Mile on a Mirror

Avec le temps...tout s'en va
On oublie le visage et l'on oublie la voix - Léo Ferré

[Mile on a Mirror @IndigoMirror]

@allenanalysis Don't wait for a backlash to Trump's sleaze show
Voters, particularly MAGAs, have long been impervious to corruption & dishonesty in government.
They don't mind.
Most of the public is almost solely interested in its own well-being, material & psychic.
It has no time for morality.

[Mile on a Mirror @IndigoMirror]

@rickhasen I read this piece by Richard Pildes. Feebly reasoned bunk.
The challenge for the US is to make a top-class education available to all, free of charge or at a low price.
Excellent school I attended now charges 45K for KG, 52K for HS.
And it's not the most expensive in its class.

[Mile on a Mirror @IndigoMirror]

@mattyglesias Strong points
Thinking laterally, they help explain why some scholars feel the old "melting pot" has been replaced by a "salad bowl" of multiple cultures meshing together without fully blending
And why calls for melting pot style 'assimilation' of new generations are unrealistic.

[Mile on a Mirror @IndigoMirror]

@mattyglesias The bright side, or the dark side, of go-get-'em, rip-roaring capitalism. Take your pick.

[Mile on a Mirror @IndigoMirror]

@SonnyBunch Isn't so much about Trump as it is about the US public.
Voters, particularly Trump voters, are clearly indifferent to corruption and dishonesty in government.
The US public is almost exclusively interested in its own well-being, material & psychic.
It doesn't care about morality.

[Mile on a Mirror @IndigoMirror]

@mattyglesias Nolan isn't alone.
In the 1920s, the brilliant Erich von Stroheim wanted actors, and even extras, to wear authentic period underwear, even if the underwear wouldn't be filmed.
Such authenticity came at a price, and his budgetary extravagances helped short-circuit his career.

[Mile on a Mirror @IndigoMirror]

@mattyglesias This isn't so much about the Trump regime as it is about the US public and its conspicuous indifference to corruption and dishonesty in government.
The public seems almost exclusively interested in its own well-being, material and psychic.
It really doesn't care about morality.

[Mile on a Mirror @IndigoMirror]

@lionel_trolling You're getting good

[Mile on a Mirror @IndigoMirror]

@TotallyCraven @mattyglesias Think you're probably right...lots of people today seem to prefer SUVs and light trucks rather than compacts and sedans.

[Mile on a Mirror @IndigoMirror]

@lionel_trolling Kept watching out of habit when they broke each league into 2 divisions.
Lost interest when they added the 3rd division.
Haven't watched at all since the pitch clock started.
For old-timers, it just isn't baseball anymore.
Still, maybe the new incarnation appeals to young folks.

[Mile on a Mirror @IndigoMirror]

@lionel_trolling Confusing free markets with capitalism.
Capitalism is profit generation via ownership and control. Monopolies are coveted.
Free markets indicate widespread exchange of goods and services according to supply and demand, with few hurdles set in place by govt.

[Mile on a Mirror @IndigoMirror]

@jonathanshainin True. And all thru the 20th century, it was an understood thing that many English folks of all classes had a muted but real prejudice against Jews, though English politeness tended to obscure this reality.
Just read popular novels and thrillers of those days to see what I mean.

[Mile on a Mirror @IndigoMirror]

@mattyglesias @somsai Quite right.
And very often, by the time the kids are high school age, it becomes very apparent that in the US, the best teachers are usually found in the best private schools.
Would be wonderful if public education across the country woke up and made a real effort to compete.

[Mile on a Mirror @IndigoMirror]

@BayesianNuance @mattyglesias More 'immigration management' than immigration restriction in Singapore. It's such a tiny place that they truly need foreign workers, who currently make up about 30% of the population.
Similar story in super-prosperous Switzerland - around 28% foreigners in a population of 9 mn.

[Mile on a Mirror @IndigoMirror]

@mattyglesias Thing about Singapore is that it's by no means a free nation: the 'bargain' between govt & the people is:
"We take care of the country's prosperity and thus you live well.
In return, you accept limited political freedom & stay in line—or risk detention/punishment without trial."

[Mile on a Mirror @IndigoMirror]

@lionel_trolling C'est très bien, vraiment. Best of your stuff that I've seen so far.

[Mile on a Mirror @IndigoMirror]

@lionel_trolling For younger readers who have no knowledge of Mike Milken: he was the most famous financial crook of the 1980s, a time awash with financial crooks, kinda like today.
Went to jail for securities violations.
Now a billionaire focused on charity work. Pardoned by Trump in 2020.

[Mile on a Mirror @IndigoMirror]

@lionel_trolling Neither can I. Fuhgeddaboudit.

[Mile on a Mirror @IndigoMirror]

@mattyglesias @DKThomp Happiness usually depends on physical safety, material well-being, self-perceived quality of life, self-perceived social standing, and most importantly, on feeling good about what life has in store for you tomorrow.
Today, lots of lives don't fit this schema.
Behold sadness.

[Mile on a Mirror @IndigoMirror]

@allenanalysis Similar thought in Star Trek TOS 'The City on the Edge of Forever'
Joan Collins (who bravely runs a 1930s soup kitchen):
'I think that one day they're going to take all the money they spend now on war and death...'
Captain Kirk: (with a smile) '..and make them spend it on life.'