Disqus - Latest Comments for NickDupree

Re: China’s Age of Discovery: The Voyages of Zheng He

NickDupree — Wed, 27 Apr 2016 14:40:42 -0000

I don't own the picture, found it randomly, so I don't know

Re: The Fake Debt Crisis

NickDupree — Sun, 08 Dec 2013 01:48:14 -0000

you're missing the point of what the Teabag party is really talking about when they are talking about debt: fear of being beholden to China, their beef is who the debt is TO, more than the amount of the deficit

Re: China’s Age of Discovery: The Voyages of Zheng He

NickDupree — Tue, 03 Dec 2013 14:03:36 -0000

the Europeans knew about the Earth being spherical way before
the 1st century... a spherical Earth was developed in Greek astronomy, beginning with Pythagoras (6th century BC). Aristotle accepted the spherical shape of the Earth on empirical grounds around 330 BC, and knowledge of the spherical Earth gradually began to spread to the rest of Europe from the Greeks. see https://en.wikipedia.org/wi...
Though I don't doubt that the Chinese understood the spherical Earth as quickly as 1000 BC or earlier, they're a highly educated, highly literate society and great astronomers. Europeans were still in loin cloths, in tribal societies like the Gauls, Saxons, while the Chinese were making star maps.

Is Menzies really repeating the misconception that educated Europeans prior to Zheng He and Columbus believed in a flat Earth???

Re: China’s Age of Discovery: The Voyages of Zheng He

NickDupree — Mon, 02 Dec 2013 14:32:03 -0000

the reason Columbus and others wanted a direct route to Chinese trade, is profit, and anti-Muslim hate.

they hated that whenever they traded over the Silk Road, the Turks and other Islamic civilizations took multiple cuts, driving up the expense in ways they felt unfair and akin to unChristian usury. And they (European Christendom) really hated the Turks (Ottoman Empire) who were not only political and imperial rivals increasingly expanding their territory into the Balkans and Eastern Europe, but were seen as the spiritual, cosmic enemy as well. The Popes of the 14th and 15th centuries especially focused on new ways to be resource independent from Ottoman trade, not rely on Turkish sources and Turkish-middleman-trading for necessities. A great example of this is the Pope trying to find home-turf sources of alum to get "victory over the Turk," as explained in this video https://www.youtube.com/wat...

Venice was the center of Ottoman trade and the center of this story

Re: China’s Age of Discovery: The Voyages of Zheng He

NickDupree — Mon, 02 Dec 2013 04:04:09 -0000

thanks so much for your comment. The first real comment in a long time.

all of Zheng He's expeditions were documented extensively, in every detail, in journals, diaries, logs, etc kept by the crew; given the national profile and prestige involved, not to mention the astronomical costs, not writing everything down would be unthinkable. Going to Venice would be unprecedented for the Chinese, extraordinary news; would you climb Mt. Everest and fail to write and brag about it? The idea that the Ming Empire would mount the greatest expedition EVAR, the equivalent scale of the Apollo program for the 15th century Chinese, reaching the New World would be like reaching the moon, maybe be even more expensive given the epic fleet of mega ships, and no one mentioned it or wrote about it?? ridiculous

Nick

Re: “Look in their eyes ma, You’ll see me”

NickDupree — Tue, 26 Nov 2013 03:04:03 -0000

WOWZA! Tom Morello's guitar work on that song was beautiful... just brilliant!!!!

Thanks for sharing.

Nick

Re: Nothing Romantic About It: A History of the Filibuster

NickDupree — Tue, 26 Nov 2013 02:40:09 -0000

Agreed! Hear hear!

The health of our democratic institutions is crucial—for better or worse the House and Senate are our democratic institutions, our deliberative, collaborative, democratically-elected "people's house(s)"—and when they are weak, the less representative, more authoritarian parts of our system become strong, filling the vacuum. Simple physics, and inevitable given our constitutional system that relies on checks and balances. The national security apparatus and "unitary executive" run amuck without Congressional oversight and functionality (and credibility) to check them.

In this recent essay, http://wp.me/pvv6K-C6
I argue that procedural power grabs like the Hastert rule and the filibuster-ing of everything are endangering our system of checks and balances, and democratic institutions writ large.

