Showing posts with label dumbing down. Show all posts
Showing posts with label dumbing down. Show all posts

Thursday, November 20, 2008

Separating Myths From Logical Truth Regarding Evils Within World Financial System

Editors Note: The article below is a result of a submission from a reader. As this site is not a simple "sounding board" for ill-considered ideas or knee jerk conspiracy theories, I was forced to either ignore or address this otherwise compelling piece. Ms. Masterson is not an employee or agent of this publication. Any of the content in black and red, remains intact, unedited and the copyright along with its liability remains with the submitter. The response is in blue and remains the sole responsibility and content of Bryan E. Hall, Editor of Duly Consider.

Please read this as you would an essay that has been commented upon by the professor. It is unusual to publish something in this fashion, but in all fairness, it would be irresponsible to do so without parenthetical consideration.


After the ashes of this so-called unprecedented presidential election, do you know who you voted for into office? What do you know of his policies? Do you know who controls him? Money is what controls him and do you know who controls the money?

The Federal Reserve is what controls the money in this nation and it's not the government or we who run it, it is private bankers who through a federation of twelve banks controls the money that flows through this land and that they vote privately on the money that controls us, that affects us, without our being able to have a say in the matter. Beyond being unconstitutional (the constitution, due to the threat of the monarchy of England, vanished the possibility of there being a central banking system due to the catastrophes caused by the administrators who deliberately pushed wars to make money by funding both sides and destroying a land's economy all in the name of power and greed), it is a gross act of defiance and hubris hostility against the voice of the American people by showing how powerless we are against controlling the very things that runs us; our money.

See, back in the good ole' days, we were once on the gold standard. The treasury had the ability to make money, but it was backed by gold. Nelson Aldrich, the Federal Reserve Act architect, met on Jekyll Island with JP Morgan and the Rothschilds to draft what would be the finished product of the Federal Reserve Act. Due to the passage of the Fed reserve act during a sleepy day in Congress when half of congress was absent due to Christmas, the fed reserve act was passed under strongly banker-backed President Woodrow Wilson, who later regretted his decision to let it pass (for more on the history of the Federal Reserve, see <http://news.goldseek.com/GoldSeek/1095269452.php> And you can check out the official whitewashed history at <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Federal_Reserve> for comparison).

This set the stage for corporate and banker interest to take control of our government at the expense of the people since their interest lied in their bottom line and not our best interest . This set the stage for a government that is, even now, still under the control of bankers. When JFK tried to reintroduce Treasury Notes into the economy under Executive Order 11110, allowing for Treasury to regain control over the life blood of our economy, he was assassinated by CIA operative E Edward Hunt to keep him from freeing the people by creating a truly free-based economy where we aren't tied to illegal system that puts us into debt (source: <http://www.rense.com/general76/jfkvs.htm>).

In the case of Obama, that's what speaks for him, the bankers who control the reserve since it is the reserve who, like a mother to a child, gives the child an allowance, which is in turn given to us. In the President's case, let's say the government needs 1 billion. Without even sending real, printed money, the Federal reserve sends a bunch of numbers through the computer to the government and that is the money (For a more accurate and simplified way on how the Fed Reserve works, go to copy/paste <http://dulyconsider.blogspot.com/2007/03/how-to-make-trillions-of-dollars.html>).

There is no physical money printed, shifted or transacted, but imaginary money that only exists in a machine, a computer. This money, as debt instrument, is used in turn to give to the people at a fixed rate or interest and since only a fixed amount has to stay in the government reserve, this is what determines how much money exists in the supply based on contracting or expanding, or, in other words, inflation. Plus, to add insult to injury, we are charged interest on this fake money, thereby ensuring a lifetime supply of ingenious slavery in a workforce. Also, since the Federal Reserve runs the Presidency, wars are started to get us out of debt and in peace time we are put into debt to justify going into words, therefore sealing us into a vicious cycle of wars.


Thus, we are literally controlled by nothing. We owe nothing in return since no money was really given. To make matters even worse, we are forced to owe through the monopoly money that we are given trillions upon trillions of debt since the money we have isn't even money, it's literally debt (if you don't believe me, look at your $1 dollar or $5 dollar paper bill, what does it say; Note means in elementary accounting that you owe a debt and not get paid back for it.) Out of a lot of the Federal Reserve sprung corporations designed to put us to work to pay off this debt since the government pays interest on this fake money and pass it along to us as tax. Corporations don't become big overnight. A lot of them got to where they are due to cooperation with the banker monopolists. Without their cooperation, Nike wouldn't be where it is since, and neither would Reebok, or IBM since without their cooperation, they wouldn't have gotten the loans to start the businesses. Even worse is the fact that mostly bankers, these crooks, assisted in Obama's campaign, such as Franklin Raines, who was fired as CEO of FNMA and Penny Pritzker, former CEO of Superor Bank of Chicago, which went belly up due to pushing sub prime mortgages (source: http://memes.org/alex-jones-infowars-home-failed-bankers-campaign-obama). Even though Obama is against some of those who lobbied for him, he still accepts their money (see <http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Barack_Obama/Campaign_Financing>). Even more surprising are the donors who funded both campaigns simultaneously. Look at some of Obama's supporters, with Goldman Sach's being 2nd with Morgan Stanley not too far behind. (The list can be seen here at <http://www.opensecrets.org/pres08/contrib.php?cycle=2008&cid=N00009638>). Now, look at the donor list of McCain (It can be seen here at <http://www.opensecrets.org/pres08/contrib.php?cycle=2008&cid=n00006424>).

