“Confronted with the helplessness of a real disaster that can only be solved through the collective action you've been told is both impossible and a Communist plot, you retreat to an individualistic disaster fantasy that you can play an outsized role in. Every crisis – the climate emergency, poverty, a toxic environment – is replaced by ‘bad people’ and you can go get them.” @pluralistic https://pluralistic.net/2024/11/24/mall-ninja-prophecy/ ht @shonin @GhostOnTheHalfShell

i pay them for a subscription year after year, and still i am the product. https://tldr.nettime.org/@remixtures/113532655132113457 ht @schmidt_fu

@amerika @pluralistic yeah. basically agree.

@amerika @pluralistic i’m fine with that, though i see little of it in either american political party. “leadership skills” and professional education are largely orthogonal. lawyers are no more or less prone to it than any other profession.

@amerika @pluralistic you are missing the point.

we could elect microbiologists and water purification experts, but they couldn’t ensure the bridges won’t fall. an elected government, whoever gets elected, needs to be able to recruit, manage, supervise, and yes sometimes discipline expertise.

“Mostly, we elect lawyers. Lawyers can do many things, but if you ask a lawyer to tell you how to make your drinking water safe, you will likely die a horrible death.” @pluralistic https://pluralistic.net/2024/11/21/policy-based-evidence/ ht @mikeolson

@admitsWrongIfProven @Hyolobrika antitrust is a start and absolutely necessary. but i don’t think on its own it’s sufficient. https://zirk.us/@interfluidity/113534160360556906

the truth is out there. and it’s coming for you.

real americans grift.

@Hyolobrika No one is arguing people shouldn’t be allowed to say anything. People should be allowed to say overt falsehoods. It’s institutions of authority and potentially of reach that might be regulated.

@admitsWrongIfProven an economy that makes, say, 70% of the public feel like they are doing well and getting richer, regardless of what is happening to the other 30%.

@ZaneSelvans there is not. but there are degrees. one reason for civilized people to contribute under capitalism is to create conditions under which it might be reformed towards social democracy. but if that kind if reformist change seems off the table?

@Hyolobrika the government arbitrates truth in jury trials. it does not prejudge it. it sets up procedures that are ex ante viewpoint neutral. ex post, a losing party might call foul (and rights to appeal are part of the procedure). but ultimately this procedure does adjudication truth and falsehood, as a matter of social outcome if not in the eyes of God, over matters of important controversy. of course it sometimes errs.

do you object?

is it ethical to contribute to a good economy under a bad state?

@artcollisions fingers crossed. but he seems much better, three days into the antibiotic.

@artcollisions he was sluggish and coughing, but not really complaining. during the days when his fever was down, he'd have a bit more energy. every day we thought he could go back to school tomorrow. every night we took his temperature and, nope.

@artcollisions he’s 11. we took him in when his fever was quite high (more than 104). we took some solace that it seemed to be declining, but it wasn’t going away and eventually shot up again. (his fever would go down during the day, usually, but every night it was back.)

@artcollisions me too. i feel terrible for not having been more insistent from the start. we believed urgent care, when they said his lungs were clear and to just wait it out. waiting wasn't working.

@curtosis @rajivsethi Yes. I remain concerned about its architecture, its susceptibility to capture. but for now it's a vibrant space for experimentation like we haven't seen in a while.

@artcollisions Once he was actually diagnosed, rather than just waved away as "oh it's a virus", he's rapidly recovering. Thank God. He's on antibiotics for "walking pneumonia".