Well I’ll be damned. I can’t even with these people lol

And thanks, huge props for providing the receipts so quickly!

That’s not a real ad right?? That’s gotta be KHQ team having some Idiocracy-style fun with their tweet… right??

Fyi - “Below the fold” is a phrase borrowed from print media, which for digital content simply means anything below the current screen viewport that requires scrolling to access.

And to continue the thought experiment:

——

If the Second Amendment had focused on ensuring a robust public education system rather than the right to bear arms, it would have fundamentally altered the course of U.S. history in several ways. Below is a thought experiment exploring how such a shift might have influenced various aspects of society:

1. Education as a Constitutional Right

• Immediate Impact: With education enshrined as a constitutional right, there would have been an early and sustained national effort to establish and maintain a robust public education system across the country. This might have led to more uniform and higher-quality education from the earliest days of the Republic.
• Long-term Impact: Over time, disparities in education quality between different regions, particularly between wealthy and poor areas, might have been less pronounced. The federal government would likely have played a more active role in funding and regulating public education, ensuring that all citizens, regardless of their background, had access to a quality education.

2. Social and Economic Development

• Economic Growth: With a strong emphasis on education, the U.S. would likely have seen more rapid advancements in technology, industry, and the sciences. A more educated populace could have driven greater innovation and economic growth, potentially making the U.S. an even more dominant global economic power earlier in its history.
• Social Mobility: Education as a constitutional right would likely have increased social mobility, giving individuals from all socioeconomic backgrounds greater opportunities to improve their circumstances. This might have reduced income inequality and helped to create a more equitable society.

3. Civil Rights Movement

• Earlier and Broader Reforms: The focus on education could have accelerated the civil rights movement by empowering marginalized groups with the tools needed to advocate for their rights. If education had been a protected right, efforts to desegregate schools (as seen in Brown v. Board of Education) might have been pursued more aggressively and with greater success earlier in U.S. history.
• Integration and Equality: A constitutionally guaranteed right to education might have led to more integrated and equal schools earlier, potentially reducing racial and social tensions and fostering a more cohesive society.

4. Political Culture

• Informed Electorate: With education as a constitutional right, the electorate would likely be better informed and more engaged in the democratic process. This could lead to more thoughtful and effective governance, as voters would be better equipped to understand complex issues and hold their leaders accountable.
• Civic Education: The emphasis on public education would likely include a strong focus on civic education, fostering a deeper understanding of the Constitution, the government, and citizens’ rights and responsibilities. This might lead to a more active and engaged citizenry.

5. National Priorities

• Education over Military: The shift in focus from the right to bear arms to the right to education might have led to a different national priority structure, with less emphasis on military preparedness and more on building a knowledge-based society. The U.S. might still have a strong military, but the cultural and financial focus on defense might be less pronounced.
• Budget and Policy: Federal and state budgets might allocate more resources to education, possibly reducing funding for other areas, such as defense or law enforcement. This could have resulted in a more peaceful domestic environment with less emphasis on policing and incarceration.

6. International Influence

• Global Education Leadership: With education as a constitutional right, the U.S. might have positioned itself as a global leader in education, exporting its model to other countries and playing a significant role in international education policy.
• Soft Power: The U.S.'s commitment to education could have enhanced its soft power, building influence around the world not just through military might but through cultural and intellectual leadership.

7. Gun Culture

• Different Second Amendment: Without the Second Amendment focusing on the right to bear arms, the U.S. would likely have a very different relationship with firearms. Gun ownership might still be prevalent, but without constitutional protection, there would likely be stricter regulations, and the cultural significance of guns would be diminished.
• Public Safety: This could have led to lower rates of gun violence, fewer mass shootings, and potentially a different approach to law enforcement and public safety.

8. Modern Society

• Higher Literacy and Education Rates: Today, the U.S. might have higher literacy rates and a better-educated population overall, with more people holding advanced degrees. This could lead to a more competitive workforce and greater innovation in various fields.
• Less Political Polarization: A better-educated populace might be less susceptible to misinformation and political extremism, potentially leading to a less polarized and more cooperative political environment.

Conclusion

This alternative history, where the Second Amendment focused on education rather than arms, paints a picture of a U.S. society that might have prioritized intellectual and social development over military and individualistic pursuits. The potential for a more equitable, informed, and peaceful society is significant, though it’s important to remember that such changes would also bring their own challenges and complexities. Nonetheless, the emphasis on education as a constitutional right would have likely led to a profoundly different American experience, both domestically and on the world stage.

