Not my Monkeys, not my Circus

What Should I know about you as an Author?

Firstly, your personal likes and dislikes are your business, not mine.

A young author I follow doesn’t hesitate to share her opinions on social media. In her latest rant, she defends the government spending billions on 87k more IRS agents. Her argument is that they need the money to automate the IRS.

They are hiring 87 thousand more IRS agents trained to use guns and be prepared to shoot citizens. They are trained to do the dirty work. If there is an uprising, they will be on the front lines.

That’s not automation; that’s an army paid for by your tax dollars to go after the middle class who cannot afford expensive CPAs and Tax specialists.

Her rant is not formulated around the facts. Her rant is a concoction of half-truths created to sell the plan to the American people. (the check is in the mail…)

Your predilection regarding political affiliations is, again, your business. Again, how you feel about court rulings and specific candidates is your business, not mine.

• What genre do you write?
• Have you won any awards?
• What other books come close to your style?

You often see tweets or rants from authors who have no problem telling you that you should feel the way they do. I am reminded of schoolyard bullies poking each other in the chest while saying stupid shit like, ’it takes one to know one.’

Here is my free advice. Before you post a rant, challenge yourself to take the other side and do your best to defend it.

If you consider that the media’s job is no longer to inform but to drive ratings or clicks, you will quickly see that they use emotional triggers to accomplish that goal. Journalism is dead. Stories must drive ratings even if they are fake news.

Money is the driving force. We will miss the larger picture if we are at each other’s throats over men in girl’s showers. The political class is raping the country, selling it bits and pieces at a time to the highest bidder.

If a story about men in the girl’s locker room is broadcast, men with daughters will go ape shit. You don’t mess with daddy’s girl. The distraction will take several news cycles, and politicians will have buried the proverbial body by the time the dust settles.

Most of the things people will burn a city down for are fake news ginned up by the media for ratings. Ratings equal advertising dollars. I worked in the industry for years; trust me on this one grasshopper.

A perfect example of this is the current war. The Russians have the same DNA as the Ukrainians. They are most likely related in many ways. Now, you have some megalomaniac shell a girl’s dormitory, and you no longer have logical thinking humankind on the battlefield. What you have created is chaos on a massive scale, with each side only ‘feeling’ hate for the other. The rage over war atrocities will drive the very worst in mankind to sideline their humanity over their animalistic tendencies toward violence. Putin and other world leaders know this and use it.

We are so desensitized to man’s inhumanity that they just possibly should torture puppies. I would bet that act would cause kids to pick up arms and fight to the death.

This is how our media controls you. “Democrats are for killing babies! Republicans want to keep all women in the kitchen barefoot and pregnant!”

Neither is true, but if you tell a lie often enough, people will believe it. If they buy the lie, they will vote to put the devil in office, even if he promises to kill you. Yes, hate is much stronger than logic. The media has been successful in destroying Trump. If Biden or Trump were to tour the country handing out $100 bills to people for their vote, how many would not take the money? How many would take the money and lie to them and vote for the other guy anyway?

Ruminate on that last paragraph for a while. How many do you think will look in the mirror and question what kind of person they are? How many would care?

Politicians want to keep their power, which makes no difference if they are an R or a D.  

If you, as an author, take a side, you chance losing half your potential audience.

That, my friends, is why I suggest before you get worked up about an issue, dig deep and make an honest effort to argue the other side.

If you are forced to argue for something you oppose, you must learn the other side. Once open to the idea that you could be mistaken or your previous arguments came from a news report and not from facts, you will see how we can be divided as a people.

A substantial glaring example is race. I know well over 600 people, personally, as in I have shaken their hands, had dinner with them, etc. Out of all those folks, I know nobody who judges people by their skin color.

We are simply not a racist country. Yes, there are knuckle-dragging inbred monsters out there, but they are in the minority of mankind.

Those who willingly use the R-word are probably the ones who should look into the mirror.

Riddle me this… What would the world be like if we just shut off the cable news, the TV news, and so on? What if there were only news feeds that were not designed to trigger people?

‘Arizona is going to be wet for a few days. Heavy rainfall expected.’

What if opinion programs designed to stir up your emotions were canceled?

What if calling someone a racist was tantamount to screaming fire in a theatre?

As a writer, it is easy to write dystopian novels. Why? We are living in one right now. It’s all about money and power. Those at that level only care about their portfolio, not you or me.

My latest novel is on hold because today’s events interfere with my natural writing style. Yes, you can isolate yourself, but eventually, you will be exposed to the stupidness in the world. That ignorance will drive you to blog about it rather than write your novel.

