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Culture War Roundup for the week of February 16, 2026

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Because I am acutely aware of the fact that to a large percentage of the voting population, I (a conservative white man) am far more offensive and disgusting than this hypothetical obese welfare queen with 4 kids from 4 different baby-daddies.

Are you getting some government benefits that could be gatekept in this way?

Are you getting some government benefits that could be gatekept in this way?

Not at the moment but (1) I think there's a pretty good chance I will lose my job and investments as a result of a hypothetical future AI revolution; (2) in that case, it's pretty likely that there will be some form of UBI; and (3) I would rather not have a precedent of "gatekeeping" government benefits in such a scenario.

Are you getting some government benefits that could be gatekept in this way?

It doesn't matter; they'll make something up that might rhyme if you stretch it, and insist that it's the same but worse. Much as when trying to discuss robbery and burglarly someone will chime in and say that no really "wage theft" is the real problem, or as in this discussion this

Typical things used might be the mortgage-interest tax deduction, or policing (a "subsidy" to the wealthy and safe areas -- no, this doesn't make sense on a number of levels), or schools (also doesn't make sense on a number of levels, but doesn't matter), etc.