Or: How many boiled eggs can you eat in an hour?

Thank you, Mr. Bennett, for the idea… by the way, in the movie it was 50 eggs…

Perhaps you’ll recognize the title line from the movie ‘Cool Hand Luke’. It became a defining line and ‘catch-phrase’ for the ‘Captain’, Strother Martin’s character. The subtitle is a little more obscure; it’s part of the film’s subplot, but I use it to refer to the thousands of headlines we see each day. The number is estimated at 4,000 to 10,000. It’s often called brand messaging, but it’s still advertising.

It is essential that everyone understands these basics of communication because, without them, everything we hear is just noise, nothing good or beneficial can come from the encounter, and if you’re not mindful, you’ll become a casualty. Communication is intercourse; the truest sense of the business definition is the give-and-take, or the exchange of information, which is the purpose of communication.

– There are other connotations and denotations of this word, but that is not the purpose of this commentary.

Communication is a complex concept generally defined as the process of generating and exchanging meaning through shared symbols, signs, and behaviors. Derived from the Latin communicare (“to share”), it is a continuous process influenced by multiple personal and environmental contexts.

It requires five fundamental elements:

– Sender: The person who initiates the message by “encoding” thoughts into symbols – words.

– Message: The specific information or meaning being conveyed.

– Channel: The method used to send the message (e.g., voice, text, or digital media).

– Receiver: The person who gets the message and “decodes” or interprets it.

– Noise: Any physical or psychological interference that distorts the message.

The primary types of communication:

– Verbal: The use of spoken or written language.

– Non-verbal: Messages sent through body language, facial expressions, eye contact, and tone of voice.

– Visual: The use of signs, symbols, maps, and graphics.

– Written: Structured information recorded in emails, reports, or letters.

Effective Communication requires the 7 Cs:

– Clarity: Be clear about your goal.

– Concise: Keep it brief and relevant.

– Content: Use specific facts and data

– Correctness: Ensure accurate grammar and facts.

– Coherence: Ensure your points are logical and connected.

– Completeness: Provide all necessary information.

– Courtesy: Be respectful and honest.

I’d like to add a missing component to this list: context. That is, the circumstances that form the setting for an event, statement, or idea and in terms of which it can be fully understood and assessed. It’s imperative that the receiver is familiar with the circumstances conveyed or cited in the message. You cannot assume the receiver is aware of the context unless the message is confined to a specific topic. I cannot safely assume that everyone reading or listening to this commentary is a communications expert, so I take the time to define and discuss frequently misunderstood concepts and misconceptions for clarity.

People communicate for several main reasons:

– To convey information, express needs or emotions, build relationships, instruct, guide, support others, persuade or motivate, or exchange ideas.

That’s a whole lot of bullshit about communication in general. If you’ve read or endured listening to all of this, you know more than 95% of the people in America. The real reason we speak with each other is to share information or to cajole, deceive, delude, or persuade someone to our point of view.

In the immortal words of Inigo Montoya from the movie, ‘The Princess Bride…’ “Let me sum up…” ~ The novel was written by William Goldman (1931 – 2018)

We communicate to express our physical needs, wants, and ideas. That’s it. What’s most important in all of this is how we use these skills and this information, and oh, by the way, we misuse these skills more often than when we use them correctly, which is the purpose of this commentary.

First, the impact of double entendre, which refers to words and phrases open to two interpretations, one of which is usually risqué. The proper term for words with multiple possible meanings is ‘polysemous’, as in the word run. Then there are Janus words, which have opposite meanings, as in the word cleave, which means to adhere and to split apart.

A fantastic example of this is a line from the movie “The Court Jester” with Danny Kay. Kays character quips that an Unemployed Jester is nobody’s fool… Think about what that means in all of the possible interpretations… Here’s a hint – A jester is a professional fool, an entertainer…

Next is context, which provides the essential surrounding circumstances, including physical, social, cultural, and temporal factors that shape a message’s meaning, interpretation, and appropriateness. It serves as a framework that helps receivers accurately decode messages, preventing misunderstandings by clarifying the setting, relationship, and purpose of the interaction.

English is widely considered difficult to master because of its notoriously inconsistent rules, vast vocabulary, and chaotic spelling-to-sound relationship. It stems from a mix of Germanic, French, and Latin roots, with a few other languages added for flavor, creating countless grammatical exceptions, illogical spelling (e.g., “though,” “through,” “trough”), and thousands of confusing idioms. Welcome to the melting pot.

Our use of English relies heavily on the observational and regional context of the event or situation being described. We use English, but very few use it correctly. Several countries use a version of English, each with its own twist on the meanings of certain words and their implications. Great Britain and the United States are said to be two countries separated by a common language, and Australian English is sometimes almost unintelligible.

