Post-truth has a certain ring
Oxford Dictionaries Word of the Year is "post-truth", an adjective used in a situation where, "objective facts are less influential in shaping public opinion than appeals to emotion and personal belief". It says use of the term had increased by around 2000 per cent this year. The spike in usage is, "in the context of the EU referendum in the United Kingdom and the presidential election in the United States". But it's kinda everywhere ... Used in context you could say: "In this post-truth era, Bishop Brian Tamaki is emphasising crazy views against certain groups of people instead of addressing factual science."
You'll never believe what this teen did next...(actually, you probably would)
A reader writes: "In the morning, barrelling down the hill to get the 5-year-old to school on time, it starts bucketing down. Teen in shirt sleeves bemoans his lack of jacket. Can we go back home, he suggests. No, you should've been organised, I say. Staunch as. (Thirty seconds later I have caved and am fanging it up the hill again). For context, I live on the fringes of civilisation and housing affordability, which is a two-hour round trip school commute each day. Vroom. Home again. He disappears through the front door. Waiting, waiting. I toot. He yells he's coming, adding how annoying he's finding me today. We weave our way across Scenic Drive and down to school in the wet and as I pull up I notice he didn't get his waterproof regulation school jacket, but a hoodie. Arghhhh! That won't keep you dry, I say. I couldn't find my jacket, he says. I swear (yes, I am a terrible mother). Then he looks in the back seat and lets out a little laugh. Oh there it is, he says ... (*Update: When I do get home I note that the front door is wide open from the earlier hoodie retrieval and that the key is still in the lock." Have you got any teenage dirtbag stories? Send them to Sideswipe.
