viridian's recent activity
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Comment on Why mainstream progressives have a strong incentive to 'sanewash' hard leftist positions in ~society
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Comment on Why mainstream progressives have a strong incentive to 'sanewash' hard leftist positions in ~society
viridian Link ParentA) you are painting with very broad strokes, I don't think the majority of Christian fundamentalists think Trump was selected by God. Many, but not most. B) The majority of fundamentalists in the...The Christian fundos are not gettable. They think Trump was selected by God to save us. And they'll never vote Democrat because of abortion. If anyone had a sliver of hope of getting them, it was Catholic Joe Biden, and he didn't. Not happening. Not gettable.
A) you are painting with very broad strokes, I don't think the majority of Christian fundamentalists think Trump was selected by God. Many, but not most.
B) The majority of fundamentalists in the US really, really, really dislike Catholicism. There's a reason that Kennedy's single biggest electoral challenge was overcoming the bias against the cat-licks.
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Comment on Why mainstream progressives have a strong incentive to 'sanewash' hard leftist positions in ~society
viridian Link ParentI think in practice, people just become more distant from each other. While this doesn't happen at a national political level, it does happen in communities all the time, and the result is usually...I think in practice, people just become more distant from each other. While this doesn't happen at a national political level, it does happen in communities all the time, and the result is usually pretty toxic and isolating - not exactly something that seems good to bring to the national stage. It would be nice if the RNC would stop beating the drum of "everything I don't like is socialism", but I don't think this is a good solution.
The only thing I've found that was the slightest bit effective was emailing the state RNC chair for my district, and telling him if he kept sending me those cringe inducing fliers about how Biden was the puppet of the far left socialists, that I would vote straight blue ticket.The impact is tiny, but at least the fliers stopped, and someone with some vague party authority had to deal with at least one complaint.
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Comment on Why mainstream progressives have a strong incentive to 'sanewash' hard leftist positions in ~society
viridian (edited )Link ParentRe: your first point, I really don't think that's a winning strategy. The value I place in someone's political opinion rapidly approaches zero with every use of describing their political...Re: your first point, I really don't think that's a winning strategy. The value I place in someone's political opinion rapidly approaches zero with every use of describing their political opponents as communists or fascists. Straight up, the Republicans aren't looking to Mussolini's Doctrine of Fascism for inspiration, nor are the Democrats drafting up policy while cross referencing Marx's Capital. I think a lot of people see that kind of behavior and think less of the people engaging in it.
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Comment on What games have you been playing, and what's your opinion on them? in ~games
viridian LinkI'm still running the gungeon. Not much more to say about it, except I think I've played the game out. I think I'll beat the advanced dragon once and then retire it. It's a damn good game that...I'm still running the gungeon. Not much more to say about it, except I think I've played the game out. I think I'll beat the advanced dragon once and then retire it. It's a damn good game that I've played to near death at this point
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Comment on <deleted topic> in ~games
viridian Link ParentSort of, but they are closer to the world's most efficient doomsday cult, than a fascist regime. They largely seek oblivion (the idea, not Mehrunes Dagon's playground) rather than domination, the...Sort of, but they are closer to the world's most efficient doomsday cult, than a fascist regime. They largely seek oblivion (the idea, not Mehrunes Dagon's playground) rather than domination, the white-gold concordat and their subjugation of man is just an unfortunate middle step between now and the bringing of mundus into Oblivion (Dagon's realm) seen to by activating the towers. Skyrim as a game does a poor job of portraying them in this regard, for two reasons:
- they come across as overly fascistic and gleeful in the subjugation of man
- they do not mention once, they don't even hint at, wanting to activate/destroy the throat of the world. Even as a part of the mage's guild quests where do run into Psijics. I know they need to abolish the Talos meme and genocide man as well, but activating the towers accomplishes all of the necessary steps to throw off the shackles of the material world in one fell swoop, and not a single mer in TES:V seems to give a damn about the giant mountain that would move that needle.
Point two really frustrates me.
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Comment on <deleted topic> in ~games
viridian Link ParentThe infamous night trap scene called out in congress - so offensive in it's nature that it was a primary reason the ESRB was founded The hilarous thing is they rereleased Night Trap on the switch...The hilarous thing is they rereleased Night Trap on the switch recently, giving it a T for Teen rating.
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Comment on <deleted topic> in ~games
viridian Link ParentIt's also worth noting that for all of the fever dreaming over Skryim's culture, in TES lore the Nords are pretty clearly one of the least advanced races, in magic, technology, and culture. They...It's also worth noting that for all of the fever dreaming over Skryim's culture, in TES lore the Nords are pretty clearly one of the least advanced races, in magic, technology, and culture. They were historically the most easily controlled imperial asset, and cling to Tiber Septim for dear life in spite of the first emperor representing something far greater than his birthplace. As far as Aryan power fantasies go, it's a pretty poor one. The folks coming to the conclusion that TES leans in to this sort of thing have to go out of their way to misunderstand the lore. The Aldmeri Dominion even reference the fact that the Stormcloaks are useful idiots in undermining the Empire's provincial control while they are busy building an army during peacetime on the Summerset Isles.
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Comment on Privacy is a lonely bastion. Anyone know how to meet friends online these days? in ~tech
viridian Link ParentI happily use discord, with the expectation that I have no privacy, and could be yeeted off the platform on an (unlikely) corporate whim. The reality is just that it's where the majority of online...I happily use discord, with the expectation that I have no privacy, and could be yeeted off the platform on an (unlikely) corporate whim. The reality is just that it's where the majority of online communities are now, and if not there, then on slack, which I have no more faith in as a platform.
