MURDER, POLITICS, AND THE END OF THE JAZZ AGE
by Michael Wolraich
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Hits of the Day
DiFi Blindside - what really went down
By PeraclesPlease on Sat, 02/23/2019 - 9:32am |
URL:
https://twitter.com/tommyxtopher/status/1099137889043140609
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The thing that hits me about this one is the big picture about Twitter is: if you follow reasonable and rational people, you don't fall for the viral spin, it gets decoded right quick:
The problem is what it has always been with media of any kind, going back to the printing press allowing for agitprop broadsides posted in the town square: echo chambers; tribalist spin that verifies and going for confirmation bias. The cycle just goes a lot faster now and has a lot more participants.
What this little incident made me see: some have a vested interest in making it look like there is a new generation gap and the old people just don't get it. That's not going to happen because unlike the greatest generation, too many oldsters now have access to "what's going on."
The danger of little tribal groups not being challenged on their thought patterns is still there, it is the Facebook model where you only listen to the tribe's information flow. At the same time, though, you always have an Uncle Harry in your circle of relatives who is bringing the alternate reality of like, Fox News, into the mix. I am not talking about minor things here: the Rwandan genocide, for example, was helped along mightily by there being only two opposing streams of information on the radio....
Strikes me that anything viral that has spin in it is getting debunked right quick with nuance except amongst the most devoted tribalists. If someone is truly a passionate nut into believing anything that confirms their bias about anything, as always it's going to be a long haul changing their mind. But there is the possibility that it can happen quicker than it used to! Won't take decades. For this very reason, I think I instinctively dislike litmus testing about things that happened long ago.
by artappraiser on Sat, 02/23/2019 - 2:08pm
More thoughts. The danger may sometimes be the opposite that spin gets debunked so quickly that no one believes anything anymore. This story is not the same thing, but it is pointing to a similar problem:
by artappraiser on Sat, 02/23/2019 - 2:13pm
Others thinking about same topic:
by artappraiser on Sat, 02/23/2019 - 2:52pm
The thing that hits me about this big picture is the likes of Feinstein, Pelosi and Harris are clearly unnerved and having a hard time stopping AOC from reframing the debate. A year ago Feinstein would never have had to address any proposal so far outside her comfort zone, much less face a room full of judgmental children, much less take any media flack for her slapdown of their youthful lack of realism.
Here in Brussels the big move in response to Greta's whirlwind visit is the € 35 billion programme dedicated to technological solutions to climate change (over 7 years). Sounds pretty good until you realize it is about a quarter of what Amazon's Mr. Bezos spends each year on r&d related to his pet projects of mining your data better, getting himself to Mars and probably developing higher resolution dick-pics.
I haven't really been following the Green New Deal debate, but what little I've seen seems to be stuck in a mental dissonance between the sense that its objective is both patently politically impossible and also scientifically necessary. When your "wise, reasonable and moderate" approach involves turning the planet into a burning hellscape, and you are vaguely sensitive to that aspect of your words, you have a harder time sounding convincing.
It is weird to sit here in Brussels and find myself looking to a Swedish high school student and a fringe left Brooklyn 29 year old political newby as the hope for the planet. But here we are...
by Obey on Sun, 02/24/2019 - 7:10am
Disagree - Feinstein was always the more establishment Senator - progressive, but still on the intelligence committee and catching shit for being too friendly towards surveillance, et al. (what with heavy Russian incursions since 2014-5 to horrid effect, wondering how that's shifted the left's thinking on security measures).
For someone "unnerved", Pelosi seems to be finding her nut the last few months, and it's not like AOC didn't call truce with her pretty damn quick. And neither she nor Feinstein is really running for anything anymore (maybe Nance goes for 1 more term, but doubtfully more).
Kamala Harris on the other hand is relatively new on the stage, not that completely at-ease and charismatic, and somewhat of a more conservative/establishment character. It's a question how she'll do with this year's trends, since she *is* running for something. We'll see how she adapts on the campaign trail.
I don't see AOC as so "fringe" - she represents a fairly well established branch of the party, not a majority, but certainly not small. Nor are the goals so unreasonable, even though the plans & measures may not be as rigorous as those in the center.
But the presumptiousness of a group of 10-16 year olds showing up in a Senator's office unwilling to listen at all and presuming to speak the full gospel truth is a bit much.
by PeraclesPlease on Sun, 02/24/2019 - 8:25am
haha! Yes i have loved how Pelosi has handled Trump! I had more in mind her denying that she had even read the biggest political proposal of the month/year as quantified in media-gravitational terms, and welcoming "enthusiasm" for a policy set based on science she still doesn't seem to think is quite well grounded (hence the need for another select committee or some such).
And yes, the gall of the kids these days. How dare they disrespect a Senator who has spent 30 years in politics doing nothing for the planet they will inherit. I'm not too inclined to lecture them on manners on this one. The Greta Thunberg shame-your-elders approach seems to be getting some political traction.
