boxer_dogs_dance's recent activity

  1. Comment on What are you reading these days? in ~books

    boxer_dogs_dance
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    I just finished Orbital by Harvey This is realistic fiction about astronauts on a mission. I was told before I started that it is philosophical. I agree that it is philosophical but I would add...

    I just finished Orbital by Harvey This is realistic fiction about astronauts on a mission. I was told before I started that it is philosophical. I agree that it is philosophical but I would add it's reflective and meditative. It doesn't have an exciting plot but it has a lot of insight and I found it pleasant and restful to read.

    I'm about to start We are Legion (We are BOB) for the Tildes book club this month.

    2 votes

  2. Comment on Tildes Book Club - We are Legion (We are Bob) - How is it going? in ~books

    boxer_dogs_dance
    Link Parent
    Good to see you Wes. Looking forward to the discussion.

    Good to see you Wes. Looking forward to the discussion.

    4 votes

  3. Comment on Libertarianism is dead in ~humanities

    boxer_dogs_dance
    Link Parent
    I don't have the answer for this debate. However, one of the reasons Social Security in the US works so well as a benefit program, and is so hard to dismantle, is because it goes to such a high...

    I don't have the answer for this debate. However, one of the reasons Social Security in the US works so well as a benefit program, and is so hard to dismantle, is because it goes to such a high percentage of the population. It's not needs based and so there are fewer accusations of fraud than there are with SNAP or TANF or other programs with strict income limits on who can receive them. It also avoids the perverse incentives of needs based programs where people who try to move from benefits to low paid jobs can end up doing worse, making it rational for them to give up and stay on benefits.

    7 votes

  4. Comment on Libertarianism is dead in ~humanities

    boxer_dogs_dance
    Link Parent
    After I read scholar Robert Paxton's book The Anatomy of Fascism I was convinced that the MAGA movement is fascist and that Trump wants to lead a fascist state. If you want something shorter,...

    After I read scholar Robert Paxton's book The Anatomy of Fascism I was convinced that the MAGA movement is fascist and that Trump wants to lead a fascist state.

    If you want something shorter, Umberto Eco identified 14 key features of fascist movements

    16 votes

  5. Comment on Weekly US politics news and updates thread - week of November 10 in ~society

  6. Comment on Weekly US politics news and updates thread - week of November 10 in ~society

    boxer_dogs_dance
    Link Parent
    Is there any guarantee that this promised vote will happen?

    Is there any guarantee that this promised vote will happen?

    2 votes

  7. Comment on A light in very dark days: Nancy Pelosi and AIDS in ~society

    boxer_dogs_dance
    Link

    Ed Wolf worked as a counselor in the AIDS ward at San Francisco General Hospital in the late 1980s, a time when young men were arriving at a relentless pace, gaunt and struggling to breathe, only to die days later.

    Well-known figures would drop by to tour the ward, their visits tracked by news cameras. But when Nancy Pelosi spent time there, it was different.

    No cameras. No entourage.

    Ms. Pelosi, the new member of Congress representing San Francisco at the time, asked the nurses if they had what they needed and if any patients were up for a bedside visit. Then she would slip into their rooms alone

    4 votes

  9. Comment on US Department of Agriculture tells states to undo efforts to issue full food aid benefits or face penalties in ~society

    boxer_dogs_dance
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    "States must immediately undo any steps taken to issue full SNAP benefits for November 2025," the memo said.
    "Failure to comply with this memorandum may result in USDA taking various actions, including cancellation of the Federal share of state administrative costs and holding states liable for any overissuances that result from the noncompliance," the memo said.
    Some states had previously said they would fund November SNAP benefits using state funds. It was not immediately clear whether the memo applied to actions taken by those states. The USDA did not respond to a request for comment.
    Massachusetts, New York and New Jersey were among the states that said on Friday they were moving to issue full benefits to SNAP recipients.
    "If President Trump wants to penalize states for preventing Americans from going hungry, we will see him in court," Massachusetts Governor Maura Healey said in a written statement.

    15 votes

  11. Comment on Hermann and Albert Göring: Two very different brothers in ~humanities.history

    boxer_dogs_dance
    Link
    Wow. Fascinating and inspiring story.

    Wow. Fascinating and inspiring story.

    4 votes

  12. Comment on Tildes Book Club - We are Legion (We are Bob) - How is it going? in ~books

    boxer_dogs_dance
    Link
    Ping @maximum_bake, @RheingoldRiver, @carsonc, @kwyjibo, @syllo, @kfwyre, @PnkNBlck71817, @rosco, @first-must-burn, @CannibalisticApple, @public, @DefinitelyNotAFae, @Melvincible, @davek804,...

