Next time I angrily retort that X is a dick, or Y is a ninny, even though they are, I might remind myself to re-read this (albeit quite lengthy) piece about motte-and-bailey argumentation. The stuff spcifically about covid is towards the end but it would be a shame to miss an elegantly unfolded explanation along the way.
Its a nice little piece. Though the idea can be used to automatically ‘shore up’ the middle position by pointing out ‘bailies’ on both sides, even if one side is more on the right side of the facts than the other.
But it’s a neat execution of the idea 
. And of course shifting positions to wrongfoot the opponent is a common and effective tactic.
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Definitely a new entry to my top ten fight scenes. But Hal Hartley’s The Unbelievable Truth takes the first five or so spots, way beyond epic.
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I haven’t seen this film, I couldn’t find any clips but it goes on the fabled list…
Its not to everyone’s taste (a good place to start with Hal Hartley is Amateur) but ALargeOnlineRetailer has/had The Unbelievable Truth on their streaming service a few months back.
I was disappointed not to find any of the fight scenes on YouKnowWhere.
Before leaving the subject of cinematic fisticuffs, it seems that the TenCent streaming version of Fight Club has a less implosive final minute:
As the source is Vice this may not be true, of course, and it’s hardly epochal news that films get butchered to fit Hollywood framings, TV watersheds, and so on.
(In an alternative timeline there is a Fight Club sequel and a third episode, both in longform comic genre. FC2 is confusing, but very good, FC3 is bewildering and less so. For all his lack of subtlety Chuck Palahniuk is always worth a read. There have been a few where I bailed out partway thru.)
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T’would be butchery indeed - is this our future?
Thanks for the fight stuff - almost regretting a sheltered life…Ah well too late now - where can I see Fauci vs McCullough the UnCut Adult version. Trick question - the answer is of course that you won’t see Fauci versus anyone, except Rand Paul…
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