My post yesterday went viral but some of the reactions to it surprised me. Several posters asked me why I had not addressed the question of what caused this shift in our epistemology. The reason why I did not do so is quite simple. I try to stay in my lane of expertise:

https://twitter.com/arenella1/status/1832084977242288136

criminal law and the fields of moral philosophy and moral psychology that examine what capacities we need to become fully accountable moral agents as well as the factors that diminish or destroy the development of these capacities. In short, I did not want to speculate about what

One remarkable aspect of our current cultural situation is the shift in the epistemology used by a majority of Americans. These voters believe their values and beliefs offer the most reliable basis for accepting or rejecting the alleged facts reported by our media. I first noticed this shift when teaching the last generation of law students at UCLA. If the 'best and brightest' young adults use this epistemology when arguing about contested facts, we are in trouble. One example: Acceptance or rejection of the normative principle that

When we had 2 legitimate political parties that shared the necessity of defending our democracy and the rule of law, the media's both-sides attempt to balance conflicting policy positions was defensible because neither party engaged in 'alternative facts" or disinformation campaigns. However, starting with the Reagan era, the Republican Party shifted gears to a policy of redistributing wealth from the middle and working classes to the rich oligarchs. From that point on, our national media failed to inform the public about the consequences of this

I usually do not watch voting rallies but I was curious to see how Walz performed in Las Vegas. He is a natural! Comparing him to Vance is like night and day. I am one of those empaths[can you tell how proud I am about that attribute? I believe its source came from an emotionally abusive mother who I had to watch carefully as a child to see if she was exhibiting an emotional vibe/warning sign that she was about to dump on me] Vance comes off as one of the most inauthentic politicians I have ever watched. In contrast, Walz shines with a very

When our national media was pushing for Biden's exit after his debate performance, I badly wanted Biden to stay in the race. Primarily because he has been the most effective President in my lifetime. Now, I must confess error. I didn't take into account how fearful blue voters were feeling about the distinct possibility that Trump might beat Biden. The incredible wave of blue enthusiasm for the KH-Walz ticket tells me that the vast majority of Blue voters are relieved that their far younger ticket can beat Trump. The too-old dynamic has been reversed

PROFILES IN COWARDICE: I have been reading posts from BLUE voters expressing the belief that Trump might exit the race if his internal polls in September show he is losing in all the states he needs to win to beat Harris. I want to point out why his exit is extremely unlikely: 1] Even though the majority of Republican Senators are disgusted by Trump, they remain fearful of how Trump might destroy their political careers if they voiced their contempt publicly. Trump's power over them was demonstrated when the Senate worked out an effective bypartisan

Deja Vu: The 'allegedly' liberal press is now doing to Biden what it did with Hilary's emails-piling on to get more click baits-I refuse to pile on. Is Biden slower mentally than he was when he beat Trump 3 1/2 yrs ago. Of course he is. Will he run as vigorous campaign as he did in 2020? No. Is he mentally compromised in a significant way apart from being slower? Absent thorough neurological and cognitive testing by independent experts owing no loyalty to Biden, none of us know. Did I think Biden reassured the nation in his ABC interview where

SAD STORY; During Trump's first and successful campaign for the Presidency, I spent a good amount of time talking to large groups of Trump supporters in Orange County, Ca. Actually, not talking but listening to both their views about Trump as well as the profound changes they expected Trump to implement once he was President. I vividly remember being surprised by how they were living in a different version of reality than the rest of us. Apart from their racist and white Christian nationalist views, what I found most disturbing was their clear desire

VERY IMPORTANT LEAK TO ABC-Trump expressed concern that if he returned the national security documents he was unlawfully possessing that he would be prosecuted: 1]such an admission by any criminal defendant is admissible against him 2] its incriminating value is very significant because it constitutes proof BRD he had the mental state of the crimes charged if the jury believes he said it. What should anger and frustrate all Americans is the failure of our legal system to prosecute and convict him of this very serious felony before the election. Trump's

REVISED EXTRACT FROM THE JOURNAL/BOOK I AM WRITING FOR MY DAUGHTER; POSTING IT HERE IN THE HOPE THAT IT CAN HELP PARENTS OF DISABLED CHILDREN: My first born and only son suffered severe anoxia at birth because the midwife my ex insisted on instead of a OBGYN with a speciality caring for high risk pregnancies failed to do an ultrasound that would have revealed David was in a breach position. David was born within 5 minutes of reaching our nearby local hospital and would have died if the delivery had taken just a few minutes longer. The Dr present at

A senior official who works for ENGLAND'S version of our CIA happens to be a life long friend who I first met while biking through Europe in the summer of 1970. We talk every month on his dime. He consented to my posting the essence of his comment about Trump: while there is no consensus about whether Trump is in Putin's pocket because of blackmail or some other financial reason, the majority of his staff believe Trump was intentionally doing everything within his power during his Presidency to help Putin achieve his goal of weakening NATO and expanding

