Sunday, December 18, 2016
Kill Metro, Kill DC
Sure the DC region will long boom due to The Company, but the city itself will be pretty screwed if Metro is allowed to rot. While slightly less true in DC than in other places, generally the powers that be don't use public transit and don't understand its importance. Even when filled with white people in suits, as Metro often is, it's still seen as a lesser option.
If only there was some entity in the Washington, DC area with the ability to print and spend as much money as it wanted...
If only there was some entity in the Washington, DC area with the ability to print and spend as much money as it wanted...
Syria
As far as I can tell (news reports are sometimes contradictory), we had a program of arming moderate rebels which put a bunch of weapons there and then we discovered that our rebel fighting force wasn't too "moderate" (whatever that means) and wasn't that interesting in fighting for "us." Then we had the Saudis arm rebels and that didn't work too well. Then we tried to cut some sort of deal with Russia and Assad and that didn't turn out too well. We're notionally supporting some "rebels" (yay Star Wars!) against Assad and Assad against some rebels. And now there are a bunch of good liberals making holocaust comparisons (I don't want to downplay what's going on there, but there is a lot of propaganda which makes it harder to really know what's going on there). You know, the usual "never again" stuff.
Just what is it "we" are supposed to be doing? I never understand that part. I mean, I figure taking in tons of refugees would be something "we" could do which wouldn't involve adding gasoline to a fire, and wouldn't be as expensive as all that gasoline, but that is unpossible. The right wing Trumpkins went after Chobani for daring to hire some of the tiny number of (non-Syrian) refugees we have taken in. Muslim refugees are basically evil personified with superpowers according to the Right, so that's not going to happen.
If our country isn't willing to help people, then it's reasonable to conclude that we aren't willing to help people. Anything we do/should have done will not be humanitarian, because there is no support for humanitarian aid for Muslims. There's support for blowing people up, but that doesn't seem to help much for some reason.
I figured the "humanitarian intervention left" would have learned a few things from Iraq, but no. There still isn't a Muslim country that they aren't willing to send freedom bombs to in the name of freedom.
We don't even have to go back to Iraq. Anyone remember Libya? There are people I still won't "talk to" because of that. Not because they disagreed with me, but because they were "good liberals" who gave me the condescending smarmy "this time it will be different" and "why don't you want to help the poor people of Libya?" bullshit. We sure did help them. Yes that was mostly a David Cameron joint, but we were along for the ride. Heckuva job. Next time we'll get it right. Our military has a lot of experience with this stuff now.
Just what is it "we" are supposed to be doing? I never understand that part. I mean, I figure taking in tons of refugees would be something "we" could do which wouldn't involve adding gasoline to a fire, and wouldn't be as expensive as all that gasoline, but that is unpossible. The right wing Trumpkins went after Chobani for daring to hire some of the tiny number of (non-Syrian) refugees we have taken in. Muslim refugees are basically evil personified with superpowers according to the Right, so that's not going to happen.
If our country isn't willing to help people, then it's reasonable to conclude that we aren't willing to help people. Anything we do/should have done will not be humanitarian, because there is no support for humanitarian aid for Muslims. There's support for blowing people up, but that doesn't seem to help much for some reason.
I figured the "humanitarian intervention left" would have learned a few things from Iraq, but no. There still isn't a Muslim country that they aren't willing to send freedom bombs to in the name of freedom.
We don't even have to go back to Iraq. Anyone remember Libya? There are people I still won't "talk to" because of that. Not because they disagreed with me, but because they were "good liberals" who gave me the condescending smarmy "this time it will be different" and "why don't you want to help the poor people of Libya?" bullshit. We sure did help them. Yes that was mostly a David Cameron joint, but we were along for the ride. Heckuva job. Next time we'll get it right. Our military has a lot of experience with this stuff now.
Saturday, December 17, 2016
Fakebook
All social media platforms start with what people want and end up destroying them. You want a way to communicate with and hear information about people you choose. That's never enough, so they mess it up. Just let people see the stupid shit the people they choose "to be friends with" or "follow" post in reverse chronological order like the baby jeebus intended, insert the stupid ads occasionally to make the money, and kill the algorithm. Let users control anything fancier, and stop making it a constant battle to maintain the semi-privacy they offer. The only reason "fake news" is a problem is because of the stupid algorithms they impose. Get rid of all of that and you don't have to turn engagement with the site into a perpetual metaphysical battle over the nature of truth. Just let people see the stupid shit their friends post and stop the rest of it. End the algorithm and end the curation and no one can complain about anything except the fact that their friends are idiots who post the same stupid stuff their uncles used to email them from their AOL accounts back in the day.
Who Would Put Up With You?
Even other upper class twits eventually tire of lazy entitled narcissism.
His defenders have a point. If you didn't want a feral peacock for the job, why did you hire one?
Boris doesn't seem to get that when the Foreign Secretary speaks, he speaks for the Government, and they don't want to have to clean up peacock droppings everywhere he goes.
The Foreign Secretary has confided in pals that he is worried about his future prospects under the Prime Minister.
Mr Johnson has publicly clashed with Mrs May on a number of issues since she handed him the plum job after entering Number 10.
His defenders have a point. If you didn't want a feral peacock for the job, why did you hire one?
One senior Tory told PoliticsHome: ‘Boris is worried about it. When I saw him this week, he said: 'Number 10 are after me'.
"The way he’s being treated is ridiculous. If Theresa didn’t wanted a different type of Foreign Secretary then she shouldn’t have appointed him. But she has too much invested in him now to allow him to be undermined in this way."
