Tiny Tuesday : : Seeds

Celebrating the wonders of nature as well as the return of Walking Wombat to the challenge which she began four years ago. These seed heads were little yellow wildflowers about five months ago and now they are so light and delicate, and so aerodynamically well designed that they will scatter themselves on the four winds, find a place to plant themselves and turn into new little yellow wildflower plants. 

The second class on Fake News met today with a former newspaper editor discussing what it is, how to tell what it is and what isn't, and what to do about it. The most interesting part was the missing feedback loop. I've also heard it called 'tribalism'. Liberals (defined in his example as Clinton and Sanders supporters) tend to get their news from sources which can be verified, while Conservatives (Trump supporters) get theirs more by word of mouth and tweet. A very fancy graphic showed how Liberals communicate together and Conservatives communicate together, but rarely is there any communication between the two groups.  That is the missing feedback loop. 

Apropos of that, I was listening to a discussion on National Public Radio (a source which I consider to be impeccable) on the questioning of Brett Kavanaugh on the precise meaning of the word 'boofed'. Kavanaugh claimed under oath that it meant 'flatulence'. Others claim that it is far worse. My question is...seriously? If the august committee charged with choosing the next member of the Supreme Court is arguing with the distinguished candidate for said position over the meaning of a word which may or may not mean farting, something has gone horribly wrong with the whole process. You couldn't make this up....