Archive for the ‘critical thinking’ Category

Privacy in the Modern Age, Part 2

Privacy In The Modern Age, Part 2   <– PDF

2          Wrong Attitudes Regarding Privacy

There are some very dangerous popular misconceptions that have served to weaken our overall privacy.  This essay will address four of them, and how, if you’ve fallen prey to one of these, you should consider re-calibrating your thinking on the subject.

I suppose the most common one is “I have nothing to hide, so why should I care what anyone knows?”  That is patently false.  As a matter of principle, you, the citizen, have everything to hide on the grounds that the details of your life are no one else’s business.  They are by definition, only your business, and only those close to you whom you trust to know.  Knowledge regarding you and your family depends on their “need to know”, and you decide who “needs to know”.  Mark “Junior High” Zuckerberg does not need to know how many children you have, or if any of them are toddlers.  Your local sheriff does not need to know where you work or where you live or your occupation.  The members of your local government do not need to know how anything about your income, or how you vote, or if you vote.  Jeff “I own that too” Bezos does not need to know what kind of car you drive, or your opinion on the man-made climate change hoax, or any other opinions you hold.  You business is yours, and theirs is theirs, and the two should never meet.  What do you know about Mark “Junior High” Zuckerberg, or Jeff “I own that too” Bezos, or your local sheriff, or your mayor?  You know virtually nothing about them, other than what they choose to release to the public.  Note the key words: “what they choose to release to the public”.  You should apply the same criteria to yourself and your family: you choose, not them.

Another common falsehood is “I am not a crook, so it doesn’t matter who knows what.”  There are two problems with this one.  First is, given the large mass of confusing and contradictory legislation, court rulings, and bureaucratic edicts, how do you know you’re not a crook?  The truth is, in this modern age, you are a crook if any penny-ante bureaucrat decides to make you a crook, even if you haven’t actually violated any law.  It is not even necessary to charge you with anything; all they have to do is put you “under investigation”, or spread a few rumors.  Enough innocuous information about you can be pieced together in such a way that you appear to be a crook.  The second problem is that even innocuous information can make you a target for blackmail, if it is construed “in the right way”.  Remember, the government already assumes you are a crook, since you are required to sign your tax forms under penalty of perjury.

The third common fallacy is “no one is interested in me”.  The fact is that everyone is interested in you, albeit for different reasons.  The commercial world is interested so they can send you advertisements and sell your data to other advertisers and “interested parties”, although you do not know who the “interested parties” are.  The government is interested because it wants to know who holds what political opinions, which is to say, whether you are a friend or an enemy of the political establishment.  It is worse than that: now that “political correctness” has reached extreme levels, one post on an obscure social media site can get you fired from your job, and it is possible that you could have difficulty finding work.  You can be denied the ability to provide for your family because some screeching moron with political or media connections was offended (or pretends to be offended) by some comment you made.  The lesson here is: if you tell them something, the commercial world will try to sell you something, and the political world will try to regulate you.  Both are equally bad because you, the citizen, have allowed yourself to become a commodity to be used and abused as the powerful see fit.  Since you are the commodity, there is always an interest in you.

The last one I’ll consider is “the government cannot do anything they want.”  How do you know?  Can your mayor call the IRS and get copies of all your tax returns?  Can the local school board access a database and find out if you are opposed to “Core Math”?  There is no way for us, the common citizen, to know if any of these are happening.  Certainly government employees are not going to admit to doing anything that violates their oaths, or that openly violates your rights.  But it would be short-sighted to assume that governments and corporations are not cooperating; a government can hire a private corporation to do indirectly what the government cannot do directly.  No one is going to tell us anything about what the government and corporations are actually doing with any data about us.  There is no reason to assume that corporations or the government are keeping their “privacy” promises.  Therefore, there is no reason for you, the citizen, to tell them anything of value.

There are no doubt a great many other common fallacies about privacy, but I think you get the idea.  Privacy is exactly what it says it means: it is private until you say otherwise.

