Anyway, Bill, it's not so much that they are looking at the same set of facts as it is this...

They have an emotional position already, and that establishes the vantage point from which they look. They then look FOR what supports their emotional position, with great attention. They give very scant (if any) attention to what does not support their emotional position. They filter "facts" and only injest the ones they like.

People want to be right, and that is the primary thing standing in the way of their ability to look at things in an unprejudiced fashion. They're rather be "right" than be open-minded. They're rather be "right" than be at peace with others. They'd rather be "right" than be kind or tolerant or fair-minded.

And therein lies the problem. Virtually all strong opinions are, at some level, a form of vanity. And they are, at some level, arbitrary.