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<title>29 January, 2024</title>
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<title>Daily-Dose</title><meta content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1.0" name="viewport"/><link href="styles/simple.css" rel="stylesheet"/><link href="../styles/simple.css" rel="stylesheet"/><style>*{overflow-x:hidden;}</style><link href="https://unpkg.com/aos@2.3.1/dist/aos.css" rel="stylesheet"/><script src="https://unpkg.com/aos@2.3.1/dist/aos.js"></script></head>
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<h1 data-aos="fade-down" id="daily-dose">Daily-Dose</h1>
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<h1 data-aos="fade-right" data-aos-anchor-placement="top-bottom" id="contents">Contents</h1>
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<ul>
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<li><a href="#from-new-yorker">From New Yorker</a></li>
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<li><a href="#from-vox">From Vox</a></li>
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<li><a href="#from-the-hindu-sports">From The Hindu: Sports</a></li>
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<li><a href="#from-the-hindu-national-news">From The Hindu: National News</a></li>
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<li><a href="#from-bbc-europe">From BBC: Europe</a></li>
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<li><a href="#from-ars-technica">From Ars Technica</a></li>
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<li><a href="#from-jokes-subreddit">From Jokes Subreddit</a></li>
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</ul>
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<h1 data-aos="fade-right" id="from-new-yorker">From New Yorker</h1>
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<ul>
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<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>The Rural Ski Slope Caught Up in an International Scam</strong> - A federal program promised to bring foreign investment to remote parts of the country. It soon became rife with fraud. - <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2024/02/05/the-rural-ski-slope-caught-up-in-an-international-scam">link</a></p></li>
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<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Inside the Music Industry’s High-Stakes A.I. Experiments</strong> - Lucian Grainge, the chairman of UMG, has helped record labels rake in billions of dollars from streaming. Can he do the same with generative artificial intelligence? - <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2024/02/05/inside-the-music-industrys-high-stakes-ai-experiments">link</a></p></li>
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<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>The Perverse Policies That Fuel Wildfires</strong> - We thought we could master nature, but we were playing with fire. - <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2024/02/05/the-perverse-policies-that-fuel-wildfires">link</a></p></li>
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<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Ukraine’s Democracy in Darkness</strong> - With elections postponed and no end to the war with Russia in sight, Volodymyr Zelensky and his political allies are becoming like the officials they once promised to root out: entrenched. - <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2024/02/05/ukraines-democracy-in-darkness">link</a></p></li>
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<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>The Future of Academic Freedom</strong> - As the Israel-Hamas war provokes claims about unacceptable speech, the ability to debate difficult subjects is in renewed peril. - <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/the-weekend-essay/the-future-of-academic-freedom">link</a></p></li>
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</ul>
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<h1 data-aos="fade-right" id="from-vox">From Vox</h1>
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<ul>
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<li><strong>Scott Peterson’s guilt, explained</strong> -
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<figure>
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<img alt="Peterson has close-cropped, dark hair. He wears a suit and tie and his expression is solemn." src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/jabVEdXV1lqhQeru2btZ-jqiZEk=/175x0:2146x1478/1310x983/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/73093408/2456166.0.jpg"/>
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<figcaption>
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Scott Peterson appears at a hearing in Stanislaus County Superior Court on September 2, 2003, in Modesto, California. | Al Golub-Pool/Getty Images
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</figcaption>
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</figure>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
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The Innocence Project has taken on Scott Peterson. But there are limits to reasonable doubt.
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</p>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="jo18v6">
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In 2004, in one of the most high-profile trials of the past two decades, Scott Peterson was convicted of murdering his wife, Laci Peterson, 27, and their unborn son, Conner, with whom Laci was eight months pregnant. Laci disappeared from their home in Modesto, California, on Christmas Eve in 2002. The subsequent media frenzy over her disappearance drove national headlines for months. In spring of 2003, the bodies of both mother and son washed up in San Francisco Bay, just a few miles from where Peterson had <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2004/LAW/08/05/peterson.trial/">gone fishing</a> the day Laci disappeared.
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</p>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="eLjkh4">
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It’s rare for a criminal prosecution to have as much incriminating circumstantial evidence pointing toward the guilt of a single individual as prosecutors had in the case of Scott Peterson — “overwhelming evidence” with “no other reasonable explanation,” as one attorney who followed the trial <a href="https://www.eastbaytimes.com/2004/11/13/circumstantial-evidence-made-murder-case/">described</a> at the time. The discovery included <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/laci-cops-chased-10000-tips/">42,000 pages</a> of documents. <a href="https://casetext.com/case/people-v-peterson-2050">The evidence against Peterson</a> included weeks of apparent planning, forensic evidence including mitochondrial DNA, and months of suspicious behavior both before and after the fact. Yet ever since a controversial 2017 docuseries helped circulate the idea that the case against Peterson was manufactured by a media circus rather than the facts of the investigation, websleuths have increasingly latched on to and bolstered belief in Peterson’s innocence.
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</p>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="fm1Wsd">
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Last week, the Los Angeles Innocence Project <a href="https://abcnews.go.com/US/innocence-project-takes-case-notorious-killer-scott-peterson/story?id=106487571">announced</a> that they had taken on Peterson’s case, making a “claim of actual innocence that is supported by newly discovered evidence.” It’s unclear what that evidence might be, but <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/sacramento/news/scott-peterson-la-innocence-project-former-juror-attorney-weigh-in-new-case/">speculation</a> has run rampant, mainly focusing on <a href="https://abc7chicago.com/scott-peterson-case-new-evidence-innocence-project/14352815/">details</a> related to an infamous but <a href="https://nypost.com/2024/01/20/news/juror-from-scott-peterson-murder-trial-says-cops-ruled-out-burglary-link/">unconnected</a> robbery that happened across the street around the time of Laci’s death.
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</p>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="rcthAC">
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So how did we wind up here? It’s always healthy for the justice system to undergo scrutiny; after all, the court has already found that Peterson’s penalty phase was unjust. In 2020, Peterson’s original death sentence was <a href="https://deathpenaltyinfo.org/news/california-supreme-court-overturns-scott-petersons-death-sentence">overturned</a> due to improper jury selection, and he was <a href="https://www.kron4.com/news/bay-area/scott-peterson-to-be-re-sentenced-for-murder-of-his-pregnant-wife/">resentenced</a> to life without parole. That’s arguably a good outcome, a case of the justice system self-correcting.
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</p>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="xaDLGe">
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Yet the crusade for Peterson’s innocence seems to have very little to do with justice or even the actual facts of the case and more to do with external influences — from the bandwagon effect to the <a href="https://crimepiperblog.wordpress.com/2021/03/22/scott-peterson-crime-junkie-podcast-fact-checked-debunked/">outsize</a> <a href="https://www.tiktok.com/@paige__razor/video/7154135364352085294">influence</a> of a few podcasters and the gamification of <a href="https://www.vox.com/true-crime">true crime</a> itself.
