Non Sequitur by Wiley Miller for June 28, 2022

A milder version of the GOP. Pink is a toned down version of red

I’d love to see some real comfort facts!!!

The GOP would never do that. They think their “facts” are the facts. Everything else is a lie.

i kinda like cherry picking… real cherries on farms.

My local news station does 30 minutes of happy and uplifting news once a week after the regular news. It must be popular since they keep doing it.

If news was not cherry-picked, it would take you 25 hours a day to keep up with the news. Without sleep, you would be just as weird as some radio hosts.

Back then, you bought a paper whose editorial policy agreed with your view of the world.

Unfortunately, “comfort” is not part of the equation for some of these “news” providers, who often favor outrage instead.

It’s a human trait. Lean toward what makes you comfortable. We do that daily, no matter the topic.

Related to tabloid news. You can still find these relics on your checkout stands at the grocers. My favorite headline: “First Successful Head Transplant!” For real. I did not make that one up.

One of my favorite radio bloopers was when a woman traffic reporter was talking about a truck that had a part extended and was destroying telephone lines. She said that it was so embarrassing when your “cherry picker” is in the air.

Looks like a lot of “Post-Internet News Aggregation” too …

OH, you are describing nearly every newspaper and all of the legacy media supporting leftist agendas and narratives before the internet and cable allowed some alternatives to deliver actual news they wouldn’t! Thanks!

I prefer The Onion for my comfort facts.

I get my news by browsing news feeds on the internet. The problem with this is the bots.

People want to sell you things on the internet. They are more likely to make the sale if you are in a good mood because you like whatever you are reading while their ad is showing.

So the bots figure out what kinds of articles you read, and give you more of them.

“All the News You Like to Read.”

Give it about a week and you have an almost inescapable silo.

So I have to deliberately poke the bear and go to right wing sites and articles every now and then. First of all: know your enemy, secondly I like seeing things that make me think.

I don’t mind the hard facts. It’s just all those soft facts and hard azzes out there that get on my nerves.

You could use a push cart to cherry pick the 15 minutes of news in the ‘40s & ‘50s. Today it would take a fleet of food trucks. Thus, the 24-7 networks.

Comfort Fact: Abortion is still legal but regulated by individual states.

Comfort Fact: November 2022 Midterm Elections will be in favor for Republicans. Vote RED

Everything is fine. Keep shopping.

If you’re old enough, you remember the ads for kids to make money selling the biweekly Grit newspaper. Lasted from the 1880’s to the 1990’s. The editorial policy was as follows:

Always keep Grit from being pessimistic. Avoid printing those things which distort the minds of readers or make them feel at odds with the world. Avoid showing the wrong side of things, or making people feel discontented. Do nothing that will encourage fear, worry, or temptation… Wherever possible, suggest peace and good will toward men. Give our readers courage and strength for their daily tasks. Put happy thoughts, cheer, and contentment into their hearts.

It had a peak home delivery circulation of 700,000 in the 1970’s.

It eventually transitioned into a rural living web site. And a glossy magazine sold on stands at Tractor Supply. https://www.grit.com/

Note the trust extended to the kids selling it.

https://www.irememberjfk.com/wp/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/sell_grit.jpg

I suppose that alternate facts can be translated into comfort facts for some. Don’t be nit picky about facts are the inconvenient truth instead of lies.

America doesn’t have a fake news problem, it has a fake patriot problem.

Folks used to just gossip over the fence.

Freshly mimeographed in purple ink. The early version of Pravda Social. :-)

There were some incredibly bland “news” sheets distributed back in the late 20th Century. They were like “My Weekly Reader” for adults.

Guaranteed not to contradict anything in your own personal reality

Mac and cheese for the brain.

I could go for a goat video about now. Maybe red pandas.

“The truth is not always beautiful, nor beautiful words the truth.” – Lao Tzu

Good toon Wiley.

♪ Everything’s gonna be all right ♫

This pendulum swings both ways

The National Enquirer

I dunno … “comfort” sounds better that the actual current situation.