PoliSci Nerd Freakout

Also, as I am reading your other posts-in case you wondered: the Sarah Palin thing did seem to me to be like a common misconception because many students in my large foreign policy class at a large state university actually thought she had said that. I know you said that if they had googled it they would had known she hadn't said that, but I feel like many people my age don't do enough research nor are they politically interested/motivated to do so. Thus, that post.

Fri, 17 May 2013 16:25:00 -0700

Oh no, a lot of people believe she said that and they’re dead wrong. I agree with you there, and while I don’t honestly think much of Palin, she deserves to be criticized for the things she actually said. Where I’d disagree is that this mistaken notion is the fault of media bias. I don’t think it was really passed on and generated by the news media hence why I said it be hard to find reports attributing the quote to her. I think the real fault simply lies with the meme-ability of the quote. It was more memorable and entertaining than what she actually said and so that’s what stuck in people’s minds long after they’d forgotten where they heard it. I think the culture of the internet and it’s flagrancy of sharing things without bothering to source them is more at fault than political bias in the news media.

We both agree that Palin shouldn’t be judged by someone’s parody of her, we simply disagree as to the cause. I don’t really think it’s anyone’s fault or intention that it became the huge meme it did, except of course for Tina Fey for being too good a comedian.

WHEN ANYONE THINKS 9/11 WAS AN INSIDE JOB DONE BY THE US GOVERNMENT.

Fri, 17 May 2013 15:52:55 -0700

elle-bells:

I find a lot of stuff on your blog objectionable, things I deeply and passionately disagree with, but here’s a friendly reblog: something liberals, conservatives, and policy wonks can all agree on.

LET ME SAY THIS BECAUSE I DON'T THINK MANY PEOPLE KNOW : SARAH PALIN NEVER SAID "I CAN SEE RUSSIA FROM MY HOUSE."

Fri, 17 May 2013 15:49:29 -0700

elle-bells:

y’all must be like

there’s that left media bias again

True, that line was from Tina Fey’s impressions/parodies of her. I hardly think the common misperception can be attributed to media bias though. I’d be impressed if you can find even one news report/article that attributes that quote to her. (though it’s probably happened once or twice, the way foreign news outlets sometimes mistake the onion for news and report on it. But that’s more of an issue of sloppy journalism than bias)

Now what she did say and what Tina Fey was parodying was that You can see Russia from Alaska, which, on a clear day is absolutely true. The ridiculous part was that she was using this fact of geography as evidence that she had meaningful foreign policy experience which I find pretty laughable though in a more subtle way than Fey’s humor.

It’s notable that her successor as Governor, Sean Parnell is going out of his way to avoid this particular criticism: he’s already made three foreign trips since assuming the position. Leads me to believe he’s anticipating a run for another office. Following her example of vice president seems far fetched (though not impossible) but I wouldn’t blink if he decides to run for senate once his term is up.

What Should Obama Call Me?: OBAMA'S HANDLING OF NORTH KOREA THREATENING TO NUKE US LIKE ERRDAY

Fri, 17 May 2013 15:32:07 -0700

What Should Obama Call Me?: OBAMA'S HANDLING OF NORTH KOREA THREATENING TO NUKE US LIKE ERRDAY :

polyscinerd:

elle-bells:

He’s like

hesitant, sluggish, weak, naive, inexperienced leader.

But like you say, North Korea makes threats all the damn time, yet they never carry them out, nor do they have the capability to carry out their threats even if…

Hi, have you not read the news? Their nuclear technology is improving daily and some experts say that they will soon have nucs that can reach California. “Calm, measured” here is an euphemism for “passive” and “weak”. We cannot allow leaders like Kim Jong Un to define the foreign policy framework the US will work within. This is a man who steals food from his people to feed his military so that they can carry out his oppressive leadership, this is also a man who has the media lie to his people saying that the US has surrendered to North Korea. This is a man who is past the point of diplomacy to stop his nefarious nuclear plans.

I am not saying we should nuc them (as of right now, God forbid it may come to that point) or start a war, what I am saying is that Obama was sluggish in reacting.

As long as Obama is in power, I am glad I live on the east coast.

Have a nice day and God bless.

North Korea has atomic weapons but at this point they have no delivery systems that can threaten us, even once the do perfect ICBM’s they’ll still need to miniaturize their warheads. all of that is going to take not only time but a lot more testing so it’s not like it’s going to sneak up on us. But what if they do get that ability, then what? do you really think they’d use it? When we have the retaliatory capability to turn their country into molten slag?

North Korea has be threatening to turn Seoul into a “Sea of Fire” for literally decades, and yet has never followed through. Why would anyone take their threats seriously at this point? They’re all bluster. Over reacting to that is letting them define U.S. Foreign Policy in exactly the way you proclaim we shouldn’t do.