We need a new term for rules (e.g. the Hastert rule) that violate the spirit of the constitution if not its letter: I propose "counter-constitutional"

Nick

Re: Passing the Sacrament: The Radical Nature of Mormon Priesthood

NickDupree — Tue, 12 Nov 2013 16:11:15 -0000

The Mormon priesthood makes much more sense if you have studied Leviticus and the Levitic priesthood, and view it in that context. I once saw a member of the priesthood do what I consider a medical miracle, have never experienced anything like it since... and though my theistic belief system is far from Mormonism or even Christianity, after those experiences I know that there's something special and legit here with the Mormon priesthood.

Re: Obamacare, Student Loans, and the Future of the Republican Party

NickDupree — Tue, 12 Nov 2013 15:51:28 -0000

Obamacare is FAR from "free health care"... the reality is closer to what John here describes ^ a very costly private insurance plan. It is less like "government control" and more like dystopian corporatism.

Re: Why, Yes. I am a Liberal Mormon.

NickDupree — Mon, 04 Nov 2013 22:20:21 -0000

Smith is more Moses or Abraham like than Jesus like. You guys are inseparably OT right down to living in doppleganger Israel next to the doppleganger Dead Sea, and the resurrection of the Levtic priesthood with its original Jewish sensibilities intact for the most part, which I respect deeply, find very beautiful.... Of course I do understand the urge to go "more NT," but I think this has more to do with manglings of the OT that certain types of Protestant "sola scriptura" thinking gets into, which I don't really hear from Mormons (I don't consider ya'll Protestant in the usual sense of the word nor could you be accused of being sola scriptura). For us with a Jewish background who read Torah in Hebrew transliteration within context of oral tradition, the Protestant "literalism" seems completely wrong, taking it out of context and taking 20th century mistranslations "literally," embracing the letter of the law while missing the spirit. For example, the context of Leviticus is rules for the men of the Levitic priesthood, and its prohibitions on certain narrow activities were never meant for bumper stickers or yelling, its spirit is different entirely. But for the most part Mormons don't have that problem, do get the spirit of the law RIGHT and don't mangle the Torah, maybe Smith read Hebrew? of course context always helps but you guys get closer to the gist of Torah than most Christians IMO... this is the main part of my deep respect for Mormonism

Re: The Most Authentic Politician in America: Terry McAuliffe

NickDupree — Mon, 04 Nov 2013 21:06:59 -0000

if McAuliffe was honest in his advertising "yes, I'm a Washington insider" your post might be true, but he isn't running as himself really

Re: The Most Authentic Politician in America: Terry McAuliffe

NickDupree — Mon, 04 Nov 2013 18:59:30 -0000

take me with you (to the ivory tower)... it's bleak outside the ivory

Re: Why, Yes. I am a Liberal Mormon.

NickDupree — Sun, 03 Nov 2013 19:42:20 -0000

religious liberals are badly needed in the United States and "western world," desperately needed in the fight to save an increasingly anemic and faltering political liberalism that needs the backbone that comes from having a steady moral core and unshakable respect for life and human dignity. There's a bigger meta-battle going on right now—and always is, just louder now—between nihilism and more traditional human values, unmaking vs. making, meaninglessness vs. meaning, a macro-battle that transcends R vs D, is deeper than the political combat that's so visible, and in this meta-struggle we (liberals) need all the religious liberals we can get... we desperately need meaning, need light in the blackness.

Myself, I'm kind of a religious and philosophical weirdo. Lacking time to fully explain with a 4000 word essay, I'm what happens when a Jewish mother teaches at a Jesuit college so her oldest son (me) grows up on campus, later is a student there, so 2/3 of my life so far is spent in and around Jesuit thinkers, and I absorb the respect for all life and activism against fascism and militarism, etc. What sucked me into your blog were the posts "Jesuits and metallica," and "I am no longer a Democrat," plus a soft spot for Mormons... I feel like the neighborhood Mormons were some of the only kids who'd talk to me in high school (class of 2000). That and a certain fascination I have with what I call "Old Testament Christianity," a uniquely American approach that was most-developed by the Puritans and shows up a lot in Mormonism... ya'll (Mormons) are maybe even more "Old Testament," than the Puritans, if you think about it, the temple, the priesthood and other elements in your bag are deeply Jewish at root...
Thanks and keep on blogging,

Nick

Re: No, Sen. Coburn the correct term is “badass.”

