Eight Marxist Claims That May Surprise You

Naomi comments on Dec 12, 2019:

Hello. So much propaganda spewed out against Karl Marx, the Father of Communism, who didn't deny capitalism completely, and so much propaganda spewed out for Adam Smith, the Father of Capitalism, who didn't deny socialism completely... I find it hard to navigate my thoughts through clouds of ...

govols replies on Dec 12, 2019:

The postmodern age of information overload, and the simulation of reality through media. Welcome!

DailySignal: 6 takeaways from the IG report [dailysignal.com]

JimbobNE comments on Dec 11, 2019:

This is why I always come back to not trusting government. Power seems to be a petri dish for growing evil.

govols replies on Dec 11, 2019:

In part, that's why factions on both the left and the right (and center, for that matter) are working the "accelerationist" angle where activism is concerned. A whole lot of people are coming to the conclusion that the governments (PLUS media + big commercial interests) are so corrupt that there's no longer anything worth fixing. There really are people all over the political and social spectra who are actively attempting to light the fire.

"Let's look at Marx as a thinker (i.e., not as the father of communism)." I like this professor.

govols comments on Dec 5, 2019:

How go the lessons?

govols replies on Dec 11, 2019:

@Naomi It's a style of literature that I can't suffer. The romantics and the realists drive me crazy. Now, the project of using a feels-filled style of writing to ridicule its own urges toward glorification does have a certain appeal.

NAMIBIA VOWS TO GRAB FARMS FROM WHITE FARMERS. [kioo17journal.blogspot.com]

govols comments on Dec 9, 2019:

How many times are we gonna have to watch this story unfold into famine?

govols replies on Dec 9, 2019:

I'm saying that most of the time when land is taken from virgin plain to productive farmland, taking the land from the people who caused that transformation will result in the land becoming less productive. Famine will likely ensue.

'OK Boomer!' A Planted Tool By Neo-Bolsheviks To Demonize Elders Harkening Back To Communist ...

timon_phocas comments on Dec 9, 2019:

So what. Young hippies derided the WWII generation as "squares." There are writings from ancient Egypt saying the young generation is disobedient and sarcastic. It's a problem as old as humanity.

govols replies on Dec 9, 2019:

@FEWI Worth sayin'.

Is the world aware that we don't have a free press (controlled by powerful elites.

govols comments on Dec 6, 2019:

It isn't left or right, it's that there's an infinite amount of opinionated and biased information--some of it intentionally deceptive and manipulative--that no one person can decipher any meaningful truth from it all. Free speech is cool as hell, but it presently results in overload. Free ...

govols replies on Dec 6, 2019:

@RCGibb Both sides doesn't help when neither side is being honest, nor when "both" doesn't begin to approach a useful or truthful representation of reality. Left/Right isn't a complete comprehension.Pretending so isn't truthful.

"Let's look at Marx as a thinker (i.e., not as the father of communism)." I like this professor.

govols comments on Dec 5, 2019:

How go the lessons?

govols replies on Dec 5, 2019:

@Naomi, I was wondering how far you've gotten. I don't want to tell you how to approach it, but I had to just go through an introduction series sort of as a survey, and then go at it again and again in specificity. I actually needed the intro to get the whole, and the whole to understand the intro. In a way it's like trying to read the Bible--you can't start understanding the parts as you consume them one by one until you have an overview of the whole to help with the context of the parts. Anyway, glad your hanging. Are you enjoying it?

Sargon visit Jesse... Amhaaaaaaaaaaaaaazing [youtu.be] This might be funny

Naomi comments on Dec 4, 2019:

Hello. "The black community in the UK is very different from the black community in America. They're just among ordinary people. The ideology regarding black people is imported from America, which the people in the UK must resist (or something along those lines)." I'm glad that he said this. No ...

govols replies on Dec 4, 2019:

"Resistance is futile...."

Classical Liberalism is what got us here. Can it still get us out?

Kravman2 comments on Dec 3, 2019:

Wow, too much here to take in in one go. My initial reaction is that perhaps classic liberalism (and many other philosophical or political systems) is like quantum physics in reverse. Whereas in quantum physics everything breaks down at sub atomic level, Liberalism etc works up to a point but with...

govols replies on Dec 3, 2019:

That's an idea. It works where it develops as a way of understanding how things are, there, but as it prospers and assimilates other populations society gets too big and--God help me, diverse--for the concepts to remain functional. Classical liberalism--Enlightenment--works as a tool for understanding reality in places where it's discovered, but falters more and more as the ideas spread out into places where social reality differs.

I've been trying to figure out what education would look like if it were more socially and ...

iThink comments on Dec 3, 2019:

What - public education isn't racially, culturally, integrated? look again.

govols replies on Dec 3, 2019:

Not where I was going....

I've been trying to figure out what education would look like if it were more socially and ...

BikerPetehall70 comments on Dec 3, 2019:

I'll leave this til im sober

govols replies on Dec 3, 2019:

I wish I had that phrase...so many times I wish I had that phrase......

I've been trying to figure out what education would look like if it were more socially and ...

Harleylock comments on Dec 3, 2019:

One must be careful when suggesting out of the box ideas about education. Such an approach might provide opportunity for imagination and critical thinking to invade the halls of learning. Who would want that?

govols replies on Dec 3, 2019:

It would be horrifying if kids explored the fits and starts of humanity learning, wouldn''t it?

I've been trying to figure out what education would look like if it were more socially and ...

gungasnake comments on Dec 3, 2019:

Being the bearer of bad news is a dirty job but somebody's gotta do it..... The problems with public ed not just in the US but in many if not all other nations as well are foundational and not limited to things like Common Core and leftist indoctrination. In the US, the situation has reached a...

govols replies on Dec 3, 2019:

Yeah, I've dug into a bunch of those ideas. It freaks me out how multiple political theories seem to desire A human nature that applies to the masses, and ANOTHER human nature applied to the betters. It's an anti-polis perspective that views the vast majority of humanity a cogs in a global production and distribution machine.

I've been trying to figure out what education would look like if it were more socially and ...

