DAVID AARONOVITCH ~ THE TIES THAT BIND ~ VOODOO HISTORIES ~ 2010

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~ HS ~ HISTORICAL PRECEDENT

~CWHTCPTCIE-AITWSLIIAEHOSCCBC ~ Conspiracists Work Hard To Convince People That Conspiracy Is Everywhere – An Individual Theory Will Seem Less Improbable If An Entire History Of Similar Cases Can Be Cited

~ S&S ~ SKEPTICS AND SHEEPLE

~ A-CT-ILTB-PP-ITIUCTLBAATBASPEATP-BC-BITCMYPOA-GHEG-WCSPTOV-B-TPTB ~ A – Conspiracy Theory – Is Likely To Be – Politically Populist – In That It Usually Claims To Lay Bare An Action Taken By A Small Power Elite Against The People – By Contrast – Belief In The Conspiracy Makes You Part Of A – Genuinely Heroic Elite Group – Who Can See Past The Official Version – By – The Powers That Be

~ JAQ ~ JUST ASKING QUESTIONS

~ TTIJA-CDQ-BOADT-SOT-A-TRISLTMU-H/H-M ~ The Theorist Is Just Asking – Certain Disturbing Questions – Because Of A Desire To – Seek Out Truth – And – The Reader Is Supposedly Left To Make Up – His / Her – Mind

~ EW ~ EXPERT WITNESSES

~ CDUTEO-C-A-‘E’-TVTT-AY-ACFO-MCT-I-TEOTSOE ~ Conspiracists Draw Upon The Endorsement Of – Celebrities – And – “Experts” – To Validate Their Theories – And Yet – A Constant Feature Of – Modern Conspiracy Theories – Is – The Exaggeration Of The Status Of Experts

~ IN-TBIOATQOTE-AAOTFITTACTQEOSATSAWSOELSTTA ~ If Necessary – Theorist Become Interestingly Opaque About The Qualifications Of Their Experts – Another Aspect Of This Fudging Is The Tendency Among Conspiracists To Quote Each Other So A To Suggest A Wide Spread Of Expertise Lending Support To The Argument

~ AC ~ ACADEMIC CREDIBILITY

~ TCWHTGT-WE-TVOS-TAHBDA-DBF-ATEOTTIA-DM-O-D-AO-UI-B-LOAA-AT-OTTI-SBQ-F-N-CS-TAITOTB-MAS ~ The Conspiracists Work Hard To Give Their – Written Evidence – The Veneer Of Scholarship – The Approach Has Been Described As – Death By Footnote – Accompanying The Exposition Of The Theory Is A – Dense Mass – Of – Detailed – And Often – Undifferentiated Information – But – Laid Out As An – Academic Text – Often The Theory Is – Supported By Quotations – From – Non-Conspiracist Sources – That Almost Invariably Turn Out To Be – Misleading And Selective

~ CIT ~ CONVENIENT INCONVENIENT TRUTHS

~ CAAW-TAHA-DF-WA-NAI-T-CBAWTTI ~ Conspiracists Are Always Winners – Their Arguments Have A – Determined Flexibility – Whereby Any – New And Inconvenient – Truth – Can Be Accommodated Within The Theory Itself

~ EAO-PITT-MBAT-DD-OWT-IP-DTTAOTS ~ Embarrassing And Obvious – Problems In The Theory – May Be Ascribed To – Deliberate Disinformation – Originating With The – Imagined Plotters – Designed To Throw Activists Off The Scent

~ US ~ UNDER SURVEILLANCE

~ CAITSTTIISTTA-EIT-‘S’-O-C-SE ~ Conspiracists Are Inclined To Suggest That Those Involved In Spreading The Theory Are – Even In The – “Safest” – Of – Countries – Somehow Endangered

DAVID AARONOVITCH ~ VOODOO HISTORIES ~ 2010

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~ FC ~ Fashionable Conspiracism

~ ABDOACTMB:TAO-DA-TS-TIMLTB-AOU ~ A Better Definition Of A Conspiracy Theory Might Be: The Attribution Of – Deliberate Agency – To Something – That Is More Likely To Be – Accidental Or Unintended

