Found this in another echo. I believe it is spot on.

"It is not the truth of Marxism that explains the willingness of
intellectuals to believe it, but the power that it confers on
intellectuals, in their attempts to control the world. And since...it is
futile to reason someone out of a thing that he was not reasoned into,
we can conclude that Marxism owes its remarkable power to survive every criticism to the fact that it is not a truth-directed but a
power-directed system of thought."

Sir Roger Scruton


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On 03 Nov 2021, Mike Powell said the following...

Found this in another echo. I believe it is spot on.
"It is not the truth of Marxism that explains the willingness of intellectuals to believe it, but the power that it confers on intellectuals, in their attempts to control the world. And since...it is futile to reason someone out of a thing that he was not reasoned into,
we can conclude that Marxism owes its remarkable power to survive every criticism to the fact that it is not a truth-directed but a
power-directed system of thought."

It's a lot of nothing. All political systems are about power: who has it and who doesn't. Marx doesn't need any power; he's dead.

As far as capitalists being paragons of truth... "trickle-down economics," anyone?

Jeff.

"For every complex problem there is an answer that is clear, simple, and wrong." -- H. L. Mencken, who indeed was a racist thereby proving himself right.

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On 03 Nov 2021, Mike Powell said the following...

Found this in another echo. I believe it is spot on.
"It is not the truth of Marxism that explains the willingness of intellectuals to believe it, but the power that it confers on intellectuals, in their attempts to control the world. And since...it is futile to reason someone out of a thing that he was not reasoned into,
we can conclude that Marxism owes its remarkable power to survive every criticism to the fact that it is not a truth-directed but a
power-directed system of thought."

Capitalism and democracy have not been immune to corruption by power, either. Look at Afghanistan for a recent example.

Jeff.

"For every complex problem there is an answer that is clear, simple, and wrong." -- H. L. Mencken, who indeed was a racist thereby proving himself right.

--- Mystic BBS v1.12 A46 2020/08/26 (Raspberry Pi/32)
* Origin: Cold War Computing BBS (1:387/26)

On 03 Nov 2021, Mike Powell said the following...

"It is not the truth of Marxism that explains the willingness of intellectuals to believe it, but the power that it confers on intellectuals, in their attempts to control the world. And since...it is futile to reason someone out of a thing that he was not reasoned into,
we can conclude that Marxism owes its remarkable power to survive every criticism to the fact that it is not a truth-directed but a
power-directed system of thought."

Also, I would remind you that earlier this year the sitting president of one
of the world's foremost capitalist countries attempted a coup, and the party
he was affiliated with continues their efforts to undermine democracy so that they can remain in power. Additionally, the supporters of this sitting president engaged in an unprecedented misinformation campaign both to get him elected and keep him in power after he lost the subsequent election.

Truth-directed, my a$$.

Jeff.

"For every complex problem there is an answer that is clear, simple, and wrong." -- H. L. Mencken, who indeed was a racist thereby proving himself right.

--- Mystic BBS v1.12 A46 2020/08/26 (Raspberry Pi/32)
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Found this in another echo. I believe it is spot on.
"It is not the truth of Marxism that explains the willingness of intellectuals to believe it, but the power that it confers on intellectuals, in their attempts to control the world. And since...it is futile to reason someone out of a thing that he was not reasoned into, we can conclude that Marxism owes its remarkable power to survive every criticism to the fact that it is not a truth-directed but a power-directed system of thought."

It's a lot of nothing. All political systems are about power: who has it and who doesn't. Marx doesn't need any power; he's dead.

I think it fits nicely with any system where one group thinks they are the intellectual elite, and the other group that won't follow them is a bunch of dumb (fill-in-the-blank with "religious people," "hicks," "red-staters," "Trumpers," "kulaks," etc.)

Before you think of trying turn-tables, I don't think any Trump voter here thought he was an intellectual elite, or that they were for voting for him.


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Also, I would remind you that earlier this year the sitting president of one of the world's foremost capitalist countries attempted a coup, and the party he was affiliated with continues their efforts to undermine democracy so that they can remain in power.

