Democrat Party is a true existential threat

From a computer science blog, diverted into Jewish issues.

Mathematician Harvey Friedman writes:

One person’s idea of “saving the world” is another person’s idea of “ruining the world”. George Soros is a billionaire “do gooder” who basically is doing his best to “ruin the western world as we know it”. Furthermore, I think he knows this. ...

I have absolutely no doubt that within ten years it will become common knowledge that the Democrat Party in this period is a true existential threat to the very existence of anything like the USA, even the USA that you likely love. The likely trigger point will be devastating atrocities committed in the USA from a fraction of the millions of illegals invited in from everywhere without meaningful vetting or follow up. ...

Also no doubt that looking at stated policies and successes, Trump used to have a 70% approval in Israel (and they give him very prestigious prizes and if I recall right, have named streets and more in his name), and I would guess at this point going forward 70% would rise to 90%. And Trump will be regarded as having the greatest two terms in the recent history of the country.

Scott Aaronson responds:

Harvey #21: On Trump, suffice it to say that we have a Grand-Canyon-sized difference in perceptions of reality. Here in the reality I inhabit, I read how Trump’s cronies are already plotting how, once they get reelected next year, they’re going to fill the federal government with flunkies, pursue retribution against Trump’s critics, and invoke the Insurrection Act against domestic dissent, finally making the US into a full banana republic.

I’ve always been a classical Enlightenment liberal and small-d democrat. That hasn’t changed. If I’ve been radicalized over the last month, it’s been only in realizing how far tens of thousands of American university students and professors have fallen from the values that I regarded as the absolute Enlightenment baselines (e.g., deliberately burning children alive is evil). My hatred of Hamas, and my hatred of Trump, who I regard as maybe 25% of the way from Enlightenment values to the “might makes right” values of Hamas, come from that same fundamental source.

Aaronson suffers Trump derangement syndrome. Trump and Biden have both been President. Biden has used the power to prosecute political enemies on bogus charges; Trump did not. Biden filled the govt with loyal flunkies; Trump did not. Biden worked to shut down opposition free speech; Trump did not. Biden allowed millions of hostiles to invade the USA; Trump did not.

Aaronson hates Hamas for its incursion into Israel; Biden has let millions of potential terrorists into the USA.

Trump is much more of a classical Enlightenment liberal than Biden.

Aaronson's argument makes no sense, until you learn he is Jewish.

It is funny how the Jewish press is begging Biden not to run for reelection. They know that his policies have been disastrous and indefensible. Very few even try to make an argument that Biden was a better President than Biden.

The main point of Aaronson's essay is to comment on the Sam Bankman-Fried conviction. A jury found him guilty of stealing customer accounts, but actually 90% of it was recovered. There is a book about him already. He was a committed utilitarian and advocate of effective altruism.

Or so he claims. Much of the supposed philanthropy was actually donations to the Democrat Party. Thus he was helping to ruin the world, like Soros.

Update: A comment:

Show me one place where Biden or a member of his administration has advocated or called for using the DOJ to go after their political opposition for political purposes or for a retaliatory motive?

Because I can show many such times where Trump has called for doing so, continues to call for doing so, has actually tried to do so and continues to say that he will again in the future. That doesn’t even count all the times members of his previous administration did so.

It is true that Trump threatened in 2016 to prosecute Hillary Clinton. But then he was President for four years, and did not do that or anything similar.

Biden has prosecuted Trump and many others on charges that have never been used before.