Absolutely. The fundamental attribution error is one of the most useful concepts in social science. It’s amazing how frequently people of all types are hostile to the idea.

“I think vaccines are relatively safe and effective.”

Both things can be true. In Maude’s case, she was doing something meaningful to her and the arc of her life. If she died in a way she wanted, taking control of her existence by ending it in a conscious, considered way that gave her satisfaction in her last moments, then that’s totally cool. It’s also sad, but “my…

I don’t think “incompetent government hides truth from the people” is an “alt-right delusion,” so much as a “historically documented fact.” The alt-right folks have enough legitimate delusions that we don’t need to avoid talking about, satirizing, and/or dealing with real problems just because crazy people also think…

I can’t think of any truly gifted people, or any people in general, who don’t have at least some ideas I disagree strongly with. Whether it’s politics or policy, science or history, none of us are on the exact same page.

The “drugged via injection” angle is dubious, to say the very, very, very least. Of course, I could be wrong (a regular occurrence), but the police routinely stoke panic about drugs (as illustrated best by the ridiculous “exposed to fentanyl and passed out” stories that have been popping up) to make themselves look…

That’s why it’s necessary for the government to regulate the supply, so that people don’t have to rely on drug dealers.

If used as prescribed, in low to moderate doses, even daily, Oxycodone doesn’t have the deleterious physical effects on the body that alcohol does. There is a risk for dependence, but dependence (distinct from addiction) on Oxycodone is also far less (almost not at all) physically harmful than dependence on alcohol.…

I think it’s important to know that the reason there was fentanyl in the oxycodone (as it is in black market Percocet, Xanax, heroin, cocaine, MDMA, etc.) is primarily because prohibition makes it impossible to regulate the products people are using, most of whom aren’t addicted. Michael K. Williams didn’t…

So, the universe worked to help a guy you don’t like accidentally kill a person you don’t know and you’re grinning?

That’s a very interesting link with what looks like a lot of other very interesting links, so thanks! I appreciate any perspective that complicates the narrative, because I’ve come to believe the narrative is so much more complicated than is generally perceived.

I’m looking forward to watching this, and I’m hopeful that the simplistic narrative that the current crisis is the fault of the Sacklers (who are, no doubt, terrible), instead of the response to the Sacklers’ terribleness, which is the main culprit.

Definitely. Private companies can decide for themselves who can use their platforms, without interference from the government, thank goodness.

In those countries, you can also be raided and criminally charged for referring to cops as “pigs.”

Chappelle’s comedy aside, hate speech is protected in the U.S. under the 1st Amendment of the Constitution. This is a good thing, because when Trump Jr. or DeSantis or Cruz or some other terrible person and their party controls the government, what is considered “hate speech” would certainly change in the eyes of the…

The degree to which a drug is “dependence-forming” (“addictive” is much harder to measure) depends much more on the circumstance and the person, than the drug, itself. Different people react differently to different drugs.

It looks like the link I provided isn’t working. Let’s try again.

As an addiction counselor, I agree with your last two sentences.

I’ve never said that nicotine isn’t harmful. I’ve only stated the scientific fact, as clearly documented as climate change and the efficacy of vaccinations, that nicotine is no more harmful than caffiene.

A year ago, the big tobacco companies controlled about 30% of the market. Thanks to the new restrictions only they can afford, soon they’ll have closer to 75-80%. These restrictions mostly hurt small stores and companies that have been helping smokers stop smoking.