You don’t have a first amendment right to have a University of Florida chapter of the College Republicans. The University does have the right to dissolve clubs and organizations associated with the school if they are engaged in any conduct it deems inappropriate.

You don’t have to be a psychopath to obtain power, but it makes it easier. You do have to be a psychopath to want the power to murder indiscriminately.

Royalties? Did they think there’s some descendants of an ancient Babylonian mathematician living large on the residuals?

Honestly, it all comes back to narcissism. American exceptionalism, manifest destiny, Free market capitalism, the root is always “I’m great so I deserve what I want.”

Fuck no. I got a family that depends on me. Especially for some nonsense that oligarchs are getting away with? Like anyone is going to do something about it.

If you doubt that Balaji killed himself, that’s the point. They want you to know they killed him, and they want you to know that you can’t prove it so there’s nothing you can do about it. They want you to know it so that you will think twice should you ever consider blowing a whistle.

USA is more narcissistic than most advanced democracy, that’s why our government is more corrupt than most of the EU, even if we have a democrat in power. That’s why there’s no UBS or universal healthcare or human rights. Class warfare is over, and the uppermost class won. They rule and the lower classes accept it because we assume that people deserve their lot in life. Because of the narcissism.

I’m not dismissing him, I’m saying that conservativism isn’t left or right. That’s a false equivalency putting the conservative/progressive ideologies on a spectrum. That’s not how conservativism works. There is no left or right, only selfish and principled. Do I want this? If yes, then it is a critical part of our culture and history and must be protected from all change at any cost. If the answer is no, then it is an abhorrent condition that must be stopped at any cost. Did I have a different opinion yesterday? Doesn’t matter, because that was yesterday. Will I change my mind tomorrow? Doesn’t matter, because if I do, then I’ll have a really good reason.

No, you couldn’t. Most political ideologies are built on fundamental principles and core values. When ideology is principled, it is consistent even when the believers are not direct beneficiaries of the policies.

Take freedom of speech. People who value free speech will defend it even when they don’t like the speech they hear. That’s a principled belief.

Conservatives will shift their principles when faced with a policy that does not benefit them. Conservatives demand abortions when they need them. Conservatives demand gun control when they feel threatened. Conservatives demand freedom to travel anywhere while closing their borders. They hire undocumented immigrants. They capture regulatory bodies to edge out the competition. There isn’t a single conservative value that is consistent among conservatives and applied equally to others as well as themselves.

Yes, that’s the joke.