Tuesday, April 26, 2016

Backward Judgment

Let’s do a philosophical question tonight. This idea came from one of our own (Kit), but I’m stealing it because I find it interesting. Every age seems to look back upon the prior ages and shake their heads about the horribly “immoral” things the prior generation condoned. For example, we look back on the old South and wonder how they could think slavery was moral. So here’s the question: what will they look back at us for in 200 years and wonder how we could condone it?

I’ll go first.

As strange as it may sound, I think the thing they will be most shocked by is that we allow hunting and that we kill animals to eat them. Yes, I’m serious. As populations become increasingly urban/suburban, they’ve lost touch with animals as anything but pets. We see the results of this already as people are demanding better treatment (human-like treatment actually) for farm animals and the elimination of “inhumane” hunting practices.

It strikes me that the natural progression of this will be a slow but steady push toward vegetarianism, especially once science finds a way to duplicate the taste of meat (not like those awful veggie burgers, but real meat). At that point, I think you will see people conclude that killing animals is wrong, and they will eventually look down on us for all those tasty, tasty, tasty steaks we eat.

I think they will also look down on us for racism (by all races), religious intolerance (mainly Muslims, but also Christian fundamentalism), and for being anti-science (both things like opposing gene therapy and things elevating junk science, e.g. climate change, to a religion). This last one will be seen as superstitious.

Thoughts? How do we look in hindsight to you?

75 comments:

AndrewPrice said...

And yeah, that's them from the future in that photo. Butt heads.

AndrewPrice said...

BTW, there's an article at the film site: LINK.

It's about Django Unchained.

Critch said...

A good point about hunting,,,I'm a hunter BTW,,,always have been and hope to keep going..but I'm around people all the time who think that meat is born in a wrapper in a store...I do my best, but social media being what it is, is driven by idiots..I may lose..but I've raised three boys who hunt...my 4 year old grand daughter can already handle a bow..racism I don't know about....if there is one area I have seen the millenials be such unadulterated phonies it's over race...they talk big, but they don't do anything about it..

AndrewPrice said...

Critch, The hunting thing strikes me as the end of a trend that began right before I was born. As people left nature and moved to the cities, they began to see animals as friendly and cute and almost human. This has led to a continuing series of laws to ban various hunting styles and certain farm practices. I see that picking up steam if anything. At that point, I think the city dwellers will simply ban hunting and eventually farm animals.

The racism thing is more of guess, but I am seeing a trend where the non-political public has largely moved beyond the issue of race. At some point, I think that is likely to catch up to the political class. But you never know. There are certainly lots of people (e.g. Beyonce) who are trying to stir the pot to maintain their fading fame.

AndrewPrice said...

OT: So I wasn't imagining it about Prince's death being exploited. Interesting article on some of the brands that exploited it... Hamburger Helper, Cheerios, 3M, etc. LINK.

LL said...

No more bacon? (genuine, not soy bacon)

Are you kidding? What sort of evil, dystopian hell would that leave the world in.

No more porterhouse steaks?

Why even eat?

BevfromNYC said...

Actually, I think we are heading to a time of great intolerance a new anti-Victorian era of shaming those who act "different". The areas for "the others" will be shaming those who espouse religion in any form and those who refuse to accept non-binary gender choice. And non-gender specific jumpsuits will be worn by all. And women will rule the world (okay, maybe that last one was over the top)

As for diet, I do not think that we will become true vegetarian world. We will stop breeding and killing animals because they are censcient beings. However robot scientists will be able to create "meat products" in labs without the need for killing anything with 3-D printing on the genetic and atomic level. They have already started with recreating replacement organs for transplant. Why not bacon or porterhouse steaks?

Yes LL, you will still have your "bacon", but with no dead pig involved. it will be from pig DNA and grown in a meat garden...;-)

Critch said...

Where we are headed is toward a meaner world..social media allows all sorts of people to insult and shame others....whether it's fat shaming etc..I see a world of grey conformity that is joyless....

tryanmax said...

Bev, the thing that makes me doubt that people of the future will finally consider meat to be immoral is that the idea has been pushed since antiquity and is always shrugged off. Furthermore, in the west vegetarianism has elitist overtones that foster reactionary rejection.

