netstack
Texas is freedom land
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User ID: 647
netstack
Texas is freedom land
1d ago
Ha. I don’t think you’re wrong. Even correcting for the autobiographical bias, he comes across as a real golden retriever.
My point is that 1. isn’t likely to motivate him. I figured your original explanation was more likely. He’s a loser, and he lost to the biggest bogeyman in the West. That’s career-limiting.
Yes! Yes, exactly.
Setting aside the bizarre pacing of Patriot Games, it’s still founded on Cold War principles. Clancy (by way of Jack Ryan) tries to rehabilitate these principles for use against something that isn’t a nuclear superpower. But he writes thrillers, not philosophy, and it just doesn’t come together at all.
Spoilers, obviously, for a nearly 40-year-old novel.
The terrorists are set dressing for a meandering slice-of-life novel. Jack recovers in hospital. Jack meets famous people. Jack assembles Christmas presents. Jack does insider trading. Real plot points!
Eventually he is convinced to join the intelligence community’s terrorist manhunt. This leads directly to the only real conflict in the book. Everything before and after has obvious answers. Is it okay to disarm and shoot a terrorist? Are drugs bad? What about communists? Should you be prepared to defend your family when all else fails? Easy questions. But the question which actually haunts Jack Ryan is whether it’s okay to execute captured terrorists without a public trial. Since, you know, the jury might be swayed from the right outcome.
Wait, that’s not quite right. Jack can’t decide if he should feel bad for contributing to such extrajudicial executions. Partly because he’s an unapologetic believer in democracy and individual rights, partly because one of the terrorists had tits visible from orbit.
Jack talks himself into it by reasoning that terrorists, like pirates, are hostis humani generis. When possible, they should get the usual protections, but if that keeps them from their just deserts, we shouldn’t feel too bad. They waived their rights when they tried to hide behind them; we only extend them back as a courtesy.
This is just—so—aaarrrrggggghh. It misses the whole point. And it’s easy to see the throughline to the War on Terror, the general expansion of the executive, all the way through to Trump II. Sweep the hard problems aside. Nothing is impossible if we stop holding back. Do the right thing, critics be damned. We’ll make it legal or at least shield you from any consequences.
I understand the appeal. We can just do stuff, or at least pick a guy who will totally do that stuff on your behalf. It’s easier than working out the details.
And here we are.
netstack
Texas is freedom land
1d ago
Argumentum ad antiquitatem should cover it, no?
Though it would be funnier to file it under “genetic fallacy.”
netstack
Texas is freedom land
1d ago
Conditional on Walz being guilty of something damning—something with genuine prison time, I’d expect him to get indicted. I’d expect that whether or not he was sitting governor.
If that condition isn’t met, and the case against Walz is weak or nonexistent, I wouldn’t expect an indictment. Governor or not, the cost/benefit isn’t that strong. I think Comey and James only got their cases railroaded because of personal animosity.
The thing about speechifying on Fox is that it works whether or not the case is strong. Hear name, trigger boo lights. So, again, I expect it to happen regardless of Walz’s position.
netstack
Texas is freedom land
1d ago
Finished Tom Clancy’s Patriot Games. Good God, I have so much to say about this one. All the same Clancyisms as Red October. Not nearly as much charm. A glacial plot where the many characters shuffle around like communist zombies until they reach their assigned stations. Hilarious, often but not always on purpose.
Thing is, this book captures a certain worldview, one where bad guys only exist because the good guys have their hands tied. I’m convinced that it offers insight into the general neocon project as well as our current iteration of populism. I wish I’d kept notes of all the passages I want to quote for the motte.
Also finished Sarah Waters’ Fingersmith, a very gay Victorian crime novel. An orphan thief takes part in a plot to marry and defraud a secluded heiress. I found the prose delicious and the plotting devious. High points for characterization, as well, with each member of the cast stressed and miserable for extremely different reasons. Would recommend.
Current book is O’Brien’s Master and Commander. Also very British, though sixty years earlier. Totally not gay, no sir, not in His Majesty’s navy.
