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[QUOTE=worstblogever;6484265]Probably not that long. Since they all think Jesus is white, when there's a brown skinned Jesus speaking a language other than English, the morons wouldn't need more than a few hours before they shot him for being different.[/QUOTE]
I don't know - if we accept the premise that Jesus is coming back down from Heaven, and considering that Aramaic is quite close to becoming a dead language, and certainly that the dialect Jesus spoke is long dead/evolved by now, one would think he'd have studied a modern language or something beforehand. Of course it still might not be English, by numbers alone it's just as likely to be Chinese or Spanish if he wants to communicate with as many people as possible.
But agreed, many "Christians" would take one look at an Arabic Jew and say "not my Jesus!"
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[QUOTE=AnakinFlair;6484212]So there are two things to worry about here. The first is Mike Lee (though I think McConnell will pull him in line, because not even he wants the US to default). The second, and more worrisome for me, is if McCarthy can actually get the votes in the House. There are enough idiot Republicans like Boebert and Greene that seem to be happy to drive our economy off the cliff to own the libs.[/QUOTE]
You're right about that. Lunatics in the GQP like Boobert and Madam Howler Monkey reminds me of that line by Alfred from [I]The Dark Knight[/I]:
"Because some men aren't looking for anything logical, like money. They can't be bought, bullied, reasoned, or negotiated with. Some men just want to watch the world burn."
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[QUOTE=WestPhillyPunisher;6484284]You're right about that. Lunatics in the GQP like Boobert and Madam Howler Monkey reminds me of that line by Alfred from [I]The Dark Knight[/I]:
"Because some men aren't looking for anything logical, like money. They can't be bought, bullied, reasoned, or negotiated with. Some men just want to watch the world burn."[/QUOTE]
Except a few members of The Squad, all Democrats will vote for the compromise, so even if only 1/3 of Republicans follow McCarthy's lead, it will still pass the House.
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Am I seeing this right? Is all Republicans got after heir long list of demands that tax evasion will continue to be easier, and the work requirement for SNAP benefits will affect people from 50 to 54 as well now (something that was already state law in some red states)?
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[QUOTE=AnakinFlair;6484212]You know, everyone here would be so much happier if you do what I do whenever Mets posts. Namely, scroll past and ignore it.[/QUOTE]
Depends on the post -- some can be pretty entertaining if you already know what you are getting into.
Educational as well if you're curious about modern conservative psychology -- especially with regards to issues like LGBT rights the value of Jordan Neely's life.
Gun control, white nationalism, abortion rights, immigration -- these interactions have their moments once you get past the complaints about hard questions.
[video=youtube;sz0pLhEVnWM]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sz0pLhEVnWM[/video]
Those questions need to be asked regardless.
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[QUOTE=SquirrelMan;6484291]Am I seeing this right? Is all Republicans got after heir long list of demands that tax evasion will continue to be easier, and the work requirement for SNAP benefits will affect people from 50 to 54 as well now (something that was already state law in some red states)?[/QUOTE]
He's called the Weaker of the House for a reason.
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[QUOTE=The Negative Zone;6484224]
No, I do not believe I'm going to be attacked on the street, it's hard to imagine anyone being a victim of a hate crime in my community. In truth I'll admit I hide my beliefs from my friends and social media for fear of backlash, and yes I am aware of the irony. [/QUOTE]
It sounds to me like you may have been feeding into the Persecuted Christian narrative that is so heavily pushed in your country which, given that the United States is the most God-crazy country in the western world, is a truly laughable idea.
[QUOTE=The Negative Zone;6484224]I'm just unsure of the future that is to come because it seems plain to see my views are quickly becoming outdated. I think your views are going to win. [/QUOTE]
It doesn't have to be either/or. My view is that there's room in the world for everyone, unless someone is trying to harm others. It sounds like yours are similar.
[QUOTE=The Negative Zone;6484224]I guess all this talk has made me come to a decision. I did read and hopefully, tried to consider everyone's posts. I will try to worry less about myself and my views and more about the people around me. I want to go against type, and show people that my beliefs do not mean I want to hurt or destroy them.[/QUOTE]
It's a sad state of affairs when people assume 'Christian' automatically equates to 'intolerant bully', but that's on the huge number of Christians who use their religion as an excuse to be intolerant bullies.
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[QUOTE=Mister Mets;6483719]On this thread, there's no shortage of standard left-wing arguments. So I don't see the need to make the same arguments as others.
I'll note objections to Republicans, as well as problems with policies and decisions by Democrats right now, just as plenty of people here express concern about what Republicans may do in the future (the whole Nazi argument.) It is also important for people making policy suggestions to consider the implications in the future. It's quite irresponsible to discourage those kinds of necessary discussions.
If you're criticizing me for not responding to something, you should say what the specific comments that are so good that you find it suspicious that someone's not responding.
And if I'm misrepresenting your argument, when I have said the wrong thing about "white supremacists shooting up black churches or Muslim mosques"?
I know that people here object to DeSantis, but looking that stuff up is going to include a lot of exaggeration, speculation and commentary. I'm looking for facts, not venting.
If someone makes a serious claim about why no one should vote for a politician, they should be able to back it up with three inarguable examples of where the politician crosses the line. I wonder if people don't want to reveal that much about themselves. It's easier to talk about things that are vague than the specifics.