NickDupree — Sun, 03 Nov 2013 18:48:42 -0000

is anyone else curious about why Sen. Coburn is here in my neighborhood (NYC} instead of Oklahoma City or Tulsa with his constituents? Senators seem increasingly confused about who their constituents are, and their frequent pilgrimages to Wall Street to bow before mammon and back up the bribe truck for a new loading should unsettle us all, and certainly THAT profanity should get more coverage than the occasional verbal obscenity.

Nick

Re: Stop Judging Libertarian Mormons

NickDupree — Sun, 03 Nov 2013 18:36:35 -0000

would it be hypocritical, if for example, he gets elected and votes to gut Medicaid funding and harm his own children? State legislatures have more power to change their states' Medicaid program than anyone else, and since the mid to late '90s huge and devastating cuts have been common

Re: Bob Bennett Warns Against the Tea Party and other “Slogan Screamers”

NickDupree — Mon, 28 Oct 2013 14:03:54 -0000

I have no idea how my attack on the for-profit health care industry and "industry pigdogs" got confused with "Limbaugh talking points" You seem to have completely missed both the letter and the spirit of my criticism here of the ACA, which was that it perpetuates the ghettoization of the poor, the elderly and the disabled into Medicare and Medicaid. People who need the most help get bubkis from the ACA; we watch with growing despair as "the middle class" gets new subsidies on the exchanges (though if they fall out of their current income bracket they'll be ineligible for the subsidy next year) while Medicaid and Medicare get worse, more underfunded. The sequester cuts are terrible and mostly the fault of an increasingly radical unhinged GOP ...but why isn't the ACA protecting us?

Nick

Re: Bob Bennett Warns Against the Tea Party and other “Slogan Screamers”

NickDupree — Sun, 27 Oct 2013 03:12:20 -0000

that the Tea Party is racist and contains terrifying fascist elements is true. Still, I seek to understand our opposition. We ignore the desperation and despair in the rust belt and heartland at our own peril...

Re: Bob Bennett Warns Against the Tea Party and other “Slogan Screamers”

NickDupree — Thu, 24 Oct 2013 02:50:26 -0000

I think many of the Tea Party’s grievances spring from a legitimate place, and do try to be fair. Generally I’m much more sympathetic to the movement than its members of Congress, some of whom (especially in the House) seem to have regressed from comparably responsible businessman-types to incoherent lunatics so rage-inebriated that they’re about one notch above tantrum-ing toddlers scribbling “WHO IS JOHN GALT” in their own feces on the walls of the Capitol rotunda. The current crop of Congress-critters certainly don't command respect....

The elites shouldn't be dismissive of the despair and desperation driving Tea Partier rage, though. Ignoring the economic marginalization hollowing out "flyover country" is going to bite us in the ass big time. Already our clueless liberal class is wondering aloud why the heartland is sending radicals to Congress. Another decade without a program of economic inclusion to ratchet down the desperation in the red states, our feckless pondering on the left could be 'how come this Mussolini with a Texas drawl just disbanded Congress? '

Re: Bob Bennett Warns Against the Tea Party and other “Slogan Screamers”

NickDupree — Thu, 24 Oct 2013 02:20:19 -0000

the comparison being bandied about by pundits, that Thad Cochran (R - MS) is "the next Bennett" is clearly ill-fitting, as Bennett is one of the few statesmen out there. Wyden-Bennett was a bold health reform package and a bajillion times more sensible than the great potpourri of offal that is the Affordable Care Act. Wyden-Bennett ultimately was too unpalatable to industry lobbyists/pigdogs because it meant dramatically simplifying health care and abolishing what Wyden calls "the Medicaid caste system." If I'm an industry pigdog, I want the Medicaid caste system relatively intact, no matter how odious it is getting, because it sequesters the "bad risks" (our brothers and sisters who need the most help) outside the private market, limiting the insurance pool to comparably profitable people. The ACA doesn't alter this much, since if you're me (e.g. one of the most disabled) or you're over 65, you're barred from the ACA private insurance pools. Anyhow...

Losing Bob Bennett means a common sense vacuum in the Senate, whereas losing Cochran is like losing Boss Hog. I'm left of pretty much everyone in the Senate, but I would prefer a Mike Lee over Cochran. At least a Lee has an opposition to warmongering and spying I can find points of agreement with.

