overview for meep

Europe’s Greens ask Jill Stein to pull out of US election to prevent Trump victory in c/[email protected]

[–] [email protected] 0 points 13 hours ago* (last edited 13 hours ago)

Also I'd like to add while rereading the thread, I'm not sure where you see the disconnect. Everything seems pretty straightforward to me.

Europe’s Greens ask Jill Stein to pull out of US election to prevent Trump victory in c/[email protected]

[–] [email protected] 1 points 14 hours ago (1 children)

You are pretty darn passionate about voting and 3rd parties and that's great. I read your comment so I was replying to your comment.

Sometimes tangents happen online, and sometimes topics change. Please understand that I am also passionate about these things, so in a Lemmy thread we can end up in many different places. No need to get upset.

Europe’s Greens ask Jill Stein to pull out of US election to prevent Trump victory in c/[email protected]

[–] [email protected] 0 points 14 hours ago (4 children)

That was an aggressive reply and wasn't very Mr. Rodgers of you.

Did you learn nothing from PBS kids?

Joe Biden bites several babies at Halloween event in c/[email protected]

[–] [email protected] 7 points 17 hours ago

His bite is like a vampire's- those kids are about to become 80 year old politicians!

Europe’s Greens ask Jill Stein to pull out of US election to prevent Trump victory in c/[email protected]

[–] [email protected] -1 points 17 hours ago* (last edited 17 hours ago) (6 children)

I think the challenge this argument has is that it ignores the spoiler effect that is the biggest problem in FPTP, and it assumes party changes have happened because a third party successfully unseated a traditional party in a sort of coup.

First, the spoiler effect is very real. You'll notice the better a third party does, the worse it is for that whole faction of the electorate. It's a bit of a paradox but you can see it with the notable 3rd party runs. Teddy Roosevelt got Woodrow Wilson elected. Ross Perot gave the election to Clinton by splitting the right. Ralph Nader solidified Bush as president. The better the third party does, the stronger the spoiler effect. It's not a conspiracy, it's just the math.

Next, when there is a party change, such as the fall of the federalists or the whigs, it is because they fell apart due to losing a war or their positions (such as opposing manifest destiny) became moot and they no longer had a purpose. This created a void that was then filled with a new party. This was not because a 3rd party arrived and had a David vs Goliath situation. In this metaphor Goliath was already dead when David showed up.

Some questions to ask: what does it mean to have a politically diverse election? How does FPTP or RCV have impact in a time where we have more tools for social engineering (like social media and surveillance tools)? What assumptions of the Republican and Democratic parties are we making? What assumptions are we making on the electorate that they are composed of?

How do I stop feeling? in c/[email protected]

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 day ago

Thank you, that rings so true.

I've felt very isolated because my work is in the evenings, so it's harder to make plans with friends, but this month I get my Mondays and Thursdays back.

As the host of an open mic told me after I had a bad break up- "it's time to summon the boys"

Bernie Sanders: Vote Harris because Gaza is ‘not the only issue’ in c/[email protected]

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 day ago

You have good points and valid reasons to be upset in this election. If we don't see change in this administration now, why should we expect it going forward?

That said, I would like you to consider a perspective shift on the impact of voting. Put yourself in the shoes of a politician. What is your bottom line? It's to get reelected.

If you aren't in a position of power, you can't pass any bills. You can't push any agendas. You can't stop wars. You affect nothing. This is true for politicians, CEOs, Popes, dictators, board presidents, school principles, and homeowners association presidents.

In order to keep that power, you need to make your keys to power happy. In a democracy, there are a lot of keys- those are your voting blocks. The rich, the military, unions, families, students, different ethnicities, different religions- you need to calculate which blocks are most likely to get you reelected.

Now a lot of people wonder why is it that American election campaigns seem to go on forever. They take years. This is because candidates are looking to see who they can bring in to their side. Voters who they don't please go to their opposition.

Let's fast forward to after the election. You have won the presidency and are eager to get to work- but guess what, in 4 years you will need to do this all over again. This time, you look at the blocks who voted for you. These blocks were the ones who successfully got you in power, and you want to keep them happy. It's easier to keep voters than to flip voters, this is the incumbents advantage.

You look at your voting blocks, and you notice there is a large chunk of your previous "supporters" (not that they like you necessarily, just that they voted for you) who want to end arms sales to Israel. If large enough, this group will be pivitol to your next victory. You may have run on a pro Israel stance, but if your electorate needs you to change, you will change.

This doesn't mean protest sit outs aren't effective. Michigan had a large vote for Palestine in Biden's primary campaign. After that result came through, the administration took on more moderate rhetoric. It's empty, but a first signal nonetheless. If this happened in Illinois or Washington State, his campaign would have ignored it, but since Michigan is a swing state, they paid attention.

