is a few times that I mean very very few times where someone would say yes, I vetted my information. And I would go out and vet their information and they would be correct. It would disagree with my beliefs. It would rankle me. But I adjusted my information and my orientation to fit what I found to be reality. Those people were very very few and far between.

On exercise and long Covid: i’m lucky, I’m retired. I don’t know how lucky I am, and that I worked my tail off my entire life through a lot of family issues and emotional situations and bad managers and bad jobs… No, I’ve been lucky that I’ve chosen mostly good managers, and good jobs. but when I decided I need to exercise for my life to help camp down long Covid couple years ago my attitude was as I’ve discussed before with other things. My life is now about getting those miles in. That’s how I got to college. Nothing in my life mattered as much as graduating. Nothing mattered as much as finishing that quarter of school, I did not worry about grades. Of course I tried to get the best grade I could, but I often found I was up against learning a lot in a class or getting a good grade and I opted for learning a lot. I don’t think they were many who studied as hard as I did, or who was at the library as much as I was. researching. Because I knew once I graduated if I didn’t go on to post graduate work and get a masters or a PhD… My mind would likely never be as sharp as it was at graduation, and I would never have the kind of freedom within the constraints of the class structure and the degree structure to learn as much as I had the opportunity to learn at that time and over those four years. since I went to summer school each year and I took enough credits each school year if I’d stay around for less than another year I would’ve had 2 university degrees. I thought about it but I was kind of burned out. I thought about going for my masters, but I really just wanted to be a writer.

Why did I get a psychology degree if I wanted to be a writer?

Maybe a literature degree would’ve been better. But I had enough problems from childhood that I wanted to resolve. I figured a psychology degree was a free therapy session that lasted years. And it worked out plus when you’re a writer you need to understand character development. Who understands that better a Lit major or a psych major? And so that’s why I got a psych degree. One quarter was a class that was basically a three month group therapy session with students and a professor. I refused. I didn’t want to feel exposed and paranoid. I talked to my professor, and we debated it until he finally said look if you want to psych degree you have to do this that’s the end of it. And so I did it. It was difficult for the first few days and it got easier. I’ll tell you, at the end of that quarter? I was a more relaxed and open person.

Two weeks until jury selection for Trump’s trial. I don’t know why it’s so hard to get this guy through the court system like all the rest of us would have had to go. If this was any of us, the trials would be done and we’d be in prison by now.

This is kind of sad. I’ve been looking for one of my best friends from high school for decades. People complain about Facebook? And yeah he’s got problems. It’s caused a lot of problems nationally and internationally in one country. People even died because of it. But I’ve been able to reconnect with a bunch of old friends And stay connected to distant family.

Brother has kids. His son has a friend. One day they were talking and I don’t know how it came to be but his friend contacted me on Facebook and asked me if I knew his stepdad. And it turned out his stepdad was at best friend from high school and afterwards. This is a guy who’s older brother and I went skydiving the day after his I want to say 19th birthday? I was younger than him. When I graduated all my friends were 18 and 19 and I was 17. anyway my friend in the screenplay “the teenage bodyguard “, is mostly this guy. Sweet guy. We have some adventures to tell. Like skydiving that day with hangovers for the first time. Skydiving the first time, not having a hangover.

Anyway, this guy that reconnected me with him is pretty MAGA. Like my older brother. Like his son as happens with sons and dads. my kids are not MAGA because I raised them with an open mind and a sense of reality and education. They don’t follow my lead by any means they have their own views, and we have interesting discussions and debates. But we have a great relationship.

This guy I’m so grateful for reconnecting me with his dad attacked one of my posts on Facebook couple days ago. And it’s just been hammering me about you you know whatever MAGA people say when you disagree with them. About how bad Joe Biden is for instance. You know I’ve looked into all these claims about him that MAGA professors to be true and You don’t even get past the first level of vetting before it proves false. So my intention of late because I quit debating these people before the end of the Trump administration because it’s useless and a waste of my time. I got sick of prove me wrong! Or show me where I’m wrong! I spent three fucking years doing that and no one believed anything I said even though it’s solid information solid sources solid facts. So now I just know that the issue is my latest blurb, which is basically MAGA in the GOP have a psychosocial poor health issue that we, and they mostly they need rectify before we can ever have common ground like reality, to debate from, and that’s it. That’s all there is to it.

America has a split personality and while this side is annoying and a very small minority extremist not like the right portray at all, but they do have a cycle, social mental health issue, and a leader, who is pathologically narcissist.

There should be no need to say anymore ever about that. I like Obama a lot. But if he acted like Trump, I would’ve turned on him in second. When we have a POTUS, they are people they make mistakes. Hopefully they try their best. But when all you do is present is play golf, as opposed to those who stay up late into each night, studying world issues, national issues who actually do something and try and have a party behind them who wants to do positive things, they are the better party. The GOP likes to sit back to as little as possible. Maintain their positions and blame the Democrats for screwing up. Here’s a news piece when you do things you screw up then you fix them. You don’t do nothing or try to break things defund which they’ve been doing a lot longer than BLM decided to defund police which wasn’t about finding the police but properly funding them and getting them help as they’ve been begging for 40 years. I grew up a blue-collar family, a Teamster union family, a theater, workers union, and I was a wrap in the early 70s in high school, and a democrat. Soon as I turned 18 I voted in the next election. All of my life I voted for the best candidate and I didn’t bother with party. That is new to me.

