cjet79
Anarcho Capitalist on moral grounds
Libertarian Minarchist on economic grounds
User ID: 124
cjet79
8mo ago
I've seen it said, or maybe heard it said. But I can't point to anything specific.
Usually when I see or hear it I just realized I'm living in a totally different information environment than whoever said it, and I give up most hope of discourse with them.
cjet79
8mo ago
The neocons adapted so well to the Democrats that one wonders if they ever belonged with the Republicans in the first place.
cjet79
8mo ago
Thanks, I post here because I like the engagement I get better. Scott knows where this forum is, and I'm probably way to late to get this post noticed if I made it as a comment over there. You can feel free to post a link on his blog back to this comment, or even fully quote it over there if you want.
cjet79
8mo ago
It's not the politicians lying that was the problem. It was the intelligence agencies covering for them and joining in on the lies. As well as other parts of the machinery of government that we expect to be non-partisan and stay out of elections.
cjet79
8mo ago
Scott Alexander endorses basically anyone but Trump
The main points:
- Trump will move the needle towards right wing strong man authoritarianism.
- The democrats might seem worse, but they aren't.
- Some of us want to punish the democrats for being bad by voting for Trump, but this isn't a good thing to do if Trump will be actually worse on the things we care about punishing the democrats.
I went back and read Scott's 2016 anyone but Trump election endorsement.
The main points:
- Trump doesn't have solutions, he just wants to blow up the system.
- Trump is high variance.
- He will lead to anti-intellectual populism dominating the conservative movement.
- Trump won't do as much about global warming.
- Trump pisses off the libs, and this will further radicalize the libs rather than bringing us back to a better spot.
I would maybe suggest in the future that these posts are counter-productive. The most recent one moved my needle more in favor of Trump. I can't believe I'm considering voting for a major party candidate (I've voted libertarian the few times I've bothered to actually show up). Going back and reading the old anti-endorsement was even worse. With hindsight answering the criticisms:
- Trump did not blow up the system. People blew it up in an attempt to oppose him. Generals lied to him about troop deployments. Prosecutors invented novel legal theories for going after Trump. The FBI encouraged censorship of a story by heavily implying it was false when they knew it was true. Pharma companies held back the release of their vaccines to not give any perceived benefit to Trump. Congress and intelligence agencies spent three years persecuting Trump based on an accusation that was entirely made up by the Clinton campaign.
- Trump had a high variage twitter account. Crazy things were said sometimes. But the actual day to day governance was fine. There were fewer major wars and foreign entanglements started. War seems like a very high variance problem especially wars with a nuclear power involved.
- I feel that the conservative movement has come to a healthier space where they differentiate the university and educational establishment that they hate from intellectualism in general. This worry did not materialize.
- He didn't do much about global warming. I'm happy about that. Honestly worrying about something with consequences 20 years out feels a little silly at this point. It was nice when we had such long time horizons.
- He did indeed piss off the libs. Trump Derangement Syndrome did not go away. He also didn't "crack down" on them. He didn't send Hillary to jail, despite how much her Russia hoax thing probably meant she deserved it (I know she would have gone in for other reasons, but seriously talk about norms breaking). Trump has weathered a great deal of hate. He seems uniquely suited to it. I am happy with him in this role. It has helped a large number of people learn to basically ignore "cancel culture" attempts. Or to immediately look with suspicion at any story of someone doing something awful.
I really feel like there is some gell-mann amnesia going on with Scott. He reads these horrid stories about Trump. With the details sensationalized in the worst possible way. And he accepts them as fact. Meanwhile the New York Times threatens to dox him so they can run a hit piece article on him that they sourced from a weirdo on wikipedia with a knack for rules-lawyering.
He talks about how Trumps norms violations are loud and unsubtle. While the democrats only subtly and slowly violate norms. But this is a framing that has been shoved down our throats by the media. Every minor violation of Trump's is blown out of proportion, and every major violation of the democrats is minimized and not talked about. How is it not a massive norms violation to spend 3 years investigating and accusing a sitting president of Treason based on a campaign dosier that was almost entirely made up by his opposition? And the people doing this knew it all along. I don't think democrats or liberal leaning people seem to realize how much the Russia Hoax thing has utterly fucked their credibility on everything. Especially after the Hunter Biden laptop story came out, and it turned out that the intelligence agencies helped them cover up exactly what they had been accusing Trump of doing.
This is supposed to be a government system where one side wins, implements their things, becomes a little too unpopular for going too far, and then the other side wins and get to do their thing for a little while. They switch back and forth. We all learned in 2016 that no, this is not actually how it operates. There is actually a hidden veto by the bureaucracy and the deep state. If they don't like the president they can decide not to let him do his thing. People are righteously pissed off about that, and many of them would happily see that bureaucracy and deep state dismantled if it meant they never get to use their veto again. And one way to test if they still have the veto power, and one way to give someone an incentive to fix it, is to keep electing presidents that we know they will "veto".
