Lefty Political Systems, Explained with Health Care

Social democracy—the ACA. Democratic socialism—Medicare for all. Communism—the doctor treats you and no money changes hands, in fact there's no such thing as money. Anarchism—after a long discussion within the health collective, the collective treats you and then you wash dishes.

Spengler and "AI"

Perhaps past cultures did not so much fall as were parasitized by their elites. Oswald Spengler said that when a culture runs out of ideas and freezes into a bureaucratic civilization, there is at the end an effort to gather any remaining scraps of creativity. Is this not exactly what the "AI"-mongers plan? Gather all previous creative work and at the same time stifle all further creativity?

But we are not out of ideas. If "AI" and resurgent feudalism and resurgent slavery poison creativity in our culture, it will not be because we are out of ideas; it will be because creativity has been stifled. Perhaps this was also so in the past. Perhaps past cultures did not so much fall as died from elite parasitism.

Reflections on the End of the Shutdown, 2025-11-14

I don't think there was much hope of the Democrats winning the shutdown, at least not without irreparable harm to the United States. That said, surrendering a few days after a stunning electoral victory was an ignominious way to lose. It's dispiriting for the party membership, who are going to blame it on the Democratic leadership.

The Republican party is shown itself willing to take literal millions of hostages to have its way. This is now a party on par with the Nazis or the Soviet and Chinese communists in its willingness to kill and should be treated accordingly.

I wonder if the Democratic party will split into progressive and conservative wings. It would be an awful time for that to happen, but I'm not sure there's likely to be any good time. I also wonder if there will be violence. Cutting people's health care is going to kill people, by a Kaiser family foundation estimate Bernie Sanders quoted, at a rate of 50,000 a year. And when people are dying, that is when violence begins to seem like an appropriate response.

The McClellan Faction

I'm seeing some signs that the Democrats, if they retake power, will not prosecute the Republicans, or at least a faction will drag their feet. The premature end of the shutdown. The proposed repeal of section 230. The statement from Hakeem Jeffries renouncing impeachment. The return of seniority and House Appropriation Committee assignment to pardoned felon Henry Cuellar.

There are other factions, but the people who diligently avoided seeing the threat of fascism are now diligently avoiding taking decisive action against it, and the indecisive factions are senior and in charge. It's like the party is run by general McClellan.

The Democratic Party is Surrendering in Advance

 With the return of convicted, pardoned felon Henry Cuellar to the House Appropriations Committee and the assault on section 230 coming from the House Judiciary Democrats, the Democratic party is surrendering in advance. Why?

2025.12.05: it's been a day

(Summary of Bluesky posts, just today. It was a Day.)

• Holy shit! Does Ireland now join NATO?

• Could we have some screaming constitutionalist anger please?

• I’ve been calling the Roberts Court Taney Court II for over a decade.

• Is Biden going to outlive Trump?