Naomi comments on Dec 3, 2019:

Hello. Do you have any Steiner Schools in your country?

govols replies on Dec 3, 2019:

Wiki says there's a couple hundred in N. America. I'll have to learn a bit about the pedagogy to see if it looks much or a lot like I'm pondering.

Socrates was a postmodernist.

JimbobNE comments on Nov 27, 2019:

That is the nature of the search for "truth ". Hypothesis, argument, new hypothesis, new argument continue ad infinitum. Finding the bits of "truth" in every hypothesis and argument moves people forward. We must always question societal norms, because many times we accept things which are ...

govols replies on Nov 30, 2019:

Yes, the way of things. Constant re-evaluation, combined with a gratitude for the systems we inherited that allow for the constant re-evaluation.

A lot of public figures in the IDW will cite Charles Murray and his work yet will not countenance ...

DesireNoDesires comments on Nov 18, 2019:

Are you questioning their belief of there being a IQ differentiation, or the fact that they fail to address it in public practice?

govols replies on Nov 28, 2019:

@DesireNoDesires One of the problems is that socio-economic factors, systemic racism, implicit bias, all sorts of stuff are dreamed up to account for policy failures where poverty, crime, unstable employment concerns are considered; but an obviously potent factor like IQ is taken off the table and rendered basically uncouth for polite conversation about really important policy issues.

Guess what!!??I’m in a cult! CNN says so. It’s called America, bitch.

govols comments on Nov 25, 2019:

Link, please.

govols replies on Nov 26, 2019:

@Edgework, wow. They grab and hold and chew on a notion like dogs with chew toys.

Materialist Determinism and Free Will

govols comments on Oct 31, 2019:

I'm pretty familiar with the science that the determinists are coming up with about brain development, chemical responses to environmental stimuli, how neurotransmitter production is turned on and then the chemicals caused to or prevented from being reuptaken(?), a lot of that stuff. They make a ...

govols replies on Nov 23, 2019:

@wolfhnd I don't think it's nearly so much an unwillingness to consider the disruption that determinism might cause as it is that science has now actively joined the battle against anything even scented with traditionalism.

Materialist Determinism and Free Will

wolfhnd comments on Nov 12, 2019:

Although it may seem an unsophisticated or trite argument Dennett got this one right. Something does not need to be real in the sense that the physical sciences define real to be "real". Dennett uses money as an example. Money is an abstract concept and not real in the sense that physical ...

govols replies on Nov 23, 2019:

That's quite a bit to think about.

"Let's look at Marx as a thinker (i.e., not as the father of communism)." I like this professor.

govols comments on Nov 20, 2019:

If I set aside my prejudice (to the extent that's possible) I look at Marx as a step that was later taken as Truth. His was an "Enlightenment" criticism of previous theory. Like, he was a materialist, and on some level thought science and reason could explain society, culture, history, ...

govols replies on Nov 21, 2019:

@iThink No, I meant 19th, mid-late 1800s saw a resurgence of efforts to almost go Aristocratic Amish, collectivist style. Back away from industrial modern as a lifestyle, but not quite so anti-tech... It's almost like they were after the manor life, minus the peasants, a commune of gentility.

As an American I probably have no business in this group.

govols comments on Nov 21, 2019:

It's not the parliamentary system causing the conflict.

govols replies on Nov 21, 2019:

Yeah, I have no business, either.

Study by IDW-linked Heterodox Academy shows that Jordan Peterson is a gateway to the alt-right

James comments on Nov 20, 2019:

"For instance, Peterson wants us to remember the horrors of the communist regimes of Stalin and Mao in order to prevent us from repeating said horrors. He worries that many popular strains of leftist ideology predispose adherents, whether they recognize it or not, towards forcibly imposing their ...

govols replies on Nov 21, 2019:

@RobBlair, please flesh out the "2 Overton windows?" I know what it means but don't understand your posit of 2.

"Let's look at Marx as a thinker (i.e., not as the father of communism)." I like this professor.

govols comments on Nov 20, 2019:

If I set aside my prejudice (to the extent that's possible) I look at Marx as a step that was later taken as Truth. His was an "Enlightenment" criticism of previous theory. Like, he was a materialist, and on some level thought science and reason could explain society, culture, history, ...

govols replies on Nov 21, 2019:

@iThink, yeah, I'm well aware. I'm also aware of the revival of such efforts in the 19th century. There's one fairly near me that's no longer a commune, but a historic little strip on a little used road, the homes all under strict regulation over what the owners are allowed to do with them. http://www.historicrugby.org/

"Let's look at Marx as a thinker (i.e., not as the father of communism)." I like this professor.

govols comments on Nov 20, 2019:

If I set aside my prejudice (to the extent that's possible) I look at Marx as a step that was later taken as Truth. His was an "Enlightenment" criticism of previous theory. Like, he was a materialist, and on some level thought science and reason could explain society, culture, history, ...

govols replies on Nov 21, 2019:

@Naomi, yes, absolutely, but Christendom managed to conquer the Roman empire from a bottom up position. I would also point toward current wing-bats on the extremes of left and right. Both have elements that are attempting to build ground swells at the lowest possible levels. On the left there are some are trying to form local neighborhood collectives, credit co-ops, etc. Yes, there is active leadership, but the reformation is at the community level, and only later does the strategy involve knitting the communities across a city into a bigger, but still local, unity. Example: https://cooperationjackson.org/ . On the right, it's a little more cloak and dagger (because people get doxed, lose jobs, get assaulted, etc.), but the efforts are being directed off-line into real world small, local "mannerbund" type groups. The idea is to rebuild the bonds of masculine brotherhood, share meals, work out with a group of like minded people with whom one can be open and honest without fear of repercussion. Build back up the bonds of families, tribes, communities, sharing time of stress and times of success with a personal group who have bonded over the activities of working together as a bonded group of men. (No example forthcoming...) Both ideas reflect a growing cultural awareness that humans aren't cut out to exist as global creatures. The real work gets done among closely related (bonded) individuals for the sake of an identifiable and locally knowable group with which all involved identify. On the larger scale it's the populist rise of "make x great again" nationalism vs international globalism. It's also evident in the whole "tear down the patriarchy." The disaffected are realizing the the trickle down change directed from on high doesn't work, and the big picture outlook doesn't result in meaningful positive impact in the day-to-day lives of the little people. It's fascinating to see the similarities among the radicals on the left and right.

