In conservative US, censorship is when you don't burn books about race.

Beachslim comments on Jun 1, 2021:

That doesn't even make sense

WilyRickWiles replies on Jun 1, 2021:

@Beachslim Capitalism, neoliberalism, neofeudalism, fascism, call it what you want, it's about pulling the rug out from under the people. Communism is about people taking the rug back from capital. Are you part of the capital class, corporate or private?

In conservative US, censorship is when you don't burn books about race.

Beachslim comments on Jun 1, 2021:

That doesn't even make sense

WilyRickWiles replies on Jun 1, 2021:

@Beachslim You must not be familiar with the art of privatization and disinvestment. Step 1: Give people monthly UBI Step 2: Abolish the services the the government provides ("for people's tax dollars" if you prefer viewing through that lens) Step 3: Landlords eat up that $1,000 Step 4 (Optional): Abolish UBI

Having trouble coming up with a punchline for a new Communist joke .

WilyRickWiles comments on May 31, 2021:

The funny thing about conservatives is that they blame communism, a system that does not exist in the US (or meaningfully in the world after the fall of the Soviet Union), for all of the things they don't like about capitalism.

WilyRickWiles replies on Jun 1, 2021:

@FrankZeleniuk There is one world economy: global capitalism. In the global north the dominant activity is pouring surplus value into asset management. In the global south, the dominant activity is resource extraction. Within that system, there are different groups fighting over the same interests: largely, 1. The corporate elite, 2. Private business interests, and 3. China.

In conservative US, censorship is when you don't burn books about race.

Alysandir comments on Jun 1, 2021:

Choosing to go against parental wishes and claiming it's a free speech issue is one of the lamest arguments I've heard yet. If your ideas have merit, then that should be your argument; not that you have a Constitutional right to teach children something their parents do not approve of.

WilyRickWiles replies on Jun 1, 2021:

College students are adults. Stop infantilizing adults. Also, conservatives should stop their moral panics and book banning

In conservative US, censorship is when you don't burn books about race.

Beachslim comments on Jun 1, 2021:

That doesn't even make sense

WilyRickWiles replies on Jun 1, 2021:

@Beachslim To the extent that he supports it (if he still does), it's in order to destroy the welfare state, control people, and extract rents from them (recipients don't make out so great in that scenario). Corporate fascism.

In conservative US, censorship is when you don't burn books about race.

sqeptiq comments on Jun 1, 2021:

How much of your income do you give to blacks as reparations?

WilyRickWiles replies on Jun 1, 2021:

How much of your income due you give as tribute to the Wilks Brothers, Peter Thiel, and Dick Uihlein?

In conservative US, censorship is when you don't burn books about race.

Beachslim comments on Jun 1, 2021:

That doesn't even make sense

WilyRickWiles replies on Jun 1, 2021:

@Beachslim You would have the universities even deeper under the control of Zuck's chauvinistic Harvard crew.

In conservative US, censorship is when you don't burn books about race.

Beachslim comments on Jun 1, 2021:

That doesn't even make sense

WilyRickWiles replies on Jun 1, 2021:

@Beachslim Mark Zuckerberg is a capitalist. Facebook's largest investor, Peter Thiel is a neo-feudalist like you. Publicly-traded corporations, privatization, US military contracts, and disinvestment aren't communism. But yes, all of that has us headed in a fascistic direction. I'd have thought that you would be happy.

Americans Don’t Know What Memorial Day Is [youtu.be]

WilyRickWiles comments on May 31, 2021:

https://youtu.be/nvSK7hN4Kgw

WilyRickWiles replies on Jun 1, 2021:

@WayneHawthorne Even if that were true, it would be to a lesser degree than the aforementioned systems.

In conservative US, censorship is when you don't burn books about race.

Beachslim comments on Jun 1, 2021:

That doesn't even make sense

WilyRickWiles replies on Jun 1, 2021:

The right is campaigning to ban the study of racial prejudice, calling it "critical race theory" (a real field of study but the right is using it as a broader dog whistle). Anyone who disagrees with them is accused of doing "cancel culture." Seems pretty clear to me.

Americans Don’t Know What Memorial Day Is [youtu.be]

WilyRickWiles comments on May 31, 2021:

https://youtu.be/nvSK7hN4Kgw

WilyRickWiles replies on Jun 1, 2021:

It's a choice between public goods in the hands of publicly traded companies, enriching the corporate elite, or public goods in the hands of individual plutocrats, enriching them and those in their patronage.

Americans Don’t Know What Memorial Day Is [youtu.be]

WilyRickWiles comments on May 31, 2021:

https://youtu.be/nvSK7hN4Kgw

WilyRickWiles replies on Jun 1, 2021:

@WayneHawthorne On the one hand, liberals degrade democracy in the interest of the corporate elite, resulting the system of and justified by the ideology of neoliberalism, and enabled by the professional managerial class. On the other hand, conservatives degrade democracy in the interest of large private business owners, resulting in the system of and justified by the ideology of feudalism, and enabled by the petit bourgeois. The only difference is that the latter is relatively more oppressive, leading to starker inequality--the former being relatively more inclusive. And of course, as capitalism progresses (regressively), the former becomes more like the latter by the day. I say a pox on all of both of their houses!

