Effect matters as much as intent if not much more so.
RFK Jr, anti-vaxxer and all around kooky moron dropped out or suspended his campaign to endorse Trump. Cornell then called RFK his brother. This is helping thr corpulent, dementia-addled, authoritarian in effect if not intent.
The overall problem with the United States is that there are too many people who fundamentally misunderstand the purpose of politics. The purpose of politics is not to feel special or unique. Politics and voting are for collective action, civic responsibility, and moral obligation.
But there are seemingly a good number of leftists out there who think it is the perfidious Democrats and liberal winemoms who prevent socialist imaginary Sweden from emerging in the United States and don’t understand politics is all about compromise with close allies or close enough allies. They seemingly think getting some of what you want is less preferable than getting no policy goals but they get to keep being special, unique, and “unsullied.”
So I think people like West and Stein help Trump and the authoritarian theocrats and plutocrats they allege to abhor in effect very much and I see very little reason to pretend otherwise. These apparent anti-consumerists make very consumerist choices about politics
They hate Democrats more than the actual authoritarian: https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/b470eb3062f8af96e998e6f5883a063d1412569dc3c06fda69dc940790840222.jpg
I am about as YIMBY as you can be and think people are too protective of keeping a business around just because it is old but very rich venture capitalists/private equity purchasing properties then refusing to engage in lease renewal for long-term businesses that pay the rent on time does not help the YIMBY cause: https://www.sfgate.com/food/article/sf-la-mediterranee-fillmore-street-building-sale-19717605.php
Once again, a major media organization has a panel of "undecided" voters and at least one of them terms out to be a GOP operative/partisan: https://newrepublic.com/article/185290/cnn-undecided-voters-misleading
RFK Jr decapitated a beach whale. His daughter Kick confirmed the story. Also she might be dating Affleck because we are stuck in the stupidest timeline for miscreants.
I think he wants to control the dynamic but in other ways. I think his handlers don't think Trump could last for 90 minutes without melting down and having a hot mic moment where he calls Harris' a n-word, b**ch, and/or a c&*! or many, many minutes
Trump appears to be trying to back out September's debate on ABC and possibly any debate that is not a Fox News rally. His current demand is apparently for no live mics and Harris is insisting on live mics and putting it out that Trump's handlers don't think he can last for 90 minutes without having a hot mic moment.
Foreign policy is generally a low-tier issue (though plenty of foreign policy does have domestic side effects) even in the stupid NY Times focus poll with young undecided voters, the one guy who called Israel's actions genocidal wrote that his most important concern was inflation.
Put it this way, without primaries, you don't get AOC deciding to knock on doors and challenge and succeed against a House Democrat. We are better off with her than Joe Crowley. Sorry Joe.
Primaries are a good thing or a bad thing. The good part is that they are very Democratic. Parties don't get to tell people "hey, here is your candidate for this district/riding/etc." The bad thing is the neverending campaigns.
I would love to have Parliamentary style campaigns which are 4-6 weeks long like they have in Europe. Unfortunately, that would completely require rewriting our political system to allow for snap elections instead of fixed ones (we should probably be parliamentary anyway and have multi-member districts. We also need stronger political parties that allow them to basically state "here is your candidate"
Also I haven't been able to figure out how to make it work without running afoul of the First Amendment.
Kamala Harris said exactly what needs to be said to please various factions in the Democratic Party (meaning peoplen who will actually vote Democratic as opposed to being leftists merely glomped onto the Democratic Party by lazy media). She acknowledged Hamas start October 7th and that Hamas are nothing more than murderous thugs. She acknowledged that Israel exists and is not going away no matter what anyone desires and she also acknowledged that the Palestinians have a right to state hood and are being punished too much for Hamas' actions. She did this very well.
About the only people who dislike it are ideologues on either side who want to chant from the river to the sea.
I think it is pretty astonishing how will the transition has worked out so far in generating massive enthusiasm and love when it could have easily been a completely despondent mess.