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The Biden Inaugural Address, Translated

Biden_Inaugural_translated   <– pdf

Joseph R. “Wimpy” Biden, Jr. was sworn in today as America’s 46th President, and gave his inaugural address on the Capitol.  It’s the usual patronizing garbage we have come to expect from all politicians.  He was joined at the Capitol by many dignitaries: President Bill “Perjurer in Chief” Clinton, former Secretary of State Hillary “Irredeemably deplorable” Clinton, President Barack “Leading with my behind” Obama, and President George W. “Woodrow Wilson” Bush, to name a few.  The big tech titans were not present, but of course were happy that they got their guy elected, no matter what it took.  Mark “Junior High” Zuckerberg, Jack “Censorship is good” Dorsey, and Jeff “I own that, too” Bezos were celebrating in their penthouses. But it important not to take Mr. Biden’s words at face value; they must be translated according to the policies of the Democratic Party, which is now in control of the entire federal government.  I have provided below the complete transcript, clarifying in square brackets Mr. Biden’s actual intent, given his previous announcements and plans, and the various known objectives of the Democratic Party.  Replace the original words in quotes with the words in the square brackets.

President Biden:

Chief Justice Roberts, Vice President Harris, Speaker Pelosi, Leader Schumer, Leader McConnell, Vice President Pence, distinguished “guests” [members of the Establishment”], and my “fellow Americans” [“soon-to-be serfs”].

This is “America’s” [“China’s”] day.  This is “democracy’s” [“Russia’s”] day; a day of history and hope; of renewal and resolve.  Through a crucible for the ages America has been tested anew and America has risen to the challenge. Today, we celebrate the triumph not of a candidate, but of a “cause” [“socialist revolution”], the cause of “democracy” [Marxism”].  The will of the people has been “heard” [“rejected”] and the will of the people has been “heeded” [“ignored”].  We have learned again that “democracy” [“incompetence”] is “precious” [“essential”]. “Democracy” [“corruption”] is “fragile” [“useful”]. And at this hour, my “friends” [“serfs”], “democracy” [“tyranny”] has prevailed.

So now, on this hallowed ground where just days ago “violence” [“ANTIFA”] sought to shake this Capitol’s very foundation, we come together as one “nation” [Party”], under “God” [“humanism”], “indivisible” [“divided”], to carry out the peaceful transfer of power as we have for more than two centuries.  We look ahead in our uniquely American way – restless, bold, optimistic – and set our sights on the nation we know “we can be and we must be” [“must be fundamentally changed”].  I thank my predecessors of both parties for their presence here.  I thank them from the bottom of my heart. You know the resilience of our Constitution and the strength of our “nation” [“Party”].  As does President Carter, who I spoke to last night but who cannot be with us today, but whom we salute for his lifetime of service.

I have just taken the sacred oath each of these patriots took – an oath first sworn by George Washington. But the American story depends not on any one of us, not on some of us, but on all of us.  On “We the People” who seek a more perfect Union.  This is a “great” [“crappy”] nation and “we” [“Constitution-embracers”] are a “good” [“bad”] people. Over the centuries through storm and strife, in peace and in war, we have come so far. But we still have far to go.  We will press forward with speed and urgency, for we have much to “do” [“destroy”] in this “winter” [“dawn”] of “peril” [“confusion”] and “possibility” [“chaos”].  Much to repair [“demonize”], much to “restore” [“investigate”], much to heal [“attack”], much to “build” [“ruin”], and much to “gain” [“steal”].

Few periods in our nation’s history have been more challenging or difficult than the one we’re in now.  A once-in-a-century virus silently stalks the country.  It’s taken as many lives in one year as America lost in all of World War II.  Millions of jobs have been lost.  Hundreds of thousands of businesses closed.  A cry for racial “justice” [“retribution”] some “400” [“20”] years in the making moves us. The dream of justice for “all” [“some”] will be deferred no longer.  A cry for “survival” [“more funding”] comes from the “planet itself” [“climate hoaxers”].  A cry that can’t be any more desperate or any more clear.  And now, a rise in political “extremism” [“revolution”], “white” [“Harvard-educated”] “supremacy” [“dominance”], “domestic terrorism” [“socialism”] that we must “confront” [“accept”] and we will “defeat” [“support”].

