March 28, 2024

BEYOND BELIEF: FACT OR FICTION

US President Barack Obama pauses as he speaks on the Affordable Care Act in the Brady Press Briefing Room of the White House while reporters do stand-ups on November 14, 2013 in Washington, DC. AFP PHOTO/Mandel NGAN (Photo credit should read MANDEL NGAN/AFP/Getty Images)

US President Barack Obama pauses as he speaks on the Affordable Care Act in the Brady Press Briefing Room of the White House while reporters do stand-ups on November 14, 2013 in Washington, DC. AFP PHOTO/Mandel NGAN (Photo credit should read MANDEL NGAN/AFP/Getty Images)

A TV show in which each episode featured five stories, all of which appeared to defy logic, and some of which were allegedly based on actual events. At the end, it was revealed whether it was fact of fiction.

Story # 1; President Barack Obama said at the White House Summit on Global Development Wednesday that “we are living in the most peacefulera in human history” and that “the  world has never been less violent

 “So it is worth reminding ourselves of how lucky we are to be living in the most peaceful, most prosperous, most progressive era in human history,” Obama said in the speech.

“Because the world has never been less violent, healthier, better educated, more tolerant, with more opportunity for more people, and more connected than it is today,” he also said.

Story # 2; Secretary of State John Kerry said in Vienna on Friday that air conditioners and refrigerators are as big of a threat to life as the threat of terrorism posed by groups like the Islamic State. “As we were working together on the challenge of [ISIS] and terrorism,” Kerry said. “It’s hard for some people to grasp it, but what we–you–are doing here right now is of equal  importance because it has the ability to literally save life on the planet itself.”

Story # 3; After ending the Republican Convention with a mix of disorganization and a semblance of maturity and demonstrations of a great family, presidential candidate Donald Trump said;

Pocahontas wanted V.P. slot so badly but wasn’t chosen because she has done nothing in the Senate. Also, Crooked Hillary hates her!” referring to Senator Elizabeth Warren, and then about Ted Cruz “I don’t know his father. I met him once. I think he’s a lovely guy,” Trump said at a morning-after rally in Cleveland. “All I did is point out the fact that on the cover of the National Enquirer there was a picture of him and crazy Lee Harvey Oswald having breakfast”   followed by  “This was a magazine that, in many respects, should be well respected,” Trump said. “I mean if that was The New York Times, they would have gotten Pulitzer Prizes for their reporting.”

Story # 4; FBI’s Director Comey when answering questions to the Congress, reiterated his findings that Secretary Hillary Clinton was “extremely careful” with the handling of confidential information and answered Rep. Trey Gowdy’s questions about her prior statements as being truthful. During an extended exchange with Rep. Trey Gowdy (R-S.C.), Comey affirmed that the FBI’s investigation did not find information marked classified on her server as Clinton had said that she had neither sent nor received any items marked classified.

“That is true,” Comey said. “There were no number of portion markings on, I think, three of the documents.”

Asked whether Clinton’s testimony that she did not email “any classified material to anyone on my email” and “there is no classified material” was true, Comey responded, “Yes, there was no classified material emailed.”

“Secretary Clinton said she used one device. Was that true?” Gowdy asked, to which Comey answered, “She used one device during the four years of her term as secretary of state.”

Story # 5; In the upcoming election the voters are facing a clear choice between the two candidates that reflect, for a change, the best each political party can offer. Both contenders, one with a vast and successful governmental experience, and the other an example of a self made, modest, and extremely honest businessman have defined a clear difference between the liberal and conservative ideologies. The public following the lead of a clean campaign are avoiding partisanship, accepting the merits of each pathway proposed and choosing what they feel is best for our country.

The show ends by the viewers “readers” choosing which of the stories are fact and which are fiction.

Fernando J. Milanes, MD

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