"How then shall we perform it?--At what point shall we expect the approach of danger? By what means shall we fortify against it?-- Shall we expect some transatlantic military giant, to step the Ocean, and crush us at a blow? Never!--All the armies of Europe, Asia and Africa combined, with all the treasure of the earth (our own excepted) in their military chest; with a Buonaparte for a commander, could not by force, take a drink from the Ohio, or make a track on the Blue Ridge, in a trial of a thousand years.
At what point then is the approach of danger to be expected? I answer, if it ever reach us, it must spring up amongst us. It cannot come from abroad. If destruction be our lot, we must ourselves be its author and finisher. As a nation of freemen, we must live through all time, or die by suicide."
“Stupidity is a more dangerous enemy of the good than malice. One may protest against evil; it can be exposed and, if need be, prevented by use of force. Evil always carries within itself the germ of its own subversion in that it leaves behind in human beings at least a sense of unease.
“Against stupidity we are defenseless.
“Neither protests nor the use of force accomplish anything here; reasons fall on deaf ears; facts that contradict one’s prejudgment simply need not be believed — in such moments the stupid person even becomes critical — and when facts are irrefutable, they are just pushed aside as inconsequential, as incidental. In all this the stupid person, in contrast to the malicious one, is utterly self-satisfied and, being easily irritated, becomes dangerous by going on the attack.”
It's surreal watching the collapse from the inside. Part of me is at the point of "fine! you all get what you deserve", but then I think of my kids and the others, future generations getting completely fucked for no fault of their own.
It is so frustrating. Even if these idiots disappear tomorrow, it will take decades to recover. Why go into science/government to make a positive difference if you know the next hate-filled administration could end your career for some cheap political wins?
Honestly I think people don't talk about this long-term impact often enough, and you're 100% right. It's not just the impact today - it's the future state. What used to be a job with 'security' is now a lower-security and often lower-pay job.
Yeah, I have a strange kind of fascination with it. I read a lot about the Roman republic, it's rise and demise, and it feels like living through the fall of another 'empire'.
Writings were on the wall for the Roman republic for a long tine before it happened. Same with the US today.
I get really annoyed with the constant comparison with the "Fall of Rome".
This is not the same thing. This is a concerted attack from within, these people are deliberately dismantling a democratic society for personal profit.
Do you mean fall of Rome (empire) or fall of Rome (republic)?
Fall of Rome’s republic was deliberate and for personal gain / profit.
Edit:
And I’m not saying it’s a one-to-one comparison, like a bad sequel film.. I’m saying that it’s comparable at a layer of abstraction. The fall of two large “empires” with a ton of influence on the world.
Director, office of public health data, Jennifer Layden
Director of the National Center for Emerging Zoonotic Infectious Diseases Daniel Jernigan
Chief Medical Officer Deb Houry
Director of the National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases Demetre Daskalakis
Director Monarez.
What bold does reality & truth have these days. A revolt against reason, a revolt against truth, a revolt against a nation. This whole era has seen the rise of such a vicious enemy against the world. #HostisHumaniGeneris
(Some of these may be semi coincidental to what's coming next, but it's all part of the same insurrection against science.)
Trump has a trope about saying he'll have a big announcement or deal with something "in 2 weeks" -- something that sounds lofty but the delay is long enough for it to pass out of the news cycle. I think RFK is doing the same here.
It’s impossible for me to think of what purpose taking this deliberate misinformation effort to this extent can have.
I can only consider that this is a purposeful attack on the American people and government credibility from the top. And if so, how could someone be so influenced to follow it through? Is it just a personal hatred of Americans justifying harm to them?
I think that’s the fitness function of the Trump admin, but not the fitness function of RFK Jr who has been chasing this for decades. He clearly cares more about simple narratives than any factual truth.
Let me guess: The aluminum found in vaccines. Of Course. Why didn't we think of that? It only took an addled, evil, brain-wormed, drug-infested moron to point it out. Never mind there are 1000s of clinical studies showing no impacts. THOUSANDS. We should print out all that evidence, put it in 300 page volumes, enclose them in binders with ribbons, box them up, and drop it from an airplane onto his house!
The timeline he set for himself was artificial. His assertion that it was for sure caused by environmental factors and his department could find it in a few months was artificial.
His team clearly used AI (without reasoning features and without ensemble challenges) to write public documents, leaving the hallucinated research footnotes in the document.
He clearly doesn’t care about accuracy precision or truth, so he very well may announce some cause in September. I’m sure his _Children’s Defense Fund_ has their own “research” which draws conclusions that he will most likely crib from.
Can you please make your substantive points thoughtfully? Regardless of how right you are or feel you are, snark is the wrong thing to optimize for on HN.
It’s funny the HN’ers who support this administration won’t dare reveal themselves by sharing their views but they are sure here lurking and downvoting where they see fit.
To give credit where credit is due, the long-time HN user and Trump supporter named refurb did reveal himself and expressed happiness about "finally getting some adults in the room," with "adults" being RFK Jr., Bondi, Hegseth, Gabbard, Noem, Vought, McMahon, etc.
A better bet is WiFi. He's complained at least as much about WiFi danger as he has about 5G, and WiFi is much more widespread and also 20 years older than 5G. Its availability to the public and growth correlates a lot better with the rise in autism rates.
Considering it is basically the only over-the-counter pain med allowed during pregnancy, I think we will learn that this government doesn't understand the difference between causation and correlation.
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