Sort of. It’s a mixed bag is what I’m saying. It’s just not as impactful as we all imagine it to be. Some politicians are very corrupt obviously. But it’s not this prevalent “corporations own congress” kinda thing.

Access to influence policy and legislation. But they seem to get mixed results. There have been a few studies that looked at the actual effects of lobbying. I may have to dig around but i can track them down. It’s very interesting because it upturned what my assumptions were about lobbying.

It seems they find candidates that are already somewhat aligned and work no push the scale further. Like, someone like Latimer wouldn’t need a lot to push the scale in favor of AIPAC objectives.

It’s very interesting to read up on this.

I used to think lobby groups are influential in determining the outcome of these elections but I think the reality is they align themselves with candidates that are slated to more likely win. Sometimes they even fund both candidates. Money just doesn’t seem to translate to effective victory. Look at Bloomberg in 2016. That guy spent an ungodly amount of money on his campaign - - - more than all the candidates combined or something close.

Cory Bowman was already waning in popularity. From your article:

Bowman had several compounding low-level mistakes and scandals that could easily be hammered home to voters, like pulling the fire alarm at the Capitol or his controversial hip-hop lyrics. Beyond that, Latimer is a popular politician who has represented most of the district’s voters for years. Add in more money than any group has ever spent on a congressional primary by an enormous margin, and you have the conditions for a win.

I think it all depends. I’m not saying AIPAC is not influential. I just don’t think it’s so clear cut. I think the money in more to get access. The reality is Israel is popular with boomers, and Dem boomers vote. We are starting to see a shift with younger voters but it’s just not there yet.

Are they still around though? I think they filed for bankruptcy. The jeezus wannabe ceo was a good con artist.

Usually when discussing a heated topic (politics, gun control-take your pick) and trying to discuss the facts of the matter in a neutral manner but the response comes back with every phrase super charged with morally loaded words. Examples of a conversation I had recently (emphasis mine):

sure as hell isn’t PANDERING! What the fuck is wrong with you??

Typical apologist tactic

PRETENDING to care about the brutal slaughter of tens of thousands of innocent civilians

deflecting to your conspiracy theory

shows that YOU don’t care enough about Palestinian lives

It’s very pronounced on this site for some reason. I don’t know why.

Yea, I agree. That’s why I used the word discuss because when the debate-bro mindset kicks in you’re definitely dealing with an angsty teenager (also the constant invocation of logical fallacies).

Me too. But in my view they are not fully developed adults and still have some emotional intelligence left to grow.

For me personally the first tell is when they are morally loading every statement in an argument and are unable to engage with a topic directly. Adults should be able to discuss or debate certain topics on the value of the arguments alone without feeling pressured to include a declarative virtue signal in every clause.

In the dark we’ll take off our clothes And there’ll be placing fingers Through the notches of your spine

–Neutral Milk Hotel, Two Headed Boy

Yes, making movies is not an easy feat. But there’s plenty of good stuff coming out. Don’t know what to tell you.

Hollywood has been sucking ass lately, but lots of small indie films have been kicking ass. Everything from A24 has been fantastic recently. Lots of good foreign films too

Take Sneako too pls

Would be nice if they made ‘dumb’ EVs. Like the kind where even the windows are manual old school roll up. I don’t need to walk into a spaceship to drive to get groceries. But all they’re selling are luxury spaceships. For all the good Tesla did to rebrand the market, I feel it also did a lot of harm by creating an incentive for luxury vehicles.

I mean, I can think of a million useful applications but not at 3 grand a pop. This device has so many baffling cost adding features that add nothing (ie fake eyes on the front).

Does this mean I could install and run Blender on my phone???

Eh. Sort of. It’s still a big echo chamber with lots of feel good statements that amount to not much

Hot’n’Cold polka version by Ukrainian cover band Los Colorados:

Hot n Cold

There’s nothing where he used to LIEEE The conversation has run DRYYAAAIIAIA

That chorus is a banger

As a fan of Dune 2 I appreciate your review. I think it’s a fair criticism

It was a big hit when it came out, I remember that (I’m not sure why it made such a big splash). I also remember walking out and feeling underwhelmed because it was so hyped up (I was also 10 years younger). I’ve since become more familiar with Paul Thomas Anderson’s work and have a better understanding now. I can tell you, There Will Be Blood is a masterclass in production and storytelling. But I also understand it’s not very appealing narrative and may turn many off.