Love the historical context. Love the jargon and the repartee and the bizarre economics of prize-hunting. Above all, love the personalities of these dedicated, skilled characters playing off one another as they get into life or death situations. Perhaps this is the peak of “guys hanging out” fiction.
netstack
Texas is freedom land
1d ago
Maybe? I was hoping for a press release or at least a tweet stating it, though. I’ve only seen claims about the boat strikes, which I believe are justifiable on different grounds.
The 2001 AUMF is wildly abused. Venezuela didn’t have a damn thing to do with 9/11. If Republicans want to topple regimes, Congress ought to be involved.
netstack
Texas is freedom land
1d ago
Does the “spotlight” really matter in this case? The Trump Train is going after him regardless of his job. If they can tie him to the ongoing fraud cases, they will.
Likewise for potential lone wolves. He’s going to be in the news whether or not he has a gubernatorial security detail. But I rate that risk pretty darn low, and I expect he does, too.
The real takeaway is that VP candidates don’t usually do much.
- Kemp: made a Presidential bid and went back into business.
- Lieberman: continued as senator for CT. Actually was primaried in 2006, but won on an independent ticket.
- Edwards: made another failed run while cheating on his dying wife.
- Palin: got <8 years of book deals and talk show appearances before Trump made her angle obsolete.
- Ryan: continued as representative for WI for 7 more years; became Speaker of the House.
- Kaine: continued as junior senator for VA.
- Harris: lol
Hell, with one big, elderly exception, elected VPs don’t even do that much. You have to go back to Bush Sr. to find someone who actually advanced in their career after they were out of the Executive Branch.
netstack
Texas is freedom land
1d ago
What's the drug of choice for its initial areas? Do stimulants like tobacco or qat count?
netstack
Texas is freedom land
1d ago
They totally have in my region.
Can't go a block without running into a Raising Cane's, Popeyes, or occasionally both.
netstack
Texas is freedom land
2d ago
netstack
Texas is freedom land
3d ago
now at war
Somehow I doubt that Trump bothered consulting Congress. Have his lackeys provided any excuse for the Constitutionality here?
As usual, I predict little to no backlash from any Republican who criticized Biden’s foreign policy.
netstack
Texas is freedom land
3d ago
That’s, uh, how we roll.
It’s the careful, rational, von Bismarck-approved objectives which most embarrass us.
netstack
Texas is freedom land
4d ago
Okay, the bit was kind of funny, but you've got to know when to call it quits. Switching to a different part of the movie is a sign!
netstack
Texas is freedom land
4d ago
netstack
Texas is freedom land
17d ago
Great haul from a nearby half-price books today.
- Absolution, Jeff Vandermeer. I adored the original trilogy for reasons touched on here, and while I was colder on the third book, I still absolutely endorse it. When I saw a new book with sweet cover art, I had to try it.
- Triplanetary, Edward E. Smith, Ph.D. That's how he's billed on the cover. I've never read a Lensman book, but it's well-known enough to have gotten a reprint listing all sorts of awards. Said reprint is still endearingly retro.
- Red Mars, K.S. Robinson. I was sure this came up on the Motte recently; all I can find is discussion of Years of Rice and Salt. Ah well.
- The Road, Cormac McCarthy. I have it on good authority that this is an unpleasant read. That doesn't actually tell me what to expect. Perhaps it will be improving literature in some way. Regardless, it's influential apocalyptica, so I feel the need to try.
- Co. Aytch, Sam Watkins. A Confederate memoir. Picked up on the recommendation of a random Reddit thread.
- The Killer Angels, Michael Shaera. Also Civil War, but historical fiction.
- A sweet cutaway book about armored vehicles. What more can I say?
netstack
Texas is freedom land
18d ago
Are you sure that's the same statistic? Why would it be higher in a poor country with tons of kids?
edit: duh, it's the kids plus the retirees. plus, i assume, some population of disabled people, etc. I can't help but suspect the man funding 3 kids feels pretty different than the one funding 3 retirees.
netstack
Texas is freedom land
18d ago
That desire isn’t necessarily localized in the kind of woman who is actually earning more, is it?
