Multiplicities In Paradise

W e have been discussing the willful disregard of factual evidence by ideologically motivated groups or individuals. Whether it's science denial, election denial, reality denial, or history denial it all causes harm.  The world is confusing enough without the pollution of disinformation. L et me clarify in part 2 that we are not talking just about cognitive biases here. This isn’t a question of the human tendency to pay more attention to evidence supporting one’s view while attempting to ignore contrary evidence. Intelligent human beings have the ability to rationalize the discrepancy between what we want to believe and what the world is like. These type of issues effect all human beings, and can be accounted for and at the least partially dealt with in the course of normal discussions about whatever it is we disagree about. Rather, the Oxford dictionary defines a denialist as “a person who refuses to admit the truth of a concept or proposition that is supported by the majority of ...

"Denialism is an irrational action that withholds the validation of a historical experience or event when a person refuses to accept an empirically verifiable reality." That's how psychology defines it. Most of our modern problems are a result of clinging to a desperate denial of something. Reality and Science in particular.  D enialism is a sort of expansion of denial. We might say denial and denialism are simply a subset of the many ways humans have developed to use language to deceive others and themselves. Denial can be as simple as refusing to accept that someone else is speaking truthfully. Denial can be as unfathomable as the multiple ways we avoid acknowledgement of our own  weaknesses, fallibilities, or control scandalous desires. Some degree of denial may serve a function, in that it lets socialization occur more smoothly. Denialism however, is more than just another manifestation of the humdrum intricacies of our deceptions and self-deceptions that occur in the...

 Americans have always been center left, they just no longer believe they are. The cause of this is largely that language has been systemically sabotaged to manipulate and deceive. America has a particular version of liberalism that has always been divergent from the norm. It's always been a term that is a little puzzling. This is true of "conservatism" in America as well frankly.  The words have particular meanings in the US that are dissimilar to the rest of the world's understanding. It seems if you nonchalantly ask folks to describe their political views, many respond with "conservative". What they really mean has more to do with with the broader meaning of the word 'conservative", rather than the meaning of a political conservative which is primarily about strengthening and protecting an existing social hierarchy.    In Europe, the word "Liberal " has traditionally meant a preference for things like limited government, separate privat...

  Each year brings its own unique set of triumphs and defeats, hardships, and joys. What can we say about 2021? It was not quite as unspeakably abominable as 2020. While that's not exactly splendid,  (It’s like saying that dog feces are marginally nicer to have in your living room than Hitler. It's not much, but it is something) What was better about 2021? We emerged from pandemic cocoons and started connecting with others. (Granted, the vast majority of these connections were attempts at identity theft or pitches for extended warranties.)  Sony announced a new console during the pandemic...the Plaguestation 5. We did learn things during 2021. It is possible to have substantial parts of the workforce working remotely. Before Covid, this was generally unthinkable.  (Though it's best to avoid telling a joke on ZOOM...it's not remotely funny.) Supporting local businesses and services close to home is prudent. (We should have known this before Covid but appare...

  3 0 years ago Francis Fukuyama penned his famous "The End of History?" thesis. Fukuyama’s assessment of the unravelling of the Cold War and the triumph of Western Liberal Democracy and the free market economic system was all the rage at the time.  It was easy to reduce the failure of the Soviet state-led political and economic model to being inferior to the more robust and free-flowing ideology of individual civil liberties and, of course, a minimalist state that enabled the invisible hand of the market. 1989 represented what Fukuyama described as the “End of History”. T he storming of the United States’ Capitol Hill buildings on 6 January 2021 by pro-Trump supporters could come straight out of a Hollywood-style action movie script. Predictable after four years of a presidency that can only be described as pop culture's ultimate reality TV climaxing in the Seizure of the Legislature. Had this taken place in any other country, the US may have sought to intervene, to up...

Dear decent people, First let me explain a few things to you. The Republican Party, whatever it stood for in the past, no longer stands for that. Nor anything else for that matter. We stand only for our own personal accumulation of power and wealth, and that's it. Stop trying to appeal to our ethics. We have none. Stop trying to appeal to our humanity. We have none. The Republican party is also known affectionately as the  God  &  Oil  Party (GOP). It is a division of  Halliburton  and a subsidiary of the Las Vegas Sands Corporation. Today's GOP is the largest misanthropic organization in the world. We may cite Lincoln and Teddy Roosevelt as proof we are not assholes when we want your vote, but remember, Roosevelt left the party and took all the decent people with him. As for Lincoln, he was no states rights champion, and we'd drum him the hell out if he were alive today! (that damned atheist bleeding heart progressive opposed slav...

Washington, D.C., USA -- United States President Donald Trump has nominated Judge Dredd to be seated on the Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS). The surprise pick of Dredd is said to be Trump's idea as he likes a lawyer who isn't afraid to waste people while working. "Judge Dredd ticks all the right boxes," said Trump. "He is strong on Law and Order and won't be sitting all day in a court room, but going out there and dispensing American Justice via the 2nd amendment...that's the fuckin'   American Way . Dredd is my type of lawman". Dredd has been a popular judge since he first appeared on the legal circuit 40 years ago. He is a lifelong Conservative and strong believer in the Second Amendment . Supporters of Dredd say he will save a 'ton of money' by dispensing justice with on-the-spot-fines and executions. Opponents of Dredd say he is a bad communicator and speaks only in grunts. He was also responsible fo...

T here likely is an American dream, some sort of aspiration hidden in an old coffee can buried somewhere beneath the grave of Thomas Paine.  But there is also an American nightmare, an empty, cold, heartless, mundane banality sucking the life force from all it encounters. America is not without virtue mind you, but its people have been, and remain dangerously hypnotized. L ong before Trumpism,  and it's associated demise of decency, honesty, and intelligence in public matters turned us into a nation of cretins and morons; the decline of the empire was well under way. A fair warning dear reader, most people who write about the dystopian nature of a society will try in the end, to offer some hope of redemption. This is not what you'll find here. If you're looking for a "feel good" uplifting piece that offers some pie in the sky remedy with a happy ending, you'll not find that here. I can not honestly be optimistic in this regard. There's a f...