A recent ABC poll showed that 50% of eligible voters believe electing BIDEN will save our democracy while an opposing 50% actually believe Trump's election will save us. For the moment, lets assume that poll is reasonably accurate but Biden beats Trump in November. Most of us are understandably focused on the electoral outcome. But, there is far less commentary here or on other social apps about the post election problem generated by this 50% who will not change their minds after the election because their beliefs are not based on facts but

RE STUDENT PROTESTS CONDEMNING ISRAEL'S GENOCIDE OF INNOCENT PALESTINIANS; In the mid-60's to the mid-70's, I was one of the hundred of thousands students participating in mass protests against the Vietnam war. I promised myself that if and when I became a senior citizen, I would not make the mistake of objecting to justifiable protests against US foreign policy by this generation of students. I want to be clear; I support their non-violent protests about our misguided support of Israel after NETANYAHU crossed the line between justifiable self-defense and

What a miserable day. OJ's death triggered over 100 emails from national TV news programs as well as Cable stations, requests from the CBC, BBC, and Japanese networks as well as local tv stations in LA and WASHINGTON D.C. I stopped replying after saying HELL NO to the first 40. 2]Our national media can not be bothered to tell the truth to Americans about how a Trump victory could very well destroy our democracy and the rule of law. But, OJ's passing is worthy of international coverage??? I fear my obituary's legacy will be all OJ.

FOLLOWER FEEDBACK; On several occasions, I have posted tweets that draw a frightening parallel between Hitler and Trump. Several Biden supporters have responded to this analogy and suggested I am making a serious strategic mistake because the vast majority of Americans would reject this type of post as a classic example of malicious inflated political rhetoric. I rarely respond to this type of criticism because I appreciate any response would not persuade my critics. But, I believe this criticism reflects both denial and a partial explanation for why

In my lifetime[76 yrs], I have never hated or despised any US political figure as much as Trump who is the first politician to be an existential threat to our democracy. But, what I find more upsetting, alarming, and disgusting is the fact that 40% of Americans either do not recognize the threat or are indifferent to it because of a desire for an authoritarian leader. Long after Trump leaves the political stage, this reality will be with us until this 40% leave their mortal coil. Perhaps I am being naive but I believe that my kids' generation will

I tried to draft a calm summary of all the miserable aspects of the USSCT decision today to decide whether the DC Circuit Ct of Appeals decision denying Trump's beyond absurd claim of enjoying absolute immunity. The DC Circuit opinion is bullet proof so there was no need to take The DC Circuit opinion is bullet proof so there was no need to take this case, much less to hear oral arguments 2 months from now which jeopardizes the SP's opportunity to finish his criminal prosecution of Trump long before the election. Even if the SCT affirms the lower ct's

I tried to draft a calm summary of all the miserable aspects of the USSCT decision today to decide whether the DC Circuit Ct of Appeals decision denying Trump's beyond absurd claim that he should have absolute immunity for crimes committed during his Presidency. I failed. The DC Circuit opinion is bullet proof so there was no need to take this case, much less to hear oral arguments 2 months from now which jeopardizes the SP's opportunity to finish his criminal prosecution of Trump long before the election. Even if the SCT affirms the lower ct's

My good friend, @RickPetree, suggested yesterday that social apps like this one ignore the SP's gratuitous slam that Biden 'is an elderly man with memory problems; later referring to Biden's "diminished capacities." Rick did not want anyone to give this hit job any "air". Sadly, our national media is happy to give it their airtime. Several anchors repeated the same mantra; "this issue is not going away" and "will have a significant impact on the election." WINK, WINK. What follows are many of the reasons why our national media is dead set on making

When I need humor with a political bite, I watch Stephen Colbert. When I need a good laugh, I turn on Jimmy Kimmel. But, Kimmel has one bit that always leaves his audience laughing but I find utterly terrifying. He has someone from the show ask pedestrians walking the streets of Hollywood to name important national officials from their photos. Invariably, our clueless citizens give the wrong answers even when given a second or third try. Last night, we had a version of 'Dumb and Dumber.' People were asked a basic geography question: they were asked to

I want to clarify my post ripping Tribe a new one for offering unfounded and mistaken opinions about how the DOJ/AG were not willing to charge Trump with crimes after Jan 6th. First, Larry has 0 criminal law expertise which led him to conclude from 2 yrs of DOJ silence that no criminal investigation was being pursued. In reality, two federal grand juries were using their subpoena power to amass volumes of incriminating evidence long before the Congressional hearings that Tribe falsely claimed were the trigger for federal investigations. Having said th,