tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post5088154313758072993..comments2024-03-29T05:59:55.834-07:00Comments on CONTRARY BRIN: Science - Tech Updates - we're incredible David Brinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14465315130418506525noreply@blogger.comBlogger138125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-90125493177550411602018-11-14T21:00:43.396-08:002018-11-14T21:00:43.396-08:00I am back to rolling past without reading the howl...I am back to rolling past without reading the howls. Again, give us your prescription and a method to arbitrate facts. Till then, the hate-ravings are predictable, mewling whines and ... zzzzzzzzz<br /><br />onward<br />onwardDavid Brinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14465315130418506525noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-38869130740002400852018-11-14T20:49:44.351-08:002018-11-14T20:49:44.351-08:00As usual, David obfuscates by confusing value-neut...<br />As usual, David obfuscates by confusing value-neutral facts with value-laden conclusions about what those facts 'should', 'ought to' or are 'supposed to' mean to the enlightened (as in 'good') or deplorable (as in 'bad') individual.<br /><br />Facts just ARE, being value-neutral.<br /><br />Isolated facts are essentially meaningless until we superimpose meaning upon them through the application of evaluation, correlation & comparison.<br /><br />I gather data (facts) after a patient comes to me with a list of medical complaints and, through the application of evaluation, correlation & comparison, I try to offer them a fact-based diagnostic OPINION that is value-neutral.<br /><br />David looks at climate data (fact), correlates it within an idiosyncratic moral & theoretical framework, perceives it as 'bad', and OPINES that it requires drastic collective action on all our parts.<br /><br />Being intelligent & extremely compassionate, Larry_H mostly emotes. <br /><br /><b>Their conclusions are their opinions. Their opinions are NOT facts -- not ever -- and not even an overwhelming CONSENSUS of opinion can transmute these opinions into facts.</b><br /><br />Donzelion observes that both the right-wing & left-leaning ideologies appear utterly convinced of the correctness of their own divergent opinions, believing the other side to be absolutely wrong or even insane, even when they may agree on the relevant facts (which is why I say most facts don't really matter).<br /><br />Civil War Part II appears to be a likely outcome -- that's my humble opinion -- but I believe that it can be avoided quite easily if both sides just accept each other's position as a potentially valid OPINION, and allow balkanisation to choose the winner via the test of time.<br /><br />Consider it a WAGER.<br /><br /><br />Best<br />____<br /><br />In the sense that unearned privilege is a form of cheating, the racist term 'white privilege' in an accusation that all whites are cheating liars. Would it be PC to level the same charge against any other minority?locumranchhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06812045410916208141noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-52308618891032376952018-11-14T19:42:34.133-08:002018-11-14T19:42:34.133-08:00donzelion:
By the way, in the race I've been ...donzelion:<br /><i><br />By the way, in the race I've been killing myself over the last 8 months (has it really been so long?), is now 50/50 (other side leads by 122 votes - we'll pass them tomorrow or Friday). I'm a little giddy.<br /></i><br /><br />Did you ever see the episode of <i>The West Wing</i> where Josh Malina's character successfully works to elect a Democrat to a district in Orange County? You sound a lot like he did.Larry Harthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01058877428309776731noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-63398985266066567302018-11-14T19:38:00.093-08:002018-11-14T19:38:00.093-08:00Illithi: "The way the inequality issues are p...Illithi: <i>"The way the inequality issues are phrased as "white privilege" comes across as, at the least, an accusatory, if not an outright attack."</i><br /><br />Of course it's an attack, and was designed and publicized largely to achieve that goal. Pundits jockey to phrase their rival's arguments in ways that hurt their rivals, just as militaries strive to choose the perfect ground in a struggle. 'White privilege' is a term conservatives adopted to divert otherwise reasonable discussions (equal protection, discriminatory police stops, etc.).<br /><br /><i>"a LOT of poor whites feel that they are or have been at a significant DISadvantage."</i><br />Very rich whites figured out long ago that one trick to get and keep what they have is to tell poor whites that someone else threatens them - unless they give all they have to defend their white guardians, they'll lose to those others. Our host doesn't dwell upon tribalism, but it is the only nasty form of governance that predates feudalism (and indeed, coexisted with feudalism throughout all 6 millennia - just as feudalism coexists with capitalism today). <br /><br /><i>"Instead, side-step!"