Nick

Re: I Love Pearl Jam: Eddie Vedder’s Critique of Guns

NickDupree — Mon, 21 Oct 2013 15:00:45 -0000

Thanks so much. His point about the 30-bullet magazines is an important one. The courts have never ruled out regulation of firearms and ammo, since the term "well-regulated militia" implies regulatory schemes (which were everywhere in the 1700s).

Re: I Love Pearl Jam: Eddie Vedder’s Critique of Guns

NickDupree — Sun, 20 Oct 2013 22:29:54 -0000

unfortunately the video ^ no longer works

Re: High-Speed Rail Vital for PWD and the Nation; Why Have the Promises Evaporated?

NickDupree — Thu, 28 Mar 2013 15:19:47 -0000

I do wish the private sector could offer a faster, bullet train alternative to the slow Amtrak trains, and some of the Eastern Corridor routes—the ones even Amtrak turns a profit on—would be ultra-lucrative because the demand is so high. At least bullet trains, true high-speed rail, should be available on congested, high-demand routes, like the ones I mentioned (NYC to DC). The public that needs this service would pay for it, a faster alternative would draw high fares. Why can't this be a lucrative investment for someone, if only on high-demand routes? If Amtrak is privatized, would that help or harm?

Re: Helping to get deep cycle batteries, chargers, etc to disabled couple on 12th floor of dark Manhattan apartment building, to run survival necessities

NickDupree — Fri, 02 Nov 2012 22:32:56 -0000

I am so grateful for the outpouring of car batteries to keep my ventilator and other equipment going and keep me out of the aforementioned hospital horror stories. Here's our NPR interview: http://www.npr.org/2012/11/...

Reportedly the area near the offending ConEd station on 14th St (whose failure triggered the cascade of outages across Lower Manhattan) now has electricity again. Hopefully if much of the Lower East Side's power has been restored, our power here on the "Lower West Side" will soon follow. As of now, no power here.

Re: Helping to get deep cycle batteries, chargers, etc to disabled couple on 12th floor of dark Manhattan apartment building, to run survival necessities

NickDupree — Fri, 02 Nov 2012 21:58:22 -0000

Hi, this is Nick. You can follow me on Twitter @NickDupree which focuses on my comics (I love creating sequential art) and also the policies that effect people with disabilities.

All federal, state and local policies insist I go to the hospital. But that is the most dangerous place for me. Hospitals’ normal assessment and care processes have been stricken with liability sclerosis: liability first, human life second. Hospital policy is they only allow hospital ventilators. Because of liability fears surrounding hospital staff operating ventilators they’ve never been trained on and the hospital does not own, the policy is non-negotiable: I’d be taken off my vent, put on a hospital vent. This almost destroyed my stoma in ‘08. I'd be toast if that happened again. So I don't see evacuation to a hospital as an option. I wish there was a hospital I could trust to “first, do no harm,” but right now I just trust them to a) put me on a ventilator that will maim or kill me b) not have enough staff to feed or medicate me, because they have genuine emergencies on their hands. I am from Mobile, Alabama and was there until 2008; I tried to go to USA Children’s hospital when Hurricanes Georges and Opal hit the Gulf Coast and no beds or medicine were forthcoming (plus, the hospital lost *their electricity* stranding us in our wheelchairs staring at dead elevator doors for hours during Opal) which forced us to un-evacuate, go back home . Rode out Danny, Ivan, Katrina and more on batteries. I've been there, and some EMS guy I've never met yelling I need to be with TRAINED PROFESSIONALS (as my RN is standing next to me—lol) isn't impressing me. Education on vent-dependent people is badly needed.

We are condemned as "against medical advice" for not evacuating to hospitals that were evacuated or in danger of evacuating. The story of NYU's generator failing and all the NICU babies have to be taken off failed ventilators and bagged is horrifying, as are the stories of Bellevue, NYU Downtown evacuating. In Soviet 'merica, hospital evacuate you. But all these horrible stories are unlikely to spark the change needed. If medical advice is to put yourself in those horror situations, I don't mind being against it.

Re: But First...

NickDupree — Tue, 11 Sep 2012 01:06:40 -0000

LOVE these panels, bunny rocker! more THIS, more buntar and buntarist!