As for women ruling the world, it will never happen so long as we accept that men in drag count as women. At furthest, it will be bepenised women running the show. I have video evidence: LINK

tryanmax said...

As to what the people of the future will shake their heads at regarding the present, I'm a bit more optimistic--or maybe just more long-term focused. I think eventually this moral relativism experiment will play out and collapse, as it has in past societies, and the people of the future will shake their heads that we even tried it for the umpteenth time.

Kit said...

As Yogi Berra said, "It's tough to make predictions, especially about the future."

BevfromNYC said...

Tryanmax - I actually agree with you. I think we are eventually moving into a New Age Of Reason. But not until WWIII and the 21st C. "witch hunts" have ended.

BevfromNYC said...

Btw, I don't think our future selves will aschew "racism" or slavery. Humans continue to enslave other humans all the time. And humans are by nature "tribal" and unless the instinct to be leary of the new and different is bred out of our limbic brain, we will always be "racists" in some form.

Kit said...

"humans are by nature "tribal" and unless the instinct to be leary of the new and different is bred out of our limbic brain, we will always be "racists" in some form."

I agree w/ Bev here.

Kit said...

On race relations, I see things getting worse, at least in the short-term (10-30 yrs). How worse and for how long depends on how bad things have to get before a number of Americans and politicians are willing to put a foot on the brakes.

And that sometimes requires corpses.

AndrewPrice said...

LL, I would be an ugly world without meat.

AndrewPrice said...

Bev, I think that the invention of fake meat will be a prerequisite for people finally deciding that "animals are people too."

On the intolerance, I think that's been a facet of humanity for as long as we have kept track. It's just the majority view that keeps changing. We are herd animals after all... some more so than others.

AndrewPrice said...

tryamax and Bev, I like the idea of an age of reason, and I like to think that by and large that will be true.


Critch, Humor and "color" does seem to be on the way out at the moment.

AndrewPrice said...

I'm going the other way on race. Everything I see tells me that race is starting not to matter to a large majority of the public. So while "race relations" may be nastier at the edges, it isn't nasty at all for most people. In fact, black and white culture seem to be merging rather quickly lately. Even the number of interracial marriages seem to be skyrocketing.

Kit said...

Andrew,

"black and white culture seem to be merging rather quickly lately. Even the number of interracial marriages seem to be skyrocketing."

But the "nastier" voices are the ones driving the discussions in the culture on race, not the calmer ones. It doesn't take long for those "fringe" ideas to become "accepted truths" if they are pushed constantly by the media hard enough.

Just flip on Fox News or MSNBC or BET.

A rise in interracial marriages or a merging of black and white cultures is more or less irrelevant if the dominant voices in the culture are spewing division, envy, and resentment. There were a sizable number of inter-ethnic marriages in early-90s Yugoslavia. The Jews were very well integrated into 1920s Germany. In the end, neither fact mattered.

Of course, none of this is set. But the trends I see foretell that race relations are likely going to get a whole lot worse.

And I don't see anyone in the culture (or the church) who sees the problem and is willing to do anything about it.

Kit said...

I honestly don't see the meat thing happening anytime soon.

I think raising kids has damaged your brain. ;-)

BevfromNYC said...

"...I think that the invention of fake meat will be a prerequisite for people finally deciding that "animals are people too."

The point, Andrew, is that the the "fake meat" won't actually be fake. It will be genetically engineered parts. But the animals won't need to slaughtered to get it! You heard it here first...don't tel the cows, chickens, and pigs 'cause then we won't need them anymore and they will go extinct. Or it could be that you will see hipsters walking down the street with tiny cows on leashes as pets!

Anthony said...

Extensive genetic modification will have made much of humanity a very different thing and will also have a massive impact on plants and animals.

Our fear will be regarded as old fashioned superstition.

BevfromNYC said...

Anthony, that is always the problem...superstition.

Btw, I just had my eyeballs checked today and I can't see very well right now. I won't be posting anything tonight...but carry on here.

AndrewPrice said...

Bev, That's probably true. It will probably be like organs -- grown from actual DNA but not made into a "life-capable" shape.

AndrewPrice said...

