I'm miffed. According to the bombastic (and lying and apparently highly insecure) Alex Jones, Democrats had planned to launch a civil was in the U.S. on July 4, 2018. Previously, Mr. Conspiracy Theory had told his minions that they should start a war on liberals.

If this is true, why has no one notified me, and appointed me supreme commander of the Democratic troops, especially with my long anti-war and pro-environment experience?

This war stuff must have been some sort of rumor. Loud noises yesterday (mostly after dusk) were from fireworks, not firearms.

A question for Mr. Jones: Uh, what do you tell the folks whom you must have convinced of the Rapture-- you know, those poor, dumb schmucks who are still waiting to be airlifted to Never Never Land (emphasis on Never Never, as in, it ain't happening, you morons), leaving their fellow human beings behind?

Jones apparently loves conspiracy theories, seemingly to the point of starting his own-- lots of his own. One link lists 45 of his failed predictions. Make it 46.

Bsically, he seems to love scaring people into accepting his loudmouthed attacks on decency.

He also loves to work his followers into a lather by making shocking predictions, of the sort that would embarrass any Madison Avenue advertising tycoon.

Another question to Mr. Jones: what are you hiding?

Most folks who snarl and bellow (Joe Arpaio and Rudy Giuliani, for example) look as though they have something to hide, to the point of all but screaming that they have something to hide. We know what, among other things, Rudy has been hiding-- his ineptness with, and hate for, women. What is Joe hiding? What is Alex hiding? They snarl too much, as if to use that snarling to hide something truly despicable in their personalities or backgrounds.

Maybe Jones is hiding a family history of swindlers, much like that of Donald Trump. But, hey, we really must hand it to Trump. Who else has been sued some 3,500 times, without much, if any, result; who has been accused by multiple women of objectifying and even assaulting (raping) them; and what President (or, in this case White House liar-in-chief) has skated on showing his tax returns?

Yeah, you have to love that Teflon suit.

Maybe Jones is simply trying to hide possibly having at least one authoritarian adult in his young life. Studies have shown that authoritarian parents often produce (jeez, who would have thought) maladjusted kids, with social problems.

Of course, it's obvious to most students of politics that Jones is hiding a terrible lack of knowledge regarding the U.S. Constitution, and its Bill of Rights. Wake up, Jonsey, ever hear of the First Amendment-- Freedom of Speech? It's for all of us, not just bellowing conspiracy theorists. Right now, I'm exercising that right, you moronic twit. We're not simply allowed to blare the fact that Trump is a dangerous, cowardly, corrupt, treasonous, anti-everything-good creep; but we're duty-bound to protect our fellow Americans and our fascist-bound society from his (and your) hateful ways.

So, really, what we liberals and progressives must do, is start a war on Alex Jones and his loudmouth whimper-alikes-- not a violent war, but one to show what a conceited, lying bimbo he is, and to learn what he's hiding (besides his obvious ignorance of the Constitution), and let the world (especially his knee-jerk supporters) know.

Why does Jones hate Democrats? Possibly because Democrats (especially real progressives) believe in such nonsense as clean air, clean water, and food that doesn't poison us, our friends, relatives and the rest of humanity with industrial pesticides. We believe in being responsible for one's actions, especially those that might negatively impact others. We believe that morality goes far, far, beyond sex, and really does not include sex (What two adults do--generally behind closed doors--is their business, and no one else's). We believe in the Golden Rule. We believe that windmills and solar panels should replace fossil and nuclear fuels, that workers deserve jobs that are not death sentences. Ooh, maybe he hates us because we also don't like that fossil and nuclear fuel production and use, expose innocent people (workers and many others) to premature and horrible deaths, poisons everyone's air and water, and rapes our land, while forcing taxpayers to subsidize the billionaires who are killing us. Maybe Jones has a problem accepting truth.

We believe in universal truths, such as people's right to good health. We believe in science. Maybe Jones has caught on that we don't like the immense externalized costs associated with the coal, oil, gas, chemical and nuclear (among other) industries-- you know, those costs that allow really bad people (too nice a term) to become billionaires, while having enough surplus jack in their wallets to buy off many elected and appointed officials. Ooh again, maybe he hates us because we want all private money out of politics, so criminal corporate CEOs can't buy their way into killing us. We believe quite simply, that people shouldn't put their mouths where their money is.

Ooh, yet again, maybe, like most hateful people, Jones really hates himself, just like his fearful leader, Donald Trump.

I'm not blowing smoke. According to a study conducted by Gwen Dewar, P.h.D., "kids from authoritarian families are less resourceful, less socially-adept, and more likely to become involved in bullying."

Researchers cite "mounting evidence that heavy-handed tactics make kids worse.

When kids misbehave, it might seem tempting to enforce good behavior through threats, harsh punishments, and other forms of psychological control. But research suggests these tactics don't result in long-term behavioral improvements.

On the contrary," says the research, they seem to make things worse.

For instance, let's consider what psychologists call "externalizing behavior problems" -- disruptive, aggressive, defiant, or anti-social conduct. If authoritarian disciplinary tactics work, we should expect them to lead to fewer such behavior problems as children get older. 