Interested in your (and others') read on Harris. I think she seems quite at ease generally. She is less than convincing when addressing a progressive audience, or issues progressives care about. Maybe unnerved is the wrong word. But all of them seem to have failed to wholeheartedly adopt a line on the Green New Deal. And without her presence and her vocal promotion of it, they would be feeling more comfortable not having to address it. To me it seems like a massive shift in the Overton Window as regards climate change. For the better imo.
by Obey on Sun, 02/24/2019 - 9:34am
What's that Who song, "Bragging 'bout My Generation"?
Cause now that we adopted Universal Health Care and $15 Minimum Wage and got rid of all our sexist politicians and corporate/banking influence in politics, we can turn our efforts to other new goals. Sure glad we won't be running on the same issues as 2016 again, wow that was tiring.
by PeraclesPlease on Sun, 02/24/2019 - 11:53am
er...'talking bout my generation', peracles if you pleeeze.
by wd (not verified) on Sun, 02/24/2019 - 1:22pm
S-p-p-it it out. Wassamatta, c-c-c-at gotcher tongue? [try Woodstock version as well]
by PeraclesPlease on Sun, 02/24/2019 - 1:43pm
yeah, i'd looked at the woodstock version, but iirc, it was close to 8 minutes long. the other reason i'd chosen the '67 version was that i'd seen the Who in both cleveland and tampa that year, so...nostalgia.
by wd (not verified) on Sun, 02/24/2019 - 5:33pm
my take on the Green New Deal (ocasio/markey iteration): 'Green Capitalism Aglow', feb. 12, 2019
naomi wolf's take: 'The Green New Deal ASTONISHES – Vast $$ for VCs, “New Banks”, Fed Reserve, Nat’l “Smart Grid”, No Oversight', January 9, 2019
not to mention, the sixth extinction's already baked in, both polar caps and glaciers melting beyond belief, methane feedback loops in the arctic creating dark pools of water that absorb even more heat. the climate emergency was at least 20 yrs. ago, no one gave a tinker's damn, but now that there are bucks to be made, well...boy howdy! let's saddle up and ride ....
by wd (not verified) on Sun, 02/24/2019 - 1:18pm
Nice writing, lady - might quibble/protest against some areas, but the idea that it's a total shitshow with the important debates pre-empted and tons of giveaways people don't even suspect... plus the Wired link on Electric Vehicles was the 1st balanced non-hysterical one I've seen.
One area to look at is up-and-coming cloned meat, which will significantly alter the # of livestock and environmental+greenhouse footprint over the next 20 years (and should eventually reverse the damages of sea overharvesting if not too late). [eta - will also royally screw up people who survive on the meat foodchain, whether the little boy herding a goat, ranchers, etc. worldwide[
Lots more to discuss.
by PeraclesPlease on Sun, 02/24/2019 - 2:08pm
Edifying to see the left and center united in their opposition. ;)
Nice piece Wendy! I’m more in the « yes, and » state of mind these days but especially about being inclusive of VC’s and new public banks seem like things not to throw out with the bathwater...
by Obey on Sun, 02/24/2019 - 3:40pm
thanks, cho. i sincerely doubt that any of it will be offered or pass into legislation in 2021, unless someone/s stand to profit from it mightily, & ram a bill thru both houses. but yes, i understand your position, but as i've noted: i'm totally anti-imperialist and anti-capitalist, so.., ptui/phooey is my call on it.
hope all's well w/ you, your work, and your new marriage, and your life in brussels. give me a jingle one day if you'd like.
by wd (not verified) on Sun, 02/24/2019 - 6:04pm
thanks, darlin', but i ain't no lady! ; )
to me, it's a capitalist con in the end, as were the cop conferences i'd covered, just laden w/ posters of green-washing products (my media files are full of them). but then, i'm on the pinko side for certain. the pink twittersphere has a gay old time showing how often ocasio steps on her own Green Brand, and of course i enjoy it all.
i've forgotten if i'd stuck in the davos link to (close to) 'EVs aren't as green as you might think' as well, but i was there again this year, although my heart wasn't in filing this year's report. but swear to the gods, klaus schwab grew rather defensive about the 800+ private jets coming into and out of the klosters, and said he'd do a bit of carbon-trading as offsets. and yep, little greta thornburg was there as well, as was the most odious bono.
but it's always killed me that so many otherwise rational people magically think that electric vehicles don't have any carbon footprint, but dammit, i'd mislaid my best exposés of that by the time i wrote this up. but rare metals for batteries were certainly mentioned, hence one of the purposes of africom: creating chaos so they can rescue nations from it...and neo-colonize and install puppet leaders eager to make deals with the usual suspects for their mineral wealth.
by wd (not verified) on Sun, 02/24/2019 - 5:56pm
Like all my facts, I use the term loosely ;-)
I think AOC is doing fine with her brand. She accepts mistakes but pushes big things, and uses humor, and can compromise. Will end well.
