gpl's recent activity
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Comment on Personal blogging in ~tildes
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Comment on We’re building nuclear spaceships again—this time for real in ~space
gpl LinkI highly recommend the John McPhee book The Curve of Binding Energy for an amazing profile of Theodore B. Taylor, the leader of NASA's Project Orion in the 60s.I highly recommend the John McPhee book The Curve of Binding Energy for an amazing profile of Theodore B. Taylor, the leader of NASA's Project Orion in the 60s.
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Comment on US President Joe Biden announces that he will not run for re-election in ~news
gpl Link ParentHow and who at the DNC pulled these strings? How did they force voters to choose Biden over, for example, Bernie? I really don't understand the aura and animosity towards the DNC in situations...How and who at the DNC pulled these strings? How did they force voters to choose Biden over, for example, Bernie? I really don't understand the aura and animosity towards the DNC in situations like this. They're essentially a glorified events planning organization. There's no clear mechanism for them to force a candidate in or out. What happened in 2020 was a group of politicians realizing they were not going to win, and making a calculated decision to drop out and endorse someone who aligned more closely with them than the other main contender (Biden over Bernie). That's not "falling in line" in the sense I understand people to mean it, and it's not pulling strings. It's just how coalitional politics works. You make alliances and deals to further your power and ability to enact policy.
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Comment on US President Joe Biden announces that he will not run for re-election in ~news
gpl Link ParentBy the party I mean people who will be endorsing her. I don’t really think there’s that many Biden voters out there who will need convincing to vote for Harris. It’s the same ticket, after all.By the party I mean people who will be endorsing her. I don’t really think there’s that many Biden voters out there who will need convincing to vote for Harris. It’s the same ticket, after all.
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Comment on US President Joe Biden announces that he will not run for re-election in ~news
gpl Link ParentI know the GOP has been threatening court challenges, but I really don’t understand on what grounds they intend to do so. My understanding is that ballots have not even been printed yet, and Biden...I know the GOP has been threatening court challenges, but I really don’t understand on what grounds they intend to do so. My understanding is that ballots have not even been printed yet, and Biden i was never the official nominee. Even with courts as fucked as they are I don’t see how they could force Democrats to have a nominee they never selected and don’t want. Challenges related to campaign war-chest issues might have more opportunity for ratfuckery.
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Comment on US President Joe Biden announces that he will not run for re-election in ~news
gpl Link ParentAh, that may be the case, but rest assured online progressives are not the ones that lead to this outcome. Online posting from the rank-and-file is almost always sound a fury signifying nothing at...Ah, that may be the case, but rest assured online progressives are not the ones that lead to this outcome. Online posting from the rank-and-file is almost always sound a fury signifying nothing at the end of the day. I understand your frustration and also think Biden was the most progressive president of my lifetime, but I think he became so because of the realities of the coalition he built and relied on for support and not because of some internal evolution. That is to say, the political landscape forced him to be progressive, and that is the same landscape Harris will be inheriting. There is hope she will be just as progressive.
In any case I think, personal feelings aside, the only word on any Democrat or progressive’s lips right now should be “Win!”. There will be time after the election to settle scores. We are four months from a potential authoritarian/proto-fascist nightmare scenario. Now is not the time to be venting about insta-party frustration, imo.
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Comment on US President Joe Biden announces that he will not run for re-election in ~news
gpl Link ParentIt really was not the progressive wing of the party that did this. AOC and Bernie were vocal supporters of Biden staying in. This was mostly the doing of the donor class and Pelosi allies who are...It really was not the progressive wing of the party that did this. AOC and Bernie were vocal supporters of Biden staying in. This was mostly the doing of the donor class and Pelosi allies who are worried about down ballot races. And of course the large number of voters who rank age as one of the biggest issues for supporting Biden.
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Comment on US President Joe Biden announces that he will not run for re-election in ~news
gpl LinkI’m just glad this drama is behind us and hopefully the party can coalesce around Harris quickly. Major leaders in the party seem to be doing so. This might end up being seen as a rare move of...I’m just glad this drama is behind us and hopefully the party can coalesce around Harris quickly. Major leaders in the party seem to be doing so. This might end up being seen as a rare move of Democratic strategic acumen but we just have to hope and ensure that they don’t once again snatch defeat from the jaws of victory.
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Comment on US President Joe Biden reportedly more open to calls for him to step aside as candidate in ~news
gpl Link ParentMy understanding is that if it is to be an "open" convention the delegates are released and able to vote for whoever they want, so it is not as certain that the first vote would go to Biden but it...My understanding is that if it is to be an "open" convention the delegates are released and able to vote for whoever they want, so it is not as certain that the first vote would go to Biden but it is obviously still possible. The specific wording in the party rules is
All delegates to the national convention pledged to a presidential candidate shall in all good conscience reflect the sentiments of those who elected them.
