Saturday, May 18, 2019
Friday, May 17, 2019
Jeffrey Goldberg
The post-9/11 era was... really it's impossible to explain it to people who didn't live through it. And it was about a 5 year period, not a few weeks. It also made the careers of people who are still with us now. The wronger they were the more successful they have been! Such is The Discourse.
The Atlantic is a bad magazine run by a bad person who occasionally runs good things by good people in order to cover for the fact that it is a bad magazine.
My "favorite" post-9/11 nonsense was in the greatest of magazines, the New Yorker, which is known for its attention to detail and truth and its fact checking and the amount of shrooms someone must have eaten to have written this.
The Atlantic is a bad magazine run by a bad person who occasionally runs good things by good people in order to cover for the fact that it is a bad magazine.
My "favorite" post-9/11 nonsense was in the greatest of magazines, the New Yorker, which is known for its attention to detail and truth and its fact checking and the amount of shrooms someone must have eaten to have written this.
Republican Cops
Congress - and that means the Dems in the House - are going to have to use what powers they have. Mueller was never going to save us.
The Wanker Party
Imagine if, say, John McCain (when alive, not Zombie McCain), Joe Lieberman, Susan Collins, Lindsey Graham, and Claire McCaskill had come together at some point to start a third party. Jon Chait would have had a cover story about them being the future of politics in the Old New Republic. David Brooks would have gushed. Front page stories in the New York Times about how this was going to DOOM the Democratic party (but not the Republican party because reasons). Morning Joe would've dedicated 3 solid weeks to their unveiling. And then... nobody else in the world would have given a shit. That's Change UK.
Fawlty Towers, Alan Partridge, The Office: finally the great British tradition of it’s-so-awkward-you-want-to-look-away-but-you-can’t comedy has a new addition, and it’s called Change UK. The critics may argue that this iteration lays the cringe factor on a little too thick, however. When Change UK’s Joan Ryan asked her audience in Bath to “look at your hands, please”, followed by “that’s it, it’s there, that’s the answer to this, it’s in your hands” – in what can only be described as panicked primary school teacher meets David Brent’s infamous motivational speech – the horror was compounded by the fact she’d clearly done this before, and that the audience clapped. Is this a political party, or is it performance art?
The tragicomedy of Change UK is principally one of hubris. You can see, to be fair, why they thought success might beckon. There is a rich seam of sympathy for their brand of politics within the British media, and there’s no doubt that many remain voters feel disillusioned, angry even, about Labour’s Brexit triangulation. But the principal flaw in their plan was this: former Labour MPs Chuka Umunna and Chris Leslie believe that being a Blairite means automatically inheriting a political elixir from 1990s Tony Blair, of electoral success, and generally being very good at politics.
Robotaxis
I don't care about Tesla the company, but I do care about Tesla the menace to society. Musk's most recent bet is claiming that all relatively new Teslas are hardware capable - with a minor computer upgrade - to be a fully automated robotaxi. Once they figure the software out. They'll never figure the software out because they won't, so this is just a scam, but they also aren't hardware capable.
The "enhancements" refer to enhanced use of, not actually a hardware enhancement.
With systems like these you can't separate out "it's the driver's fault" (unless, perhaps, he was napping in the back seat) from "it's the system's fault." The two work together and no matter how much a driver is paying attention, there isn't time to react quickly enough from the moment you realize your HAL-9000 is about to drive you into a truck.
Among the NTSB’s findings was that the car’s sensors weren’t designed to identify the side of the truck and, therefore, didn’t slow the car.
Four months after the May 2016 crash, which killed former Navy SEAL Joshua Brown, Tesla Chief Executive Officer Elon Musk held a call with reporters to discuss a new version of the Autopilot software. Enhancements to the radar used as part of the company’s driver-assistance system likely would have detected the semi trailer, he said at the time.
The "enhancements" refer to enhanced use of, not actually a hardware enhancement.
With systems like these you can't separate out "it's the driver's fault" (unless, perhaps, he was napping in the back seat) from "it's the system's fault." The two work together and no matter how much a driver is paying attention, there isn't time to react quickly enough from the moment you realize your HAL-9000 is about to drive you into a truck.
Stop Talking About Harvard
For some reason minor things that happen at Harvard are always national news. The latest is the law professor who moonlights as a House Dean (which means he lives in a dorm apartment and has some custodial/guidance role for students, including where they go to report things like Title IX issues) who also is going to moonlight as a highly paid defense lawyer for Harvey Weinstein because I guess that's just the kind of thing law professors do. Nice work! Humanities professors other than law professors (who are also, too, humanities professors even though they pretend otherwise) are a bit confused by this state of affairs, but that's another issue.
