Stories
Slash Boxes
Comments

SoylentNews is people

Politics
posted by martyb on Monday January 11 2021, @03:28PM   Printer-friendly

It's been one heck of a week:

Against the backdrop of record-setting numbers of COVID-19 deaths and infections in the US and around the world, there was turmoil in Washington, DC. As court cases surrounding the presidential election were filed and dismissed, a close race in Georgia was coming down to the wire and with it control of the US Senate. While the US Congress was completing the Electoral College tally and certification, a mob formed outside — and eventually broke into — the US Capitol. This resulted in a 4-hour lock-down. Eventually, the intrusion was repelled, and the Electoral College count was completed: Joseph Robinette Biden Jr. was confirmed as the 46th president of the United States of America.

Conspiracy theories have flourished. Propaganda has streamed forth across multiple platforms. Tempers have flared.

And SoylentNews has been there for you. And have you ever spoken up! Two of the most-commented stories in the site's nearly seven-year history were posted in just the past week!

Insomuch as the activities in the US Capitol were far from the US' most shining moments, neither were things all unicorns and rainbows on SoylentNews. Tempers flared. People were attacked and called names. I even accidentally deleted a story and the 17 comments attached to it! [NB: Problem addressed: the delete button no longer appears by default for our editors.]

IRC (Internet Relay Chat):

Even our IRC service was not free from controversy. We had a spate of nick (nickname) impersonations. Going forward, IRC users are free to use whatever nick they like with the following caveats:

  • Prefix / suffix of a nick is fine for practical purposes (e.g. ${nick}_laptop)
  • Impersonation or misrepresentation will not be tolerated
  • The use of another user's website nick or derivative thereof on IRC will be subject to sanctions up to and including perma ban.

Further, we understand conversations can easily ramble from subject to subject, but there are separate channels for different topics. (Use the /list comand to see what is available.) As #soylent is the default landing channel, we want to keep the discussions there civil. Name calling and personal attacks are grounds for a timeout. I have had discussions with deucalion (the site's CEO and also IRC-maintainer) about these activities.

NOTE: we are NOT going to sit there watching every discussion, poised to take action. But, if such activity is seen by staff on IRC, they are free to take such actions as they deem necessary.

Aspirations:

As I approach posting my 10,000th story(!) to SoylentNews, I think back to when it all started. How a group of people got together. They shared freely of their expertise, of their free time, and of their hard-earned funds. They tried to create a place free from corporate overlords where people could engage in discussions that focused primarily on technology, but with a dabbling in other areas and current events.

SoylentNews provides a forum for discussion. It also provides tools so the community can express themselves in the comments and moderate those comments, as well.

This got me to thinking. What are our aspirations today? What are our guiding principles? I will list some of my guiding principles, and I encourage the community to share what guides them in the comments.

  • "Explanations exist; they have existed for all time; there is always a well-known solution to every human problem—neat, plausible, and wrong." --H. L. Mencken (cite)
  • "People who think they know everything are a great annoyance to those of us who do." -- Isaac Asimov (cite)
  • "If you speak when angry, you'll make the best speech you'll ever regret." -- Groucho Marx (cite)
  • "Say what you mean, mean what you say, but don't say it mean."
  • "Don't get furious, get curious" -- Miley Cyrus (cite)
  • "Humiliation is when someone points out my shortcomings. Humility is when I confess them myself."
  • "I need not participate in every fight I am invited to."
  • The most difficult behaviors to observe in another person are the ones I dislike in my own.
  • "You have not converted a man because you have silenced him." -- John, Lord Morley (cite)

How about you? What sayings guide your aspirations?

Thank You!

Lastly, I thank all of you for supporting me as Editor-in-Chief. I have no formal background in writing or management. I've made mistakes, but I've tried to own up to them as they happened. I strive to be fair, impartial, and open-minded. Under the watchful gaze of the community, I have grown. It is my hope that I may continue to earn your respect and continue in service for many years to come.


Original Submission

 
This discussion has been archived. No new comments can be posted.
Display Options Threshold/Breakthrough Mark All as Read Mark All as Unread
The Fine Print: The following comments are owned by whoever posted them. We are not responsible for them in any way.
  • (Score: 5, Interesting) by JoeMerchant on Monday January 11 2021, @04:14PM (30 children)

    by JoeMerchant (3937) on Monday January 11 2021, @04:14PM (#1098352)

    thought that Democracy was that the people voted, and then that was the outcome.