In this election, I'm voting for Harris. However, down ballot I'm voting for pro-palestine candidates. Trump's voting blocks clearly favor Israel, but Harris has a divide she needs to address, and if she sees enough voters voting pro-palestine down ballot, she is much more likely to change her course.

For a deeper look into power structures and how leaders are influenced, I'd recommend watching CGP Grey's 20 minute video on the rules for Rulers.

There is so much nuance in this discussion that it's difficult to put all counterpoints into a Lemmy comment while I'm sitting on the pot, but I hope this gives you some more questions to consider as you make the bridge between your values, ideal outcomes, realistic outcomes, and pragmatic strategies for getting that done.

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How do I stop feeling? (lemm.ee)

submitted 1 day ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

6 comments fedilink

Maybe I'm just exhausted from getting little sleep last night and feeling really sad, but I could use some support.

I've [30m] started dating again since my last break up. For context, I've had a pattern of meeting people, looking for the best in them, get kinda excited although realistically I have reservations, and then within 4 months the whole thing blows up.

I'm off the dating apps because they get me down, and I've only dated friends a few times because I get huge anxiety about potentially losing a friendship if a relationship goes south. I get huge anxiety about relationships in general just because of a long string of heartbreak.

It's happening again- I met someone who came to an event I host, and she was so wonderful. Just a beam of light- her optimism matched mine, she is into many of the things I'm into like biking and climbing, and she even led a jam on piano at my event (I'm a musician and it's a jam based on a principle of musical humanism). At the end of the night, we even got to dancing in the middle of the room. That night I asked her to go swing dancing and if she'd want to see a show I was music directing before. She said yes to both and I felt so excited, but also knowing it was just as friends. I wanted to see if we would be compatible before asking any bigger questions.

The next day I sent a message and a meme, but got no response. My thoughts went to "I'm putting too much pressure on this and she's reacting" or "she's not interested" and it made me pretty blue. The next day I messaged her telling her that the place we were dancing is going to be 20s themed just so she knew what to wear if she wanted, and she texted back like normal- all was good again.

That night she came to my show and we both biked up to the Green Mill (the jazz club in Chicago) and we had a great time. In the middle when we went back for a drink, we kissed and I was so excited. We talked and found we had so much in common- our thoughts on the importance of family, community, and how we can lift eachother up to be better than the sum of our parts. We both are active and extroverted, and felt the same how often times we feel like society wants us to shut up and not be extra. We both love the same kinds of beer. We both had struggled with weed- she put it well that her favorite thing about herself is her social skills, but when she's high it all goes away, just like me. She works for a bike company, I used to work for a bike company. She wants to start a hot dog stand, I want to write a coffee table book about city flags. We even planned to go climbing together for a second date.

I honestly felt like I found my one.

But then she dropped that she had a long distance relationship with a guy in Amsterdam, and that they agreed that it's okay to be open in their relationship. She said she wasn't polyamorous, but it was a way that she felt they could be there for each other while allowing their needs to be met. I told her I'm definitely monogamous and had an open relationship before but it wasn't fun for me. That said she said she was reconsidering her current relationship, but I've also been in similar situations where I've waited for someone to leave their situation to be with them and those also didn't go anywhere.

We biked back that night, and we still had a great time, and she messaged me when she got home. I sent her my number over Instagram, but that was the last message I got. I guess id expect a "hey Meep this is __!" Text so I had her number, but I still haven't heard back. I'm trying not to push it so I'm going to let her be the one to initiate the next conversation.

In the meantime I feel like I'm on an emotional rollercoaster. I mean granted I just met her and I shouldn't be so heavily invested or excited. I should be taking it slow but I don't know how. Hell I barely understand what taking it slow means. I should be perfectly fine being alone in my apartment with my cat. I've done so much work on myself to try and be in a place where I can feel again, but now I feel like I'm going back into another heartbreak.

I know a lot of this is also because I live alone and my family is 2000 miles away. I wrote a song that paints the picture- "oh, I'm floating away/ oh, I'm floating away/ the spacewalk went wrong/ I clipped into the other side/ of the moon/ just to know what distance feels like". I want to feel secure. I want to feel at home. But these relationships I find myself in tend to do the exact opposite. I'm back on the high seas and it's a stormy night.

I just wish I could be like a normal person and not feel. Or at least not feel like this.

Europe’s Greens ask Jill Stein to pull out of US election to prevent Trump victory in c/[email protected]

[–] [email protected] 16 points 1 day ago (8 children)

I said it once, I'll say it again-

Until ranked choice vote is established and the electoral college is abolished, there are no serious third parties.

The most serious third party imo is the Forward Party, only because they have one platform which is RCV, and they are quietly working in local elections only. They aren't running any candidates in federal elections, although they had a big win in helping Alaska switch to RCV for their congressional race, which nudged out Sarah Palin.

With the forward party in conjunction with fairvote.org , they are laying the groundwork to create possibly the most revolutionary change to American politics ever.

