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
@Peter_Link That's about right.
We've seen over and over evidence that the folks around Trump are just lying to him, manipulating him, and he's too stupid to know.
The key is to make a deal with the United States and not with any particular president.
Treaties are obligations of the country. Presidents come and go, but treaties are legal obligations.
Make a deal with Trump's United States, sure. Make it a treaty. Confirmed by Congress. Don't make a deal with the president, make a deal with the country.
This is an enormous distinction.
@jalefkowit Yeah but it's popular with their base, and that's really all they're talking to.
At this point they are just preaching to the choir and they don't care about the majority of the country.
That is not what happened.
The Supreme Court did not determine that legally speaking corporations are people.
If you're referring to the CU decision, Kennedy was very adamant about saying the opposite.
@GetsGreased yes!
Misplaced patriotism is just stupid.
Let's all embrace recognizing when the country is really off track.
It's just pretty funny, asking for evidence and then stomping off when it's provided.
You asked to play the game! It was your game!
@volkris @JazzyKindaFella @politics @law @womensvoices @democracy I'm not playing this stupid game.
You asked me to show my work, and I'm happy to.
Tell me what you want me to show.
It's funny that you say you're not playing this stupid game when it's your game, you're the one who asked me to show my work, so let me know what you want to do.
@dresstokilt What was the example again?
Looks like they blocked me from seeing it, so I can't address it directly anymore.
volkris
boosted
@yoginho Bad news: academia has a whole lot of issues that existed before Trump and will exist after Trump.
Heck, issues in academic science are part of what got the guy elected in the first place, and then the second place.
Academia has a lot of issues.
@tim Well it's because behind the scenes drug manufacturers engage in really substantial negotiations with health insurance companies and employers and drug managers, and everyone else, and what pops out is just the result of that negotiation.
It would make sense if we could see the negotiation that all of these parties engaged in. But it's not a public negotiation.
But that's what both laws and norms tell them to do, so they do.
This is the planet that we asked for as we vote for the legislators who set this up.
@Yoshi or maybe she's just a person like the rest of us trying to protect her rights against a government that is demanding that she do things for them?
@light exactly.
We all make trade-offs every day of our lives, so this is just one of those choices we make in valuation, whether we prefer privacy or speed for any particular task.
Not to mention just utterly inane, childish patriotism.
It's really sad. It's really pathetic. Let's all highlight how pathetic these people are, because I think that's the main thing they would dislike hearing.
Call them racist and they will own the label. Call them pathetic? Well, there's no way they can own that.
volkris
boosted
A huge Australian study of tweens and teens finds best mental health among moderate social media users — not total abstainers reason.com/2026/02/09/a...
A 'Goldilocks' effect for onli...
We know other countries aren't just going along with it because we know they are trading separately from what the US wants them to do.
In fact, the US is begging them to stop, and it wouldn't be begging them if they weren't doing it!
Siiiiiigh
Mainstream conservatives are so out of touch that they don't even see themselves pulling the "I have a black friend!" stereotype
#ClayAndBuck: Hey we already had Latin American performances at the Super Bowl. Jennifer Lopez and Shakira. They performed in English. So we're no...
No, That's not how that works. Countries are free to trade with each other regardless of what the US wants.
Promoting this kind of conspiracy theory doesn't help anybody.
That's not quite what the report said though...
@annecavicchi The problem is, those are the exact reporters that lost the public trust through their antics, leaving the information vacuum that Trump's people were able to fill.
Honestly, I know they had the best of intentions, but it's largely the fault of people like those that we're in this mess now.
They got fired because they were bad at their jobs. And we are all suffering for it.
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
volkris's choices:
