Virginia Murr

@willoremus@mastodon.social @aaronjschaffer@mastodon.social Hahahahahahahahahaha ... OF COURSE Dorsey is on the list. Musk didn't have a bigger cheerleader than Dorsey just before the deal. People wonder why I don't trust Dorsey ... welp, here's a fantastic example.

@itsmeholland@mastodon.social @willoremus@mastodon.social @aaronjschaffer@mastodon.social Right!? LOL

@dangillmor Absolutely wild that the article mentions the Gawker suit and Hulk Hogan ... but not a peep about Thiel who was the full-on architect of that. Not the best reporting ....

@randomwalker@mastodon.social Kudos for having the patience to write it (well done). Also, this is perfectly stated: "As a result, I argue that social media platforms are weakening institutions by undermining their quality standards and making them less trustworthy. While this has been widely observed in the case of news, my claim is that every other institution is being affected, even if not to the same degree."

@junecasagrande@mastodon.social @arossp@mastodon.social @Popehat@mastodon.social I think this is spot-on. One of the more respected classical libertarian intellects was my mentor in college (yes, many regrets). He's inordinately pro-choice. However, he has kept almost completely silent on the topic over the last, horrific year regarding abortion rights. I was pissed enough to jump on him publicly for it because he was ignoring it--though he had plenty of time & energy to rail against student-loan forgiveness.

@TransitBiker@urbanists.social @willoremus@mastodon.social @aaronjschaffer@mastodon.social Yeah - the abject denial is no joke. I tend to think it's because Dorsey is quite skilled at coming off as a "laid back cool dude." But, watching his words and behavior prove that it's just a facade. He's long been one of the Musk types. And--I totally agree with you: his behavior *screamed* that he was in league with Musk.

@Popehat@mastodon.social @arossp@mastodon.social Well, you nailed the distinction. Powell is a "classical liberal" in the lines of Koch and their Cato Institute. They profess to be socially liberal & financially conservative. However, in my experience (which is as real as it is regrettable), they are also egotists who use Randian philosophy to attempt to justify their "morals". And, yes, many of them voted for Trump because they (strongly) value conservative economics over social liberalism ... and justice ... and decency.

@arossp@mastodon.social @Popehat@mastodon.social I'm genuinely happy to hear that. I wish you weren't one of a select few, though. Regretfully, Cato (and Koch, of course) doesn't agree with you on this. Far too many of them are responsible for much of the funding of *both* Randian orgs. John Allison comes to mind ... of many others.

@arossp@mastodon.social @Popehat@mastodon.social Given how much Koch-affiliated money floods through the Rand pipeline (including pushing her books in college programs over the years), I can say I'm genuinely surprised. You stated that you have been pushing to "center social liberalism in the libertarian project." That is quite a task given the value system is, for far too many in that sphere, inverted to your goal. I hope you can make some headway.

@xinit@mastodon.coffee @willoremus@mastodon.social @aaronjschaffer@mastodon.social Absolutely

@arossp@mastodon.social @Popehat@mastodon.social Thank you for dropping the article. FWIW: Your take is close to what I envisioned "classical liberalism" to be when I first encountered it many years ago. I was drastically disappointed to discover that the reality was, in most ways, very different from what I had envisioned. Side-note: Your take on Hicks is quite interesting to me--in a good way (want to guess the name of my former mentor I mentioned in another reply on this thread?! Ha!)

@arossp@mastodon.social His Randian perspective is predominant in EP, which likely explains why people like John Allison like it. Hicks is an incredibly intelligent person. It's regrettable he chose the path he treads. Full-disclosure: I did an early proof-reading of EP for him. I also worked as a researcher for his Nietzsche and the Nazis.

@neilhimself@mastodon.social Texas and Missouri. Of course.