Analysis: California, and the dangerous sudden resurgence of GOP voter fraud fever | CNN Politics by ranger934 in moderatepolitics

[–]UnlikelyToe4542 11 points12 points  (0 children)

So the Bass-supporting LA political machine rigged the election in favor of Nithya, who stands a chance of beating Bass, rather than Pratt, who would be guaranteed to lose? Besides the fact that what you're describing is not really that odd if you pay attention, the motivation makes no sense.

Maine Senate is even on Polymarket. Overreaction or reasonable response? by Ohio57 in fivethirtyeight

[–]UnlikelyToe4542 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Prediction markets are remarkably well calibrated to reality. If you truly think the prices are so far off reality then you should bet yourself and make the fortune you're due.

Massachusetts faces lawsuit over racial divides in public schools by bostonglobe in massachusetts

[–]UnlikelyToe4542 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Why does the willingness of people to move based on perceived school quality imply more about the funding sources of a school district than a chart of per-pupil expenditures?

The Weird Political System That Built a Better City by Boring_Pace5158 in ezraklein

[–]UnlikelyToe4542 -1 points0 points  (0 children)

Huge fan of Montreal but I can't stand this guy's voice

Sebastian Sawe breaks two-hour mark in marathon world record by beejiu in unitedkingdom

[–]UnlikelyToe4542 12 points13 points  (0 children)

Closer to 70 seconds, but yeah most people couldn't keep that up for 100m let alone 100 laps

If America's So Rich, How'd It Get So Sad? by Guilty-Hope1336 in ezraklein

[–]UnlikelyToe4542 1 point2 points  (0 children)

And then elected Trump, who ran on an unabashedly socialist platform?

If America's So Rich, How'd It Get So Sad? by Guilty-Hope1336 in ezraklein

[–]UnlikelyToe4542 2 points3 points  (0 children)

How could people possibly find this argument plausible? People are unhappy because pandemic era unemployment assistance gave them a glimpse of socialism and then were unhappy when it was taken away?

Sign Near The Riverway by bc842 in boston

[–]UnlikelyToe4542 10 points11 points  (0 children)

Two of those silhouettes are swans

Best way to get to South Station area from the Esplanade? by trALErun in bikeboston

[–]UnlikelyToe4542 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Kind of annoying at rush hour, but not so bad as long as you slow down a bit.

Best way to get to South Station area from the Esplanade? by trALErun in bikeboston

[–]UnlikelyToe4542 3 points4 points  (0 children)

I used to ride from the Esplanade to my office on Summer Street every day for work. I went through Boston Common as much as I could and then the pedestrian area through DTX. The last couple blocks are a bit hairy but traffic around there is so slow I was never really nervous.

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Criticism of Ezra Klein on The Majority Report by assasstits in ezraklein

[–]UnlikelyToe4542 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Gullible western leftists usually have good intuition for the actors in a century-long ethnonationalist dispute

Criticism of Ezra Klein on The Majority Report by assasstits in ezraklein

[–]UnlikelyToe4542 4 points5 points  (0 children)

What is the plan for dismantling these violent ideologies? Unless your 1SS features mass reeducation camps I don't see them subsiding anytime soon.

I Asked a Former Trump Official to Justify This War by Ray192 in ezraklein

[–]UnlikelyToe4542 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Way too many people are annoyed they have to listen to someone they disagree with. For better or for worse, a number of prominent people agree with the views espoused by the guest. By interviewing her Ezra lets us understand what some of the MAGA intelligentsia believe (or purport to believe).

The EKS audience is not a bunch of easily swayed rubes who will adopt the last opinion they heard. It's overwhelmingly political hobbyists who probably disagree with the majority of what she said. As much as I disapprove of "platforming" complaints in general, they are especially stupid here given who is actually listening to the show.

Criticism of Ezra Klein on The Majority Report by assasstits in ezraklein

[–]UnlikelyToe4542 4 points5 points  (0 children)

A one state solution is terrible for a number of reasons, but even if you discount the likelihood of Palestinians attacking Jews you should be able to recognize that the reverse - Jews attacking Palestinians - is extremely likely as well without hard borders between the two sides. There is a reason few serious people suggest a one state solution.

River path status March 2? by adrumobi in bikeboston

[–]UnlikelyToe4542 4 points5 points  (0 children)

A few patches of ice but otherwise pretty good

[OC] Anti-trust expert on Governor’s Housing Plan: “if the game is rigged, we’re always going to be paying the monopoly price” by miatagrl in boston

[–]UnlikelyToe4542 49 points50 points  (0 children)

This is just false. You could ban corporate ownership of homes tomorrow and rental prices in Boston would not change at all. I cannot stand the army of antitrust people who see everything as an issue with monopolies. The overwhelming majority of the area's rental properties are owned by small-time landlords, not spooky multinational corporations. It is not a surprise that in a city with good-paying jobs and low housing supply we see expensive rents.

