US Politics, September 2024 -- “I’m Not Going to Apologize For Posting a Joke”

congrats to Alfred, that's nice to hear! my union is currently in negotiations

I didn't follow the whole discussion, but unions & collective agreements are also one place to fight for action on climate change

thanks!

Quit while you're ahead (namely, a head full of pudding):

https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:qrllvid7s54k4hnwtqxwetrf/bafkreif5ychikezfqbafomteghcq452oub3m7qjlmbmbcfnbc6eq5ym45q@jpeg

actual polls starting to tilt more towards Harris though:

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/harris-expands-lead-over-trump-in-first-post-debate-polls/ar-AA1qtw0h?ocid=msedgntp&pc=NMTS&cvid=e1f7d2bafc0d423483e2ca16f8ec36f2&ei=3

Harris is up 50% to 45% over Trump in a Morning Consult survey conducted Wednesday of 3,317 likely voters, her widest lead yet in the group’s presidential election surveys and a slight improvement from her four-point lead in a survey taken on the day of the debate and from her three-point lead in pre-debate surveys.

A two-day Reuters/Ipsos poll that closed Thursday also found Harris leading by five points, 47% to 42%, a one-point increase from her advantage in an Aug. 21-28 Reuters/Ipsos poll.

it's funny how american exceptionalism plays into inaction on climate change. i know a lot of ppl who just think we'll innovate our way out of this and therefore we need not worry about it. someone from nasa is gonna spray some shit in the air and we'll be good

This is sadly not just an American thing! Had a convo once with three ppl who all believed we'll just be able to innovate ourselves out of this mess - ubsurprisingly they worked in tech.

we sure did innovate our way into it

while i do believe we all need to change the incredibly profligate way we live - from flights to beef to AC - like for REAL, actually - i also do not buy the idea that we’re “running out of resources” in a malthusian dystopic vision of feral overpopulation. put another way, it’s a quick hop from “we consume too much” to “there’s no more room”. there is PLENTY of room. and if the wealthy among us could just pump the brakes a little and we could reduce inequality not only by raising up the lowly but by bringing down those of us who live beyond the wildest dreams of historical potentates we would probably find that the world can supply all of us quite easily

i believe in cocaine communism, sure maybe you cant fly on a private jet but you get free drugs video games and a yurt

fine with me, what about Negronis

thanks, ivy --- all i see are my "reign/rein" and "they they" errors, but i appreciate it!

This is sadly not just an American thing! Had a convo once with three ppl who all believed we'll just be able to innovate ourselves out of this mess - ubsurprisingly they worked in tech.

― Daniel_Rf, Thursday, September 12, 2024 3:55 PM (twelve minutes ago) bookmarkflaglink

recall years ago talking to a friend of a friend who worked for the dems in washington asking them what was gonna be done about climate change and they with full nonchalant confidence were all no problem well figure it out i go how and they were like we will just do it

fine with me, what about Negronis

― the talented mr pimply (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Thursday, September 12, 2024 4:09 PM (one minute ago) bookmarkflaglink

you will be supplied with a voucher for the fixins

xxxp Ok he's settled in on 'Comrade' Kamala which is fine, but he should know that only fellow Party members are allowed to use that term so it means he's a communist as well

Climate entrepreneurs will code us out of this mess

citizen journalism hasnt really panned out

Oh okay https://t.co/DafNTCrUx3 pic.twitter.com/oWde9XXzyt

— Jane Coaston 🏔️ (@janecoaston) September 12, 2024

Haitians in Springfield, Ohio, are keeping their children home and reporting damage to their property as anti-immigrant conspiracy theories spread, fanned by statements by Trump and Vance https://t.co/aYaEK06uhb

— Evan Hill (@evanhill) September 12, 2024

Kicker to the article excerpted in that Jane Coaston tweet:

For her part, Newton, Lee’s neighbor, said she remains concerned that the influx of Haitians is negatively affecting the city’s healthcare and education systems.

“I think it was two years ago now, I went to the [Bureau of Motor Vehicles] to renew my license or my tags. I can't remember, but I was sitting in the BMV, and the only way I know to describe it is I felt like … I was transported, because all around me it was people talking a different language. … I felt like I was the minority,” she said.

this shit is such a stupid campaign strategy like yeah let's piss off an entire race of people in a state which might be surprisingly competitive just to shore up the same folks who hate immigrants so much they're practically stroking out. oh and while you're at it make sure you mention how much Orban loves you just in case there are any Polish folks in this country thinkin about staying home on election day

I gotta say, of all the vile things I've seen in the last three campaign cycles this shit with Haitians and pets has repulsed me most -- maybe because I live and work among so many Haitians, all of whom are the hardest workers I know, just head-down type of people.

the classic political and militant wings of a movement

this really merits a separate thread but we do not have & are not gonna have this. all the theory is pre-media age and pre-globalism and imo it has not kept up with the changes.

when does the media age start

xp it also feels like they're using 30s Germany style tactics there, just say the most outlandish and racist shit, then admit it's probably false but that people should still say it, all with a grin on your face

Gotta love Trump’s “there will be no third debate because Kamala lost and wants a rematch too bad” spin. Clever guy.

everyone knows he's a coward

pretty much how all this shit works xp frogs

I imagine it's a risk/reward thing, with "how likely are we to win without a third debate?" on one side and "we know he's horrible at this" on the other, and right now, "horrible" outweighs the other. If Harris's polling picks up noticeably in the next couple of weeks, I'm sure they'll do a 180.

also if he can stand her calling him a coward

xxxxxp There are really interesting moves being made in "community self-reliance" -- not only on communes in the wilderness!

