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Editorial/Columns
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Nothing Truthful About Tell-Lie-Vision
can't believe I'm going to admit to this, but Donald Trump may have been right about one thing all along.
Sometimes news truly is fake. This became blatantly ap- parent last week during Hur- ricane Florence. When the storm made landfall in Wilm- ington, NC a reporter for the Weather Channel, Mike Sei- del, recorded himself strug- gling to stand upright against winds that appeared to be strong enough to blow him
away.
What he didn't realize was
that, while he was trying to convince viewers how danger- ous the hurricane was becom- ing, two men were captured casually walking behind him in the same footage who didn't seem to be the least bit affected by the elements around them. In that moment Seidel, not only, became the biggest joke on the internet, he was ex- posed as the biggest fraud of the year.
Just looking at the video it's hard not to laugh at the humor that comes with seeing a news reporter, in all of his se- riousness, being caught in the act of pulling a fast one on the viewing public. But, when you think about the situation a lit- tle deeper, you can't help but
wonder how many other times we may have been fooled by these same types of shenani- gans?
After all, how many of us can say that we were on-loca- tion eyewitnesses to any of the events that were beamed into our televisions from war zones, protest marches or natural dis- asters recently? There is no way for us to really confirm that what we were shown actu- ally took place. We depend solely on the fact that the peo- ple delivering the information have enough integrity to tell us the truth about what's occur- ring.
The uncomfortable reality, though, is that Seidel could be just one of numerous disinfor- mation agents working on a very large stage. And, if that's true, the most troubling aspect this incident reveals is how vulnerable we are to mass de- ception.
Of course, the Weather Channel attempted to confirm their commitment to the truth by defending Seidel in a state- ment, saying that Seidel's ex- haustion from his extensive coverage of the storm and the fact that he was standing in grass made him more suscep- tible to the weather than the two men behind him walking
on concrete. But that explana- tion made the network look even worse because it showed that they would stoop as low as to insult the intelligence of their own viewers in an effort to cover-up the mess created by one of their employees.
The saddest part of this de- bacle isn't just that Seidel's stunt has seriously threatened the credibility of news outlets, it's that it could potentially make any future catastrophic event even more tragic. It wouldn't be surprising if, the next time a storm approaches, more people lost their lives by not evacuating because they felt as though they were being "Seideled" and that the re- ports of coming destruction were a gross exaggeration of an attention-starved media indus- try.
Growing up I was always told that, once a person is caught in a lie, everything that comes out of his or her mouth is open to speculation. Now that it's been revealed that those who report the news aren't above making it up themselves, we're left in a po- sition where we'll constantly have to figure out which part of what we're being told is accu- rate or something embellished by script writers.
And, if that's the case, we may want to start asking our- selves if going through the trouble of having to decipher every news feed for authentic- ity is even worth the headache of watching the programming?
Reality On Ice is © by the Florida Sentinel Bul- letin Publishing Company. You can contact Mr. Barr at: cbarronice@gmail- .com.
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Questions For Politicians
rior to major elections, the Black community is
flooded by politicians who we never see again if they lose, and who we seldom see if they win.
So, when they come to our meetings and forums, we need to make sure we ask them relevant questions, check their voting records on issues important to the Black community as well as the entire community, and make certain they will be accessible to our community AFTER they win.
Prior to voting, we encourage our readers to re- search politicians’ views and records on five of the fol- lowing key issues:
Health Care: Do they support improving or scuttling Medicare/Medicaid and Obamacare? Do they favor protecting citizens against being penalized for pre-ex- isting health conditions? Will they support policies/legislation that lowers drug prices?
Employment: Will they raise the cap on payroll taxes which now stands at $128, 400? Do they support raising the minimum wage to $15 or more? Will they support raising the age for receiving full retirement benefits?
Environment: Will they support strengthening rules that protect our air, water, and our world against cli- mate change? Will they protect funds set aside to re- store and maintain wetlands and nature preserves?
Human Rights: Will they support the expansion of efforts to promote and increase diversity and inclusion in government and the private sector? Will they sup- port women’s rights to control what happens to their bodies?
Taxation: Do they support lowering the taxes of pri- vate citizens commensurate with the reduction of tax rates for businesses?
No doubt, there are other important issues that we will share in the near future. In order to vote intelli- gently, voters need to know the opinions and records of the people for whom they vote. There is no excuse for anything else.
Assume The Position
“To be able to lead oth- ers, a man must be willing to go forward alone.”
- Harry Truman
mpowered Greetings.
This week I want to challenge you to assume your rightful position. A true leader should take the lead. You should be forging the path that others are trying to avoid. A leader should be out front, moving beyond the norm or traditions.
Leaders are innovative enough to maintain their founding principles while de- veloping more effective ways to yield an expected outcome. It is time to start leading from the front and stop leading
from behind.
You’re behind in technol-
ogy. You’re behind in your way of thinking. You’re behind in the way you do things. Your behind is always behind and trying to play catch up. Yet, you are in a role of leadership.
Leaders are to go ahead of others to show them the way. This means you should be for- ward thinking.
Forecasting possibilities of what is to come. Not waiting to see what happens or how others will respond.
Leaders are courageous. Stop being afraid to try some- thing new because you don’t want to fail. Failure is what will ultimately bring you suc- cess. Ask any inventor.
Leaders, I challenge you to rise up and take the lead with- out hesitation or reservation because now is the time for you to assume your position to win.
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sive profits.
Selphenia’s no-nonsense
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FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 21, 2018 FLORIDA SENTINEL BULLETIN PUBLISHED EVERY TUESDAY AND FRIDAY PAGE 5-A