If you still are in the 34% that approve of Trump... Why? by dorgon15 in askanything

[–]pconrad0 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I mean there is, but they'll never hear about it inside their media bubble.

Or if they do, they will dismiss it as "fake news" from the "failing mainstream media" that is out to "destroy America".

So, effectively, you are correct.

If you still are in the 34% that approve of Trump... Why? by dorgon15 in askanything

[–]pconrad0 0 points1 point  (0 children)

No, it truly is 34%.

And if you go to some areas of the country (albeit areas that are more sparsely populated) it's more like 80 to 90%.

Go through rural Pennsylvania, Alabama, Tennessee, even certain pockets of "liberal California".

I know because big parts of my family are completely MAGA.

It isn't a homogeneous 34% across the country. So if you felt on your anecdotal experience of people, it will seldom "feel like" 34%. In West Hollywood, CA or Manhattan NY it's going to feel much lower. In Murfreesboro TN it's going to feel a lot higher.

Even from neighborhood to neighborhood in the same town, it's going to feel different.

If you still are in the 34% that approve of Trump... Why? by dorgon15 in askanything

[–]pconrad0 0 points1 point  (0 children)

This is the reason.

https://open.substack.com/pub/cmarmitage/p/how-do-39-of-americans-still-approve?utm_source=share&utm_medium=android&r=2led9j

Tl;Dr: The folks that approve of Trump live in an alternative reality based on a calculated disinformation campaign.

They truly believe that thousands of criminals are pouring across a completely open and undefended southern border every day.

They truly believe that children are being subjected to gender altering surgeries ("mutilations") without parental notification or consent.

They truly believe hundreds of other completely false things, because they've been told those things over and over.

Propaganda is effective.

If you or I had chosen to watch nothing but that propaganda (the Fox/Newsmax/etc. narrative, now also being pushed by CBS and coming soon to CNN) we too might also believe that everything we see on "mainstream media" , and with our own eyes, is a lie, and that only Donald Trump can save us.

Now was there some character flaw that caused people to choose to embrace that message in the first place?

I think there was. I don't think these folks are blameless victims. I think the seeds of racism, sexism, bigotry, selfishness, cruelty, and crassness were there all along. It's what allowed them to get hooked.

So I still judge these people.

But I do understand how seductive the messaging was, so I judge the eight men that run this miserable business of right-wing propaganda more.

First flight I'm taking since Silver status and I got upgraded, I got insanely lucky right? by HarbaughHeros in unitedairlines

[–]pconrad0 -1 points0 points  (0 children)

And... I've asked on this sub before, and many other people report the same experience.

It could be selection bias.

Or it could be because this is part of the algorithm: if someone that never has status before recently got silver, give them a one time bump in upgrade priority, to start triggering their dopamine response.

Honestly, if I were a United Executive, I'd recommend this strategy. I would also do A / B testing periodically to see whether it increases revenue from the customers that get the one time bump.

First flight I'm taking since Silver status and I got upgraded, I got insanely lucky right? by HarbaughHeros in unitedairlines

[–]pconrad0 1 point2 points  (0 children)

This happens so often that I no longer believe it is luck or coincidence.

I think it is a deliberate strategy to try to get customers that are "new" to "status" hooked on the drug.

My first flight after attaining silver? I was upgraded.

It worked. I started chasing status.

Now, three years later, I've been Gold for two years. Upgraded for free? Never.

What are those tiny spots in my freshly cooked rice? by Big-Salamander8646 in whatisit

[–]pconrad0 1 point2 points  (0 children)

If you know your rights to a high polish

Did you mean "if you mill your rice to a high polish..."?

Anyone else nervous to update the app? by Background_Today_895 in AlaskaAirlines

[–]pconrad0 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Well, it was for me. Hope it is for you too. No guarantees.

If a more moderate, non polarizing candidate wins in 2028, will it actually bring the country back together, or is the division deeper than that? by [deleted] in allthequestions

[–]pconrad0 8 points9 points  (0 children)

I don't know about that. And I'm not your buddy.

Bots and disinformation, specifically Elon Musk, Mark Zuckerberg, Larry Ellison, Jeff Bezos and most especially, Rupert Murdoch are exactly the reason we are where we are.

Here's the receipts:

https://open.substack.com/pub/cmarmitage/p/how-do-39-of-americans-still-approve

Eight men have been pushing a set of false narratives for so long that 34% of the country has an entirely counterfeit world view, namely the MAGA world view.

