Social media have changed the equation in American politics.  From fake Facebook stories planted by Russian trolls to influence the 2016 election in favor of Donald Trump, to Roseanne Barr’s deeply racist Twitter message this past week–to say nothing of
the President’s constant barrage of self-serving, denigrating and false tweets–social media have made our national political dynamics more divisive, ill-informed and counterproductive. The premium these media place on bite-sized bursts of no-need-to-explain-or-defend assertions has only exacerbated this process. Continue reading “Social Media, Politics and Us”
Do Conspiracy Theories Have a Conservative Bias?
There is a not-so-old saw that facts have a liberal bias. Here I am flipping this political aphorism to ask the related question: whether conservative thought is especially attracted to outlandish conspiracy theories.
First, let’s clear out some ideological underbrush. Neither left nor right in American politics has a monopoly on the truth. Nor is either immune to the attraction of far-fetched theories that appear to explain noxious or threatening political developments.  Continue reading “Do Conspiracy Theories Have a Conservative Bias?”
On Entitlements
Time to set the political language straight. The word ‘entitlement’ has been turned inside-out as to its meaning. Many seem to think it is an epithet. I gather this is a mistake made largely on the right, but also by some on the left. Continue reading “On Entitlements”
