Thursday Open Thread

11
  by: Colorado Pols March 16, 2023 at 12:03 AM MDT

“The motto should not be: Forgive one another; rather understand one another.”

–Emma Goldman

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11 Community Comments, Facebook Comments

  1. NOV GOP meltdown says:
    March 16, 2023 at 9:09 AM MDT

    If we were dumb enough to listen to Empty G, a ball of dirt wrapped in duct tape is sufficient enough evidence to invade Mexico. Complete freaking imbecile…

    • Chickenheed says:
      March 16, 2023 at 10:57 AM MDT

      FFS.

      Empty G's latest tirade that "In just half of Biden’s term, there are DOUBLE the alien encounters…" is also a great example of what I'm gonna call the Enforcement Fallacy. Republicans love to use it with crime too.

      Here's how it works:

      1. Law Enforcement (and in this case border enforcement) report activity. The more active the enforcement, the more reports there are which means statistics go up (enforcement organizations can't report on activity they don't know about).

      2. Lawmakers see statistics go up so they demand more enforcement.

      3. More active enforcement means more reports which means higher statistics. Start again at step 1.

      Crime is different than Bad Behavior. In order for a Bad Behavior to be a Crime, government must be involved. Using Enforcement to try to prevent Bad Behavior is a misuse of Enforcement.

      Our Enforcement organizations are, by design, reactive. It's one of the things that actually makes America great.

      If we want to prevent Bad Behavior (shootings, unauthorized border crossings, harmful drug use, etc.) then we need to prevent the root causes of those things and not just hire more Enforcers.

  2. Washopingmylastpostwouldbemylast says:
    March 16, 2023 at 9:42 AM MDT

    More on SVB:

    I Was an S.V.B. Client. I Blame the Venture Capitalists.

    There’s plenty to say about how the bank brought this about — making risky investments, issuing communications that did more to alarm than explain. But as I hit refresh on my account balance Monday morning, I was thinking of the high-prestige venture capitalists who herded start-ups like mine to S.V.B. They’re the reason the bank was so overloaded with risky clients, and they’re also the ones who panicked at the first rumors of trouble — and advised their portfolio companies to flee, initiating the bank run that brought the whole thing tumbling down.

    . . . 

    They are not the only people to blame of course, but no bank is built to withstand simultaneous withdrawals from all its depositors. One S.V.B. executive told the Financial Times their biggest risk was “a very tightly knit group of investors who exhibit herd-like mentalities.” The executive continued, “doesn’t that sound like a bank run waiting to happen?”

    I’ll keep my S.V.B. debit card as a souvenir, partly because the giant arrow logo points in the opposite direction that it’s supposed to go into a card reader — an example of a design that obviously went through no user testing. It’s also a reminder that successful people aren’t always the best decision makers.

    https://www.nytimes.com/2023/03/16/opinion/silicon-valley-bank-venture-capital.html

    — or, Answering the question: Who gets played for a dummy when everyone in the room has come to the point where they really do believe that maybe they’re the smartest person in the room?

  3. kwtree says:
    March 16, 2023 at 10:34 AM MDT

    There is yet another recording of TFG pressuring GA officials to commit election fraud.

    But Elie Mystal thinks that the former President could still get re-elected. At least, an indictment won't stop the Dumpster from running. Mystal writes that Merrick Garland is to blame for the lack of consequences for *rump.

  4. 2Jung2Die says:
    March 16, 2023 at 11:18 AM MDT

    If TFG can get through the GOP primary/assembly, I fear Mystal might be right. The election goes beyond reason straight to the Electoral College, where a narrow win in Arizona or Wisconsin might swing the whole damn thing. Wish I had confidence in the Rs to keep Pandora in the box, but they just elected Dave Williams to chair the Colorado Republicans…and furthermore DeSatan would be different but no better. It's stuff like this that's keeping me politically involved against my better judgment.

    • Lauren Boebert is a Worthless POS says:
      March 16, 2023 at 12:39 PM MDT

      "furthermore DeSatan would be different but no better."

      I truly believe he would be worse. Despite how rotten and evil Trump is, he is incompetent and disorganized. DeSatan knows how to get from Point A to Point B to Point C.

      Trump couldn't find his own asshole with two fingers and flashlight.

      • NOV GOP meltdown says:
        March 16, 2023 at 3:24 PM MDT

        You have a good point there. DeSantis is evil and will vilify and hurt innocent and good people just to get to the top for his own selfish ambitions. He is also very smart, which is dangerous.

  5. Chickenheed says:
    March 16, 2023 at 11:54 AM MDT

    There’s no guaranteed filibuster in the Colorado legislature. So why do Democrats let Republicans stall lawmaking?

    I'm tired of Democrats saying stuff like "If we do <something>, Republicans will say mean things about us." so we don't do that something. Republicans are gonna say bad things about Democrats no matter what, so we might as well get things done while we're at it.

    Hot take: Limiting discussion is not a "nuclear option" it's using the rules as written.

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