[Good info, but fails to demonstrate a relevant support for your thesis that Obama (more so than other politicians) actually falls under some control of the Fed and/or other insidious banking interests. Such a connection would be huge news but there is no evidence of this. He, like every other candidate, accepted money from bankers, employees of banks and PACs who may favor banking interests. The fact he got more than other candidates is only a testament to the fact he was highly favored to win the race; and to the victor (or likely victor) go the spoils. Sadly, all the candidates support the current corrupt banking system, except for Ron Paul and he is unviable in the political structure.]

Notice that they have the same bankers, Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley, giving to them. Do you see a correlation? Yes, I know I can. You can go ahead and think that they feel that they might see both candidates who represents their interest, but, who is the third candidate that they are trying to keep out? There was no real third party opposition that was a threat since they didn't receive equal media coverage, so why support two so-called separate idealogues?. Also why vote for two candidates with supposedly two different interests? Doesn't it make you think that no matter who wins, they are rooting for the same guy since they know that the same guy will pull the same result.

If you decide to look to the propaganda machines that are the news and other news entertainment outlets like Newsweek and the like you will be hard pressed to find accurate, unbiased information that can help the reader or viewer arrive to unbiased, informed opinions. For instance, Newsweek's News doesn't get printed until it passes through review by the Pentagon. However, the airwaves and screens are stuffed with fluff: mindless drones watching reality shows while sitting around lingering and drinking beer due to economic hard times is what the corporatocracy have in mind and want. The corporatocracy wants us to be consumed with this so that their product, our Presidential leaders, can lead us like the blind leading the blind down a path to oblivion much like the pied piper did with the little kids of Germany. They want us to think that this leader whom we didn't elect (the electoral college did). [Simply untrue as he was elected by a larger majority of the popular vote than anyone since Carter (and he followed Nixon)] will lead us into a great era of prosperity because she/he is black or some other diversionary tactic to keep the simple minded blind. However, the fact that these are the people who control him [Highly conspiratorial without any evidence] (remember, those with money have power) are the ones who control him [I am quite sure they would like to control him, but the proof of that is to be seen] and with their interests being selfish, do you think that these corps that don't mind overworking children to death in sweat shop factories are going to care about us? Do you think that these companies are going to care if Barack turns around and says that he wants to bring companies back from overseas and return them to America? No! You never bite the hand that feeds you and look at what happened to John F. Kennedy when he tried; he was owned (assassinated)!

Aside from understanding how the economy is used by the bankers to control the President and decisions in this country, another important, actually very imperative key to understanding what really runs this nation is the advisor to the president. Zbignew Brzezinski is going to be [one of] Obama's advisors. Do you know who Zbignew Brzezinski is aside from his name? Brzezinski was instrumental in the creation and support of the mujahideen, which later became Al Qaeda, in an effort to use them against the Soviet Union by creating strife with the then Soviet supporting Afghanistan and training what was to become Al Qaeda using CIA operatives
[Failed interventionist policies go back well before Brzezinski as the British, even before WWII, IE-“Lawrence of Arabia”, tried to control them as they didthe Indians, and they created a hatred that has backfired, but it is true, the US created and supported the “Mujahideen” and the Shah of Iran, and Saddam Hussein and even Khadafi. The
US has made a lot of money selling them weapons that they later have used against us, but who can blame them?] (Source: <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zbigniew_Brzezinski>)This man intends on using Obama to initiate his decades old war against Russia. Do you know the name Rahm Emmanuel? He is the son of a terrorist [“Terrorist” is a label that can easily be applied to anyone who uses the threat of violence to elicit fear and control, certainly to include all military power (except our terrorists are funded directly by and openly encouraged by our government)] who quelled opposition to Israel by slaughtering Palestinians and he was also picked to be Obama's right hand man (Source: <http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/world-news/us-election/rahm-emanuels-father-an-israeli-terrorist-14043727.html>). I am quite sure that will lead to more war and involvement with Israel. As a matter of fact, a top pentagon advisor warned of an international crisis after Obama takes lead 260 days into his presidency, with Biden even emphasizing the ruthlessness of this soon to be international crisis (Source: <http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/10/20/bidens-crisis-remarks-reverberate/>) (Source: <http://elections.foxnews.com/2008/10/21/mccain-uses-bidens-crisis-prediction-question-obama/>) . Also, other than what Obama says, let's find out what he has done. He has:

Voted for funding for Iraq (Source: <http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2007/03/22/obama_defends_votes_in_favor_of_iraq_funding/>)

Voted for Wall Street $700 million Bailout (both him and McCain have the same donors) (Source: ) [Obviously, a majority voted for the bailout, most of which did so with disdain, much as parents paying kidnappers reluctantly.]

