Right on! I recognize these biases in myself - I can't stomach reading right-wing "journalism," so my diet is rich in Guardian, MSNow, etc. The process, by the way, is called "epistemic freezing:" the tendency for people, as their viewpoints begin to consolidate, to focus more and more on stimuli that confirms their viewpoints. It's another one of those human cognitive traits that we need to learn to cope with. It creates an existential risk.
Clearly, the phenomenon of epistemic freezing is being exploited by the powerful and the authoritarian to divide and conquer. A big scary issue right now is the flood of social media, the hidden manipulation of content streams, and the biasing of so-called "mainstream media." The techniques I learned as a young professional to resolve conflict - most notably active listening - often fail when fundamental reality is not shared. For example, some years ago I actively listened to a bunch of (liberal) people on the topic of anti-racism. There were those who simply did not believe in the fact of microaggression, even when confronted with a victim's explanation.
Currently, people actually believe in fantasies such as Michelle Obama being a guy, or Haitian immigrants devouring pets. How do you discuss public health with someone who doesn't believe in vaccination? How do you discuss public policy with someone who thinks that human-caused climate change is a hoax? Etc.
I came of age, here in Canada, at about the onset of the Vietnam "war", with American involvement predicated on a fabricated incident (the Gulf of Tonkin episode...look it up), and on the "domino theory" whereby communist take over of South Vietnam by North Vietnam would open a floodgate of communism establishing itself first in Australia and then across the world, thus the need to stop it there before it reached us here. The Americans essentially thought that there was no difference between the ka-zillions of Chinese and the North Vietnamese -- all of them evil commies coming to destroy us all. Actually they had a history of mutual dislike that was a matter of record, had Americans bothered to look.
To this day I think the real reason for that folly, which needlessly cost so many lives before resulting in pretty much what we would have had, had America not interfered with what was otherwise a civil war, was to goose the military economy in the U.S.
But related to your essay is the point I want to make, and that is that living near the border I could, in black and white, watch both Canadian and American news channels, as few as they were, and it was like they were reporting on two different wars. The inglorious defeat of the Americans, not unlike the one suffered in Afghanistan a generation or so later, came, I suspect, as much less of a surprise to Canadians and news consumers in other countries than it did to Americans.
I still say that the most important thing to teach kids, all kids, from kindergarten onward, is critical thinking and the ability to discern demonstrable fact from opinion. Both can serve valid functions, but they should be distinguished from each other...um...and the fact is: that is my opinion.
When I read what. trum said and the reaction of Vance and Eavitt, my first thought was Hitlers belief om his master race and his use of Eugneics to try and eliminate those he saw as inferior, trum and his tech bros, oil bros, banking bros, big Pharma and medical industry bros are all soaciopahtic manipulative lying preditors, Whether they turn their self imposed privledged superior status on trafficing girls, or manipulating the stock market, or governments, it is all predation because they truly believe they are entitled and superior and the rest of us are just here for them to use, All the different media and cultural biases you listed still all missed the overreaching truth, This was a celebration of eugenics Want another example, no Venuzalan people matter when the goal is oil. the big lie- The situation surrounding U.S. relations with Venezuela has escalated significantly, leading to public speculation that U.S. actions might be a pretext for gaining control of Venezuela's vast oil reserves, considered the largest in the world.
The narrative begins with President Trump initiating a renewed, aggressive "war on drugs" campaign in late 2025, which included U.S. military strikes on several boats off the Venezuelan coast. These attacks reportedly resulted in dozens of deaths, and critics have pointed out that the administration has provided little evidence that the small vessels were involved in large-scale drug trafficking, or that they had any link to the Venezuelan government itself. The administration has placed a $50 million bounty on Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro's head, labeling him a "narco-terrorist" and the head of an alleged "Cartel of the Suns".
