General News Thread

[SpoonyViking]

I'm probably autoblocked, based on the profile.

Yeah, the profile mentions she uses "robust autoblockers" because of harassment.
That said: damn, Mac, you've gone and become a MAGAnut on us, haven't you? :-P

[mAc Chaos]

You need me on that wall, Spoony.

[Mattias]

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-china-54899171

Welp, I'd say that's pretty much it for Hong Kong

I'm kind of surprised. I expected it to end in Tiananmen 2, not legal shenanigans banning all possible opposition.

[LegalLoliLover]

I ask again: Would Hitler have been able to get away with as much shit, if he built nukes and business/financial connections before the Holocaust?

[Twelveseal]

Realistically? Yes. Because if he had nukes at that point, he would have had them before anyone else. Likewise, in a Capitalist economy, damn near anything is excusable so long as profits keep flowing. You don't have to look too hard to find American Conservatives in business that openly supported the Nazis prior to the US entry into the war. And even after.

So yes, he likely would have.

[LegalLoliLover]

I respect your honest answer. Oh, and another aspect of my politics that you were asking about, while I support racial equality, I consider racial equity, like, say, a college that allows lower passing scores for blacks and Hispanics over the higher required scores of whites and Asians, to be an abomination. Not quite that haves and have-nots sentiment that you mentioned before, given that I don't tie that to race.

[Twelveseal]

Related, I suppose. That sort of affirmative action could be viewed as a form of reparations, yes. Giving individuals from hypothetically disadvantaged situations an advantage in another area to offset the initial disadvantage, to a degree. It could also be seen as a preventative measure meant to reduce potential long-term, possibly multigenerational, strain on the economy. You can make an argument both for and against the fairness of such measures.

I tend to view that, and other forms of individual-scale welfare, as both a means of lowering long-term costs, in human terms and financial ones, as well as a moral and ethical commitment to the betterment of the whole community. Especially in an environment that seems hostile to making universal access to such resources a possibility. Without such actions, I tend to view the scenario as a sort of self-enforcing cycle.

[LegalLoliLover]

But it reinforces the notion that blacks and Hispanics cannot win on an even playing field. And those blacks and Hispanics who support such a practice are admitting it. Such people don't need others to call them inferior, as they are essentially doing it themselves. That's another reason that I often say that war simplifies things. The side that survives any given war has soldiers with exceptional talents, not exceptional sob stories.

[Twelveseal]

Yes and no. You can also argue that the playing field isn't even due to such individuals having reduced access to educational resources, safe environments conducive to development, rest, and learning, sufficient nutritious food needed for healthy development, stable home lives, good role models, and other advantages, or proper healthcare capable of keeping their attendance up.

[LegalLoliLover]

In terms of education resources, I, of course, support public education. Now, as for people who can afford private education, that education may or may not be better than public education. Sometimes, that's a benefit. Other times, it's just an expensive detriment, so it's a mixed bag. As for home life, while I lean towards personal liberty, if it gets bad beyond a certain threshold (I'll leave the details of that threshold to people with actual political experience), then that's what foster homes are for. As for healthcare, going back to my admittedly outdated locust example, the government should step in when extreme matters of pestilence occurs, especially when those diseases are potentially fatal/contagious... And that's totally not because I work at a healthcare exchange and thus directly affects my employment.

[Spinach]

Okay, Republicans having their heads shoved in the sand like ostriches has reached new meme levels.

I can only imagine how future generations will view this if it's real.

I endlessly observe that opinions on past presidents are pretty flat. Compulsory education doesn't equip people with robust knowledge on policies of past presidents or the political opposition they faced before, throughout, and immediately after their terms. It feels like, here, the only people with opinions like that are people who study history/politics, either out of hobbyist enthusiasm or in tertiary education.

I mean you went through the same state's school system as me even if separated by just shy of a decade, maybe it differs a lot by the county but the entire subject was pretty shallow.

I think Trump will just be remembered as one big symptom of a widening rift between red and blue that the internet accelerated the growth of.

ohandIguesshe'llforeverberememberedoverhowhehandle dcovid-19lolol

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Btw studying either of those rots your brain and makes you a demented husk, this thread is the proof

[Twelveseal]

Public education fan myself, and yes, private education seems to be something of a mixed bag. However, generally speaking, our foster-care system is a joke, and the financial weakness of most of the population here makes it ineffective at meeting the needs of the children involved. Kids that end up in custody of Child Welfare are notorious for having poorer educational performance than those who don't. Assuming they make it through the system. Many run from it, especially if they have difficulty finding compatible homes, to the extent that it's often seen as a pipeline into human trafficking and child prostitution. Those that do age out are more likely to end up homeless or simply underpaid and welfare-dependant due to lacking resources and support associated with a family. The ones that are homed are lucky, but again, viable homes are hard to come by and black and brown kids are not favored. Plus, there's resistance to allowing LGBTQ homes to raise kids, reducing an already scarce resource.

On healthcare, I tend to see it this way; you can pay for up-front preventative care, or you can pay larger sums after the fact when emergency healthcare providers are forced to eat the cost and either close or absorb fat stacks of taxpayer dollars to offset their red ink. We all end up paying for it eventually either way, I'd just prefer the cheaper price tag that also involves less suffering.

Lol Spin. Fair enough.