There are also American idioms to consider. These are groups of words established by usage to have a meaning not deducible from the individual words (e.g., rain cats and dogs, see the light, dumb as a stump). Idioms are words or phrases that aren’t meant to be taken literally and usually have a cultural meaning behind them. Again, please refer to the paragraph above on context.

Estimates place the total word count at over 1 million when scientific and technical terminology is included. Approximately 64% of the most frequently used English words have multiple meanings, and high-frequency vocabulary can have up to 95% polysemy. While thousands of words are homonyms or homographs, many common words have 4 or more definitions. For instance, the word “run” holds the record for the most distinct meanings, with over 645.

It’s easy to grasp that there’s more to communication than meets the eye, or ear in this case.

This covers the general communication misunderstandings.

What about its use to mislead and misinform? You know… deception!

Mainstream Media Malfeasance.

Here are several recent mainstream media headline stories that illustrate this misdirection.

– ICE arrests and detains children

– ICE is killing Americans

– Jim Crow 2.0

– Trump’s Tariffs are Killing American Business

– Trump Plans for War in Iran

– AOC feuds with JD Vance

– China Ready to Invade Taiwan

– Mass Migration from Blue States

– Political Bias in The Supreme Court

I could continue, but won’t, so I hope you get the idea. Each statement or headline conveys a great deal of subjective information succinctly, yet intentionally leaves much open to conjecture and speculation that depend on your partisan political alignment and prejudices. They can give you a distinct impression of wrongdoing and heinous intent or lead you to believe that all’s well. This is a point-of-view problem, and that’s the intent of this style of communication. Unless you know all the information from both sides of the story, you jump to a conclusion; in fact, the language and delivery style encourage you to assume. You’re led to presume something based solely on your political and personal biases. You construe, interpret, comprehend, or assign a specific meaning to the words or phrases. By the way, jumping to conclusions is not classified as exercise, although it may soon become an Olympic event.

There can be no doubt that two people were killed during these Anti-ICE protests in Minneapolis and that a little boy briefly ended up in ICE custody. All we have is the information provided by the mainstream media and what we’re led to believe through their biased interpretation, which they call reporting: communication. Even eyewitness accounts differ, so we may never know what really happened. AND… the investigation into these situations is just beginning, so any judgment is pure speculation. This is precisely what the mainstream media relies on to keep you engaged and reading.

The more passion they can generate, the more often you come back. They feed you selected information to spark passion and keep you engaged, but rarely bring any story to a close. Have you heard or seen any disposition of Senator Mark Kelly’s or his 5 co-conspirators’ sedition hearings, or their outcome? It was a sensational story a few weeks ago, but now it’s old news… (Another idiom and a dichotomy; how can something new be old or old be new?)

The implications of every headline are intentionally left wide open to interpretation. They are crafted to pique your curiosity regardless of your partisan political position, and then the article or story presents points that support the writer’s or publisher’s political biases and agendas. Even if you’re a Centrist or Independent, these catchy headlines still evoke an emotional response. This is advertising in its purest form. You may feel they fail to convey the truth, but they tell you precisely what they want you to know. That’s communication.

I am very particular about my word choices because my intent is to express my opinion as clearly as possible… generally. Yet there are times when I want to advance my point of view. I do my own advertising.

“Lies breed more lies. Each lie requires a bodyguard of other lies to prevent discovery.” ~ Michael Josephson

Politicians lie primarily to gain power, secure reelection, and advance strategic agendas by manipulating public perception, often because the perceived benefits outweigh the risks. Driven by intense political polarization, they use lies to satisfy their base, attack opponents, and navigate or construct echo chambers. They often rationalize this behavior as necessary for the national interest or to avoid public judgment.

More specifically, politicians often rationalize their lying, making it seem less guilty and more socially acceptable. For example, they often argue that they lie because there is a good reason for it or to protect national security.

People intentionally lie to protect personal boundaries or manipulate situations to their advantage. Contrary to popular opinion and anecdotal evidence, politicians are people, too; some are what we’d call monsters. This uncorks the genie bottle of innuendo, insinuation, implication, and aspersion. When you call someone Hitler, you connect that person to Hitler’s evil and the inferences to the Nazi regime of the 1930s. We draw on all the images we’ve stored in our minds and our feelings about them, then apply what we’ve seen and felt about that era and the Holocaust to the accused. So, when someone says that this administration is all Nazis and that Trump is the ‘Orange Hitler’, they connect the present administration to the evil of Hitler’s Nazi Party.

What is the first thing that comes to mind when you hear the Left or Right cast aspersions, or when Members of Congress, the opposite of progress, call each other names? We might find this humorous or take offense, but it does serious damage to that person’s reputation and character in the public’s eye, and it creates intense animosity in the Houses.

