I should have said the cousin’s husband above.
4 Likes
Yeah, that’ll work.
3 Likes
My first thought was this guy.
Relatives said Paddock was worth at least US$2 million when he sold off the real-estate business Among his most profitable investments was an apartment complex purchased in 2004, which gave him more than $500,000 in annual income by 2011. IRS records show he made $5–6 million in profits from its sale in 2015.
3 Likes
Neoliberalism is antitax. Taxing guns would be effective.
1 Like
It seems that lots of people have their own private definitions of neoliberalism.
My own private definition of neoliberalism is
“faith in the free market’s ability to solve the “economic calculation problem” and belief that governments are ill suited to the task of regulating self organizing social structures.”
Lots of people try to connect neoliberalism and neoconservatism into an inchoate critique of “atlanticism.” Jeez. If you want me to read Chomsky, I’ll read Chomsky. I don’t need some half assed defense of Assad.
4 Likes
Ok. I must have missed something in what you mean. My understanding, from academia mind you, is that taxation is practically Classical (one major step down from the regime of autocratic decree from Antiquity) and “credit markets” are the neoliberal watered down compromise that just makes assholes rich and doesn’t really change anything, which is just above paleoconservaliberal Cartman saying “Imma do what I want!”
1 Like
Emphasizing former enemies as the main heroes of a movement leads to a culture where you’re expected to collaborate with the oppressor before you’re allowed to criticize it.
For instance, the mainstream corporate media hardly ever quotes anybody criticizing America’s endless wars unless they’re politicians who are veterans of those same wars.
And “Scared Straight” type programs that hold up violent convicts as role models because they’ve repudiated their former crimes just make being a former criminal look cool.
On the other hand, I’m sure Alternet has published articles about civil rights lawyers who were never Nazis, so maybe that’s not the best example.
6 Likes
It’s a fair point that the article is far too nice to her. I’m just trying to correct from going too far the other way, which I thought the use of “She’s still a Nazi ex-cop,” despite her current career protecting migrants, was in serious danger of doing.
3 Likes
See also: disappearance of Native-American women (I wonder).
When a case relies on an arrest by an untrained cop who has a criminal record, prosecutors sometimes do not want to put that person in front of a jury and instead might drop or reduce felony charges, Griffiths warned. “I could see felony domestic violence assault cases that end up being pleaded down to harassment or coercion.”
5 Likes
6 Likes
9 Likes
This while idea of having to pay for your own (possibly mistaken) incarceration is so Dickensian.
7 Likes
Worth the read (applies to science, politics, human life in general):
4 Likes
For anyone hesitant, the all-caps stops immediately after the part captured by the OneBox.
6 Likes
Technology is the lever that allows one person to do incredible damage. Can science ever solve the problem of changing the motivations of that “one person?”
5 Likes
Thank you. I was in the middle of a much longer reply, but yours cuts to it right away.
I really don’t think it’s the science anyone is truly worried about. I’ve known way too many science enthusiasts who were also massive racists and sexists, or who otherwise seriously needed to spend time studying ethics.
5 Likes
Turns out Gould might not be in a good position to talk about science and ethics at the moment – he gets name-checked here as being in Epstein’s orbit:
As Katha Pollit, writing in the Nation last week said: “What I can’t get over is how Epstein successfully weaseled his way into science at the highest level by cultivating major figures in the field socially and spreading his wealth around. Science! The very temple of the pursuit of truth. Call me insufficiently jaded, but am I wrong to expect more of those we rely on to combat all of the nonsense swirling around us?”
Edit: autocorrect
2 Likes
Epstein called himself a “science philanthropist”, and donated handsomely to prestigious organizations such as Harvard, MIT, and the Santa Fe Institute. At one point, he was allegedly giving as much as $20m a year to fund scientists. Some institutions and researchers continued to take Epstein’s money even after his 2008 conviction, like MIT, according to BuzzFeed News.
It would help if more government money were invested in science so researchers (and universities) wouldn’t be searching for it elsewhere, sometimes from unsavory groups.
5 Likes
5 Likes