Conservative Brains: ARE They Different?

"Do MAGA conservatives’ brains prevent them from changing their minds? Scientists may have proven this in a fascinating study."

Psychological research has previously pointed to the evidence that conservatives and liberals think differently (link). However, I am a case study of being able to change my thinking from very conservative most of my life (just turned 79 years old) to very liberal. It would have been interesting if I had this testing before and after. In any event, the video at the link below is interesting:

Did Science Prove Liberals & Conservatives Have Different Brains?

A Fresh Look At The Luddite Movement

"'Luddite' should never have become the epithet that it is as the Luddites were never afraid of or opposed to technological advancement, they only opposed the exploitation of workers and the degradation to society that came with the unfair distribution of the benefits of the targeted technology."

Click on the link below for an enlightening podcast:

New Tech and the Luddite Movement

A Look At MAGA Brainwashing

"Dr. Steven Hassan is a licensed mental health professional and recognized expert on cults. His book, The Cult of Trump, examines how Trump has built a base with fanatical devotion. Dr. Hassan correctly predicted that there would be violence after the 2020 election if Trump did not win."

Click on the link below for an in-depth look at the frailty of the human brain and how cult leaders easily take advantage of it:

Top CULT EXPERT Diagnoses Trump & MAGA Brainwashing

Voting Rights Continue To Be Under Attack

"The Department of Justice, created in 1870, was initially formed in part to enforce Reconstruction-era laws aimed at ensuring voting rights for formerly enslaved people. Yet, nearly 150 years later, voting access is still under attack. Eric Holder made history as the first black U.S. Attorney General, serving in the Obama administration. Holder now serves as the chairman of the National Democratic Redistricting Committee, which focuses on fighting back against gerrymandering to achieve fair maps. He joins WITHpod to discuss the fight for voting rights, growing redistricting concerns nationwide and how concerned he is about the possibility of former president Donald Trump being reelected."

Click on the link below for the podcast:

Protecting Voting Rights

Cults: A Hard Nut To Crack

"A few years ago, I did a video about cults and predicted that we live in conditions that make cults thrive. Today, a few years later, that seems to be the case, with cult activity skyrocketing not just in the US but worldwide. Today we look at what’s causing this problem, and what you can do if a friend or loved one goes a little too far down the rabbit hole."

Click on the links below for some advice against this major problem that notoriously is difficult to attack:

How To Deprogram A Cult Member

Welcome To The Golden Age Of Cults

Civility: A Character Trait Lost In The MAGA Swamp

"Alexandra Hudson is a writer, public speaker, and the author of The Soul of Civility: Timeless Principles to Heal Society and Ourselves. She joins Preet to discuss her book, the difference between politeness and civility, and the many figures that have inspired her—from Martin Luther King, Jr. to Larry David."

Click on the link below for an enlightened point of view regarding the times in which we are living:

On being Civil

Ukraine And Russia: A History Lession

"Although few Americans paid much attention at the time, the events of February 18, 2014, in Ukraine would turn out to be a linchpin in how the United States ended up where it is a decade later."

Click on the link below to better understand the connection between the Republican Party/MAGA and Putin/Russia:

10 years of US/Ukraine/Russia History

US Immigration And Crime: Beware Of Republican Gaslighting

"Across a variety of studies that use different years of data that focus on different areas of the United States – with some exceptions, there’s some nuance there. I don’t want to deny the nuance – in general, on average, we do not find a connection between immigration and crime, as is so often claimed. The most common finding across all these different kinds of studies is that immigration to an area is either not associated with crime in that area, or is negatively associated with crime in that area. This means more immigration equals less crime. It’s rare to find studies that show crime following increases in immigration or with larger percentage of the population that are immigrants."

Click on the link below for more:

What EXPERTS Say About Immigration And Crime

Why We Need More REGULATED Capitalism

"The need to hold industries to high safety standards seems like an obvious priority. Yet in reality, questionable business practices are widespread -- from deep-fakes to mass data collection. Vanderbilt University Professor Ganesh Sitaraman says it is time for Congress to clamp down on rampant use of artificial intelligence and tighten regulations on the aviation industry. He joins Hari Sreenivasan to discuss his latest book 'Why Flying Is Miserable and How To Fix It.'"

Click on the link below for the details of corporate monopoly abuse highlighting the airline industry as an example:

"Why Flying Is Miserable" Author Offers Solutions for Airlines and AI

The "Deep State" Conspiracy Theory: The Truth And Its Harm

"UCLA School of Law professor Jon D. Michaels argued that compared with developing governments such as Egypt, Pakistan, and Turkey, governmental power structures in the United States are "almost entirely transparent".[43][44][45] Michaels argues that the American 'deep state', which includes federal agencies responsible for regulation, welfare, crime prevention, and defense, and the employees who operate them, fundamentally differs from Trump's use of the term in five important respects:[43]

• Not Elitist – In the US, bureaucrats come from a diverse range of socio-economic backgrounds, especially when compared to those in the Middle East, and even Western Europe.
• Not Shadowy – American agencies are generally "transparent and accessible", in comparison to those of the Middle East, Asia, and Europe.
• Not Monolithic – the American deep state is "internally diverse and fragmented."
• A Bulwark, Not a Battering Ram – actions of civil servants in the US are inherently defensive, not proactive.
• Not an Extraconstitutional Force – the bureaucracy should be seen as part of the constitutional system of checks and balances in the US, which often serves as a final check on presidential or agency overreach."