Americans Don’t Know What Memorial Day Is [youtu.be]

WilyRickWiles comments on May 31, 2021:

https://youtu.be/nvSK7hN4Kgw

WilyRickWiles replies on May 31, 2021:

@Andyman I'd rather die than be mistaken for a liberal

Having trouble coming up with a punchline for a new Communist joke .

WilyRickWiles comments on May 31, 2021:

The funny thing about conservatives is that they blame communism, a system that does not exist in the US (or meaningfully in the world after the fall of the Soviet Union), for all of the things they don't like about capitalism.

WilyRickWiles replies on May 31, 2021:

@The_Q I used the word "meaningfully."

Having trouble coming up with a punchline for a new Communist joke .

WilyRickWiles comments on May 31, 2021:

The funny thing about conservatives is that they blame communism, a system that does not exist in the US (or meaningfully in the world after the fall of the Soviet Union), for all of the things they don't like about capitalism.

WilyRickWiles replies on May 31, 2021:

@The_Q Neither is a superpower.

Americans Don’t Know What Memorial Day Is [youtu.be]

WilyRickWiles comments on May 31, 2021:

https://youtu.be/nvSK7hN4Kgw

WilyRickWiles replies on May 31, 2021:

@Andyman Corporations aren't communism, bro.

Americans Don’t Know What Memorial Day Is [youtu.be]

WilyRickWiles comments on May 31, 2021:

https://youtu.be/nvSK7hN4Kgw

WilyRickWiles replies on May 31, 2021:

@Andyman Leftists do not call themselves liberal.

Americans Don’t Know What Memorial Day Is [youtu.be]

WilyRickWiles comments on May 31, 2021:

https://youtu.be/nvSK7hN4Kgw

WilyRickWiles replies on May 31, 2021:

@Andyman Guess what, they don't. Also NPR is liberal--not leftist.

Americans Don’t Know What Memorial Day Is [youtu.be]

Alysandir comments on May 31, 2021:

Correction: a video that wants to push the narrative that Americans don't know anything about Memorial Day found enough people who gave the desired answers to splice together a video as "proof." As I said elsewhere, this is a long-used technique that has been used for decades to "prove" damn near...

WilyRickWiles replies on May 31, 2021:

@Andyman It feels true so it must be!

Americans Don’t Know What Memorial Day Is [youtu.be]

WilyRickWiles comments on May 31, 2021:

https://youtu.be/nvSK7hN4Kgw

WilyRickWiles replies on May 31, 2021:

@Andyman no thank you

On this Memorial Day, we remember the sacrifices made on behalf of American exceptionalism.

Tom81 comments on May 31, 2021:

Who's that?

WilyRickWiles replies on May 31, 2021:

Yes, he did all that and quickly turned against the war. And you know what happened next.

On this Memorial Day, we remember the sacrifices made on behalf of American exceptionalism.

Tom81 comments on May 31, 2021:

Who's that?

WilyRickWiles replies on May 31, 2021:

Pat Tillman

On this Memorial Day, we honor those who made the greatest sacrifice for their country.

Alysandir comments on May 31, 2021:

I think people need to research who Chris Dorner is and exactly the circumstances under which he died. I'll get you started: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christopher_Dorner_shootings_and_manhunt

WilyRickWiles replies on May 31, 2021:

@2peros Enjoy Dorner's manifesto! https://laist.com/news/christopher-dorners-manifesto-in-fu

On this Memorial Day, we honor those who made the greatest sacrifice for their country.

SpikeTalon comments on May 31, 2021:

While he may have been enlisted in the Navy at the time, he carried out his acts of violence while being employed as a police officer, if I'm not mistaken. Memorial Day is primarily to acknowledge those who died in service to this country while enlisted in a branch of the Armed Forces, and not peace...

WilyRickWiles replies on May 31, 2021:

@SpikeTalon There was nothing defensive about the Iraq War.

On this Memorial Day, we honor those who made the greatest sacrifice for their country.

SpikeTalon comments on May 31, 2021:

While he may have been enlisted in the Navy at the time, he carried out his acts of violence while being employed as a police officer, if I'm not mistaken. Memorial Day is primarily to acknowledge those who died in service to this country while enlisted in a branch of the Armed Forces, and not peace...

WilyRickWiles replies on May 31, 2021:

@SpikeTalon "There is nothing noble in killing other human beings" 🤔

On this Memorial Day, we honor those who made the greatest sacrifice for their country.

SpikeTalon comments on May 31, 2021:

While he may have been enlisted in the Navy at the time, he carried out his acts of violence while being employed as a police officer, if I'm not mistaken. Memorial Day is primarily to acknowledge those who died in service to this country while enlisted in a branch of the Armed Forces, and not peace...

WilyRickWiles replies on May 31, 2021:

While she gave her life, the cause to which she dedicated herself was less noble than that of Dorner.

Video from Liberty Hangout that's twenty-four minutes long.

WilyRickWiles comments on May 31, 2021:

Is "Liberty Hangout" supposed to be a play on "Limited Hangout?" If so... not a very libertarian play on words. Par for the course, though.

WilyRickWiles replies on May 31, 2021:

@SpikeTalon They use the ancap symbolism--and ancaps are of course right-wing libertarians.

Trump rally leaves devastation in its wake. Our schools have failed us.

CavemanGreg comments on May 31, 2021:

worse than the looting and burning huh ?