~ OR:OTBE-OHIMPTA-I-IIFNONA ~ Occam’s Razor: Other Things Being Equal – One Hypothesis Is More Plausible Than Another – If – It Involves Fewer Numbers Of New Assumptions

~ CIBMCI ~ Conspiracist Ideas Beget More Conspiracist Ideas

~ TUOR ~ The – Untidiness Of Reality

~ HFL ~ History For Losers

~ DBF ~ Death By Footnote

~ BICT-I-HII-IDOVOH-A-TO-TP-A-IWE-LT-DD ~ Belief In Conspiracy Theories – Is – Harmful In Itself – It Distorts Our View Of History – And – Therefore Of – The Present – And – If Widespread Enough – Leads To – Disastrous Decisions

~ TI-HC-SA-W-SAP-A-U ~ The Internet – Has Created – Shadow Armies – Whose – Size And Power – Are – Unknowable

MARK KINGWELL ~ SINGULAR CREATURES ~ 2022

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~ POPH ~ Politics Of PostHumanism

~ GAIA ~ Generalize Artificial Intelligences [With] Autonomy

~ SF ~ Speculative Frame

~ PH ~ PostHuman

~ T-EC-OT-BHC ~ The – Essential Contours – Of The – Bare Human Condition

~ CL ~ Conscious Life

~ WOP ~ Wholly Owned Property

~ WS-I ~ Welcome Semi-Individuals

~ FA-EU-CO0RO ~ Full Autonomy – Even Under – Conditions Of – Radical Otherness

~ PHH ~ PostHuman Hybrids

~C/B/B ~ Cloned / Built / Born

~ T-CI ~ Techno-Capitalist Immersion

~ NOM ~ Nightmare Of Meaninglessness

~ POOED ~ Product Of Our Emergent Desires

SEBASTIAN BAILEY + OCTAVIUS BLACK ~ GUIDELINES FOR BOOSTING YOUR CREATIVITY ~ MINDGYM ~ 2014

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~ HAO ~ HAVE AN OBJECTIVE

~ ASOP-O-APTS-GITOOCUWSTINOOBAW ~ A Sense Of Purpose – Or – A Problem To Solve – Greatly Increases The Odds Of – Coming Up With Something – That Is Not Only – Original – But Also – Worthwhile

~ EATLTGI ~ ESTABLISH A TIME LIMIT TO GENERATE IDEAS

~ TMPMPP-B-SPOHYPB ~ Too Much Pressure Makes People Panic – But – Some Pressure Often Helps You Perform Better

~ GFQ ~ GO FOR QUANTITY

~ MIB-PB-YNKWYAGT-DSG-A-PB-B-GFV-YFYT-TWR ~ More Is Better – Partly Because – You Never Know When You Are Going To – Discover Something Great – And – Partly Because – By – Going For Volume – You Force Yourself To – Think Without Restrictions

~ D-J/E-YI-AYB ~ DON’T – JUDGE / EVALUATE – YOUR IDEAS – AS YOU BRAINSTORM

~TITHRTST-AIAGIBATMYHTYDKWTML ~ This Is The Hardest Rule To Stick To – All Ideas Are Good Ideas Because At The Moment You Have Them You Don’t Know Where They Might Lead

~ WD-O-R-YI ~ WRITE DOWN – OR – RECORD – YOUR IDEAS

~ IYD-YMEUSAYTTTRT-P-AITWWNMB-T-S-B-F-AAI-L ~ If You Don’t – You Might End Up Spending All Your Time Trying To Remember Them – Plus – An Idea That Won’t Work Now May Be – The – Spring-Board – For An Amazing Idea – Later

~ LHA ~ LOVE HALF ANSWERS

~ Y-MOG-MCF-LAETTYL(BWQSW)-G ~ Your – Moment Of Genius – May Come From – Letting An Earlier Thought That You Liked (But Weren’t Quite Sure Why) – Gestate

DANIEL STEDMAN JONES ~ MASTERS OF THE UNIVERSE ~ 2012

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~ NI-M/D/M-BR-WNNIT-1970-B-TWTI-TW-PACS-TTA-TBECSTGD ~ Neoliberal Ideas – Monetarism / Deregulating / Market-Based Reforms – Were Not New In The – 1970s – But – They Were The Ideas – To Which – Politicians And Civil Servants – Turned To Address – The Biggest Economic Crisis Since The Great Depression

