@hugbee.bsky.social
Not to mention that billionaires are created through a process that consolidates power into private individuals, which doesn't stop when they hit billionaire status.
If allowed to exist as a class at all, they'll eventually accumulate enough power to rewrite any attempts to "mitigate their harms."
If allowed to exist as a class at all, they'll eventually accumulate enough power to rewrite any attempts to "mitigate their harms."
December 30, 2025 at 1:50 PM
Not to mention that billionaires are created through a process that consolidates power into private individuals, which doesn't stop when they hit billionaire status.
If allowed to exist as a class at all, they'll eventually accumulate enough power to rewrite any attempts to "mitigate their harms."
If allowed to exist as a class at all, they'll eventually accumulate enough power to rewrite any attempts to "mitigate their harms."
I didn't say "all people" either, but if there's enough to deliver an election to the fascists, is that not sufficiently damning for the system?
Either there's enough fascists+idiots to elect a fascist government (after which you're lucky to see another election), or the problem is something else.
Either there's enough fascists+idiots to elect a fascist government (after which you're lucky to see another election), or the problem is something else.
December 22, 2025 at 7:54 AM
I didn't say "all people" either, but if there's enough to deliver an election to the fascists, is that not sufficiently damning for the system?
Either there's enough fascists+idiots to elect a fascist government (after which you're lucky to see another election), or the problem is something else.
Either there's enough fascists+idiots to elect a fascist government (after which you're lucky to see another election), or the problem is something else.
I'm very much trying to not put words in mouth, but you said:
"the campaign could not have been clearer about what was at stake. If one didn’t realize the alternative to Kamala Harris was literal fascism, there’s not much hope for that idiocy."
What other possible solution flows from that premise?
"the campaign could not have been clearer about what was at stake. If one didn’t realize the alternative to Kamala Harris was literal fascism, there’s not much hope for that idiocy."
What other possible solution flows from that premise?
December 22, 2025 at 6:09 AM
I'm very much trying to not put words in mouth, but you said:
"the campaign could not have been clearer about what was at stake. If one didn’t realize the alternative to Kamala Harris was literal fascism, there’s not much hope for that idiocy."
What other possible solution flows from that premise?
"the campaign could not have been clearer about what was at stake. If one didn’t realize the alternative to Kamala Harris was literal fascism, there’s not much hope for that idiocy."
What other possible solution flows from that premise?
What IS your solution then? If you believe, as it seems you do from your statements here, that people are too dumb to vote against fascism even with a perfect anti-fascist campaign being run against it, how is fascism to be stopped?
December 22, 2025 at 6:02 AM
What IS your solution then? If you believe, as it seems you do from your statements here, that people are too dumb to vote against fascism even with a perfect anti-fascist campaign being run against it, how is fascism to be stopped?
That's what I mean by "rise up," yes (assuming elections are still held, which very luckily will probably be the case in the US this time).
If your only solution to stop fascism is "wait for it to get so bad people realize they need to change," that is not indicative of a good system.
If your only solution to stop fascism is "wait for it to get so bad people realize they need to change," that is not indicative of a good system.
December 22, 2025 at 5:52 AM
That's what I mean by "rise up," yes (assuming elections are still held, which very luckily will probably be the case in the US this time).
If your only solution to stop fascism is "wait for it to get so bad people realize they need to change," that is not indicative of a good system.
If your only solution to stop fascism is "wait for it to get so bad people realize they need to change," that is not indicative of a good system.
If you think that people are too stupid to vote against fascism, and that there is nothing the anti-fascist politicians can do to convince them to, then how is fascism to be stopped?
Just wait until things get so bad people realize the error of their ways and rise up? If so, that's accelerationism.
Just wait until things get so bad people realize the error of their ways and rise up? If so, that's accelerationism.
December 22, 2025 at 5:39 AM
If you think that people are too stupid to vote against fascism, and that there is nothing the anti-fascist politicians can do to convince them to, then how is fascism to be stopped?
Just wait until things get so bad people realize the error of their ways and rise up? If so, that's accelerationism.
Just wait until things get so bad people realize the error of their ways and rise up? If so, that's accelerationism.
How do you square those two opinions? If you think people are too dumb to vote against literal fascism, why support the system that leaves the fate of society in their hands?
December 22, 2025 at 5:31 AM
How do you square those two opinions? If you think people are too dumb to vote against literal fascism, why support the system that leaves the fate of society in their hands?
If your position is that voters are too stupid to take good votes and THAT'S the issue:
1) you don't believe in democracy,
2) shouldn't the Dems be running campaigns that can win over idiots then? If you know what the problem is and don't address it, sounds like you're the problem.