The raycis OK hand sign on my phone now come in raycis skin tones. Wow. Just, wow.

jakuboj comments on Nov 20, 2019:

What?

govols replies on Nov 20, 2019:

@jakuboj https://www.adl.org/education/references/hate-symbols/okay-hand-gesture

The raycis OK hand sign on my phone now come in raycis skin tones. Wow. Just, wow.

jakuboj comments on Nov 20, 2019:

What?

govols replies on Nov 20, 2019:

My text app has yellow, near white, ranging through shades of mocha, to chocolate colored choices of okay hand gestures available. The okay hand gesture is rated racist by the anti-defimation league, and the text app is also racist for not including shades of redish.

"Let's look at Marx as a thinker (i.e., not as the father of communism)." I like this professor.

horne comments on Nov 20, 2019:

Irrevocably the father of communism and he would have you see it no other way. Unfortunately it has never worked anywhere, due to human nature. Ironically, fundamentally, it is actually an ideally Christian concept.

govols replies on Nov 20, 2019:

That's part of why it isn't allowed to die, no matter how many people it kills.

"Let's look at Marx as a thinker (i.e., not as the father of communism)." I like this professor.

govols comments on Nov 20, 2019:

If I set aside my prejudice (to the extent that's possible) I look at Marx as a step that was later taken as Truth. His was an "Enlightenment" criticism of previous theory. Like, he was a materialist, and on some level thought science and reason could explain society, culture, history, ...

govols replies on Nov 20, 2019:

@iThink, I agree. I don't think we're cut out for that system for governance of populations greater than maybe a few hundred people. (who is that number named for?)

"Let's look at Marx as a thinker (i.e., not as the father of communism)." I like this professor.

govols comments on Nov 20, 2019:

If I set aside my prejudice (to the extent that's possible) I look at Marx as a step that was later taken as Truth. His was an "Enlightenment" criticism of previous theory. Like, he was a materialist, and on some level thought science and reason could explain society, culture, history, ...

govols replies on Nov 20, 2019:

@Naomi YES! The fact of industrial revolution, cultural revolution, seemed obviously to require social revolution. What would that look like given Marx's almost prime motivation: “Philosophers have hitherto only interpreted the world in various ways; the point is to change it.” I think he was wrong. Stewing on the interpretation is important. Cultural and social change is best accomplished bottom up rather than top down from an elite class of experts and academics.

"Let's look at Marx as a thinker (i.e., not as the father of communism)." I like this professor.

DDots67 comments on Nov 20, 2019:

From this video the main difference between Hegel and Marx is perspective. The difference between self exploration and being viewed as a commodity. Marx ignores the pride in self growth, improved expertise and takes the outside view we are what we produce. Community, tribe, is simply the fact that...

govols replies on Nov 20, 2019:

@Naomi, what you're embarking on is quite the trip, and I won't discourage you, BUT, if you can manage to find the time, a little effort at "the classics" is very useful. Almost everything you're learning about is attempts to answer questions raised by the ancients, and the big three, Socrates/Plato, and Aristotle made some really fascinating stabs at Virtue, Happiness, Politics, Good Governance, Social Hierarchies, etc. The Renaissance and Enlightenment thinkers were building on foundations they assume any who would read their own works would have as basic education, framework, and context.

Study by IDW-linked Heterodox Academy shows that Jordan Peterson is a gateway to the alt-right

James comments on Nov 20, 2019:

"For instance, Peterson wants us to remember the horrors of the communist regimes of Stalin and Mao in order to prevent us from repeating said horrors. He worries that many popular strains of leftist ideology predispose adherents, whether they recognize it or not, towards forcibly imposing their ...

govols replies on Nov 20, 2019:

@James, on fringes, I've been down the nationalist, white supremacist, race realist, a hell of a lot of the "right" dark places, but I've also done the "justice" journey to it's depths, too. I mean, I have a good feel for all of the "Theory," read some Judith Butler, DiAngelo, the damned "unpacking the invisible backpack" that gave whites "Privilege," just really too much. I even have a few SJW podcasts in my subscriptions. One of them I got here from HighQ. That one of the weaknesses of all of the "gateway" stuff that I've seen; they never include left-wing crap in the research to see how many follow the "gateways" into the leftist rabbit holes. Maybe people are tempted to explore both extremes for themselves and the deeper exposure to the left results in hard swings toward the right.

Proof they can’t beat him.

MaskedRiderChris comments on Nov 19, 2019:

I dunno, man...any story that mentions a "connected source," whether from the left or the right, and the fact that this comes from Alex Jones, an individual I view as a performance artist that I have a hard time taking seriously, makes me wonder. How is it "common knowledge that there have been ...

govols replies on Nov 19, 2019:

I'm with you. I gotta have a hell of a lot more than "sources close to..." type stuff. My complete distrust of media isn't limited to "main stream." I no longer trust information, opinion, scientific consensus, conventional wisdom, common sense, or even "authoritative" sources. Fake News, the bullshit flowing from academy, the experts from government...fuck them, one and all. I exist in, and as much as possible AS, a low trust environment.

HAVE IT NO WAY! =============== I guess vegans are suing BK over the Impossible Whopper.

GeeMac comments on Nov 19, 2019:

McDonalds went through a similar issue for making fries in animal fat.

govols replies on Nov 19, 2019:

And their fries have sucked ever since.

