tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post7173698478489784329..comments2024-03-29T06:22:47.638-07:00Comments on CONTRARY BRIN: The Court steps up? Oregon shenanigens! And the meaning of July 4.David Brinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14465315130418506525noreply@blogger.comBlogger124125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-31028548680360427532019-06-29T12:53:53.591-07:002019-06-29T12:53:53.591-07:00onward
onwardonward<br />onwardDavid Brinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14465315130418506525noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-4039664671557226452019-06-29T12:53:42.972-07:002019-06-29T12:53:42.972-07:00PRIORITIZE!
The crux: There is only one path to tr...PRIORITIZE!<br />The crux: There is only one path to true victory... and that is Big Tent. Huge Tent. Welcome in more of the retired military folks who tipped the balance for Congress last year. Run tons of them in every purple and red district! While we let safely deep blue districts go full AOC, great! Run a Pres. ticket that will crush it with RASRs (Residually Adult-Sane Republicans) destroying the Fox-Putin confederate coalition so that the GOP party of treason gets smashed into pulp.<br />Will the DP then split into wings: socialist vs. enterprise-purple? Hell yeah! But only AFTER we get –<br /><br />Electoral reform ending gerrymander and other cheat travesties, <br />Election money transparency, <br />Restore our alliances and deter acts of war against our nation & institutions,<br />End voodoo "supply side" vampirism by the aristocracy we rebelled against in 1776, <br />Infrastructure, boosting money velocity, paid for by ending supply side voodoo,<br />Anti-trust breakup of monopoly/duopolies,<br />DACA, <br />Medicare for all Children (a start that the GOP can’t dare refuse), <br />Climate action,<br />Restore science, R&D and technological leadership as national strengths.<br />Consumer protection, <br />Emoluments supervision, <br />At least allow student debt refinancing. Start discussing more.<br />Restore some of the social contract set up by the FDR-loving "Greatest Generation" (GG),<br />Restore postal savings bank for the un-banked,<br />Basic, efficient background checks,<br />Restored rebuttal rules on "news" channels, <br />A revised-throttled War Powers Act and presidential emergency powers, plus<br />Restored respect for the existence of things called facts and support for professions that use them. <br />(And yes, a few lefty nostrums will get drained along with almost every single thing said by the Putin-Fox treason cabal; live with it.)<br />And dozens more overlaps and shared wants . (Do you have a favorite consensus-intermediate reform?)<br /><br />Is that a long list? Well dig this fact about it – a fact that is the absolute core fact of our resistance. All democrats, almost all independents and a whole lot of RASRS want all of those things! So why not do them first? Anyone who screams "socialism!" at that list is screaming at our parents, the GGs who crushed Hitler, contained Stalinism, took us to the moon, loved science and built the world's greatest middle class.<br /><br />Are there things you want that are "more socialist" than those 19 huge steps? Fine! Push for those politically!<br /><br />Only first Do The Things That All Democrats -- and By-Far Most Americans -- Agree Upon! <br />It's a long list, and if we managed to get all that, won't you then be better placed to push further? Or at least make a fair case, based on facts?<br /><br />Close your eyes and picture all those shared agenda items completed by a Huge Tent alliance that includes almost all sane Americans. Whereupon, after all that is done, AOC can lead then lefty forces against her Blue Dog allies! Fine, knock yerself out! (She – and you -- will find them surprisingly willing to negotiate.) <br /><br />That is when America will be at least basically sane again, and from that launching point, fact-based debate can ensue, amid negotiation among adults.<br />You radicals, stay vigorous and volcanically active! Make clear your long-range goals, fine. But also prioritize dammit! Rank order your opponents and defeat the worst first. Control yourselves and show some discipline. Don't let Kremlin trolls incite you (again) into splitter-purism and eating our own. And stop wallowing in voluptuous-orgiastic sanctimony. We don’t have time for it.<br />Let's work together on the long list of Shared Agenda Items first. Then things will be so much better, and maybe the country will follow you further left.<br /><br />PS If one of the DP candidates made her agenda Priority Listing Consensus Actions, starting with the things all sane citizens want, then I would follow her through hell. <br /><br />Except Gillibrand or Williams or Tulsi... each for different reasons. Funny thing, that.