January 22, 2019

Did Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez "crack" and reveal that she believes the world will end in 12 years?

Drudge would like to tease you into thinking so:



But no... even if you only click through to the Grabien News story and read the excerpt from her interview (with Ta-Nehisi Coates), you'll see that she's only colorfully presenting the anxiety that young people are feeling about climate change:
“And I think the part of it that is generational is that millennials and people, in Gen Z, and all these folks that come after us are looking up and we’re like, the world is gonna end in 12 years if we don’t address climate change."
The phrase "we're like" is used to switch into the voice of the millennials and the succeeding generations who are freaking out about their future. This allows her to speak in a comically dramatic voice and say "the world is gonna end in 12 years."

But if you enjoy thinking of her as a nut or an idiot, good luck. Sleep well.

166 comments:

campy said...

Sleep well.

Thanks, I will.

SGT Ted said...

She is an unthinking idiot. She's a blonde joke without the blonde hair.

There's lots of unthinking idiots out there who agree with her, obviously, or they wouldn't have voted for her. I know people with college degrees that thinks she is just wonderful. Her being elected doesn't change that.

That doesn't mean she isn't dangerous or won't be effective or not have influence.

tim maguire said...

We get so many of these doomsday predictions. Every alarmist plays this game.

With or without the "we're like" phrasing, it's a run of the mill claim.

Big Mike said...

No, I don’t sleep well at all. Not because I believe in the hoax known today as “climate change,” but because there are scientifically illiterate twits who actually believe not only the hoax, but that a hugely regressive tax is the only way to deal with it.

Lucid-Ideas said...

Idiocracy was not a how-to manual.

She's gonna fix the problem with all the dead crops
She's gonna make em grow again!
And I give you my word...
She's gonna fix the economy!
And she's so smart...
She's gonna do it all IN ONE WEEK!

MayBee said...

She doesn't speak for "The Millenials" or "Gen Z" any more than she speaks for "women" or "college educated women".
I, too, know millennials and this isn't what they think about global warming.

Believe it or not, they too are people with independent feelings, thoughts, and opinions.

Rahula said...

We've been, like, 12 years away from the world ending, for, like, my whole life man. And I'm 71.

tcrosse said...

Well, it's not the end of the world.

Oso Negro said...

Sorry, too early in the day to puzzle it out. Just how SHOULD I think about her?

1) A vaginate young Castro with lipstick that matches her politics?
2) THE FUTURE of AMERICA, because she hates billionaires and will give all the money to poor people who will share it fairly?
3) The subject of Andrew Lloyd Weber style musical "American Evite"?
4) A somewhat hot woman who looks like she is always ready to give a blowjob?
5) The FUTURE of the DEMOCRAT party, who hate white people, especially those with "outie" vaginas and yearn for another PERSON OF COLOR to lead , because POCs are wise and spiritual?

Or is she something much deeper and more meaningful? Help me, someone!

rehajm said...

But if you enjoy thinking of her as a nut or an idiot

Disclaimers:

Drudge teasing you into thinking so does not negate the possibility she believes the world will end in 12 years.

We're, we are, is inclusive of the speaker AOC, thus the phrase "we're like, the world is gonna end in 12 years if we don't address climate change" spoken by AOC can/should be taken to mean AOC believes the world is gonna end in 12 years if we don't address climate change.

Ann's taunting language about you enjoying thinking of her as a nut or an idiot does not negate the possibility that AOC is a nut or an idiot. In fact there is ample evidence to the contrary.

In thinking of AOC as a nut or an idiot your feelings of enjoyment or other emotions are not relevant to the fact that AOC is a nut or an idiot.

Joe Biden, America's Putin said...

She's young and cute and offering old busted ideology. Her tax hikes won't touch the DAvos Billionaires. They will only touch the middle and upper classes.

Democratic tax hikes will never touch E. Warren or B. Sanders. They are government millionaires.

Government whores never pay.

AllenS said...

She's an idiot. There is no reason to panic. Unfortunately, these so-called millennials have the MSM and Liberal politicians to blame, for it is those people spreading this idiocy.

MayBee said...

All of this attention is because she is pretty. I hope that is a lesson to us all. The press? Be pretty, get positive attention.

tcrosse said...

It's possible that Drudge used "crack" in the sense of "wisecrack", which better fits what she said.

AllenS said...

AOC can see the end of the world from her house.

chickelit said...

Missed all the fun -- I was too busy sleeping. Did Coates get her to promise she'd turn those billions into Reparations?

rehajm said...

AOC can see the end of the world from her house.

^^^^WINNER!!!^^^^

MadisonMan said...

AOC and Trump are so much the same.

I see comments about AOC and they so much remind me of comments about Trump in 2015/2016.

rhhardin said...

It's a click bait headline but she's a nut and an idiot regardless.

chickelit said...

I swear that Julian Castro wears the same shade of lipstick that she does.

Ladies?

Joe Biden, America's Putin said...

Fear the pretty girl. The Hunger Games Brownshirt media, insist.

The Cracker Emcee Refulgent said...

She may or may not be a nut and an idiot, but persistently framing politicians as such is an old and honorable tradition in American politics. It’s usually the Left pulling this one, so it’s nice to see conservatives getting on the stick. It’ll be interesting to see if using younger people like AOC to carry the reactionary Establishment’s water is a viable political ploy. Sure, she’s transparent to us. Let’s see how long it takes others to see through her.

Oso Negro said...

@AllenS - The Millenials can also blame primary, secondary, and higher level "education". Including, ahem, their professors.

rehajm said...

AOC and Trump are so much the same.

I can't see any similarities except for their polarizing nature. Certainly not with policy or accomplishment or intelligence. To me AOC is far more similar to Bernie and that should be so since Bernie handed her his old playbook in case he croaks before he sufficiently irritates in the 2020 elections

Wilbur said...

"Don't they know it's the end of the world?
It ended when you said goodbye."

Sebastian said...

"we’re like"

We, as in, they and I, like, we, together, us, my fellow Gen Z-ers and I, like that?

"the world is gonna end in 12 years if we don’t address climate change."

So it's a conditional prediction, like, if we don't do x, y will happen, like, we're not doing x, so y will happen, and y is bad, so we should do x?

