Higher taxes!? For my part I’ll take utter chaos, universal poverty and malice so long as I get to keep a larger share of a smaller smoldering crater where the pie used to be.
Higher taxes!? For my part I’ll take utter chaos, universal poverty and malice so long as I get to keep a larger share of a smaller smoldering crater where the pie used to be.
They don’t lack democratic legitimacy necessarily, they lack moral legitimacy. Again, the moral character is the flaw not the fact that they aren’t holding a proper vote on tyranny and hatred. Democracy is worthwhile but it’s not a guarantee of Justice or goodness is all
IMO it’s far past time that Bus Island was spun off into a transit focused reality TV show
Nope, Cuomos probably picking the same $4 out of his pocket as we speak
and I don’t think we’re really seeing an upsurge in psychopaths it’s rather the MAGA movement has uniquely channeled and captures them to a unique degree, given them a socially “acceptable” expression of their existing tendencies and nothing more
I won’t defend Brooks himself he sucks but I’d guess what he’s referring to is the strain of fascist adherents who aren’t really die hard anything, they are just utterly uncaring people to whom other people might as well be bugs. Nihilism is really the wrong word for this tho, it’s psychopathy
Honestly the best way to do this is to have ordinary people in every single area be the ones running, not party functionaries who get airdropped with no appeal. The party needs to formally adopt this as a main effort, getting regular voters onto the ballot themselves
When these fascists are kicked out, and we will, every goddamn dime they’ve embezzled needs to be screwed out of them. The amount of stolen taxes is insane. I don’t want some weak kneed centrist shit telling me “it’s time to heal”
the law is able to continue. It is because he has been successful enough in gaining public support that opposing him gets nowhere. In other words, politics are above laws, and cannot be otherwise.
If we focus solely on winning the legal fight, those victories will slip through our fingers like sand when laws are either widely ignored, or conservatives change tactics and make end runs around them. By now you would think people would understand that Trump, despite operating wholly outside of
Certainly agreed, every opportunity to change laws should be taken, but what I'm really trying to say is that people undervalue public opinion. There is no government free or unfree that can sustain itself very long without it, and that is why even dictatorships work so hard to control public views
In the food inspection biz the term is “filth”, vs adulterants like lead FDA had great work being done replacing microscopy tests for filth with vastly more rigorous metagenomic sequencing before the present administration started destroying research. RFK prolly will mandate insects in food soon
an elemental way that no zeal or cunning can overcome. I’ve no doubt drones with their surgical precision and unparalleled reconnaissance will continue as a large part of combat but the continued value of a well organized and supplied artillery arm is vital to Ukraine and must be hugely expanded
Despite the understandable interest in drones, large caliber artillery has remained the most potent battlefield force for more than a century and will likely remain so. A few shells can essentially end any sized attack. Drones terrify psychologically but shells physically break men and machines in
So partly the answer may be even less sexy than bike helmets; we also need to make riding slower more viable. Counterintuitively maybe, I think this means better infrastructure because nothing makes you rush than being late due to unpredictable mixed bike car traffic
Probably even bikes have been caught up a bit in the arms race of cars in that we ride them far faster than we really should. Casually ridden at low speed they can be very safe, but there’s essentially no way to protect a body at higher speeds when riding a loose assemblage of balanced tubes
I’m too dumb to even parse who this is directed at what with the price of coffee these days, but this has some prairie Lincoln fire to it
For a guy with a steel spine he sure talks like a guy filled with whiny dogshit
I see
If that’s the case then why are you wasting your time trying to convince me of it lol
Undoubtedly. My point is that even without that voter suppression the electorate is currently not as progressive as would be necessary to fix the issues plaguing this country. It doesn’t have to be that way though. In my opinion effort is better spent changing minds than changing laws
“I was born in a Small Town…”🎵 “Prolly die in a Big Town…”🎶
I wouldn’t say just that reason, it is quite obviously also to distract from Epstein and get people to forget that