To “overcome” [“obtain”] these “challenges” [“objectives”] – to “restore” [“eliminate”] the “soul” [“liberties”] and to “secure” [“cancel”] the future of America – requires more than words.  It requires that most “elusive” [“common”] of things in a “democracy” [“revolution”]:  Unity [“Control”].  “Unity” [“Power”].  In another January in Washington, on New Year’s Day 1863, Abraham Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation.  When he put pen to paper, the President said, “If my name ever goes down into history it will be for this act and my whole soul is in it.”  My whole soul is in it.  Today, on this January day, my whole soul is in this:  “Bringing” [“Separating”] America “together” [into tribes”].  “Uniting” [“Dividing”] our people.  And “uniting” [dividing”] “our nation” [“the spoils”].  I “ask” [“demand”] every “American” [“Democrat”] to join me in this cause.  Uniting to “fight” [“aid”] the “common foes” [“ANTIFA and BLM street armies”] we “face” [embrace”]:  Anger, resentment, hatred.  Extremism, lawlessness, violence.  Disease, joblessness, hopelessness.  With “unity” [“division”] we can do “great” [“insidious”] things, “important” [“destructive”] things.  We can “right wrongs” [“abolish rights”].  We can put people to work in “good jobs” [labor camps”].  We can “teach” [“indoctrinate”] our children in “safe” [“dangerous”] schools.  We can “overcome” [“perpetuate”] this deadly virus. We can “reward” [“denigrate”] work, “rebuild” [“reduce”] the middle class, and make health care “secure” [“precarious”] for all [“those who oppose my regime”].  We can deliver racial “justice” [“preferences”].

We can make America, once again, the leading force for “good” [“useless wars”] in the world.  I know speaking of unity can sound to some like a foolish fantasy.  I know the forces that divide us are deep and they are real.  But I also know they are not new.  Our history has been a constant struggle between the “American” [“false”] “ideal” [“notion”] that we are all created equal and the harsh, ugly reality that “racism” [“work”], nativism [“self-reliance”], “fear” [“integrity”], and “demonization” [“religion”] have long “torn us apart” [“prevented victory for the Party”].  The battle is perennial.  Victory is never assured.  Through the Civil War, the Great Depression, World War, 9/11, through struggle, sacrifice, and setbacks, our “better angels” “[basic moral principles”] have always prevailed.  In each of these moments, enough of “us” [“them”] “came together” [“stood up”] to “carry all of us forward” [“deter tyranny”].  And, we can “do so” [“defeat them”] now.

“History” [“Delusion”], “faith” [“atheism”], and “reason” [“propaganda”] show the way, the way of unity [“socialist conformity”].  We can see “each other” [“those who embrace the Constitution”] not as “adversaries” [“competitors”] but as “neighbors” [“enemies”].  We can treat “each other” [“those who believe in the Constitution”] with “dignity” [“hatred”] and “respect” [“persecution”].  We can “join” [“enlist”] forces, “stop” [“increase”] the shouting, and “lower” [“elevate”] the temperature.  For without “unity” [“division”], there is no “peace” [“revolution”], only “bitterness” [“freedom”] and “fury” [“liberty”].  No progress, only exhausting outrage.  No “nation” [“balkanization”], only a state of “chaos” [“stability”].  This is our historic moment of crisis and challenge, and “unity” [“brute force”] is the path forward.  And, we must meet this moment as the United “States” [“Party”] of “America” [Socialism”].  If we do that, I guarantee you, we will not fail.  We have never, ever, ever failed in “America” [“utopias”] when we have “acted” [“conspired”] together.  And so today, at this time and in this place, let us start afresh.  All of us.  Let us “listen” [“obey”] “to one another” [“the Party”].  “Hear” [“Destroy”] “one another” [“all conservatives”].  “See” [Censor”] “one another” [“all conservatives”].  “Show respect” [Demonize”] “to one another” [“all conservatives”].  Politics “need not” [must”] be a raging fire destroying “everything in its path” [“the Party’s enemies”].  Every disagreement “doesn’t have to” [“must”] be a cause for total war.  And, we must “reject” [“firmly establish”] a culture in which “facts themselves are” [“propaganda itself is”] “manipulated” [“promoted”] and even “manufactured” [“forced”].

