Do you often ride on trains?

Also, how would you describe the sound it makes on the tracks?

The total population is not the total voting population. There was also a pandemic between 2020 and 2024 so I would expect the total amount of eligible voters would be different as a result of the pandemic.

I think that’s an uncharitable takeaway from what I’m talking about to say that the misogyny and racism were the core reasons that Harris got less votes. There were notable other factors that made it a close election, which I mentioned was the case. My point was more that because the margins were that close that those smaller details did matter more.

You’re not wrong. Many of them are exposed to propaganda on TikTok and it is a growing issue. Espionage is being done to divide the left and consolidate the right. Just because it’s not as noticeable as the propaganda from the right doesn’t mean that it’s not having subtle effects. If it gets people to disengage or not look out for their best interests then it is effective. All this to say, there is a way to bring about positive change and that has to do with being involved locally.

I believe that you are mostly correct, although the actual motivations for these folks are complicated. Some may value a few extra bucks in government support, having social security, and having Medicare programs. So there are some economic reasons they may vote for Democrats on occasion, but their bigotry could get in the way of their best interest.

So, some of those people probably just stay home for election night. While a good chunk may be getting convinced to vote for Republicans if they feel their bigotry is being rewarded.

Schumer has seniority in the Senate, which is why many have not tried to primary him.

Seniority is a big deal in the Senate in terms of committee assignments. Just because AOC could replace Schumer’s seat, it does not mean that she will gain the current amount of power that he has for a long time. Now it may well be worth replacing his seat just so the current spokesperson for Dems in the Senate changes, but it’s not going to be AOC for a while.

An alternative is for her to grow to become the Speaker of the House, which she could do by continuing to stay in her current role over the next several decades.

Otherwise, she may look at a run for Governor, although then that is much less federally focused.

She could run for President or take on the role for VP. If she were to be VP, I think it would almost guarantee she would be able to win the Presidency at some point. Although, if she joined an administration that caused a lot of baggage, like Harris received from being VP to Biden, then it would make that route more difficult.

Given the close margins I would say it surely played at least a part for Harris losing. Obama won by large enough margins that even if all the racists stayed home that he still won in a landslide.

If even 2% of the population would never vote for a women or a person of color then it was enough to have mattered when others are sitting home for other reasons. It’s certainly not the main cause of Harris losing as you pointed out, but when the margins were that close every vote did matter.

AOC has a message that people want is a key thing. Harris kept it too safe to really sway anyone that wasn’t already sold, unfortunately. That’s not to say Harris didn’t have a published policy list, but it wasn’t what people were seeing or hearing. If Harris came out as a progressive, which I believe she was, then I think she would have swayed middle America.

When people feel lied to is when they’re most willing to change their stances as well. GOP supporters are feeling the economic promises falling short right now and will continue to feel those promises not being kept. I feel that now is the perfect time to be making inroads with GOP supporters.

Bernie lays it out front and center for people to see who is causing their issues and people are listening.

If we’re being real here, your average person is either scared or feels so overwhelmed that they are checked out until they are directly needed by a friend or family member. If someone is talking now, it’s because their back is against the wall.

I’m sure many people don’t want to sound like the ‘boy who cried wolf’, only to not be taken seriously when their claims appear overblown about the scale of an issue. The big problem is that it has been a death by a thousand cuts. If it’s not a big problem close to home, then there are less people willing to step in for that specific issue. Especially so when personal relationships are at risk by taking a preemptive stand.

Certainly some people have been put off from voicing their concerns when how they voice it has gotten them bashed on by the very people they are supporting as well.

Personally, I believe that when push comes to shove that people are looking out for each other. With how things have been going, more people are calling out the wrongs and support for injustice is being chipped away at while everyone is starting to feel affected.

I’m not convinced the most extreme comments you see online seeking to split up leftists are in good faith. It’s relatively easy for people committing espionage to pretend to be leftists, push their agenda, and then seek to divide and conquer.

I’m not saying there aren’t real people out there saying these things, but I do believe many of them have bought the narrative of bad faith actors that were disguised among them.

The same exact thing happens on the right, but it’s more so just spamming their bad faith rhetoric with bots in their case. Since their goal is just to convince the least checked-in person to disengage or believe their side a bit more by seeing their side first.

The frame is mostly enforced by top donors and the ones that do not want to rock the status quo, namely the Baby Boomers in Congress that are still benefiting from the current status quo.

