tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post250575638285411683..comments2024-03-28T22:45:34.599-07:00Comments on CONTRARY BRIN: Face-Recog is loose. Adapt to this new world (You can!)David Brinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14465315130418506525noreply@blogger.comBlogger66125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-1195323175161202912020-02-21T13:29:58.296-08:002020-02-21T13:29:58.296-08:00Thanks, Dr. Brin. Re: "US/Hollywood moral sta...Thanks, Dr. Brin. Re: "US/Hollywood moral standards"- <br />Do you mean 1960's-today's "US/Hollywood moral standards"? If you go back to the '50's (our shared birth-decade), I would say those standards weren't the same as they are now. Who's to say they won't won't revert to a more conformist era, particularly in a time of fear, both natural (climate change, automation/AI-related job loss) and cultivated (our Oligarch "friends")?<br /><br />"I believe that Utah folk are APPROACHABLE with a reasoned argument that they should go their own way and lead in the founding of a new US conservative movement."<br />IMHO, if any individual/group votes for/supports Trump in 2020, they are not reasonable and have lost both political AND moral legitimacy. Also, if Utah's electoral votes go to Trump (as I believe they will), it's moot what may/not happen there in the longer term... <br />We are running out of time (to save American Democracy, to avoid/minimize the "Slowpocalyspse"),if we haven't already run out...<br /><br />Cheers,<br /><br />Keith "Mr. Sunshine" HalperinKeith Halperinnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-41143828692628190342020-02-21T13:26:00.649-08:002020-02-21T13:26:00.649-08:00Dr. Brin,
I noticed that you come up with the mon...Dr. Brin,<br /><br />I noticed that you come up with the monetary angle whenever you don't have a good argument. You believe that somehow that way validates your position when it is just a trick to get someone to shut up. It's up to you to come up with counter-arguments if you can and offering to bet is not an argument. It is just you looking for an out. Deuxglasshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03488986307291616948noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-68503872038702990202020-02-21T13:02:05.353-08:002020-02-21T13:02:05.353-08:00onward
onwardonward<br /><br />onwardDavid Brinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14465315130418506525noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-14455717623100663642020-02-21T12:58:36.760-08:002020-02-21T12:58:36.760-08:00Deucglass, I will happily take all of your asserti...Deucglass, I will happily take all of your assertions as money bets. Anyone care to hold the stakes? Alfred? Tim? Everyone trusts you guys.<br /><br />locum's non-jibber-jabber lasted one whoe comment. Still, we keep him around.<br /><br />onward<br /><br />onward<br />David Brinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14465315130418506525noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-20991939147474755282020-02-21T12:27:54.827-08:002020-02-21T12:27:54.827-08:00Deuxglass is spot on:
Within his suggestion to &#...<br />Deuxglass is spot on:<br /><br />Within his suggestion to 'sunset' all NDAs, David appears to (1) acknowledge the theatrical absurdity inherent in the manufacture of the modern political consensus and (2) confirm that Bloomberg is a DNC-sponsored spoiler who exists solely to steal the US Democrat Party nomination from presidential candidate Bernie Sanders AGAIN in a slightly more plausible fashion than last time.<br /><br />This is yet another example of what I punningly refer to as <b>Vaudevillainy</b>, aka 'the deliberate reduction <i>ad absurdum</i> of complex sociopolitical issues into a farcical moral play, replete with over-the-top mustachioed villains (boo!) and enlightened heroic underdogs (yay!), in the service of a tyrannical & inflexible establishment'.<br /><br />Like the TV Wrestling of yesteryear, this is a staged theatrical programme with a predetermined outcome, the problem being that the greater US & EU polity is catching on, losing interest & tuning out, leading to falling bipartisan ratings and, if we're lucky, the imminent cancellation of the fraudulent Deep State Establishmentarianism Show.<br /><br />There's a reason why they call your television an 'idiot box' and -- it's you -- assuming you watch.<br /><br />I mean, really now, how can you all just sit there so passively & absorb this crap?