    The U.S. of A. has never been a Democracy - it is a Republic, and when the democratic vote doesn't satisfy the rulers of the Republic they modify the rules until they get the outcome they wanted. Not every time, not all at once, but that has been the trend - for centuries - from the State represented Senate to the Gerrymandering of the House districts to slanted election rules favoring certain minorities for President - minorities that used to be majorities and are having a hard time accepting the fact that "majority rules" doesn't mean "we rule" anymore, not even when they stretch the rules to and past their breaking points. Even the lottery of the Supreme Court falls under control of the most frequent rulers of the Republic.

    Nixon acted badly and the Nation reacted by putting in Carter. Trump made Nixon look classy and the Nation reacted by granting control of the House, Senate and Presidency to his opponents. Clinton pumped the economy until an eminent collapse was obviously nigh, and Bush beat Gore by a whisker in a recount. Obama Hoped for Change, and was tepidly competent, but the DNC's overconfidence and lust to make history again with a female president opened the door to a "business president" - I do sorely wish that we got Ross Perot instead of Donald Trump as our first business president, but that's not the timeline we are currently living.

    What's next? We can only wait and see. I'm just glad we didn't launch any nukes.

    --
    🌻🌻 [google.com]
    Starting Score:    1  point
    Moderation   +3  
       Redundant=2, Interesting=4, Underrated=1, Total=7
    Extra 'Interesting' Modifier   0  
    Karma-Bonus Modifier   +1  

    Total Score:   5  
  • (Score: 3, Insightful) by DeathMonkey on Monday January 11 2021, @04:28PM (22 children)

    by DeathMonkey (1380) on Monday January 11 2021, @04:28PM (#1098363) Journal

    It's called the Electoral College and they elected Biden.

    The only ones trying to modify the rules are the Trump Terrorists.

    • (Score: 3, Insightful) by JoeMerchant on Monday January 11 2021, @04:56PM (20 children)

      by JoeMerchant (3937) on Monday January 11 2021, @04:56PM (#1098374)

      The only ones trying to modify the rules are the Trump Terrorists.

      I wouldn't give the mainstream Republicans a pass on that issue, Gerrymandering, "poll shaping" to disadvantage their opponents (biased registration requirements, inconvenient poll locations, long lines, only open during working hours on a single day, etc.), that's pre-Trump playbook stuff - sabotage of the U.S. Postal service is a new low, but I bet they'd have gone there without Trump eventually.

      --
      🌻🌻 [google.com]
      • (Score: 3, Insightful) by slinches on Monday January 11 2021, @05:50PM (16 children)

        by slinches (5049) on Monday January 11 2021, @05:50PM (#1098420)

        You make it seem like Democrats don't do all of those same things when it benefits them. We need to recognize that everyone in power has been complicit in undermining our elections. They all play these underhanded games to try to gain more influence over the vote and most won't stop at limits of the law. Claiming one side is the primary culprit only serves to justify when "your side" does something unethical or illegal and perpetuates the problem. We need to call out all of it so we can work to eliminate this sort of behavior entirely.

        • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday January 11 2021, @06:31PM (12 children)

          by Anonymous Coward on Monday January 11 2021, @06:31PM (#1098462)

          All evidence disagrees with you, and pointing to BLM protests and the occasional riots that accompanied them is the worst sort of false equivalence.

          • (Score: -1, Troll) by Anonymous Coward on Monday January 11 2021, @07:32PM

            by Anonymous Coward on Monday January 11 2021, @07:32PM (#1098501)

            BLM burned down an Arby's. Raze the Capitol Building all you want for all I care, but damn anyone to hell if they burn down an Arby's.

          • (Score: 3, Insightful) by DannyB on Monday January 11 2021, @08:42PM (10 children)

            by DannyB (5839) Subscriber Badge on Monday January 11 2021, @08:42PM (#1098550) Journal

            BLM was people with a legitimate grievance about police brutality and murder.

            The Capitol Insurrection was about people who didn't like the legitimate outcome of a peaceful election in a democracy. aka fascists. People who think the minority should rule over the majority. People who openly post about the wonderfulness of lawless anarchy. How it's okay to respond to words by firing a gun.

            Fascism [wikipedia.org]

            Fascism (/ˈfæʃɪzəm/) is a form of far-right, authoritarian ultranationalism characterized by dictatorial power, forcible suppression of opposition and strong regimentation of society and of the economy which came to prominence in early 20th-century Europe.

            --
            People today are educated enough to repeat what they are taught but not to question what they are taught.
            • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday January 11 2021, @09:29PM (6 children)

              by Anonymous Coward on Monday January 11 2021, @09:29PM (#1098586)

              Ya didn't feel like detailing the entire point. How anyone can be defending these fascist fucks is beyond me. They are going to bring down more restrictions of freedoms on the rest of us and of course they'll whine the loudest about it. Truly rightwing nutters like the ones making ezcuses here are just the worst of the worst.