My fellow “Americans” [“Establishment elites”], we have to “be different than” [“continue”] this.  America has to “be better than” [“adopt”] this.  And, I believe America “is better than” [“can be forced to adopt”] this.  Just look around.  Here we stand, in the shadow of a Capitol dome that was completed amid the Civil War, when the Union itself hung in the balance.  Yet we endured and we prevailed.  Here we stand looking out to the great Mall where Dr. King spoke of his dream. Here we stand, where 108 years ago at another inaugural, thousands of protestors tried to block brave women from marching for the right to vote.  Today, we mark the swearing-in of the first woman in American history elected to national office – Vice President Kamala Harris.  Don’t tell me things can’t change.  Here we stand across the Potomac from Arlington National Cemetery, where heroes who gave the last full measure of devotion rest in eternal peace.  And here we stand, just days after a “riotous” [“non Party”] mob thought they could use “violence” [“a protest”] to “silence” [“object to”] the “will of the people” [“questionable subversion of an election”], to stop the work of “our democracy” [“the Party”], and to drive us from this sacred ground.  That did not happen.  It will never happen.  Not today.  Not tomorrow.  Not ever.

To all those who supported our campaign I am “humbled” [“grateful”] “by” [“for”] the “faith” [“crimes”] you have “placed in” [“committed for”] us.  To all those who did not support us, let me say this: “Hear me out as we move forward” [“you will be investigates and audited”]. Take a measure of me and my heart.  And if you still disagree, “so be it” [“you’ll be bankrupt and in jail”].  That’s “democracy” [“socialism”]. That’s “America” [rule by the Party”]. The right to dissent peaceably, “within the guardrails of our Republic” [“so long as I permit it”], “is perhaps” [“will be”] our nation’s “greatest” [“most obvious”] “strength” [“initiative”].  Yet hear me clearly: Disagreement must not “lead to disunion” [“be permitted”].  And I pledge this to you: I will be a President for all “Americans” [“loyal Party members and the Establishment”].  I will “fight as hard for” [“attack and punish”] those who did not support me “as for” [“and reward”] those who did.  Many centuries ago, Saint Augustine, a saint of my church, wrote that a people was a multitude defined by the common objects of their love.  What are the common objects we “love” [“accept”] that define us as “Americans” [“robots”]?  I think I know.  “Opportunity” [Obedience”], “security” [“silencing”],  “liberty” [“imprisonment”],  “dignity” [bankruptcy”],  “respect” [“ridicule”], “honor” [“demonization”].  And, yes, the “truth” [“propaganda”].

Recent weeks and months have taught us a painful lesson. There is truth and there are lies.  Lies told for power and for profit.  And each of us has a duty and responsibility, as citizens, as Americans, and especially as leaders – leaders who have pledged to “honor” [“disregard”] our Constitution and “protect” [“sacrifice”] our nation – to defend the truth and to defeat the lies.  I understand that many Americans view the future with some fear and trepidation.  I understand they worry about their jobs, about taking care of their families, about what comes next.  I get it.  But the answer is not to turn inward, to retreat into competing factions, distrusting those who don’t look like you do, or worship the way you do, or don’t get their news from the same sources you do.  We must “end” [“promote”] this “uncivil” [“civil”] war that pits red against blue, rural versus urban, “conservative” [“patriot”] versus “liberal” [“subversive”].  We can do this if we open our souls instead of hardening our hearts.  If “we” [“the other side will”] show a little tolerance and humility.  If “we’re” [“they’re”] willing to “stand” [cooperate”] in “the other person’s shoes” [“the Party’s objectives”] “just for a moment” [“permanently”].  Because here is the thing about life: There is no accounting for what fate will deal you.  There are some days when we need a hand.  There are other days when we’re called on to lend one.  That is how we must be with one another.  And, if we are this way, our country will be “stronger” [“regimented”], more “prosperous” [dangerous”], more ready for the “future” [“conquest”].