WilyRickWiles replies on May 31, 2021:

Now that you mention it, very similar 🤔

All tech companies tbh [youtu.be]

tracycoyle comments on May 28, 2021:

We don't have slave labor in this country.

WilyRickWiles replies on May 28, 2021:

Not quite, but we do have wage slavery and privatization via tech and VC.

All tech companies tbh [youtu.be]

Andyman comments on May 28, 2021:

So I wonder what the REAL reason is that Marxists are miffed with Uber. It certainly has nothing to do with monopolies because Marxists love the facebook, twitter and google monopolies that silence their enemies.

WilyRickWiles replies on May 28, 2021:

No they do not. Those people are called liberals.

There is talk about the Biden Budget proposal forthcoming being almost $6t.

WilyRickWiles comments on May 28, 2021:

I don't think you have much to worry about because 1. They're unlikely to have enough votes and unwilling to change the rules and 2. Our ability to spend is a function of economic activity within our monetary system and there's a lot of slack--though our political system has difficulty putting extra...

WilyRickWiles replies on May 28, 2021:

Related

I'm sure the following article would ruffle the feathers of wokeists everywhere.

WilyRickWiles comments on May 25, 2021:

Asks those who do not care to understand

WilyRickWiles replies on May 27, 2021:

@Tom81 Have you tried evaluating ideas rather than projecting what you see in my avatar?

Former Seattle Police Chief: Media malfeasance covering CHOP zone made violent activists look ...

WilyRickWiles comments on May 27, 2021:

Because cops always tell the truth.

WilyRickWiles replies on May 27, 2021:

@SpikeTalon 🙄

Anti-Semites

WilyRickWiles comments on May 26, 2021:

Anti-Zionism isn't antisemitism.

WilyRickWiles replies on May 26, 2021:

@w0tn0t Does not compute.

I'm sure the following article would ruffle the feathers of wokeists everywhere.

WilyRickWiles comments on May 25, 2021:

Asks those who do not care to understand

WilyRickWiles replies on May 26, 2021:

@Tom81 What? You don't seem to be able to make an argument.

Why Did The Media Turn On Bill Gates? [youtu.be]

WilyRickWiles comments on May 25, 2021:

Because the neoliberal project of the Gates Foundation needs a new brand (Melinda). Because Epstein and all that.

WilyRickWiles replies on May 25, 2021:

Yes, Gates has taken the mantle of the policy planning networks (protecting corporate property wealth and privatizing health care, education, and all other public goods) originally started by the Rockefellers and made dominant in the neoliberal era. The corporate elite are on board with that and the foundation will continue doing that work without Gates. Unfortunately, there's nothing controversial about that in the US, aside from within the left, which doesn't like privatization, and the far right (Republicans), which covets the corporate elite's power (they would probably prefer all businesses to be private and in their own hands). Though I suppose the Epstein thing still brings unwanted attention. Moreover, the neoliberal idea has been discredited, but the system very much remains. And yes, Larry Summers, Alan Dershowitz, and the whole Edge crew (which is not too far removed from the IDW) are guilty of the same sleaze. A lot of which rubs off on elite Massachusetts businesses, financiers, consultancies, and institutions like Harvard, MIT, etc. Boston surely is the root of capitalist evil in this country. And yes, the scandals about affairs were leaked by the couple. Yes, Bill was born on third base. No conspiracy theories necessary. Bill just became inconvenient for the brand. He'll lose nothing, the foundation will not change, and Melinda will be the new face.

I'm sure the following article would ruffle the feathers of wokeists everywhere.

WilyRickWiles comments on May 25, 2021:

Also: not "your cities."

WilyRickWiles replies on May 25, 2021:

@FuzzyMarineVet The fact is, even the rural petit bourgeoisie will still ally with their corporate enemy before allying with the people "below them" (and vice versa, despite corporate lip service on identity issues).

I'm sure the following article would ruffle the feathers of wokeists everywhere.

WilyRickWiles comments on May 25, 2021:

Also: not "your cities."

WilyRickWiles replies on May 25, 2021:

@FuzzyMarineVet At the end of the day, it's the farmers making choices about labor practices. Moreover, didn't farmers demand subsidies over a century ago? Don't rural towns invite prisons, Amazon, and Foxconn, often at great cost to the people who live there? I understand that the small business owner, family office financier, and the owner of the private business feels squeezed by the corporate class. You'd think that they could understand the similar but much worse situation poor and working class people, especially those from marginalized groups, are in, especially when they take out their frustrations on their shared enemy.

I'm sure the following article would ruffle the feathers of wokeists everywhere.

WilyRickWiles comments on May 25, 2021:

Also: not "your cities."

WilyRickWiles replies on May 25, 2021:

@FuzzyMarineVet Aside from migrant labor made precarious by immigration policy, subsidies, prisons, large and corporate landowners, and dependence on city markets (real and financial), I suppose.

I'm sure the following article would ruffle the feathers of wokeists everywhere.

WilyRickWiles comments on May 25, 2021:

Asks those who do not care to understand

WilyRickWiles replies on May 25, 2021:

@SpikeTalon I don't know how strategic looting ever is. Though I would note that many businesses in poor communities are owned by outsiders, which is part of what keeps them poor. Here is what Dr. King said on the matter. https://www.apa.org/monitor/features/king-challenge

I'm sure the following article would ruffle the feathers of wokeists everywhere.

WilyRickWiles comments on May 25, 2021:

Also: not "your cities."

