site banner
PaperclipPerfector  3mo ago (text post)   2631 thread views

Friday Fun Thread for January 31, 2025

Be advised: this thread is not for serious in-depth discussion of weighty topics (we have a link for that), this thread is not for anything Culture War related. This thread is for Fun. You got jokes? Share 'em. You got silly questions? Ask 'em.

2
Top Bottom Old Controversial Comments
Jump in the discussion.

No email address required.

There has been some discussion of the DMV (DC/Maryland/Virginia) area recently. Does anyone have any opinions on this proposed reorganization of that region?

I somewhat like it but I'd hate if I became part of the DC voting block. Northern Virginia laws sort of work because they are held back by the rest of the state from going full crazy blue.

When they are not held back you get a situation like Maryland, which has to deal with the Baltimore voting block and is dysfunctional.

You can see this dynamic with where a bunch of people live, it's the Virginia side that has grown massively both in population and wealth.

I somewhat like it but I'd hate if I became part of the DC voting block. Northern Virginia laws sort of work because they are held back by the rest of the state from going full crazy blue.

It's going to tip full crazy blue in our lifetime. I'd rather get ahead of that before it's too late. That said, looking at the map, having some new DC centered state stretch all the way to I-81 and then down past Fredericksburg is fucking insane. Give them to Reston tops, leave Leesburg alone. Much less Front Royal.

having some new DC-centered state stretch all the way to I-81 and then down past Fredericksburg is fucking insane

I drew this map on the basis of the Census Bureau's delineation of metropolitan areas, which in turn is based on objective commuting statistics.

Just because some wackos commute 2 hours every day each way to Front Royal doesn't mean that it's culturally part of DC.

Nobody commutes into DC from Front Royal. They have a zoom job.... for now....

What is this place?

This website is a place for people who want to move past shady thinking and test their ideas in a court of people who don't all share the same biases. Our goal is to optimize for light, not heat; this is a group effort, and all commentators are asked to do their part.

The weekly Culture War threads host the most controversial topics and are the most visible aspect of The Motte. However, many other topics are appropriate here. We encourage people to post anything related to science, politics, or philosophy; if in doubt, post!

Check out The Vault for an archive of old quality posts. You are encouraged to crosspost these elsewhere.


Why are you called The Motte?

A motte is a stone keep on a raised earthwork common in early medieval fortifications. More pertinently, it's an element in a rhetorical move called a "Motte-and-Bailey", originally identified by philosopher Nicholas Shackel. It describes the tendency in discourse for people to move from a controversial but high value claim to a defensible but less exciting one upon any resistance to the former. He likens this to the medieval fortification, where a desirable land (the bailey) is abandoned when in danger for the more easily defended motte. In Shackel's words, "The Motte represents the defensible but undesired propositions to which one retreats when hard pressed."

On The Motte, always attempt to remain inside your defensible territory, even if you are not being pressed.


New post guidelines

If you're posting something that isn't related to the culture war, we encourage you to post a thread for it. A submission statement is highly appreciated, but isn't necessary for text posts or links to largely-text posts such as blogs or news articles; if we're unsure of the value of your post, we might remove it until you add a submission statement. A submission statement is required for non-text sources (videos, podcasts, images).

Culture war posts go in the culture war thread; all links must either include a submission statement or significant commentary. Bare links without those will be removed.

If in doubt, please post it!


Rules


Recommended Posts And Communities

Recommended Realtime Chats