“Trivia are not knowledge. Lists of facts don't comprise knowledge. Analyzing, hypothesizing, concluding from data, sharing insights, those comprise knowledge. You can't google for knowledge.” ― Elaine Chaika, Professor and Freelance Writer

Hello friends and neighbors. Good to see you today. I could get used to these relatively cool mornings. I would say it puts a spring in my step but at my age that would most likely be somewhat of an exaggeration. Today is Wednesday, October 22, 2014, and yesterday morning I spent some time perusing the headlines from newspapers across our country. You do know what a newspaper is, don't you? (What's black and white and read all over?) There's a website that captures the front pages and I occasionally like to see what folks are tracking across the fruited plain. Out in Arizona they had this one: 'What's Happening on Wall Street?'; The LA Times led with this story: 'Latino Voters May Opt to Sit Out', talking about the upcoming election.; In Daytona Beach folks woke up to the reporting on this topic: 'Politics Seep Into School Board Race', can you imagine that? The Indianapolis Star had this current challenge to read about: 'Are We Ready for Ebola Here?'; In Topeka, Kansas, readers were invited to check out the details regarding this subject: 'Taking a Second Look at Unsolved Crimes', dealing with slayings that are still pending an arrest. Over in my old stomping grounds in Louisiana, the Alexandria TownTalk had this headline: 'Star Power', documenting the visit of President Bill Clinton who was in town stumping for and trying to boost the reelection hopes of Senator Mary Landrieu. Surprisingly, there are still a sizable number of newspapers out there and anytime you want to check out the front pages you can do so by going to: http://www.newseum.org/

I understand if that doesn't interest you and that's okay. True. Many of the headlines are dealing with gloomy subjects but when you stop and think about it, there's quite a bit of gloom and doom out there and it doesn't go away just because we ignore it. To each his or her own, as they say. I caught a news blurb that shouldn't surprise us. A new report indicates that our government has spent a total of 7 billion dollars in Afghanistan attempting to curb the growing of plants used in the manufacture of drugs. If you haven't noticed, that's one thing our government does very well. The spending of money. They have expended these funds because the terrorist organizations use the drug money to fund their nefarious activities. Hang in there because I am coming to a conclusion. Here's the results from our infusion of these expenditures: The planting has not been reduced but rather they are experiencing some of the largest bumper crops in their history. I can hear Old MacDonald, the farmer, singing, "Here a billion, there a billion, everywhere a billion-billion..... E-I-E-I-O" I'm not going to provide a moral to this story. I'll let you come up with one on your own. That will be your assignment from our visit today.

I read some interesting analysis recently. There's been quite a lot written about the whole concept of the 'dumbing down' of just about everything involved in our education, culture, and even in the workplace. This can be very much seen in the way in which communications have changed over time. There are established methods used to evaluate the level of written and spoken communications that can gauge the material in trying to connect at the aptitude level of the audience being targeted. It shouldn't surprise any of us that this target has been steadily going down. It has to do with the words chosen and phrases used to try and reach at an appropriate grade level those being addressed. Preserved presidential speeches since our founding have been subjected to this analysis protocol and it's clear the words and phrases used today indicate a massive downward change. Some would say this is not really a dumbing down but rather a wising up to the reality of our diverse democratized society. The current situation adds to the debate over our national leaders and how well they communicate to the masses. I'll not go into great detail here but I will mention the fact that President George W. Bush scored a whole lot better in this evaluation process than his detractors would want anyone to believe. Even better than some who have been praised as being the elite of the elite. I think I already knew that. What about you? Take care, enjoy, and give God the glory. Amen.  ....More later.