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Max Grafe

@amagicreflexham.bsky.social

Composer • Teacher • Racing • NJ • Anti-anti-modernist • he/him https://composers.com/composers/max-grafe

2847 Posts2938 Follower1334 Folgt
Max Grafe@amagicreflexham.bsky.social · last mo.

I canceled my subscription to the NYT* the last time they did a puff piece on Chris Rufo, who is quite literally a terrorist. You should too *yes, even games. I had a 1000+ day crossword streak, this decision was not taken lightly

Nate O@nateo.bsky.social · last mo.

I think it's a moral abomination for Ezra Klein to have Chris Rufo on his podcast and then get a transcript of it published in The New York Times as if this is a conversation between equals and not a radical centrist and a fascist telling each other 'exaaaaactlyyyy'

Another argument you make in that piece is: “The popular slogan that ‘facts don’t care about your feelings’ betrays similar problems” — the slogan being Ben Shapiro’s. In reality, feelings almost always overpower facts. Reason is a slave of the passions. Yes, that’s true, and we’ll caveat — we love Ben Shapiro. We’re Ben Shapiro fans, of course. But I think that he’s very wrong on that, and I think conservatives have made a fundamental error in latching on to that. And really, what it is — it’s a rationalization for losing. It’s like: Yes, we may have lost the great political question that operates on emotions or passions, but we have the facts on our side, and if only people would read our white paper, our regression analysis or our rigorous logical argumentation, then we would be vindicated. But look, while we should have the facts on our side, and while we should use logic, by itself, it’s insufficient. And, in fact, politics operates on a deeper level, an emotional level. And politics occurs on the field of sentiment and public opinion — much more on the field of abstract argumentation at the top. Then you go on in the same piece to make an argument for “agitprop” — an old Soviet Union term for agitation and propaganda mashed up together. It doesn’t have a great reputation — “agitprop” is usually not a term of endearment. But you say: “Agitprop doesn’t mean sacrificing the truth but, rather, channeling the truth toward victory.”
Gareth Watkins@garethwatkins.bsky.social · last mo.

Me: Okay, there's been a thunderstorm, the heatwave should be over now. (New health bar appears) (The sun is now named 'Sol, Starflame of Regret') (Objectively the greatest piece of classical music ever recorded starts playing).

Really Sean Smith@reallyseansmith.bsky.social · last mo.

I'm probably pretty blandly moderate by Bluesky standards, but the whole "pander to bigots and just assume the center to left folks stick around" thesis was always really dumb. It's not hard-headed centrist pragmatism, it's a politically suicidal delusion of some unprincipled people.

Dylan Difford@dylandifford.bsky.social · 2mo ago

Then came a new flashpoint: the "islands of strangers" speech. Labour, Lib Dem and Green voters reacted strongly against it, with Starmer losing net positive favourability among 2024 Labour voters for the first time, while receiving absolutely no credit from voters on the right.

Dmitry Grozoubinski@explaintrade.com · 2mo ago

"The Americans can't get the slime out of their capital's monument pool and will arrest you for touching it," sounds like the sort of lie they'd tell us in the Soviet Union so we'd stop bitching about bread lines.