Believe what you will, but at your peril.

Albert Einstein once remarked:

“Two things are infinite: the universe and human stupidity, and I’m not sure about the universe.”

Hornswoggle – to get the better of someone by cheating or deception. It originally described someone who was embarrassed irretrievably, but we now have a new appreciation for this term…

I asked AI: Why do we believe what we hear and see?

AI replied: “Humans tend to believe what they see and hear due to a combination of cognitive biases, evolutionary predispositions, and social conditioning. Our brains are wired to process visual information quickly and are naturally inclined to trust what appears real, a tendency exploited by techniques like deepfakes. Social learning and trust in authority figures also contribute to our belief in information, even if it’s not critically examined.”

Here’s a marketing tidbit: Psychologists suggest that 55% of communication comes from visual cues, while only 7% comes from the words used, and that truth is an illusion based on the amount of exposure; the more exposure, the more likely we are to believe it. Pictures are eight times more compelling than the words used to describe them. The average Merkan spends about 9 hours a day watching something on their digital screens, the world average is a third of that.

This explains the diligence that advertisers and broadcasters use in selecting the proper image to sell their products. Yet we’re bombarded with an endless torrent of words creating the vision when pictures are impractical; pictures don’t work on the radio, but a skillful wordsmith can paint a persuasive portrait in your mind.

You’re no doubt familiar with these words: Deepfakes, Disinformation, Malinformation, and Misinformation… They’re in the mainstream media constantly, and even if the words are missing, the associated images speak louder.

We’re programmed to respond to specific words, phrases, and especially images that correspond with what we see and believe. The prejudices created in this programming are impossible to overcome, primarily when that bias is based on deeply ingrained emotions like love and hate; hate being the stronger.

Where would the American Marxist Party be without hate? And where would the Conservatives be without someone to fear?

We’re predisposed to seek out data that supports our biases, and the more substantial the prejudice, the more meaningful the supporting data. Mainstream Media know this, so what you see and hear from them supports their corporate narrative. The narrative is essential, but it’s only a tool for generating and maintaining the revenue stream.

”Love is what you make of it. Hate is what it makes of you.”

Here’s a handy chart that ranks the political leanings of the top media companies. It’s helpful to know the political bias of your information source. [Bias Checker] If you intend to maintain a balanced level of information, or if you want to avoid media bias altogether, consider those sources in the ‘Center’ column. I offer this as a tool to sort through the thousands of sources available. There are others if you’re curious. This might be an excellent task for AI, but remember that it has its own biases.

Do you recall the phrase, ‘A picture is worth a thousand words‘? What do you see on your Alter of Enlightenment, your digital display, every moment of every day? These pictures speak to you, but what do they say? Each image conveys a compelling message; you may not be aware of this programming, but it’s there.

Perhaps you’ve heard the terms Phishing, Click-bait, or Spoofing?

Computer fraud costs Merkans over $16.6 billion in 2024, and it’s expected to increase by 33% this year.

Merka’s gullibility is astonishing. A person in authority can insist that what we see doesn’t exist. Who’s lying? Didn’t you see it, or is this influencer trying to change your mind?

Merkans tend to click the button to see what’s there – that’s another deeply ingrained program: curiosity. That’s the one that hackers and cyber-criminals rely on.

There is science and art to merchandising and communications, and it’s booming in Merka. It’s the process of using images and supporting text to evoke an emotional response, then connecting that response to a desired action.

Sex sells; doesn’t it?

In the past seventy-plus years, I have experienced so few genuine people that I don’t trust anyone I don’t know personally, and I distrust some of those as I’ve come to know them. I take sincere solace in the handful of people whom I trust. People call me cynical, but I prefer to think of myself as a super-cynic, as my friend Sam often reminds me.

If my life in Merka taught me anything, it’s that there are precious few trustworthy people, especially those who wave a righteous religious or political banner, or are selling something. That includes almost everyone; even me…

I may delve into religion someday; I draw a very distinct line between religion and faith… That would be an interesting effort.

When I think about today’s topic, the acronym BOHICA comes to mind immediately. “Bend Over Here It Comes Again” is a reference to the Vietnam War and serves as a harbinger of bad things to come, along with FUBAR and SNAFU. Go to the interweb for more information. These acronyms grew from the CF that this ‘Police Action’ really was. The estimates show that three million people died during this action, and 58,220 of them were Americans; too many were my friends; over 150,000 Americans were injured, like me.

We actually hear a version of the truth from the Corporate Media Complex during their broadcasts, but it’s tempered to present a biased view, depending on the political leanings of the owners. And then there was the Gubmint’s version of what was going on… Another column for another time.

Consider the word perspective: a particular attitude toward or way of regarding something; a point of view.

If there is any reality in this thing called truth, it should be universal, but I maintain that it’s anything but… Truth, like beauty, is in the eye of the beholder. It’s interpretive and perspective-based, so what’s true for me might not be true for you, and vice versa. That makes reporting or relaying information complex, to say the least, and problematic at best.