Kit, There are two problems with that. First, it's not the dominant voices in the culture. Step away from the political class, who are tiny, and you see a very different discussion. The nastiness really is confined to a small group of people whose only interest is the political system. And they are talking to an increasingly smaller group of people, which is why it's getting nastier -- because more reasonable people are walking away from the debate.

Seriously, avoid politics and just observe the things that actually make up American culture (non-vanity films, TV, internet cites like Facebook and pinterest, sports, advertising, music) and you won't hardly see any mention of race at all.

In terms of the fringe infecting the public that's super unlikely for several reasons. First, the trend has been to walk away from the issue and there's nothing out there that is likely to reverse the trend, especially as the people pushing the race stuff are deemed as super unpleasant. Secondly, it flies in the face of several American instincts. In particular, Americans have a libertarian streak and a sense of fairness. The idea of suddenly becoming racist flies in the face of that. Ditto on American charitability and neighborliness. Americans have an "isolationist" streak in the sense of wanting to be left alone, which again argues against adopting an affirmative state of aggression. Further, blacks and whites are on such a different economic track that there is no direct competition anymore. Interracial marriage is becoming common, which will make it harder for racists to find allies.

All of this and more weighs against a tiny group of extremists who screaming that we should band together to hate each other. That's not a winner.

AndrewPrice said...

Seriously though Kit, walk away from the political blogs and news for awhile and you will see a very different America that has essentially tuned out the political class.

Critch said...

Once we don't need cows, chickens, pigs, goats, and sheep for food, they will become extinct...they won't be needed for anything and they will disappear while a bunch of future intellectuals bemoan it...too bad.

AndrewPrice said...

Critch, That's probably true actually.

Kit said...

Andrew,

I agree there are good signs. But my fear is that they will become rather irrelevant if certain things are not changed.

It's not just that there are negative voices, it's that there are no positive voices in the political culture. That should not be discounted.

Kit said...

The site Return of Kings claims that their boycott of Star Wars: Force Awakens over its casting of female and black leads, instead of white male leads, cost the movie $4.2 million, or $4,219,456.54, to be precise.

Which means instead of making a possible $2,070,077,318 the movie only made a measly $2,065,857,861.

As the site put it, "Within 5 years, movie studios will beg for our endorsements."

LINK

ArgentGale said...

Are you sure that Facebook is a good example, Andrew? These days it seems like my news feed is 60% transgender bathroom issues alone. Add in Trump and the political content climbs. Well, either that or I have some kind of gift that links me to people with activist tendencies on social media... I wonder if there's some place where I can return it?

- Daniel

Critch said...

Have you seen the Chevy truck commercial where the guy tells the 3 dudes that look like Abercrombie and Fitch ads to pick a saw..blah blah blah....I don't know what it is but the image of masculinity that is projected on TV in some commercials is so awful, it's funny,,,I have a feeling that not one of these 3 know how to change a spark plug, use a saw, build a house, skin a deer or anything else...but they all have aggressive beards and checkered shirts...

ScottDS said...

Kit -

Old news... and those people can go f--- themselves. :-)

Anthony said...

Kit,

Black Lives Matter is 2016's New Black Panthers (beloved by the media, especially the conservative media) and they have just as much support on the ground.

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/deray-mckesson-earns-3-000-votes-baltimore-mayor-primary-article-1.2616122

Turns out 340,000 Twitter followers don’t translate well into votes.

DeRay Mckesson, one of the leading Black Lives Matter activities on social media, faced a crushing defeat Tuesday in the Baltimore mayoral race — scoring just 2.5% of the Democratic primary vote and finishing sixth.

Mckesson, who has never held a political post, earned about 3,000 votes — a tally that’s less than 1% of his Twitter following.
------

Mckesson is one of the best-known Black Lives Matter organizers, and rose to prominence during the Ferguson protests in summer 2014. He travels nationally for demonstrations, and President Obama this year commended Mckesson for “outstanding” work in Baltimore.

Mckesson announced his candidacy right before the filing deadline in February, becoming the last of 13 Democratic candidates in the race. He ran on a platform advocating expansions of community policing, affordable housing and full academic scholarships for low-income graduates.
-------

Mckesson’s campaign earned national attention thanks to his social media following, and he raised more than $265,000 from about 5,000 donors in a matter of weeks. But his candidacy appears to have had little local impact. Campaign finance records show the vast majority of Mckesson’s contributions came from outside of Maryland.

BevfromNYC said...

Of course he didn't do as well as his Twitter follower numbers would have suggested he would have. Most likely the overwhelming majority of Twitter followers were "from outside of Maryland" too.

AndrewPrice said...

Let me add this to what Anthony said. This guy was running in perhaps the ideal location: in the liberal primary in the black inner city of a racist-black anti-white city where one of these shooting was (and remains) major news. There is nowhere else in the country where he is likely to get greater support.

And yet he got only 2.5% of the vote. Translate that into America at large and you're looking at 0.8% of the public based on political parties even before you reduce that amount to factor in the special nature (black) of Baltimore's electorate.

I would guess this means that a hate group like Black Live Matter draws support from about 0.08% of the public.

That is very encouraging.

AndrewPrice said...

Kit, That is laughable. What a bunch of whiny little b*tches.

AndrewPrice said...

Critch, Those are neutered hipsters. They are the same "men" who used to go into the woods in the 1980s to howl, beat drums and apparently sodomize each other.

AndrewPrice said...

Daniel, Facebook kind of depends on who you are friends with, but largely, it does give a pretty good pulse of America (I judge it based on the stuff that gets recirculated everywhere). What you see is you do get some idiot liberals and some conservatives fighting each other, but the overwhelming majority are the "non-political" public. When this last group treads into politics, it's usually herd behavior and it gives you a solid glimpse of what issues the herd believes require an opinion (they are too dumb to handle more than a couple important ones at a time, btw) and it tells you which way the issue will go because the herd only follows majority-approved bandwagons.

So note that the public currently cares about transgender bathrooms and Trump (and Sanders v. Hillary in an abstract way), but isn't talking about race at all.

On those issues, by the way, the anti-Trump stuff is half-hearted and really "pro forma" at best. It's nothing like when they hated Bush or even Romney, and there are a lot of people pushing back this time.

The transgender bathroom stuff has become an easy issue. It was complicated and morally unclear to most herders until North Carolina gave them a focal point to attack. That made it easier for them to find consensus because they no longer had to approve of the issue, they only had to hate the "bigots." This shows once again that it is often best to remain silent and let your enemy implode than it is to give them a rallying cry.

As an aside, the reason gays are taken very positively on Facebook and blacks are not is that Facebook is largely the domain of medium-to-low IQ white suburban women. They are not big picture types or particularly logical or consistent. Instead, they tend to be emotionally driven and "personal experience" driven. Since most of them know someone who is gay (and having a gay friend is a status symbol with this crowd), they see being gay as a positive thing. Blacks, on the other hand scare them. They see blacks mainly through the news as murderers, rapists and gang bangers. Hence, what gays want gets their enthusiastic support, whereas black issues are largely ignored unless there is some aspect of it which would help them.

ArgentGale said...

Interesting thoughts, Andrew, and it does make sense of what I observe. Today it actually seems to be relatively clear of political content, though that might change when I get bored and check back during break at work. And for the record, my main contribution to Facebook is pictures of cats, though if I can ever snap out of this mix of gaming burnout and getting hooked on Larry Correia books I was thinking about posting up some characters from games like Fallout, Mass Effect, Dragon Age, and Elder Scrolls. Having two photogenic Maine Coon mixes and one photogenic tortoiseshell does make for some good cat pics, though!

- Daniel

AndrewPrice said...

Daniel, I've always wanted to play Fallout, but never had access to it... and I'm too darn busy. :(

Anyways, I've learned over the years to find "predictors" in odd places. Things like polls are useless for a number of reasons, but other things scream information. To give an example: advertisers. Avoid looking at what they are trying to sell you because that is about manipulation, but instead look at the tools they are using to manipulate you and you will understand what their experience tells you the American people will respond to.

Facebook gives us something really similar (as does Pinterst) in terms of the memes and posts that seem to get passed around by everyone. Those are a direct look into the minds of the public. And when you see it on the pages of people who are not inherently ideological, then you can start to see trends that reflect what the non-ideological public cares about at the moment.