Supported the war in Iraq by approving bills allowing more money to fund the war (Source: <http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/09/29/obama-to-vote-on-bailout_n_130242.html>) (Source: <http://www.factcheck.org/elections-2008/the_truth_on_troop_support.html>)

He supports an invasion of Pakistan [This is what we call “spin”; He said he would support a strike within Pakistan if there was actionable intelligence that led us to Osama Bin Laden] (Source: <http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/Story?id=3434573&page=1>)

He is for the Patriot Act as well as the FISA Act, which allows for greater spying powers handed to the NSA over the American population. (Source: <http://blog.washingtonpost.com/the-trail/2008/06/20/obama_supports_fisa_legislatio.html>) [It is yet to be seen as to whether he will favor the extension of the Patriot Act, and most indications are that he will not. FISA is a perfectly suitable law, if enforced. Bush simply ignored it. Perhaps you should read it if you haven’t.]

For the invasion of Afghanistan through funding (Source: <http://www.votesmart.org/issue_keyvote_detail.php?cs_id=20208&can_id=9490>)

His policy consist of getting us to borrow more money in order to spend more money by borrowing from foreign banks (which goes against what the constitution stands for), which will add to the cataclysmic cycle that will lead us into a bonded and indebted populace, which will lead to a much worse recession, otherwise known as a depression (Source: <http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article20915.htm>).


We are living in a hypocrisy and if we were to have done our homework rather than letting the mass corporate media feed us it's baloney, we would have been aware of this before we voted for him in office. Now, looking back at the Bush administration, the feeling is predominant that his tenure in office will look like the golden times rather than the real gloom and doom that's ahead of us now all because we choose to be asleep rather than awake.


In Africa, the leaders of a village, even all the way up to prime minister, bloodline is the determining force of everything. In order to be king or queen, PM, unless you are of a certain regal heritage, you can't ascend the throne or head of state position. Returning back to America, did you know that Obama is related to Bush and that his Kenyan father went to Harvard, thereby making him a legacy? America is also ruled by a bloodline. Obama is related to the Bush's, Colin Powell, Dick Cheney. [This is where the tinfoil hat comes out. Relax the paranoia. We have enough legitimate fears without the silly “American Royalty” theories.] They are all different colors and from different places but they all share a common lineage and through masking the media the Corporatocracy [The MNCs that rule this world couldn’t care less about bloodlines as long as leaders keep their financial pipelines flowing] has successfully ensured that this bloodline is here to stay, not to be usurped by we the people anytime soon by feeding us mass, rampant junk like Britney's panties and who's the next winner of American Idol [True, but more likely a result of Idiocracy than Corporatocracy; this really undermines your credibility]


If you don't believe the corporatocracy and their measures to keep the elite at the top, look at this profile of Federal Reserve Bank of New York's President Tim Geithner and Barack Obama, the played out story of the young man from nothing is pretty astounding considering that they had very similar lives and are now President respectively in their industries (Source: http://www.abcnews.go.com/Business/Economy/story?id=6196682&page=1). True freedom lies with knowledge; and though these mass channels of information or disinformation is caused by the powers that be that have an inherent interest in keeping us from being critical thinkers [absolutely true, and no doubt, a conscious intention of the rich], or just from thinking.


When was the last time you did your independent research on the President? Your elected leaders? Your state senators? When was the last time you knew how government worked other than what CNN told you? When was the last time you knew how the economy worked other than what MSNBC”s money market told you? This election has nothing to do with putting a black man into office? His color skin will not help us? This is about a war, a war on you, a war on all of us, a war designed to maintain the status quo at the expense of us and our minds is the battlefield. We live in a culture saturated by people who no longer want to think for themselves. We have become a nation of lazy thinkers where the boob tube speaks for us and our will is suppressed for the greater good against us. To all those out there who think that being passive is the best way to go: seeking solace in ignorance assures your part in the play, meaning you will still be affected by it no matter what.


The corporatocracy knows that we willfully consent to our slavery by ignorance. The most important thing in the world is to know the leaders you choose since if we don't know who we choose we all know what happens to sheep; ultimately you get sent to the slaughter. Complicity in slavery comes from submission in not knowing. Please, if you know in your heart this article to be true, please pass it around to as many people as you can just to get the truth out there (make sure though to give credit as I copyrighted it.) Thank you and love yourself by freeing yourself.

[Interesting reading, but perhaps, if published as is, would be irresponsible journalism. Just because something “could be true” is no basis for making such major illogical leaps. We need more than “possibility”, we need a logical, relevant and calculable “probability” in order to make fair editorial content. Anything short of this is simply muckraking and fear mongering. We have much proven evil to fear and much of this article is factual, but the conclusions are unfair and are tantamount to baseless character assassination. Stick to the facts, and prove your conspiracies and the mainstream media will gladly publish you. Hell, you will win a Pulitzer.

I am always impressed by fervor, even when misdirected or ill-supported. The Fed and the self perpetuating monetary system, are without a doubt, aimed at enslaving us by keeping us in “fake debt”, and as long as the rules are made from the top down rather than from the bottom up; as long as pay is determined solely by the employers without an equal say by the workers themselves (while they pretend this is “the natural law of supply and demand”), we are going to be locked into a worldwide domination of workers by the truly lazy and evil overlords who will do ANYTHING to stay in control.

