A recent study looked at this issue and came to the conclusion that there are no significant differences between liberals and conservatives when it comes to their willingness to believe in conspiracy theories, and that the reason previous studies had come to contrary conclusions was due to unconscious bias on the part of the researchers, which led to their focusing primarily on conspiracy theories popular on the right while neglecting those popular on the left.
I ran into this study in an article by a popular right wing blogger that I follow. He’s a clever guy, and I’d be interested in any reactions to his take.
If you learnt at an early age, that a lot of what adults tell you is lies, then you also learn to corroborate objective truths to eliminate spurious claims. Religious spunk wombles have one thing in common…an IQ of 10…anybody with sufficient brains is telling you lies when they say that Jesus exists yada-yada…they have a monetary angle they wish to exploit…most conspiracy theories are complete balderdash…but some may be closer to the truth than the obviously ridiculous claims that flat-earthers espouse…
There are 2 kinds of people:
Those who say “I will believe it when I see it”
And those who say “ I believe it, therefore I see it”
The former exercise caution and rationality. The latter are the cause of much grief in the world.
QAnon is pretty weird, to me. But then so’s 2016 and the Russians helping T steal the election, despite Mueller. It’s like Mueller never even happened.
The other night, Hillary was saying that “2016 is a year that will live in infamy”.
At once a) denying the findings of Mueller and b) equating it with Pearl Harbour. That’s some pretty deep rooted conspiracy, right there.
(speaking here as a life-long atheist, btw).
Love JeMo Author! Enjoy your hols!
JB, the article seems to be pretty much full of holes to me.
The assassination of Caesar, by definition, is not a conspiracy ‘theory’. Maybe there’s a clue in that Cassius et al, all powerful men, are listed as ‘the conspirators’ historically and in the play. Wilkes Booth was tried along with seven others, as was Princip and both were supported by wider political movements.
To concede that it is ‘not implausible’ that these were conspiracies as a claim to some sort of balance and fair mindedness is a bit dodgy.
What a surprise that Democrats are more likely to think that those socialist bankers might be inclined to lie than are Republicans. Given recent history, today’s announcement about the prosecution of the Orange One and our recent happy times with BJ, the compulsive liar, there seems to be about as much evidence against conspiracy theory as for ‘No Men on the Moon’ and ‘Lady Di was murdered’.
I can recommend, ‘Voodoo Histories’ by David Aeronovitch which pretty effectively dismantles the more famous ones.
This is what led to the “Satanic Panic” of the ’80s and ’90s…and continuing in some forms today. Easier to believe and promote the conspiracies when they confirm and bolster your illogical faith-based belief system.
In Shropshire , with it’s village fates and scenes on a sunday morning that wouldn’t be out of place in an Agatha Christie novel featuring Miss Marple…a clerical tongue and groove story would be seen as shocking…little england indeed…
Forse, Mueller found that Russia did indeed interfere in the 2016 election “in sweeping and systemic fashion”, and broke US laws in doing so. He also found that the Trump campaign both welcomed that illegal interference and expected to benefit from it.
The report detailed plenty of evidence that there were inappropriate and illegal contacts between people working for Trump and Russians with ties to the Russian government; and that those Trump people later lied about those meetings. Among those contacts were meetings in Trump Tower. General Flynn was one of those Trump people, and pled guilty to lying about it.
The Mueller report did list all the above. But it said that they didn’t find enough evidence that the Trump campaign conspired with the Russians to influence the election. There was no finding of guilt, nor was there exoneration. The report suggested impeachment as the proper avenue for redress.
Trump pardoned General Flynn. Flynn is now a vocal advocate for the QAnon conspiracy.
Here’s how I see it. You walk into a room where there was a shelf that had held a candy bar and a vase. There’s a four-year-old boy standing there and the candy bar is lying on the floor next to the broken vase. The boy insists that he didn’t climb up to get the candy bar and didn’t break the vase. There are no witnesses. You didn’t see the “crime”. There is insufficient evidence for a court case to prove that the little boy reached for the candy and broke the vase.
But he did, and intelligent mommies everywhere know that.
Just wondering what the ayatollahs would get more hysterical about – the representation of Mo’s (avatar’s) mush or the suggestion he’s a tippler of the dark stuff.
Bunbury is in Cheshire? Nowhere near Shropshire tho it is on the Shropshire union canal? I hadn’t heard of Bunburying though it seems to be a literary thing from an author who’s works are not familiar to me….