Discussions and arguments about who is a real conservative invites me to ask what is conservatism?

govols comments on Nov 17, 2019:

The whole modern world has divided itself into Conservatives and Progressives. The business of Progressives is to go on making mistakes. The business of Conservatives is to prevent mistakes from being corrected. Even when the revolutionist might himself repent of his revolution, the traditionalist...

govols replies on Nov 17, 2019:

So, we're reduced in the modern world to a notion that developing a thought into a paragraph is "long winded soapbox virtue signaling?" Try this one on for size: "[Conservatism] is a party which never conserves anything. Its history has been that it demurs to each aggression of the progressive party, and aims to save its credit by a respectable amount of growling, but always acquiesces at last in the innovation. What was the resisted novelty of yesterday is today one of the accepted principles of conservatism; it is now conservative only in affecting to resist the next innovation, which will tomorrow be forced upon its timidity and will be succeeded by some third revolution; to be denounced and then adopted in its turn. American conservatism is merely the shadow that follows Radicalism as it moves forward towards perdition. It remains behind it, but never retards it, and always advances near its leader." Robert Lewis Dabney

Discussions and arguments about who is a real conservative invites me to ask what is conservatism?

WilyRickWiles comments on Nov 17, 2019:

Conservatism was a reaction to the liberal revolutions that arose out of the Enlightenment. It sought to restore elements of the feudal aristocracy. While there have always been conservative factions in US politics, the Know Nothings, KKK, and McCarthyists, for example, it did not play a major role ...

govols replies on Nov 17, 2019:

I have to admit that was a pretty good summation of my understanding of the progressive perspective.

Why can’t we criticize ‘Diversity & Inclusion’ dogma? A conversation with Mark Hecht - YouTube

WilyRickWiles comments on Nov 17, 2019:

OK boomer.

govols replies on Nov 17, 2019:

It even has a name... Special Pleading Description: The argument defends a position by claiming that the opponent lacks the necessary perspective (experiences or credentials) to appreciate the position (or the arguments in support of it). This lack allegedly makes the opponent unqualified to critique the position. https://www2.palomar.edu/users/bthompson/Special%20Pleading.html

I am watching the unfolding of the latest chapter in the ongoing Resistance Follies with mixed ...

GaryWitt comments on Nov 17, 2019:

I’m hesitant to assert the existence of some grand, unified conspiracy with a few puppet masters in charge. Corruption doesn’t need to be organized in order to spread. And spread it has, through (I suspect) a combination of ignorance (malpractice and malfeasance in our education system), ...

govols replies on Nov 17, 2019:

I doubt the "conspiracy," but the question remains: If it were a conspiracy, how would things be different?

Glenn Beck Presents: The Democrats’ Hydra "As one falls, two more will take their place.

WilyRickWiles comments on Nov 17, 2019:

OK boomer.

govols replies on Nov 17, 2019:

"An ad hominem fallacy occurs when one attacks the character of an interlocutor in an attempt to refute their argument. ... An ad hominem occurs when an attack on the interlocutor's character functions as a response to an interlocutor's argument/claim."

Glenn Beck Presents: The Democrats’ Hydra "As one falls, two more will take their place.

WilyRickWiles comments on Nov 17, 2019:

OK boomer.

govols replies on Nov 17, 2019:

OK boomer, says person who didn't listen to the presentation being dismissed.

A Day in the Life of Jordan Peterson (Fan Parody) - YouTube

govols comments on Nov 15, 2019:

Too much. No. Just right...........

govols replies on Nov 15, 2019:

Lord of the snakes, and the KGB!!!!!

Six Trump associates convicted in Mueller-related investigations. Total fake news witch hunt?

Dmwils comments on Nov 15, 2019:

And this investigation was to prove presidential collusion...so here we go again. Mueller had to find someone guilty of something to substantiate his 2 years of wasting tax payer money and he couldn't prove crap about President Trump. So what did Mueller accomplish?? Nothing so we're going to waste ...

govols replies on Nov 15, 2019:

If this whole fucking thing is about a profit and loss statement, we'll see the spreadsheet on election night 2020.

Let us know your ideas on how to improve this new site!

Tracytheterrific comments on Nov 14, 2019:

I like the jokes and memes of course but on the serious side ld like to know or be confident that the info l share from your page is true. Do you do fact checking? If not no biggie l can but it would be handy if the basic facts were already checked.

govols replies on Nov 15, 2019:

Only links to source you trust can be considered trustworthy. This place is eat up with member opinions, perceptions, and analysis. Nothing is "fact checked" until you do it for yourself.

Congressional Democrats have no credibility on impeachment... [thefederalist.com]

damo9f comments on Oct 28, 2019:

He's guilty based on all witnesses and evidence so far. What's not credible?

govols replies on Nov 15, 2019:

@damo9f Well, we'll disagree. The president has traditionally held broad discretionary power over foreign relations. There are many example of executive sanctions, to the level even of force, and every president standing for reelection uses the office toward that end. There's nothing NEW here. But it's good that people have noticed.

I know some of you think Maury is a piece of shit for putting this on TV.

GaryWitt comments on Nov 15, 2019:

Nah, Maury’s all right. He’s just hanging with the wrong crowd.

govols replies on Nov 15, 2019:

Right?

It's sad to see Jordan Peterson like this...

govols comments on Nov 15, 2019:

I think that interview was just before he broke. I imagine he's working on himself and his house in private the last few weeks and if they gets through it the whole family will come out stronger for it.

govols replies on Nov 15, 2019:

@Naomi, only time will tell.

It's sad to see Jordan Peterson like this...

govols comments on Nov 15, 2019:

I think that interview was just before he broke. I imagine he's working on himself and his house in private the last few weeks and if they gets through it the whole family will come out stronger for it.

govols replies on Nov 15, 2019:

@Naomi, I do too. He seems like a good man, he and his family have been going through a lot, and sometimes the cross get heavy. It probably helps that he isn't going through it as a working class kinda guy, and has some damned good friends on his side. He'll do okay.

I'd like to hear what members of this community think about the importance and value of certain ...

Gbrydermd comments on Nov 15, 2019:

I think this request is way too general and many (me) would not have a comprehensive enough knowledge to opine on all 6 questions.

govols replies on Nov 15, 2019:

It seems leading, but I finally stepped in it.

I'd like to hear what members of this community think about the importance and value of certain ...

Naomi comments on Nov 15, 2019:

Hello. I was interested in reading comments on this very decent post, but no one contributed any thoughts. 🙁

govols replies on Nov 15, 2019:

I was sort of hoping some of the members more loosely connected to the left would kick things off.

