Perception vs. truth

We’re all different on the outside. You only have to consider that iris scans, voice recognition, fingerprints, etc., are all deemed to identify the “uniqueness” of an individual’s body. I believe that we all unique on the outside – even “identical” twins aren’t really identical. Any arguments there?

So, when you consider that our perception of events is seen through a prism composed of our parent’s and friend’s influences, our life experiences, formal education and training, native intellect, and lots more, a reasonable person must conclude that we’re probably even more different on the inside. Each individual’s perception must be influenced by his/her “insides” – I believe that to be an irrefutable statement.

With that in mind, it’s entirely expected that different people will interpret the same fact in different ways. First, let’s agree on what a fact is; a fact is a thing that has actually happened or is really true; a reality; a truth. Something doesn’t become a fact just because we perceive it to be true, but something that is really true.

October 1, 2004

I had thought that Dubya had signed his Form 180 – however, now I’m not so sure. I know that he instructed the Pentagon to release “all” of his records but perhaps has not “technically” signed the form. So, with that assumption in mind, I’d like to suggest that the Prez challenge Kerry to meet in the Rose Garden for a signing ceremony – there, they’d simultaneously sign their Form 180’s. Wonder how Kerry’d escape that one?? I can’t believe that the Prez has more skeletons in his “Forms” closet than Kerry does??

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John Kerry has a “plan”. In fact, he has a plan for everything. Something needs fixing? Kerry’s got a plan.

The problem is, plans don’t always work. If they did, we’d all be professional athletes, CEOs, or rock stars - everyone would be rich and happy – and we’d all live happily ever after. Any 10-year-old can have a plan.

I’ve got a bunch of plans – and they’re better than Senator Kerry’s plans.

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Senior al Qaeda official Ayman al-Zawahri wants to organize resistance all around the Muslim world. In a terrorist world, we simply cannot be completely free unless and until the non-terrorist Muslim world joins us in combating the extremists. I can think of no more destructive weapon against them than democracies in Afghanistan and Iraq – even fledgling ones.

The real question is ... how different the world would be if no one could lie.

Think about it - you could be sure that the late model BMW you had your eyes on (at a bargain price) didn't have a salvage title, or 220,000 hard miles when the odometer showed 39,000.

And you could watch the pundits ask candidates for office tough questions - and be sure that the response was truthful. What a novel idea! "Spin" would go away - the New York Times would begin to report the news regardless of the political impact or go out of business. Hallelujah!

What about buying a 15 year-old house? Why should we have to hire an independent inspector to verify that there aren't termites or some other major hidden flaw? Because some people lie.

True, the world isn't going to turn honest overnight, but what if we spent part of our space exploration budget on a real honest-to-goodness TRUTH DETECTOR. Just suspend the program for a few years, while the country adjusted. Everything about the way we live our lives would change.

Kerry and the Swifties

This looks like another "depends on what the definition of 'IS' is" parsing of words to spin the truth.
The DNC and its lawyers are trying to intimidate news outlets so they will not run the Swift Veterans for the Truth commercial refuting John Kerry's combat record. They (and other partisans) point to the fact that the vets with a negative view of Kerry's actions "were not on his boat". This is a true statement. The SVTs were not on Kerry's boat but did "serve with him" in that many of them were on other boats in a group that were on the same mission - in close proximity in water ways often less than a football field wide and in visual sight of each other. To write off their statements because they "were not on the same boat" is just a way to refute their testimony out of hand without vetting it and comparing it with what Kerry's "band of brothers" are saying. Both can't be right. Let's hear the SVTs out and see if they're right or wrong - NOW - before the election. If Kerry is right and they're lying, he rises in my estimation. If he's lying and they're exposing it, the American people should know it.