Logic would dictate that we apply the same rules to the macro-economy as to the micro-economy, which is to say, that bankruptcy is intended to relieve the unmanageable burden of mounting debt. Our government is currently embarking on a path to greater debt, of which we cannot write off in a bankruptcy. Our unborn are expected to be born into debt slavery. This is the real horror. And only if there is a simultaneous readjustment of the books, in the form of worldwide debt forgiveness, we are destined to live in a constant state of fear of financial disaster. The truth is, that money and debt are not “real”, only material possessions are (as in “real estate”) Everything else, is an accounting game, just as clearly described in many parts of the Holy Bible. The moneychangers are truly evil and we must, as did Jesus, remove them from our temple.

It is not necessary, however to personally vilify Obama or any other pawns in this struggle. Keep your eye on the real enemies.]

Content in black and red: Copyright by Raven Masterson (Williams) 2008.


Monday, September 08, 2008

Palin's Alleged Affair; If True -- Hypocrisy


A recent story broke in the National Enquirer that Sarah Palin had an affair with her husband's business partner. It is already spreading in mainstream British papers and will no doubt hit our networks soon. Despite the bad taste this publication puts in my mouth, they are most often correct in matters of political seriousness. John Edwards was but one example. Normally, I wouldn't care about, much less morally judge one's politics by their personal lives, but I can't help but to find it interesting that the party of Christian conservatism who has waved their fingers at far too many others, is the party with the most sex scandals.

The only thing that makes this an issue, is that of hypocrisy among self-righteous dominionists. Clinton never pretended to be a religious person, though clearly a man of strong faith and conviction. I just find it so interesting that a huge majority of evidence suggests the Dem ticket has the most "family values"; personally, I say Sarah should keep getting laid as long as she can, as she will not be very hot much longer. She will age quickly before our eyes. As with most movie stars whose only appeal is sex, hers is only a couple of years away.

Sarah Palin is a typical housewife in midlife crisis, having realized her mediocrity despite her clear intellectual yearning. She wasted her youth and squandered her formal education, lackluster at best. Like many beautiful women, as her beauty faded, she sought other ways to get attention. People no longer liked her just for being cute.

In politics, she is still young, but her "cuteness" is soon gone. What is left is a sarcastic prose, a grating voice and a penchant for low blows. Her affairs only fit into a psychological profile of a woman who has coasted on sexual allure without any intellectual substance.

Friday, August 29, 2008

What One Says When Told Of Sarah Palin Pick


1. Why didn't he just pick his wife Cindy if he just wanted a beauty pageant winner?
2. Why not Anita Bryant?
3. Sarah Palin, oh yeah, she makes great desserts, doesn't she?
4. Her foreign policy experience is that Alaska is adjacent to Russia.
5. Is that the best he could do?
6. Hey, anybody can be President in America!
7. Beauty Queen, Hockey mom, Mayor of a town of 5-thousand people, Governor of a rural state; hasn't she satisfied the Peter principle of being elevated to her highest level of incompetence yet?
8. Proof that McCain thinks with his guts; like a man with no head.
9. McCain, the next morning: "I'm sorry; what was your name? I was a little drunk last night."

Thursday, January 24, 2008

Breaking the Propaganda Code With a Moral Code

Today's politics is full of good metaphors (if "metaphor" becomes a metaphor for "BS"), but I find myself needing to address this with stark reality in order to make sense of it. As a college teacher of Logic and Critical Thinking with most of my education in Literature and Comp, I am adept at dealing with analogies, but the propaganda has become so overwhelming that I find myself wanting to simply scream, "The Emperor has no clothes."

Even on US news we hear such ridiculous terminology that ignores and veils the goal of objectivity. Those charged with a stated goal of love and compassion lead the assault on those weaker than they. So called "Christian" right-wingers would rather you sit in prison after you commit crimes of survival, than to prepare you for the world with adequate education, then they call you "criminal" for the rest of your life. Proof is certain of the failure of religion to protect the moral code; instead they prefer the propaganda code.

When young men from Islamic nations oppose the establishment, they call them "radicalized youth". If the US kills women and children; we are soldiers/brave young men and THEY are collateral damage. When France did it to their Nazi occupiers, they called them the "French Underground." It almost sounds sexy. If their soldiers do it, we call them "terrorists", despite the clear fact they would prefer to do what they do with B-1 Bombers than with Toyota Tercels. When we do something to intimidate the enemy, we call it a "show of force", though our goal is the same, to provide terror, yet we have the nerve to name it "Shock and Awe".

When the colonists opposed the British, and dumped tea, it was called a "party". Sounds like fun. They, who combine to fight back, we call the "axis of evil". But when we are lucky enough to pull together 3 or 4 countries that still agree with us, we call them "an alliance of the willing."

If Al Quaeda soldiers do it, we call them "extremist" or "brainwashed" unless they are doing it to Russia in Afghanistan under CIA support; then they are "committed and disciplined freedom fighters".

