Lewis2
1yr ago
Can you clarify what group you mean when you talk about American subsistence farmers? Where most of my ancestors came from in Europe, the average peasant farm was IIRC around 3 acres, and they paid high taxes to the local lord and the various higher levels of government. When they came to America, the smallest farm any of them had was either 40 or 80 acres, plus they had a vastly lower tax bill. Even though they were initially hard up, I don’t think it would be accurate to call any of them subsistence farmers after the first few years.
Were there actually long-term subsistence farmers out further south and west, where the land is less fertile?
Lewis2
1yr ago
The pro-life right is also split on the question of a federal ban. Some want to push for one, some would push for one if they thought it were politically feasible (but they recognize it’s not), and some think the issue should belong to the states, period. When even the pro-lifers are split like this, the odds that a federal ban even makes it through one house of Congress is basically nil.
Lewis2
1yr ago
I remember my parents had hoped Condoleezza Rice would run in 2008, though by the time the primary season came around, they both agreed that she was too tainted by her association with the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq to be a viable candidate.
Lewis2
1yr ago
Do you really think that’ll happen, or are you just throwing out a wild theory? To me, that seems about as likely as Joe Biden coming back as 48 in 2028. It would be entirely out of character for Trump (or any president) to resign in order to help his successor.
Lewis2
1yr ago
Oh, I’m sure it was completely crushing for Hillary. I have no disagreements there. But I would still think that today is probably the worst day in Harris’ life, even if it isn’t as bad for her as it was for Clinton. Coming so close to the presidency and then losing it (and losing it to Trump, in an explicit rejection of Harris’ and Biden’s last four years) has to be the bitterest pill she’s ever had to swallow.
Lewis2
1yr ago
Hillary Clinton didn’t speak to her supporters election night either. She called Trump and conceded at 2:40 a.m.
Lewis2
1yr ago
I’ve been watching NBC, and they just talked about that too. (Paraphrased) “If Harris loses, it might just be proof that Americans won’t vote for a black female president.”
Lewis2
1yr ago
Does anyone know what’s taking Nevada so long to begin releasing results? Are they waiting until the numbers are finalized?
Lewis2
1yr ago
a shit at McDonald's
Say working at McDonald’s isn’t that bad all you want; your subconscious just gave you away.
Lewis2
1yr ago
But if we were set back to the technological level of the 1700s, how possible would it be for us to recover to our modern-day level? Most of the easily-accessible coal and oil have been depleted. Modern farming and transportation would be destroyed, very possibly leading to Malthusian living conditions and a lack of leisure time necessary to rebuild the machines and infrastructure that we know are possible. Within a few generations, most of the practical knowledge necessary to build complex machinery, etc., would be lost completely. It also seems likely to me that in the aftermath of a large-scale nuclear war, many of the most intelligent people would be dead, which might further complicate efforts to build society back to its present level of affluence and technological advancement.
Lewis2
1yr ago
I think plenty of people know who Moldbug/Yarvin is under both identities. Until now, I didn’t realize anyone knew BAP’s real identity. I definitely wouldn’t have recognized the name if Goodguy had used it.
Lewis2
1yr ago
The timing for that doesn’t work out at all. The Second Great Awakening burnt out by the 1830s–40s, several generations before most states eliminated or severely restricted the death penalty. Also, Christians support the death penalty at higher rates than non-Christians, at least in the United States.
Lewis2
1yr ago
They are fighting a cleaner war than Israel.
How do you figure that? Was October 7 a clean act?
Lewis2
1yr ago
Especially the episode where Joe (temporarily) went on the air.
Lewis2
1yr ago
Wait, what? When did that change happen? The parent comment to this one is the first time I can remember seeing it used in the informal North American sense, and until reading your edit, I assumed CertainlyWorse got it wrong as well.
Lewis2
1yr ago
The two local organizations I am part of have dues of $20 and $45 annually. I wouldn’t remain a member of either if they charged that amount monthly. I believe the local Lions clubs have annual dues that are in a similar price range, though I don’t know the exact figure.