"The phrase "we're like" is used to switch"

What do you mean, switch? She is speaking as one of them. She is expressing her own view.

But it is interesting to see a feminist woman rise to the defense of a scientifically illiterate idiot. I expect more of the same, and I would not for a moment underestimate the potential effects of such idiocy, aided and abetted by "women in the middle" with their power of rationalization.

Dave Begley said...

AOC made a rookie mistake for a CAGW con artist. Others have made the same mistake. Al Gore did early in his scam.

If you are going to make a prediction about a future event, don't put a date on it. Keep it vague. Or put it out so far in the future that no one living today can call you on it. E.g. The current Paris Agreement says we must act now to stop CAGW by the end of this century. I won't be around in 2099. Will you? Will Al Gore? Elon Musk?

Fernandinande said...

Drudge also claims that Frenchie Macron will be decapitated if he doesn't vow reform.

I'm Full of Soup said...

She is such a retard.

Mattman26 said...

Watch the clip. She’s still a blithering idiot.

Chris of Rights said...

She is a nut and an idiot. Not necessarily because of this particular statement, but because of many others. She has shown that she doesn't even have an elementary school level of understanding of how our government functions and of mathematics.

Thinking of her that way does not cause me to lose any sleep. She's mostly harmless on her own.

What makes me lose sleep is that there are clearly many that don't see that she's a nut and an idiot, and support her and would support more like her. One nutty idiotic AOC doesn't bother me. The idea of 300 of them in elected positions in D.C. does make me lose sleep.

Joe Biden, America's Putin said...

It is perfect the left have a guy named CASTRO in the mix.

The modern democratic brownshirt sweet spot is a communist dictator for life who imprisons dissenters and keeps the deplorables poor. But -with really crappy free health care.

Lucid-Ideas said...

A word of advice Sandy...

Think shorter. 12 years!?! Way way too long. Think like your base thinks. 12 years is too far in the future to get them really riled up. Tell them like 6 years or 4 years till "world's end". Tie in said end-of-world with Trump.

Stand on the street corner. Wear lots of white. Shout that the "end is nigh!". Hell say it's coming tomorrow. Not 12 years. That's how you sell Armageddon!

Joe Biden, America's Putin said...

How can we re-educate the folks who wear MAGA hats? Should we jail them?
We should at a minimum ruin their lives.
Make America Great Again, according to the hack press and the assholes in Hillarywood, is racist comment.

Big Mike said...

@Althouse, the fact that Ocasio-Cortez is a fool and an idiot does not preclude her from being elected President. Fortunately, Article II of the Constitution does.

Wince said...

The phrase "we're like" is used to switch into the voice of the millennials and the succeeding generations who are freaking out about their future.

That's how older women used to talk, isn't it?

But if you enjoy thinking of her as a nut or an idiot, good luck.

Thanks, but I don't think we'll need it.

Joe Biden, America's Putin said...

Her comment immediately reminded me of Al Gore's Nostradamus predictions of a dire end.

Now - Al Gore is supremely wealthy.

I see vast wealth for this newly minted government whore. Red lipstick and Book deals. You name it.

SeanF said...

Don't this post and the immediately preceding post about Scott Adams' abortion tweet contradict each other, in terms of to what extent the intended humor mitigates the underlying point?

For what it's worth, the subject of AOC's sentence is "millennials and people, in Gen Z, and all these folks that come after us" (emphasis mine), so she's including herself in the "we" of "we're like".

Mike (MJB Wolf) said...

She's interesting but woefully mistaken. The accepted formula is to say "we have X years to save the planet" where X equals a number between 4 (the full single term of a given president) and 10 (the SDST* for Global Warming a/k/a "Climate Change." To choose dodecahedron numeral 12 shows naivete' of how electoral politics intersects with climate hysteria, and exceeds the "standard term" of acceptable doom. It is too far down the road to move the masses, yet too close to be an "out there" prediction (see "2050 is our last chance to save Earth" on the Mann summary for tips on picking extended dates).

*Standard Disaster Scenario Term as used by Tides Foundation, Greenpeace, Ford Foundation, et al.

David Docetad said...

But if you enjoy thinking of her as a nut or an idiot, good luck. Sleep well.

How about evil? May I think of her as that, (and not enjoy it, and not sleep well)? May I think of her as Chavez, or Castro, or Mao? And worry for the future of my country?

jeremyabrams said...

I'm sleeping fine, Ann. Meanwhile, younger millennials are experiencing anxiety and depression at record levels, clearly attributable to the climate alarmism and racial guilt-tripping that AOC is waist deep in. It's the modern equivalent of the 1950s nuclear holocaust fear mongering, except there was at least some factual basis for those fears.

This is real harm to our young. Those with more sensitive temperaments being hardest hit.

AllenS said...

Oso, I meant to mention that fact, but in short order, forgot about it until after I hit Publish.

rehajm said...

More evidence AOC is an idiot:

Regarding that economic research AOC keeps leaning on to justify her 70% tax rates- with Diamond Saez, that 70% is the total tax, not the federal income tax, and it is the marginal rate not the average rate.

She didn't read the paper, or read it for comprehension. She didn't question if her assumptions were correct. Idiot.

Bill, Republic of Texas said...

MadisonMan said...
AOC and Trump are so much the same.


Ditto.

Don't underestimate her. She is saying things her base is dying to hear. She's fighting the establishment to get what her base wants.

Why can't we have national healthcare -- Europe does.

Why can't we have free higher education -- Europe does.

Why can't we have high taxes on the rich -- Europe does.

All simple compelling positions. They will resonate with the public.

Joe Biden, America's Putin said...

OT:
Covington kids should sue Twitter

"The kids at Covington Catholic High went from the Cincinnati area to Washington to protest abortion. At the Lincoln Memorial, Nathan Phillips and others confronted them.

The New York Times and other Fake News operations libeled them by portraying them as rich white kids mocking an ancient Indian veteran. The opposite was true.

The outrage conformists attacked the boys on Facebook and Twitter.

Indeed, someone named Jack Morrissey called for putting them in wood chipper.

His account remains open, unlike Info Wars -- who threatened no one. Ditto Yiannopoulos.

A jury could very easily surmise that Morrissey's threat represents Official Twitter Policy because it has censored tweets and banned the tweeters of less threatening posts.

