The thing about prayer is: those kids were literally praying when they were shot.
The thing about prayer is: those kids were literally praying when they were shot.
Ha! Fascist Von Dick must have blocked me or has left Bluesky. Either way, I win.
Here's the thing about thoughts and prayers: those kids were literally praying when they were shot.
Sarah, at least get Tim to watch Andor. Tell him it's Star Wars for grownups.
Man I've never heard of introduces himself with mundane attempt at attention seeking iconoclasm.
That's not surprising; it's also an Orwellian definition of a constitutional democratic republic. Also, "things fascist authoritarians believe for $500, Alex."
I'm discussing a system that was conceived as majority rule with occasional checks on the majority to protect individual rights is being corrupted to allow a tyranny of the minority: authoritarian oligarchy, fascism, totalitarian. You're apparently trying to justify that corruption, or deny it.
You don't have enough evidence to know if I consider anyone I don't like or disagree with a fascist. That means your argument can be dismissed as fallacious. But you are an asshole.
A constitutional democratic republic is a form of democracy. But I'm not surprised unlikable people with unpopular ideas would prefer authoritarian minority rule over democratic majority rule.
You qualify as a fascist by 1935 standards. I didn't say we need to abolish the senate or pack the court, and I made no "admission," but stupidity and smugly making fallacious arguments are also identifying characteristics of fascists.
And thanks to two presidents who lost the popular vote appointing justices who were approved by a senate majority that represented a minority of the country, the SCOTUS isn't legitimately representative, either. This is all the result of fascists. This is where fascism always leads.
1/2 I would agree the Senate is undemocratic, but thanks to gerrymandering, so is the house, and thanks to the electoral college, so is the presidency.
Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Hannah Arendt, and Carlo Cipolla, Stanislaw Lem, Kurt Vonnegut, among others, have all made the same observation: most of the evil in the world is done by stupid people who think they're the good guys.
Pretext for censorship.
You have to relax at least one night a week.
The ratchet effect. I don't know where halfway between me a fascist authoritarian is, but I don't want to meet there.
There are many of us, a majority in fact, who are not happy with what is happening here and are grateful to California and other Democratic states are doing. We're not a red state, we're a rigged state.
Not surprisingly, the idea of using the second amendment to defend ourselves against a tyrannical government hasn't crossed his mind.
Whew, glad we dodged that bullet.
Thoughts and prayers.
I'm not sure we need more cops, but we do need better cops. Better screening of applicants, better educated, and better trained. Too many authoritarian personalities, too many be power trippin'. More focus on preventive public policies. Less poorly trained ICE goons for sure.
"despite Democratic claims" Quit casting the truth as a partisan position. *Anyone* who honestly assesses the facts can see it's a racially discriminatory effort to sway next year's mid-term election.
I had a conversation with my local Dem precinct chair yesterday. We agreed he's not the best choice for 2028, but public ridicule and mockery are very effective against authoritarians. They hate to be laughed at. If he inspires better candidates to do the same, good.
I am neither transphobic nor anti-homeless, and he doesn't "appeal" to me as a potential presidential candidate. As many have said, he's currently counter-attacking in an effective way. That should have been obvious since 2016. Public ridicule and mockery are very effective against authoritarians.
Is he wearing a tan suit?
Curious to know your thoughts on timing Ukraine's membership in NATO. Now, or three years from now (if not sooner) when Herr Pumpkinfuhrer is gone?
But while I'm at it. Best Led Zeppelin = Ramble On (for the bass line alone) Best Boston = Foreplay/Long Time Two of the best debut albums ever. Also Van Halen's debut.
Oh, Tom. Led Zeppelin is not overrated. That's such an Alex P. Keaton position to take.
I think they're all fighting fascism. Public ridicule and mockery are powerful tools against authoritarians of every stripe. So are public protests.
I turned 18 in 1980 and cast my first vote. Reagan did run on fear, tax cuts and welfare queens. "Morning in America" and "Shining City on a hill" were bullshit campaign slogans. I voted for him, but I was just a dumb 18 year old kid. Bork didn't make it, but look at the SCOTUS we have now.
And removing the income cap on taxes.
Always? I started life as a libertarian and a libertine, but I worry about an unpopular minority exploiting the counter-majoritarian checks on a tyranny of the majority resulting in a tyranny of the minority these days.