The last advice I would offer aspiring writers or even established authors is this, get rid of the distractions. Take the smart speaker off your desk. Leave your phone in another room.

Think back to how some of the authors of years ago might have accomplished their novels. One author had a shack in the woods. I was thinking about creating a giant tree house with a ladder that I could pull up to stop all intruders.

In truth, I am considering building a cabin on some property I have that is relatively remote. Cell phone coverage is spotty, so that would do away with intrusions by smart speakers, spam calls, and of course, those attempting to sell me an extended warranty.

Now, what do you know about me?

• I am dedicated to the craft of writing.
• I go out of my way to assist other writers or authors.
• I stay informed, I vote, and then I let it go.
• I do not form opinions by what I hear or see from the media.
• I do my own fact-checking. Most online fact-checkers are an opinion of biased individuals.
• Where politicians are concerned, I never vote straight ticket.
• My personal feelings about someone do not predicate how I will vote; their actions do. What are their policies? How do they see Americans vs. the rest of the world?

We all have biases. Once you accept that truth, you can begin to see why the ‘other side feels the way they do. How they think does not make them right or wrong, it is just how they feel.

There is no such thing as your or my truth; there is only ‘the truth.’ Some will go to war over nothing more than a half-truth or how they feel.

If you choose to pontificate on social media, be ready to fight with those that follow you and be prepared to lose potential customers. Arguing with idiots is a waste of time.

There was a meme with some milk advertisement regarding the names of the cows from which the milk came. Some fuck wit posted the following. “I couldn’t help but notice that all those names are girls’ names. Misogyny is alive and well at this company.”

Since I don’t argue with unwise people, why should I spend my time attempting to tell her that milking a bull might get you a BFF? It is almost as if people are looking for a fight.

I often feel like starting a group on social media… “What offended you today?” the world is changing and not for the better.

A man attacked a lady in plain sight of several people. Instead of stopping the attack, the bystanders pulled out their phones and attempted to capture the whole fight on video. Once the video is captured, the first to upload it wins. Is that the game? Is that the brave new world we are living in?

Think before you speak. Read history before you espouse your feelings. If you take the time to attempt to argue their point, that puts you way ahead of the rest. Distinguish the facts from more than the TV or Radio. Knowing the difference between a cow and a bull is also good.

As always, Happy writing!

-TW

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We Hold these Truths to be self-evident …

I was amazed to read that Louis Lerner wanted her testimony sealed.  The head of the IRS that targeted conservative groups during the 2012 election process now wants her statements sealed as she is afraid for herself and her family if the public were to have access to them.

Let’s think about this one.  She used the most powerful agency in the United States, the IRS to swing the outcome of the 2012 Election to the Democrats, and she is only now worried about her actions?  The New York Times in a show of actual journalism should publish the entire transcript on the front page!

If Hillary had won would the public know about this blatant attack on democracy by our own government?

She is a criminal and has forfeited her rights to ask to have her crimes hidden. Why is she not behind bars? Her safety from upset citizens should be the least of her worries!  I bet Martha Stewart is pissed.  Her crimes were child’s play in comparison to that of this person.

CNN and MSNBC have been talking Russia for the last ten months, and now we have actual proof that the IRS targeted conservative groups to stop them from helping Romney and other conservative candidates in 2012. Yes, that is collusion with the then current Obama administration.

It makes no difference which side of the political divide you find yourself, you too should be aghast by this, and demand that people like Louis Lerner are exposed and prosecuted.  One of the things that make the US such a great place to live, is we have fair elections.  Don’t  we?  Are they truly fair?

Hillary said in an interview not long ago that if Fox News had been around when her husband was running, he would not have won.  Now let that sink in for a moment.  What she is inferring is that Fox news is not fair and balanced, that they are not journalists.

What she really is saying or admitting to, is that they would have investigated his every dealing, and just possibly talked more about his predatory sexual predilections, which have dominated the news these last few weeks.  Women do not like men who are in power to rape them.   I know of no woman who likes being raped in the first place!  Had Fox news been around then, she is right; he would have been exposed as the creep that he is, and Monika would not be a household name associated with a semen stain on her blue dress!

The larger question is, where were ABC, CBS and CNN and MSNBC?  Why were they not on top of this story?

Fox news like all news agencies has journalists who are biased, but if you look at their stories, they will call out the Republicans as well as the Democrats.  Do they play to their base, of course, but they do report more middle of the road, than does their competition.  This fact has been statistically proven, it is just not my opinion.