I've found this to be reliable because its consistent all kinds of other cultural indicators, and most interestingly, it's very very different than the things the people who argue politics are interested in.

Allena-C said...

I like your predictions, Andrew.
Let's hope future generations will conclude that most people in our generation
Are greedy , since they spend more than they can pay, and steal from their children and grandchildren to finance their present day utopia.
Either that or they will think we cannot do basic math, lol.

Critch said...

My main contribution to FB is pro-2nd amendment memes and articles,,mainly because I know it causes Liberals to keel over and foam at the mouth...and I like to post videos of 70s groups...I used to work in radio....and I always wanted my own show...I was going to call it, "Songs Terry likes..."

AndrewPrice said...

Thanks Allena. It makes sense to me given the trajectory of our history and human nature. We'll see.

AndrewPrice said...

Kit, I completely forgot to mention this. I got distracted smearing Facebook users. :D

it's that there are no positive voices in the political culture

This isn't true though. There are a ton of positive voice. They just don't bother with the debate unless there is something that has risen to the attention of the public. Specifically, every time something potentially racist happens, the rational center-left, the center right/actual conservatives, and the apolitical condemn it and they make it clear that racism is not acceptable from anyone. This position is such a widely-held, noncontroversial position that no one even argues it. They may argue around the edges how to define racism or what to do about it, but all accept this principle and move on.

The thing is, this position is so uncontroversial and so reasonable and so settled that neither fringe wants to talk about it. In fact, they dislike it so much that they actively attack the people who say it. Hence the "cuckservatives" and their liberationist counterparts on the left attack reputable places like National Review and The Washington Post as dupes for the other side because as long as the public listens to the positive voices, no one will buy their crap.

Kit said...

Sorry, for no post today. I sort of fell asleep at 4 and slept until 10. :-/

AndrewPrice said...

OT: This is a great commercial by Gatorade which shows the kind of person Peyton Manning is. It's really impressive. It's one of those feel good things we too often overlook these days...

LINK

Anthony said...

The hard left is doing its part to elect Trump.

http://nypost.com/2016/04/29/hundreds-of-protesters-gather-outside-trump-speech-after-night-of-violence/

An angry mob broke through steel barricades and tried to storm a Donald Trump appearance in California on Friday — a second day of protests that forced the billionaire to sneak inside by climbing over a wall.

Modal Trigger

“That was not the easiest ­entrance I’ve ever made,” Trump said as he began his speech at the Hyatt Regency near San Francisco’s airport in Burlingame.

“It felt like I was crossing the border, actually.”

Protesters threw eggs at police officers and shouted obscenities at those entering the luncheon to hear Trump’s speech.

Some carried Mexican flags in protest of Trump’s proposal to build a wall along the Mexican border.

“Would you protect Hitler?” one protester shouted at police trying to control the crowds.

AndrewPrice said...

Trump is up 15% in Indiana. That's going to put him way over the top. He still won't officially get enough until California, but the race is over.

BevfromNYC said...

Why do you insist on depressing me, Andrew?? 😢

Kit said...

The GOP, in nominating a big government, isolationist, anti-free trade, and pro-abortion leftist, can no longer be called conservative in any sense of the word.

As an American ideology, conservatism is dead.

AndrewPrice said...

Bev, Because I work for Prozac.

AndrewPrice said...

Kit, Yep, pretty much.

The thing is, conservatives are to blame. They got away from using their ideology to find ways to make life better for people and they became about obsessions (Bill Clinton... RINOS... abortion... gays... Obama... Mexicans) and suicidal gestures. Conservatives haven't been ideologically conservative since before Clinton's impeachment.

Kit said...

I also think America is now in terminal decline. If I live 50 more years I will end my days in a country Balkanized along racial and ethnic lines.

I think America is now a corpse but, like Bernie, no one quite realizes it yet. But eventually, they will. I think Putin knows it.

Kit said...

And, yes, I am starting to earnestly believe America is past the point of no return.

AndrewPrice said...

Kit, Might I suggest a Poliotomoy... a separation from most political news for some time? America is doing quite nicely unless you listen to the politically connected, who want you to believe the end is nigh so they can sell you something.

