Weekend Open Thread

41
  by: Colorado Pols February 5, 2021 at 11:02 PM MST

“A harmful truth is better than a useful lie.”

–Thomas Mann

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41 Community Comments, Facebook Comments

  1. kwtree says:
    February 6, 2021 at 3:40 AM MST

     

    james baldwin author

    “Ignorance, allied with power, is the most ferocious enemy justice can have.” -James Baldwin (No Name in the Street)

  2. davebarnes says:
    February 6, 2021 at 3:50 AM MST

    Today (Saturday) is National Chopsticks Day

  4. Meiner49er says:
    February 6, 2021 at 7:37 AM MST

    Thanks and good luck to all running County Reorgs today!

  5. Duke Cox says:
    February 6, 2021 at 8:07 AM MST

    Two things..

    It is so encouraging to see COVID related hospitalizations going down. Sadly, it will take a while before the mortality numbers follow suit, as I understand things. We will be eligible for vaccine on Monday. 

    All the more reason for all of us to double down on safety. It is unlikely that Covid -19 will ever leave us, but as safety measures, vaccines, and treatments improve we can learn to take down other viruses along with this scourge. We have checked and upgraded our masks. We can beat this virus, but we have to do it together.

    On a lighter note; has anyone else noticed the odd coincidence that CHB and Repeal and Replace disappeared from these pages at the same time? Curious, that.

    Which was puppet and which was master? 

  6. JohnInDenver says:
    February 6, 2021 at 12:36 PM MST

    Surprising to find Lauren Boebert getting attention from fivethirtyeight.com

    She was one of 8 congress critters written up for a quick summary of public opinion surveys of members of Congress:  The surprising part of this to me was that 37% of the survey respondents knew something about her.  The ratio of attitudes was about what I expected: 12 favorable, 25 unfavorable, -13 net. [numbers for Boebert are an average of YouGov/The Economist and Morning Consult/Politico]

  7. Gilpin Guy says:
    February 6, 2021 at 1:46 PM MST

    Back in the day, they called ‘useful lies’ rumors and the rule of thumb was that if you wouldn’t say it to the individuals face then don’t tell it to me cause I don’t want to be a witness to what you say.  Truth can be twisted but it can also persist past the current situation waiting for a fertile moment to burst forth again.  Lies just wither with age and examination.

    Rumors are just a variation of the party game where someone whispers something to the person next to them then that person repeats what he/she heard to the next person.  Not much nutritional communication or innovation in that kind of mindless repetition.  What if the rules changed so that the next person had to add something to the telling or repeat it to the person on the opposite side of the circle.

    The ultimate copout for the folks who repeat rumors is that if it turns out to be false then they can say: ‘Well it was just a rumor’.  Good speech avoids rumor because it detracts from working with the current circumstances.  Speech is important for activists.  How we speak about our opponents.  How we speak among ourselves.  How we speak to the public are all critical contexts for how successful we are at achieving our objectives which are lofty calls to service.  There are many effective ways to communicate a hard truth.  It just takes some imagination and gumption.

    • Early Worm says:
      February 7, 2021 at 8:07 AM MST

      Reminds me of a social science theory I studied years ago: Gossip, a close cousin to rumor, serves a societal purpose. It helps set societal norms. We talk about the guy down the street cheating on his wife to establish that cheating on your spouse is unacceptable.

      Fox News has demonstrated how the power of media gossip, couched as opinion, has polluted a large section of our society. If the people on TV are fostering racist, sexist, xenophobia then it becomes the norm. 

      • Duke Cox says:
        February 7, 2021 at 8:41 AM MST

        Interesting.

        A perfect gathering place for the intellectually lazy. The creation of the echo chamber on the right seems like it was a key to its success. Those looking for enlightenment aren’t likely to find it on OAN or on late night Salem Broadcasting programming.

        They will, however, find validation that their hastily derived or long-standing but never questioned biases are true…and God says it’s OK to rebuke those _______. 

  9. davebarnes says:
    February 6, 2021 at 7:13 PM MST

    Today (Sunday) is National Fettuccine Alfredo Day

  10. notaskinnycook says:
    February 7, 2021 at 7:58 AM MST

    Gee thanks, Dave. Maybe that’s dinner tonight.

  11. Genghis says:
    February 7, 2021 at 9:06 AM MST

    Terrific cover of a terrific song. It's a tribute to the late, great Ronnie James Dio that a powerhouse like Jeff Soto has to work his ass off to sing a number Dio belted out almost effortlessly.

    Sons of Apollo – Gates of Babylon

    And these guys have a new studio album coming out for the first time in over 20 years. I guess 74-year-old bass god Tony Levin got a bit bored, what with no Stick Men or King Crimson tours.

    Liquid Tension Experiment – The Passage of Time

    • wolfeman says:
      February 7, 2021 at 3:47 PM MST

      Thanks for the links, Genghis. T. Lev is an inspiration for us old geezers.

      Thanks also for the Goldpile/Spacemind Soundcloud links a while back (I seem to remember it was you who posted, but if not, thanks to whomever did.)

      Onward.

  12. skeptical citizen says:
    February 7, 2021 at 12:22 PM MST

    Today is also National Periodic Table Day

    Also SuperbOwl Day

     

  13. kwtree says:
    February 8, 2021 at 12:57 AM MST

    US House “GQP” members, charted

    This is an interesting visual posted by annieli on Daily Kos. The original graphic was in an article by Phillip Bump in the Washington Post, using data from Kos.

    Bump’s premise is that there are now three main factions in the House Republican caucus: Trumpists, an “accountability caucus”, and “pro-Democracy Republicans”.

    From Colorado’s delegation,  Lamborn and Boebert are Trumpists. Buck is “pro-Democracy”. The Post’s graphic groups the members by presidential vote  margin in their states. So it’s easy to see the Trumpers ( Including Boebert and Lamborn), who are representing the GQPers in their own districts, but not the overall voters in their states. 

    Bump’s conclusion:

    What we can take away from this, though, is that for every House Republican willing to hold another Republican to account, there are seven who toe the Trumpian line.

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