Billie M Jones

@Reg THANK YOU!! I feel less weird about it now 🙂

@jake I am horrified at the way you grew up with such animosity. I’m full of admiration for the fact that you’ve turned out to be so decent.

You’re much more tribal here in America. People really like labels and grouping terms. Maybe it’s because you had to invade the land you live in, and had to manage indigenous peoples, so it’s a Cowboys a…[Read more]

@enco  There is no perfection, and arguably no equality in real life.  An example of equity might be the allocation of school bus costs on a headcount basis, even though some students live much further from school than others.

It is precisely because there is no such thing as equality, that equity steps into the breach.

Although I am very aware that anti-semetic beliefs or Jew hatred exists, I have somehow managed to avoid encountering any, in all my years. It’s bewildering to me. It’s as if everyone else can physically see something and I can’t. Maybe it’s partly because I grew up in an atheist family. Maybe it’s because there were many different religions…[Read more]

We can get swallowed by our own prejudices on occasion without even being aware of that.

@Jake I disagree with your perception of ‘lefties’. Perhaps we have a different interpretation of the definition of ‘lefties’.

I am a leftie. In my world view, equity is better than equality, women should be in charge of their own fucking bodies, we should…[Read more]

@simon

”Extremists care about the one cause more than human welfare.”

I really like this point. It makes so much sense for today’s white river rafting kakistocracy.

Thanks, Reg!

Thanks Reg 🙂

TheEncogitationer wrote:
Israel, like all of us, could use more medicine, more professionals, and more quality in both, provided by a free market in healthcare.

Which countries are successful at this kind of free market?

I’m currently in skimming mode for most long posts, but this paragraph popped out, as I’m feeling again how much I hate ads for products that will never interest me.

jakelafort wrote:
The answer/solution is so simple. It lies in what i keep saying here how humans can be led like dogs can be conditioned. We will as a species believe and behave any…

[Read more]

Unseen wrote:
@popebeanie So, if it takes slaying every last Palestinian man, woman, and child to make Israelis feel safe, that’s a valid justification?

PopeBeanie wrote:
But I’m open to hearing humanistic solutions that would actually work.

(In those Trolley Switch scenario studies, it seems I’d be one of the few people who’d be willing to wor…[Read more]

Unseen wrote:
If Netanyahu isn’t a war criminal, how high has the bar been set?

So here’s the irony/unfairness/cognitive dissonance in my current but potentially changing belief: Sometimes war crimes are necessary to thwart other war crimes.

Sorry, I really can’t land on a conclusion that honors a more humanistic perspective. Wait, except p…[Read more]

Unseen wrote:
The U.S. should declare “A plague on both your houses” and stay out of it.

I’d be really happy if Iranians can defeat their theocracy, which would (imo) likely defeat major support for hamas, hezbollah, and houthis in the long run. And it would keep nuclear bombs out of the hands of terrorist, apocalyptic servants of their pur…[Read more]

Unseen wrote:
Some serious FAFO going on in Trump’s base.

Gawd I hated forcing myself to listen to that very long list of anecdotes copy/pasted from social media as if they’re meaningful, statistically. I generally skim youtube comments to get a feel for the room, where the idiocy in comments can be horribly tribal and angsty, but I won’t ever d…[Read more]

Unseen wrote:
@Pope Beanie Don’t be naive. Trump has a pathology. Psychopathology? Sociopathology? or a toxic blend of both? I think that’s for sure.

Pathology or whatever, he’s a wannabe authoritarian, with enough minions to support that dream/fantasy. I said some time ago that his erratic behavior could come in handy one day, and maybe the cea…[Read more]

Late edit: Oops, I swear I wasn’t trolling here. I didn’t watch the whole video before posting it. It’s obviously not just “reporting”, but also editorial. 🙂

Mullah-land has to be feeling pretty defeated right now, and more cautious about their next move(s), while still responding somehow, even if mostly symbolically. They don’t care about the Iranian people as much as they care about how they look in the eyes of Allah. And their perception of what Allah probably wants from them is myopic, indeed.…[Read more]

Unseen, I’ve liked the Midas Touch guy (and the other guy who’s often with him), but this is the first “panic mode” performance from him I’ve seen. And he’s the one saying others are in panic mode. Shit, practically everyone is in panic mode now, I think even you?

I’m not mocking you, I feel for you. My point, since so many are in panic mode and…[Read more]