Definitely a lot of factors. I don’t think that people in a vacuum would gravitate towards the current negative political attitudes, they’re influenced heavily in some pretty sinister ways, but really my point is that even with perfectly fair elections these attitudes have substantial followings
American Democracy for all its flaws does reasonably approximate the will of the majority of Americans. Every system will have flaws and even better systems dont guarantee better things occur. The biggest issue is not our mechanisms of democracy but that voters want objectively bad things right now
Such abominations are why boycotts became a thing. That is the greatest tool of common people and we should relearn its use
Yeah they don’t really deserve civility or respect when they are single-handedly wrecking medical miracles directly leading to death and misery. This stuff isn’t even a political win, because next to no one knows what they’re doing in the public and congress has already funded it! Pure evil really
Ya was gonna say that quote was admittedly fire but Clement was a real one. Ironically kinda the exact opposite of Jay, who is dismantling NIH while Atlee helped create England’s NHS which far exceeds US healthcare
Pretty soon working Americans are gonna be grinding up chicory and acorns like Confederates or it’ll be a Fanta type situation like the Nazis where someone makes a new breakfast stimulant out of soybeans Strange that reactionary & authoritarian regimes always seem to have to make ersatz crap…
Plenty of “legacy” media doing fine important work, just not so much the larger newspapers which are all owned by billionaires and operate at a loss subsidized by their propaganda value. A lot of the smaller newspapers journals and magazines have been great
It’s not grossly irresponsible if it’s their actual intention to glaze this fucker in a sheen of respectability and normality, because ultimately the richest of the rich are a distinct class with shared interests no matter the outward “side” NYT is being the Tim Cook of the newspaper world
My first thought genuinely was “Where’s NE Ohio Regional Sewer District?”
These people need not concern themselves with the results of their policies because it’s an article of faith that unrestricted markets always produce the best. Hyper-financialization, crypto, and monopolies are clearly negative sum but can’t be seen as such because the theory comes before evidence
I think this points to a direct flaw in grafting economics as it’s understood in America onto real science and healthcare. In that world the idea of “first do no harm” is utterly alien, but even further “market efficiency” and freedom has supplanted even positive economic outcomes for society.
Create the sickness sell the cure…
Just start sooner and flip them the bird instead, every little bit of of height helps visibility
The right has one play they use everywhere: create problems so that people retreat to you for safety. Guns, drugs, terrorism, government inefficiency, the big car arms race, election fraud; they don’t try to make things better they try to convince us better isn’t possible by making everything worse
It’s depressing that “bUT doNt YOu reaLIZE?? TrUmP BaD!!” Has become the new “but 9/11!” Of our times. Don’t deal with the issues, don’t argue the case, just say anyone who disagrees with you is a [blank] supporter. Either support our counterproductive effort to deal with it or your part of it
Issues: 1) Neoliberals control the party and primaries but barely eek out wins in the general, because their policies are unpopular 2) when they do win the general, their policies of doing nothing worsen the deep many crises we face, driving disillusionment and loss later. C.F. Biden’s hot air
We will only enter such an era of consequences if we force it to come into being, and definitely that isn’t happening yet
We are definitely not in a period of consequences in any meaningful sense. The evil and ignorant continue to benefit while the results of their actions way heavier and heavier on their victims. Are billionaires who have wholly separate healthcare from us hurt by cuts to healthcare spending?
I agree, but I can’t help but feel the vast majority of people aren’t aware of how profoundly RFK and the admin have wrecked medical research. In a few months decades of study and scientific investment has been ground to a halt. This directly kills people and will for decades to come.
From what I could gather the book you reference isn’t some new research or anything, its sole virtue compared to other environmental works is in the name attached to it, a name he banked off of as an author, lawyer, and provocateur never contributing more than that
He was always this person all along. Someone who knew him said he’d join any cause he could be in front of, and I think he makes a lot more sense in that way. He doesn’t give a shit about the environment, and probably not vaccines or his food bullshit, he just gains supporters by contrarianism.