Lots of people are up in arms because apparently if ever someone receives any criticism for being a defense lawyer then no one can ever get an adequate defense again, and the shortcomings in our justice system begin with Harvey Weinstein, a very rich guy who will have a team of very high priced lawyers, including this one who has lost has dorm apartment after a long history of complaints. I, too, think all people should get adequate defense and think that lawyers should generally not be criticized for taking on clients, even ones accused of doing horrific things. I am not sure how this inviolate principle, which most people talking about just decided was important 3 days ago, extends to the idea that the undergraduate college at Harvard University should never consider whether someone's third (!!!) job might conflict with their second. No one's trying to banish the guy from polite society for agreeing to earn buckets of money to defend Harvey Weinstein (although to be honest, if lawyers make their reputations defending high profile clients, I don't see why this can't break them, too, but I digress...).
The idea that lawyers should be able to defend scumbags (fair!) does not mean that lawyers are free from all criticism and it certainly does not mean that another employer could ever find a reasonable conflict between their lawyer job and their non-lawyer job of running a college dorm.
It is dumb that the hiring decisions for a dorm counselor (despite the fancy title, that's what it is) at Harvard becomes national news as there are almost always better examples to use to defend whatever important principle you are defending, though generally the important principle in all of these situations is "the right of Harvard professors to not be criticized by students - except when I agree with those criticisms - shall not be abridged." I have no opinion on who Harvard should hire for their dorm counselors!
But the Weinstein trial isn't just about defending a scumbag. The alleged victims are going to be dragged inside and outside of the courtroom. High profile cases with expensive lawyers such as this aren't just about what goes on in the courtroom, they also involve an extensive PR battle. It may not be obstruction of justice to smear the accusers in the press as a way of pressuring them to go away, but that's what is going to happen. The trial is going to be gross in every way, and much of it will be how it plays out in public. This isn't To Kill A Mockingbird. It's gonna be a sleazy. 19-year old college student might not feel comfortable reporting her sexual assault to the guy helping to smear accusers in the press! Not so crazy!
Weinstein deserves representation and he's rich so he's going to get a lot of it! Congratulations to all the lawyers who are going to get rich doing this very important job. Sorry one of you lost your dorm apartment.
Lots of people are up in arms because apparently if ever someone receives any criticism for being a defense lawyer then no one can ever get an adequate defense again, and the shortcomings in our justice system begin with Harvey Weinstein, a very rich guy who will have a team of very high priced lawyers, including this one who has lost has dorm apartment after a long history of complaints. I, too, think all people should get adequate defense and think that lawyers should generally not be criticized for taking on clients, even ones accused of doing horrific things. I am not sure how this inviolate principle, which most people talking about just decided was important 3 days ago, extends to the idea that the undergraduate college at Harvard University should never consider whether someone's third (!!!) job might conflict with their second. No one's trying to banish the guy from polite society for agreeing to earn buckets of money to defend Harvey Weinstein (although to be honest, if lawyers make their reputations defending high profile clients, I don't see why this can't break them, too, but I digress...).
The idea that lawyers should be able to defend scumbags (fair!) does not mean that lawyers are free from all criticism and it certainly does not mean that another employer could ever find a reasonable conflict between their lawyer job and their non-lawyer job of running a college dorm.
It is dumb that the hiring decisions for a dorm counselor (despite the fancy title, that's what it is) at Harvard becomes national news as there are almost always better examples to use to defend whatever important principle you are defending, though generally the important principle in all of these situations is "the right of Harvard professors to not be criticized by students - except when I agree with those criticisms - shall not be abridged." I have no opinion on who Harvard should hire for their dorm counselors!
But the Weinstein trial isn't just about defending a scumbag. The alleged victims are going to be dragged inside and outside of the courtroom. High profile cases with expensive lawyers such as this aren't just about what goes on in the courtroom, they also involve an extensive PR battle. It may not be obstruction of justice to smear the accusers in the press as a way of pressuring them to go away, but that's what is going to happen. The trial is going to be gross in every way, and much of it will be how it plays out in public. This isn't To Kill A Mockingbird. It's gonna be a sleazy. 19-year old college student might not feel comfortable reporting her sexual assault to the guy helping to smear accusers in the press! Not so crazy!