Ask yourself how this serves the republic. Remember… we ARE the republic.

Corruption in the United States has been a perennial political issue, peaking during the Jacksonian era (1828 – 1854) and the Gilded Age, which spanned the Civil War to the turn of the 20th century (1860 to 1900). It declined during the Progressive Era (1890s – 1920s), a period of intense social, political, and economic reform in the United States aimed at addressing problems caused by rapid industrialization, urbanization, and political corruption. Mark Twain said it only appeared gilded but was corrupt underneath. Progressives sought to regulate big business, improve working conditions, expand democracy, and protect consumers, marking a shift toward greater government intervention.

Disparaging comments are intended to malign, slander, or criticize, thereby damaging a person’s or party’s character or reputation. Trust me, folks, this is NOT considered ‘free speech’ and is not protected by the First Amendment. It is legally punishable if the affected person chooses to pursue it, and that’s precisely the point. The political parties believe they gain power over one another. Maybe they do temporarily, but when the ploy is exposed, it all falls apart, especially when citizens realize it does them absolutely no good whatsoever. It damages the reputation and honor of all parties concerned. I strongly encourage you to investigate this further using your favorite internet search tool… Try an AI search and see what it tells you. You’ll be amazed…

Well, so far, I’ve covered the misuse of communications.

What about our real failures to communicate?

This uncorks another Genie bottle of interpretation and perspective.

Has our government ever actually lied to us? I mean, did they tell us a verifiable lie?

Thank you for asking…

Yes, the U.S. government has historically lied to its citizens, using deception, cover-ups, and fabricated information for purposes (excuses) ranging from national security and wartime strategy to avoiding political accountability. Notable examples include the Pentagon Papers, the justifications for the Iraq War’s Weapons of Mass-Distraction, and the Watergate scandal.

Key Instances of Government Deception:

– Wartime Deception: The Pentagon Papers exposed extensive government deception regarding the Vietnam War, while “contrived” intelligence was used to justify the Iraq War.

– Cover-ups and Scandals: The Watergate scandal involved deliberate lies by the executive branch.

– Health and Safety: The government has been accused of spreading or aligning with misinformation, such as during the COVID-19 pandemic regarding stockpiles, and of altering scientific reports, known as

“Sharpiegate.” The alteration of information regarding Hurricane Dorian was less severe; it was a Category 5 storm that caused $7 billion in damage.

– Intelligence and Secrecy: The CIA and FBI have historically lied about surveillance, foreign intervention, and the health of top officials, including covering up President Eisenhower’s stroke.

– Historical Pattern: Research published in The Conversation suggests that every American president has lied to the public.

– The January 6th Committee on the ‘Capitol Riots’.

– The Russia-Gate scandal involved fabricated evidence against Trump.

Why is it the obligation of the Citizen to expose these deceptions?

Why doesn’t anyone tell us about this stuff?

You can answer this yourselves; use your imaginations.

Why the Government Lies: Their Ends Justify the Means.

– National Security: Deception is often used to protect classified information or mislead adversaries.

– Political Survival: Lies are used to avoid legal, political, or reputational harm.

– Public Perception: Information is sometimes manipulated to shape public opinion.

While some lies are justified by officials as necessary for safety, they often erode public trust.

– From Vietnam to Afghanistan, every US administration has lied. The Pentagon Papers showed that the US government had systematically lied about losing the Vietnam War. There are even rumors that Roosevelt knew about the attack on Pearl Harbor before it occurred.

A failure to communicate is a breakdown in the transmission of information, ideas, or emotions, resulting in a mismatch between the sender’s intention and the receiver’s understanding. It occurs when intended messages are misinterpreted or not received at all, leading to confusion, conflict, or diminished trust.

The Key Aspects of Communication Failure:

– Misunderstanding: Words are exchanged, but the true meaning is not conveyed or understood.

– Non-Verbal Mismatch: Verbal messages do not align with body language or tone.

– Context Loss: Key details are omitted or, conversely, too much information (verbosity) obscures the main point.

– Impact: Leads to negative consequences such as damaged relationships, business errors, and operational inefficiency.

Failure to communicate doesn’t mean we’re not communicating. It means that, though we are speaking to each other, we are not hearing or understanding what the other is saying. This failure to communicate leads to conflict, misunderstanding, and negative consequences for everyone. Yet communicating in a way that creates conflict is not a failure to communicate but a realization of the intent. So the result is not necessarily a failure unless it’s not the intended result.

If I call the President Hitler and someone interprets that as a call to action, it is successful communication if that was my intent, but a failure if I was just name-calling and the person acts to kill Hitler. But… How would the actor know my intent unless I clearly communicated it? When you assume, you make an ASS out of U and ME – ASSUME!

