How ‘Misinformation’ Becomes Common Knowledge
Posted By: Mercedes44, 7/5/2024 6:36:07 PM
How did something considered misinformation on Thursday afternoon become common knowledge by Thursday night? The social mechanism that converts supposed misinformation into consensus is a topic that I have studied for many years. It involves something ubiquitous: the twin acts of misrepresenting what we know and what we want under perceived social pressures. As I explained in my book, Private Truths, Public Lies, such expressions of insincerity can do serious harm. The Biden-Trump debate and its aftermath provide a powerful case in point. Allow me to explain.
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The Collapse of DEI
10 replies
One deadly myth harmful to the conservative cause is that once the full weight of the establishment pushes a liberal initiative forward, it is futile to resist it.
Such fatalism is false. Plenty of well-advanced leftist initiatives have suffered crushing defeats. It is enough to recall the doomed Equal Rights Amendment, Roe v. Wade, or Common Core. All found their way to the liberal graveyard of lost causes awaiting reincarnation under other acronyms. The Fate of DEI
The latest program to suffer the indignity of premature death is DEI. Diversity,
One California district attorney is determined to ditch the soft-on-crime policies of Democrats in the state and hold brutal murderers accountable.
Orange County (OC) DA Todd Spitzer’s Twitter/X profile says he is “ensuring OC never becomes LA" or San Francisco, and that’s obvious from his new announcement. While San Fran uses taxpayer dollars to buy booze for homeless alcoholics, and a Los Angeles DA sits on a backlog of 15,000 unfiled criminal cases amidst spiking crime, murderers of an elderly grandma in OC could receive the death penalty if convicted.
How did something considered misinformation on Thursday afternoon become common knowledge by Thursday night?
The social mechanism that converts supposed misinformation into consensus is a topic that I have studied for many years. It involves something ubiquitous: the twin acts of misrepresenting what we know and what we want under perceived social pressures. As I explained in my book, Private Truths, Public Lies, such expressions of insincerity can do serious harm. The Biden-Trump debate and its aftermath provide a powerful case in point. Allow me to explain.
Of all the 61 rulings issued by the US Supreme Court in the term that officially ended Monday, the one most likely to impact Americans’ daily lives — and it should in New York — is one that received little attention: Grants Pass v. Johnson, upholding an Oregon town’s right to outlaw homeless encampments.
In cities plagued by street living, the negative ripple effects are constant.
Parents walking their children to school have to navigate around discarded needles and human waste; businesses suffer as customers avoid areas littered with debris and cardboard shelters; people risk getting mugged or harassed walking by encampments on their way to work.
Democracy and American politics are chaotic, unpredictable, and a mystery to our enemies.
In response to the Biden-Trump presidential faceoff, the Russian media is having a field day, believing that our national conversation over the recent debate reflects democracy's dry rot. Consider this quote....
The result "is good for us," stated Dmitri Novikov, a Russian legislator, when being interviewed on state television. "Destabilization inside an adversary is always a good thing."
To paraphrase a line from a Warner Brothers character, "He doesn't know us very well... do he..."
Rep. Lloyd Doggett becomes first Democrat
in Congress to call for Biden’s withdrawal
from 2024 race 7 replies
in Congress to call for Biden’s withdrawal
from 2024 race 7 replies
A House Democratic lawmaker has become the first in the party to publicly call for President Joe Biden to step down as the party’s nominee for president, citing Biden’s debate performance against Donald Trump failing to “effectively defend his many accomplishments.”
Rep. Lloyd Doggett of Texas said in a statement Tuesday that Biden should “make the painful and difficult decision to withdraw.”
“My decision to make these strong reservations public is not done lightly nor does it in any way diminish my respect for all that President Biden has achieved,” Doggett said.
House Democrat is proposing a constitutional
amendment to reverse Supreme Court’s
immunity decision 33 replies
amendment to reverse Supreme Court’s
immunity decision 33 replies
A leading House Democrat is preparing a constitutional amendment in response to the Supreme Court’s landmark immunity ruling, seeking to reverse the decision “and ensure that no president is above the law.”
Rep. Joseph Morelle of New York, the top Democrat on the House Administration Committee, sent a letter to colleagues informing them of his intent to file the resolution, which would kickstart what’s traditionally a cumbersome amendment process.
“This amendment will do what SCOTUS failed to do — prioritize our democracy,” Morelle said in a statement to AP.
In referring to Donald Trump, Morelle said the former president “must be held accountable for his decisions.
Why We Celebrate the Fourth of July
4 replies
Last year I closed comments on the post because many people made it just a second daily political thread. I am asking you not to do that. I know you politics only junkies don’t get this, but we do actually have other people here who enjoy other posts.
