Thursday, November 20th, 2003
November 22nd marks the 40th anniversary of the John F. Kennedy assassination and the mass media is ripe with credulous conspiracy theories regarding it.
Entertainment television shows pose as history documentaries. The Oliver Stone fantasy movie 'JFK' provides art direction inspiration for these photoplays. Creepy grainy images are depicted against overtones of ominous music. Conspiracy buffs repeat dubious and out right falsities. Announcers commonly frame any valid information with logical fallacies (most commonly, 'begging the question').
People have an appetite for the intrigue of conspiracies and popular media is all too willing to serve up large steaming heaps of tripe as long as it sells.
JFK may indeed have been a victim of a multiple person plot, but a very big chunk of the 'evidence' offered by conspiracy supporters constitute bunk and disinformation. The bogus information is then repeated by consumers of the media until the meme takes a life of its own like an urban legend. Eventually everyone 'knows' the misinformation as fact.
I present here a very good resource analyzing commonly repeated JFK conspiracy misinformation. I encourage people to read it, and share it with others. The assassination was a very important event in American history (and by extension 20th century world history) and deserves deep consideration. Carefully weigh the arguments from a rational point of view, and approach the 'common knowledge' information with skepticism.
A lovely November day here in Pittsburgh: sunny, blue sky, mid-fifties.
But the rivers are swollen to overflowing from recent rain. Logs, tires, bottles and other debris are thick on the water.
The newly refinished 356 West on ramp is flooded like a canal. From my office we watched as some cars struggled through it, fanning rain from their tires. In a matter of minutes the road became a virtual river and was closed by the city authorities. The whole spectacle has been exciting to everyone in my office as we all peer south onto the Monongahela. Office workers are always interested in a distraction.
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Thursday, November 13th, 2003
Ten Commandments Judge Removed From Bench
By KYLE WINGFIELD, Associated Press Writer
"MONTGOMERY, Ala. - Alabama Chief Justice Roy Moore was ousted Thursday by a judicial ethics panel for defying a federal judge's order to remove his 2 1/2-ton granite monument of the Ten Commandments from the rotunda of the state courthouse.
The state Court of the Judiciary unanimously imposed the harshest penalty possible after a one-day trial in which Moore said his refusal was a moral and lawful acknowledgment of God. Prosecutors said Moore's defiance, left unchecked, would harm the judicial system.
Moore, whose stand has made him a hero to religious conservatives, had been suspended since August but was allowed to collect his $170,000 annual salary. He was halfway through his elected six-year term."
Great news! The only shadow is that Moore was allowed to collect his $170,000 annual salary. It must be nice to be able to ignore your bosses, break the law, defile the constitution and collection $170,000.
We can hope that he gets disbarred.
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