Interesting Articles

Sir Robin wrote:

Did you plan to stick around and RP with us? I figure you must have gotten here well before I did!

I would, but I've got a lot going on in life (college, writing, etc) so right now I can't make the time for it. But let's see.
And yeah, I've been around since...I think my join date was in 2011. Yeah, five years!

Oh wow man, you have been around here much longer than I have! I just arrived here last year, but my original account actually got deleted because of something silly.

Britain the Loneliness Capital of Europe.

I don't always post articles about things not pertaining to economics or politics, but when I do, they're kind of dull.

Not that anyone reads any of the articles posted here anyways.

This is our neoliberal nightmare: Hillary Clinton, Donald Trump, and why the market and the wealthy win every time

The notion of Trump and Sanders insurgencies is frightening. Although I suppose both groups may have gotten their wish for relevancy beyond the current campaign.

Of course everyone still loses in the end as stated in a previous article on the same topic. And the Democrats are largely at fault this time around for introducing it to the United States.

Really frightening is Thatcher stating 'There Is No Alternative,' and as demonstrated by the failure of neoliberal policies, she was right yet they still remain as opposed to different ideologies replacing the previous one's after they failed.

Took a gander at a recent campaign ad for Clinton as it was mentioned and on top of some attempt at appealing to as many demographics as possible which is irrelevant to the article, showed every individual as relentlessly striving to become human capital as dictated by the neoliberal doctrine where humans are just another form of capital and those who would work against such notions are to be excluded such is the way of the identity politics that is promoted by neoliberalism.

The article also draws parallels between Clinton supporters and The Tea Party where the latter group believed it to be absurd that the state should bail out irresponsible homeowners while the former groups holds the same beliefs for those who think of themselves beyond what the market decides they should be.

Can't say I dig the writer all but stating Sanders was essentially the only hope for defeating the zombie doctrine, but as he is largely the only one to have any proposals that work against the neoliberal ideology, he may as well have been. But look what happened there?

The article also raises the question of what will the millennial voters do? I'm guessing not a whole lot until the previous generation of muh bootstraps dies off, but by then will the cycle continue or not?

How the Heritage Foundation, a Conservative Think Tank, Promoted the Individual Mandate

Had to pause AdBlock just to get to the article and when I turned it back on, twenty-eight ads were blocked, holy gods.

An old article about how it was essentially conservatives that invented the concept with which the Obama Care Act was enacted on.

Did not watch the video in the article as that would require hearing Romney and Bachmann's voices and that's terrible.

Quote :

As a junior publicist, we weren’t being paid for our personal opinions. But we are now, so you will be the first to know that when we worked at Heritage, we hated the Heritage plan, especially the individual mandate. “Universal health care” was neither already established nor inevitable, and we thought the foundation had made a serious philosophical and strategic error in accepting rather than disputing the left-liberal notion that the provision of “quality, affordable health care” to everyone was a proper role of government. As to the mandate, we remember reading about it and thinking: “I thought we were supposed to be for freedom.”

Nothing more free than denying human rights.

BURYING YOU WITH A GOOD SHOVEL IN THE GOOD EARTH: LIBERALS AND TRUMPISM

Reminds me of an article I cannot find as I did not bookmark it, but from the headline as generally reading on my phone when I saw the article is awful, it appeared to be about whether or not violence is necessary for revolution.

Of course the liberal would say no while the conservative would shout NRA slogans, but that doesn't answer the question at all.

Although to imply this election is in anyway a revolution would be an enormous exaggeration, but the topic of political violence is a big part of the article.

Never heard of Christopher Hayes until now, but the guy's a fucking tool.

I used to read the articles posted here, but then bluntly people started doing baffling things that seemed designed to discourage reading. Like posting way too many articles for anyone to reasonably have time for, posting several articles on the same topic or on an overdone topic, or sometimes even outright saying the articles they're posting are shitty, the latter most being why I created the Awful Articles topic.

I haven't even gotten back to some of my old articles that I was saving for later. There's some blog on cat psychology that I don't think I was even halfway through.

That's a lot of words for "I don't read the article posted here."

Because what I'm actually saying is, "If you want them read, make sure you're (A) not drowning people in them & (B) actually posting interesting things."

Even though any asshole can pick and choose what they want to read all while what is and isn't interesting isn't objective.