BREAKING: Congress Releases Messages Showing Tlaib Asked Campaign For Personal Money, Announces ...

Tdonald comments on Nov 14, 2019:

Criminals investigating criminals. The American public needs an independent someone to investigate these things. **It’s supposed to be a free press.** ## **Who could do this in an unbiased and credible manner with public trust and support?**

govols replies on Nov 14, 2019:

Russia?

Democrats renew efforts to expand list of prohibited people... [bearingarms.com]

Jeeper752 comments on Nov 14, 2019:

No. Lifetime bans, in general, are wrong in my opinion.

govols replies on Nov 14, 2019:

Yeah, I have the idea the people who can't be trusted by society with a gun should be removed from society.

Can it be fixed so that Opening Posts are dated?

Admin comments on Nov 14, 2019:

What are "opening posts"? I think all the posts have dates on them except for ones that are pinned.

govols replies on Nov 14, 2019:

New topics.

BREAKING! Ruth Bader Ginsburg TOO SICK to Attend Supreme Court!!! Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s days on ...

govols comments on Nov 13, 2019:

There's a certain elegance to silence.

govols replies on Nov 14, 2019:

@drptree Just something my grandma used to say.

A year or two back there was a lot of talk about holding a Convention of States to modify the ...

timon_phocas comments on Nov 14, 2019:

Well I respect Mark Levine a lot, but I have reservations about an Article V convention of states. The Constitutional Convention was ostensibly called to revise the Articles of Confederation not entirely replace it. But that's exactly what it did. An Article V Convention could do the same. ...

govols replies on Nov 14, 2019:

@dmatic I understand your point, but I'm just too distrustful of our current legal intelligencia to support the idea. These assholes have been studying critical legal theory for 50 years for just exactly the purpose of distorting plain language constitution into an interpretive steaming stew of meaninglessness. I con only imagine what they could concoct from scratch.

A year or two back there was a lot of talk about holding a Convention of States to modify the ...

timon_phocas comments on Nov 14, 2019:

Well I respect Mark Levine a lot, but I have reservations about an Article V convention of states. The Constitutional Convention was ostensibly called to revise the Articles of Confederation not entirely replace it. But that's exactly what it did. An Article V Convention could do the same. ...

govols replies on Nov 14, 2019:

Absolutely. The very idea is terrifying.

Philip Cross, a Wikipedia "Narrative" Editor - I always thought Wikipedia was a bad idea...

govols comments on Nov 13, 2019:

Welcome to my world. I have almost given up trying to figure out what's current, real, and true, so much so that I don't even trust online versions of pre-modern texts...much less today's media reports.

govols replies on Nov 13, 2019:

@Bay0Wulf Yeah... That's what "fake news" IS.

Congressional Democrats have no credibility on impeachment... [thefederalist.com]

damo9f comments on Oct 28, 2019:

He's guilty based on all witnesses and evidence so far. What's not credible?

govols replies on Nov 13, 2019:

Guilty of what, exactly?

Philip Cross, a Wikipedia "Narrative" Editor - I always thought Wikipedia was a bad idea...

govols comments on Nov 13, 2019:

Welcome to my world. I have almost given up trying to figure out what's current, real, and true, so much so that I don't even trust online versions of pre-modern texts...much less today's media reports.

govols replies on Nov 13, 2019:

@Naomi, nope...... Fake News.

Philip Cross, a Wikipedia "Narrative" Editor - I always thought Wikipedia was a bad idea...

govols comments on Nov 13, 2019:

Welcome to my world. I have almost given up trying to figure out what's current, real, and true, so much so that I don't even trust online versions of pre-modern texts...much less today's media reports.

govols replies on Nov 13, 2019:

@Naomi , yes, I have people I trust, but not to discern truth from the information presently available about current or recent events.

A different take on postmodernism. [vox.com]

Naomi comments on Nov 12, 2019:

Hello. *Narrative-shaping* *Knowledge had become a commodity to be bought and sold like anything else* They describe the world we live in very accurately, I think. The article represents an alternative view to the commonly accepted perception of postmodernism - very interesting. Thank you for ...

govols replies on Nov 12, 2019:

@Naomi, I'm afraid I was being selfishly suggestive, trying on some level to get you to offer up commentary while in ever decreasing stages of ignorance. I'm curious how your perspectives and evaluations (or anyone's other than my own) change as knowledge of the ideas grow. I can't watch me explore, but I can watch others if they're open about what they learn and the sense they try to make of it. Cheers!!

A different take on postmodernism. [vox.com]

Naomi comments on Nov 12, 2019:

Hello. *Narrative-shaping* *Knowledge had become a commodity to be bought and sold like anything else* They describe the world we live in very accurately, I think. The article represents an alternative view to the commonly accepted perception of postmodernism - very interesting. Thank you for ...

govols replies on Nov 12, 2019:

I'm curious about what your thoughts are as you're learning more about postmodernism. It isn't only or all that some have suggested, is it? It's a deep, deep rabbit hole, and really interesting to crawl through...

Many people still argue with me and call me a conspiracy spreader when I present them the evidence ...

govols comments on Nov 8, 2019:

Jonathan Haidt and Scott Adams, from totally different directions, have similar conclusions. People defend at any cost their deeply held beliefs and no amount of evidence will change them, but instead entrench them more deeply. UNTIL you touch them with an emotional connection with your perspective,...

govols replies on Nov 8, 2019:

@jakuboj Well, I always thought there would eventually be all of those things, but that it would be imposed through actual war and conquest. I still sort of believe that to be correct. It looks a hell of a lot like some kind of actual conflict is brewing to settle exactly whether nations will remain on this earth or if globalism will be imposed through commerce, multinational corporations, various "deep state" usurpations of popular sovereignty, etc. I'm pretty sure the world will know by the next turn of century.

Timur Kuran, "Private Truths, Public Lies," and Preference Falsification.

MaleLiteracy comments on Nov 8, 2019:

I am new here and could not locate the conversation with TK that you're referencing. Help appreciated - thank you.

govols replies on Nov 8, 2019:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xzjqjU2FOwA

Trump's "abandonment" of Syrian Kurds.

