As we start 2026, I’m going to share my thoughts on how I try to determine fact from fiction in this world of misinformation. Here we go:
1. I Believe What I Can Easily Verify
Many things that people assert can be easily verified (or refuted) either through my own observation or via undisputed historical facts.
Let’s take vaccinations for example. Once upon a time, there was a disease called smallpox. It was fairly deadly and disfiguring. It doesn’t exist anymore. This coincides with the advent of the small pox vaccine.
Likewise, if you get rabies you will die. If you get the rabies vaccine you won’t. I guarantee you every anti-vaxxer who gets bit by a bat would will take the vaccine without exception.
Bottom line, I know vaccines work and are beneficial to society as a whole.
2. Agree With Those Who Have A Financial Incentive to Be Correct
Anyone can spout off on X or Reddit about a topic. If this person has no skin in the game, said opinion is basically worthless.
A good place to look is what do Insurance companies think ? Their entire business relies on accurately predicting future outcomes.
Well, if let’s use our vaccination example again. Race horses are expensive. Owners are wise to insure them to protect against financial loss. An owner can’t get insurance on a race horse that isn’t vaccinated. Therefore it is easy to conclude vaccines work.
Same is true with global warming. Insurance companies have assessed this risk and it is real and man made. However I do want to point out that, that the fact global warming is real does not mean cutting fossil fuels or going “green” is the only course of action. Far from it.
3. Treat Partisan Sources with Extreme Skepticism
This is self explanatory. If Fox News or some account on Bluesky is telling you want you want to hear, don’t believe it without looking at the issue in depth.
4. Don’t Follow the Science
If you hear a liberal say “just following the science” , “science is settled” , “study after study shows” or anything similar being used to justify something absurd on its face like outdoor cloth masking or trans dudes in women’s sports, the exact opposite is true. This one holds true for so many things I can’t even begin to list them.
5. Extraordinary Claims Require
Evidence
This obviously applies to conspiracy theories like Who Shot JFK but also to things like whether the 2020 Election was rigged against Trump.
If it was rigged, someone or some entity would have to orchestrated it. This leads to the question of who and how? The who has never been proposed to my knowledge and the how has never been really explained. If someone paid homeless people to vote for Biden show me evidence. If dead person votes for Biden, show me evidence.
Fact - no such evidence exists and I can safely say the 2020 election was not rigged.
6. Somethings Are Beyond My Ability to
Evaluate
This applies to almost everything foreign policy related. I completely lack the knowledge to assess what is going on. I biased though, as I tend to follow an America First perspective on foreign entanglements. For example, I assume Israel is acting in its best interests in the current conflict with the Palestinians. Are they being too heavy handed in Gaza? Not sure how I’d know that and if they were, all things considered I wouldn’t care.
That’s all I got for now.
@AriochIV@DrewSav It doesn’t seem like the Falcon carries much freight in terms of tonnage but Han could be carrying high value items that take up less space such as spices or precious gems.
@JSWC1995 Yugoslavia was a country that didn’t need to breakup but western powers wanted to prove a point. Belgium and Switzerland way different peoples and are together
As some are saying it was a month or two trip to Bespin, so I’m guessing the septic system was in good order as no one commented on any bad smells.
More importantly was there any laundry capability? I believe they were all wearing same clothes when meeting Lando. And don’t even ask about showers.
My clients depo today is going way long and is shedding no light on anything. Thankfully, lemon is fee shifting, if this was contingency I wouldn’t be very happy.
Dork alert and contract question:
I bought a football card on a non EBay-site for $70.00. It is one I collect and is worth about $125 if I were to sell it on EBay.
Well the seller bailed and didn’t send me card. I got my $70 back but I feel my actual damages are $125 cost to replace.
Not my problem he accepted my offer.
There is often no rhyme or reason as to the speed lemon cases settle. Sometimes there are patterns I can confidently tell clients at the outset such as Mercedes EQ class and FCA Jeeps settle quick and BMW and Honda are pains in the ass.
Often though, I have two cases, same vehicle, same problems and one settles on pre-lit demand and the other is dragging in litigation hell for months.
My advice to clients is hang in there as we get them what they need vast majority of times, though I’m not the one with shitty car that keeps breaking down. Unfortunately, sometimes life forces clients to settle for less than they should.
@KingObtuse@infantrydort The endorsement here appears to be like “trust me this guy is hella smart but not smart enough that he was tricked by embedded FBI agents and ANTIFA operators into entering Capitol.”
It’s time to put all this to a test. One command staff with cross dressers, atheists, commies, guys with phds in art history who used to teach at war college, and no kids versus a command staff of white men, Christian, stay at home wives, no degree or at best general studies from SEC university. May the best staff win.
@dilanesper Not to hijack, Amanda grew up same area as me and attended same undergrad (though I’m a bit older) but I’ve never really looked into her case. I’ve just kind of assumed she got railroaded. Are you saying there’s a lot of evidence she’s guilty ?
If there is one thing the liberals get right, it’s making voting easy. More people who vote the better.
The right is making a big mistake on this issue focusing on relatively non-existent fraud as opposed to getting non-voters who are at least somewhat sympathetic to their issues to vote.
@Under_Duress77@dangoldss@agraybee Ok, so I’ll say it and take the heat. Acolyte notwithstanding the lesbian, woke, commie space witches was better than Andor. 2 seconds of Darth Plageuis >>>> all the dumbasses in the ISB especially Deidra and that guy who was a snitch.