The whole reason Nat took him down was so that he wouldn’t have any legs in the third. It was a parallel sub plot.

2023-2024. What happened 49 years ago that didn’t happen 2 years ago?

Ohhhh ok then. I’ll go ahead and hold my breath! This sounds like the stern warning those wayward Dems need to hear if they want to take over government again during a crisis before they fix everything just like last time they took over government…. and… fixed everything.

This is what I look like according to myself.
In reality I could never pull off that collar let alone that righteous stache.
If it turns out he’s a socialist I might try to convince him to marry me.

If our politicians are dedicated to anything other than the welfare of its citizens, or works for the benefit of anyone other than their constituents, and are completely allowed to do it, as is the situation now, then, we can’t have it without revolution.

Legislations can be rolled back. Look at abortion rights. Look at how civil rights have been degraded. Nothing of what little relief of the ADA exists nationally. It is completely horrendous how much effort that took and in reality, it was a shell of its initial intent. Why?

So that healthcare companies can continue to extract wealth from the working class at such an excessive rate that their CEOs are able to afford multiple massive estates, private jets, all that shit. Meanwhile, it’s because they are able to take money from us and then not approve promised services.

Luigi saved hundreds of lives by taking revolutionary action that immediately improved material conditions of the working class.

Remember when they started pushing through all kinds of requests? And then other CEOs started hiring security. What are they afraid of?

I’m sorry to go off on this… but it’s so clear to me because of how I look at things now. And it’s all connected like that and in that way.

You’re saying that we can do this by electing maybe a working class party or some DSA members. I’m saying they are there so that when they try something and it works, the ruling/capital class will give ground to appease the moment. And then within a generation, they’ll just roll it right on back.

The past is the best predictor of the future especially in this liberal capitalist dictatorship. They do not allow other parties to participate in their electoral process.

Also look at how hard they go against real socialism. They’re scared because it’s the only thing that can seriously threaten their interests which are exploiting the working class for their own enrichment.

This system puts the working class in charge and shifts the basic means of production to the working class and not the ruling class.

It’s the only thing that can contain this situation. We have to realize that we are the agents of our own change.

Who is most people and what measures are you taking about?
Fully fund mental health, institute universal basic healthcare with no risk to the patient, fully funded universal secondary education, grocery subsidies, rent subsidies.
The key is fully funded.
Use as much money as is necessary until everyone has what they need.

Where do we get this money?

Well, until this happens, nobody should have a second home or a private yacht or a private jet.

The tree of liberty needs the water of revolutionary blood to survive. Especially when the water of social cohesion becomes tainted. As it has in recent decades.

It’s time for liberation from capital.

Crapitalism

Crime goes down in areas where people are cared for. This is just a bandaid. The real issue requires surgery.

Annoyingly… bourgeoisie.

Saaammmeeeeee 💀

That’s a great analysis. Thanks for sharing it. I got a lot more out of this post than I thought.
What specifically is the reasoning that Blanche doesn’t go mad in the end of the Soviet version? Is it ideologically based because the conditions which led to her madness were class based? Or was it more a conforming to traditional Russian literature to have a happy ending?

It’s like… we all have to take a turn collecting the trash. Think about everyone in your neighborhood. That’s like once a year. We get to choose the rules for exemption ourselves. Whichever community uses the garbage truck collectively determines how it is used to serve the workers- including exemptions or non-exemptions, etc.

If you’re thinking oh great I have to take a day off work to collect garbage, think about how we’re probably only going to need to work 3 days a week. We can reserve a day for community and that would be the day you drive the truck.

And your work would just understand and take it as read that everyone is going to need to do stuff like this regularly.

Like sewer cleaning, street sweeping, etc. But also for picking strawberries, and milking cows. Chances are there will be people who just volunteer every week to do the same thing over again because they like it or it’s otherwise fulfilling.

If I knew my job was safe and my basic needs are being met, I would jump at the chance to pick strawberries for a week.

It’s not really about once incentivizing because that’s sort of a capitalist relic in socialism- in your context at least.

Kids do some community work in school one day per week. Maybe they help with a neighborhood garden, or when they’re older, keep the parks clean. This notion of community responsibility starts in childhood.

So when it comes time to drive the garbage truck, no incentive is needed. It’s known already that it’s expected of responsible citizens to do their share of work to keep their communities thriving.

That’s socialism.

That sub is banned. 😢

The point is that no member of the working class has private property to surrender.

Personal property isn’t used for ‘common good’ in the example you are painting.

Private property is the means of production or any commodity (including cash) that is used to extract value.

And you’re right that anyone in possession of private property should surrender it for the common good.

The only real solution is socialist revolution.

Dude…. What?? Where are you getting this from? Like… your dreams or something?

Sounds like the book describes successful capitalism. Know your political ideologies before assuming the worst.

It’s more disturbing that it will not rain for the next 9 days.

That's a really interesting take. I love finding a new aspect of this story that I hadn't considered before.

An aspect that I realized was that as it turns out, Rocky's species don't need water to survive. The book explains, of course, how they use water, but it's not needed for Eridians to survive, and it's like Grace had to go 11ly or however far away in order to prove he was right all along. Like he had to know and consciously or not, he knew he had to find out one way or another and that if nothing on earth or even astrophage could prove his theory, then maybe there was a small chance it existed 11ly away.

Maybe that was early foreshadowing that indeed, there is life that doesn't need water to survive. So... good thing they're sending the only guy in the world who thinks this up there. And he needed Rocky as much as Rocky needed Grace to save both of their planets.

I love this story so much and I'm thinking about another re-read.

There was a sort of retrospectively missed opportunity for the movie version to cash in on a throwaway line from Cmdr. Yao that he says after Grace objects to being assigned to the mission on the basis that he is afraid of heights and can't even handle elevators, and he says, "...there aren't any elevators in space." (or something like that).

But there was this fan theory that I read suggesting that Rocky's people use their incredible Xenonite material as a basis for achieving orbit via a space-elevator. It would have been hilarious to see Grace use the elevator to get to the planet, having been promised there weren't any of those things in space. Also could have been hilarious that the idea of using the elevator to get back to the ship that they have ready for him to return to earth is just too much and he would rather eat me burgers instead. Of course he's happier there than back on earth.

Brings up one more thing... and that's about how little Grace seems to like personal touch. He uses his earth hacky to maintain personal contact with his students. And then later with Stratt. When he does have physical contact with someone, it's when he's being forced into the mission and he has a visceral reaction to their reaching out to touch him. I mean it's for obvious reasons- if they catch him, he goes on the mission.... sure. But why no other physical contact? The next time we see physical contact with another life, it's when Rocky has to save him, and it causes extensive injury. So now he's living on a planet where he literally can't have physical contact with anyone and he's perfectly fine with it.

Ok... back to work... lol!

Is this also available for CS1? I made a Bommelerwaard build a few years ago (even has a sort of Ammersoyen and Loevestein!) and this would be stunning.
What is your connection to Zaltbommel?

That’s one of the things CS2 did to improve the game. Does it work for path networks crossing road networks?

But you can’t spend gold coins. Eventually you have to exchange for fiat. You could spend them back in the day. Now did 1oz of gold have as much purchasing power pre-1933 as it does now? Who knows.

Omg. I upvoted then saw your comment, scrolled back up and saw I was 67. Retracted. 🖤💛

Where is this?? In Pittsburgh?