Semi_Hemi_Demigod, 2 months ago

Democratic strategists, liberal pundits are making a living off doubting President Joe Biden’s viability in the 2024 presidential election. Why?

Because they need it to be a horse race to get keep people’s attention. They write those things because they get clicks and views and comments.

Notice how they’re not writing about how our system is failing everyone by being this way. That’s because they like the system this way because it keeps them on top.

Semi_Hemi_Demigod, 2 months ago

There are a lot of reasons things are the way they are - the fucked up way we elect a president, the fucked up way we count the votes, the fucked up way we apportion representatives - but the bottom line is that our government is broken and we’re not going to get actual representation out of it.

So unless progressives are going to move the red states en masse to actually change things, we need to get used to being an unrepresented minority, ruled by a different minority that has more land.

Semi_Hemi_Demigod, 2 months ago (edited 2 months ago)

There is literally only one sane choice on the ballot this year.

Which is the real problem, has been a problem since before I could vote, and is a problem that cannot be fixed.

Semi_Hemi_Demigod, 2 months ago

tl;dr - The system is broken but we still have to pretend it isn’t because otherwise its brokenness will allow terrible things to happen and the people who do those things will face no repercussions.

Semi_Hemi_Demigod, 2 months ago

🇺🇸 F R E E D O M 🦅🍔

Semi_Hemi_Demigod, 2 months ago

I’m old enough to remember when debates were run by the League of Women Voters and had actual moderation and discussion of the issues

Semi_Hemi_Demigod, 2 months ago

BUT November is a long way off and voices need to be heard

This is why I voted for Dean Philips in my state’s primary

Semi_Hemi_Demigod, 2 months ago

Mass bends spacetime so one could assert that a time machine could anchor itself to a sufficiently large mass, just like how things in orbit are still bound to the earth’s mass.

Semi_Hemi_Demigod, 2 months ago

We are all space machines on this blessed day

Semi_Hemi_Demigod, 2 months ago

Tech products often use stainless steel bolts, which are a lot softer than a normal steel

Semi_Hemi_Demigod, 2 months ago

While I agree with your other points, I’d argue that Jean-Baptiste Emmanuel Zorg is part of the system grinding people down, and the government is pretty feckless.

To the first point, Corbin Dallas is fired from a taxi company run by Zorg. He’s the head of a massive conglomerate that does everything from taxis to weapons sales.

To the second, while the government does have power Zorg also has a bug (literal and technological) in their war room, which shows while they might not be subordinate to Zorg the government isn’t powerful enough to prevent this sort of thing. Also, the government ends up failing in their mission to save the planet.

However, there’s also magic in the universe and, as you said, they’re saving the earth from destruction and not overthrowing Zorg, so I wouldn’t call it cyberpunk.

Semi_Hemi_Demigod, 2 months ago

I’m curious if the move to large corps investing in residential properties is due to the collapse of value in the commercial market.

Semi_Hemi_Demigod, 2 months ago

Hybrid is always worse than either fully remote or fully in office. You end up with people coming into the office and sitting on Zoom or posting on Slack, and people at home missing out on conversations that don’t happen there. So you have to do twice as much work to keep everybody on the same page.

Semi_Hemi_Demigod, 2 months ago

there is something about breathing the same air that can’t be beat.

Mmm halitosis and communicable disease…

Semi_Hemi_Demigod, 2 months ago

That sort of move has been threatening the tech sector since the early 2000s and it hasn’t happened yet. Yes, some jobs moved overseas, but the timezone and language differences mean the ROI isn’t as big as a spreadsheet that accounts for salary says. Having to stay at work until 8pm and meet with the team in India at 8am their time isn’t going to be nearly as productive as meeting with people within a couple timezones.

Semi_Hemi_Demigod, 2 months ago

Also ban viagra. Impotence is the will of god.

Semi_Hemi_Demigod, 2 months ago

Sorry, god says only natural boners

Semi_Hemi_Demigod, 2 months ago

Tell me you didn’t read the entire post without telling me you didn’t read the entire post.

I’ve seen my very important and influential vote made meaningless by other parts of our government too many times to think it really helps. But I’m allowed to complain about that because I voted so that’s nice.

Semi_Hemi_Demigod, 2 months ago

Okay so you read it but you didn’t understand it. Gotcha.

Semi_Hemi_Demigod, 2 months ago

Mr. Crabs no!

Semi_Hemi_Demigod, 2 months ago

Anybody who thinks the US will abandon Israel is ignorant of history, too. As is anybody who thinks they can vote for a president and not get blood on their hands.

Semi_Hemi_Demigod, 2 months ago

basically drag Biden to a better policy position.

I keep hearing words like “fight” and “drag” and “push” as to what we do to stop this, but they don’t mean actually fighting or dragging or pushing, just being annoying in ways that are easily dismissed.

I’ve gotten enough “fuck you I do what I want” letters from my reps and senators about things that I’ve given up “pushing” them in that way.

Semi_Hemi_Demigod, 2 months ago

The other part is that online lefties like us are a minority. If Biden does move left he risks losing the election to the majority of Americans who support Israel unconditionally. So nobody’s going to end up happy and he loses the election anyway.

He’s from a generation that believes “the system works”, because its worked well for him/ them.

This is a great insight that people who keep saying “we just need to push him after the election” don’t seem to get. Yes, I’m sure that in the past writing letters to Congress might have done something more than waste paper. But the system is so broken now that people don’t believe them and see the only way to get a message across that this is unacceptable is to not vote.

Semi_Hemi_Demigod, 2 months ago

Thanks for the essay! I liked it a lot. (Though the first paragraph could be broken up for readability.)

The tl;dr I’m getting is this: Both parties are “big tent” parties now, and Democrats seem to have forgotten this and are operating on 90s political theory. Sound about right? If so, I agree wholeheartedly.

Semi_Hemi_Demigod, 2 months ago

If you’re not ashamed to be an American you probably failed history.