RobBlair comments on Nov 8, 2019:

Lesson from history - "It is an extraordinary thing that the British civil administration should have succeeded in such a short time in alienating the whole country to such an extent that the Arabs have laid aside the blood feuds that they have nursed for centuries and that the Sunni and Shiah ...

govols replies on Nov 8, 2019:

I'm constantly amazed by how little I know. Thanks for the link.

Is all fair in love and war?

WilyRickWiles comments on Nov 7, 2019:

What would be false about it? Also what does it mean to ironically view reporting hate speech as inciting violence?

govols replies on Nov 7, 2019:

There was not hate from Mr. Witt in the video.

Given the growth of various trans medical and psychological interventions over the past years, is ...

Gbrydermd comments on Nov 7, 2019:

Such research is not pc, I’m afraid. In fact, why would you ask that, you intolerant gob? Seriously: The research I’ve seen has shown shorter life spans, higher rates of communicable diseases, substance use disorders, and suicide rates both with and without completed transition.

govols replies on Nov 7, 2019:

Wow. I wouldn't have thought of actuaries. But, yep, I'm sure they're all over it...very damned quietly. And some time in the coming years we'll be arguing over regulation that prevent insurers discriminating through sound statistical analysis and premiums. SMH, thanks.

Given the growth of various trans medical and psychological interventions over the past years, is ...

Gbrydermd comments on Nov 7, 2019:

Such research is not pc, I’m afraid. In fact, why would you ask that, you intolerant gob? Seriously: The research I’ve seen has shown shorter life spans, higher rates of communicable diseases, substance use disorders, and suicide rates both with and without completed transition.

govols replies on Nov 7, 2019:

Yes, but the few things I've run across are very small samples over months rather than years. I haven't anything published about what is in the works presently given the growing number of cases available for study.

It's getting worse. [youtu.be]

govols comments on Nov 5, 2019:

It has to hit rock bottom before it will admit it's problem.

govols replies on Nov 5, 2019:

@dmatic Yep, that's the aim.

Hello.

GeeMac comments on Nov 4, 2019:

One of my favourite political philosophy courses! I’d highly recommend Michael S. Roth’s series “The Modern and the Postmodern” - a course he teaches at Wesleyan University where he’s also President. His lectures are balanced and he has no political axe to grind. There’s a great reading...

govols replies on Nov 4, 2019:

Thanks!

Hello.

Naomi comments on Nov 4, 2019:

This is a simple question. I want to know more about postmodernism as a subject. Because someone studies about Karl Marx, it doesn't make that person a Marxist. You can learn about Christianity without becoming a Christian. So, do you know anyone who can explain postmodernism differently ...

govols replies on Nov 4, 2019:

The link below really is as good as any I've found, and better than most. It a deep dive into the basic foundations and a brief look into the writings and the authors who are most influential to the "project's" origins. It's a great starting point.

Hello.

govols comments on Nov 2, 2019:

I make no attempt to master the animal I am. I focus instead on becoming the person I might be. Suppression is impossible, for me, but practicing at virtue seems to work.

govols replies on Nov 2, 2019:

@Naomi They're not the same. Hunger isn't the same as planning and preparing a fine meal. Lust isn't the same as learning how to really satisfy a lover. Controlling the beast isn't the same as developing the person. One is utterly positive.

Since the Democrats are to blame for Jim Crow, how many Republicans on here would support ...

Boardwine comments on Nov 1, 2019:

I support a test for voting and I would support restricting voting to only those that PAY taxes. And yes that would exclude those that get all their money back at the end of the year. If you ain't paying the bills you should decide shit.

govols replies on Nov 1, 2019:

@WilyRickWiles Both.

Since the Democrats are to blame for Jim Crow, how many Republicans on here would support ...

ForeverFree76 comments on Nov 1, 2019:

I’m a registered Republican, and I won’t even entertain the idea of voter suppression. I’m disgusted you’ve even thought of it.

govols replies on Nov 1, 2019:

@WilyRickWiles Have you read the post war constitution you're proposing be reenacted?

Thoughts?..............Black Pigeon Speaks. [bitchute.com]

iGutshot comments on Oct 31, 2019:

Your criticisms of peterson seem weak. yes jordan is a mere human who cares.. Do you view that as a contradiction if he is adamently for free speech, and then says we know how to box the radical people that use hate speech and exclude them from the conversation? Freedom of speech ends exactly ...

govols replies on Nov 1, 2019:

@iGutshot I brought it up for its specificity. All manner of stuff can be called hate speech, but Peterson wasn't using that expression; he specified expressions of racial superiority as a boundary rather than the vague and un-containable notion of hate speech.

Since the Democrats are to blame for Jim Crow, how many Republicans on here would support ...

Boardwine comments on Nov 1, 2019:

I support a test for voting and I would support restricting voting to only those that PAY taxes. And yes that would exclude those that get all their money back at the end of the year. If you ain't paying the bills you should decide shit.

govols replies on Nov 1, 2019:

I like the Starship Troopers model: citizenship follows from service.

Thoughts?..............Black Pigeon Speaks. [bitchute.com]

iGutshot comments on Oct 31, 2019:

Your criticisms of peterson seem weak. yes jordan is a mere human who cares.. Do you view that as a contradiction if he is adamently for free speech, and then says we know how to box the radical people that use hate speech and exclude them from the conversation? Freedom of speech ends exactly ...

govols replies on Oct 31, 2019:

Did he actually say "hate speech" or refer specifically to the notion of "racial supremacy?"

On what basis do you decide whether you like someone or not?

govols comments on Oct 30, 2019:

I DON'T decide whether I like someone.

govols replies on Oct 31, 2019:

@Naomi I'm not sure which of his I've read, or if I ever finished. I'm very familiar with the rider and elephant, and the 5-6 moral taste buds and how they sort out among right, left, and libertarian. On the latter I think he really needs to further develop his thinking on moral and political spectra.

