Again, speaking of Japan, almost everyone gets married civilly and there is no requirement for a ceremony, an officiant, or any kind of celebration to make it official
but they tell their friends and family, right?
because even without the big party thing or the religious aspect, simply announcing to other people that you are a couple is a big part of the event.
RW mythology says DC is pure evil corruption. so when these true believers get there, they use that myth as a way to justify their own corruption - "Me? Hunter Biden! Bill Clinton!"
xkcd has a comic where airplane engineers explain why airplanes are indeed the safest form of travel, and civil engineers explain why it is almost literally impossible for an elevator to fall down the shaft, and software engineers… run screaming from the idea of online voting.
if airplanes and elevators were subject to the same amount of attempted sabotage that computers are, the joke wouldn't be as funny.
after all, dynamite exists. there's just not much profit to made in using it to tear down infrastructure.
but the fund is supposed to be used only for wealth redistribution and GCC remediation!
i kid. it would take about .5ns for an organization of bureaucrats with 10% of the world's cash to decide that it really needs a military to enforce its directives.
In the early years of the platform, the global wealth tax does most of the work, drawing substantial payments from the world's billionaires, centimillionaires, and decamillionaires and channeling them into the World Sovereign Fund. The Fund accumulates assets equivalent to about 60% of world GDP, or about 10% of the world capital stock,
yikes
Because country dividends account for a larger share of GDP in the South, and the global rich predominantly come from the North, the Global Justice Platform (GJP) also implies a form of class-based reparatory justice.
...
This suggests that the GJP [Global Justice Project] would need to be scaled up to fully account for historical responsibilities and to better approach universal, equal access to education and health. The scaling up could come from more progressive tax schedules and country dividends, or by direct reparations supplementing universal policies.
the linked paper does admit it might be hard to get the US and China to participate, but says they can probably be induced through tariffs ("corrective tax"). lol.
i can't see the average worker anywhere being happy about having to pay taxes to a foreign bank in order to fund a redistribution scheme to pay for "historical responsibilities".
The fact that states’ EC votes are, with very few exceptions, all given to whoever wins at the state level, by whatever margin, rather than apportioned, pushes us towards two-party dominance.
i think that's Duverger again: first-past-the-post (winner-take-all) delegate totals with single member districts (all states elect one President) => two parties.
There is no party at this point that really reflects my own values.
i've always thought that this has to be true of everyone, always. the only party that could reflect all of a person's values is a party with one member: that single person. because life is negotiations. even with the person closest to you, there are times when you have to work out a compromise.
and a political party, with tens of millions of 'members', can only point in the direction of the average opinion. it will never be perfect on any issue, for anyone. and when you add the fact that there are entire other parties who want completely different things, it's a miracle anything gets done at all.
that's why i feel fine supporting the Dems; i don't expect them to exactly match my preferences on anything, i just expect us to point in the same general direction on most things. and i don't think there's any other party that will fit me any better which has any chance at all of getting anything done.
i think i have a comment in jail. i was going to add to it...
[list of 'progressive' candidates who also have racist, sexist or just gross histories (or presents)]
i actually don't blame progressives for these candidates. because a lot of their support probably comes from their populism (which definitely has a dark side) not necessarily from their progressivism. but when progressives stick with these people... well, yuck. and that's not the evil establishment talking. that's just Yuck.
Last weekend, Galindo said in an Instagram post that she intends to write legislation to “turn Karnes ICE Detention Center into a prison for American Zionists and former ICE officers for human trafficking.”
“It will also be a castration processing center for pedophiles which will probably be most of the Zionists,” Galindo wrote on Instagram in a carousel accusing Garcia of being “paid by Zionist terrorism and trafficking.”
The proposal is the latest in a line of antisemitic comments Galindo has made, which include saying that Jews run Hollywood and worship the “synagogue of Satan.”
i'm not in TX, so also not my call.
and i'm not in NYC, but:
In a move that’s got conservatives scratching their heads, Sanders endorsed Justin Brannan, a Democratic councilman vying for city comptroller, while a damning review of Brannan’s old online posts from his punk rock days reveals a laundry list of offensive remarks, Fox News reported.
Sanders, never shy about championing progressive causes, praised Brannan as someone who “would fight corruption and stand for the working class.” But one has to wonder if the senator did a deep dive into Brannan’s digital history before signing that endorsement check. After all, skeletons in the closet tend to rattle louder than campaign promises.
but it would be nice if progressives and Sanders especially would be a little more discriminating (in the good way) about who they champion. calling for more social justice etc is great. but do you have to overlook so many faults in the people who preach it?
alternately: But I’ve lost faith in receiving any solidarity back from the progressives party faithful, and I’m beginning to think that they are just as rooted in their folly as the MAGA are.