Weinstein deserves representation and he's rich so he's going to get a lot of it! Congratulations to all the lawyers who are going to get rich doing this very important job. Sorry one of you lost your dorm apartment.
Thursday, May 16, 2019
Shut It Down
Because it's my bad hobby, I've been paying close attention to this stuff and Tesla's bullshit system is dangerous and needs to be shut down.
It's clearly worse than other similar systems and they make it worse by suggesting, in various ways, that it's much better than it is. Tesla drivers believe they are "teaching" the system when they get in near accidents [narrator: they are not]. It's a menace.
David Friedman, who was acting head of the NHTSA in 2014 and is now vice president of advocacy for Consumer Reports, said he was surprised the agency didn’t declare Autopilot defective after the Gainesville crash and seek a recall. The Delray Beach crash, he said, reinforces that Autopilot is being allowed to operate in situations it cannot handle safely.
“Their system cannot literally see the broad side of an 18-wheeler on the highway,” Friedman said.
Tesla’s system was too slow to warn the driver to pay attention, unlike systems that Consumer Reports has tested from General Motors Co. and other companies, Friedman said. GM’s Super Cruise driver assist system operates only on divided highways with no median turn lanes, he said.
It's clearly worse than other similar systems and they make it worse by suggesting, in various ways, that it's much better than it is. Tesla drivers believe they are "teaching" the system when they get in near accidents [narrator: they are not]. It's a menace.
But Human Drivers Are Unsafe Too!!!
Compared with some hypothetical nonexistent system, maybe human drivers are worse, but compared with Tesla's bullshit system, the problem with human drivers is they think they can trust it.
Tesla supposedly requires that drivers keep their hands on the wheels at all times, and there's some easily bypassed system which performs some check, but keeping your hands on the wheel doesn't do much if your "autopilot" system goes rogue at 65 MPH. You can't react fast enough even if you are paying attention.
There's a lot to be said about this. A big thing is that no matter what the fine print says, Musk likes to suggest that these driver assist features are much more capable than they are. And since they push out software updates regularly, there's no authority performing any actual safety checks on these things. Also, given the regular updates, drivers can't even get used to how the system "behaves" as it changes.
Tesla wants to have it both ways - their system is awesome and safe and can drive itself if ever it goes wrong it's the fault of the driver.
Tesla’s advanced driver assist system, Autopilot, was active when a Model 3 driven by a 50-year-old Florida man crashed into the side of a tractor-trailer truck on March 1st, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) states in a report released on Thursday. Investigators reviewed video and preliminary data from the vehicle and found that neither the driver nor Autopilot “executed evasive maneuvers” before striking the truck.
Tesla supposedly requires that drivers keep their hands on the wheels at all times, and there's some easily bypassed system which performs some check, but keeping your hands on the wheel doesn't do much if your "autopilot" system goes rogue at 65 MPH. You can't react fast enough even if you are paying attention.
There's a lot to be said about this. A big thing is that no matter what the fine print says, Musk likes to suggest that these driver assist features are much more capable than they are. And since they push out software updates regularly, there's no authority performing any actual safety checks on these things. Also, given the regular updates, drivers can't even get used to how the system "behaves" as it changes.
Tesla wants to have it both ways - their system is awesome and safe and can drive itself if ever it goes wrong it's the fault of the driver.
Problems For Other People
It's always fun to mock the various entries in the neverending series "Lifestyles Of The Not Quite Rich Enough" in the NYT, but mocking aside it is true that financial anxiety is creeping higher and higher up the income distribution. My favorite way to read the funny pages (when I remember) is to be attune to the we versus they distinction in reporting. Some things happen to "us" and some things happen to "them." One would think this is the kind of thing that objecitudinal reporters would have beaten out of them in journalism school, but it's usually quite obvious, especially in a certain New York paper where much of the rest of the world is merely a fantasy in a child's snow globe.
We worry about our helicopter rides to the Hamptons, they worry about paying for dentistry. Until we do, too.
We worry about our helicopter rides to the Hamptons, they worry about paying for dentistry. Until we do, too.
Mayor of New York City Is A Big Job
Powers of the local executive are not always as great as one imagines, between the state on one side and city council on the other, but I'm still reasonably sure running a city of 9 million people, even if you don't get to do much other than ribbon cuttings and elementary school assemblies, can take a bit of time.