WilyRickWiles replies on May 25, 2021:

@FuzzyMarineVet To the US and other "developed" countries, that countryside is the global south.

I'm sure the following article would ruffle the feathers of wokeists everywhere.

WilyRickWiles comments on May 25, 2021:

Also: not "your cities."

WilyRickWiles replies on May 25, 2021:

@SpikeTalon Too much weight has been given to property rights because capitalism incentivizes it, which rewards the "greedy," and so on.

I'm sure the following article would ruffle the feathers of wokeists everywhere.

FuzzyMarineVet comments on May 25, 2021:

Shots rang out today at "George Floyd Square," the no-go zone established by BLM at the site of Big Floyd's death and endorsed by the city of Minneapolis. Unknown yet how many people were wounded or killed in this "mostly peaceful moment of silence." When will we call this seditious insurrection ...

WilyRickWiles replies on May 25, 2021:

The right has demonstrated that if the left does not manage to usher in a real, multiracial democracy--a task that has failed twice already during Reconstruction and the Civil Rights Movement--they will install a neofeudal dictatorship--that is if the liberal vision of a neofeudal deep state isn't fully realized first.

I'm sure the following article would ruffle the feathers of wokeists everywhere.

WilyRickWiles comments on May 25, 2021:

Also: not "your cities."

WilyRickWiles replies on May 25, 2021:

@SpikeTalon Just the reality of living in a property-dominated economy. A reality that is intensifying as remote work makes gentrification a national phenomenon.

I'm sure the following article would ruffle the feathers of wokeists everywhere.

WilyRickWiles comments on May 25, 2021:

Also: not "your cities."

WilyRickWiles replies on May 25, 2021:

@SpikeTalon Of course they do this because they've subordinated themselves to the elites who own the downtown property and one of the perks is stepping on the servants and poor below them.

I'm sure the following article would ruffle the feathers of wokeists everywhere.

WilyRickWiles comments on May 25, 2021:

Also: not "your cities."

WilyRickWiles replies on May 25, 2021:

@SpikeTalon Even within cities I see people who have a sense of individual entitlement over the downtown area remaining their perfect white, orderly, gentry playground and not a dynamic place where people actually live and where even the poorest residents should be welcome.

I'm sure the following article would ruffle the feathers of wokeists everywhere.

WilyRickWiles comments on May 25, 2021:

Asks those who do not care to understand

WilyRickWiles replies on May 25, 2021:

@SpikeTalon Have you considered Dr. King's explanation?

I'm sure the following article would ruffle the feathers of wokeists everywhere.

WilyRickWiles comments on May 25, 2021:

Also: not "your cities."

WilyRickWiles replies on May 25, 2021:

@SpikeTalon Nope. They don't belong to you. In fact, they subsidize the rest of the country if you really want to look at it that way.

Right-wing cancel culture strikes again. [sfgate.com]

wolfhnd comments on May 21, 2021:

As best I can tell Emily Wilder was fired for being a current activist which is a clear violation of AP employment contracts. The AP made no reference to social media activity previous to being hired.

WilyRickWiles replies on May 24, 2021:

@wolfhnd Someone on Twitter put it best: "The thing about US media is that having been supportive of Palestinians during college disqualifies you from being an objective journalist but being an IDF prison guard in the West Bank where beatings of Palestinians took place can make you an editor of a major US publication."

Right-wing cancel culture strikes again. [sfgate.com]

wolfhnd comments on May 21, 2021:

As best I can tell Emily Wilder was fired for being a current activist which is a clear violation of AP employment contracts. The AP made no reference to social media activity previous to being hired.

WilyRickWiles replies on May 21, 2021:

She was a member of SJP in college and a right-wing mob went on a crusade to get her fired.

Right-wing cancel culture strikes again. [sfgate.com]

DaveO276 comments on May 20, 2021:

Left-whingers can't cop the backfiring of their own cancel culture.

WilyRickWiles replies on May 20, 2021:

Very telling that you seem to think this is a recent phenomenon of the left. The right has been at this for decades. You must not remember Norman Finkelstein. Your pedophile buddy Dershowitz got him fired!

"Conservative group launches ad campaign against ‘woke capitalism,’ targeting CEOs by name" ...

Beachslim comments on May 18, 2021:

Monopoly capitalism and communism both hate free enterprise

WilyRickWiles replies on May 20, 2021:

@Beachslim You know there's a reason Steve Bannon has said that he's a Leninist.

"Conservative group launches ad campaign against ‘woke capitalism,’ targeting CEOs by name" ...

Beachslim comments on May 18, 2021:

Monopoly capitalism and communism both hate free enterprise

WilyRickWiles replies on May 20, 2021:

@Beachslim Again, how do you plan to grab a hold of the system?

"Conservative group launches ad campaign against ‘woke capitalism,’ targeting CEOs by name" ...

Beachslim comments on May 18, 2021:

Monopoly capitalism and communism both hate free enterprise

WilyRickWiles replies on May 20, 2021:

@Beachslim Ah, yes the totally not central planning of DARPA and the monopoly capitalists. Not that my phone has anything to do with how to get from the status quo to the end of monopoly capitalism.

"Conservative group launches ad campaign against ‘woke capitalism,’ targeting CEOs by name" ...