We have to do better.

Starting my 4th mile…

So John Eastman, Trump’s buddy was judged guilty for helping Trump conspire against the election. That can’t be good for Trump and his trial. This is from the podcast. They judging this trial, so it said there was clear and convincing evidence not merely a preponderance, which indicates over 50%. So he’s saying the Donald Trump absolutely did what he’s charged with. So it’ll be interesting if they can use this trial at all in the other trial and the way things are going probably not.

I don’t know if you’re aware of this? But the one national entity and state entities who have supported the law in all of his trumpets, is the bar associations. And they’re removing the license to practice law from those criminal Trump supporters who are now convicts they are doing a patriotic and substantial duty to America and the law. And this actually includes many attorneys, who agreed with Donald Trump, or supported him, but did not sign up for breaking the law, or losing their law license like those who have supported Trump in an insurrection already have.

This was bugging me last night. If anyone reads this blog and wonders why from time to time I mentioned my health or my physical progress on this walk. That’s just for those out of shape, wanting to get into shape and those with Covid or long Covid who are suffering and can see how at least one person is handling it. And they can see how I push myself but then I mindfully consider when to give up and take a break for the day or whatever. So this really isn’t ego or narcissism on my part. If you know me, that’s just not me. I was raised with plenty of reasons to have poor self-esteem, and have to fight through that grown-up, but with a very critical mind that could compare Social reality to actuality that surrounds us.

Just thinking about Covid. If I had not caught Covid in February 2020, and again end of March 2022, I would have so much more done. I might have another couple books published. I might even have another couple of films produced. I hadn’t thought about that till just now, I was just remembering novel I started a while back maybe 10 years ago I’d like to finish. And I realize it wasn’t for Covid right now. I probably could have the time and enough projects behind me that I would feel comfortable spending on finishing another novel. I thought all the age would find me in better health. And I could travel more have more energy. Get more done. Wow. Not so much. But I’m positive and hopeful always and optimistic. And I hope I’ll hit a point where I am again doing well. Healthwise. Regardless I’m still getting older every minute.

How is moving forward. Always trying to do better. Remember that to maintain equilibrium and to maintain your position requires progress and movement. And to think that you can “standstill “movement is to have no observation whatsoever of your own history and knowledge of the world, or humanity or physics.

Ha! I haven’t mentioned this a long time… I grew up in the 50s and 60s and 70s in watching old movies and adventure movies and eventually Indiana Jones and all my life. I’ve tried to find Native American arrowheads or prehistoric hand tools or whatever. I’ve been around the country and I’ve Backpacked The superstition wilderness in Arizona for days. I can’t remember ever finding any kind of historical artifact until I moved to Bremerton Washington. And within a year I found two certified hand tools on the street just in the gravel on the side of the road.. verified by an actual archaeologist. Funny that. I assumed maybe somebody dropped it who knew what it was and was sad they lost it or what seems more reasonable to me is the city trucks in road gravel from outside the city and it was probably just in one of those dumps from out in the woods somewhere or wherever they get gravel originally.

On the podcast she says there’s always been bad lawyers. Well there’s always been bad presidents. But with the advent of Donald Trump, putting Nixon to shame there is now only one bad president in American history. And it will take a lot and possibly Trump again or someone far worse in the future to be the second worst president of our bad presidents which will most likely require the ending of the United States of America for something far far worse as Trump is trying to do now. I say let’s not let him.

Now up on the podcast, Jeffrey Clark, who is worse than John Eastman because he had a position in the DOJ

Just a reminder, Donald Trump is POTUS45 over 30,000 lies to the American people. And took the fifth amendment over 400 times in his deposition.

Starting the 5th mile…

15 year old Transgender Day visibility fell on Easter this year. Biden has said something about it on that day the past four years. But literally anything Trump can whine about and his Maga GOP can be pissy about they will be. We fear and hate what we’re ignorant about. Which are transgender people to conservatives but not MAGA to the rest of us. Whom we know all too much about thank you very much.

Trump and GOP the leaders in manufactured outrage

Here’s what I don’t get about the transgender evangelical Christian bullshit. Didn’t Jesus meet a leper in the Bible? Was he mean to him? I bet anything he met a person who today would be transgender and was he mean to him? I bet he was kind. Because that was kind of his thing. Transgender is a minority. There’s not many of them around. I have some fucking compassion if you’re angry about them learn about them so that you won’t be angry anymore and you’ll feel sorry for him and have some empathy. Thank God I’m not Gay or an ethnic minority, other than white or saying, maybe Muslim or trans or any of those things I didn’t have to suffer through other people of using me over that is none of their business. If you don’t like something, turn your head or turn the channel. This anti-white racism bullshit is exactly that. When you’re the majority and you start seeing yourself as a minority and you start feeling butt hurt because other people are starting to get a little of the light of the world, and of course you’re gonna lose a sliver it’s not half it’s a sliver. And if everybody gets there do sliver at a time you know what that sliver after sliver adds up to? Just a bigger sliver. But it’s still a sliver and it’s not really a piece of the pie. So shut the fuck up. I don’t understand this Christian nationalist white wing extremist we despise compassion and empathy, but we like to call ourselves Christians nonsense. The way I see it, your Christian or you’re not or your American or you’re not and I’m seeing a lot of people claiming to be religious or patriots and they’re just not supporting with their actions and beliefs.

