California Doing California Things

[Politesse]

The USA seems to me to be even deeper in denial than Australia - though that may just be an artefact of distance.

I would hesitate to characterize all my countrymen with the same brush on this. Education varies a lot by state, and with it, so does willingness to face the past. Not many Americans are as comfortable acknowledging our internments, captivities, and mass murders as are most Germans, though, that's for sure. Denialism reaches some absurd heights, as you see readily in this thread, and the alt-right movement has supplied a lot of people with false narratives to pull out when they feel guilty or threatened. All Californians are supposed to learn in school about the state's complicated history with enslavement, but you see the result of that. Teachers will refuse to teach what they themselves would rather not know...

In the whole, I have found that both Aussies and Americans have a tendency to overestimate their knowledge of the past. Like, they know "very bad things happened in history", but are often rather vague on the details, especially where their local situation is concerned.

 

[Loren Pechtel]

It’s unjust to seek punitive action against people for crimes they didn’t commit, and weren’t even crimes at the time they occurred.

I agree. So does everyone else. That's only happened in your tortured fantasies, not in real life. No one is getting arrested for crimes they did not commit, and if they were so arrested, the court system would correctly rule that detention improper and illegal. You're so far out in La-La Land you've lost all perspective on how American law even works.

She said "punitive action", not "arrest". You're arguing a strawman.

So is she? No punitive action for individuals who did not commit a crime is being pursued, no has been proposed.

Again, you're arguing a strawman. This time "individual".

Turn it around: what constructive use can be made of the information?

 

[Loren Pechtel]

Companies are not required to keep records like you're asking them to produce. Thus it's a big research project that very well might not even be possible. And it serves no purpose.

Then they'll report that, and that will be the end of it.

No, because they are required to try to find it out.

And note that this is an infinite project, how do you prove you looked at everything?

 

[Loren Pechtel]

Uh huh.

What do you think is the PURPOSE of making companies publish if 150 years ago someone who worked there made money off of slavery?

It frees up and makes public knowledge that has been hidden behind propietary privilege until now.

I note that the specific case you propose there would fall outside the scope of the law. They are required to report on the company's use of chattel slavery and resources associated with it, not a personalized account of every individual who ever worked there.

It's still a sins of the father situation.

Do you really believe, in your heart of hearts, that justice for a crime has somehow been accomplished when the original perpetrator dies? That the justice system can achieve a 100% success rate by simply refusing to investigate accusations until all involved parties are dead?

How do you punish a dead perpetrator?

And your 100% "success" rate would be a 0% failure rate. 0/0 isn't 100%.

 

[Politesse]

Uh huh.

What do you think is the PURPOSE of making companies publish if 150 years ago someone who worked there made money off of slavery?

It frees up and makes public knowledge that has been hidden behind propietary privilege until now.

I note that the specific case you propose there would fall outside the scope of the law. They are required to report on the company's use of chattel slavery and resources associated with it, not a personalized account of every individual who ever worked there.

It's still a sins of the father situation.

Do you really believe, in your heart of hearts, that justice for a crime has somehow been accomplished when the original perpetrator dies? That the justice system can achieve a 100% success rate by simply refusing to investigate accusations until all involved parties are dead?

How do you punish a dead perpetrator?

You can't. But I still gonna want my car back even if the thief who stole it had a heart attack after. It shouldn't go to his kid as an inheritance.

You did not answer my question.

 

[Politesse]

No, because they are required to try to find it out.

Yes, they are. It's not a high bar.

And note that this is an infinite project, how do you prove you looked at everything?

It is not an "infinite project", it is a one time report, and no one is required to prove that they have "looked at everything", whatever that means. They are required to swear an affidavit that they've done their due diligence to look through the records that they have.

 

[robnisch]

The GI Bill and Racial Inequality: How Black Veterans Were Denied Their Benefits

When World War II ended, millions of American soldiers returned home as heroes. To help them transition to civilian life, the U.S. government passed one of the most transformative pieces of legislation in history—the GI Bill of 1944.This law promised veterans benefits like home loans, college...

www.obliterhate.org

Not sure this has been brought up before.
For my dad's generation the GI bill made a middle-class life possible.
Add redlining to this.
This is not old history like slavery; this affected a lot of people alive today.

 

[Politesse]

This has got to be one of the funniest editorial "endorsements" I have ever read:

Endorsement: California’s governor race is a choice between unelectable and underwhelming

"Becerra is dry as the Mojave. But he’s experienced, with one of the best resumes of anyone to have run for this office in some time ...

Californians deserve better than they have seen from Becerra thus far on the campaign trail. We hope that after his inevitable victory, state residents don’t get lost in the swirl of national political intrigue leading up to 2028 and stay on top of his administration.

California is your home. Keep an eye on it."

That would be their official endorsement of Mr. Underwhelming. The whole thing is throwing epic lebels of shade at both candidates, Hilton for living in a hopelessly unrealistic fantasy land spun from rage, uppers, and right-wing delusion, Becerra for having no discernible viewpoint or plans whatsoever.

Our country is, as my students would put it, "cooked". Half of our politicians are throwing fuel on the fire, while the other half opposes them by turning the spit every so often.

 

[TSwizzle]

What a sad state of affairs.

The once Golden State receives “F” in CATO Institute State Rankings.
California Governor Gavin Newsom, who so desperately wants to be the next U.S. President, is ranked the 48th worst governor in the country, according to a new report by The CATO Institute. He is only slightly less awful than Hawaii Governor Josh Green, and New York Governor Kathy Hochul. The entire State of California didn’t fare well either on CATO’s freedom scale – the Once Golden State was ranked 44th, receiving an “F” grade, or only 1.95 out of 10 possible points, in the overall freedom score. California’s Governor Gavin Newsom brought home the Booby Prize, only getting 22.23% of the overall freedom percentage, a dismal 0.95 out of 10 possible points in overall freedom score, and a “F” grade. Even worse yet, California was ranked 48th in “economic freedom.” But wait! Isn’t California the 4th largest economy in the world, as we are frequently reminded by American’s 48th worst governor?

News

Newsom should definitely run for president.

 

[Politesse]

Oh no, not the CATO Institute! Oh, I so wanted to be loved by them.

Even worse yet, California was ranked 48th in “economic freedom.” But wait! Isn’t California the 4th largest economy in the world, as we are frequently reminded by American’s 48th worst governor?

Those two facts, taken together, should really raise some questions in your mind about whether the extravagant claims made by laissez faire capitalists actually hold water. It's not just California; the other three largest economies in the world (China, Germany, and the US) are likewise regulated by a government, in ways the CATO Institute openly despises. It's almost as though instituting minimal regulatory standards does not, in fact, curb the accumulation of wealth in the way that they would claim.

 

[Bomb#20]

What a sad state of affairs.

The once Golden State receives “F” in CATO Institute State Rankings.
California Governor Gavin Newsom, who so desperately wants to be the next U.S. President, is ranked the 48th worst governor in the country, ... Isn’t California the 4th largest economy in the world, as we are frequently reminded by American’s 48th worst governor?

News

Newsom should definitely run for president.

Um, there are 50 governors. So that would make the 48th worst governor the, uh, [just a sec while I do some higher math...] the 3rd best. A presidential run wouldn't seem out of the question...