1) you don't believe in democracy,
2) shouldn't the Dems be running campaigns that can win over idiots then? If you know what the problem is and don't address it, sounds like you're the problem.
December 22, 2025 at 5:13 AM
If your position is that voters are too stupid to take good votes and THAT'S the issue:
1) you don't believe in democracy,
2) shouldn't the Dems be running campaigns that can win over idiots then? If you know what the problem is and don't address it, sounds like you're the problem.
1) you don't believe in democracy,
2) shouldn't the Dems be running campaigns that can win over idiots then? If you know what the problem is and don't address it, sounds like you're the problem.
"You have to vote for the lesser evil because we can't hope for anything better" is the poison we've been drinking for far too long.
And the alternative can win! That's what Obama was in 2008 (even if he was faking); he both beat out the "safe" candidate in the primary & crushed it in the general.
And the alternative can win! That's what Obama was in 2008 (even if he was faking); he both beat out the "safe" candidate in the primary & crushed it in the general.
December 22, 2025 at 4:14 AM
"You have to vote for the lesser evil because we can't hope for anything better" is the poison we've been drinking for far too long.
And the alternative can win! That's what Obama was in 2008 (even if he was faking); he both beat out the "safe" candidate in the primary & crushed it in the general.
And the alternative can win! That's what Obama was in 2008 (even if he was faking); he both beat out the "safe" candidate in the primary & crushed it in the general.
Sorry but that's EXACTLY the loser mindset that got us into this mess. It's why the ACA & 2008 fiscal response were so watered-down (setting conditions for Trump), why we put up a loser in 2016, why Trump skated for J6, why we failed to change course in '21-24, why we didn't get a '24 primary, etc.
December 22, 2025 at 4:06 AM
Sorry but that's EXACTLY the loser mindset that got us into this mess. It's why the ACA & 2008 fiscal response were so watered-down (setting conditions for Trump), why we put up a loser in 2016, why Trump skated for J6, why we failed to change course in '21-24, why we didn't get a '24 primary, etc.
I think one of the pressures toward this tendency, at least in a US context, is the fact of congressional gridlock. A (subconscious for some) thought that if something is ideological it is partisan & so no action is possible, but a fantasy of it being non-ideological allows you to believe otherwise.
December 14, 2025 at 10:23 AM
I think one of the pressures toward this tendency, at least in a US context, is the fact of congressional gridlock. A (subconscious for some) thought that if something is ideological it is partisan & so no action is possible, but a fantasy of it being non-ideological allows you to believe otherwise.
It's always nice to remember that media figures were included in the Nuremberg trials.
December 14, 2025 at 8:08 AM
It's always nice to remember that media figures were included in the Nuremberg trials.
That is to say, the the specifics of the people in charge DO matter, but the reason those specific people ARE in charge to begin with is the systemic issues.
December 12, 2025 at 9:33 AM
That is to say, the the specifics of the people in charge DO matter, but the reason those specific people ARE in charge to begin with is the systemic issues.
You could say that the *single* biggest cause of the loss is Biden insisting on running for reelection instead of having a real primary, but again Biden himself was only president because of a massive effort by pro status quo actors to block the left-wing challenge at all costs.
December 12, 2025 at 9:33 AM
You could say that the *single* biggest cause of the loss is Biden insisting on running for reelection instead of having a real primary, but again Biden himself was only president because of a massive effort by pro status quo actors to block the left-wing challenge at all costs.
I think the counterpoint to that is that the system-level issues are most of why Trump is president/Harris lost.
E.g. if the COVID unemployment benefits, child tax credit, etc stuff had been kept in place, she probably wins. Or if the US hadn't been so deeply tied up with Israel, etc., etc.
E.g. if the COVID unemployment benefits, child tax credit, etc stuff had been kept in place, she probably wins. Or if the US hadn't been so deeply tied up with Israel, etc., etc.
December 12, 2025 at 9:32 AM
I think the counterpoint to that is that the system-level issues are most of why Trump is president/Harris lost.
E.g. if the COVID unemployment benefits, child tax credit, etc stuff had been kept in place, she probably wins. Or if the US hadn't been so deeply tied up with Israel, etc., etc.
