thearctic's recent activity
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Comment on In the early 1990s, Sweden faced one of the worst economic crises in its modern history – the lessons for other countries, especially France, deep in its own budget crisis, are simple, if not easy in ~finance
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Comment on Violent texts from Democratic nominee for Virginia attorney general leaked in ~society
thearctic Link ParentThe man wished death on Gilbert's children and, when pressed on it, doubled down and said “Yes, I’ve told you this before. Only when people feel pain personally do they move on policy.”. I'm all...The man wished death on Gilbert's children and, when pressed on it, doubled down and said “Yes, I’ve told you this before. Only when people feel pain personally do they move on policy.”. I'm all for sardonic humor, but this reflects a way of thinking that is quite concerning. Not at all trying to equate right's rhetoric as a whole with the left, but this is certainly newsworthy, particularly if it represents a trend among the left as politics becomes increasingly polarized.
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Comment on Violent texts from Democratic nominee for Virginia attorney general leaked in ~society
thearctic Link ParentIt's a problem no matter who does it. Definitely more of a problem among Republicans than Democrats. Though if this is potentially becoming more common among the left, it's something that's worth...It's a problem no matter who does it. Definitely more of a problem among Republicans than Democrats. Though if this is potentially becoming more common among the left, it's something that's worth taking note of.
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Comment on Violent texts from Democratic nominee for Virginia attorney general leaked in ~society
thearctic Link ParentI think this goes far beyond tasteless. Plenty of context is provided between the two articles I linked.I think this goes far beyond tasteless. Plenty of context is provided between the two articles I linked.
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Comment on Violent texts from Democratic nominee for Virginia attorney general leaked in ~society
thearctic LinkDirect link to the texts (archive link).The National Review story revealed an August 2022 exchange between Jones — a former Norfolk delegate and one-time assistant attorney general — and Del. Carrie Coyner, R-Chesterfield.
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In a statement Friday evening, Jones admitted sending the messages and said he takes “full responsibility” for his actions. He apologized directly to Todd Gilbert[, former Republican House Speaker,] and his family, and vowed to work to regain Virginians’ trust.
Direct link to the texts (archive link).
Jones: Three people, two bullets \ Gilbert, hitler, and pol pot \ Gilbert gets two bullets to the head \ Spoiler: put Gilbert in the crew with the two worst people you know and he receives both bullets every time
Coyner: Jay \ Please stop
Jones: Lol \ Ok, ok
Coyner: It really bothers me when you talk about hurting people or wishing death on them \ It isn’t ok \ No matter who they are
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Rather than deny that he had wished death on the children, Jones responded by saying, “Yes, I’ve told you this before. Only when people feel pain personally do they move on policy.” -
Violent texts from Democratic nominee for Virginia attorney general leaked
23 votes -
Comment on Can we bury enough wood to slow climate change? in ~enviro
thearctic (edited )Link ParentI think sequestration is doomed to fail, because the mere dream of sequestration will drive multiple-fold more carbon emission than could ever be sequestered, since policymakers and billionaires...I think sequestration is doomed to fail, because the mere dream of sequestration will drive multiple-fold more carbon emission than could ever be sequestered, since policymakers and billionaires will use the pretense that "the future will handle it" to avoid taking the problem seriously. It's probably a much better use of resources to invest in things like preventing desertification or habitat preservation.
Edit: doing some napkin math (assuming the avg car driver relases 4.2 metric tons of CO2 in a year and that the typical tree stores 22kg of CO2), one would need to grow and sequester roughly 209 trees to offset one year of carbon emission from a single car. I'm not a climate scientist, but, as it appears to me, sequestration is a boon dongle virtually no matter how much the technology or process improves.
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Comment on Bipartisan plan to get money out of politics in Montana in ~society
thearctic LinkWas completely unaware that this was possible. If this sticks, it'll be a monumental shift in American politics.In Citizens United, the Supreme Court treated Virginia as having granted its corporations, including the nonprofit corporation at the center of the case, the power to spend money in politics with “the same powers as an individual.” That assumption is debatable, but once the court assumed the plaintiff corporation had the power to spend in politics, it reasoned that the U.S. Constitution guaranteed the right to use it.