There is allegedly an old tale of Hasidic Jews about why one should see good deeds performed by atheists as being more exemplary than good deeds performed by the religious. The lesson of this story is that the atheist does not think he will be rewarded in the afterlife or avoid punishment in the afterlife for his good deeds. The atheist merely performs good deeds because he or she thinks it is the correct thing to do. Or the atheist is doing this not because he or she is commanded to do so:
Master teaches his students that God created everything in the world to be appreciated, since everything is here to teach us a lesson.
One clever student asks “What lesson can we learn from atheists? Why did God create them?”
The Master responds “God created atheists to teach us the most important lesson of them all — the lesson of true compassion. You see, when an atheist performs an act of charity, visits someone who is sick, helps someone in need, and cares for the world, he is not doing so because of some religious teaching. He does not believe that God commanded him to perform this act. In fact, he does not believe in God at all, so his acts are based on an inner sense of morality. And look at the kindness he can bestow upon others simply because he feels it to be right.”
"This means," the Master continued "that when someone reaches out to you for help, you should never say ‘I pray that God will help you.’ Instead for the moment, you should become an atheist, imagine that there is no God who can help, and say ‘I will help you.’”
You can probably find this in Martin Buber's Tales of the Hasidim which has been out of print for 77 years unfortunately but this surfaces on the internet from time to time.
Perhaps all the Republicans speaking at the DNC or writing that they are voting for Harris/Walz to save conservatism , think they are doing it because it is the correct thing to do, regardless of whether they get rewarded or not.
Assumes facts not in evidence. The Democratic Party is farther to the left than it has ever been in the lifetimes of anyone here.
The Democratic Stance on immigration and LBTGQ rights is much further to left than anything you would see in Europe. The UK is in many ways vehemently anti-trans. The Democratic Party is also going for consumer protection and against price gouging.
I find it astonishing that there are people who insist that the Democratic Party would be a center-right party in Europe and think that this is true because they have some imaginary version of Copenhagen in their heads that is a UBI paradise.
Apparently one of Disney's defenses is that the restaurant was independently owned and operated and they were merely a landlord. This is the kind of argument arbitrators love more than juries or at least are usually more willing to entertain. Arbitrators also tend to award less generous damages.
I'm not opposed to ADR but I think binding arbitration clauses in contracts of adhesion should be banned as a matter of law. Unfortunately, the right-wingers in charge of the judiciary do not agree and Corporate America still prefers it for all disputes. ADR is generally good for disputes between parties of equal bargaining strength who agreed to it being in their contract.
Disney had to back down because they were the rare company that gets massive backlash for a move like this.
Banks are unable to unload the debt/loans they gave to Musk to purchase Twitter: https://gizmodo.com/bankers-have-lost-so-much-money-thanks-to-elons-terrible-twitter-deal-2000489136
"Seven banks loaned Elon Musk money totaling $13 billion in 2022 to help him buy Twitter, now known by the obnoxiously generic name X, and every single one has been unable to offload the debt without incurring “major losses” from the deal, according to the Wall Street Journal. This means the loans are just sitting on the balance sheets of these banks. In fact, the Journal explains that this wasn’t just one of the worst deals since 2008, it’s one of the worst deals of all time.
Musk and other investors brought roughly $30 billion in cash to the table, while the banks supplied the other $13 billion to finalize the purchase. But we now know the people who work at those banks have felt considerable financial pain from agreeing to something so stupid. How much pain? As the Journal tells it, top investment bankers at Barclays were told at a dinner in late 2023 that everyone would be getting at least a 40% pay cut. After everyone got their bonuses for the year, about 50 of the company’s 200 directors left, according to the Journal."
I'm sure I have a really tiny violin somewhere
*Comment archive for non-registered commenters assembled by email address as provided.
On “Open Mic for the week of 8/26/2024”
Nate Silver is saying what we are all thinking. Please stop thinking everyone agrees with you on everything. Some of us disagree with you quite a lot.
"
Effect matters as much as intent if not much more so.
RFK Jr, anti-vaxxer and all around kooky moron dropped out or suspended his campaign to endorse Trump. Cornell then called RFK his brother. This is helping thr corpulent, dementia-addled, authoritarian in effect if not intent.
The overall problem with the United States is that there are too many people who fundamentally misunderstand the purpose of politics. The purpose of politics is not to feel special or unique. Politics and voting are for collective action, civic responsibility, and moral obligation.