People often say they’re “living their truth,” meaning they act in line with their values and beliefs. But what if my values and beliefs are different? According to the definition, it directly affects the overall truth, so truth as we know it is inconsistent.

Truth: the true or actual state of a matter; conformity with fact or reality; verity; a verified or indisputable fact, proposition, principle, or the like; actuality or actual existence; ideal or fundamental reality apart from and transcending perceived experience.

Is this definition our truth, or have we adjusted it to allow for a more liberal interpretation?

Perhaps it’s time to better understand the meaning of words and phrases, and how we use them. We need to undo their colloquializations’ and return to the actual meanings. It certainly would simplify communication and eliminate misunderstandings.

Did we just hornswoggle ourselves?

I label this reinterpretation of truth as Americanism, noting that certain societies still uphold the principle of truth.

Is there any wonder Islamic cultures refer to America as the Great Satan? Refer to my column “Truth or Consequences.” Unfortunately, it isn’t just Merka that enjoys the liberty found in the free association of fact and fiction; multiple societies have perfected the art of deception. History is bursting with examples.

Any organization that claims to report the news should, at the very least, be fact-based rather than opinion based. What boggles my mind is that the majority of people are led by opinion rather than fact, either because they don’t know any better or because they don’t really care; however, they believe what they’re told… Hornswoggled!

Ask any Liberal what they think of President Trump, and prepare for an onslaught of opinions created by their Permissive Partisan Political Party. Ask the same of any Conservative and you’ll receive a different response. Ask an Independent, and a third possibility arises. We could continue this analysis through the over fifty registered parties, yielding comparable results. Each partisan political party believes its reply to be the truth and fact… but as they see it.

Is our current President Hitler? The American Marxist Party claims he is. The Conservatives have faith that he’s on the right track, and the Centrists wait for more empirical data before deciding. Why would the American Marxist Party call him Hitler and reference all of these decisions and choices to the worst period in modern history?

Likening Trump to Hitler infers he’s a mass murderer and guilty of societal atrocities, cruelties, and world domination. One might assume he is a terrible leader by misinterpreting his decisions, but it stops abruptly at the mass-murder accusations.

If we apply the innuendos of his malfeasance to other American Marxist Leadership, they too could be called Hitler or any of the five listed below.

The five worst killers and leaders are Hitler, Stalin, Mao, King Leopold II, and Pol Pot who all committed unspeakable atrocities, and the modern CCP is no angel, yet the Nazi Party is the Left’s favorite. I checked the extensive list of offenders carefully, but failed to find Trumps name listed anywhere.

Is it possible that the information the Left provides is inaccurate?

Why would the Left lie?

Why would anyone misconstrue the truth?

There are over fifty political parties, imagine the complications created by the 7,975 news outlets in Merka. Simple math tells me that there are 397,250 possible stories within this small circle of participants. When you add in the interpretation of the 174 million registered voters, the number becomes a mind-numbing 69,121,500,000,000 interpretations.

Where’s the truth?

I won’t even introduce the gender or ethnic permutations; that’s just to say that there is no truth coming from the government or through the media, mainstream or otherwise, or from the 5.1 billion people on Not-So-Social-Media. This is nothing but an opinion mill churning out content to create an incredibly rich info-cache for data miners.

Come on… You knew that they sold your data…

Again, where’s the truth… Or is there profit in prevarication?

If anything bears out the facts that truth has left Merka, it was the turn of the century. The last 25 years have ravaged truth in Merka. I’ve intentionally chosen this period because it’s a simple frame of reference for most adults.

Y2K – Year 2000, or the turn of the century computer code software hoax. Companies spent $3.8 billion on updates and services to correct redoubtable IT issues stemming from software that used a two-digit date code, rather than the four-digit dates we use today. The concerns were how systems would react to the new year showing 00. The fear was that the software, primarily financial and bookkeeping applications, would interpret the 00 as 1900, rather than 2000.

The issue became known as the ‘Millennium Bug’. Many business owners, not fully informed about the actual risks, invested in new hardware and costly software upgrades as a preventative measure. Here’s a brief history of Y2K.

Hornswoggle?

“The nine most terrifying words in the English language are: I’m from the Government, and I’m here to help.” ~ Ronald Reagan – 1981

Why do you suppose President Reagan felt that way?

My point in this preamble is to open your nascent curiosity. Think about why you should question the images advertisers and broadcasters use and how they reinforce the messages. There is also the tone or inflection of the message. Is it cheerful, angry, hateful, encouraging, pleasant, or evil? Delivery affects understanding.

We mostly encounter condemnation, anger, and accusations. Many of the media talking heads call it a war between the parties, inferring that there are no limits to the tactics or lengths to which they’ll go to win.

Lord Acton’s comment about power fits this situation perfectly:

“Power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely.”

But William Gaddis maintains:

“Power doesn’t corrupt power; people corrupt power.”

Should we blame power or the people who abuse it?