<br /><br /><br />Bestlocumranchhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06812045410916208141noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-75796796014991818072020-02-21T12:00:08.634-08:002020-02-21T12:00:08.634-08:00"Geez, can you imagine the repercussions that..."Geez, can you imagine the repercussions that would have followed the revelation that Russia was actively engaged in the election of any past president? Certainly any past Democratic president, but then when else would Russia have tried to help elect a Republican?"<br /><br />In fact, I give 25% odds that Putin joined the Saudis in their blatant efforts to help George W. Bush to defeat Al Gore and John Kerrey. At times it was blatant. I'll grant that the Bush-Cheney families were far more suborned factotums of the Saudi Royal House thanagents of the remodeled KGB. That predominance has reversed in the Trump era GOP. Together though, that axis has striven to lure (e.g. via Epstein and sheik yacht parties) Americans into blackmail traps. And blatantly far more Republicans.<br /><br />Keith by Victory Condition I mean by US/Hollywood moral standards, which does NOT mean conquest. But it means a world in which individualism and eccentricity are admired far above conformity.<br /><br />I believe that Utah folk are APPROACHABLE with a reasoned argument that they should go their own way and lead in the founding of a new US conservative movement.<br /><br />Your thought about the meta-stable attractor state is absolutely spot on.David Brinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14465315130418506525noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-63648372211213865022020-02-21T11:20:59.765-08:002020-02-21T11:20:59.765-08:00@Dr. Brin 19:17:
In a society where these techs ha...@Dr. Brin 19:17:<br />In a society where these techs have been harnessed to state enforced conformity, as in China’s nascent social credit system. Communist states have always harnessed the power of local, neighborhood busybodies by making them block commissars.<br />Dr. Brin, I think this would be pretty-easy to do here. Have you been on NextDoor lately?... I keep thinking of those “octies” (octogenarians) in their “spy glasses” recording all they see in “Earth”… I’d expect those folks in 2020 Bloomington, IN (IMSM) would likely be Trump supporters (unless they were retired Indiana University faculty). Who do you think THEY’LL be watching? I bet it wouldn’t have been former Indiana Governor Mike Pence. Have you or can you propose methods to encourage/incentivize “the Panopticon of Crowds” to look “up” and not just occasionally “sideways” and usually “down”? Are we likely to get (even with a Democratic President and Congress) a series of strongly strengthened whistle-blower laws to reward and protect “looking up”? What would the best ways to avoid the constant pressure to repeal, neutralize, subvert, or co-opt such practices like: <br /><br />“Hey kid! You’re a GOOD kid, we know that. You follow the rules and think everybody should, too. But not everybody does, and we’d like your help to keep people good and make sure they all follow the rules, too. Here’s a cool free game for you to play- it shows you how to help us find the bad people who don’t play by the rules and make them good again. In the game, you let us know about as many of the people you know as you want to, and we give you money and fun gifts- the more people you send to us and the more we find out about them, the more money and fun gifts you get! How about that! (Don’t forget to tell us about your parents and teachers, too!) <br /><br />You might think: “Most of the people I know are good- they follow the rules, and my parents and teachers, do too!” Well, these good people you know don’t need to be afraid. We’ll tell them about our game and maybe they’ll want to play too! That way, they’ll get money and fun gifts, JUST LIKE YOU!<br /><br />Wouldn’t you like to start playing the game now?<br /><br />Your GOOD Friends, <br /><br />TenCen/Facebook<br /><br />……………………...<br /><br />@Dr. Brin 19:18:<br />“The West has one victory condition in 20 years.”<br />I’m afraid I don’t understand that sentence. <br />Do you mean we have one condition which will permit victory (over all our enemies) within 20 years?<br /><br />………….<br /><br />A thought: <br />I wonder if various societal states (feudalism, democracy, etc.) are analogous to Lagrange points: <br />It may be (and I hope it isn’t true) that the Feudal Attractor is like L4/L5 in being quite stable, but the Democracy Attractor State is meta-stable (requiring frequent nudging to avoid drifting away)…<br /><br />…………. <br /><br />You stated (2019.05.15) that you believe “Mormons (are) giving serious thought to dropping their loyalty to a party of mafiosi, sexual perverts and traitors.” <br />Do you think that Utah<br />1) will go “blue” in 2020, <br />2) voter turnout will be down substantially, or<br />3) Trump will receive a substantially lower percentage of the vote than in 2016?