"And any part of it that that industry would object to, like a public option, was off the table to start to start with."
the public option was in the bill until they needed one more Democrat vote (Lieberman).
"But there have been massive problems that absolutely no one has tackled that would be incredibly popular, but there are large entrenched interests sitting opposed to."
so healthcare reform was a massive problem that nobody had tackled that would be incredibly popular, but there were large entrenched interests sitting opposed to tackling it, and the Democrats under Obama finally got around to tackling it, and their method of tackling was to give the large entrenched interests a massive revenue guarantee, and you see that as a good thing? (Like, those were your words, "a good thing", I didn't make up that you said that.)
Or maybe I misunderstand who you think the "large entrenched interests" were in this case.
"[T]he Republicans blocking the way cannot explain why they do not get out there and try..."
Because they don't think it's a problem that doctoring costs what it costs.
"I’m still wondering what the breaking point is that will cause the bigger and wealthier blue states to start taking on responsibilities previously done by the federal government."
Multiple Supreme Court cases have firmly established that doing this is very nearly treason, and certainly not something that a sensible Federal government ought to permit.
"Something I’ve thought about a lot over the last few months is the difference between the typical Trump voter in 2016 and 2020 vs the typical Trump voter in 2024."
They've been the same people all along; they've just realized that they can stand up in public and say "I voted for Trump" and not lose their job over it.
The only demographic that didn't vote more for Trump in 2024 than in 2020 (and more in 2020 than in 2016) was College-Educated White Males. Everyone else went more for Trump, both times.
I think it's worth not getting into a situation where we need to find out whether the Judicial Branch has a way to enforce its decisions that doesn't involve the Executive Branch.
I think people have forgotten how interesting Clinton was found simply because he was so young. Clinton was forty-six when he was elected. The last time we'd had a President younger than fifty was 1963. (The last time we'd had someone under sixty was Carter.)
I'd be entirely willing to accept moderation decisions of "this is a Mega Shit Starting Subject that will destroy the forum and we will not have that happen here".
"To what part? The cheating on her boyfriend? I believe that she never did."
That was one of the most interesting parts of the thing to me, that she (and everyone else) agreed that she did indeed have sex with a bunch of people and the anger was over the accusation that she'd gotten some benefit in exchange for it. "We agree that she's a slut but how dare you call her a whore," sort of thing.
That, and a healthy dose of "yeah sure maybe she gaslit her nominal boyfriend into staying celibate while she fucked her way through the Seattle gaming-journalism scene, and maybe she spun that into multiple glowing reviews of her walking-simulator game that had nothing to distinguish it from a thousand others, and maybe she's a graduate of the Something Awful Being A Piece Of Shit Online Forum and she's putting those skills to good use, but he's the real jerk here because he told everyone about it". A real mid-2010s approach, same deal as Clinton's Emails; the rebuttal being not "that's a damn lie" but "you're a sneaky snoop".
Why waste our time? You clearly have a much more comforting version of the story in your own head, and you obviously aren't interested in hearing anything that challenges your worldview.
and as with most inflammatory immune responses, the response was mostly just a bunch of individuals competing to see who could most loudly and angrily declare that they were The Best And Most Moral Participant In This Activity.
"Gamergate did provide a really nice example of what the anti-“woke”, anti-“CRT,” and anti-“DEI” movements would look like conceptually, and even a hint about what sorts of people would be pushing these movements."
You mean, the same people running both sides as a joke?
What's going to happen is that HELLO WORLD will become a 37-Megabyte file filled with boilerplate and exception-handling, but nobody will care because an injectable personal-fitness tracker the size of a zit will have a 32-bit processor and a terabyte of storage memory.
"I mean, it’s the equivalent of telling someone to learn Latin."
Or telling them to learn to drive a stick-shift car. It's certainly a skill, but things have gone from "maybe someday" to "you need to actively search for a situation where you'll need it".
"He’s one of the best talkers the Dems have. He’s a McKinsey Consultant to the bone. That appeals to a great many of the elite within the Democratic party and his ability to talk to them on their level and gently explain that stuff didn’t work."
Also he's queer, and that really matters to a lot of them, that someone with the right personal-life credentials have this opinion, instead of Just Another Cishet White Dudebro.
On “Open Mic for the week of 2/24/2025”
"And any part of it that that industry would object to, like a public option, was off the table to start to start with."
the public option was in the bill until they needed one more Democrat vote (Lieberman).
"But there have been massive problems that absolutely no one has tackled that would be incredibly popular, but there are large entrenched interests sitting opposed to."
so healthcare reform was a massive problem that nobody had tackled that would be incredibly popular, but there were large entrenched interests sitting opposed to tackling it, and the Democrats under Obama finally got around to tackling it, and their method of tackling was to give the large entrenched interests a massive revenue guarantee, and you see that as a good thing? (Like, those were your words, "a good thing", I didn't make up that you said that.)
Or maybe I misunderstand who you think the "large entrenched interests" were in this case.