Gateway Pundit reported, "Los Angeles DJ Calls For Covington Catholic School to be Burned Down – With Kids Locked Inside – TWITTER SAYS HE DIDN’T VIOLATE RULES."

rehajm said...

Her comment immediately reminded me of Al Gore's Nostradamus predictions of a dire end.

MeToo. Then I wondered if she was too young to remember Al Gore's shtick. She would have been six, seven, eight years old, I guess...

NorthOfTheOneOhOne said...

Rick Perlstein was on on NPR this morning, likening her to another FDR! Even the NPR host did a spit take on that one.

Mike (MJB Wolf) said...

Man, I left a parenthetical unclosed. Now I'm the idiot! Here: )

tim in vermont said...

Why can't we have high taxes on the rich -- Europe does.

Not really true. The US has the most progressive taxation in the developed world. Countries that have nationalized health insurance have done it with regressive taxes, like sales taxes, A K A VATs. Taxes that people who don’t spend large portions of their money don’t pay their “fair share."

Laslo Spatula said...

"But if you enjoy thinking of her as a nut or an idiot, good luck. Sleep well."

Prickly.

I think Our Hostess is still stung by the Covington pushback of many commenters, and is pushing those deplorables back in their corner.

This is just a subjective observation on my part, of course: cue Buffalo Springfield.

I am Laslo.

tim in vermont said...

Her crazy eyes make her a meme gold mine though. But it’s the right that has raised her profile. I am sure Pelosi, Schumer, and Hillary are less than thrilled.

Gretchen said...

I think she is an idiot and a nut, however, Drudge's headline is inaccurate.

Dave Begley said...

AOC is just not an experienced con artist.

Many times over the years there has been some religious cult that predicts that the world is going to end. Sell everything. Then the day passes and nothing happens. The MSM - rightly so - mocks and shames the religious nuts.

But for the CAGW religious nuts this NEVER happens. Why is that?

Wince said...

This mixture of vagueness and sheer incompetence is the most marked characteristic of modern English prose, and especially of any kind of political writing.

As soon as certain topics are raised, the concrete melts into the abstract and no one seems able to think of turns of speech that are not hackneyed: prose consists less and less of words chosen for the sake of their meaning, and more and more of phrases tacked together like the sections of a prefabricated hen-house...

Joe Biden, America's Putin said...

Cortez-Hogg-Strozk-Castro 2020.

Lets revamp socialism and fill the government with whores.

stevew said...

I know lots of millennials, I count them among my family and co-workers, and none that I speak with on a regular basis think the world will end in 12 years if we don't do something urgently about so called climate change. I don't believe AOC does either. The word formulation she uses tells me that she considers climate change to be serious and important, maybe the top public policy issue, and is using hyperbole to emphasize that. Very similar to all the 'lies' Trump is accused of when he says things that are generally true but specifically incorrect.

She's good at this stuff folks, you belittle and deride her at your political peril.

Nonapod said...

And I think for younger people looking at this are more like, how are we saying let’s take it easy when 3,000 Americans died last year, how are we saying let’s take it easy when the end person died from our cruel and unjust criminal justice system?

How are we saying take it easy, the America that we’re living in today is dystopian with people sleeping in their cars so they can work a second job without healthcare and we’re told to settle down. It’s a fundamental separation between that fierce urgency of now, the why we can’t wait that King spoke of. That at some point this chronic reality do reach a breaking point and I think for our generation it reached that, I wished I didn’t have to be doing every post, but sometimes I just feel like people aren’t being held accountable. Until, we start pitching in and holding people accountable, I’m just gonna let them have it.”


Where did 12 years come from? That seems oddly specific. I'm also curious what she's refering to with the "3000 Americans died last year" comment.

This is the danger: She's talking Trumpishly, that is, talking in a sort of ambiguous short hand about very specific things. She's very clearly aping Trump here.

Michael said...

She is, most unfortunately, one of the more articulate and intelligent of her generation. This is how they think. How they talk. How they emote. Drama drama drama. Their hubris permits their belief they can save the world even as China and India and the third world puke carbon into the air. She actually believes what she rants about versus the less dangerous old line pols who were only in it for the money.

That said, she can probably make a mean Manhattan.

Charlie Currie said...

AOC is east coast Maxine.

She can spend the rest of her life in the House, if she chooses.

Greg Hlatky said...

Why can't we have national healthcare -- Europe does.

Why can't we have free higher education -- Europe does.

Why can't we have high taxes on the rich -- Europe does.


So what? Europe is an economically-moribund, technologically-backward, politically-unstable, demographically-doomed museum culture.

AlbertAnonymous said...

“But if you enjoy thinking of her as a nut or an idiot, good luck.“

Embrace the power of AND, Professor.

David Docetad said...


I think Our Hostess is still stung by the Covington pushback of many commenters, and is pushing those deplorables back in their corner.

And Gillette.

Nonapod said...

Remember, everyone opposed to Trump mocked and continues to mock Trump for his ambiguous way of speaking. Trump throws out ideas, fragments of ideas, intermixed with facts gleaned from different sources. Trump's opponents make the mistake of taking him very literally, they try to "fact check" him or just mock him for what appears to be absurd claims. But often it turns out people were misinterpreting or misunderstanding him in some way (sometimes purposely) while his supporters "know" what he's really saying. This has the effect of bring Trump's supporters closer to him, inuring them further, making it seem like only they understand him and his opponents are just out of touch.

AOC is attempting the same thing here. I don't know if it'll work but it's worked for Trump.

gahrie said...

Yeah...because nobody in the last fifty years has used the formulation: "The world is going to end unless we give the government more money and power and cripple our civilization."

Ignorance is Bliss said...

MayBee said...

All of this attention is because she is pretty. I hope that is a lesson to us all. The press? Be pretty, get positive attention.

Vice President Palin could not be reached for comment.

Be pretty and a leftist, get positive attention.

FIFY

Fernandinande said...

We need more bright energetic young people in Congress, especially if mamaangaabide.

Unknown said...

the world will end

sooner or later, I can't say

if you don't give me control of all behavior

President-Mom-Jeans said...

Tell us more about how millenials communicate, post menopausal old boomer lady.

We will continue to mock this horse toothed idiot and sleep just fine, thank you very little.