Trump was affiliated with the Democrats? They are "in (majority) power" in both houses and cannot manage to get the current President's agenda passed. They seem to be "undermining" themselves better than anyone from any other party would be able to.

The Republicans are "in power" of either Chamber of Congress or the White House, so they cannot "remain in power" of anything, so you can't mean them.


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On 04 Nov 2021, Mike Powell said the following...

Found this in another echo. I believe it is spot on.
"It is not the truth of Marxism that explains the willingness of intellectuals to believe it, but the power that it confers on intellectuals, in their attempts to control the world. And since... futile to reason someone out of a thing that he was not reasoned in we can conclude that Marxism owes its remarkable power to survive e criticism to the fact that it is not a truth-directed but a power-directed system of thought."

It's a lot of nothing. All political systems are about power: who has it who doesn't. Marx doesn't need any power; he's dead.

I think it fits nicely with any system where one group thinks they are
the intellectual elite, and the other group that won't follow them is a bunch of dumb (fill-in-the-blank with "religious people," "hicks," "red-staters," "Trumpers," "kulaks," etc.)

I don't think I'm intellectually elite, but sort of get put into that
position when people from the other side utterly deny science and facts, whether it's biology, history, climatology, medicine, or JFK, Jr., rising
from the dead. I get put into that position when people say, "I'm entitled to my own opinion" when confronted with facts that they don't like. I get put
into that position when people insist that Reaganomics will work after 40
years of it helping only the rich.

The charges of "elitism" against the left are just the result of being wrong
- A LOT - and not liking it.

In short, if people don't want to be treated like idiots, they shouldn't say idiotic things. It has nothing to do with Marxism.

Before you think of trying turn-tables, I don't think any Trump voter
here thought he was an intellectual elite, or that they were for voting for him.

I don't think so, either.

Jeff.

"For every complex problem there is an answer that is clear, simple, and wrong." -- H. L. Mencken, who indeed was a racist thereby proving himself right.

--- Mystic BBS v1.12 A46 2020/08/26 (Raspberry Pi/32)
* Origin: Cold War Computing BBS (1:387/26)

On 04 Nov 2021, Mike Powell said the following...

Also, I would remind you that earlier this year the sitting president of of the world's foremost capitalist countries attempted a coup, and the p he was affiliated with continues their efforts to undermine democracy so they can remain in power.

Trump was affiliated with the Democrats? They are "in (majority) power" in both houses and cannot manage to get the current President's agenda passed. They seem to be "undermining" themselves better than anyone from any other party would be able to.

You know better than that. I was referring to the restrictive and oppressive election laws being passed by Republican-controlled states.

The Republicans are "in power" of either Chamber of Congress or the White House, so they cannot "remain in power" of anything, so you can't mean them.

Ah, but I do. Those are not the only seats of power in this country.

Jeff.

"For every complex problem there is an answer that is clear, simple, and wrong." -- H. L. Mencken, who indeed was a racist thereby proving himself right.

--- Mystic BBS v1.12 A46 2020/08/26 (Raspberry Pi/32)
* Origin: Cold War Computing BBS (1:387/26)

On 04 Nov 2021, Mike Powell said the following...

I think it fits nicely with any system where one group thinks they are
the intellectual elite, and the other group that won't follow them is a bunch of dumb (fill-in-the-blank with "religious people," "hicks," "red-staters," "Trumpers," "kulaks," etc.)

Come on, man. Don't you feel just a tiny bit intellectually superior to the conservatives that held a rally in Dallas to welcome JFK and JFK Jr. back
from the dead so that they could "reinstate" Trump with JFK Jr. as his VP?

While the kennedy father and son were no-shows, attendees claimed to have spotted several other deceased celebrities, including Robin Williams.

Not just a tiny bit?

Jeff.

"For every complex problem there is an answer that is clear, simple, and wrong." -- H. L. Mencken, who indeed was a racist thereby proving himself right.

--- Mystic BBS v1.12 A46 2020/08/26 (Raspberry Pi/32)
* Origin: Cold War Computing BBS (1:387/26)

On 04 Nov 2021, Mike Powell said the following...