My fellow Americans, in the work ahead of us, we will need each other.  We will need all our strength to persevere through this dark winter.  We are entering what may well be the toughest and deadliest period of the virus.  We must “set aside” [“focus on”] the politics and “finally face” [“stumble through”] this pandemic as one nation.  I promise you this: as the Bible says weeping may endure for a night but joy cometh in the morning.  We will get through this, together.

The world is watching today.  So here is my message to those beyond our borders: America has been tested and we have come out stronger for it.  We will repair our alliances and “engage with” [“concede to”] the world once again.  Not to meet yesterday’s challenges, but today’s and tomorrow’s.  We will lead not merely by the example of our power but by the power of our example.  We will be a strong and trusted partner for “peace” [“negotiations”], “progress” [“concessions”], and “security” [“weakness”].  We have been through so much in this nation.  And, in my first act as President, I would like to ask you to join me in a moment of silent prayer to remember all those we lost this past year to the pandemic.  To those 400,000 fellow Americans – mothers and fathers, husbands and wives, sons and daughters, friends, neighbors, and co-workers.  We will honor them by becoming the people and nation we know we can and should be.  Let us say a silent prayer for those who lost their lives, for those they left behind, and for our country.  Amen.

This is a time of testing.  We “face” [“lead”] an attack on democracy and on truth.  A raging virus.  Growing inequity.  The sting of systemic racism.  A climate in crisis.  America’s role in the world.  Any one of these would be enough to challenge us in profound ways.  But the fact is we face them all at once, presenting this nation with the gravest of responsibilities.  Now we must step up.  All of us.  It is a time for boldness, for there is so much to do.  And, this is certain.  We will be judged, you and I, for how we resolve the cascading crises of our era.  Will we rise to the occasion?  Will we master this rare and difficult hour?  Will we meet our obligations and pass along a new and better world for our children?  I believe we must and I believe we will.  And when we do, we will write the next chapter in the American story.  It’s a story that might sound something like a song that means a lot to me.  It’s called “American Anthem” and there is one verse stands out for me:

“The work and prayers of centuries have brought us to this day

What shall be our legacy?  What will our children say?…

Let me know in my heart  When my days are through

America, America,

I gave my best to you.”

Let us add our own work and prayers to the unfolding story of our nation.  If we do this then when our days are through our children and our children’s children will say of us they gave their best.  They did their duty.  They healed a broken land.  My fellow Americans, I close today where I began, with a sacred oath.

Before “God” [“Marx”] and all of you I give you my word.  I will always “level with” [“lie to”] “you” [“those who oppose the Party”].  I will “defend” [“abolish”] the Constitution.  I will defend our “democracy” [“socialist revolution”].  I will “defend” [“hate”] America.  I will give my all in your service thinking “not” [“only”] of power, “but” [“and”] of “possibilities” [“greater power”].  “Not” [Certainly”] of personal interest, “but” [“out”] of the public “good” [coffers”].  And together, we shall write an American story of “hope” [“pessimism”], not “fear” [“confidence”]: of unity, not division; of “light” [“power”], not “darkness” [“freedom”]; an “American” [“socialist”] story of “decency and dignity” [“decay and discrimination”]; of “love and of healing” [“hatred and revenge”]; of “greatness and of goodness” [“mediocrity and stalemate”].  May this be the story that guides us, the story that inspires us; the story that tells ages yet to come that we answered the call of history.  We met the moment.

