The Neverending Thread for Political Shit

[chuckrh]

I can't say I'm steeped in libertarian theory, but as far as I know, nothing prevents libertarians from acting in the common interest or for the collective good. They just have to conclude that it is in their self interest to do so and have the freedom to make that decision and choice.

Personally, there are elements I find attractive about libertarianism and aspects that I can't make work for me, but I see their biggest problem as being associated with Ayn Rand who is imho pretty hard to stomach.

Ayn Rand was a materialistic sociopath

I was just thinking I should read some Rand. Need a good laugh!

[chuckrh]

https://r2---sn-a5msen7l.googlevideo.co ... ZdsA%3D%3D

[chuckrh]

i think i need 1 of these:



https://consequenceofsound.net/2020/05/ ... e-shields/

[John A Arkansawyer]

I'll say it again: Getting Trump instead of a competent rightist was a blessing. I shudder to think what someone who wasn't an idiot could be doing right now.

Trump Has No Endgame

A military coup is a bit more complicated than just calling the Pentagon and ordering them to keep you in power. Politicians and bureaucrats and judges who cooperated with you when you seemed invincible may decide they don’t want to go to jail for you now that you’re on your way out. And those bands of overweight yahoos with AR-15s may be willing to get violent on his say-so, but who will they shoot and what will they accomplish? All that would require a plan, and there is no plan.

.
So be of good cheer! And if this supposedly teachable moment leaves you looking at Walmart marble head stones? There's a snack for that

[schlanky]

I shudder to think what someone who wasn't an idiot could be doing right now.

"Lots of people are saying that Trump is a moron. The elephant in the room question is, 'What if he’s not a moron?'" -- McMurtry

https://www.rollingstone.com/music/musi ... mp-967512/

Don't remember where I got the link to read this and assume it's likely somewhere earlier on this thread, but I'm not gonna go look.

[John A Arkansawyer]

I shudder to think what someone who wasn't an idiot could be doing right now.

"Lots of people are saying that Trump is a moron. The elephant in the room question is, 'What if he’s not a moron?'" -- McMurtry

https://www.rollingstone.com/music/musi ... mp-967512/

Don't remember where I got the link to read this and assume it's likely somewhere earlier on this thread, but I'm not gonna go look.

He doesn't have the level of planning or foresight that sort of thing requires. He's got good animal instincts and the nose of a grifter, which is a winning hand outside the a-game level. But you have to have either brains or guts to succeed at the top, and he has neither. It's not much, but, as R. Crumb said, looking back on his life around 1986:

[beantownbubba]

Better late than never.

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/23/opin ... 029039208a

[Flea]

Better late than never.

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/23/opin ... 029039208a

The people who need to hear those facts will dismiss them as fake news.

[whatwouldcooleydo?]

the lowest of low-hanging fruit, I know, but I'm especially lazy these days

[tinnitus photography]

the lowest of low-hanging fruit, I know, but I'm especially lazy these days

hey, give the fat man a break, it's his exercise.

[pearlbeer]

the lowest of low-hanging fruit, I know, but I'm especially lazy these days

hey, give the fat man a break, it's his exercise.

Gotta get that cardio!

[Zip City]

the lowest of low-hanging fruit, I know, but I'm especially lazy these days

hey, give the fat man a break, it's his exercise.

Gotta get that cardio!

That fat motherfucker drives on the green. I've never played golf in my life and I know that's a cardinal sin. What a goat fucker

[beantownbubba]

A good summary of the pluses and minuses of the libertarian approach to the virus crisis.

https://www.ft.com/content/ba100fb2-a0b ... 59191fabd8

[beantownbubba]

It seems to me that the Twitter contretemps is the playground bully scenario come to life. Twitter is, by current standards, standing up to the bully. Between those literal events, the real discomfort any normal person feels about the way Trump has tried to create a "scandal" about Joe Scarborough* and the underlying polling weaknesses down ballot Republicans like senators are starting to see (never underestimate self-interest), the cracks in the wall could well become a flood and we are at that exact tipping point. It will be interesting to see.

Also, one has to think that any conservative worth the name will have real problems supporting Trump's social media executive order. They may not come out against it but it's hard to imagine that at least the official part of the Republican machinery will rally energetically and publicly around Trump's POV on this one. The cognitive dissonance on this one should make a lot of people squirm.