Chuck said...

Yes; I enjoy thinking of her as a nut AND as an idiot. Thanks for asking.

gahrie said...

MeToo. Then I wondered if she was too young to remember Al Gore's shtick. She would have been six, seven, eight years old, I guess...

I'm sure she saw the movie several times in school.

walter said...

Isn't she, you know..like..a millenial?

Literate too:

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez

@AOC

To quote Alan Moore: “None of you understand. I'm not locked up in here with YOU. You're locked up in here with ME.” 🤣

Greg Hlatky said...

All of this attention is because she is pretty.

She's pretty something. Don't know what, though.

Amadeus 48 said...

Unfortunately, too many people think of AOC as a woman, and that's not good for women.

The Cracker Emcee Refulgent said...

“Don't underestimate her. She is saying things her base is dying to hear. She's fighting the establishment to get what her base wants.”

Good heavens, she’s doing exactly what the Establishment want her to do. Playing her part of the dumbshow so the Donks with the real power can “evolve” (to exactly the degree profitable) and co-opt the vote of a potentially difficult identity group. I don’t know if AOC is complicit or just really, really naive, but either way she’s just a tool. Not every transgressive politician is a Trump and it’s a rookie mistake to think so.

gahrie said...

The only reaction I can get from the Lefties at work today about the Covington debacle is "we don't know what happened." They absolutely cannot bring themselves to criticize the SJW outrage mob.

This shit needs to stop now...

Drago said...

#StrongDemDefender Chuck: "Yes; I enjoy thinking of her as a nut AND as an idiot. Thanks for asking."

I dont think you understand.

She is a lefty democrat, not an icky conservative with a military background who fights back hard against the dems.

Once you understand that I'm sure you'll get back on track.

Bay Area Guy said...

But if you enjoy thinking of her as a nut or an idiot, good luck. Sleep well.

I certainly don't think she's a nut, and "idiot" is too harsh. She is 29-years old, which means she is young and inexperienced. Factually speaking, what has she actually accomplished in her 29 years? She was a waitress who went to college. Great.

She's never written an article or a book. She's not a mother, not a wife. She's never had a professional job. She's done NOTHING to warrant the hype.

So, how did she win a congressional seat?

Well, look at her district. It's in the Bronx, it's uniformly Democrat, mostly minority, and mostly impoverished. So, she got lucky in a Democrat primary, won a mere 16,000 votes and got to cruise to a House Seat. Good for her, some folks take advantage of the opportunities presented, and she did.

But, at bottom, she is mostly a mere vehicle, albeit an attractive vehicle, for the Democrat Socialists of America to spout off totally discredited, horrendous, socialist ideas.



President-Mom-Jeans said...

Also, you all need to fucking stop with the fable that this bint is attractive. She may be a Congress 10 compared to decrepit old hags like Pelosi and Max Maxine, but shes a New England 6 at best. Shes a fucking south beach 4.

Have some standards people, for Christ's sake.

Not Sure said...

How does Drudge doing his standard clickbait routine mean that I underestimate AOC?

Kevin said...

all these folks that come after us are looking up and we’re like, the world is gonna end in 12 years if we don’t address climate change."

Wait, she wasn't mocking them?

Because that's what people who mock them say.

tim in vermont said...

We have hearing this for a long time: “I am sick of these golden eggs! Today we are eating goose!”

Venezuela used to be a rich country. De Tocqueville called it some time ago, but it’s like bankruptcy. How does it happen? Slowly, then quickly. It hasn’t happened yet so it’s never going to!

tim in vermont said...

Her fans take her seriously but not literally, we take her literally, but not seriously! Its a formula that works!

Unknown said...

althouse has gone from calling out flabby writing (thinking)

to excusing "end of the world" as a call to action

Bubble Eyes talks like she just let out a puff from a joint

tim in vermont said...

You reach a certain age and suddenly you can’t figure out how you ever found any girl under 35 unattractive at the time.

Wince said...

The Cracker Emcee Refulgent said...
Playing her part of the dumbshow so the Donks with the real power can “evolve” (to exactly the degree profitable) and co-opt the vote of a potentially difficult identity group. I don’t know if AOC is complicit or just really, really naive, but either way she’s just a tool.

That's an interesting argument. Maybe it's a system of two simultaneous equations whose solution is identified by each side's willingness to trade on the public purse and sell-out their constituencies over time?

Gk1 said...

"Flavor of the month spouts off again" would have been a better headline, but here we are.

Unknown said...

If centralizing control of the economy to prevent the end of the world from overheating

isn't nutty

what qualifies?

robother said...

Jeremy Abrams: "It's the modern equivalent of the 1950s nuclear holocaust fear mongering, except there was at least some factual basis for those fears."

I wonder if this constant post-WWII "End of Times" drumbeat isn't responsible for the consumerism and related collapse of population replacement in Western Europe and America? Trillion dollar annual deficits are now the default position for both political parties in the USA.

It is an interesting coincidence that the apocalyptic Global Warming came along just as the fears of nuclear annihilation faded with the collapse of the USSR.

walter said...

Looking for more AOC quotes, I find this..in yahoo's "entertainment" section:
Democratic Leadership is Already Hobbling AOC's Climate Change Committee
I guess the ridiculous slant of the writer makes it "entertainment".

Ingachuck'stoothlessARM said...

she's a nut, but she cured my insomnia!

Seeing Red said...

Why does she get a pass and Trump doesn’t?


More hysteria.

Not Sure said...

But if you enjoy thinking of her as a nut or an idiot, good luck.

Well, I do happen to think she's an idiot, for the same reasons I think Bernie's an idiot--which is to say taking their policy "analysis" as sincere. Maybe neither of them is an idiot, and is simply a cynic who's happy to climb the political ladder by selling bad policy ideas to the idiots in the electorate. So what? No operational difference.

Of course, she's definitely nice to look at, so there's that.

MadisonMan said...

I can't see any similarities except for their polarizing nature

I think the reactions to them are very very similar.

tim in vermont said...

If centralizing control of the economy to prevent the end of the world from overheating

Well it would bring industrial production to a crawl and so lower emissions, but anybody who thinks that socialism is the way to a greener world never read about the shape the communists left Eastern Europe, from burning brow (uranium laced) coal to Chernobyl.