Can you elaborate on 1 ? At the risk of going all Monty Python peasantry about it, anarchism might be the maximalist position on individual liberty versus state power.
A New Hope
The first-gen Riviera is the film's only redeemable character.
One day someone may have to save your ass...
Gee, sounds familiar.
I like to listen to political and philosophical videos while I'm working. I was revisiting Hannah Arendt this morning and starting about 4 minutes in she discusses apathetic citizens, the youth in particular, and the danger of dismissing or ignoring them. Think young MAGA men. Food for thought.
I generally agree with your second paragraph; your first paragraph misinterprets my point. It was more philosophical musing than an argument or rhetorical question. But if there's no correct number of parties, is there no incorrect number?
Philosophically, the number of parties puzzles me. I think more than two is good, but how many parties is too many parties? Ranked choice voting might control for that. I also like Professor Allen's idea of term limits for SCOTUS. Better than court-packing.
Unless I misunderstood Professor Allen, expanding the size of the house is her point: more districts = more representatives = larger house.
The Texans are out of state at the moment, and good on 'em.
One of the reforms Danielle Allen at Harvard has proposed is increasing the number of congressional districts. Harder to gerrymander more districts. www.pbs.org/newshour/sho...
The first thing I saw on TV this morning on my way from the bedroom to the coffee pot was some of the Texas Dems in a press conference with Governor Hochul. Gotta admit it, I didn't think they had it in 'em. I'm encouraged.
Do you think I'm looking for a candidate who will lose? If anyone is preaching, you are. Preaching the gospel of the perfect inhuman candidate. That's completely unrealistic. We've never had a perfect candidate for any office. Notably, you haven't named one.
I didn't say "only human," I said perfectly human as in nobody's perfect. If you're going to dismiss a candidate for such a minor thing, you're going to vote for many candidates. Even the best aren't perfect. Some people would have condemned her for not being embarrassed standing there with Trump
"it's a human trait to look for strength and decisiveness in their leaders. Its part of a charismatic candidate." Trump is charismatic, bad charisma. Not our best trait if "strength and decisiveness" leads to weakness and bad decisions. There's no worse leader than one who can't admit mistakes.
He's an anti-semenist.
Well, y'all keep setting impossible standards and keep being disappointed. Hypothetical candidate has platform you agree with 100%, makes one gaffe, they're out.
OK, so no votes for humans. Got it.
Oh, how the mighty have fallen...from top litigator to angry old man roaming the farmer's market kvetching like a Larry David character without the satiric sense of humor.
I don't know that she "blew it." She got ambushed. No wonder she was embarrassed. Perfectly human reaction. James Talarico, one of my Texas boys.
No, I volunteered for Bernie in 2016, but voted for Hillary in the general. I wasn't excited about Biden, but I was about Harris. This has never been about running Bernie again. If you read my original post, that will be clear.
Fair point, but, as for 2024, I think those crowds didn't want to vote for either of the two dinosaurs that started the race. Not sure they wouldn't have turned out for Harris if she had more time, but that's another exercise in second-guessing history. Curious to see how Kat Abu does.
Then this entire conversation confuses me. First you bad mouth him, then you tell me you voted for him. I'm not suggesting Bernie run again...I am suggesting someone younger pick up the ball and run with it. E.g. Pete, or AOC, or anyone who has a progressive populist platform.
Fair point, but, as for 2024, I think those crowds didn't want to vote for either of the two dinosaurs that started the race. Not sure they wouldn't have turned out for Harris if she had more time, but that's another exercise in second-guessing history. Curious to see how Kat Abu does.
I agree he's part of the gerontocracy, but he motivated younger voters in a way that the rest of the gerontocracy and the establishment pols didn't...another point I made in my original comments but everyone seemed to miss while they were piling on Bernie about 2016.
You don't see the disconnect between voters flocking to rallies but not voting when the candidate whose rally they flocked to don't show up on the ballot? That was the central premise of my original comment. But you, and almost everyone else seems to have ignored that and focused on Bernie.
Notably, the guy who thinks AI is a good thing apparently doesn't bother himself with capitalization and punctuation. Tools are to make tedious work easier, not to replace creative of intellectually challenging work.
