Critical Thinking
Imagine a world where every person had complete access to the truth
AND
had sufficient education to separate it from propaganda.
A goal of this site is to provide unbiased access to the truth. This section, in particular, is devoted to helping readers recognize the truth, in the midst of all the propaganda.
The Myths of Austerity
Mon, 08/30/2010 - 14:01 — Dave Culver- The next time you hear serious-sounding people explaining the need for fiscal austerity, try to parse their argument. Almost surely, you’ll discover that what sounds like hardheaded realism actually rests on a foundation of fantasy, on the belief that invisible vigilantes will punish us if we’re bad and the confidence fairy will reward us if we’re good. And real-world policy — policy that will blight the lives of millions of working families — is being built on that foundation.
- This isn’t a recovery, in any sense that matters.
Paul Krugman, New York Times | NY
Submitted by Evergreene Digest Contributing Editor Thomas Sklarski
John Darkow
Economics for the Rest of Us: Debunking the Science That Makes Life Dismal ~ Moshe Adler
Mon, 08/23/2010 - 11:01 — Dave CulverFilled with lively examples—from food riots in Indonesia to eminent domain in Connecticut, and everyone from Adam Smith to Jeremy Bentham to Larry Summers—Economics for the Rest of Us shows how today’s dominant economic theories evolved, how they explicitly favor the rich over the poor, and why they’re not the only or best options. Written for anyone with an interest in understanding contemporary economic thinking—and why it is dead wrong—Economics for the Rest of Us offers a foundation for a fundamentally more equal economic system.
Chat with Moshe Adler about his new book, hosted by Max Fraad Wolff, Progressive Reader
"In this brilliant eye opener, Moshe Adler shows how more than a century ago the man-made concepts of economics were transformed from egalitarian concern with the welfare of everyone into analytical tools biased in favor of the rich. With clarity, and in language any educated person can grasp, Adler shows how economics largely abandoned concern with how economic efficiency is affected by distribution of resources and equality in favor of precepts that favor concentration of wealth and income." —David Cay Johnston, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Free Lunch and Perfectly Legal
Playing With Teen Sex Statistics: A Lesson in Lies
Fri, 08/20/2010 - 14:42 — Dave Culver
If most high school kids aren’t having sex yet, that means that it’s that much more important to get them good sex education, so when they start having sex---and statistics overwhelmingly show that they will---they know how to make healthy choices.
Amanda Marcotte, RHRealityCheck.org
There are many goofy aspects to this Life Site News story arguing that because a slim majority of teenagers don’t have sex, we don’t need to teach them about contraceptive methods. Perhaps the most puzzling is why they came out with the story on July 14th, since the report came out a month and a half ago. (In classic Life Site fashion, they don’t actually link the report, for fear that a stray reader may actually read it an clue into the fact that their spin is dishonest.) Did it take the American Life League (ALL) this long to craft a response? If so, you’d expect them to come up with something less transparently silly than this:
Don't Try These GOP Alibis at Home
Fri, 08/20/2010 - 07:57 — Dave CulverNot all Americans are equal. Some are so powerful and important that if they ever find themselves in a tight pinch, they can expect an “investigation” to turn logic on its head to establish their “innocence.”
Robert Parry, Consortium News
Submitted by Evergreene Digest Contributing Editoir Thomas Sklarski
In the world where most of us live, these “alibis” would not be considered very effective and indeed might make you look guiltier. The investigators also might get offended, thinking that you regard them as very stupid. [For the full details on these alibis, see “The Crazy October Surprise Debunking.”]
However, in Official Washington when the political desire is strong to get rid of some messy scandal, alibis of this sort will do just fine, as they did in dispensing with the nasty allegations that Ronald Reagan's campaign sabotaged President Jimmy Carter’s efforts to free 52 American hostages in Iran, a failure that paved the way for Reagan’s historic landslide in 1980.