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White House plan to break up iconic U.S. climate lab moves forward

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Re: White House plan to break up iconic U.S. climate lab moves forward

#211
post #207

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Warren wasn't nominated because she's progressive and beloved by people who care most about diversity. No, look at Warren’s performance on Super Tuesday, which includes many of the states with the largest minority populations. 79% of Warren voters were white, in an electorate (Democrats in places like Texas and South Carolina) that’s majority non-white: https://media-cldnry.s-nbcnews.com/image/upload/c_fill,g_aut..…

You're right about her support, but white progressives are generally the biggest advocates of Diversity. IME minority groups are generally more conservative than progressives are (though of course we're talking about tens of millions of people each with their own opinions) and care about how they are treated but less about Diversity as a solution, but of course most won't consider Republicans for obvious reasons.

> white progressives are generally the biggest advocates of diversity. IME minority groups are generally more conservative than progressives

I think you're correct about all that. But you overlook that minority groups care about "diversity" for other, different reasons. Generally speaking, minority groups care about it as a show of commitment to their group. Jim Clyburn was instrumental in Harris's nomination. He isn't a progressive. But he cares a lot that the party appoints black people to key positions.

That's just how the party has long worked. For decades, Catholic immigrants voted for Democrats as a bloc and in return Democrats delivered political benefits to Catholics and appointed Catholics to key positions. Minority groups today aren't any different. Myriad ethnic activist groups are in different communities--Muslims in Queens, Latinos in Nevada, etc.--mobilizing those communities to vote Democrat. And those organizations deeply care about the party delivering key appointments to members of their group.

So you're correct that Elizabeth Warren was the candidate favored by progressives who value diversity as an abstract ideological principle. But she was not favored by the groups that help deliver actual votes from minority voters and wanted the appointment of someone from their group in return for that support.

Re: White House plan to break up iconic U.S. climate lab moves forward

#212
post #199

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is a loaded explanation. Yes, war does require quick response, which is hard to achieve in a decentralized state. The small nuance is that war or similar events are comprising a tiny fraction of what a government does (not by impact, but by total amount of things to do). And guess what, direct voting is just fine and fast enough for such thinks as any and all taxes, industry wide restrictions or permissions, eco…

> And guess what, direct voting is just fine and fast enough for such thinks as ... economic focus, foreign policy, immigration, ... How would 2 countries wirh direct voting negotiate a trade treaty that requires give and take? Have a referendum on each proposed clause modification? How long would that take? Even though you dislike it, representative democracy is a necessary optimization, which is why every surviving…

Lots of places use direct voting on many issues, including Switzerland, California, ...

> negotiations

It doesn't seem hard to conceive of and it's widely done: The negotation is done by representatives, who bring the final agreement to their constituents for approval.

For example, that is how unions handle collective bargaining agreements, and sometimes the leadership's proposal loses.

Re: White House plan to break up iconic U.S. climate lab moves forward

#213

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I don't buy your explanation. It’s an example. I guess you are welcome to continue being confused.

I'm obviously still trying to find alternative explanations to alleviate my "confusion". But just because you've thrown out one possible theory does not mean it is inherently correct, right?

No but it shows there are many reasonable interpretations and you’re choosing one.

Re: White House plan to break up iconic U.S. climate lab moves forward

#214
post #187

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Both Trump and Biden had their issues, but Trump has lost far more than "some spring in his step," the man is sundowning publicly, barely coherent, and it's obvious some serious medical condition is being covered up by his staff. Anyone seeing him can tell he's far worse off than Biden ever was. "Active cyclist to a slow elderly gait" versus "appeared to have a stroke on camera." Trump literally shat himself in publi…

You’re obviously right about SCOTUS. I guess there I was more thinking about the even-longer conservative lock-in with his next appointee. But I really do disagree on the physical decline though. Put simply, the things people see are: weight, posture, quickness and stability of movement, strength of voice, hair, face (and a few others). If you compare T16 vs T24, and B16 vs B24, the B delta is much bigger on any of t…

Trump's posture is terrible. Numerous people have noticed the way he leans, can't stay standing, and the way he walks all suggest signs of fronto-temporal dementia. His movement is unstable. His face droops like he had a stroke. His speech is slurred and confused. His face and hands are covered in weird bruises. He falls asleep in meetings. He wanders off.

