The Biggest Cons: The Exercise Machine Fallacy

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Thursday October 18, 2007 · 2:45 PM PDT

2007/10/18 · 14:45

3rd in a continuing series of Con Artistry, as practiced by Republicans...

The Biggest Cons: The Arctic Fallacy
The Biggest Cons: The Diet-Pill Fallacy

The con I'm thinking of now was shared with me by one of its practitioners better known by another name; late-night infomercial marketer.

I asked him, "How can this stuff get sold when it falls apart so quickly?"

His eyes twinkled as he leaned close to share the secret...

To the Flipmobile!

proudlattedrinker

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Wednesday October 17, 2007 · 4:22 AM PDT

2007/10/17 · 04:22

The con artist is only half the con. Every con needs the "mark;" the mooch, the egg, the target.

The biggest thing the con artists have going for them is this: They WANT to believe the con. There is nothing more compelling that a person's own desire that this wild scheme will work. And I think the most pervasive in our society, right now, is that you can just take a pill, not change the way you eat, and lose weight.

How is this politically pertinent?

To the Flipmobile!

proudlattedrinker

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Sunday October 14, 2007 · 6:06 AM PDT

2007/10/14 · 06:06

There's two cons working in any scam. One is the con the con artist sells themselves, so they can act and react appropriately, and pump up their enthusiasm for the task at hand. It's a "sleight of mind" trick.

So what con do the Republicans operate under? I like to think of it like that previous monument to hubris, arrogance, and complete disregard for reality known as the British Arctic Expeditions of the nineteenth century.

To the Flipmobile!

proudlattedrinker

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Monday July 30, 2007 · 2:45 AM PDT

2007/07/30 · 02:45

Remember your T S Eliot:

Go, go, go, said the bird: human kind
Cannot bear very much reality.
Time past and time future
What might have been and what has been
Point to one end, which is always present.

Our brains filter reality through narrative and story. That's the point of myths; they are stories that help us understand. The difference is that myths are to inspire and cohere, they are a standard we are to strive towards and use as cautionary examples.

They are not meant to substitute reality; they are meant to illuminate it.

proudlattedrinker

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Friday April 20, 2007 · 3:28 AM PDT

2007/04/20 · 03:28

It's another end-run around Congress.

DSHEA (Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act of 1994) already regulates "complementary and alternative health care products."

But the FDA, the FDA that DIDN'T keep our pets safe, is now planning to extend that Katrina-style care to our nutrional supplements.

More on the flip:

proudlattedrinker

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Saturday April 07, 2007 · 6:06 PM PDT

2007/04/07 · 18:06

And I mean that in the best possible way. Theocracy tries to combine matter & anti-matter.

Ye cain’t let them touch, Cap’n! Or she’ll blow!

As Scotty well knows, certain elements must be kept separate from each other, or there’s hell to pay. Fresh butter and old fish. Disco and metalheads. Church and State.

Theocracy uses government structure to enforce observance to a particular religion. Religion relies on faith which is built on belief. All of which, by their very natures, cannot be proven, only believed. And therein lies its explosive quality.

Belief must be arrived at through each human heart. It is about trust and acceptance. It is a mythic structure we spin about what we do not know or incompletely understand. Belief is a product of consciousness and our own ability to speculate about philosophical questions. It cannot be explained, only felt. So, ultimately, true belief is about a lack of enforcement.

Because, dammit, if you have enforcement, it’s not belief any more.

To the flipmobile!

proudlattedrinker

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Thursday January 04, 2007 · 8:05 PM PST

2007/01/04 · 20:05

I mourn the loss of those dead in the Iraq war.

I also mourn those who lost their previous life, dead in the Iraq war.

The latest statistics I have read equate one dead to every six wounded. And usually, greviously wounded, unable to take up the life they knew before. Whether destroyed in either body or spirit, there is a great deal of loss for us to mourn.

And that's not even counting the civilians of Iraq, who never had a say in anything that went on, and no longer even have a home to think of going back to.

I say this to allow us to understand what I mean when I say: Where would we be without the war?

Don't Get Mad: Get Even - Torture Action Call

proudlattedrinker

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Sunday September 24, 2006 · 10:29 AM PDT

2006/09/24 · 10:29

Okay, I've gone through four of the five stages:

Denial - They can't be doing this!
Anger - Those b*st*rds!
Bargaining - I'll give Democrats money to stop this.
Depression - WTF! Nothing seems to do any good...

But I'm damned if I'll go to Acceptance.

What I'm going to to is: Read More

Is Bush's Downfall Written in the Stars?

proudlattedrinker

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Sunday September 17, 2006 · 6:28 AM PDT

2006/09/17 · 06:28

You don't have to believe in astrology to find it fascinating.

I'm not talking about the general Sun signs in the media: "Oooh, Taurus, you've been deferring to other's opinions for too long. Take a stand." Like that can't apply to anyone, anywhere, at any time. It's this superficiality that draws scorn from people like the Amazing Randi.

But a chart done in full depth is an extraordinary document that manages to put a number of complex influences into a system for analysis.

I got curious about George W. Bush in this context.

To the Flipmobile! Read More

Disney has always been evil.

proudlattedrinker

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Saturday September 09, 2006 · 7:31 AM PDT

2006/09/09 · 07:31

In recent days, it has been heartening to hear sentiments that I have held for many decades.

Disney is evil.

I don't blame anyone for not realizing it for a long time, since Disney is perhaps the ultimate in PR. And I have had some unique exposures in my life that helped me along the path.

to the Flipmobile!
Read More

The White House Sent Me a Letter Today

proudlattedrinker

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Thursday August 31, 2006 · 3:03 PM PDT

2006/08/31 · 15:03

I was surprised. I have been emailing, signing petitions, and blogging especially heatedly since 2004, and certainly been active since 2000, and this is the first time the Bush White House has sent me a letter.

I was wary. This was heavy cream watermarked bond, and my name & address was not on a label. It looked typewritten, which means it must have been addressed with one of those high decibel daisy wheel printers.

The Biggest Cons: The Exercise Machine Fallacy

The Biggest Cons: The Diet-Pill Fallacy

The Biggest Cons: The Arctic Fallacy

Reality Handling: Under Siege

FDA Wants You to Need a Prescription for Vitamin C

Theocracy Must Die

Without the War

On "Tempting Faith": Remember the Mike Warnke Story

Don't Get Mad: Get Even - Torture Action Call

Is Bush's Downfall Written in the Stars?

Disney has always been evil.

The White House Sent Me a Letter Today