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AP admits to publishing fake news that Nikolas Cruz who shot school children was a white nationalist
The Associated Press ran with the story of segregationist (I refuse to use the toxic misnomer “white nationalist”) Jordan Jereb claiming that Nikolas Cruz, the Florida school shooter, was a member of his segregationist group Republic of Florida.
They didn’t vet the information in any way. They just ran with it. Within about an hour of publication, it became clear that AP and other mainstream media outlets had been lied to. But, instead of publishing an immediate retraction, AP waited until the following day, publishing a one-sentence tweet that is no retraction at all, and they published during the black hole of weekly news, Friday night, when readership is at its lowest.
White nationalist appears to have lied to the AP, other news outlets when he claimed that Florida school-shooting suspect was a member of his group. http://apne.ws/J0TL6iK
White nationalist appears to disavow connection with shooter
PARKLAND, Fla. (AP) — A white nationalist appears to have lied to The Associated Press and other news organizations when he claimed that Florida school-shooting suspect Nikolas Cr
apnews.com
Translation: We didn’t vet Jordan Jereb’s claim by checking a membership roster. It “appears” he lied to us. Sure, the fact that the shooter is Hispanic makes it a ridiculous notion that he is a white supremacist or white anything. We waited over a day to publish this “oh, shit” because we really, really wanted to connect the wild-eyed, maniacal killer to Trump and conservatives. Have a nice weekend.
Ways to Cope With Anxiety
You’ve been in bed for an hour now and you still can’t get to sleep. Maybe you’re thinking about your job or your 401(k) or health insurance. Perhaps some problem with your kids has your mind spinning on its late-night hamster wheel of worry. Whatever the issue, you can’t get it out of your head, so you try to solve it then and there. Before you know it, another hour has passed. Now you start fretting about the fact that you can’t get to sleep. “I’ll be a wreck tomorrow,” you tell yourself. “I’ve got to sleep now.” Doesn’t do the trick though, does it?
We’ve all been there. But the good news is, there is something you can do to help―something more effective than the usual advice to “be positive” or just “stop thinking so much.” The latest research on anxiety suggests innovative, even odd, techniques for coping successfully with recurrent worries. I’ve seen these work for hundreds of patients. In fact, I’ve found that most people can get a grip on things if they take a few minutes to develop a different relationship with their thoughts and feelings. Here are 10 approaches to try.
1. Repeat your worry until you’re bored silly. If you had a fear of elevators, you’d get rid of it if you rode in one a thousand times in a row. At first, you would be very anxious, then less so, and eventually it would have no effect (except to make you sick of riding in an elevator). So take the troublesome thought that’s nagging at you and say it over and over, silently, slowly, for 20 minutes. It’s hard to keep your mind on a worry if you repeat it that many times. I call this the “boredom cure” for obvious reasons, but it sure beats feeling overwhelmed by anxiety.
2. Make it worse. When you try too hard to control your anxieties, you only heighten them. Instead, exaggerate them and see what happens. For instance, if you fear that your mind will go blank during a presentation, fake it intentionally in the middle of your next one. Say, “Gee, what was I just saying?” Notice how this makes no difference. It’s nothing to worry about, right? I did this at a lecture once and no one raised an eyebrow. (Perhaps they weren’t listening anyway!)
3. Don’t fight the craziness. You may occasionally have thoughts that lead you to think you’ll do something terrible (“I’m attracted to him. Does that mean I’ll have an affair?”) or that you’re going insane (a client of mine who is an attorney kept imagining herself screaming in court). Remember―our minds are creative. Little synapses are firing away at random, and every now and then a “crazy” thought jumps out. Everyone has them. Instead of judging yours, describe it to yourself like it’s a curious object on a shelf and move on.
4. Recognize false alarms. That fear of your house burning down because you left the iron on has never come true. That rapid heart beat doesn’t mean you’re having a heart attack; it’s your body’s natural response to arousal. Many thoughts and sensations that we interpret as cues for concern―even panic―are just background noise. Think of each of them as a fire engine going to another place. You’ve noticed them; now let them pass by.
5. Turn your anxiety into a movie. You can let go of a worry by disconnecting yourself from it. One way is to imagine that your anxious thoughts are a show. Maybe they’re a little guy in a funny hat who tap dances and sings out your worry while you sit in the audience, eating popcorn, a calm observer.
6. Set aside worry time. All too often we take a “Crackberry” approach to our worries: They show up unannounced, like constantly dinging e-mails, and we stop everything to address them―even if we should be doing something else. But what if you don’t respond right away? Try setting aside 20 minutes every day―let’s say at 4:30 p.m.―just for your worries. If you are fretting at 10 a.m., jot down the reason and resolve to think it through later. By the time 4:30 comes around, many of your troubles won’t even matter anymore. And you will have spent almost an entire day anxiety-free.
7. Take your hand off the horn. You constantly check the weather before a big outdoor event. You replay that clumsy comment you made, wishing you could take it back. And, yes, you honk your horn in traffic. When you desperately try to take command of things that can’t be controlled, you’re like the swimmer who panics and slaps at the water, screaming. It gets you nowhere. Instead, imagine that you are floating along on the water with your arms spread out, looking up to the sky. It’s a paradox, but when you surrender to the moment, you actually feel far more in control.
8. Breathe it out. You may notice that when your body is tense, you hold your breath. Focusing on breathing is a common but effective technique for calming the nerves. Where is your breath now, and where is your mind? Bring them together. Listen to the movement of your breath. Does your mind wander somewhere else? Call it back. Concentrate only on breathing in and out, beginning and ending, breath to breath, moment to moment.