However, the court has never required states to grant their corporations political powers in the first place. Corporations are not born; they are built. They are creatures of statute, not of nature. And the court has always held that the power to build them – to define their form, limits and powers – belongs to states alone.
Our strategy draws on this forgotten authority. Its design is straightforward: Amend state law so that corporations are no longer granted the power to spend in politics.
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“The Montana Plan,” as local organizers have dubbed it, is moving toward the state’s 2026 ballot as a constitutional initiative. Its language leaves no doubt: Montanans want corporations out of their politics, and they intend to make that decision stick.
Was completely unaware that this was possible. If this sticks, it'll be a monumental shift in American politics.
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Bipartisan plan to get money out of politics in Montana
18 votes -
Comment on Financial collapse? in ~finance
thearctic Link ParentGold is indeed tricky, since you can't do a fundamental analysis on gold like you can a stock or even a bond. So, there's no way to extrapolate the "meaning" of a given price level of gold and...Gold is indeed tricky, since you can't do a fundamental analysis on gold like you can a stock or even a bond. So, there's no way to extrapolate the "meaning" of a given price level of gold and assess whether that's rational or not. I bought some gold about a year ago, which has turned out well, but I'm hesitant to keep buying more. There's also a strange dynamic where, if people start viewing gold as the safe investment instead of treasuries, then the dollar is even more likely to crash. Maybe simply bracing for impact (reducing debt, holding assets with immediate utility, avoiding unnecessary expenditure if you're not at least upper-middle class) is the best strategy? Perhaps dividend stocks are worth buying, since PE ratios tend to be lower and there's less weird market psychology/irrationality fueled by stock buybacks?
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Financial collapse?
I'm extremely bearish on the US dollar and stock market and am wondering what other people think about how to prepare financially for the medium term future. I don't there's any other way you can...
I'm extremely bearish on the US dollar and stock market and am wondering what other people think about how to prepare financially for the medium term future. I don't there's any other way you can cut it: there's a debt crisis and, worse yet, I don't think the US will be able to convince bond buyers that they're serious enough about the issue to avoid a debt spiral. The fact that gold has cracked 4000 (almost 4200 now, with BofA setting a 5000 target) seems to suggest that central banks are similarly pessimistic about a financial collapse. What do y'all think about where things are likely headed?
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Comment on Why are so many pedestrians killed by cars in the US? in ~transport
thearctic Link ParentHalf the time in the US, it's straight up unsafe to not be driving a bit over the speed limit on the freeway. What really irks me though is when cars are made to feel more safe for the driver...Half the time in the US, it's straight up unsafe to not be driving a bit over the speed limit on the freeway. What really irks me though is when cars are made to feel more safe for the driver (bigger cars, taller cars, front guards, blindingly bright LED headlights) but make things more dangerous for other people on the road.
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Comment on How America nearly forged a different path in 1916 in ~humanities.history
thearctic Link ParentHe was, but I was just meaning to say that they would've pushed for a sooner end to the war without using that extra leverage in negotiations to ruin Germany.He was, but I was just meaning to say that they would've pushed for a sooner end to the war without using that extra leverage in negotiations to ruin Germany.
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Comment on How America nearly forged a different path in 1916 in ~humanities.history
thearctic Link ParentThe Jungle by Upton Sinclair is a classic novel that covers progressive-era politics.The Jungle by Upton Sinclair is a classic novel that covers progressive-era politics.
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Comment on How America nearly forged a different path in 1916 in ~humanities.history
thearctic (edited )LinkI'm curious what people here think of Wilson's legacy, on balance. I'm increasingly convinced the country and the world simply would've been better off had he lost in 1912 or 1916. A Republican...Now in 1916, Republicans were eager to deny Wilson a second term. To do so, it was imperative to find a candidate who was acceptable to both the traditional and progressive wings of the party, someone who had not been embroiled in the 1912 GOP civil war. And no one fit that need better than Charles Evans Hughes.