Aside from the question of whether de Blasio is Good or Bad generally, I do not get thinking well, hey, this job is kinda boring so I'm gonna go run for president too. Especially as he is not exactly known for his 16 hour days.
Aside from the question of whether de Blasio is Good or Bad generally, I do not get thinking well, hey, this job is kinda boring so I'm gonna go run for president too. Especially as he is not exactly known for his 16 hour days.
Priorities Change
People get mad at the generational stuff...but in different phases of life your priorities change a bit. I'm not saying I have radically different views about things than I did when I was 30, but it's fair to say that the priority list has been shuffled.
Some of that is being selfish because I am human. Some of that is having a growing understanding of some issues (retirement planning! elder care!), and a receding understanding of others (the kids today and their avocados and iphones). Some of that is just getting worn down by caring about the same unsolved shit for so many years.
The boomers are getting old. Even the good ones (and, no, they aren't all good) aren't going to care about the same things they did 20 years ago.
Some of that is being selfish because I am human. Some of that is having a growing understanding of some issues (retirement planning! elder care!), and a receding understanding of others (the kids today and their avocados and iphones). Some of that is just getting worn down by caring about the same unsolved shit for so many years.
The boomers are getting old. Even the good ones (and, no, they aren't all good) aren't going to care about the same things they did 20 years ago.
Wednesday, May 15, 2019
Women...How Do They Work?
I know I keep pushing this but proper and necessary medical treatment is incompatible with abortion restrictions, and not simply because (even though it's true!) abortion is a part of the set of proper and necessary medical treatments. I do think anti-choice movement people are quite serious about their vision of Gilead - with the usual "rules for thee and not for me and mine" caveat - but I'm not entirely sure about all other self-described anti-choice people. Some will be in denial (truthfully or not?) and some I think genuinely think whoa I said criminaLIZE not CRIMINALize as if somehow you can outlaw abortion without outlawing it. Some people are just dumb and think The Law in All Its Majesty will effortlessly distinguish between Good Abortions and Miscarriages and Bad Abortions and Miscarriages because cops and DAs are very well-trained in divining the wisdom of Jesus on these matters.
I guess my point is that it's as bad as the real anti-life movement people want it to be, and I'm not quite sure about the rest? Not a defense of any of them. They signed on to this.
I guess my point is that it's as bad as the real anti-life movement people want it to be, and I'm not quite sure about the rest? Not a defense of any of them. They signed on to this.
Pretending To Be Stupid For Jesus Or Lying For Jesus
The eternal mystery.
It means prosecution won’t touch miscarriage cases bc they would lose, as they should. I don’t know a single pro-life person or lawmaker that wants to criminalize miscarriage, that is insane. But AL WILL go after abortionists profiting from the deaths of children + women’s pain https://t.co/m4VLR3CAJp
— Lila Rose (@LilaGraceRose) May 15, 2019
No Medical Care For Women
I know the conventional wisdom is that when abortion is banned, rich white ladies (and the mistresses of rich white men) will still be able to get abortions. And, sure, true enough for people rich enough, but abortion isn't just about abortion qua abortion. It's about anything uterus-related or about anything that might affect fetal development. It's about miscarriages. It's about needing emergency (especially, but not just) treatment for anything and having the doctors be unwilling to treat you because there's a fetus in there and anesthesia might disturb it.
Even rich white ladies won't be able to escape this. Women won't be able to get needed medical treatment at all, even if it has nothing to do with wanting an abortion. And doctors are going to flee these states because how could you not?
Even rich white ladies won't be able to escape this. Women won't be able to get needed medical treatment at all, even if it has nothing to do with wanting an abortion. And doctors are going to flee these states because how could you not?
Tuesday, May 14, 2019
What Is Journalism
A problem is that the correlation between "the noble ideals of journalism" and "how much you get paid for journalism" is negative. People who get paid to read teleprompters on teevee get paid the most. Everyone wants a piece of that, eventually, so no one is going to point out that Wolf Blitzer almost never does anything that actually resembles "journalism" (once in awhile he probably manages a decent interview question) or that the Pentagon having CNN pay their spokesperson Barbara Starr so that the taxpayers don't have to is a strange system.
One doesn't even need to single out Fox (as opposed to CNN or MSNBC or much of network TV news or...) to note that most of what we call "journalism" does not resemble some necessary-for-the-Republic investigative reporting.
One doesn't even need to single out Fox (as opposed to CNN or MSNBC or much of network TV news or...) to note that most of what we call "journalism" does not resemble some necessary-for-the-Republic investigative reporting.