Bay Area Guy said...

The better question is, Why does AOC generate so much publicity?

The Answer is because she's proud and vocal about her socialism.

Nearly half of elected Democrat politicians are socialists, but they are savvy enough to know that, politically, that dog won't hunt. So, they keep it hidden, and instead just try to gradually chip away at American institutions.

AOC is too politically inexperienced to understand that actively promoting socialism doesn't get you too far. Even Bernie Sanders had to soft-pedal his socialism to gain traction in the Democrat Primary. He's a Democrat Socialist, whatever distinction that means.

Socialism wrecks countries and wrecks lives. (See, Venezuela, North Korea circa 2019.)

Methinks, it would be better to hammer AOC's socialist ideas, than to hammer her. Admittedly, she provides a big target, though. Resist the temptation!

Humperdink said...

Oh she's an idiot alright, but AOC jumped aboard the Commie-Pinko Lefty train at the right time. Finagled her way through the primary and, voila, she be a congress critter.

Once you get through the primary in most parts of New York, you slide into place. (See Hillary and Gillibrand.) A semi-trained seal (or bartender) would win. Now she's going to teach everything she knows. Shouldn't take long.

Achilles said...

“But if you enjoy thinking of her as a nut or an idiot, good luck. Sleep well.“

She is isn’t an idiot or a nut. The people that like her and support her are. The same racists who jumped on those Catholic kids because they were white and wore the modern day Star of David support this evil person.

I am not sleeping well.

These are not the people who scare me.

The people who scare me are the racists like Ann who jump on the Kavanaughs and Catholic kids every time. Then later they almost admit they were wrong but they never face the bigotry they espouse.

Ann will do this again and again until the leftists win and she doesn’t have to apologize for pre judging people for being white and male. I know dozens of people like her.

Laurent said...

Was this also just for the laughs?

https://twitter.com/AOC/status/1087722312168812551

Maillard Reactionary said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Unknown said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Maillard Reactionary said...

What President-Mom-Jeans said. Both times. She is grotesque on the inside, and the outside. And wait until the outside catches up!

Public education and pop culture (though I repeat myself) have enstupidified a substantial fraction of the people in this country.

This, with the disturbing breadth and resilience of the media/Deep State complex, are what concern me the most about the future of what's left of the Republic.

walter said...

Laurent's link:


Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez
‏Verified account @AOC
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Retweeted Tom Elliott

For some reason GOP seems to think this is a gaffe, but it’s actually a generational difference.

Young people understand that climate change is an existential threat: 3,000 Americans died in Hurricane María.

The UN says we’ve got 12 years left to fix it: https://amp.theguardian.com/environment/2018/oct/08/global-warming-must-not-exceed-15c-warns-landmark-un-report …

Darrell said...

The world WOULD end in twelve years if she were running it.

wendybar said...

I do sleep well...but she is still an idiot.

hombre said...

That’s quite an extrapolation, Professor. “We’re like” doesn’t mean “we are like” at all. It means “they’re like”, that is, “they are like.” Really?

Of course it does! And you know this because Occasional-Cortex is known for her comedic genius, not for her wacky ideas and behavior, right? /Sarc

ROTFL!!

wendybar said...

Saying that he blames the Democrats as much as the Republicans for the current DC disarray, Tom Brokaw, appearing on today's Morning Joe, said, "you've got the young people running through the halls, who are the new members of Congress, who are conducting pep rallies every day." Brokaw described the Dems being "driven hard by the left."

Tommy Duncan said...

"People see (you) everywhere
They think you really care
But myself, I can't deceive
I know it's only make believe"


--Conway Twitty

Joe Biden, America's Putin said...

A young black man, John James(R), ran to replace old corrupt Debbie Stebenow in MI.

The media gave him NO attention. NONE. ZERO. ZIP. Had the media given John James the same kind of attention the media gives leftwing democrats - he could have won.
After all, he is young, good looking and well spoken. But he isn't a democratic.

The media is an arm to the democrat party.

There is nothing special about Cortez and her old failed ideas. She gets media attention because she is the correct Party. The Party. and our media is an arm to the democratic party.

Gk1 said...

It's interesting that no ones seems to believe OAC may "evolve" over time into having a more rational or nuanced positions? She's just a kid. I know ny economic understanding has changed pretty dramatically from what I believed when I was 29. I think she is constantly pushed by the MSM because the sclerotic leadership of the democrats all have liver spots and where in their prime when Reagan was in office. If you were the MSM what would you rather fixate on? AOC or Bernie Sanders and his peanut shell pallor? What makes for a better picture or clickbait? Hot waitress or rest home candidate?

Unknown said...

She's as stupid as a 60's hippie!

Joe Biden, America's Putin said...

As the democratic party continues to enslave us, the media will ratchet up the propaganda. It's desperation time.

Unknown said...

> no ones seems to believe OAC may "evolve" over time into having a more rational

2nd law of thermo says "NO"

Martin said...

I saw the same thing, but I am guessing the headline was just clickbait so I fell for it. But at least I saw where AOC did NOT "crack up" and say anything crazy. I think the idea the world will end due to GW in 12 years is crazy, but I also recognize a fair number of young people seem to believe it, and that is what she said.

Skeptical Voter said...

Ah Tim in Vermont--reaching a certain age where there's either snow on the roof (my hair is pure white) or the roof is bald----does make one wonder how one thought that any woman under the age of 35 was unattractive. Ms. Ocasio-Cortez is 29 and reasonably attractive.



As for forgetting why one thought at one time that one or more women under 35 was unattractive? Brain cells do fade and die away--and one forgets why Suzy Q was a blithering idiot at the time.

Nonapod said...

I don't think she's a nut. Her analyses of problems are idiotic. Her prescribed solutions to problems are idiotic. But she herself may not be a complete idiot, just a general idiot.

My guess is that most likely she doesn't really care one way or the other about actually solving any problems, she only cares about accruing power. So it's not exactly that she does or doesn't want to solve problems or that she's either aware or unaware that her "solutions" are unworkable or just that the solutions create more problems. It's just that all of that is irrelevant to her.

So yes, she's an idiot when it comes to actually solving real problems, but she may be clever when it comes to influencing a specific subset of people. She's a budding demagogue. Only time will tell if she becomes a full lefty demagogue.