~ A-SOTM-H-NI-GSP ~ A – Simplification Of The Message – Helped – Neoliberal Ideas – Gain Significant Purchase

~ WA-N-RIR-WA-J-SA-N-IP-F-TMS ~ We Are – Not – Raising Interest Rates – We Are – Just – Setting A – Non-Inflationary Path – For – The Money Supply

~ AHBCN-DTRO-RBTS-IAR-EGA-T-RTBB-SAM-IFOTL ~ As Has Been Commonly Noted – Despite The Rhetoric Of – Rolling Back The State – It Actually Required – Energetic Government Action – To – Recast The Balance Between – State And Market – In Favor Of The Latter

~ FD-WAEMO-T-N-FIM-IW-AMUF ~ Financial Deregulation – Was An Extreme Manifestation Of – The – Neoliberal – Faith In Markets – It Was – A Mantra Universally Followed

~ M-‘FT’-T-LOT-O-IR ~ Monetarist – “Fine-Tuning” – The – Loosening Or Tightening – Of – Interest Rates

~ RNTATWEWA ~ Radical New Thinking – About – The World Economy – Was Absent

~ R-B-P ~ Reason-Based-Policymaking

~ TFTSPANWETS-THEOA-GE-T-P/D/BE-WGOIA-VPL-O-F-A-EO ~ The Fact That Some People Are Not Well Equipped To Survive – The Harsh Environment Of A – Globalized Economy – The – Poor / Disadvantaged / Badly Educated – Was Glossed Over In A – Vacuous Political Language – Of – Freedom – And – Economic Opportunity

~ TCWNMTAC ~ The Citizen Was Nothing More Than A Consumer

~ A-AATAF-TP-LAL-O-MF-IKSPA-SA-E/H/H-TLWL-WM/DS/IFR-ATST-TLO-P/E/C-R-TO-C/S/S

~ Abandoned – Any Attempt To Account For – The Possibility – Let Alone Likelihood – Of – Market Failure – In Key Social Policy Areas – Such As – Education / Housing / Health – The Losers Were Labeled –Welfare Moms / Dole-Scroungers / Indigent Free Riders –At The Same Time – The Language Of – Profit / Efficiency / Consumption – Replaced – That Of – Citizenship / Solidarity / Service

~ DBTFMG-TIOT-BNW-WT-IPE-CPH:I/S-S-CC/V-A-T-COC ~ Dominated By The Free Market Gospel – The Irony Of This – Brave New World – Was That – It Produced Everything – Conservative Politicians Hated: Insecurity / Social-Sexual-Cultural Changes / Violence – And – The – Collapse Of Community

~ T-EOTIC-TDO-TFDB-CAC-HBLF-TA-LOC-A-T-L-BAL-B-PWINI-AGAO-TPOPI-TAMT-IPL-AS-MB-CAA-IRTE ~ The – End Of The Ideological Conflict – The Disappearance Of – The Fundamental Division Between – Collectivism And Capitalism – Has Been Lamented For – The Accompanying – Loss Of Certainty – And – Tribe-Like – Belonging And Loyalty – But – Perhaps What Is Needed Is – A Greater Acknowledgement Of – The Point Of Political Ideas – They Are Meant To – Improve People’s Lives – And So – Must Be – Changed And Amended – In Response To Evidence

~ F-EASFI-IL-AET-FM-SNDTAO-A-M-I-IT-R-S&E-P-R-B-P-NTR-T-MR-O-IR-A-R-TM-UHN ~ Faith – Even A Secular Faith In – Individual Liberty – As Expressed Through – Free Markets – Should Never Drive The Application Of – A – Model – Inflexibly – Impervious To – Real – Social And Economic – Problems – Reason-Based-Policymaking – Needs To Return – The – Mundane Reality – Of – Incremental Reform – And – Regulation – To Meet – Urgent Human Needs