If it is truly about money and market share one would think that CNN would be more middle of the road instead of so far left leaning.  If Fox is doing so well, why not lean right?

Negative stories garner more attention so spinning the news in a negative format sells more air time.  CNN and MSNBC are two of the companies who have more negative coverage on our current president than anyone in that market. If you hate Trump and want to feel good, watch them.  If you would like the actual truth you might look elsewhere.  Russia Today is more unbiased than they are.

News like anything else is all about ratings.  Ratings attract advertisers. Commercials pay for the airtime that the talking heads use to pontificate on their particular take on the stories of the day.  CNN and MSNBC I don’t believe are as biased for political reasons that many think that they are.  What they are doing is playing to their base, keeping their ratings alive through spewing out reasons to hate Trump.  Emotions are easy tools to manipulate you with.  People love bad news about someone that they do not like.

“Gees TW that is a harsh claim!”

Really? If a football team that you don’t like has a key player that is injured, do you not get some feeling of joy from that as now your team which will be playing them next might have an advantage?  It is our secret but, think about it.  We love bad news when it is about someone we don’t like.

Not only do we eat up bad news but we will more readily spread the bad news on social media if it will play to our base.  That is a sad commentary on the human race, don’t you think?

If you have made it this far, good for you.

The only way to fix a problem is to admit that it exists and then identify it.  Once you can identify it, you can name it and figure out how to dismantle it. People who are what I call “asleep” don’t want to hear it.  They certainly don’t want to read it.

The truth of the matter is that if people are biased one way or the other, they do not want to hear opposing thoughts. It does not make a difference if it is the truth, they don’t want to listen to it.

Still don’t believe me???

How many times have you heard some parent say, “not my kid!”  Maybe you have said it yourself, “my kid would never do that!”

Some good friends of mine said that about their kid.  It is called denial… When they heard that he was seen doing drugs with some other children, they asked him about it. “Oh no mom, when I saw what they were doing I left them, I will never even see them again!  Drugs are stupid just like you always say mom.” They believed the lies because to quote Jack Nicholson; they could not handle the truth.

Two weeks later they went up to his room to get him up, as he was late for Church.  They found him dead in his bed.  Cause of death, he drowned in his own vomit due to overdosing on the very drugs that he denied he was taking.  True story, very sad. I grieved with them but, I knew the problem then as I do now.  We don’t want to hear the truth!

It is our nature not to want to hear that which we find repugnant unless it is about the other guy.  The scream from his mother was indicative of the looks on the faces from the Hillary supporters the night that she lost to Trump.  Ten months later we still have a divided country because many cannot handle the truth.

Some perfectly dishonest politicians are still trying to float impeachment proceedings to play to their base so they will get re-elected.  It is foolish showmanship but some hateful folks out there will buy it.

Hillary was a flawed candidate and never should have been the DNC pick!  They underestimated the appeal of a populist and were more worried about Bernie, than Trump.  The mere fact that she rigged the election to screw Bernie is more than the proof you should need.  The Billy Bass tape was their ace in the hole.  They were wrong.

Today we read that many of the FBI agents that were investigating Hillary’s emails were huge supporters of hers.  They hid the evidence against her, rather than do their jobs.

Government officials just like white cops cannot be prejudiced against the other political side, or different colors of humans.  The tapestry of America is weaved together with all different kinds of humans who appear and think a little differently.  It is called diversity.  From race to political affiliation they are all necessary and make up the whole of who we are as a people, Americans!

I don’t have to hold your beliefs to be kind and respectful of you as a human.  The converse is also true.

Why is that concept so hard to embrace?

We hear all this talk about racism and bias but, we do nothing about it other than perpetuating the atmosphere that begat it in the first place.

• Journalists are to report the events, not create them.
• The IRS is to enforce the tax laws as they are, not make them up for different groups.
• Judges are to enforce the laws and the constitution, applying them equally to all with a blind eye to race, sex or political affiliation. They are not to change the meaning of the constitution for some political agenda.
• Police are to protect and to serve without any racial partiality or bigotry.

You the people, the citizens, are who pay them, they work for you.

You cannot fix what you cannot or refuse to identify.  With many, it is a heart issue.  If you do not believe what I am telling you, and I get that many will want to write and tell me how full of it I am, do this first.

If you are a Fox news person, watch CNN and MSNBC.  I know that you will be angry and upset at watching the hate and contempt from the other side but listen for any truths.  Could there be some truth to what they are saying?

