Besides the obviously problem of DK's size, the political philosophy there is strongly populist which is quite frustrating. There are many examples where the DK community "agrees" that such-and-such is the correct way of thinking, and debate is shut off. Obvious examples include the attitudes towards Ralph Nader and Joe Lieberman, and the Dubai ports fiasco. I would prefer to see ET discuss issues of practical socialism in the current European context, issues like nuclear power, immigration, the EU, relations with Eastern Europe, etc. Most of these are already on the agenda anyway, and get much more reasonable discussion than anything does on DK.
Also, I like trains. I'm trying to figure out how to make a decent audio recording of my local railroad situation...
I think a Frenchman said something about that...and it wasn't Jerome...
Thought is an invisible and subtle power that mocks all the efforts of tyranny. At the present time the most absolute monarchs in Europe cannot prevent certain opinions hostile to their authority from circulating in secret through their dominions and even in their courts. It is not so in America; as long as the majority is still undecided, discussion is carried on; but as soon as its decision is irrevocably pronounced, everyone is silent, and the friends as well as the opponents of the measure unite in assenting to its propriety. The reason for this is perfectly clear: no monarch is so absolute as to combine all the powers of society in his own hands and to conquer all opposition, as a majority is able to do, which has the right both of making and of executing the laws.
From: Alexis DeTocqueville. 1835. Democracy in America, Chapter XV: UNLIMITED POWER OF THE MAJORITY IN THE UNITED STATES, AND ITS CONSEQUENCES
You're either with us or against us. guaranteed to evoke a violent reaction from police is to challenge their right to "define the situation." --- David Graeber citing Marc Cooper
