Chamblee54

PG talked on the phone to his friend Bradley. The two go back to eighth grade, and share a common world view. Here are a few of the items.
1- Global warming was discussed. Bradley is disposed to reading scientific stuff, and feels that a lot of the agw hype is overblown. This is not the same as saying it is disproven. As PG points out, there is a difference between prove and indicate.
PG considers the role Al Gore plays in this drama. What better person to present the information, if you want to not believe it…or, if you have a vested interest in the status quo? You choose for the movement posterboi a nerdy politician who is perceived as liberal. Immediately, the right wing is going to doubt what is said, because Al Gore is saying it. The carbon industries have a lot of influence over our government, and this suits their needs.
2-The Detroit underwear bomber drifted into the picture. A comment was made that our side always seems to catch the low lying fruit. Or in this case, fruit of the loom.
3- Bradley did not know that Ayn Rand was a speed freak, who got her pen name from a typewriter.
PG has heard stories about affairs with younger men, but cannot remember the details.
4- There was a man walking down the street with a bottle. Bradley was glad he was cutting wood, and had an axe. No, that was not a bottle, but an artillery Bible. The man was looking to save a soul. Bradley noted that slavery is mentioned several times in that text, and is never criticized. The man with the artillery Bible did not have an answer.
PG has heard several times that the Bible was used to defend slavery, but has never seen any examples. This might be a good reason to do an urban myth check.
5-Something that is not an urban myth is the Dunning-Kruger effect. This is where the neophytes think they are experts, and those who know a lot are humbled by how much they don’t know. This is a serious problem with newly saved Jesus Worshipers. It is also a problem with people who want to discuss the Dunning-Kruger effect, but cannot remember the names of the academics. No Freddie Kruger jokes were told.
6- One difference between liberals and conservatives is that one group is more open to novel thinking. PG observed that they might be more open to reading novels as well.
The ability to read, and to enjoy reading, makes a big difference. The high rates of illiteracy in Afghanistan were noted, with amazement that those people are considered a threat to the United States.
7- Why is Cuba still a communist country? Maybe the rest of the Caribbean is overdeveloped, and does not want to competition. Maybe there are advantages to the American Government, and it’s less than honorable associates, in having an outlaw state so close to our borders. And why do we have a gulag at Guantanamo Bay?
8- And so it goes. Attorneys are frequently incompetent, with the protection of the Supreme Court. The government is still trying the things that don’t work, often in homage to Ayn Rand. People seek out the information on the internet that reinforces what they already believe. Cell phone batteries do not last as long as a land line power supply. The pictures used here are from the ” Special Collections and Archives,Georgia State University Library”.