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</p>
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<h3 id="J7Vmuc">
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A media circus does not a false conviction make
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</h3>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="YxyBeo">
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If you remember anything about the Scott Peterson case, you likely remember the Amber Frey of it all: Frey, Peterson’s girlfriend, found herself thrust into the center of a high-profile crime and under a constant media spotlight after she came forward to police. Frey did not know Peterson was married; he had told her weeks before<em> </em>Laci’s disappearance that he had <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna3403791">lost his wife</a>.
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</p>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="WlyuAt">
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Frey was a star witness for the prosecution, a take-no-BS type who cooperated with authorities <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna6786735">for months</a> and made recordings of her conversations with Peterson. These included a <a href="https://abcnews.go.com/US/amber-frey-remembers-recorded-calls-scott-peterson-shaking/story?id=49763587">notorious phone call</a> Peterson made to her on New Year’s Eve <em>while attending a candlelight vigil for his murdered wife</em>, in which he claimed to be in Paris, pretending the background noise of all Laci’s mournful supporters was coming from tourists at the Eiffel Tower.
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</p>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="Gm1zKn">
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(If you didn’t know that was a real thing that happened, then hello and welcome to a truly head-turning case.)
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</p>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="qlznZ9">
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You probably also remember the incessant media coverage of this case at the peak of the 24-hour TV news cycle. Peterson’s <a href="https://abcnews.go.com/GMA/story?id=124563">infamous interview</a> with Diane Sawyer, in which he laughed at all the wrong places, led to endless <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/the-mind-of-scott-peterson/">analysis</a> of his <a href="https://www.vox.com/psychology">psychology</a> and what it said about his guilt or innocence. Meanwhile, Frey appeared in an incendiary <a href="https://abcnews.go.com/2020/video/scott-petersons-affair-revealed-public-sparking-media-frenzy-77702525">press conference</a>, where she discussed the litany of lies Peterson had fed her both before and after Laci’s disappearance.
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</p>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="mKgQhR">
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Recent advocates for Peterson’s innocence have heavily implied that <a href="https://www.vox.com/media">the media</a> created a false narrative of his guilt. This theory was a core part of Peterson’s <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/scott-peterson-appeals-from-death-row-argues-he-received-unfair-trial-in-murder-of-wife-unborn-son/">denied 2012 appeal</a>, as well as A&E’s inflammatory docuseries <a href="https://www.aetv.com/shows/the-murder-of-laci-peterson"><em>The Murder of Laci Peterson</em></a>. But there’s a difference between media interest in a case and media <em>manipulation</em> of a case. In fact, much of the contemporaneous reporting on the Peterson trial was <a href="https://pwc-sii.com/Media/case.htm">fair</a> and even <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/laci-dumped-at-scott-fishing-spot/">sympathetic</a> to <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2007/US/law/12/11/court.archive.peterson7/index.html">the defense</a>.
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</p>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="1ZmIrf">
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The reality is that no amount of media sympathy could fully ameliorate the damage created by Peterson’s own behavior.
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</p>
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<h3 id="TImc7h">
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Scott Peterson never needed the media’s help to seem guilty
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</h3>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="vCFDjM">
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Scott Peterson seemed to have the perfect life: a good job, a beautiful, smart wife who adored him, and a baby on the way. But (stop us if you’ve heard this one before) not everything was as it seemed. Peterson had been cheating on Laci with a string of different women <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2004/LAW/09/28/peterson.trial/">since at least the beginning</a> of their five-year marriage. He did not want to be a father and told relatives he was “<a href="https://www.cnn.com/2004/LAW/06/10/peterson.case/">hoping for infertility</a>.” Adding to the pressure was the intense <a href="https://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/THE-PETERSON-TRIAL-Credit-card-debt-takes-2736606.php">financial strain</a> he was under; his business was failing, and two-thirds of his paycheck went toward paying off loans and interest on $20,000 in credit card debt.
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</p>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="jIQuAX">
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On the morning of December 24, 2002, Scott Peterson claimed to have left Laci — his eight-and-a-half-month pregnant wife — preparing to do some intense house-cleaning, while he stopped off at his warehouse and then went fishing.
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</p>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="YzjCUW">
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Peterson would later tell authorities that he decided to take an impromptu fishing trip to Berkeley Marina, around 90 miles away and past several other more convenient bodies of water. He had previously told multiple neighbors and relatives that he <a href="https://www.modbee.com/news/local/crime/scott-peterson-case/article3096545.html">planned to go golfing</a> that day, and later <a href="https://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/THE-PETERSON-TRIAL-He-was-golfing-not-fishing-2750368.php">lied to some</a> of them about where he’d gone. As an explanation, he would claim to police that he decided it was “<a href="https://abc7news.com/scott-peterson-interview-death-row-laci/2414289/">too cold</a>” to go golfing, so by his telling, he spontaneously decided to go sit in a boat on the windy bay in <a href="https://weatherspark.com/h/d/557/2002/12/24/Historical-Weather-on-Tuesday-December-24-2002-in-San-Francisco-California-United-States#Figures-Temperature">40-degree weather</a> instead.
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</p>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="XjMpSK">
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But nothing about the trip to the marina was spontaneous. Peterson, who was not a regular fisherman — he hadn’t had a regular fishing license <a href="https://www.modbee.com/news/local/crime/scott-peterson-case/peterson-moving-toward-trial/article3096592.html">since 1994</a> — began researching fishing boats to buy on December 7, 2002. On December 8, he did extensive web searches for fishing supplies and tidal currents around the bay area, even <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2004/LAW/08/05/peterson.trial/">zooming in</a> on Brooks Island, where authorities believe he took Laci’s body on Christmas Eve. He paid cash for a small fishing boat on December 9 — the <a href="https://pwc-sii.com/Timeline/Prelim.htm">same day</a> that he told Amber Frey that he had “lost” his wife and that this would be his first Christmas without her. On December 23, the day before his supposedly unplanned fishing trip, he <a href="https://pwc-sii.com/CourtDocs/Exhibits/P-79.pdf">purchased</a> a fishing license valid for two days only.
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</p>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="PWvOcM">
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Although he originally lied and told police he left home on Christmas Eve at 9:30 am, cellphone records placed him at or near home <a href="https://www.chron.com/news/nation-world/article/phone-call-casts-doubt-on-scott-peterson-s-alibi-1985323.php">at 10:08 am</a>, just 10 minutes before a neighbor <a href="https://us.cnn.com/2004/LAW/06/10/peterson.trial/">found Laci’s dog</a> running loose in the street and returned him to the Petersons’ yard. After eventually driving to Berkeley Marina and fishing there for less than an hour, he arrived back home at around 4:30 pm, washed his fishing clothes, ate some pizza, and then called Laci’s mother to tell her that her daughter was “<a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/petersons-alibi-in-question/">missing</a>.”
