SwingingTheLamp

joined 1 year ago
[–] SwingingTheLamp@midwest.social 4 points 5 hours ago (2 children)

At best, "support our troops" was a version of that dumbass magical thinking that, in earlier times, held that the U.S. lost in Vietnam because Americans didn't clap for Tinkerbell, err, I mean, support the war. Mostly, it was a thought-terminating cliché.

Yeah, as you rightly point out, it was never about the soldiers themselves.

[–] SwingingTheLamp@midwest.social 3 points 7 hours ago (1 children)

It's not accelerationism at all! It's fatalism.

Accelerationism is, "It has to get worse before it can get better."

My point here is, "The system that only allows for getting worse will never get better."

[–] SwingingTheLamp@midwest.social 3 points 13 hours ago (3 children)

A big issue with this approach: The United States is not a law of nature; it doesn't have to exist. The system may only allow two options, but it does not guarantee that either one of those options will keep the system viable. Reduced harm is still harm, and at some point we needed to stop doing it.

[–] SwingingTheLamp@midwest.social 20 points 1 day ago (1 children)

Parents? My friend volunteered as a poll worker on the University campus here. At his location, 25% of the students voted for the orange fascist.

Right, and this isn't rhetorical combat. You are correct, and I was continuing the train of thought.

Yep, interesting how they're proud of America, they just hate all of the people and things in it.

Is that why quite a few progressive ballot initiatives and referendums also passed?

[–] SwingingTheLamp@midwest.social 6 points 4 days ago (2 children)

A friend who worked in D.C. for a while clued me in to the Rosetta Stone of understanding the right-wing mentality: It all flows from a deep, abiding self-hatred. They need constant reassurance that they are good people, because they don't really believe it.

Furthermore, they literally need an untermenschen (the poor, the homeless, the sick) to be better than, so their own success proves that they are good.

It's obvious when you look at it this way: America must axiomatically be all good, because they are Americans; with your criticism, are you saying they're not good?

He's 78 and displaying moderate dementia symptoms. I wouldn't worry about a third term.

Heck, people are still producing new games for the Commodore 64.

[–] SwingingTheLamp@midwest.social 14 points 5 days ago (2 children)

And Emmett Till could still be very much alive, had he not been lynched.

[–] SwingingTheLamp@midwest.social 2 points 5 days ago (2 children)

Still not great from a messaging perspective. Better ways to reach people who aren't politics nerds or policy wonks:

Medical care will be affordable, so you can go see your doctor any time you or your family need to. If your kid gets sick, you can be there for them and help them get better without worrying about how to pay for care. You'll get paid better, no more of the "boss gets a dollar, I get a dime" crap. No more stress about setting aside a college fund for your kids. They'll be able to go to school, guaranteed. Strong American morals mean we're not going to send our tax money to fund war and atrocities on the other side of the planet. If you lose your job, the government will have your back with enough money to survive on until you get back on your feet, no questions asked.

Goddamn, why can't Democrats say this stuff, instead of word salad like, "Launch a National Health Equity Initiative to address health challenges that disproportionately impact Black men." WTF does any of that even mean?

 

Kelly: Is there a downside? I'm thinking of people trying to find a parking place, for starters.

Horowitz: So we see that in places that have actually eliminated parking minimums, that we see fewer people driving at all and having cars and we see vehicle miles traveled decrease because people can get around via other mechanisms.

Well, now, would you look at that?! If we change the incentives, if we stop incentivizing driving by law, people change their behavior. In this case, they can save a ton of money by not needing a car.

 

Yeah, basically that. I'm back at work in Windows land on a Monday morning, and pondering what sadist at Microsoft included these features. It's not hyperbole to say that the startup repair, and the troubleshooters in settings, have never fixed an issue I've encountered with Windows. Not even once. Is this typical?

ETA: I've learned from reading the responses that the Windows troubleshooters primarily look for missing or broken drivers, and sometimes fix things just by restarting a service, so they're useful if you have troublesome hardware.

 

They say that if you want to get away with murder, use a car as the weapon. By the way, Wisconsin has no jaywalking law, so they're letting a killer off the hook for, like, reasons?

 

"There’s probably nothing that we do that causes more suffering to wild animals than driving."

 

Lost cause or not, this is still typical of the traffic infrastructure we're building. Notice, this is a designated "bicycle boulevard."

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