Before you go on, an article in the May 8 & May 22, 2021 issue of Science News ran with a cover "Awash in Deception: How science can help us avoid being duped by misinformation." In the lead article titled: "The Battle Against Fake News," Alexandra Witze presents five suggestions on how to debunk bad information. They come from the News Literacy Project (see the above link).
How to Debunk:
1. Arm yourself with media literacy skills, at sites such as the News Literacy Project (newslit.org), to better understand how to spot hoax videos and stories.
2. Don't stigmatize people for holding inaccurate beliefs. Show empathy and respect, or you're more likely to alienate your audience than successfully share accurate information.
3. Translate complicated but true ideas into simple messages that are easy to grasp. Videos, graphics and other visual aids can help.
4. When possible, once you provide a factual alternative to the misinformation, explain the underlying fallacies (such as cherry- picking information, a common tactic of climate change deniers.
5. Mobilize when you see misinformation being shared on social media as soon as possible. If you see something, say something.
"Misinformation is any information that is incorrect, whether due to error or fake news.
"Disinformation is deliberately intended to deceive."
"Propaganda is disinformation with a political agenda."
Sander van der Linden
Social Psychologist
University of Cambridge
Source: Science News/May 8, 2021 & May 22, 2021
Update: September 22, 2023: This is more important now than ever. Be vigilant and speak in your own way. Love Wins.
Update: McQuade, Barbara, "Attack From Within," 2024. New York Times best seller.
The Toto song “Love Isn’t Always On Time” popped into my head this morning. There’s a lot in the song that is superfluous, but the message of the chorus and the edgy tone on the guitar communicates my mood these days. Edgy and defiant with love to round off the sharp edges.
I felt the edge when I listened to Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent arrogantly reply to a question from Senator Ron Widen during a hearing of the Senate Budget Committee. Love isn’t always on time.
The Administration announced cuts to the Environmental Protection Agency’s research funding. Love isn’t always on time.
Apparently the president would rather write his pictures than draw them. This is the person in charge of the most powerful nation on Earth. Love isn’t always on time.
Trump support of Benjamin Netanyahu’s genocidal policy in Gaza. Love isn’t always on time.
Saturday Night Live parodies of the president. You’ve gotta love it.
A summary of presidential Executive Orders since January 20. Love isn’t always on time.
ICE detentions. Love isn’t always on time.
The party that claims that it is pro-Life yet seeks to deny health care to a pregnant woman seeking a medically necessary abortion? How pro-Life is that? Love isn’t always on time.
I finally got around to reading George Packer’s piece in the July issue of the The Atlantic magazine on J.D. Vance. That’s one messed up elite dude. Love isn’t always on time.
On the Bright Side
How to make a sturdy, rain-proof protest sign
Felicity Shoulders
My Science March sign, using the same technique/materials.
I woke up the day before the Women’s March and felt a need to make a sign. I’d never done this before though, and the online resources I immediately found were pretty vague: “attach handle”, for instance. The whole reason I was googling was to find out what makes a good handle, guys!
Also, the forecast for Portland was rain. Loads of rain. (You can tell photos of our Women’s March from others by the high incidence of umbrellas!) So, I set out to make a rain-proof protest sign, and my improvised solution worked very well. Many marchers asked about my materials, so I thought I’d share my process. My sign went completely undamaged by the torrential rain, and is so sturdy it is ready for another march (or three, or a dozen, whatever it takes) at a moment’s notice.
Actually, this morning I made another sign (a little less fussily than the one shown in progress, and a bit of tape short of weatherproof) and it took 35 minutes:
The other side of this sign is more serious. Like a mullet: business in front, party in the back.
Reusable, not recycled This uses plastic, bought for the purpose. If you want a biodegradable or recycled sign, this is not your huckleberry. I recommend choosing a slogan you’re going to want to use multiple times. You can also flip the plastic pieces to the other side to repurpose the sign, or I suppose attach a changeable paper sign to this sturdy plastic one.
Danger: contains a stick Some jurisdictions apparently ban the use of wood supports on signs, and some protests ask that participants not include sticks. I’ll update this with a link if I find a roundup of local laws, but check your jurisdiction and your protest’s guidelines to make sure this sign is allowed.
