confusion

So it’s official. Roe is no more. The next phase of this long running culture war starts. There will be reams of analysis and plans and emails filled with both righteous indignation and celebratory zeal… and, of course, pleas to donate money to the fights to come.

The court is supposed to rule on constitutionality of things. But both sides of this fight know that this was pure politics. The result of years of political maneuvering, scheming and massive spending by a minority over years to win a verdict that does not reflect will of the American public. The fact is, most Americas wanted the status quo to remain the law of the land. Fivethrityeigtht [fivethirtyeight.com] has a good summary of where people actually stand, it’s a nuanced topic, as most things are but the headline is clear; a large majority of Americans wanted things to stay as they were. The will of the majority lost to the zeal of the minority. The tyranny of a minority restricting the rights of all. Why? How?

Two things that people should learn from this:

1. The opinions of the majority matter little to those fighting the culture wars
2. Long term planning and focus pays off

So many Americans believe in conspiracy theories; Q-anon, Lizard people, satan worshiping pedophiles, the illuminati and much more. The truly bazaar thing is that there is a clear cabal of shady types running the US right in front of us, no conspiracy theories required: lobbyist, PACs, special interests.

These groups rely on the fact that you and I are too busy putting food on the table, working for a that promotion, helping the kids with their homework, living our life. They are laser focused on their issue, full time.

These group, and the power they have have over politics, have destroyed democracy in America. Our government does not reflect what people actually think and want. They have learned to game the systems through the time and money they put into pursuing their chosen cause; their crusade, their jihad. They have corrupted the system.

The pro-gun and anti-abortion fanatics have pushed there agenda for so long, and they have become so effective at it, that they managed to shift laws away from the view of the majority and to the extremists. They turned congress into a waste of time, the presidency into a sad reality show and the courts into… something.

Their goals are not supported by a majority of Americas and yet they have been so effective for so long at crushing anyone who opposes them they have eliminated cooperation and compromise and left obstruction and intransigence in their place.

They succeed with long term planning and focus. Special interest groups holding extreme views are not unique to the conservative side of politics —the liberal side has it’s own extreme views that are only supported by small vocal minorities— but they have been at it longer and playing a long game. Anti-abortionists started the work to overturn Roe immediately after it became the law of the land. For most of the past 50 years. While of America thought of abortion as a settled issue, they planned, they maneuvered and they fought to get their way with single-minded focus. No doubt opportunistic politicians “used” the causes and their supporters to advance their careers, but in the end they were only thinking short term, the anti-abortionists were in it for the long term. They remember and they call in their favors.

The gun nuts perfected the art of political assassination, how appropriate. Taking out any politician who crossed them. Breeding spineless politicians who won’t stand up to them for fear of it ending their career in the next primary.

The anti-abortionists and the pro-gun cabals captured the politics, gaming the system of primaries and caucuses to push their extreme positions. My mobilizing their one-issue voters in the primaries, before the majority of people were even involved in an election, they shifted the whole field to the extremes. After the primaries the winners “pivot to the center” to win votes but they were still beholden, for re-election to the extremists, who watch and remember. Extremists on the left learned from this and have used the same tactic to push their party further from the center, but they lack the longevity of the conservatives.

The end result is we are all fucked, the long term planning and laser focus of the extremist minorities on the left and right have eviscerated American democracy. There is no more room for politics, no compromise or common ground. The parties have been pushed so far apart that they have become unable of governing.

The extremists have built an unassailable position; they have burned system down on their way to success. By gaming the system they have broken the system, we have fallen into their trap, electing politicians who are so far to the extremes that all they can do in Washington is scream insults back and forth across the aisles.

They destroyed congress, they destroyed the presidency and they have destroyed the supreme court.

I don’t see how we will fix the system from within the broken system. How do you ever overcome the gerrymandering, lobbying, career politicians, PACs, and the apathy? I’d say vote, but I can’t see how voting will fix it… the extremist will kill any candidates who want to work with the other side, it to big a risk to their agenda. Its a zero sum game that only leads to more and more extreme positions.

It’s a headline right out of a near-furture dystopian sci-fi novel:

Worlds Largest Vats for Growing No Kill Meat to be Built in US

Using the word “vats” makes it sound distinctly unappetizing. Like they are trying to make it sound bad, to make it dystopian. But, as a non-religious vegetarian I see this as a good thing.

I don’t miss meat, I don’t crave it but there are things that you can’t make without meat that it would be nice to eat again, fake meat only goes so far. If we can make meat without the cruelty, without the environmental damage and all the other objectionable things that factory farming methods of raising livestock for food cause… then I’m all for it. My Hindu friends may disagree but I don’t think there would be any issue for me to eat this, being vegetarian for ethical and not religious reasons.

The company building the vats, Good Meat [goodmeat.co], has been selling it’s cultured chicken in Singapore since 2020. I have not tried it, as it has only been available at one restaurant. But I will try it when I can. The article also notes Good is building a new, bigger, reactor in Singapore to expand.

The quality of plant based meats has gotten so good in the past few years, with Beyond and Impossible that it will be interesting to see if cultured meat has a niche. Veggies or people looking for limit their “real meat” intake can use these plant based meats for burgers, sauces and much more, but you can’t make a stake, it only comes in a faux minced form. So maybe if Good Meat can make t-bones and fillets then they will have a market. We’ll see.

One day I’ll get around to trying the cultured meat. And according to the article, most of us will in our not to distant dystopian future where, I guess, only the rich will be able to afford real meat:

Most of the meat people eat in 2040 will not come from slaughtered animals [theguardian.com], according to a 2019 report from the consultancy Kearney that predicts 60% will be either grown in vats or replaced with plant-based alternatives.

Worlds Largest Vats for Growing No Kill Meat to be Built in US [theguardian.com] published by The Guardian.

One thing I do wonder is what this will lead to… If we can grow meats in a vat what types of vat-meat would there be a market for? Beef, chicken, pork for sure. Vat grown bacon will be a hit if it tastes like the “real” deal. Mutton and lamb? Or venison? What about fish and shellfish? Can they grow scallops and crab legs?

And how deep does the rabbit hole go? Can we grow things like whale and dolphin? More exotic? Bush meat? Gorillas and Chimpanzees? Rare and endangered species? And the ultimate: human meat?

I mean if no one is harmed (beyond a few cells taken from volunteers), what would be wrong with vat grown human meat? This will happen, people will go there and there will be controversy. But if there is no law against it there will be people who will do it. Volumes might be small, not many will demand to dine on humans, but that just means it will be expensive and exclusive. That is a truly dystopian thought, rich people sitting in exclusive restaurants, or even more exclusive closed door gatherings dining on vat gown human flesh. Maybe they will even pay to grow meat from specific people, celebrities. Soylent Green won’t be forced on the masses but indulged in by the rich. So no “Eat the rich”, the rich will eat the famous. Is it cannibalism?