Disqus - Latest Comments for smendler

Re: Why California Should Learn from Maine and Not Alaska on Electoral Reform

smendler — Sun, 17 Jan 2021 06:02:52 -0000

Well done as always, Mike! Part of the problem we face is educating the voters - not just about the existence of the problem, but also to the pros and cons of the various possible solutions.

Re: The Bible’s Super-Short & Always Useful Prayers

smendler — Mon, 07 Dec 2020 21:33:25 -0000

"Domine, non sum dignus..."

Re: Unified rule for Democrats would end America as we know it

smendler — Wed, 21 Oct 2020 10:56:38 -0000

This is insane. Also hypocritical.

It seems pretty clear at this point that Biden will put a lot more effort into mollifying Republicans and wealthy donors than progressives.

Re: What will we call the men and women of the Space Force?

smendler — Wed, 04 Sep 2019 10:08:49 -0000

Maybe the nickname could be "zeegees," or "ZGs," for Zero Gravity...

Re: What will we call the men and women of the Space Force?

smendler — Wed, 04 Sep 2019 10:07:45 -0000

Oooh, how about "The Unsullied"?

Re: What will we call the men and women of the Space Force?

smendler — Wed, 04 Sep 2019 10:07:03 -0000

Having said that, we could perhaps generalize from "astronaut" - "star sailor" - to... what? "Astromach"?

Re: What will we call the men and women of the Space Force?

smendler — Wed, 04 Sep 2019 10:01:12 -0000

First off, words like "soldier" and "sailor" aren't nicknames, they're job labels. "GI," "grunt," "jarhead," etc. are nicknames. Nicknames can't be preassigned, I think; they will emerge from the popular culture, or from within the members of the force themselves.

Re: Trump's approval rating at all-time high in Gallup poll

smendler — Tue, 07 May 2019 14:12:56 -0000

Well, apparently the Devil is living up to his side of the bargain. I wonder what Trump has promised in return?

https://screwdisk.wordpress...

Re: Of Hugos and Hopepunk: Science Fiction’s Compassionate Revolution

smendler — Sat, 04 May 2019 19:38:01 -0000

I think you just proved the article's point.

Re: Herrenvolk ‘democracy’ and Herrenvolk religion

smendler — Sun, 31 Mar 2019 16:04:05 -0000

Cf. Sen. Mike Lee's recent comments re making more "American babies" to cope with climate change...

Re: The biggest threat to the Constitution isn't Trump's national emergency declaration

smendler — Thu, 28 Mar 2019 14:26:58 -0000

www.movetoamend.org

Re: The biggest threat to the Constitution isn't Trump's national emergency declaration

smendler — Thu, 28 Mar 2019 14:26:34 -0000

Progressives need our own, parallel effort for Constitutional reform. There are many things about our system that need to be upgraded. #USA2point0 #RebootAmerica #NextRepublic

For example...
1. Clarify the rights and responsibilities of firearms ownership
2. Restore checks and balances, not only between branches of government (Executive/Legislative/Judicial), but between segments of society (Market/State/People); ensure that all levels/classes have meaningful representation
3. Rescind "corporate personhood," making clear that corporations do not have the same innate "rights" as citizens
4. Make clear that political donations are not "free speech" and can be regulated; enforce total transparency in political influence (no more "dark money")
5. Make true multiparty democracy possible - institute voting reforms such as Instant Runoff or Ranked Choice
6. Make Congress and state legislatures more reflective of the population; get rid of "winner take all" systems and institute proportional representation

That's just for starters.

Re: Climate change is affecting northeastern Pennsylvania

smendler — Wed, 30 Jan 2019 11:55:30 -0000

If it makes you feel better to think that way, fine.

Re: Climate change is affecting northeastern Pennsylvania

smendler — Wed, 30 Jan 2019 11:54:50 -0000

It's a more accurate phrase, and less confusing, for exactly the reason you cite.

Re: Climate change is affecting northeastern Pennsylvania

smendler — Wed, 30 Jan 2019 11:53:47 -0000

Actually, even Forbes is starting to come around.

https://www.forbes.com/site...

Business leaders are recognizing that the effects are real, and that they will affect corporate bottom lines.

Re: Climate change is affecting northeastern Pennsylvania

smendler — Wed, 30 Jan 2019 11:50:10 -0000

Consider the Laws of Creation - that is, the laws of physics, chemistry, geology, biology... all these laws were built in by the Creator, right? In fact, they are perhaps the clearest expression of His Will that we can see. We ignore them, or try to work around them, at our peril. God doesn't twiddle knobs on a big weather control board.

Re: Climate change is affecting northeastern Pennsylvania

smendler — Wed, 30 Jan 2019 11:49:05 -0000

Uh, no.

Re: Climate change is affecting northeastern Pennsylvania

smendler — Wed, 30 Jan 2019 11:45:46 -0000

An excellent article! Thanks for publishing it - that took some courage!

Re: We Are All Inside God

smendler — Thu, 17 Jan 2019 16:19:06 -0000

I came out of dental anesthesia once with this in my mind:

god is that
which we are
within

Re: Jerry Falwell Jr. and the Toxic Theology of ‘Two Kingdoms’

smendler — Fri, 04 Jan 2019 10:32:23 -0000

I suggest the term "Mammonists."

Re: From W to Obama to Trump, the Policy Has Been Endless War

smendler — Wed, 27 Dec 2017 02:52:57 -0000

The "endless war" is not a failure; it is exactly what its creators intended it to be: a conflict that can neither be resolved nor abandoned. (See the "non-fiction" section of Orwell's NINETEEN EIGHTY-FOUR - the part where Orwell explains the true meaning of the phrase "WAR IS PEACE" - for further explanation.) The neocons knew exactly what they were doing, and succeeded.

Re: From W to Obama to Trump, the Policy Has Been Endless War

smendler — Wed, 27 Dec 2017 02:48:12 -0000

The system functions as designed.

Re: Why Are Two Old Socialists Like Bernie Sanders and Jeremy Corbyn Leading the 21st Century Left?

smendler — Tue, 01 Aug 2017 08:12:00 -0000

Because socialism is itself old, and the times call for the development of New Isms.

Check out the work of the Next System Project, and the New Economy Coalition, for example.

Re: It’s Time to Eliminate Political Parties

smendler — Sun, 16 Jul 2017 06:13:06 -0000

Dear Shane -- I certainly understand your frustration, but I think parties can serve a useful purpose, if they truly represent distinct communities of interest within the body politic. The problem is, in part, the system within which these parties operate. Our two-party system is the result of the way we do elections (called "first past the post" or "winner take all"). (See the entry on "Duverger's Law" in Wikipedia.) If we shifted to a proportional-representation system, such as most European and other democracies have, I believe we would have greater participation in the democratic process, more viewpoints represented at the table, and less of the Manichean "us or them" mentality that presently characterizes (and frequently paralyzes) American politics.

Another problem in the system for Christians specifically, though, is the way that financial interests (I call them "Mammonists") have yoked Christians' concerns to their own greedy agenda, through skillful manipulation of the hot-button issues of sexual politics like abortion and homosexuality. In a true multiparty system, there would be room for people who think economic morality is at least as important as sexual morality, and want to hold capitalism to account.

Re: Can a New American Revolution Break Our Nation's Culture of Cruelty?

smendler — Fri, 07 Jul 2017 06:43:48 -0000

Didja see where Grover Norquist said that raising taxes on the rich would be "cruel," because it would result in lower-class people losing their jobs?

http://www.huffingtonpost.c...