But there are seemingly a good number of leftists out there who think it is the perfidious Democrats and liberal winemoms who prevent socialist imaginary Sweden from emerging in the United States and don’t understand politics is all about compromise with close allies or close enough allies. They seemingly think getting some of what you want is less preferable than getting no policy goals but they get to keep being special, unique, and “unsullied.”
So I think people like West and Stein help Trump and the authoritarian theocrats and plutocrats they allege to abhor in effect very much and I see very little reason to pretend otherwise. These apparent anti-consumerists make very consumerist choices about politics
"
They hate Democrats more than the actual authoritarian: https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/b470eb3062f8af96e998e6f5883a063d1412569dc3c06fda69dc940790840222.jpg
"
I am about as YIMBY as you can be and think people are too protective of keeping a business around just because it is old but very rich venture capitalists/private equity purchasing properties then refusing to engage in lease renewal for long-term businesses that pay the rent on time does not help the YIMBY cause: https://www.sfgate.com/food/article/sf-la-mediterranee-fillmore-street-building-sale-19717605.php
"
Once again, a major media organization has a panel of "undecided" voters and at least one of them terms out to be a GOP operative/partisan: https://newrepublic.com/article/185290/cnn-undecided-voters-misleading
"
RFK Jr decapitated a beach whale. His daughter Kick confirmed the story. Also she might be dating Affleck because we are stuck in the stupidest timeline for miscreants.
"
I think he wants to control the dynamic but in other ways. I think his handlers don't think Trump could last for 90 minutes without melting down and having a hot mic moment where he calls Harris' a n-word, b**ch, and/or a c&*! or many, many minutes
"
I am already making chicken noises
"
Trump appears to be trying to back out September's debate on ABC and possibly any debate that is not a Fox News rally. His current demand is apparently for no live mics and Harris is insisting on live mics and putting it out that Trump's handlers don't think he can last for 90 minutes without having a hot mic moment.
On “Kamala Harris DNC Speech: Watch It For Yourself”
Comedy Monday, Rich Lowry thinks Trump can win on "character" https://www.nytimes.com/2024/08/26/opinion/advice-for-trump-win.html
On “Trump and RFK Jr Rally Together in Arizona: Watch It For Yourself”
I prefer not to.
On “Complicated Starbucks Orders Is A Language I Don’t Speak None To Good”
14 words? Oh Andrew….
On “Kamala Harris DNC Speech: Watch It For Yourself”
Foreign policy is generally a low-tier issue (though plenty of foreign policy does have domestic side effects) even in the stupid NY Times focus poll with young undecided voters, the one guy who called Israel's actions genocidal wrote that his most important concern was inflation.
"
Put it this way, without primaries, you don't get AOC deciding to knock on doors and challenge and succeed against a House Democrat. We are better off with her than Joe Crowley. Sorry Joe.
"
Primaries are a good thing or a bad thing. The good part is that they are very Democratic. Parties don't get to tell people "hey, here is your candidate for this district/riding/etc." The bad thing is the neverending campaigns.
"
I would love to have Parliamentary style campaigns which are 4-6 weeks long like they have in Europe. Unfortunately, that would completely require rewriting our political system to allow for snap elections instead of fixed ones (we should probably be parliamentary anyway and have multi-member districts. We also need stronger political parties that allow them to basically state "here is your candidate"
Also I haven't been able to figure out how to make it work without running afoul of the First Amendment.
"
In terms of Israel/Gaza:
Kamala Harris said exactly what needs to be said to please various factions in the Democratic Party (meaning peoplen who will actually vote Democratic as opposed to being leftists merely glomped onto the Democratic Party by lazy media). She acknowledged Hamas start October 7th and that Hamas are nothing more than murderous thugs. She acknowledged that Israel exists and is not going away no matter what anyone desires and she also acknowledged that the Palestinians have a right to state hood and are being punished too much for Hamas' actions. She did this very well.
About the only people who dislike it are ideologues on either side who want to chant from the river to the sea.
"
I think it is pretty astonishing how will the transition has worked out so far in generating massive enthusiasm and love when it could have easily been a completely despondent mess.