These partisan political parties presume that we approve of their decisions and subsequent actions to wrest power from the other and to concentrate control in a single party’s hands. However, this sidesteps our input, assuming that because we align with a particular segment or campaign, and by our silence, we approve of these tactics. That means that the loudest minority wins! All I see are the crazies on the Left, screaming obscenities and making insane demands for their Marxist ideology.

“How do you tell a Communist?

Well, it’s someone who reads Marx and Lenin.

And how do you tell an anti-Communist?

It’s someone who understands Marx and Lenin.” ~ Ronald Reagan – 1987

What’s the message, the objective; what are they selling?

I believe the theme of the consolidation of control has a simple one-word answer: Power!

Two parties are fighting for control of Merka, and in the process of acquiring and consolidating that power, are willing to destroy the republic they wish to control absolutely.

The Left has lost its focus on the republic, seeing it as a soulless object to possess, rather than a living, breathing entity.

The Right sees Merka as a directionless adolescent needing guidance. Regardless of the partisan political party, they view this republic as something requiring their special guidance and leadership instead of administration, which, by the way, they perceive as their job.

The Centrists want a smaller, more effective government with a place for contributors and an exit plan for leeches.

These political parties interpret Merka’s role and identity in distinctly different ways. The Right emphasizes traditional values, individual liberties, a strong national identity, and advocates limited governmental intervention and decentralized control.

The Left focuses on social justice, equity, and more active governmental involvement to address societal problems. I could go deeper into the nature of each partisan political party, but that’s not pertinent to this article.

There is a third group that favors a more hands-off approach to government; these are the Centrists. They prefer a pragmatic approach, striking a balance between individual liberties and social responsibility. They also advocate for a strong economy with a robust social safety net and less polarized political landscape.

These simplified characterizations of the parties capture the essence of their ideologies, and in each, there are multiple permutations and context further splintering the perspectives, creating an array of individuals vying for control of the entire party, and by extension, the republic. One Party to Rule It All!

The key to two of these partisan political proclivities, the Left and the Right, is that it’s about self, not the Republic, effectively conflicting with its original Federalist concept and constitutional form of representative government.

Here’s an example from this morning. The New York Times, an ultra-left publication, posted an article that Jews in New York City backed Zoran Mamdani for Mayor. A little investigation uncovered that the NYT had spoken to five of Mamdani’s Jewish supporters and used their affirmation as the basis for the article. While this is true that Jews support this Mayoral candidate, the claim is based on a minuscule sampling of the 1.3 million Jews in that city.

This is precisely the issue with an interpretive view of truth, which misleads readers into believing something that is not even close to honest. The media thrives on sensationalism to grab a reader’s interest and promote an advertiser’s products. That’s their revenue stream… and it’s not just print media; every media outlet thrives and survives employing this tactic.

When the media discovers a ‘Hot Topic’ regardless of the partisan political party or position, they pounce on it like rabid dogs, spin it to fit their narrative, and publish it as FACT! The paragraph above about the Jews and Mamdani is the perfect example. The Mayoral race in NYC is a hot topic of national interest. The American Marxist Party must control NYC or risk losing its hold in Northeastern Merka.

It’s more than just one city. If Merka awakens to Marxism’s lies, we could return to a representative democracy, cutting them out completely. While I don’t envision this in my lifetime, I can hope.

I’ll refer you to my article Truth or Consequences again.

The purpose of this column is to awaken, arouse, and excite your curiosity and make you aware that we are being hornswoggled by the people we hired to manage this republic, and by the people we pay to keep informed.

When you’re informed, you’re harder to hornswoggle.

It’s time to pay attention and then do something about it!

For the Amalgamated Heavy,

August 12, 2025

~ the Author ~
Charles R. Dickens Was Born in 1951, Is a Veteran of the Vietnam War, for Which He Volunteered, and the Great-Great Grandson of the Noted Author, Whose Name He Shares.

He Is a Fiercely Proud American, Who Still Believes This Is the Greatest Country on the Planet, With Which We’ve Lost Control and Certainly Our Direction. He Grew Up in Moderate Financial Surrounding; We’re Not Rich by Any Stretch, but Didn’t Go Hungry – His Incredibly Hard Working Father Saw to That. As Most From That Era, He Learned About Life From His Father, Whose Story Would Take Too Long to Tell, Other Than to Say That, He Is Also a Fiercely Proud American; A WWII and Korean War, Veteran Marine.

Charlie Was Educated in the Parochial System Which, Demanded That You Actually Learn Something, and Have Capability to Retain It Before You Advance. He Attended Several Universities in Pursuit of a Bachelor’s Degree, and Chased the Goose Further to a Master’s, and Has Retained Some Very Definite Ideas About Education in This Country.

in Addition, Charlie Is a Retired Blues Guitar and Vocalist – a Musician. This Was His Therapy Career. Nothing Brings Him as Much Joy as Playing Music, and He Wishes That He Could Make a Living at It… but Alas… Life Goes on!