“For it is good to be children sometimes, and never better than at Christmas, when its mighty Founder was a child Himself.” ― Charles Dickens, A Christmas Carol

Good morning and welcome to Tuesday, December 13, 2016. It took a while but I finally was able to locate it. I'm talking about the animated cartoon version of Mr. Magoo's A Christmas Carol. I put it up in a little box on my computer and watched it off and on during the day. I had heard a lady who called into a radio program talking about watching Magoo's version of this classic Dicken's story as their family tradition on Christmas eve. That reminded me that I had not watched it for a number of years. The late character actor Jim Backus was great as the voice of Magoo. While the experts tend to argue the extent of Charles Dickens' heart for the poor, there's no doubt that his writings called attention to many who were enslaved by their poverty. He was seen as a champion for the poor during his lifetime. We are all familiar with the morality tale represented in his famous work, 'A Christmas Carol'. That story never gets old because it depicts how a person given over to greed and selfishness can change. A hard heart became soft as he repented of his past and pursued a new beginning of genuine caring and giving. It reminds us of those less fortunate than ourselves, and in doing so, it has something to say to us all.

The current rage in the political world has to do with something called 'fake' news. These are untrue stories out in the world of social media put up by a variety of people. Now we have Hillary Clinton hinting that her loss most likely was directly connected to fake news. I heard the campaign chair for Donald Trump give her insight into the fake news that could have made the most impact. That was the fake accounts trumpeted by the mainstream news media on a 24x7 basis that Mr. Trump had no chance of winning, none whatsoever, it cannot happen, no mathematical path, forget about it, and odds were more than 85% against the probability of a Trump win. You tell me. Were any of those accounts from the so-called most trusted news people in our country legitimate? Take your time, but, I can't wait forever. No doubt there are planted stories of all kinds. From all sides. We even have the questions for one of the debates leaked beforehand to Hillary and she still lost. Suddenly, according to the mainstream who had the fakiest of all accounts, our government needs to step in and do something about these fake news stories. I believe they were still saying there was no path to victory as late as midnight on election day. What could have been any more fake than an attempt to defeat a candidate with those kinds of erroneous stories? We could say they were just flat out wrong but that would still not absolve them from campaigning against Trump with their mythical propaganda. Now they are lamenting how respect for them is at an all time low. Really? Duh!

Here's one for us all to try and make sense of. A recent in-depth university study concluded that 50% of people remember events, including the details, that actually never happened. Talk about having an inventive imagination! I know exactly what some of you are thinking. Having read my blogs, you think that perhaps I was the main source for this study. The joke is on you because they didn't even contact me. Or, maybe in a few years, I will actually remember them talking to me along with the questions they asked. I recognized similar problems long before this study was ever undertaken. I often ask myself, do I remember this event or was it one that I heard about so much that it became my recollection. I'm not always certain, especially when we are talking many years ago. It would be nice to think back on the times when I felt very hurt and see those incidents as having never occurred. But, based on the study, that's not really the type of things they found. An example might be a recollection of being at a specific event like a rally, a concert, or other significant happening.  According to the study, people remembered being at those events including what was going on, even though they were not present. I will have to spend some time thinking about this one. I suggest you do the same. One thing I don't have to study. I wish each one God's best as we continue our journey here on the planet. Amen. ....More later.