Breaking Fake News Update (v27)

 Fake News Broke on 11/22/25!

Yep - you read that right: the way to make airline travel is to have people dress up before being crammed into their seats. At least, that's the word from former reality TV star Sean Duffy, our always impeccably-dressed-in-suits-worth-several-months-of-SNAP-benefits Transportation Secretary.

In a video released earlier this week, we see what travel was like in the olden days, compared to what it's like now. And don't get me wrong, the video shows some really heinous behavior by some real jerks. Everyone knows there's more of that kind of behavior now than there was in the distant past Duffy's pining for, and significantly more today than there was before COVID, even if the numbers have dropped. Social media definitely contributes to this - because someone's *always* filming, right? - as does the rude and bullying behavior of others, including politicians like Duffy's boss. After all, if it's good enough for him, it's good enough for the average Joe, right?

Duffy suggests that we're entering a new Golden Age of Travel, which, according to social media responses to his video from folks who fly regularly, is something only a person who rarely flies commercial could say. Is the age of expensive and often cancelled or delayed flights, cramped seats with zero legroom, extra charges for pretty much everything, and yes, airlines defending their practice of up-selling 'window seats' that don't have windows truly 'golden'? 

Duffy apparently thinks it could be, if only people started dressing better and acting better. 

Manners don’t stop at the gate... Let’s bring civility and manners back.

And do that, he suggests, by asking yourself five questions:

1. Are you helping a pregnant woman placing her bags in the overhead bin?
2. Are you dressing with respect?
3. Are you keeping control of your children?
4. Are you saying thank you to your flight attendants?
5. Are you saying please and thank you in general?

And after you do those things and get settled into your flight, don't pay attention to your paralyzed legs, cramped buttocks, sore back, expensive peanuts and beverages, and all the rest. 

Instead, manifest "the things that make travel fun," according to the DOT, which one of our anonymous sources mentions at the end of the BNFU shared above - "the excitement, the relaxation, the cordial conversation..."  

And when you find yourself waiting for your bags, or for your connecting flight, or waiting to rebook your cancelled flight, remember this, also from the DOT: 

Americans already feel divided and stressed. We can all do our part to bring back civility, manners, and common sense. When we can unite around shared values, we can feel more connected as a country. 

That's true, even if that shared value is "I hate airlines!"  Happy traveling!

And as always, when fake news breaks, we'll be here for it!

In Case You Missed It (v85)

Another week is in the books; here's a recap of last week's post, in case you missed anything.

Among the folks making the Sunday School rounds was Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Where the Dead Things Are); he chatted with Dana Perino on Fox News Sunday. They talked about Ukraine, and things on the home front, and about the upcoming midterm election. 

He suggested that the Biden administration "just can't seem to get their act together on the economy," but that's only part of why "the American people are so down on the president."

The economy, the precipitous withdrawal from Afghanistan, the domestic energy issue we've already been discussing, crime, problems in public education, this administration has really got its hands full and I think they're headed toward a pretty good beating in the fall election.

And if the Rs retake the majorities in the House and Senate, all those issues will be part of the agenda, as will increasing military spending; Biden's current request "doesn't even keep up with inflation." And, McConnell said, "We've got a war going on in Ukraine." 

Some of those things he mentioned were discussed in other classrooms as well.

For your Sunday School Extra Credit, I sat in on a couple of the panel discussions, including the one on This Week with George Stephanopoulos, with Jon Karl hosting. The endorsements being handed out by the Former Guy garnered some attention, including the recent glowing recommendation of Dr. Oz for Senate in PA. Trump said that being on television is "kind of like a poll" and Oz was on for a long time, so people must like him. Rick Klein (ABC News) and Laura Barron-Lopez (Politico) chimed in on that.

After the laughter subsided, they got down to the nitty gritty: the fact that it seems Trump is endorsing "candidates that don't appear to be on track to win," including Oz. Klein says it's "totally fascinating" that Trump's putting himself on the line, and that, "in a bunch of cases, it could blow up in his face." A notable example? Trump's efforts to get rid of Georgia's governor and secretary of state.

So, this is a big moment, I think, for Donald Trump. I think the conventional wisdom about him is this kingmaker, as the biggest force in the Republican Party. It's going to be tested when you have actual Republican primary voters in a range of states, starting next month.