Before you think of trying turn-tables, I don't think any Trump voter
here thought he was an intellectual elite, or that they were for voting for him.

On the other hand...

Do you think that Trump was lying when he said that he was a "stable genius?"

And I suppose that whenever a conservative in here calls a liberal a "MORON"
or such, they're not thinking that they're not looking down on others?

Jeff.

"For every complex problem there is an answer that is clear, simple, and wrong." -- H. L. Mencken, who indeed was a racist thereby proving himself right.

--- Mystic BBS v1.12 A46 2020/08/26 (Raspberry Pi/32)
* Origin: Cold War Computing BBS (1:387/26)

Hello Mike,

Found this in another echo. I believe it is spot on.

More like gibberish.

"It is not the truth of Marxism that explains the willingness of intellectuals to believe it, but the power that it confers on intellectuals, in their attempts to control the world. And since...it is futile to reason someone out of a thing that he was not reasoned into,
we can conclude that Marxism owes its remarkable power to survive every criticism to the fact that it is not a truth-directed but a
power-directed system of thought."

Sir Roger Scruton

All politics is about power.

You do know the first three rules of politics?

The first rule is that all politics is local.
The second rule is the pendulum swings and then it swings back.
The third rule is don't repeat your mistakes.

--Lee

--
If it's not an iPhone, it's not an iPhone
--- MesNews/1.08.05.00-gb
* Origin: news://eljaco.se (2:203/2)

Hello Jeff,

Found this in another echo. I believe it is spot on.
"It is not the truth of Marxism that explains the willingness of
intellectuals to believe it, but the power that it confers on
intellectuals, in their attempts to control the world. And since...it

is

futile to reason someone out of a thing that he was not reasoned

into,

we can conclude that Marxism owes its remarkable power to survive

every

criticism to the fact that it is not a truth-directed but a
power-directed system of thought."

Capitalism and democracy have not been immune to corruption by power, either.
Look at Afghanistan for a recent example.

A faith-based government, with no corruption allowed.
Just like Iran. And Israel. Wouldn't it be great if the
USA had such a government? Just imagine Pat Robertson
as our POTUS ...

--Lee

--
It's not for women.
--- MesNews/1.08.05.00-gb
* Origin: news://eljaco.se (2:203/2)

Trump was affiliated with the Democrats? They are "in (majority) power" in both houses and cannot manage to get the current President's agenda passed. They seem to be "undermining" themselves better than anyone from any other party would be able to.

You know better than that. I was referring to the restrictive and oppressive election laws being passed by Republican-controlled states.

Wanting people to prove who they are so that people like you cannot post 10 ballots? Sounds good to me.

Oh, I know, it is racism because for some reason you think that non-white citizens are more likely to have trouble proving who they are or following rules or whatever the reason is this week.


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Do you think that Trump was lying when he said that he was a "stable genius?"

I have no idea.

And I suppose that whenever a conservative in here calls a liberal a "MORON" >or such, they're not thinking that they're not looking down on others?

If I say it, it usually means they have said something so stupid even I
would not believe it.


* SLMR 2.1a * "Mmmmmmmm.....bacon..."
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On 05 Nov 2021, Mike Powell said the following...

Trump was affiliated with the Democrats? They are "in (majority) p in both houses and cannot manage to get the current President's age passed. They seem to be "undermining" themselves better than anyone any other party would be able to.

You know better than that. I was referring to the restrictive and oppres election laws being passed by Republican-controlled states.

Wanting people to prove who they are so that people like you cannot post 10 ballots? Sounds good to me.

Are you accusing me of voter fraud?

Oh, I know, it is racism because for some reason you think that non-white citizens are more likely to have trouble proving who they are or
following rules or whatever the reason is this week.

Not specifically non-white, but definitely non-Republican.

Jeff.

"For every complex problem there is an answer that is clear, simple, and wrong." -- H. L. Mencken, who indeed was a racist thereby proving himself right.

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On 05 Nov 2021, Mike Powell said the following...

Do you think that Trump was lying when he said that he was a "stable geni I have no idea.

But you definitely do not think that he is an intellectual elite, correct?