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</p>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="hd5Y9J">
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Despite the reams of circumstantial evidence, direct evidence in the case was scant. Peterson’s blood was found on the door of his truck, for which he gave conflicting explanations. A few drops of blood were <a href="https://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/the-peterson-trial-only-4-droplets-of-blood-2725148.php">also found</a> on their bedroom comforter. Caught in a pair of pliers recovered from Peterson’s boat, police found hair matched to Laci’s through <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna3474357">mitochondrial DNA testing</a>, an inconclusive but still genetic match — but Laci allegedly <a href="https://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/the-peterson-trial-wife-never-spoke-of-affair-2753651.php">never knew</a> about the boat. Prosecutors also found evidence that he’d made <a href="https://people.com/celebrity/anchor-evidence-in-scott-peterson-trial/">multiple cement anchors</a>, only one of which was located, and which they believed he used to weigh down Laci’s body.
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</p>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="Yxqthb">
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Peterson’s <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2004/LAW/06/10/peterson.case/">odd behavior</a> continued after Laci disappeared. He made strange statements to friends and relatives about the cuts on his hand; he displayed a prevailing lack of emotion; he seemed reluctant to participate<strong> </strong>in search parties to look for her or press conferences about her.
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</p>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="707EkL">
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His cooperation with police “was always conditional,” investigators <a href="https://people.com/archive/the-peterson-case-how-they-got-scott-vol-63-no-20/">told <em>People</em></a> in 2005. “He was concerned about the wrong things.” He made repeated non-fishing trips to the marina, 90 miles away, only to “<a href="http://edition.cnn.com/2003/LAW/11/13/ctv.peterson.case/">stare into the bay</a>” and then leave again after a few minutes. This was in January, months before Laci’s body would eventually be found in the bay.
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</p>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="Mvap96">
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The same day their bodies were identified, Scott Peterson dyed his hair, borrowed <a href="https://people.com/crime/scott-petersons-car-had-sleeping-pills-weapons-cash/">his brother’s photo ID</a>, and <a href="https://www.seacoastonline.com/story/news/2003/04/21/scott-peterson-carrying-10k-cash/51273085007/">headed for the Mexico border</a> with over $10,000 in cash. The final jury <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2004/12/10/us/jury-begins-deliberating-scott-petersons-punishment.html">needed just seven hours</a> to convict him and ultimately sentence him to death.
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</p>
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<h3 id="jVvMGp">
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Innocence advocates have to ignore much of the evidence to make their case
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</h3>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="oTiRM4">
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The <a href="https://www.modbee.com/news/local/crime/scott-peterson-case/article274847271.html">biggest argument</a> Peterson’s defenders have that another perpetrator committed the murders is that a burglary occurred just down the street. Peterson and his advocates argue that the two perpetrators of that burglary, Donald Pearce and Steven Todd, burgled the house on the morning of December 24 and that in the process they abducted Laci Peterson. Since (according to Peterson) Laci was walking her dog that morning, his supporters typically believe she must have run across the burglars in the middle of the robbery, attracted their attention, and been murdered as a result. They theorize that Pearce and Todd waited for several days and then dumped her body in the region of the bay where Scott Peterson went fishing on December 24, all in order to frame him for the murder.
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</p>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="2JC8W6">
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But this idea doesn’t stand up to scrutiny, for numerous reasons. Even if we accept the absurd hypothesis that two thieves would abduct and kill a pedestrian in broad daylight, do nothing about it for a day or two until their murder victim became headline news, and then risk driving 90 miles to dump the high-profile victim’s body <em>in an area where they already knew police were searching</em>, all to frame a husband that <em>police already suspected</em>, the timeline doesn’t work.
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</p>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="r5d3Xx">
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Laci went missing on December 24. The robbers didn’t break into the neighboring house <a href="https://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/2-suspects-cleared-in-modesto-case-arrested-in-2687813.php">until the morning</a> of the 26th. Both Pearce and Todd were investigated and cleared by investigators in 2003, and both cooperated fully with police. And even if the robbers could have lied about when they broke into the home, that <em>still</em> doesn’t work, because the residents of the home they robbed, the Medina family, didn’t leave their house on December 24 until approximately 10:33 am based on their <a href="https://pwc-sii.com/CourtDocs/Transcripts/Medina-Pros.htm">cellphone records</a> — nearly a half-hour after Scott Peterson left and 15 minutes after the dog was seen wandering the streets solo.
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</p>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="cmwTo7">
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Another conspiracy theory was one originally touted by Peterson’s defense at trial: the idea that Laci was killed as part of a ritual sacrifice and that Conner was removed from the womb alive. The main reason such a ludicrous theory could emerge (a theory <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2003/LAW/06/16/ctv.peterson/">dismissed by media</a> at the time as classic <a href="https://www.vox.com/culture/22358153/satanic-panic-ritual-abuse-history-conspiracy-theories-explained">satanic panic</a>) is that the bodies washed ashore at different times; however, the pathologist who conducted the autopsies on both bodies <a href="https://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/the-peterson-trial-pathologist-baby-was-2693350.php">was confident</a> that Conner died in the womb as a result of his mother’s death.
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</p>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="BlTG6E">
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Among the most common reasons people give for arguing that Laci was still alive and well on the morning of the 24th is that multiple witnesses claimed to have seen her walking her dog. But <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JobsBiszz70">according to investigators</a>, none of those eyewitness reports were consistent or verifiable. Many were based on media reports of what Laci was wearing — reports that originally came from Peterson, who claimed that Laci had been wearing black pants. When her body was found, however, <a href="https://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/the-peterson-trial-wife-never-spoke-of-affair-2753651.php">she was wearing khaki pants</a>. This matched what her sister had <a href="https://www.lifenews.com/2004/06/04/nat-553/">seen her wearing</a> the night of December 23 — the night authorities believe Peterson murdered her.
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</p>
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<h3 id="sxFbLo">
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How do we know when someone is guilty of murder?
|
||
</h3>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="kQ6Udx">
|
||
One of the pitfalls of living in an era of advanced forensic science is that it’s easier for a defense to argue that a dearth of forensics must equate to a dearth of evidence. But for most of human history, the primary way we’ve decided whodunnit is by collecting good old-fashioned clues — that is, circumstantial evidence. Circumstantial evidence isn’t always compelling, and it can often be explained away effectively by a defendant. But the more there is of it, the less reasonable alternate explanations become. In Scott Peterson’s case, he and his defense team have ready answers for every piece of incriminating evidence against him, except for the biggest question of all: Why is there <em>so much</em> incriminating evidence against him?
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="ThYU3h">
|
||
As a society, we pay a lot of attention to what it means to prove something beyond a reasonable doubt. We spend much less time contemplating what <em>unreasonable</em> doubt might look like. Perhaps we should be paying more attention to the latter, if only so more cases like this one don’t squander too much of our cultural time and attention. The number of true crime devotees and <a href="https://www.vox.com/influencers">influencers</a> who believe in Peterson’s innocence may be growing, but <a href="https://www.vox.com/culture/23506125/casey-anthony-evidence-where-the-truth-lies-how-true-or-false">not every claim</a> of innocence is built on rational thinking.
