Happy May 35! Today in history, nothing at all happened, especially not in 1989. Certainly nothing worth mentioning. Today is just a day we don’t talk about, for no particular reason. Just go about your business, do not engage in historical nihilism by discussing things that happened in history. Engage in historical positivism by positing how great history has been since your rulers took power
Do not remember remember the 216th of November, just move along
Recommended read: This article takes you through the basics of #crypto and the history of Ethereum in order to lead you to an analysis of the relationship between #tech, #neoliberalism, and the collapse of #democracy. (He bases his critique on Wendy Brown's 2015 book, which I also highly recommend.)
"...the hollowing out of democracy from a substantive idea based on solidarity, sacrifice, and mutual recognition into a set of formal procedures that equates buying with voting undermines not only democracy but the cultural preconditions for it as well. In [crypto's] continual confusion of 'community' with 'investors' and voting with buying, in their continual application of game theory to social life, and in their entrusting of public policy to bets in prediction markets, [crypto-bros] are an unreflexive demonstration of this entirely marketized subjectivity. ... [They are] theorizing a cheap and hollow facsimile of democracy and revealing that [they] cannot even tell the difference."
FB: one person likes a post linking to a Phoenix TV story about an Asian-American veteran standing up for his rights in conservative Wickenberg, AZ
Twitter: Crickets. We're still waiting.
Mastodon: Dozens share it. Many people comment and begin talking to each other. It helps that the man is on Mastodon and is participating, but the post started getting boosted long before that.
"The idea behind America was that finally regular people would have a government that works to make regular people’s lives better – and protects regular people from the things the rich and powerful do to enrich themselves at the expense of regular people."
Was reminded today of my favourite H.L. Mencken quote:
"#Democracy is the theory that the common #people know what they want, and deserve to get it good and hard."
In: A Little Book in C major (1916)
TFW so called Democratic voices on here tell everyone they are not doing it right. Not working hard enough, long enough, with the correct mindset and focus. Not loving the leader enough and all he is doing. It's exhausting.
Hot tip: we are all worried about the global (and local) dumpster fire and how it affects all we love. But we don't dump on every reply or comment that we disagree with. Jeez, step away first and unplug for a bit.
Meanwhile in #india their National Council of Educational Research and Training seems to think #pollution#evolution and #democracy are not that relevant, so they removed them from the curriculum of most students.
The opposition won the Thailand's May 14 election by a big margin and is preparing to take the reins of government. It's anyone's guess as to whether the country's military is going to let this happen.
The problem with pushing people to be afraid of #AGI while calling for intervention is that it enables firms like #OpenAI to position themselves as the responsible #tech shepherds – the benevolent experts here to save us from hypothetical harms, as long as they retain the power, money and market dominance to do so.
NBC News:
Jan. 6 rioter who wanted Pelosi brought out to mob is sentenced to 2 years
A Pennsylvania woman who went into the U.S. Capitol during the Jan. 6 riot and demanded that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi be brought out to the mob was sentenced to more than two years in prison Tuesday, officials said.
I’m sad to see the #Alberta election results. I feel Rachel Notley was the better choice. But that’s how #democracy works. We need to find a way to end the “us versus them” dialogue so prevalent during elections and build bridges that help all the people. #albertaelection2023#cdnpoli
With the assaults on freedom, #extremist policies, and dangerous rhetoric that now dominate so much of our #political#culture, it's hard not to wonder "what is the future of #American#democracy?"
So we chatted with U.S. historian @tzimmer_history about the current state of American democracy, how #history can help us understand—and where we can find hope. A really informative Q&A
In 1945, the US government seems to have published a summary of the fascist cause that we’d do well to be mindful of today: “Fascism, the U.S. government document explained, ‘is government by the few and for the few. The objective is seizure and control of the economic, political, social, and cultural life of the state.’ ‘The people run democratic governments, but fascist governments run the people.’”
“Democracy depends on the informed (not misinformed) consent of the governed. By allowing the most economically and politically powerful people, corporations, and governments to control our attention, these systems will control us.” - Daniel C. Dennett
Biden threatens sanctions against Uganda in response to harsh anti-gay law. Analysis shows narrowing income gap over the past 3 years, with low-income workers making historic wage gains even after inflation. UN agencies call for urgent aid to avert hunger crises in Sudan, Haiti, Burkina Faso, and Mali. Droughts limit freshwater access in Barcelona, Uruguay. Exercise can cut women’s Parkinson’s risk by 25 percent. Plus more.
In case you’re wondering why the Turkish people “reelected” Erdoğan it’s for the same reason Americans would be “reelecting” President DeSantis after 20 years of rule.
(And in case you’re thinking “term limits”, realise that Turkey has term limits too. He was prime minister first, then president, and then he changed the constitution to make it into a presidential system which he argued reset the clock on the presidential term limit…)