ADAM SMITH ~ AN INQUIRY INTO THE NATURE AND CAUSES OF THE WEALTH OF NATIONS ~ 1776

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~ TTWHT-GVIU-HF-LONVIE-A-OTC-TWHTGVIE-HFLONVIU ~ The Things Which Have The – Greatest Value In Use – Have Frequently – Little Or No Value In Exchange – And– On The Contrary – Those Which Have The Greatest Value In Exchange – Have Frequently Little Or No Value In Use

~ NIMUTW-B-IWPSA-SATCBHIEFI ~ Nothing Is More Useful Than Water – But – It Will Purchase Scarce Anything – Scarce Any Thing Can Be Had In Exchange For It

~ AFO-A-NFOP-S-IEAOTW-THB-TVMOTMOM ~ All For Ourselves – And – Nothing For Other People – Seems – In Every Age Of The World – To Have Been – The Vile Maxim Of The Masters Of Mankind

~ NSCSB-F-A-H-OW-TFGPOTMA-P-A-M ~ No Society Can Surely Be – Flourishing – And – Happy – Of Which – The Far Greater Part Of The Members Are – Poor – And – Miserable

~ I-GE-T-PWLI-TC-AI-TP-RFTSOA-F-MOT-SAI-F-TW-B-E-ATE-TAORITN-TEOTOFAA ~ In – Great Empires – The – People Who Live In – The Capital – And In – The Provinces – Remote From The Scene Of Action – Feel – Many Of Them – Scarce Any Inconveniency – From – The War – But – Enjoy – At Their Ease – The Amusement Of Reading In The Newspapers – The Exploits Of Their Own Fleets And Armies

~ O-M-A-M-M-CMO-TBEO-HW-I-RTP-A-T-LTSOTG-BA-HAA-TSNC-TBEOHP-TASWRT-TPEOTOG-TCOOTOOP ~ Our – Merchants – And – Master-Manufacturers – Complain Much Of – The Bad Effects Of – High Wages – In – Raising The Price – And – Thereby – Lessening The Sale Of Their Goods – Both At – Home And Abroad – They Say Nothing Concerning – The Bad Effects Of High Profits – They Are Silent With Regard To – The Pernicious Effects Of Their Own Gains – They Complain Only Of Those Of Other People

~ TSOES-OT-CTTSOTG-ANAP-IPTTRA ~ The Subjects Of Every State – Ought To – Contribute Toward The Support Of The Government – As Nearly As Possible – In Proportion To Their Respective Abilities

ADAM SMITH ~ THEORY OF MORAL SENTIMENTS ~ 1759

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~ V-I-TGS-A-V-TGD-O-HS ~ Virtue – Is – The Great Support – And – Vice – The Great Disturber – Of – Human Society

~ S-H-CSAT-WAAATRT-HAI-OA ~ Society– However – Cannot Subsist Among Those – Who Are At All Times Ready To – Hurt And Injure – One Another

~ BT-R-IU-TSO-T-GROM-A-OAT-MJ-WWFBMOT;IIA-AAU-TSTTFPO-RAW-CBDFR ~ But Though – Reason – Is Undoubtedly – The Source Of – The – General Rules Of Morality – And – Of All The – Moral Judgments – Which We Form By Means Of Them; It Is Altogether – Absurd And Unintelligible – To Suppose That The First Perceptions Of – Right And Wrong – Can Be Derived From Reason

~ TI-H-AS-WSTTAATDB-VAV-AOWTTIUTA-WP-S-IAER-E-T-GF-T-REPAWV ~ There Is – However – Another System – Which Seems To Take Away Altogether The Distinction Between – Vice And Virtue – And Of Which The Tendency Is Upon That Account– Wholly Pernicious – System – In Almost Every Respect – Erroneous – The – Great Fallacy – To – Represent Every Passion As Wholly Vicious

~ TDT-A-A-ATW-TR-A-TP-I-TG-A-MU-CO-TCOOMS ~ This Disposition To – Admire – And– Almost To Worship – The Rich – And – The Powerful – Is– The Great – And – Most Universal – Cause Of – The Corruption Of Our Moral Sentiments

PAUL KRUGMAN ~ END THIS DEPRESSION NOW! ~ 2012

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~ ETD-WBA-F-G-EFAE-ETWA-P/E/P-I-I-WED ~ Ending This Depression – Would Be A – Feel-Good – Experience For Almost Everyone – Except Those Who Are – Politically / Emotionally / Professionally – Invested – In – Wrongheaded Economic Doctrines

