Chopstork

The Washington Post just printed an article dubbed “The Power of Political Misinformation”.  I found this article ironic and depressing.

I found it ironic because *perhaps* the last third of an article about the power of misinformation is misinformation itself.  Of course being a sissy liberal, I am predisposed to take these printed words as correct.  Ironic indeed.

“…a series of new experiments show that misinformation can exercise a ghostly influence on people’s minds after it has been debunked — even among people who recognize it as misinformation.   In some cases, correcting misinformation serves to increase the power of bad information.”

“…a paper approaching publication…[suggests] that Republicans might be especially prone to the backfire effect because conservatives may have more rigid views than liberals: Upon hearing a refutation, conservatives might “argue back” against the refutation in their minds, thereby strengthening their belief in the misinformation.  [Researchers] did not see the same “backfire effect” when liberals were given misinformation and a refutation about the Bush administration’s stance on stem cell research.”

I found it depressing because if this article is accurate, then it is just one more reason why our public discourse and debate is so abysmal and dysfunctional.  I am tired of distractions such as flag lapels, bridges to nowhere, and secret Muslims running for office.   Instead, give me spirited debate on real issues such as off-shore drilling, health care, taxes, the economy, terrorism, climate change, and education.   I am tired of one-issue politics such as abortion, gun control, global warming, and Creationism in public schools.   These are all important issues, but we should *not* take them so fundamentally that we sacrifice other equally important problems and lose sight of the greater contexts.

Unfortunately, too many Liberal *and* Conservative Americans alike have been displaced by the “creative destruction” of our economy, culture, and technology.  Unfortunately, too many of the Displaced have turned to fundamentalism for solace, simplicity, and identity.  Unfortunately, too many politicians, pundits, and preachers are more than happy to exploit and encourage the fundamentalism of the Displaced in self-serving so called “culture wars”.

Anyway, as pointed out in an article by the Economist this sordid affair is mostly the Republican’s fault.

“In the past two weeks, while banks have tottered and markets reeled, the contending Democrats and Republicans have squabbled and lied rather than debated.  Mr. McCain’s team has been nastier, accusing Mr. Obama of sexism for calling the Republican vice-presidential candidate a pig, when he clearly did no such thing. Much nastier has been the assertion that Mr. Obama once backed a bill that would give kindergarten children comprehensive sex education. Again, this was a distortion: the bill Mr. Obama backed provided for age-appropriate sex education, and was intended to protect children from sex offenders.”

Now we have learned that the very debunking of these slurs by a fiscally conservative publication may actually reinforce them.

Depressing, ironic, and dysfunctional indeed.

After years of hard work and tireless effort, I am pleased to hear that my former employeer has blocked Chopstork. This is a sure sign that Chopstork has hit the mainstream.

Pretty cool.  Details here.

UPDATE:

How much would you pay to fly AJ out for B2B: $25, $50?  Let me know ASAP if you’re in! ***Um, that’s a good question. Let’s see….

The meeting place:

We will meet at the corner of 3rd St. and Howard St. at 8:15 am Sunday to join the “race”. Note this is not the official starting area. Make sure you have a couple cell phone numbers to find people in case you’re late or things don’t go as planned. If you need my number, email me. Alternatively, feel free to come up the night before and spend the night, or come to our place early Sunday and take the MUNI light rail to the race with us. We will leave our place no later than 7:45am to catch a train from the Van Ness Station to the Montgomery Station. See Googe Transit for details and other travel options.

Getting stuff together:

We’ll be fixing up the carts (a milk carton and a breakfast table) starting Saturday at noon at Courtney’s Place in Noe Valley. Maybe we’ll put some food together (aka order take out from Eric’s) Saturday if you wanna come over. Oh, and we’ll need to test and mix up batches of “breakfest juice” and “milk”. Give me a call or shoot me an email if you plan on coming over to help out.

Also:

By the way, bring beer and snacks. Do not bring glass bottles or coolers (won’t fit in the cart).

I found this one while perusing Flickr. Very Humorous…

Check out photos from the Library of Congress on Flickr Commons (Nice bench shot of Dolores Park).

If you’re like me (and I always assume that you are), then you’ve probably been disappointed by clicking in-vain on one of the random and tantalizing thumbnails displayed within the Chopstork Banner above. Fortunately, my flight to Seattle was delayed by 3+ hours, so I had some time on my hands to add some new fancy features to the banner. Go ahead…hover on a thumbnail. Go ahead…click on a thumbnail. Glorious.

I’ve tested the new fanciness in FF, Safari, IE7, and Opera, but please let me know if things don’t look right (screen shots are helpful).

Toggle the full screen button. You’re going to want to see this LARGE. Also, definitely checkout TED.

Here’s a cool animation of the Imperial History of the Middle East. See others at www.mapsofwar.com.