Lewis2
1yr ago
There are probably regional differences at work here. Until reading this thread, I’d never heard of a Lions club that charges extortionate dues or has exclusive rules about membership. Certainly the ones in my area will take just about anyone, even though in practice the members tend to be almost all retirees these days.
The Rotary Club, by contrast, have always been exclusively for professionals, as are usually all of the Masonic organizations.
If you’re just looking to volunteer and connect with people that way, what about any local soup kitchens or food banks?
Lewis2
1yr ago
90% of presidents have the dictator spirit within them. We were only graced with 1 George Washington in our nation's history.
Don’t forget Calvin Coolidge, one of the best presidents we’ve ever had.
Lewis2
1yr ago
People who say such things are probably thinking back to similar events in the past, such as Pfizer and the FDA waiting to announce that they had developed a successful vaccine until the week after the 2020 election, when an earlier announcement would presumably have helped Trump. But I would guess that such occurrences are quite rare and that, as you said, people are making connections that aren’t really there.
Lewis2
1yr ago
Alexander, of course. By 2028, his time in California will have tipped him over the edge.
Lewis2
1yr ago
For what duration? Eventually they’ll age out of the business. Or is this just a sneaky attempt to reenact prohibition in a few decades’ time?
Lewis2
1yr ago
I think we’re in complete agreement. Fascism as it is usually understood is in the “social conservatism, big government” quadrant, but it isn’t the only thing in that quadrant. However, it seems to me that @Capital_Room is pulling a dirty trick. He’s claiming that fascism is just a neutral descriptor (“any socially-conservative right-wing that isn't this way (particularly when its supporters are mostly white and/or Christian) is definitionally fascist”), but then he also says things like,
Well, once in my college days, I responded by asking what would happen if the Republican party stopped trying to cut government, and focused instead on how to run it when in charge. Would that, therefore, be less objectionable?
The answer was not just no, but hell no. That would be the worst-case scenario. Because no matter how bad the "cut taxes, cut regulation, kill the government" GOP was, any socially-conservative right wing party that didn't embrace this, which actually wanted to run the government, and use it toward right-wing ends, would be a fascist party.
And
The alternative of course is being replaced by another ascendant elite who will "restore democracy" inasmuch as they will fix the system in favor of new patrons who actually listen to the native proletariat.
In other words, a fascist takeover. I can't see our current elites doing anything other than using every tool and bit of power at their disposal to prevent this.
And
The patricians all agree that what the plebs want is beyond the pale, because what the plebs want is fascism.
Which rather gives the game away. “Fascism is just the neutral umbrella term we use for political ideologies in that quadrant.” Okay, fine. “Which means that obviously you can’t support it.” Wait, why not? “Because it’s fascism!”
As I said earlier, the same definitional trick has been played many times before with communism, racism, sexism, homophobia, etc. What puzzles me is who Capital_Room thinks he’s going to convince with that trick here. Is there anyone on this site who doesn’t immediately realize what he’s trying to do? His goals are especially obvious when he says things like,
[GOP elites] are in favor of Burkean incrementalism, moving things in the same direction as the left, just much more slowly.
Why was the party elite this way? Because it's the only acceptable form the "right wing" can take, particularly in a modern, Western country.
In short, it’s just a rhetorical trick to prevent his ideological opponents from supporting social conservatism. The only acceptable conservatism in a modern Western country is one that doesn’t actually conserve anything, just drifts leftward more slowly. Of course, voters are finally wising up to this and voting MAGA, AfD, FPÖ, etc.,
The Amish don’t believe that they are the only ones who will be saved, though. Also, perhaps unexpectedly, many of the Amish are very much into genetic testing and diversifying their gene pool. Even though they have historically been careful not to allow marriages between remotely close relatives, enough generations of marrying their fourth and fifth cousins have resulted in a noticeably higher birth defect rate.
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