Without TV people had a lot more time to learn how to drink in strange ways
RFK Jr is the strongest argument against dynasties of any kind. The worst among us, with no positive accomplishments his entire life and plenty of misdeeds, yet continually given higher and higher responsibility till he is literally killing millions with his assault on health research
The reason banning cars hasn’t gotten much traction in the US is the existing car owners in and coming from outside of cities. If you gave everyone with a car within the city free access to a garage as a transition, I think that would address a lot of opposition
Most places ought to ban cars from the city limits, and the only pavement left be for delivery trucks and work vehicles as mostly back alleys. Throw motorists a bone and build a bunch of parking garages on the outskirts where transit starts. All business would be way cheaper and buses wildly faster
In my experience when sites have a decent population with some small things in common, they’re at peak enjoyability. When the site throws moderation and it’s unique vibe out to chase raw growth they start sucking. Don’t know why anyone is desperate for the latter. I’d rather Bluesky be good than big
-Brain Worm who doesn’t like brains being washed
And Muks never said what decade or side of WW2 grok would represent
“Where’d she move up North?” “Dunno, Allaska”
that isnt really who we should focus on. Judges, politicians, prosecutors, the media: they all can be influenced and swayed. If someone is murdered and the cops sit and watch, the first problem to deal with is not the murderers it’s the cops
I wonder if we should peel the onion back one layer? There should be consequences for no consequences. Why do we let the courts completely ignore justice? Why do we put up with institutions and leaders who have the power to take a stand and dont? There will always be unchangeably bad people but
Why? Because again I will tell you that popularity is everything, even in a war. Winning battles matters little for a cause if you lose tha battle for minds because a gun or a law they both have no force without the people behind them. So call me naive but friend dont mistake cynicism for realism
your hand. Just like Lincoln didn’t start the civil war, he let the confederates fire the first shot, there’s no sense in being seen by all those uninformed apathetic folks as the radical ones abandoning democracy. By all means, prepare backup plans but don’t pretend thats good or tactically sound
I’m just not sure what your advocating for. If it’s lying down and taking it then ya I ain’t gonna do that. If your saying we should abandon electoralism and focus on violent resistance, well I’d just say you don’t appreciate how bad a civil war is, and moreover her there’s no benefit to tipping
That is why I say there is tremendous work to be done to win over America through a viable and popular program on the left. Let them gloat as much as they want and shed support left and right. If they cheat but the broad mass is on their side, it’ll work and if not it won’t. Simple as that
the laws are irrelevant. If they’re against something strongly and it’s forced through people will rise up. Your mistake is in assuming either that the mass of American strongly opposes what’s happened so far, or that controlling the laws will let them control peoples opinion. Neither are true.
They are certainly trying but again, every move that is widely seen as subverting real democracy comes at a cost in popularity. You are acting as if laws are the only thing that matters when really they are nothing compared to political will. If the broad base of the population supports an action
A society that wants to function needs to punish anything at all by authorities. Right now in the US it is essentially impossible to prosecute in any way crimes by upper elected officials. At most the government itself is penalized and that is exactly what these bad actors want
God damn, it’s not just the douchery inherent in the act, it’s their wheedling about how this is some revolutionary and positive act that makes it so aggravating. And they say “they aren’t associated with us” then immediately after “we’re planning even more pranks.”
Talk about the worst deal imaginable. People usually pay to get out of the Russian mafia state. This idiot is risking his life and betraying his country to get in? For what, a shitty apartment? I don’t know how much more you could prove your the right fit for Russia than such a dumbass move though
Isnt it about as good reporting as you can do, to draw out as clear a confession of corruption and crookedness as possible? The only thing she could have done more is say “thats super shitty” and it’s be self defeating, appearing impartial is more powerful in this instance imo
That’s not even the worst of poor Sluggo’s constant oppression
and sure they could theoretically break laws and rig the elections, it will not change the balance of their popularity for the better. By all means arm yourself, be ready to fight if we must, but don’t spit in the face of those who had to fight by abandoning so easily what they fought for
This is defeatist nonsense. I’m sorry but as bad as it is we still have way stronger traditions of freedom and dictatorships need popularity to function just as much as any regime, they just achieve it differently. All the shit they’re pulling isnt winning them any friends, it’s time to hit back
Ha, I see right through your weak hamclawed Crab propaganda. I’m a blue blooded American and only Lobsterism is compatible with freedom or whatever we’re about right now!
*know
Yeah pretty much what I was getting at. I am for less cars and more transit bikes etc all around, but you don’t get there by misunderstanding the facts, particularly the strength and weaknesses of cars. Now thy enemy sorta thing
Wow, thats even more pathetic than I could have imagined
Doesn’t surprise me. I do think it tho they’ve gained the upper hand not through conspiracy or extensive planning but our failure to respond, to realize the alternative. And I don’t mean any left answer could have done it. Only an answer with appeal strong enough for the hurly burly of politics.
