Writing Articles on Medium.com

I recently created an account on Medium.com, which is kind of like the Youtube for writers. I'll be posting most of my future writing over there. I'm tackling a wide variety of subjects, from the coronavirus to the moon landings, the flat Earth, Bill Gates, 5G cell phone towers, vaccines and more. You can check out my page here.

The Folly of Perpetual Outrage

I recently unfriended someone on Facebook who I had been friends with online for years. We hadn't met in person, but we'd exchanged a fair amount of comments and a few messages, and I liked her as much as I knew her, and still do actually.

We'd also had a few differences of opinion at times that occasionally got a bit contentious, without turning into full-on arguments. Actually we had a lot of differences of opinion. But mostly it was a matter of her posting views I disagreed with to some extent, me reading them and usually not commenting because I knew it would likely lead to an argument. It wasn't so much her positions I disagreed with as it was her tone and her approach to solving the problems she would bring up.

The Plague of Illogical Contrarianism

Fun Fact: Just because the governments of the world are corrupt does not therefore mean that your conspiracy theory is true.

This is an all too common line of reasoning these days that's frustrating as heck to try to respond to. It comes up over and over again, not only in internet discussions, but in real-life conversations as well. There's a wave of understandable rejection of the status quo and establishment information going on these days, going viral you could say (in both senses of the word), being spread far and wide due to the easy access of sharing information that is the internet.

Support Freedom of the Press

CNN article about leaders in Asia cracking down on the press:

https://edition.cnn.com/2018/01/28/asia/asia-fake-news-media-repression-intl/index.html

This is what our fascist president is inspiring. The rise of the cruel, heartless dictators. Our media is far from perfect, but it's what we've got and it's way better than nothing. Keep in mind that "the media" is not one thing with one source and one agenda. The media is thousands of journalists with different opinions and loyalties and agendas. Most are hard working individuals committed to covering what is happening as truthfully as possible. Yes there is corruption, there are business interests that influence certain stories, there is bias and distortion. But guess what? All of that exists in the medical industry as well. Is the solution then to burn down all the hospitals? No. We don't need to tear down the media. We need to improve it by keeping it free and open to more voices, not by constricting it. What Trump and these other dictators-at-heart want is fake news: propaganda that supports their tyrannical agenda. They are power-hungry egomaniacs who can't stand to be questioned. Defend press freedom, it's the most powerful force there is against tyranny.

No Way in Hell Was the Moon Landing a Hoax

Earth seen from the moon (photo designated Creative Commons).

The first proof that the moon landings did indeed occur as reported is video evidence. Tons and tons and tons of it. Not just a few short clips of some guys bouncing around on a lunar surface, but every aspect of the 6 manned moon missions are captured on video. You need to debunk the video evidence properly. And all of the attempted debunking of the videos that I've come across can be answered to and explained.

This One Small Rule Change Could Revolutionize Soccer Forever

Not exactly a critical issue in these times of turbulence, but I was just in a restaurant getting a late dinner and a soccer game was playing on TV. I'm for the most part pro sports, philosophically at least (not necessarily economically, but that's a different subject). But I don't watch much and don't have any favorite teams in any sport. I can enjoy watching most sports for some period of time, all depending on what else is going on. But other than maybe the World Cup or the Olympics, I could hardly give a hoot who wins. I did however play soccer (football, for all you non American/Canadians) on a team through most of my childhood. 

Awkward Travel Stories: Ordering Food in a Foreign Language

I've been in Peru only three days and don't know the dishes hardly at all. So I've basically been ordering things randomly (recognizing a few words like "pollo" for chicken and "bistek" for steak) and so far, so good.

So I tried this new restaurant where I am in Arequipa (in the Andes at about 6,000 feet, ringed by volcanoes), partly because the guy enthusiastically cajoled me in. There was a special on the menu for 5 Peruvian sols (as in sol, for the sun). That's about $1.50.