tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post3355614269048557939..comments2024-03-29T06:22:47.638-07:00Comments on CONTRARY BRIN: A worrisome state of the StateDavid Brinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14465315130418506525noreply@blogger.comBlogger99125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-87299615235819050182018-03-02T20:20:19.952-08:002018-03-02T20:20:19.952-08:00Onward
onward
Onward<br /><br />onward<br />David Brinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14465315130418506525noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-66393367736579490912018-03-02T20:12:09.363-08:002018-03-02T20:12:09.363-08:00@Larry | point out that the harm done has been irr...@Larry | <i>point out that the harm done has been irreparable</i><br /><br />I think you underestimate your nation and the social institutions of which you are a part. 8)<br /><br />Remember to distinguish between fragile, robust, and anti-fragile.Alfred Differhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01170159981105973192noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-10496482568196635152018-03-02T20:08:32.473-08:002018-03-02T20:08:32.473-08:00@Duncan | Treason is another one of those heavily ...@Duncan | Treason is another one of those heavily weighted words here. It's hard to find crimes defined at the level of our federal constitution, but that one is.<br /><br /><i>Article III / Section 3. Treason against the United States, shall consist only in levying war against them, or in adhering to their enemies, giving them aid and comfort. No person shall be convicted of treason unless on the testimony of two witnesses to the same overt act, or on confession in open court.</i><br /><br />What Nixon did was criminal, but I don't think it was treason. Same for Regan and GWB. Possibly not for Two Scoops, but we'd need two witness to an overt act most likely.<br /><br />@David | Regarding charming of ostriches....<br /><br />I doubt it will be enough. Pence will have quite a stink on him. He already does. I expect his career to die with this administration. Those ostriches will find someone else to whom they can submit. So... I'm still for impeachment after indictments have landed. I don't expect impeachment to work, though.Alfred Differhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01170159981105973192noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-61189333418556944032018-03-02T19:39:05.477-08:002018-03-02T19:39:05.477-08:00Dr Brin:
If Pence gets in, he will charm all the...Dr Brin:<br /><i><br /> If Pence gets in, he will charm all the ostriches back into their holes while plotting the end of the world.<br /></i><br /><br />That's the "Karate Kid" scenario in a nutshell. Gerrymandering, voter supporession, and Fake News didn't just give us Trump. I gave us Pence and Gorsuch and continued Republican majorities in congress. Impeachment would remove the cause, but not the symptom. :)<br /><br /><br />I've been suggesting that Trump might be playing Beast Rabban, driving the population to despair so that they'll cheer Feyd-Rautha Harkonnen when he comes along to save them. Maybe that's Pence.<br /><br />LarryHartnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-45000789629225920692018-03-02T19:36:15.076-08:002018-03-02T19:36:15.076-08:00Judging by the evidence we've seen so far, Dr....Judging by the evidence we've seen so far, Dr. Brin, if Donnie goes down his entire administration, from his Veep to his favorite bodyguard/pimp, are all going down with him - or possibly before him. (The timing of certain incidents involving Pence is <i>very</i> suspicious...)<br /><br />Have the Republicans stopped trying to dissuade the cleanup by threatening that it might take down some Democrats too? (As if that weren't a desirable outcome.)Jon S.https://www.blogger.com/profile/13585842845661267920noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-16597764410359351502018-03-02T19:31:27.825-08:002018-03-02T19:31:27.825-08:00Duncan Cairncross:
You need to sit tight - win th...Duncan Cairncross:<br /><i><br />You need to sit tight - win the House in November and start impeachment procedures<br /></i><br /><br />Without 67 Democrats in the Senate, impeachment is a dead end. And since only 1/3 of the Senate is up for re-election, and most of those happen to be Democrats this time, it's not mathematically possible to take the necessary supermajority in that chamber.<br /><br /><i><br />Can you "impeach" sitting Senators?<br /></i><br /><br />I think only the Senate itself can remove its members between elections.<br /><br />You see the problem? It's not just Trump's treason, it's that of the entire Republican Party, including their donors and voters. If a third of the population is complicit, is it even "treason" any more? <br />LarryHartnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-28160230158697595752018-03-02T18:25:37.858-08:002018-03-02T18:25:37.858-08:00I do not want DT drummed out of office. I want him...I do not want DT drummed out of office. I want him neutralized, but tweeting away. If Pence gets in, he will charm all the ostriches back into their holes while plotting the end of the world.David Brinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14465315130418506525noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-15609757070228719612018-03-02T18:15:03.137-08:002018-03-02T18:15:03.137-08:00I'm not an American