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="EgbfC9">
|
||
To justify Scott Peterson’s behavior, you have to posit a set of extraordinary circumstances, including that he <em>just so happened</em> to mention his wife’s demise to his girlfriend, coincidentally in the very same week he abruptly evinced an interest in fishing for the first time since the ’90s, coincidentally buying the same boat where her hair would later be found, after he coincidentally went fishing in the same region of the bay where her body would eventually be found, all while coincidentally lying repeatedly about his own actions. In a fictional scenario, it might be fun to imagine that all those details could be the result of some bizarre surprise explanation. But in the real world, a world where homicide by their intimate partners is <a href="https://www.bmj.com/company/newsroom/homicide-is-a-leading-cause-of-death-in-pregnant-women-in-the-us/">a leading cause of death</a> for pregnant women, we know better.
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="Fudu9l">
|
||
Or at least we should — if only for the sake of the next Laci Peterson.
|
||
</p></li>
|
||
<li><strong>Psychedelics are outperforming trauma researchers’ expectations. But why?</strong> -
|
||
<figure>
|
||
<img alt="Illustration of a head in silhouette with a colorful nebula in its brain and around it." src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/-JUzxy_-oIE9OKueWc0pshBX_uY=/0x0:3600x2700/1310x983/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/73093390/mind_GettyImages_498244095.0.jpg"/>
|
||
<figcaption>
|
||
Getty Images
|
||
</figcaption>
|
||
</figure>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
|
||
A new study offers big clues about where psychedelics’ superpowers come from.
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="CsKbWT">
|
||
Bessel van der Kolk, one of the world’s top trauma experts, was skeptical when he was first approached about studying the effects of psychedelics on post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). But his research findings ultimately proved him wrong — in the best of ways.
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="ymzTiF">
|
||
Published in <a href="https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0295926#pone.0295926.ref003">a study</a> this month, the findings provide new insights into how therapy combined with MDMA — the psychedelic drug commonly known as ecstasy — can help people who are suffering from trauma.
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="p66yNN">
|
||
Van der Kolk, author of the bestselling book <em>The Body Keeps the Score: Brain, Mind, and Body in the Healing of Trauma</em>, had heard all the buzz about the therapeutic potential of MDMA. Research had already shown that offering <a href="https://www.vox.com/future-perfect/2020/10/9/21506664/psychedelics-mental-health-depression-ptsd-psilocybin-mdma">MDMA-assisted therapy</a> led to a significant reduction in symptoms for people with PTSD, so significant that some of them no longer met the criteria for PTSD <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00213-020-05548-2">after just a few sessions</a>.
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="F6uhWV">
|
||
But when Rick Doblin, the founder of the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies (MAPS), invited van der Kolk to help lead a new study on MDMA and trauma, van der Kolk offered a warning.
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="rA3x0U">
|
||
“I tried to put pressure on Rick to exclude people from the study,” he recounted. “I told him, for God’s sake, don’t include people who have<em> never</em> felt safe.”
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="AVKXT9">
|
||
He was differentiating between PTSD sufferers who’ve endured a single trauma later in life (say, a car crash) and those who’ve endured developmental trauma stretching all the way back to childhood, like those who were abused by their parents. The latter group doesn’t tend to respond as well to psychotherapy, so van der Kolk didn’t think they’d get better over the course of the study.
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="237zer">
|
||
The stakes were high: This was the final phase — phase 3 — of MAPS’s study aiming to convince the FDA to approve MDMA-assisted therapy for PTSD. Doblin knew that if the participants didn’t see improvement, it might mar his research results. Still, he refused to heed the warning.
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="xYDnrN">
|
||
“I said: Bessel, in our phase 2, we did work with people with complex PTSD, with childhood sexual abuse, with all sorts of poor attachment styles — and they seemed to get better! So we will continue to include those,” Doblin recalled.
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="F9WmD6">
|
||
Now, van der Kolk is happy Doblin stuck to his guns. Not only were participants with early childhood trauma allowed into the study, they made up 84 percent of the sample — and they responded very well to treatment. “We had the best outcome data here with MDMA that I’ve ever seen for any study” attempting to treat the imprints of developmental trauma, van der Kolk told me.
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="aAuAW5">
|
||
But the big question is why, exactly, MDMA has this amazing effect. What is the mechanism by which MDMA helps with trauma treatment?
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="zLkIeo">
|
||
This new study offers a tantalizing answer, one that suggests PTSD sufferers with childhood trauma may actually benefit the most from MDMA’s therapeutic effects.
|
||
</p>
|
||
<h3 id="BXq7IT">
|
||
How MDMA changes people’s experience of themselves
|
||
</h3>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="b0ZjvW">
|
||
The researchers started with the observation that many trauma survivors struggle with a variety of emotional capacities, which makes it hard for them to successfully complete trauma-focused psychotherapy. Some are unable to notice and identify what they’re feeling inside. Others wrestle with intense shame and self-blame. Others find it incredibly difficult to tolerate distress.
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="VPzt08">
|
||
All of these correlate with poor treatment outcomes. If you feel an overwhelming sense of shame, for example, you might not believe you deserve to get treatment and feel better. The researchers wondered if MDMA might work in part by helping people overcome these impairments.
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="3LYz88">
|
||
So the researchers enlisted 90 study participants suffering from PTSD and split them into two groups: Half received therapy with MDMA and half received therapy with a placebo. The study measured how they fared with a variety of emotional capacities before and after treatment.
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="BZfYCN">
|
||
The people who took MDMA, it turned out, improved a lot more — both on specific emotional capacities and in terms of PTSD itself.
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="QQ1eFS">
|
||
One striking improvement involved the ability to notice, identify, and describe what one is feeling inside. Scientists call an inability to do that alexithymia, which is Greek for “no words for emotion.”
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="TkJRUz">
|
||
People who grew up in traumatizing or neglectful environments sometimes <a href="https://www.neuropsychotherapist.com/the-role-of-early-emotional-neglect-in-alexithymia/">display alexithymia — perhaps because</a> they learned as kids that communicating about their feelings is ineffective or even dangerous, so they disengage from their internal experiences instead.
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="NNlAfr">
|
||
Scientists know that <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/18001224/">alexithymia has negative implications for mental health</a>. By contrast, its opposite — <a href="https://www.vox.com/the-highlight/2019/11/13/20953899/how-to-be-happy-positive-psychology-mindfulness-language">emotional granularity — is good for our mental health</a>. It makes us more aware of our subjective experiences, which in turn makes it easier for us to regulate our emotions and maintain equanimity. That’s why we teach preschoolers to identify their feelings; acknowledging “I’m mad” or “I’m sad” is the first step toward learning how to manage those emotions.
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="qoJ7bi">
|
||
In the study, MDMA-assisted therapy was associated with a significant drop in alexithymia, meaning that participants were better able to identify and verbalize their emotions. (Those who got therapy with a placebo did not show that improvement.) “This suggests that MDMA-assisted therapy can facilitate accessing painful memories and experiences that under ordinary conditions are too overwhelming and terrifying to confront,” the authors write.