A pack of 10 to 16 year olds showing up to tell an old senator she's just wrong w/o listwning at all is just a few steps from Khmer or Chineae kids sending old people and those w glasses off to rice paddies for re-education or a death march - cf Killing Fields/Cultural Revolution. "Mercedes Benz number one"
Plus I've seen and dealt with kids their age and slightly older every day - including trying to round the edges of some clever energy with some actual context, facts, et al - but those are the good ones - some can be just lazy and unevaluating and judgmental or worse bullying. This idealism over youth and their "rights" w/o responsibilities was a bit much, but it wasn't as bad as 2016 - "we're never going to vote for you because you're a dinosaur and a fascist nor will we join your stinking party but you should change the party rules and listen to us aand give us what we want". Even Veruca Salt calles daddy "daddy.
EV's - everything has a cost. As the 1 article noted, 3/4 savings in greenhouse gas over lifetime, not bad. Rare Earths? Another issue to solve, find substitutes. Can we tame nuclear, use liquid thorium or something? Likely, and overall our nuclear accidents haven't been so devastating, the worst being in a decrepit irresponsible soviet state , rather the worst scenario.
by PeraclesPlease on Mon, 02/25/2019 - 1:04am
i won't take the time to check in two actual socialists in ocasio's district to show the many ways she steps not only on her own #GreenNewDeal brand, but on her original 'bartender too poor to afford rent in DeeCee and more, but that's my point: once established and epically lauded early, that brand becomes reified, and brooks no counterfactuals, i.e.: folks won't 'believe their lyin' eyes'.
a place where i cross-post is now adamant about tulsi gabbard as 'the peace candidate'. "peace for whom?" i ask, but every thing even on her own website is rationalized away.
as to your paragraph on EV's: do remember, please, that the IPCG report (low-balled, many climate scientists note) says: this is a climate emergency! as in: there IS no later on. and buying EV's is Green Capitalism 101. 'let's shop our way out of climate chaos doom!' ah well, gotta scoot. thanks for playing.
by wd (not verified) on Mon, 02/25/2019 - 10:50am
Don't grok the paragraph - aren't we supposed to be lowering our carbon footprint - much faster rather than slower - instead of what, crawling in a cave and kissing our ass goodbye? are we supposed to be too depressed & disappointed to work on solutions to global warming, or is shutting off the planet the only intelligent response?
by PeraclesPlease on Mon, 02/25/2019 - 1:58pm
It's all good. All of the "controversy" is making stuff like this happen. There's no such thing as bad publicity when trying to get public interest in policy:
by artappraiser on Sun, 02/24/2019 - 9:51pm
lol. that was a fine read indeed, artappraiser. does jeff bezos own fracking stock? i actually did check, but not as i can tell.
my favorite line was: "Another criticism is that carbon pricing hurts the poor, who would suffer most when prices rose. But the revenue from carbon pricing could be recycled back to Americans in a progressive way, and most people would end up whole or better off."
but jaysus, fracked gas is a disaster for the ecosystem. not only from the list of toxic chemicals (including heavy metals) pumped diagonally into the shale, but the grotesque amounts of water required for each hole. and of course the concrete sleeves in the holes leak, but ground water contamination is epic. in a nearby county folks with their own water wells can turn on their taps and light the water on fire, seriously. additionally, there is mounting evidence that fracking causes small earthquakes.
gas near coal beds contains those pesky methane clathrates, and those feedback loops are disastrous, though the emissions lessen over time, iirc.
one thing i do agree with, though, is not to tie social-engineering to a plan (or pretend to, at any rate).
by wd (not verified) on Mon, 02/25/2019 - 10:36am
If the Editorial Board is indeed speaking for Jeff Bezos--which I don't necessarily believe--it would be a good thing that he is speaking about his preferences to the public and they might even read it and voice an opinion to their representatives, no? Rather than all of this being decided by the Davos crowd behind closed doors. That is all I was trying to say: Ocasio Cortez did good creating the buzz, the kids at Diane Feinstein's office did good, Diane Feinstein did good in response, it's all good this is happening. Instead of focusing on what Trump tweeted today or how Amy Klobuchar eats salad.
by artappraiser on Mon, 02/25/2019 - 10:59am
Pretty damn good skit on it last night:
by artappraiser on Sun, 03/03/2019 - 6:12am
Need a D.O. on everything.
by PeraclesPlease on Sun, 03/03/2019 - 9:53am
Watch out, Di-Fi: IDES OF MARCH!
by artappraiser on Mon, 03/04/2019 - 12:06am
What they do when find out nuclear is the non-greenhouse energy source par excellence? (that those 3 famous disasters over 50 years killed next to 0 people -a lot less than North sea oil rigs, Mideast wars, and prolly solar panels on roofs and windmills out in the bay).
And fracking for the meanwhile takes away our dependence on Russia and Saudi Arabia - I.e. still buying precious time (vs the 3 years wasted discussing Brexit or othwr huge distractions).
by PeraclesPlease on Mon, 03/04/2019 - 1:18am
More "kids these days" news:
by artappraiser on Fri, 03/15/2019 - 5:59pm
You always talk nice to the mum.
by PeraclesPlease on Fri, 03/15/2019 - 9:01pm