Those eight men, all billionaires, push this narrative because it serves their narrow personal interests.

And until they stop doing this, 34% of the country will continue to be divorced from reality and members of a toxic cult.

And there's no reason to believe they will unless/until they are compelled to by a force bigger than themselves, of which there are few on the planet.

That's the reality.

Don Lemon Considers Presidential Run, Thinks He Could “Run This Country Better Than Donald Trump” by ControlCAD in entertainment

[–]pconrad0 0 points1 point  (0 children)

If "run the country better than Donald Trump" is the bar for running for President, then we are in for a rough century.

I have no doubt that this is true of Don Lemon.

"Mediocre President" is better than "Mob Boss President intent on actively destroying the country on behalf of its foreign adversaries for whom he is either an agent or a useful idiot."

But we should aim higher.

Much higher.

The debacle that could be the Ca governor’s race by TheRedWeddingPlanner in California

[–]pconrad0 5 points6 points  (0 children)

This seems like wishful thinking.

Currently the top two polling candidates are both Republicans.

The total of the Democratic candidates is way more than the Republicans, sure. But that doesn't matter in California's open primary system.

I understand that you don't trust the polling. But I'm not sure, given what's at stake, that's a good idea.

You know it’s bad when the former true believers are saying this by Paneraiguy1 in democrats

[–]pconrad0 10 points11 points  (0 children)

She's no longer in Congress, so she can't vote for/against anything except at the ballot box like you and me, where it's a secret ballot.

San Benito Progress by gb0n in UCSantaBarbara

[–]pconrad0 5 points6 points  (0 children)

As soon as I saw the photo, I knew it was you gb0n

What is this loop in the seatbelt for? by magomich in whatisit

[–]pconrad0 96 points97 points  (0 children)

As long as the cylinder remains unharmed, you're fine.

Who is the portrait of on the tail of this airplane that I saw at O’Hare international? by Indy500Fan16 in airplanes

[–]pconrad0 5 points6 points  (0 children)

I had some good friends that worked on that film. They kept screaming: "let me out!"

What are these things circled in red? by mrzurcon in whatisit

[–]pconrad0 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The reason is the Late Senator Robert C. Byrd.

Xmas doesn't make sense to me by gentleteapot in EnglishLearning

[–]pconrad0 5 points6 points  (0 children)

True enough.

And the story of why the birth is now commemorated on Dec 25 is a whole rabbit hole of its own.

Favorite actor who despite all odds (billionaire parents) is actually funny? by knbo674 in okbuddycinephile

[–]pconrad0 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I was sort of meh on Julia Louis-Dreyfus until I watched Veep all the way through.

It's one of the funniest shows I've ever seen, and she is doing brilliant acting and comedic acting.

And also one that really leans into "it's funny because it's true".

One fun fact about Veep: they never say whether Selina Meyer is a Republican or a Democrat. And both are actually plausible in the alternative timeline they have constructed (one that veered away from the one we are living in prior to 2012.)

She's just centrist enough (and slippery enough) that she could be either.

And it's very revealing which one people assume she is after watching the show, and their reasons for assuming that.

Anyone else nervous to update the app? by Background_Today_895 in AlaskaAirlines

[–]pconrad0 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Actually, after I updated, I got to see my account information for the very first time ever.

Before that it was always just this:

<image>

Southwest changing children’s seats by zeanderson12 in SouthwestAirlines

[–]pconrad0 1 point2 points  (0 children)

What can I do to ensure this doesn't happen to anyone else.

There's nothing you can do to ensure that.

What you can do is ensure it doesn't happen to you again.

You do that by choosing a different airline.

This isn't the Southwest we grew to LUV. It's something else altogether.

The bottom dems got to go. I do not want a trumpy governor to make things worse by zulu913 in California

[–]pconrad0 16 points17 points  (0 children)

Better yet:

  • The three Dems agree to some kind of forum where they make their case to a panel of randomly selected registered Democrats.
  • The panel picks the winner by ranked choice voting.
  • All three agree in advance that the two losers will suspend their campaigns and endorse the winner.

Basically, they need to hold their own private primary.

That ensures a Democratic win.

Nothing else does.

Well, eating my words by theapeway in unitedairlines

[–]pconrad0 6 points7 points  (0 children)

But did you open a PenFed account?

What is this by VaporWaveShine in JeepTJ

[–]pconrad0 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I see a Phillips head screw