<br />Harris for Attorney General! She has a nose for blood.<br />David Brinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14465315130418506525noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-16947550514924648192019-06-29T12:52:14.079-07:002019-06-29T12:52:14.079-07:00Dems need to be positive sum. It is not BETWEEN AO...Dems need to be positive sum. It is not BETWEEN AOC-type socialist rebels and DNC-type market believers. Sure, it will be that way in individual primary fights in blue districts across the nation, and AOCs are welcome to fight to take over seats as she did, from old-line DP pols...<br /><br />... so long as, win or lose, they come back together where it matters. And remember that Pelosi is only Speaker now, and wee're getting hearings, because thirty crewcut, rifle-owning, military veterans stepped up and took purple and red districts away from confederate traitors. <br /><br />And hence I will (before saying "onward") repreint my list below, of CONSENSUS GOALS that nearly all dems want. Suggesting maybe we should delay any splitting till we first run through that list?David Brinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14465315130418506525noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-90115591615273573142019-06-29T11:09:26.506-07:002019-06-29T11:09:26.506-07:00The first insulin caravan is arriving at our borde...The first insulin caravan is arriving at our border. We will treat these Americans in need with dignity and respect. They are our brothers.scidatahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07152319593457629592noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-7184110395926688042019-06-29T09:34:09.270-07:002019-06-29T09:34:09.270-07:00Daniel Duffy:
Do you want to be right or do you w...Daniel Duffy:<br /><i><br />Do you want to be right or do you want to win?<br /></i><br /><br />One must be careful about the varied meanings of this question.<br /><br />To Democrats, it's usually phrased to mean, "What good does it do to insist on ideological purity if your ideologically pure candidate loses the election? Better to get someone elected who will at least do better than the other party will." In that sense, I tend to agree.<br /><br />However, I'd caution against the related sentiment that "Only by appealing to the <b>other side's</b> voters can we win, so we have to become more like them." Or even worse, the voters who answer your question with, "I want to win. So I'm going over to the winning <b>side</b>!"Larry Harthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01058877428309776731noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-25488863344117483492019-06-29T08:26:05.258-07:002019-06-29T08:26:05.258-07:00scidata:
everyone will be forced to make a clear...scidata:<br /><i><br /> everyone will be forced to make a clear-cut, personal choice between their delusional tribalism and life itself.<br /></i><br /><br />A few years back, Republicans suffering from Obama Derangement tried to tell each other to boycott both the (2010) Census and flu shots. Too bad that didn't stick. They might have self-deported out of our way.Larry Harthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01058877428309776731noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-13716140955283800622019-06-29T07:49:16.373-07:002019-06-29T07:49:16.373-07:00Dr. Brin: a civilization that is fighting for its ...Dr. Brin: <i>a civilization that is fighting for its life</i><br /><br />The US is hugely powerful and important. Much is riding on your 'civil war'. And the UK implosion continues. However, it's going better on other fronts, such as the Rational West and world wide increase in scientific literacy. When cures for cancer, diabetes, and dementia arrive (probably soon), everyone will be forced to make a clear-cut, personal choice between their delusional tribalism and life itself. Then we'll see who's who and what's what.scidatahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07152319593457629592noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-21636107875427372312019-06-29T05:23:58.510-07:002019-06-29T05:23:58.510-07:00TCB:
although I oppose the political right: large...TCB:<br /><i><br />although I oppose the political right: largely for the simple reason that when the right say they advocate an open society, I say they lie.<br /></i><br /><br />Can't argue with that.Larry Harthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01058877428309776731noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-50486131929140548212019-06-29T05:22:19.538-07:002019-06-29T05:22:19.538-07:00Dr Brin quoting Fredrick Douglass:
