Political Theatre category archive
Dis Coarse Discourse 0
At Psychology Today Blogs, William A. Haseltine muses about whether there is value in publicly debating something that is clearly false. He starts by discussing why he turned down the opportunity to debate a scientist affiliated with the Trump administration about “herd immunity” and COVID-19. Here’s a bit from the opening of his article:
While some may have jumped at the opportunity to publicly debate the merits of the approach, I declined the invitation—I do not believe in giving credence to false ideas.
He goes on to question whether holding a civil debate about something known to be false may serve perversely to dignify and perpetuate the falsehood. As we are inundated with batches of botnets, troops of trolls, and a proliferation of professional propagandists emitting endless streams of excrement into the disinformation superhighway, methinks his article is worth a read.
Huntering for a Misdirection Play 0
At The Boston Globe, Joan Vennochi offers a theory as to why the Trump campaign is making such a fuss about Joe Biden’s progeny. A snippet (emphasis added):
Flooding the Disinformation Superhighway 0
The San Francisco Chronicle’s John Diaz comments on the flood of flummery on “social” media. A snippet:
Two words of caution: tweeter beware.
No one needs that reminder more than President Trump. He embarrassed himself early Friday morning by retweeting an article by the satirical Babylon Bee website that stated Twitter shut down its entire network “in a last-ditch effort to stop negative stories about Joe Biden and his family from spreading.”
In high dudgeon at 3:07 a.m., Trump retweeted the satire (from a site with what should have been the telltale motto, “Fake news you can trust”): “Wow, this has never been done in history. This includes his really bad interview last night. Why is Twitter doing this. Bringing more attention to Sleepy Joe & Big T.”
A Downward Arc? 0
John Ketwig is less than optimistic.
Villagers 0
Veteran reporter and editor Barry Golson visited Florida’s The Villages retirement community coincident with a Mike Pence rally and recounts his experiences.
It’s a fascinationg read. Here’s a tiny little bit:
My flashbacks strobing, I recall the San Genaro Festival, courtesy of The Godfather, where icons of the Virgin Mary were carried respectfully though cobblestoned streets. Maybe it’s just my roiling stomach, but I can’t help feeling I’m among the devoted. True believers.
Originalist Sin, Reprise 0
Thom and his caller discuss the logical and legal flaws in “Constitutional originalism.”
Twits on Twitter 0
Farron reminds us that what we see on “social” media is often not real (in addition to being unreal) and offers some hints as to how to spot the bots.