Will Shetterly's Blog, page 84

Turning off comments on my blog

Blogger hasn't been notifying me of all the comments left here, so I fear I've missed some. Since I seem to discuss blog posts more on Facebook and G+ than here, I'll simply turn off comments now. Apologies to anyone that inconveniences.

What you do unto others may be done unto you

Today's example of why I don't approve of banning products when people have political disagreements: North Shore town bans Bent Paddle beer over PolyMet fight - StarTribune.com: "The action came after the craft brewery joined a business coalition opposing PolyMet mine."

Useful calculations for writing about vampires

You can adjust any of the assumptions for the sake of your story, of course.

Dear revolutionary socialists and third-party socialists, here's why you should support Sanders

Anti-voting and third-party socialists, your argument has always been that it's impossible for socialists to compete in the two-party system. Until this year, I've agreed with you, but now the US is finally testing that theory. If Sanders fails, you will win new converts—seePoll: 33% of Sanders Supporters Wouldn't Vote for Clinton: "A new Wall Street Journal/NBC News poll indicatesone thirdof

Race Reductionist idiocy of the day: Clay Shirky disses Ben Jealous

If U accuse Sanders supporters of not caring about black voters, maybe don't choose former NAACP head as your e.g.? pic.twitter.com/9XTFbdcgAv — corey robin (@CoreyRobin) March 17, 2016 That Shirky doesn't recognize Jealous's name is no big deal. That Shirky uses him as an example without bothering to see who he is? Priceless.

The socialist case for supporting Bernie Sanders

Socialists keep debating whether Bernie Sanders is a true socialist. He's trying to become the candidate of the Democratic Party—does working with capitalists make him a capitalist? His proposals fall far short of socialism—does his support for a social democracy like those in many European countriesmake him a capitalist? His socialist critics don't ask this: If he's not a socialist, why has he

Sinclair Lewis's salary quote applies to elite socialists too

On Facebook, I've gotten into a conversation with an anti-voting socialist who likes to insult people. He's bright, so I'm indulging him more than I probably should. He made a list of Sanders' shortcomings. I said: Among the many things that invariably amuse me is the charge that if you support a candidate, you must support everything that candidate supports. It would mean that we would only

Hillary's biggest problem is she's now The Man; Bernie needs to keep speaking truth to her power

I left this comment at Facebook: Clinton is strongest when she's dealing with empty identitarian rhetoric. Sanders is strongest when he's pounding the class issues that unite us against the oligarchy. He doesn't need the black bourgeoisie and probably can't win them--they allied with the white bourgeoisie before slavery ended. He needs the black working class, and they understand that there's no

This Yoruba proverb explains everything wrong with identitarianism

"When the axe entered the forest, the trees said, 'Look, the handle is one of us!'" -Yoruba proverb

For people who don't know Martin Luther King knew economic justice mattered most