By the way, I use the term oh my God once in a while. I grew up with it. I was raised old Slovak school Catholic in the 1950s and 60s and that’s my right I earned it just as I earned educating myself to understand how abusive religion has been historically, and how, especially Christianity and Catholicism literally murdered people to stop religions replacement as that of science and psychology and sociology and education in general, which has traditionally been an asthma to religion. Because the more you know the more you know. Trump said white? I love the uneducated. It’s not for the reason you think.

Wow! I am now turning around to head home at the 4.5 mile mark that means I made 5 miles plus today. For the first time this year. On a day I woke up not feeling good and my lungs are being kind of weird. I don’t feel too bad. I feel beat to hell. But not as bad as when I finish 4 miles two days ago. This is definitely progress now I just need to make the next two walks over the next week each 5 miles and I’ll have pretty much locked in for the rest of the year.

It’s 12:20 PM, so when I get home… Lunchtime!

Listening to the pod Save America podcast now because the other one finished. They’re just talking about what I mentioned above which they were talking about the Eastern transgender thing. And one of them said in a statement by I don’t know if Trump or somebody they mentioned Christians and Catholics. And one of the pointed out Catholics are Christians. I would point out Christians I’ve known generally don’t say they are Catholic. I know a little about the history of Christian and Catholics. I learned even more when I wrote my story that may culpa document of London. Which I mentioned in my last blog.

I would just like to mention that if your religion not only doesn’t allow for gay people and trans, people, such and non-binary, and you have trouble with non-binary, thinking the problem there is it with those people but with your religion and the way you think. I known plenty of Christians who are just fine with all of that, but they’re not binary Thinkers.

I discovered after a few years of marriage to my youngest mom, and now ex-wife. We were very different people. She was very cowgirl and a professional horse rider, trainer and instructor. Grew up in the farm life. I grew up in cities and suburbs. I grew up with a mother, who was, very interesting in her psychological make up. But I don’t think I was ever a binary singer after I got past kindergarten? I wonder if we should see people stuck in binary thinking as having a developmental challenge? Not mentally incompetent, just at times. Not sociologically inept just too often.

The podcast just conjectured if when we wanted Biden to win and beat out Trump in 2020 if we all didn’t get a little hooked on the Trump bullshit and when we said we wanted a boring president again we kind of didn’t? Well, I was one of the people saying that, and I mean it. And the way I mean it is, I love when I never hear from my leaders and they just do a good job. I saw having to see Trump every day on TV when he was POTUS 45 as the worst nightmare for a leader you could have. I always enjoyed seeing Obama when he talked about often it was about that shit but he was handling. But I wouldn’t want to see him on TV every damn day. I want to think he’s off work for us and he has delegated to professional mouthpieces to speak for him, has his historically tradition. When you see somebody like Trump in front of the TV every day that’s just a fucking narcissistic asshole. And in Trump‘s case a supremely ignorant and bigoted one.

And I’ll leave you with that. I made my 5 miles first time this year!

And it’s noon and time for lunch.
Temperature is 56° now

NOTE: It's now the next day I got home and started feeling ill within a few hours and the flu hit me hard. Home Covid test came out negative. I called the VA nurse who suggested I go to emergent care in the morning as they were closed. In bed trying to sleep my lungs felt raw. I woke feeling pretty crummy but my lungs, though weak feeling, didn't feel raw, nor did my throat. This does not feel like Covid which felt like something vile was in my system and acid in my veins. I called emergent care and they were busy, I left my phone number and they never called back. Finally I called the cancelled. I don't feel great but I'm not concerned it's something bad, just miserable and time will heal things 

And with that... I wish you all great success and health! Until next time!

Cheers! Sláinte!

11 11, #23, The Porus Mind, Magic, Beliefs in Unreality

One of the truly awesome marvels in life is that things out of the ordinary do happen. Way more than you think. Especially if your life is or appears to you, dark and ominous. Just open your eyes, marvels are everywhere. They happen all the time. To think they don't is to be delusional. Not the other way around.

And that, is a problem.

Patterns, occurrences, events, the porous mind, examples of the underlying formula in the universe that appear different from what you normally see day in and day out. Strange things happen all the time. Good and bad. Recognize them. Enjoy them as you can. Just do not run off like they have some vastly intense and significant meaning to you personally. They probably don't much of the time.

Don't just go off thinking there is some conspiracy, when all there is has to do with regular and random occurrences. In a vast network of processes and systems such as our life and the universe are, the fact that many of these things happen simply appear in a way, unique. When they actually happen less than one should expect.

It can be counter intuitive.

What may seem to happen all the time... to you, actually happens all the time everywhere, unseen. Yet, once you notice it it may seem to happen (even if only to you) all the time. When really, it does not. No I'm not crazy, the universe merely appears to be if you do not understand what is going on.

Once you notice them, they are everywhere. Like my last car I bought. Never noticed those before. Now I see they are everywhere. They are everywhere, and yet in reality, they aren't that big of a group compared to the  whole of all cars, or all vehicles, or all moving (even air and water and space) vehicles.

Numerology, phrenology, the occult, all fun stuff. Just, keep it in perspective. For your own good. But to be honest, mostly for ours.