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Comment on <deleted topic> in ~misc
viridian Link ParentYeah, that's a pretty good map for 2016. Doesn't do a great job of showing a purplish America though unfortunately. 60/40 still pops up as very red. Maybe the problem is that purples make up a...Yeah, that's a pretty good map for 2016. Doesn't do a great job of showing a purplish America though unfortunately. 60/40 still pops up as very red. Maybe the problem is that purples make up a very narrow band of the RGB spectrum versus both the reds and the blues. Maybe a problem with the human eye, too. When I look at a RGB color wheel, green looks massively overrepresented, and purple looks underrepresented, and I know that humans are better at perceiving green light than any other color.
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Comment on <deleted topic> in ~misc
viridian Link ParentThe original map is way oversampling blue for some reason, even in it's legend, where 90% blue is 39,57,254, and 90% red is 253,2,116 - which is obvious when you actually zoom in on that red, it's...The original map is way oversampling blue for some reason, even in it's legend, where 90% blue is 39,57,254, and 90% red is 253,2,116 - which is obvious when you actually zoom in on that red, it's very pinkish. To do this right I think you'd need to drop the margins to [0,100] percent, and use the full rgb spectrum. I imagine this would lead to a few shining, standout counties, but on net, would make the map even more checkerboard purple.
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Comment on 2020 US Presidential Election Day - Discussion Thread in ~society
viridian Link ParentPart of it stems from the absolute failure that was the American Confederacy, and the desire to amend and build a better nation the second time. The anti-federalists thought that the confederacy...Part of it stems from the absolute failure that was the American Confederacy, and the desire to amend and build a better nation the second time. The anti-federalists thought that the confederacy of states was largely fine, except for major monetary and military gaps. The federalists wanted to form a true federation, which ended up being the end result, with many concessions given to the anti-federalists.
The compromise came about because the confederation was untenable, but at least 9 of the states had to ratify the new constitution, and politically, 4 of states were going to have to be VA, PE, NY, and MA.
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Comment on 2020 US Presidential Election Day - Discussion Thread in ~society
viridian Link ParentThat problem is unrelated to FPTP though, a pure popular vote or NPVIC effective popular vote is subject to the same follies that cause spoiler effects. Sure, I personally might get a hell of a...That problem is unrelated to FPTP though, a pure popular vote or NPVIC effective popular vote is subject to the same follies that cause spoiler effects. Sure, I personally might get a hell of a lot less mail in a popular vote system with the elimination of battleground states, but the focal math problem remains the same: one executive position, N # of candidates, one vote cast per position, per voter.
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Comment on 2020 US Presidential Election Day - Discussion Thread in ~society
viridian Link ParentWhy is it necessary and proper that the federal executor be elected by the populace of some minority of the federation? This is a direct assault on the sovereignty of the states who happen to have...Why is it necessary and proper that the federal executor be elected by the populace of some minority of the federation? This is a direct assault on the sovereignty of the states who happen to have less people, as if their state is somehow less valuable to the whole of these United States.
(In the end, we compromised - The states get some due weight, and the populace of the whole federation is respected as well, in fact we respect the people about four times as much as we respect the sovereignty of the states)
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Comment on 2020 US Presidential Election Day - Discussion Thread in ~society
viridian Link ParentWhat would you say the electoral college is now, that makes it so harmful? I view it as a pretty useful construct to hedge against federal centralization.What would you say the electoral college is now, that makes it so harmful? I view it as a pretty useful construct to hedge against federal centralization.
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Comment on 2020 US Presidential Election Day - Discussion Thread in ~society
viridian Link ParentThe 3/5ths compromise isn't directly related, as it was drafted after the electoral college was agreed upon.The 3/5ths compromise isn't directly related, as it was drafted after the electoral college was agreed upon.
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Comment on 2020 US Presidential Election Day - Discussion Thread in ~society
viridian Link ParentWhen the electoral college was created, this wasn't the case by definition. Everyone who could vote was white.When the electoral college was created, this wasn't the case by definition. Everyone who could vote was white.
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Comment on 2020 US Presidential Election Day - Discussion Thread in ~society
viridian Link ParentArticle I was in large part already decided upon - the electoral college was to be the system of executive election with or without an answer to the question of whether or not to count slaves as a...Article I was in large part already decided upon - the electoral college was to be the system of executive election with or without an answer to the question of whether or not to count slaves as a part of a state's population. The college, too, was a compromise between the federalists and the anti-federalists, who sparred over whether or not the president was elected by the people, or by the states.
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Comment on 2020 US Presidential Election Day - Discussion Thread in ~society
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Comment on 2020 US Presidential Election Day - Discussion Thread in ~society
viridian Link ParentI've read that actually can't do a great job accounting for variant swathes in any study that also gets cross-sectional demographic data, because it causes your error bars to explode in magnitude...I've read that actually can't do a great job accounting for variant swathes in any study that also gets cross-sectional demographic data, because it causes your error bars to explode in magnitude as you start trying to adjust against various historical reference tables.
How do online polls work? I def. wouldn't respond to some random poll I received in my inbox either.
For better or worse, I know several tons of pentecostals, a group that's more more fundamentalist than most, and overtly suspect of any secular institution. My general read is that Trump wins them overwhelmingly just on Abortion, and they will either avoid talking about the man's personal deficits, or gladly agree that he's pretty much a slimy whoremonger but at least he isn't interested in killing babies.
It's a very single-issue audience, and I do agree with the part of your post above about abortion being the entire unfixable lynchpin. The grand irony of all of this is that Catholics are largely responsible for the anti-abortion movements power and presence in the US, and the protestants bought in heavily in the 60's and 70's.