Mika Brzezinski was caught on camera talking about what they do.  She said and I quote, “We tell the American people what to think.”  That my friends is arrogance run amuck! No honey, you report the facts whatever they are period.  It is called journalism.  Anything else is called propaganda!

If you are in the camp of CNN and MSNBC and of course Bill Mahar and the other nightly comedians that pass off their acts as news, you watch Fox News and do the same exercise.  Could there be any truth in what any of the folks are saying?  Sit through the evening line up and make notes. Yes, watch Hannity as well.  He is entertaining at least.

When you are all sick of the biases that you will have no doubt spotted, go and find OAN news.  The news media that both sides of the spectrum hate.  They are doing whatever they can to get them removed from the cable lineup.  Why???  They merely report the facts, no spin.  Some of their talent is rather sophomoric but, the facts are just the facts.  You are smart enough to make up your own minds.

The press is indeed our eyes and ears on the goings on in our country.  We depend on them to report the facts.  We need the true facts so we can make informed decisions.  Folks we are not getting that.  Journalism is all but dead in this country, and we as a people need to demand better.  How?  Stop watching them, watch or listen to OAN.  Support agencies that provide the unbiased truth.

Back in the early days of civilization, there was one entity which all came from. Do you know what it was?  No, not god but close, it was the Catholic Church.  They were the spiritual leader of all the people.  They were the teachers of everything that they thought you needed to know.  They were also the government which would have you killed if you defied them.  I kid you not, this was one powerful bunch of people and the citizens were slaves to them.  They did tell them what to think, with death or prison being the option for anyone that dared not fall into lockstep agreement.  Did you know it was illegal in the day to own your own bible?  It is true, can you guess why?

They did not want you thinking for yourself much like it was illegal to educate slaves in early American history, the same was true back during the early church.  Today in N. Korea this is still true.  Not the church but the government is the ultimate supreme authority with brainwashing as their main industry.

How do we fix this country???

We start by hearing and accepting the truth no matter how ugly it is. You cannot fix what you don’t acknowledge.  It is like going to the doctor with pain, and he tells you that you have cancer.  Do you say ok, I have cancer what can we do about it?  Or, do you say, that is not possible and leave his office not dealing with the diagnosis?  Many in this country are leaving cancer untreated, which will be the death of this country as we know it.  Many who have pain will not go to the doctor for fear that it is cancer.  They just don’t want to know the truth.

Learn to look for and embrace the truth no matter what it is.  If some facts are unbelievable, check many sources before you re-post on social media a lie, perpetrated by some other country or a hate-filled moron.  Snopes is not a reliable source of information BTW.

These ANTIFA criminals are one more symptom of this cancer.  They believe that what they are doing is anti-fascism, but in reality, they are the fascist and also criminals. They have bought the lies from hate-filled professors who are spewing it and are acting on it. All they have to do is trigger them emotionally, and they will respond.  Their actions will seem just, so that they will commit to them and act on them.  They will destroy their own campus and prevent the very free speech that they say that they are fighting for.  They are in fact misguided youth under the control of evil people.

The men who flew the planes into the twin towers killing thousands felt that their actions were just, and were determined to their cause.  They too believed in their mission.  There is no difference. If you think that there is, you are mistaken.

Civilized debate on the topics are necessary, and that cannot start until you are ready to listen!  You must be willing to hear that you have cancer.  Until then, the violence and unrest will continue, and the barbarians both in DC and in positions of power elsewhere will continue to prevail.  The useful idiots of the power brokers will fight their battles, helping cancer to win.  The power brokers must be identified and held accountable. Mrs. Lerner is one and needs to be behind bars.  An example needs to make out of her and her ilk.

Her testimony needs to be on the front page of some paper, that has a smidgeon of integrity left.

As always I am interested in your take on my blogs.  Spending much time writing them, it is always nice to at least get a like or a new follower.  Feel free to disagree but please keep in mind that I ignore truculence or perfidy of any sort.

My novels are just about always uplifting and enjoyable, so if you are not already a reader, please check one or more out.  From Science fiction to romance to erotic naughtiness, it is all out there for you to enjoy.

Thanks for the follows and re-tweets.  While much of what I do is for you, this is a marketing tool for my novels, and I unabashedly admit it.  These blogs are full of useful information, or thoughts or ideas to pontificate over around the water cooler or dinner table.

My novels are certainly more entertaining and are selling nicely worldwide. Be one of my followers here so you can say you knew me when.  My goal is to quit the day job and write full time.  Number #26 is almost finished, and then we have to decide what the subject matter will be for #27  … Ideas?  What would you like to see or read?

Much Love -TW