              • (Score: 2) by DannyB on Monday January 11 2021, @09:37PM (5 children)

                by DannyB (5839) Subscriber Badge on Monday January 11 2021, @09:37PM (#1098590) Journal

                How anyone can be defending these fascist fucks is beyond me.

                It's SN. Especially ACs on SN.

                They say these things, but are (rightfully) ashamed to own their own words. Even under a nym which is not a real personal identity.

                --
                People today are educated enough to repeat what they are taught but not to question what they are taught.
                • (Score: 0) by Ethanol-fueled on Monday January 11 2021, @10:53PM

                  by Ethanol-fueled (2792) on Monday January 11 2021, @10:53PM (#1098636) Homepage

                  Yeah, you press these people in real-life, they go from "We didn't cheat and you're terrorists" to "okay, okay, we cheated like fuck but the ends justify the means because Orange Man Bad. We're anti bad-guy and our opponents are the bad guys. How can people not understand this? We can never be terrorists because we're fighting the bad guys. It's so simple to understand, everything we do is justified because we're on the right side of history!"

                  Meanwhile, they're built the closest modern equivalent to a Nazi regime. "Anti-Fascists" fighting as brownshirts for the very same corporations they claim are oppressive, with a core tenet of fascism and national socialism being state control over industry (again, the industry "Anti-Fascists" are fighting for). A "grassroots" movement acting as enforcers for fuckhuge corporations literally using slave labor to make their products. Now they have shown themselves to be the true oppressors, and no amount of control and "It's okay when we do it" and other nonsense over the media will change the sentiment of the checkout line, which believes that Antifa/BLM are thugs and COVID-19 is a hoax.

                  No competent regime would push ahead so recklessly -- it's obvious that they're afraid of something, getting sloppy, and that their hand was forced somehow. What would you think if you were a tech startup considering using AWS? Better create a contingency plan, because they don't even need a real reason to wipe out your AWS infrastructure overnight. You can ditch AWS, more painfully, but you can. The oppressors' leadership are boomers and Jews, with the former generally being too out of touch to make sensible decisions and the latter being too arrogant to avoid overplaying their hand too early. Bernie and The Squad being, of course, controlled opposition.

                  They could have easily got away with building their regime and successfully enslaving everybody had they been a little more patient and subtle about it. Well, we can only hope that cooler heads prevail and everything normalizes into a boring politically moderate next 4 years of 1 meaningless token gun law and military involvement in Syria in exchange for domestic stability. The ball is in the Democrats' court now, if they want to full-throttle this game of chicken, so be it.

                • (Score: -1, Troll) by Ethanol-fueled on Monday January 11 2021, @11:00PM (3 children)

                  by Ethanol-fueled (2792) on Monday January 11 2021, @11:00PM (#1098638) Homepage

                  Oh yeah, the original reply intended for your comment. The annoying dweeb swarm problem happened overnight sometime in the past month or so, in other online places but apparently also here, totally inorganically. The question is, what exactly is it? Well, the smarm and snoot of the posts is pure Jewish arrogance and contempt, but is it real people (JIDF cube farm, sniveling Air Force punks at Eglin, Antifa/BLM) or is it some kind of bot farm operated by those mentioned? One thing's for sure, it is pretty goddamn annoying.

                  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday January 11 2021, @11:58PM (2 children)

                    by Anonymous Coward on Monday January 11 2021, @11:58PM (#1098662)

                    FBI CSA NSA DHS ATF INS look into the above asshole, comes from the same area as the traitorous fuck that got shot after ignoring an officer's warning and continued to break through the windows. Ethanol fueled will limely joun in the planned violence in the coming weeks, track this domestic terrorist and make sure he never sees the light of day after he pulls whatever violence he is planning.

                    Was it boston dynamics you worked for? What is your address again?

                    • (Score: 0) by Ethanol-fueled on Tuesday January 12 2021, @12:16AM (1 child)

                      by Ethanol-fueled (2792) on Tuesday January 12 2021, @12:16AM (#1098677) Homepage

                      Oh, I'm sorry, I seemed to have made an honest mistake. Let me correct what I meant to say in my previous post: "Well, the smarm and snoot of the posts is pure White arrogance and contempt..."

                      There! Now that I'm no longer a racist terrorist, can we be friends again? By the way, why isn't Snoop Dogg being cancelled? He spent decades rappin' about and objectifying bitches and ho's, shouldn't he be next?

                      • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday January 12 2021, @12:34AM

                        by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday January 12 2021, @12:34AM (#1098685)

                        JTRIG is gonna getcha!

            • (Score: 2) by DannyB on Monday January 11 2021, @10:18PM (2 children)

              by DannyB (5839) Subscriber Badge on Monday January 11 2021, @10:18PM (#1098616) Journal

              Wow. So it's now a Troll to point out the difference between BLM (grievance about police brutality/killings) and the Trump Capitol Overthrow Riot (because didn't like the outcome of election. Waaaah! It was stolen. No evidence. But... Waaaaah!).

              --
              People today are educated enough to repeat what they are taught but not to question what they are taught.
              • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday January 12 2021, @12:00AM (1 child)

                by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday January 12 2021, @12:00AM (#1098666)

                The sock puppeting and bad faith moderations are standard fair here. As usual the RWNJs are the worst offenders making life more terrible for everyone cause they can't get laid.

                • (Score: 2) by DannyB on Tuesday January 12 2021, @03:22PM

                  by DannyB (5839) Subscriber Badge on Tuesday January 12 2021, @03:22PM (#1098881) Journal

                  Yes. I know that. I just love the outright brazenness of it. It's their highest form of debate, since they can't use a gun here.

                  --
                  People today are educated enough to repeat what they are taught but not to question what they are taught.
        • (Score: 5, Insightful) by JoeMerchant on Monday January 11 2021, @07:18PM (1 child)

          by JoeMerchant (3937) on Monday January 11 2021, @07:18PM (#1098487)

          You make it seem like Democrats don't do all of those same things when it benefits them.

          The way the parties have shaped up, no... they really don't. Show me districts that have been gerrymandered to benefit Democratic voters? The type of poll shaping that benefits Democrats is: Get out the vote, get as many people to vote as possible - so, I suppose they're "guilty" of that, but that's the ideal situation in a democracy anyway.

          Are Democratic (or any) politicians blameless angels? No. Ala Arthur C. Clarke: any person who actively seeks public office should be automatically barred from holding it.

          When the shit went down in Florida in 2000, I wasn't happy with the result, but I wasn't joining a mob to lynch the public officials who were carrying out the transition of power. The losing side in 2000 didn't entrench and turn the country upon itself, give inflammatory speeches inspiring a fringe minority mob to zealous action: stampeding themselves and law enforcement to death like some little Who concert [usatoday.com] chanting about hanging the Vice President and carrying handcuffs into the halls of Congress. Hillary lost in 2016 by the same margin that Trump did in 2020, I don't recall endless lawsuits and claims of fraud.

          It seems to me that the events of the past week are the culmination of 30 years of borderline hate speech on talk radio, and yes there's the opposing viewpoint espoused by NPR and similar outlets, but when you weigh the two sides - one comes up not only smelling better, but also much closer to legal than the other one.

          I will also say: it is unfair to paint all Republicans with the Orange brush. But I would say that any Congressman or Senator who took a stand in open session to protest the most carefully examined election results in US history, with 0 for 38 court cases supporting allegations of cheating, they do deserve to be remembered as part of the Orange party and the Orange party deserves more excoriation, ridicule, shame, boycott, un-employment, and microscopic examination of their dealings than Communist party did from the 1950s to the 1970s.

          --
          🌻🌻 [google.com]
          • (Score: 1, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Monday January 11 2021, @09:32PM

            by Anonymous Coward on Monday January 11 2021, @09:32PM (#1098588)

            Obi-wan got blacklisted for being an open communist party supported back in the 50s. Star Wars was his first major break in 20 years.

            I think the same or greater level of condemnation he recieved for his otherwise innocent support of a political party should be shown to Trump's most fervent supporters. It's only fair if supporting an unpopular position gets you blacklisted for 20 years that supporting a violently and eventually unpopular decision gets you condemned for at least that long.

        • (Score: 2) by HiThere on Monday January 11 2021, @10:31PM

          by HiThere (866) Subscriber Badge on Monday January 11 2021, @10:31PM (#1098624) Journal

          The problem is that neither side benefits by giving up on gerrymandering while they're in power. Some court decisions in the past may indicate that the redistricting from the new census will be under more intense scrutiny. But a lot of it won't be under unbiased scrutiny.

          --
          Javascript is what you use to allow unknown third parties to run software you have no idea about on your computer.
      • (Score: 1, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Monday January 11 2021, @06:03PM

        by Anonymous Coward on Monday January 11 2021, @06:03PM (#1098432)

        sabotage of the U.S. Postal service is a new low, but I bet they'd have gone there without Trump eventually

        Indeed. That reason, among others, is why I am reluctant to vote for any Republicans now or in the foreseeable future.

      • (Score: 2) by Nobuddy on Tuesday January 12 2021, @03:09PM (1 child)

        by Nobuddy (1626) on Tuesday January 12 2021, @03:09PM (#1098869)

        that you think gerrymandering has anything to do with a presidential election invalidates anything else you say.

        • (Score: 2) by JoeMerchant on Tuesday January 12 2021, @03:19PM

          by JoeMerchant (3937) on Tuesday January 12 2021, @03:19PM (#1098876)

          Gerrymandering affects the House of Representatives. That you can't wrap your head around the idea that a discussion isn't focused soley on the Presidential Election invalidates all of your writings, by your own logic.

          --
          🌻🌻 [google.com]
    • (Score: -1, Troll) by Anonymous Coward on Monday January 11 2021, @09:06PM

      by Anonymous Coward on Monday January 11 2021, @09:06PM (#1098571)

      No, fraudulent mail in ballots and rigged closed source voting machines were used to steal the election.

  • (Score: 5, Informative) by agr on Monday January 11 2021, @04:31PM (4 children)

    by agr (7134) on Monday January 11 2021, @04:31PM (#1098367)

    >...and Bush beat Gore by a whisker in a recount.

    That's not what happened. The recount ordered by the Florida Supreme Court was halted by the U.S. Supreme Court in a partisan 5 to 4 vote. Nonetheless, a peaceful transition ensued and Vice President Al Gore presided over the certification of the electoral vote for Bush.

    • (Score: 2) by JoeMerchant on Monday January 11 2021, @04:59PM

      by JoeMerchant (3937) on Monday January 11 2021, @04:59PM (#1098377)

      Nonetheless, a peaceful transition ensued and Vice President Al Gore presided over the certification of the electoral vote for Bush.

      Thanks for the refresher - in my memory it was extremely close, and felt like dirty pool, but was close enough to just let it go and get on with life.

      This recent crap feels like something put on us by enemy countries trying to weaken the U.S.

      --
      🌻🌻 [google.com]
    • (Score: 5, Insightful) by DeathMonkey on Monday January 11 2021, @05:19PM (2 children)

      by DeathMonkey (1380) on Monday January 11 2021, @05:19PM (#1098390) Journal

      Yet another example of the State's Rights people not giving a crap about State's Rights.

      • (Score: 3, Insightful) by DannyB on Monday January 11 2021, @05:58PM (1 child)

        by DannyB (5839) Subscriber Badge on Monday January 11 2021, @05:58PM (#1098427) Journal

        I also point out that the people who scream loudest about "maw rats!" always seem to be the least concerned about anyone else's rights.

        --
        People today are educated enough to repeat what they are taught but not to question what they are taught.
        • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday January 11 2021, @08:13PM

          by Anonymous Coward on Monday January 11 2021, @08:13PM (#1098525)

          Indeed. It almost seems by design, no? Hmmm, I wonder why that might be.

  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday January 11 2021, @11:12PM (1 child)

    by Anonymous Coward on Monday January 11 2021, @11:12PM (#1098644)

    The U.S. of A. has never been a Democracy - it is a Republic, and when the democratic vote doesn't satisfy the rulers of the Republic they modify the rules until they get the outcome they wanted.

    This tired wordplay again, which sounds so clever and is so wrong. It's a non-sequitur, like saying "The U.S. of A. has never been a Democracy - it has free speech laws."

    Democracy means rule by the people, as opposed to theocracy (rule of religion), or several others. The means by which the US is doing democracy is via elected representatives, hence being a republic ALSO. It's not a binary choice. (Just like you can have free speech laws and laws enabling carrying weapons, and you can have free speech laws and laws forbidding carrying weapons.)

    If you want to be correct, you could say "The U.S. of A. has never been a Democracy - it is an oligarchy." At least that way you can argue things based on their merits, rather than trying to confuse the audience with a "Chewbacca Defense."

    • (Score: 2) by JoeMerchant on Tuesday January 12 2021, @12:53AM

      by JoeMerchant (3937) on Tuesday January 12 2021, @12:53AM (#1098698)

      Democracy means rule by the people

      A pure democracy would give all voters equal say in decisions, the U.S. Constitution does not do this - we elect representatives and those representatives are skewed in their power relative to the number of people they represent. A pure democracy would be one voter, one vote - congress and the electoral college tweaks that and not in a subtle way.

      It's an important distinction, and one which the Republican party has leveraged until they are squeezed into the position of pandering to the most powerful minority and setting a divisive agenda against the less powerful majority of the population.

      --
      🌻🌻 [google.com]