"Robert Anton Wilson cites William S. Burroughs as the first person to believe in the "23 enigma."[1] Wilson, in an article in Fortean Times, related the following anecdote:

"I first heard of the 23 enigma from William S Burroughs, author of Naked Lunch, Nova Express, etc. According to Burroughs, he had known a certain Captain Clark, around 1960 in Tangier, who once bragged that he had been sailing 23 years without an accident. That very day, Clark’s ship had an accident that killed him and everybody else aboard. Furthermore, while Burroughs was thinking about this crude example of the irony of the gods that evening, a bulletin on the radio announced the crash of an airliner in Florida, USA. The pilot was another Captain Clark and the flight was Flight 23."[2] - Wikipedia

On the other hand, several millennia ago, had you pulled out your Bic type lighter and flicked it at another person, aside from the possibility you could be killed on the spot. You'd be thought to have some kind of magical, or god like power. You'd be seen as a witch, a subject of Satan, or a demon.

When we all know it's just a conglomeration of plastic, flint, steel and gas put together in such a way to allow the spark of a flame to sustain itself.

To think there aren't such other things on that order in our current environment is simply not rational or reasonable. Though I would argue, science has made us very aware of these types of things and we may now have the ability, at very least, not to be so easily fooled or amazed.

Special effects in films, computer graphics, magicians and stage shows have added to that awareness. As well as conmen (criminal CONfidence abusers) through dissemination of police and media awareness efforts, the complaints of friends and perhaps but hopefully not, personal experience.

And therein, as with any good conspiracy theory, lay the rub. The ability to divine, to differentiate between fact and fiction, becomes for many, easily blurred. Some therefore may find themselves trapped in a belief they should never have entertained. And yet, there they are. Stuck, entranced, captured. And that opens them up for further abuse and misuse.

Conmen depend on that element of human nature. They depends on people's decency, or greed, or even our pattern recognition skills. Conspiracy theorists depend on this, too. Some may well be heartfelt and inadvertent in their actions, not even realizing themselves what they are doing. To themselves, to others, to their country at large when they have a platform to speak from.

Too many however, especially nowadays have discovered, as it has become obvious, that one can live an extravagant life if only one can dispense with ethics and morality. Something which too many today have done and they are prevalent on TV, radio, in print and online. Even our White House.

We see it from sites like InfoWars, from Rush Limbaugh, from other alternate fact (lies) people. It broaches over into more mainstream media like the problematic and too often disingenuous, Fox News. On a lower plane there is Breitbart and the Drudge Report (someone asked if it wasn't really the grudge report, but I digress).

Arguing over the clarity or alacrity, the veracity or truth of these sorry elements is not the point.

People abuse us merely because of how we work and react as human beings. We have been hacked and it is up to us, not just the government, police, or others, but us to educate ourselves and remain vigilant. For our own protection and for the protection of all others. Especially those who can so easily fall prey to these kinds of people and dynamics. Easily preyed upon and abused. And that can affect us all.

Still, aside from the negative aspects of humanity and the dynamics of hustling, it is still easy to find oneself immersed in strange, unuseful, unproductive, or even damaging beliefs. Partly because we observe, we notice things, and they stick with us.

Our naturally obsessive compulsive and pattern recognitive nature takes over and our pattern recognition skills kick in filling in what isn't there. Our imagination goes into overdrive. Our cognitive dissonance and so many other phrases and dynamics, syndromes and conditions can and many times do engage. We need to be aware, to stay abreast of these things, to watch out for others.

Because for some things like these, we all really do need one another's help. Together, we can get to a better and more stable life. First, we have to stop seeing one another as the enemy. For we have met him, and he's not always us.

Fear of a One World Government

When I was a kid, I read a lot of science fiction. I would much prefer talking about science fiction, about writing, films and artistic pursuits. But this country is in crisis. A crisis of a more constitutional nature. There are too many fears, too much confusion, frustration, and anger.

I grew up accepting that we would have a one world government. Because once you move off the planet, the planet becomes a state unto itself. Just as astronauts have noticed from viewing the Earth from the moon. You lose the need for countries and separate tribes. You realize it is one entity, one planet. We all have to get along and work together.

I went into the military for a while, then entered college after I got out. But even before military service I had heard and read about the One World Government conspiracy and related theories. I discarded them for the most part, only after looking into them in then realizing what it was all about.

Fear.

Fear and perhaps it being the wrong time for a One World Government, but the right time always to talk about it. And to do it well, we need to talk about it decades ahead of time and set things up toward it. Things like infrastructures, laws, orientations and attitudes. And the fear of the unknown and of change. Something conservative and Republican types in this country have a fundamental problem with.

Those fearful types, those worried about being told what to do by others who were very different from them, who did not understand their local issues and considerations, and who may not even be from their own country, cause them serious grief. Not to mention how much trouble some of them have in America in being different. Not white. Not older. Not their religion. There is always something that is not of them,f or them to worry about.

For the moment we can ignore how those people were not aware of or probably couldn't really care that we, that our government was imposing those types of things upon others in other parts of the world.

No hypocrisy there, right? Sure do to others so we can have, but don't even think of doing that to us... we American!

Enter, the new electronics. The Internet. Instant Media. Twenty-four hour news cycles. A populist TV format president. And so much more.

So here's the thing. Ignore for a moment concerns about One World Government. About, the Illuminati. About, the Rothschilds, the Rockefellers, the Trumps. Putin. Saudi Arabia. Whomever or whatever. Forget for the moment, your own favorite fears related to this.

Because of instant media alone, because of our having access to the entire world through media and devices, because of the availability to other cultures, to other ways of thinking, merely because of all that, alone....

