Next you will be asking if we can just seize the Dole farms and Chevron fields.
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One can defend freedom of speech, even knowing that some protected speech can have harmful effects.
If adhering to the rule of law is a good thing, that means that you might have to let a guilty man go free, allowing him to commit future crimes that he may be considered highly likely to commit.
These are both examples where a deontologist might stress the principle involved regardless of outcome, but a utilitarian might concur on what ought to be done because it is an overall positive when you consider the range of scenarios, even if in certain situations it results in a negative outcome.
It’s only the “right thing” in that Taiwan is and ought to be an independent country. And China demanding that it not be recognized as such is dumb, but crucially important to them. But the only benefit is that we stop humoring China insisting that everyone ignore that Taiwan is actually a real, independent nation. That doesn’t help anyone, the only benefit is that we dispose of this dumb diplomatic fiction. But if recognizing Taiwan causes China to invade, that’s a disaster that actually hurts millions of people.
Yes, if. China has been sabre-rattling across SE Asia for some time now. In my opinion it’s only a matter of time until they will use military action or at least the threat of to expand. Humoring them will at best delay this. Maybe a principled stance can make them rethink their plans. They still need the US and Europe as markets for their manufacturing industry and they would get hurt just as much as we do if they can’t access them anymore.
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Arming Taiwan with a bunch of our latest weapons seems like a less provocative and more effective way to deter China.
It’s not just Taiwan China has an eye on.
China is a fascist country. It requires a never-ending supply of domestic and foreign enemies.
Just this past year they targeted a docile, assimilated minority group (Mongolians) for no tangible benefit.
Having a normal one over at the Washingtonian!
https://twitter.com/DCist/status/1390714736392744964?s=20
https://twitter.com/jamieson/status/1390675116049190914?s=20
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Bingo
Times economics correspondent, re jobs numbers:
https://twitter.com/Neil_Irwin/status/1390645866009088006
There are a bunch of takes like this out there from people who should know better. Also, a bunch of interviews with restaurant owners (you’ve seen some in the Covid thread) grousing about how hard it is to find waitstaff. But someone got it right:
I have no idea what Eater is, or what kind of education the reporter had, but apparently she’s the only one that understands how labor markets work and the fact that it might be useful to talk to actual laborers.
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This is the exact same “logic” as the people who, as recently as a few months ago, on this forum were still arguing Biden has dementia.
It’s one of the (too common) places where the Venn diagram of far right and far left talking points overlap.
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There was this really gross segment on CNN yesterday where the hosts were fawning over a restauranteur who was offering free tuition for staff as a way to attract people to work for him. They were acting like it was some kind of charity when it is just normal market factors. When labour is in short supply employers offer more incentives.
Not to mention, the reason free tuition is an incentive is the messed up US education system.
The deference to business owners is really just gross at this point. I recently had to interact with one of our 2 company owners for a project and every question about the intricacies of the business the answer was “I don’t know anything about that.” I honestly had to bite my tongue to stop myself saying “and remind me again who takes all the profit from this business? The guy who knows fuck all about it or…?”
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It is infuriating that the press is doing everything in its power to rehabilitate the images of these republicans to help usher in an era of fascism. But if it’s any consolation, they are also going to be the first in line to be sent to the death camps.
Like, could you imagine that stupid look on Chuck Todd’s face thinking “Republicans were my friends, why are they doing this to me?” as he’s being hauled off to an execution chamber? That definitely would give me a momentary chuckle as I’m filing out my asylum application in another country.
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Just wow at that first tweet. Lying, hiding information, and spying are primary functions of government, especially the US government.
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The tweet is slightly dumber than equivocating between Trump’s affinity for the truth and other Presidents’.
Maybe I’m misreading it, but I think she’s trolling. She’s a former network correspondent. Now she isn’t. Bitter?