And I suppose that whenever a conservative in here calls a liberal a "MOR >or such, they're not thinking that they're not looking down on others?

If I say it, it usually means they have said something so stupid even I would not believe it.

So you're saying that because it failed your credulity test, if it's
something that the other person believes then it didn't pass theirs, which makes you intellectually superior to them, correct? Or do you consider
yourself a moron, too?

Jeff.

"For every complex problem there is an answer that is clear, simple, and wrong." -- H. L. Mencken, who indeed was a racist thereby proving himself right.

--- Mystic BBS v1.12 A46 2020/08/26 (Raspberry Pi/32)
* Origin: Cold War Computing BBS (1:387/26)

Hello Jeff,

I think it fits nicely with any system where one group thinks they are
the intellectual elite, and the other group that won't follow them is a
bunch of dumb (fill-in-the-blank with "religious people," "hicks,"
"red-staters," "Trumpers," "kulaks," etc.)

Come on, man. Don't you feel just a tiny bit intellectually superior to the
conservatives that held a rally in Dallas to welcome JFK and JFK Jr. back from the dead so that they could "reinstate" Trump with JFK Jr. as his VP?

While the kennedy father and son were no-shows, attendees claimed to have spotted several other deceased celebrities, including Robin Williams.

Not just a tiny bit?

Oh, c'mon man! Get real! Everybody knows that Elvis is still alive!
And Michael Jackson, too! Along with Prince! And a few others as well!

--Lee

--
Silence is violence!

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Trump was affiliated with the Democrats? They are "in (majority) in both houses and cannot manage to get the current President's ag
passed. They seem to be "undermining" themselves better than anyon
any other party would be able to.

You know better than that. I was referring to the restrictive and oppre
election laws being passed by Republican-controlled states.

Wanting people to prove who they are so that people like you cannot post 10 ballots? Sounds good to me.

Are you accusing me of voter fraud?

Not directly. Of being someone who wouldn't care as long as it went in
your favor...

Oh, I know, it is racism because for some reason you think that non-white
citizens are more likely to have trouble proving who they are or following rules or whatever the reason is this week.

Not specifically non-white, but definitely non-Republican.

Yes, that is why there is a Republican in the White House, and a Republican majority in the.... oh, wait....


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On 06 Nov 2021, Mike Powell said the following...

Are you accusing me of voter fraud?

Not directly. Of being someone who wouldn't care as long as it went in your favor...

Interesting. I'm not in favor of voter fraud in any case. However, I'm also
not in favor of locking down the system so that some eligible voters face unreasonable hurdles to exercising their right to vote.

Are you someone who doesn't care if certain people can't vote as long as it went in your favor?

Oh, I know, it is racism because for some reason you think that non-white
citizens are more likely to have trouble proving who they are or following rules or whatever the reason is this week.

Not specifically non-white, but definitely non-Republican.

Yes, that is why there is a Republican in the White House, and a Republican majority in the.... oh, wait....

And that's why Republicans are continuing to come up with restrictive
election laws. And they will continue to do so until the outcome guarantess them permanent minority rule.

Jeff.

"For every complex problem there is an answer that is clear, simple, and wrong." -- H. L. Mencken, who indeed was a racist thereby proving himself right.

--- Mystic BBS v1.12 A46 2020/08/26 (Raspberry Pi/32)
* Origin: Cold War Computing BBS (1:387/26)

Not directly. Of being someone who wouldn't care as long as it went in your favor...

Interesting. I'm not in favor of voter fraud in any case. However, I'm also not in favor of locking down the system so that some eligible voters face unreasonable hurdles to exercising their right to vote.

Are you someone who doesn't care if certain people can't vote as long as it went in your favor?

No, I have given people rides to the polls even though I knew they were not voting the same way as me.

Oh, I know, it is racism because for some reason you think that non-white
citizens are more likely to have trouble proving who they are or following rules or whatever the reason is this week.

Not specifically non-white, but definitely non-Republican.

Yes, that is why there is a Republican in the White House, and a Republican majority in the.... oh, wait....

And that's why Republicans are continuing to come up with restrictive election laws. And they will continue to do so until the outcome guarantess them permanent minority rule.

