https://newslit.org/

Before you go on, an article in the May 8 & May 22 issue of Science News ran with a cover "Awash in Deception:  How science can help us avoid being duped by misinformation."  In the lead article titled: "The Battle Against Fake News," Alexandra Witze presents five suggestions on how to debunk bad information.  They come from the News Literacy Project (see the above link).

How to Debunk:

1.  Arm yourself with media literacy skills, at sites such as the News Literacy Project (newslit.org), to better understand how to spot hoax videos and stories.

2.  Don't stigmatize people for holding inaccurate beliefs.  Show empathy and respect, or you're more likely to alienate your audience than successfully share accurate information.

3.  Translate complicated but true ideas into simple messages that are easy to grasp.  Videos, graphics and other visual aids can help.

4.  When possible, once you provide a factual alternative to the misinformation, explain the underlying fallacies (such as cherry- picking information, a common tactic of climate change deniers.

5.  Mobilize when you see misinformation being shared on social media as soon as possible. If you see something, say something.

"Misinformation is any information that is incorrect, whether due to error or fake news.  

"Disinformation is deliberately intended to deceive."

"Propaganda is disinformation with a political agenda."

Sander van der Linden
Social Psychologist
University of Cambridge

Source:  Science News/May 8, 2021 & May 22, 2021

Composer Kurt Bestor composed this song based on the effect that this tragic civil war between Bosnians, Croatians and Serbians was having on the children of the region. The civil war occurred in the aftermath of the death of Yugoslavia’s strongman president Josef Tito in 1980 and continued into the mid 1990’s. Read more about it by following this link to the story behind “Prayer of the Children” found on Mr. Bestor’s website.

I first sang this song in the mid 1990’s with the Bakersfield Masterworks Chorale. It brought the war home to me. Even though it was in a distant far off land that I knew almost nothing about, the tune and the words were forever to be etched in my memory as a singer and as a human being. The BMC performance of this piece was a live performance. I sang it with tears streaming town my face while makings every effort that I could to produce the sound and words that would give our audience to have their own reactions to the message of the song.

As the scope of the tragic war in Ukraine unfolded, it became evident that the level of suffering for children in Ukraine has reached the levels of those in the post Yugoslavian Balkan states. When Unitarian Universalist choir director John Ector brought this song back in 2022, I was more than ready to add my voice to the choir tasked with performing and recording this piece in the context of the invasion of Ukraine.

This time the song was recorded in virtual choir form. Each member of the choir digitally recorded one or more tracks and submitted them to Ector who then turned them into a choral piece using his skills as a musician and sound engineer. I think that my vocal quality was improved in this 2022 performance. Normally I thrive on performing in front of a live audience, but in this case I believe that performing in front of a microphone alone in my back room recording “studio” was the most effective venue for sharing this piece and communicating the message embedded within it.

I am including this recording by the Alegria Singers of the First Unitarian Church of San Jose, California for you to experience. Any re-use of the song is subject to the approval of Mr. John Ector who arranged this song for Alegria.

I recommend that you close your eyes and listen with headphones or ear buds to enhance the listening experience and get the most out of the piece. Enjoy.

Thanks,

Bruce

https://newslit.org/

Before you go on, an article in the May 8 & May 22 issue of Science News ran with a cover "Awash in Deception:  How science can help us avoid being duped by misinformation."  In the lead article titled: "The Battle Against Fake News," Alexandra Witze presents five suggestions on how to debunk bad information.  They come from the News Literacy Project (see the above link).

How to Debunk:

1.  Arm yourself with media literacy skills, at sites such as the News Literacy Project (newslit.org), to better understand how to spot hoax videos and stories.

2.  Don't stigmatize people for holding inaccurate beliefs.  Show empathy and respect, or you're more likely to alienate your audience than successfully share accurate information.

3.  Translate complicated but true ideas into simple messages that are easy to grasp.  Videos, graphics and other visual aids can help.

4.  When possible, once you provide a factual alternative to the misinformation, explain the underlying fallacies (such as cherry- picking information, a common tactic of climate change deniers.

5.  Mobilize when you see misinformation being shared on social media as soon as possible. If you see something, say something.

"Misinformation is any information that is incorrect, whether due to error or fake news.  

"Disinformation is deliberately intended to deceive."

"Propaganda is disinformation with a political agenda."

Sander van der Linden
Social Psychologist
University of Cambridge

Source:  Science News/May 8, 2021 & May 22, 2021

I had said that I would be focusing on the topic of love. I intend to honor that pledge today in Singing Cyclist style.

