Shaping My Thought

 Shaping My Thought

I tend to get distracted by the unusual.   It is not a new phenomenon.   Some would call it another manifestation of my Attention Deficit Syndrome.   I tend to embrace it as my creative nature.

Sometimes it works.

Sometimes it doesn’t.

Today's distraction is my understanding that the orange talking head will be addressing the nation tonight. I am sure, in his frontotemporal demented mind, he believes that those of us who tune in are there for insight and understanding about why the world seems to be going to hell in a handbasket.  When the real reason we tuned in is to count the number of lies and mistruths uttered during his 48 minute tirade.

It is important to count them accurately, as your best guess was submitted to the office pool prior to quitting.  The winner of the pool receives a vacation to scope out places where they might just become an “ex-pat” until the Venezuelan war has been completed.

[I worry that they might reinstate the draft for 73 year olds, but that is a story for another time.]

Most of us will sit like lemmings in front of the TV.  MS Now will cut in and out,  peppered with commentary.  Fox and CBS will carry the entire tirade.  ABC and NBC will cut him off when he starts ab libbing too frequently.  I know many of you will listen intently for those “reading between the lines” moments spoken in code…directing you to the holy truth.

If I go online to see the commentary and evaluation, I will have to remember that the robber barons have manipulated the message with their carefully crafted algorithms.  They will direct me toward a site that opens my mind to the idea that the real problem is the Venezuelan cook who works for minimum wage in a Dallas suburb or the Somalian cab driver in Milwaukee who gets lost because of the signage.  

These people are taking our jobs and while they were at it they stole the market for our soybeans.

The psychological term is projection (calling your unacceptable thoughts someone else’s) or maybe displacement (shifting anger or fear to a safer target…those nasty Venezuelan’s).  In reality it is scapegoating…we Americans have been very proficient at this over our history.  We blamed Chinese immigrants for opium, Black Americans for crack cocaine and Hispanics for amphetamines and marijuana.   When the real culprit lies at the feet of corporate manipulation of labor markets, policy and moves to bring more income to the top three percent of our citizens.

I am finding that the manipulated algorithms of the internet will surround me with an echochamber.  Helping me to become angry with anyone who disagrees with me.  The algorithms are designed to distract me from the reality that faces me.

So as the orange one “talks with us” tonight…don’t be distracted by the scapegoating…do not be distracted by the gold inlay of the oval office.   Track the number of lies or mistruths that are spewed.  

Make sure you have a legitimate fact checker nearby…I am pretty sure you will need it.

And just to be on the safe side it might be appropriate to pre-medicate with your favorite nausea medicine.

You can thank me later. 

J.Michael Pontious

December 17, 2025