Slay Queen
Fox News is a hate-for-profit racket that gives a megaphone to racists and conspiracy theorists. I won’t ask Democratic primary voters to tune into an outlet that profits from racism and hate in order to see our candidates. Sign up now to join me and take a stand.
— Elizabeth Warren (@ewarren) May 14, 2019
Going to be a lot of journalists taking to the fainting couches, because while Republicans can build their entire political movement around calling reporters "the enemy of the people" - often on Fox News! - Democrats have to pretend that even Fox News is Actually, Good, because journalism is important.
Own Your Own Robotaxi
Apologies because this is admittedly entering "people on the internet are wrong" territory, but one of the fantasies peddled by Elon Musk about his "full self driving" vaporware is something called the "Tesla Network." To varying degrees he hints, suggests, and claims that any day now he's gonna send a software update and everyone with a relatively new Tesla is going to be able to both drive itself everywhere and make you lots of money operating as a taxi while you work or sleep or otherwise don't need the car. This is ridiculous, but Musk fans are true believers and a lot of them believe it.
Even leaving aside the technological fantasy (narrator: they will never work), don't people have any idea how much wear and tear taxis get? Every suitcase is likely to scuff the paint (as an aside, not sure how granny's get her suitcase in the trunk) or the seats. Minor scrapes and fender benders are inevitable, even if it isn't the fault of your robot taxi's brain. And cars just don't last all that long with that kind of driving without a team keeping them together with gum and twine. Which is fine for beaters, but Tesla owners have or think they have a luxury car, and repair costs absurdly high for them. And that's before we get to drunks puking in them, which is of course a thing.
I have read the internet, and it contains madness.
Even leaving aside the technological fantasy (narrator: they will never work), don't people have any idea how much wear and tear taxis get? Every suitcase is likely to scuff the paint (as an aside, not sure how granny's get her suitcase in the trunk) or the seats. Minor scrapes and fender benders are inevitable, even if it isn't the fault of your robot taxi's brain. And cars just don't last all that long with that kind of driving without a team keeping them together with gum and twine. Which is fine for beaters, but Tesla owners have or think they have a luxury car, and repair costs absurdly high for them. And that's before we get to drunks puking in them, which is of course a thing.
I have read the internet, and it contains madness.
Also, Too, Labor Costs
My theory about one reason firms are especially sociopathic about labor costs is it's something everyone can understand. Similar to WE ONLY PAID X% IN TAXES is something simple people can understand, even if the cost of achieving that is murky. "Nobody" knows how much some piece of equipment for the factory should cost - and even if they do they don't have much control over it - but they do know that FIFTEEN DOLLARS PER HOUR sounds like some ridiculously high amount of money to pay the proles. No one's going to lose their job (or get rewarded) for overpaying (underpaying) for things nobody understands the cost of. But labor costs and wages are something people have a good sense of.
This is especially true in franchise retail businesses, like fast food. Owners and managers control almost no part of their business except labor hours and costs. A McDonald's franchise is mostly what McDonald's says it is, except the manager/owner manages the workers.
This is especially true in franchise retail businesses, like fast food. Owners and managers control almost no part of their business except labor hours and costs. A McDonald's franchise is mostly what McDonald's says it is, except the manager/owner manages the workers.
Sport
I don't think it's an exaggeration to say that rich people and corporations would pay $10 to save $1 in taxes. It's a bit fuzzier with corporations because corporations are collections of people, but certainly the people whose job it is to worry about such things in corporations would happily pay $10 to save $1 in taxes. Creative finance by the people you pay to do creative finance.
"Not paying taxes" is just one of those rich people sports, like hunting elephants.
"Not paying taxes" is just one of those rich people sports, like hunting elephants.
RT IF YOU AGREE
I know I am old and what kind of dumbasses ever thought there was any point to this blog thing (probably wasn't, tbh), but Twitter "activism," man...
Monday, May 13, 2019
Mars, Bitches
This made the rounds again after Jeff Bezos revealed his Elysium plans, but it applies to every dumb billionaire and non-billionaire nerd fantasy that we have to go to the "stars" in order to save humanity when the Earth gets all blowed up somehow.
Maybe we'd better figure out how to transform our selves into sentient space cloud beings before the supernova, but, otherwise, doing our best to keep this little blue dot going for a little while longer is a bit better use of our AmazonBucks. Generally "ameliorating human suffering, whatever the current circumstances" should be our concern, and I don't think our billionaires with their lego space toys care much about that, really.