9. Make peace with time. When you’re a worrier, everything can feel like an emergency. But notice this about all your anxious arousal: It’s temporary. Every feeling of panic comes to an end, every concern eventually wears itself out, every so-called emergency seems to evaporate. Ask yourself, “How will I feel about this in a week or a month?” This one, too, really will pass.
10. Don’t let your worries stop you from living your life. Many of them will turn out to be false, and the consequences of your anxiety―less sleep, a rapid pulse, a little embarrassment―are just inconveniences when it comes down to it. What can you still do even if you feel anxious? Almost anything.
How Can I Clear My Mind?
Clear the Stress From Your Mind—Here’s How!
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Many people find that, when they face stress in their lives, they tend to dwell on it in their moments of downtime. If you’re like most people, this can take many forms. Perhaps you had a fight with someone and find yourself later replaying the argument in your mind, first to think of ways to solve it, but eventually just making yourself more angry without making a plan to solve the underlying issue.
This can also mean thinking about problems at work with a focus on how stressful they are, rather than on how to change things. This can mean replaying all of the stresses of the day or even on hypothetical situations rather than drifting off to sleep at night–again, not really solving things, but keeping yourself in a stressed state of mind. This is known as rumination.
One of the main problems with rumination is that when you focus on negative events in the past or future, you’re creating stress for yourself in the present, which triggers your stress response and robs you of joy in the moment. If your thoughts on a situation become “stuck” and thinking about a situation no longer leads to positive change, it’s time to take steps to clear your mind and stop ruminating.
Like many things in life, letting go of negative emotions and clearing your mind is easier said than done. With these tips and some practice, however, you’ll learn how to clear your mind in a way that works for you, and enjoy what life has to offer right now.
Try Meditation.
Research shows that meditation can be helpful in facilitating forgiveness and letting go of rumination and negative emotions. Meditation carries many other benefits to it as well, so it’s definitely worth trying. One simple way to meditate is to find a place where you can sit and relax.
Then simply “observe” your thoughts without becoming attached to them. Once you’ve noticed them, let them go and bring your focus back to the present moment. (See basic meditation and meditation techniques for more information.)
Cultivate Mindfulness.
Related to meditation, mindfulness is a way of becoming fully immersed in an activity, rather than in your thoughts about other things. Mindfulness is a great meditative option for busy people. While it involves slowing down and focusing on one thing, it doesn’t involve stopping all activity the way traditional meditation does. (And, if you lead a busy lifestyle or have a Type A personality, it’s sometimes difficult to stop all activity without thoughts of all the things that you need to get done bombarding you, making it more difficult to clear your mind.) Completing one activity, such as cleaning a room, with mindfulness can be a restorative way to clear your mind and get things done too. (See mindfulness exercises for more.)
Try Expressive Writing.
If your mind is filled with stressful thoughts, it may be helpful to give in to the thoughts. Through journaling, you can delve deeper into the topics that plague your mind (fully experiencing and examining your emotions), brainstorming solutions and examining different ways of looking at your problems (a helpful technique known as cognitive restructuring), which can help you it let it go.
You may need to set yourself a time limit, though, so you don’t get stuck in rumination. (Multiple studies have found that 20 minutes was an effective amount of time for positive mental and emotional change without sliding into rumination.)
Distract Yourself.
Sometimes the best thing you can do to clear your mind is to change your focus. Get out and exercise with a friend. Get involved with a project or hobby. Lose yourself in a good book for a few minutes. (I personally find that activities such as tai chi and karate can clear my mind like nothing else.) This is an excellent way to bring positive activities into your life and take a break from stress and worry.
the day or even on hypothetical situations rather than drifting off to sleep at night–again, not really solving things, but keeping yourself in a stressed state of mind. This is known as rumination.
One of the main problems with rumination is that when you focus on negative events in the past or future, you’re creating stress for yourself in the present, which triggers your stress response and robs you of joy in the moment. If your thoughts on a situation become “stuck” and thinking about a situation no longer leads to positive change, it’s time to take steps to clear your mind and stop ruminating.
Like many things in life, letting go of negative emotions and clearing your mind is easier said than done. With these tips and some practice, however, you’ll learn how to clear your mind in a way that works for you, and enjoy what life has to offer right now.
for busy people. While it involves slowing down and focusing on one thing, it doesn’t involve stopping all activity the way traditional meditation does. (And, if you lead a busy lifestyle or have a Type A personality, it’s sometimes difficult to stop all activity without thoughts of all the things that you need to get done bombarding you, making it more difficult to clear your mind.) Completing one activity, such as cleaning a room, with mindfulness can be a restorative way to clear your mind and get things done too. (See mindfulness exercises for more.)
Try Expressive Writing.
If your mind is filled with stressful thoughts, it may be helpful to give in to the thoughts. Through journaling, you can delve deeper into the topics that plague your mind (fully experiencing and examining your emotions), brainstorming solutions and examining different ways of looking at your problems (a helpful technique known as cognitive restructuring), which can help you it let it go.
You may need to set yourself a time limit, though, so you don’t get stuck in rumination. (Multiple studies have found that 20 minutes was an effective amount of time for positive mental and emotional change without sliding into rumination.)
Distract Yourself.
Sometimes the best thing you can do to clear your mind is to change your focus. Get out and exercise with a friend. Get involved with a project or hobby. Lose yourself in a good book for a few minutes. (I personally find that activities such as tai chi and karate can clear my mind like nothing else.) This is an excellent way to bring positive activities into your life and take a break from stress and worry.
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