2022 archive
“But There’s No Other Possible Explanation” 0
David talks with Northeastern University professor Edward Miller about the how conspiratorial thinking infiltrated the Republican Party and the American right-wing, with a focus on the role of Robert Welch and the John Birch Society.
All the History that Fits 0
Leonard Hitchcock looks at the current attempts to shield students from facts because, to paraphrase the wannabe book banners, some books might hurt their children’s tender ‘ittle fee-fees.
He’s not buying that argument. Here’s a bit from his article (emphasis added); follow the link for his reasoning.
Dis Coarse Discourse 0
Steven Stosny, writing at Psychology Today Blogs, identifies several factors which he believes contribute to increasing belligerent state of what passes for dis coarse discourse. He suggests that two themes seem continual: entitlement and backlash. Here are two tiny little bits of what he has to say:
(snip)
When my clients express anger about politicians, they immediately recite a list of what they’re against. If I ask what the candidates they favor are for, they’re hard pressed to come up with anything. We tend to lose sight of what we stand for when focused on what we stand against.
Aside:
I have remarked upon the “parodox of social media” many times.
Baldly put, “social” media isn’t.
All the News that Fits 0
Will Bunch is less than optimistic over our tolerance–indeed, on the part of many, eager acceptance–of lies presented as truth.
No excerpt or summary will do his article justice. Just read it.
Plus ca Change, Vaccine Nation Dept. 0
A caller recounts her own personal experience with anti-vaccine sentiment long before COVID.
What’s in a Word? 0
Tony Norman wants to know.
A Question of Identity 0
The SPLC peers behind the mask.
Cancel Culture, Republican Style 0
Laura Packard points out the Republicans have created their own little isolation chamber. An excerpt:
Follow the link for the rest.
The Deleteriousness of the Disinformation Superhighway 0
Psychologist Michelle Druin is less that optimistic about the effects of the internet on dis coarse discourse (and, by “the internet,” I think, based on the examples she cites, that she refers primarily to “social” media). She cites five negative effects that she has observed; follow the link for a detailed discussion of each.
- It’s pushing us towards inauthenticity . . . .
- It may be increasing our paranoia . . . .
- It’s making us care too much about what other people think . . . .
- It’s pressuring us to create stage-worthy moments . . . .
- It’s making us want the impossible
All that Was Old Is New Again, Salem Redux 0
I think David misses the point. (Warning: Short commercial at the end.)
I disagree with David that the tax exemption of churches is the issue here. The issue is the simmering brew of manipulative, gullible, and stupid masquerading as faith, of self-styled shepherds whose only purpose is to sheer their flocks.
For a reasonably unbiased discussion of why churches are tax exempt in the U. S., see this article from the archives of the Los Angeles Times.
“An Armed Society Is a Polite Society” 0
Practice politeness with your friends.
Aside:
Methinks a case can be made that, if one is incapable of safely unloading a weapon, one should probably not be permitted to load it in the first place.