<html><head><meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8"></head><body style="word-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; line-break: after-white-space;" class="">I’m glad to have these resources, particularly the lawfare breakdowns.<div class=""><br class=""></div><div class="">However, in this conversation I would like to see us separate the things we credit with reflecting on real ideas from patent political nonsense and bad faith. Dershowitz exists to prove the maxim that there isn’t really any democratic robustness in the US legal system, and that in fact any outcome can be achieved through a parade of nonsense by whoever has the most money and power. That is why he takes case after case that have no legal merits, to preen by showing that it is the singer — particularly the singer Dershowitz — entirely, and not at al the song.</div><div class=""><br class=""></div><div class="">The right wing of the senate is also a case study in how corruption works at the institutional level, and how systems like Venezuela develop in the stages before the society is in riots and the outside world starts to notice that they exist. So what Dershowitz does in the senate is even more extravagant nonsense than what he would do in an actual court, to emphasize the fact that not only he, but they, achieve ends through manipulation of power without any role for principal. </div><div class=""><br class=""></div><div class="">In contrast, when there is real law, and a good-faith effort to use law to create a fair playing field, there can be a good discussion of how legal precedent is the applied domain of psychology. Then we can discuss the difference between German interpretations of the relative merits of punishment versus rehabilitation, and American positions on similar questions (perhaps more historically than in this particular distorted present).</div><div class=""><br class=""></div><div class="">Anyway, one more thing to feel sick about with an understanding that one has very little and limited agency in this big broken world,</div><div class=""><br class=""></div><div class="">Eric</div><div class=""><br class=""></div><div class=""><br class=""></div><div class=""><br class=""></div><div class=""><br class=""><div><br class=""><blockquote type="cite" class=""><div class="">On Jan 31, 2020, at 4:36 AM, <a href="mailto:thompnickson2@gmail.com" class="">thompnickson2@gmail.com</a> wrote:</div><br class="Apple-interchange-newline"><div class=""><div class="WordSection1" style="page: WordSection1; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; text-decoration: none;"><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;" class="">Hi everybody,<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><o:p class=""></o:p></div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;" class=""><o:p class=""> </o:p></div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;" class="">I am often been hard pressed by members of the “home church” to supply examples of how locating motives “in the head” is not only a misdirection but actually a dangerous illusion. I give you<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><a href="https://shows.acast.com/the-report/episodes/the-impeachment-day-7" style="color: rgb(5, 99, 193); text-decoration: underline;" class="">https://shows.acast.com/the-report/episodes/the-impeachment-day-7</a><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>which, at minute 7:40, contains an argument that Trump’s motives cannot be inferred from his behavior because motives are inherently subjective, “in the head” of the motivated person. This, of course, contradicts long standing legal practice, where demonstrating motive from higher-order patterns in behavior (i.e., patterns distributed more broadly in time and space than in the moments surrounding the motivated act) is a necessary element in most criminal cases. It is, for instance, the main element that distinguishes manslaughter from murder. In fact, the whole range of offences resulting in death are distinguished by the degree to which the jury thinks the lethal act was “voluntary”. <span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><o:p class=""></o:p></div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;" class=""><o:p class=""> </o:p></div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;" class="">By the way, that link will serve to introduce you to the lawfare “<a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-report/id1472798169" style="color: rgb(5, 99, 193); text-decoration: underline;" class="">reports</a>” which attempt to provide a neutral precis of the proceedings, day by day. <span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><o:p class=""></o:p></div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;" class=""><o:p class=""> </o:p></div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;" class="">Nick<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><o:p class=""></o:p></div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;" class=""><o:p class=""> </o:p></div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;" class="">PS: I just did a dive into the legal dictionary. Interesting. Apparently, the law makes a big distinction between<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><a href="https://legal-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/motivation" style="color: rgb(5, 99, 193); text-decoration: underline;" class="">motive</a>and<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><a href="https://legal-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/motivation" style="color: rgb(5, 99, 193); text-decoration: underline;" class="">intent</a>, the former being more like having a reason to commit a crime, the latter being more like setting about to commit the crime. Interesting stuff, this law business No wonder Oliver Wendell Holmes was a pragmatist.!<o:p class=""></o:p></div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;" class=""><o:p class=""> </o:p></div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;" class="">N<o:p class=""></o:p></div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;" class="">Nicholas Thompson<o:p class=""></o:p></div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;" class="">Emeritus Professor of Ethology and Psychology<o:p class=""></o:p></div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;" class="">Clark University<o:p class=""></o:p></div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;" class=""><a href="mailto:ThompNickSon2@gmail.com" style="color: rgb(5, 99, 193); text-decoration: underline;" class="">ThompNickSon2@gmail.com</a><o:p class=""></o:p></div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;" class=""><a href="https://wordpress.clarku.edu/nthompson/" style="color: rgb(5, 99, 193); text-decoration: underline;" class="">https://wordpress.clarku.edu/nthompson/</a><o:p class=""></o:p></div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;" class=""><o:p class=""></o:p></div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;" class=""><o:p class=""> </o:p></div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;" class=""><o:p class=""> </o:p></div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;" class=""><o:p class=""> </o:p></div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;" class=""><o:p class=""> </o:p></div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;" class=""><o:p class=""> </o:p></div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;" class=""><o:p class=""> </o:p></div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;" class=""><o:p class=""> </o:p></div></div><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; text-decoration: none; float: none; display: inline !important;" class="">============================================================</span><br style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; text-decoration: none;" class=""><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); 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text-decoration: none; float: none; display: inline !important;" class="">Meets Fridays 9a-11:30 at cafe at St. John's College</span><br style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; text-decoration: none;" class=""><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; text-decoration: none; float: none; display: inline !important;" class="">to unsubscribe<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span><a href="http://redfish.com/mailman/listinfo/friam_redfish.com" style="color: rgb(5, 99, 193); text-decoration: underline; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px;" class="">http://redfish.com/mailman/listinfo/friam_redfish.com</a><br style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; text-decoration: none;" class=""><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; text-decoration: none; float: none; display: inline !important;" class="">archives back to 2003:<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span><a href="http://friam.471366.n2.nabble.com/" style="color: rgb(5, 99, 193); text-decoration: underline; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px;" class="">http://friam.471366.n2.nabble.com/</a><br style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; text-decoration: none;" class=""><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; text-decoration: none; float: none; display: inline !important;" class="">FRIAM-COMIC<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span><a href="http://friam-comic.blogspot.com/" style="color: rgb(5, 99, 193); text-decoration: underline; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px;" class="">http://friam-comic.blogspot.com/</a><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; text-decoration: none; float: none; display: inline !important;" class=""><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>by Dr. Strangelove</span></div></blockquote></div><br class=""></div></body></html>