43% Pay NO Federal Income Tax - ARE YOU KIDDING ME??

[BethFromVA 5]

well i hear that W gave up the tug when he gave up the jug...

Okay, ew! :crying: LOL

[BJean 16]

The thing about economics is you typically don't know much about whether something's going to work until you try it and it does or it doesn't. It's not an exact science due to all the variables that are at stake here -- one of which is simple human nature.

That seems to me to be the most level-headed thing I've seen you post, Beth.

[BJean 16]

Stocks drop on economy worries - Stocks & economy- msnbc.com

Been there, saw that. What's your point? I don't really understand how that relates to what I've been lambasted for. But maybe, unlike Beth, the economy is not all about me.

[DownInSocal 12]

You mean like how a certain someone still has not proven he was born in this country?

So the State of Hawaii lied in the news conference that his birth certificate was on file?

[BethFromVA 5]

The thing about economics is you typically don't know much about whether something's going to work until you try it and it does or it doesn't. It's not an exact science due to all the variables that are at stake here -- one of which is simple human nature.

That seems to me to be the most level-headed thing I've seen you post, Beth.

Thanks -- I think...

[BethFromVA 5]

So the State of Hawaii lied in the news conference that his birth certificate was on file?

It's possible, yes.

[BethFromVA 5]

Stocks drop on economy worries - Stocks & economy- msnbc.com

Been there, saw that. What's your point? I don't really understand how that relates to what I've been lambasted for. But maybe, unlike Beth, the economy is not all about me.

Wait, what?

[DownInSocal 12]

It's possible, yes.

Are you making your kool aid with Splenda? We all know about liquid calories.

[BethFromVA 5]

Are you making your kool aid with Splenda? We all know about liquid calories.

Hehehe.

In all honesty, did he prove it in a way that was acceptable to me? No, not really. There were a lot of questions over the legitimacy of the documents that were scanned -- some with a seal, some without, some with different dates of birth showing that he wasn't really born here but his mother obtained documentation when he was a week or two old.

Could it be simple conspiracy theorism? Sure, as much as the "did Bush steal the election" scenario was. The legitimacy of Obama's citizenry can be as serious or as silly as people choose to make the "Bush stealing the election" case.

[DownInSocal 12]

Ever heard the term "Drive it like you stole it?" that is exactly what the last 8 years was like.

[plain 12]

Stocks drop on economy worries - Stocks & economy- msnbc.com

Been there, saw that. What's your point? I don't really understand how that relates to what I've been lambasted for.

I don't think I've "lambasted" you. But to answer your question, I found an economist on the extremely liberal MSNBC that wasn't very optimistic on the economy. Remember the "Most credible economists agree Obama's plan is good" thing?

It was actually the 2nd thing that Google pulled up. The first was someting in a conservative paper, so I didn't even bother posting that one for ya.

[BJean 16]

Why don't we focus here on Beth's assertion that Obama wasn't born in the U.S.A.?

And she compares it to the election steal? Weren't you able to read or listen during the first Bush election, Beth? Had your head in the sand or something?

Have you ever known anyone who has been born out of your state? Do you understand how citizenship things work? Do you know what a naturalized citizen is? Do you know how many states we have?

You're just mad because the Democrats were able to prevent the Republicans from pulling the same bullshite in the last election that they did in the previous two. I know you're disappointed, but if I were you I don't think I'd go around claiming that those elections relate in any way to president Obama's birth certificate. Of course, I'm not you. And that's a good thing, right?

[TerriDoodle 6]

"There's no amount of evidence or data that will change somebody's mind," says Michael Shermer, who is the publisher of Skeptic magazine and a columnist for Scientific American, and who holds an undergraduate and a master's degree in psychology. "The more data you present a person, the more they doubt it ... Once you're committed, especially behaviorally committed or financially committed, the more impossible it becomes to change your mind."

Any inconvenient facts are irrelevant. People who believe in a conspiracy theory "develop a selective perception, their mind refuses to accept contrary evidence," Chip Berlet, a senior analyst with Political Research Associates who studies such theories, says. "As soon as you criticize a conspiracy theory, you become part of the conspiracy."

Evan Harrington, a social psychologist who is an associate professor at the Chicago School of Professional Psychology, agrees. "One of the tendencies of the conspiracy notion, the whole appeal, is that a lot of the information the believer has is secret or special," Harrington says. "The real evidence is out there, [and] you can give them all this evidence, but they'll have convenient ways to discredit [it]."

Whatever can't be ignored can be twisted to fit into the narrative; every new disclosure of something that should, by rights, end the controversy only opens up new questions, identifies new plotters.

[BJean 16]

That is a great post, terridoogle.

The old "the president is a socialist" conspiracy theory is a prime example of how irrelevant the truth is to that claim.

The election process of 2000 is not a "theory" however. There is plenty of factual data that has been made public from the night of the election into the years that followed.

But I do think what you posted is a theory that might explain why people like to debate theories here on LBT. And might also tell us why those who oppose the beliefs and ideas of a poster, would insist repeatedly that the poster "prove" their beliefs and ideas.

And it would also explain why those who share common beliefs, ideas or theories would not ask for proof from each other. They use each others' posts to become even more "behaviorally committed" and "the more impossible it becomes to change your [their] mind."

[BJean 16]

Hells yeah, I'd like a toddy. But I won't drink your kool-aide without some 101 proof vodka.