"Yeah, well, you know, that's just, like, uh, your opinion, man."
Cast Iron Brains is back with a quick recap of the 2020 Republican National Convention, some big takes on police reform informed by our lived experience, and the unfortunate way that the permissiveness of belief has infected every aspect of human interaction.
Here’s Bob’s recap of nights two and three of the RNC, from which he shamelessly read at the top of the show.
The Cast Iron Brains Election Forecast Model is currently leaning Biden:
Here’s the poll Abe brought up to point out the extent to which voters’ opinions are probably already set in stone, and nothing—from the just-finished RNC to the upcoming presidential debates to the next nine weeks of total partisan vitriol—none of it matters at all, because very little will change between now and November 3.
Not a whole lot to link to for the back half of the episode, because we were mostly just having a pleasant back and forth about how to fix policing in the United States of America. If you think we’ve got research and evidence to back up our takes on this subject, you’re barking up the wrong podcast!
The “People of Portland” have some demands, including halving the police budget for 2021, eliminating the police budget for 2022, and the mayor’s immediate resignation. Now that’s how you open a negotiation!
Lori’s instinct about women police officers has some significant basis in reality, as discussed in this recent WaPo piece.
Here’s the This American Life episode we briefly talked about. Give it a listen!
There’s a new meme in conservative media insisting that the CDC has FINALLY ADMITTED that only six percent of the reported COVID-19 deaths are actually attributable to COVID-19. It’s not true, but that doesn’t matter. (https://www.cbs17.com/community/health/coronavirus/why-you-might-have-misinterpreted-that-viral-only-6-percent-covid-19-statistic/)
This is very bad! People will believe anything that comports with what they already believe, even if they know the particulars aren’t precisely true, it speaks to what they already know.
Despite Abe’s long-running feud with…meteorology, one forecast absolutely nailed the Hurricane Laura track a full three days out. We have factored in the wisdom of this weather model into the CIB Election Forecast Model, because that’s how science works, and we look forward to the improved accuracy this will afford us.
Here’s that stupid meme about the fuzz liberating 39 trafficked children that got Bob all hot and bothered because its content doesn’t comport with provable reality.
Here’s the US Marshal’s Service press release about the operation, which is considerably less dramatic than the meme suggests, and also curiously light on details. Almost like they were hoping for the sort of interpretation found above, in meme format.
Email the show at castironbrains@gmail.com with any comments or questions. We’d love to hear from anybody listening out there. Talk to you next week!
