i/o

Good and bad ideas are fairly equally distributed across the political spectrum.

[i/o @avidseries]

@StatisticUrban This is exactly correct.

[i/o @avidseries]

@PartialPartisan I don't pander.

Harris is possibly dumber.
Her policy ideas are more poisonous than Trump's, and are more likely to get embedded in governing institutions.

Trump is a worse human being.
Trump is more chaotic.

They're both awful.

[i/o @avidseries]

I'm not even going to attempt any nuance here: I despise this person possibly even more than I despise Trump. They both dish out huge sloppy servings of cringe whenever they open their mouths. Harris might not be as corrupt and boorish as Trump, but her mediocrity is unbearable.

[End Wokeness @EndWokeness]

Kamala Harris just spoke in Las Vegas and it seems she's testing out a new oratory style.

It's worse than you can imagine.

[i/o @avidseries]

@DanielConlin6 I won't vote for someone whose personality traits consistently embarrass me, my country, and the presidency.

[i/o @avidseries]

@Arcreonis Really, man, you're not in any position, as a non-Christian, to be be lecturing people about Christian theology. I mean, I don't presume to tell Muslims or Jews what they got wrong in their theology. Seems presumptuous.

[i/o @avidseries]

Or:

"As a Mormon, I believe in Jesus and accept him as the Son of God.

So let me ask you Catholics something.

If I can accept Jesus, why can't you consider Joseph Smith as a prophet?"

Or:

"As a Christian, I believe in the Ten Commandments.

So let me ask you Jews something.

If I can accept the Ten Commandments, why can't you consider Jesus as the Son of God."

Here's how it works, Maliq: If it preceded and was incorporated into my religion, it might be OK. But if it came after my religion, it's heresy, or worse. That's just how it works.

[Maliq @MasterMaliq]

As a Muslim, I believe in Jesus and accept him as a prophet of God.

So let me ask you something.

If I can accept Jesus, why can't you consider Muhammad as a prophet of God and the final messenger?

[i/o @avidseries]

@CRaxiotis68671 @Arcreonis They are being too kind.

[i/o @avidseries]

@Arcreonis "people like you"

Huh?

[i/o @avidseries]

@indynerd If I attempt to describe it, it will only bring the True Believers into the replies.

[i/o @avidseries]

@annakhachiyan If it had been a "perfectly reasonable reaction given his character" it wouldn't have been expressed in such ugly and overtly racist and explicitly bigoted terms. It would have been, to use your words, reasonably expressed.

[i/o @avidseries]

I like Vivek and was pleasantly surprised when he started following me (especially since I am one of his few non-conservative follows).

He has faced a disgusting amount of racist and religious hate, and handled it as well as anybody could under the circumstances.

But his decision to run the recent "mother-daughter" ad against Amy Acton feels like a terrible mistake for his campaign — an unforced error.

[Inez Stepman ⚪️🔴⚪️ @InezFeltscher]

I never want to see this. No one should cheer family denouncing family, it’s abhorrent and doesn’t belong in even really high-temperature politics. It makes me feel gross for having seen it.

[i/o @avidseries]

I think an political independent is like an existentialist: Their essence (political orientation/ideology) is shaped by their existence (independently-formed views).

A partisan, on the other hand, is like a religionist: Their essence (political orientation/ideology) precedes and informs their views (which are dependent on their essence).

This sure does make an independent seem like a less tedious person to me. At the very least, they are working harder to arrive at their politics.

[i/o @avidseries]

@WaffleBoy1780 His campaign is now admitting that they are behind the ad, and are also saying they are going to broaden its circulation.

[i/o @avidseries]

Even Republican political operatives now accept how awful Trump is.

[i/o @avidseries]

@_ItsAbsurd_ Which claim have I made about IQ that is scientifically or statistically inaccurate?

Be specific.

[i/o @avidseries]

@TheeJeffC About 1/3 of my views are conservative, 1/3 liberal, and 1/3 moderate.

The only label I've ever used for myself is radical centrist.

https://t.co/sqFH3sIF5B

[i/o @avidseries]

@TheeJeffC Every political orientation test I've taken puts me near dead-center.

[i/o @avidseries]

But what has made American music the most influential and popular music in the world is precisely this lack of a single defining tradition.

American music is restlessly dynamic and has constantly taken on new forms, which bump against each other and produce hybrids which are often more interesting than the original forms themselves.

It can be thrillingly innovative or rooted in deep tradition, low brow or high brow, universal or niche, rural or urban.

Sure, American music has often copied and stolen from elsewhere, but mostly it gets copied and stolen.

Just as the dollar is the world's currency, American music is the world's music.

[Daniel Steinmetz-Jenkins @daniel_dsj2110]

Francis Fukuyama: "The lack of a strong national musical tradition contributes to the weakness of American national identity."

[i/o @avidseries]

@Russwarne Bach is mathematical structure and closed systems and logical inevitabilities. Thank goodness Mozart started loosening things up a bit. I prefer freer and more open and adventurous systems.