This is understood by some at least to mean that delegates are free to vote for a candidate other than the winner of their state's primary, should circumstances require it. In the extreme case that a candidate died after the primary but before the convention, no one would expect delegates to vote for a deceased person. Personally, unless Biden declares he is not running I cannot see a mass defection of delegates under this reasoning unless something extreme happened. But it is technically possible that enough people defect so that the first ballot will not go to Biden, in which case superdelegates can become relevant.
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Comment on US President Joe Biden reportedly more open to calls for him to step aside as candidate in ~news
gpl Link ParentNah, my understanding is that he did initially plan on serving one term, but Trump re-entering politics after his brief exile in 2021 convinced Joe to change his mind. He talks a bit about it in...Nah, my understanding is that he did initially plan on serving one term, but Trump re-entering politics after his brief exile in 2021 convinced Joe to change his mind. He talks a bit about it in this article, but I'd seen the Trump explanation elsewhere and a while ago, so I can't track it down now.
I'm very conflicted on the push to replace him. On one hand, I think it could be good to have a younger candidate who is still able to run on Biden's record, but without the baggage of being so damn old (his age being far and away the main concern voters have with him). On the other hand, I have been extremely impressed by his domestic policies (foreign, not so much, mainly because of Gaza), and I think he does pull in a unique coalition that other candidates wouldn't. I think it is telling that so much of the core Democratic base still in his corner.
I'm also wary of the donor influence in replacing him. I think it sets a very bad precedent if large donors can just come in and essentially replace the winner of the Democratic primary, especially when that winner is the sitting president. I know some others have raised the point that it wasn't a real primary, but despite the lack of competition it was a genuine primary. I wish he had some real competition, as it may have forced the party to confront these issues a year ago, but alas here we are. It is a extremely uncertain situation, and I honestly don't know what outcome I think is preferable. All I know is that this needs to get resolved quickly and it has happened far too publicly and for far too long.
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Comment on US President Joe Biden reportedly more open to calls for him to step aside as candidate in ~news
gpl Link ParentThe amount of doomerism I've been seeing online about the polls in July about this election has genuinely surprised me. Biden is down like 2-5 points depending on what polls you look at. Obviously...The amount of doomerism I've been seeing online about the polls in July about this election has genuinely surprised me. Biden is down like 2-5 points depending on what polls you look at. Obviously that is not great, and I understand the stakes at play here. Even then, it feels like people have just collectively forgotten 2022, when Democrats were consistently polling behind Republicans yet ended up over performing, or the previous elections where polls have notoriously been difficult to interpret. Polling within the margin of error in the middle of July before the convention should not be grounds for panic.
Now, I get that the situation here is a bit different. The main concern with Biden is his age, and that is fundamentally something that he can't address or turn around. The initial panic was sparked by his horrible debate performance, but if that was truly an "off night" he and his campaign could have demonstrated this by having multiple decisive interviews and news conferences to demonstrate that his age was not an issue. The fact that they tried this and it has not assuaged concerns is an indication that his age is an issue, and the debate simply revealed that. The lackluster damage control after the debate has done as much to cement this image of Biden as did the performance itself. This is coming from someone who thinks his press conference and interviews weren't bad, too. With all of that in mind, I feel like the calculus within the party at the moment is that it would be better to run someone (i.e. Kamala) who can run on Biden's record, which is pretty good and there's a lot there, but not have this intrinsic albatross around the neck. Impossible to tell now how it plays out, but I just want a definitive end to the this saga so the focus can turn back to defeating Trump.
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Comment on US President Joe Biden reportedly more open to calls for him to step aside as candidate in ~news
gpl Link ParentI agree that this should have happened months ago. There was a primary but there were no very serious contenders at the time, when there should have been. Personally I think Biden should have...I agree that this should have happened months ago. There was a primary but there were no very serious contenders at the time, when there should have been. Personally I think Biden should have stuck to his wink wink nudge nudge promise of being a "transitional president" and never stood for re-election in the first place. We could have had a proper primary instead of trying to compete against the incumbent only to end up where we are now, with a few months until the election. I think the most important thing at this moment is for the Democrats to get their shit together and decided one way or another what they are doing. Something like, Democratic leaders like Obama, Jeffries, Schumer, Pelosi, etc write a joint op-ed either fully endorsing Biden or calling for him to step aside. That would end this debate one way or another and let the party move past it and focus on winning the election. The three week long drip drip has only weakened whoever the eventual nominee is.
