Real Clever Issues

I'm progressive and like facts. Society. Environment. Politics. Science. Etc. I generally object to using personal attacks, but have made an exception for "Wacky and Deranged" Trump where I use the nicknames for him that he uses for others. Seems fair and fitting.

[republicansaretheproblem]

[realcleverissues]

just a thought.

When I was kid (hell, even today), the concept of idolatry always seemed weird. Why offer sacrifices to a statue that doesn't seem to do anything? And people made *real* sacrifices for them. It just seems crazy.

I kinda see a similarity in authoritarian "worship". These people aren't here to help the average "worshiper". And yet, the sacrifices keep pouring in.

[porterdavis]

This would get my vote

[realcleverissues]

And GET MONEY OUT OF POLITICS! It's the root of the dysfunction.

[realcleverissues]

When that Man is Dead and Gone (1941) - Protest song against Hitler (Live Take)

Lizzy & the Triggermen

[realcleverissues]

Work Requirements

kinda f*cked to have work requirements for receiving gov't aid while the FED's policy is built to inherently have some level of unemployment.

[catgirlmimikyu]

Social media offers a forum for individuals to share experiences after being wronged by an individual, an organization, a group, or a govern

this is a really good article about how belief in the just world hypothesis (the idea that people get what they deserve) leads to apathy and negative reactions on social media toward victims to whom justice cannot be easily restored

I think we should all be aware of the just world hypothesis and how it colors our own behaviors when we see a victim's story

[wilwheaton]

“The reason we don’t have effective protections for climate change (or functional gun control, or universal health care, or cheap broadband) is because the U.S. Congress is often too corrupt to function. Monied interests have polluted state and federal legislatures to the point they no longer serve the public interest. This isn’t some errant opinion, it’s a documentable, provable fact. Yet you’ll notice that for the New York Times, the idea that the structural and ethical integrity of the U.S. government has been wholly compromised by the extraction class simply plays absolutely no useful contextual role in the story.”

—

The U.S. Press Loves To Pretend Widespread Corruption Doesn’t Exist

[realcleverissues]

Who Controls the Future of AI: The Oligarchs or the People? - Bernie Sanders and Ro Khanna

[realcleverissues]

The Years of Humility

AI is poised to eliminate a LOT of jobs over the next few years, especially white collar jobs. What will these people do? Some may be able to pivot to a related field or a niche that the AI hasn't consumed yet, but probably most of them will have to resort to more mundane labor.

Ever heard those stories about taxi drivers in NYC who were doctors in their former countries? Probably like that. (Though I think doctors are a field likely immune from job loss for longer than most.)

I think a lot of people are going to experience life in the bottom half for the first time in a long time - or possibly their entire lives. it's going to piss off a lot of people and humble many others. (Esp those who hold views like personal superiority or bootstraps etc. Just imagine the most entitled person you know now having to work at the supermarket and take sh*t from other entitled people.)

And then the AI will come for those jobs too.

p.s. and why haven't politicians done anything about it? bc they're the 1% who stand to massively gain from it.

[realcleverissues]

Ice & Elections

So now there's talk from the regime of sending ice to polling locations for the upcoming election. this is obviously horrible. but also, google gemini calculated that: "Based on the most recent federal data from the U.S. Election Assistance Commission (EAVS), the top 15 most Democratic-leaning states have approximately 22,029 physical polling locations across their blue (Democratic-held) districts."

That's just the top 15 Dem states and just their blue districts: 22,000. That's also the approximate size of ice. Even if they doubled their numbers by november, they'd be looking at two of them per location.

Of course, any amount is a problem, but my basic point is that it's hard to have a show of force when your troops are divided into literally thousands of locations.

(That said, if he brings in the military, they do have massive numbers (~2M = 100/polling location) but it'd be harder for him to implement.)

hopefully none of these calculations become important

[politijohn]

Source

[realcleverissues]

I don't think homeowners are entitled to inflated home values by creating artificial scarcity. But that debate isn't even necessary because while Trump and many NIMBYs frame housing density as a threat to home values, that framing doesn’t hold up to evidence.

Study after study shows that added density typically raises nearby home values, reduces crime, and improves neighborhood vitality.

We don’t have to choose between property values and housing abundance — we can have both.

random source among many: www.mass.gov/info-details/building-livable-communities-displacement-and-property-values

[slipping-into-madness]

[depsidase]

[realcleverissues]

Americans vs Venezuelans

Considering how the regime has announced that they believe in "might makes right", I literally don't understand how its supporters don't see that they are the next herd of sheep to be fleeced. (Frankly, it's already started.)

Especially with AI and massive job loss on the horizon, are these really the people they think they can trust?

"The forest was shrinking but the trees kept voting for the axe as its handle was made of wood and they thought it was one of them."

[realcleverissues]

Musing: What benefits might we gain if everyone had to spend a year abroad either learning or doing volunteer work (and host countries would similarly send people here). Basically, exchange programs, but for everyone (with exceptions for those with extenuating circumstances).

I'm just kinda wondering how much the average american would benefit from getting out of their bubble and learning to appreciate other places and ideas and people.

p.s. I'm thinking of this for people between the ages of 16-25.

[depsidase]

[mitchipedia]