What I am getting out of this is that you think Republicans are more likely
to be able to follow the rules, while Democrats are less likely to be able
to, or to want to.


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On 07 Nov 2021, Mike Powell said the following...

Not directly. Of being someone who wouldn't care as long as it wen your favor...

Interesting. I'm not in favor of voter fraud in any case. However, I'm a not in favor of locking down the system so that some eligible voters fac unreasonable hurdles to exercising their right to vote.
Are you someone who doesn't care if certain people can't vote as long as went in your favor?

No, I have given people rides to the polls even though I knew they were not voting the same way as me.

Systemic voter suppression is an entirely different animal.

Oh, I know, it is racism because for some reason you think t non-white
citizens are more likely to have trouble proving who they ar following rules or whatever the reason is this week.

Not specifically non-white, but definitely non-Republican.

Yes, that is why there is a Republican in the White House, and a Republican majority in the.... oh, wait....

And that's why Republicans are continuing to come up with restrictive election laws. And they will continue to do so until the outcome guarant them permanent minority rule.

What I am getting out of this is that you think Republicans are more likely to be able to follow the rules, while Democrats are less likely
to be able to, or to want to.

Correct. The rules are designed to favor people more likely to vote
Republican. For example, Governor Abbott's "one drop box per county" rule. Or the rule that says state concealed weapon permits are an acceptable form of
ID, but an ID card from a state college is not. Or the rules prohibiting providing water to people waiting in line to vote. Where do you think the voting lines are the longest? Or the rules that specifically targetted the Sunday morning "Souls to the Polls" events sponsored by black churches.

Jeff.

"For every complex problem there is an answer that is clear, simple, and wrong." -- H. L. Mencken, who indeed was a racist thereby proving himself right.

--- Mystic BBS v1.12 A46 2020/08/26 (Raspberry Pi/32)
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Hello Mike,

After serious thinking Mike Powell -> JEFF THIELE wrote :

Not directly. Of being someone who wouldn't care as long as it went

in

your favor...

Interesting. I'm not in favor of voter fraud in any case. However, I'm
also
not in favor of locking down the system so that some eligible voters face
unreasonable hurdles to exercising their right to vote.

Are you someone who doesn't care if certain people can't vote as long as
it
went in your favor?

No, I have given people rides to the polls even though I knew they were not
voting the same way as me.

I do not believe the NAACP will ever hire you as a bus driver to
take people to the polls.

[..]

And that's why Republicans are continuing to come up with restrictive
election laws. And they will continue to do so until the outcome guarantess
them permanent minority rule.

What I am getting out of this is that you think Republicans are more likely
to be able to follow the rules, while Democrats are less likely to be able to, or to want to.

Trying to get Democrats to agree on anything is like herding cats.
It ain't gonna happen.

--Lee

--
Every bite is a different temperature

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Hello Mike,

Do you think that Trump was lying when he said that he was a "stable
genius?"

I have no idea.

Of course not.
No **** **** would have any idea.
No ****** **** would have any idea.
No **** and ****** **** would have any idea.

Now if you claim you are not a **** ****, a ****** ****, or a
**** and ****** ****, that would make you the alternative, which
is worse.

I'll let you figure out what that means.

And I suppose that whenever a conservative in here calls a liberal a
"MORON"
or such, they're not thinking that they're not looking down on others?

If I say it, it usually means they have said something so stupid even I would not believe it.

I can fix many things. But there are two things I cannot change.
I cannot fix stupid. And I cannot fix crazy. Which one are you?

--Lee

--
It takes a tough man to make a tender chicken

--- MesNews/1.08.05.00-gb
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Hello Mike,

[..]

Not specifically non-white, but definitely non-Republican.

Yes, that is why there is a Republican in the White House, and a Republican
majority in the.... oh, wait....

Wow. Republicans lost the White House, Senate, and House in the
last election to Democrats.

Or did all those Democrats change their party affiliation?

You're busted, man. Busted. Just as Ray Charles said (or sang).

--Lee

--
More Doctors Smoke Camels than Any Other Cigarette

--- MesNews/1.08.05.00-gb
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