Unknown said...

The "does she really mean it" debate is over

She really is a true believer, just another world salad speaker

traditionalguy said...

Cracked is an apropos descriptor of the Millennials she speaks for. They really do trust this faked science in face of clear proof that it is a cracked and false nonsense. Going through life brainwashed is no better than going through life fat, ugly and stupid.

Twelve years is a nice touch. The Millennials will all start turning 40 about then. There will be no need to ever grow up.

Humperdink said...

"...the idea the world will end due to GW in 12 years is crazy, but I also recognize a fair number of young people seem to believe it, and that is what she said."

That is probably true. The question is, why do they believe it? I'll answer that. The Lefties now have complete control of the education system and near complete control of the media.

BudBrown said...

Global warming piled on abortion with whats-her-name for spice. I haven't read the comments yet. Yikes.

Joe Biden, America's Putin said...

I fear her because she speaks for many young people who are freshly indoctrinated into the media-hollywood-Maddow-CNN-Late Night TV host- SNL propoganda - public education pop culture vortex of insanity. The same people who trash teens who visit DC for a pro-life march.

Everyone is a racist, the planet is dying, read Cosmo and you too can buy the same color lipstick, green energy/ healthcare insider democratic Polis boondoggle. Don't dig too deep. You'll find a democratic insider behind every green door. Clinton Foundation to Steyer green energy to Polis-Stryker health care. The owners want their pay-back.

JML said...

Laurent Canup said...
Was this also just for the laughs?
https://twitter.com/AOC/status/1087722312168812551

If the Guardian says we have 12 years, who are we to question it? From the linked article:

"Carbon pollution would have to be cut by 45% by 2030 – compared with a 20% cut under the 2C pathway – and come down to zero by 2050, compared with 2075 for 2C. This would require carbon prices that are three to four times higher than for a 2C target. But the costs of doing nothing would be far higher."

And how do we make carbon prices higher? Tax the piss out of it.

hombre said...

@Walter: Please tell us what the warmists have done in the past five years to address this concern of a leading AGW advocate.

'So far, no one has been able to provide a compelling answer to why climate change seems to be taking a break. We're facing a puzzle. Recent CO2 emissions have actually risen even more steeply than we feared. As a result, according to most climate models, we should have seen temperatures rise by around 0.25 degrees Celsius (0.45 degrees Fahrenheit) over the past 10 years. That hasn't happened. In fact, the increase over the last 15 years was just 0.06 degrees Celsius (0.11 degrees Fahrenheit) -- a value very close to zero. This is a serious scientific problem that the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) will have to confront when it presents its next Assessment Report late next year.... If things continue as they have been, in five years, at the latest, we will need to acknowledge that something is fundamentally wrong with our climate models. A 20-year pause in global warming does not occur in a single modeled scenario. But even today, we are finding it very difficult to reconcile actual temperature trends with our expectations.’ Hans Von Storch, Climate Scientist, U. Of Hamburg (mainstream warmist), Editor, "Climate Research", interviewed in "Der Spiegel," 6/2013

Also please cite the scientific study that informs you and young people that Hurricane Maria was caused by or aggravated by climate change.

We’ll wait.

Birkel said...

We might ask why this new generation is so fearful.
Why has the propaganda worked on them?

Bay Area Guy said...

Here's the AOC interview with Tennessee Coats:

COATES: “I hate to personalize this, but do you think it is immoral for individuals to, for instance — do we live in a moral world that allows for billionaires? Is that a moral outcome and and of itself?”

OCASIO-CORTEZ: “No, it’s not. It’s not.

(Cheers and applause)

It’s not, and I think it is important to say that — I don’t think that necessarily means that all billionaires are immoral. It is not to say that someone like Bill Gates,for example, or Warren Buffett are immoral people. I do not believe that.”

COATES: “Like, he kicks his dog, stuff like that.”

OCASIO-CORTEZ: “Yeah, I don’t — I’m not saying that, but I do think a system that allows billionaires to exist when there are parts of Alabama where people are still getting ringworm because they don’t have access to public health is wrong.

(Applause)

And I think it’s wrong that — I think that it’s wrong that a vast majority of the country does not make a living great wage. I think it’s wrong that you can work 100 hours and not feed your kids. I think it’s wrong that corporations like Walmart and Amazon can get paid, they can get paid by the Government essentially, experience a wealth transfer from the public for paying people less than a minimum wage.”


This is the typical pablum from socialists. Because there are poor struggling people, therefore, it is wrong that somewhere else, someone else is cruising through life.

This is fallacious. An analogy - that there are NBA players who are struggling at the margin to make it, does not detract from the earned greatness (and wealth) of LeBron James.

In the business world, there are folks who are lucky, smart, inherited money, or through some other means, made it big. And there are folks, who never graduated high school, came from a busted family, got a girl pregnant, sold and did drugs, and didn't amount too much.

That's what freedom brings -- the opportunity to succeed and the risk of failure.

AOC and her ilk are basically failures, blaming Billionaires (but not Buffet and Gates!) for their own failures. And if they ever get power, they cause catastrophic failure to their country (see Venezuela).

walter said...

Bill, Republic of Texas said...
(Europe)
--
I agree. And she will point to oil-rich and/or Nuclear based variants as examples.

Joe Biden, America's Putin said...

Left-wing billionaires are exempt.

Got that?

pacwest said...

"She's as stupid as a 60's hippie!"

C'mon, nobody's that stupid! But to Althouse's point, the leftover hippies now control our educational system as well as large swaths of the government and culture. Reality doesn't always win ideological battles.

She's the it girl of the moment, and she appears to be able to capitalize on it. But as far as the perils of unrealistic stupidity go she's not even in the top ten.

Not Sure said...

"Left-wing billionaires are exempt."

Their campaign contributions are the 21st-century version of Papal indulgences.

PM said...

Climate Change is the gluey gravitational center of leftwing issues. The urgent need for south-of-equator populations to move north, to get rid of cars, to prevent carbon-rich forests from management that might limit wildfires, to promote veganism to halt eco-damaging cow-farting and water-wasting, to eliminate "super" hurricanes from destroying poor island countries and soon to come: reparations, not just for past slavery, but for the wasteland rich industrial nations have created in third-world countries' ability to feed their populations. It's the ribbon that ties together the whole philosophical package.