Viewed from th...Dr Brin quoting Fredrick Douglass:<br /><i><br />Viewed from the genuine abolition ground, Mr. Lincoln seemed tardy, cold, dull, and indifferent; but measuring him by the sentiment of his country, a sentiment he was bound as a statesman to consult, he was swift, zealous, radical, and determined."<br /></i><br /><br />Similar sentiments could describe President Obama.<br /><br />Larry Harthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01058877428309776731noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-56055902894175891512019-06-29T03:35:15.530-07:002019-06-29T03:35:15.530-07:00Thank you, Dr. Brin. This seems like a good contex...Thank you, Dr. Brin. This seems like a good context to link the story of <a href="https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/quaker-comet-greatest-abolitionist-never-heard-180964401/" rel="nofollow">Benjamin Lay</a>, "the Greatest Abolitionist You’ve Never Heard Of" via Smithsonian Magazine.<br /><br />I'd like to see Peter Dinklage play him in a movie.TCBhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08153506222271955110noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-74992905644662838902019-06-28T20:29:25.667-07:002019-06-28T20:29:25.667-07:00"A political leader cannot get to far out ahe..."A political leader cannot get to far out ahead of the American people."<br /><br />Let me quote Frederick Douglass's eulogy to Lincoln: "I have said that President Lincoln was a white man, and shared the prejudices common to his countrymen towards the colored race. Looking back to his times and to the condition of his country, we are compelled to admit that this unfriendly feeling on his part may be safely set down as one element of his wonderful success in organizing the loyal American people for the tremendous conflict before them, and bringing them safely through that conflict. His great mission was to accomplish two things: first, to save his country from dismemberment and ruin; and, second, to free his country from the great crime of slavery. To do one or the other, or both, he must have the earnest sympathy and the powerful cooperation of his loyal fellow-countrymen. <br />Without this primary and essential condition to success his efforts must have been vain and utterly fruitless.[...] Viewed from the genuine abolition ground, Mr. Lincoln seemed tardy, cold, dull, and indifferent; but measuring him by the sentiment of his country, a sentiment he was bound as a statesman to consult, he was swift, zealous, radical, and determined."<br /><br />TCB I respect your disagreement with me, which is based upon cogent understanding and not reflex.<br /><br />David Brinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14465315130418506525noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-32795680162411878422019-06-28T17:35:23.717-07:002019-06-28T17:35:23.717-07:00This is an interesting attack on Biden
https://ww...This is an interesting attack on Biden<br /><br />https://www.alternet.org/2019/06/rep-swalwell-used-bidens-own-words-to-demand-he-pass-the-torch-to-the-next-generation-the-vps-response-shows-where-his-true-priorities-lie/<br /><br />During the second Democratic debate on Thursday night, Rep. Eric. Swalwell (D-CA) delivered a pointed attack line against Joe Biden, quoting the former vice president from 32 years prior:<br /><br />I was 6 years old when a presidential candidate came to the California democratic convention and said it’s time to pass the torch to a new generation of Americans that. That candidate was then-Senator Joe Biden<br /><br />duncan cairncrosshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14153725128216947145noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-51722331422528176642019-06-28T17:14:37.921-07:002019-06-28T17:14:37.921-07:00Darrell E:
I can't help but think that anyone...Darrell E:<br /><i><br />I can't help but think that anyone who isn't a legitimate Trumper who votes for Trump is either a moron, an asshole, or possibly both<br /></i><br /><br />A Neil Gaiman "Sandman" issue had a story in Ancient Rome being narrated by a character living in the time of Nero. The story he was re-telling was one of Augustus Caesar, and toward the end of the comic, the narrator recounts:<br /><i><br />And in his will Augustus also appointed Tiberius as his successor. Our divine rulers, since then, have been successively evil, mad, foolish, and now all three.<br /></i><br /><br />That came to mind with what you wrote above.Larry Harthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01058877428309776731noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-91285709597393841352019-06-28T17:03:44.442-07:002019-06-28T17:03:44.442-07:00Darrell E:
LarryHart is on a roll.