Bit in this I'm with A...I'm not an American<br />Bit in this I'm with Alfred - going the "illegitimate" way will cause huge bloodshed<br /><br />You need to sit tight - win the House in November and start impeachment procedures<br /><br />Can you "impeach" sitting Senators?<br /><br />When you do get control there should be no "let bygones be bygones" everybody who has acted in a criminal way under this admin should be charged<br />After Nixon's treason - the dems let it slide <br />After Reagan's treason - the dems let it slide<br />After Bush 2's crimes - the dems let it slide<br /><br />Enough! already<br /><br />duncan cairncrosshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14153725128216947145noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-55224963260383672532018-03-02T18:10:58.041-08:002018-03-02T18:10:58.041-08:00@Alfred Differ,
Yes, I have to admit that what I ...@Alfred Differ,<br /><br />Yes, I have to admit that what I <b>want</b> is essentially fantasy or Mike Doonesbury's summer daydream--I want a do-over. I don't just want Trump dragged out of the White House, but also the un-doing of everything he's inflicted on us, from Neil Gorsuch and hundreds of federal judges to the tax fiasco. I want Trump to be like Superman's enemy Mr Mxyzptlk, the magical imp from the fifth dimension--when he's sent back to his own world, all of the aftereffects of the pranks he pulled here on earth simply revert back to the way they were before.<br /><br />And realistically, I know there is no mechanism for such a thing to happen. The closes approximation would be impeachment, which doesn't do nearly enough to mitigate the harm that has already been done. Impeachment is like the bad coach in the movie "The Karate Kid" who has his combatant blatantly injure the protagonist even though he himself is then ejected from competition so that another member of the bad coach's team gets to win.<br /><br />I don't consider Trump to be my legitimate president, but it's not like anyone else fills the role either. That's why I've gone to the metaphor of a sit-down strike. He fails to perform the duties of the office, but he occupies the office so that no one else can be president in his place.<br /><br />So no, I'm not calling on you or Ilithi or anyone actively taking orders from the executive branch of the federal government to overthrow the man. Then what is my point? It's to point out that the harm done has been irreparable--that we will never be made whole again until something which cannot happen does happen. Another obscure movie reference, "I want my father back, you sonofabitch!"<br />LarryHartnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-91196385732846965802018-03-02T18:07:41.196-08:002018-03-02T18:07:41.196-08:00Started reading The Bourgeois Virtues, still in th...Started reading The Bourgeois Virtues, still in the intro bit.<br /><br />Read recently that the Chinese had rolled up ALL US human intel sources in China about 8 years ago, and the US just arrested the double agent who blew them. Jerry Chun Shing Lee lived in Hong Kong and would have been safe but he thought he could go to New York and not have handcuffs waiting for him.<br /><br /><a href="https://www.vox.com/2018/1/17/16901308/cia-china-spy-operation-jerry-chun-shing-lee" rel="nofollow">Unnamed sources who claim familiarity with the case tell the New York Times and NBC News that Lee is suspected of being part of a massive, years-long espionage operation by the Chinese government that led to the death or imprisonment of around 20 CIA informants.</a><br /><br />Then again, mmmmaybe Jerry Lee is not the mole they're looking for...TCBhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08153506222271955110noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-16049766655934137212018-03-02T16:53:41.713-08:002018-03-02T16:53:41.713-08:00@Tim H | The Chinese have been in ‘center’ mode si...@Tim H | The Chinese have been in ‘center’ mode since Mao’s revolution. They moved away toward the other pole when we got them trading again, but they are still mostly centered. When you see them crackdown, that is a center-pull action. When you see them sabre-rattle, that is a center –pull action. When they build along the coast and trade with the world, that is de-centering action. (The era of British domination was fully de-centered.)<br /><br />THEY are the masters of bureaucracy. They invented it along with lots of things we think were invented elsewhere in Europe.<br /><br />WE (in the West) are the masters of creative destruction. The Chinese are learning it from us. If they ever fully adopt it, the stars are ours.<br />Alfred Differhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01170159981105973192noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-27658900209112749092018-03-02T16:44:42.785-08:002018-03-02T16:44:42.785-08:00@LarryHart | I'm confident you'll both adm...@LarryHart | <i>I'm confident you'll both admit that I wasn't as dumb as I looked after all</i><br /><br />You aren’t dumb. You ARE using a word that is too heavy with meanings that matter a great deal to those of us working within the DoD. ‘Illegitimate’ brings with it a requirement to act on one’s Oath to defend the Constitution.<br /><br />If it helps you any, Mueller’s recent indictments targeting election fraud ARE a step toward ‘illegitimate’ in the heavy sense. All that is needed now is a connection to Two Scoops. Obviously, things are trending that way, but a belief in a trend isn’t enough to activate an Oath… nor should it be.<br /><br />Be careful what you wish for on this. Activation of Oaths will produce far more than the change you want. We might get a full out war from it. IF it is going to happen, we need to make sure it isn’t the civil war variety.Alfred Differhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01170159981105973192noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-54226897985926498612018-03-02T15:49:09.107-08:002018-03-02T15:49:09.107-08:00Another reminder that nothing in the Steele Dossie...Another reminder that nothing in the Steele Dossier has been proven to be false at this point - <br /><br />https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2018/03/a-series-of-revelations-about-jared-kushner-have-added-further-credence-to-a-key-claim-of-the-steele-dossier.html<br /><br />Note that the Qatari blockade may have been brought about to pressure the Qatar government to bail out Kushner. <br /><br />Oh, there is also this: <br /><br />https://www.theguardian.com/business/2018/mar/02/carl-icahn-shares-sell-trump-steel-tariffs-announcement-timing<br /><br />Nothing to see here, nothing to see. Move on. matthewhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17757867868731829206noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-768460688992027202018-03-02T10:22:52.911-08:002018-03-02T10:22:52.911-08:00Darrel
It sounds like we just have misunderstandin...Darrel<br />It sounds like we just have misunderstanding of each other more than a genuine disagreement. <br /><br />Our internal biological structures and processes are always present and both enable and constrain our actions. We exist in a variable external physical, biological and social environment that is also always present and both enables and constrains our actions. The way I see limited self creation happening is threw decisions that we make alter what parts of the external social, biological and physical environments we interact with, and can alter our internal biological structures and processes.<br /><br />No magic in the Harry Potter / Dungeons and Dragons sense of the word.<br /><br />But weirdly enough if you go by the older definition of magic - A change in consciousness in accordance with will - it is closely related to what I am talking about, willful acts of self creation.occam's comicnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-21035292146826793862018-03-02T10:01:49.327-08:002018-03-02T10:01:49.327-08:00In what way is anything I've just said is '...<br />In what way is anything I've just said is 'Bullshit', Darrell_E?<br /><br />Fact: The legal age of majority in the USA is 18, excepting that the<br />(1) The US federal minimum legal drinking age is 21.<br />(2) The minimum legal age for purchasing tobacco is 21 in OR, WA, CA & NJ.<br />(3) The US federal minimum legal age for purchasing handguns from a licensed dealer is 21.<br />(4) The US federal minimum legal age to rent an automobile is 21.<br /><br />These are FACTS!!<br /><br />FACT: 18 year olds in the US have the right to vote, rot in jail, marry, sign legal contracts & die in battle BUT, according to progressive dogma, they aren't considered 'adult enough' to be allowed to smoke, drink, rent a car or buy a handgun. 18 years of age is the US Age of Majority in NAME ONLY.<br /><br />Another FACT: The rest of the world doesn't give a shit about the adverse US effects of the US Trade Deficit or Foreign Trade Barriers.