What you need
* 2 corrugated plastic sign blanks (I used 20x24)
* DecoColor paint markers, broad tip
* 1 round dowel rod, 48" long and 1" diameeter
* 4 wood screws, 1/2"
* clear packing tape
* power drill (with a fine drill bit and a screwdriver bit)
* eye protection
* gaffer tape (optional, for extra grip and comfort on handle)
Alternatives: If you don’t have a power drill, you could punch holes in your plastic signs and cable-tie them tightly to the dowel, or use a staple gun powerful enough to staple into the wood.
W
here to get it
Plastic blanks — I got these in the hardware section of my local superstore, in a display with ‘garage sale’ and ‘for sale by owner’ signs. Hardware/home supply stores seem a good bet. Online — You can also search for ‘corrugated plastic sign blank’ on Amazon, though many of their options are large packs (say, of 25) you might share with friends.
DecoColor Opaque Paint Markers — tried and true against rain
DecoColor paint markers — At least here in Oregon, paint markers have to be locked up so taggers won’t shoplift them, and only art supply stores generally want to deal with that headache. Some very nice employees at my local Blick’s Art Materials helped me test different brands of paint markers for how well they stick on plastic and stand up to water. Sharpie oil-based and Krink paint markers are water-resistant, but DecoColors are, as advertised, seriously weatherproof. Online — They are much cheaper from Blick’s than from Amazon. Scroll down for all the colors. You want broad tips, and will wish they were even broader.
1" dowel: Same hardware section, in the paint aisle. The 48" length was perfect for a 24"-tall sign. Mine was labeled simply ‘hardwood’, and it didn’t split around the screws at all. Online: Home stores have them too.
Wood screws, gaffer tape, etc. are all available in hardware stores or hardware sections.
What you do
0. Decide on your slogan and, if you’re fussy, lay it out and rough it in with pencil. I made a mockup of my sign in a word processor and printed it: this let me fold the paper in half to see the center line, and helped me figure out where to draw pencil lines to keep my words straight. (Told you, fussy!)
Drawing my sign with my mockup handy.
1. Draw your signs in a well ventilated space. These pens do stink!
Two signs, done. I didn’t fill in the pattern on the second ‘dream’ because it was late already!
2. Attach your signs to your dowel. Use eye protection, and stagger the screws on either side of the dowel so they aren’t in any danger of meeting or splitting the rod. First, immobilize your dowel and drill a guide hole (I used the smallest bit handy, 1/16 inch) through sign and dowel both. Then swap out the bit and drive the screw through both. I put one screw toward the top and one toward the bottom. Flip the sign and repeat.
3. Tape the sides of the signs together with your clear packing tape. This makes them less likely to snag on your fellow marchers or yourself, a little more aerodynamic when it’s windy, and just generally sturdier.
4. Gaffer-tape the handle if desired. My dowel seemed well sanded, but the cloth of gaffer tape is just more pleasant to hold onto, and gave a great grip for my textured gloves (which I recommend wearing, especially in Oregon in winter.) The two spots I randomly chose ended up being great places for a two-handed hold, though of course I held and waved it plenty of ways.
My finished sign, with gaffer tape grips
Now you have a protest sign sturdy enough to last you a lot of marches, so you can be equipped at a moment’s appalled notice. May the Force be with you.
TL;DR: DecoColor Opaque Marker Pens are seriously waterproof and work on plastic corrugated signs you can find at the hardware store.
Kudos to California Attorney General Rob Bonta in using the tool available to him to resist the regime in Washington. He has filed or signed onto 34 lawsuits against the gfgfsj Administration.
Winston Churchill Quotes:
"Never, never, never give in!"
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"Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts."
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"You will never reach your destination if you stop and throw stones at every dog that barks."
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"Fear is a reaction. Courage is a decision."
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"A Nation that forgets it's past has no future."
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"The POSITIVE THINKER sees the INVISIBLE, feels the INTANGIBLE, and achieves the IMPOSSIBLE."
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"If you're going through hell, keep going."
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And one from Franklin Delano Roosevelt:
"The only thing we have to fear is fear itself."