It is hard to address Love unless it is addressed in the context of Life. The two are both four letter words that start with “L” and the two words would seem to have a universal acceptance as words that draw good feelings from the frontal lobe of the human brain.

These two four letter words are far more pleasing to the frontal lobe than another four letter word starting with the sixth letter of the alphabet that I have used far too often over the past Trump number of years.

I’m not getting into the origins, religious attachments or romantic aspects of the word yet, but they will eventually be addressed here. I am going to opine about the role of Love in the world today.

I mean the world in this unspecified period of time when we Earthlings are transitioning from oligarchies to true democracies, from pure capitalism to envirocapitalism, from racial superiority culture to multiracial inclusionary culture.

We are in the midst of a titanic last ditch effort by dark forces to hold onto the political, economic and cultural systems of the past. So far, the dark forces appear to be winning. They have been preparing for these last days for decades. Now that the light has been shined on them, they are starting to squirm much like an Earthworm exposed to sunlight after blissfully burrowing in the darkness of the underworld.

But, they are in a position of power. They are using tools that for the rational person would seem inhumane, ignorant and illogical. Rationality cannot be assumed in the United States of America today. It has been purposefully undermined by disinformation and propaganda by disingenuous forces disguising themselves under a thin veneer of racial division, COVID chaos and warfare against peaceful people practicing democracy.

About midway through writing this piece, I watched a segment on the TV show 60 Minutes highlighting a project by National Public Radio called Story Corps. The concept behind StoryCorps came from the mind of NPR Producer Dave Isay. You can view an animated history of the project here.

"StoryCorps' mission is to preserve and share humanity's stories in order to build connections between people and create a more just and compassionate world."

The focus of the 60 Minutes piece was another project that emerged in the spirit of StoryCorps putting a focus on getting people from opposite sides of the political spectrum together to talk. The program is called “One Small Step.” It provides a forum to talk with someone with an opposing political belief and to find some common ground with them by listening to their story.

I have tended to take a confrontational and sometimes antagonist tone in my writings. Although I believe that love needs to sometimes be tough, I think that Dave Isay and his staff at NPR are right on with “One Small Step.” As Dave said in his 60 Minutes interview, and I paraphrase: You won’t change anyones mind by calling them dumb, stupid or out of touch.

The link to how to get involved with “One Small Step” is linked in the previous paragraph.

We are all trying to make sense of a world that it is hard to find sense in these days. Perhaps we can take a lesson from “One Step at a Time” and step away from the anger of ignorance and take a step toward the peace of talking with each other.

Coming back to finish this after breakfast and after reading a Letter to the Editor in my local paper , The San Jose Mercury News, I am once again reminded of the power of disinformation and propaganda. My previous response would have been anger and vulgarity toward Mr. Gutmann. My new response is how about we try to find some common ground and talk to each other human being to human being. Thanks to Dave Isay and to Mr. Gutmann for coming together to bring about this change in me.

https://newslit.org/

Before you go on, an article in the May 8 & May 22 issue of Science News ran with a cover "Awash in Deception:  How science can help us avoid being duped by misinformation."  In the lead article titled: "The Battle Against Fake News," Alexandra Witze presents five suggestions on how to debunk bad information.  They come from the News Literacy Project (see the above link).

How to Debunk:

1.  Arm yourself with media literacy skills, at sites such as the News Literacy Project (newslit.org), to better understand how to spot hoax videos and stories.

2.  Don't stigmatize people for holding inaccurate beliefs.  Show empathy and respect, or you're more likely to alienate your audience than successfully share accurate information.

3.  Translate complicated but true ideas into simple messages that are easy to grasp.  Videos, graphics and other visual aids can help.

4.  When possible, once you provide a factual alternative to the misinformation, explain the underlying fallacies (such as cherry- picking information, a common tactic of climate change deniers.

5.  Mobilize when you see misinformation being shared on social media as soon as possible. If you see something, say something.

"Misinformation is any information that is incorrect, whether due to error or fake news.  

"Disinformation is deliberately intended to deceive."

"Propaganda is disinformation with a political agenda."

Sander van der Linden
Social Psychologist
University of Cambridge

Source:  Science News/May 8, 2021 & May 22, 2021

Composer Jason Shelton’s song “Love Has Already Won” is a valuable song just in it’s title let alone in the song’s lyrics. I’m going to be spending a considerable amount time in this blog examining the topic of Love.