~ ITDO-BP-A-BI-TGUITD-BPABA-T-F-B-FALTTWVW-NFTNAAW-B-FAHOVWVIP ~ It Took Decades Of – Bad Policies – And – Bad Ideas – To Get Us Into This Depression – Bad Policies And Bad Ideas – That – Flourished – Because – For A Long Time They Worked Very Well – Not For The Nation As A Whole – But – For – A Handful Of – Very Wealthy – Very Influential – People

~ BEP-CSHSES ~ Big Economic Problems – Can Sometimes Have – Simple / Easy – Solutions

~ CTWYMT-DDNMSAAWP:OPDIAPA-S-TWIUBTAODOT ~ Contrary To What You Might Think, Debt Does Not Make Society As A Whole Poorer: One Person’s Debt Is Another Person’s Asset – So – Total Wealth Is Unaffected By The Amount Of Debt Out There

~ TCSOTWE:RN:DCS-A-CWS ~ The Current State Of The World Economy: Right Now: Debtors Can’t Spend – And – Creditors Won’t Spend

~ L-RD-CW-IOA-FG-U-IFT ~ Leverage – Rising Debt – Compared With – Income Or Assets – Feels Good – Until – It Feels Terrible

~ ALADLAFL-BEE-ALTB-FAFB ~ As Long As Debt Levels Are Fairly Low – Bad Economic Events – Are Likely To Be – Few And Far Between

~ OT-TPT-DIS-LT:MRLS;BAF-A-D-THOB;OLOLITER ~ Over Time – The Perception That – Debt Is Safe – Leads To: More Relaxed Lending Standards; Business And Families – Alike – Develop – The Habit Of Borrowing; Overall Level Of Leverage In The Economy Rises

~ ‘F’-AEF-WC ~ “Flexibility” – A Euphemism For – Wage Cuts

~ A-A-T-B-CIW-LEITSP-EFOT-IREI-B-TLODRTS ~ An – Across-The-Board – Cut In Wages – Leaves Everyone In The Same Place – Except For One Thing – It Reduces Everyone’s Income – But – The Level Of Debt Remains The Same

~ CLO-CB-S/D/P-BD-IR-AAA-R-SIGI-B-TWB-TACTBKA-‘TW’ ~ Collateralized Loan Obligations – Created By – Slicing / Dicing / Pureeing – Bad Debt – Initially Received – AAA – Ratings – Sucking In Gullible Investors – But – Things Went Bad – These Assets Came To Be Known – As – “Toxic Waste”

~ CDS-HBPTTIWSBSEHITAL-WTWW-TI-DHALEMTMGOTP ~ Credit Default Swaps – Helped Banks Pretend That Their Investments Were Safe Because Someone Else Had Insured Them Against Losses – When Things Went Wrong – The Insurers – Didn’t Have Anything Like Enough Money To Make Good On Their Promises

~ TFE-WWA-RLOD-A-A-ICATR-W-M-IN-R ~ Those Few Economists – Who Worried About – Rising Levels Of Debt – And – An – Increasingly Casual Attitude Toward Risk – Were – Marginalized – If Not – Ridiculed

~ SBS-RAR-PIP-T-PABC-WD-EI-RWU-TDWA-CFS-TCODAFTKRUWABFITDSATCTF ~ Step By Step – Rules And Regulations – Put In Place – To – Protect Against Banking Crises – Were Dismantled – Equally Important – Regulations Weren’t Updated – To Deal With A – Changing Financial System – This Combination Of Deregulation And Failure To Keep Regulations Updated Was A Big Factor In The Debt Surge And The Crisis That Followed

~ TAT-BG-FT-FC-FAITFOEACLATF-A-TATGATF-SO-DD ~ The Attempt To – Blame Government – For The – Financial Crisis – Falls Apart In The Face Of Even A Cursory Look At The Facts – And – The Attempts To Get Around Those Facts – Smack Of – Deliberate Deception