These military actions have occurred alongside controversial political and legal moves. In a decision that drew criticism regarding the consistency of the administration's anti-drug stance, President Trump pardoned former Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernández. Simultaneously, U.S. policy toward the Venezuelan oil industry has hardened dramatically. In early 2025, the Trump administration revoked the oil production licenses that had been granted to companies like Chevron during the previous administration and imposed a 25% tariff on all goods from any country that continues to import Venezuelan oil. These actions are seen by some as an attempt to cripple Venezuela's primary source of revenue and force regime change.
The narrative ties these events to broader concerns about influence and resources. Reports have surfaced that the President met with oil CEO billionaires who subsequently contributed to his campaign, after which drilling regulations were reportedly lifted, seemingly with little regard for ongoing climate change issues. Critics suggest this pattern extends to Venezuela, where a significant military deployment—far larger than what is typically needed for a standard anti-narcotics operation—has been assembled in the Caribbean. Observers and the Venezuelan government itself argue that the real objective of this military build-up and the "fake war on drugs" is to oust Maduro, install a more compliant government, and allow U.S. oil interests to take control of the country's immense oil wealth. When did we stop seeing do unto others as you woke do unto yiurself as a foundational belief to build a civil society on, When did we become so vulnerable lies of a few to get us to sacrifice our moral center and our own needs to provide profits for the needs of a few who’s greed and need for power knows no bounds, The fox is in the hen ouse and we don’t seem to be able to see it,
Good article and thank you for taking the time for this.
Overseas media didn’t seem to hold much back on Donald Trump's comments where he called Somalis "garbage", framing them as xenophobic, racist, and shocking. The coverage was widely highlighted and reported the use of this extreme language and included strong condemnation from individuals in Somalia and local leaders in the U.S.
An example from Al Jazeera
From Mogadishu to Minneapolis, Somalis reject Trump’s bigoted remarks
Have friends in both Europe in different countries as well as Canada. Have been in contact with them throughout the year more than in previous years. The common denominator is that they all were aware that he was going to destroy the U.S. not just within our nation but as seen as a worldwide alliance. There is now no trust between the majority of people in those countries they reside in with anything to do with Trump. The majority of people abroad are just looking in horror as to what we have become and hope we find a way out. They have sometimes more belief than the 36% that still are sticking with him in that approval rating.
Thank you for showing us all the ways a statement can be interpreted. I guess I must be liberal cuz when I heard him say, “we’re going to go the wrong way if we keep taking in garbage into our country” and noted of Somalis, “I don’t want them in the United States,” I felt disgusted to think of anyone, much less the president, make such comments and almost felt worse to know that too many people (one is too many) would cheer him on. The blatant ignorance and refusal to see all people as human beings, no different because of their race or religion--while normal in the world of Trump--is still totally unacceptable. This fumbling, bumbling racist, xenophobe has no business speaking into a microphone, much less standing at the presidential podium.
I Call BS on felon 47. The way that the felon 47 comments on Americans is not becoming of a President of the US. To put it bluntly, he is a malignant Liar and has mental health issues. He is impulsive and dangerous. Solmali Immigrants are a success story! It is hard to read all the facts of how the BS is reported because IMO many billionaire owned news outlets are just propaganda. But I understand what your intention is XVOA. Shout out to beuatiful Rep. Ilhan Omar. I beleive we need Democratic Socialism and I support her! She speaks truth to power.
Your specific bias is sculpted from years of front line experience, and backed up with receipts. Glad you're covering the issues legacy media deem inconsequential, or in conflict with their agenda.
You liberals are poorly informed and propagandized as you support Ukrainian Nazis, NATO/Imperialism, war, etc. You're not leftists and you're not antifa. You're part of the problem. To be blunt: Real leftists don't support the democratic party, Reformist/Trotskyist individuals and organizations, the US military and empire, NATO, No Kings, Mamdani, Bernie, AOC, mRNA's 💉, and the ridiculous TQIA+ nonsense. Getting rid of Trump won't solve the problem. That of capitalism. The US was a terrible country long before him. It wasn't a democracy or republic, either. Unlike you liberals. I have factual and educational material to back up my claims.