</i><br />Indeed! A feudal king would do precisely that: if two tribes of barons controlled different lands, he could split the difference between them or bring in a new tribe, or take any number of actions to quell the threat they posed to his monarchy. Similarly, side-stepping today means bypassing the mediated forms of communication, and going for the old-fashioned 'face-to-face' contact: a person hears words from a television differently than from a neighbor or a colleague.<br /><br />Or put differently, the simple fact that you speak your mind (sometimes) with your friends with whom you serve is far more important than what you say, or how you say it. A silver-tongued civilian with the perfect rhetoric will not affect those nearest to you as much as you will, whether your words be perfect or no.<br /><br /><i>"we need to use Judo over Sumo."</i><br />There's a time for judo, sumo, UFC, boxing, karate, grappling, and every other art. The key isn't to fixate upon one tactic, but to embrace suppleness. Part of that means respecting how hard it is to shift an argument to preferred terminology, and why. The other side here knows its people quite well. But they don't know everything about them.<br /><br />By the way, in the race I've been killing myself over the last 8 months (has it really been so long?), is now 50/50 (other side leads by 122 votes - we'll pass them tomorrow or Friday). I'm a little giddy.donzelionhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05991849781932619746noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-50661305527023997252018-11-14T19:33:10.159-08:002018-11-14T19:33:10.159-08:00Dr Brin quoting Ilithi Dragon quoting locumranch:
...Dr Brin quoting Ilithi Dragon quoting locumranch:<br /><i><br />"That's the best way to destroy your enemies: Befriend them."<br /><br />So says someone who cuts every hand reaching out to him. Whose EVERY posting here is not just hostile, but composed of deceitful incantations and strawman assertions that people beleve things opposite to their actual beliefs.<br /></i><br /><br />That's exactly what my response would be if I was still reading his posts. I don't know what's funnier--loc giving us advice on how best to "destroy" his compatriots or the fact that he never follows his own advice.<br /><br /><i><br />"It's hard to befriend someone who's been calling you unamerican retard traitors for thirty+ years"<br /><br />Who has said that? <br /></i><br /><br />I think you confused yourself. That wasn't loc "speaking"; it was Ilithi saying that the rural Red-State Republicans have been calling <b>us</b> libtard traitors for decades.<br /><br /><i><br />"something to be said for making the effort to convince the other side that you ARE, in fact, listening to them and their concerns, and DO, in fact, care about and value their opinions and feelings."<br /></i><br /><br />That <b>was</b> Ilithi, and in fact, despite loc's slanderous lying characterization of me, I do in fact listen to conservative opinions and feelings. The problem is that while their concerns are legitimate, their reaction is usually counterproductive to what they care about (or say they care about). They're angry that corporate interests are valued above human ones, <b>so they vote Republican</b>. They're good salt-of-the-earth union workers tired of losing jobs to China or Mexico, <b>so they vote Republican</b>. I realize it's counterproductive to ask why they are acting so idiotic, but there's got to be a non-offensive way to explain, "If you want what you say you want, then you might consider joining the <b>Democrats</b>."Larry Harthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01058877428309776731noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-3452821234430979472018-11-14T19:05:45.720-08:002018-11-14T19:05:45.720-08:00locum: "The tactic that will win this civil ...locum: <i>"The tactic that will win this civil war phase is to convince the opposition that (1) THEY MATTER, (2) THEIR OPINIONS MATTER, and (3) THEIR DESIRES ARE VALID."</i><br /><br />Odd. The right wing is already convinced of all three of these items, as is the left. The problem is that someone has discovered how to profit by proclaiming 'the other hates you and wants to destroy you, elect me and I will protect you from THEM!' <br /><br />Compare Fox with CNN/MSNBC (and every other 'mainstream' media outlet): one proclaims "we're honest and they're liars who hate you" - the rest proclaim "we try our best, and fix our errors!" From that tiny posture, so much else follows...