"Because the Web Tells Me So": Why the "New New Left" is Probably Not Going to Save Us

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Friday September 13, 2013 · 6:53 PM PDT

2013/09/13 · 18:53

There was a nice piece up recently called The New New Left Is Coming discussing the hopes for a resurgence of progressive values from the maturing of Millennials into political life. There are definitely reasons to hope, but being on the inside generational boundary of that group, I want to add some notes of caution to those sentiments and describe the other side of the coin. Unfortunately, the vulnerabilities and disadvantages of the ascending generation are far more significant than the vague promise of somewhat more liberal (but considerably idler and more easily-distracted) political opinions.

Troubadour

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Wednesday September 11, 2013 · 8:32 PM PDT

2013/09/11 · 20:32

I've read a fascinating bit of analysis, broadly about the phenomenon of NSA surveillance and missionary whistleblower crusades from Manning to Snowden, and I have nothing to add on the specifics of those cases or what to do about them: In all honesty, I don't care. Maybe some day "they'll come for me," but for the moment the fact is it's just too abstract a threat to motivate me. For good or ill, that's just how it is in my case. But that doesn't mean I don't find the implications of the phenomenon intellectually fascinating, hence my interest in the linked article - particularly the vague implication that surveillance was part of the motivation for the generous institutional support of the growth of the internet in the first place. That's probably nonsense, but it leads to some interesting thoughts.

Troubadour

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Friday September 06, 2013 · 10:40 AM PDT

2013/09/06 · 10:40

Saturn's largest moon Titan is by far the strangest place in the solar system: An unimaginably frigid world with a thick, opaque atmosphere where the clouds rain liquid natural gas, the "rocks" and mountains are composed of water-ice as hard as granite, and rivers of hydrocarbons run to organic chemical seas. It is a world with eerie similarities to the processes that shape Earth, and yet is so far outside our frame of reference in temperature and bizarre chemistry that even visiting it with robotic probes presents unique technological challenges. But most importantly, while Titan may someday become a human world, the most fascinating thing of all about the Orange Moon of Mystery is what may already live there. In Vol. 5, we look at the possibility of Titanian life, and what the future may hold for humankind in this bizarre environment.

Troubadour

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Friday August 30, 2013 · 10:34 PM PDT

2013/08/30 · 22:34

Who would we be if we were Syrians? What side would we be on? With what combination of frustration, hope, and fear would we be seeing the deliberations in the West? I know the answer in my case, and I think most of us here know the answer without hesitation. The question is to what extent we're willing to make decisions on the basis of that understanding vs. the same old selfish, zero-sum bullshit of thinking in terms of "blowback" and nth-degree consequences that really have no bearing on what is right and what is wrong. Are we responsible for other people or not? Choose. Decide whether we are isolationist Libertarians who believe in a world of isolated, atomic individuals whose actions have no bearing on each other, or a world where everyone is responsible for everyone else. Decide.

Troubadour

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Wednesday August 14, 2013 · 7:25 PM PDT

2013/08/14 · 19:25

Previous flights of the Grasshopper were already awesome, but now they're starting to seriously play around with this rocket and make it look easy. They're basically throwing around something the size of a building like a toy and landing it like it's no big deal. The most recent flight had the Grasshopper moving laterally away from the pad as it ascends, then coming back to the pad. There is nothing else this size on Earth that can perform these kind of maneuvers. You'll want to go HD resolution and Full Screen on this one:

Troubadour

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Monday August 12, 2013 · 2:44 PM PDT

2013/08/12 · 14:44

His Awesomeness, Elon Musk, has unveiled conceptual work on his ultra-rapid-transit concept known as the "hyperloop." The full 57-page work is available in PDF form on the Tesla Motors website, divided into two sections - one is a brief description for laymen and the other is a long, highly involved description with technical details for professionals. Basically, Hyperloop is a mid-range transit solution conceived specifically for the case of transportation between Los Angeles and San Francisco, with slower options being more efficient for shorter distances and (hypothetical) supersonic air travel being ideal for longer ones. Musk has done the preliminary conceptual work in the hopes that others will run with it and bring it to fruition, since he himself is too busy with Tesla and SpaceX.

Troubadour

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Monday August 12, 2013 · 1:27 PM PDT

2013/08/12 · 13:27

As diaried on the Rec List, Attorney General Eric Holder is recognizing the long-building consensus that mandatory minimum sentencing for nonviolent drug crimes is producing an ineffective, unjust, and unsustainably large prison population full of people who don't deserve to be there. So perhaps now is the right time to ask the question: Should we institute a maximum prison population? And if so, what kind of policy should it be? An absolute numerical ceiling, a percentage of population, or some other basis? I would argue that we should have such a limit, regardless of which type we chose to go with.