Trump is a vote for restoring norms. For restoring the ability of democracy and the vote to actually pick a direction for the country, rather than have that direction dictated by unelected and unaccountable bureaucrats. I dislike Trump on most of his policies, but it wouldn't be a vote for his policies. Its a vote for voting on policies.
cjet79
8mo ago
I've done one before, forget which one. Did a bit of research on them beforehand.
They basically emailed a bunch of places and requested that my name and personal data be removed.
Not sure what effect it had if any. I still get the occasional spam call.
cjet79
8mo ago
The writers and readers can all be true believers. The owner still has ultimate authority over them and chose to exercise it against their wishes.
That demonstrates the owner's authority, and their value as someone that needs to be traded favors to in the future.
I think the value of the WaPo paper is a bit of a writeoff in Bezos' mind. The value of AWS contracts with the government probably outweighs any profit the paper is making.
I'm 80-90% certain that Trump is going to win. I don't really know how to calculate Kelly bets. My betting pool is small anyways, probably no more than $100. I get no joy from gambling, so I'm not signed up for anything and would have some transaction costs involved with setting all that stuff up.
My form of backing up what I think is to make a public declaration on here and to people in person that I think a certain outcome is likely. If I'm wrong I'll be wrong. If someone wants to take the other side of the bet with me I'll trade in a few hours of factorio assistance on their factory vs assisting me if I win. Or I'll just change my profile flair to be something like [I was wrong about the election, USER was correct].
cjet79
8mo ago
I mentioned it last week, but if you are going to sell yourself out, you should at least not do it cheaply.
Everyone seems to be jumping to Trump being the one to get benefits. But I think there is a much more mundane explanation: Kamala can't pay up.
If there is a bit of quid-pro-quo between newspapers and the democratic party, then the democrats can't necessarily do much back scratching if they are not in power.
And the newspapers don't want a reputation for always being willing to shill for the democrats. Its bad for both groups in that it lowers the credibility of them doing it in the future. But its also bad for the newspapers, because there is no reason to help out someone who is always going to help you.
Its noticeable that billionaire controlled newspapers are the ones not endorsing Kamala. The exact kind of people that would know how the game of favors is played, and have an interest in preserving the value of their own favors.
This also feeds into my increasing certainty that Trump has this election in the bag. I think the last time I felt this certain about an election was probably 2012 or 2008. Much of the election coverage has not been about trying to claim that the election is going to be fair, they are instead already replaying the post election 2016 stuff that Trump is a fascist. Basically the coverage they do when they want the government deep state machinery to act as a roadblock. If there was a lot of confidence in winning I think the media would be more focused on election integrity.
cjet79
8mo ago
If any of the polling stations are compromised you can just directly add the fake votes there.
Adding fake votes greater than the number of registered people is risky. But if you know you have a bunch of leeway with registered voters that can't possibly vote ...
cjet79
8mo ago
He is the host of the largest live podcast in the world. I could see the joke doing fine at his normal events.
cjet79
9mo ago
Good description of the game. I've played it and would recommend it as well for anyone that likes the factory genre of games.
It is a bit all over the place in terms of focus. The city sim and exploration parts almost felt like separate games entirely. Or they just act as resource sinks for the main factory part of the game.
I think the best part of the game is the landscaping. I loved designing the mines into the ground with retaining walls to get a steeper slope. Flattening mountains to fill in the ocean was oddly satisfying, I usually would reserve some dirt for a later of top soil to make it all look nice and not so inconsistent.
I tended to play the game on the easiest settings, and also found a mod that increased the truck limit. So I removed most of the "challenge" of the game, but I found it more enjoyable that way.
cjet79
9mo ago
I listen to a bunch of podcasts. Joe Rogan is probably in the top ten. But everyone above him that I listen to are also comedians and guys just shooting the shit. Matt and Shane's, Tim Dillon, Two bears one cave, Flagrant (which i think had trump too?), Stavy's world, etc.
I think I was more annoyed because I like listening to Joe Rogan. I tend to not like guests that speak over and monopolize the conversation. They are on the "Joe Rogan Experience", not the "Guests of Joe Rogan". The whole point of the podcast is that an everyday man is injected into this position of having a conversation with important, famous, and knowledgeable people. It ruins the ambiance to just talk over him.
Probably should have realized this would be my reaction. I couldn't watch much of his convention speech either. Got like 5 minutes in and quit.
I'm not saying this as someone that is very anti-trump. It would be nice to like trump. He appeals to some of my contrarian instincts. I just also have standards of entertainment. He talked about the apprentice a bit in the beginning as well. I was never interested in that show. Maybe its like many other fads, I'm just the wrong target audience. Whether the fad is MAGA or TDS, I'm just missing out. I don't get it.
cjet79
9mo ago
I listen to podcasts all the time, including Joe Rogan's. I mainly listen to comedian podcasts. I think they tend to have the best economy of words. Even if they are idiots most of the time, they at least know how to tell a good story and make it entertaining.
cjet79
9mo ago
I just said the other day I was feeling lukewarm on Trump. But now I'm feeling different. I thought the podcast was awful. Couldn't make it past ten minutes. I might have to try again now that people say the first hour was rough.