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="WevcPX">
|
||
The study also found that participants who got MDMA developed significantly more self-compassion than those who got therapy with placebo.
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="iMIV95">
|
||
To measure self-compassion, the researchers used a scale designed by psychologist <a href="https://www.vox.com/even-better/23274105/self-compassion-shame-anxiety-depression">Kristin Neff, who pioneered the scientific study of self-compassion</a> two decades ago. She identified three components of self-compassion: self-kindness, common humanity, and mindfulness.
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="rhMHyN">
|
||
Self-kindness means you’re warm toward yourself when you suffer or mess up, rather than judging yourself harshly. Common humanity means you remind yourself that everyone suffers or messes up sometimes, rather than succumbing to the feeling that you’re the only one going through such challenges. Mindfulness, in this context, means you neither under- nor over-identify with your painful thoughts: You acknowledge them as painful, but you also recognize that they’re just thoughts, not your whole being.
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="esagz5">
|
||
A mindset of self-compassion, the authors of the new study note, can help give people the resilience they need to face the traumatic experiences they’re trying to process. Self-compassion is also a powerful counter to the shame that often plagues trauma survivors.
|
||
</p>
|
||
<aside id="WEEc3j">
|
||
<div>
|
||
|
||
</div>
|
||
</aside>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="crIOxN">
|
||
Finally, emotion regulation is also key to <a href="https://www.vox.com/mental-health">mental health</a> and to the effective treatment of PTSD. Because treatment typically involves exposing you to the painful memory so you can then modify it, you have to be able to tolerate the distress that the painful memory brings up. But managing that kind of emotion can be very hard for people with PTSD, and it’s one of the main reasons why people drop out of treatment.
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="kON0pg">
|
||
The study found that therapy with MDMA had a major effect on emotion regulation, reducing emotional instability and dysregulation roughly twice as much as therapy with a placebo.
|
||
</p>
|
||
<h3 id="2WW8Q5">
|
||
How does this fit into what we already know about MDMA and psychedelics?
|
||
</h3>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="K1XUY9">
|
||
We already know a good amount about the psychological effects of MDMA, both from non-PTSD studies of the drug and from more, well, informal observations.
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="4VdpCO">
|
||
As anyone who’s ever seen a cuddle puddle at a rave can attest, MDMA makes us more social. It’s known to promote a feeling of openness and connectedness with others. Research also shows that it enhances how positively we feel about pleasant memories and reduces how negatively we feel about painful memories. And it <a href="https://academic.oup.com/scan/article/9/11/1645/1681238?login=false">inhibits how fearfully we respond</a> to emotionally threatening stimuli.
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="4S4lpx">
|
||
These effects could be laying the groundwork for people to put their traumatic experiences into a more adaptive perspective. I asked van der Kolk what he thinks the relationship is between these known effects and the effects he uncovered on alexithymia, self-compassion, and emotion regulation.
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="cLBBSS">
|
||
His current hypothesis: The changes in emotional capacities underwrite the other changes we already know are associated with MDMA. For example, boosting your capacity for self-compassion might be the mechanism by which you start to feel less negatively about painful memories. You might find yourself thinking, “I did the best I could with the understanding and awareness I had at the time” instead of thinking “I messed up in that way because I’m a terrible, shameful person.”
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="zYnPmI">
|
||
Another example: Improved capacity for emotion regulation, as the study found among patients using MDMA, might be the mechanism by which you’re able to respond less fearfully to emotionally threatening stimuli — including, perhaps, the distressing memories you bring up when processing trauma.
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="EXOemo">
|
||
“Strategically, when I had to figure out what drug [to test] and what condition [to treat], I did think that MDMA is more likely to get good results than any of the other classic psychedelics, because of that fear reduction that you get from MDMA,” Doblin told me.
|
||
</p>
|
||
<aside id="Cz8mZp">
|
||
<div>
|
||
|
||
</div>
|
||
</aside>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="1LmxQC">
|
||
Although there’s already research showing that <a href="https://www.vox.com/future-perfect/24032884/psychedelics-gul-dolen-critical-period-blindness-stroke">psychedelics help us unlearn old associations and learn new ones</a>, and other psychedelics have been used to treat trauma — sometimes successfully, as in the case of <a href="https://maps.org/product/shivitti-a-vision/">LSD administered to Holocaust survivors</a> — Doblin believes MDMA may be better suited.
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="7QylOF">
|
||
“There’s no fear reduction in the LSD experience, whereas there is with MDMA,” Doblin said. In his experience offering psychedelic-assisted therapy, people attempting to process trauma with LSD sometimes become so panicked by their painful memories that they can’t make progress. That’s where MDMA’s fear-reducing effects can be helpful. (Note, though, that determining which psychedelics are best for processing a condition like PTSD would require head-to-head studies.)
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="kZdlei">
|
||
None of this is to say that psychedelics alone are a cure-all for trauma. The healing comes about not just because of some neurochemical change that’s triggered automatically when the drug is ingested, but because it’s ingested in the context of psychotherapy.
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="J1h91w">
|
||
Van der Kollk said he’d recommend therapy as the first step for people with PTSD. Some score just fine on capacities like alexithymia, self-compassion, and emotion regulation. And as his new study shows, “If people started off having these mental capacities, they did very well in psychotherapy alone,” he said.
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="LYv3UZ">
|
||
But for the portion of people who struggle with these capacities, psychotherapy alone might not get them very far. That’s where psychedelics could come in.
|
||
</p></li>
|
||
<li><strong>We don’t have much money, but want to improve our lives. Where do we start?</strong> -
|
||
<figure>
|
||
<img alt="An illustration of a man and woman under an umbrella (the handle of which forms a dollar sign), which is shielding them from giant raindrops. " src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/sQF3Krh4fzY-GHNzpA5QTF5kf9I=/240x0:1680x1080/1310x983/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/73091506/Vox_OnTheMoney_PaigeVickers_1_25.0.jpeg"/>
|
||
<figcaption>
|
||
Paige Vickers/Vox
|
||
</figcaption>
|
||
</figure>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
|
||
Having a meaningful life isn’t reserved for the ultra-wealthy.
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="aDz2OF">
|
||
<em>On the Money is a monthly advice column. If you want advice on spending, saving, or investing — or any of the complicated emotions that may come up as you prepare to make big financial decisions — you can </em><a href="https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScXuTsmpi2VQ6ZoRVEeHrgBSpkPkWSRWDH4zeY_TMBtPAhc4w/viewform"><em><strong>submit your question on this form</strong></em></a><em>. Here, we answer two questions asked by Vox readers, which have been edited and condensed.</em>
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="dcdmCd">
|
||
<strong>My husband and I were two very broken people when we met. Terrible past relationships had left us broke and isolated, with no savings, no support systems and tons of legal and medical costs. He was retired, and gets about $2,450 a month in Social Security and pension. I am currently unemployed, in my late 50s, and looking for a job that I can do which will hopefully pay more than minimum wage and will offer medical insurance, which I need. </strong>
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="vzdCVD">
|
||
<strong>We are living in a temporary rental, which at $1,400/month is the cheapest we could find, share one cell phone that has a monthly cost of $40, spend as little on gas and food as possible, never go out, and want to do more than just survive. While other people our age seem to have nice homes, retirement plans, savings, investments, multiple cars and take vacations, we are one step away from desperation. </strong>
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="HPONX5">
|
||
<strong>We managed to pay off all our debts and don’t have any children, so those are the only things we have in our favor, but at our ages, I am terrified we will wind up homeless at some point. We can’t afford to move anywhere, don’t have anything worth selling, and live in a place where there isn’t much opportunity or community resources. The stress of barely making it is killing me. Is there anything we can do to improve our lives, even a little?</strong>
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="2VxLUL">
|
||
Yes.