Poll

26 votes Show Results

Ideal drug policy:

26 votes Vote Now!

Ideal drug policy:

Current policy is fine.

0 votes

Tougher on all illegal drugs.

2 votes

Tougher on some illegal drugs while lighter on others.

0 votes

Tougher on some drugs while legalizing others.

1 vote

Tougher on some drugs while staying the same on others.

0 votes

Stay the same on some drugs while lighter on others.

0 votes

Stay the same on some drugs while legalizing others.

0 votes

Lighter on most drugs, same on others.

1 vote

Legalize most drugs, lighter on others.

5 votes

Legalize all drugs, with caveats.

12 votes

Legalize all drugs, no caveats.

5 votes

Things You've Probably Never Seen

Troubadour

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Monday August 12, 2013 · 12:21 AM PDT

2013/08/12 · 00:21

Images gleaned from the internet, submitted without additional comment.

Troubadour

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Sunday August 11, 2013 · 3:40 PM PDT

2013/08/11 · 15:40

For curious people with active minds, some activities are obvious: Reading new books, seeing new movies, trying different food, etc. But there's an echelon above the obvious where you can take learning to a higher level without necessarily investing more time or money than on the ordinary stuff. The key, at least in my experience, is randomness: An inquisitive mind puts things together all by itself, so all you need to do is feed it. And rather than feeding it predictable material in order to build up a specific knowledge base, the best results seem to come from persistently exposing yourself to the unknown and unexpected.

Troubadour

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Saturday August 10, 2013 · 12:32 PM PDT

2013/08/10 · 12:32

Don't shit where you eat.

GOP: Shit where someone else eats.

Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.

GOP: Do unto others before they do unto you.

We hate those whom we wrong.

GOP: Hate everyone, and everything you can possibly do will either be justice or charity.

Compassion is the basis of morality.

GOP: Demanding more compassion than you give is the basis of moral profit.

Those who can make you believe absurdities can make you commit atrocities.

GOP: Perfection is the state of eradicating all minds that see imperfection in you.

Love thy neighbor as thyself.

GOP: Foreclose thy neighbor's house and thou will be thine own neighbor.

Virtue is its own reward.

GOP: Serving me is its own reward for my employees.

Tell the truth, and you won't have to remember your words.

GOP: Tell so many lies that nobody can keep track of them.

Love of money is the root of all evil.

GOP: Taxation of me is the root of all evil.

The law, in its majestic equality, forbids the rich as well as the poor to sleep under bridges, to beg in the streets, and to steal bread.

GOP: Laws are for people too lazy to be born with lawyers on retainer.

Property is theft.

GOP: Theft is property.

2 + 2 = 4

GOP: 1 gun + 10 bullets in the magazine pointed at your head = shut the fuck up.

Richard Dawkins is Right About Islam, And Everyone Knows It

Troubadour

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Thursday August 08, 2013 · 6:32 PM PDT

2013/08/08 · 18:32

Sometimes an issue serves as a value check on what you really stand for: Do you actually support something of inherent worth, or do you merely oppose some specific thing you find personally irritating without understanding why? The bizarre dichotomy on the left of attitudes toward Christianity vs. Islam is a case in point that separates the liberals from the posers: We see a reaction to two religions not by the ideas they promote or the behaviors normalized by their respective cultures, but simply how the identities involved relate to the political convenience of the speaker. The results can be surreal, and attacks from the left on Richard Dawkins for criticizing Islam have been some of the clearest and most appalling examples.

Troubadour

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Wednesday August 07, 2013 · 5:43 PM PDT

2013/08/07 · 17:43

I had a little bit of surplus cash squirreled away from abstaining from the finer things in life - soda, non-tap water, etc. - so I did a few things with the surplurs, like my most recent little humor charity drive here on Dkos. So then, my civic duty discharged, my testicles just has to throw in their two kilograms so I ended up going to the San Manul Indian casino in the East Empire.

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"Because the Web Tells Me So": Why the "New New Left" is Probably Not Going to Save Us

The Internet is "Humanity's Nervous System." But What if Humanity Isn't Human?

Getting to Know Your Solar Your Solar System (39): Titan (Vol. 5)

Fck Public Perception and Fck "Blowback." What is the RIGHT decision re: Syria?

SpaceX Grasshopper Rocket Does Impressive Lateral Flight

Elon Musk Unveils Hyperloop Ultra-Rapid-Transit Conceptual Work

Institute A Maximum Prison Population?

Things You've Probably Never Seen

Unusual Ways to Always Be Learning

Inverse Moral Epigrams of the GOP

Richard Dawkins is Right About Islam, And Everyone Knows It

Feeling' Like A Chump on a Stick