But in order to do that, we need to have elections. Vote Harris.

Stop whining. Do it yourself. in c/[email protected]

[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 day ago

Yep, be the change you want to see in the world.

Also, making communities is fun! I made [email protected] and it is booming thanks to several lemmings who I got to post consistently. Shout out to thepiccardmanuever.

Stop whining. Do it yourself. in c/[email protected]

[–] [email protected] 5 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago) (1 children)

I lurker is never late, nor is he early, he arrives precisely when he means to.

Typing monkey would be unable to produce 'Hamlet' within the lifetime of the universe, study finds in c/[email protected]

[–] [email protected] 6 points 2 days ago

Okay but here me out, what if we 10^43 more monkeys to balance out the speed?

In fact, let's push this to an extreme. We get enough monkeys that their mass turns them all into one black hole. Inside the black hole, the laws of physics get all fucked. Next we need to somehow dissolve the event horizon as explained in This Kurzgesagt video. Once that happens and we are left with a bare singularity, anything can pop out of it, including a copy of Hamlet.

The monkeys, however, will very likely be dead.

How can I vote for Kamala Harris if she supports Israel’s war? Here is my answer | Bernie Sanders in c/[email protected]

[–] [email protected] 13 points 2 days ago

Yep.

I would recommend folks watch this 20 minute video on Rules for Rulers from CGP Grey.

Despots, Presidents, CEOs, Deans, Homeowners Association Presidents, the guy who runs the open mic- at the end of the day they have to follow the same rules to maintain their power. The zero'th rule in the video is "without power, you affect nothing".

I'm voting for Kamala, and I'm voting down ballot for any pro-palestine candidate. I want to send the message that in order to get reelected, she will need to change her stance.

When I see people not voting out of protest, they are giving their opposition the influence over their elected officials. Remember, they work for you, and voting is how you let them know what you want.

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I think I figured out what was up with my cat (i.imgur.com)

submitted 2 weeks ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

17 comments fedilink

Charlotte was given to me as a 6 pound 6 year old lady, and I've had a wild ride with her health.

At first things were good, but then she started getting diarrhea, vomiting, losing weight, not eating, and peeing outside the litter box. I took her to the vet where I spent $2000 on tests to no avail, so we went with a prescription food.

Even then, she wouldn't touch the prescription food that was to help her sensitive stomach. She kept meowing for food, but wouldn't touch what I gave her. She went down to 4 lbs, which was really concerning.

I tried so many things, until recently I decided to just put some canned chicken breast under her prescription food- my god it's working. She doesn't pee outside the litter box anymore (unless I forget to scoop it), and her weight is back up.

Honestly I just think she hated the food I gave her so much that she would rather die than eat it. I also noted she likes diversity in her food, so I swap between canned tuna and canned chicken mixed with her normal prescription food. She also is much, much happier.

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What food and or drink will you eat when you are senile and forget you already had it the meal before? (lemm.ee)

submitted 3 weeks ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

47 comments fedilink

At the end of his life, my grandpa subsisted on 2 pints of strawberry banana yoplait yogurt and a pack of Coors light a day. What dietary hell will you fall into?

175

Halp (i.imgur.com)

submitted 3 weeks ago* (last edited 3 weeks ago) by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

7 comments fedilink

Hey I don't know where to post so I just have my darling Charlotte to trojan horse my bs into a community.

I feel like the skills I have are useless. After years unable to hold down a job, I decided to go all in and follow my dream. My problem was that I was $10k in debt after a temp job ended unexpectedly sooner than promised. I've been able to get to a point where I'm set to make $60k on my own, which may not seem like much but as an artist that's huge, but not enough to help me dig out of my debt.

I'm looking at moving back from Chicago to Seattle to get a higher paying job, but none of the skills I have seem to be wanted. I'm a music director at theaters, a multi-instrumentalist, and I'm putting together a non-profit for musicians to connect with values based organizations, but when I look to the world of tech, or at least where the money is, none of that seems to matter. I'm told I have skills, but I just don't think there's a place for me in this world. I just don't think what I bring is valuable enough for someone to say "hey, you should be able to eat". Frankly, today I've had that old voice come back telling me I shouldn't be here anymore. Charlotte is a needy girl and is making sure I don't leave, but man it's hard.

It's like... I want to give up on the dream, but like... Where would I go? Who would I be? I have done this before when I left comedy- I don't have the constitution for that world, but at least music was something I'm good at. I can play 22 instruments. I write songs. Improv. Jazz. I teach. I conduct. But none of that matters now. None of it is wanted. Especially with this new world and AI stealing our work, artists just aren't valued. I grew up in Seattle, the arts capital of the US from 1990-2010, but tech came in and napalmed it. I thought maybe I could join the "evil empire" but sure enough they don't want me.

I just don't feel like I belong here. I'm even thinking of giving Charlotte to a more capable human. Idk. Sorry.