Trolls and Sociopaths

Trolls and Sociopaths

The Internet, Political Science, and Democracy

In all the old writing about anarchism, I have not seen any discussion of the actual failures of attempted anarchism I have observed. In all the political science literature on democracy I have seen, I have not seen anything about sociopathy. (There is a great deal of political science I have not read and likely there is something, perhaps in recent literature. But I have read enough to know that this is not a major area in the discipline.)

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez: I Gloat

Because, you see, I predicted her.

Over a month ago, Jim Wright asked “Describe to me that candidate. Folks, give me a list of the attributes a Democratic candidate MUST have in 2020 for you to show up and vote.”

I thought about that for a while, and then I wrote “Turning Out the Left” in which my answer was, broadly, a socialist with integrity and courage.

And here is Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who I didn't even know about when I wrote that post.

I called it. I gloat.

Was Hillary Clinton's Presidential Campaign Sabotaged By Sexism In Her Own Party?

A lot of the complaints about Hillary Clinton's campaign were about how lackluster it was. Yet Clinton is a sharp and effective politician, and knows perfectly well how to run a campaign. She had and has extensive and loyal support. So perhaps her own staff just didn't think she was up to the job and didn't let her do her best. Perhaps she was referred to the wrong staff by people who wanted her to fail. Perhaps…I don't know. More certain knowledge will probably have to await historical study.

But whatever the case, I think it likely sexism within the Democratic Party played a part in her loss.

(We now pause to observe a bird banging its head against a cage.)

Corruption!

It appears that Mr. Justin Kennedy, son of Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy, is a Deutsche Bank employee who loaned money to Donald Trump.

I wonder if Trump (or perhaps Michael Cohen) has something on Mr. Justin Kennedy?

Guns, guns, guns

The easy availability of powerful, rapid-firing modern firearms enables widespread stochastic terrorism.

A Few Later Thoughts on Bitcoin and Social Media

It may be that large-scale public social media can only be deployed ethically if operated as non-profit socialist organizations, otherwise they degenerate into profitable toxic troll farms. Both of the ancestors of modern large-scale public social media (mailing lists and Usenet) were cooperatives. The pre-Facebook blogosphere was semi-cooperative.

Are Bitcoin and similar digital currencies subject to 51% attacks by state actors?

Bitcoin et al are neoliberal by design. Would it be possible to create a digital currency or similar system that would be Keynesian by design?

A telling observation

"What ever happened to civility?" "You labeled it 'political correctness' and decided it was something bad." – David Houston