volkris @volkris@qoto.org
I think the most pressing and fundamental problem of the day is that people lack a practically effective means of sorting out questions of fact in the larger world. We can hardly begin to discuss ways of addressing reality if we can't agree what reality even is, after all.
The institutions that have served this role in the past have dropped the ball, so the next best solution is talking to each other, particularly to those who disagree, to sort out conflicting claims.
Unfortunately, far too many actively oppose this, leaving all opposing claims untested. It's very regressive.
So that's my hobby, striving to understanding the arguments of all sides at least because it's interesting to see how mythologies are formed but also because maybe through that process we can all have our beliefs tested.
But if nothing else, social media platforms like this are chances to vent frustrations that on so many issues both sides are obviously wrong ;)
Joined Dec 2022
I strongly disagree, as one would hope that Democrats would like to have an operational House in which the function.
Right now they are voting as a block to say they would rather have the House shut down, so they are already well into shenanigans.
They could be part of the solution. So far many Democrats have been explicitly saying they refuse to be.
Yes but keep in mind that it is intentionally the most representative chamber, representing an extremely divided country.
The population of the US is currently very chaotic so it only makes sense that the representatives of the people is in a similar state.
It's a reflection of the times we live in where people can't agree on the color of the sky.
@Paulatics Everything I've heard from Democrats has been really clear that they are voting as a block to keep the House shut down rather than accept Republican nominees.
So with them effectively siding with the fringe Republicans there's not really anywhere to go.
That's true, although we have to be careful about what the right moves are because certain improvements to Mastodon, making the right moves for Mastodon, amount to introducing proprietary elements that reflect the centralized platforms we're trying to get away from.
So we have to be a bit careful about what the right moves are.
Typo, sorry.
Unfortunately there's a lot of misinformation out there about the timeline of the US election and how it actually goes, so every once in awhile I get the urge to yell into the void to try to correct the record
@J3Words@mas.to
I appreciate that. It's just rough because there is so much misinformation out there, and so many people who do take things seriously even though they are being misled even by people who aren't joking.
These are difficult times.
He lost control a long time ago.
I sure wish people would stop treating him as if he was still particularly influential.
It only builds up his ego and keeps him annoyingly spouting off.
@J3Words@mas.to
To be clear, this isn't up to McCarthy.
The voting process is run by the clerk and responding to the entire body of representatives-elect.
McCarthy doesn't get to either make it continue or make it stop. It's up to the whole voting group to decide what to do.
@philip_cardella@historians.social
From listening to the holdouts giving interviews, in their own words, yeah that's pretty much my impression.
They don't seem to have a strong grasp of how the chamber operates, but then again, that seems to be the case with a whole lot of the people we elect and re-elect to do that job.
@philip_cardella@historians.social
Even better: how many actually know how the House operates, what the Rules of the House are, what the committee structure is like, and how the Speaker engages with committee organizing and functioning?
In other words, regardless of how many care, how many actually know WHY they should care?
Sounds like the holdouts are receiving the brunt of blame.
McCarthy will likely be fine.
Heck, he'll get to rest on the supposedly great things he'll say he would have done, if not for those pesky rebels.
Exactly.
Well, they're politicians :)
Yep, they're engaged in politics, as politicians, so hopefully each of their constituencies feels well-represented through their actions.
But all of these politicians are engaging in politics. Don't forget the entire Democratic cohort there voting in the way that prevents getting things done as well.
They're all politicians, hopefully representing the wills of the people who elected them.
Think of it as efficiencies of scale.
Yes, they exist, but at some point along the curve the efficiencies tend to drop off.
Any large organization will be the same. For a while, getting bigger may become more efficient, but after a point the overhead of managing the beast means growing larger doesn't come with the same increase in efficiency.
The corporate lifecycle is often directly related to getting a fresh start on a company that's overshot that healthy part of the curve.
Keep in mind that it's not what we all think of those 20, but about what their own constituents think about them.
I don't have the polling on that, but if they're representing their people well, well that's their job.
Also, it's worth zooming out to ask how we all feel about all of our representatives, so many of whom are actively empowering that 20 by voting for the division they're taking advantage of.
I, for one, wish my rep would respond "present" so the 20 would have one fewer ally supporting their stunt.
I imagine the #Democrats have consulted their pollsters and come to a general agreement among themselves that this gridlock is for the best.
Whether they reached that agreement because they honestly fear #McCarthy or because they think this is a political cudgel they can use in cynical political rhetoric we can't really say.
Remember that at any moment the Democrats can resolve all of this by merely doing nothing. Should a couple of them just decline to actively vote, the matter is settled, and McCarthy wins.
It's not only that Democrats aren't crossing the aisle; it's that they are choosing to actively vote in a way that leads to this gridlock.
Keep in mind that once a Speaker is elected, the Rules of the House kick in and grant the Speaker very broad, discretionary powers through which he can promote his initiatives.
That's why everyone's fighting so hard against electing a Speaker they don't want to empower.
The negotiations are about how the Speaker will use his discretion, to see if they can find a compromise that will get things done later.
You're missing that democratic processes elected all of these representatives who are voting to keep the House deadlocked.
It's not pandering to anti-democratic forces on display here; it's democratic forces themselves representing voters who are very divided.
I think the most pressing and fundamental problem of the day is that people lack a practically effective means of sorting out questions of fact in the larger world. We can hardly begin to discuss ways of addressing reality if we can't agree what reality even is, after all.
The institutions that have served this role in the past have dropped the ball, so the next best solution is talking to each other, particularly to those who disagree, to sort out conflicting claims.
Unfortunately, far too many actively oppose this, leaving all opposing claims untested. It's very regressive.
So that's my hobby, striving to understanding the arguments of all sides at least because it's interesting to see how mythologies are formed but also because maybe through that process we can all have our beliefs tested.
But if nothing else, social media platforms like this are chances to vent frustrations that on so many issues both sides are obviously wrong ;)
Joined Dec 2022
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