We can mostly all now see the world as one world. A single planet of similar beings, all human...beings. Beings with differences, but so very similar in so many important ways. Those of us who do not see that are either divisive politicians or those who actually are worthy of conspiracy theorist's hatred. Even though that hatred never seems to get directed to the appropriate parties.

We are a single entity floating out in space. We are one race. We are, one People. If only we could see that now. Before it's too late.

Because, that is what is important.

That is what we need to be aware of.

All the rest is just... noise. Noise to distract us by those who aren't qualified or decent enough to guide us in the first place. And yet, we elect them to.

But it is noise to distract us from... what?

It is so we do not pay too close attention to those trying to further empower or enrich themselves, or to maintain their hold on us. A hold they got through lies, cheating, obfuscation, obstruction of realities. Confidence artist type behaviors. The behaviors of political magicians.

And we let them do it, time and again. Not only do we let them, we praise them for it and ignore the few, who try to point out reality has been warped, subverted, disenfranchised.

Back in the old days it was the religious leaders, the Kings and Queens who abused us. The Gods of the planet, of our tiny universe as we then perceived it, who abused us. And we changed things. The Magna Carta. The great American Experiment. Where we dissolved the ultimate power of the one person between us and God. Where we dissolved the royal controls over the people for a constitutionally and democratic protection of our lives and our futures.

Now, it is simply the wealthy we have to fear. Those we have given power to. Those who have positioned themselves to enrich themselves through our faith and belief.

I get some of the fear. But consider this, if nothing else. When we all start monitoring and enforcing rational actions around the world in a more cohesive and effective fashion, it will decrease things like global drug dealing, wealthy illegal behaviors, politicians illegal behaviors. Global corporations, which is a vast travesty upon this world.

There is a far more scary situation. What if Coke or Pepsi or even Monster drink, or Nestle, bottled water and sold it to countries who have none, in part because of climate change (regardless who caused it as it's happening), and bottling up all the waters in a country to sell back their own natural resources to them, merely in order to make profit and pleasure the stock holders? And worse. There is a lot of this already starting up around the world, but it is frequently invisible because of individuals countries and separation of laws and responsibilities and corporations and politicians are depending upon that.

While many slept through all this because of the #realDonaldTrump travesty....this is one of our biggest concerns going forward. Corporations and natural resources. I've been saying this one for years now. Next they will bottle and sell us our own water, standing things for when there is little water. and next, can only be air.

When I started saying this in the 1980s, people laughed about the water. Look around you now. The air situation is different, it's everywhere. But wait till it's damaged and who is against clean air and the ecology? #Republicans, the party of big business but obviously not of small business. When will small Republican business owners wake up? Probably? Never. That's, a good Republican.

We have put ourselves right back in that powerless situation and have supported vast and stupid agendas.

Full disclosure... I've always been a proponent of a One World Government. But not the one so many fear. I read the greatest minds in science fiction as a child all through the 1960s. Futurists all for the most part. Smart, educated people thinking ahead and plotting out possibilities, both good and bad. Five hundred years from now they will look back and laugh about people's fears of a OWG. The 1960s wasn't the right time for it. Now may not be either. But someday it will become a necessity.

IF you fear a OWG, then you need to stop fearing it and get on board, because it's going to happen. It is just a matter of if and when it happens. IF we jump into it, your fears will be realized. IF it is done behind our backs, your fears will be realized. And those are exactly the reasons you need to accept and and begin to work for it. Because if you sit it out and do nothing but complain, then we do have something to fear. If you allow it to be built defectively, then your fears are valid.

But then too, they will have been self-fulfilled prophecies. And it will be your fault and others like you. It is easy to complain, worry, fret, cry, whine. But it is harder to learn, act, and build.

We have to ask ourselves...is that who we really want to be? Is it not after all the One World Government that we fear. Or a lack of total and invisible control over our lives by a few others, regardless their desires, as long as we can't (or won't) see it?

A One World Government, is not what you need to fear.

It is, ourselves.

Evolution of a Conspiracy Theory

The difference between a professional and an amateur in this game...

Professionals connect the dots between seemingly unrelated things that actually do have a foundation or a connection in their relationships and evaluate degrees of viability and veracity.

Amateurs simply assume there are these connections because they want them to be there, and/or they simply "believe" they "might" be there. To be fair many amateurs are semi professionals and the true issue is with those who simply do not know what they are doing, don't take the time to learn what and how they should be doing things, and throw caution to the wind, typically for benefit of an ideology or an agenda. All too typically, foolish ones.

There is also a degree of their wanting to appear smarter than they are, also typically without putting in the grunt work to build those mental muscles and skills. Then even when they do put in the grunt work, they end up building those mental muscles in all the wrong ways, leading them further from the truth rather than ever getting closer to it.

Professionals on the other hand, get better and better at their deductions deliberations. While those amateurs seem to simply get worse and worse as their beliefs become more and more far fetched.

It's rather like navigating a ship. If you chart a course at the beginning and it's wrong (because you really don't know what you're doing), in your being off by even a degree at the start, you will eventually end up in another and wrong country at the end. One also has to do course occasional corrections.

Two things conspiracy nuts typically don't seem to even know about. There are a few things one can do to avoid these mistakes. Like starting out to shoot down your accept beliefs. Searching for the "Truth" regardless where it leads you. And being willing to keep an open mind. Whenever you fun into something that seems too good to be true, because you want to believe it, be wary of that and dig much deeper.