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He’d demonstrated his political independence by defying Republican leaders on everything from patronage appointments to consumer protection laws and had won a second two-year gubernatorial term in 1908.
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In late August, Johnson[, Republican Governor of California,] was staying at the Virginia Hotel in Long Beach, California. Hughes happened to be at the same hotel, but had no idea that Johnson was there as well and so made no effort to meet up for even a brief chat. Johnson, however, knew of Hughes’ presence and assumed the radio silence was meant as a snub — to him and the party’s progressives.
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As far as Johnson was concerned, Hughes had thrown in his lot with the conservatives; there would be no rapprochement. And that meant Johnson and his California progressives would not lift a finger to help Hughes carry the state in November.
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On Election Day, Hughes took a substantial lead in the early counting — leading in the electoral vote while trailing in the popular vote. The New York Times declared him elected. But the Times had gone to press before California’s vote was tallied; with nearly a million votes cast, Wilson won with a margin of just 3,773 votes — and California’s 13 electoral votes gave Wilson a second term.
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In the days during and after World War I, Wilson also presided over some of the most flagrant assaults on civil liberties in U.S. history.
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Charles Evans Hughes, by contrast, may have been the most progressive major politician on racial matters of either party, and he was a longtime defender of civil liberties.
I'm curious what people here think of Wilson's legacy, on balance. I'm increasingly convinced the country and the world simply would've been better off had he lost in 1912 or 1916. A Republican would've set us on a radically better trajectory for civil rights, while taking a more realist posture on WW1 (entering the war early, while not trying to financially ruin Germany). We also would've seen less expansion of the power of the executive and less centralization of government, which I think would've allowed for continued collaboration between conservatives and progressives instead of the union we saw between libertarians and segregationists that led to the Southern Strategy and eventually Fusionism. Though, Wilson's legacy is very complicated and I can see arguments in his favor.
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How America nearly forged a different path in 1916
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Comment on We’re seniors. It’s not our responsibility to fix the housing supply. in ~society
thearctic LinkI don't think there should be pressure on seniors for selling their homes if they don't want to, but there's definitely a lot of responsibility on retirement-age people for NIMBYism. There can be...I don't think there should be pressure on seniors for selling their homes if they don't want to, but there's definitely a lot of responsibility on retirement-age people for NIMBYism. There can be legitimate reasons to put limits or constraints on new construction, but at the end of the day housing stock needs to increase in the places that people want to live and can find sustainable work.
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Comment on Sean Combs sentenced to more than four years in prison after apologizing for ‘sick’ conduct (gifted link) in ~music
thearctic Link ParentIt's a concerning trend I think that people who almost certainly did many terrible things are being overpunished for whatever crime prosecutors could most easily prove, instead of doing a...It's a concerning trend I think that people who almost certainly did many terrible things are being overpunished for whatever crime prosecutors could most easily prove, instead of doing a comprehensive investigation of their wrongdoing and putting together a really solid case.
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Comment on Brazilians don't get dry, minimalist literature. A bit of a rant. in ~creative
thearctic LinkMaybe part of it is that there are a lot more English speakers, so if your work doesn't fit with the culture in the US it could still find an audience in Canada, the UK, Ireland, or Australia....Maybe part of it is that there are a lot more English speakers, so if your work doesn't fit with the culture in the US it could still find an audience in Canada, the UK, Ireland, or Australia. Perhaps try branching out into Spanish language writing? Or try sending your work to Portuguese publishers?
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Data removal services?
Is anyone familiar with data removal services like Incogni, DeleteMe, PrivacyBee, etc? Do they work? Are they safe?
26 votes
A major difference for eurozone countries that makes it difficult to directly compare France and Sweden. Faltering economies usually get respite from a weakened currency, but eurozone countries not only lack that respite but, to some extent, suffer from an incentive to shift production to those nations pushing the value of the currency up. It's harder to turn the ship around through austerity, when doing so causes more pain than normal. Though, France does also enjoy access to cheaper borrowing as a eurozone country.