That’s not to say Democrats wouldn’t fix some or many of the problems, but the very structure of the Federal Government makes positive change a big task. The fact that about half the states have been sold on a lie by the Republican Party contributes greatly to the problem. Republicans can say government doesn’t work, then when they get in office they actually break the institutions. They then point at those institutions they broke and say “See it’s busted!” as they actively had a hand in defunding the system.

Really, I feel the Democratic Party within blue states need to step up and implement the federal positive change they sought, but at the state and local levels instead. The only way Blue states will convince Red states to change at this point is by showing how their progressive policies work for them, and will in-turn work for us.

Namely, Blue states need to be tackling the housing crisis, creating well paying government jobs, investing in healthcare for all programs, providing more public housing options by potentially buying up private apartments, breaking up big monopolies, buy out the energy utilities to provide energy not-for-profit/actually implement energy system upgrades, and even implementing a statewide Universal Basic Income program.

That’s the thing, people didn’t care about it till it had a well known person’s name actually attached to the piece though. It was submitted as just a toilet with a signature from an unknown person, it wasn’t originally known that it was from Duchamp.

To me, it feels like there are a few important questions Duchamp poses:

• Does art have worth on its own without the artist? Without Duchamp, the piece may well have only been recognized as a toilet with a signature.
• Is the artist an integral part to the meaning? I feel like in this case the answer is yes, because it was recognized for more than it was perceived because it became known that it was from Duchamp.
• What is the difference between a tool and a piece of art? Namely, where do we draw the line?

I feel that argument struggles in the context of this post though, where the labor is adding a signature onto a toilet. A similar amount of labor went into people typing up their prompts as went in from someone that’s well known adding on a signature. Now, I say this as someone that thinks AI art is wasteful since it uses up so much water and electricity, and is mostly done unethically since the art sourced was mostly done without consent or fair compensation.

Dracula’s always been the ultimate baddy

I’d say the issues can be fixed, but who knows if it happens really. I’d say a major problem is the same issues can appear elsewhere if other countries don’t take proactive steps to avoid the our issues. Things K-12 education needs to be well funded and free to all, even college education should be publicly funded. Implementing government restrictions on social media influencers and media companies that don’t adhere to something like the Fairness Doctrine. Splitting up monopolies or big conglomerates that try to take hold. Willingness for the government to go into debt to fund the future via more public transit options, nuclear power plants, and more public housing.

Thank you! I’m going to practice deliberate projecting. I can better visualize how to do this with the classroom example you gave as well.

The Christian Bible ultimately is about telling the story of a kind and caring God, and that we are made in God’s image. The early Israelite God, in the Torah and Old Testament, by comparison, was more focused on adhering to strict rules, traditions, and collective punishment for lapsing in the early Israelites commitment to the rules and traditions.

I do agree that there are parts of the Bible which were added where the authenticity of the author was forged. For instance, many of the books attributed to Paul were not written by him, yet they were made to sound like they were his instructions. Most notably, the whole section about women not being allowed in leadership positions in the church. Hierarchies were not inherently parts of Jesus’ teachings at all, but it’s how the early Christians chose to organize themselves. It’s how they maintained aspects of the patriarchy as well.

Some people would agree with you that the Bible should have kept being added to. In some ways that’s seen among some Christian faiths, although few add to the Bible itself for those stories. For instance, with Catholics there are the Saints which followers of the faith learn about, not generally all of them but one(s) that align with the aspects of their faith they care most about. Such as a focus on education, feeding the hungry, healing the sick and injured, etc.

Hell doesn’t exist in the Bible, it’s something later Christians thought up as a moral basis to keep people following the rules and to show up to their specific church services. I mean the church was even selling indulgences for a long while there which was a way of buying yourself a space in heaven, which goes against what Jesus talked about.

Jesus came to fulfill the 10 Commandments and spread the word of God being a loving God; not the ritualistic laws of the early-Israelites.

I’d say the book has meaning, but the lens in which one applies when reading it matters. There’s the text as it’s written, there’s the perspectives of the respective authors, and then there is your own lens being three main ways of reading it.

I think the biggest issue is people that are Christians in name only that pick up a Bible and call themselves Christians without even knowing the teachings of Jesus. The types that think what you do on Earth doesn’t matter so long as you believe, so they go on to do near the exact opposite of Jesus. A short comic about this: Supply Side Jesus

My only issue with Hanlon is that many bots are out there and ones that have bad intent. IRL I think it applies, but various populated online spaces I feel differently about.