<br /><br />The best way to destroy enemies is to befriend them, but sometimes, a powerful system profits by blocking friendships from forming. One can deal with that by buying it and coopting it, by destroying it, or bypassing it. <br /><br />I favor the last strategy. In CA, armies of volunteers came out to knock on doors, cutting through the universe of attack ads, simply knocking on the doors of strangers and trying to have conversations. Something like 30k more volunteers did so in 2018 in CA alone than tried this in 2016. I probably had about 1000+ political conversations with strangers (exact numbers aren't available; since I knocked on about 5,000 doors, 20% is about right. <br /><br />Only one was so vehemently hostile that he slammed his door in my face with a curse. The rest? Some agree, some disagree, most just want to be left alone - but we're all neighbors, driving the same roads, breathing the same air, drinking the same water. Simply conversing with strangers (myself, and the other 30k of us) changed the political map of California - without a single bullet fired on either side in this civil war. It may do even more in 2020.donzelionhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05991849781932619746noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-29944327407352521242018-11-14T15:53:48.481-08:002018-11-14T15:53:48.481-08:00"That's the best way to destroy your enem..."That's the best way to destroy your enemies: Befriend them."<br /><br />So says someone who cuts every hand reaching out to him. Whose EVERY posting here is not just hostile, but composed of deceitful incantations and strawman assertions that people beleve things opposite to their actual beliefs.<br /><br />"It's hard to befriend someone who's been calling you unamerican retard traitors for thirty+ years"<br /><br />Who has said that? Other than a few dozen anecdotal idiots? What would be far more accurate is that our dear confed neighbors culturally cannot resist sucking up to their class oppressors - as they did when a million poor white males fought and died for the privileges of plantation lords. And those same lords send them out again against every "elite" that knows something.<br /><br />"something to be said for making the effort to convince the other side that you ARE, in fact, listening to them and their concerns, and DO, in fact, care about and value their opinions and feelings."<br /><br />I am fine with reforming the modernist messages to address the needs of such folks. But when their reflex is to scream hatred at "socialized medicine" then yell when the GOP pragmatically tries to take away the things about Obamacare that helped them... then what role has persuasion in any of this?<br /><br />Sorry. But the confederate ground troops are riled up with UTTER hatred for every fact-using profession at "look down on them," and while yes, we must refine messages to reach out the hand...<br /><br />...that hand needs to wear rings that smart when teeth always, always close on it.<br /><br />Fact, I have made more headway with wagers, cornering confeds with how unmanly it is to writhe away from fact-centered bets, that I ever got by appealing to their higher values.David Brinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14465315130418506525noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-19049334417534408822018-11-14T14:25:06.388-08:002018-11-14T14:25:06.388-08:00You know, I usually disregard most of what Locum s...You know, I usually disregard most of what Locum says, but in his latest post... he's not entirely wrong. <br /><br />It's hard to befriend someone who's been calling you unamerican retard traitors for thirty+ years, BUT there is something to be said for making the effort to convince the other side that you ARE, in fact, listening to them and their concerns, and DO, in fact, care about and value their opinions and feelings.<br /><br />It's actually one of the best ways to convince people of things, or rather, make them RECEPTIVE to listening to you and being convinced by what you have to say.<br /><br />Which goes along with the point that I'm trying to make about being intelligent with how you pitch and phrase issues.Ilithi Dragonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10300247936272572280noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-84544582055430639612018-11-14T14:16:15.172-08:002018-11-14T14:16:15.172-08:00Dr. Brin,
