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Them's good eatin'.

 

 

44 minutes ago, Pariah said:

What's that old bit Isaac Asimov used to say about the cult of ignorance? This representative from Georgia seems to be the living embodiment of the problem. Or one of them, I guess I should say. She certainly not the only one.

 

"There is a cult of ignorance in the United States, and there always has been. The strain of anti-intellectualism has been a constant thread winding its way through our political and cultural life, nurtured by the false notion that democracy means that 'my ignorance is just as good as your knowledge'."

- Isaac Asimov

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If one more weather-related digression may be tolerated... I live just a few degrees of latitude south of Vancouver, so the weather's probably not too different. Our winters tend to be wet and relatively mild; the temperature rarely drops below freezing, even at night. (This also describes our springs and autumns. :rolleyes:) Well, except in January, when a blast of arctic air rolls down the Frazer River Valley and parks over the Pacific Northwest for a few weeks.

 

Heavy snowfall is also rare. About every 10 years, though, that blast of arctic air meets a "Pineapple Express" of warm, moist air from Hawaii. Then the media bandies about terms like "Snowmageddon," no doubt to the amusement of Midwesterners who think a foot of snow is just a light drifting. Problem is, we lack practice at dealing with snow, so there's always a huge wave of traffic accidents and stranded vehicles.

 

Dean Shomshak

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I don't have any peach tree dishes.  I do, however, have a nice aspen tree dish.  Nice, small tray, basically.

 

I don't really think MTG is mentally ill;  I think she's that willfully ignorant.  Do like one line from that story...she's a walking, breathing SNL skit.

 

Snowmaggedon...<sigh>.  Too much like the most overused phrase of recent times...the "perfect storm."  And of course, the puerile need to exaggerate/shock that seems to be endemic with the media.

 

OK, I'm grumpy this morning.  Not enough coffee yet....

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30 minutes ago, unclevlad said:

I don't have any peach tree dishes.  I do, however, have a nice aspen tree dish.  Nice, small tray, basically.

 

I don't really think MTG is mentally ill;  I think she's that willfully ignorant.  Do like one line from that story...she's a walking, breathing SNL skit.

 

Snowmaggedon...<sigh>.  Too much like the most overused phrase of recent times...the "perfect storm."  And of course, the puerile need to exaggerate/shock that seems to be endemic with the media.

 

OK, I'm grumpy this morning.  Not enough coffee yet....


There was an article upthread describing how conservative voters tend to have a more fear-driven worldview (and are more easily exploited as a result). I would extend that observation to say that people fear what they do not understand, and if you don’t understand anything…

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38 minutes ago, Old Man said:

I would extend that observation to say that people fear what they do not understand, and if you don’t understand anything…

 

...which is why so many conservative lawmakers are at least passively antagonistic toward education. A well-educated citizenry is not in their best interest. 

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Every great empire in history has reached the point of geopolitical and/or social decline. It's inevitable that the global dominance of the United States in politics, economy, science and military, will end eventually. Mind you, that doesn't have to be now, and even if it is it need not be permanent. I'm reminded of the Byzantine Empire, which endured for a thousand years after the fall of the Western Roman Empire. It experienced recurring expansion and contraction, suffering serious reversals of fortune but then renewing itself to become a great power again and again.

 

Even if America's superpower status did end, there's nothing wrong with a global stature comparable to the United Kingdom or Japan. That would of course lead to a realignment of the world's power structure.

 

Mind you, this is assuming global warming doesn't render the whole subject moot.

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7 minutes ago, Lord Liaden said:

Every great empire in history has reached the point of geopolitical and/or social decline. It's inevitable that the global dominance of the United States in politics, economy, science and military, will end eventually. Mind you, that doesn't have to be now, and even if it is it need not be permanent. I'm reminded of the Byzantine Empire, which endured for a thousand years after the fall of the Western Roman Empire. It experienced recurring expansion and contraction, suffering serious reversals of fortune but then renewing itself to become a great power again and again.

 

Even if America's superpower status did end, there's nothing wrong with a global stature comparable to the United Kingdom or Japan. That would of course lead to a realignment of the world's power structure.

 

Mind you, this is assuming global warming doesn't render the whole subject moot.

The Holy Roman Empire was a quasi-successor state to the Western Roman Empire, and dominated the Middle Ages in Europe.  Didn't dissolve until 1806.  

I think we still have a decent stretch run left in us.  

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2 hours ago, Lord Liaden said:

Even if America's superpower status did end, there's nothing wrong with a global stature comparable to the United Kingdom or Japan.