    Ping @maximum_bake, @RheingoldRiver, @carsonc, @kwyjibo, @syllo, @kfwyre, @PnkNBlck71817, @rosco, @first-must-burn, @CannibalisticApple, @public, @DefinitelyNotAFae, @Melvincible, @davek804, @jerutix, @slothywaffle, @Bifrost51, @Sodliddesu, @azaadi @fraughtGYRE @PnkNBlck71817 , @arch, @chocobean @lackofaname, @OnlyGhosts @csos95 @Wes, @cfabbro, @georgeboff @Everdoor, @zorind @Palimpsest @CrazyProfessor02 @maevens @cdb @OceanBreezy @joshs, @Schnupfenheld @Sparksbet @Smores @Captain_calico @hexagonsun @CharlieBeans @pu1pfriction @Lonan @DialecticCake @kej @LazarWolf @eyechoirs, @Idalium, @indikon @611828750722 @jawedzebra, @patience_limited , @marcus-aurelius,
    @Rudism @crespyl @rsl12 @thermopesos @archevel, @elight, @pekt, @tonestones @Dr_Amazing
    @Shevanel , @crialpaca @Weldawadyathink,@blivet ,@syllo, @lhamil64, @tanglisha, @requirement

    8 votes

  13. Tildes Book Club - We are Legion (We are Bob) - How is it going?

    ~books Ask
    We'll be discussing We are Legion at the end of November. This month, I've been busy and also trying to finish Orbital by Harvey before my loan period finishes. (It's an e-book loan on Libby and I...

    We'll be discussing We are Legion at the end of November.

    This month, I've been busy and also trying to finish Orbital by Harvey before my loan period finishes. (It's an e-book loan on Libby and I can't get an extension.) So I haven't started quite yet.

    13 votes

  14. Comment on Europeans recognize Zohran Mamdani’s supposedly radical policies as ‘normal’ in ~society

    boxer_dogs_dance
    Link Parent
    There are too many people in US cities who live in neighborhoods with few to no options for buying food. The corner stores don't stock vegetables or fruit. If there is a better option for...

    There are too many people in US cities who live in neighborhoods with few to no options for buying food. The corner stores don't stock vegetables or fruit. If there is a better option for providing healthy food to citizens in the toughest neighborhoods, someone should suggest it.

    15 votes

  15. Comment on Europeans recognize Zohran Mamdani’s supposedly radical policies as ‘normal’ in ~society

    boxer_dogs_dance
    Link Parent
    I have mixed feelings about Mamdani although I was happy with a recent interview he did where he said he wanted to provide/foster/promote more 'third spaces' for people to meet each other and...

    I have mixed feelings about Mamdani although I was happy with a recent interview he did where he said he wanted to provide/foster/promote more 'third spaces' for people to meet each other and associate with each other. Isolation and loneliness is a big problem here in the US to the extent that a former surgeon general wrote a book about how important isolation is as a factor in poor health and how to possibly overcome it.

    I respect your point. Personally, I draw a hard line between democratic socialist policies that I support and authoritarian/totalitarian government of all kinds including communism. Here in the US, the propaganda from the right treats it all as the same and many people don't know how to treat these topics critically and carefully.

    At the moment, our danger is fascism, but I agree with you re the USSR and the former governments of the countries behind the iron curtain in Europe.

    11 votes

  16. Comment on Weekly US politics news and updates thread - week of November 3 in ~society

  17. Comment on Donald Trump AI advisor David Sacks says ‘no federal bailout for AI’ after OpenAI CFO’s suggestion of US federal government backstop in ~tech

  19. Comment on US Federal Aviation Administration reducing air traffic by 10% across forty ‘high-volume’ markets during government shutdown in ~transport

    boxer_dogs_dance
    Link Parent
    Are they near an Amtrak station? I recently took Amtrak from Chicago to the Bay Area to avoid airport problems.

    Are they near an Amtrak station? I recently took Amtrak from Chicago to the Bay Area to avoid airport problems.

    3 votes

  20. Comment on Idle complaints of indebtedness and isolation in ~talk

    boxer_dogs_dance
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    Consider visiting a bankruptcy attorney for a free consultation. (If you are in the US) depending on your circumstances, chapter 13 or chapter 7 might be a better option.

    Consider visiting a bankruptcy attorney for a free consultation. (If you are in the US)

    depending on your circumstances, chapter 13 or chapter 7 might be a better option.

    12 votes