Barron-Lopez said none of this means he has lost his grip on the party, 

because we see Republicans, time and time again, repeating, whether it's the big lie, or repeating, you know, other claims and attempts to try to change election laws in -- in states, in order to make it so Republicans have a better edge in future elections. So that's continuing. That isn't going anywhere.

And that's pretty much the way it goes with the Former Guy, right? They need him, and they feed him, all the while not really knowing how things are going to end up.

I was Wondering on Wednesday about elections, and election security, and goofballs - and that was just this one entry.

Lauren Boebert, who represents a couple of people somewhere, I guess, wondered out loud about the recent election in France.

The socialist nation of France held elections today.

In that election there was no mail-in voting, early voting, or use of voting machines.

There was a mandatory proof of ID to vote.

Why can’t we get that basic election security here?

I wonder if she's figured out yet that we can't do here what they do there, because (a) we're not a socialist nation, (b) we don't have one set of election rules that everyone must follow, (c) we don't have automatic voter registration, and (d) she doesn't want us to be or have any of those things? 

I was grumpy on Thursday when I did this Sidebar on how we allow folks - the talking heads, for sure, but they're not the only ones - to just toss stuff out there, unchallenged, and how easy it is to find information to refute what they say. A case in point was the panel discussion on Fox News Sunday, where Brit Hume opined that the Biden administration needed to "throw open the regulatory barriers" and that would allow oil companies to increase production here in the US.

If we did that, he said, we could supply countries in Western Europe with energy to make up for what they're not going to be getting anymore from Russia. And that would "cut off the flow of Western funds into Vladimir Putin's war chest." Perino said Hume's answer "makes sense to me. We'll see if it makes sense to them going forward." 

Of course, it makes sense to Perino and Hume: if we're cutting regulations, everything will be fine, right? Well, no; what Hume's selling, the oil industry isn't buying.

Here's where it gets interesting; there's this great reporting from Freightwaves.com, which covered CERAWeek (emphasis added).

Even as Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm was using the platform of a major energy industry conference to call on the nation’s oil producers to ramp up production, what was being said during other sessions made clear that was not likely to happen. 

And there was a lot more from CERAWeek, which "has been described by the Financial times as the 'Davos of energy,' and by Politico as the "industry's Super Bowl," among other accolades - so it's not a bunch of people like me making stuff up - it's experts who disagree with what the pundits are throwing out there. And boy, I wish it would stop.

I did a total 'good week' TGIF - it seemed like something we could all use. Here's one example.

Moving on, we've got a nine-year-old fashion designer. Kaia Aragon, a third-grader, designs and sews her own clothes, after being taught to sew by her mom when she was five. You can see her designs via a link in the article; she shares them on her mom's TikTok page. 

Now, as a person who had to finish her junior high sewing project during the summer break, in order to avoid taking an incomplete, I can't even comprehend how Kaia does what she does. My project? A denim skirt, in case you were wondering. Which I'm pretty sure I never wore, but at least I finished the darn thing. In August. Ugh.

That's all I had for last week. I'll see you tomorrow for a recap of the Sunday School classrooms. 

If you're celebrating Easter, Passover, or Ramadan, I wish you the blessings of your holiday. 

If you're celebrating spring, or colored eggs, bunnies, and chocolate, or family time, or simply enjoying a quiet Sunday, I extend blessings to you as well.

TGIF 4/15/22

I'm doing only good-week reports today. There'll be plenty of time for the bad-week folks another day. 

Let's start with talking mushrooms. Yep - that's what at least some scientists are saying. It seems that electrical signals sent fungi to fungi via underground filaments are similar to language. Here's a bit from the article.

The split gill fungus formed the most complex “sentence structures,” and Professor Adamatzky suggested that the most likely purpose for this electrical dialogue is to keep integrity between the parts of the mycelium. Mycelia makes up more than 90% of the total biomass of fungi, and the filaments can stretch for hundreds of feet, connecting trees, other plants, and other fungi, so keeping the mycelia integrated, Adamatzky said, could be similar to the way wolves howl to keep all members of the pack integrated.

Other scientists are not so sure; it could be a case of 'seek, and ye shall find' exactly what you're seeking. 

Here's something that's never happened before: On Tuesday, Alyssa Nakken became the first female 0n-field coach in the history of major league baseball. She got her chance when the 1st base coach for the San Francisco Giants, Antoan Richardson, was ejected in the third. Here's how she looked at the historic moment.

