All purpose news and politics thread part VII: News & Politics Total Landscaping

[hyped78]

Absolutely.

We don’t protest against genocide and war crimes by trivializing or disrespecting other genocides and war crimes. And we certainly don’t go to an unrelated event and desecrate IT to draw attention to our cause.

That’s as stupid and self-defeating as throwing paint on classic art to protest climate change.

Are you calling for the surrender of Hamas as THE condition to end all of this and have a permanent ceasefire?

(I agree with what you wrote on your post, btw)

[Mister Mets]

Agreed. For some people, the price of gas a week before Election Day will decide who they vote for. Not decades of evidence about the men they’re picking between.

I mean, I KNOW it’s a racist dog whistle to suggest that people should have to pass a basic civics test in order to vote? But I am quite confident that more cishet white people - who have the luxury of willful ignorance, and distractions like complacency and narcissism - would be excluded from voting than minorities (who do NOT have the same luxuries or privilege), if we actually implemented such a thing…

1. Your confidence that cis white people will be less able to pass a basic civics test may be misguided. White people are more likely than average to have college educations. White people are more likely than average to be older.

I am curious if anyone's familiar with a survey suggesting members of minority groups are more or less informed about civics.

2. The ability to make passing a Civics test mandatory for voting can be abused. Legislators will come up with the standards, and they can use in ways that increase their support, in addition to making sure that their people are the ones making with their thumb on the scale if there's any question.

There's a notorious example of a literacy test asking people to spell backwards, forwards.

https://www.openculture.com/2014/07/...lack-vote.html

If it's someone friendly, any answer is accepted.

If it's someone on the other side, they'll use pretext to exclude any answer, by saying they were meant to spell the word backwards, spell the word forward backwards or spell the words backwards and forwards.

[hyped78]

1. Your confidence that cis white people will be less able to pass a basic civics test may be misguided. White people are more likely than average to have college educations. White people are more likely than average to be older.

I am curious if anyone's familiar with a survey suggesting members of minority groups are more or less informed about civics.

2. The ability to make passing a Civics test mandatory for voting can be abused. Legislators will come up with the standards, and they can use in ways that increase their support, in addition to making sure that their people are the ones making with their thumb on the scale if there's any question.

There's a notorious example of a literacy test asking people to spell backwards, forwards.

https://www.openculture.com/2014/07/...lack-vote.html

If it's someone friendly, any answer is accepted.

If it's someone on the other side, they'll use pretext to exclude any answer, by saying they were meant to spell the word backwards, spell the word forward backwards or spell the words backwards and forwards.

I was actually going to say that if someone suggested that, for example, only college educated people should vote that would be racist/discriminatory (which it is). As what our friend suggested is also obviously discriminatory.

I mean, it was just a sad sad post by our friend, but apparently it's all sarcasm so it doesn't even count/matter

[zinderel]

1. Your confidence that cis white people will be less able to pass a basic civics test may be misguided. White people are more likely than average to have college educations. White people are more likely than average to be older.

I am curious if anyone's familiar with a survey suggesting members of minority groups are more or less informed about civics.

2. The ability to make passing a Civics test mandatory for voting can be abused. Legislators will come up with the standards, and they can use in ways that increase their support, in addition to making sure that their people are the ones making with their thumb on the scale if there's any question.

There's a notorious example of a literacy test asking people to spell backwards, forwards.

https://www.openculture.com/2014/07/...lack-vote.html

If it's someone friendly, any answer is accepted.

If it's someone on the other side, they'll use pretext to exclude any answer, by saying they were meant to spell the word backwards, spell the word forward backwards or spell the words backwards and forwards.

Hey, Mets? How about until you actually address anything anyone has asked you directly about your continued support for, and deliberate blind spot about, your party’s embrace of racism, misogyny, homophobia, transphobia, anti-vaccine, anti-science, treasonous rhetoric and literal white power symbols, you keep my name out of your mouth, huh? I’m perfectly happy ignoring your posts. How about you do the same? I’m really just…SO tired of you playing your stupid little games with me.

[hyped78]

Hey, Mets? How about until you actually address anything anyone has asked you directly about your continued support for, and deliberate blind spot about, your party’s embrace of racism, misogyny, homophobia, transphobia, anti-vaccine, anti-science, treasonous rhetoric and literal white power symbols, you keep my name out of your mouth, huh? I’m perfectly happy ignoring your posts. How about you do the same? I’m really just…SO tired of you playing your stupid little games with me.

"you keep my name out of your mouth, huh? I’m perfectly happy ignoring your posts. How about you do the same?"

That's not the way a forum works, buddy

[zinderel]

"you keep my name out of your mouth, huh? I’m perfectly happy ignoring your posts. How about you do the same?"

That's not the way a forum works, buddy

When all the interactions are negative, asking a poster to stop playing the games that multiple people have called him out for playing is called ‘setting boundaries’. I established my desire for boundaries. I have only responded to his posts directed at me. And am asking him to stop directing posts at me.

That you don’t understand that any better than you understand sarcasm?

Not a shock.

[hyped78]

When all the interactions are negative, asking a poster to stop playing the games that multiple people have called him out for playing is called ‘setting boundaries’. I established my desire for boundaries. I have only responded to his posts directed at me. And am asking him to stop directing posts at me.

That you don’t understand that any better than you understand sarcasm?

Not a shock.

Again, I don't think that's the way the forum works... People that disagree with you will quote/reply to your comments (and vice-versa!). We are all participating in the same forum/thread and, as long as we're not insulting anyone, we can all comment each other's posts. It's a forum, not private messages.

And obviously this is all going off-topic...

[zinderel]

"I established my desire to boundaries... And am asking him to stop directing posts at me."