I have no doubt that various interests ...Dr. Brin,<br /><br />I have no doubt that various interests that would wish to see us divided, would fund both sides of divisive issues to get us to divide ourselves.<br /><br /><br />Again, though, the point I'm trying to make is, why make it easy and do their jobs for them? How you talk about and present ideas has a huge impact on how people receive them, and how receptive they are to accepting them.<br /><br />Plus, this is not me saying what I think the majority of Americans are or are not, on one side or the other. I'm talking about what the PERCEPTION is. There's a saying in the military (usually when referring to people looking squared away vice a bag of ass, but it applies to so much more), "perception is reality."<br /><br />There is a significantly greater percentage of conservatives in the military, particularly on the enlisted side, than there are liberals. I have had conversations with them about this, and other issues, and other conservative friends outside of the military. The way the inequality issues are phrased as "white privilege" comes across as, at the least, an accusatory, if not an outright attack. Even when the issue is explained, selling the issue as "you have an advantage/unfair advantage over others" is a very hard pill to swallow, because most people don't feel they have such an advantage, and a LOT of poor whites feel that they are or have been at a significant DISadvantage. This makes them unreceptive, and even hostile to an issue that should be a no-brainer of what's right and wrong.<br /><br />Change the phrasing, and you'll get a LOT more people receptive to the issue. Instead of attacking "white privilege" focus on giving everyone "a fair shake" and "equal treatment." Make it about stopping their neighbors from being trod on, lifting them up to equal treatment.<br /><br /><br />There are a lot of different hot-button issues like this, issues that conservatives don't really oppose, but they oppose what the issues are phrased like SOUND LIKE, and they are trained by propaganda to react negatively to keywords and phrases.<br /><br />So if you're not getting traction on an issue, don't double-down and try to hammer the same words over and over! That's not going to work, because Conservatives are generally going to be more bull-headed and stubborn than you.<br /><br />Instead, side-step! Shift directions! Change your language and rephrase the issue in different terms! If they don't like these terms, and you know you're falling into the rut of propaganda trigger words, USE DIFFERENT WORDS!<br /><br />As Dr. Brin keeps saying, we need to use Judo over Sumo. Don't get stuck on one way of saying things, and get locked into a tussle over one single issue. Heh, as our Navigator likes to often say, "Semper Gumbi!" Always flexible!<br /><br />Because if you shift your language, you can find a way of phrasing it that's more palatable and relatable to the people you're trying to convince, AND ON TOP OF THAT, it has the added benefit of forcing the propagandists to work harder and develop new trigger words and phrases.<br /><br />Sure, they're always going to try and counter with that, but don't make it easy for them! Besides, that tactic makes it easy to defeat - you know what the trigger words and phrases are, SO JUST DON'T USE THEM. Avoid those words and phrases, and you bypass the trigger mechanisms of those propaganda traps.Ilithi Dragonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10300247936272572280noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-69165658001439861302018-11-14T14:15:58.087-08:002018-11-14T14:15:58.087-08:00We must find ways to corner them into admitting th...<br /><b>We must find ways to corner them into admitting that FACTS MATTER.</b><br /><br />No, no, no. This is the wrong approach.<br /><br />The tactic that will win this civil war phase is to convince the opposition that (1) THEY MATTER, (2) THEIR OPINIONS MATTER, and (3) THEIR DESIRES ARE VALID.<br /><br />That's the best way to destroy your enemies: Befriend them.<br /><br />Bestlocumranchhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06812045410916208141noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-47454316969875490052018-11-14T14:02:01.686-08:002018-11-14T14:02:01.686-08:00If I were still reading locumranch's posts, I&...If I were still reading locumranch's posts, I'd have to sue him for slander, as everything he says or even hints about me is the diametric opposite of true.<br /><br />So it's a good thing I'm ignoring him.<br />Larry Harthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01058877428309776731noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-48300191240424831512018-11-14T13:49:23.343-08:002018-11-14T13:49:23.343-08:00The tactic that will win this civil war phase is t...The tactic that will win this civil war phase is to rouse sane members of the confed coalition to realize that the elites they are talked into hating include EVERY profession of people who know stuff, and that their own side's elites include every single enemy of freedom and modernity.<br /><br />We must find ways to corner them into admitting that FACTS MATTER. And that finding good ways to confront lies with facts will represent our best way out of this mess.<br /><br />The military folks know this. They have crewcuts and have guns... but they know all this.David Brinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14465315130418506525noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-70928828785660161462018-11-14T13:46:47.569-08:002018-11-14T13:46:47.569-08:00Save your breath, Ilithi_D, the likes of Larry_H w...