Kingston, NY has for 15+ years hosted an annual arts fest called O+ ("O positive") in which medical practitioners sign up to donate their medical services (check ups, phys therapy, dentistry, even other procedures that can be scheduled for a future time) in return for artists and musicians, writers, poets, etc donating THEIR services in the form of free performances, public art, readings, making objects, and basically exchanging services WITHOUT fees.

In Detroit, a community-based reliance/resiliency project called Avalon Village worked with the group Solar-darity to build/install solar-powered street lights after the city withdrew services. They put the solar lights on private land in cooperation with home-owners, and I think there's even a self-powered wifi network component.

There's more. Of course urban gardens are in no way sufficient to meet the food needs of densely populated areas, but they can add much needed nutrition and/or lessen the impacts of food insufficiency for some. And so on.

Honestly if I could, I would move to [redacted small city] in Michigan right now and fully become the weird lady on the corner who turns her lawn into a food forest and leaves produce on a table. There's nothing I want more.

(xpost) He can always work on comeback zingers like "I know you are, but what am I?" (See Hank Kingsley practicing to be a roastmaster.)

when does the media age start

visual media, general availability of televisions. I'd mark that as a seismic change in the dissemination of information

while you're at it make sure you mention how much Orban loves you just in case there are any Polish folks in this country thinkin about staying home on election day

Er...

the various american civil rights movements of the mid 20th century had militant aspects right, the troubles in northern ireland off the top my head, feel like i can see the shape of the argument but im not totally sure what it is xp

the sikh separatist movement thats some gnarly shit

I think clem is right, it's kind of hard to imagine him passing on the chance to be the center of attention for what is hopefully the last fucking time in his life, that said it doesn't really feel like his heart's in this anymore

The headline on this Politico article made me laugh.

‘The Most Important Thing That the Harris Campaign Can Do’
A veteran Democratic strategist on how the campaign should approach the race’s final chapter.

Ooh, a "veteran Democratic strategist"! Is it Mark Penn? James Carville? Ruy Teixiera? Maybe we'll get really lucky and it'll be Bob Shrum!

(It's none of those guys. It's somebody I've never heard of, and there's absolutely nothing of value in the article.)

wrt climate stuff above, I recently finished up Ken Burns' National Parks doc (amazing) and it was astounding to see how the very genesis of the parks was powered by a powerful convergence of spiritualism/art (beauty and God in nature, the written word and imagery that impassioned others) that motivated collective activism which also aligned with moneyed interests (railroad companies were huge proponents of the parks from the get go). It also necessitated allies from the ruling class (Lincoln and both Roosevelt presidents, for example).

I don't see how we transition out of our current cultural climate without some combination of the above. The battle for Hetch Hetchy was especially relevant, as it involves many of the same themes discussed in this thread (i.e. resource extraction to help humans at the cost of natural environs). Some balance/sacrifices will have to be met, natural environments are fundamentally unable to be preserved in their entirety in the face of some aspects of post-agrarian civilization. Shit like vertical farming and releasing arable land back to the wild is something we very much could do, but you still need to build those vertical farms, which requires extracted resources.

These are problems that, even in potentially solving them, isn't going to make everyone happy or have perfect solutions, if we're lucky enough to solve them at all. But I hope we solve them.

It's important to remember how powerful the opposition to those parks were, and that they were still yet defeated.

i think one issue is the shift towards this sort of psychotic culture of oil and vehicles and guns and what constitutes freedom, and the imagery these days isn't what was written about in america the beautiful, that's for sure. you can see it in the reactions to anything that's even remotely green or sustainable, there's this absolute nihilistic undercurrent to the opposition that such things are for the weak and woke, vs the whole strongman vibe so many right wing types want to get across. there's zero toughness to be had for them in the concept of environmental protection or altering our course in terms of climate.

i think theres still a lot of nature appreciators in america even amongst right wingers, but the situation has for sure been politicized to the max

probably another way social media has wrecked us. it's probably also just breeding an entire new generation of sociopaths who are completely unable to empathize with others let alone care about the future of the planet. that's probably too cynical, i know.

i still think there's enough pushback among normal folks to keep the ravaging of our national parks at bay, for now.

xp OTM - That's more a testament to how powerful modern propaganda is. What really drags me down is just how effective our technology has become at psychologically keeping us at bay and at each other's throats.

Maybe we really need a giant solar flare to knock out the world's electrical infrastructure after all

I dunno if this story went national, but my boy DeSantis suffered a pretty formidable legislative defeat last week when a bipartisan coalition fought the PR and ballot box battle to -- get this -- build golf courses on state parks.

So people care about parks.

thomas piketty’s new book is all about the link between climate change and inequality btw

i think theres still a lot of nature appreciators in america even amongst right wingers, but the situation has for sure been politicized to the max

I've mentioned this before I think, but one of the most contentious issues in Montana is asshole Republicans trying to limit people's access to public lands and waters — hunters and fishermen are really up in arms about this shit. If Ryan Busse wins the governorship, this might be one of the issues that pushes him over the top.

Access to nature and the connection the vast majority of humans have to it is something that has historically transcended political divisions in the post-industrial world.

Alfred - what's up with DeSantis's door-knocker election police? re: the reproductive rights ballot measure, and folks who signed the petitions. That seems like some straight-up fascist shit

Alfred - what's up with DeSantis's door-knocker election police? re: the reproductive rights ballot measure, and folks who signed the petitions. That seems like some straight-up fascist shit

Seems like something to be wary of volunteering for in a Stand Your Ground/Castle Doctrine state, too.

https://www.tampabay.com/news/florida-politics/2024/09/04/florida-desantis-abortion-amendment-petition-signatures-fraud/

I heard something like: they were going to send cops out to the addresses on the petition to confirm the signatory lived there... total voter intimidation