Linky Friday: Unassailable Facts, and Other Fabrications

[LF1] Confusion reigns, is the gist of it: Mask-Wearing Guidance: A Timeline of Slow-to-Shift Messaging By Kalev Leetaru:

The end result has been a public told for two months not to wear masks, not because they don’t work but because those masks were needed for health care workers. For a public saturated with this “don’t wear” messaging from news outlets and fact checkers, it is not surprising that there has been resistance to current mandatory mask orders. The episode reinforces the critical need for officials to consider the impact of contradictory public health messaging, and reminds us of the limitations of fact-checking sites during a crisis when so much is unknown and guidance changes often.

[LF2] This keeps getting said but it’s really inarguable: Joe Biden is running a far more progressive campaign in proposed policies and promises than Barack Obama did. How Biden Could Be The Most Liberal President In Modern U.S. History
By Perry Bacon Jr.

[LF3] Ordinary Times friend and contributor Genya Coulter puts a bow on the CA-25 special election saga: An Open Letter to CA-25’s Newest Congressman, Mike Garcia, and His Impending Baptism By Fire

[LF4] The continuing adventures and evolution of food delivery in the time of coronavirus: The Artisanal Pizza You Ordered Might Secretly Be Chuck E. Cheese by Sarah Emerson at OneZero

So it was a surprise to learn that Chuck E. Cheese pizza can be consumed in the comfort of your own home, delivered via on-demand apps such as Grubhub, as was revealed last month when a Reddit user documented their experience of accidentally ordering from the children’s entertainment center. Pizza made in the kitchens of select Chuck E. Cheese locations is sold under the name “Pasqually’s Pizza & Wings” on Grubhub, allowing the business to generate revenue while technically remaining closed due to the coronavirus. The brand is owned by CEC Entertainment, Inc., which also owns Chuck E. Cheese, and a trademark registration was filed for the restaurant name on April 16, 2020. (The name derives from one Pasqually P. Pieplate, an Italian chef character and drummer for Chuck E. Cheese’s resident rock band.)

[LF5] Meanwhile, China is not done bringing Hong Kong to heel: China moves to impose controversial Hong Kong security law from the BBC

[LF6] Technically, probably. But then again if you are so gone in the head you believe this nonsense you probably are going to be in some type of cult or another regardless. Is QAnon the newest American religion? by Bonnie Kristian at The Week

[LF7] Folks have been clamouring for this: Man who filmed Ahmaud Arbery video charged with murder By Christian Boone in The Atlanta Journal Constitution. If your wondering how the guy that shot the now-infamous video of the murder caught a murder charge for it, here is some reporting, including an interview with Roddy Bryant from before these charges, that explain how on the initial police report McMichaels stated that “Roddy” (who took the video) was part of the attempt to corner Arbery with vehicles.

[LF8] If one place can do it, fair to question why others did not: Planning for the inevitable: How one nursing home stopped the COVID-19 spread by Carli Brosseau in The Raleigh News & Observer

[LF9] Could voting by mail be subject to voter fraud? Sure. Will it be exponentially more voter fraud than other methods, like some are suggesting including the president? Probably not:

Instead of engaging in a critique of the president’s rather atavistic position (the trend among states is moving rapidly away from it), I would simply observe that before much of anyone outside epidemiological circles had heard the word “coronavirus,” fully 34 states allowed for no-excuse voting by mail (even if the mail ballots in question were still called, as they generally are in most states, “absentee ballots”). Of those, 12 were state governments entirely controlled by Republicans, 12 by Democrats, and the other 10 had split partisan control. So the idea that this was a device one party favored and the other party opposed, or that represented one party’s raid on election integrity, is plainly not very widely shared. That’s particularly true in this pandemic year, when 11 of the 16 states have waived the sort of limitations that Trump favors. So all told 45 states are defying Trump’s wishes.

[LF10] I’m working up my own thoughts on this, but our friend Burt laid this out in the Commentareum so for emphasis reposting it here:

Seemingly rare is the nationally — or internationally — popular religious figure, who would be assessed by a non-adherent of that religion as all three of:
a) leading a personal life generally free of sexual and financial shenanigans;
b) has not fabricated academic credentials in some fashion; and
c) preaching behavior that is apparently well-rooted in the writings of their faith’s ancient holy texts.

Now, don’t misunderstand me. I volunteer rather than concede that there are quite a lot of clerics out there in the world who meet all three of these criteria at the same time. Maybe even the overwhelming number. But I notice that those people tend to focus on their local ministries rather than on pursuit of national or international fame. I also notice that they don’t tend to engage in a lot of apologia as a means of outreach to the non-faithful and perhaps attempts to convert them.
(Query if apologia to non-believers is actually effective at gaining conversions.)

Is this particular to Christianity, I wonder? We certainly see and hear more about Christian clerics doing questionable things than we do clerics of other faiths, but here in the USA, Christianity in its manifold flavors is very culturally dominant. Also, it seems to only be in the Anglosphere, and within that it’s mostly in the USA, that we encounter an abundance of clerics who feel the need to engage by way of apologia to do things like defend the literal truth of Genesis or otherwise engage in some sort of academic or logical confrontation with skeptics and doubters.

(Seriously, does this even work? Does it actually gain more than a token number of converts? My experience with arguments of this nature is that only those who are already firmly convinced they’re right even pay attention to this sort of thing, and hearing apologetic and counter-apologetic arguments almost always cements rather than softens the world view of the listener. It’s almost as if the apologist is simply throwing red meat out to the already-faithful in the hopes of inducing them to financially support their efforts to engage in unresolvable debates. Almost.)

[LF11] There are failures of logic, and then there is this doozy from the — admittedly — lying-on-the-floor low bar of Bill Mitchell:

[LF12] I’m in the minority here, but personally I think Biden should be worried that he can’t get more of a bump in polling out of the worst economic disaster in our lifetimes. But maybe I’m wrong: State polls suggest Biden has a clear national lead from CNN

[LF13] This interview of Joe Biden with the popular Breakfast Club is going to be all over the place today, so watch the whole thing for yourself and draw your own conclusion:

Politico sums up the sticky bits here:

“I’m not acknowledging anybody who is being considered, but I guarantee you: There are multiple black women being considered. Multiple,” Biden said of his search process for a vice presidential nominee.

It was then that an aide to the Biden campaign could be heard interjecting into the conversation, attempting to cut short the interview. “Thank you so much. That’s really our time. I apologize,” the aide said.

“You can’t do that to black media!” Charlamagne retored.

“I do that to white media and black media because my wife has to go on at 6 o’clock,” Biden shot back, apparently referring to a subsequent media appearance by Dr. Jill Biden, before adding: “Uh oh. I’m in trouble.”

“Listen, you’ve got to come see us when you come to New York, VP Biden,” Charlamagne said. “It’s a long way until November. We’ve got more questions.”

“You’ve got more questions?” Biden replied. “Well I tell you what, if you have a problem figuring out whether you’re for me or Trump, then you ain’t black.”