Heh. Sorry...Darrell E:<br /><i><br />LarryHart is on a roll. <br /></i><br /><br />Heh. Sorry for hogging the blog this morning, but sometimes you just gotta.<br /><br /><i><br />Agree with all your recent points. A bit sad they need to be pointed out.<br /></i><br /><br />That's exactly my reason for posting. Pointing out obvious, even self-evident truths that somehow can't seem to be perceived until I try to force someone to explain how I'm wrong. BTW, it's not about ego. If I <b>am</b> wrong, I'd be relieved to have that pointed out.Larry Harthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01058877428309776731noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-81516280404339835992019-06-28T16:15:47.556-07:002019-06-28T16:15:47.556-07:00@ Tim Wolter
Today. Today, just today, pResident ...@ Tim Wolter<br /><br />Today. Today, just today, pResident tRump sat with his handler Vladimir Putin and joked about election interference and 'getting rid' of journalists. Which Putin literally does.<br /><br /><a href="https://www.huffpost.com/entry/trump-jokes-with-putin-about-fake-news-on-capital-gazette-shooting-anniversary_n_5d161683e4b082e553681137" rel="nofollow">Trump Jokes With Putin About ‘Fake News’ On Capital Gazette Shooting Anniversary<br />The U.S. president lightly suggested “get[ting] rid of” journalists.</a><br /><br />lightly suggested<br /><br /><b> lightly suggested</b><br /><br /><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_journalists_killed_in_Russia" rel="nofollow">List of journalists killed in Russia / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia</a><br /><br />It is a LONG list.TCBhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08153506222271955110noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-58251875483670209032019-06-28T15:57:30.039-07:002019-06-28T15:57:30.039-07:00I'm probably the farthest "left" in ...I'm probably the farthest "left" in this forum (remember, that left/right terminology is, per the good Dr. Brin, oversimplified, antiquated, lobotomizing and French). In any case: I wanted Bernie, got Hillary, and I VOTED. I ALWAYS vote. I want Bernie now, but if we get Biden, I will vote for Biden over Trump, you bet your buttery ass.<br /><br />This does not change the fact that the old "electable moderate Dem" paradigm is dead and fucked and mummified and fucked again. As in, how's that workin' for ya? Do you think a hypothetical President Bernie Sanders would have let Mitch McConnell get away with the shit he pulled in 2016? Obama did. As the Onion put it in 2012: <a href="https://politics.theonion.com/in-bipartisan-spirit-obama-makes-deal-to-get-kicked-in-1819595205" rel="nofollow">"President Obama works out an agreement to have Republicans in Congress kick him in the balls in exchange for nothing."</a><br /><br />We need, need, need to start talking about the REAL political continuum: Open versus closed.<br /><br />What's an open society? What's a closed one? Wellllllll... here's an example. If you're a reporter, and you piss off the government in an open society, they may grumble about you behind closed doors. In a closed society, government agents lure you into an embassy because you need some documents to get married, and you get dismembered.<br /><br />In an open society, if the government is making bad policy, you can... VOTE DA BUMS OUT. In a closed society, there are no elections... or the ruling party can manipulate them to its wishes... say, by redrawing districts until opposition parties can never win.<br /><br />In an open society, the leader cannot use his office as if it were a business.<br /><br />In an open society there are no concentration camps holding innocents under degrading and dangerous conditions.<br /><br />And THAT is my BOTTOM LINE. More open society? Yes, I want that. Whether it were a 'left' open society, or a 'right' one, I would want it... although I oppose the political right: largely for the simple reason that when the right say they advocate an open society, I say they lie.<br /><br />Everything Dr. Brin advocates can be placed under the heading, Open society. Free, flat, fair, open and transparent. Closed societies, whether fascist, Saudi, Stalinist, are never free, flat, fair, transparent... and they don't make good policy. Closed societies can, and probably will, kill us all.TCBhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08153506222271955110noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-28216503625220599892019-06-28T15:28:31.970-07:002019-06-28T15:28:31.970-07:00LarryHart is on a roll. Agree with all your recent...LarryHart is on a roll. Agree with all your recent points. A bit sad they need to be pointed out. All the same divisions among the "lefter" side as in the last presidential election are cracking wide open again. I keep hearing the same threats. <br /><br />"If you don't appeal to "middle America" (aka softcore Trumpers) then I'm voting for Trump again and it'll be your fault."<br /><br />"If Bernie (or whichever the person's favorite candidate that isn't Biden is) doesn't win the Democratic nomination then I'm voting for Trump again and it'll be your fault."<br /><br />I can't help but think that anyone who isn't a legitimate Trumper who votes for Trump is either a moron, an asshole, or possibly both.Darrell Ehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14054311762477388637noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-83521626691168170222019-06-28T14:54:34.730-07:002019-06-28T14:54:34.730-07:00For those lefties who are appalled that the Dems m...For those lefties who are appalled that the Dems may nominate a centrist who is not perfectly pure in all of his historical actions or perfect in his pure, politically correct ideology - remember FDR.<br /><br />He campaigned on not sending American boys over to fight a war in Europe knowing full well that we would have to fight Hitler one day - but also knowing full well that the American people were still isolationist.