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
@eriner How do you figure?
You have to view this in terms of performing for audiences, not any sort of legitimate congressional oversight.
#Bondi gave the administration's supporters exactly the performance they wanted to see. They want to see a wrestling match, so this administration gives it to them.
Meanwhile, Democrats get to score political points by pretending to be in opposition when really they aren't doing substantial things to oppose the administration. So they scored as well.
Pretty much all sides involved used this exchange for their own benefit, so why would they hold her in contempt? Everyone did exactly what they wanted to do to signal to their constituents. All of the politicians came out ahead.
Our fault for electing these jerks and continuing to reelect them.
@cwarzel.bsky.social I think you have it backwards.
So much of Internet culture is simply coming to terms with and reflecting broader society. It's recognizing that in broader society the solutions to these problems are nowhere on the horizon, so internet culture is the effect, not the cause.
@wjmaggos I strongly disagree.
AP being a push and subscription model is fundamentally and importantly different from RSS being a generally public pull model.
They are very different tools to solve very different problems.
@alisynthesis Well that's what her audience wanted to hear.
They like WWE wrestling matches, so she performed for them.
This administration is full of entertainers. They're not serious, they're just entertaining their audience.
Seems like you might be interested in why people voted for Trump so that we could avoid that happening in the future.
There are lessons to learn here.
In fact, I'd say that attitude really played into getting him elected!
How can you hope to oppose folks doing something you don't like if you're interested in knowing why they did it?
As they say, know your enemy.
@walterolson.bsky.social well, because (and we need to say this clearly and frequently) we don't leave it up to folks like Trump to decide. The conflict of interest is obvious and avoidable.
Trump can cry all he wants, but it's not up to him, as it wasn't up to him in 2024.
@DavidM_yeg well they already are.
But do keep in mind that the judicial branch has (by design) limited ability to pursue people for contempt of court.
The courts are doing fine. I'd say reporting on what the courts are doing is lacking, though, since their calling out misbehavior gets far too little coverage, so the general public doesn't know what's happening in the courts, as public as they are.
You're missing that so many were simply dissatisfied with the country as it was, from government through other institutions, and they simply wanted to watch it burn.
THAT's why they rolled the dice.
The coalition that elected Trump twice didn't necessarily care what he was doing; they simply didn't want the status quo to continue, and Democrats didn't offer a way out of what they perceived as a failing status quo.
As evidence, Trump managed to gain votes of so many folks with completely opposite perspectives, both internationalists and isolationists, free traders and protectionists, religious and anti-religious.
What did he do for the people? Well, considering those contradictions, so many didn't really care. They just wanted change. ANY change.
And he certainly changed things.
@elizabethtasker if you're in the global north I imagine the cold also has something to do with it!
If it makes you feel any better, Trump is so out of touch with reality that he doesn't even seem to care about stuff we KNOW folks have on him.
And that's why he ran into so much trouble with the courts.
IF Putin has stuff on Trump, he must be sighing every day that Trump is so shameless and aloof that it just doesn't matter.
I just want to point out that so many of our issues with social media could be at least partially addressed using web of trust techniques.
That includes avoiding trolls on social media, but also giving a hand to help scale e2ee security.
No, it's not a panacea, but it could help, and it enters the discussion far too little, IMO.
@0xabad1dea
@foxmental.bsky.social the problem is, it should be a Congressional showdown.
This is the sort of thing that should be worked out by the representatives we elect to Congress, who we can hold accountable.
That it's left to the Executive and Judicial branches is the core problem.
The moderates preferred rolling the dice over a guy who showed such incompetence that he couldn't even escape felony convictions or impeachments the last time he was around.
Just to name things off the top of my head, the last Democratic administration promoted economic policies that were predictably ruinous, the current Democrats in Congress are cooperating with Republicans, and heck, the whole party set the stage for a Trump reelection with their actions and rhetoric.
Democrats played into the hands of the fascist dictator. I'm certain he wouldn't have been reelected had the DNC behaved differently.
@ike People I know are still really into them.
At least in some circles the popularity has not waned.
Meh, Trump made all kinds of contradictory promises.
I don't think the moderates voted for him based on any sort of coherent campaign pledge. I think they decided to roll the dice instead of going for the definite drawback of what the Democrats were offering.
@ned More importantly, it ends up being up to Trump whether or not to prosecute her.
Well at least she might be living in a little bit of fear that the crazy man is going to wake up one morning and just do it.
@kerravonsen The problem with relying on people of goodwill is that it's unstable, unsustainable. It's likely the next office holders won't maintain that same level of goodwill.
Better to set up incentives so that people are incentivized to do the right thing, even out of selfishness.
At that point goodwill becomes a bonus, but not a requirement.
No, that's not how the system works as it's not a binary choice.
The DNC is showing itself every day to be completely ineffective, from running poor candidates like Harris through failing to wield their power in the House.
It's no nano-reason to say we need a party that will substantially stand up to the GOP. To just fall in line and offer them votes that they did not earn is to continue this sorry state of affairs.
@HamonWry
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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