Assuming that it is, though, the answer is easy enough. Marry older men. This comes up enough on this Godforsaken forum; I’m almost surprised you didn’t think of it.
netstack
Texas is freedom land
18d ago
1.6 other people
Horrifying? I notice that this is actually less than the 2.1 which one would need to support for replacement fertility. 3.1, if the tradcons get everything they want. Most elders aren’t going to live a full 18 years past retirement, either.
Elder care is a facile justification for pro-natalism. You are assuming away all the difficult questions.
What are the relative population sizes in that 1.6 model? What’s the break-even point at which one generation’s children makes enough money to care for them? Most importantly, what fertility rate would be required to hit that ratio? Because if it’s above 2.1, Malthus is laughing at your solution. If below, why are we even having this argument?
I still have two grandparents. Watching them age and withdraw from the vital, loving characters I remember from my childhood has been heartbreaking. But they had three children, each of whom had at least three in turn. They have avoided all the standard pitfalls of modern demographics. It hasn’t saved them. We cannot save them. Our money, our love, is not the limiting factor here. Why should it limit the broader population?
netstack
Texas is freedom land
19d ago
Heck if I know. It’s vibes, and it’s about as well-founded as OP’s belief in BLM immunity.
netstack
Texas is freedom land
19d ago
I almost mentioned the toaster thing, yeah.
See, I think you can have culture/technology/whatever that breeds more bizarre views without effectively cultivating homicidal ones. There is reason to believe that Internet activism is significantly less effective at mobilizing actual people. It certainly doesn't get them into bars and malls and third spaces. You could imagine cultural phenomena that are eye-wateringly, post-ironically strange without actually hurting and killing people.
Actually, we don't really have to imagine, do we? That's the Satanic Panic. It's thinkpieces about video games encouraging violence or licentiousness or misogyny. You can't suggest a damn thing without someone countersignaling it and getting backlash in turn.
We may or may not have some fundamental disagreements on trans politics, but that makes for a pretty illustrative example. Has the overwhelming aesthetic weirdness actually translated to violence? Does holding specific views on gender presentation actually make people more likely to bomb government buildings? Are trans men wildly overrepresented at riots?
(I legitimately don't know the answer to this. Testosterone is a hell of a drug.)
Speech is not inherently violent. Aesthetics are not inherently violent. The outrageous weirdness of modern culture has not yet given rise to 70s levels of violence. It's quite possible that they never will.
netstack
Texas is freedom land
19d ago
Pretty strong, at least for political terror. Think about the selection effects in making it to the "planting a bomb" stage. The absolute dumbest or most impulsive are likely to get filtered out, one way or another.
I'm not saying they're making a reasonable calculation. Sometimes there's a big thumb on the scale saying "you'll totally go to heaven for this" or "there's no risk since you're smarter than all those people who got caught." But they are demonstrating a basic ability to think about actions and consequences.
The current vibes aren't nearly enough to tip that scale. I get that you feel like BLM protestors and Gaza enthusiasts are getting away with murder. I don't think your confidence is shared by the mainstream left, let alone any radicals. They're terrified that Trump is going to black-bag them in the middle of the night!
netstack
Texas is freedom land
19d ago
Culture war topics go in the weekly Culture War thread, please.
netstack
Texas is freedom land
19d ago
I'm guess I'm not convinced that those are actually better at creating psychos. The 60s and 70s were fertile ground for New Age religions, sex cults, exotic drugs, serial killers, and Godless communists.
I lost a perfectly good draft because I tried to tab over to the Billboard 100. Apparently the bloated modern web is too much for my phone. Whatever.
I think your model is extremely autistic (non-derogatory) and also useless (derogatory). I’m not sure how you could come to half of these conclusions. It’s as if your experience of women is drawn entirely from thinkpieces and dubious IRC roulette.
Could you think of any other reasons why people might object to teenage nudes?
Could you think of any other reasons why feminists might actually want some of those opposite things?
Could you think of any other reasons why a mass-media product might hold contradictory, even trite messages?
Each time, you stop at whatever reason is most convenient for your thesis. This is a terrible way to build a model. Your examples—if you can call them such—aren’t very convincing, either.
If the plural of anecdotes is not data, surely your own solitary anecdote isn’t.
Stats or GTFO!
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