Suppose someone accuses me of being a pickpocket. I respond, “I have picked no pockets, therefore I am not a pickpocket.” My accuser could naturally retort, “Oh yes you are, I have video evidence of you picking pockets on three separate occasions.” What would you think, though, if my accuser instead declared, “There’s a lot of pickpocketing in the world. You’ve personally done nothing to stop it. That makes you a pickpocket!”
Tag: evidence
Instead of Prosecuting Trump, Give Him the OJ Treatment
The Goldmans won their case on a “preponderance of evidence” standard rather than “proof beyond a reasonable doubt.” In Trump’s case, there is no reasonable doubt: He’s on the hook for billions.
Yes, the Election Was Rigged. No, Not Like That.
It wasn’t rigged to benefit a particular person. It was rigged to preserve a system: The post-World-War-Two, military-industrial complex-centered “consensus” system.
COVID-19 Lockdowns: Liberty and Science
The Chinese Coronavirus (COVID-19) hit American shores — officially, anyway, there is significant evidence that it arrived earlier — in late January 2020. The American public was then told that a two-week shutdown of the economy would “flatten the curve,” relieving the pressure on hospital intensive care units and saving lives in the long run. The average American, including conservatives,…
Diet Pills and Persistent Error in Health and Science
Earlier this year, I was doing a deep dive into virology. Coincidentally, this was before Covid, in effort to solve my own health-related problems and mysteries. I had the same experience I’ve had when I went deeper into any field. A realization that nobody in the field knows what the hell is going on.
Life-Years Lost: The Quantity and The Quality
A few weeks ago, the NYT reported that “The Coronavirus Has Claimed 2.5 Million Years of Potential Life.” If you read the original study, you’ll discover one crucial caveat: The authors’s calculations assume that COVID victims would have had the standard life expectancy for Americans of their age. They freely admit that this is unrealistic and inflates their estimate.
Absurd Thanksgiving Guidelines Reveal an Astonishing Level of Government Overreach
When we get to the point where individuals find it “natural” for the government to tell us how to take turns eating our Thanksgiving turkey, a pandemic is the least of our concerns.
Wretched Refuse? vs. Ominous Speculation
An army of immigration skeptics warn that mass immigration paves the road to socialism and tyranny. When they express these fears, they almost always find a receptive audience. Even thinkers inclined to favor immigration often get cold feet when they visualize the new arrivals’ broader political effects.
Harvard Researchers: Nearly Half of Young Adults Showing Signs of Depression Amid Pandemic
Mounting evidence shows that pandemic-related lockdowns and restrictions have inflicted much more harm on younger people than the coronavirus itself. A new report reveals that nearly half of 18 to 24 year-olds are “showing at least moderate depressive symptoms,” and for many the depression is severe.
“Politically Motivated”
During the Euromaidan protests, journalists routinely described Ukraine’s prosecution and imprisonment of Yulia Tymoshenko as “politically motivated.” The phrasing always struck me as odd. If she were innocent, you’d expect journalists to call the charges “trumped-up” or “false.” And this “politically motivated” meme is still going strong.* Which raises a general question: When people dismiss […]
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