Many, many people have noticed Trump's obvious decline. I don't know why you haven't. You're either trolling or you're blind.

Re: White House plan to break up iconic U.S. climate lab moves forward

#215

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm obviously still trying to find alternative explanations to alleviate my "confusion". But just because you've thrown out one possible theory does not mean it is inherently correct, right?

No but it shows there are many reasonable interpretations and you’re choosing one.

Yes, coming up with a bunch of "reasonable" interpretations and settling on the most likely one(s) is just basic reasoning. Do you have a point?

Re: White House plan to break up iconic U.S. climate lab moves forward

#216
post #208

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The Democrats didn't have a primary, so I'm going to vote for the criminal/fabulist/sex pest who is also obviously declining. I find it difficult to buy that logic. The inescapable conclusion is that a large number of Americans are ignorant, gullible, and cruel.

Trump doesn't pretend to be whatever he is. That is literally what sets him apart. The Democrats accuse the opponents of being undemocratic while they themself don't have primary and have a candidate selected by their elite. There are plenty of "criminal/fabulist/sex" pests on the other side too.

The criminality and pathological lying is what sets him apart. Not just from Democrats, from all presidents in recent memory.

Re: White House plan to break up iconic U.S. climate lab moves forward

#217
post #214

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You’re obviously right about SCOTUS. I guess there I was more thinking about the even-longer conservative lock-in with his next appointee. But I really do disagree on the physical decline though. Put simply, the things people see are: weight, posture, quickness and stability of movement, strength of voice, hair, face (and a few others). If you compare T16 vs T24, and B16 vs B24, the B delta is much bigger on any of t…

Trump's posture is terrible. Numerous people have noticed the way he leans, can't stay standing, and the way he walks all suggest signs of fronto-temporal dementia. His movement is unstable. His face droops like he had a stroke. His speech is slurred and confused. His face and hands are covered in weird bruises. He falls asleep in meetings. He wanders off. Many, many people have noticed Trump's obvious decline. I don…

Again, I’m obviously not being clear. Yeah, his posture is terrible —- but it was also terrible in 2016. He was doing that weird lumbering walk way back his during the Hillary debate. Ditto his rambling speech.

Are you really saying that Trump in 2024 was an order of magnitude more “elderly” than in 2016? Didn’t look that way to me, at all.

I do agree the falling asleep and bruises are a sign he’s entering final phase. But he’s not fully there yet. In 5 years he’ll have dropped 40 pounds, his cheeks will be sunken in, and he’ll walk at half speed as today, and then he will be in “obvious physical decline”

Side note, just occurred to me: Biden did himself a big disservice by getting facelifts. His face got weird and stretched tight. I think it had the opposite effect of what he wanted, and made him look older still.

Re: White House plan to break up iconic U.S. climate lab moves forward

#218

Earlier quoted context omitted.

No but it shows there are many reasonable interpretations and you’re choosing one.

Yes, coming up with a bunch of "reasonable" interpretations and settling on the most likely one(s) is just basic reasoning. Do you have a point?

[deleted]

Re: White House plan to break up iconic U.S. climate lab moves forward

#219

Earlier quoted context omitted.

No but it shows there are many reasonable interpretations and you’re choosing one.

Yes, coming up with a bunch of "reasonable" interpretations and settling on the most likely one(s) is just basic reasoning. Do you have a point?

I think you’re being socially obtuse

Re: White House plan to break up iconic U.S. climate lab moves forward

#220

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yes, coming up with a bunch of "reasonable" interpretations and settling on the most likely one(s) is just basic reasoning. Do you have a point?

I think you’re being socially obtuse

No, you seem to be trying to imply some kind of condemnation without actually levying it or having to substantiate the point. I can't respond to a point you aren't making, rather I can only respond to the points you are making.
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