Another one bites the dust. Bob Barker, at 99.

This is not the norm unless you are a narcissist. — L'éléphant

Yeah, I think that’s nonsense. A feeling that you’re unique or important in some way is hardly narcissism. If that’s true, we’re all narcissists, because it’s a psychological truism.

https://twitter.com/RepMTG/status/1694849434062877177?s=20

Lol

MUG-SHOT: Trump Capitalizes on Jail Photo With T-Shirts, Mugs, and Bumper Stickers

Imagine the kind of dupe you have to be to buy this crap. :lol:

Anyway— the hope from his cult is that this will be the “biggest thing ever,” and will lead to him winning. It won’t. It’ll last about a week, die down like everything else, and be forgotten by the public. Most people think he should be convicted anyway.

We were told for two years how badly the democrats were gonna be wiped out by the Republican “red wave” …same kind of wishful thinking here I guess.

Voting is a virtue of our democracy and randomizing officials rather than electing them would undermine the democratic process, preventing citizens from voting according to what they think is best. If you take away voting, you severely curtail the ability of people to participate in the political process and you disconnect politics from the will of the people. — NotAristotle

The article argues against this point.

People expect leaders chosen at random to be less effective than those picked systematically. But in multiple experiments led by the psychologist Alexander Haslam, the opposite held true. Groups actually made smarter decisions when leaders were chosen at random than when they were elected by a group or chosen based on leadership skill.

Why were randomly chosen leaders more effective? They led more democratically. “Systematically selected leaders can undermine group goals,” Dr. Haslam and his colleagues suggest, because they have a tendency to “assert their personal superiority.” When you’re anointed by the group, it can quickly go to your head: I’m the chosen one.

That is sad.

Deniers will always deny, but so what? — Wayfarer

:up:

Lock him up! Lock him up!

Did you make it up (kudos if you did) or is it in common usage? — BC

It’s common usage, at least among people in New Hampshire. I wear it with pride.

I was just checking and it says that town meeting members in those cases are elected, not chosen by lottery, so I was wrong. — T Clark

Too bad— I’d like to see how/if it works somewhere closer to home.

So this thread is now a message board for climate deniers to post whatever “thoughts” pop into their heads. :yawn:

My primary concern is that a non-expert might not make good decisions concerning a policy. My related concern is that an extremist would make decisions inconsistent with the majority. — NotAristotle

But that’s happening already. Trump was hardly an expert in anything, and pretty extreme.

Take a look at the republican candidates. Good lord. Politics is almost like survival of the dumbest.

Towns are governed by a Board of Selectmen and a Town Meeting. — T Clark

Yeah I know. I’m a Masshole at heart, having lived there most of my life. Similar structures here in NH. But are any of them selected by sortition?

In some larger towns that becomes unwieldy so they started using representative town meetings with members selected by lottery from a pool of applicants. — T Clark

Interesting. I wasn’t aware of this. Do you happen to know which towns?



Well the civics exam is supposed to be a kind of filter, I guess. I share your concerns though. Still intriguing.



But none of this was by sortition, right?

Presumption of innocence. Plenty of that going on with Hunter Biden, and Hillary Clinton prior (“lock her up”) from the MAGA base. So they feel entitled to lecture others about it. No hypocrisy to see here.

:clap:

You mean you don’t want to get lectured about the basic physics of CO2 from a physics professor internet rando?

I applaud your patience and explanations.

What’s frustrating is that most of this could be avoided if we just say to ourselves “Maybe when thousands of scientists around the world tell us that methane emissions from livestock are a problem, we should take that seriously.”

I think Desantis looked awful in this farce. Vivek was much more in-your-face, but really obnoxious. Christie looked OK but was loudly booed and didn’t get much time. Haley and Scott were bores. Pence did OK, for Pence. Although he’s about as exciting as cardboard.

That’s exactly what was said as well! I think Burnham raised that point— that we get our batteries and EVs from China manufacturing. It’s just a joke.

Haley:

“Is climate change real?” she said. “Yes, it is. But if you want to go and really change the environment, then we need to start telling China and India that they have to lower their emissions.”

Asked to raise their hands if the candidates believe climate change is human behavior driven, no one did so…it was interrupted by Desantis, who seemed to be somewhat panicked about the question.

I see their new fossil fuel-approved slogan is “China and India need to reduce their emissions FIRST.”

Anyone watching this debate?

Jesus…

:yawn:

Yeah, because of the two of us, I’m definitely the ignorant one. Now tell us more about how cattle don’t contribute to global warming…

Another enlightening conversation for the record books.