There is truly little reason to be made a fool of, by oneself.

Still Foolishly Waiting For the Old "Great" America?

People regret how America isn't the America of the 1950s. Are YOU the person of your younger years? No, and neither is America. Do you want to be? Disconnected from the world at large as it has moved on, even if you haven't? Therefore being completely dysfunctional, rather than just somewhat dysfunctional as any normal country is?

Obviously, this involves Donald Trump. Sadly.

Tonight is the first debate between candidates on both sides. America's and the world's hope for decency and progress, Hilary Clinton, and the InternNational Embarrassment that is... Donald Trump. It should make for interesting political viewing. Interesting Reality TV viewing. Interesting studies in the path politics is taking in the world. Because we're slow to follow other countries in some of this (like fights breaking out in congress...see Japan, Italy, etc.), but we're blazing the trail on other aspects of this complete nightmare.

Not American? Then Hope, and if you're into that kind of thing, Pray (not that it will do anything other than make you feel better for a little while, then let you down in the end), that this kind of thing doesn't befall your own country!

For the record, I don't believe any of those things in this article from the Washington Post on "Why Smart People Believe all the Crazy Things Trump Says", except the Bush Administration knowing about the WMDs in Iraq. That, as it indicates, shouldn't be on that list. Why? Because it's true/untrue in the best of presidential plausible deniability. From what I've gathered over the years from what those who have spoken out on it (and in some cases you have to read a book, remember those?), the Bush Administration pushed the intelligence community into finding what they wanted to hear. They had wanted to go to war in Iraq before Bush became president in 2000. And so on. All documented. All easily and reasonably pieced together. 

So no. The Bush administration WAS told there were WMDs in Iraq. But it's not that simple. It is in part how our government works, but in this case it was above and beyond and led initially to a reasonable conclusion which later turned out to be an unreasonable one.

But this here and now deals with things like Hilary's reputation, who she is, who the Clinton's are, who she would be as president. 

Right wing conspiracy about her as usual in these kinds of things, paints a picture of her as world class James Bond villain. It's a child's view of the world, such as Republicans and conservatives tend to paint it in "knowing" what they expect to believe, what they want to believe, what assuages their need for information where there is none. It's an amateur, arm chair quarterback view of the world. 

With just a little bit of knowledge in how to research, in digging into disparate information sources and discounting and supporting reality, in listening to and triangulating what those in the know, those involved in these things have said and shown to be true, the actuality is sometime, quite obvious.

It is the information and political form of seeking a black hole in space. A scientist finds what is there through what is available and what isn't. An amateur does not have full access to the same kinds of information and therefore there is a lot of chaff and fluff in that arena. To be sure there are professional style amateurs, but they are few and far between compared to the more lazy forms out there. 

And so we have a mass of people beleiving in conspiracies. And now they have a leader. First the Republican party since the 90s if not 80s, and now in Trump who will fight to win at all costs, at any price, even that of the veracity of America across the world, the ideal and substance of America itself, and the self respect and sanity of the American people, themselves.
Have you ever noticed how parenting, even just making it through life is a series of guesses and hopes that you got it right? Some seem to just slide through life making all the right decisions. Many seem that way but it's just their deftness at making people believe that is the case. Most of us make mistakes along the way and then it's about how quickly and accurately we react to make things work right. Sometimes it's a series of corrections we make to make our mistakes functional. Most of us find a way to make that appear effortless so our boss or coworkers or the public thinks we are brilliant when really, we are just making it through life. Those are the things conservatives yearn for. That illusion of our greatness rather than our effective humbleness. We present this bold and brash cowboy attitude to the world, but we're just doing the best we can. Bullies too, fearful of the world unless they are sociopaths, put forth a brave and brash face which behind that facade is a scared and ignorant child. The world has gotten so complex, no one really knows what the right answers are. Those who tell you they know, are liars and charlatans, or politicians. People we hired to make us feel safe and when we don't, we blame them, rather than ourselves. Once you realize... "We have met the enemy and he is us." You are only then approaching adulthood. Then you can look around and see how frightened and ignorant we are. Then you can realize those who profess greatness and wisdom, are just expert actors displaying to you what they know you want to see. You complain when you don't get what you want, and then when you do, you see how things don't work right and you complain. rather than tearing down, try to support and build up, to see the bigger picture, to see you count as much as everyone else and they as much as you. Once you see that, things will start to become more functional again. Until you see that, it will just be more of the same and you have to understand, we have built the world we wanted. Because what you do, is what you have done, have allowed to happen, have asked for. At some point ignorance is no excuse, not a justification and you have to take responsibility because being a part of a nation requires that. If you don't like it, leave. Because going up into the wilderness isn't disconnecting yourself from the nation, only leaving it, rejecting citizenship, does that. And you're not willing to do that. So get involved, learn reality and stop with your wishing for what never was or what you really don't want to go back to, when you merely think you want to because in your colluded memories, the past last sloughed off the bad and you're only remembering the good. Good us all around us. Make that your reality. And work to bring us all as citizens of one nation, as much more as we can, not just for you, but for Americans. Otherwise, you are not an American. You are an old Soviet comrade, bitching at real Americans who ARE trying while you call THEM comrade, push your form of belief onto them, those who have no idea what you're talking about. You need to grow up. That is why things seem so bad for you. Hurry up, because the rest of us are waiting on you.