The biggest problem is, that news just reports using the same terminology as if it were rational, when clearly these terms have been market tested and are designed by the greatest, most skillfull and technically trained Psy-Ops officers in the world.

I don't know how much longer I am willing to just nod my head. I am close to screaming when my mind is assaulted by all this purely emotional language intended to brainwash rather than to communicate truth. The list is replete with examples of double standards of terminology.

It is war. People are killed in order to allow one group of rich men to prevail over another less rich group. We don't fight for honor, though the men who fight have the best intentions because they don't know any better. They follow the bouncing ball and sing the song, ooh rah, and people die while my finances, peace of mind and safety quickly fade.

If we haven't been too drugged by the dumbing down within our education system, or by the mass therapy and anti-depressant wave, I think it's a time for the lions that sleep at the heart of America to wake. These are the lions that saw through the repressive regime that taxed without representation and the lions rebelled against the tamers!

Truth, Justice and The American Way.

It's time for the Truth, and it's time for some Justice. As for the "American Way", we must decide a way that is defined by truth and justice or the way we are going is simply a path paved with lies.






Wednesday, August 15, 2007

Atheists vs. Agnostics vs. Religionists - Or are they all the same?

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Encyclopedia Britannica
Much has been made recently about the potential dangers of religious zeal and fervor. Though it is not a new subject by any means, as there has been conflict between thinking and believing since the beginning of the written word.

Even before the enlightenment more than 300 years ago, when science began to crush many commonly held beliefs like 'the world is flat' or that we weren't meant to fly, philosophers considered every position that came to conclusions without sufficient evidence to be invalid and delusional while others saw fit to kill millions in the name of God if they refused to believe the way they did.

There was a very pacifist atheist movement that seemed to peak in the '60s, exemplified by John Lennon whose song, Imagine, stated an aspiration for a world where people walked 'hand in hand' and had no religion. That generation seemed satisfied with feeling intellectually superior to those who lived by faith.. These anti-establishment figures seemed to accept 'live and let live' as their mantra.

With the rise of the sexual revolution and drug experimentation, the right wingers worldwide decided they had to act affirmatively, not only within the confines of the church but to re-cross the line into government. The US seemed to be the place where this would least likely happen as there was a strong statement of belief in separation of church and state. But in the early eighties, we saw the rise of a disease that not only inconvenienced the sexually active, but killed them.

People like Jerry Falwell proclaimed AIDS had been sent by God to punish sinners. A thunder on the right made a minority of very loud evangelicals believe they were actually a majority, the "Moral Majority". They convinced enough people in the middle that conservatism was a good idea whether religiously inspired or not. Reagan was elected only 4 years after the fall of Nixon, and though he was nowhere near religious, he traded on the terminology of faith and managed to attract people from both the right and middle.

AIDS was initially thought to be simply sexually transmitted, but soon they discovered it could be transmitted through other means. This factor slightly quietened people like Falwell, but a huge new generation had already sprung forward, reacting to this biological imperative that was perceived to threaten the very continuation of the species. Resultantly, conservative, pro-big business, religious flag wavers, literally swept away a huge Democratic lead in the US legislature which had held since FDR.

If the 60's and 70's were a 'sexual' revolution, the 80's and 90's have been a 'fear' revolution, as the right began to reverse many freedoms and to prevent others from ever coming about from race to reproductive to marital rights. Despite the election of Democrat, Bill Clinton, there was still a deep undercurrent of religiously driven conservatism. But both sides liked Clinton as he sounded like a Southern preacher, but demonstrated his intelligence as a Yale-Rhodes scholar. He and his Yale lawyer wife seemed to be taking America and the world back toward the middle.

His presidency came to symbolize the conflict between religion and thought, values and results. And despite the results Clinton achieved in every category, the prevailing notion that conservatives continued to push was that religious values were more important than social and economic justice.

By this time, the atheists were no longer comfortable with a sense of intellectual superiority, but they began to affirmatively organize and frankly achieved a level of evangelical zeal equal to the religious right, though admittedly in smaller numbers.

With both sides feeling cornered and threatened, politics has become more and more polar. Though strange bedfellows, the atheists and other minorities formed an alliance against well-organized and funded right. The advantage the right had over the left was that there was a commonality of Christianity. Though lacking fervor, they were homogeneous. The right wing had convinced moderate Christians you had to be an atheist/communist /"pinko-fag" if you were voting for anyone other than those whom God had endorsed from the right.

Now with a conservative Christian (in name only) as President, proclaiming a mission to attack the 'axis of evil', in response to what he conveniently considered Christianity vs Islam (and everybody else), the right-wing had the US government there to officially advance their mission.

"You're either with us or against us," became the war-cry for George W. Bush, but it went further than foreign wars but resounded a sense that part of America had been disenfranchised and world opinion had been ignored.

Atheists began to speak with greater zeal than ever. They were angry. Websites and even "churches" of Atheism began to demand equal access to the pulpit. Armed with their heroes, Albert Einstein, Carl Sagan and now, Richard Dawkins and Christopher Hitchens have formalized their attack. And with the apparent failure of Bush's religious war they are feeling muscular and vocal. Hitchens morphed from a gentle, open minded, concerned academe, to a hell-fire and brimstone evangelist, with the same angry fervor as Bush. Hitchens even resoundingly celebrated the recent death of Jerry Falwell saying, "If there were a hell, Falwell would be there now."