Everybody can just see that there are a lot of opportunities in baseball. Sometimes I think we always limit ourselves to thinking what we could do. At least that’s my experience. I never thought that I could do something like this because I never saw it. So, I think, sure, it’s certainly important for people to be able to see that this is an opportunity and they can see somebody that kind of looks like them going out there and coaching in the big leagues.

Seek, and ye shall find opportunities you never thought existed.

Sticking with baseball for just a moment longer, today is Jackie Robinson Day in the majors, where every player on every team wears Robinson's number 42 in honor of his breaking the league's color barrier 75 years ago today.

This year’s celebration marks not just the 75th anniversary of Jackie’s debut but also the 25th anniversary of then-Commissioner Bud Selig’s announcement that Robinson’s No. 42 would be retired across MLB. Ten years after that landmark 1997 decision, Griffey requested and received permission to wear No. 42 on Jackie Robinson Day, and a few other players took part. And in 2009, the practice of every player, coach and manager wearing No. 42 on April 15 became a new tradition.

Seek, and ye shall find a way to change the game.

Moving on, we've got a nine-year-old fashion designer. Kaia Aragon, a third-grader, designs and sews her own clothes, after being taught to sew by her mom when she was five. You can see her designs via a link in the article; she shares them on her mom's TikTok page. 

Now, as a person who had to finish her junior high sewing project during the summer break, in order to avoid taking an incomplete, I can't even comprehend how Kaia does what she does. My project? A denim skirt, in case you were wondering. Which I'm pretty sure I never wore, but at least I finished the darn thing. In August. Ugh.

And speaking of better late than never, 101-year-old Merrill Pittman Cooper of West Virginia was given an honorary diploma recently.

As a high school student, Cooper attended Storer Normal School, taking several college prep courses. While he planned on attending college, life got in the way and he moved to Philadelphia and never graduated. Four years ago, he visited the campus and spoke of regretting not getting a degree. Family members worked with officials to make magic, and Cooper received his degree in March. 

Good for him, and for all involved in making this happen. 

Sticking with making good things happen, there's a new social media platform - and no, I'm not talking about Truth Social, I'm taking about Supernova. 

It is billed as an ethical alternative to Facebook and Instagram, which have been jointly dogged by accusations of ramping up misinformation and damaging mental health. O’Meara wants to test his belief that a growing slice of the population is craving a life- affirming, glass-half-full outlook instead.

What's different about this site? The company puts 60% of its ad revenue in an 'action fund,' and users get to determine how the money is divvied up among several different "causal areas." The target audience for Supernova? Millennials and Gen Z.

And in the end, the likes you give and get mean money for causes you like. Many things could be worse than that.

Speaking of giving and getting likes, I hope you like this one - a doggy tale, with a very happy ending. Duke, a homeless dog, made friends with US Army troops stations in Kosovo. The dog and the troops bonded, with the dog making them feel less homesick, and them making the dog feel loved. 

A sergeant at the base wanted to get Duke off the streets, and worked with Paws of War, charity that helps soldiers bring dogs home. And then, Duke stopped coming by. The soldiers eventually found him, and it was heartbreaking - he had been shot. After emergency surgery and six months of recovery, he's expected to get here this month.

This was a familiar story to me; a coworker went to Florida to pick up a dog that was shipped here from Afghanistan at the request of her future son-in-law, and a friend of mine adopted the mama dog, who also came over. The bonds these kids we send overseas make with these dogs is really something, and so is the love that brings them back together here. 

I'm not a religious person, but today is Good Friday, after all, and so I'll close with the story of the youngest Catholic bishop in the US: Bishop Joseph Espaillat, the 45-year-old 'rapping bishop' from New York City. And why does he rap? 

There was a talent show at this parish, Our Lady Queen of Martyrs, and a couple of the young boys wanted to rap, but you know these secular songs and they had a lot of bad words in them," he told Al. "And I said, 'I bet you money, I could come up with a rap song' ... and they were like, 'Oh no, Father, you can’t rap,' and I was like, 'Watch.' I was like, challenge is on, so I took the challenge."

He says he just uses his talents to speak to his community, the same way Jesus did. Which is probably good advice for many 'religious' people these days, and on  this day.

TGIF, everyone.