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="RjX1Ah">
|
||
There are many things you and your husband can do to improve your lives — and most of those things cost very little money.
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="Z0Lo5q">
|
||
But before I offer my advice on how to step away from desperation, I want to offer my congratulations. You and your husband have made it into middle age with no debt. This is rare. Roughly 75 percent of Americans carry some form of debt, according to the most recent data from the <a href="https://www.pewresearch.org/race-ethnicity/2023/12/04/the-assets-households-own-and-the-debts-they-carry/">Pew Research Center</a>, and a 2023 study from <a href="https://news.northwesternmutual.com/planning-and-progress-study-2023">Northwestern Mutual</a> indicates that 35 percent of Americans are carrying more debt than they’ve ever managed in their lives.
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="EyrRkf">
|
||
You and your husband also share a cell phone. This might be a net positive, all things considered. While smartphones have done a lot to connect us to employers, loved ones, and the larger world, much of what gets installed onto the typical smartphone is designed to <a href="https://www.vox.com/2018/2/27/17053758/phone-addictive-design-google-apple">make us feel anxious and unsatisfied</a>. The less time you spend on your phone, the less you’ll feel like you don’t measure up to all of the people your age who appear to have the things you feel like you need — nice homes, retirement plans, savings, investments, multiple cars and vacations.
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="HzrDgN">
|
||
I suspect many of those people exist only on your phone, after all. If they existed in your life, as your friends, you’d probably be spending time in their homes. You might be sharing meals and conversations. You might also be sharing stories and jokes and struggles, and you’d probably learn that those people with the nice houses are also worried about money. They’re probably carrying a mortgage and at least one car loan. They might not have enough extra cash to <a href="https://www.vox.com/future-perfect/23863440/early-earned-wage-access-apps-payday-loans-regulation-earnin-moneylion-dailypay">cover a $400 emergency</a>. They may even have paid for their last vacation with a credit card — and even though their points may have helped them save money on their flight, the interest on their balance has long <a href="https://www.vox.com/the-goods/2023/1/17/23550612/credit-card-rewards-fico-score-balance">eaten up the value of the reward</a>.
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="t2YyUV">
|
||
But blah blah blah, nobody cares, let’s get to the part where I help you make your life better instead of telling you that all of those people with the things you want may secretly have it worse.
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="BgmuFo">
|
||
You want to do more than just survive.
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="gUtvLj">
|
||
What, specifically, do you mean by <em>do more</em>? Do you want to go out to restaurants more often? Is that the biggest dream you and your husband can come up with? Or is that the kind of smartphone-generated desire that you’re using to distract you from the fact that <em>you don’t know what you really want? </em>
|
||
</p>
|
||
<div class="c-float-right">
|
||
<div id="3jERh3">
|
||
<div>
|
||
|
||
</div>
|
||
</div>
|
||
</div>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="YJFTe6">
|
||
You and your husband could do nearly anything with your time. You could <a href="https://www.vox.com/culture/2018/5/2/17286968/how-to-write-an-autobiographical-novel-alexander-chee-review">write an autobiographical novel</a>. You could study chess openings. You could <a href="https://www.vox.com/videos/23501959/pickleball-tennis-courts-public-space">get in on the pickleball trend</a>. You could make every recipe in <a href="https://www.leannebrown.com/">Leanne Brown’s</a> famous (and free) <a href="https://books.leannebrown.com/good-and-cheap.pdf"><em>Good and Cheap</em></a> cookbook. You could have a picnic in every park in town, or pick a specific tree in a specific park and draw it every Sunday afternoon. You could check out every Tony Award-winning play from the library and read them aloud to each other.
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="D3iACt">
|
||
Of course, if you really want to get the most out of your Tony-winning play readings, you’re going to need a few more people. So you and your husband probably <a href="https://www.vox.com/22992901/how-to-find-your-community-as-an-adult">ought to make some friends</a>. Easier said than done, I know — but you’re going to have to start doing it, especially because you told me that you don’t have any other support system.
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="6ju3Dz">
|
||
The people who are most likely to interest you — that is to say, your future friends — will be most likely to gather at places that allow them to do something you’re also interested in. Sports leagues, animal shelters, community theaters, churches, political organizations, etc., etc. (If your area doesn’t offer anything worth doing, then <a href="https://www.vox.com/the-goods/2019/3/26/18255131/moving-midwest-cedar-rapids">you need to prioritize moving</a> no matter how much it costs or how long it takes.)
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="pNpdX7">
|
||
This brings us back to the question of <em>what you want to do</em> — which is, interestingly enough, the question you asked me to answer for you.
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="DTJ9a5">
|
||
If it’s really and truly restaurants — if that’s what interests you most of all — then get a job in a restaurant. You’ll meet other people, you’ll earn more than the minimum wage (in most cases, and if the restaurant isn’t offering more than minimum wage, it won’t be a good place to work) and if your employer doesn’t offer health insurance, you can always <a href="https://www.vox.com/even-better/23905148/health-insurance-obamacare-ppo-epo-premium-deductible-copay-cobra-explainer">get a Marketplace plan</a>. Many of the restaurants that are worth working at will offer some form of shift meal, which gives you the opportunity to eat more interesting food — and once you’ve made a few friends and built up a little expertise and reputation, the rest of the opportunities you’re hoping for will be more likely to come your way.
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="VSdQS1">
|
||
And those people you’ll meet, in the next year or two? They’ll be the ones who can help you, if your fear of becoming homeless ever becomes a realistic concern.
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="JpqkoV">
|
||
Just make sure you’re prepared to help them in return, even if all you have to offer is a lumpy sofa and an encouraging word.
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="RbbEfo">
|
||
<strong>You gave the wrong advice to </strong><a href="https://www.vox.com/even-better/2023/11/26/23950938/adhd-money-dopamine-advice-on-the-money"><strong>the letter writer with ADHD</strong></a><strong>. You should have advised the writer to set up automatic payments and direct deposits. Automation is one of the best strategies for managing ADHD, and focusing your advice on dopamine missed the point.</strong>
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="mKkKBs">
|
||
Thanks to all of the people who wrote me with some variation of the above. It was the biggest response I’d ever gotten to an advice column, and the fact that everyone who wrote in offered the same answer to the letter-writer’s question suggests that the letter-writer should consider automating as much of their finances as possible.