 

The UK is an interesting example. There's a real element of delusion visible in the conservative (not just Conservative) side of politics at the moment. Brexit has unleashed what looks like mass stupidity and "didn't think this through" on a scale that hasn't led to major social carnage yet, but still could. And could, of course result in secession in Scotland and Ireland.

 

Personally I am hoping that the new Australian government keeps its mouth shut about China. As in, don't warmonger towards countries that could squash you like a bug.

 

On 5/30/2022 at 4:03 PM, assault said:

It's not bad today (when winter hasn't officially started), at 15C, but I'm still wearing my winter clothes, including jacket. In a few weeks it will be under 10, and there will be wind blowing all the way from Antarctica.

 

Read "In a few weeks" as "In a few DAYS".

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4 hours ago, megaplayboy said:

The Holy Roman Empire was a quasi-successor state to the Western Roman Empire, and dominated the Middle Ages in Europe.  Didn't dissolve until 1806.  

I think we still have a decent stretch run left in us.  

 

The Holy Roman Empire invoked the title of "Emperor of the Romans" more for its symbolic value than from practical parallels. In organization and culture it was very different from classical Rome, and much more a successor to the Frankish kingdom of Charlemagne, before whom there was a gap of more than three centuries since the last Roman emperor.

 

However, HRE did endure nearly eight centuries. Many civilizations have displayed profound longevity; Coptic Egypt persisted for close to three millennia. But all of those civilizations went through periods of upheaval, from which they evolved in one way or another. If the US does endure for the long haul, I doubt it will be in the form it is now.

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1 hour ago, Tom said:

The question (as it is quite frequently) is how you define identity. 
 

Or at least if you use terms and anologies people can recognize. 

 

Issues of practicality aside (most people aren't going to give up their modern conveyances for the horse-and-buggy and I hope the majority agrees that lopping off the hands of thieves creates more problems for society than it solves), this is typically a marketing issue: whosoever pitches their ideas on national identity the best tends to win in the end. Think of each generation as an extended commercial break.

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19 hours ago, Ragitsu said:

Thanks, climate change.

I) The weather this spring in the Lower Mainland has managed to break some records on the downside, with the result that there's a possibility of serious flooding this month, but overall we're actually having a pretty normal year. So far. Nice change after last year, and no consolation to those undergoing mega-droughts, early heat waves, and a potential record hurricane season elsewhere. 

 

II) Literal translation is almost never a good idea, but sometimes it helps get at what's on people's mind, and "Heilige Roemische Reich Deutsches Nation" might be translated as "Sacred Romelike Realm of the German People" as easily as "Holy Roman Empire." Even the (later) Emperors were "Emperors Elect." It is not the Roman Empire, and the emperor is not a Roman Kaiser. I'm also, personally, super-duper tired of analogies between the "fall of the Roman Empire" and the "fall of [your country's name here]."

 

III) I am entirely persuaded by the claim that Marjorie Taylor Greene is mentally ill, and vote that we stop making fun of her, and start ostracising and isolating her, like we do with real mentally ill people. "Here's your disability pension, Gameboy and one-room bedsit in the attic, Marjorie. Have a nice life!" 

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7 hours ago, assault said:

Personally I am hoping that the new Australian government keeps its mouth shut about China. As in, don't warmonger towards countries that could squash you like a bug.

 

I think China would have considerable difficulty invading Australia. There's 2500 miles of ocean between them, for one thing. (Imagine launching the Normandy invasion from Canada.)

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1 hour ago, Ragitsu said:

Serious question: why are there few - if any - mental competency requirements for elected officials?

 

Nope.

 

But one can also argue, define mental competency.  Show me a valid test or measure to prove mental competency...that's accepted as such.

 

And always recognize that the Trumps and MTGs were elected.  The indictment isn't on them, it's on the electorate.

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Here's a good article on what the GOP midterm strategy of driving voters to the polls with the boogeymen of grooming and CRT looks like in Chattanooga TN, where concerned moms face off in an increasingly bitter battle for the future.

 

https://newrepublic.com/article/166373/moms-liberty-schools-nightmare-midterms

 

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1 hour ago, GM Joe said:

Here's a good article on what the GOP midterm strategy of driving voters to the polls with the boogeymen of grooming and CRT looks like in Chattanooga TN, where concerned moms face off in an increasingly bitter battle for the future.

 

https://newrepublic.com/article/166373/moms-liberty-schools-nightmare-midterms

 

 

The last paragraph of that article is especially telling--
 

Moms for Liberty also seems to be concerned with a very specific subset of literature. “Nobody’s complained about the Stephen King books. They have just as much profanity. They have blood, guts, and gore in them,” Holly observed. “So I have to wonder, as a librarian: What are you really concerned about?”

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