There is so much wrong with this whole notion. But the two that are most painful is the false assertion that there even could or should be “balance” based on the idea that there are only two ways to think… at all. Absurd. And the other is folks consinuously misuing DEI as a stand-in for whenever conservatives whine about not being at the table. I see what they are attempting to say, but it gives weight that there is merit in the argument that they should be given this seat, ans it misuses the actual place for DEI initiatives to help actual people in need of them.

Resident. Just let it happen. I don’t know how folks would actually respond.

I am replying just to let you know I have read, like, and appreciate your thoughtful reply.

Alaska has had two voting attempts to overturn RCV and will have another during the midterms. The MAGA wing has fought intensely against it and has the majority pull in the mostly red state. The major parties are doing their work to try to prevent alternative voting strategies and generally has the money and clout to do so. Grassroots movements have helped, but is difficult messaging for the average voter. In the last RCV run in Alaska spending was 10:1 towards RCV and it only narrowed out a 3pt margin. Maybe what’s happening in DC bludgening federally-dependent state might shake things up, but if we’re to believe media/social media trends about MAGA doubling down I won’t hold my breath.

Section 504 may on the chopping block federally soon, but more critically is Texas v. Bacerra. Please check if your state is joining and call your reps asap. Talk to your sped teachers and fellow parents too.

Defend Section 504: Protect the Rights of People with Disabilities: http://5calls.org/issue/section-504-texas-v-becerra

Leadership, yes. I would argue it is intentional. Citizens… well, clearly not some half of the electorate.

Sure, but your claim rests on a specific definition of what rich is. The notion that her gross assets, not liquidity, are such that she is in not of the working class (her assets produce enough wealth to live upon) glosses over the obscene wealth, corruption, and hoarding that the purpose of the conversation is trying to convey. “Yeah, but other Americans are poorer” is whataboutism in the face of someone interested in adresssing wealth disparity.

Those seeds were sewn much earlier. Jr. was fertilizer.

Unfortunately, I’m not sure how folks in the US pull it back. The weight of money draws in so much disinformation and outright media complicity that even grassroots movements (eg. Bernie, RCV) have been safely tampered out.

Americans didn’t even bother to show up and now we have a Republicans in control of all three branches again.>

Absolutely. Trump did not have a significant bump in votes, 10 million voters did not turn out, or so early figures show. Of them, it’s largely white suburban males. Apathy leads to populism. Dr. King had something to say about white liberals…

I dunno. I’ve seen a lot of Doritos in well established grad labs.

…wait.

Yes and no. While not a natural science, the study of humans making choices in a resource limited envrionment is a study that does work in examining how policy decisions affect human outcomes. The analysis should hopefully enable making better policy. Ideally we’d be less intellectually lazy than saying, “broken thing better than other broken thing”, but here we are.

Maybe it is more akin to health analysts interpeting how the rules of the game affect injuries, and then, hopefully, offer ways to reduce TBIs. The better outcome would be to not play a game that leads to concussions, but… fuck (waves hand generally)