In that spirit, I invite you to celebrate the United State of America, and us, the people who still love her.
The colonies had been in conflict with England for over a year in June of 1776. A Continental Congress convened in Philadelphia on June 7 of that year. Richard Henry Lee from Virginia offered up a resolution with these now famous words:
Biden Shuffled Out to Attack the Supreme
Court and Everyone Couldn't Ignore His
New Appearance 21 replies
Court and Everyone Couldn't Ignore His
New Appearance 21 replies
According to White House aides, President Joe Biden only has a six-hour window of optimal functionality. From 10 am to 4 pm, that’s peak mental activity time for the president. After that, things go downhill fast, so I was shocked that Biden would deliver remarks at 7:45 pm tonight on the Supreme Court ruling on the immunity case.Biden threw a tantrum, visibly frustrated that the Supreme Court stopped his politically motivated legal crusade against his political rival. It was one of the most pathetic attempts at deflection in recent memory. We all still think you’re too old and slow, Joe.
The Great China Shell Game: The U.S. Must
Stop Playing Sanctions Whack-A-Mole with
the CCP 3 replies
Stop Playing Sanctions Whack-A-Mole with
the CCP 3 replies
There is no mystery why China's big banks have run from Russia: These behemoths — the four largest banks in the world ranked by assets are Chinese — know the U.S. can effectively impose a death sentence. The Secretary of the Treasury, for instance, can designate, pursuant to Section 311 of the USA PATRIOT Act, Chinese banks to be of "primary money laundering concern." Designated banks can no longer clear dollar transactions through New York, where every dollar transaction clears. Because the dollar reigns supreme in international transactions,
American and British voters share deep
roots. In 2024, they distrust their own
leaders, too 2 replies
roots. In 2024, they distrust their own
leaders, too 2 replies
Distrust has settled over the campaign trails in the United States and United Kingdom ahead of July 4 like a soggy summer haze.
On that day, British voters will choose a new Parliament in an election expected to finish with a Labour government after 14 years under the Conservatives. Americans across the pond, deeply polarized by the rematch between Democratic President Joe Biden and Republican Donald Trump, will mark Independence Day in something resembling unity with barbecues and fireworks ahead of their vote on Nov. 5.
There’s much to celebrate on the Fourth of July for one of the world’s biggest democracies and the venerable kingdom that gave rise to it,
United States military bases in Italy, Germany, Bulgaria and Romania have been put on high alert with a potential terrorist related threat event eminent. Given the nature of domestic USA politics, in combination with the catastrophic results about to come from France, the timing of some form of Intelligence Community (IC) event would make sense. The IC has two wings, DHS (domestically) and CIA (internationally). Distracting people away from the problems the IC faces within the Joe Biden collapse would be a paramount objective this upcoming week.
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Singer-actress Bette Midler, star of Disney’s Hocus Pocus 2, suggested that President Joe Biden arrest Republican members of Congress and allow the FBI to use deadly force in order regain Democrat House majority.
“Now that Joe has total immunity, many are urging him to be GOP ruthless. Here’s a suggestion for implementing his new powers,” Midler wrote in a Friday X post, sharing a screenshot from an opinion piece published by The New Republic. (X) The Ruthless People actress shared a specific section of the article that fantasized about a scenario in which Biden orders the arrests of several Republican members of Congress, which included a scene
During an interview with ABC News on Friday, President Joe Biden said that he realized he was doing poorly in last week’s presidential debate when he noticed that “even when I was answering a question, even though they turned his mic off,” his opponent, 2024 Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump, “was still shouting. And I let it distract me.” Biden elaborated that he isn’t blaming that for his performance, but that caused him to realize “that I just wasn’t in control.”
ABC host George Stephanopoulos asked, “And how quickly did it come to you that you were having that bad night?”
Biden responded, “Well, it came to me
Whew! I was worried until I saw this!
Good thing Anthony Fauci has never gotten it wrong or lied to us in the past, or else I would be skeptical about his diagnosis that President Biden is ready and raring to go to have a successful second term as president. (X) Aside from last Thursday's debate there is absolutely, positively zero credible evidence that Biden is anything other than perfectly fit and mentally capable to perform the job of being leader of the free world and in charge of thousands of nuclear weapons.
Zero evidence.
You might even say that Biden is "safe and effective" as president.
Michelle Obama’s Team Shuts Down Presidential
Rumors Again: ‘She Will Not Be Running
for President’ 28 replies
Rumors Again: ‘She Will Not Be Running
for President’ 28 replies
Despite being the top pick among potential Democrat presidential candidates, Michelle Obama has once again confirmed she will not be running for president.
The recent Reuters/Ipsos survey showed that if Joe Biden were to step aside, Michelle Obama would be the most likely candidate to defeat former President Donald Trump.