Beachslim comments on May 18, 2021:

Monopoly capitalism and communism both hate free enterprise

WilyRickWiles replies on May 20, 2021:

@Beachslim You seem to want to avoid confronting the reality that organizing and dismantling capitalism is needed to get where you want to go.

"Conservative group launches ad campaign against ‘woke capitalism,’ targeting CEOs by name" ...

Beachslim comments on May 18, 2021:

Monopoly capitalism and communism both hate free enterprise

WilyRickWiles replies on May 20, 2021:

@Beachslim Again, what could possibly make that happen?

"Conservative group launches ad campaign against ‘woke capitalism,’ targeting CEOs by name" ...

Beachslim comments on May 18, 2021:

Monopoly capitalism and communism both hate free enterprise

WilyRickWiles replies on May 20, 2021:

@Beachslim So you think the corporations world be good if the government were out of the way? And that there is somehow a way of dismantling the government without first dealing with the power of corporations?

"Conservative group launches ad campaign against ‘woke capitalism,’ targeting CEOs by name" ...

Beachslim comments on May 18, 2021:

Monopoly capitalism and communism both hate free enterprise

WilyRickWiles replies on May 20, 2021:

@Beachslim That's not the status quo. Even assuming you're right, how do we get there? What will cause the corporate elite to voluntarily change their behavior?

"Conservative group launches ad campaign against ‘woke capitalism,’ targeting CEOs by name" ...

Beachslim comments on May 18, 2021:

Monopoly capitalism and communism both hate free enterprise

WilyRickWiles replies on May 19, 2021:

@Beachslim You've made a moral case but no argument for how the system of capitalism can result in any other outcome.

"Conservative group launches ad campaign against ‘woke capitalism,’ targeting CEOs by name" ...

Beachslim comments on May 18, 2021:

Monopoly capitalism and communism both hate free enterprise

WilyRickWiles replies on May 19, 2021:

@Beachslim But their advantage is what enables the granting of advantage by government. In order to stop government from granting them advantage, one would need to remove their advantage and change the political economy in order to prevent the reemergence of extreme inequality.

"Conservative group launches ad campaign against ‘woke capitalism,’ targeting CEOs by name" ...

Beachslim comments on May 18, 2021:

Monopoly capitalism and communism both hate free enterprise

WilyRickWiles replies on May 19, 2021:

@Beachslim How? Business constitutes the power elite and they want government in business (to the extent of subsidizing their interests--not regulation or antitrust).

"Conservative group launches ad campaign against ‘woke capitalism,’ targeting CEOs by name" ...

Beachslim comments on May 18, 2021:

Monopoly capitalism and communism both hate free enterprise

WilyRickWiles replies on May 19, 2021:

@Beachslim You: Don't subsidize businesses or the poor. Me: Subsidize the poor but not businesses. Businesses: Subsidize businesses but not the poor. Regardless of our agreements and disagreements, and what ought to be, how can non-monopoly capitalism exist?

"Conservative group launches ad campaign against ‘woke capitalism,’ targeting CEOs by name" ...

Beachslim comments on May 18, 2021:

Monopoly capitalism and communism both hate free enterprise

WilyRickWiles replies on May 19, 2021:

@Beachslim Section 8, WIC, and Medicaid subsidize businesses, and social security is so meager that it effectively does too. Monopoly capitalists are working to privatize education through tech, philanthropy, and finance. Besides, those hardly make the US a social democracy let alone communist. Again, how can non-monopoly capitalism exist?

"Conservative group launches ad campaign against ‘woke capitalism,’ targeting CEOs by name" ...

Beachslim comments on May 18, 2021:

Monopoly capitalism and communism both hate free enterprise

WilyRickWiles replies on May 19, 2021:

@Beachslim Amazon pays nothing in taxes. Seems reasonable for them to pay something. And it's probably worth considering how much of a bump he is advocating since taxes are at historical lows (I don't remember the US being communist in the last century). Moreover, he is certainly not advocating for any direct public spending on public goods or any regulation. Please stop dodging.

"Conservative group launches ad campaign against ‘woke capitalism,’ targeting CEOs by name" ...

Beachslim comments on May 18, 2021:

Monopoly capitalism and communism both hate free enterprise

WilyRickWiles replies on May 19, 2021:

How can non-monopoly capitalism exist? Privatization only seems to be helping the monopolies, which are also content with government spending as long as it goes through them. And the faction that is fighting for it the hardest under the pretext that ending government intervention in the economy will magically make things more fair consists of private businesses, home office financiers, and small business owners. You'd think if they truly believed in the free market that they would be publicly-traded. What's your theory of change that ends with less power in the hands of monopolies?

It is a generally accepted fact that America is hyper-polarised.

Alysandir comments on May 15, 2021:

If you gauge the polarization of America on social media, you'd likely think we're mere minutes away from all-out civil war. But in practice, it is not a mischaracterization to say the vast majority are blissfully ignorant to the sheer levels of partisanship going on. Why? Well, for starters, ...

WilyRickWiles replies on May 16, 2021:

Among voters, the petit bourgeoisie are overrepresented.

It is a generally accepted fact that America is hyper-polarised.

Alysandir comments on May 15, 2021:

If you gauge the polarization of America on social media, you'd likely think we're mere minutes away from all-out civil war. But in practice, it is not a mischaracterization to say the vast majority are blissfully ignorant to the sheer levels of partisanship going on. Why? Well, for starters, ...

