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PaperclipPerfector  7mo ago (text post)   2741 thread views

Small-Scale Question Sunday for October 15, 2023

Do you have a dumb question that you're kind of embarrassed to ask in the main thread? Is there something you're just not sure about?

This is your opportunity to ask questions. No question too simple or too silly.

Culture war topics are accepted, and proposals for a better intro post are appreciated.

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Any news on the Trump trial, since everything seems quiet and nothing seems to be happening. Is this because nothing is indeed happening, or is it because they're getting everything ready for the Big Moment?

I keep up with legal issues mostly through Ken White and Josh Barro's podcast Serious Trouble (https://serioustrouble.show). White is a former US Attorney, defense attorney, and long-time legal blogger I'd highly recommend as a reliable source.

How do the rest of you keep up with legal developments, mottizens?

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A motte is a stone keep on a raised earthwork common in early medieval fortifications. More pertinently, it's an element in a rhetorical move called a "Motte-and-Bailey", originally identified by philosopher Nicholas Shackel. It describes the tendency in discourse for people to move from a controversial but high value claim to a defensible but less exciting one upon any resistance to the former. He likens this to the medieval fortification, where a desirable land (the bailey) is abandoned when in danger for the more easily defended motte. In Shackel's words, "The Motte represents the defensible but undesired propositions to which one retreats when hard pressed."

On The Motte, always attempt to remain inside your defensible territory, even if you are not being pressed.


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