<br /><br />Cheers,<br /><br />Keith<br />Keith Halperinnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-44018688985118077482020-02-21T10:39:06.856-08:002020-02-21T10:39:06.856-08:00Bloomberg was not happy at all being attacked by t...Bloomberg was not happy at all being attacked by the other candidates but he knew that would happen. Bloomberg knows that he doesn't need to win any debate at all. All he has to do is show up. No candidate will get to 50.1% so it will be a brokered convention. His organization and his money will guarantee that he will have enough to be in there with the others. He doesn't have to convince most of the convention's delegates. All he has to do is convince the super delegates which is easy to do because they know that Bloomberg can reward them beyond their dreams if they vote the right way. Nothing has to be said or promised but they all know the score. <br /><br />For me there is line I just won't cross. Bloomberg, a Republican as a Republican can be, being on the ticket either as president or vice-president is crossing that line. Any of the others will do. It's a test for me. For a long time now me and others have noticed that the Democrat Party has become stranger and stranger. This is no longer the Democrat party I grew up with which before promoted policies that strengthened the middle and lower classes as FDR did. Now the leadership consists of openly corrupt money-grabbers who will do anything for a buck all the while claiming that everything they did was "legal". They make me sick. Dr. Brin, you said that I see things in black and white. No I don't with most things but when I see corruption wrapped up in a legal envelope I am revolted. If the Democrat Part continues along this path then I say Fuck It. Let it die. Something better will come up from its ashes. There will always be those who find reasons and excuses for supporting these type of behaviors. In the end they don't matter.Deuxglasshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03488986307291616948noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-49189717301625137682020-02-21T09:54:31.554-08:002020-02-21T09:54:31.554-08:00"Geez, can you imagine the repercussions that..."Geez, can you imagine the repercussions that would have followed the revelation that Russia was actively engaged in the election of any past president? Certainly any past Democratic president, "<br /><br />Khrushchev Kennedy, depending how you define "active" :-)<br /><br />Regards,<br />Cormac.Cormac Williamshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14382124518578004596noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-49668751284037439922020-02-21T09:31:27.555-08:002020-02-21T09:31:27.555-08:00Heh. This NY Times article describes exactly the ...Heh. This NY Times article describes exactly the solution to nosiness that Dr Brin is always touting--looking back.<br /><br />https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2020/02/19/magazine/salary-sharing.html<br /><i><br />About a decade ago, a naturally occurring social experiment took place in Norway that revealed how people react when they are given the opportunity to learn not just a co-worker’s income but the salary of every citizen in the country. Key information from tax returns in Norway has been public since the 19th century, available to anyone willing to wait in line at City Hall and scour tax records. But that understandable interest in other people’s finances became something of a national obsession in 2001, when newspapers first started making the information searchable online. By 2009, one newspaper offered an app — instantly one of the country’s most downloaded — that allowed Facebook users to see leader boards that ranked friends’ salaries from highest to lowest. The app also created maps that allowed users to see the pay of all their neighbors. In 2010, during the first week that the most recent year’s information became available, Norwegians were Googling “skattelister” — tax lists — more than “YouTube,” according to data analyzed by Ricardo Perez-Truglia, now an assistant professor of economics at the U.C.L.A. Anderson School of Management; during that same period, Norwegians were scanning other people’s income more often than they were checking the weather. There were anecdotal reports of students’ being bullied for their families’ poverty, and increasingly, officials became uncomfortable with what the head of the Norwegian Tax Administration called the “peeping Tom” phenomenon (the media called it “tax porn”). In 2014, the law changed so that individuals could still access this public information — but the person whose information they were seeking would know who sought it. Salary searches plummeted, suggesting that Norwegian taboos around discussing pay are not, in the end, all that different from those in America.