Many atheists now are on a mission to remove what they consider a danger to society, ignorant religiosity. They truly believe we must act now to prevent the Religionists from committing new genocides in the name of God.

Now, we have both sides screaming at each other and the middle looking for an escape. Moderate Christians came back toward the middle and elected Democrats and began to exhibit tolerance for those with whom, in some cases, they differed spiritually. Meanwhile, now there is a resurgence among atheists who separate themselves from the extremists among them by calling themselves "agnostic" (not-knowing).

Please watch these films to get a sense of where Dawkins began and where he is now.

The premise in this introductory chapter, SLAVES OF SUPERSTITION, of a British TV series, ENEMIES OF REASON, is that society appears to be retreating from reason. Apparently harmless but utterly irrational belief systems from astrology to New Age mysticism, and clairvoyance to alternative health remedies, are booming. Evolutionary biologist Professor Richard Dawkins confronts what he considers an 'epidemic of irrational, superstitious thinking'. He considers 'the dangers the pick and mix of knowledge and nonsense poses in the internet age', and passionately re-states the case for reason and science.

48min2sec


Here, Dawkins asserts that belief in a god is irrational and inflicts great harm upon societies. BBC's Jeremy Paxman interviews Professor Dawkins about "The God Delusion".

9min35sec


Most recently, Hitchens' celebration of the death of Falwell. Watch as Hitchens demonstrates what EXACTLY Jerry Falwell is and stood for, a malevolent bigoted bully:

9min45sec


Most have seen plenty of examples of extreme religious zealots, so I will avoid supplying examples of the hatred expressed by those who profess love in all religions.

However, often misunderstood and mischaracterized, there are many peace-loving Muslims. This film, THE COLLAPSE OF ATHEISM is presented by a highly cross-denominational Turkish Muslim, Harun Yahya and is one of a series of religious films. However, this one should not be mistaken as evangelical in that it simply offers one of the most reasoned presentations of creationism and a long series of debunking of what through time, have been accepted scientific principals.

40min35sec

Sunday, July 01, 2007

USA Changes Its Name to LCD (Lowest Common Demoninator)

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America is soon to adopt a new acronym to replace USA. The new, easily remembered replacement will be LCD. The "dumbing down of America" is both the cause and the effect of our eventual destruction if we let it.

Sadly, though the citizens did not cause its own dumbing down; the corporatists, in an attempt to separate the intelligencia from the support of the people, has conditioned us to accept the best of the worst, a "lowest common denominator (LCD)" approach, like everything else in modern society. It is the source of the causes of our electing actors and idiots as Presidents, because they are as "ordinary as us", as opposed to celebrating brilliance. All of this is a consciousness that stupid people are more easily led, like rats into the sea following the pied piper.

If a basketball player has skills, we celebrate him; he scores more points; evidence of his superiority. Many never consider that the largest part of this is the superiority of his mind. They wrongly attribute this to his physical prowess, but somehow the tallest, most muscular player is not the highest scorer.

It appears many Americans would rather have a President with whom they could drink a beer and from whom they could hear a good joke, than to have one who knows how to improve their lives. It is not Mr. Bush's fault he is by far the least intelligent President to be elected in recent history. He is a product of the citizens and the devious puppet-masters who surround him. I am sure Mr. Bush is smarter than the average grocery store manager, but couldn't we have had higher expectations of the the requirements to become the "decider" for the world's only military superpower?

Regarding politics and even business, somehow it never occurs to many Americans that intelligence and logical persuasion are characteristics of an executive or lawyer that any of us would want to hire if we fully expect to win our cases, make more money and/or stay out of jail, yet somehow that has a taint when considering our number one legal and business minds in America. We have watched so many movies where emotionality won out over pure logical intelligence and truth, that we think demagoguery is the modern dogma of success. It never occurs to them, companies and the country should be run by the most intelligent, and that intelligence should feed our effective persuasion rather than weaponry and a loud mouth.

Then we wonder why the rest of the world laughs at us in the world frontier of policy and action. We have recently fallen from number one to number seven in a particularly important category:

U.S. falls from first to seventh place in global information technology ranking (Article)
This is a factor that will quickly translate into a poor economy for the USA/LCD. Somehow we have let anti-intellectual businesspersons convince us that there is a paramount value that something being profit driven/capitalistic is automatically going to make it superior. Now, by calling them "anti-intellectual" I am not saying they, themselves, are "stupid"; they just believe that keeping us that way will make them more money.

This may very well be true, in the short run, for those who became successful through inheritance instead of better ideas and hard work. The less intelligent the US is, the more we will celebrate the lazy, stupid sons of their fathers rise to the top as if they are royalty.

For example, it never occurs to many people that insurance companies are driven by profit, therefore the least likely to make decisions based on giving the best product for the lowest price. Their job is to spend the least by any means and to provide the very least. This is why America has the worst yet most expensive medical care among industrial nations. Some people will defend to the death, the right of insurance and pharmaceutical companies to make more money while providing less and less services to consumers.

