I read a novel set in the early days of Hitler’s reign*
A private eye and a cop are chatting.
“Last year, Germany executed thirty five people. This year it’s already over 200. I don’t know where it’s going to end.”
*Berlin Noir trilogy by Phillip Kerr.
https://www.britannica.com/biography/Ernst-Rohm
Two fisted cross dresser killed by Hitler for being a Socialist.
I have tremendous respect for Raquel Welch’s son
When he was 10 years old his mom was the biggest sex symbol on the planet.
He managed to live a quasi-normal life and wasn’t crucified once.
Look at the post-Watergate era. Even people who truly hated Nixon, like Hunter Thompson, were content to let him rot after he resigned.
Meanwhile, Ronald Reagan, Roger Ailes, and the Right looked at all of Nixon’s mistakes and determined to avoid them in the future.
The free press was Nixon’s biggest enemy and Reagan started killing it as soon as he got in.
Slightly off topic.
https://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-32544343
tl, dr = Hollywood star had a refugee do her nails. Realized that there were a lot of similar ladies who needed a way to make money.
I’m guessing that there was someone who showed one Indian how to open a pizza place and they inspired/aided others.
imho using any political label is a giant waste of time.
When I see folks arguing over whether someone is a ‘democratic socialist’ or a ‘Left Liberal’ I just want to shake my head.
Look at the famous 1956 GOP Convention political platform. None of those people would have called themselves ‘social democrats’ but that’s pretty much what they wanted.
I’m a pragmatist who votes for whichever major candidate seems to be best. I don’t vote for Third Parties anymore because the Third Party never seems to draw votes from the GOP.
Tell that joke to your mother.
See how funny she thinks it is.
I see what you’re saying.
On the other hand, that’s more about corruption than it is about actually solving the problem.
Where do you get the 75% useless?
What is a specific situation you’ve seen where it didn’t work?
Serious, not trying to start trouble.
I live in New York City.
We have a lot Mexican restaurants run by Chinese people.
A few pizza parlors run by Mexicans.
[off topic?]
The only time I heard the phrase ‘shadow’ used that way was on the show ‘Silo’ based on the book ‘Wool.’ Hugh Howey author
I honestly think most of them would rather ‘win’ an internet debate than get a real world win in an election.
You do understand how elections work, right? The voting booth only cares about how many votes get cast.
Maybe instead of reading theory, you should study how politics works in the real world.
Look up Jerry Falwell.
He was a televangelist with an extensive mailing list. His plan was simple. Local GOP clubs decide who is going to take job. Things like county clerks and sheriffs. Falwell would flood every meeting with his people. If there were twenty folks at the last meeting, Falwell’s Moral Majority would show up with fifty. It didn’t take long for the grassroots campaign to sway the higher ups in the GOP.
Look at Leftists who have actually won elections in the US. Neither AOC or Mamdani spent a lot of time talking about Marx, they talked about saving consumers money and making their lives better.
And if you need a good example of action over theory look at the transportation network. How many bus drivers or train operators can repair their machines? Not many. Or food service. Think a lot of cooks understand the chemistry of baking? An ambulance technician doesn’t need to know advanced cardiology to do CPR.
Finally, if you plan on playing the ‘Democrats are bad’ card, think on this.
Back in the day, Frederick Douglas supported Abe Lincoln over a candidate who was 100% opposed to slavery. Lincoln was fine with the south keeping their slaves id it meant keeping the Union.
Douglas did a cold-blooded assessment and decided that it was better to help Lincoln win and be able to get close to him later, than it would be to lose and not have a chance to make a difference.
If you enjoy doing it, it’s not “work.”
I don’t want to get into a long argument over definitions of terms.
We can agree that effort is required, but effort can be done joyously.
You couldn’t pay anyone to match the efforts Olympic athletes, who happily do the work
A father takes his five year old to the high school principal and says that he’d like to enroll him. The principal says that little John is goign to have to prove he can handle the work. Principal writes an algebra problem and shows it to the lad. John answers it without using a pencil. He asks some history and political questions. John nails them all.
Turns to the father. "This last question is to see if he has the emotional maturity we expect of our students.
“Johnny, what’s a four letter word that ends in U-N-T and means a woman?”
“Aunt.”
“Congratulations. Johnny can come to high school.”
As they walk home, dad says to Johnny, “I’m so proud of you. I know I would have messed up that last question”
You know that Dr. Who meme? The one where the blonde woman asks “Is it a lot?”
Just think of it that way.
I beg to differ.
A good teacher finds a way to excite the student and stir their imagination.
I’ve learned plenty of things because I associated it with something I enjoyed.
Unpopular opinion.
Studying Marx is a waste of time.
Focus on real world politics and what can be done right now.
An hour spent reading a book is an hour that could have been spent putting up posters for a candidate.
You aren’t going to get a revolution any time soon, but the next election is coming up fast.
“Zoo Station” by David Downing. It’s a novel set in Berlin in the run up to WW2.
The hero is an Englishman living in Germany so he can be near his ex-wife and their son.
One aspect of it is that, while the hero gets caught up in a Soviet spy ring, he’s also doing things like taking his kid to football games and trying to buy a car.
Your comment reminded me of that.
My experience was that when I got a job with a lot of personal interactions I got a lot better at interacting.
It wasn’t in a shop, it was in a public health organization. I did have a partner who I could rely on to help when things got tough.
I felt the job was tough and pushing me, but that was what I felt I needed.
That’s my story.