<br /></i><br />Larry Harthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01058877428309776731noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-59346672161864188202020-02-21T09:07:07.029-08:002020-02-21T09:07:07.029-08:00He didn't just whine about it. He fired the D...He didn't just whine about it. He fired the DIA and proposes to replace him with one of Devin Nunes' flaks, a Trump loyalist who stoutly denies Russian involvement.<br /><br />If you are a Republican, you are supporting treason.Zepp Jamiesonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03024670772812706971noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-12888879405984926572020-02-21T08:58:43.206-08:002020-02-21T08:58:43.206-08:00As far as interfering in foreign elections—what go...As far as interfering in foreign elections—what goes around, comes around.Howard Brazeehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08837948125432719131noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-52598791593640655822020-02-21T08:28:08.324-08:002020-02-21T08:28:08.324-08:00https://www.nytimes.com/2020/02/20/us/politics/rus...https://www.nytimes.com/2020/02/20/us/politics/russian-interference-trump-democrats.html<br /><br /><i><br />WASHINGTON — Intelligence officials warned House lawmakers last week that Russia was interfering in the 2020 campaign to try to get President Trump re-elected, five people familiar with the matter said, a disclosure to Congress that angered Mr. Trump, who complained that Democrats would use it against him.<br />...<br /></i><br /><br />Oh, the outrage of using "He's a foreign asset" against him. How UNFAIR! (tm)<br /><br />Geez, can you imagine the repercussions that would have followed the revelation that Russia was actively engaged in the election of any past president? Certainly any past Democratic president, but then when else would Russia have tried to help elect a <b>Republican</b>?<br /><br />Can it be any clearer that the entire Republican Party is engaged in open treason?Larry Harthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01058877428309776731noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-29248510405835808112020-02-21T07:29:13.356-08:002020-02-21T07:29:13.356-08:00“Americans don't appear to NOTICE all of the w...“Americans don't appear to NOTICE all of the ways they fall short”<br /><br />A bizarre statement, given all the guilt trip[s in our movies and al l the “imperialism” and identity classes consumed by University students.<br /><br />“but the goalposts have moved”<br /><br />And why did they move? What was the principal agency doing that moving?<br /><br />--<br />BACK on vitamins, locum veered from jibber-jabber to a cogently well-expressed assertion that is TRUE, all by itself.<br /><br />“It is too bad, so sad, that both villainy AND heroism are Vaudevillian performance art wherein mostly narcissists seek the limelight & prefer an attentive audience.”<br /><br />Ah, yes, this holds, while they can either avoid attribution (trolls and KGB provocateurs), or evade accountability/consequences (Trumpites either desperately avoiding wagers or desperate for pardons).<br /><br />Let’s test it! Make common cause for a law giving a five year sunset on all NDAs.<br />David Brinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14465315130418506525noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-74123936230332791002020-02-21T07:28:33.853-08:002020-02-21T07:28:33.853-08:00duncan cairncross:
But the biggest issue I have i...duncan cairncross:<br /><i><br />But the biggest issue I have is that Americans don't appear to NOTICE all of the ways they fall short - in fact they simply don't appear to think that any of the rules apply to THEM<br /></i><br /><br />I would have agreed more before the 2016 election. I think many non-deplorable Americans understand very well that we're throwing away the moral high ground. I notice that no one refers to Donald Trump as the "Leader of the Free World", an unofficial title which until very recently was presumed to belong to the president of the United States.<br /><br /><i><br />The USA IS BETTER than it was 100 years ago - but the goalposts have moved<br /></i><br /><br />And much has changed in just the last three years. Not for the better.Larry Harthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01058877428309776731noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-43192331046578334852020-02-21T07:12:08.878-08:002020-02-21T07:12:08.878-08:00The more things change...