Yeah, I’m beginning to see the pattern. If Trump or republicans do it, it’s fine. Unless the changes lead to democrats winning…then it’s election interference…from Republicans…or Biden suppressing votes…even though he wasn’t in office…

No, I guess I don’t get it.

It’s almost as if all of it is a bunch of bullshit. :chin:

After dangling the possibility of restarting the U.S. economy by Easter, Trump now says keeping deaths to 100,000 would be a ‘very good job.’

From Praxis’s link. I laughed out loud at “very good job.”

The appropriate response to such a level of stupidity.

List of changes in 2020:

https://ballotpedia.org/Changes_to_election_dates,_procedures,_and_administration_in_response_to_the_coronavirus_(COVID-19)_pandemic,_2020

Mostly minor extensions of deadlines and early voting/mail voting. Including in DNC-controlled, liberal bastions like Texas, Louisiana, Alabama, Florida, Tennessee, Kentucky, and Montana.

Or in NOS’s world: massive, sinister liberal election interference.

In NOS’s defense, there was a big push to suppress voting. It was done by the Republican parties in several states.

Trump was such a terrible president that people voted him out anyway, in spite of Republican interference and lies. I realize this must really be frustrating to the cult.

More people got to vote in 2020.

Trump wins? Democracy in action.
Biden wins? Fraud! Election interference.

Hey I just like to meet the person on their level.

Changing election laws to allow more people to vote during a pandemic. Election fraud. Why? It favored one party— and we know that because Biden won.

:up:

Yeah, I figured that one would irritate you. Must be frustrating times for the Trump cult.

Sorry for piling on. But it’s just so hilarious.

His countless efforts to root out fraud — NOS4A2

:rofl:

I couldn’t write better jokes.

But I am cynical and don't believe that people will do what is required. The reasons include […] ignorance, — Agree to Disagree

Without any awareness of irony.

Methane emissions do accumulate and are accumulating. The graph is pretty easy to understand.

We don’t want them staying the same— we want them to decrease. Same as CO2.

The rest is just talking out our asses.

methane emissions do NOT accumulate].

Yes they do, and are.



Even staying at a constant level for “12 years” is hugely problematic. We need to decrease emissions, not keep them the same and not increase them.

Try reading something other than one guy from the meat industry.

A constant number of cows produces a constant amount of methane each year. Because methane has a finite lifetime (about 12 years) this means that the total amount of methane in the atmosphere from cows is constant. — Agree to Disagree

No it doesn’t.

The 2022 methane increase was 14.0 ppb, the fourth-largest annual increase recorded since NOAA's systematic measurements began in 1983, and follows record …

Emissions are going up. Cows and livestock contribute emissions. They contribute about 15% globally.

We need more sustainable agricultural and livestock production, which includes less production.

In 12 years, all the methane will be gone, since this year we’ve completely eliminated cows. Problem solved.

—

Cows— livestock, agriculture, etc., emit greenhouse gases. That contributes to warming the planet. It’s that simple.

It doesn’t matter if the methane disappears in 12 years— it doesn’t matter if the CO2 will disappear in 100 years.

Biogenic carbon (e.g. CO2 and methane) does not make global warming worse. — Agree to Disagree

It absolutely does.

This is why we should be making major efforts to reduce non-biogenic carbon (this will be effective), — Agree to Disagree

But there are no solutions, remember?

“Tell me a solution and I’ll shoot it down.”

Well with Trump not at the debate, the candidates can talk about REAL issues. The big ones. Like wokeness, critical race theory, trans people, our “depleted” military, and “open borders.”

One tries to engage, but eventually one reaches the outer limits of denialism. 12 years too short, 12 million years too long, but if you look at it just so - no worries. Have a great death! — unenlightened

But…Biogenic carbon cycle?

Or do you still have something stupid to say? — Mikie

Are you saying that young people (with little life experience) usually have more intelligence, wisdom, and knowledge than older people? — Agree to Disagree

I guess you did have something stupid left to say. Cool.

Intelligence, wisdom, knowledge doesn’t correlate with age, nor degrees. You’re a prime example.

Like I said, let the adults talk. Go back to reading meat industry propaganda. Or do you still have something stupid to say?

If you have nothing left to add, let the adults talk.

I look forward to your next climate denial trope, as myself and several others repeat the “propaganda” from…checking notes… 99% of the climate scientists.

For those playing the bingo:

- climate science is propaganda

- scientists have “cried wolf” for decades

- scientists were warning about a coming “ice age” in the 70s, so…you know, why take them seriously now?

- there’s nothing that can be done about climate change. Name a solution and I’ll shoot it down with cheap skepticism.

- livestock aren’t a problem because…” biogenic carbon cycle.”

- scientists have “hidden” data on temperatures

Etc.

But I’m not a denier.