“Love Has Already Won”
Words and Music by Jason Shelton
Keyboard Processing, Engineering, and Vocals by John M Ector
Copyright © 2017 Jason Shelton

1. 
In the flash of hate and terror
In the sinful lie of fear
There’s a yearning deep in ev’ry soul
A longing to hear:

Refrain: 
Love has already won,
love has already won,
just as sure as the day greets the morning sun.
Love has already won,
Love has already won!
Be not afraid, love has already won.
2. 
Will this violence break our spirits?
Will this pain tear us apart?
There’s an answer deep in ev’ry soul
This truth in our hearts:

Refrain: 
Love has already won,
love has already won,
just as sure as the day greets the morning sun.
Love has already won,
Love has already won!
Be not afraid, love has already won.

3. 
Let us rise in love and justice
Let us heed the prophets’ call
May the faithfulness of ev’ry soul
Bring hope for us all
Refrain (last time): 
Love has already won,
love has already won,
just as sure as the day greets the morning sun.
Love has already won,
Love has already won!
Be not afraid, love has already won.
Be not afraid, love has already won.
Be not afraid, love has already won.

Events over the past several years, more specifically since Donald Trump stepped into the political arena and somehow managed to become President of the United States, I have been forced to examine more closely what the word “Love” means. Where did the word come from, why is it important, what does it look like, how does it affect us, how it applies to our adversaries and much more I’m sure.

This piece begins my examination of Love. Thanks to the First Unitarian Church of San Jose, Jason Shelton, John M. Ector and the technical wizardry of the FUCSJ Tech team for sharing this piece at the multi-platform service of March 20, 2022. The next posting will be centered around another musical offering by John M. Ector. This piece is titled “Love Is.”

https://newslit.org/

Before you go on, an article in the May 8 & May 22 issue of Science News ran with a cover "Awash in Deception:  How science can help us avoid being duped by misinformation."  In the lead article titled: "The Battle Against Fake News," Alexandra Witze presents five suggestions on how to debunk bad information.  They come from the News Literacy Project (see the above link).

How to Debunk:

1.  Arm yourself with media literacy skills, at sites such as the News Literacy Project (newslit.org), to better understand how to spot hoax videos and stories.

2.  Don't stigmatize people for holding inaccurate beliefs.  Show empathy and respect, or you're more likely to alienate your audience than successfully share accurate information.

3.  Translate complicated but true ideas into simple messages that are easy to grasp.  Videos, graphics and other visual aids can help.

4.  When possible, once you provide a factual alternative to the misinformation, explain the underlying fallacies (such as cherry- picking information, a common tactic of climate change deniers.

5.  Mobilize when you see misinformation being shared on social media as soon as possible. If you see something, say something.

"Misinformation is any information that is incorrect, whether due to error or fake news.  

"Disinformation is deliberately intended to deceive."

"Propaganda is disinformation with a political agenda."

Sander van der Linden
Social Psychologist
University of Cambridge

Source:  Science News/May 8, 2021 & May 22, 2021

The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.

 He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters. He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name’s sake.

Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.

Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over.

 Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the LORD for ever.

The 23rd Psalm from the King James Version of the Christian Bible

Donald Trump's performance at CPAC on behalf of the Russsian dictator was an open act of sedition.  Ask these 16 Republican Senators that supported reauthorizing the Civil Rights Act in 2008 how they feel about supporting federal voting rights legislation now! 

Sens. McConnell, Grassley, Shelby, Crapo, Collins, Burr, Inhofe, Graham, Thune, Cornyn, Blackburn, Blunt, Boozman, Capito, Moran, and Wicker.

It takes a little longer the first time that you make email contact, but once you've done it, the process goes pretty fast.

Sample Message:  "Donald Trump spoke out in favor of Vladimir Putin at CPAC.  Trump supports tyrants and tyranny.  What side do you stand on?"

In peace and action.

“Anyone who can make you believe absurdities can make you commit atrocities.”

Voltaire

(Note that underlined text are links to more information to help you understand my opinion better)

Max Wilner-Giwerc, a law student at the University of Chicago makes the point in an Op-Ed published this morning in the San Jose Mercury News, that the current work stoppage in Major League Baseball could be solved with one revolutionary change in the conflict resolution process between players and owners.

Let the fans decide.