NOTE: Now, post first debate between the two candidates, a lucid and accurate journalist in a Sydney Morning Herald speaks out. I give you, Jonathan Bradley: Donald Trump's debate performance shows he has no business being president.

Conspiracy Theory Debunking 101

There are those who think I just don't believe what I don't like to or agree with, with no thought to reality. That conservative and republican disseminated conspiracy theories are never true, regardless. This couldn't be further from the truth. There are big conspiracies and many small ones, especially during election cycles. This 2016 election has been rife with them.

It may seem that I never ascribe to right wing conspiracies. But it is because there are so many circulated by those groups and frequently one has to (should) admit, they are ridiculous. In fact, all too frequently.

IF you know a just little bit about actual conspiracy theory itself, you'll see that quite clearly. You'll see what not to waste your time on. What not to say, leading others into making horrendous political mistakes. And who to ignore. There is much as one author put it, voodoo behind these conspiracy theories.

There are far better articles on conspiracy theory and how to consider them, evaluate them, debunk and verify them, and how to help those lost down that rabbit hole. I just doubt most people would go that far to find out. So I thought I'd make a quick and easy to understand, overview. Not a step by step, but a how to look at it in general and to consider finding more specific information depending on the form of the conspiracy involved.

IF you know Hillary is murdering people left and right just like her husband did as president, if you know Benghazi is Hillary and Obama's fault, if you know that Obama is a secret Muslim, Gay, or founder of ISIS, then you really have to ask your self this....

Do you know for instance, that the Trump campaign is having an actual effect upon our nation's children? Belief in the negative side magical thinking as in religions, and non-existent conspiracies do have a real impact upon culture, business, government and most importantly, people.

Do you know anything about what makes conspiracy theories seem true, or attractive? Even when they ARE fully fabricated?

What is Optimality Theory actually about? Or critical thinking? Cognitive Dissonance? Other conspiracy theory terms and definitions? Do you know just what government, legislative, political and congressional processes actually are, how they work in reality? Do you understand market organization and optimization on conspiracies? How information deforms and conforms in an information vacuum? How belief in conspiracies conflates one sense of self worth? How it satiates need in areas of closure, self esteem, fear?

Enough.

Look, I will just offer you this. It's up to you to learn the rest, or else stop spouting conspiracies in your ignorance. And on ignorance, we are all ignorant. It is beholden upon us to find accurate information and to know that many times, especially in politics, there will never be enough information to make informed decisions on. It then takes one to have a clear and present understanding of peripheral issues and people. Clear of prejudice, or at least of undeserved prejudice.

Above is a meme slamming Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton yet again. Sounds bad. But when you consider actual reality, a different picture begins to emerge. You can refer to this link to read actually happened during his testimony, so you can judge for yourself. Along with (and without) the republican interference and spin during the testimony. In the article supplied in the link you can clearly see where Mr. Hicks obviously noticed himself during testimony that his words were being twisted by Republicans for political and partisan reasons.

"Daniel Pipes, in an early essay "adapted from a study prepared for the CIA", attempted to define which beliefs distinguish 'the conspiracy mentality' from 'more conventional patterns of thought'. He defined them as: appearances deceive; conspiracies drive history; nothing is haphazard; the enemy always gains power, fame, money, and sex.[7]
One of the worst things about conspiracy theories is the fact they are almost airtight. Every debunking or piece of evidence against it will be viewed as an attempt to "misinform the public", and the lack of evidence for it is viewed as a government cover-up.
The flood of conspiracy theories results in possibly-rational conspiracy theories getting lost in the midst of the noise of newsworthy but disingenuous ideas such as New World Order or the Moon landing hoax.
Not everyone involved in a conspiracy necessarily knows all the details; in fact, sometimes none do." - Wikipedia

Let's take the example of assassinations in a recent meme. Obviously if this were a single murder we were talking about, one would have to handle it differently. But we're not. And no, you cannot take the procedure for a single murder and apply it outright to the methodology of a multiple murder or assassination conspiracy theory. It is in details such as that where conspiracist's analytical processes break down.

This has been going around. It's been adding "victims", as someone new dies they get added to the list. We're up to four now in how many have died because of the DNC or Hillary's reputation and therefore, the inference is that she or the DNC had them killed. Even though the meme does not mention Hillary, in many conservative minds, it is clearly her at work here. At very least, it is on her behest if not covert direction because hey, who can know, right?

Then someone added another meme into this one:

But who exactly would order that? And why? Especially when there is no real and clear motive, but it simply looks superficially, that there may be one?

The insidious thing about these conspiracies is the believer and proponent never needs truth, proof, or facts. Just, belief. Easy. Right?

A confluence of facts (or perceived facts), a motive, possibly resources to achieve said conspiracy and the desire of one or more to believe.

For a murder as in this case it legally requires willfulness, deliberation and premeditation.

But here's the thing in assassination conspiracies and the reality of this type of operation. It presupposes vast forces behind the scenes that are alluded to by the believer. It gives more credit than deserved to involved entities. It requires a vacuum of facts for support filled instead by factoids.

Conspiracies involving multiple murders.

It is a big mistake to murder for political reasons. The United States has stopped doing it decades ago in the 1960s and for good reasons. It tends to come out eventually. It tends not infrequently to have a degree of blow back that makes it not worth it in the end and for an intelligent person, not worth it in the beginning.