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="Jh4mMK">
|
||
That said, the reason I didn’t specifically mention automation in my advice is because it didn’t seem to be the letter-writer’s core problem. Here’s what they wrote me:
|
||
</p>
|
||
<blockquote>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="4VEsi0">
|
||
The results [of my ADHD-related financial issues] tend to be getting down to nothing each paycheck, credit cards and similar are a nightmare, and stupid amounts of stress when I’ve treated myself and then remembered I need to pay for a psychologist appointment.
|
||
</p>
|
||
</blockquote>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="zYkm4n">
|
||
Automating the psychologist payment won’t prevent the letter-writer from spending the money before the payment is due — and although one respondent suggested that the letter-writer solve this problem by checking their bank balance every morning, that isn’t necessarily guaranteed to work. Unless the bank automatically subtracts all of your upcoming automatic payments from your available balance (my local bank does, my big-name bank doesn’t), the LW isn’t going to have an accurate sense of how much money they can spend.
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="dsFOBM">
|
||
<a href="https://www.ynab.com/">YNAB</a> could be helpful here, since it allows you to give every dollar a job — which means you can subtract not only this month’s psychologist payment, but also every forthcoming psychologist payment. This gives you a better sense of how much money you can spend on discretionary purchases per month, and if you overspend one month it automatically deducts from your discretionary budget for the next month.
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="wHPVJc">
|
||
Unfortunately, the letter-writer mentioned that they’d already tried the allocation method and “the world got in the way of the allocations.” That’s why I ultimately focused my advice on what I perceived to be the core issue: how to prevent unnecessary purchases from derailing the necessary ones, and how to stop the treat-stress cycle.
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="gqttRT">
|
||
Thank you for giving me the chance to revisit my response.
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="KtwlQC">
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="2JJ8Db">
|
||
</p></li>
|
||
</ul>
|
||
<h1 data-aos="fade-right" id="from-the-hindu-sports">From The Hindu: Sports</h1>
|
||
<ul>
|
||
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>IND vs ENG | Ravindra Jadeja, Rahul ruled out of second Test against England</strong> - Jadeja sustained a hamstring injury during play on January 28 while Rahul complained of a right quadriceps pain.</p></li>
|
||
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>India slip to fifth spot in WTC rankings after Hyderabad loss</strong> - India was at the top of the table after drawing the two-Test series South Africa before being overtaken by Australia following their victory over Pakistan</p></li>
|
||
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>India vs England Test | Gill has got cushion that Pujara didn’t get, needs to come good in Vizag: Kumble</strong> - 24-year-old Shubman Gill has not scored a half-century in his last 11 Test innings</p></li>
|
||
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Gabba, Hyderabad thrillers the perfect advertisement for Test cricket</strong> - Test purists will have a spring in their step after West Indies stunned Australia in Brisbane and, hours later, England staged a stunning comeback against India in Hyderabad.</p></li>
|
||
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>India maul Jamaica 13-0 to enter FIH Hockey5s World Cup quarterfinals</strong> - The Indian team had defeated Switzerland before losing to Egypt in its opening two Pool B matches on January 28.</p></li>
|
||
</ul>
|
||
<h1 data-aos="fade-right" id="from-the-hindu-national-news">From The Hindu: National News</h1>
|
||
<ul>
|
||
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>KTR comes under fire his remarks on Telangana CM Revanth Reddy</strong> -</p></li>
|
||
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Punjab Opposition parties corner the AAP over its ‘operation lotus’ allegation</strong> - ‘A similar deceitful narrative was attempted in Punjab earlier but it did not succeed since the AAP could not provide any evidence to support its false claims,’ the BJP’s spokesperson said</p></li>
|
||
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Crimes against children not hidden, criminals are punished: NCPCR on 96% rise in child rape cases</strong> - NCPCR chairperson Priyank Kanoongo said that a robust mechanism has been developed now to tackle such offences</p></li>
|
||
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>We are not against Bhagwa flag, but BJP creating unnecessary trouble: CM Siddaramaiah</strong> - The Karnataka chief minister accused the BJP of instigating people ahead of the Lok Sabha elections</p></li>
|
||
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Kerala Assembly | New superspeciality departments to be opened at Manjeri MCH, says Health Minister Veena George</strong> - Replying to a calling attention motion, Veena George says new postgraduate courses are being introduced at Manjeri and Kollam MCHs</p></li>
|
||
</ul>
|
||
<h1 data-aos="fade-right" id="from-bbc-europe">From BBC: Europe</h1>
|
||
<ul>
|
||
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Death in the Channel - what led a 14-year-old boy to make fatal journey?</strong> - A teenager was among the first to die in 2024 trying to cross in a small boat - the BBC investigates why.</p></li>
|
||
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Mona Lisa: Protesters throw soup at da Vinci painting</strong> - The 16th Century painting by Leonardo da Vinci sits behind protective glass at the Louvre in Paris.</p></li>
|
||
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Watch: Diplomats recall moment war broke out at peace council</strong> - UN ambassadors describe the moment they learnt of the invasion at a UN Security Council meeting.</p></li>
|
||
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Istanbul church attack: Gunmen kill one person during Sunday morning mass</strong> - Police are searching for gunmen who shot one man dead during a Sunday service.</p></li>
|
||
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Sinner wins Australian Open after epic fightback</strong> - Jannik Sinner lands the Grand Slam title he has long promised with an extraordinary fightback to beat Daniil Medvedev in the Australian Open final.</p></li>
|
||
</ul>
|
||
<h1 data-aos="fade-right" id="from-ars-technica">From Ars Technica</h1>
|
||
<ul>
|
||
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>We keep making the same mistakes with spreadsheets, despite bad consequences</strong> - Errors with spreadsheets are not only frustrating but can have serious consequences. - <a href="https://arstechnica.com/?p=1999283">link</a></p></li>
|
||
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Following lawsuit, rep admits “AI” George Carlin was human-written</strong> - Creators still face “name and likeness” complaints; lawyer says suit will continue. - <a href="https://arstechnica.com/?p=1999215">link</a></p></li>
|
||
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Gotta go? We’ve finally found out what makes urine yellow</strong> - The yellow color comes from bacteria metabolizing waste from red blood cells. - <a href="https://arstechnica.com/?p=1999349">link</a></p></li>
|
||
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Air pollution from Canada’s tar sands is much worse than we thought</strong> - Oil operations release vast quantities of damaging particles and noxious compounds. - <a href="https://arstechnica.com/?p=1999303">link</a></p></li>
|
||
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>In major gaffe, hacked Microsoft test account was assigned admin privileges</strong> - How does a legacy test account grant access to read every Office 365 account? - <a href="https://arstechnica.com/?p=1999478">link</a></p></li>
|
||
</ul>
|
||
<h1 data-aos="fade-right" id="from-jokes-subreddit">From Jokes Subreddit</h1>
|
||
<ul>
|
||
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>A cop found class A drugs on me.</strong> - <!-- SC_OFF --></p>
|
||
<div class="md">
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
|
||
A policeman searched me in a nightclub toilet last night and found a small bag of class A drugs.<br/> “It’s not my fault,” I said, “every time I try flushing them down the toilet they magically appear back in my pocket again.”<br/> “Do you really expect me to believe that?” he laughed.<br/> I said, “I’ll prove it to you if you want me to!”<br/> “Go on then,” he said, handing me the bag.<br/> I flushed them down, then he looked at me and said “Well, show me your pocket then.”<br/> “What for?” I asked.<br/> He said, “the drugs.”<br/> I replied, “what drugs?”
