starkd

47 ms·

541.
by starkd 4y ago
Affirmative action is heavy handed when it involves hard quotas. There's nothing wrong with an affirmative action policy that sets a goal to be more inclusive by reaching out to other groups yet does not require limits strictly on the
542.
by starkd 4y ago
Think of it this way: your experience with your father is probably what kept you away from alcohol. It's a very common pattern. BTW, I realize "falling off the wagon" means going on a bender, but shouldn't it really be
543.
Gang of Four(en.wikipedia.org)
3 points by starkd 4y ago|3 comments
544.
by starkd 4y ago
Perhaps, but that's not the way many people actually live. Maybe you would seek out alternates to socializing, but the institutions that once did that are dying or long dead.
545.
by starkd 4y ago
Except today many english majors don't read enough of the classics.
546.
by starkd 4y ago
There are many writers who have only one great book, and the others are all flops. Dosteovsky had a few that were utter flops in the literary sense. (The Idiot did not sell well, although it has its merits). You could even say he only hit
547.
by starkd 4y ago
That's a common complaint about literature. I remmeber one person who wouldn't read fiction because they said "it was just all lies". Literature isn't just a recitation of facts, it reflects the organizing princip
548.
by starkd 4y ago
P&V translations are beautifully done. The older Constance Garnett translations are good, though a bit archaic sounding now. I read a very bad translation of Master & Margherita, but it was still worthwhile. Go for the P&V i
549.
by starkd 4y ago
Neil Postman came to much the same conclusion about modern entertainment. https://www.amazon.com/Amusing-Ourselves-Death-Discourse-Bus...
550.
by starkd 4y ago
It does seem like a truism. However, given how many of us are so quick to try to solve every problem with technology, perhaps there is a bigger lesson here than we realize. Entire businesses seem to be formed more on whether we CAN do s
551.
by starkd 4y ago
To a point. But many joys are very destructive in and of themselves. Without any analysis, one might be tempted to snort meth all day.
552.
by starkd 4y ago
I would argue most are built on tradition, which offer the ability to build on the results of our forebears without reinventing the wheel. It's also helpful to have a little humility in the face of multiple complexities. That's
553.
by starkd 4y ago
He is not the lone voice of dissent. There's also Shellenberger and Bjorn Lomborg. The fact that they do not share the same panicked attitude about the climate science does not mean they no longer care about the issue. They are only
554.
by starkd 4y ago
He wasn't making an argument. He was simply putting the latest news in some context and saying there's no reason to panic. A position a number of other environmentalists have arrived at as well. A perfectly sane position.
555.
by starkd 4y ago
Because anyone who offers a contrary opinion is automatically a loon.
556.
by starkd 4y ago
Well, having kids is kind of important. Essential even.
557.
by starkd 4y ago
Economic activity is not inimical to humanity. Not in and of itself. That's a terrible way to think of your fellow man and our relationship to nature.
558.
by starkd 4y ago
Raising wages to a "decent wage by USA standards" is meaningless if you also spark more inflation.
559.
by starkd 4y ago
Killing off the zombie companies will drive unemployment rate higher. Good in the longer term, but it won't come without a cost. That's the price we pay for such an extended period of cheap credit.
560.
by starkd 4y ago
Investors have become addicted to easy money, so that outlook is embedded in the whole economy. Perhaps higher yields can produce better investments, since there will be a cost to these loans.
561.
by starkd 4y ago
The comparison to fascism is not even relevant here. Fascism is a corporate/government collaboration to achieve a specific end. Puritans were not talking about this. They were about self-reflection and self-improvement. The overzeal
562.
by starkd 4y ago
Also contrary to popular belief, it was not that the Puritans genuinely thought themselves to be better than everyone else. Their writing indicate they were all too acutely aware of their sinfulness. They knew of the difficulties in steer
563.
by starkd 4y ago
Oh, c'mon. Everyone knows there's more depth to history than the common populist version. As a group, most humans fail miserably. At any time in history, this is is so. This doesn't mean individual's from any era hav
564.
by starkd 4y ago
This completely misses the point. It's almost like you didn't even read the article. He makes clear they were by no means perfect, nor did they genuinely see themselves that way. Where the Buddhists' self-reflection was to
565.
by starkd 4y ago
The SPR was set up as an emergency reserve. Not to manipulate the market price, which is only a temporary reprieve anyway. As soon as its exhausted and the supply issue is not addressed, we will likely be in the same boat as before without
566.
by starkd 4y ago
Only when government action infringes on what they want to eat, dude.
567.
by starkd 4y ago
Yes, anyone who has been around for awhile should be able to recognize it as nothing more than a soy burger or veggie pattie. It shows the power of marketing to create novelty out of the ordinary.
568.
by starkd 4y ago
If you're going to go vegetarian, go all the way. No need to be a vegetarian while pretending to eat meat.
569.
by starkd 4y ago
But they actually got funding to implement these fads. It took a decade of near-zero interest loans.
570.
by starkd 4y ago
That's what you get when you have over a decade of near zero interest rates and easy money. A lot of hyped products and companies that mysteriously don't make any money. We're paying the price now.

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