Let’s start with Mars, which is a favorite planet for colonization scenarios, including for Elon Musk who thinks we should colonize Mars because earth will eventually face a “doomsday scenario”. The problem with this is that there is almost nothing that could happen to earth that would make it less hospitable than Mars. Whether it’s nuclear war or massive global warming, post disaster earth would be way more habitable than Mars.
Maybe we'd better figure out how to transform our selves into sentient space cloud beings before the supernova, but, otherwise, doing our best to keep this little blue dot going for a little while longer is a bit better use of our AmazonBucks. Generally "ameliorating human suffering, whatever the current circumstances" should be our concern, and I don't think our billionaires with their lego space toys care much about that, really.
Everybody Who Talks About Politics Sounds Like An Idiot
I know this is a problematic observation given what I do all day, but have you ever noticed this? Ever been sitting at a cafe overhearing the conversation at the nearby table where people are talking politics and not thought "wow, these people are fucking idiots?" And I mean that I am sure if people are at the next table overhearing my conversation about politics they are thinking, "wow, what a fucking idiot." This isn't about agreement or disagreement it's just that it's a topic that no one can actually sound smart about in casual conversation, even if they are. It's hard to not sound like you're just auditioning to be an NPR contributor or recycling some stuff you read in an op-ed even if that's not what you intend to do.
I have no bigger point.
I have no bigger point.
The End Of The Second Internet Boom
Sort of kidding, but I do suspect this cycle is over. There were a few years when "uber, but for..." or "an app for" or "a magic box that tests drops of blood which only has to do with the internet because we call it TECH" seemed to be the possible way to absurd riches, and while of course there is still money to be made in them hills I doubt the "throwing billions of dollars at a Bus, but with an App" thing will continue.
Of course I know nothing.
Of course I know nothing.
Just To Watch It Burn
We have different sets of issues, if oddly parallel in some ways, but both the UK and US press (in broad brush general terms of course) seem to be amazingly committed to watching the reality show that is, well, reality, and treating it as a show. I don't care about bullshit claims of objectivity because in very obvious ways, not just subtle ones, they decide what matters and what doesn't matter every day. What to get upset about, what they think "we" should get upset about, etc.
Yes it's the political press and Not All Journalists but the political press are the reality show editors. Their colleagues film a bunch of stuff and then they pick and choose what gets into the final cut that most people see. At some point they decided the best way to cover the reality show president was as a reality show, but even most dumb teenagers know that reality shows aren't real.
Yes it's the political press and Not All Journalists but the political press are the reality show editors. Their colleagues film a bunch of stuff and then they pick and choose what gets into the final cut that most people see. At some point they decided the best way to cover the reality show president was as a reality show, but even most dumb teenagers know that reality shows aren't real.
Sunday, May 12, 2019
I Could've Voted For A Democrat, But Then They Nominated That Communist Joe Manchin
I do believe most professional Democrats do not get that it wasn't the fault of extreme liberals Jimmy Carter, Walter Mondale, Michael Dukakis, Al Gore, John Kerry, and Hillary Clinton that Republicans characterized them in that way.
Republicans are playing to win, and aren't going to stand down because Dems nominate a guy who agrees with them 99% of the time. They want team R to win.
Republicans are playing to win, and aren't going to stand down because Dems nominate a guy who agrees with them 99% of the time. They want team R to win.
"...and your 85-year-old Father-in-Law Has To Figure Out How To Do this."
Any time wonks start devising their exciting complicated "shop every 3 months on the internet to get a good deal on electricity" or whatever plans they think will make life better for all of us, just append that to their suggestions and throw it back at them.
The Team That Scores The Most Points Wins, Even If The Scoring Rules Are Complicated
There will come a moment when a team of people take responsibility for spending a billion bucks or so to unseat the incumbent president, Donald Trump. Some of these people will be mercenaries. Some will be true believing dogooders. Some will be thinking more about their careers than baby cages. All of those are actually fine as long as they understand it's their job to get it done, and that "we would've won if not for [russia, jill stein, jim comey, the new york times, berniebros, susan sarandon, stupid fucking voters, the kids today, whatever new exciting thing 2020 offers]" while perhaps was/is/willbe true, doesn't actually matter. You'll have chosen a candidate and taken a big person job and the excuses, even true ones, won't mean shit.
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