01-06-2016: the day in between other days

tracks worked on in this vlog:
https://jasonparent.bandcamp.com/album/period-1

yeah. you know, i almost wrote this essay a few days or weeks ago. it was the term "folk theory of elections" that just about caused me to break something. it was used to describe the idea that voters have brains and can work things out, in contrast with the scientific understanding of elections that claims we vote based on identity.

i just didn't have the stamina to work it out. they've done the work here for me. thanks, guys.

https://www.jacobinmag.com/2016/06/bernie-sanders-achen-bartels-white-men-krugman-election-clinton/

j reacts to the tactical blunder of clinton running on her foreign policy experience

see, she just doesn't get it. she thinks her "foreign policy experience" is going to help her win voters, despite the deep unpopularity of her open imperialism. the reality is that if she wasn't such an open fascist when she was secretary, she'd probably have been able to get to 60%. she honestly thinks that the american people are fully interchangeable with the romans, at their most savage point. she thinks that more wars will bring her more popularity. i was over this once before. the united states has not yet seen this kind of naked imperialism, but it's coming.

there was a period when roman emperors would routinely begin their rule by adding a province to the empire. this showed the roman people that the emperor had the favour of the gods and could uphold the glory of the empire. hillary clinton really, honestly thinks that this is the way to increase her popularity - partly because she sees america as a country full of illiterate savages.

trump is of course a horrible candidate. she's been handed a gift. there's only a couple of strategies she could pick that will squander such good fortune. making the election a referendum on her foreign policy (while trump pushes for glorious, splendid, long overdue isolation) is pretty much the only thing i can think of that will seal her loss with clear certainty. unfortunately, that's exactly what she's going to do.

http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-election-clinton-idUSKCN0YN52L

j reacts to final polling for june 7th

i'm not going to talk a lot about the final polls. the saying is that the polls don't lie, but the pollsters might. i'm not even convinced that much is true - i have little faith in the sanctity of the data being thrown around.

it's not that the polls are meaningless due to bad methodology or whatever other thing. i'm flatly suspicious that the polling companies are corrupt. and, i've made this argument in this space already.

i'll just point out that:

1) hillary clinton has not won an open primary since mar 15th.
2) the polling leading up to several of her losses since then favoured her, and was shown to be "wrong".
3) in fact, the demographics also favoured her in several of the states that she lost.

i'd argue that you want to look more at recent contests for predictors. california should fall somewhere between the closed primary in oregon and the open caucus in washington. and, the best guess we've got for jersey is rhode island.

see, this should really work the other way around. that is, autonomous worker collectives that own their means of production should be forcing companies to bid on which products will be made there.

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/windsor/ge-picks-welland-over-windsor-as-site-for-new-factory-150-jobs-1.3610954

"Despite the praise Stephen Harper had in his speech to the party's convention last week for the Conservatives' electoral gains in Quebec, that is one province where the party saw its support decrease for a second consecutive quarter."

it's remarkable really. free from the shackles of governance, the man admirably carries on in total oblivion to reality.

31-05-2016: thoroughly confused by lunch cult

review:
http://dghjdfsghkrdghdgja.appspot.com/categories/shows/2016/05/31.html

tracks worked on in this vlog:
https://jasonparent.bandcamp.com/album/period-1

j reacts to third parties on the right and on the left

just a few points.

first, you suggest the media should take note of the unrest and report it. but, the media exists to quell unrest. there's a potential for a moment of clarity there, actually.

second, i think it's a mistake to assume too much kneejerking. if you're the pro-market type of conservative that the republicans have been nurturing, donald trump is basically satan. it's a non-option for the economic wing of the republican party. if you ask around, you'll no doubt find people desperately seeking for 'real conservatives' and coming out with the libertarians.

it might not last. but it's probably legit.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X4iNBrYbEjA