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Cake day: September 27th, 2023

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  • No, I think I’m far enough on the left to be aware of capitalist propaganda. In all fairness to you, my statement did not treat the subject with the appropriate nuance the subject should require.

    The DDR was socialist. However, it was state socialism, which in my opinion is not ideal and not something we should strive to replicate. Yes, the means of production were “owned by the people,” but the state tasks itself with protecting the people. And therein lies the problem with state socialism - the state is easily commandeered by a corrupt minority who then uses the governmental apparatus to run an authoritarian regime. Precisely what happened in the DDR and the USSR.

    We should be able to recognize the imperfections in prior socialist attempts, without immediately calling it “capitalist NGO propaganda.”







  • Socialism is NOT whatever the hell this “sovereign citizen” stuff is.

    Socialism is instead a democratization of the benefits of our collective labor.

    Rather than permit the kings and nobles, billionaires, athletes, movie stars, politicians, and pop idols to take the lion’s share - we use it to invest in our society, our collective well being.

    You work? I do too. And so do the clerks at the gas stations and grocery stores - the brick layers and the office workers - we’re all just working a job for a living.

    For the ones that can’t or don’t want to work - Setting aside the murky definition of “work” - I’d rather they be fed, clothes, housed and warm, because it means safer lives for everyone.









  • I’m not saying they have any chance - just making the point that “legal” and “illegal” are arbitrary and determined by whoever is the dominant power. Texas seceding is “illegal” only so long as the US remains powerful. If by some unholy miracle, Texas were to win independence from the US, they would probably write their own laws to say rejoining the US is illegal.

    Another pair of cases to make my point - the Holocaust was “legal” to the Nazis. After they were defeated, the UN made genocide “illegal.” But how many genocides have occurred around the world since 1949?

    Laws are only as good as they are enforceable, which is exactly what you underscore by citing the strength of the US military. Is it “legal” to make drone strikes or drop a nuke on Texas? 🤷



  • This is a fantastic write-up.

    I got downvoted elsewhere for saying this, but let me ask - if they just …went rogue and reeeeeeally started stirring shit up - like setting blockades on highways, rail stations, and ports, stopped exports - like really tried to cause the US economic trouble - attacking federal buildings etc.

    What’s any legal precedent matter? Aside from justification for getting totally railed by the US military.