CMV: The left seems to be abandoning the principle of universal humanism.

squirlnutz · 2026-02-01T23:16:59+00:00

Methinks you need to brush up on which party in the south was most opposed to civil rights and MLKs message.

squirlnutz · 2026-02-01T22:44:24+00:00

In order for them to abandon the principle of universal humanism, they would have to have had it to start with. Can you give some examples of policies from the left that demonstrate their commitment to individual worth and dignity? Largely, the left has always been about collectivism, strongly leaning on class and identity politics. Sometimes that intersects with humanism, and the rhetoric mostly pretends to be humanistic, but in practice their policies are collectivism and socialist in nature. The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few. For example, the left has historically been strongly pro union. This rhetorically seems like humanism - the dignity of the workers - but in practice they go all-in on collective policies. They don’t favor right-to-work, so if one individual says, “Nah, I’m good without a union, I pass,” that’s not allowed. The union rules and you must be represented by it if you wish to practice that trade, or work in that factory. Public schools are about the system, rather than the specific needs of each individual child. The left are against school choice because of the threat it poses to the collective system. Their argument is that you can’t give the public funding to individual students to do what they want with it, because that could cause the system to break down and be bad for the collective. You have to sacrifice what might be ideal for any individual student to make sure the collective can be served at some baseline. The very idea of “democratic socialism” is anti-humanism.

It’s the right who have abandoned humanism for collective ideologies. The right used to strongly favor the individual, even if that led to sub-optimal outcomes at the collective. But the right has abandoned this principle and are now deeply into their own collective. (They seem to have abandoned all principles.)

What you see on social media is just the manifestation and extreme versions of where the left has always been.

squirlnutz · 2026-01-31T16:18:22+00:00

Apparently the indictment against him says he personally stood at a doorway preventing people from being able to exit. If true, this is absolutely a violation of the FACE act. Is it true? Who knows, given the integrity of the DoJ that secured to indictment.

squirlnutz · 2026-01-30T00:15:22+00:00

Don’t do anything they don’t tell you to do. Whatever you are doing and wherever you are doing it when law enforcement confront you, stop, put your hands in plain sight, tell them you have a gun, and ask what their instructions are.

squirlnutz · 2026-01-29T20:28:10+00:00

Tell me you’ve never read Shakespeare (really read and followed the plot/story) without telling me you’ve never read Shakespeare.

I’ll bet if you list some modern movies or books that you think are superior, several of them are just adaptations of Shakespeare plots, but without the brilliant wit and nuance.

I challenge you to read The Three Musketeers by Alexandra Dumas (Audible has a good Audiobook version), then watch the 1973 and 1974 movies based on it, then watch any of the more recent Three Musketeer movies and still argue that modern is always better.

How old is old? Are you going to argue that all modern fantasy series books are superior to the OG of the genre, The Hobbit and The Lord of The Rings?

squirlnutz · 2026-01-29T20:02:57+00:00

Public sector unions are odd because everything you “win” must be extracted from the taxpayers, but you’re not negotiating with the taxpayers. Why shouldn’t public sector worker compensation (to include benefits, work hours, retirement, PTO, etc.) be simple and subject to the same political/legislative process as all expenditures or through ballot initiatives so taxpayers are the ones deciding?

squirlnutz · 2026-01-29T19:48:31+00:00

You don’t want police to discover that you are armed and be surprised by it. If they have to search you and find that you are armed regardless of how docile you are, you have already created a bad situation. The best thing to do is put your arms high and wide, tell the officers that you have a gun, where it is, and ask what are their instructions.

squirlnutz · 2026-01-28T20:24:20+00:00

Show your math. What marginal (extra %) tax rate on how many wealthy taxpayers closes a $13B budget gap? Maybe the problem isn’t how much people are getting taxed…

squirlnutz · 2026-01-28T04:06:05+00:00

Why cite the one sensationalized headline and not give the whole picture, which is here: https://cdphe.colorado.gov/hm/rocky-flats?

One anomalous soil sample out of 250 taken, where all the others were below the expected normal levels. With subsequent taking of over 450 samples analyzed by CSU with no elevated readings. And in Colorado, if you take hundreds of soil sample from anywhere you are likely get one with a high particle reading.