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Comment on The unexpected poetry of PhD acknowledgements in ~science
gpl Link ParentI'm in my last "year or two" of my PhD program. There are definitely times I wake up in a panic thinking I have forgotten some important deadline. My experience so far as been relatively positive....I'm in my last "year or two" of my PhD program. There are definitely times I wake up in a panic thinking I have forgotten some important deadline. My experience so far as been relatively positive. It has gotten better since the beginning, which was the height of the pandemic, fall 2020. But we'll see if it begins to decline as it seemingly drags on.
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Comment on Weekly US politics news and updates thread - week of July 15 in ~news
gpl Link ParentThe proposed reforms are very popular with the American people, though. I agree it won't go anywhere, but tons of policy proposals are good at revving the base and building coalitions but...The proposed reforms are very popular with the American people, though. I agree it won't go anywhere, but tons of policy proposals are good at revving the base and building coalitions but ultimately don't go anywhere. Look at most of the GOP platform for examples. This is 100% a campaign move, and not a bad one I think, and maybe one that lays the groundwork for reform down the road.
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Comment on US judge dismisses classified documents case against Donald Trump (gifted link) in ~news
gpl Link ParentYeah in my opinion this is absolutely a case of blatant partisan corruption in the judiciary. I agree there. I guess I have been assuming for a while though that none of Trump’s legal embroilments...Yeah in my opinion this is absolutely a case of blatant partisan corruption in the judiciary. I agree there. I guess I have been assuming for a while though that none of Trump’s legal embroilments will get resolved until after the election. This is why it is imperative he is defeated at the ballot box by an amount where it is impossible to overturn in the courts.
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Comment on US judge dismisses classified documents case against Donald Trump (gifted link) in ~news
gpl Link ParentThat would be up to the judges that oversee the appeal. They could demand it back to Cannon, they could to someone else. The DOJ can request a different judge in their appeal if it gets remanded.That would be up to the judges that oversee the appeal. They could demand it back to Cannon, they could to someone else. The DOJ can request a different judge in their appeal if it gets remanded.
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Comment on Donald Trump whisked off stage in Pennsylvania after apparent gunshots rang through the crowd in ~news
gpl Link ParentHe registered 9/28/21 so it could be the case, but it wouldn’t have been the presidential primaries.He registered 9/28/21 so it could be the case, but it wouldn’t have been the presidential primaries.
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Comment on Donald Trump whisked off stage in Pennsylvania after apparent gunshots rang through the crowd in ~news
gpl Link ParentI think there is no way to tell right now what this means. There are plenty of examples, even in American history, of attempted assassinations which do not carry the candidate to victory. We just...I think there is no way to tell right now what this means. There are plenty of examples, even in American history, of attempted assassinations which do not carry the candidate to victory. We just don't know what longlasting public perception of this is going to be. Maybe it is Trump the martyr, maybe it's that for MAGA but the rest of the country sees it as a reminder that Trump = chaos. We know next to nothing about the shooter other than that he was 20, donated to a progressive PAC, but then registered as a Republican, was into gun culture. Maybe the narrative becomes about right wing radicalization.
But maybe it's over and Trump has sealed the election now, you're right. I'm just saying that there is extreme uncertainty about the implications of this and we can't even begin to see where this must lead, only where it can.
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Comment on Donald Trump whisked off stage in Pennsylvania after apparent gunshots rang through the crowd in ~news
gpl Link ParentI personally don't think this convinces many people who were undecided to vote for Trump, but this does massively increase Trump voter enthusiasm, and also changes the dynamic and rhetoric that...I personally don't think this convinces many people who were undecided to vote for Trump, but this does massively increase Trump voter enthusiasm, and also changes the dynamic and rhetoric that will be viewed as acceptable for the rest of the campaign. Trump and Republicans now have an easy out against claims that Trump is authoritarian or a threat to democracy, which is to say that such rhetoric incites violence like we saw today. Democrats, being "respectable", are likely to shy away from such rhetoric even though it is true. It changes the campaign, but I don't think in the direct sense of winning Trump many voters.
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Comment on Donald Trump whisked off stage in Pennsylvania after apparent gunshots rang through the crowd in ~news
gpl LinkI am terrified for what this means for the country.I am terrified for what this means for the country.
I like reading personal blog posts, but I think its better if they are just posted in the topic category closest to the subject matter of the blog, be it ~life or ~misc or what have you. Tildes is organized by topic, so to me a ~blog would denote a place for discussing blogs rather than posting blogs about other topics. I personally don't mind if they are mixed in with other news articles, and if people don't like that, they can always filter them out assuming they are properly tagged.