Popular Comments

Saw this one on Bluesky today.

nan said:

But, we have no opposition in the US and freedom of speech is attacked as "disinformation" and Biden kills journalists too.  Some of this ranting at Russia is projection. 

I suppose it's not surprising you can't imagine Russians, Georgians, or Ukrainians wanting democracy given you yourself seem to scorn it.

We have choices in this country, and they make real, material differences. It matters if abortion is legal or not -- something that depends on who wins  elections at both the federal and the state level. It mattered whether we invaded Iraq or not. It mattered whether we had decided to uphold our nuclear deal with Iran or not. It matters whether we open up pristine Alaskan wilderness to exploitation or if we declare it road free. It matters if we use government to push us toward an emission-free future or not. It matters in all sorts of ways, large and small. Elections are meaningful.

When people complain, as you do, that they're not meaningful, and that it doesn't matter, it can mean a few things. It could be ignorance -- not realizing just how many things are impacted by who governs. It could be lack of attention -- not making the connection between events that happen and who governs (this is especially common because there are many delays between change and effect. As an easy example, think of the impactful, but lengthy, way the Supreme Court's makeup changes and then begins to yield different rulings, which themselves often take a while to play out and have visible impact).

It is also sometimes a sign of tunnel vision, of someone dismissing things that are important, but which aren't important to them. Think, for instance, of voters who dismiss reproductive rights as an issue.

Another aspect to this is that democracy gives us choices, not guarantees. It's a big country. On many issues, you're going to find yourself holding a minority opinion; perhaps even an extremely minority opinion. Change can be hard, but not impossible. The fact that few people share an opinion today doesn't mean they can't be convinced to do so tomorrow, but there's also no guarantee that you ever will change enough people's minds. Your complaints here seem to be along the lines of this -- too few Americans share your foreign policy views. And your explanation for this is conspiracy and the over-privileged decision that democracy doesn't matter or even really exist.

nan said:

You don't know if he spoke with them or not. He implies he gave them and opportunity to respond. We know they did not respond denying something.

I asked nan twice in this thread for her source for stating that Ukrainians were divided half and half by language before Russia’s 2022 invasion. Nan didn’t respond. I can now ethically and responsibly report that nan did not deny she posted a falsehood.

These examples are so rare I feel they're worth highlighting -- some Republicans show that they can put country before Party:

Geoff Duncan, Georgia Republican, says he will vote for Biden (NYT)

Geoff Duncan, a Republican who was lieutenant governor of Georgia when then-President Donald J. Trump tried to overturn the 2020 election results there, endorsed President Biden for re-election on Monday.

“I am voting for a decent person I disagree with on policy over a criminal defendant without a moral compass,” Mr. Duncan wrote in an opinion piece in The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

https://www.ajc.com/opinion/geoff-duncan-why-im-voting-for-biden-and-other-republicans-should-too/LFLE5YWCBBA6VDGJAJKMNPCDKQ/

Morganna said:

I have a feral kitty who is doing roof and gutter inspections for me.

cat on a cold slate roof.

GoSlugs said:

TOTR said:

While recent petty posts reflect disharmony in the MOL ranks, there is this happening in the political world …

I certainly don't mean to take aim at the messenger but we all agree that shooting dogs is wrong, a consensus that seems to have evaded your party.

joanne said:

Just thinking about ages, behaviour, mannerisms etc…. A couple of days ago I read this article (I’m sure you read or saw similar), and was startled that Mark Hammill is 72. 
https://www.theguardian.com/film/article/2024/may/03/mark-hamill-joe-biden-hollywood  There’s another good one in France 24, and other international media. 

Just 10 years younger than Joe Biden. And just a coupla years younger than the candidate sitting in court rooms and featuring in daily news bulletins and satirical late nights programs. 

Gosh. Kinda throws adult behaviour into sharp perspective, doesn’t it??

This guy is one year younger than Biden and 3 years older than Trump and doing a 16 city tour of the US and Canada over the next couple of months.

In the Mate piece, he says this:

No official contacted for this article – including former CIA chief John Brennan and senior State Department official Victoria Nuland – disputed any of his claims.

The thing is, nowhere in the article does is appear that Brennan or Nuland provided any response to Mate, or that they even acknowledged a request for comment. Indeed, later in the piece he writes

Brennan and Pyatt did not respond to a request for comment.

So while it is technically true that neither Brennan nor Nuland "disputed" any claims, the reason for that seems to be that they didn't talk to Mate at all.

I find his phrasing misleading and unethical. It's the sort of thing that makes me suspicious of anything he writes -- if he's willing to spin a "did not respond to requests for comment" as "proof that what I'm saying is true," then what else is he spinning? He's an untrustworthy writer.

Morganna says (in her valuable description of civil disobedience):  "I'm mistrustful of people covering their faces."

mtierney gives a reason why masking may be prudent: "...students may well be spotted by identity technology available to employers to screen prospective job applicants."

Not to mention current employers, school administrators, police, and any opponent or random internet surfer who'd like to dox them.  Seems sensible to me, though maybe not at the level of integrity and civic-mindedness Morganna described.

So Noem doubles down on shooting doggies?

Sometimes when you find yourself in a deep hole you ought to stop digging.....