This is where IQ and understanding come into play. Understanding is partially quantifiable, but it is generally considered difficult to measure fully through numbers alone. While information (data) can be quantified in bits, understanding, which involves comprehending and synthesizing that information, is complex, subjective, and often requires a mix of qualitative and quantitative approaches.

Summary: There are no numbers to measure understanding, but intelligence is another matter.

The average human IQ is 90 to 109; 68% of Americans fall within this range. Anything above 130 is considered gifted; anything below 90 qualifies you for government service. AI’s IQ is thought to be between 110 and 136, but is that a fair assessment if AI cannot think in the truest sense of the word? AI searches vast amounts of data, compares it with the instructions given, and then presents a response. AI is an outstanding research tool and, someday, may replace Congress, the opposite of progress – that’s another discussion. (hint 😉) I asked AI for the average IQ of Congress; there was no definitive answer, but several online sources place it between 85 and 100.

But a higher aggregate IQ isn’t the answer; it’s how intelligence is applied to communication and problem-solving. Mankind has made amazing leaps in several areas, such as technology, yet these advances only seem to accelerate our demise. It’s like the development of war. Sticks and stones led to swords and spears, and we eventually arrived at thermonuclear weapons. We can destroy the world several times over, yet we still can’t cure cancer, despite the billions of dollars invested.

Think about what I said in the last paragraph.

What did I communicate?

Did you understand it, or was it just noise?

We use words to express ourselves and give instructions, which can be crystal-clear or as dark as a dungeon, depending on hidden meanings and inferences. We can express them clearly or hide the meaning in innuendo and inference.

Responsibility for miscommunication is usually shared by the sender and the receiver, although I ascribe more to the sender than to the receiver, since the receiver has no preconceived context for the message unless the sender’s style is well known. If unknown, that will lead to a confusing message and misunderstanding.

Something occurred to me this morning as I scanned the interweb news. There are stock images associated with certain types of stories. What brought this to mind was a picture of mobile missile launchers accompanying an article titled ‘Chinese Defense Lab Exploits Nearly $1 Billion in US Research Funds, Report Says.’ I noticed that these stories are always accompanied by images of weapons of war or poverty. These images reinforce the story they want you to read, and sometimes it’s appropriate, but often it isn’t. It’s just an advertising ploy to draw you in. Pay particular attention to the images publishers use – remember, a picture is worth a thousand words, as Fred R. Barnard said in 1921.

What Barnard actually said was “One look is worth a thousand words…” The intent is the same – pictures instantly grab your attention, create an emotional connection, spark desire, and serve as a powerful persuasive tool. Images tell the story the advertiser and seller want you to see. It’s all part of communicating, isn’t it?

Edgar Allan Poe admonishes us, “Believe nothing you hear, and only half of what you see…” urging a skeptical approach and noting that even firsthand observation can be deceiving. It emphasizes that perception is not always reality.

Nonverbal Communication

Actions speak louder than words.

1 John 3:18 tells us: “Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth.” Your actions will speak much louder than any words you will ever say. It is very important that, as Christians, we follow the example of Jesus Christ. This idea was echoed by John Pym in 1628 during the English Civil War. It means that a person’s true intentions, character, and feelings are revealed by what they do rather than by what they say. It highlights that actions are more meaningful, trustworthy, and impactful than promises or talk.

There was an apt expression of this during last night’s State of the Union Address (The Circus). NO! I don’t intend to debate the show, nor do I wish to open the door to championship-level conclusion-jumping; I’m simply using it as an object lesson for this point. Approximately 50% of the Left boycotted last night’s State of the Union Address. It’s not that they did; it’s the message it sends. Then those attending fell into one of several Trump-traps.

Trump said: “If you agree with this statement, then stand up and show your support… The first duty of the American Government is to protect American Citizens, not illegal aliens.” I’m politically agnostic about this event. It’s all about how the show conveys the message, and efforts to interrupt the proceedings often support it more than disrupt it; this is a case in point. The show played on divisions within our partisan government to expose their hypocrisy in more instances than this single issue.

Attendees stood and cheered or sat and kvetched. It was an object lesson meant to demean the Left – the entire night did so with uncanny expertise, as only Trump can. He played the crowd like a cheap kazoo. The entire show exposed and deepened the divide: my humble opinion. All intentions aside, this is a salient example of nonverbal communication, as were the pins, signs, and buttons the Lefties wore. There were plenty of “F” Ice and “Give Us The File” buttons, along with a few hand-colored “People are not animals” signs.

Consider the message this sends. Does any of this help close the growing gap between the partisan political factions?

Are we better off as a republic, knowing that half of our elected representatives appear to support illegal immigrants over US citizens? What’s the message there?

“What we have here…”

‘The devil you say…’

For the Amalgamated Heavy

March 3, 2026

~ 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!