This is a description of...The more things change...<br />This is a description of partisan politics in the Jim Crow South, but reverse the party names and it could be torn from today's headlines:<br /><br />https://www.nytimes.com/2020/02/21/opinion/trump-authoritarian-jim-crow.html<br /><i><br />...<br />This basic pattern repeated itself throughout the South for decades. Working through the Democratic Party, conservative elites “repressed Populists, seized control of the state apparatus, and effectively ended credible partisan competition.” They rewrote state constitutions to end the vote for blacks as well as substantially restrict it for most whites. They gerrymandered states to secure the political power of large landowners, converted local elective offices into appointed positions[ controlled at the state level, “and further insulated state judiciaries from popular input.” This could have been stopped, but the North was tired of sectional conflict, and the courts had no interest in the rights of blacks or anyone else under the boot of the Democracy.<br /><br />The southern Democratic Party didn’t just control all offices and effectively staff the state bureaucracy. It was gatekeeper to all political participation. An aspiring politician could not run for office, much less win and participate in government, without having it behind him. “What is the state?” asked one prominent lawyer during Louisiana’s 1898 Jim Crow constitutional convention, aptly capturing the dynamic at work, “It is the Democratic Party.” Statehood was conflated with party, writes Mickey, “and party disloyalty with state treason.”<br /><br />Southern conservatives beat back Populism and biracial democracy to build a one-party state and ensure cheap labor, low taxes, white supremacy and a starkly unequal distribution of wealth. It took two decades of disruption — the Great Depression, the Great Migration and the Second World War — to even make change possible, and then another decade of fierce struggle to bring democracy back to the South.<br />...<br /></i>Larry Harthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01058877428309776731noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-81869011834670667692020-02-21T06:32:19.427-08:002020-02-21T06:32:19.427-08:00Our fine host is an idealist, an intelligent man, ...<br />Our fine host is an idealist, an intelligent man, but one infatuated with the analogical purifying capabilities of light who mistakes the analogical for the literal. <br /><br />He imagines that illumination can magically rectify injustice, as if evil doers must always be consumed by shame, goodness always triumphs over badness and laws enforce themselves. <br /><br />It is too bad, so sad, that both villainy AND heroism are Vaudevillian performance art wherein mostly narcissists seek the limelight & prefer an attentive audience.<br /><br />Whether 'good' or 'bad', attention is attention is attention when demanded by attention seekers.<br /><br /><br />Bestlocumranchhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06812045410916208141noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-92190781550985893182020-02-20T22:58:49.418-08:002020-02-20T22:58:49.418-08:00Dr Brin
I accept that the American Empire NOW is b...Dr Brin<br />I accept that the American Empire NOW is better than the old British Empire 100 years ago (although the American Empire back then was worse)<br /><br />But the biggest issue I have is that Americans don't appear to NOTICE all of the ways they fall short - in fact they simply don't appear to think that any of the rules apply to THEM<br /><br />Manzanar was not in the same league as Auschwitz - not even on the same planet<br /><br />And both were 70 years ago <br /><br />The USA has much more recent problems than Manzanar - and much much worse - from the atrocities in Vietnam to Abu Ghraib<br /><br />And the ongoing - assassination of government figures - especially when said figures were invited to a peace conference <br /><br />The USA IS BETTER than it was 100 years ago - but the goalposts have moved<br />duncan cairncrosshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14153725128216947145noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-38427047482224925012020-02-20T19:18:15.020-08:002020-02-20T19:18:15.020-08:00Keith I don’t have all the answers. I even know of...Keith I don’t have all the answers. I even know of situations demanding lessened transparency (secret ballots in elections and even inside congress… and intel agencies need tactical secrecy.)