~ DWMDTIALO-MAS-I-T-AWW-M-TRCT-FD-HLT-GIO-EP-G-WAS ~ Deregulation Was More Dangerous Than Its Advocates Let On – Movers And Shakers – Insisted – That – All Was Well – Moreover – They Routinely Claimed That – Financial Deregulation – Had Led To – Greatly Improved Overall – Economic Performance – Growth – Was Actually Slower

~ FA-SBI-M-HTEO-FD-A-GD-WIATO-EIG ~ For A – Small But Influential – Minority – However – The Era Of – Financial Deregulation – And – Growing Debt – Was Indeed A Time Of – Extraordinary Income Growth

~ OAM-AH-TSO-T-TM-I-E ~ Owning And Maintaining – A House – The Size Of – The – Taj Mahal – Is – Expensive

~ EB-TCO2008-IWHTSW-FD-WCASS ~ Even Before – The Crisis Of 2008 – It Was Hard To See Why – Financial Deregulation – Was Considered A Success Story

~ YTW(ASI)-A-SD-ASC-T-TEOD-WOO-ET ~ Yet There Was (And Still Is) – A – Strange Delusion – Among Some Commentators – That – The Era Of Deregulation – Was One Of – Economic Triumph

~ W-SP-T-KOP-W-S-SC-O-FT-DIE-EGITI ~ Well – Some People – The – Kind Of People – Who – Say – Sponsor Conferences – On – Financial Theory – Did Indeed Experience – Extraordinary Growth In Their Income

~ UQR-TWASAME-T-T-IOTVR-WA-PSFS-TTIBI-T-OWC-RTI-TPO-SEJ-MTRTI-WT-EA-PWZ-FA-F-WAT-HG-PTIO-TW ~ Until Quite Recently – There Was A Sense Among Many Economists – That – The – Incomes Of The Very Rich – Weren’t A – Proper Subject For Study – That The Issue Belonged In – Tabloids – Obsessed With Celebrities – Rather Than In – The Pages Of – Sober Economics Journals – Merely To Raise The Issue – Was To – Enter A – Political War Zone – Fierce Attacks – From – What Amount To – Hired Guns – Protecting The Interests Of – The Wealthy

~ ROHI-DLI-A-S-A-D-W ~ Recipients Of High Incomes – Don’t Live In – A – Supply-And-Demand – World

~ The Fact That A Return To Pre-Depression Levels Of Inequality – Was Followed By A Return To Depression Economics Could Be Just A Coincidence

~ M-B-I;BM-B-BI ~ Money – Buys – Influence; Big Money – Buys – Big Influence

~ TPTGUWWA-W-TNDMFMP-W-FAWAL-VGTAFPATT ~ The Policies That Got Us Where We Are – While – They Never Did Much For Most People – Were – For A While At Least – Very Good To A Few People At The Top

~ T-GPP-O-TR-BS-WTRAR ~ The – Gravitational Political Pull – Of – The Rich – Becomes Stronger – When The Rich Are Richer

~ B-S-1970-TEPRDNKETPAROAR-T-GD-A-T-MOTPPTFWIHL ~ By – Say – 1970 – The Economics Profession Really Did Not Know Enough To Prevent A Recurrence Of Anything Resembling – The – Great Depression – And – Then – Much Of The Profession Proceeded To Forget What It Had Learned

~ T-W-A-IF-NE-T-‘WO-T-A-TICO-NR’-APASRIHTEB ~ There – Was – And – Is – In Fact – No Evidence – That – “Worries Over – Taxes – And – The Increased Costs Of – New Regulation” – Are Playing Any Significant Role In Holding The Economy Back

~ IOB-HWCS-ATME-WRWI ~ Instead Of Being – Helpful When Crisis Struck – All Too Many Economists – Waged Religious War – Instead

~ IS-TSTL-T-BYDOTC-T-PMBCTSTM-T-DTCE-TTMIDSYC ~ It’s Strange – To Say The Least – To – Base Your Demands On The Claim – That – Policy Must Be Changed To Satisfy The Market – Then – Dismiss The Clear Evidence – That The Market Itself Doesn’t Share Your Concerns

~ ‘II’-TBT-PM-S-DUP-IAW-TB-T-NF-O-SAD ~ “Immaculate Inflation” – The Belief That – Printing Money – Somehow – Drives Up Prices – In A Way – That Bypasses – The – Normal Forces – Of – Supply And Demand