[LegalLoliLover]

Again, in terms of the education thing, I was specifically talking about automatically trying to tie that into race because it ignores the fact that there are wealthy black and Hispanic families, as well as white and Asian orphans. Mentally connecting to two, in fact, leads to stuff, like this:

Unfortunately, the current social environment is trying to tie everything into some sort of racially based conspiracy. What do they call it? Critical race theory? The thing that somehow compels people to believe that Chinese (or any ethnic) restaurants don't want white customers?

[Twelveseal]

Iirc, it's not specifically CRT, but something derived from it. Can't remember the name of the project off the top of my head, unfortunately.

As for those negative conditions being tied to race, the both are and aren't, confusingly enough. On a more general level, it's a socio-economic class problem; a side-effect of excessive wealth and opportunity inequality that will only continue to become more extreme if it isn't acted upon. In this regard, it's not race-specific. It affects everyone in some capacity, even those standing at the peak of the economic pyramid. However, it is a racial issue when you take into account how lax the government has been in preserving the equal rights of minorities. When it hasn't been actively trampling on them. This continues to play out in the courts, in attempts to overturn redlining, in pursuit of equal treatment from financial sectors, in the availability of housing and work opportunities, and more. Black and non-Asian brown minorities are usually seen as underperforming or higher-risk for crime and financial instability. This makes it harder for them to achieve the same outcomes as their majority counterparts, even with the same qualifications and performance. Put another way, being in one of the underprivileged minority groups is essentially a handicap on your future prospects. It's still possible to achieve exceptional results, but it's more difficult and the paths to success available to you are fewer and the obstacles more dangerous.



OMG, it just keeps happening!

[aldeayeah]

OMG, it just keeps happening!

Don't worry, we have plenty of neat old stuff left to ruin!

[Mattias]

ohandIguesshe'llforeverberememberedoverhowhehandle dcovid-19lolol

Will he though? Who was president during the Spanish flu?

[Pendant]

Wilson. Can confirm his legacy today is more about his fondness for "Birth of a Nation" than of his handling of a pandemic.

[AsGryffynn]

Taiwan may need the US military, but the US needs Taiwan's voting system:

The US needs a family size dose of Parliamentarism and Proportional Representation. Anything different means the small town in the Middle of Nowhere gets treated like NYC, which can only cause problems.

I seem to recall that officials at the local level have a limit as to how long they can serve in public office. Maybe if this was the case on all levels then the issues of US democracy could be sorted out. Hard to claim the candidate you hate is a shill when his prior job was that of software engineer.

You need me on that wall, Spoony.

Ironically, I'm more of a MAGA-nut and I am not blocked (though I'm more of a Socialist Nut in favor of Occupying Wall Street and outlawing conglomerates).

I'm kind of surprised. I expected it to end in Tiananmen 2, not legal shenanigans banning all possible opposition.

I think Tiananment 2 will happen if the situation worldwide goes critical and a decisive gesture is needed to declare a clear winner in the global arena (people no longer being able to decide which system is best, democracy having failed to quell unrest and eventually when it assails Beijing, they run over people with the tanks and people will be ready to draw their own conclusions and if China does quell unrest with this, it's possible other countries would prefer their way of dealing with issues).

Related, I suppose. That sort of affirmative action could be viewed as a form of reparations, yes. Giving individuals from hypothetically disadvantaged situations an advantage in another area to offset the initial disadvantage, to a degree. It could also be seen as a preventative measure meant to reduce potential long-term, possibly multigenerational, strain on the economy. You can make an argument both for and against the fairness of such measures.

I tend to view that, and other forms of individual-scale welfare, as both a means of lowering long-term costs, in human terms and financial ones, as well as a moral and ethical commitment to the betterment of the whole community. Especially in an environment that seems hostile to making universal access to such resources a possibility. Without such actions, I tend to view the scenario as a sort of self-enforcing cycle.

I don't have an issue where it would be present as a form of assistance towards individuals that need it because their circumstances prevented them from pulling much further. What I am opposed is the notion of blanket special treatment since it doesn't take into account various nuances (for one a poor white hick is going to have it worse than a wealthy black hedge fund shareholder, but the latter would get benefits the former wouldn't, even though it's clear the former needs all the help he can get and the latter can just money bomb his way to the same outcome).

I endlessly observe that opinions on past presidents are pretty flat. Compulsory education doesn't equip people with robust knowledge on policies of past presidents or the political opposition they faced before, throughout, and immediately after their terms. It feels like, here, the only people with opinions like that are people who study history/politics, either out of hobbyist enthusiasm or in tertiary education.

I mean you went through the same state's school system as me even if separated by just shy of a decade, maybe it differs a lot by the county but the entire subject was pretty shallow.

I think Trump will just be remembered as one big symptom of a widening rift between red and blue that the internet accelerated the growth of.

ohandIguesshe'llforeverberememberedoverhowhehandle dcovid-19lolol

- - - Updated - - -

Btw studying either of those rots your brain and makes you a demented husk, this thread is the proof

He didn't really handle Covid any worse than the average idiot in chief of any major country. He might be remembered for the dumb stuff and claims but that's it.

[rxrx]

I think the West handled the pandemic perfectly since no one is trying to overthrow the government.

[Mattias]

I think the West handled the pandemic perfectly since no one is trying to overthrow the government.

Yet.