WilyRickWiles replies on May 16, 2021:

@Naomi The non-voters are much like the rest of the electorate, but contain significant portions of the young, diverse working-class, and leftist. https://the100million.org/

When the anti-fascists become a version of the very thing they claim to be fighting against...

Forra888 comments on May 9, 2021:

Antifa members biggest fear is "being exposed" and ID'd. If we can public name these soft, cowardly. baby thugs they will soon hide and stay at home. I also believe that all Antifa cowards caught should be handed over to the community that they are destroying. Expose them, everyone of them.

WilyRickWiles replies on May 9, 2021:

How about exposing petit bourgeois predators.

Wait I thought he was famous because he WAS canceled.

Inspiration comments on May 6, 2021:

Some self deluding people here in Australia are trying to get the Education curriculum altered/replaced with a biased untrue reflection of Indigenous Aboriginal history introduced to brainwash the children in the early stages of High School education,seems in an attempt to destabilise our society ...

WilyRickWiles replies on May 6, 2021:

What's the unbiased true version?

I still have difficuly getting my head around what's happening in America now.

WilyRickWiles comments on May 5, 2021:

They should have voted La Riva.

WilyRickWiles replies on May 5, 2021:

@Dillwater The Americans you mentioned should have voted for La Riva in the Presidential election.

Wait I thought he was famous because he WAS canceled.

Hanno comments on May 1, 2021:

No, he became famous for helping thousands and then millions of people across the world. He became famous when wannabe do-gooder socialists realised he that did all by himself what they believed only totalitarian governments could so. They hated him for that for it showed that their beliefs ...

WilyRickWiles replies on May 2, 2021:

@Hanno JBP fanboys love to cloak ad hominems in his brand of psychoanalysis.

Wait I thought he was famous because he WAS canceled.

Alysandir comments on May 1, 2021:

So much fuss and hand-wringing over a guy who tells young men to clean their room and challenge themselves. You'd think we'd trapped the Devil himself.

WilyRickWiles replies on May 2, 2021:

@Hanno Glad you agree they are reactionary. But it is not socialists adopting reactionary ideas advocated by JBP. Moreover, your whole take on political economy is cartoonish and false. Curious what you think about this theory: https://whorulesamerica.ucsc.edu/local/growth_coalition_theory.html

Wait I thought he was famous because he WAS canceled.

wolfhnd comments on May 2, 2021:

Your ability to get everything backwards is amazing. He is famous because he is one of the few people in academia the left tried to cancel and failed.

WilyRickWiles replies on May 2, 2021:

By that standard is anyone really cancelled?

Wait I thought he was famous because he WAS canceled.

Hanno comments on May 1, 2021:

No, he became famous for helping thousands and then millions of people across the world. He became famous when wannabe do-gooder socialists realised he that did all by himself what they believed only totalitarian governments could so. They hated him for that for it showed that their beliefs ...

WilyRickWiles replies on May 2, 2021:

Revisionist history.

Wait I thought he was famous because he WAS canceled.

Alysandir comments on May 1, 2021:

So much fuss and hand-wringing over a guy who tells young men to clean their room and challenge themselves. You'd think we'd trapped the Devil himself.

WilyRickWiles replies on May 1, 2021:

If only it were just that. The common sense for an alienated society is bait for the same old reactionary tropes.

I'm curious to know what the resident progressives on here think about this article?

WilyRickWiles comments on Apr 30, 2021:

I think the issue fundamentally has to do with the intensifying centrality of real estate to city political economies over many decades. Unaccountable police protect real estate assets of the local growth coalitions and accelerate the clearing out of low-income (often Black) areas for private ...

WilyRickWiles replies on Apr 30, 2021:

@SpikeTalon Bad incentives all around.

I'm curious to know what the resident progressives on here think about this article?

WilyRickWiles comments on Apr 30, 2021:

I think the issue fundamentally has to do with the intensifying centrality of real estate to city political economies over many decades. Unaccountable police protect real estate assets of the local growth coalitions and accelerate the clearing out of low-income (often Black) areas for private ...

WilyRickWiles replies on Apr 30, 2021:

@SpikeTalon These things won't change without a change in political economy. The federal government could make that happen by directly funding public goods at the local level again. But it will probably require more of a power counter-balance from working people.

I'm curious to know what the resident progressives on here think about this article?

WilyRickWiles comments on Apr 30, 2021:

I think the issue fundamentally has to do with the intensifying centrality of real estate to city political economies over many decades. Unaccountable police protect real estate assets of the local growth coalitions and accelerate the clearing out of low-income (often Black) areas for private ...

WilyRickWiles replies on Apr 30, 2021:

@SpikeTalon But yes, the military recruitment, training, and equipment is problematic--but it's enabled by the aforementioned interests. And blowback from our oppression of working people abroad.

I'm curious to know what the resident progressives on here think about this article?

WilyRickWiles comments on Apr 30, 2021:

I think the issue fundamentally has to do with the intensifying centrality of real estate to city political economies over many decades. Unaccountable police protect real estate assets of the local growth coalitions and accelerate the clearing out of low-income (often Black) areas for private ...

WilyRickWiles replies on Apr 30, 2021:

@SpikeTalon More recently (mid 20th century), they coopted white ethnic gangs with a history of racist violence (made them police) to divide the working class along racial lines.

I'm curious to know what the resident progressives on here think about this article?