In the case above, one murder in a murder conspiracy is a wash. Without actual proof, and if there were someone would be in jail, you cannot definitively state someone killed someone. So we get to throw out at least one as reasonably not involved in a conspiracy. 

Two deaths is still not quite a coincidence, nor is it not a coincidence. So we can effectively throw out two murders, or in some cases, simply deaths. IF one is not an obvious murder you cannot just randomly assign it as a murder. Yes, someone could fake a death, murder by fake natural causes, accident or suicide. But this is the realm of conjecture.

Would you believe these things if at the end of your decision, if you were wrong, you would be shot in the head? Or would you apply more critical thought, more awareness of conspiracy theory itself?

Three deaths (or murders) begins to enter the realm of ending the potential for coincidence and four, pretty much is ending that completely. If all elements necessary are apparent. 

However. That is if you have the connection (in this case, to the DNC or Hillary), the motive (someone attacking or damaging the DNC, Hillary or in Hillary's case sometimes conspiracists will just say someone made her upset or angry), and the access and resources (either the perpetrator murdering someone directly, or assigning someone to take on the task. 

This is where you have to start looking into each individual case, understanding that you already have the potential connections between Hillary and a need for these people to die. Does she actually have a need for someone to die and does the gain outweigh the cost if discovered?

The United States decided as mentioned above, many years ago that assassination is just flat out, not cost effective considering political and other blow back over time.

So. If we start to look at each individual death, what do we find? 

The supplied meme above related to the DNC, the Democratic National Convention. But in many minds it is directly connected to Hillary Clinton. Point one. Points two through five are as follows:

Seth Conrad Rich, murdered. Snopes. And the family has asked that people just STOP.
John Ashe, died suspiciously. Snopes. "WHAT'S FALSE: Ashe's corruption trial wasn't set to begin just days after his death, and he wasn't going to testify against Hillary Clinton."
Victor Thorn, dead of gunshot wound. Snopes.
Shawn Lucas. Died of unknown causes pending autopsy. Snopes. No one is going to have a process server murdered, literally murdering the messenger. Thinking otherwise is ludicrous.

With even a cursory examination of the meme, it falls quickly apart and not even coincidence in many ways and just a mean spirited attempt at disinformation.

We see the same in so many right wing attacks against the left, against President Obama, against Hillary Clinton, and soon to be against whomever follows.

The answer to these things is rather than blinding sharing them, furthering the ignorance, further damaging not just enemies of someone, but the country at large, further polarizing the nation, but to look into these. First never verify by going only into similar reporting sources. Look first at the opposite sources. Find what they say. If they are logical, look further into it. Then go back to the same sources (right wing most likely). Are they are saying the same thing, as if from one source, as if the same illogical orientations?

The answer it to think. To trace logic and see where it breaks down. Consider the source, always. If it's right wing, it doesn't mean it's wrong, but it does mean it most likely has "spin" on it. They MAY give accurate facts but not always. They will supply an orientation, shading the facts, making things look as bad as possible for someone. Rather that just supply the truth in neutral words and let the facts work for them. But they so often do not work for them and so they have to spin it, or lie outright.

Cut away the spin, look at the facts. Are there enough facts available? Typically there are not and like a Donald Trump speech, you have to read (whatever you like) into it. Where do the facts came from? Is there a vested interest by the reporter or agency reporting in making someone look as bad as possible? Does the source have an interest in them looking bad? Does the negativity feed into your own personal dislikes and beliefs?

That doesn't make it wrong, it means you may have some cognitive dissonance going on. The more that it true the more you need a warning light going off to double and triple check, to find actual facts and see through the spin or falsehoods, if any.

Be careful. Find the truth. Then, SHARE that. Even if most importantly, it goes against what others believe and wish to believe. Our country has problems. We're only going to fix them by forcing those sharing lies to share truths, or to take matters into our own hands and share the truth ourselves. At whatever cost.

Whether we like those truths or not.

Just don't do what Julian Assange has been doing in with Wikileaks in politically staging and releasing "truths" at just the right moment in order to do as much damage as possible. Because that crosses over form reporting, to political manipulation.

We need to all start being honest and truthful in the best ways possible, in order to support our nation so that it can shine to the world in the best light it can be seen in.

In closing...and in taking as example the conservative hatred for Hillary and Clinton's in general:

There is another side to all this. If Hillary Clinton is such a genius as conservatives claim, able to get away for decades with multiple murders, apparently hundreds of crimes and so on, and the US (and others remember) government, who better to run the complexities of a country and a world.

Bush? LOL. Trump? LMFAO! Be serious.

There is apparently no one that smart in the entire world. Oh, except for a Clinton. Of course.

Truth is, no one would cover things up that much for anyone, certainly not the masses of cover ups, and all the people it would take to do all the things she is blamed for. And to maintain that secrecy, for decades.

It's inherent in conspiracy theory to ignore that.

While it is actually is rather ludicrous. And sad. But let's face it. Reality cannot change belief based in  pure conjecture and magical thinking (especially for those raised in a religious fashion, even if they are now self-proclaimed atheists).

As well as decades of a concerted conservative effort to slander, which is not conjecture. Which is well documented. Which is admitted to openly to by the right. And so, there it is.

Conservatives are now merely believing because they were told to and cannot now change course and  thereby, "lose face".

Truly my friends, my condolences.