(Wikipedia) 

Click on the link below for more:

The American Deep State

Social Media, Conspiracy Theories, And Quackery

"Tesla Biohealing, which has no connection to the car company, is part of a growth industry marketing unproven cures and treatments to conspiracy theorists and others who have grown distrustful of science and medicine. Experts who study such claims say they’re on the increase, thanks to the internet, social media and skepticism about traditional health care.

"'There have always been hucksters selling medical cures, but I do feel like it’s accelerating,' said Timothy Caulfield, a health policy and law professor at the University of Alberta who studies medical ethics and fraud. 'There are some forces driving that: obviously the internet and social media, and distrust of traditional medicine, traditional science. Conspiracy theories are creating and feeding this distrust.'

"Blending the high-tech jargon of Western science with the spiritual terminology of traditional and Eastern medicine, these modern salesmen claim their treatments can reverse aging, restore mental acuity or fight COVID-19 better than a vaccine. They promise better health, but what they’re really selling is the idea of insider information, the promise of a secret known only to the wealthy and the powerful.

"So-called medbeds are one of the flashiest, most expensive, and least credible. 'Medbeds are coming,' exclaims a woman in one TikTok video. Similar videos have been seen millions of times on the platform.

"According to believers of the QAnon conspiracy theory, medbeds were developed by the military (in some versions, using alien technology) and are already in use by the world’s richest and most powerful families. Many accounts claim former President Donald Trump, if he wins another term in the White House, will unveil the devices and make them free for all Americans."

Click on the link below for more:

Miracle cures: Online conspiracy theories are creating a new age of unproven medical treatments

Transgender Treatment Satisfaction

While the Republican Party and conservatives, in general, are supporting bills in many states attacking transgender treatment (link), the largest satisfaction survey of individuals who have received transgender treatment was just released. The bottom line is that they are overwhelmingly satisfied with the results of their treatment. Click on this link for a 3-minute video presenting the details. Just another example of anti-expert/anti-science from the Republican Party.

Republicans Reject Experts

Click on the links below for examples of the decades-long anti-expert attitude of the Republican Party:

https://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2020/10/what-caused-the-u-s-anti-science-trend/

https://www.cnn.com/2016/08/08/politics/republican-national-security-letter-donald-trump-election-2016/index.html

https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/the-reason-some-republicans-mistrust-science-their-leaders-tell-them-to/

https://newrepublic.com/article/158436/republican-murderous-anti-intellectualism

https://www.amazon.com/Republican-Brain-Science-Science-Reality/dp/1118094514

Libertarianism: Another Harmful Conservative Idea That Won't Die

"What happens if America just turns everything over to the morbidly rich and lets them and their corporations run the entire country? What could possibly go wrong? This bizarre experiment of libertarianism has been promoted by the billionaire class ever since World War II. And it’s literally killing some of us, along with threatening our democratic republic."

Click on the link below for a thorough debunking of minimal government:

10 Reasons NEVER To Flirt With Libertarianism

A Horror Tale That WILL Be Reality If Trump Wins In 2024

"What happens if Trump takes the presidency? Thom Hartmann writes Trump's campaign promises as a dystopian tale. 

"It was a hell of a year, 2025: the first year of the First Reich (as those formerly called Democrats referred to it) or The New America as the GOP now refers to our nation. One people, one nation, one leader: America, President-for-life Trump tells us, is now 'truly great.' 

"It started with the election of November 2024, when the No Labels candidacy of Larry Hogan and Joe Manchin pulled enough electoral votes away from Biden — who was more than 10 million popular votes ahead of Trump — that none of the three tickets hit the necessary 270 Electoral College votes to win the White House. - - - 

Click on the link below for the rest of the story:

Rise & Fall of the Second Trump Reich - A Cautionary Tale

"No Labels" Is A 3rd Party Trying To Defeat Biden

"A powerful group may be planning to run their own candidate in the 2024 election. Thom Hartmann explains why Donald Trump is cheering this move on... "

Click on the link below for a brief video exposing the intent of this group of billionaires:

Why Trump Wants MORE Competition in 2024 Election

The USA Should Be Ashamed

The USA is being upstaged by BRAZIL. Click on the link below for an example of a peaceful change of power:

Brazil Shows The USA How To Handle Right-Wing Extremists

Fairness In Wages Is More Than The Minimum Wage

"And how does that differ from the minimum wage? Or, for that matter, the federal poverty line? California has mandated a $20 minimum wage for fast-food workers starting April 1st. As far as I'm concerned, those folks are saints and deserve the world. But Glenn Beck and other conservatives strongly disagree and had a meltdown over it. But who is right? Will this new $20 wage cause California as we know it to cease to exist and drift off into the sea? Or is Glenn Beck an idiot?"

Click on the link below for the details:

What Is A Living Wage?

A Major Reason Why Conservatives Are So Powerful

Ever wonder why Talk Radio is essentially void of progressive push-back against the lies of conservatives? Or, why Faux News is so powerful? Click on the link below for why the truth of the progressive point of view is largely absent to the typical middle/lower-class voter who generally lacks critical thinking skills:

America’s Political System is Being Manipulated - but by who?

Housing Is An Ignored Human Right

"The housing crisis is at a worse point than at any time in recent history. Solutions are available and require political will to bring into reality but because the problem is now so widespread, we may actually be able to take action that would have been untenable before."

Click on the link below for an in-depth look at the basic right that supports all others:

Housing Cannot be a Fundamental Human Right and a Commodity at the Same Time