WilyRickWiles comments on Apr 30, 2021:

I think the issue fundamentally has to do with the intensifying centrality of real estate to city political economies over many decades. Unaccountable police protect real estate assets of the local growth coalitions and accelerate the clearing out of low-income (often Black) areas for private ...

WilyRickWiles replies on Apr 30, 2021:

@SpikeTalon Not to mention, if you want to go back further, part of the origin of police was in putting down labor unrest military-style (e.g. immigrant miners forced into camps due to once again monopolized housing) for capitalists like the Rockefellers. And before that slave patrols.

I'm curious to know what the resident progressives on here think about this article?

WilyRickWiles comments on Apr 30, 2021:

I think the issue fundamentally has to do with the intensifying centrality of real estate to city political economies over many decades. Unaccountable police protect real estate assets of the local growth coalitions and accelerate the clearing out of low-income (often Black) areas for private ...

WilyRickWiles replies on Apr 30, 2021:

@SpikeTalon I mean, I think it started when the Rockefellers were motivated by the risk of their assets losing value. So they and their allies created a shadow government for creating policy, dominated city councils, and created propaganda outlets. They rigged the game so that they would receive cheap central bank financing--but public goods would not--and accumulated capital over decades. So today such assets (real estate and now intellectual property) dominate the American economy (that's what I meant by centrality) and due to their hegemony local governments remain dependent on property taxes from those assets--but not too high in order to maintain a favorable "business climate." Most traditional labor is done overseas. It got to this point due to political and legal decisions dominated by those material elite interests. An economy based on property is inherently hierarchical and oppressive (now people are increasingly being treated as assets or liabilities themselves). Unaccountable police were required to enforce that corruption.

A lot of conservatives haven't heard of Blackstone's ratio and it shows.

Terence57 comments on Apr 23, 2021:

It's a non sequitur. It translates to, "Better to pack a lunch than ride the bus..."

WilyRickWiles replies on Apr 24, 2021:

@Terence57 Have you heard of the criminal justice system?

A lot of conservatives haven't heard of Blackstone's ratio and it shows.

FrankZeleniuk comments on Apr 23, 2021:

I'm a classical liberal and never heard of it. It is a travesty that an innocent person be convicted and especially for those charged with delivering justice as Balckstone was. So I understand his angst. It is better for justice to not convict on presumption or circumstantial evidence is all that ...

WilyRickWiles replies on Apr 23, 2021:

@FrankZeleniuk Basically.

A lot of conservatives haven't heard of Blackstone's ratio and it shows.

Weltansicht comments on Apr 23, 2021:

Your dichotomy and hubris notwithstanding the irrationality of your demagoguery projections to make conservatives seem less human in feeling of compassion; how do you explain that in your illustrious Chicago, Illinois (run by democrats and socialists since when?) And how do you explain the lack of ...

WilyRickWiles replies on Apr 23, 2021:

Ever heard of a neoliberal?

A lot of conservatives haven't heard of Blackstone's ratio and it shows.

Terence57 comments on Apr 23, 2021:

It's a non sequitur. It translates to, "Better to pack a lunch than ride the bus..."

WilyRickWiles replies on Apr 23, 2021:

Not really. It is basically the concept of performance that is used to evaluate true positives, true negatives, false positives, and false negatives for things like predictive power and medicine efficacy. Here it's evaluating such effects of punishment through law or by the norms of agents of the state.

A lot of conservatives haven't heard of Blackstone's ratio and it shows.

DaveO276 comments on Apr 23, 2021:

I have heard of it, and I have heard conservative commentators quote it frequently. What makes you think a lot of conservatives haven't heard of it?

WilyRickWiles replies on Apr 23, 2021:

@DaveO276 Also in the US: voter purges. All of these policies cast a wide net to prevent things that are low likelihood. E.g., the voter fraud rate in the us is 0.00006%. Some estimate that voter suppression efforts prevent at least 2% of eligible voters from casting a ballot. That's the equivalent of 33,333 innocent people suffering to catch every 1 guilty person (who inherently do not affect election results).

A lot of conservatives haven't heard of Blackstone's ratio and it shows.

DaveO276 comments on Apr 23, 2021:

I have heard of it, and I have heard conservative commentators quote it frequently. What makes you think a lot of conservatives haven't heard of it?

WilyRickWiles replies on Apr 23, 2021:

@DaveO276 It gets to the heart of conservative "law and order" vs. liberal rule of law.

A lot of conservatives haven't heard of Blackstone's ratio and it shows.

DaveO276 comments on Apr 23, 2021:

I have heard of it, and I have heard conservative commentators quote it frequently. What makes you think a lot of conservatives haven't heard of it?

WilyRickWiles replies on Apr 23, 2021:

@DaveO276 Also support for anti-immigrant racial profiling laws and stop-and-frisk policing.

A lot of conservatives haven't heard of Blackstone's ratio and it shows.

DaveO276 comments on Apr 23, 2021:

I have heard of it, and I have heard conservative commentators quote it frequently. What makes you think a lot of conservatives haven't heard of it?

WilyRickWiles replies on Apr 23, 2021:

@DaveO276 Support for US voter ID laws, for starters.

A lot of conservatives haven't heard of Blackstone's ratio and it shows.

