It’s coming up on True’s 30th anniversary, so there are bound to be some coincidences among story subjects. Get a load of this one from this week’s issue:
Government
Sarah Ferguson
Way Back in Fall 2004, Kit and I went to London for a meeting, and she said she wanted to go to Jersey afterward for a quick vacation to celebrate her birthday. Jersey is the largest of the Channel Islands off the coast of France, a self-governing nation that’s a (British) Crown Dependency, yet not part of the United Kingdom. It’s what the U.S. state of New Jersey is named for.
Zero Gravity Bureaucracy: The Real Story
When NASA first started sending astronauts to space, they knew ballpoint pens would not work in zero gravity.
How Not to Call 911: A Real World Example
True contributor Alexander Cohen and I had quite the discussion about the Canadian woman desperately trying to get police help when there was an intruder in her home.
Fixing Georgia
A story in this week’s issue needs a lot more room for explanation, not to mention a full-sized copy of the graph involved. First, let’s start with the story, from True’s 17 May 2020 issue:
067: Counterintuitive
In This Episode: An American company that makes masks and other PPE chose NOT to ramp up production to help with the Covid pandemic. That sounds like a decision to be criticized, but it’s actually an example of Uncommon Sense. This episode explores why.
059: Rescuing History
In This Episode: A wild story of several civilians who rescued a piece of history — a little-known account from the sidelines in the race to the moon.
Betraying the Public’s Trust
True Can Never Put All of the Details in a story that might be interesting, or might even add to the commentary, but I can comment here! But first, let’s start with the story, from True’s 27 October issue:
The Usual Culprit
Monday was just the beginning of a crazy week (see the previous entry, Come to Me, for that story). Things went decidedly downhill Wednesday, when I was called out before dawn to a wildfire.
038: The Giant Leap for Mankind
In This Episode: I’m recording this episode the evening of July 20th: the 50th anniversary of the first humans landing on the moon. If you think it maybe took Uncommon Sense to get there, you’re right: it took an extraordinary amount, and this episode talks about some of the details that you may not have heard about before.
Older Than You Think
Another story that “can’t” go into the newsletter since it will trigger filters. This one isn’t “adult” in nature, but you’ll understand the filter issue when you read the story.
Allergic to Obliviocy
Today’s Randy’s Random Meme is My Take on recent headlines, like “Disregarding Health Warnings, Arizona Lawmakers Move Forward On Vaccine Exemptions For Kids” and “Texas Lawmaker Hays He’s Not Worried About Measles Outbreak Because of ‘Antibiotics’” and “Measles Returned To Costa Rica After Five Years By French Family Who Had Not Had Vaccinations” — which are all recent.
Pho Keene Controversy
Update: The Restaurant Pho Keene Won!
Sometimes, I’ll Look at the Comments on a news site’s story that I use as a source for a True story. Not very often, since most news comments are a vast wasteland, but the comments on one of the Pho Keene stories I read caught my eye. The top comment was, “Who knew that Keene lacked a sense of humor?” And there was one response: “Anyone that lives here.” Let’s start with the story, from True’s first issue of 2019:
Colorado Screws Over Small Businesses like This is True
I Did Have to Stop Selling physical products to Colorado customers only because This is True is actually in Colorado.
And then this virus spread to other countries….
Jump to the Update or read on.
Dust Storms May Exist
While Driving Across southern New Mexico this morning, I rolled my eyes a bit at a warning sign: “Dust Storms May Exist”. Well yeah, so might space aliens bent on beaming someone up from the desert. Reminds me of the one I see farther north: “Icy Conditions May Exist”. Are lawyers writing road signs now? Maybe charging by the letter?
This is Not a Drill
When it Comes to “Big” News Stories, I like to focus on some of the smaller points — the parts that illustrate the “thinking” aspects of the stories, or what should be the “lessons learned” from them. Hawaii’s “ballistic missile” incident is a perfect example. Let’s start with my take on it, from True’s 14 January 2018 issue:
Burbank, California: My Home Town
How Cool is my home town (Burbank, Calif.)? Sure, “Beautiful Downtown Burbank” is where Rowan & Martin’s Laugh-In was taped, but it was also (from 1928) the headquarters city of Lockheed Aircraft Co., as reflected in the city seal.
Freedom of Religion, Alabama Style
I Have a Few Comments on Mike Straw’s story this week. Let’s start with the story, from the 18 January 2015 issue:
Loyalty Oath
I have quite a bit to say about the lead story this week. Let’s start with the story, from the 23 November 2014 issue:
Don’t Have a Cow, Man
Readers wanted to see the photos that go with this story, about the prisoner-altered State Police car-door decal in Vermont. It ran in True’s 12 February 2012 issue: