So either you really dont get how things work, or you’re kind of racist/xenophobic.

It’s both. It’s always both. People are afraid and angry and hungry, and that brings fascism like flies to shit. I really don’t want to believe that people were always this hateful, and that it’s mostly because times are tough for everyone. Doesn’t help that you have Fox News and their cronies whipping everyone into a frenzy about every little thing.

Oh well. Now we’ll see them put their plan into action and hope that they somehow self-implode before they do too much damage.

I’m not blaming it on cabin fever or anything like that. I think people are just angry.

I’ve certainly seen an uptick in anti-social behavior since Covid. Whether or not it’s because of the economic situation or being cooped up inside, it really seems to have done a number on some people.

If it costs the NYT money and buys the workers some bargaining power, I’m all for it.

You’re not wrong. We have a representative democracy because the Founders thought the same way. I guess I prefer not to believe that it’s impossible for people to be well-informed enough to make a good decision on these things. I’ve certainly seen some new lows in the past 10 years.

I’m asking for the individual candidates to lay out their specific political goals. The party can continue to publish its platform and planks.

Then people vote based on whether they want to see those goals met. When those politicians are up for re-election, it’s fairly easy for someone to tabulate whether or not those goals were met. If there are extenuating circumstances (overwhelming opposition, for example), then they can use that to defend themselves. This would help hold their feet to the fire.

As for voting ideologically, I attribute that mostly to FPTP - people feel as though they cannot do anything but vote ideologically because there are no real alternatives. That’s why RCV is extremely important.

An ex-coworker of mine recommended Mango Languages, which is supposed to be much better and also if you have a library card, you can usually get a subscription for free through them! The lessons are probably a little longer than 30 seconds, but not too much longer. I’d say a minute tops.

Moving away from FPTP is, for democracy, the crucial first step that very few seem to have taken.

Hard disagree. It’s really easy for candidates to talk the talk on the campaign trail, and then do a 180 once they’re in office.

That being said, this doesn’t work if you let them use flowery speech and vague promises. If you had parties submit a platform of actually actionable decisions they would make (e.g. “decrease the federal minimum wage”), you’d be able to suss out what they actually want to do. It would also provide a rubric for re-election - how many of the things you wanted to do did you accomplish? Are there good reasons why you weren’t able to?

It’s extremely disappointing to me (admittedly in the US) that Covid seems to have obliterated any chance for a large-scale investigation on payment processors’ stranglehold on our financial systems. The fees that Visa/Mastercard/etc. charge, especially for tiny merchants with insanely low transaction numbers, are criminal.

Usually RCV is an initiative or referendum depending on how your state does it. In mine, it’s just a separate issue on the back that we have to vote for, alongside things like “should we institute a tax for schools” or “should we approve building a new park”. Entirely separate from voting for candidates for any position.

Don’t forget a little note saying "Think this is stupid? Vote for Ranked-Choice Voting!’

It’s a fair argument, especially given how much… entertainment he seems to derive from owning it.

A cable subscription isn’t a depreciating asset, though.

The cultural victory, if you will.

I think the fact that you’ve spent a lot of time in liberal organizations is why you think that way about where it falls on the continuum between progressivism and conservatism.

Interesting that you characterize my statement as "both sides"ing. I would say the thrust of my statement is not “both sides” but “one side”. America does not have a progressive party, only conservative and conservative-lite. Given the choice, of course I’ll choose the latter, not least because the former is so far off the deep end it may never recover as a party. That does not mean I think that both parties are the same.

Visually:

--------Progressivism ------------------------ Center ------ Liberalism --------------------------- Conservatism.

Liberals and conservatives are more similar than liberals and progressives.

In order to pay your utility bill, you have to beat the Undertale Sans fight in Genocide mode

Seconded! It also has a more informative cycling interface.

Because it makes it harder for advertisers to mine and sell your data. That’s it.