Taomeow Posted August 23, 2020 1 hour ago, Daemon said: Straw man. Ignored. ☮️ Not that I'm interested in any further discussions, but it was not a straw man by a long shot (references available but not offered for lack of party to conversation) and by far not the only thing you willfully ignore toward maintaining "your" opinions. Please accept my regrets over having attempted a conversation with you. Won't happen again. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Daemon Posted August 23, 2020 14 minutes ago, Taomeow said: Not that I'm interested in any further discussions, but it was not a straw man by a long shot (references available but not offered for lack of party to conversation) and by far not the only thing you willfully ignore toward maintaining "your" opinions. Please accept my regrets over having attempted a conversation with you. Won't happen again. Thank you. I am grateful that you have clarifed your position. Farewell. ☮️ 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Daemon Posted August 25, 2020 Back on the topic of the psychology of conspiracy theories, as nobody seems interested in the election rigging detour. Quote The longing for meaning behind senselessness is, experts say, a strong draw of conspiracy theories, which “explain a chaotic, uncertain world”, said Oliver, and appeal to our proportionality bias, or the tendency to assume big events must have big causes. https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2020/jul/20/john-oliver-coronavirus-conspiracy-theories-people-are-going-to-get-burned ☮️ Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
SirPalomides Posted August 25, 2020 Speaking of election rigging and conspiracy theories, the "October surprise" is of course a perennial favorite for Americans. The first one that can be substantiated is the 1968 October surprise, where the Nixon campaign deliberately sabotaged peace talks in Vietnam, at the cost of untold thousands of lives, to secure an election victory. A murkier case is the allegation that in 1980 the Reagan campaign colluded with the new Iranian government to delay any hostage release- hard evidence has been elusive for this, though recently some documents surfaced indicating that members of the Reagan campaign did work to derail the negotiations. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Daemon Posted August 26, 2020 (edited) The first inkling that I had that the mechanisms of the USA electoral system were compromised was when I saw a news report about how Bush was elected in 2000. At the time, I found it difficult to trust my intuition and it's only in the last few months that a random conversation with a friend made me consider the possibility more seriously. I've just started reading David Shimer's Rigged: America, Russia and 100 Years of Covert Electoral Interference, which promises to be quite interesting as does Jonathan Simon's CODE RED: Computerized Election Theft and The New American Century. Quote Dr. Simon's expertise in polling and statistical analysis derives from his former employment as a political survey research analyst in Washington, DC. He has also authored, both individually and in collaboration, numerous papers related to various aspects of election integrity. He has been active in election integrity efforts since 2001, appearing in several election integrity-related films and as an interviewee on several dozen live programs. Dr. Simon is a graduate of Harvard College and New York University School of Law. He is admitted to the Bar of Massachusetts and holds membership in the legal honor society Order of the Coif. Feeling lucky that I'm European, that we vote on paper and that the tallies are properly audited. Keeping my fingers crossed that the Americans wake up before it's too late. 🤞🏻 ☮️ Edited August 26, 2020 by Daemon Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
forestofclarity Posted August 27, 2020 23 hours ago, Daemon said: Feeling lucky that I'm European, that we vote on paper and that the tallies are properly audited. Keeping my fingers crossed that the Americans wake up before it's too late. 🤞🏻 ☮️ We are very good at disenfranchisement. Gerrymandering, purging voter rolls, prohibiting mail in ballots, etc. People like to talk about conspiracy theories, but the scary stuff is actually fairly out in the open. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