* I haven't seen much in the way of "official" or institutional Republican/conservative response to the PA House virus scandal, but I have to assume that decent people are extremely uncomfortable with this behavior which hits the same nerves as the Scarborough thing. It may be too much of a local thing to gain traction but it is so representative of a particular mindset that it could well become a wave. Obviously if one or more of the exposed Democrats gets the virus this story ratchets up considerably.

[whatwouldcooleydo?]

Today I learned that, unlike pretty much the entire medical community in this country, SWAT/law enforcement in Minnesota has zero shortage of personal protection equipment

[LBRod]

A good summary of the pluses and minuses of the libertarian approach to the virus crisis.

https://www.ft.com/content/ba100fb2-a0b ... 59191fabd8

Only thing not behind a paywall is "Don't be a dickhead." Good start.

[beantownbubba]

A good summary of the pluses and minuses of the libertarian approach to the virus crisis.

https://www.ft.com/content/ba100fb2-a0b ... 59191fabd8

Only thing not behind a paywall is "Don't be a dickhead." Good start.

Yeah, I was thinking of making that my sig. Funny about the paywall though. I got the article through an emailed link and did not have any problems accessing it. Not sure how or why that works.

[tinnitus photography]

incognito mode didn't take down the paywall either.

[LBRod]

https://reason.com/2020/05/29/in-future ... decisions/
No paywall here.

[tinnitus photography]

https://reason.com/2020/05/29/in-future ... decisions/
No paywall here.

thank you.

[Zip City]

https://reason.com/2020/05/29/in-future ... decisions/
No paywall here.

Again, viruses aren't political. This is yet another article that looks at it through a Dem vs. Rep lens, which is the entirely wrong way to go about it

[tinnitus photography]

We would have been far better off—and probably had more sympathy for one another—if people had been left to make their own choices based on expert advice and not been subject to mandates imposed by force.

That the pandemic posed different challenges to different parts of the country is clear. "Two-thirds of residents of the hardest-hit districts live in urban or dense suburban areas, compared with just 19% of those living in the least hard-hit districts," Pew Research reported this week.

while this is true, there are certainly cases of outbreaks in rural areas that showed people don't always take the best information at the time and make the most informed decisions (Albany, GA; Sioux Falls, SD).

and let's face it - not everyone agrees on what expert advice is, and who to listen to... would it be an infectious disease expert like Fauci, or a charlatan who pushes hydroxy chloroquine as a miracle cure?

It didn't have to be this way. Left to their own devices and advised by those in the know, people are perfectly capable of taking action to protect themselves and their neighbors.

this is basically Sweden's strategy. i guess we'll see what the data ultimately tells us. it's clear they are incurring more deaths than their neighbors, most by a 10-fold factor as compared with DK, NO and FI

[LBRod]

https://reason.com/2020/05/29/in-future ... decisions/
No paywall here.

Again, viruses aren't political. This is yet another article that looks at it through a Dem vs. Rep lens, which is the entirely wrong way to go about it

I don't see that at all, Zip. It is a big government vs. individual liberty lens.

The next time a crisis comes along, we'll be well advised to cut government officials out of the decision making process.
That will allow us to make the choices we think right for ourselves, and to respect the contrasting decisions made by others.

Nothing Dem or Rep about the conclusion.

[Zip City]

https://reason.com/2020/05/29/in-future ... decisions/
No paywall here.

Again, viruses aren't political. This is yet another article that looks at it through a Dem vs. Rep lens, which is the entirely wrong way to go about it

I don't see that at all, Zip. It is a big government vs. individual liberty lens.

The next time a crisis comes along, we'll be well advised to cut government officials out of the decision making process.
That will allow us to make the choices we think right for ourselves, and to respect the contrasting decisions made by others.

Nothing Dem or Rep about the conclusion.

It starts off by talking about the % of cases/deaths in blue vs. red states. That's my objection

[LBRod]

Calling out both red and blue on their shit is what libertarians do. When the boot of government is on your neck, it doesn't matter if it's the left or right boot.

[Zip City]

You don’t trust the government.....fair. That’s fine.

Based on how I’ve seen individuals behave during this pandemic, I’d argue that I don’t trust “the people” to make good choices either.

So here we are

[Flea]

You are both correct.

[beantownbubba]

You are both correct.

So here we are.

[LBRod]

I don’t trust “the people” to make good choices either.

So here we are

There are those in "Libertarian" circles who would answer fuck off slaver.

[chuckrh]

I don’t trust “the people” to make good choices either.

So here we are

There are those in "Libertarian" circles who would answer fuck off slaver.

eloquent