If I told you the sky was blue, you'd make some sarcastic remark about atmospheric gas being colorless. If I clarified that it looks blue to people with normally functioning eyes, you'd find a way to argue that too. Do what you want, I don't care.

http://www.tampabay.com/blogs/baybuzz/lgbt-pride-flag-raised-after-orlando-shooting-unbearable-for-christian/2282099

Y'know, if someone shoots up a church & you want to erect a crucifix in remembrance of it, I say go for it. That does not in any way imply support of Christianity.

And of course there are assholes in the comments, which isn't surprising, but it reminds me of this other article. To paraphrase, some people have such a problem when they're ever NOT the focus of attention that they'll take for granted that they weren't shot to death to whine about how unfair their lives are.

That'd be called The Spotlight Effect.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spotlight_effect

If you're talking about the 2nd part, not really. This is more of an inverse, because these people think that someone else is getting preferential treatment.

If you're talking about the 1st, still not really, that's more of the self-as-target bias which, while related to the spotlight effect, is not the same thing.

When universities try to behave like businesses, education suffers

When universities go the opposite direction of high schools where instead of axing trade related programs in favor of academic programs, axe the more academic programs to padden trade related programs. And it's those already being shafted being shafted some more.

Telling Poor, Smart Kids That All It Takes Is Hard Work to Be as Successful as Their Wealthy Peers Is a Blatant Lie

It's almost as if working hard to become successful is almost complete bollocks.

Gun Industry Describes Mass Shootings Like Orlando as a “Big Opportunity”

Commentary shouldn't be necessary.

Pro-Prostitution Marxism is Revisionist, Woman-Hating Nonsense

It's a damn shame the author is a TERF although that's irrelevant to the article. I can honestly say I've never seen a pro-prostitution Marxist. If the author's anecdotes have any merit, I would say I'm grateful.

Mass Killers Don’t Have a Warped View of Masculinity — Liberal Men Do

I'm kind of confused by this article. The author raises some valid points in regards to generally male-centric acts like murder and rape as masculinity yet their idea of abolishing it essentially amounts to redefining it.

TANF Weakening as a Safety Net For Poor Families

A dated article, but the content is still very much relevant four years after it was written that amounts to the more people in need of assistance, the less people who get it.

Do Libertarians Want Freedom or Not

Before even reading the article, I already knew the answer is no. Some aspects of the previous article relate to this one such as the small amount of people receiving assistance.


Trump Failed To Pay Hundreds of Working People – Dishwashers, Painters and Others

Not surprising in the slightest. It's all the more hilarious considering people claim his being a businessman is a good reason he should be president.

A Man Is a Rape-Supporter If….

Dated but absolutely hysterical.

6 Examples of How Extroverts Benefit From Their Social Privilege

Shit like this is why no one takes liberals seriously.

22 Examples of Thin Privilege

Four years old or not, shit like this doesn't help either. Then again, neither does the ideology being useless.

‘Pornography Is What the End of the World Looks Like’

Quite a bit comes off as overzealous and far too moralistic. Particularly the line "the behavior promoted by porn, including stripping, promiscuity, S&M and exhibitionism, has become chic," as if one can partake in those things without it being exploitive.

Trump campaign poured $6M into Trump companies

It's either embezzlement of declare a fourth bankruptcy.

WHY USING LUBE CAN HELP YOU BECOME A BETTER FEMINIST

[Detachment from ideology intensifies]

Entire Human Race Problematic, Left Can’t Work With Them

The logical conclusion in human extinction.

Study Finds Higher Minimum Wage Does Not Destroy Economy, Wingnuts Gon’ Be SO Mad

Don't need to be an economist to see that people having money is not a bad thing.

I'll be voting Leave: a "reformed EU" isn't on the ballot paper

Right off the bat, the author might need to reevaluate how they see the left with this line "The most surprising thing about the debate so far isn’t that the left have, in general, sided with Remain," which really isn't surprising given the left is barely left at all and just a little to the left of the right.

On one hand, Britain leaving the EU is a loss for the working class. On the other hand, remaining in the EU is a loss for the working class. But leaving the EU weakens an imperialist power which in itself is a victory.

Too the reason for leaving the EU wasn't to dispose of an imperialist power and more because brown people.

On Prostitution, the Left has Taken a Right-Wing Turn

The page where I found the article? Good page despite the tankie tendencies of the admins. The comments on the post sharing this article? Holy brocoliasts everywhere.

Also a nice demonstration of why liberalism is reactionary garbage. And the author may not have realized that the American left isn't really different from the right.

