Night of The Nihilists

Now become a Ricochet member for only $5.00 a month! Join and see what you’ve been missing.

There are 44 comments.

Become a member to join the conversation. Or sign in if you're already a member.
  1. JuliaBlaschke Lincoln
    JuliaBlaschke
    @JuliaBlaschke

    Could Be Anyone (View Comment):
    The unsavory truth is that Democrats won back a chunk of seats in the House because while Trump’s administration has enacted good reforms and policy in most areas the President continues to act petty and make a clown of himself, and more importantly he failed to lead with any kind of agenda in the legislature.

    This is what should be learned from the election … but I am pretty sure it won’t be.

    • #31
  2. George Townsend Inactive
    George Townsend
    @GeorgeTownsend

    I enjoyed the Podcast.

    I’d like to talk about Twitter for a moment, because I think John said some interesting things. 

    I do believe that a lot of Twitter is a sewer. Twitter (in my mind) should be used for two things: Saying some nice things to other people, like complimenting them on something. Sort of like the things that Shannan Breme uses Twitter for. Or, to use it to promote things: A movie, an article, etc. I don’t think we should ever respond to people who just want to spread hate. What’s the good in that? If somebody wants to spread anti-semitism, are they gonna stop because Podhoretz is gonna scold them? Responding is useless. Not because you are afraid they are gonna torch your house, but because it is so meaningless. It wastes your time. And it might make the cretin think that he is getting to you; so he is gonna keep doing it.

    • #32
  3. kedavis Coolidge
    kedavis
    @kedavis

    Could Be Anyone (View Comment):

    kedavis (View Comment):

    Why do you think we should expect things to revert to before the mid-90s? Based on experience for the past 20+ years, the Republicans should have lost the Senate too, and the House swing should have been larger. That neither happened, doesn’t speak all that well for Dems or their “policies.”

    I have actually had to work in politics. I have had to converse with constituents on a regular basis about their problems at both the state and federal level. I have an actual idea of what voters think in my state. I would appreciate it if you started taking these arguments in good faith.

     

    I had to shorten that a lot because of a 250-word limit that I have.

    As mentioned before, I talk to voters too.  I often find that even the ones that might have a rational view of what their issues or problems are, don’t necessarily have a rational view of what the solution is, and how to vote for it.  That would also seem obvious from Dems winning so much in general.  But as whoever it was said, “If Democrats had any brains, they’d be Republicans.”

    And/or, even if they do know what they SHOULD do, they don’t, because it’s more important to them for other people to think they’re “good.”  (It doesn’t occur to them to vote for Trump but SAY they voted for Hillary, etc.)

    • #33
  4. OccupantCDN Coolidge
    OccupantCDN
    @OccupantCDN

    kedavis (View Comment):
    As mentioned before, I talk to voters too. I often find that even the ones that might have a rational view of what their issues or problems are, don’t necessarily have a rational view of what the solution is, and how to vote for it. That would also seem obvious from Dems winning so much in general. But as whoever it was said, “If Democrats had any brains, they’d be Republicans.”

    I agree, totally. Take the example of the “Rent is too Damn High!” … Liberals (and other economic illiterates) want to respond with rent controls. However this will create new problems down the road, including the destruction of rental units as inflation eats up any possible maintenance budget. The best solution is to reduce zoning and other regulations so that new housing could be built to meet the demand. When supply and demand are in equilibrium everyone can find products at all price points. The free market can create solutions (over time granted, as housing units can’t be built quickly) that government interference is causing.

    • #34
  5. kedavis Coolidge
    kedavis
    @kedavis

    OccupantCDN (View Comment):

    kedavis (View Comment):
    As mentioned before, I talk to voters too. I often find that even the ones that might have a rational view of what their issues or problems are, don’t necessarily have a rational view of what the solution is, and how to vote for it. That would also seem obvious from Dems winning so much in general. But as whoever it was said, “If Democrats had any brains, they’d be Republicans.”

    I agree, totally. Take the example of the “Rent is too Damn High!” … Liberals (and other economic illiterates) want to respond with rent controls. However this will create new problems down the road, including the destruction of rental units as inflation eats up any possible maintenance budget. The best solution is to reduce zoning and other regulations so that new housing could be built to meet the demand. When supply and demand are in equilibrium everyone can find products at all price points. The free market can create solutions (over time granted, as housing units can’t be built quickly) that government interference is causing.

    Things like rent control are another example of something I see happen all too often: for example, in this case, a series of regulations/taxes that restricts the ability to build new housing and increases the cost of what does get built.  And then, rather than seriously address the CAUSES, they basically just pass a law against the predictable result.  Which only exacerbates the real causes.

