• 4 Posts
  • 1.43K Comments
Joined 1 year ago
cake
Cake day: July 1st, 2023

help-circle








  • Hey, nothing wrong with being agist in this situation, let’s be honest. Nobody - not Biden, not Bernie, not Trump - will be as cognitively-sharp when they are 80 as they were when they were 50, 40, 30. We wouldn’t want an 80-year-old lifeguard or firefighter, right?

    And until an 18-year-old can be president, we’re already agist in one direction.

    That we think putting geriatrics in the White House to run one of the most stressful jobs that is on-call 24/7 is a good idea… I mean it’s absurd. Just look how much Obama aged in 8 years. Forget the fact that the general risk of all-cause mortality is far greater, that’s just another risk-factor for running the country.

    So yeah unfortunately I agree… Bernie’s opportunity was missed. When AOC runs one day, I will campaign as hard as possible for her victory.


  • Fuck sake that was a hard read. That poor mother. I can’t even comprehend the purpose of that pipe. They describe it as a lazy river so I’m assuming it’s some sort of equalizer pipe to the other side. Water flows in one direction around the pool and I think what they’re saying is the flow of the river was reversed for whatever reason. There would be quite a strong amount of suction through there, even if it wasn’t a direct intake line to the pump.

    Edit: oh this is old news, months old. Looks like it was indeed an outlet:

    “Her poor little body was contorted when she was sucked into this hole and pipe 20 feet back. Her body was inside of the motor when she had to be extracted," he said. "They had to break up concrete in order to extract her, cut pipe. It was absolutely horrific.”

    Pump’s flow was reversed for whatever reason.

    Elsewhere I read the pump actually did have an entrapment system engaged and shut off, but by the time she blocked the pipe and sensors detected the obstruction, she was already wedged 20 feet into the pipe.


  • Don’t disagree with that either. I just think:

    • Voter enthusiasm is vital to winning elections.
    • You inspire the grassroots coalition who actually does the canvassing, the phone-banking, the viral fundraising, the viral word-of-mouth, the pushback against trolls on social media, and the convincing of parents and uncles at Thanksgiving Dinner by inspiring said grassroots who make up the foundation of a solid Democratic campaign.
    • Once you have YOUR base who believes in their candidate strongly, then that becomes influential in drawing others to your banner as well.
    • So I hope in time, Democrats stop watering down their rocket-fuel of policy to appeal to ignorance of this magical moderate or Republican swing-voter, which then just backfires because the fuel is too watered-down to have the policy breach the atmosphere, and then we have the next cycle go, “well we gave Democrats a chance and look what they did.” In time, I hope we stand by our policy the way Republicans stand by theirs. Such conviction is persuasive.

  • As I said, it’s impossibly risky right now as it is. In what should be an obvious slam-dunk, Biden has largely remained stagnant in polls with Trump catching up in fundraising no less. There are no perfect options; only dilemmas. Clearly I’m spit-balling here and I’m no advisor so that’s not lost on me. However: I’m not the only one talking about this. Just yesterday’s Washington Week round-table episode on PBS had them talking about this.

    The fact that I don’t have a name is quite honestly irrelevant. There are are PLENTY of candidates on the left that fulfill that niche of youth and charisma: Booker is one example if you really need one. Nevertheless it’s irrelevant because if we can’t name it, then Republicans can’t predict it. And we know the right-wing media largely controls the narrative in this country; and the less time you give them to develop talking-points, the better. I’ve already proved that Likability, Youth, Charisma are the KEY adjectives to winning elections for Democrats. WHO within that subset almost doesn’t even matter – for we know what issues concern the vast majority of voters RIGHT NOW: Age of candidates, and they’re sick of both of their faces. That’s quite literally all the info we need to know. So if you accept the premise that we run an American Idol contest for Presidency, then I believe my argument is quite solid.

    There’s no desperation in giving the electorate what they are asking for. Look at the polls for yourself detailing their reasons for apathy or dislike for the candidates.

    Finally, Primaries don’t reflect general election performance. Hillary beat Bernie; but Bernie would’ve likely done better against Trump. It’s not like Democrats who voted Hillary would suddenly not vote for Bernie come November with Trump on the ballot.


  • I agree. I also think it’s important to note that the nature of entropy dictates it’s far easier for Republicans to cripple the nation and set us back than to rebuild let alone add extensions. So for me a vote for Biden is above-all damage control.

    Still I only wish we could curate better candidates because I think we can eat our cake and still have it. This appeal to the middle in terms of policy; this watering down our rhetoric tends to shoot ourselves in the foot in the long-run.


  • If the news dropped at the right time, it would be free publicity across social media and every corporate media outlet nonstop until election day. Not necessarily a nobody, but just someone less in the spotlight.

    I’m pretty certain given my previous arguments that a young and semi-charismatic individual could sweep the election solely on age and freshness alone. And I’d say Kamala, but she’s uncharismatic and conservatives already have talking-points written up for her.

    Considering the current polls, leaving Biden in is frankly just as if not more risky in my view. (disclaimer: I’m voting for Biden, of course).



  • I appreciate much of your list and accept the danger of the third party vote.

    And while that’s partly a result of right-wing and foreign operatives seeking to wedge-drive the Democratic coalition, it’s also a reflection of lack of voter enthusiasm and greater apathy.

    Like it or not, for better or worse, elections in the US are popularity contests akin to shitty reality TV. It’s not about who is more qualified; it’s not about experience or education. As much as it should be, it IS NOT a job interview.

    Whoever stands out, for better or worse, tends to win. Obama was different. He stood out; he won. JFK was different. He stood out; he won. Trump was different. He stood out; he won.

    Hillary was boring. Uncharismatic. Anything but new. Carrying the baggage of decades of right-wing smere. Poll after poll of voter enthusiasm was in the gutter.

    Voter enthusiasm for Biden was shit, too. But Biden stood out because he was at least different from Trump.

    If Dems wanted to ensure victory they’d yank Biden and run someone fresh, young, charismatic, likable. Easy win. Why? Because they stand out, the right-wing taking-points and marching orders wouldn’t be prepared, and people would be excited for something different.