Bruce Sterling’s SXSW keynote
Mar 17 at 3:03pm by Jagwire X
Bruce Sterling
You can listen to Bruce Sterling’s SXSW Keynote here. As usual Bruce gives the audience a number of interesting bits about emerging technologies but mostly he speaks about the future we are creating and what we ought to do about it. He goes on to say that the real challenge to the future is that the worst people in the world are running things and that the United States government is for all intents and purposes a new Soviet Union (inflexible and corrupt, generally looked at as illegitimate by the rest of the world, not mention a lot of many Americans as well.) And in much of the world things are very bad indeed.
“When you actually ignore reality for years on end, the payback is a bitch brother! … We’re seeing just frantic collisions of fundamentalist delusion with objective reality… We’re on a kind of slider bar between the unthinkable and the unimaginable now, between the grim meathook future and the bright green future. There are ways out of this situation; there are actual ways to move the slider bar from one side to the other, except that we haven’t invented the words for them yet.”
He goes on to say that if you look honestly at the world, you will see a new story emerging. One with smart and dedicated people locked in a great struggle to guide us towards a better future using every tool in their power. “That’s a big story!” And then he reminds those who are part of that story of the motto of the old Soviet-era Eastern European dissidents: “Make no decision out of fear.”
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What’s wrong with the right
Mar 13 at 11:11am by Jagwire X
Rush Limbaugh - A Pundit
This primarily applies to right-wing pundits, political leaders, journalist, and bloggers and it’s simple really.
They can’t stand anyone whose opinions or beliefs differ from theirs because, like someone who’s done too much cocaine, they think they are right, and there is no other possible way to be. They often pretend to speak for God, they have feeling of superiority. In fact they are just dumb-ass mob rule followers. Any objective student of history could recognize this happening time and again.
This allows them to win a lot of arguments. No need to think, just stick to their position and denigrate their opponent, and insist their position is the only correct position. No rational thought involved no substantiation for their “talking points“, and no reality whatsoever. The talking points allow the creation of some virulent and unhealthy memes which takes some serious mental effort to resist.
They are wrong on most counts and they know it. They just don’t care so long as they get their way, can manipulate others and consolidate power. This is being irresponsible as a human being.
So just remember, calm and rational arguments won’t work. Take a heavy handed, aggressive, yet rational approach if you get into a debate with the right, use empiricism, skepticism and especially philosophical sophism (e.g. Like Socrates.) You’re sure to beat some sense into them.
If all else fails insinuate that if they really believe what their saying then their intellect is on par with that of an 8 year old then drop the subject. At least that way they probably won’t talk to you anymore.
This post was made possible by the likes of Sean Hannity, Bill O’Reilly, Rush Limbaugh, Tucker Carlson and all other “conservative” / neo-con self-serving sycophantic pundits, politicians and demagogues.
Where’s H.L. Mencken when you need him.
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