If you watched the Democratic candidates debating last night…
…my hat is off to you for your fortitude.
I didn’t watch it. But the gist of what I read about it is as follows:
–Biden led with the idea that he wouldn’t do well in New Hampshire.
–Amy Klobuchar had a good debate, but she often does and it hasn’t helped her all that much so far.
–All the candidates except Klobuchar are perfectly okay with a “Democratic Socialist” at the head of the Democratic ticket. Isn’t that special? Look how wide open that Overton Window is now, in just a few short years.
My guess is that there are three reasons they’re so fine with it. The first is that socialism really is just peachy keen with them. The second is that they know it especially appeals to the youth vote, which is one of the blocs Democrats need in order to win. The third is that if Sanders becomes the nominee, he’s going to need a Veep who’s okay with “Democratic Socialism.” Some of them are looking to be VP. And of course, Bernie isn’t exactly a spring chicken, so being his vice president could be a stepping stone to the presidency itself.
The prospect of one of them winning, and/or of the Senate being taken over by the Democrats, fills me with dread because the party has shifted so dramatically left. I don’t think that victory is likely but I absolutely think it’s possible.
I definitely didn’t watch it but remind me, was Bloomberg on the stage? Did he really raise his hand? Does he think he will be allowed to keep his fortune if the DS is elected? He’s such an odd bird. It seems like he feels guilty that he has succeeded so well and amassed so much wealth.
Gothamite:
He wasn’t there (see this). He’s not on the ballot in NH.
OFF TOPIC. Neo, I think you’ll find this interesting:
https://www.thepostmillennial.com/exclusive-update-on-the-health-of-dr-jordan-b-peterson/
ICYMI: Here Are The Highlights Of Friday Night’s Debate
Loons . . . loons who despise you all, no less.
OFF TOPIC. Neo, I think you’ll find this interesting:
There are times you think Ivan Ilich had it about right.
That having been said, something about her account strikes me as off.
“We have a racist society from top to bottom, impacting health care, housing, criminal justice, education — you name it. And clearly this is an issue that must be dealt with,” Sanders said.
One thing I liked about Bernie is that he didn’t seem that interested in identity politics. I’m not sure I’ll ever quite be able to unroll my eyes now.
FTR, what differentiates the black population from the larger society is (1) greater exposure to street crime and (2) greater exposure to disorder in schools and (3) lower quanta of human capital (in part because of school disorder and in part because of tremendous malinvestment in primary and secondary schooling). Prating about ‘racist society’ will do flat nothing about any of these problems because none of them have much to do with latter-day racial hostility. Liberals fancy they’re personally virtuous and great social critics, btw. Dunning-Kruger.
Yann and Art Deco —
I was interested in this too. Without ever buying or reading his books, I’ve been interested in Peterson, and have watched probably 7 or 8 of his videos.
I remain unsure what’s been going on with him. A breakdown, certainly. Maybe he should now just retire from public life. I honestly don’t know, and don’t care all that much. If he tries to come back this business will be all he’ll be able to talk about, and the details are not that interesting or believable.
He broke down. I don’t blame him for this, but I’m incurious.
I recall that he had a strange diet. So he’s in general a little bizarre. That’s okay, but uninteresting.
and the details are not that interesting or believable.
Oh, they’re interesting enough. They’re believable to a layman up to the point they check him into a clinic in Russia. Mike K might be able to enlighten us on some aspects of this account, though I think psychopharmacology is somewhat far afield from his specialties.
Note, his wife is terminally ill and she and his children see their father coming apart at the seams. Helps me appreciate how my own mother processed my father’s last four months.
miklos:
I’m doing this from memory, but the story as I recall is that Peterson’s wife – whom he fell in love with at around the age of 7 – has been diagnosed with stage 4 cancer of some kind, with a poor prognosis. He was so devastated he took some sort of tranquilizer or sleeping pill to tide him over a time of terrible anxiety, and it had some sort of bad effect on him (as drugs sometimes can). So he tried to get off it, and that process was even worse because it caused some sort of awful rebound effect.
This is the update on Peterson as of today on Youtube from his daughter:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DTwEFa5NW2k
For the last 8 months he’s been in unbearable discomfort from this drug, made worse when trying to remove it, because of the addition of withdrawal symptoms, stemming from physical dependence. He experienced terrible akathisia, which is a condition where the person feels an incredible, endless, irresistible restlessness, bordering on
panic, and an inability to sit still. The reaction made him suicidal.
After several failed treatment attempts in North American hospitals, including attempts at tapering and micro-tapering, we had to seek an emergency medical benzodiazepine detox, which we were only able to find in Russia. It was incredibly gruelling, and was further complicated by severe pneumonia which we’ve been told he developed in one of the previous hospitals. He’s had to spend 4 weeks in the ICU in terrible shape, but, with the help of some extremely competent and courageous doctors, he survived. The decision to bring him to Russia was made in extreme desperation, when we couldn’t find any better option. The uncertainty around his recovery has been one of the most difficult and scary experiences we’ve ever had.
There have been moments in history when the most dreaded outcomes became reality. A great sage was once asked what to do if the absolute worst happens. His simple answer: “observe”.
Awareness is connected to (but separate from) thinking and feeling by simple nonjudgmental observation. Awareness – our most fundamental nature – is timeless and indestructible. Whatever we are aware of (including the body, thoughts, and feelings) is not us. When self identity is withdrawn into the timeless indestructible realm of pure awareness, dread vanishes.
If and perhaps when a democrat socialist is elected, the implementation of it will require the disarming of the American public. That will prove to be a fatal mistake.
That coming conflict is inescapable for the most fundamental of reasons. “Inalienable rights” can only be granted by a transcendent deity. Absent that deity, ‘rights’ dissolve into ‘privileges’ and privileges are revocable by the State.
BTW, “democratic socialism” is a contradiction in terms. As socialism is ultimately unsustainable, its continuance requires ever greater degrees of coercion. See N. Korea, Cuba and Venezuela for confirmation. And lest one think that these societies are anomalies, France, Canada and the UK are well on their way to becoming police states, as those who’ve spoken of Islam’s inherent nature have discovered.
Prating about ‘racist society’ will do flat nothing about any of these problems because none of them have much to do with latter-day racial hostility.
It’s SYSTEMIC!
Which of course means, “We know it’s not racial hostility but we will go on talking as if it were, both because fixing the underlying issue is hard, and because doing so would put us out of a job.”
Neo: “The prospect of one of them winning, and/or of the Senate being taken over by the Democrats, fills me with dread . . .”
Same here. For 8 long years I feel like I was out in the wilderness. Full time jobs, even well paid temp jobs were far and few between. Forget savings, forget living a decent life financially. It was a struggle just to make ends meet.
Then, along came Trump! I now have a VERY well paid fulltime permanent job with great benefits, and growing savings, and own a house! Owning a house was something that I had given up on under Obama.
If the Democrats win the White House, or even gain control of the senate I fear that all I have gained will be taken away from me – never to be regained.
My fellow American voters greatly pissed me off when they voted for Obama a second time that I fear they will do something just as stupid this election too.