From Pine View Farm

QOTD 0

E. C. Bentley:

Each time, he had turned the conversation with the ingenuity born of fear.

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“But There’s No Other Possible Explanation” 0

At Psychology Today Blogs, Arthur Dobrin points out that conspiracies are, in a legal context, real things; persons can be charged with and convicted of conspiracies in a court of law. He suggests that these real-life conspiracies differ wildly from the many false conspiracy theories that litter our discourse and pollute our polity.

He goes on to offer some pointers for distinguishing between the two. Here’s one; follow the link for the others.

2. Can the claim be disproved? In science, this is called the Falsification Principle. But this approach can also be applied to weighing the validity of conspiracy claims. In a court of law, the government attempts to prove the validity of its charges while the defense tries to dispute the charges. A judge or jury then decides, either by the preponderance of the evidence in a civil case or beyond a reasonable doubt in a criminal suit. By contrast, no matter how many facts are presented contrary to a conspiracy theory, for example, the U.S. government complicity in the 9/11 attack, conspiracy theorists remain convinced of their “truth” and will introduce yet more speculation or convoluted explanations to maintain that “truth.”

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The New Gilded Age 0

Last week, I mentioned a column by Greg Kesich in which he expressed a fear that we are entering a new “Gilded Age.” At the time, I said I thought we were already well into it.

Well, my two or three regular readers, I rest my case.

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Big Bungee 0

Man:  Gravity is a hoax.  Sparky:  Big if true.  How did you figure this out?  Man:  I saw some Facebook memes and watched a Youtube video.  Sparky:  I see.  But who profits from this vast conspiracy?  Man:  All the gravity-based industries, of courses.  Like ski resorts and bungee-jump operators.  Sparky:  And they're doing it right out in the open.  Man:  That's why you have to do your own research and not fall for lies being spread by Big Bungee.  Sparky:  Buy why are we not floating off into space right now?  Man:  Because barometric pressure is pressing down on us from above.  Duh.  Second man interrupts:  Excuse me.  I've never heard anything so absurd.  This man is delusional.  The internet has poisoned his brain.  The real answer is centripetal force.  First man:  Ha Ha.  Get a load of this guy.  Sparky:  Much to consider.

Click for the original image.>

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The Voting Fraud Fraudster 0

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“An Armed Society Is a Polite Society” 0

Once again, politeness becomes child’s play.

And we are again reminded that “responsible gun owner” is an oxymoron.

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A Poor Wardrobe Choice 0

Two Republican Elephants stand over a pile of books.  One is pouring gasoline onto the pile.  The other, wearing a

Click to view the original image.

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All the News that Fits 0

It turns out (no surprises here) that pictures can lie (or, more accurately, liars can picture).

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QOTD 0

Nora Ephron:

Insane people are always sure that they are fine. It is only the sane people who are willing to admit that they are crazy.

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And Now for a Musical Interlude 0

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Why Is the Elephant Afraid of the Maus? 0

At Boston.com. Northeastern professor Hillary Chute tries to answer that question. A nugget:

So when news broke of a school board in Tennessee banning the Holocaust graphic novel from its curriculum last week, citing language and its depiction of a naked woman (actually drawn as a mouse), she was troubled — but not especially shocked.

“I was surprised because it’s so ridiculous and the reasons given were so specious,” she says, “but in some ways I wasn’t surprised, because ‘Maus’ has always been a lightning rod.

(snip)

“So I can see why that would be an argument that is terrifying to people who want to deny that history happened, the way it happened, and so, in some ways I wasn’t surprised,” she says.

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Vaccine Nation 0

You can’t connect the dots when it’s your brain that’s dotty.

We are a society of stupid.

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“Laboratories of Autocracy” 0

Sam talks with David Pepper about how Republicans craft their skills to gut out the vote.

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Decoding De (Color) Code 0

Gordon Weil translates.

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“An Armed Society Is a Polite Society” 0

Self-politeness is the politest kind.

Musical NotesGuns and stupid, guns and stupid.
They go together like love and Cupid.
Let me tell you brother,
You can’t have one without the other.

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If the Truth Hurts, Make Stuff Up 0

At the Hartford Courant, Ethan Frankel calls out Connecticut GOP Chair Ben Proto’s duplicitous double-talk.

In the interest of fairness, you can read Proto’s piffle.

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QOTD 0

Theodore Roosevelt:

A vote is like a rifle; its usefulness depends upon the character of the user.

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Stray Thought 0

If HUAC were still a thing, it would be compelled to investigate today’s Republican Party.

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A Tune for the Times 0

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Plus Ca Change 0

At The Roanoke Times, Jeff E. Shapiro argues that, in Virginia, it’s 1885 all over again.

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