"[T]he Republicans blocking the way cannot explain why they do not get out there and try..."
Because they don't think it's a problem that doctoring costs what it costs.
"
"I’m still wondering what the breaking point is that will cause the bigger and wealthier blue states to start taking on responsibilities previously done by the federal government."
Multiple Supreme Court cases have firmly established that doing this is very nearly treason, and certainly not something that a sensible Federal government ought to permit.
"
Surprised to find you taking the Republican position that healthcare reform is bad, but *shrug*
"
"Something I’ve thought about a lot over the last few months is the difference between the typical Trump voter in 2016 and 2020 vs the typical Trump voter in 2024."
They've been the same people all along; they've just realized that they can stand up in public and say "I voted for Trump" and not lose their job over it.
The only demographic that didn't vote more for Trump in 2024 than in 2020 (and more in 2020 than in 2016) was College-Educated White Males. Everyone else went more for Trump, both times.
On “Supreme Court issues Stay”
I think it's worth not getting into a situation where we need to find out whether the Judicial Branch has a way to enforce its decisions that doesn't involve the Executive Branch.
On “Open Mic for the week of 2/24/2025”
"Well, ACTUALLY..."
"
I think people have forgotten how interesting Clinton was found simply because he was so young. Clinton was forty-six when he was elected. The last time we'd had a President younger than fifty was 1963. (The last time we'd had someone under sixty was Carter.)
"
I'd be entirely willing to accept moderation decisions of "this is a Mega Shit Starting Subject that will destroy the forum and we will not have that happen here".
"
"To what part? The cheating on her boyfriend? I believe that she never did."
That was one of the most interesting parts of the thing to me, that she (and everyone else) agreed that she did indeed have sex with a bunch of people and the anger was over the accusation that she'd gotten some benefit in exchange for it. "We agree that she's a slut but how dare you call her a whore," sort of thing.
That, and a healthy dose of "yeah sure maybe she gaslit her nominal boyfriend into staying celibate while she fucked her way through the Seattle gaming-journalism scene, and maybe she spun that into multiple glowing reviews of her walking-simulator game that had nothing to distinguish it from a thousand others, and maybe she's a graduate of the Something Awful Being A Piece Of Shit Online Forum and she's putting those skills to good use, but he's the real jerk here because he told everyone about it". A real mid-2010s approach, same deal as Clinton's Emails; the rebuttal being not "that's a damn lie" but "you're a sneaky snoop".
"
Why waste our time? You clearly have a much more comforting version of the story in your own head, and you obviously aren't interested in hearing anything that challenges your worldview.
"
and as with most inflammatory immune responses, the response was mostly just a bunch of individuals competing to see who could most loudly and angrily declare that they were The Best And Most Moral Participant In This Activity.
"
"I know what I know from reading the Wikipedia entry"
so, you don't really know anything, then?
"
I'd be interested to see an aside describing the role Candace Owens played in it.
On “Open Mic for the week of 2/17/2025”
So don't answer!
On “Open Mic for the week of 2/24/2025”
"Gamergate did provide a really nice example of what the anti-“woke”, anti-“CRT,” and anti-“DEI” movements would look like conceptually, and even a hint about what sorts of people would be pushing these movements."
You mean, the same people running both sides as a joke?
On “Open Mic for the week of 2/17/2025”
What's going to happen is that HELLO WORLD will become a 37-Megabyte file filled with boilerplate and exception-handling, but nobody will care because an injectable personal-fitness tracker the size of a zit will have a 32-bit processor and a terabyte of storage memory.
On “Open Mic for the week of 2/24/2025”
proposal: Gamergate wasn't a sign of infection, it was an inflammatory immune response.
On “Open Mic for the week of 2/17/2025”
"I mean, it’s the equivalent of telling someone to learn Latin."
Or telling them to learn to drive a stick-shift car. It's certainly a skill, but things have gone from "maybe someday" to "you need to actively search for a situation where you'll need it".
"
(using a clever euphemism so you don't Say The Naughty Word gives further emphasis and attention to the Naughty Word)
"
"Of this specific incident – probably not. "
ahahahaha you didn't read the article before you posted it, did you
"
...do you actually think someone here would be in support of this?
"
I mean, nobody was going to accept a coffin with five pounds of sand and a "DO NOT OPEN" note...
"
"He’s one of the best talkers the Dems have. He’s a McKinsey Consultant to the bone. That appeals to a great many of the elite within the Democratic party and his ability to talk to them on their level and gently explain that stuff didn’t work."
Also he's queer, and that really matters to a lot of them, that someone with the right personal-life credentials have this opinion, instead of Just Another Cishet White Dudebro.
"
"I don’t have an opinion about the rules of a club of which I am not a member."
It must be nice to have the privilege of not caring about politics.
"
Even reacting to the critics is admitting that, in some small way, they had a point.
*Comment archive for non-registered commenters assembled by email address as provided.