The United States can be considered the following: an oligarchy, a corporatocracy, an inverted totalitarianism system, a gerontocracy, a kakistocracy, a kleptocracy, and/or a techno feudalist society. But It is not a democracy, nor is it a republic.
📕Book Recommendation: We the Elites: Why the US Constitution Serves the Few by Robert Ovetz
Refer to the information I've collected on my website via my profile regarding the evils of capitalism. Start with the Dialectical Materialism page. While you're there. Educate yourself on other topics as well. Oh, and stop assuming and calling everyone a Trump supporter who disagrees with and knows more than you. It's incredibly childish.
Right on! I recognize these biases in myself - I can't stomach reading right-wing "journalism," so my diet is rich in Guardian, MSNow, etc. The process, by the way, is called "epistemic freezing:" the tendency for people, as their viewpoints begin to consolidate, to focus more and more on stimuli that confirms their viewpoints. It's another one of those human cognitive traits that we need to learn to cope with. It creates an existential risk.
Clearly, the phenomenon of epistemic freezing is being exploited by the powerful and the authoritarian to divide and conquer. A big scary issue right now is the flood of social media, the hidden manipulation of content streams, and the biasing of so-called "mainstream media." The techniques I learned as a young professional to resolve conflict - most notably active listening - often fail when fundamental reality is not shared. For example, some years ago I actively listened to a bunch of (liberal) people on the topic of anti-racism. There were those who simply did not believe in the fact of microaggression, even when confronted with a victim's explanation.
Currently, people actually believe in fantasies such as Michelle Obama being a guy, or Haitian immigrants devouring pets. How do you discuss public health with someone who doesn't believe in vaccination? How do you discuss public policy with someone who thinks that human-caused climate change is a hoax? Etc.
I came of age, here in Canada, at about the onset of the Vietnam "war", with American involvement predicated on a fabricated incident (the Gulf of Tonkin episode...look it up), and on the "domino theory" whereby communist take over of South Vietnam by North Vietnam would open a floodgate of communism establishing itself first in Australia and then across the world, thus the need to stop it there before it reached us here. The Americans essentially thought that there was no difference between the ka-zillions of Chinese and the North Vietnamese -- all of them evil commies coming to destroy us all. Actually they had a history of mutual dislike that was a matter of record, had Americans bothered to look.
To this day I think the real reason for that folly, which needlessly cost so many lives before resulting in pretty much what we would have had, had America not interfered with what was otherwise a civil war, was to goose the military economy in the U.S.
But related to your essay is the point I want to make, and that is that living near the border I could, in black and white, watch both Canadian and American news channels, as few as they were, and it was like they were reporting on two different wars. The inglorious defeat of the Americans, not unlike the one suffered in Afghanistan a generation or so later, came, I suspect, as much less of a surprise to Canadians and news consumers in other countries than it did to Americans.
I still say that the most important thing to teach kids, all kids, from kindergarten onward, is critical thinking and the ability to discern demonstrable fact from opinion. Both can serve valid functions, but they should be distinguished from each other...um...and the fact is: that is my opinion.
When I read what. trum said and the reaction of Vance and Eavitt, my first thought was Hitlers belief om his master race and his use of Eugneics to try and eliminate those he saw as inferior, trum and his tech bros, oil bros, banking bros, big Pharma and medical industry bros are all soaciopahtic manipulative lying preditors, Whether they turn their self imposed privledged superior status on trafficing girls, or manipulating the stock market, or governments, it is all predation because they truly believe they are entitled and superior and the rest of us are just here for them to use, All the different media and cultural biases you listed still all missed the overreaching truth, This was a celebration of eugenics Want another example, no Venuzalan people matter when the goal is oil. the big lie- The situation surrounding U.S. relations with Venezuela has escalated significantly, leading to public speculation that U.S. actions might be a pretext for gaining control of Venezuela's vast oil reserves, considered the largest in the world.