<br /><br />Who you gonna call about all this international economic chicanery, DE? Ghostbusters ???? Hahahahaha.<br /><br /><br />Bestlocumranchnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-61681377451126425012018-03-02T09:59:46.002-08:002018-03-02T09:59:46.002-08:00To claim with a straight face that the FBI was pro...To claim with a straight face that the FBI was pro-Clinton is utter and complete bullshit. It is a lie, plain and simple. <br /><br />The NY FBI office *blackmailed* Comey into releasing his letter that lost the election for HRC. The True Pundit hoax forced Comey's hand and fraudulently elected a President. <br /><br />Trumplandia. That was the name for the NY FBI office. Not Clintonia. <br /><br />https://threadreaderapp.com/thread/940037016619597829.html<br /><br />It's not "being an ostrich" when someone is spreading lies that are 100% backwards from reality. matthewhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17757867868731829206noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-46726950131134336112018-03-02T09:22:25.049-08:002018-03-02T09:22:25.049-08:00David
I at least skimmed it. It seems to give an...David<br /><br />I at least skimmed it. It seems to give an "origin" theory for some of the many rumors swirling around in the last days of the election. Tracking leaks is not easy but much of this sounds plausible.<br /><br />In the spirit of even handed treatment I'd fire anybody who leaked info. No exceptions, no free passes. <br /><br />No doubt the Comey situation was a factor in Trump's victory. Hillary's inept campaign and her highly visible near face plant at the 9/11 memorial were imho bigger factors.<br /><br />T Wolter/Tacitus<br /><br />Tacitushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17007086196578740689noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-68679956013753535172018-03-02T08:36:15.485-08:002018-03-02T08:36:15.485-08:00Tim,
I get your pro-Hillary FBI concerns. Would ...Tim, <br /><br />I get your pro-Hillary FBI concerns. Would you read this and give me your thoughts about pro-Trump FBI concerns. https://threadreaderapp.com/thread/968775069018329088.html<br /><br />-DavidDavid Snoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-80137136144581532792018-03-02T08:04:36.642-08:002018-03-02T08:04:36.642-08:00It is quite interesting how the Parkland teenagers...<br /><br />It is quite interesting how the Parkland teenagers are not being cowed by the doxers and the conspiracy theorists and the like <b>as they line up to strip themselves of their constitutionally-protected rights.</b><br /><br />'Yay', these well-indoctrinated children exclaim, 'We wish to renounce our Majority Rights for 3 more years until we are 21. We demand the majority right to VOTE our rights away; we demand the right to register for Selective Service at 18 so we may be sent to die in foreign lands; and, we demand the right to be stripped of our majority rights in regard to Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Soda Pop because (1) we value immaturity & dependency and (2) other Children's Crusades have always ended so well for those involved'.<br /><br />These precious children also know, as they've been told by Big Daddy government, that they are so precious that they don't need guns of their own protection because the all-powerful Protector Caste will ALWAYS be there -- cowering behind their chariots of justice with guns drawn, no doubt -- protecting the eternally young from the consequences of their deferred maturity forever & ever.<br /><br />And so it is with Sociotard's 'trade war' as he knows that the US economy isn't mature enough to defend itself from predacious foreign economies, believing as he does that 'self-defense' is bad. Because why? Because the World Police marionette protector caste has our backs as they heroically cower behind THEIR metaphorical 'One World' cruisers, keeping not-US & mostly themselves safe from real world economic consequence through politically-correct inaction.<br /><br /><br />Bestlocumranchnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-32670410814450509362018-03-02T07:37:17.106-08:002018-03-02T07:37:17.106-08:00Just woke up to see we'd started a trade war. ...Just woke up to see we'd started a trade war. When did Republican's stop being the party of Free Trade, again?sociotardhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11697154298087412934noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-8210330467184425082018-03-02T07:29:43.313-08:002018-03-02T07:29:43.313-08:00Well Larry, I have maintained that the recent tax ...Well Larry, I have maintained that the recent tax cuts are nonsense and are quite likely going to end badly. It will factor into my vote for the US Senate/congress seats next time around. <br /><br />TTacitushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17007086196578740689noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-56091321062720667972018-03-02T07:27:50.092-08:002018-03-02T07:27:50.092-08:00Dr Brin:
I'd ask "what will it take?&quo...Dr Brin:<br /><i><br />I'd ask "what will it take?" But seriously, the litany of child molesters and wife-beaters should have been enough. The open mike calls to "Russia are you listening?"...<br /></i><br /><br />I'm willing to cede that particular one as a joke, similar to Reagan's "The bombing starts in five minutes." All Trump was doing there was threatening, "We know someone's got the goods on the DNC, so they'd better quake in their boots." It wasn't meant to be taken lit'rally.<br /><br />Still, don't mean to interrupt when you're on a roll.<br /><br /><i><br />... and "P-grabbing" should have been enough. The reversal on deficits and trillions of our childrens' debt given straight to a skyrocketing oligarchy should have been enough...<br /><br />The war on science. The Spectacular lunacy of climate denialism. The PERFECT record of better governance outcomes across DP administrations. The day-by-day deliberate destruction of all of our hard-built alliances. The evisceration of R&D. ...<br /></i><br /><br />DAYENU!<br /><br />LarryHartnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-23464603705928741612018-03-02T06:02:22.005-08:002018-03-02T06:02:22.005-08:00Dr Brin:
I have to say, that it is vexing seeing ...Dr Brin:<br /><i><br />I have to say, that it is vexing seeing each new travesty becoming the New Normal to our ostrich friends. Every day, the latest calamity or treason or outrage provokes thoughts of: "Gosh, that's terrible! It's almost enough to make me yank my head out of this hole! One more might do it!"<br /></i><br /><br />And hence my resigned sigh that no Republican of any standing will oppose anything Trump does, ever. That's not aimed specifically at Tim, btw--that's all of them. They perceive they're fighting a brave holding action surrounded by athiest feminist socialists, and any enemy of their enemies is worth holding onto.<br /><br />But it's not just right-wingers who are enabling treason with complacency. My "favorite" argument is the assurance that if Trump fires Mueller, he will have crossed a red line into illegitimacy--but that his thwarted <b>attempt</b> at firing Mueller in June doesn't count. If you shoot (at) someone on Fifth Avenue and <b>miss</b>, or the gun jams, does that absolve one of the act of will?LarryHartnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-25500755313226558372018-03-02T05:54:58.864-08:002018-03-02T05:54:58.864-08:00occam's comic said...
"Darrel,
I just fi...occam's comic said...<br /><br /><i>"Darrel,<br />I just find it annoying when people argue that people have no agency, no ability to make decisions and choices, no ability for self control, or self creation, the we are just mindless robots. That is what it seems to me that you are saying, am I understanding you?"</i><br /><br />No, I don't think that people have no agency, can't make decision and choices or no ability for self control, self creation or that we are just mindless robots. I also don't believe in magic. I can't be sure but it seems as if you might and that you might think that magic is necessary to account for agency, etc. That's what I was trying to figure out. I don't think magic is necessary. I also don't think that these traits are unique to humans, though we certainly appear to be at the top of the spectrum.<br /><br /><i>"Because that notion really does contradict my lived experience."</i><br /><br />Those notions contradict pretty much everyone's lived experience. Even people that think we are just meat puppets admit to that. But individual perceptions are really not all that reliable for figuring things out.Darrell Ehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14054311762477388637noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-50864571168803287432018-03-02T05:53:01.193-08:002018-03-02T05:53:01.193-08:00Robert:
It is quite interesting how the Parkland ...Robert:<br /><i><br />It is quite interesting how the Parkland teenagers are not being cowed by the doxers and the conspiracy theorists and the like...<br /></i><br /><br />The usual right-wing tactic is to have their crazies send death threats. But these kids are fighting back against real-life death threats already. They've got nothing to lose by attracting the ire of armchair twitter bullies.<br /><br />As Hamilton put it to Jefferson:<br /><i><br />And another thing, Mr. Age of Enlightenment,<br />Don't lecture me about the war; you didn't fight in it!<br />You think I'm frightened of you? We almost died in the trench<br />While you were off getting high with the French.<br /></i>LarryHartnoreply@blogger.com