Again, I don't think that's the way the forum works... People that disagree with you will quote/reply to your comments

Again, the opinion of someone who doesn’t understand sarcasm or boundaries doesn’t matter to me, much.

[Mister Mets]

Hey, Mets? How about until you actually address anything anyone has asked you directly about your continued support for, and deliberate blind spot about, your party’s embrace of racism, misogyny, homophobia, transphobia, anti-vaccine, anti-science, treasonous rhetoric and literal white power symbols, you keep my name out of your mouth, huh? I’m perfectly happy ignoring your posts. How about you do the same? I’m really just…SO tired of you playing your stupid little games with me.

I do think it's best to talk about the topic and not the other guy.

If you want me to address a point, ask me a question politely in a non-loaded way. If you can't do that, it seems dishonest to criticize me for not answering questions.

I have noticed that people here don't seem to like the discussions about me. I try to go with less responses to the personal comments, but I don't think anyone is suggesting that the policy of the forum should be that we get to insult one another, and they don't get to respond.

If you make a point about a policy in a public forum, sometimes I'll respond to it.

[zinderel]

I do think it's best to talk about the topic and not the other guy.

If you want me to address a point, ask me a question politely in a non-loaded way. If you can't do that, it seems dishonest to criticize me for not answering questions.

I have noticed that people here don't seem to like the discussions about me. I try to go with less responses to the personal comments, but I don't think anyone is suggesting that the policy of the forum should be that we get to insult one another, and they don't get to respond.

If you make a point about a policy in a public forum, sometimes I'll respond to it.

Nope. I and multiple people have made specific points. You have ignored them. You are not interested in actual discussion. And I’m asking you AGAIN to stop posting at me unless you want to address the points that have been repeatedly raised by multiple posters across multiple iterations of this forum over the years.

You ‘just asking for specifics’ is one of those games.

So, no. I’m not playing your stupid games.

[Mister Mets]

R.F.K. Jr. Says Doctors Found a Dead Worm in His Brain



You know....if part of your brain has been eaten by worms...why are you on anyone's ballot for President. That is all I will say

He wasn't exactly eager to share the information, although I'm give him credit for acknowledging it when the Times found out about it.

And it wasn't the only medical issue that caused some brain damage. The article also mentions mercury poisoning.

I could easily understand this “too old” stuff IF the alternative was an healthy person in their 30s/40’s. But compared to the Donald??

Biden seems older. Trump seems crazy, but that doesn't read as old. It's possible that there's room to convince people that Trump is suffering from age-related cognitive decline, although that may not be a discussion the Biden campaign wants.

Voters are looking for different things from them.

The comments about Biden's age allow for the argument that others are making the big decisions, so that even if a voter likes Biden as a moderate-ish Democrat, others who are to his left are really running the country.

Many Trump supporters like him enough that they'll consider his age to be worth the tradeoffs. Because if he didn't run, it would be a typical Republican anyway and that's what you'd get if he had to resign for his veep (assuming it's someone like Stefanik, Britt, Huckabee Sanders, Tim Scott, Rubio or Burgum.)

For Republicans who will vote for Trump because he's the party's nominee, they like the idea that some establishment Republicans will be running things behind the scenes.

There could be a potential argument that if Trump is declining, it's an opportunity for grifters who wouldn't be allowed near a presidential administration.

Are you calling for the surrender of Hamas as THE condition to end all of this and have a permanent ceasefire?

(I agree with what you wrote on your post, btw)

There's some pushback against the question, but there is a reality that Hamas is not getting the message that everyone in the civilized world sees them as a force for evil on par with the Nazis (in terms of what they want to do, and what they're doing when they can.) Too many of Israel's critics are playing footsie with vile antisemites and terrorists, and there should be the same criticism against that as there would be against conservatives who aren't as eager to bash white nationalists.

[CaptainEurope]

1. Your confidence that cis white people will be less able to pass a basic civics test may be misguided. White people are more likely than average to have college educations. White people are more likely than average to be older.

I am curious if anyone's familiar with a survey suggesting members of minority groups are more or less informed about civics.

2. The ability to make passing a Civics test mandatory for voting can be abused. Legislators will come up with the standards, and they can use in ways that increase their support, in addition to making sure that their people are the ones making with their thumb on the scale if there's any question.

There's a notorious example of a literacy test asking people to spell backwards, forwards.

https://www.openculture.com/2014/07/...lack-vote.html

If it's someone friendly, any answer is accepted.

If it's someone on the other side, they'll use pretext to exclude any answer, by saying they were meant to spell the word backwards, spell the word forward backwards or spell the words backwards and forwards.

The actions of the majority of white male Americans in the past few elections show that they do not understand politics as well as black women do.

Wanna fix your country? Vote like a black woman.

[numberthirty]

The actions of the majority of white male Americans in the past few elections show that they do not understand politics as well as black women do.

Wanna fix your country? Vote like a black woman.

[CaptainEurope]

I'm going by numbers, not vibes. I should have specified that.

[hyped78]

That is what he said before you edited out that part.

"Agreed. For some people, the price of gas a week before Election Day will decide who they vote for. Not decades of evidence about the men they’re picking between.
I mean, I KNOW it’s a racist dog whistle to suggest that people should have to pass a basic civics test in order to vote? But I am quite confident that more cishet white people - who have the luxury of willful ignorance, and distractions like complacency and narcissism - would be excluded from voting than minorities (who do NOT have the same luxuries or privilege), if we actually implemented such a thing…"

Where?

But, anyways, apparently it's all 'satire', he doesn't actually think that cis het white men are more likely to fail a civics test bla bla....... but it was so witty and smart! (/sarcasm)

It's called satire. Maybe not the most clever satire, but satire nevertheless.

I think that's the problem. Satire and clever usually go hand in hand. Jonathan Swift he ain't.