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 Elusive Truth                                                                                      #280

By Hank Silverberg


It is only April, but the 2024 presidential election campaign is fully engaged. There are ads for both Trump and Biden on TV. At every political stop by either candidate there is talk of swing states and Electoral College votes. As I wrote last week, the looming presence of a third party candidate (RFK, Jr.) has both Democrats and Republicans nervous. 

But are the voters fully engaged? Probably not. Most people are thinking about a family vacation this summer, preparing for their kid to go to college in the fall, what grass seed to use to fill in the bald spots on the lawn, just trying to make ends meet or dealing with the crazy weather we have had this past month all across the country.

Sure, the pollsters (see below) and the political junkies are already all in on the 2024 race, but the rest of the population may be a bit behind. 

And that's what concerns me. When they start paying attention, where are they going to get their information from? The article at the link below comes from the Associated Press, one of the few media outlets we can still trust to be balanced and accurate. You might want to read the full story before you read the rest of this blog.       

https://apnews.com/article/misinformation-anonymous-accounts-social-media-2024-election-8a6b0f8d727734200902d96a59b84bf7

To summarize it for you, many of the political stories you may read on-line, particularly from the right wing, come from anonymous sources on social media accounts that shield the identity of the actual writer. They almost always contain disinformation designed to mislead and persuade readers. Such articles are then recirculated by politicians and advocates who then agree with them and demand action on something that does not actually exist. For example, the article focuses on claims that voter registration in Arizona is skyrocketing because of illegal immigrants. The story is totally false, and elections officials there denied it and proved it wrong when confronted with the story. But it was already too late by then. The AP says more than 63 million internet users were able to see the false story on-line because the Trump campaign, Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene and X (formerly Twitter) boss Elon Musk sent it out on their own social media. But the explanation from elections officials on how the registration figures were manipulated to back up the fake story was only circulated to 2.4 million social media users and not recirculated by those who benefited from the fake story. The damage was done. 

So with this in mind, I suggest you be very skeptical of anything you read on-line that quotes "anonymous" sources and stick to more traditional, long-standing media with solid reputations, like the AP or the traditional broadcast networks, for accurate information. 

This is the advice I give my students as they prepare to give speeches in class on important topics. Get more than one source before forming your opinion, and if there is ANY doubt, don't spread it on social media or elsewhere.    

We have some important decisions to make in the next few months. Make sure yours is  based on truth rather than fabrication. 

Water Water Water 

It appears the historic multi-year drought which has plagued California may be over-- for now. The state's largest reservoir, Lake Shasta, rose 12 feet in March and continues to take in water from late winter snow storms and the rash of rain storms that

(Courtesy Shasta Lake Facebook) 
have inundated the state this spring. The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation says the lake is 90% full. Lake Shasta, which is north of Sacramento, is crucial to the fresh water supply in California, providing drinking water as far south as the L.A. suburb of Bakersfield. In contrast, in 2021 the lake was only 24% full. 

But Governor Gavin Newsome says the state will still need to prepare for future droughts. He says the current water system was designed for a world that no longer exists. 

Climate models are showing the American west in general will have to contend with less water and dangerously high temperature levels in future summers.  


A Poll That Reflects The Political Divide

 About half the country thinks it would be a bad idea for the next president to have more power and be able to act on important policy without the approval of Congress and the courts. Only 21% think it's a good thing, and about 30% think its a bad thing. 

Democrats are more likely to think it's a bad thing. The figures come from a  new poll from The AP and the Center for Public Affairs Research at the University of Chicago. And this poll holds up no matter who the next president is, Joe Biden or Donald Trump. But Republicans are much more likely to accept the idea of more presidential power if Trump is President (57%).  

The same poll finds that concerns about institutional power vary by which party is in charge. 

For example, 58% of Democrats think the U.S. Supreme Court, now dominated by Republican appointees, has too much power compared to only 25% of Republicans. 



At the same time, the survey found half of the adults polled (53%), no matter which party they support, believe the checks and balances set up by the Constitution are not working well these days. 

Full poll results at this link: https://apnorc.org/


Dumbest Quote of The Week! 

This week's dumb quotes comes once again from two fools who have found each other. Republican Georgia Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene and her new boyfriend, Brian Glenn. Talking about both the solar eclipse coming on Monday and the earthquake that hit the northeast last Friday, Greene said:

"God is sending America strong signs to tell us to repent. Earthquakes and eclipses and many more things to come." 

The recently divorced Congresswoman got her inspiration from her new squeeze, right- wing broadcaster Brian Glenn, who said earlier in the week at a Trump rally in Wisconsin:

"I often say that as much conflict as we have in the world, as much pain and sorrow and people suffering it's a great time to be alive because we're seeing this take place and I think we're going to see the largest kind of spiritual awakening in this country that people are realizing how much evil has creeped into not only our government but our own personal lives and it's destroyed this county. I think the eclipse---is a signal of that and we don't want to get into that."


Earthquakes can't be predicted long-term, but we know where they come from and it's not God.  Scientists have forecasted this particular solar eclipse for years based on the orbits and rotation of the Moon, Sun, and Earth.

We are not living in the 9th century. Science denial is the real plague in this country.  

 

(Your suggestions and comments are welcome)   

My recent book "The Campaign" can be purchased at the links below. Or you can buy a copy by emailing me at:

HankSilverberg@gmail.com  for instructions on how to get a copy at a reduced price and with my signature)                       

 

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B084Q7K6M5/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_bibl_vppi_i0

https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-campaign-hank-silverberg/1126429796


My NEWEST book is now available. It is designed for use in Public Speaking and entry level communications classes. 


                                                 
You can purchase Communications and Public Speaking Trends in the 21st Century at these two links: 


or straight from the Publisher at:  

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