Hate Sells category archive
The Party of Flaw and Disorder 0
At the Des Moines Register, Rekha Basu looks at Donald Trump’s first actions in office and decodes de code (emphasis added):
At the other end was Trump’s order to dispatch thousands of military troops to the southern border to keep out migrants.
The message: Breach boundaries for me and you’re fine. Do it because you’re fleeing violence or persecution, and we’ll set the troops on you.
Follow the link for the rest of her remarks.
“History Does Not Repeat Itself, but If Often Rhymes”* 0
Michael in Norfolk hears a most disturbing rhyme.
Follow the link to find out why he feels that way.
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*Mark Twain.
Dis Coarse Discourse 0
Steven Stosny argues forcefully that one of the forces coarsening dis coarse discourse is that shaming has replaced discussing. A snippet:
I think his article is worth your while.
Just look around.
Republican Family Values 0
Yet another exhibit in the pile of evidence that mean for the sake of mean is a Republican family value.
The Rule of Lawless 0
At the Tampa Bay Times, retired DEA agent Robert Mazur shares his thoughts.
Signings of the Times, Rule of Lawless Dept. 0
I don’t think it’s much of a stretch to say that, if Donald Trump thinks he can single-handedly amend the Constitution by executive order, the rule of law may be on shaky ground under his sewership.
Along those lines, AL.com’s Roy S. Johnson looks at Donald Trump’s Inauguration Day executive order signature spasm and finds himself less than impressed. A snippet:
I’m not sure any single signature made us better — let alone great.
He renamed a body of water and a mountain (snore); contradicted his own “efficiency” quest by ordering all federal workers into the office; poured white-out over all references to diversity, equity and inclusion in the federal government, resuscitated the government-sanctioned murder (the death penalty); did a Simone Biles-backflip with TikTok; yanked us from vital international organizations; tried to pour more white-out on the birthright constitutional amendment; and pen-swiped a lot of jargon-salad decrees declaring “protection,” “America first,” and various “emergencies” allowing him potentially to weaponize the U.S. military against, well, any of us.
“History Does Not Repeat Itself, but It Often Rhymes”* 0
Kean University Professors Christopher M. Bellitto and Frank Argote-Freyre hear a rhyme from over the millennia.
We are sad to report that our modern republic – like Rome at that moment – is not well. The era of Trump offers interesting parallels with the reign of the dictator Sulla (138-78 BCE), who marched on Rome from exile in 82 BCE and slaughtered his enemies.
Follow the link for their parsing of parallels.
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*Mark Twain.
It’s All about the Algorithm 0
“But It’s the Only Possible Explanation” 0
At Psychology Today Blogs, Jeffrey S. Debies Carl takes a two-part dive into why persons spread conspiracy theories. One of his most disturbing findings at persons may benefit from doing so, but the evidence that they do benefit from fomenting falsehoods is all around us in dis coarse discourse. I commend both articles to your attention.
Here are his summaries of the main points from both parts (emphasis added):
Part One, titled Why Do People Spread Conspiracy Theories?
- Many people assume people who spread conspiracy theories will be subject to ridicule.
- Research suggests that conspiracy theories might actually improve the reputations of people who spread them.
- Spreading conspiracy claims and thinking positively of those who spread them might be part of human evolution.
Part Two, titled Does It Pay to Spread Conspiracy Theories?
- A new study examines the reputational consequences of spreading conspiracy theories.
- The findings show that conspiracy claims can either improve the reputation of spreaders or harm them.
- Social conflict improves positive reputational outcomes of conspiracy spreading and minimizes negative ones.
Macho, Macho Men* 0
At the Tampa Bay Times, Stephanie Harris reacts to Mark Zuckerberg’s claim that we need a more masculine culture. A snippet:
So true. Men have been ignored for too long. As the nation writes this next chapter, it is crucial to refocus our attention on them. After all, we have been allowed to have credit cards in our own names since, what, 1974? And women run a whole 10% of Fortune 500 companies. What are we even whining about?
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*Methinks the text-speak shorthand for this term in this context is “WATB.”
Facebook Frolics 0
At AL.com, Kyle Whitmire finds himself less than impressed with Mark Zuckerberg’s reasons for abandoning fact-checking Fakebook Facebook; Whitmire notes the irony (emphasis added):
And that’s just the start. Follow the link for the rest.
Meanwhile, in more news of the Zuckerborg . . . .
Dis Coarse Discourse 0
At The Kansas City Star, Dion Lefler looks at Republicans’ reactions to the fires in California and finds himself less than favorably impressed. Here’s a bit from his article; I commend the entire piece to your attention.
Follow the link to learn why he said that.
Republican Family Values 0
As has been noted before in these electrons, mean for the sake of mean appears to be a pirmary, if not the primary, Republican family value.
David has more. in this case, regarding the fires in California:
Driving Defensively on the Disinformation Superhighway 0
At Psychology Today Blogs, Bill Eddy notes that (emphasis added):
- Social media and some news outlets often include false information which can feel true from repetition.
- Research shows that false and emotional information spreads farther and faster than the truth.
He then suggests ten questions that can be helpful in parsing perfidy. Here’s a snippet; follow the link for the full list.
Will the speaker/writer personally benefit by saying what they are saying . . . .