1) KAVANAUGH CONTROVERSY
So, here's the name of the game.
We selectively filter information through our brains based on our drive for survival & the desires we adopt and are magnetized to by our environment, as well as prior information we've acquired through that same process.
So, here's the name of the game.
We selectively filter information through our brains based on our drive for survival & the desires we adopt and are magnetized to by our environment, as well as prior information we've acquired through that same process.
2) So we might see the same set of evidence quite differently, and think a person is innocent or guilty based on what we see as more important or relevant, or which sources we investigate. It's mostly unconscious. I do it, you do it.
3) The whole question is whether we can rise above to exercise enough humility, self-control, and wisdom to organize our thoughts and lives in a responsible way. In order to facilitate this, some of us cling to a rigorous set of ideological principles to guide our way.
4) But there's a catch. Humans are richly complex, & since ethical principles exist merely to nail down & protect t/significance & dignity of human life, they're as richly complex as we are. So to narrow down on a single set of ethics can cause you to miss t/forest for t/trees.
5) Take the NAP. In short, it entails that you ought not to initiate force against other people. That's a given (though most people may not see all that it entails) & surely most people would say they agree with that. But they'd also say that ethics involves much MORE than that.
6) For instance, even if no one can compel you to give to those truly in need and lend a helping hand, that you ought to do it. At least that's the Christian sense of things.
7) What I'm getting at here is that, within this whole controversy there's an interesting correlation between people's politics and whether they think Kavanaugh is guilty or innocent.
8) It's not even just R's & D's tho (in fact, a surprising number of Democrats are saying they're voting red this midterm season because of the way the Democrats on the Hill have acted in this scandal).
9) And it's not even just men and women (women tend to be more outraged AGAINST the accusations than against Kavanaugh), or those who feel more inclined to disbelieve accusations or detest the #MeToo movement.
10) I've also seen this amongst libertarians, as well as those who detest neocons in general (even if they are extremely anti-feminist). Now, I am troubled as well by Kavanaugh's history with the 4th Amendment.
11) Initially I was hoping that there would be such a divided Senate over him that Amy Barrett would be nominated instead (it's more of an uphill climb to attack women, and she's much better on privacy!)
12) I don't think that he's as much of a straight up and down neocon as the folks he served under, especially as he opposes the Chevron Doctrine which gives deference to presidential tyranny, but it's enough to be an issue.
13) Yes, Rand talked to him & concluded that he was open to a new direction based on case law established since the Patriot Act which he assisted in a secretarial role, but it's uncertain whether he will or whether enough justices will overrule him if a relevant case comes up.
14) However, AS A PERSON, Kavanaugh gives me the impression that he's gold. His wife served reporters flocking their home with baked goods, and his daughter insisted that they pray for Dr. Ford. To all accounts, it seems as if this is a family that knows how to love its enemies.
15) And these accusations, well, I'll leave those aside for now, but there are enough inconsistencies in Ford's story & payoffs, connections, lies about her past etc, some of it coming out in this FBI investigation that D's demanded so stridently, that it all looks fairly shady.
16) What I want to establish at this point is, this is now a separate issue. Hardly anyone in Senate cares about the 4th Amendment issues. Nothing's moving on that front. Now we're onto something different. And something, I would contend, is FAR MORE DANGEROUS...
17) I'd recommend that we take @jordanbpeterson's warnings about the viral, acidic tendencies of the far left seriously. The powers that be aren't particularly right or left. But they will use any faction that facilitates their powermongering the best at the drop of a hat.
18) And the fact that, as Peterson points out, the left doesn't have very good conceptual boundaries is just such an opportunity. The tyrannically destructive far left thus blends in pretty much seamlessly with the more seemingly moderate, milque-toast neo-liberal regime.
19) The far left and neo-liberal left are so conversant with each other that the vice chairman of the DNC can flash an Antifa book on social media proudly and unapologetically, and Antifa itself can be given a sympathetic voice in the extremely progressive MSM.
20) So... do we want to have a Canadian-styled Human Rights Tribunal? Do we want to erase presumption of innocence in favor of assumed guilt? Do we really want to steam ahead with this "if you're not guilty, prove it, and why don't you insist on being investigated" ideology?
21) Because... I'm pretty sure that's the most dangerous line we could cross just about now, almost as dangerous as a universal gun grab. Certainly more dangerous than having metadata tracked.
22) We can fight against government spying, and we've already made great inroads (the #SpyGate controversy exploding all over the place, and about to be totally exposed, will certainly help with that).
23) However, we CAN'T put the genie back in the bottle on cultural attitudes and mores that easily. If we concede the presumption of innocence, then why not spy on everyone anyway? We're not just talking about the wiles of a rogue government agency here...
24) We're talking about the kind of garbage precedent we allow to flood our whole culture. This is the highest seat in one of the co-equal branches of our government. Can't get any higher than that.
25) So, once this turns, the whole nation turns with it. One innocent man expunged via spurious charges in the highest office of the land, and the same kind of chaotic fire will pour forth into a million cases outward from there.
26) Thankfully, I don't think this will happen. As I said before, the bulk of the American populace is turning against these dealings, a minority of people believe the accusations even according to @Huffington polling, and it looks like Kavanaugh will be confirmed despite them.
27) And on other fronts, @BetsyDeVosED seems to be doing fantastic work on undoing the troubling practices of college/university tribunals from the Obama era and beyond.
28) My only point is that when it comes to this issue, we CANNOT cave on something so spurious and ridiculous. That doesn't mean we have to prefer Kavanaugh. But we can't let this kind of mob witch hunting to prevail in our world. CANNOT.
29) And it frustrates me to no belief, even infuriates me at times, that some folks simply can't see that...
Keep fighting, folks. And remember to #MAGA, #WalkAway, and kick into gear the #RedTsunami!
@tracybeanz @usminority @_ImperatorRex_
Keep fighting, folks. And remember to #MAGA, #WalkAway, and kick into gear the #RedTsunami!
@tracybeanz @usminority @_ImperatorRex_
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