On what basis do you decide whether you like someone or not?

govols comments on Oct 30, 2019:

I DON'T decide whether I like someone.

govols replies on Oct 31, 2019:

@Naomi jamesjohn is basically nailing what I was saying. In much the same way I can't control--but only experience--anger, disappointment, revulsion, I further have little control over first impressions, attachment, etc. Somebody expressed it as the little gods who rule you, over whom only through practice of reason and discipline might you gain some control through your choices and deeds. The appetites, if you will, and restraint. I've said before that I don't consider many humans to be people, but often to usually merely animals. I say that because I'm well aware of the little monster in myself, and how little control I have over the bastard. I know the sociopath pretty well, and we're so often likable. We're practiced at it and have mastered its performance.

On what basis do you decide whether you like someone or not?

govols comments on Oct 30, 2019:

I DON'T decide whether I like someone.

govols replies on Oct 30, 2019:

Of course I have, but I didn't get a say on the matter. It's a gut level emotional reaction over which I have as little rational control as I do a sneeze. I have a certain amount of choice in association, but like? No, not really.

On what basis do you decide whether you like someone or not?

govols comments on Oct 30, 2019:

I DON'T decide whether I like someone.

govols replies on Oct 30, 2019:

@Naomi Dear God, no. I simply don't get a say on whether I like other individuals. I have no control whatsoever over my emotions, and I'm not at all sure how much I have over how I respond to them. But I practice.

Edward Snowdon in his own words. [youtu.be]

DennisStarck comments on Oct 24, 2019:

Do any of the fans here know the podcast from earlier this year Joe had a Canadian journalist/DR on talking about her book and how they investigating teenage transition cases and was saying the DRS she interviewed were saying off record that 95 percent of the case's weren't legitimate but they were ...

govols replies on Oct 25, 2019:

@DennisStarck You're welcome.

Criminals are in positions of authority not only in the US, but many other countries as well.

govols comments on Sep 17, 2019:

They're not criminals; they're sociopaths to whom the commoner law doesn't apply.

govols replies on Oct 25, 2019:

@Serg97 I'm not saying all sociopaths are criminals, or that the special ones in charge don't do things that violate the laws that apply to the commoners. I'm saying that the law doesn't apply to our sociopathic ruling class so, among them, they don't see criminals but colleagues doing whatever is necessary to get move the agenda forward.

Edward Snowdon in his own words. [youtu.be]

DennisStarck comments on Oct 24, 2019:

Do any of the fans here know the podcast from earlier this year Joe had a Canadian journalist/DR on talking about her book and how they investigating teenage transition cases and was saying the DRS she interviewed were saying off record that 95 percent of the case's weren't legitimate but they were ...

govols replies on Oct 24, 2019:

Debrah Soh, episode 1147?

Even though I am a citizen of the U.

pbuck0145 comments on Oct 24, 2019:

No electoral college in Canada. However, the FPTP system and party discipline (enforced loyalty) result in a system which is even more anti-democratic than is the system in the U.S. https://www.lawnow.org/american-and-canadian-election-laws/

govols replies on Oct 24, 2019:

What is the FPTP? (First past the post.) Is that the rule by which a minority winning party wins without the need to form a coalition?

Have you ever had a foundational rug pulled from under your world view?

WilyRickWiles comments on Oct 17, 2019:

People need to be better with complexity.

govols replies on Oct 17, 2019:

That's as understated as just about any statement ever

"...and the Pursuit of Happiness." What does that mean?

GaryWitt comments on Oct 10, 2019:

Most definitely. Aristotle’s whole purpose in writing the Nicomachean Ethics was to establish a foundation for morality aside from the notion of divine pronunciations. And IMHO he was largely successful. But his reasoning depends largely on the presence of that common culture that you talk ...

govols replies on Oct 10, 2019:

Thanks for your contribution to my trying to sort through my mind's constant ramblings.

Hillsdale College has a new online course that might be of interest.

dmatic comments on Oct 9, 2019:

Thanks for the recommendation. Based on your report, I plan on investing the time!

govols replies on Oct 9, 2019:

I hope you don't find your effort wasted. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

Annnnnnnnnnnndddddddddd Liberals Colleges are starting to hurt. [youtu.be] [youtu.be]

timon_phocas comments on Oct 9, 2019:

I think the private liberal arts colleges are missing a great opportunity because they're teaching every subject through the lense of current ideology. Every society needs to be analysed on its own terms. Study the language, the literature, the religion, the history and economics. What are the ...

govols replies on Oct 9, 2019:

What I stumbled on as an adult trying to figure out modern education is that you can't start with modern theory and comprehend anything underneath it. There's so much reference to the past--the deep past--that you can't backtrack; you have to leap back. Way back. You can't really understand the 20th century, or 19th, or 18th centuries, without a grounding in the history and cultures from which the modern developed. It's impossible for a modern to know what it was like to be OF the ancient world, but without a pretty good survey of it, it becomes impossible to learn ANYTHING about how we came to where we currently stand. An example of "bullshit" is the 1619 project from the New York Times. They decided that 1776 wasn't where to look for a "beginning," but instead look through the lens of modern racism theory back to 1619. Bullshit. That method removes all context from the era under study, I mean, first it straw-mans the idea of American history as having a beginning, and then asserts that beginning as being criminally fabricated by power brokers of the past as 1776, and pulls their own power play at setting a past looking limit to a new date of its own choosing while at the same time imposing a modern lens as the only one through which to look at it all. The whole project is bullshit of the highest order. I think modern people feel so disoriented and alienated because modern education has taken the ground from under us. It's like modernity has has dug up all of the plants from a centuries old garden that had been tended since prehistory by a multitude of cultures, potted each one individually, paved over the lands we were once rooted in, set us about haphazardly on a substrate of asphalt in ornamental arrangements suited only to a modern aesthetic, and left us to figure out for ourselves how to grow. Sorry. Sometimes I get in a really nice "we're all doomed" sort of attitude....

I thought there was such thing as "freedom of religion".