(i don't actually feel this way, but it's not hard to pretend i do)
everybody wants to rule the world. there's no way that can happen, however.
you can either have +75% of what you want or -75% of what you want.
i'd do the Canada thing, if i could. my half-brother can, and is considering it. he was also considering doing the Canadian business visa, but they discontinued that program at the end of last year.
for a great example of how Republicans have ruined fraternity, see how Trump has turned the US's 250th birthday from what could have been a rare way for Americans to come together and celebrate into a crass, partisan, self-aggrandizing, schlock-fest.
what a disaster Republicanism has become.
An upcoming celebration of America’s 250th anniversary, “The Great American State Fair,” recently had several musical guests back out partly over the event’s ties to President Donald Trump. Now, Trump himself is slated to headline the festivities, the organizers said Saturday.
“I understand Artists are getting ‘the yips’ having to do with their performance,” Trump posted to his social media platform Truth Social Saturday, adding that he was thinking of bringing “the man who some say is the Greatest President in History (THE GOAT!), DONALD J. TRUMP, to take the place of these highly paid, Third Rate ‘Artists.’”
Trump’s lawyers repeatedly urged him to return the document remaining at his residence but the former president instead turned to Tom Fitton, who doesn’t have a law degree but has remained vocal about Trump having the right to keep the documents he took with him at the end of his presidency.
“If Trump had simply given these documents back, when he was first asked, there would have been no jury subpoena, there would have been no search warrant, and there would have been no criminal charges,” former U.S. Attorney Barb McQuade, a University of Michigan law professor, told Salon. “In fact, in each of those steps of the investigation, if Trump had returned the documents, there likely would not have been a criminal prosecution.”
Fitton reportedly argued that the records belonged to Trump, pointing to a 2012 court case involving his organization which he claimed granted the former President the authority to exercise control over the records from his own term in office.
...
His media appearances are also similar to Trump’s. In one interview with Politico, Fitton discussed what he perceived as “abuses” of power by the Justice Department and the FBI, labeled the Mueller investigation as “unconstitutional” and asserted that there was sufficient evidence to arrest and prosecute Hillary Clinton.
He has built a following by appearing on right-wing networks and filing lawsuits against the federal government alleging bureaucratic corruption.
During one interview, Fitton himself corrected Fox host Jeanine Pirro after she referred to him as a lawyer, and then responded: “you should be, you get more out of courts than anyone I know.”
But Fitton’s limited legal expertise hasn’t stopped the former president from seeking advice from him. It’s only complicated the role Trump’s attorneys play in representing him.
It’s also left Trump scrambling to find legal representation a day before his court appearance after two of his top lawyers stepped down just hours after a Florida grand jury voted to charge him.
Most recently though, Fitton’s advice appears to have led Trump to being charged with 37 counts including alleged violations of the Espionage Act, obstruction and false statements.
So I’d guess that the “some people” was meant to refer to MAGAs or Reform UK supporters etc. who are anti-immigrant.
that's probably true.
maybe he's just being dry and sardonic (i read, didn't listen), but the way Harari frames it as an issue with liberalism lets those "some people" off the hook to a degree. and it's not like they were keeping things brief, so they could have spared a sentence or two to be clear about what they are talking about - if they cared to make that point.
it's not liberals' fault that conservatives corrupted fraternity with jingoism and xenophobia and hyper-partisanship. conservatives did that.
Yes. I think that the important thing to emphasize here is the reason that liberalism lost touch with fraternity [which Klein defines as: "this ethic of mutual respect and generosity toward your fellow citizens"] is that some people told a very negative story about fraternity, seeing it primarily in terms of conflict with other communities — that fraternity is about hating and fighting with other nations.
who are "some people" ?
because when i think about which "some people" could be responsible for obliterating the ethic of mutual respect and generosity toward their fellow citizens, i come up with a very short list of people. and none of them are liberals.
On “Monkey business”
Again, speaking of Japan, almost everyone gets married civilly and there is no requirement for a ceremony, an officiant, or any kind of celebration to make it official
but they tell their friends and family, right?
because even without the big party thing or the religious aspect, simply announcing to other people that you are a couple is a big part of the event.
On “Open Thread”
i've always assumed exactly that.
RW mythology says DC is pure evil corruption. so when these true believers get there, they use that myth as a way to justify their own corruption - "Me? Hunter Biden! Bill Clinton!"
On “Monkey business”
though his character was invented after the OT, Satan sometimes is a tricky troublemaker in Christianity. and Islam has Iblis (and his devils).
On “Open Thread”
FYI, Pro Bono... looks like this forum might be putting real names on the "edited by" tags.
"
>Surely the horse has already suffered enough.
it knew what it was getting into.
"
i just assume he told ChatGPT "D-Day speech, and make it about how immigrants are bad."
"
GftNC... wow. that's pretty fucking gross.
"
if airplanes and elevators were subject to the same amount of attempted sabotage that computers are, the joke wouldn't be as funny.
after all, dynamite exists. there's just not much profit to made in using it to tear down infrastructure.