<br />Save your breath, Ilithi_D, the likes of Larry_H will never understand what you're saying.<br /><br />They're akin to the Tiger Moms who abuse their children in the hopes of making them ever more successful & obedient, even though most children will respond to such abuse with resentment & antipathy, a few children will become eager-to-please overachievers, and even fewer will become Norman Bates from 'Psycho'.<br /><br />Then, like an abusive Larry_H, they'll declare that all those resentful & reactionary children (which they create) were just born "deplorable", take full credit for the creation of a few model children, and then absolve themselves of all responsibility when Little Norman gets all stabby or shoots up a school.<br /><br />Even David -- who defines his in-group as 'incredible', deliberately marginalises those who are not eager-to-please & inadvertently manufactures his own opposition -- will have trouble accepting this as a logical progression.<br /><br />It's tragicomedy at it's best (or worst), depending on your perspective, as the Dismissive Progressive continues to create his or her own destroyer.<br /><br /><br />Bestlocumranchhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06812045410916208141noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-4970242737249819942018-11-14T13:43:18.611-08:002018-11-14T13:43:18.611-08:00Ilithi cool they are still playing complex games b...Ilithi cool they are still playing complex games by mail. If only I had my duplication machine from KILN PEOPLE. Got the interest, but not the lifespan.<br /><br />What the “white privilege” discussion misses is the elephant in the room. The casino moguls, Kremlin Mafiosi, petro-princes, Wall Street vampires, dead pimps and inheritance brats who own the GOP know their feudal hopes will vanish if the West regains its modernist confidence. If a dogma-line like “white privilege” fails to rile up the confed culture war reflexes, they will find something else. They make sure to subsidize at least enough Social Justice Warrior looniness on the left to then be inflated by rightist media into a purported campaign of hate against rural/white/downhome-folks America.<br /><br />The mere fact that we are discussing this… when not one in 20 “liberals” feel or ever express ANY hatred toward rural/white/downhome-folks … is indicative. Ilithi seems to think that a dozen flag-burning or white-hating imbeciles represent Blue America. Yes, we must disown them! But anecdotes are not statistical majorities.<br /><br />Again, , the FAR left CONTAINS troglodyte-screeching dogmatists who wage war on science and hate the American tradition of steady, pragmatic reform, and who would impose their prescribed morality on you. <br /><br />But today’s mad ENTIRE right CONSISTS of troglodyte-screeching dogmatists who wage war on science and hate the American tradition of steady, pragmatic reform, and who would impose their prescribed morality on you. <br /><br />There is all the world’s difference between FAR and ENTIRE. As there is between CONTAINS and CONSISTS. <br />David Brinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14465315130418506525noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-22282381925370477002018-11-14T13:42:01.443-08:002018-11-14T13:42:01.443-08:00Re the military shifting away from Trump… you will...Re the military shifting away from Trump… you will find that it is partly demographic… there are a lot of black or latino servicemembers. It is also probably (I’d guess) a matter of RANK, as the flag officers have been fretting about this madness since way before Trump and it is likely working its way down the “O-levels.” Also, the Navy has to be pragmatic, every second of every day, and hence tends to notice things like 12 new Russian bases on an ice-free arctic.<br /><br />LH… the significant thing about your cop anecdotes is that they were recorded and seen. Constabularies around the country are trying to find ways to get rid of bad apples. Their slowness is a travesty and tragedy. The fact that it is happening is a goddang miracle.<br />David Brinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14465315130418506525noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-32014702217644218572018-11-14T13:24:19.663-08:002018-11-14T13:24:19.663-08:00Duncan Cairncross,
You might get a kick out of th...Duncan Cairncross,<br /><br />You might get a kick out of this, though you may have seen it already.<br /><br /><a href="https://cleantechnica.com/2018/11/12/tesla-model-3-disqualified-from-1st-in-class-finish-at-buttonwillow-for-being-electric/?utm_source=quora&utm_medium=referral" rel="nofollow"><b>Tesla Model 3 Disqualified From 1st In Class Finish At Buttonwillow … For Being Electric</b></a><br /><br /><br />Darrell Ehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14054311762477388637noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-61741501927612692152018-11-14T13:12:43.077-08:002018-11-14T13:12:43.077-08:00Tim Wolter:
I've been trying to find a phrasi...Tim Wolter:<br /><i><br />I've been trying to find a phrasing for the concept we all agree on that will be more palatable than "white privilege". I think most conservatives would be onboard with the concept of equality of consequences.<br /></i><br /><br />I get what you're trying for, but to me, that sounds like something conservatives would consider to be too much social engineering. Too much putting one's finger on the scale.<br />Locumranch would go off about how "equality" and "merit" are mutually exclusive.<br /><br /><i><br />I give the police a little more leeway in dark alleys and in bad neighborhoods but intelligently written policies cover these situations. Call for backup. Turn on your camera. etc.<br /></i><br /><br />I don't hate cops or anything, and I understand split second decisions and awesome responsibility and all that. Still, some of the situations we've seen black people killed in would be comical if they weren't so tragic. <br /><br />The guy who was <b>told</b> to reach for his wallet and then shot when he did so (So much for "Just do as you're ordered."). <br /><br />The guy on tv who lay down on his back with his arms outstretched just to show how harmless he was, and the cop shot him anyway. <br /><br />Sandra Bland, who was pulled over for the proverbial busted taillight, and then egged on into a confrontation by the cop asking her things like "You don't look happy to see me." And then she hung herself in a jail cell?<br /><br /><i><br />It may not be realistic to expect the world to actually be a fair place but you'd be surprised the extent to which conservatives would wish it to be.<br /></i><br /><br />I see many conservatives believing that the world is fair as it is, and that any messing with the status quo does more harm than good. That's almost a definition of conservatism.Larry Harthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01058877428309776731noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-7793590398302693072018-11-14T13:08:23.631-08:002018-11-14T13:08:23.631-08:00(Daniel Duffy:)
Lab grown meat would allow all of...(Daniel Duffy:)<br /><br /><i>Lab grown meat would allow all of that to be returned to natural habitat, maybe saving whole species from extinction and perhaps save the planet.<br /><br />And doom cattle country to the same economic death facing the coal fields.</i><br /><br />I'm fairly confident that cattle country and other rural areas will find ways to make a living from their land. One current example of repurposed grazing land are "Hunting Ranches" that offer specialized game hunting "adventure" to high-end clients. Those kinds of properties would <b>want</b> to revert to a "natural" ecology rather than industrial farming.Matt G.noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-733086821804159422018-11-14T12:56:50.346-08:002018-11-14T12:56:50.346-08:00Re-Nuclear and renewables
In a sensible world Nuc...Re-Nuclear and renewables<br /><br />In a sensible world Nuclear would be the answer<br /><br />But back here on Earth there are so many people with irrational fears of radiation - DESPITE the fact that coal puts 1000 times as much radiation into the environment - that Nuclear is simply too expensive<br /><br />More expensive than renewables and storage<br /><br />The only way we could sensibly go nuclear would be if China makes a lot of power plant and drives the cost down to where it should beduncan cairncrosshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14153725128216947145noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-30988914843470593952018-11-14T12:40:12.909-08:002018-11-14T12:40:12.909-08:00Jon S. An interesting story. I used to be on the...Jon S. An interesting story. I used to be on the receiving end of this sort of situation, person brought to my ER, muddled story, says they are actually fine. Usually they were.<br /><br />And Illith and LarryHart, I've been trying to find a phrasing for the concept we all agree on that will be more palatable than "white privilege". I think most conservatives would be onboard with the concept of equality of consequences.<br /><br />You violate your training and your department policies and shoot somebody you will face consequences. Your skin color and theirs does not matter. Period.<br /><br />You have to realize that there will be borderline calls and that it is an imperfect world. I give the police a little more leeway in dark alleys and in bad neighborhoods but intelligently written policies cover these situations. Call for backup. Turn on your camera. etc.<br /><br />It may not be realistic to expect the world to actually be a fair place but you'd be surprised the extent to which conservatives would wish it to be.<br /><br />Tacitus/TWTacitushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17007086196578740689noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-75779021777168542232018-11-14T12:11:35.916-08:002018-11-14T12:11:35.916-08:00matthew:
Yeah, can't break my arm patting mys...matthew:<br /><i><br />Yeah, can't break my arm patting myself on the back. Thanks, Larry.<br /></i><br /><br />I don't forget that you were correct about Trump's chances in the election. Still, given the usual pessimism inherent in your predictions, I'm glad you're not infallible.<br /><br /><i><br />Support for Trump drops in active military. <br /></i><br /><br />Every time I see that some group or other has given up on Trump, I wonder, "What has <b>changed</b>? What didn't you already know when you were <b>for</b> him?" But still, yes, nice to see.<br /><br />I'm typing this before I read the article, but I presume his boorishness on Veterans' Day has something to do with it?Larry Harthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01058877428309776731noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-73924486526806497562018-11-14T12:08:28.220-08:002018-11-14T12:08:28.220-08:00Yeah, can't break my arm patting myself on the...Yeah, can't break my arm patting myself on the back. Thanks, Larry.<br /><br />This is the best news I've seen all day. <br /><br />https://www.militarytimes.com/news/pentagon-congress/2018/10/15/support-for-trump-is-fading-among-active-duty-troops-new-poll-shows/<br /><br />Support for Trump drops in active military. <br />Thank you. matthewhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17757867868731829206noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-47783601411686435642018-11-14T10:35:59.852-08:002018-11-14T10:35:59.852-08:00matthew:
My biggest problem with the GOP is that ...matthew:<br /><i><br />My biggest problem with the GOP is that they have no problem with racists supporting them.<br /></i><br /><br />The deplorable vote is all they have left. They've driven everyone else off. So there's nothing to be gained now by distancing themselves from the Nazis. What we saw in 2018 is that, in some places at least, the Nazi vote isn't enough to win against those who won't vote for someone cozying up to Nazis. In other places, it was.<br /><br /><i><br />[quoting Andrew Gillum] :<br />"I'm not saying my opponent is racist, I'm just saying the racists think he's racist."<br /></i><br /><br />That was such a succinct, to-the-point way of putting it that I really wish I had said it first. :) As with Trump, the issue isn't whether or not he personally has racist feelings, but whether he's encouraging and emboldening racists by making their racism ok.<br /><br /><i><br />I understand that quite a few here are trying to prevent another civil war in America. <br />I think it's too late for that .<br /></i><br /><br />In the interests of optimism, I hope you're as wrong as you were about Trump's first 100 days. I'm actually trying to be <b>encouraging</b> by reminding you that you get some predictions wrong.Larry Harthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01058877428309776731noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-12526442670986858602018-11-14T10:23:40.495-08:002018-11-14T10:23:40.495-08:00Also to remind everyone a high percentage of the G...Also to remind everyone a high percentage of the GOP are in fact, actual racists. If you listen, they'll tell you about it. <br /><br />My biggest problem with the GOP is that they have no problem with racists supporting them. <br /><br />When someone shows you who they are, believe them.<br /><br />"I'm not saying my opponent is racist, I'm just saying the racists think he's racist."<br /><br />I understand that quite a few here are trying to prevent another civil war in America. <br />I think it's too late for that and I have moved into the "preparations for civil war" phase of my professional and personal life. <br /><br /><br /><br /> matthewhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17757867868731829206noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-4915472890981871062018-11-14T10:09:30.367-08:002018-11-14T10:09:30.367-08:00That's why it's so important to sell it th...That's why it's so important to sell it the right way, so that the only way to be against giving other people the same fair shake that white people have had is to be against equality.<br /><br />Because by selling it as "white privilege" and phrasing all your language around the notion that a certain group has an unfair advantage that should be removed, you're leaving a lot of room for people to oppose it without exposing themselves as racists or bigots, and you're leaving a lot of room for people who AREN'T racists or bigots to oppose it because it sounds and feels like an attack on them, and because many of that broad group haven't had much more advantage than minorities, and feel like they've been at a disadvantage.Ilithi Dragonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10300247936272572280noreply@blogger.com