His answer would be equally stupid “oh I don’t know, many many times…” fact is the man has provided ample evidence of who he is what he has done and even our worthlessly bought press has reported it enough, our countrymen and women are just frankly wildly credulous idiots
Jesus fucking Christ how has our country become so god damn stupid. It’s like he’s putting on an act where the script read “say and act and look as insanely guilty as possible, like a 12 year old lying to their teacher” and yet here we are and people still smugly cling to this blatant mass pedophile
Actual medicine needs to branch out its marketing. Keep the scientific names for some, spice it up with tonics for the rest of
Elixir of Protection against RFK Spirit of Not Dying of Measles Tincture of Non-Dumbassery Anti-Pedo Aliment
Hmm, what’s our new strategy on murder gonna be? Team, how are we gonna let the American people see murder in a positive light?
And yeah, EVs and car ownership itself are not a panacea and we need more transit investment first and foremost but cars are here now and will be in any scenario for a while, that sorta thing is a real improvement so I welcome all these moves
GM generally has gotten a ton of hate (admittedly much of it deservedly) but theyre really the only American carmaker working to make EVs affordable. Tesla can whine all they want but they have no Bolt, no Equinox, nothing that working class people would be better off buying.
This could be filmed in broad daylight and it would still be worth it
People 100+ years ago could easily understand why Monopolies were bad, and breaking them up wasn’t controversial, despite the media being even more bought and paid for by the rich than today. We need to focus on getting these ideas more traction again
If everyone understood the direct ways in which the ultra rich’s “wealth” negatively impacts their own well-being, instead of believing the lie that it impacts no one but themselves, there’d be change. Not even hard conceptually, capitalism is called competition. Well in this contest your losing
Just do what we did in living memory and make the tax rate at the ludicrously high end like 90 or 99%. A stupid amount of people seem to take issue with depriving the poor billionaires of the ability to keep robbing us entirely, so avoid that and claw back the vast majority to the same effect
The guy who has been literally killing children for decades, who riding entirely on his last name and inheritance has never worked a day in his life, has promoted to killing broad swathes of the world population. I lately no longer find horror movie victim decisions hard to believe, thats Americans
rescue organization thats one thing but to “come across” so many animals in implausible situations and post a donation link direct to themselves makes me believe the worst
I hate to be the one to tell you guys but I think the person posting this is a scammer, and if so they are despicable. I don’t know, but who posts “I’ll take this dog of the euthanize list if I get 1000 likes”? And how do they just happen to come across so many rescues? If they asked donations to a
Regardless, the stat is flawed. I too want to see a society of trains and buses, but most peoples cars cost way less than that factoring in everything. I bought my first newish nice car ever last year (a 2018 Honda) for 15k, I’d say yearly max it’s $5k gas, insurance, repair, purchase amortized
It’s gotta be a strongly bimodal, or even trimodal distribution. Rich people buy ridiculously expensive frequently. A lot of us buy used or hang on to solid cars forever. Finally some too poor or caught up in the culture frequently buy crappy new or used they can’t afford with repairs all the time
Normally I look to where the money is, who stands to benefit and it explains Republican very well. With this I just cannot understand. Surely they know this will kill them too?
What is an “alleged carjacking?” Is bigballs unsure if it was stolen, or he was involved in some sort of peaceful transaction where they beat the shit out of him in exchange for his car?
End of times worth it just for this comment right here
That $12,297 can’t be in any way reflective of most peoples cars, it is likely skewed massively by a bunch of rich people spending insane amounts on unnecessary bullshit. Not saying mass car ownership is the right choice for society just this stat is a bit out of context
Gene Hackman was of course a cat lover
Zohran is the easiest litmus test to figure out who’s a corporate shill stuffed shirt, and that was the stuffed shirtiest of stuffed shirt answers
Maybe because this ghoul participated in the illegal mass firing and mass defunding of critical health research???
For the rich few who can afford it, yeah pretty much
Thats what I was gonna say as an excuse but in this case I didn’t even read the whole headline. I am too riled up, it’s not helping anything
Jay’s the perfect model of those intelligent Republicans who put up a veneer of giving a shit, arguing their case on humanitarian grounds, yet when given the reigns of power they ransack and smash things in a way that shows they never cared, in fact the way he talks he’s clearly in it for revenge
Your right, sorry about that