I’m fiscally conservative but socially liberal, so that pretty much makes me god’s gift to earth

I always thought such a phrase was just a meme. I still think it is. But this is some really good satire.

Neoliberal Europe and the far right: two sides of the same coin

And yet no political compass shows capitalism as authoritarian. Then again political compasses are complete nonsense.

While the author's closing statement is a nice thought, for some class consciousness is unobtainable.

Why Nonviolent Civil Resistance Doesn’t Work (Unless You Have Lots of Bombs)

And that is something the left doesn't understand. Change seldom comes from standing outside a government building and repeating catchy slogans. Even the Civil Rights movement had its share of violence. If you want change, you may have to punch someone in the face.

At times it seems like the French don't get that when one can find videos of the protesters in France just waving balloons around.

Black Lives Matter Toronto stalls Pride parade

When liberalism bites itself and retreats. And worse yet, Trudeau marched in the parade despite the Canadian government being keen on supporting regimes in the Middle East that are big on beheading gay people.

My Uncle Was a Red Guard in China’s Cultural Revolution. He Isn’t Sorry.

Oh, China. Mao's revolution made you the power you are today. And now somehow being ideologically Marxist yet structurally neoliberal makes sense to you.

Andrea Leadsom: I can be the new Margaret Thatcher

Alternate title: Why Self-Criticism is Important.

It doesn't take a lot of effort to look into the disaster that was Thatcher's career as Prime Minister.

The American-Run Hotel in Cuba

And so it begins.

It Is Time for a Second American Revolution

Last time a politician spoke of revolution, he bowed out of the race and endorsed Hillary. I wouldn't get my hopes up about Stein, but the not Stein or Johnson alternatives are all trash. And Johnson is pretty crap.

Still referring to Sanders as a socialist is not a good sign though. Thinking highly enough of the average voter to believe a revolution could occur is another bad sign.

Sanders has not bowed out of the race. I'm quite sure that's not the only erroneous claim in that wall of text, but it's the most easily verifiable as false.

He may as well have having urged his followers to make like him and vote for her pretty much negating everything his campaign was about.

He said he would likely vote for Hillary, & would work to defeat Trump, but is not sure he fully endorses her yet. He did not say that anyone else should vote for Hillary. And in any case, none of that is the same thing as bowing out of the race.

I really don't give a shit what your opinion on the campaign is, what's bothering me is that what you're saying is factually wrong & can easily be verified by literal seconds on Google.

Also that you should be posting in BDM.

This isn't just liberalism. This is L I B E R A L I S M in all its unapologetically false shame.

Voting for Clinton and negotiating a position on her staff.

Here's a CBC article with the same thing.

And NPR just because.

Still negating his campaign.

At best you you have the lack of endorsement except it's Biden's word against Sander's, so take from that what you will considering Biden is well, Biden.

Those articles say the same things I did. Did not bow out of the race, stopped short of endorsing Clinton, did not tell anyone else to vote for her. So I guess now we know that even YOU don't read your own damn articles.

And I swear to fuck, if I don't see posts of actual substance in BDM by the time I get back, I'm closing this thread.

I don't get the impression that anyone except possibly Harley missed this topic, but I'm unlocking it anyway.

One of my biggest problems with Wikipedia has nothing to do with the barefaced lies of many pages or the vandalism that creeps up now and then. It's when a really well-written and sourced page on a very specific obscure topic shows a strong bias that you wouldn't know about unless you had intimate knowledge of the subject matter and understood why sources it cites aren't the best. I've seen this in archaeology-based topics often, especially when they cite impressive looking journal articles that wouldn't hold up under scrutiny.

I would add that "I'm reopening the topic" does not mean "Harley, feel free to post here & keep ignoring any messages about the RP you're holding up with no explanation."

Sir Robin wrote:

One of my biggest problems with Wikipedia has nothing to do with the barefaced lies of many pages or the vandalism that creeps up now and then. It's when a really well-written and sourced page on a very specific obscure topic shows a strong bias that you wouldn't know about unless you had intimate knowledge of the subject matter and understood why sources it cites aren't the best. I've seen this in archaeology-based topics often, especially when they cite impressive looking journal articles that wouldn't hold up under scrutiny.

Well, the more obscure the topic the less likely for it to really be monitored by other editors.

I could probably squeeze into the Enver Hoxha page that he's the Patron Saint of Albania and it'd probably stick around for awhile as beyond bunker jokes, I don't see many people even in communist circles really giving a crap about him.