On “What’s wrong with liberalism?”
submarines!?
but the fund is supposed to be used only for wealth redistribution and GCC remediation!
i kid. it would take about .5ns for an organization of bureaucrats with 10% of the world's cash to decide that it really needs a military to enforce its directives.
"
from GFtNC's link:
yikes
the linked paper does admit it might be hard to get the US and China to participate, but says they can probably be induced through tariffs ("corrective tax"). lol.
i can't see the average worker anywhere being happy about having to pay taxes to a foreign bank in order to fund a redistribution scheme to pay for "historical responsibilities".
economists are strange folk.
"
The fact that states’ EC votes are, with very few exceptions, all given to whoever wins at the state level, by whatever margin, rather than apportioned, pushes us towards two-party dominance.
i think that's Duverger again: first-past-the-post (winner-take-all) delegate totals with single member districts (all states elect one President) => two parties.
"
>it takes a lot of organizing and focused outrage to overcome that inertia
civil war will do it, too.
"
There is no party at this point that really reflects my own values.
i've always thought that this has to be true of everyone, always. the only party that could reflect all of a person's values is a party with one member: that single person. because life is negotiations. even with the person closest to you, there are times when you have to work out a compromise.
and a political party, with tens of millions of 'members', can only point in the direction of the average opinion. it will never be perfect on any issue, for anyone. and when you add the fact that there are entire other parties who want completely different things, it's a miracle anything gets done at all.
that's why i feel fine supporting the Dems; i don't expect them to exactly match my preferences on anything, i just expect us to point in the same general direction on most things. and i don't think there's any other party that will fit me any better which has any chance at all of getting anything done.
On “When he’s right, he’s right”
i like that they cause each other misery.
On “What’s wrong with liberalism?”
i think i have a comment in jail. i was going to add to it...
[list of 'progressive' candidates who also have racist, sexist or just gross histories (or presents)]
i actually don't blame progressives for these candidates. because a lot of their support probably comes from their populism (which definitely has a dark side) not necessarily from their progressivism. but when progressives stick with these people... well, yuck. and that's not the evil establishment talking. that's just Yuck.
"
i know very little about Platner.
but i do know about "his tattoo and his sexist, edgelord behavior in the past (which, to be clear, eww)"
and that's enough for me, no matter what he has to say about anything else.
but i'm not in ME, so it ain't my call.
and yes, Fetterman.
and then we have unabashedly progressive Maureen Galindo:
i'm not in TX, so also not my call.
and i'm not in NYC, but:
but it would be nice if progressives and Sanders especially would be a little more discriminating (in the good way) about who they champion. calling for more social justice etc is great. but do you have to overlook so many faults in the people who preach it?
"
alternately: But I’ve lost faith in receiving any solidarity back from the progressives
party faithful, and I’m beginning to think that they are just as rooted in their folly as the MAGA are.(i don't actually feel this way, but it's not hard to pretend i do)
everybody wants to rule the world. there's no way that can happen, however.
you can either have +75% of what you want or -75% of what you want.
"
i'd do the Canada thing, if i could. my half-brother can, and is considering it. he was also considering doing the Canadian business visa, but they discontinued that program at the end of last year.
alas.
"
for a great example of how Republicans have ruined fraternity, see how Trump has turned the US's 250th birthday from what could have been a rare way for Americans to come together and celebrate into a crass, partisan, self-aggrandizing, schlock-fest.
what a disaster Republicanism has become.
https://apnews.com/article/trump-fair-250-anniversary-great-american-musicians-66bae27bc720c6882d8e73ce4a81efe6
why would anyone who isn't already a Trump cultist want to have anything to do with that?
On “Open Thread time”
Tom Fitton.. lol.
On “What’s wrong with liberalism?”
that's probably true.
maybe he's just being dry and sardonic (i read, didn't listen), but the way Harari frames it as an issue with liberalism lets those "some people" off the hook to a degree. and it's not like they were keeping things brief, so they could have spared a sentence or two to be clear about what they are talking about - if they cared to make that point.
it's not liberals' fault that conservatives corrupted fraternity with jingoism and xenophobia and hyper-partisanship. conservatives did that.
but maybe i'm parsing a dialog too closely.
On “Open Thread time”
their suggestion that the Constitution could be changed to prevent future Trump-style corruption is adorbs.
On “What’s wrong with liberalism?”
who are "some people" ?
because when i think about which "some people" could be responsible for obliterating the ethic of mutual respect and generosity toward their fellow citizens, i come up with a very short list of people. and none of them are liberals.
On “Open Thread time”
honestly, i don't expect big Dems in November. not because i think "Dems" will fuck it up, but because i think voters will.
On “What’s wrong with liberalism?”
>Harris wanted to play both sides.
this sometimes happens when the voters aren't homogeneous and the issues aren't black and white.
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