Hard to tell if you think consistency is a good or a bad thing. Personally, I admire someone who is consistent on their policies if they're good policies. What specific positions would you like him to change? Because if you poll people on his specific policies, they're popular. Same for AOC.
From a governor who takes millions from wealthy donors. I didn't expect my Texas Dems to do it, but I'm glad they did. It's time to fight fire with fire.
Weirder than you thinking the 2016 primary is in dispute here?
So many responses just like yours: "but he did lose." He lost the primary. Hillary lost the general. We don't know, and can't know, if Bernie would have won the general, but we do know Hillary lost the general. So, the point that a different candidate might have won seems to be lost on many.
Same winner who lost the general to Trump.
The primary. We know with absolute certainty Hillary lost the general.
Says the person who previously admitted she would have stayed home and not voted if Bernie won the primary to the guy who volunteered for Bernie but still voted for Hillary. The all-caps is a novel touch. Really persuasive rhetorical flourish.
But she lost the general, so, it turned out not voting at all would have been just as effective as voting for Hillary. And so much for "Bernie-bros" not voting for Hillary. I guess the people who used that excuse for her loss were just projecting. I voted for her.
I think the point is that they're not firmly in the Democratic camp. And is anyone suggesting you can win an election with just one demographic? There's a persistent message from members of both parties: Young people don't vote. But they are unwilling to confront why young people don't vote.
How much influence should the young activists get? Where's the Baby Bear's porridge? And don't get me wrong, I make distinctions between young activists just like I do old activists. It's the things they're active about that matter.
Also for the record, I voted for the first time in 1980, when I turned 18. For Reagan. What a long stranger trip it's been...
For the record, I volunteered for Bernie. First time I ever volunteered for a candidate. And when Hillary got the nomination, I voted for her. Because I vote ideologically in primaries, and pragmatically in the general. Carry on.
Apparently, you're still doing this.
I'm not going to rehash the 2016 primary with people who are going to repeat the same arguments they've been making since 2016. None of us can win that argument. That tagline wasn't the point. He's an example of the gerontocracy appealing to young voters.
The party's takeover by too many young activists? 1. The gerontocracy seems to still be leading the party. 2. Every election the gerontocracy wants to mobilize younger voters, but doesn't want to put them in leadership roles, adopt policies that attract them, or represent them. Signed, Boomer.
A corollary: the stupid don't know they're stupid. In some cases, they both apply.
The fucking NYT isn't going to save anyone but themselves.
What will they fill that slot with that will attract a larger audience?
Discovery is going to be fun.
So, the really funny thing about this is the implication that his supporters don't think his vocabulary is sophisticated enough to include the word "enigma." Although, we can't rule out the possibility he meant "enema."
THANK YOU FOR YOUR ATTENTION TO THIS MATTER!
Man with poor character is poor judge of character.
Tragic display of poor marksmanship.
"Those are three words I know are scary even though I can't define them."
I like a lot of music that has only recently been branded "yacht rock," a term considered pejorative by many, it's not that we don't like the music, we don't like the connotations of the neologism. I listened to Steely Dan & Doobie Bros in '78 in my '68 Camaro, but I don't call it "Camaro Rock."
I agree with Mr. Beato and Mr. Fagen.
Cat: Humans are a bunch of loud, uncivilized yahoos.
Man with horrible character is horrible judge of character.
I got mine this morning and sent them a nasty response.
No catnip? Is it a party without catnip?
Beats that are hard, beats that are funky, beats that get you hooked like a crack head junkie.
“Let’s take half truths, spun information, leaked information and then spin it, spin it in every way we can to try to cause doubt and manipulate the public mind..." That's his old network's business model and his former job description.
Democratic socialist, words matter.
Democratic socialist. Words matter. I'm a working class infantry veteran who cast my first vote in 1980 for Reagan. Voted for McCain in 2000. Volunteered for Bernie in 2016. Dems need to adopt an economic populism that appeals to the working class and renders the culture war impotent.
In the long history of military oxymorons, "preventative war" is right up there with the apocryphal "It became necessary to destroy the town to save it."
"In an atmosphere of lawlessness and capitulation, when it is so easy to say 'yes' to Trump’s whims, here is someone to stand up and say: 'Rules aren’t optional. They matter.'" Read Jen Rubin's new Undaunted column honoring Senate parliamentarian Elizabeth MacDonough here:
That's basically the job description of his position at Fox.