Unknown said...

> But as far as the perils of unrealistic stupidity go she's not even in the top ten.

Name 'em!

Bay Area Guy said...

"She's as stupid as a 60's hippie!"

Heh - But the hippies usually wrecked their own lives, and never won any elections!

Unknown said...

I've read something like her story before

There was a guy named Jor-El who told everyone the planet was doomed

he fired his kid off into space before the apocalypse

and the kid became Captain Planet

AOC to launch someone else's "personal decision to be made only by women" to the moon?
https://althouse.blogspot.com/2019/01/another-apology-apology-from-scott.html

Robert Cook said...

"How about evil? May I think of her as that, (and not enjoy it, and not sleep well)? May I think of her as Chavez, or Castro, or Mao? And worry for the future of my country?"


Sure! You're free to think any ridiculous thing you like.

hombre said...

stevew wrote: “She's good at this stuff folks, you belittle and deride her at your political peril.”

Belittling and deriding her is a mark of sanity even if it is uncivil. It doesn’t necessarily involve taking her lightly. If Trump fails, it won’t matter anyway. We be ruled by her ilk or the likes of “Poontranage” Harris, Fauxcahontas Warren or some other pothuntress seeking to fill Hillary the Grifter’s shoes.

Jay Elink said...

and the kid became Captain Planet
**************

Superman, actually.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jor-El

Jay Elink said...

Bay Area Guy said...
"She's as stupid as a 60's hippie!"

Heh - But the hippies usually wrecked their own lives, and never won any elections!
**********

Bernie Sanders?

Sonny Bono?

Tom Hayden?

Chuck said...

Althouse appears to be taking AOC seriously but not literally.

Not the first time for that.

Although — seriously (seriously) — Althouse makes a genuinely thoughtful point about the voice in which AOC was verbalizing the notion that the world would end in 12 years if nothing were done about climate change. (Also much like Trump, that characterization of her fellow millennials’ hysteria is akin to Trump’s saying that he could shoot somebody in the middle of Fifth Avenue and his [dumb, cultist] supporters wouldn’t care.

Yancey Ward said...

I made a prediction almost 15 years ago on Kevin Drum's blog, Political Animal- basically I wrote that when the world didn't end and the climate was unchanged a decade or more hence, the pushback against the climate warming crowd would become a majority position of the electorate. I also predicted that the Climate Alarmists would be undeterred, and would predict the end of the world in another 10 years- rinse and repeat.

I read the entire context- Occasional-Cortex still implies that like-minded Millenials and Gen-Xers do believe it is an existential threat, so I don't think the phrasing really does her any favors in regards to how Drudge characterized it.

Bay Area Guy said...

Appearing on "The Late Show with Stephen Colbert" Monday night, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez clarified her statements about imposing a 70% top marginal tax rate. She also said she gives "zero f*cks" about people telling her not to "make waves" with senior Democrats.

Yes! Let her make waves with senior Democrats. You go Girl!

As for a 70% top marginal tax rate, well, that's just bad economic policy. It will slow economic growth to a standstill. Nobody works hard if the tax rates are confiscatory.

Jupiter said...

"The phrase "we're like" is used to switch into the voice of the millennials and the succeeding generations who are freaking out about their future."

No, the phrase "we're like" is used to change to the point of view of the millenials. The voice being heard is still that of AOC. And she is stupid and fairly crazy, BTW.

Seeing Red said...

OCASIO-CORTEZ: “Yeah, I don’t — I’m not saying that, but I do think a system that allows billionaires to exist when there are parts of Alabama where people are still getting ringworm because they don’t have access to public health is wrong.


What?

What parts of Alabama?

n.n said...

The prophecy of Catastrophic Anthropogenic Global Warming is still a viable basis to justify redistributive change, but it has been noticeably depreciated in order to avoid inferences of ulterior motives, bad judgments, or craziness.

Temujin said...

I think the Idiocracy is upon us.

exhelodrvr1 said...

Based on her other extreme theories, it's very possible that she does actually believe that. ALso, you seem to be ignoring the fact that the Democrats, academia, and the media, including AOC, either actually believe that, or are playing on the fears of many people who do believe that, and do not make any attempt to disabuse them of that belief.

John Pickering said...

seeing red asks:
“Yeah, I don’t — I’m not saying that, but I do think a system that allows billionaires to exist when there are parts of Alabama where people are still getting ringworm because they don’t have access to public health is wrong.


What?

What parts of Alabama?

Answer: Lowndes County

from Fox News:

https://www.foxnews.com/health/dirty-water-leads-to-return-of-parasite

While the hookworm infection affects 430 million people worldwide, the parasites were thought to be eradicated from the United States. Lingering poverty and poor sanitation have brought it back. Of 55 stool samples taken in Lowndes County, Alabama, 34.5 percent tested positive for hookworm.

Many of Ann's readers, who get their news from Powerline and the Daily Mail, are persuaded that AOC is stupid. They think the same about such figures as Tom Steyer, Paul Krugman and Elizabeth Warren. Few of them have ever considered that people who insult others on the basis of their perceived intelligence invariably reveal more about themselves than they do the person they are trying to insult.

Ann's also reminded here of the deep misogyny of many of her readers. Ann, you're welcome in the white man's tribe, as long as you know and keep your womanly place.

Bay Area Guy said...

Pickering is a humorless pedant.

What does that reveal about me?

(don't answer that! It's rhetorical)

Achilles said...

John Pickering said...
seeing red asks:
“Yeah, I don’t — I’m not saying that, but I do think a system that allows billionaires to exist when there are parts of Alabama where people are still getting ringworm because they don’t have access to public health is wrong.


What?

What parts of Alabama?

Answer: Lowndes County


So AOC and John Pickering find out there is hookworm in Alabama.

Their answer?

Have the government take everyone else's money.

Not Buffet's or Gate's money. The bad billionaires money. And they think the government should take 100% of "misogynist's" money.

They define who the misogynists are.

Oh and they want to take your guns too.

Totally not like Castro or Maduro or Pol Pot or Mao or Stalin.

I want to make one clarification though. All of the above were international socialists who nationalized everything. These people want to team up with giant corporations and kill off their competition while suppressing dissent and disarming the populace and confiscating private wealth.