M27Holts, it’s The Importance of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde. My brother was reading it for school when he was 20 and I was 10, and I was keen to read anything he did. I’ve also seen the play: good fun.
TS Eliot, Dylan Thomas, WB Yeats we’re great for me. But I drew the line at The History of Rasselas, Prince of Abissinia, by Samuel Johnson. That’s incredibly boring.
1. Stunned by how inadequately everyone deals with the garbage term, ‘conspiracy theory. Articles attempting analysis of it are terrible. I do have a compelling, elegant, sweeping and comprehensive simplification of the matter. However, I hold back from revealing it until I can monetize it
2. I’m here because I think like an atheist, but reading these comments would be more enjoyable if there was less ad hominem… [not towards commenters, but of the main characters]
Jesus & Mo (the characters) are absurd, blinkered, and oddly very sweet. J&M (the cartoon) is brilliant: sharp, delicious, irresistible. Salman Rushdie
Jesus and Mo cartoons are wonderfully funny and true. Richard Dawkins
Jesus and Mo make the world a better place, bless their little hearts. Ophelia Benson
In a world defined by outrage and offence and liberal spinelessness, Jesus and Mo is a treasure, whose value we should never fail to recognize. Read them. Laugh. And think. Kenan Malik
The brilliant, celebrated, freaking hilarious atheist comic strip ... Greta Christina
...rays of sanity in a befuddled world. Keri Hulme
The liveliest depictions of Muhammad currently available... Malise Ruthven
J & Mo is the funniest and most consistently thought-provoking cartoon strip on the Net. In a saner world, it would run in a major newspaper. Nelson Jones, Heresy Corner
Consistently amusing, frequently thought-provoking and often heart-warming. New Humanist
Jesus & Mo is one of the most wonderful things on the internet.. JT Eberhard
Wittily captures much of the absurdity of religious apologetics. Mano Singham
I love jesusandmo.net cartoons - witty and sharp! Katha Pollitt
Often hilarious, frequently wry, these cartoons do what all the best cartoons do: they tell the truth through humour. Terry Sanderson, NSS President
...a wonderfully acid British cartoonist... Nick Cohen
I love the scrappy mockery of Jesus and Mo. Freedom of speech
includes the freedom to mock any person, any thing, any activity, and
any belief -- and J&M stands up for this unflinchingly Richard Stallman
...empowering, important and deeply progressive, not to mention hilarious... Council of Ex-Muslims
August 21, 2006
It’s easier to believe in other fairy tales when you already believe in one of them.
Those Guinness beers look dangerously poised to fall! Then we’ll have a real new world order in the duo’s living room.
Conspiracy throries all dovetail into a larger all encompassing conspiracy…..
A recent study looked at this issue and came to the conclusion that there are no significant differences between liberals and conservatives when it comes to their willingness to believe in conspiracy theories, and that the reason previous studies had come to contrary conclusions was due to unconscious bias on the part of the researchers, which led to their focusing primarily on conspiracy theories popular on the right while neglecting those popular on the left.
I ran into this study in an article by a popular right wing blogger that I follow. He’s a clever guy, and I’d be interested in any reactions to his take.
Religion a conspiracy theory. Satan is the bad guy, and Jesus ( or Yahweh or Allah) has a plan to keep you safe.
If only there was some kind of instruction book, so one could read what is right and true as opposed to the usual drivel from other religious nuts.
Am I doing this right so far, Author? 😉
If you learnt at an early age, that a lot of what adults tell you is lies, then you also learn to corroborate objective truths to eliminate spurious claims. Religious spunk wombles have one thing in common…an IQ of 10…anybody with sufficient brains is telling you lies when they say that Jesus exists yada-yada…they have a monetary angle they wish to exploit…most conspiracy theories are complete balderdash…but some may be closer to the truth than the obviously ridiculous claims that flat-earthers espouse…
There are 2 kinds of people:
Those who say “I will believe it when I see it”
And those who say “ I believe it, therefore I see it”
The former exercise caution and rationality. The latter are the cause of much grief in the world.
Aye. Good one. Though I thought it was people with loaded guns and those who dig?
QAnon is pretty weird, to me. But then so’s 2016 and the Russians helping T steal the election, despite Mueller. It’s like Mueller never even happened.
The other night, Hillary was saying that “2016 is a year that will live in infamy”.
At once a) denying the findings of Mueller and b) equating it with Pearl Harbour. That’s some pretty deep rooted conspiracy, right there.
(speaking here as a life-long atheist, btw).