The poll indicated that she would win over Trump with a 50 to 39 percent victory.
However, the same could not be said for other potential Democrat contenders, all of whom Trump would best in a hypothetical race.
A mob of looters ransacked an Oakland gas station convenience store and caused thousands of dollars in damage as the frustrated store manager claimed police took nine hours to respond to his plea for help.
The horde, who had just attended a nearby car sideshow, broke into the 76 Station near the San Francisco Bay Oakland International Airport around 4:30 a.m. on Friday, according to ABC 7 News Bay Area.
Owner Sam Mardaie estimated approximately 80 to 100 people broke through his store’s front door and grabbed everything they could get their hands on.
“Shelves were ripped apart, all the grocery items were torn or stepped on or vandalized,” Mardaie told the outlet.
Dem Rep Compares Biden to Jesus
26 replies
When you think of President Joe Biden these days, who does he remind you of? You might invoke your impression of an elderly relative who is similarly struggling with cognitive issues. The less charitable among us might make a reference to Elmer Fudd or some other frequently befuddled character. But that's not the view that Democratic Congressman Don Beyer of Virginia holds. While introducing Biden at a fundraiser earlier this week, Beyer compared the President to none other than Jesus Christ. This was a case of setting the bar very high, to say the least. But what is it about Joe Biden that reminds Beyer of the Savior so much?
VATICAN CITY — The Vatican’s Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith (DDF) announced July 5 that it had declared former U.S Nuncio Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò to be guilty of “schism” and automatically excommunicated. [Snip] On 4 July 2024, the Congress of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith met to conclude the extrajudicial penal process referred to in canon 1720 CIC against the Most Reverend Carlo Maria Viganò, titular Archbishop of Ulpiana, accused of the reserved delict of schism (canons 751 and 1364 CIC; art. 2 SST). [Snip] READ: Vatican charges Archbishop Viganò with schism for ‘denial of the legitimacy of Pope Francis.
Top Democrats are so alarmed about Joe Biden's ailing health some fear a shadowy cabal is keeping him in power so they can pull levers behind the scenes, it is claimed.
The astonishing theory was detailed in the liberal New York magazine. Its reporter Olivia Nuzzi revealed that even Democrat elites are stumped as to how and why the fast-declining 81 year-old is being allowed to continue his re-election bid.
Nuzzi said she had heard questions being posed by high-ranking Democrats on the east and west coasts about whether Biden is a puppet whose strings are being pulled by another group of secretive Democrats.
Wisconsin Supreme Court changes course,
will allow expanded use of ballot drop
boxes this fall 25 replies
will allow expanded use of ballot drop
boxes this fall 25 replies
Madison, Wis.— The Wisconsin Supreme Court ruled Friday that officials can place ballot drop boxes around their communities in this fall’s elections, overturning its own ruling two years ago limiting their use in the presidential swing state.
The court limited the use of drop boxes in July 2022, ruling then that they could be placed only in local election clerks’ offices and no one other than the voter could return a ballot in person. Conservatives controlled the court at that time, but Janet Protasiewicz’s election victory in April 2023 flipped the court to liberal control. Seeing an opening, Priorities USA, a progressive voter mobilization group, asked the court in February
Many moons ago, while conservative pundits were blaming Sleepy Joe’s odd behavior on his brain aneurysm surgeries, I said, “No.” All we can clearly see is a narcissistic sociopath with a mixed pattern dementia in the early stages. Prefrontal dementia seemed to explain his hair sniffing and bursts of anger. Since I have not examined the Occupant of 1600 and am a real doctor, not one who plays a doctor on TV, I declined to go further. Calls for more videos fell on deaf ears.
After three and a half years of being lukewarm on Kamala Harris, Democrats are suddenly hot hot hot for the Vice President.
The party is in full panic mode as Biden’s facade of cogency publicly crumbles faster than Bennifer 2.0. Dems are now desperately trying to make Kamala happen.
It’s as if the gods were listening to that shrewd political prognosticator Drew Barrymore, who back in the spring had Harris on her show. There, the actress-turned-host did her signature close-talking to the VP and said, “We need you to be ‘Momala’ of the country.”
Larry Sabato, the Trump-hating pollster who is known for his campaign ‘crystal ball,’ said on CNN earlier today that the race between Biden and Trump is no longer close and that the poll numbers he is seeing are ‘bad’ for Biden.
This interview happened before the Stephanopoulos interview (which went terribly) and Sabato conceded that one good interview is not going to save Biden or his campaign.
The reason these comments should really disturb Democrats is because if there was any kind of silver lining to include here, any single ray of sunshine, Sabato would have pointed it out, but there is no good news for Democrats.