Kit said...

Andrew,

I'm considering it. It just keeps sneaking back in.

I remember unplugging from the news during Christmas break, some of the happiest days of the past 6 months.

Kit said...

"Poliotomoy," where is that word from?

BevfromNYC said...

Kit, we have been at this point many times..and we will survive and be better for it. Sometimes reasonable people need a lesson in how bad it can really get before they come to come back to the middle ground. Oh, don't get me wrong, it's going to get worse before it gets better. After all, it's the 60's all over again (pick any century). But take this to the bank (if they survive), we have a strong foundation in our Constitution. And what you are hearing is the loud fringes, not the rational middle.

Btw, the full blame sits squarely on the shoulders of the "Tea Party" movement. What started off as a focused middle aged/middle class fiscal sanity movement turned into a stupid, irrational destructive force with no brain and no direction except to scream "destroy the establishment". And it gave birth to an even more brainless and directionless movement "Occupy Wall Street"...and the politicians and media saw what they had and squeal with delight. A mob for hire anytime they needed one...click bait.

But it will get better...

AndrewPrice said...

I made it up. It was that or Poliectomy. :)

Seriously though, take a step back and take a look around. I think you'll be surprised how great America still remains and how it keeps getting better. The chattering class wants to believe that America is failing because it helps then sell their pet peeves as critical to the nation. Basically, they are lying to depress you so you will think their ideas are needed to save us all.

It's not true.

BevfromNYC said...

"The chattering class wants to believe that America is failing because it helps then sell their pet peeves as critical to the nation. Basically, they are lying to depress you so you will think their ideas are needed to save us all."

Andrew, that is what I was trying to say, but you said it much better. Also remember that Americans are famous for loving to "air our dirty laundry in public" too.

ArgentGale said...

I hope you're right about America going strong, Andrew. My big worry about it all is with conservatism having committed suicide what's going to keep liberalism in check? It's starting to sound to me like the things you saw in Colorado are about to play out nationally with the public being offered a choice between destructive but sane-sounding liberalism and openly toxic, fringe conservatism, choosing liberalism each time, and moving the country farther and farther left. That's one worry I haven't been able to shake.

- Daniel

AndrewPrice said...

Thanks Bev! I really think that's what it is. Since 2012, I've tried very hard to take a look at the world beyond our political culture and the things I've found have been amazing: Americans are much more traditional than people get, yet they are very open to new ideas and they are, above all, fair and take a live and let live attitude. Race is no longer a big deal for them. They don't hate anyone. They are remarkably pragmatic even as they maintain a strong belief in their principles. They see the world getting better all the time and America leading the charge. They see their own lives constantly improving. They have tremendous faith in each other, in the police, in the military, in charities, in business, in science, and in education -- they ignore politicians unless one interferes with their lives. They love to work hard, striving for the American dream, and they love to play hard.

This is all the exact opposite of what our political class tells us on every poli-news site and program. And it's out there to be seen if you put aside the propaganda and examine the world around us in good faith.

The public may not be perfect and may not agree with everything I wish they did, but they are much much better than our ideologues want to believe.

AndrewPrice said...

BTW, I just published tonight's article because it backs a lot of this up.

AndrewPrice said...

Bev, Further, you are right that we do air our dirty laundry because Americans are pragmatic do-it-yourselfers who try to fix the problems they find rather than sweeping them under the rug. Airing our problems is the only way to do that.

Unfortunately, the fact we say these things often makes people think they are more important than they are or it lets them misinterpret our debate for division.

AndrewPrice said...

Daniel, We'll have to see. But I have several reason to believe things won't go too poorly.

First, I think Trump will actually win by a wide margin. Why? Celebrities win in America... as do the bold. Hillary is worn out and deeply unpopular. Trump has already calmed down some of his worst moves and keeps moving toward sounding more reasonable and acceptable to average people. He's humanizing himself. What's more the GOP will stop trying to destroy him as he pulls ahead of Hillary.

Second, our political system is tied 50/50 and turnout matters. Trump has found a replacement for the people who will stay home. Hillary has not.