E.g. if the COVID unemployment benefits, child tax credit, etc stuff had been kept in place, she probably wins. Or if the US hadn't been so deeply tied up with Israel, etc., etc.
meanwhile the reigning onomatopoeia champion japan is out there with a list like 40+ long, including such classics as geragera, kusukusu, shishishi, ihihi, and of course internet favorite www
December 10, 2025 at 4:05 PM
meanwhile the reigning onomatopoeia champion japan is out there with a list like 40+ long, including such classics as geragera, kusukusu, shishishi, ihihi, and of course internet favorite www
I mean yeah the Cold War was against an ideological one against communism, not Russia in particular. The US did whatever it could to stop communist movements everywhere, regardless of how connected they were to Russia (including some that otherwise would have preferred to be allied with the US)
December 9, 2025 at 9:17 AM
I mean yeah the Cold War was against an ideological one against communism, not Russia in particular. The US did whatever it could to stop communist movements everywhere, regardless of how connected they were to Russia (including some that otherwise would have preferred to be allied with the US)
If the election was held today and they retook power in January, yeah. But given the level of average-person fury we're seeing less than 1 year in, I sort of feel like either the GOP succeeds in (effectively) ending elections, or the winning Dem coalition will be one happy to sweep aside SCOTUS.
December 8, 2025 at 12:38 PM
If the election was held today and they retook power in January, yeah. But given the level of average-person fury we're seeing less than 1 year in, I sort of feel like either the GOP succeeds in (effectively) ending elections, or the winning Dem coalition will be one happy to sweep aside SCOTUS.
I can't believe this is the post that made me realize they're *all* named using numbers in different languages........
me, clueless, for decades: duo treize quatre sure sound number-based. oh well, time to not think about that at all
me, clueless, for decades: duo treize quatre sure sound number-based. oh well, time to not think about that at all
December 8, 2025 at 8:47 AM
I can't believe this is the post that made me realize they're *all* named using numbers in different languages........
me, clueless, for decades: duo treize quatre sure sound number-based. oh well, time to not think about that at all
me, clueless, for decades: duo treize quatre sure sound number-based. oh well, time to not think about that at all
(Not that any of this is novel insight)
December 8, 2025 at 5:59 AM
(Not that any of this is novel insight)
Then for some on the right, there's a similar panic at how Trump's win wasn't the cultural victory they thought it would be; at how the Epstein stuff has been going; at DOGE being a disaster; at the Argentina bailout; at the ICE blowback; at the Pope's opposition; at Trump being a sleepy old man.
December 8, 2025 at 5:58 AM
Then for some on the right, there's a similar panic at how Trump's win wasn't the cultural victory they thought it would be; at how the Epstein stuff has been going; at DOGE being a disaster; at the Argentina bailout; at the ICE blowback; at the Pope's opposition; at Trump being a sleepy old man.
For the centrists, Trump winning once was a terrible fluke, but winning twice is unthinkable; DOGE blowing up USAID or RFK Jr. killing vaccines simply can't happen; UK's Reform topping the polls shouldn't be possible; people can't seriously be turning against Israel of all things.
December 8, 2025 at 5:58 AM
For the centrists, Trump winning once was a terrible fluke, but winning twice is unthinkable; DOGE blowing up USAID or RFK Jr. killing vaccines simply can't happen; UK's Reform topping the polls shouldn't be possible; people can't seriously be turning against Israel of all things.
I think some of it's like what Ezra Klein has been more explicit about going through himself: they're having their whole worldview proven wrong in ways impossible to ignore & are unable to process it, so they're flailing trying to maintain a sense of control and/or quell the cognitive dissonance.
December 8, 2025 at 5:40 AM
I think some of it's like what Ezra Klein has been more explicit about going through himself: they're having their whole worldview proven wrong in ways impossible to ignore & are unable to process it, so they're flailing trying to maintain a sense of control and/or quell the cognitive dissonance.
The domestic situation I feel plays a part as well, w/ the LDP having been so rocked by scandals, Abe's assassination, internal power struggles, PM resignations, etc.
With Takaichi, an outlier pro-US fascist, being the latest rotating PM now I despair of good news, but hopefully she won't last long.
With Takaichi, an outlier pro-US fascist, being the latest rotating PM now I despair of good news, but hopefully she won't last long.
December 6, 2025 at 7:27 AM
The domestic situation I feel plays a part as well, w/ the LDP having been so rocked by scandals, Abe's assassination, internal power struggles, PM resignations, etc.
With Takaichi, an outlier pro-US fascist, being the latest rotating PM now I despair of good news, but hopefully she won't last long.
With Takaichi, an outlier pro-US fascist, being the latest rotating PM now I despair of good news, but hopefully she won't last long.
Not technically a lie, just worded cleverly to get at the heart of what he's advocating for (making [strikes that would be] war crimes [into strikes that are technically] constitutional) in a more direct, less charitable way than he would like.
Also things *can* be constitutional & still war crimes
Also things *can* be constitutional & still war crimes
December 4, 2025 at 11:03 AM
Not technically a lie, just worded cleverly to get at the heart of what he's advocating for (making [strikes that would be] war crimes [into strikes that are technically] constitutional) in a more direct, less charitable way than he would like.
Also things *can* be constitutional & still war crimes
Also things *can* be constitutional & still war crimes