After all, "profit is the measure of success" right? If I am CEO and I make a higher profit this year, you might assume I am the better businessman than the CEO who has a longterm plan for maximized profits. We have come to believe that making a million dollars overnight is preferable to making a billion over a period of ten years. Some couldn't tell you that 1- million is a thousand times lower than 1-billion. I can easily increase the profit of any company by selling off its most valuable assets all in one year while laying off its most experienced and highly paid middle managers. But this "instant results mentality" is killing America.

This is exactly how this super-corporation called America is being run today. We are allowing our executives to run up debt so they can pay themselves more and appease the impatient stockholders with a better standard of living, even if their actions will inevitably kill the goose that laid the golden egg, and I don't mean the company itself; I mean the consumers that support its growth.

Some may think it is a "conspiracy" but that would require greater intelligence than these overnight successes actually have. No, it is the system itself that has been ignored and abused. Anti-trust laws encourage the long-term health of a system; they are now intended to destroy profits but to guarantee that profits go to companies that make a better mousetrap instead of playing accounting games through mergers and acquisitions.

At he moment, America suffers from the bloat of having been number one for so long that it became a monopoly. Now, it acts like one; stifling innovation and shooting messengers of bad news. It has become the greatest incentivizer of saying "yes" to the boss and "no" to the employees, and refusing change. The worker or the citizen, in this case, has the greatest motive to steal from the supply room, and to blame failure on others. There is no reason for self-improvement, as that would just draw attention and make him a target of petty office politics, as it is much easier to shoot down ideas than to have them or promote them. Destruction is much easier than creation and invention.

In fact, to some, it would make the most sense to let things fall apart so they may more easily steal from the company as it falters. Using Katrina and New Orleans as a perfect example, despite the destruction of the city costing the larger corporation a huge fortune in the long run, it has made many companies a small fortune through the contracts of rebuilding it. So, the incentive was to let the levies fail knowing that reconstruction contracts would be very profitable to a few companies while costing the larger consumer base a huge loss.

It is time America become aware that it has a mental deficit, so that it may first choose to improve itself. You cannot possibly solve a problem until you see it "as a problem". We have to lay down our egos and admit we have become stupid, not looking for blame but realizing the cause of our current failure as a nation. Denial will do no good; it will only make things worse. If we realize there is such a problem, when is it appropriate to solve it? I have always heard, "NOW" was a good time.

Related Articles:
The Deliberate Dumbing Down of America
The Dumbing Down of America
Dumbing Down American Readers



Wednesday, June 20, 2007

How Not To Argue!

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After years as an internet warrior and educator I thought I would give up on anyone bothering to take a course in Critical Thinking or Logic. It has often been futile to try to reason with some people who had no clue there are actual rules as to what is a reasonable argument and what is not. I thought I would propose a common sense list of the most common fallacies and my own simple examples. Keep in mind, though many of these look very familiar and feel comfortable, this is how you "Fail" to be logical, so please don't mistake this as an endorsement of these techniques.

I realize many will think it is intellectual crap and "everyone has a right to an opinion" but this entire list is accepted by all logicians from Aristotle on as the wrong way to argue. It presupposes that "not everyone has a right to an opinion" if there is no sufficient basis.

Please note: We don't use bibles as reference sources for logic. Some of you may chose to print this and use it as a pocket map of how to beat people in an argument. Feel free to do so! If you are one who likes to show people how they are wrong, this should be helpful.

As you listen to those who try to persuade you, remind them that saying it twice, or loudly and stylishly doesn't make them right. If you chose to use the techniques below as a roadmap to winning arguments I make no warranties as to how people will accept them only as to how they are.

Some may consider this academic and some humorous; you be the judge.

Relevance

Appeal to force

-Physical
I will kill you if you don’t give me an A.

-Emotional
I will tell everyone you are gay if you don’t give me an A.

-Appeal to pity
I have only one arm therefore you should give me an A.

Appeal to the people

-Direct
Vote for me and you’ll all get A’s.
-Indirect
Come on, everybody’s doing it.
-Bandwagon
They all voted for me; you should too.
-Vanity
I love a man in uniform. Dress for success!
-Snobbery
My shirt has an alligator on it; yours has "Sears", therefore I’m more stylish.


Argument Against the Person (Ad Hominem)

-abusive
Don’t speak to him; he’s a fag.
-circumstantial
Don’t speak to him; he doesn’t have any money.

-Tu quoque “you too”

You are a murderer. > You are too, so who are you to talk?> So, murder is okay.
-or-

-2 wrongs make a right
You had an affair, so can I.

Accident (Misapplied rule)

Why can’t I play my stereo loudly; it’s a free country.

Straw Man (picking it apart/or attacking something that it isn't)

Jesus wasn’t really perfect; he lost his temper once in the temple; Anger is a sin, so don’t follow sinners like Jesus.

Missing the Point

Crime is going up, so we should put everyone in jail.
or
Bush-There are terrorists, who hate our freedom,
therefore we should give up our right to privacy and free speech.

Red Herring

Students participate in peaceful protest>
Communists participate in peaceful protest>
Don’t protest or you’re a communist.

