Across all ideologies investigated by the researchers, people who endorsed “extreme pro-group action”, including ideologically-motivated violence against others, had a surprisingly consistent psychological profile.
The extremist mind – a mixture of conservative and dogmatic psychological signatures – is cognitively cautious, slower at perceptual processing and has a weaker working memory. This is combined with impulsive personality traits that seek sensation and risky experiences.
The first thing that crossed my mind is somebody who misses the funniest part of a joke, or wildly misinterprets the joke. I must admit I often throw something out when I first meet somebody, in an unconscious(?) attempt to gauge their personality. It's a faulty, self-centered approach, because you have no way of knowing what they're dealing with at the time. But it is surprisingly accurate. Here's more on their findings:
WHAT NC'S REGIONAL TEACHERS OF THE YEAR WANT YOU TO KNOW: Clinton Todd: "I would want our audience to know that our most underrepresented populations have value and worth, and there's so much potential there if we just invest and take that time and energy and place it in the places where it's most important." Ashtyn Berry: "There's room for duality. I'm going to quote Dr. Graham ... and I'm going to say that the issues that the general public is seeing with public education are systemic and structural. However, it is so, so important to look at schools and speak about schools through an asset-based lens right now. Otherwise, this issue of retaining teachers and recruiting teachers is not going to get better." Ryan Mitchell: "There's a lot of talk about learning loss and deficits and it's important to have that asset-minded mindset. ... I want the public to know that we are working. We are working. I have been to a bunch of schools as a part of this opportunity as a teacher of the year and in every school I go in teaching, our teachers are working so hard. I'm here at school right now and I am not the last car in the parking lot. And that is not something that's unique to my school. So trust us, work with us, let's be partners in the educational process, and let's do what's best for kids." NC is still in the bottom quartile on per-student spending, and that could easily be addressed by shifting some of the surplus revenues. But the GOP majority stubbornly refuses to do what the courts have directed them to, and instead have done their level best to turn parents against teachers. Shame on them. https://www.wral.com/mary-ann-wolf-what-n-c-s-regional-teachers-of-the-year-want-you-to-know/20685878/
How can a black man be a racist? For Mark Robinson, it’s easy. Here’s Frank Bruni’s take on the matter.
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"The 2024 governor’s race in North Carolina just got underway. You care.
"Not because this state is the nation’s ninth most populous, though that’s reason enough. But because what happens here is a referendum on how low Republicans will sink and how far they can nonetheless get.
All five Proud Boys on trial this month in the Justice Department’s landmark seditious conspiracy prosecution were in Squire’s original data set. Another member who pleaded guilty and is expected to testify previously filmed himself railing against Squire on social media, and posted her private information on Telegram in retaliation for her research.
After years of observing Proud Boys act as if they’re above the law, Squire said, the trial offers the promise of long-awaited accountability. “This is where you end up when you’re in this movement. It’s not going to end well,” she said. “To use their own favorite expression: You eff around, and you find out.”
Yanno, folks on the right like to throw the word "Patriot" around to sauce up their gun fetishism, but Megan is what I consider a true patriot. Using her skills to protect the wider public from unhinged and dangerous people, even though she knows that comes with a serious risk:
SPEAKER TIM MOORE'S POWER GRAB: Since 2011, and until last week, it has been the rule in the North Carolina House of Representatives that there must be at least a day’s notice before a vote on overriding legislation vetoed by the governor – two days if the bill originated in the House. That rule was adopted in 2011 -- the same year Republicans initiated their now 12-year domination of both the state House and state Senate in the General Assembly. The provision was placed in the House rules at the behest of former Republican state Rep. Paul “Skip” Stam. Stam is no fair-weather partisan and at the time was the Republican Majority Leader in the House. Every representative present – including then Rules Committee co-chair and now Speaker Tim Moore – voted for it. The point of the rule is not to give any political party or state official any advantage or disadvantage. The point is to make sure citizens know what’s going on and can hold their elected representatives fully accountable. Giving notice on important actions – whether hearings and votes on bills before legislative committees, debates and votes in the state House or Senate – makes sure the public has a way to track and hold their elected officials responsible for their actions. Responsibility is exactly the kind of behavioral trait that Berger and Moore try to avoid, so they can keep shortchanging our public schools and block Medicaid expansion. And they will use every dirty trick in the book (and those not written yet) to get there. https://www.wral.com/editorial-speaker-tim-moore-s-power-grab/20675246/
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