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In order to stay as informed as possible, my habit has been to watch segments of all available news channels. This effort ensures that I have covered the spectrum from left to right.

My dear father-in-law was a devoted Fox News junkie. If he came for a visit, I made the effort to have CNN on my TV, just to make him squirm. He knew I meant no malice, just pulling his leg a little.

The bias of each channel is obvious. I do not have to believe everything I hear, but I can add it to my mix of thoughts to develop an opinion on the topics. I do realize that opinion is only the middle ground between knowledge and ignorance. Even by watching hours of these channels each evening, I realize I am only being fed small spoonfuls of the actual facts.

It is interesting to me that I can listen to the same story but hear different details, depending on the source. I am certain there is always “more to the story” than what I am hearing on the television. It is hard to form an accurate opinion without all the facts. This reminds me of the old TV show I loved called “Dragnet.” Jack Webb’s character, Sergeant Joe Friday, was famous for saying, “Just the facts ma’am, just the facts.”

An example could be the recent peace talks held in Pakistan between representatives from the United States and Iran. Long hours of closed door talks were held. The news channels told us afterward that no deal was brokered. I understand that peace talks are secretive and deals are often reached surreptitiously for security reasons.

The talks in Tehran during WWII between FDR, Stalin and Churchill were of a similar nature, but apparently more productive. I find it ironic that those peace talks were held in Tehran, Iran — an ally of ours at the time. Optimistic common sense tells me that there had to be some level of progress made between JD Vance and others present in those high-level negotiations. But right now, we just do not know what we do not know. Not until they are ready to tell us.

I heard another brief news report that there is the possibility of government insiders profiting from the conflict with Iran. Via inside information, stock trades have taken place resulting in an improvement to their private holdings. This has been rumored in the past during every military exercise the country has ever been involved with. A feeling of distrust arises in my mind with this report as we have witnessed the net worth of some elected officials grow exponentially after a year or two in office. This makes me feel suspicious and maybe a bit jealous.

In Idaho, a governing body of elected officials may convene what is called an executive session. Three reasons are allowed: Hiring or firing of personnel, purchase of property with taxpayer funds and to discuss possible litigation. As a city council, we do not negotiate any peace treaties — other than among ourselves.

I would like to suggest that gatherings, such as the aforementioned peace talks in Pakistan, may be a form of an executive session. The negotiations are meant to be private. It is intended to be an arena where participants can discuss sensitive issues in a very candid and open manner. No action or vote can be taken in an executive session. We have to reconvene into a public meeting status to legally and transparently finish any business discussed in that closed door meeting.

Let’s assume my analogy is appropriate. Then I should accept the fact that we do not know everything spoken between that group of men. Then I have to trust that our best interests were represented. Then I have to trust that more information will be shared with the public afterwards, via the form of a press conference.

The implied secrecy and failures of such semi-plenary conferences do shake my confidence and faith in government at times. I will remain hesitant to believe and trust, depending on the issue and who is in charge. Full disclosure here, I am not and never have been a “blind loyalist.” Therefore, I will often greet with incredulity, anything from the mouth of a politician or news anchor.

Let me tie a bow on this topic by saying I miss Walter Cronkite and his style of reporting. He did his job without the soporific interviews with every “expert analyst” the producer can recruit. He reported the number of casualties in Vietnam and other developments in a very professional manner — consistently. He followed the stoic Sergeant Joe Friday’s admonition of: “Just the facts, ma’am, just the facts.”