Weak Induction

Appeal to Unqualified Authority

My preacher said you could get AIDS from kissing.

Appeal to Ignorance/Lack of evidence

He hasn’t proved he is innocent; therefore he is guilty.
or vice versa -
He hasn’t proved he is guilty; therefore he is innocent.

Hasty Generalization

Affirmative Action in 30 years hasn’t solved all the problems of racism over the last 300 years;

therefore, it will never work.

or

Bush- Diplomacy hasn’t worked so far;

therefore, war is the appropriate next step—immediately!

False Cause

He got AIDS because he is immoral and promiscuous.

Slippery Slope (Compounded Exaggeration)

If I join the army, I might kill someone; if that person was working on a cure for AIDS and; as a result of my killing him, he fails; then millions of people will die. Then everyone who didn’t get AIDS will feel so bad they kill themselves.

Therefore, I shouldn’t join the Army.

Weak Analogy

Dogs don’t like cats, so blacks should not marry whites.

Presumption, Ambiguity, Grammatical Analogy

Begging the Question

I am poor because I don’t have any money.

Complex Question/Assumptive
Follow-up Questions Without a Foundation

Have you told your mother you’re gay?

Are you still having an affair with your secretary?

How much pot do you smoke each week?


False Dichotomy

Either you study for this course or you will never finish college.

Suppressed Evidence/Missing/Forced Choice

Situation- John has AIDS. Mary Knows it. Mary tells Susan she should have children with him because he is so smart.

Equivocation (not be confused with “Ambiguous”)

Quarterbacks pass well; therefore, John, the Quarterback will pass his Logic course.

Amphiboly

I saw a man outside.

Meaning- I was in my house when I saw a man outside my window.

0r - I was outside when I saw a man.

Composition (Mixed is as good as separate)

I love pizza and ice cream therefore put some pizza and ice cream in the blender, it should be delicious.

or

Nitric Acid does not explode.
Glycerin Soap does not explode.

Therefore, nitroglycerin would not explode.

Division (Separate is as good as mixed)

A car will get me across the country.
Therefore, a carburetor will get me to Chattanooga.

Definitions of fallacies

Below you will find a few examples of my favorite illogical or easily misunderstood fallacies in the real world.














Wednesday, May 23, 2007

Monica Provides Another Blow to the Executive!

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Monica Goodling, the former Justice Department's White House liaison,
arrives on Capitol Hill in Washington, Wednesday, May 23, 2007,
to testify before the House Judiciary Committee. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)


I just couldn't resist the headline. This Monica does not wear a blue dress, but she may help to bring down her boss.

"I didn't mean to break the law," seemed to be the line of the day for Monica Goodling as it was repeated often in her testimony to congress today.

Her only experience since graduating from one of the lowest ranking law schools in the country, was at the Republican National Committee before she was hired at the Justice Department to interview future civil rights judges, supposedly non-political appointments.

Did she know the law before she started her job as a lawyer who job it was to know the law? Is it possible she didn't intend to ask applicants about their political affiliations?

But I didn't mean to:

  • eliminate people as soon as she identified them as not having voted for Bush.
  • delay or stop the hiring of many on the basis of their party membership.

I don't recall:

  • if I received any emails from Karl Rove.
  • if I was instructed to specifically avoid anyone who is not a Bush Crony.

Monica Goodling is a perfect example of how the administration hires people with no other qualification than sworn, blind loyalty to the President instead of the people.

I will leave to you to determine if this lawyer exercises "ignorance of the law". I just have to ask the obvious question, are lawyers supposed to have poor memories?

Related story - Who is Monica Goodling?

This would be funny except that it was too painful.
1min

Wednesday, May 16, 2007

Daily Show & Colbert Report: Forced Rescusitation of America's Ignorant!

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Are Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert raping the mind of America or are they impregnating them with a chance of rebirthing intelligence?

As a professor of Critical Thinking (Logic and other forms) I often find an unwillingness to replace opinion with facts among students who interestingly enough, have not yet discovered they don't know what they don't know. Such students will tell us that we all have a right to an opinion. I have to remind them that in my class, they don't, unless those opinions are preceded by supported premises.

But who would dare require students to assume a teacher knows more about the subject than they? Who would dream of denying a child to think candy was more nutritious than vegetables? Who would have the nerve to inflict ignorance with knowledge? Especially in a college?

Stephen Colbert and his progenitor, Jon Stewart of the Daily Show consistently demonstrate not only how hip they are and how funny intelligence can be, but they may be teaching us that the world has a chance after all if we just stop being afraid to laugh at village idiots.

Every night, millions of the highest IQ viewers across the US watch with bated breath to hear pearls of wisdom through the parody and satire that Colbert and Stewart deliver. Stewart has become in a short time, the most preferred interviewer of Presidents, scientists, Nobel Laureates of every discipline, and frankly those in the know... outside the US head of state, of course.

In this clip from Colbert we see a very funny twist on the idea that ignorant people are getting very pissed at being wrong. Enjoy!

Colbert-The WORD: Heated Debate 4min

icon for podpress TCR - heated Debate [4:00m]: Download



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