JONATHAN CHAIT ~ THE BIG CON ~ 2007

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~ HAH-B-CE ~ Hoodwinked And Hijacked – By – Crackpot Economics

~ CAC ~ Charlatans And Cranks

~ WMPWRWSD-AT-THBRBE-B-EBP-S-S-CIABOH ~ While Most People Would Regard With Some Distrust – A Theory – That Has Been Rejected By The Experts – But – Embraced By Politicians – Supply-Siders – Consider It A Badge Of Honor

~ OOTHO-CT-I-AA-A-UAT-EA-IF-TFSFW-T-LD-WEMCATBTE-B/S/W-TCOTOI-AAA-THPHW ~ One Of The Hallmarks Of – Cult Thinking – Is – After All – An – Uncanny Ability To – Explain Away – Inconvenient Facts – The First Such Facts Were – The – Large Deficits – Whatever Else May Come Along To Buffet The Economy – Bubble / Scandal / War – Tax Cuts Ought To Overcome It – Again And Again – This Has Proven Horribly Wrong

~ L-DNH-PC-ANST-FOIR-ANGALT-JS-PA-A-GHASINTPTPD ~ Lobbyists – Do Not Hold – Press Conferences – Are Not Subject To – Freedom Of Information Requests – Are Not Given Anything Like The – Journalistic Scrutiny – Politicians Are – And – Generally Have A Strong Incentive Not To Publicize Their Political Dealings

~ TMOTFO-BAG-ITAAMOC ~ The Merger Of The Functions Of – Business And Government – Is Treated As A Matter Of Course

~ IP-A-C ~ Influence Peddling – And – Corruption

~ T-RD ~ The – Revolving Door

~ B-T-PVB-DNCTCTALTDTT-PED ~ But – The – Party Voting Base – Does Not Cherish Tax Cuts To Anything Like The Degree That The – Party Elite Does

~ OP-STTP-B-OM-PU-TS-FTOT-TC ~ Opinion Polls – Showed That The Public – By – Overwhelming Margins – Preferred Using – The Surplus – For Things Other Than – Tax Cuts

~ ARWD ~ Any Rationale Will Do

~ ‘TOTM’-I-OC-M-ADTFD ~ “Tyranny Of The Majority” – Is– Of Course – Merely – A Derogatory Term For Democracy

~ TINLK-99%-F-VTIA-100%-T-O-T-WOTR-1%-A-DIAT ~ There Is No Law Keeping – 99 Percent – From – Voting To Impose A – 100 Percent Tax – On – The – Wealth Of The Richest – 1 Percent – And – Dividing It Among Themselves

~ M:TDTDW ~ Media: The Dog That Didn’t Watch

~ TPI ~ The Proudly Ignorant

~ TFTOHTCIPHCA ~ The Forces – That Once Held The Center In Place – Have Corroded Away

ROGER BACON ~ NOVUM ORGANUM ~ 1620

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~ T-HU-WIHOAAO-DATET-SAA-WI-A-TTBA-GN-A-WO-I-TBFO-TOS-YTIE-NOD-IOTBT-GAP-P-TAOIFCMRI ~ The – Human Understanding – When It Has Once Adopted An Opinion – Draws All Things Else To – Support And Agree – With It – And – Though There Be A – Greater Number – And – Weight Of – Instances – To Be Found On – The Other Side – Yet These It Either – Neglects Or Despises – In Order That By This – Great And Pernicious – Predetermination– The Authority Of Its Former Conclusions May Remain Inviolate

~ STDOR-IF-T-SF-CE-HBM-O-A-OA:ST-F-A-U-A;ST-WIWCTB;ST-T-POTM;WOA-COI-BA-FSOUK-FNBRTP ~ Since The Days Of Revelation – In Fact – The – Same Four – Corrupting Errors – Have Been Made – Over – And – Over Again: Submission To – Faulty – And – Unworthy – Authority; Submission To – What It Was Customary To Believe; Submission To – The – Prejudices Of The Mob; Worst Of All – Concealment Of Ignorance – By A – False Show Of Unheld Knowledge– For No Better Reason Than Pride