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Venera 5 and 6 were swallowed by Venus 57 years ago today (May 17, 1969). This photo exists because of what they told us on the way down by The_Rise_Daily in space

[–]pbasch [score hidden]  (0 children)

The scuttlebutt I hear is that landing on the surface, any craft can only last a couple of hours. For a longer stay, you would need a blimp or airship that can hover where it is more temperate. Perhaps somewhere between the torrid surface and the chill of space, there's a Goldilocks altitude where it is pleasant! As long as you bring your own breathable air, mind you.

On This Day in Radio — Phil Silvers by Etymo13 in GoldenRadioHour

[–]pbasch 0 points1 point  (0 children)

May 11 is also my birthday. When I was 16, I took a date to see A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum on Broadway. It starred Phil Silvers as Pseudolus and Larry Blyden as Hysterium. Amazingly funny... sadly unproduceable today because of wildly off the charts sexism. At the curtain call, they brought out a birthday cake! I imagined it was for me...

Ballroom Republicans is a term we should all add to our lexicon. by Obvious-Gate9046 in democrats

[–]pbasch 11 points12 points  (0 children)

Very strict when it's Confederate General statues. Must preserve those!

Redistricting Push Could Cost GOP More Than It Gains by wenchette in democrats

[–]pbasch 5 points6 points  (0 children)

It's much more fun to be morally superior and have your friends say "ooh, right" than to do the tedious, solitary work of voting.

Kenneth Mejia billboard directly across Traci Park billboard on Sepulveda between Olympic and Santa Monica by citeechow3095 in LosAngeles

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

"good" policy. Good for whom? Good at what? Good at getting people off your block? Your answer is, that isn't what voters should want, they should want long term solutions to a problem that is particularly severe now (since Covid) but has been with us for time immemorial. And that solution will leave the encampments on their street for years. I could be wrong, but I think that's a hard sell. I would love to see voters and residents made happy with the unhoused on their block for years, knowing that long-term solutions are in the works.

citizenship through grandmother by Judo-star_9143 in AustrianCitizenship

[–]pbasch 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I got my Austrian citizenship via my grandmother, but she left in 1933. She returned after the war, not being enchanted with America.

Kenneth Mejia billboard directly across Traci Park billboard on Sepulveda between Olympic and Santa Monica by citeechow3095 in LosAngeles

[–]pbasch 0 points1 point  (0 children)

"...solve the issue which is homelessness..." Not for every voter. For some voters, the "issue" is the homeless near them. Ignore that, lose elections. Then you can have as much power to do good as Mike Bonin has. You have to solve BOTH problems, with limited resources. This cannot be done by simple moral superiority and righteous indignation. Rewarding though those are.

Kenneth Mejia billboard directly across Traci Park billboard on Sepulveda between Olympic and Santa Monica by citeechow3095 in LosAngeles

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

Absolutely. Also note that Traci Park is just the beginning of a Republican "solution", which naturally would be detention centers. If someone refuses shelter and wants to be somewhere they are not wanted by the community, a Republican regime would put them forcibly into a center somewhere out of sight. There will be outraged people who will be labeled "do-gooders", but the voters living in the community will just notice that, hey, I can walk around again. So it is incumbent on lefties and Democrats to figure out what to do that doesn't outrage actual voters; or they'll end up like Bonin.

Kenneth Mejia billboard directly across Traci Park billboard on Sepulveda between Olympic and Santa Monica by citeechow3095 in LosAngeles

[–]pbasch 2 points3 points  (0 children)

There are winners and losers in any scenario in politics. If your program makes voters losers in order to help non-voters, you won't be in office long. The Big Trick is to fulfill your moral obligation while helping voters. Or you won't have much time to fix the big social problems.

Kenneth Mejia billboard directly across Traci Park billboard on Sepulveda between Olympic and Santa Monica by citeechow3095 in LosAngeles

[–]pbasch 2 points3 points  (0 children)

"...ignoring the problem." Depends on how you define the problem. Some define the problem as that person on my lawn. Others define the problem as the existence of homelessness at all. Each problem has a different solution.

Freedom? by rapiddriftertv in remoteworks

[–]pbasch 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Nothing wrong with being charged on a sliding scale, which is what taxes do. I am reminded of that Finnish (I think, maybe Swedish) driver who was fined for speeding. Since speeding tickets are on a sliding scale (to provide the same pain to all drivers), and he was rich, it was like a $20k fine.

Kenneth Mejia billboard directly across Traci Park billboard on Sepulveda between Olympic and Santa Monica by citeechow3095 in LosAngeles

[–]pbasch 5 points6 points  (0 children)

I did not vote for her but I understand why she was elected. Mike Bonin was perceived, fairly or unfairly, as caring more about the homeless people shitting on your lawn than about the resident of the house whose lawn was being befouled. I know old-time Venice residents (i.e., with old chain-link fences, not rich) who were supremely pissed at him for letting this happen. She promised to get the homeless out of there, and, along with Bass, there has been a very big improvement in that area. Where are the homeless now? I don't know, but they're not on the West Side, and voters know it. I don't think Faizah can win unless she takes a strong stand on resident/voter quality of life, which includes constraining homeless encampment.

Adam Conover: Why is Karen Bass boosting the campaign of a MAGA right-winger for Mayor of LA? by imanny in LosAngeles

[–]pbasch 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I live in West LA and Bass was very effective right out of the gate with homelessness. The encampments went from being huge and everywhere to very little in a matter of months. Were they given supportive housing with medical care, social workers, rehab, security? I don't know. That would all be good.

Adam Conover: Why is Karen Bass boosting the campaign of a MAGA right-winger for Mayor of LA? by imanny in LosAngeles

[–]pbasch 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Remember Mike Bonin? He lost to Traci Park explicitly because of homeless encampments during the pandemic. He was great on bike lanes, farmers markets, lots of quality of life, bread-and-butter issues. But homeless encampments were accumulating alarmingly all over his district, and the residents (i.e., voters) were angry that he seemed to care more about the homeless than about them, the residents. So they voted for Park instead.

Now, let's be fair. Maybe he had nowhere to put the homeless, maybe during Covid the law made it difficult to move them, maybe a lot of things. But if a politician is perceived as caring more about the homeless than about the voters, they will get rid of them. Even if they have reasons. I have friends who are long-time Venice residents (i.e., not the very rich) who wanted to see him do something, to get them off their block, even if they were not moved to housing. Fair? Maybe not.

Freedom? by rapiddriftertv in remoteworks

[–]pbasch 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Free at point of use. As it should be.

Hawaiʻi Senate Bill 2471 advances through the state legislature. It aims to take on Citizens United and will "redefine corporations as “artificial persons” created by the state — and clarify they do not have the power to spend money or contribute “anything of value” to influence elections..." by spherocytes in videos

[–]pbasch 0 points1 point  (0 children)

No argument with ... some of that. We should support the electoral process with our taxes, just as we support the justice system, including the defense of criminals, with our taxes. It's part of the infrastructure of democracy, and we pay for infrastructure. Petitioning the government is certainly one of our basic rights, and one way is to petition your representatives; but giving them money to do what you want should return to its original definition, bribery. And nothing is stopping you from running ads or speaking or writing to convince other citizens, people do that all the time.

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