North Korea is a pathetic excuse for a country, it has a GDP less than that of Costa Rica, and it waists most of that on a Military that wouldn’t even stand up to South Korea in a fight let alone the United States. It’s brutal and oppressive to it’s own people, but it’s weak and hollow and corrupt. Baring radical changes in their internal structure or the international system their collapse is more or less in inevitable. The only thing that has kept North Korea going this long is the patronage of China which wold be revoked if the North Koreans ever did something so stupid as to start a war they wouldn’t win. Given this, the best thing we can do is to ignore their provocations (which are meaningless anyway), contain them, and wait for their systems own rot trigger state collapse. That transition itself will be dangerous but that is what we have to prepare for.

Thats my take on the situation anyway, but what I am curious about Elle-Bells: What would you have us do? You rule out diplomacy, and yet say you don’t advocate for war either. What is your alternative?

emilybinder: Money vs. Power according to Frank Underwood

Fri, 17 May 2013 13:05:08 -0700

emilybinder:

Money vs. Power according to Frank Underwood

thisisradionowhere: Watching the West Wing rapidly devolves into me blubbering “I just love...

Fri, 17 May 2013 01:00:34 -0700

thisisradionowhere:

Watching the West Wing rapidly devolves into me blubbering “I just love government so much.”

And tearing up a little.

Mostly because I really love government so much.

glad I’m not the only one.

"No arts; no letters; no society; and which is worst of all, continual fear, and danger of violent..."

Fri, 17 May 2013 00:57:28 -0700

“No arts; no letters; no society; and which is worst of all, continual fear, and danger of violent death: and the life of man, solitary, poor, nasty, brutish and short.”

- Hobbes, Leviathan, Chapter 12 (via toomuchmiseryrightnow)

I friend of mine is an anarcho-capitalist. And by the end of one of his diatribes I just want to beat him about the head with a copy of Leviathan.

oh-deir: ACTUAL MESSAGE OF (500) DAYS OF SUMMER THAT NO ONE...

Fri, 17 May 2013 00:38:17 -0700

oh-deir:

ACTUAL MESSAGE OF (500) DAYS OF SUMMER THAT NO ONE ACTUALLY REALIZES

policygal: Just look at how much red it takes to pay for the...

Fri, 17 May 2013 00:07:00 -0700

policygal:

Just look at how much red it takes to pay for the blue.

Simply put: This is factually untrue. You have got things backwards. In the vast majority of cases, it is the blue states that pay for the red. By the large the blue states contribute more in federal taxes than they cost in services; they are financially a net gain for the United States. By the large it is the red states that use and take far more in federal money and federal services than they contribute or pay for. It is the Blue states that pay for the Red in most cases. Take a look at this:

Source: http://taxfoundation.org

Now i’m not claiming that this makes blue state better or morally superior or anything like that. My own home state is in the top ten worst offenders and I understand there may be good reasons they require more federal aid than they can pay for. My own state is underdeveloped and lacks much of the infrastructure that other’s take for granted. I wouldn’t judge others assuming that they may have similar unique needs that might be hard for outsiders to understand.

That is until the sanctimony and hypocrisy of the “Just look at how much red it takes to pay for the blue” kicks in. That is simply contrary to the facts. I’d like to assume a mistake rather than a lie. There’s more red on the first map than blue because urban areas that are highly populated tend to vote democrat and rural areas that are sparsly populated tend to vote Republican. Hopefully that has clarified things.

victorcrespo: Title 4, chapter 1, section 8 of the U.S....

Thu, 16 May 2013 23:45:58 -0700

victorcrespo:

Title 4, chapter 1, section 8 of the U.S. Constitution: The flag should never be displayed with the union down, except as a signal of dire distress in instances of extreme danger to life or property.

seems appropriate to me to do so.

This is confusing me so so much right now. First off the U.S. Constitution has neither Titles, nor Chapters. It is organized by Articles and Sections followed up at the end by Amendments Secondly there is nothing even tangentially about this anywhere in the constitution.

I’m surprised because I had assumed (perhaps falsely that the person I am reblogging this from was a strict constructionist in the constitutional sense. I understand that we may have vastly different interpretations of the constitution, but surely we can agree on what the actual text says?

Link to the US constitution in case anyone wants to check for themselves and doesn’t have their copy handy at the moment: U.S. Constitution

bananaslugbud: Me and my super cool public speaking professor,...

Thu, 16 May 2013 23:19:19 -0700

bananaslugbud:

Me and my super cool public speaking professor, Dr. Nichola Gutgold. She has written numerous books about female politicians and what it will take to get a woman elected as president. (I believe she’s even interviewed Pat Schroeder)

Well this is just a pretty fucking awesome shirt. can I get a tee-shirt cannon loaded with these things? Pass them out to everyone I meet.

loveinternationalrelations: (Source:...