<br /><br />But I do know this. The West has one victory condition in 20 years. A supremely transparent world filled with equalizing light. If we don’t have that, all of our enemies will win. If we get that, we simply win. Period.<br /><br /><br /> <br />David Brinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14465315130418506525noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-58751216170771254982020-02-20T19:18:01.704-08:002020-02-20T19:18:01.704-08:00Duncan: “From the "Outside" it appears t...Duncan: “From the "Outside" it appears to me that the USA ceded the "moral high ground" for the "whatever it takes" a long long time ago”<br /><br />Yes, it seems that way to you. It takes courage to admit bizarre perception. No nation ever so-little abused great power when it had a grip on some. The crimes you’d rightfully cite are nevertheless small by imperial standards, especially considering the RATIO of good to bad deeds. And the fact that Pax Americana was the best time for humanity ever is proof enough.<br /><br />But want more proof? Just watch when we depose Trump, how ecstsy pours through the cities of the world. It will be the joy of seeing your strong and indispensable older brother recovering from a raving, destructive fever.<br /><br />“AND The fact that a lot of Americans still claim the "Moral High Ground" while behaving nearly as badly as the villains just makes them look like hypocrites”<br /><br />And fuck you, too. Compare Manzanar to Auschwitz. Hypocrites, yes. But there’s worse.<br /><br />Interested Observer: All you’ve demonstrated is that you have NOT bought and read POLEMICAL JUDO. You would make traction with those aunts and uncles. And it is worthwhile. Without them - relying only on “turnout” - we will NOT render today’s GOP extinct and at best turnout will betray the new Democratic president in 2022, as happened in 94 and 2010. <br /><br />We need your aunts! Read the book and fight for their souls.<br /><br />locum is back to value-free jibber-jabber. Wheeee!David Brinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14465315130418506525noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-90565609964854437822020-02-20T19:17:46.438-08:002020-02-20T19:17:46.438-08:00Jon S. “What concerns me is how to prevent someone...Jon S. “What concerns me is how to prevent someone, not a person of particular power or privilege but just a crazy stalker, from using the sousveillance system described in the article to more effectively stalk a victim. Is there a way, or, like automobiles, is it just a level of risk we have to accept and work to minimize?”<br /><br />Again and again, its is the likelihood of getting caught that deters, above all other factors. Being able to clearly identify your stalker and nail them in the act will deal with most of them. With two exceptions:<br /><br />1. In a society where these techs have been harnessed to state enforced conformity, as in China’s nascent social credit system. Communist states have always harnessed the power of local, neighborhood busybodies by making them block commissars. <br /><br />My prescription of reciprocal accountability only works in an American-style value system in which being a bully is considered worse than being an eccentric. In fact, I believe that is one reason Hollywood had pushed eccentricity as admirable and conformity bullying as vile.<br /><br />2. Some stalkers don’t care. Have you seen the wonderful Julia Roberts flick SLEEPING WITH THE ENEMY? The obsessed husband says “Go ahead and get a restraining order. Even put me in jail. You think that will keep me away?”<br /><br />Shudder.<br /><br />AFR “Just being employed doesn't do that much for you if the wages just keep you from starving.”<br />Good slogan.David Brinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14465315130418506525noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-29673414631606285742020-02-20T17:30:44.446-08:002020-02-20T17:30:44.446-08:00Thanks, Dr. Brin.