Boris doesn't seem to get that when the Foreign Secretary speaks, he speaks for the Government, and they don't want to have to clean up peacock droppings everywhere he goes.
Their Swamp
Let's keep writing editorials about Teh College Kids and Their Bubblez of Intolerance.
But, really, both sides. In the US, on one side there are patchouli covered hippies who want free community college, single payer health care, and think racism and racists are kinda bad, and on the other side we have fascist racists and anti-semites who want take grandma's pension and let her die in the streets with no health care. Two sides of the same coin, really.
We have learned a lesson, but too late. The question “Are we out of touch?” leads to “them and us”, which then morphs into “either us or them”. As we found in Turkey, the masses choose “them”. From that point you find yourself, like me, labelled “not real people” in your own country. Europe and the US will soon learn that being “elite” is not about social class or education: it is about obedience to one version of the truth.
...
An analogy came to mind: that this is like trying to play chess with a pigeon. Even if you win within the rules, the pigeon will clutter up the pieces, and finally it will shit on the chessboard, leaving you to deal with the mess. Farage, having told us to “cheer up”, and that this was “not a funeral”, did exactly that. Having dumbfounded the audience, he announced – as if fleeing a boring party – that he was off to meet Donald Trump in Washington.
But, really, both sides. In the US, on one side there are patchouli covered hippies who want free community college, single payer health care, and think racism and racists are kinda bad, and on the other side we have fascist racists and anti-semites who want take grandma's pension and let her die in the streets with no health care. Two sides of the same coin, really.
Friday, December 16, 2016
The Unanswerable
Is it better that they're evil, corrupt, and incompetent, or just evil and corrupt?
Not sure if incompetence is a force multiplier for the evil and corruption or a brake on it.
Not sure if incompetence is a force multiplier for the evil and corruption or a brake on it.
Nice Work
Painting with a very broad and somewhat inaccurate brush (I admit!), conservatives view patronage as a means to funnel all of your tax money to your pals. Liberals view patronage as a means to funnel money to their pals who will then be expected to provide nice things, at a premium, to their constituents. I'm not saying "liberals good, conservatives bad!" but at least liberals believe that government is supposed to do the stuff it needs to do, even if there can be plenty of corruption involved, and, yes, even if those things don't always get done, while conservatives think their job is to steal all the money and make sure government doesn't do any of it. Atlantic City is saved!
You could hire 47 minimum wage workers at that rate, or 23 at double that minimum wage. Pretty sure just paying 23 people in AC double the minimum wage to do absolutely nothing would be a bigger boost to the local fortunes than this. Not familiar with the specific quality of life needs for the residents of that city, other than more money, but paying them to, say, clean up litter at that rate would help even more.
I always see local corruption two ways. The first is overpaying people (or just letting them steal, one way or another) to do nothing. The second is overpaying them to deliver needed public services. The latter gets most of the attention, but at least the public services are provided. All (most of) the money paid on outside lawyers and consultants etc. is just empty grift.
After a month of secrecy, the salary of the New Jersey overseer of Atlantic City, Jeffrey Chiesa, was revealed Thursday. He will bill taxpayers at a rate of $400 per hour, according to a retention agreement with the state Attorney General.
You could hire 47 minimum wage workers at that rate, or 23 at double that minimum wage. Pretty sure just paying 23 people in AC double the minimum wage to do absolutely nothing would be a bigger boost to the local fortunes than this. Not familiar with the specific quality of life needs for the residents of that city, other than more money, but paying them to, say, clean up litter at that rate would help even more.
I always see local corruption two ways. The first is overpaying people (or just letting them steal, one way or another) to do nothing. The second is overpaying them to deliver needed public services. The latter gets most of the attention, but at least the public services are provided. All (most of) the money paid on outside lawyers and consultants etc. is just empty grift.
Part 5!!
Who benefits from the American Dream? Something we should all be asking...
The jury is out on whether the American Dream megamall will ever become a financial success, but one group has already benefited tremendously from the project — Gov. Chris Christie and his political allies.
Political donations to Christie’s campaign coffers, legal work for firms aligned with Christie, and large contributions to the Republican Governors Association have all occurred since Canada-based developer Triple Five took over work on the massive American Dream project located on state-owned land in the Meadowlands in East Rutherford.
Thursday, December 15, 2016
Where The Problem Is
I think Fox News and similar used to be more of a problem (though likely will be again) when other news outlets treated them with respect, as peers. That's still more true than it should be, but not as true as it used to be. Then you had major problems with outlets like Fox being conduits for bullshit, a way information (bullshit) traveled from Fox to other outlets. It's out there, so people have to talk about it because reasons. The pedophile ring pizzeria stories might get people killed (so, you know, scary and bad) but I don't think they really sway elections. It's worth pointing out that Rush Limbaugh is a Big Fat (lying) Idiot so that he isn't a regular guest on Meet the Press, but really it's the shit factory that is Meet the Press and other supposedly respectable platforms that are the problem. If I were your benevolent dictator who was not a big free speech fan I'd shut down Morning Joe before I'd shut down Rush Limbaugh. I am a big free speech fan so I would not shut down either, but if I had the power I would order every Dem congressional office to not run cable news all day every day in their offices...
Lunch Thread Crass Commercialism
I hear there's this new thing called "Star Wars" all the kids like, and there is something called a "Death Star" that I'm sure your young one will absolutely love!
We didn't have Death Stars when I was a kid! What will they think of next...
We didn't have Death Stars when I was a kid! What will they think of next...
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