Love JeMo Author! Enjoy your hols!
or is this what THEY want you to think
Just because you’re paranoid doesn’t mean the bastards haven’t got it in for you!
JB, the article seems to be pretty much full of holes to me.
The assassination of Caesar, by definition, is not a conspiracy ‘theory’. Maybe there’s a clue in that Cassius et al, all powerful men, are listed as ‘the conspirators’ historically and in the play. Wilkes Booth was tried along with seven others, as was Princip and both were supported by wider political movements.
To concede that it is ‘not implausible’ that these were conspiracies as a claim to some sort of balance and fair mindedness is a bit dodgy.
What a surprise that Democrats are more likely to think that those socialist bankers might be inclined to lie than are Republicans. Given recent history, today’s announcement about the prosecution of the Orange One and our recent happy times with BJ, the compulsive liar, there seems to be about as much evidence against conspiracy theory as for ‘No Men on the Moon’ and ‘Lady Di was murdered’.
I can recommend, ‘Voodoo Histories’ by David Aeronovitch which pretty effectively dismantles the more famous ones.
This is what led to the “Satanic Panic” of the ’80s and ’90s…and continuing in some forms today. Easier to believe and promote the conspiracies when they confirm and bolster your illogical faith-based belief system.
The C of E permits clergy to be in same-sex relationships as long as they are celibate.
How considerate.
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/sep/22/church-of-england-bars-desmond-tutus-daughter-from-officiating-at-funeral
In Shropshire , with it’s village fates and scenes on a sunday morning that wouldn’t be out of place in an Agatha Christie novel featuring Miss Marple…a clerical tongue and groove story would be seen as shocking…little england indeed…
I’ve heard that Shropshire is a good place for Bunburying. I say that in all Earnestness.
Guinness in a CAN?!? HERESY!!!
Forse, Mueller found that Russia did indeed interfere in the 2016 election “in sweeping and systemic fashion”, and broke US laws in doing so. He also found that the Trump campaign both welcomed that illegal interference and expected to benefit from it.
The report detailed plenty of evidence that there were inappropriate and illegal contacts between people working for Trump and Russians with ties to the Russian government; and that those Trump people later lied about those meetings. Among those contacts were meetings in Trump Tower. General Flynn was one of those Trump people, and pled guilty to lying about it.
The Mueller report did list all the above. But it said that they didn’t find enough evidence that the Trump campaign conspired with the Russians to influence the election. There was no finding of guilt, nor was there exoneration. The report suggested impeachment as the proper avenue for redress.
Trump pardoned General Flynn. Flynn is now a vocal advocate for the QAnon conspiracy.
The Wikipedia article on it is a good summary: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mueller_report
Here’s how I see it. You walk into a room where there was a shelf that had held a candy bar and a vase. There’s a four-year-old boy standing there and the candy bar is lying on the floor next to the broken vase. The boy insists that he didn’t climb up to get the candy bar and didn’t break the vase. There are no witnesses. You didn’t see the “crime”. There is insufficient evidence for a court case to prove that the little boy reached for the candy and broke the vase.
But he did, and intelligent mommies everywhere know that.
Just wondering what the ayatollahs would get more hysterical about – the representation of Mo’s (avatar’s) mush or the suggestion he’s a tippler of the dark stuff.
Troubleshooter: Guinness has been available in cans for as long as I can remember. BTW I’m in my eighties.
Aye. But proper cask guinness in Ireland is several magnitudes superior to the keg and can stuff in blighty…
Must be due to the giant musky ponies over there doing the heavy hauling.
Bunbury is in Cheshire? Nowhere near Shropshire tho it is on the Shropshire union canal? I hadn’t heard of Bunburying though it seems to be a literary thing from an author who’s works are not familiar to me….
M27Holts, it’s The Importance of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde. My brother was reading it for school when he was 20 and I was 10, and I was keen to read anything he did. I’ve also seen the play: good fun.
TS Eliot, Dylan Thomas, WB Yeats we’re great for me. But I drew the line at The History of Rasselas, Prince of Abissinia, by Samuel Johnson. That’s incredibly boring.
1. Stunned by how inadequately everyone deals with the garbage term, ‘conspiracy theory. Articles attempting analysis of it are terrible. I do have a compelling, elegant, sweeping and comprehensive simplification of the matter. However, I hold back from revealing it until I can monetize it
2. I’m here because I think like an atheist, but reading these comments would be more enjoyable if there was less ad hominem… [not towards commenters, but of the main characters]