Re:OT-
Will do. Also, you migh...Thanks, Dr. Brin.<br /><br />Re:OT- <br />Will do. Also, you might want to reach out to him personally- he's been having a hard time for various reasons and a friendly word or two from a fellow master writer might make him feel a bit better...<br /><br />Re: Sousveillance, reporting stalkers, etc.- <br />I agree that this is what SHOULD be done, and don't see much evidence that it HAS- or WILL- be done. e.g., we don't see any 2008 Financial Crisis "banksters" with their wealth confiscated and doing serious hard time. Also, being a "Gloomy Gus", I can imagine watchdog groups being marginalized, discredited, corrupted, co-opted, or destroyed by the organizations/groups they're supposed to watch, analogous to the capture of regulatory agencies by the industries they're supposed to regulate. <br />Here's me being more insidious/subtle again: <br />Imagine an outfit with the powerful prediction and persuasion techniques/tools I mentioned earlier- <br />The outfit sees a potential problem in a watchdog organization, so it works to INCREASE the watchdog's membership, either by people who are<br />1) more open to the outfit's perspective (very old technique) or<br />2) currently in line with the organization’s goals BUT (as many people are) more concerned with maintaining and following the organization’s procedures than accomplishing its goals ("Death by Bureaucracy") or <br />3) just incompetent, lazy, or unpleasant to work with ("Death by Peter Principle" and not too different than Russia encouraging "splitters").<br />(And if you need to deal with them more quickly: "SLAP" and other kinds of expensive, resource-consuming lawsuits, preferably done through a *front organization, so the outfit doesn't come off as"Goliath vs. David"...)<br />Nothing violent, illegal, or very expensive (for your outfit): but mission accomplished.<br /><br />Still, let's not give up the good fight!<br /><br />-Keith<br /><br />*Would your organizational transparency law also apply to non-profits and/or religious organizations?Keith Halperinnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-83323793868345913122020-02-20T17:30:25.155-08:002020-02-20T17:30:25.155-08:00Interested Observer:
... Which is why the GOP has...Interested Observer:<br /><br />... Which is why the GOP has been purging voter rolls like mad to disenfranchise as many voters as possible. They don’t even have to target demographics (although of course they do).<br /><br />Second point: Dr. Brin, I’m sorry to have to tell you this, but the Republican Party you were a part of is gone and isn’t coming back. You talk a lot about residually sane uncles and aunts, but the ones I know (even with the vaunted STEM degrees) are all in with Trump and authoritarianism. I don’t even exaggerate, they tell me often that Trump is completely innocent and offer final solutions to the conflicts in the Middle East. And I do mean those kinds of final solutions.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-88614122644189775502020-02-20T16:31:17.989-08:002020-02-20T16:31:17.989-08:00Tim Wolter:
I take care not to read too much into...Tim Wolter:<br /><i><br />I take care not to read too much into what people post.....not so much that I am saying things like "you clearly believe". But Victory at all costs, Power for Power's sake (and of course to do Good with the Ring), Winning is Right no matter who or what it takes to do so.<br /></i><br /><br />Tim, I'm willing to listen if I'm wrong, but this sounds like one of those things that the Republicans have amped up to 11, but you're woefully concerned that that <b>Democrats</b> might try it.<br /><br />I want to win at all costs because the opposition party is actively destroying the norms which hold our democracy together. It's a defensive fight. If the other side would cease attacking, I wouldn't have to defend. In WWII, we had to win at all costs because otherwise the Nazis would win at all costs and destroy everything we hold dear. That doesn't make the two sides equivalent. They're fighting to make themselves kings. We're fighting to prevent that from happening. Recall Captain Kirk, and "They offered <b>me</b> the lives of my crew."Larry Harthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01058877428309776731noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-4687003756654341552020-02-20T16:15:14.553-08:002020-02-20T16:15:14.553-08:00Since David invoked Pohl's "Cool War"...<br />Since David invoked Pohl's "Cool War" yet again: Can anyone say Coronavirus??<br /><br />And, for the record, I chalked up "The 'Rule-of-Law' collapse (to) the progressive attempt to (a) legislate away human BIOLOGY" -- which an act of hubristic insanity -- as opposed to the fairly reasonable approach of attempting to legislate human behavior (as typical of 'governance).<br /><br />Feel free to 'govern away' -- as is your wont -- but never forget that (1) common majority-based behaviors are always NORMAL, by definition, even if certain progs believe those behaviors to be 'bad' or 'undesirable', and (2) the law must apply equally to all identity groups WITHOUT EXCEPTION or it applies to no one'...<br /><br />Hence the ongoing collapse of the western 'Rule-of-Law', as a direct result of the recent mass proliferation of identity group specific exemptions & exceptions, that specifically exclude the dominant majority.<br /><br /><br />Bestlocumranchhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06812045410916208141noreply@blogger.com