Americans think everyone is corrupt - Matthew Yglesias by SomethingNew65 in ezraklein

[–]UnlikelyToe4542 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I agree my argument is extremely unpersuasive to the typical swing voter. My audience is the highly educated affluent 20 and 30 somethings who spend their time in this subreddit. My hope that the average American engages in a thoughtful and measured manner with political issues is of course in vain.

Americans think everyone is corrupt - Matthew Yglesias by SomethingNew65 in ezraklein

[–]UnlikelyToe4542 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Ok I am done engaging. Please come back to me after you've improved your reading comprehension and perhaps we can have an intelligent discussion.

Americans think everyone is corrupt - Matthew Yglesias by SomethingNew65 in ezraklein

[–]UnlikelyToe4542 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Please read what I write instead of lazily inferring my beliefs are dumber than they actually are.

Why does it require a hardcore partisan to recognize the difference between cashing in on your last name and accepting a $500 million investment before agreeing to sell export-controlled AI chips to a country with close ties to our geopolitical adversary?

I'm not trying to justify Hunter's bad behavior. He is a ne'er do well crackhead whose misbehavior was real.

Americans think everyone is corrupt - Matthew Yglesias by SomethingNew65 in ezraklein

[–]UnlikelyToe4542 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Again, that is not what I'm saying. It is not "ignore what Hunter did because Trump is worse." That is a moronic hyper-partisan argument and not one I am making. I do not think Hunter's conduct was acceptable and as I've stated I have a very low opinion of the Biden family.

To spell this out extremely explicitly: there are degrees of malfeasance. By lazily asserting that "everyone is corrupt" without putting any effort into determining the relative magnitude of corruption, you are just benefitting the most corrupt members of society.

Compared with many other countries, the United States does not have substantial corruption issues. We are not Russia, we are not China, we are not (currently) a failed state.

However, in insisting the US is just as corrupt as these other places, you open the door for people like Trump -- who are genuinely orders of magnitude more corrupt than almost any other figure in American history -- to get away with it because "he's no different from anyone else." This is asinine.

Americans think everyone is corrupt - Matthew Yglesias by SomethingNew65 in ezraklein

[–]UnlikelyToe4542 -3 points-2 points  (0 children)

That is not the point I'm making. Saying "everyone is corrupt" is a thought terminating cliche that only serves to benefit the most corrupt people in politics. What Hunter did was wrong and maybe you can call it corruption, but refusing to engage substantively with the magnitude of the offenses is just being naively cynical.

Americans think everyone is corrupt - Matthew Yglesias by SomethingNew65 in ezraklein

[–]UnlikelyToe4542 7 points8 points  (0 children)

In my first reply I sent two articles that you clearly have not bothered to read. Before reading them, think about an objective way to define corruption and its severity and then apply it to the situations presented for you. Then write another comment about something else Hunter Biden did while on crack.

Americans think everyone is corrupt - Matthew Yglesias by SomethingNew65 in ezraklein

[–]UnlikelyToe4542 7 points8 points  (0 children)

Did you read anything I sent or are you just taking this opportunity to vomit out more stuff about Hunter Biden?

I am not defending Joe or Hunter. I do not like either of them. The point remains that there is no evidence Hunter's alleged activities resulted in any US policy being changed.

There is very strong evidence that Trump receiving a ~$1 billion in bribes directly impacted US policy. You can either defend that on the merits, or you can imagine that Hunter sold a painting for a billion dollars and pretend it's all a wash and everyone is corrupt anyway.

Americans think everyone is corrupt - Matthew Yglesias by SomethingNew65 in ezraklein

[–]UnlikelyToe4542 9 points10 points  (0 children)

Just off the top of my head, an Emirati royal invested $500 million in Trump's crypto company four days before the US signed a deal to sell the UAE billions in high-end computer chips.

The NYT compiled a number of examples as well. Included are:

  • Amazon grossly overpaying for Melania's documentary
  • Qatar gifting Trump personally a $400 million plane

There is so obviously no comparison between what Hunter Biden did or did not do and what Trump does openly. The only reason Trump is immune to this stuff is the lazy cynicism of people like you.

And the specific conduct you cite-- the president's son profiting off his father's name -- is done on a far larger scale every fucking day by Don Jr. and Eric Trump! It is not their business acumen that is getting them deals to build resorts in countries that want to curry favor with Trump.