philfrei.bsky.social
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And @nieuws.nos.nl public TV news presents it as Mexico bowing to Trump's pressure. No mention of his concession to Sheinbaum.
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This is going to add to the cost of food, given future shortages due to the waste. We all will get what "they" voted for.
Need to find MAGA supporters and ask, is this really what you thought you were voting for?
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I'm getting "Chairman Mao during the Great Leap Forward" vibes.
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are allies. It's better to try to understand their motivation, figure out how to influence & work with people on the highest priorities. It's OK to be angry, but also helpful to wield the anger at the most effective moments.
This is my general temperament, philosophy. Your mileage may differ.
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Did some research, saw that he also held open the possibility that there are aspects of "birthright citizenship" that are maybe worth reconsidering.
I think I agree with you on these two issues, but also think Klein's arguments are worth a listen. Many people share his ideas & opinions and ...
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I work two jobs & am studying/working on portfolio projects.
One of the jobs is physically demanding, is part time, but sometimes runs 6+ hours. I'm turning 68, in good health but have limits.
I think nothing good happens until left & right find a way to work together against billionaires.
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I'm glad we are finding some common ground. I only come back to Bluesky a couple days a week, so apologies for the gaps in the conversation. Thanks for your part in it!
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I haven't been following Ezra Klein. I see him reposted by others sometimes and usually read that. I don't recall anything terrible such as you describe. I'm curious if you have an example.
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I don't know how consistent Bannon is with his populism. There's some debate on this at The Bulwark. Bannon seems less transactional than Trump who has no ethics at all when it comes to rationalizing grift. But I don't like the racism associated with Bannon. I agree not to totally trust him.
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Agreed, Dems have also not been as strong as they should have on this.
My notion is that the main battle right now is between oligarchy/billionaires on one side and everyone else on the other. Robert Reich articulates this better than me.
If Bannon goes after them, I'm not going to discourage him.
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Exactly!!
My deal with right-to-repair is that it has far too many legal exemptions. It needs more teeth and more enforcement.
Example: impossible to find a shop (bike repair, motorcycle repair?) to repair electric scooters. General exemption for conveyances includes motorized wheel chairs.
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I'm not calling for H1B to be thrown away. I want it to stop being abused and overused. It is corporate welfare currently, a give-away that hurts American workers.
If it worked more purely as you describe, and we had more paths for our own citizens to train in STEM, I'm good with that.
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Then there is an enforcement problem. The law is not being followed.
I've known several H1B workers in tech. Their jobs were well within the skills of American workers.
Check out job applications for tech on LinkedIn. There are over a hundred applicants for entry and junior level programming jobs.
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out of work people who are Americans. Maybe there are a few, but quite a few (I've met personally) are working pretty basic programming or engineering jobs, ones that laid off workers could easily fill.
I think you are taking the reasons given by corporations with not enough skepticism.
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Yes, need more/better science educators. Yes, there are many STEM jobs to fill. There are also many laid off STEM workers looking for work. I'd like to see more funds put into developing our own.
I've met many H1B visa workers, have worked with them. Overall: smart, nice, but not smarter than...
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Because you invoked "we can't do shit right" and the reason is NOT lack of H1B visas but, rather, to short term profiteering, lack of competition, laws that let companies get away with planned obsolescence, etc. We've lost the benefits of market economies by allowing too much consolidation.
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"We reach for these denial arguments to salve our consciences."
This occurs for most every act of exploitation. Compartmentalization & denial is now at a maladaptive level & the consequences look to be horrific. If we don't evolve culturally to deal with this, our future is dubious.
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H1B visas are supposedly meant to fill in gaps. But AFAIK, the tech industry has had one of the largest layoff rates. An incredible talent pool is being passed over for this corporate "handout."
How is it that resulting drop in prices (amount debatable) matters more for software than factory goods?
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If "we can't do shit right" anymore, maybe the reason is the way billionaires have corrupted our government, created monopolies, made the few "right to repair" laws meaningless with exceptions and lack of enforcement, etc.
I'm curious have you seen Biden's last speech?
youtu.be/T8vmhmilluM?...
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Maybe? I don't think so. This is about getting a "hand out" plain & simple. H1B workers are less expensive & as far as "right temperament"--do our companies really need workers that are too scared to object when subjected to abuse lest they be deported?
They are lying about their reasons, as usual.
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Even when it's correct?
Layoffs in the tech sector have been higher than most job sectors. There are many highly skilled individuals looking for work.
I think we need fewer H1B visas for tech. 0 is fewer. That will never happen, but at least Bannon is creating downward pressure.
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At least Bannon is pointing in the right direction!
Musk will make serfs of us all, given the chance. Indentured servitude and misery is our future if he is given free rein.
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IDK. Racism is evil, yes. Wanting jobs for Americans rather than importing cheaper foreign labor to replace Americans, that is a legit gripe!
I go with Robert Reich, the biggest threat now is the uber wealthy that seem to have no end to their ambitions. We can do this without the racism.
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H1B engineers are paid less & often abused. Complaining entails risks losing their H1B status and deportation.
There are just as many, if not more, brilliant USA engineers. Musk & others don't want to pay or train them if they can get H1B handouts.
The program is being abused, needs re-balancing.
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Similar thing: the act of stoking racism for political gain.
Many acts of racial hatred, violence or exploitation are part of a revenge cycle (which provides some dubious justifications).
So, it is doubly despicable to fabricate racism based events, the source that starts off new cycles.
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A lot of people don't know what "fascist" means. To them it's little more than calling someone a bad name.
The messages overall are pretty good for Dems. Most in USA support the Dem policies when the party is not identified. But people don't know that.
Problem is the messages not getting through.
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Evil acts create revenge cycles. So, lying to deliberately generate hatred between people that have otherwise been getting along, that has to be considered one of the most despicable acts there are.
I think racism could well be a thing of the past if it weren't being boosted for political gains.
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Exactly right. Doing the right thing is important, but so it getting credit for it!
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Climatologist and Evangelical Christian Katharine Hayhoe @katharinehayhoe.com
Clear-sighted Economist (called 2008 Financial collapse) Dean Baker @deanbaker13.bsky.social
Paul Krugman @pkrugman.bsky.social