That is called National Socialism. They are much more like that other guy.

The MAGA hat is their Star of David.

rehajm said...

Yeah, why insult the idiots when it's so easy to refute their stupid policies?

rehajm said...

Few of them have ever considered that people who insult others on the basis of their perceived intelligence invariably reveal more about themselves than they do the person they are trying to insult.

Excerpt from the book Lessons Paul Krugman Will Never Learn

Brian said...

Chuck Schumer should be worried! She could be the youngest Senator from New York since Rufus King (1789).

Achilles said...

Note the blatant appeal of sexism and classism by Pickering to Ann.

Only misogynists disagree with socialists using the government to take everyone's money.

Good women will support these thugs and haters.

And they know that Ann is susceptible to this.

Because Ann is one of the Good people.

Drago said...

LOL

I can see LLR and Durbin/Dem Cultist Chuck is never going to forgive Trump for exposing all of his little lefty allies as the schmucks that they are.

Tough luck Chuck.

MayBee said...

AOC says "ringworm", which is not hookworm.

But hey, if the world is ending soon why worry about that? So what? People only have another 12 years at best.

Unknown said...

> OCASIO-CORTEZ: “Yeah, I don’t — I’m not saying that, but I do think a system that allows billionaires to exist when there are parts of Alabama where people are still getting ringworm because they don’t have access to public health is wrong

If I lived in AL I'd eat a hookworm to support this sexy dancing commie to take that BAD BILLIONAIRE money! I WANT TO BE A PROP FOR THIS NY FRESHMAN REP!!!!

Viva La Raza!
Viva La Revolution!
Proletarians of the country unite!
Serve the People!
Better to kill an innocent by mistake than spare an enemy by mistake!
http://www.mekong.net/cambodia/redbook.htm

Browndog said...

She's not a nut. She believes what she was taught. Also taught to refuse any counter argument to what she was taught.

She has no life experience, so that's all she has to go on. Universities pump these NPC's out by the tens of thousands every year, and will soon run the country.

Unknown said...

I'm ready to destroy the system which creates billionaires

just today we learned

- people in AL have ringworm
- 3,000 were killed in a hurricane caused by global cooling the last two years
- The world will end in 12 years if the US does not stop doing things that are "wrong" by the evil GOP group of misogynists (Hydra) who catcall her and misinterpret like her cool teen language

Look, to make an omelet you have to break a few eggs.

She's not stoopid, she's the reverse Adam Smith... let the hand of Congress create equality and save the planet!

Michael said...

Oh, my. John Pickering fails to note that Lowndes Co, Alabama, home of the hookworm plague is a Democrat hellhole. And 75% black. And has two healthcare facilities. And is close to Montgomery with extensive healthcare. The county has not gone Republican since 1964.

Unknown said...

> still getting ringworm because they don’t have access to public health is wrong

a tube of derman (hispanic section) is $3 at walmart...
https://www.walmart.com/ip/Derman-Cream-1-76-Oz/16618977

Is this like our need to buy all Sandy Fluke's rubbers?

Maybe the people in all of AL could go to walmart for their foot needs without AOC MD taking over the health care system to deliver tinea cream?

Unknown said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Unknown said...

ringworm, hookworm - its some kind of bad worm - like every other personal decision, its a political decision, and there is an absolute wrong (GOP, the blue meanies) and an absolute right (me and the 99%). Its a MORAL decision. Follow me, I'm a bartender with an economics degree!

walter said...

https://news.vice.com/en_us/article/pa5wdg/scientists-raised-the-alarm-about-hookworm-in-alabama-a-year-ago-the-state-has-done-little-about-it
--
Until recently, there was little reason to suspect that hookworms could pose a risk for Lowndes County residents; the gut parasite is usually found in developing countries. But in 2017, McKenna and her partner, parasitologist Rojelio Mejia, published a study that revealed that, out of a small group of county residents, 34 percent were infected, a finding that contributed to a United Nations official calling out the United States for the persistence of “extreme poverty” within its borders.
--
So..like..the UN says so!

walter said...

re that pivotal study:
"According to the Alabama Center for Rural Enterprise (ACRE), an organization that addresses poverty and economic development in one of the poorest areas of the nation, 16 there continue to be residences without adequate sanitation systems, increasing exposure to open sewage near dwellings. The “Black-Belt” soil native to this area is composed of a firm sedimentary limestone bed overlain with a layer of dark, rich soils, 17 which requires expensive septic systems for proper waste disposal. In Lowndes County, Alabama, where the per capita income is $18,046, and 31.4% of the population lives below the poverty line, 18 sanitation systems are unaffordable."
<
"A total of 66 subjects were enrolled in the study from a total of 24 homes. There were single individuals from seven homes, four homes with two subjects, seven homes with three subjects, three homes with four subjects, one home each with five, six, and eight subjects, respectively."

http://www.ajtmh.org/content/journals/10.4269/ajtmh.17-0396

Unknown said...

Maybe this is going on?

The surprising truth of open defecation in India | Sangita Vyas | TEDxWalledCity

ken in tx said...

Hookworm and Ringworm are not the same thing, however Lowndes County, AL has a county health dept.just like every other county in Alabama. County residents get the same public health service the rest of the state gets. Hookworm is associated with people going bare foot in unsanitary soil--commonly contaminated by animal or human poop.

Rosalyn C. said...

I recall meeting a University of CA graduate student, majoring in one of the sciences, back in 1981 who had committed himself to self destructive drug use because of the impending and inevitable destruction of the environment by the year 2000. He assured me he was convinced by his training and his superior knowledge of the subject that he had absolutely no doubt.

JAORE said...

OK, I'll buy your concept that AOC does not believe the 12 years until destruction.

That leaves me with:

She thinks we should strangle our economy because millennials are in high speed wobble even if she does NOT think the world ends in 12 years?

Is that the defense of AOC?

What does she propose we do because toddlers are afraid of the dark?

My wife is terrified of heights. What governmental program should we implement?

I get that she's hot with kids. Might be a force to be envied in the future (although THAT is a scary thought). But what she says is STUPID and she doesn't care if it is factually wrong so long as it's morally right.... sheesh.

How would you propose we react to AOC?