The narrative begins with President Trump initiating a renewed, aggressive "war on drugs" campaign in late 2025, which included U.S. military strikes on several boats off the Venezuelan coast. These attacks reportedly resulted in dozens of deaths, and critics have pointed out that the administration has provided little evidence that the small vessels were involved in large-scale drug trafficking, or that they had any link to the Venezuelan government itself. The administration has placed a $50 million bounty on Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro's head, labeling him a "narco-terrorist" and the head of an alleged "Cartel of the Suns".
These military actions have occurred alongside controversial political and legal moves. In a decision that drew criticism regarding the consistency of the administration's anti-drug stance, President Trump pardoned former Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernández. Simultaneously, U.S. policy toward the Venezuelan oil industry has hardened dramatically. In early 2025, the Trump administration revoked the oil production licenses that had been granted to companies like Chevron during the previous administration and imposed a 25% tariff on all goods from any country that continues to import Venezuelan oil. These actions are seen by some as an attempt to cripple Venezuela's primary source of revenue and force regime change.
The narrative ties these events to broader concerns about influence and resources. Reports have surfaced that the President met with oil CEO billionaires who subsequently contributed to his campaign, after which drilling regulations were reportedly lifted, seemingly with little regard for ongoing climate change issues. Critics suggest this pattern extends to Venezuela, where a significant military deployment—far larger than what is typically needed for a standard anti-narcotics operation—has been assembled in the Caribbean. Observers and the Venezuelan government itself argue that the real objective of this military build-up and the "fake war on drugs" is to oust Maduro, install a more compliant government, and allow U.S. oil interests to take control of the country's immense oil wealth. When did we stop seeing do unto others as you woke do unto yiurself as a foundational belief to build a civil society on, When did we become so vulnerable lies of a few to get us to sacrifice our moral center and our own needs to provide profits for the needs of a few who’s greed and need for power knows no bounds, The fox is in the hen ouse and we don’t seem to be able to see it,
Good article and thank you for taking the time for this.
Overseas media didn’t seem to hold much back on Donald Trump's comments where he called Somalis "garbage", framing them as xenophobic, racist, and shocking. The coverage was widely highlighted and reported the use of this extreme language and included strong condemnation from individuals in Somalia and local leaders in the U.S.
An example from Al Jazeera
From Mogadishu to Minneapolis, Somalis reject Trump’s bigoted remarks
https://www.aljazeera.com/amp/news/2025/12/4/from-mogadishu-to-minneapolis-somalis-reject-trumps-bigoted-remarks
And Euronews
Trump calls Somali migrants 'garbage' during cabinet meeting
https://www.euronews.com/2025/12/03/trump-says-he-doesnt-want-somalis-in-the-us-urges-them-to-go-back-to-fix-their-homeland
From France24
Trump launches tirade against ‘garbage’ Somali immigrants in US
https://www.france24.com/en/americas/20251203-trump-launches-tirade-against-garbage-somali-immigrants-us
A video from Firstpost
https://youtu.be/G13Q36avFvk?si=VgFO-3Hq9P_TFrZu
Have friends in both Europe in different countries as well as Canada. Have been in contact with them throughout the year more than in previous years. The common denominator is that they all were aware that he was going to destroy the U.S. not just within our nation but as seen as a worldwide alliance. There is now no trust between the majority of people in those countries they reside in with anything to do with Trump. The majority of people abroad are just looking in horror as to what we have become and hope we find a way out. They have sometimes more belief than the 36% that still are sticking with him in that approval rating.
Thanks again for a great article.
Thank you TJ for this thoughtful and thorough response.