FrankZeleniuk comments on Apr 23, 2021:

I'm a classical liberal and never heard of it. It is a travesty that an innocent person be convicted and especially for those charged with delivering justice as Balckstone was. So I understand his angst. It is better for justice to not convict on presumption or circumstantial evidence is all that ...

WilyRickWiles replies on Apr 23, 2021:

It's not worth, e.g. a 10% false conviction rate, to catch those 10.

A lot of conservatives haven't heard of Blackstone's ratio and it shows.

DaveO276 comments on Apr 23, 2021:

I have heard of it, and I have heard conservative commentators quote it frequently. What makes you think a lot of conservatives haven't heard of it?

WilyRickWiles replies on Apr 23, 2021:

Inverse probably isn't correct--what I mean is they believe that it is better for 10 innocent people to suffer than 1 guilty person escape.

A lot of conservatives haven't heard of Blackstone's ratio and it shows.

DaveO276 comments on Apr 23, 2021:

I have heard of it, and I have heard conservative commentators quote it frequently. What makes you think a lot of conservatives haven't heard of it?

WilyRickWiles replies on Apr 23, 2021:

Because they insist on the inverse!

Shocking that the people screaming "cancel culture" are the ones doing the actual cancelling.

SpikeTalon comments on Apr 10, 2021:

If you support groups like BLM or ANTIFA who of which had carried out criminal acts in the past, you get what you deserve. Both political extremes are capable of canceling the perceived opposition, but these days the far-left is far worse when it comes to cancel culture. For every action there is a ...

WilyRickWiles replies on Apr 10, 2021:

One is speech. The other is the silencing of speech by the state. The forces of the right, of which the "IDW" is a part, are the latter. How libertarian.

If anyone here belongs to the ACLU could they please ask executive director Anthony D.

WilyRickWiles comments on Apr 7, 2021:

You've all lost your minds.

WilyRickWiles replies on Apr 7, 2021:

@ThomasinaPaine Welcome back!

I've just read this article with interest and I thought I would share it: ...

FuzzyMarineVet comments on Apr 4, 2021:

To be honest, there is a difference between capitalism, a straw-man invented by Marx, and free enterprise, the economic system that destroyed European feudalism. In capitalism the lords and ladies are replaced by the capitalists who serve the same parasitic function. Either capitalism or feudalism...

WilyRickWiles replies on Apr 6, 2021:

@Pand0ro Sad to say. And the rest will try to ally with oppressed minority groups (if they are not members themselves) to build the institutions mentioned in the article (which I'm finally reading)--if not out of moral imperative then out of necessity.

Iowa governor signs bill allowing permitless purchase, carry of handguns | TheHill

FuzzyMarineVet comments on Apr 5, 2021:

The British general in charge of Boston, "Give me those cannon and muskets, good sirs." The Minutemen of Concord, Massachusetts Bay Colony, "An you want 'em, come and take 'em." Three days later the British army did, but never got them back to base.

WilyRickWiles replies on Apr 6, 2021:

And then George Washington took them! The OG gun grabber!

Damn, nextdoor done went full blown communist

WilyRickWiles comments on Apr 4, 2021:

Because communism is not being a white supremacist?

WilyRickWiles replies on Apr 5, 2021:

@Beachslim Nextdoor

I've just read this article with interest and I thought I would share it: ...

FuzzyMarineVet comments on Apr 4, 2021:

To be honest, there is a difference between capitalism, a straw-man invented by Marx, and free enterprise, the economic system that destroyed European feudalism. In capitalism the lords and ladies are replaced by the capitalists who serve the same parasitic function. Either capitalism or feudalism...

WilyRickWiles replies on Apr 4, 2021:

One idea: collectively don't go back to the office after COVID (causing commercial real estate shock that necessitates a change in political economy). Another: good old organizing of the working class (but is that feasible especially since there are really no sympathetic elites worldwide?).

I've just read this article with interest and I thought I would share it: ...

FuzzyMarineVet comments on Apr 4, 2021:

To be honest, there is a difference between capitalism, a straw-man invented by Marx, and free enterprise, the economic system that destroyed European feudalism. In capitalism the lords and ladies are replaced by the capitalists who serve the same parasitic function. Either capitalism or feudalism...

WilyRickWiles replies on Apr 4, 2021:

@FuzzyMarineVet, @Pand0ro Yes, I would say money, real estate, and intellectual property amount to wealth these days. Labor has taken a back seat. And many workers have become mere servants. The law has much to do with this state of affairs. And the power accumulated through capitalism makes it sticky. I ask myself, what will it take to make any policy changes happen? Are there any examples from history?

I've just read this article with interest and I thought I would share it: ...

FuzzyMarineVet comments on Apr 4, 2021:

To be honest, there is a difference between capitalism, a straw-man invented by Marx, and free enterprise, the economic system that destroyed European feudalism. In capitalism the lords and ladies are replaced by the capitalists who serve the same parasitic function. Either capitalism or feudalism...

WilyRickWiles replies on Apr 4, 2021:

@Pand0ro But then again, Marx made a lot of criticisms and prescriptions that influenced what you are discussing. So why are we debating an extreme, historical version of Marxism when we know the moderate, present-day version we both are currently aiming for (leaving room for some relative differences)? Not that it isn't a debate worth having, but it's not a very practical one, and not one I'm particularly interested in having. I'm more interested in understanding our political economy (like Marx did) so that I can take action to bring about something closer to social democracy.