I used to call this blog Reality Based Opinions. Then I thought that since my opinions are not the only ones based on reality, and there may be relatively few who do not base opinions on reality, Reality Based Opinions was more than a bit presumptuous and discouraging of any real conversation so a new name was in order.

I chose Retired Guy since that did describe my situation. I am retired and now have time to read books and publish some book reviews here, time to work on my genealogy and publish something here in hopes of finding a new relative, and time to express my opinions (which I believe to be based on reality).
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I just read an article on Ethics Trump-style while writing my last post. In some respects it seems that President Trump’s executive order which was proclaimed as strengthening our ethics rules on lobbyists was actually weaker than the Obama rules it replaced.

Read the Politico article on Trump lobbying ban weakens Obama rules.

So now we are told there are alternative facts. Is a fact something firm or do we need to consider each alternative reality?

How many realities are there?

Do we need to account for all of them in our thinking?

Once upon a time there were facts and pretty much everyone agreed on them but there were often had different interpretations as to what the facts meant or perhaps differing opinions on the best way to deal with them.  Now the facts are unclear because there are alternative facts and maybe alternative realities to consider .
Continue reading “Alternative facts  or alternative  reality”

Last week I wrote that I hoped President-elect Trump would try to bring us together and be a president for all Americans. So far I do not see anything that suggests this will happen.

I had hoped that he would try to be a better President than his campaign suggested. It is early in his transition but I haven’t seen anything that indicates this will happen. President-elect Trump has disappointed but not surprised me.