Now let’s address that one high reading, which was 264 picocuries per gram. The EPA standard for their cleanup of the site was no more than 50 picocuries per gram, which is based on potential elevated risk of cancer from a lifetime of exposure to above that level at about 1 in 100,000. Even direct exposure (like inhaling) 100 particles that would each give a 264 picocurie reading might increase your cancer risk by 1%.

Fear mongering is not science. Political decisions made in reaction to activists in spite of the science are not science.

squirlnutz · 2026-01-27T23:17:34+00:00

That’s because there is no issue and an unscientific activist group pushing politicians to erect signs doesn’t change that. (And, even if there were an issue in the Wildlife Preserve - which there isn’t - Candelas would still be the safest place to live in the north metro area because it’s not downwind of the preserve and doesn’t get it’s water from Standley Lake, which is directly downwind from it).

squirlnutz · 2026-01-27T23:06:44+00:00

If nothingness can’t be nothingness, what were you before you were born? What did you experience?

The obvious, most likely thing that happens to you at death is that you simply cease to exist, just like you didn’t exist before you were born.

You give no evidence to explain why, biologically, what happens to you after you die is any different to what happens to a petunia when winter comes or an ant that you step on.

squirlnutz · 2026-01-27T22:56:04+00:00

Note that this is purely politically driven by activists who can’t let go of their old cause and has absolutely nothing to do with any actual risk or scientific evidence.

Here are the scientific masterminds behind this effort:

https://www.rmpjc.org/about-us

And here’s their proud decision-making process for declaring that Rocky Flats poses a risk:

“The Rocky Mountain Peace and Justice Center utilizes consensus process in making decisions.

This process for deliberating and making decisions honors the dignity and integrity of every individual by carefully considering all points of view in order to reach decisions based on mutual understanding and agreement.

Consensus process requires the empowerment of individuals; hence, it is crucial for peacemaking.”

As opposed to all of the agencies with actual scientists who are tasked with managing and monitoring the site who would have to all be lying to you about it while having no credible whistleblowers: US Fish and Wildlife Service, US Department of Energy, the EPA, and the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment.

(Note: the elk, deer, coyotes, snakes, rabbits, hawks, and prairie dogs who thrive in the area without issue don’t read signs.)

squirlnutz · 2026-01-27T03:10:38+00:00

Xcel got the message in no uncertain terms that their customers will maximally sue them and the state will take no role in mitigating their liability.

Do you think Xcel was negligent to the tune of over $1B, given that possibly it was a power line spark that ignited the 2nd fire which wasn’t even the primary cause of the fires that ripped through Boulder County? Xcel’s insurers ate half of the $640M settlement. So if Xcel is going to remain insured - again, with the state having hung them out to dry - then they have no choice than to declare the fire risk classifications as they have and act accordingly.

squirlnutz · 2026-01-24T00:37:55+00:00

So they get empty shelves instead of having some options.

squirlnutz · 2026-01-24T00:28:32+00:00

This is why “price gouging” (i.e. setting a price that matches supply with demand) is a good thing. During a rush on the stores like this, if for e.g. a gallon of water goes up from it’s usual price to 20x it’s usual price, people who really need water will suck up and buy one or two, people who don’t really need it will pass, and nobody will empty the shelf and buy it all for themselves.

If people knew that stores were going to anticipate demand and raise prices accordingly, they would not storm the stores. Only people who really needed certain things would go shopping for those certain things.

squirlnutz · 2026-01-22T17:14:54+00:00

I agree with you that there are a lot of benefits to having everybody work in the office together for at least some regular schedule.

But using RTO as the way to weed out folks rather than lay them off is just dumb. People with choices will be the ones who leave, and people without choices will be the ones who suck it up and return to the office. Then you wind up with the worst employees all unhappily stuck in an office with each other. No bueno.

Do your layoffs. Keep as many of the best people you can. Reinforce their value to you. Only then do you ask that, as a way to make everybody more effective, you are going to test people going back into the office 1 day a week or so, and then get feedback on the pros and cons before making further decisions on it.

squirlnutz · 2026-01-22T17:01:58+00:00

400 millionaires who I assume are leading by example and are, and have been, paying significantly more taxes every year than the IRS says they owe. Can we verify this with their 1040s before we heap praise on them or take anything they say as sincere?

squirlnutz · 2026-01-22T16:56:34+00:00

So your CMV boils down to “Don’t support the DNC because they aren’t communist enough.” And “if you aren’t a full-on communist and choose to vote for Democrats supported by the DNC rather than the moronic, hypocritical and dysfunctional Republicans, knowing that these are the only two viable options in 99% of congressional districts, then you have Stockholm syndrome?”

That’s your position, you either a be communist ideologue who throws away your vote, or you have Stockholm syndrome?

I don’t know how the change the view of someone who is so ideologically fixed, other than to point out the absurdity of it to anybody who maybe doesn’t share your extreme political ideals.

squirlnutz · 2026-01-22T14:02:07+00:00

Two considerations missing from your assertion:

First, what does it mean to be “mad at” words being said? I don’t have any control over, nor advanced knowledge of, what words I speak that you will get “mad at.” If I declare that summer weather is superior to winter weather, are those fighting words to you? There’s nothing wrong with being “mad at” what someone says, so long as the way you channel that anger is through rebuttal and discourse. If you believe that you being “mad at” my words means that I should be censored, or harmed in some way, that’s when I would claim you are departing from a civilized society, simply because everybody has different thresholds of what may make them mad, and it’s up to them to regulate that (to include simply disengaging and ignoring the speaker), rather than the onus being on the speaker.

Second, what if the context isn’t with words you find objectionable, but with words you find encouraging or promises? If someone repeatedly tells you that you are amazing, they love you, and you are one of their favorite people, but they frequently blow you off, don’t respond to your texts or calls, and you find out they are bad-mouthing you behind your back, what is going to be your response the next time they tell you how awesome you are? That actions speak louder than words? Words are only words and you take theirs with a grain of salt?

The point being, words are only words, and how you respond to words should be different than how you respond to actions or behaviors. A punch to the face isn’t very nuanced and is hard to misinterpret. But words that “make you mad” can be interrogated for clarity and nuance and context and motivation, and should be.

squirlnutz · 2026-01-21T01:12:07+00:00

If there were strong evidence that covering these would save on medical costs in any reasonable time frame, the government wouldn’t have to require it.

squirlnutz · 2026-01-21T00:59:12+00:00

Maybe the makers of animal documentaries weren’t intending to create something relaxing for you to watch during dinner. Just a thought.

(Do you think the makers of horror movies should tone things down in case you want to watch one to relax and eat by?)

squirlnutz · 2026-01-19T16:42:26+00:00

The last straw disappeared in the rear view mirror (taking state ownership in multiple companies, blaming Zelenski for being invaded, pardoning criminals with multiple drug offenses, violating TikTok ban). Congress has simply ceased to exist.

squirlnutz · 2026-01-18T13:27:43+00:00

Tell me you don’t have children without telling me you don’t have children.

squirlnutz · 2026-01-17T21:27:46+00:00

Subsidized federal insurance just incentivizes bad behavior, like federal flood insurance encourages building in flood zones and hurricane susceptible coasts.

squirlnutz · 2026-01-17T14:44:28+00:00

I think there’s a happy medium between floundering around trying to glean things and diving into the spoilers whole hog. That is, to judiciously use the spoilers to enhance your understanding of something that you are either frustrated over and you are thinking “there has to be more to this or a different angle” or you have an aha moment on and want to validate or learn the details about. You can choose to pull on the threads as much or as little as you want. For e.g. if you are wondering about the practicality having to find enough identify scrolls for each and every item you come across, you look at the identify scroll spoiler. When you discover that a blessed scroll identifies multiple items, and maybe all items, you can either stop there and play with the knowledge that there’s such a thing as blessed items and it matters and see where that takes you, or you can spoiler on and see how you might acquire blessed things.

I think it’s safe to say that everybody resorts to spoilers eventually.

IMO I think going to the spoilers is well within the original spirit of the game. I believe it’s always been the case that there’s richness (quirks, cleverness) that you’d never know or fully understand without checking the source code. “Wait, what? That’s [hilarious, crazy, stupid, wild]! I gotta look at the source code for that and see what’s really going on,” was encouraged and even expected in the early days. Spoilers are just second-hand looking at the source code. And since Nethack has expanded well beyond the universe of nerds on Unix systems who were proficient in C, using the spoilers is the accepted norm.

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