"But over the past 60 years, college graduates have gone from being 4 percent of the electorate to being more like 35. Now, it’s actually possible — for the first time ever in human history — for political parties to openly embrace cosmopolitan values and win elections; certainly primary and municipal elections, maybe even national … Continue reading Cosmopolitan Values
Tag: Republican
We Are Living in a Failed State
"This was the American landscape that lay open to the virus: in prosperous cities, a class of globally connected desk workers dependent on a class of precarious and invisible service workers; in the countryside, decaying communities in revolt against the modern world; on social media, mutual hatred and endless vituperation among different camps; in the … Continue reading We Are Living in a Failed State
Attack, Reframe, Normalize and Politicize
The playbook is: Attack, reframe, normalize and politicize. The goal is not rational discussion but repetition. I could write a bot to make far right political comments in Internet forums, and people do. Which leaves the question: how should we respond to people whose ideas could algorithmically programmed and whose goal is repetition? One place … Continue reading Attack, Reframe, Normalize and Politicize
The House Democrats’ “Rebuke” of Rep. Ilhan Omar is a Fraud For Many Reasons
It is, for instance, beyond dispute that what Omar is saying is true given that the very first bill passed by the U.S. Senate this year was one that allowed punishment for American citizens who boycott Israel, while U.S. citizens in 26 states are formally punished for boycotting this foreign nation, as we reported last month … Continue reading The House Democrats’ “Rebuke” of Rep. Ilhan Omar is a Fraud For Many Reasons
Michael Cohen’s GoFundMe: Why Liberals are Giving to Cohen, Stormy Daniels, and Peter Strzok – Vox
"The success of crowdfunding campaigns for anti-Trump figures — even Cohen — seems to be yet another manifestation of the progressive enthusiasm that’s showing up elsewhere. People are angry, upset, and ready to go, and it’s an outlet for them to do something. After Sen. John McCain’s death, one person donated $20 to Cohen’s fund … Continue reading Michael Cohen’s GoFundMe: Why Liberals are Giving to Cohen, Stormy Daniels, and Peter Strzok – Vox
Politics as Cult
"...members of "totalistic" cults—those that consider their ideology the one true path—share four key characteristics. They 1) espouse an all-encompassing belief system; 2) exhibit excessive devotion to the leader; 3) avoid criticism of the group and its leader; and 4) feel disdain for non-members." —Tom Jacobs. "A Cult Expert Finds Familiar Patterns of Behavior in … Continue reading Politics as Cult
Rudy Giuliani & Carnival Politics
https://m.youtube.com/watch?feature=youtu.be&v=mXQuto1fMp4 The interesting feature of John Oliver's piece on Rudy Guiliani is it exhibits why so much of the political discourse in the United States is so incredibly stupid. Politics has become indistinguishable from the pitch of the carnival barker. Grab the mark's attention, and sell, Sell, SELL. You won't believe your eyes! Freak shows? … Continue reading Rudy Giuliani & Carnival Politics
Leading Marxist Scholar David Harvey on Trump, Wall Street, and Debt Peonage
"I remember watching a speech that Castro gave in which he was talking about, he was lambasting a report by Human Rights Watch, the U.S.-based human rights organization, which often does do the kind of ideological bidding of the U.S. government in the way that it applies its filter to different societies versus the United … Continue reading Leading Marxist Scholar David Harvey on Trump, Wall Street, and Debt Peonage
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