On “The DNC Republicans”
Hell yes. I hope for more than that.
"
Harris knocked it out of the park
"
There is allegedly an old tale of Hasidic Jews about why one should see good deeds performed by atheists as being more exemplary than good deeds performed by the religious. The lesson of this story is that the atheist does not think he will be rewarded in the afterlife or avoid punishment in the afterlife for his good deeds. The atheist merely performs good deeds because he or she thinks it is the correct thing to do. Or the atheist is doing this not because he or she is commanded to do so:
Master teaches his students that God created everything in the world to be appreciated, since everything is here to teach us a lesson.
One clever student asks “What lesson can we learn from atheists? Why did God create them?”
The Master responds “God created atheists to teach us the most important lesson of them all — the lesson of true compassion. You see, when an atheist performs an act of charity, visits someone who is sick, helps someone in need, and cares for the world, he is not doing so because of some religious teaching. He does not believe that God commanded him to perform this act. In fact, he does not believe in God at all, so his acts are based on an inner sense of morality. And look at the kindness he can bestow upon others simply because he feels it to be right.”
"This means," the Master continued "that when someone reaches out to you for help, you should never say ‘I pray that God will help you.’ Instead for the moment, you should become an atheist, imagine that there is no God who can help, and say ‘I will help you.’”
You can probably find this in Martin Buber's Tales of the Hasidim which has been out of print for 77 years unfortunately but this surfaces on the internet from time to time.
Perhaps all the Republicans speaking at the DNC or writing that they are voting for Harris/Walz to save conservatism , think they are doing it because it is the correct thing to do, regardless of whether they get rewarded or not.
"
Assumes facts not in evidence. The Democratic Party is farther to the left than it has ever been in the lifetimes of anyone here.
The Democratic Stance on immigration and LBTGQ rights is much further to left than anything you would see in Europe. The UK is in many ways vehemently anti-trans. The Democratic Party is also going for consumer protection and against price gouging.
I find it astonishing that there are people who insist that the Democratic Party would be a center-right party in Europe and think that this is true because they have some imaginary version of Copenhagen in their heads that is a UBI paradise.
On “Disney’s Arbitration Maneuver: A Real Mickey Mouse Operation”
Ideally yes, our current courts are not stacked this way though.
"
Apparently one of Disney's defenses is that the restaurant was independently owned and operated and they were merely a landlord. This is the kind of argument arbitrators love more than juries or at least are usually more willing to entertain. Arbitrators also tend to award less generous damages.
I'm not opposed to ADR but I think binding arbitration clauses in contracts of adhesion should be banned as a matter of law. Unfortunately, the right-wingers in charge of the judiciary do not agree and Corporate America still prefers it for all disputes. ADR is generally good for disputes between parties of equal bargaining strength who agreed to it being in their contract.
Disney had to back down because they were the rare company that gets massive backlash for a move like this.
On “Open Mic for the week of 8/19/2024”
Banks are unable to unload the debt/loans they gave to Musk to purchase Twitter: https://gizmodo.com/bankers-have-lost-so-much-money-thanks-to-elons-terrible-twitter-deal-2000489136
"Seven banks loaned Elon Musk money totaling $13 billion in 2022 to help him buy Twitter, now known by the obnoxiously generic name X, and every single one has been unable to offload the debt without incurring “major losses” from the deal, according to the Wall Street Journal. This means the loans are just sitting on the balance sheets of these banks. In fact, the Journal explains that this wasn’t just one of the worst deals since 2008, it’s one of the worst deals of all time.
Musk and other investors brought roughly $30 billion in cash to the table, while the banks supplied the other $13 billion to finalize the purchase. But we now know the people who work at those banks have felt considerable financial pain from agreeing to something so stupid. How much pain? As the Journal tells it, top investment bankers at Barclays were told at a dinner in late 2023 that everyone would be getting at least a 40% pay cut. After everyone got their bonuses for the year, about 50 of the company’s 200 directors left, according to the Journal."
I'm sure I have a really tiny violin somewhere
*Comment archive for non-registered commenters assembled by email address as provided.