    • #35
  6. kedavis Coolidge
    kedavis
    @kedavis

    But as far as the left is concerned, rent control “solved the problem.”

    And rent control makes the problem worse in other ways too, because it becomes a pressure to charge higher prices where possible, to make up for the losses inflicted by the regulation.  That is another force that drives up prices of new housing, to help cover the losses of those under rent control.

    • #36
  7. OccupantCDN Coolidge
    OccupantCDN
    @OccupantCDN

    kedavis (View Comment):

    OccupantCDN (View Comment):

    kedavis (View Comment):
    As mentioned before, I talk to voters too. I often find that even the ones that might have a rational view of what their issues or problems are, don’t necessarily have a rational view of what the solution is, and how to vote for it. That would also seem obvious from Dems winning so much in general. But as whoever it was said, “If Democrats had any brains, they’d be Republicans.”

    I agree, totally. Take the example of the “Rent is too Damn High!” … Liberals (and other economic illiterates) want to respond with rent controls. However this will create new problems down the road, including the destruction of rental units as inflation eats up any possible maintenance budget. The best solution is to reduce zoning and other regulations so that new housing could be built to meet the demand. When supply and demand are in equilibrium everyone can find products at all price points. The free market can create solutions (over time granted, as housing units can’t be built quickly) that government interference is causing.

    Things like rent control are another example of something I see happen all too often: for example, in this case, a series of regulations/taxes that restricts the ability to build new housing and increases the cost of what does get built. And then, rather than seriously address the CAUSES, they basically just pass a law against the predictable result. Which only exacerbates the real causes.

    The recent regulations imposing rooftop solar panels on new houses in California is a great example of this. Another Elon Musk bail out? I see Tesla branded solar panels got a 70% market share in California in July.

    https://www.pv-tech.org/news/teslas-branded-solar-panels-accounted-for-almost-70-of-its-california-rooft

    Another example of crony capitalism?

    • #37
  8. kedavis Coolidge
    kedavis
    @kedavis

    OccupantCDN (View Comment):

    kedavis (View Comment):

     

    Things like rent control are another example of something I see happen all too often: for example, in this case, a series of regulations/taxes that restricts the ability to build new housing and increases the cost of what does get built. And then, rather than seriously address the CAUSES, they basically just pass a law against the predictable result. Which only exacerbates the real causes.

    The recent regulations imposing rooftop solar panels on new houses in California is a great example of this. Another Elon Musk bail out? I see Tesla branded solar panels got a 70% market share in California in July.

    https://www.pv-tech.org/news/teslas-branded-solar-panels-accounted-for-almost-70-of-its-california-rooft

    Another example of crony capitalism?

    That sounds coincidental.  The people who set up these things wouldn’t care if the panels came from China, or Russia…  or North Korea.  And if disposing of the panels at end of life releases cancer-causing chemicals?  Oh well.  They Did The Right Thing!  (See: MTBE.  Environmentalists demanded that it be added to gasoline to make it “cleaner” and then started screaming AGAINST it because it causes cancer.  Then it will be something else…  like how they demanded plastic bags replace paper bags because of “the trees!  the trees!”  Now they demand paper bags replace plastic bags because “The oil!  The oil!” or something.  How long until they flip again?  Anybody’s guess.)

    Who makes Tesla panels?

    • #38
  9. OccupantCDN Coolidge
    OccupantCDN
    @OccupantCDN

    kedavis (View Comment):

    OccupantCDN (View Comment):

    kedavis (View Comment):

    Things like rent control are another example of something I see happen all too often: for example, in this case, a series of regulations/taxes that restricts the ability to build new housing and increases the cost of what does get built. And then, rather than seriously address the CAUSES, they basically just pass a law against the predictable result. Which only exacerbates the real causes.

    The recent regulations imposing rooftop solar panels on new houses in California is a great example of this. Another Elon Musk bail out? I see Tesla branded solar panels got a 70% market share in California in July.

    https://www.pv-tech.org/news/teslas-branded-solar-panels-accounted-for-almost-70-of-its-california-rooft

    Another example of crony capitalism?

    That sounds coincidental. The people who set up these things wouldn’t care if the panels came from China, or Russia… or North Korea. And if disposing of the panels at end of life releases cancer-causing chemicals? Oh well. They Did The Right Thing! (See: MTBE. Environmentalists demanded that it be added to gasoline to make it “cleaner” and then started screaming AGAINST it because it causes cancer. Then it will be something else… like how they demanded plastic bags replace paper bags because of “the trees! the trees!” Now they demand paper bags replace plastic bags because “The oil! The oil!” or something. How long until they flip again? Anybody’s guess.)

