You appear to be defining religion as belief held without objective knowledge.

But if this is true, we could argue all knowledge is religion. Sense none of us understand how consciousness works; the idea that we are creatures capable of having knowledge or understanding becomes a faith-based claim.

Obama has launched more drone strikes than any other Peace-Prize winner in history.

He’s certainly not the most controversial Nobel winner, but his award was embarrassing in the sense that European intelligentsia was congratulating backward America for electing a black President.

You may not agree that this was condescending, but it’s hard to argue that Obama’s legacy is of the peacemaker domestically or internationally.

They’re a protected class because they’re singled out for violence because of their class. And it’s a real world problem not a logic quiz. Misogyny and misandry are not equivalent in reality the way they are in the dictionary.

How exactly would it boost moderates except in that once the extremes are eliminated, your vote goes to the moderate that you want rather than it failing to oppose the people you don’t want.

I think you’ve pretty much got it. Extreme candidates tend to get eliminated because they tend to be the least popular with other parties voters. RCV punishes this unpopularity. Also candidates with similar goals can work together, this advantage is obviously is going to be unavailable for people running from the fringe.

Just imagine a New York primary where two weak moderates were running against a progressive. The two moderates are almost working together because it’s likely that whoever looses will gift their votes to the other. Ranked choice candidates have often “teamed up”, with ads asking their supporters to rank the other candidate 2nd.

I think lots of Democrats have been thinking about how the primary in New York could have been different and this is the answer to that question.

Ranked choice voting tends to boost moderate candidates. While this is valuable in a general election, during a party primary it protects the status quo.

It’s hard for me to look at this as anything other than Schumer and Jefferies putting obstacles in the way of Progressives.

Why punish the fat when being stupid is still free everywhere?

What’s “g**r” ?

Internet prank… “never let you down”…hmmm, can’t think of anything.

Argument and debate don’t work because they’re a terrible way to spread, express, and defend ideals.

The ironic thing about “Enlightenment” philosophy is that people cling to it’s methods and orthodoxy despite all evidence of their own lived experience. The truth doesn’t care about your logic.

You’ve just found the giant gaping hole in Marxist theory. Capitalism is built on chauvinism, bigotry, and supremacy precisely because in-group solidarity is more powerful than anything built on artificial class economic interests.

Imagining that race/gender/sexuality difference will fade away once class solidarity is achieved is arguing that capitalism must be defeated before we can resist it.

Communism is old, and young. The principals of communal living are the oldest form of human organization. It’s also the most common form today if you count small groups like family.

But as an organizing principal for government, it’s a baby. The Communist Manifesto was published in 1848. The Bolshevik revolution was in 1917. So the whole idea of communism is < 150-200yo. Compare to capitalism at this age and it’s all slavery and settler colonialism; the most massive redistribution of wealth through theft in history.

The logic that communism is a bad system because the Soviet Union should also condemn capitalism because the Dutch East India Company.

Whenever anyone says Chamberlan “gave up” Czechoslovakia I ask one simple question: What was he supposed to do? He could have declared war, like the lion Churchill did for Poland. But I’ll remind you that the only thing England sent to Poland was thoughts and prayers. Followed by over a year of “phony” war.

Look at a map. You’ll notice that Czechoslovakia is quite far from England. With fucking Germany in between!

The whole Chamberlan meme is just right-wing propaganda to delegitimize diplomacy. It only makes sense if you don’t think about it.

So, if the AI bubble pops, it’ll be a great time to build a PC

American style libertarianism is incoherent. It’s just Republicans who smoke weed and sleep in on Sunday.

Even Ayn Rand saw through their bullshit, calling them “anti-capitalist” because she understood that capitalism requires a strong State.

Considering how many diseases could be treated by a pause button on metabolism, I would expect this technology to mature in clinics and hospitals long before we get them on spaceships.

Apple has invested heavily in infrastructure that will make every iPhone and app on the store transparent to an AI running on bespoke silicone designed for the task. Much like Windows, Apple foresees a future where AI is a substitute for the GUI.

https://www.archyde.com/apples-ai-integration-a-deep-dive-into-iphones-future/

Popular conspiracy theories are still bullshit.

Epstein was cooked, his life was over; he was a pedo facing the US justice system without his privilege; he was destined to never leave prison. People suicide over this sort of thing all the time.

Their are a few facts that are suspicious. But nothing that could support the notion that he was murdered, much less a grand murder conspiracy from a Hollywood spy movie.

Not only is it perfectly reasonable to believe Epstein killed himself, with the info we’ve got, it’s the only reasonable opinion.

We need to remember that many “charity” government programs are stealth subsidies. We don’t “gift” weapons to Israel, we buy weapons from Raython. We don’t “gift” rice to poor countries, we buy rice from US farmers. We don’t “gift” food to poor families, we buy groceries from US retailers.

Trump is one of the fools who thinks that government spending money is the same thing as throwing that money into the furnace.