That democracy and hope, truth and justice, “did not die” [“croaked”] on our watch “but thrived” [“completely”].  That our “America” [revolution”] secured “liberty” [“control”] at home and stood “once again” [“for the first time”] as “an beacon” [“an example”] to “the world” [“socialists everywhere”].  That is what we owe our forebears, one another, and generations to follow.  So, with purpose and resolve we turn to the tasks of our time: sustained by faith, driven by conviction; and, devoted to one another and to this country we “love” [“hate]” with all our hearts.  May God bless America and may God protect our troops.

Thank you, America.

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The Errors of Sean Hannity, 14 Dec 2020

ErrorsOfSeanHannity_20201214   <– PDF

Mr. Hannity’s monologue tonight was very interesting, as he reviewed the role of the mainstream media in several disgraceful escapades over the past few years:

  1. The false story about collusion between the Donald Trump campaign and Russia in 2016;
  2. The false basis upon which Mr. Trump was impeached in regard to Joe Biden’s quid pro quo corruption adventures in Ukraine;
  3. The failure to report on Hunter Biden’s tax problems and money-laundering accusations prior to the election;
  4. The failure to ask Joe Biden any relevant questions during the campaign (except for the particularly penetrating one in which he was asked what flavor ice cream he bought);
  5. The failure to vet either Joe Biden or Kamala Harris as to their positions on relevant issues.

That was all well and good, but then Mr. Hannity showed a collage of CNN and MSNBC Democratic operatives earlier in the year downplaying the possibility of a vaccine for the Wuhan virus before the end of 2020; all of them claimed that Donald Trump was delusional.  The vaccine began distribution and inoculations today (14 Dec 2020).  But that was where Mr. Hannity went wrong: he forgot to point out that the mainstream media, ignorant and arrogant as they are, can never allow themselves to be proven wrong.  He failed to anticipate the mainstream media’s next lines of attack against Donald Trump:

  1. “The vaccine doesn’t work.” Their “proof” will be to point out that the number of cases will continue to rise over the next few months. (Of course they will: the entire nation cannot be vaccinated all at once.)
  2. That Donald Trump used unfair trade practices in favor of Pfizer and Moderna to get the vaccine developed. To do so, they will enlist some Democratic Party hack who claims to know a guy who knows a guy who once worked at Pfizer as a security guard.
  3. That Donald Trump used political threats to intimidate the FDA into approving the vaccine for use. As evidence, they will bring on the same guests as before, the ones that said a vaccine couldn’t be developed in less than five years. They will use the new party lines:
  4. “You can’t have a vaccine in less than five years unless you want one that is more dangerous than the virus”.
  5. “This non-working vaccine is racist, like Donald Trump, because it doesn’t seem to work for people of color.”

Well, you get the idea.  Nothing good can or will be said by CNN, PBS, ABC, CBS, NBC, or MSNBC about either the Pfizer or Moderna vaccine; we will continue on lockdowns until the Biden administration manages to get another one approved.

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Real World Graduation, Question 99: PAC Employees

RealWorldGraduation_Question_99_PAC_Workers   <– PDF

Many members of Congress hire their spouses or other relatives to work on their permanent campaign staff or political action committees [1].   These people are paid by either the campaign funds or from contributions made to the political action committees.  It is not necessary that the relatives, as employees, perform any particular task as part of their employment.  It is legal for members of Congress to put relatives on their payroll for these jobs, but in what ways might it be considered unethical or immoral?

a) If it’s legal, then it cannot be unethical or immoral, so this question is irrelevant.

b) It constitutes nepotism, in which family members get special treatment (good paying jobs) simply for being relatives.

c) It is possible that the relatives are no-shows, simply being paid as a means to enhance the family income without actual work being performed.

d) It is possible that the family member is less qualified than other people to perform these tasks, so the organization is not getting the best talent for the money.

e) Some combination of b), c), and d).

[1]   Dick Morris and Eileen McGann, Outrage, New York: HarperCollins Publishers, 2007, pp. 111-115

(The answer is on p. 2 of the PDF.)

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