Just out of curiosity, I asked chatgpt how a hypothetical 2nd amendment might have been written if it focused on ensuring the US has a robust public education system:

If the U.S. Founders had decided to focus the Second Amendment on ensuring a robust public education system, it might have been written in a way that reflects the values of education as a fundamental right and necessary for the maintenance of a free and democratic society. Here’s a hypothetical version of how such an amendment could have been worded:

Second Amendment (Hypothetical):

“A well-educated populace, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to receive a quality public education shall not be infringed. The government shall ensure the establishment and maintenance of a public education system that is free, equitable, and accessible to all citizens, providing the knowledge and skills necessary to participate fully in the democratic process and contribute to the common good.”

This hypothetical amendment echoes the structure of the original Second Amendment but replaces the focus on a “well-regulated militia” with a “well-educated populace,” emphasizing education as a cornerstone of a secure and free society. It also includes the government’s responsibility to maintain an equitable and accessible public education system.

Kinda interesting to think about.

Probably we need regulations and laws that require these massive online platforms to provide tools like this. Since they decided not to do it “voluntarily” anymore.

Why take pills? Just pray the cholesterol away! /s

Fun fact: he’s younger than Brad Pit!

Live fact checking sounds good to me. I’d also like to see a long-form debate so that candidates have enough time to properly discuss each topic. The traditional format seems so outdated and only helpful for creating soundbites.

Great! Now do TaskRabbit next! There must be a list of companies who do shady stuff like this that the AG can work from.

I think you mean USSS.

Also the format of the debates is pretty terrible. Giving only 2 minutes to answer on complex social and geopolitical topics only lends itself to trying to make the best sound-bite. I would love to see them experiment with longer form responses (even if that means fewer questions each debate), as well as things like cutaways for adding context and fact-checking.

I agree the timeframe isn’t the main issue. It’s more concerning that the nominee isn’t getting selected through the primaries/caucuses where actual voters are involved in choosing the nominee.

Sure, but only if we had ranked choice voting.

Thanks for the link. Here’s the least bad news from the article:

Even more dispiriting for Americans who want to see real reform? The most optimistic view any of the campaign surrogates could offer Monday was a promise that Biden would at least “have conversations” about court reform that would be non-starters under Trump.

Crockett is part of a group of Democratic lawmakers advancing three separate pieces of court reform legislation — bills that would expand the court, implement term limits, and impose a binding ethics code on justices, respectively. “If we get the House, these are bills that we are going to try to push forward with,” Crockett said Monday. “I can guarantee you that if Trump is elected, he will never sign these into law.”

She added: “If Joe Biden is elected, we can at least sit down, have conversations and talk about why it’s important to institute these court reforms.”

For now, the prospect of future conversations is the most that Biden campaign surrogates can offer American voters — which is more than than the campaign itself was offering.

Hmm, I still have access to my NAS music while using the new Sonos app. I never lost access to it afaik.

Bingo. A properly funded and functional public education system, that teaches real critical thinking and let’s include media literacy while we’re at it.

Wow good find using the pdf metadata!

Thanks for sharing! I wish they had the date of publishing listed for this article. I get the feeling it was written 15 years ago, well before streaming music services existed. Would love to see them update this based on the latest technologies and services.

Probably not quite what your looking for, but I literally just came across this article about a potential general strike in 4 years:

“UAW president Shawn Fain on May Day calls on unions to prepare for strike in 2028”

https://www.al.com/news/2024/05/uaw-president-shawn-fain-on-may-day-calls-on-unions-to-prepare-for-strike-in-2028.html

“We are fully preparing to strike on May Day 2028,” Shawn Fain wrote in a proposal on May Day, or International Workers Day.

Fain said it is the only way workers can “win universal healthcare and the right to retire with dignity.”

[In an op-ed (https://inthesetimes.com/article/may-day-2028-general-strike-working-class) for progressive publication In These Times, Fain said the union’s recent auto contracts were all aligned to expire on April 30, 2028. He called on other unions to do the same as way to mass power to “reshape the economy into one that works for the benefit of everyone.”

“They want us to believe that corporate bosses gave workers decent wages, benefits and safer working conditions out of the goodness of their hearts. That justice and equality for people of color, for immigrants, for women and for queer communities were gifts benevolently handed down from above,” Fain wrote.

“But we know the truth. Every law passed, every union formed and contract won—every improvement made at the workplace—has been won through the tireless sacrifice of the working class.”