4 ms·

The US is turning into on object lesson on what happens when you make wealth a religion.

systemvoltage 6y ago
I am glad the problems are surfacing and cracks are showing up so we can fix them. In some nations it is impossible to even criticize the government.
- cageface 6y ago
  I don’t think we’re beyond repair yet but it feels much more like gaping fissures than surfacing cracks. Our infrastructure, education and healthcare is a disaster.
  - sudosysgen 6y ago
    The cracks are surfacing from a very, very deep root. The basis on which American society is built is dearly lacking. I cannot understand how America went through something like the Civil War without making any radical changes. Maybe the language of religion is appropriate, after all.
    - Ekaros 6y ago
      Wasn't civil war also really about money? Either use of labour or control of land?
    - thereare5lights 6y ago
      > without making any radical changes. You seem to have forgotten Amendments 13,14,15.
      - sudosysgen 6y ago
        That isn't radical change. That's outlawing slavery. The system that led to slavery being allowed wasn't changed. I'd love for you to make a list of countries that went through such a civil war yet kept the same constitutio.
        thereare5lights 6y ago
        > That isn't radical change. You're looking at it through modern lens. That was radical change at the time. They literally fought a war over it.
        sudosysgen 6y ago
        No, it wasn't at the time. It was catch up to the entire rest of the world and the mechanisms that led to slavery subsisting, IE the first ten articles of the US Constitution and the electoral college and the economical basis were not changed. Meanwhile, France changed their entire constitution for much less. So did many other countries. It was basic incremental even for the time.
        thereare5lights 6y ago
        > It was catch up to the entire rest of the world The rest of the world is irrelevant to whether or not it is radical within the context of America. Your point makes zero sense given that American fought literally its most bloody war America to make abolishing slavery a reality. Comparing us to other places is fallacious. Your example of France in particular makes no sense given that American and France were not in the same starting positions so saying that their ending positions are not the same and that that means it's not radical is illogical. France did not embed chattel slavery into its own foundations. Simply put, America was much further behind and the progress it did make was a lot for where it started out from.
- tehjoker 6y ago
  We have a slightly different but just as effective system in place here that surprisingly is heading in more censorious direction. https://greenwald.substack.com/p/instagram-is-using-false-fact-checking https://greenwald.substack.com/p/instagram-is-using-false-fa... https://greenwald.substack.com/p/after-the-deep-state-sabotaged-his https://greenwald.substack.com/p/after-the-deep-state-sabota... https://greenwald.substack.com/p/article-on-joe-and-hunter-biden-censored https://greenwald.substack.com/p/article-on-joe-and-hunter-b...
  - chance_state 6y ago
    I used to be a huge Greenwald fan. I think he handled the Snowden era like a total pro. But lately the guy just sounds crazy. His takes are all incredibly predictable: Biden bad, Trump actually good for this one weird reason, libs hypocrites, Obama is a murderer, etc. All the same, boring, tired takes.
    - tehjoker 6y ago
      Biden is bad, Obama is a murderer, and libs are hypocrites. The Trump thing is weird, but I think maybe he's trying to appeal to him to get Snowden off.
    - cageface 6y ago
      He’s also way too dismissive of Russia’s influence. They’re way more than a “medium regional power”. Dismissing the country with one of the two largest nuclear arsenals in the world and one of the most significant and extensive intelligence apparatuses this way raises serious questions about his impartiality.
    - raarts 6y ago
      As long as he sources everything correctly I don't mind. He's still a great investigative journalist.
    - redis_mlc 6y ago
      > But lately the guy just sounds crazy. No, he's talking about reality, and you're talking about the mirror-image of reality. The CCP engaged in "elite capure" with Hunter Biden, while Joe Biden and his advisors stood by. The libs are hypocrites. See above. Obama's failure to honor our treaty with the Philippines over Scarborough Shoals resulted in the 9-dash line takeover of the South China Sea, resulting in the largest military buildup in the region since WW2. And none of our treaty allies trust us now. It appears HN readers have no idea how far off course US politicians and elites are. When journalists from Venezuela and Colombia come to the US and say, "It's just like home." then you know there's a serious problem.
colechristensen 6y ago
You think regulatory corruption is new?
- smt88 6y ago
  No, but that doesn't mean it's tolerable or sustainable.
refurb 6y ago
Good point. We’ve never seen scandals like this outside the US. /s

I am glad the problems are surfacing and cracks are showing up so we can fix them. In some nations it is impossible to even criticize the government.

cageface 6y ago
I don’t think we’re beyond repair yet but it feels much more like gaping fissures than surfacing cracks. Our infrastructure, education and healthcare is a disaster.
- sudosysgen 6y ago
  The cracks are surfacing from a very, very deep root. The basis on which American society is built is dearly lacking. I cannot understand how America went through something like the Civil War without making any radical changes. Maybe the language of religion is appropriate, after all.
  - Ekaros 6y ago
    Wasn't civil war also really about money? Either use of labour or control of land?
  - thereare5lights 6y ago
    > without making any radical changes. You seem to have forgotten Amendments 13,14,15.
    - sudosysgen 6y ago
      That isn't radical change. That's outlawing slavery. The system that led to slavery being allowed wasn't changed. I'd love for you to make a list of countries that went through such a civil war yet kept the same constitutio.
      - thereare5lights 6y ago
        > That isn't radical change. You're looking at it through modern lens. That was radical change at the time. They literally fought a war over it.
        sudosysgen 6y ago
        No, it wasn't at the time. It was catch up to the entire rest of the world and the mechanisms that led to slavery subsisting, IE the first ten articles of the US Constitution and the electoral college and the economical basis were not changed. Meanwhile, France changed their entire constitution for much less. So did many other countries. It was basic incremental even for the time.
        thereare5lights 6y ago
        > It was catch up to the entire rest of the world The rest of the world is irrelevant to whether or not it is radical within the context of America. Your point makes zero sense given that American fought literally its most bloody war America to make abolishing slavery a reality. Comparing us to other places is fallacious. Your example of France in particular makes no sense given that American and France were not in the same starting positions so saying that their ending positions are not the same and that that means it's not radical is illogical. France did not embed chattel slavery into its own foundations. Simply put, America was much further behind and the progress it did make was a lot for where it started out from.
tehjoker 6y ago
We have a slightly different but just as effective system in place here that surprisingly is heading in more censorious direction. https://greenwald.substack.com/p/instagram-is-using-false-fact-checking https://greenwald.substack.com/p/instagram-is-using-false-fa... https://greenwald.substack.com/p/after-the-deep-state-sabotaged-his https://greenwald.substack.com/p/after-the-deep-state-sabota... https://greenwald.substack.com/p/article-on-joe-and-hunter-biden-censored https://greenwald.substack.com/p/article-on-joe-and-hunter-b...
- chance_state 6y ago
  I used to be a huge Greenwald fan. I think he handled the Snowden era like a total pro. But lately the guy just sounds crazy. His takes are all incredibly predictable: Biden bad, Trump actually good for this one weird reason, libs hypocrites, Obama is a murderer, etc. All the same, boring, tired takes.
  - tehjoker 6y ago
    Biden is bad, Obama is a murderer, and libs are hypocrites. The Trump thing is weird, but I think maybe he's trying to appeal to him to get Snowden off.
  - cageface 6y ago
    He’s also way too dismissive of Russia’s influence. They’re way more than a “medium regional power”. Dismissing the country with one of the two largest nuclear arsenals in the world and one of the most significant and extensive intelligence apparatuses this way raises serious questions about his impartiality.
  - raarts 6y ago
    As long as he sources everything correctly I don't mind. He's still a great investigative journalist.
  - redis_mlc 6y ago
    > But lately the guy just sounds crazy. No, he's talking about reality, and you're talking about the mirror-image of reality. The CCP engaged in "elite capure" with Hunter Biden, while Joe Biden and his advisors stood by. The libs are hypocrites. See above. Obama's failure to honor our treaty with the Philippines over Scarborough Shoals resulted in the 9-dash line takeover of the South China Sea, resulting in the largest military buildup in the region since WW2. And none of our treaty allies trust us now. It appears HN readers have no idea how far off course US politicians and elites are. When journalists from Venezuela and Colombia come to the US and say, "It's just like home." then you know there's a serious problem.

colechristensen 6y ago

You think regulatory corruption is new?

smt88 6y ago
No, but that doesn't mean it's tolerable or sustainable.

refurb 6y ago

Good point. We’ve never seen scandals like this outside the US. /s