    Who makes Tesla panels?

    Tesla. At the GigaFactory 2, in Buffalo, NY. Tesla bought out the other Musk invention – Solar City in 2016.

    The same arguments could be made (and have been) over electric cars vs petrol cars. That the life cycle pollution of an electric car is far worse than the petrol fired versions.

    Found the video here:

    • #39
  10. kedavis Coolidge
    kedavis
    @kedavis

    Yes, even if the entire solar panels – all the cells and everything – are actually manufactured in NY (which seems unlikely), they still involve various heavy metals and such which are toxic when released into the environment.  So what does the Left do now?  Demand everyone have “clean” solar panels, and then insist that you wear a hazmat suit in the future any time you’re on the roof?  And your kids have to wear hazmat suits while playing in the yard?  Then when it’s actually time to remove panels at the end of their life, look out!

    • #40
  11. Could Be Anyone Inactive
    Could Be Anyone
    @CouldBeAnyone

    kedavis (View Comment):

    I had to shorten that a lot because of a 250-word limit that I have.

    As mentioned before, I talk to voters too. I often find that even the ones that might have a rational view of what their issues or problems are, don’t necessarily have a rational view of what the solution is, and how to vote for it. That would also seem obvious from Dems winning so much in general. But as whoever it was said, “If Democrats had any brains, they’d be Republicans.”

    And/or, even if they do know what they SHOULD do, they don’t, because it’s more important to them for other people to think they’re “good.” (It doesn’t occur to them to vote for Trump but SAY they voted for Hillary, etc.)

    This response does not respond to the crux between on us whether voters are being rational at all in their voting.

    You have set the bar for rationality at homo economicus. Very few people are homo economici. Most people display a haphazard rationality where they consider ulterior considerations other than policy principles and occasionally use emotions. This applies to most voters. But that is not being a zombie or mindless. Misguided? Sure. But not without reason.

    I can guarantee you that if I went through a Trump Rally that I would find a large continent of attendees who were irrational in their support of the GOP/Trump. Political affiliation and ideas trend strongly along nuclear family lines, not along philosophical introspection about the good life. Many voters on both sides of the aisle weren’t being rational by your “standard” when they voted.

    Simply discounting those voters as irrational because they favor a different solution, that is wrong, is not going to stop the voting trends we are seeing with Donald Trump and suburban voters. He needs to change his rhetoric and the GOP needs to learn to be more versatile in its strategy of winning voters. Trump’s brand might get out the old white rural demographic, which declines with each election, but it seems to dampen support with other groups—which means he needs to be more quiet and other brands need to be devised that have cross demographic appeal.

    • #41
  12. kedavis Coolidge
    kedavis
    @kedavis

    But you see, that is exactly a big part of the problem:  You can’t convince many Dem voters to vote GOP instead of Dem because of rationality, just the same as many current GOP voters don’t vote GOP because of rationality.

    You might get SOME additional votes for a Republican candidate who says… oh, stuff like “compassionate conservative,” even if they’re just using it as a ruse.  But when you do that, you put off other voters who want a hard-headed (and maybe even hard-hearted) candidate.

    Meanwhile, it’s a lot easier to attract people to freebies, even if it’s objectively impossible to deliver them, at least for very long.  But that is a distant consequence, and even if/when it does appear, it’s not that difficult for those who caused it, to blame it on someone else.  Maybe even the other party!  Or, “the rich, who don’t pay their fair share!”

    What it may come down to, ultimately, is something else I point out on a regular basis:  most people have an IQ of 100 or less, by definition.  Especially these days with the problems in education, it’s difficult to convince an “average” person – IQ 100 or less – that voting GOP is actually good for them, and their families…  The best we may be able to hope for is that more people who don’t really have a clue, lose interest in voting, for one reason or another.

    • #42
  13. kedavis Coolidge
    kedavis
    @kedavis

    There’s little or nothing to gain from just hoping and waiting for people to occasionally, randomly, vote correctly basically by accident.

    Another example: the liberals/environmentalist whackos/etc in PRC (People’s Republic of California) who still haven’t figured out that their ways lead to more and worse forest and brush fires.

    I guess they haven’t gotten around to just passing a law against the fires.  But that may yet come.

    In the meantime, the fires are “obviously” the fault of “climate-change deniers” and other conservatives.  Even though Algore’s “carbon footprint” is at least 1000 times bigger than mine.

    • #43
  14. J Ro Member
    J Ro
    @JRo

    “I climbed Mt Everest. And then I came back down.”   –Pemba Sherpa

    • #44
Become a member to join the conversation. Or sign in if you're already a member.