dimland radio 9-24-16 show notes

Correction. Yes, Again!

I had to correct some bad info I had received and that I imparted on the previous show. Despite what I stated about Jim Jones, the wacky cult leader, he did NOT drink the Kool-Aid. He did not poison himself as the more than 900 of his followers did in November 1978. He shot himself.

 

This information was confirmed by a listener to my show. I also checked the internets and the episode of In Search Of that profiled Jimmie Jones and his Soul - Soul Clones (see the bumpers at the bottom to get this reference).

A Handful Of Skittles? Why, Thank You

Donald Trump Jr made a not original analogy about Syrian refugees comparing them to a bowlful of Skittles: Virtually all the Skittles are fine, but three are poisonous. He asked if, knowing that, would we still want a handful?

 

That brought out a negative reaction from folks who don't care for Trump Sr. Reducing human beings to Skittles seems a little harsh and selfish to me. Some argued that the analogy merely means the US needs to strengthen its vetting process of Syrian refugees in order to weed out those that may wish to do us harm. Others, including me, think that some people would use that analogy to justify their bigotry toward which ever group they don't like or trust.

 

 

 

I did point out that this same analogy was used by a faction of the Feminist movement in 2014 to refute the Not All Men folks, who were concerned about all men being treated as potential rapists. I don't remember the folks who were upset about the poison Skittles today, being upset about the poison M&Ms then. I mentioned an article on the left-leaning website Raw Story. This article was taking exception to Trump Jr's Skittle analogy and traced the analogy all the way back to the Nazis. I wonder if Raw Story ran a similar refutation in 2014 when the poison M&Ms analogy was being used.

 

However, in 2014 Debunking Denialism did write an article voicing the problems with the M&Ms/Skittles analogy

 

There were two very good responses to the Skittles/Syrian refugee analogy. One was by cartoonist Jeff Stahler:

 

The other was a written response by magician Eli Bosnick:
"If I gave you a bowl of skittles and three of them were poison would you still eat them?"

"Are the other skittles human lives?"

"What?"

"Like. Is there a good chance. A really good chance. I would be saving someone from a war zone and probably their life if I ate a skittle?"

"Well sure. But the point-"

"I would eat the skittles."

"Ok-well the point is-"

"I would GORGE myself on skittles. I would eat every single fucking skittle I could find. I would STUFF myself with skittles. And when I found the poison skittle and died I would make sure to leave behind a legacy of children and of friends who also ate skittle after skittle until there were no skittles to be eaten. And each person who found the poison skittle we would weep for. We would weep for their loss, for their sacrifice, and for the fact that they did not let themselves succumb to fear but made the world a better place by eating skittles.
Because your REAL question...the one you hid behind a shitty little inaccurate, insensitive, dehumanizing racist little candy metaphor is, IS MY LIFE MORE IMPORTANT THAN THOUSANDS UPON THOUSANDS OF MEN, WOMEN, AND TERRIFIED CHILDREN...
... and what kind of monster would think the answer to that question... is yes?"

Fantastic!

It's Not True: Jennifer Aniston's Profanity Laden Appearance On The Today Show

A story made the rounds on the social media, shortly after the news of Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt divorcing, claiming that Jennifer Aniston, who had been involved with Pitt before Jolie came a callin', gave a swear word filled diatribe over America's priorities. She was so upset that people were more concerned about "Brangelina" than about the injustices of our country today.

Well, it's not true. She was not even a recent guest on the Today Show. How could anyone believe she would use such language live on national television?

Said News About Terry Jones

 

Terry Jones, member of the brilliant Monty Python comedy troupe, disclosed that he is suffering from primary progressive aphasia, a form of dementia. This condition slowly robs a person of their ability to communicate. It's very sad.

 

My father-in-law also suffers from the same condition. It's very frustrating for both the person who has it and the people trying to communicate with them.

 

Dad has trouble with my name, but he is able to called me "big guy". And that works for me.

 

My Old Conspiracy Theory

 

Lastly, a quick talk about my first paycheck job and how I got fired. I used to think I was fired because I was about to turn 18 and they would have to pay me minimum wage ($3.35 in those days). I was training as a cook and the bosses didn't think I was getting it. Well, why didn't they send me back down to being a dishwasher, which I started out as and did well? Because they surely didn't want to pay a dishwasher $3.35 an hour! 

 

Well, that's what I thought for a long time. Maybe I just wasn't getting it. Sure, some circumstances may have gone against me, but I could have just been taking too long to catch on and they needed me as a cook, not as a dishwasher.

 

I dunno.

 

Movie Recommendation: None

I ran out of time. You're on your own this week.

 

Music heard on the show...
 

Dimland Radio opening theme song: 'Ram' by The Yoleus 
First ad break bumpers: 'Jimmie Jones' by The Vapors & 'Only In America' by Naked Raygun

Second ad break bumpers: 'Next Position Please' by Cheap Trick & 'Eighties' by Killing Joke

Closing song: 'Angler's Treble Hook' by $5 Fiddle

That's it! See you next Saturday night for Dimland Radio 11 Central, midnight Eastern on www.ztalkradio.com you can also download my show from the z talk show archives page. You can email your questions and comments to drdim@dimland.com
 
You can also go to my CafePress store and buy stuff with my artwork on it and have me do a portrait for you if you like. Find out more here and here.

dimland radio 3-28-15 no show show notes

The Show Is On Hiatus

We've had the tragic event of having our Mac laptop decide not to work anymore. This means that, until we replace the laptop, I won't be doing a show for a while. I hope to not be away for too long.

I figured that I could still post here and address some of the topics I would have covered on the show. So, this is my no show show notes...

Angelina Jolie Removes More Organs

What lengths some people will go to to lose weight!

All kidding aside, the actor, director, ambassador, and serial child adopter Angelina Jolie was in the news again recently. She announced that she along with her doctors decided that she should have her ovaries and fallopian tubes removed in order to prevent ovarian cancer. You will recall that a couple years ago Jolie was in the news for opting to have both her breasts removed in order to avoid breast cancer.

She made these decisions based on her genetic makeup putting her at a high risk of developing those cancers. This is an extreme version of an ounce of prevention thinking, but I'm certain her doctors had given her their best advice and she had carefully considered her actions.

I've seen there has been concern that other people might follow her example with their bodies, but I gotta figure those people's doctors won't do these procedures lightly. Doctors take an oath to do no harm and their licensing boards would be none too happy if doctors cross the line. Although, there is that Burzynski qua... er... doc... er... fellow.

Ok, here's my easy joke that I'm probably not the first to make:

So, Angelina Jolie has had her breasts and ovaries removed because she is genetically at high risk of breast and ovarian cancer. I sure hope she doesn't find out she's also at high risk for brain cancer.

Woman Has Seizure And Dies After Acupuncture Treatment

Don't get me wrong, I don't think acupuncture is safe and effective. I think it is a superstitious practice that has no basis in reality. It's just the placebo effect.

However, Tim Farley of What's The Harm, Skeptic History, and Skeptools had posted a story of a 29 year-old woman in Hong Kong having a seizure and later dying after having an acupuncture treatment. I cannot find anything that states that the acupuncture was what led to the seizure. She could easily have had the seizure while on the bus on the way to get the treatment.

What this is an example of is post hoc reasoning. The woman had a treatment which science has shown to be useless and unproven and, then, she had a seizure and later died; therefore it must be the treatment that caused her death. We have to remember that correlation does not mean causation.

I know Tim Farley knows that. I've heard him say What's The Harm isn't scientific, but I wouldn't have gone with the story without stating that it isn't yet known if the acupuncture was responsible. Farley may have done just that and I may have missed it.

Faith-healer Benny Hinn Hospitalized

Believe me, the irony of this story did not pass the notice of skeptics.

Benny Hinn has made his name and his considerable fortune by his "faith healing" theatrics. Perhaps you've seen videos of this televangelist tapping people on their foreheads and their collapsing at the power of Jesus following through the charlat... er... good reverend. I've even seen clips of him just waving his hands at the gathered suck... er... faithful and they all fall over. Such power he has.

Well, the faithful at Hinn's sideshow have been conditioned as to how to react when the good mounteb... er... man of God does his act. They may be caught up in the moment and their faith that they actually feel his power of Jesus in his waving hands.

However, Benny the faith-healer doesn't seem to be able to cure his male pattern baldness or, more importantly, his heart condition. A condition that recently required a stay at the hospital. 

Another easy and certainly made by others joke:

Faith-healer, heal thyself.