Thank you for showing us all the ways a statement can be interpreted. I guess I must be liberal cuz when I heard him say, “we’re going to go the wrong way if we keep taking in garbage into our country” and noted of Somalis, “I don’t want them in the United States,” I felt disgusted to think of anyone, much less the president, make such comments and almost felt worse to know that too many people (one is too many) would cheer him on. The blatant ignorance and refusal to see all people as human beings, no different because of their race or religion--while normal in the world of Trump--is still totally unacceptable. This fumbling, bumbling racist, xenophobe has no business speaking into a microphone, much less standing at the presidential podium.
I Call BS on felon 47. The way that the felon 47 comments on Americans is not becoming of a President of the US. To put it bluntly, he is a malignant Liar and has mental health issues. He is impulsive and dangerous. Solmali Immigrants are a success story! It is hard to read all the facts of how the BS is reported because IMO many billionaire owned news outlets are just propaganda. But I understand what your intention is XVOA. Shout out to beuatiful Rep. Ilhan Omar. I beleive we need Democratic Socialism and I support her! She speaks truth to power.
Damn right Xplisset. And every word true!
👏
Your specific bias is sculpted from years of front line experience, and backed up with receipts. Glad you're covering the issues legacy media deem inconsequential, or in conflict with their agenda.
You liberals are poorly informed and propagandized as you support Ukrainian Nazis, NATO/Imperialism, war, etc. You're not leftists and you're not antifa. You're part of the problem. To be blunt: Real leftists don't support the democratic party, Reformist/Trotskyist individuals and organizations, the US military and empire, NATO, No Kings, Mamdani, Bernie, AOC, mRNA's 💉, and the ridiculous TQIA+ nonsense. Getting rid of Trump won't solve the problem. That of capitalism. The US was a terrible country long before him. It wasn't a democracy or republic, either. Unlike you liberals. I have factual and educational material to back up my claims.
Liberalism and Fascism
https://youtu.be/6ceSi2hLQ7g
Critique of the Western Left
https://youtube.com/shorts/k_aCwWTGgXQ
Battling the Fake Left
https://www.youtube.com/live/_O8UFkoPhz8
A Dark Money Group Is Secretly Funding High-Profile Democratic Influencers
https://www.wired.com/story/dark-money-group-secret-funding-democrat-influencers/
No Kings Protests and The Democratic Party
https://youtu.be/hUa2Lr6em3Q
A March About Nothing
https://youtu.be/WDISVEdlLJs
Why The 'No Kings' Protests Didn't Matter
https://realleecamp.substack.com/p/why-the-no-kings-protests-didnt-matter?utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&triedRedirect=true
Zohran Mamdani and Democratic Socialism
https://youtu.be/wyIxCAZ4vlY
The Folly of Greens and Social Democrats
https://youtu.be/BRkUl-ZaU1g
Marxism Vs. Liberalism
https://youtu.be/lc3_z9Vhihw
Marxism and the Bourgeois Left
https://classconsciousnessproject.blog/2025/11/05/marxism-leninism-is-not-part-of-the-left/
📑2014 Princeton Study: Public opinion has “near-zero” impact on U.S. law.
https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/perspectives-on-politics/article/abs/testing-theories-of-american-politics-elites-interest-groups-and-average-citizens/62327F513959D0A304D4893B382B992B
The United States can be considered the following: an oligarchy, a corporatocracy, an inverted totalitarianism system, a gerontocracy, a kakistocracy, a kleptocracy, and/or a techno feudalist society. But It is not a democracy, nor is it a republic.
📕Book Recommendation: We the Elites: Why the US Constitution Serves the Few by Robert Ovetz
The Shadow President
https://youtu.be/xPqpqs_cixg
Refer to the information I've collected on my website via my profile regarding the evils of capitalism. Start with the Dialectical Materialism page. While you're there. Educate yourself on other topics as well. Oh, and stop assuming and calling everyone a Trump supporter who disagrees with and knows more than you. It's incredibly childish.