But, the research continues, "that isn't what we observe when we track children's development." In a recent meta-analysis of more than 1400 published studies, Martin Pinquart found that harsh control and psychological control were actually the biggest predictors of worsening behavior problems over time (Pinquart 2017)."

Kids subjected to these authoritarian tactics at one time point tended to develop more externalizing behavior problems at later time points.

What about other types of misbehavior? Like adolescent alcohol use? Once again, the most current evidence suggests that kids with authoritarian parents are more, not less, likely to use and abuse alcohol (Glozah 2014; Calafat et al 2014). Kids from authoritarian families may find it more difficult to fend for themselves and make friends. And they are at higher risk for involvement in bullying -- both as perpetrators and as victims."

Regarding Jones's loudmouthed prediction that we were launching a civil war, here's another question for Mr. Conspiracy Theory:

What time was that to happen? Could it be that we failed to begin an insurrection because my official NRA alarm clock, set to go off with a twenty-one rifle salute, somehow failed? Maybe we all slept through our supposed insurrection.

Critical Thinking for Dummies

Hey folks, this blog title sounds insulting, but I have no intention of scaring off all three or so folks who follow this stuff. It's nothing more than an attention-getter. That said, do you ever wonder who creates the titles and content for many of the e-mail pleas sent us by the dozens?

An example: You've received e-mails imploring us to sign petitions to protect bees, and other pollinators, from pesticides. Anyone who follows the Neanderthals in the so-called human races, knows that these folks commonly respond to such pleas as, "You only care about the bees (or whales, porpoises, trees, or whatever the e-mail is urging us to save). You don't care about people." These folks don't care much about people (except for themselves), but they have a point.

More than once, I've replied to these e-mails (after signing the petition) that they'd get more traction in their efforts by urging us to think about chemical factory workers, farm workers, farm families, and those who use water that has been poisoned by these chemicals. In other words, talk about real human beings. I've urged them to target their e-mails to those who might find it more important to save people than pollinators. Sure, we must prevent pollinators from dying, but guess how much any pollination will help if many of us die from these chemicals, too? You have it-- damn little.

Here's another point that no one seems interested in making. Back in the mid-1960s, when I was entering my teens, my older, and protective, cousin bought me several annual memberships in the National Rifle Association-- yeah, that same NRA that today more resembles a fascist organization. Actually, it is a fascist organization.

Back then, the NRA was about safe firearms handling, and promoted various degrees of target-shooting, and safe hunting. Now, it has devolved into a racist, anti-environmental herd of bigoted (and stupid) old (and not-so-old) mostly white guys. Want to know who's most responsible? Search the web with "Who hijacked the NRA,? and you'll find the name Harlan Carter, who began his dirty deed in 1977. A common louse named Wayne Lapierre continued to spread Carter's brand of poison, using the oldest tactic in the world--fear--to turn his minions against the thought process.

In the "World According to Wayne LaPierre," accomplishing background checks for potential firearms buyers is the first step toward government confiscation of firearms. Here's where the actual thought process should come in. Under eight years of Bill Clinton, and under eight years of Barack Obama, how many attempts were there to seize private firearms? How about zero? But, according to these fear tactics, "the Democrats are out to take our guns." Never mind, for example, that many Democrats (yours truly, included) own and use firearms. Never mind that anyone who believes what the late and great hunting writer Jack O'Connor would refer to as "applesauce," or "pure moonshine," would also believe that a single parking violation, followed by prompt payment, would get your car seized. If one's skin is black, it could happen, but those white, flag-waving morons who believe that tripe will keep their car until its wheels fall off, and most will keep their firearms if we institute better background checks. School shooting survivors need safety, not those misconceived "thoughts and prayers," and not better CPR techniques. Teachers largely understand that if they are armed, the police will rakishly assume that those with firearms are the perpetrators. It's probably impossible to prevent every school and other mass murder by psychologically unfit folks, but keeping the latter from being able to legally purchase or own firearms, will help plenty. We can also re-institute bans on the kind of weapons which prompted 2008 Democratic Primary Presidential candidate (retired U.S. Army General) Wesley Clark to say that a place exists for those who want to use military weapons. Clark wonderfully referred these wannabes to the Army. Also, fearful and non-thinking Americans give mental health professionals as much credit for their work by as they do climate scientists who correctly point to human activities as the reason for global warming (or climate change; take your pick).

I see none of this kind of response on any of the many e-mails in my box urging me to fight the NRA.

Where do all these self-named "free thinkers" get that they're able to think at all? The only "thinking" they seem to be capable of is what the bozos on Faux News whisper in their tender ears. In other words, they prefer to "think" as long as someone else does it for them. My guess is that most of these folks have/had at least one authoritarian parent. Research on that topic seems to indicate that the best way to cultivate authoritarian and socially-irresponsible children is to become an authoritarian parent. In other words, to rule by fear and dogma. Doesn't work, folks.

Getting the bigots out of the NRA is akin to getting private money out of politics, and nicotine out of tobacco. Those issues, and many others, will quickly be non-issues. How many elected officials could the NRA (or fossil fuel, nuclear, chemical, urban-sprawl house and highway-building industry, etc.) buy off, if they were not allowed to spend their private money on them?

It's all about the thinking (and following the money). I still like what Ben Franklin said long ago: "The way to see by faith, is to shut the eye of reason."