Thu, 16 May 2013 23:17:41 -0700

loveinternationalrelations:

(Source: http://www.keepcalm-o-matic.co.uk/p/keep-calm-and-love-ir-163/)

I wish the International Relations tag wasn’t so full of people complaining about their tests and papers. I miss school so much and desperately need to get back there. I should be able to go back in the fall though, if everything goes according to plan. After that I just need to find a grad school that will fucking take me.

in-vasive: LGBT rights are human rights. There is strangely...

Thu, 16 May 2013 22:57:49 -0700

in-vasive:

LGBT rights are human rights.

There is strangely little insanity under the United Nations tag tonight, this video is a big part of the reason why; it’s reblogged again and again. Rightly so.

nothing like picking fights on tumblr when I’m bored and want to avoid real work. Do I dare...

Thu, 16 May 2013 22:46:45 -0700

nothing like picking fights on tumblr when I’m bored and want to avoid real work. Do I dare venture over to the United Nations Tag to pick a fight with the new world order fringe crazies?

Is no one on this website going to talk about Benghazi?!

Thu, 16 May 2013 22:45:00 -0700

Not really. From the information we have now it seems like a real whimper of a scandal. I mean for gods sake, we’re arguing over talking points, not laws broken or cover ups. Nothing like Iran-Contra with it’s weapons dealing to terrorists or even Monica Lewinsky with it’s perjury. Seems like a ginned up controversy to me, the kind made to sell air time on a slow news day.

OBAMA'S HANDLING OF NORTH KOREA THREATENING TO NUKE US LIKE ERRDAY

Thu, 16 May 2013 22:39:00 -0700

elle-bells:

He’s like

hesitant, sluggish, weak, naive, inexperienced leader.

But like you say, North Korea makes threats all the damn time, yet they never carry them out, nor do they have the capability to carry out their threats even if they wanted to. Why in the hell would we take them seriously at this point? Given all our history with North Korea, wouldn’t over-reacting to their empty threats and bluster be the true sign of naivety? A calm, measured approach is what is called for.

Why is Tumblr so dead tonight? or at least my Dash?

Thu, 16 May 2013 21:59:00 -0700

Why is Tumblr so dead tonight? or at least my Dash?

"Nonviolence is an inherently privileged position in the modern context. Besides the fact that the..."

Wed, 15 May 2013 08:43:29 -0700

“Nonviolence is an inherently privileged position in the modern context. Besides the fact that the typical pacifist is quite clearly white and middle class, pacifism as an ideology comes from a privileged context. It ignores that violence is already here; that violence is an unavoidable, structurally integral part of the current social hierarchy; and that it is people of color who are most affected by that violence. Pacifism assumes that white people who grew up in the suburbs with all their basic needs met can counsel oppressed people, many of whom are people of color, to suffer patiently under an inconceivably greater violence, until such time as the Great White Father is swayed by the movement’s demands or pacifists achieve that legendary “critical mass.””

- -Peter Gelderlos, Why Nonviolence Protects the State- Nonviolence is Racist (via tahlalaliaaa)

Note gelderloos is white and an activist who went to jail and learned a lot from within the system. Learned a lot from poc in prison and is pretty young too. I think he makes a lot of credits to poc and Black people make a large part of the biblio of this book from what I remember

(via strugglingtobeheard)

I like this. People always talk shit about the (old) Black Panthers, but they never consider that (1) the Black Panthers didn’t threaten violence until they were threatened themselves and (2) they were threatened all the fucking time.

(via specialkchocolateydelight)

I don’t know though… I mean nonviolence seemed to work pretty damn well for MLK and Gandhi. Plus, according to Why Civil Resistance Works: The Strategic Logic of Nonviolent Conflict by Erica Chenoweth and Maria Stephan nonviolent uprisings are statistically much more effective than armed rebellion.

I mean, I’m not condemning those who choose violence on any moral grounds, I completely understand why someone would choose violence to protect their homes and families, but at the same time its pretty basic IR theory that there really is no such thing as purely defensive violence, everyone’s violence looks defensive to themselves, and once the escalation begins it is really really hard to stop.

Nonviolent resistance shouldn’t be conflated with passive acceptance of oppression.

"You mean the generation that paid three times as much for college to enter a job market with triple..."

Tue, 14 May 2013 23:38:25 -0700

“You mean the generation that paid three times as much for college to enter a job market with triple the unemployment isn’t interested in purchasing the assets of the generation who just blew an enormous housing bubble and kept it from popping through quantitative easing and out-and-out federal support? Curious.”

- When comments are better than the article, Atlantic edition (“The Cheapest Generation: Why Millennials arent’ buying cars or houses, and what that means for the economy”)

Every time someone says we’re a lazy and entitled generation I’m going to show them this

They should be happy most of us haven’t moved to the moon yet

That actually sounds like a good idea at this point

(via setfabulazerstomaximumcaptain)

Thank you for reblogging this! (and to the original poster as...

Tue, 14 May 2013 22:49:57 -0700

Thank you for reblogging this! (and to the original poster as well!) I forgot how much I love this movie, and just bought it on iTunes because of you :^)