RobBlair comments on Oct 8, 2019:

The Civil Rights Act of 1964 is widely praised as a landmark in the march against racist policies against blacks in the US. However, title 2 and title 7 of the act are demonstrably unconstitutional. Title 2 - All persons shall be entitled to the full and equal enjoyment of the goods, services, ...

govols replies on Oct 8, 2019:

I love this post.

Charles Murray argues for a level of affirmative action as a tool for social utility in a diverse ...

govols comments on Sep 26, 2019:

I can make an argument in favor of a sort of affirmative action, but most of the forms we've managed to fabricate are fairly indefensible. Like, instead of busing kids to other neighborhoods to integrate schools, identify schools at which students are under-performing and focus action toward those ...

govols replies on Oct 3, 2019:

@acthenpens It varies by a lot, in the US. There are over 3,000 counties, and vastly more school districts. The main thing is that they're governed locally (to the extent they're allowed to be, now that the Fed has taken over so much education policy.) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/County_(United_States)

Charles Murray argues for a level of affirmative action as a tool for social utility in a diverse ...

govols comments on Sep 26, 2019:

I can make an argument in favor of a sort of affirmative action, but most of the forms we've managed to fabricate are fairly indefensible. Like, instead of busing kids to other neighborhoods to integrate schools, identify schools at which students are under-performing and focus action toward those ...

govols replies on Oct 3, 2019:

@acthenpens Not counry; county, parish, or district.

[foxnews.com] Seemed a pretty easy decision to me.

DesireNoDesires comments on Oct 1, 2019:

wonder if it will get pushed as an act of racism...

govols replies on Oct 1, 2019:

@DesireNoDesires I have only the information that I happen upon. Do you have information I should be aware of?

[foxnews.com] Seemed a pretty easy decision to me.

DesireNoDesires comments on Oct 1, 2019:

wonder if it will get pushed as an act of racism...

govols replies on Oct 1, 2019:

@DesireNoDesires It wasn't.

[foxnews.com] Seemed a pretty easy decision to me.

DesireNoDesires comments on Oct 1, 2019:

wonder if it will get pushed as an act of racism...

govols replies on Oct 1, 2019:

@DesireNoDesires Because the jury came to a finding of guilt on the tallest possible charge, maybe? Because woman gun isn't part of the gun violence narrative? Women aren't the brutality model, even when cop? Not big enough to jeopardize the ally coalition? Maybe it simply wasn't the case to hang a rally from...

[foxnews.com] Seemed a pretty easy decision to me.

DesireNoDesires comments on Oct 1, 2019:

wonder if it will get pushed as an act of racism...

govols replies on Oct 1, 2019:

@DesireNoDesires It's all about the inter-sectional stack--the new hierarchy. White woman v Black guy might be confusing, but DEAD Black guy stacks taller. None of that really matters, though... EVERYTHING is racist. Period. EVERYTHING.

[foxnews.com] Seemed a pretty easy decision to me.

DesireNoDesires comments on Oct 1, 2019:

wonder if it will get pushed as an act of racism...

govols replies on Oct 1, 2019:

EVERYTHING is racism.

[foxnews.com] Seemed a pretty easy decision to me.

JimbobNE comments on Oct 1, 2019:

You know, I wonder if a lawsuit against the police department might be in order. They have a person who uses deadly force carrying a weapon after having her work 13.5 hours. She was obviously confused and couldn't even tell what floor of the apartment complex she was on, didn't even realize she ...

govols replies on Oct 1, 2019:

I would require some massive persuasion to hold the city to account for allowing or requiring an employee to work overtime. While I can see the OT as a defense in the form of the defendant having an argument for being out of sorts, I can't see holding every employer responsible the consequences of every misconduct of every tired employee coming home from a double. Being tired because of work demands might be a defense, but I'm not sure causing tired is a reasonably actionable negligence to be imposed upon an employer.

Jordan Peterson Proves that Conservatives Are Motivated by Feelings, Not Facts

Farmergramma comments on Sep 30, 2019:

I would like to know what definition of "conservative" is being used here. It does not sound like the same one that I use.

govols replies on Oct 1, 2019:

I didn't notice a "definition." The study relied, in part, on self-report of liberal v conservative on a (I think) 1-7 scale. Other studies were cited that referred to conservatives being motivated by negative stimuli such as disgust, and the study in the OP was trying to test whether it was negativity or simply any emotional stimuli delivered with enough arousal behind it. The study used positive, negative, and neutral videos, paired with FAR-left and FAR-right speech transcripts and found that (in part) both liberals and conservatives, in states of emotional arousal (whether positive OR negative), were more likely to more greatly than from neutral stimuli, agree with right-wing speeches than left-wing. That's terribly simplistic, but at least provides some context...

Charles Murray argues for a level of affirmative action as a tool for social utility in a diverse ...

govols comments on Sep 26, 2019:

I can make an argument in favor of a sort of affirmative action, but most of the forms we've managed to fabricate are fairly indefensible. Like, instead of busing kids to other neighborhoods to integrate schools, identify schools at which students are under-performing and focus action toward those ...

govols replies on Sep 30, 2019:

@acthenpens I'm certain there would be unintended consequences with any such efforts, but the way I'm thinking involves utilizing people who have supposedly committed to public service in creative ways that should actually be a point of honor for them. All it would take is a nice "narrative" and it would be meaning-making for those who are called...

Resettled Refugees Grow Population in Shrinking Cities - CityLab

govols comments on Sep 25, 2019:

Yep, almost like some sort of replacement or something.

govols replies on Sep 26, 2019:

That's an example. The earlier cultures of North and South America no longer exist, even if one grants that culture, as such, remained in some form throughout the massive collapse of all of the prior ones. That's what happens, every time, throughout history, when mass migrations occur.

Resettled Refugees Grow Population in Shrinking Cities - CityLab

govols comments on Sep 25, 2019:

Manufacturing exported, prosperity extracted, middle class reduced to desperately leaving towns their ancestors built, refugees in their own nation, the steel crescent reduced to rust, thriving cities mere shadows of a former glory, lost, broken. But behold! a second coming! An influx of vibrancy...

govols replies on Sep 25, 2019:

The United States are not an example of a culture withstanding invasion. They're an example of one succumbing.