Former MLB Commissioner A. Bartlett Giamatti, a former professor of Renaissance Literature and the Seventh Commissioner of MLB for way too short a time, said during the

“[Baseball] breaks your heart. It is designed to break your heart. The game begins in the spring, when everything else begins again, and it blossoms in the summer, filling the afternoons and evenings, and then as soon as the chill rains come, it stops and leaves you to face the fall all alone. You count on it, rely on it to buffer the passage of time, to keep the memory of sunshine and high skies alive, and then just when the days are all twilight, when you need it most, it stops.”

― A. Bartlett Giamatti, Take Time For Paradise: Americans And Their Games

1981 Baseball strike in a statement directed at both players and owners: “Remember that you are custodians of an enduring public trust.” He was suggesting that the public, the fans should be the arbitrator in resolving the “mercantile spats,” and “squalid little squabbles” that stood in the way of getting on the field and playing the game.

Wilner-Gewerc disagreed with Giamatti in that we, the fans of the game, do care about the “mercantile spats” and “squalid little squabbles” because they are about fairness, equity and justice and we deeply care about those things in baseball and in the wider world outside baseball (what? world outside baseball? Absurd notion).

The way baseball arbitration works is that in certain salary disputes where a player and a team cannot agree on a salary, both sides can submit their proposals to a third party arbitrator who must choose one of the two proposals as the final solution to the standoff. There is no splitting the difference, it is either this one or that one. Their choice will be made between the two proposals.

Wilner-Gewerc suggests that applying this concept to the current MLB lockout might stand to benefit from this system of baseball arbitration as a way to moderate the proposals from each side and facilitate a faster resolution to the issues standing in the way of starting Spring Training this year. Wilner-Gewerc suggests that the arbitrator assigned to decide on which proposals are to be implemented should be…drum roll please…THE FANS!

I agree with Mr. Wilner-Gewerc. We, the public, should be the final arbiters of the public trust.

Dammit, “Play ball!”

Archbishop Desmond Tutu

Here is a link to watch the documentary film ” Mission : Joy” made of the 2015 meeting between the Dalai Lama and Desmond Tutu in Dharamshala, India. It is a film based on Douglas Abram’s book “The Book of Joy..” This link is good until Tuesday, February 15. It is just under 90 minutes long. Please find time to watch it.

Enjoy!

Happy Valentine’s Day! I love you.

If you are neutral in situations of injustice, you have chosen the side of the oppressor.

If an elephant has it’s foot on the tail of a mouse and you say that you are neutral, the mouse will not appreciate your neutrality.

Archbishop Desmond Tutu

Writing comes naturally for me. What i mean by that is that I write when I get the call to write. It isn’t forced and since i’m not paid to do it, I am not subject to creativity-inhibiting enforced deadlines which constrict the flow of oxygen my the brain.

I know it is natural when the thoughts transcend my plodding hunt-and- peck style of typing and get the words on the screen in a continuous, flowing manner despite my attempts to constrict it with my limited typing skills.

I’m typing with one hand right now because I am donating platelets at the Stanford Blood Center and I have a rather large needle in my left arm. But that isn’t slowing my thought process. The thoughts just get in line behind the thoughts that came first and patiently wait their turns as I search for keys on the laptop keyboard.

This post is titled ‘Stories” because of the role that my writing plays in giving me access to the life stories of others when I share the blog on Facebook.

I don’t routinely look at Facebook unless I have my own story to share. In so doing, I have sort of conditioned myself to only listen to other stories when I have one to share myself. Since I like reading the stories of my friends and family, I tend to write more regularly because I want to hear their stories.

It is a cycle amplified during COVID by the imposed limitations on face-to-face contact due to safety measures designed to slow the spread of the virus. Although I am getting out more now and seeing my local neighbors, friends and church family more often these days, I find that I crave the stories of my more distant loved ones even more now than I did earlier in the Pandemic.

That craving has unconsciously increased the volume of my writing. Because the writing only happens when I feel the call to write, the call to write is happening more often, I’m reading more of your stories. Does that make sense? I share because you share.

My most recent example of this synergy is Maurine’s story about the scattering of a dear friend’s ashes in her yard. Since Maurine is in Arizona, I wouldn’t have heard this story had it not been for social media and the coded bits and bytes that make the transport of her story possible.

So, the cycle continues. And as it continues, I am better equipped to deal with the slings and arrows of the outrageous behaviors around me (and us) because i can hear you, listen to you and respond to you in a timely way. Literary nature is calling more often these days and that makes me happy!

Keep your stories coming. I look forward to hearing them. If you enjoy my posts then pat yourself on the back because you are the inspiration and joy behind stories.

Thanks so much for being a part of my life.