It was Trump rambling at its worst. Rogan asks about winning the race in 2016, and next thing I know Trump is talking about how Lincoln was melancholy instead of depressed, cuz his kid died.
Sometimes I feel I would love Trump if it weren't for Trump.
cjet79
9mo ago
Would anyone like to join a group play through?
Right now its me @xablor and @Southkraut
Add me on Steam cjet799
cjet79
9mo ago
I felt this way in 2016 and 2020.
I'm libertarian and have never really liked the main two parties.
Trump has oddly grown on me. It might just be my serial contrariasm. The constant hate thrown his way has made me more skeptical of all criticism about him. If they were willing to lie about him being a Russian spy than what else are they saying that is a lie?
His actual governing record was not bad from my perspective. No new wars, a slate of justices that flipped the court, and a government that was mostly focused on fights I didn't care about.
cjet79
9mo ago
Yarvin seems allergic to making minor nuanced claims. Go big or go home is his approach. It makes his writing more interesting, but also wrong more often.
I wonder what the reasons are for the LA times owner saying don't endorse Kamala. It could be that the owner likes Trump, but it could also be a more mundane business decision, like "neither of them has spent money advertising with us, and we shouldn't be a free whore".
cjet79
9mo ago
Being introverted is one of the things I'd gladly change about myself. That and disliking Broccoli (would make low carb diet way easier).
I don't think most introverts are very happy with it. It seems like a maladaptive trait for the modern world.
I suspect it is closer to something like left-handedness than it is to something like an accent that you can discard with a bit of practice.
cjet79
9mo ago
You are extroverted, some people you know are more extroverted than you.
Those people you talk to that suck at maintaining conversations ... probably introverts.
I think your argument proves too much. It sounds like it could be used to disprove any internal assessments.
cjet79
9mo ago
You sound like most extroverts I encounter. One of the most common aspects of extroverts is that they tend to not believe or accept that introverts exist.
Every introvert knows what they are and how they are different than extroverts. It takes them only the barest amount of observational skill.
There is a manifestation of physical discomfort in social situations. The closest comparison I can think of: imagine knowing that you stink from BO or poop, or your teeth are gross. Then further imagine you are stuck in close proximity to a person you are attracted to but barely know. I think most people's desire in this situation is an intense desire to leave and be unseen. You might even fear that other people are noticing or discussing your grossness. Nearby laughter can spike paranoia rather than joy.
That is what it can feel like when an introvert has overextended and stayed in a social situation past their leave time.
And when that is how nights tend to end even if you have fun for the first few hours it's not really something you look forward to. And eventually you either discover the magic of alcohol which I believe can switch people from introverts to extroverts, or you stop going to social events.
cjet79
9mo ago
Opposite experience for me. Seems obvious who are extroverts and introverts around me. People who sit in the middle seem more rare than the ones that exist at the extremes of the spectrum.
cjet79
9mo ago
Vidya
Factorio expansion releases next Monday. Hell ya. I think I still have the posts saved from last time of people that are interested in a playthrough. If anyone else is interested let me know here. I'll set up a server for joint play. You can add me on steam: cjet799
I've been having fun in the discord.gg/1stmi playing starship troopers extermination. I'm a corporal, which usually just means I'm expected to step up into squad lead positions, and I'm capable of shadowing someone who is trying out for a squad lead position. Next step is getting a platoon lead certification and then I'll be in charge of running 16 person ops. But also in charge of more paperwork and making sure people behave in a discord chat.
I did encounter my first recalcitrant trooper this past week. They were uninterested in taking orders, or only followed about half of what I said. At the end of the match I pulled them aside and just had a quick chat "hey man, if you don't want to follow orders that's fine, but there isn't much point being in this group if that's the case" he gave a bit of an apology and said he was tired. He seemed better the next day.
cjet79
9mo ago
I find that my anger is often very physiological. My heart rate is elevated, I'm pumping more adrenaline, by blood sugar is low from hunger, etc.
It helps me a lot to address the physical aspects of anger. Slow down my breathing to control my heart rate. Take a little walk like I'm warming down from exercise. Or just have a snack.
Even if it doesn't get at the underlying cause of my anger I'm at least a little better off at thinking logically and dealing with the problem.
That is a valid point. I do feel like there is a major difference in scale. And that the Hillary email investigation was not based on a fabrication by her political enemies.
Not investigating a real thing is bias. But investigating a fake thing is bias. And obviously you might not know which is which until afterwards. But the investigators should have figured out which was which sooner. Their failure to do so in the trump Russia thing was either massive incompetence or willful bias and political favoritism. Normally I'm willing to assign incompetence to the government, and maybe I would have if it had only dragged on for a year, but three years beggars belief.
More options
Context Copy link