<br /><br />A political leader cannot get to far out ahead of the American people.DPhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07087941506162882852noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-23572290597260697112019-06-28T14:21:27.802-07:002019-06-28T14:21:27.802-07:00LH, Agreed. Stymied for 24 out of 26 years, Obama ...LH, Agreed. Stymied for 24 out of 26 years, Obama and Clinton at least ran executive branches filled with skilled, intelligent people trying to administer well. For 2 of those years, Obama and the dems furiously passed bunches of good things that the "bankers" hated. <br /><br />But jim ignores all that. Masturbating to his cynicism, he renders himself utterly useless to a civilization that is fighting for its life.<br /><br />Hey jim, where were you in 2010, when we lost congress, rendering Obama impotent except as an administrator? Jibber-on.<br />David Brinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14465315130418506525noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-90997426548610842582019-06-28T14:06:22.252-07:002019-06-28T14:06:22.252-07:00@jim,
Those are reasons why the rich and powerful...@jim,<br /><br />Those are reasons why the rich and powerful should support Democrats instead of Republicans. If they don't, then <b>they</b> deserve four more years of Trump.<br /><br />From my POV, though, even with all that bad stuff you mention, I would suffer it gladly if it meant zero more years of Trump. Yes, he's that bad.Larry Harthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01058877428309776731noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-85528636493887197542019-06-28T13:57:29.371-07:002019-06-28T13:57:29.371-07:00if the best that the democratic party can do is no...if the best that the democratic party can do is nominate a "lets return to the glory years of the Obama administration" they deserve to loose.<br /><br />Here are some slogans<br /><br />Protect the Bankers!<br />Subsidize the Frackers with cheep credit they will never pay back!<br />Mandatory, shitty, expensive, for profit insurance! <br />Global War of Terror for ever!<br />With regards to crimes by the powerful Look Forward not backward!!!!<br /> jimhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07865068658069680309noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-36158870160554204642019-06-28T13:51:27.467-07:002019-06-28T13:51:27.467-07:00Daniel Duffy:
Given the haters of Trump on the le...Daniel Duffy:<br /><i><br />Given the haters of Trump on the left I don';t' t think they will stay home and not vote just because the Dems nominated a centrist like Biden.<br /></i><br /><br />You'd think so, but what makes you think the laws of psychohistory have changed from what they were in 2016? Because that's exactly what did happen then.<br /><br /><i><br />If they do, then they deserve another 4 years of Trump.<br /></i><br /><br />Well, ok, but the problem is that <b>we</b> don't deserve four more years of Trump.<br />Larry Harthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01058877428309776731noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-37906597535000828802019-06-28T13:37:16.610-07:002019-06-28T13:37:16.610-07:00Given the haters of Trump on the left I don';t...Given the haters of Trump on the left I don';t' t think they will stay home and not vote just because the Dems nominated a centrist like Biden.<br /><br />If they do, then they deserve another 4 years of Trump.DPhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07087941506162882852noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-61955572191575369082019-06-28T13:31:49.293-07:002019-06-28T13:31:49.293-07:00Well its starting to look like creepy uncle Joe is...Well its starting to look like creepy uncle Joe is not going to win the nomination and that is a very good thing. Maybe he should be vice president again? ;-) jimhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07865068658069680309noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-3210000784740829362019-06-28T12:25:00.652-07:002019-06-28T12:25:00.652-07:00Jon S what malarkey! You are like Field Marshall ...Jon S what malarkey! You are like Field Marshall Montgomery in A BRIDGE TOO FAR. Concentrate all our forces in a narrow front and chaaaaarge! But.<br /><br />We win across a broad front, taking them on almost everywhere. Sure, we can exclude the most extreme confederate-putinists. But what made Nancy Pelosi speaker, hm? Was it AOC doing a primary toppling of an old line democrat in a safe blue district. Um... no? The left is welcome to do that. But it was blue-dog, crewcut military veterans who took thirty seats away from republicans in swing districts, who seized the House. <br /><br />No one is asking you to persuade hard core Trumpists. Where we DO need to fight is (yes) foremost getting registration and GOTV among young people/minorities/women, sure. Top priority.<br /><br />But ALSO go after the RASRS - Residually Adult Sane Republicans who already know and admit their side has gone corrupt and utterly insane amid a volcano of treason and cheating... but who rationalize "at least we're getting judges and tax cuts, and preventing communism.<br /><br />They are getting putinist judges, supply side tax cuts that double down on an insane, utterly disproved 'theory,' and their side is the pack of KGB-obedient Moscow servant enemies of freedom who seek high oil prices to serve Russian and Saudi and Koch oligarchs. Oh and enterprise markets always do better under democrats.<br /><br />Every RASR we win into the fight is worth TEN lazy ass grumblers who get collared on election day and cattle-prodded to the polls. In some cases twenty or a hundred. They are worth fighting for.<br />David Brinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14465315130418506525noreply@blogger.com