|
||
</p>
|
||
</div>
|
||
<!-- SC_ON -->
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"> submitted by <a href="https://www.reddit.com/user/Kind_Substance_2865"> /u/Kind_Substance_2865 </a> <br/> <span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/comments/1adr3yg/a_cop_found_class_a_drugs_on_me/">[link]</a></span> <span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/comments/1adr3yg/a_cop_found_class_a_drugs_on_me/">[comments]</a></span></p></li>
|
||
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>hillbilly went hunting</strong> - <!-- SC_OFF --></p>
|
||
<div class="md">
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
|
||
A hillbilly went hunting one day in West Virginia and bagged three ducks. He put them in the bed of his pickup truck and was about to drive home when he was confronted by an ornery game warden who didn’t like hillbillies. The game warden ordered the hillbilly to show his hunting license, and the hillbilly pulled out a valid West Virginia hunting license. The game warden looked at the license, then reached over and picked up one of the ducks, sniffed its butt, and said, “This duck ain’t from West Virginia. This is a Kentucky duck. You got a Kentucky hunting license, boy?” The hillbilly reached into his wallet and produced a Kentucky hunting license.
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
|
||
The game warden looked at it, then reached over and grabbed the second duck, sniffed its butt, and said, "This ain’t no Kentucky duck. This duck is from Tennessee. You got a Tennessee license
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
|
||
?" The hillbilly reached into his wallet and produced a Tennessee license. The warden then reached over and picked up the third duck. “This duck’s from Virginia. You got a Virginia hunting license?”
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
|
||
Again the hillbilly reached into his wallet and brought out a Virginia hunting license. The game warden was extremely frustrated at this point, and he yelled at the hillbilly, “Just where the hell are you from?”
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
|
||
The hillbilly turned around, bent over, dropped his pants, and said, “You tell me, you’re the expert!”
|
||
</p>
|
||
</div>
|
||
<!-- SC_ON -->
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"> submitted by <a href="https://www.reddit.com/user/pash5050"> /u/pash5050 </a> <br/> <span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/comments/1adj2it/hillbilly_went_hunting/">[link]</a></span> <span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/comments/1adj2it/hillbilly_went_hunting/">[comments]</a></span></p></li>
|
||
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Late at night, this guy’s walking home when he spots a woman in the shadows. “Twenty bucks!” she whispers. Now, he’s never been with a prostitute, but he decides what the hell.</strong> - <!-- SC_OFF --></p>
|
||
<div class="md">
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
|
||
So, these two are getting busy, right?
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
|
||
And outta nowhere, a cop shines a light on ’em.
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
|
||
The officer’s like, “What’s happening here, folks?”
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
|
||
The man, all defensive, replies, “I’m gettin’ down with my wife, officer.”
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
|
||
The cop apologizes, saying he didn’t know.
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
|
||
And the man hits back with, “Well, truth be told, I didn’t know either until you shined that light on her face.”
|
||
</p>
|
||
</div>
|
||
<!-- SC_ON -->
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"> submitted by <a href="https://www.reddit.com/user/tinylittle2"> /u/tinylittle2 </a> <br/> <span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/comments/1adrede/late_at_night_this_guys_walking_home_when_he/">[link]</a></span> <span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/comments/1adrede/late_at_night_this_guys_walking_home_when_he/">[comments]</a></span></p></li>
|
||
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Make a horse laugh</strong> - <!-- SC_OFF --></p>
|
||
<div class="md">
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
|
||
A guy walks into a bar and sits on a stool.
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
|
||
In front of him, he sees a big jar full of change and a little card that reads:
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
|
||
"Hello, if you would like to win all of this money you have to make the horse at the end of the bar laugh.
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
|
||
COST $5"
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
|
||
So, he puts in five dollars and takes the horse into the bathroom.
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
|
||
Two minutes later they come out and the horse is laughing so hard that he pissed on the floor.
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
|
||
So the guy takes the money and leaves.
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
|
||
The next day the same guy walks into the bar again and sees the horse and the jar, this time it says:
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
|
||
"You can win all of this if you make the horse cry.
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
|
||
COST $10"
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
|
||
So he puts in 10 dollars and takes the horse into the bathroom.
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
|
||
Four minutes later they come out and the horse is crying like nobody ever had.
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
|
||
So the guy takes the jar but before he can leave the bartender asks:
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
|
||
“How did you do that?!”
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
|
||
The guy says:
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
|
||
"The first time, I told him my d*ck was bigger than his, and the second time I showed him!"
|
||
</p>
|
||
</div>
|
||
<!-- SC_ON -->
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"> submitted by <a href="https://www.reddit.com/user/pash5050"> /u/pash5050 </a> <br/> <span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/comments/1adj1i0/make_a_horse_laugh/">[link]</a></span> <span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/comments/1adj1i0/make_a_horse_laugh/">[comments]</a></span></p></li>
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<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>A lizard is walking through the jungle</strong> - <!-- SC_OFF --></p>
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<div class="md">
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
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As he’s walking, he catches a whiff of marijuana burning. He looks up and sees a monkey smoking a fat blunt in a tree.
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</p>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
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“Hey, are you blazing it up there without me?” said the lizard.
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</p>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
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“Come on up here and hit it with me, man,” said the monkey.
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</p>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
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The lizard and the monkey smoke weed for several hours, and eventually the lizard’s mouth gets dry. He excuses himself, climbs down the tree, and heads for the river to get a drink. As the lizard is drinking, a crocodile pops out of the water.
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</p>
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||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
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The croc says “Whoa, man, you looked stoned to the bone. Where can I get the good stuff?”
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||
</p>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
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“My monkey friend in that tree over there can hook you up,” said the lizard.
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</p>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
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The crocodile heads over to the tree and says, “Hey! Down here!”
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</p>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
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The monkey looks down and says “Whoa, holy shit dude, how much water did you drink?”
|
||
</p>
|
||
</div>
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||
<!-- SC_ON -->
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||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"> submitted by <a href="https://www.reddit.com/user/Plutopiter"> /u/Plutopiter </a> <br/> <span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/comments/1admd92/a_lizard_is_walking_through_the_jungle/">[link]</a></span> <span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/comments/1admd92/a_lizard_is_walking_through_the_jungle/">[comments]</a></span></p></li>
|
||
</ul>
|
||
|
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|
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