Etiquette



DP Etiquette

First rule: Don't be a jackass. Most people are good.

Other rules: Do not attack or insult people you disagree with. Engage with facts, logic and beliefs. Out of respect for others, please provide some sources for the facts and truths you rely on if you are asked for that. If emotion is getting out of hand, get it back in hand. To limit dehumanizing people, don't call people or whole groups of people disrespectful names, e.g., stupid, dumb or liar. Insulting people is counterproductive to rational discussion. Insult makes people angry and defensive. All points of view are welcome, right, center, left and elsewhere. Just disagree, but don't be belligerent or reject inconvenient facts, truths or defensible reasoning.

Saturday, December 20, 2025

Rational reasons for distrust: The redacted Epstein files

By now, nearly everyone who is paying attention and not trapped in the Trump/MAGA cult/tribe/demagoguery understands that they are routinely being lied to, slandered, insulted, emotionally manipulated and so forth. Years ago, the situation progressed far beyond the point of there being good rational arguments that Trump or MAGA elites could be trusted.

Nonetheless, tens of millions of adult Americans still trust Trump and MAGA demagoguery at least enough to continue to support them. That constitutes an ongoing, major threat to US democracy, rule of law and civil liberties.

Various news sources are reporting about the Epstein files that were released yesterday by the DOJ. Trump's personal law firm. What MAGA elites released is what reasonable people can now expect, nothingburgers that protect MAGA and Trump, with their deep corruption, moral sleaze and blatant authoritarianism. One report indicates that out of several thousand pages of documents that the MAGA DOJ released, at least 550 pages were completely redacted or blacked out. 

One can be confident that anything bad or criminal in the documents related to Trump and his key allies was redacted to protect them. That just what a personal law firm does for its clients.

It is possible that at least some of the redactions were for legitimate purposes, e.g., to protect innocent victims' identity. But one can still be confident that redactions to protect Trump and his allies are also present and probably dominant.

That distrust is just a rational result after years and thousands of lies and betrayals by Trump and MAGA elites. What is remarkable is the tens of millions who actually still believe him and MAGA elites.


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