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Friday, July 21, 2017

Facing Danger

In the face of danger,
Fight or Flight are the only option
To those without Faith

Dann J Flesher, Jan 26, 2014                             



Facing Fear

Fear knocked at the door,
Faith answered,
And no one was there.

                                         English Proverb


                

Thursday, July 20, 2017

FACT-CHECKER ?

Several months ago (Dec 2016) There was a flap on Forbes about Snopes  It was started by Kalev Leetaru in his article titled "The Daily Mail Snopes Story And Fact Checking The Fact Checkers".  It was at the time that Snopes' husband-wife founders were concluding a very public divorce, and people were arguing over whether Snopes was still to be considered trustworthy as an "unbiased" source.

I had posted this comment "About Bias" shortly after the original article came out:

About BIAS (December 2016)

We are unBiased”; that is what all of the self proclaimed “Fact Checkers” say.  It is their bread and butter, a ruse to get ‘everyone’ to think as they do.  By my own definition they fit within a rule that I established about 30 years ago (see below).  My answer is to get the opinions of people with strong biases from each side of an issue before deciding for yourself.  Repeat that process frequently, recognizing and admitting your own bias.

If ANYONE tells you they are NOT biased, then they will LIE to you about ANYTHING.” (Dann J. Flesher) (an original Flesher-ism, circa 1985)


Today, eight months later,
 I received notice of yet another comment on the original story. Over this time there have been pro/con comments, portraying either the avid trust of Snopes by some, or the disgust with Snopes by others.  Does this "Fact Checker" have the ability to judge all matters of human endeavors by claiming to operate as an "UNBIASED" source?

So, with the continuing comments, I felt compelled to repeat my own position, which, I had vainly hoped would end the discussion.months ago.  My position is about all such sources of judgement, not just Snopes.  This position is rather harsh and perhaps abrasive to some, and I can find no flaw in it, but then, I do admit that I am Biased.

To clarify, I personally have several 'biases', especially on subjects like Religion and Politics.  Recently I noted that I have a Political Bias somewhere to the right of Genghis Khan.  However I also have a strong Religious Bias... which thankfully prevents me from acting out my Political Bias.

Dann Flesher (July 20,2017)

At the risk of being redundant I will repeat my comment on this article made months ago. Since I have never heard it said before, and no one seems prone to repeat it, I will retain (and renew) my copyright on it here: repeat it only with the copyright notice attached. Since all humans are biased, this rule also applies to almost (?) every “human run Fact Checker”:

When someone says they are NOT biased, they will lie to you about anything.” (c) DJF 2017

Selah