Third, as for the country, our political class has never had less influence with or power over the public. The result is that the election is actually largely irrelevant to the country's future. Our left and right are like whiny children fighting in the back of a minivan driven by the public. They are not driving the bus.

Fourth, I do actually believe that Trump is selling an image and the real Trump will be much more normal and less assholish than the campaign Trump.

Fifth, the House will remain Republican no matter what, so little will happen unless they allow it.

Kit said...

"I think Trump will actually win by a wide margin."

First, I think he will get crushed. Every poll, I mean EVERY SINGLE POLL shows him getting clobbered in every demographic except white males. Which means the baseline is not 50-50, it's now more like 60-40 (Dems ahead). And the Senate will be Democratic and the House will be in serious danger.

second, re the Trump image. The problem is that asshole Trump is the real Trump. That is who he is. Look at his behavior for the past thirty-plus years. We'll basically elect a Berlusconi as President, which is tolerable if you are a second-rate European country, but a global disaster if you are the world's top superpower.

If you want a glimpse of that, look here: LINK

"In Italy, Berlusconi’s personal drama derailed a center-right movement that had been struggling to recover from devastating corruption scandals. But in America, the tragedy is worse: Trump is derailing a center-right party that had been looking forward to the rise of a whole new generation of promising leaders who are in danger of being cast aside in favor of a media celebrity."

Kit said...

You know what?

I need a break. I'm going to take one. I'll write a review of Wolf Children for Tuesday prior to Mother's Day.

Kit said...

Maybe a break from politics will give me the perspective I need.

tryanmax said...

Kit, Rasmussen just released a poll showing Trump and Hillary tied. This comes after a week of the media claiming that Trump's "woman card" comment was a gender based attack and swooning over Hillary's clumsy and transparently focus-grouped response in the way of her "deal me in" punchline and an official woman card available on her website. This is the perfect opportunity to point out that while "playing the woman card" is an obvious allusion to a card game, and "deal me in" is an appropriate response, the woman card available from the Hillary website resembles a credit card. That's a gaffe in itself. But then when you consider the implications of buying something on credit, it suggests taking something not yet earned. Also, what about negative stereotypes of women with credit cards. The whole maneuver was poorly thought out and I hope I'm not the only one pointing it out.

AndrewPrice said...

tryanmax, I saw that they were tied. That's horrible for Hillary for several reasons.

First, throughout my life, the polls have always had a pro-Democratic bias. In every election in my life time, the Democrat started with a huge lead over the Republican and then it tightened. Even in 1984, Reagan and Mondale were tied when the polling started or showed Mondale with a slight lead before Reagan raced ahead and won in a landslide. In every other race, the Republican added to their points and the Democrat lost points. If Hillary and Trump start even, that's disaster for Hillary.

Secondly, the reason Trump's numbers aren't better is that the primary isn't over. Right now, almost everyone on the left is choosing Hillary over Trump in those polls, but Cruz's supporters and Kasich's supporters are likely picking Hillary to make Trump appear weak. Once the nomination is over and it is officially Trump v. Hillary, those people will drift back to Hillary or drop out, which means Trump's numbers rise and Hillary's fall. Even the ones who stay with Hillary are already in her support figure. Hence, Trump has an upside in those polls still, Hillary doesn't.

Also, the race always changes once the candidates start talking to the public rather than the primary voters. Trump is already starting to pivot and his numbers are growing. Hillary seems to be going the other way with a plan to pander to get her left-flank turnout up. That's a horrible strategy.

AndrewPrice said...

P.S. Nice takedown of Hillary's counter.

Koshcat said...

200 hundred years?

1. They won't understand our addiction to oil as by that time most of energy will be electric through small community nuclear power devices.
2. No one in a large city will own a car. Why when you can get anywhere with with self driving personal devices.
3. Farmers will run their whole system from a computer in their home...250 miles away.
4. Gunpowder will become obsolete.
5. Prison will become obsolete as a criminal will have a personal control chip that disables you with an excruciatingly painful electric shock that is completely harmless because it will be a small shock specifically directed.
6. Islamic terrorists will still be around but they will all be child raping assholes...oh, wait...and MSNBC will still be asking us to consider their true underlying feelings.

AndrewPrice said...

Koshcat, Each of those is quite likely actually!

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