You left out part of the quote from the article which completely changed the meaning. The phrase the article used wasn't "girls identifying as transgender" but "the number of students brought up as girls identifying as transgender."
Someone can be brought up as a girl without being a girl.
The T-shirt doesn't indicate what people secretly think. A major Democrat wore an item advocating for open borders, and he wasn't called out for it by anyone on his side.
I didn't say that "all the lefty posters trying to convince others to stop voting Republican were doing so out of a long-term secret desire to make republican candidates more extreme." That's a stretch, assuming you mean to be taken literally.
The problem with Trump was not the substance. It was the things that made him different from what a Jeb Bush administration would have been.
It's hard for people who would vote against any Republican to realize this, but Trump is in some ways closer to the center than most presidential candidates. He did not push for cuts to social security or Medicaid, and kept promising infrastructure spending.
He was elected to the White House with the second most moderate issue positions in the previous 40 years.
[url]https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/voters-think-trump-has-moved-to-the-right/[/url]
As President, his policy positions were mostly generic Republican. Obviously if you'd vote against the typical Republican, you'd voter against him as well, but people who would vote for typical Republicans would need other reasons to oppose him, including corruption, sloppiness, shameless lies, etc.[/QUOTE]
Many people have linked to why Ron Desantis is a terrible choice, but hey, here's another [URL="https://www.glaad.org/gap/ron-desantis"]link[/URL]. But really, it's all common knowledge at this point. You cannot be a moderate but support politicians who choose to disenfranchise the gay and minority communities. It's as simple as that, if someone enacts a law that is discriminatory towards the gay and minority communicates that should an absolutely unelectable candidate for anyone claiming to be a moderate Republican...and if it isn't then that person isn't really moderate.
And President Trump was nowhere near the center. Again, no one who disparages the gay or minority communities can be center, once you do that you are irrevocably to the right. And if you're saying that those kind of policies and comments are just"generic Republican" then that's [B]VERY[/B] telling.
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[QUOTE=Tendrin;6484203]Having previously described empathy as a muscle based on the way that we know it deteriorates in the wealthy and privileged, I am feeling very smug about myself right now to have someone trained and professional assert that, 'coz I had no idea that metaphor was actually used!
*smug smug smug*
Hey, Negative. I think you're meaning well, but I think you need to examine some of your priors, and that's fine. We all do. It's good that you're here and asking questions.[/QUOTE]
Smugness being the most empathetic response, of course!:cool:
But hey, when you're right, you're right. Honestly, it rather pains me when others speak of empathy as if it is some sort of cudgel.
Okay, for our conservative friends: empathy is not some kind of box that gets checked off, and once you have it, it's all good. It's not like ... I mean, consider it less a noun, than a verb, kind of? It's less something you [I]have[/I] and more something you [I]do[/I] ... as for an example, I do practice empathy when interacting with and even thinking of my few random conservative friends/acquaintances. I even have really old friends who support Trump. [I]Having empathy for that is a continual process.[/I]
I don't know, I kind of can't think of a better example, because these folks support politicians and policies which ... well, ffs, as people have shown over and over on this thread, MAGA=white nationalism, and as both a POC and gender/sexual minority ... I mean yeah, I would [I]love[/I] to "insist" that they understand they're supporting a political party that wants me meek and disempowered at best, and literally dead at worst. I mean, I honestly have no idea how they're able to ignore all the violence; or to somehow buy that "Antifa" or Black Lives Matter are somehow greater threats.
But whatever, again just for the right-leaning: please, please consider the possibility that use of empathy is actually an unambiguous good. That shouldn't be controversial in the slightest. [I]How best to practice empathy[/I] is again a continual process, but we seriously have to at least start at a point of understanding that empathy is not ... like an evil philosophy or something?
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[QUOTE=SquirrelMan;6484291]Am I seeing this right? Is all Republicans got after heir long list of demands that tax evasion will continue to be easier, and the work requirement for SNAP benefits will affect people from 50 to 54 as well now (something that was already state law in some red states)?[/QUOTE]
It’s almost like their main concern was protecting tax cuts for the wealthy and the rest was just political theater.
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[QUOTE=ChadH;6484354]It’s almost like their main concern was protecting tax cuts for the wealthy and the rest was just political theater.[/QUOTE]
With these far right goon squad members and tea partiers, It's never about ideology, it's always about whatever benefits them directly. They cloak it in the far right memes and rhetoric that their base uses, but they don't give a hoot for any of them, unless they have enough dollars to line pockets (and other places).
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The most frustrating thing for me is that, there are so many problems (and problem makers) these days, but so little is being done about it//them.
Clarence Thomas is still on the Supreme Court, Ron DeSantis is still turning Florida into a dictatorship (and I got word that people are actually still moving down there), Trump is still getting media attention but not enough DOJ attention, and so on.
Other countries must be in disbelief at how irrationally tolerant we are of troublemakers and how incredibly slow we are in solving even the most basic social and political problems.
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Many politicians, and especially conservative ones, are basically prostitutes only without the class, dignity, decency, or morals of most in that oldest profession.
Many politicians, and especially conservative ones, are basically mobsters only...no, that's right, they're basically mobsters. Just mobsters with more power than their "criminal" counterparts.
Many politicians, and especially conservative ones, are basically trolls only without the allergy to sunlight and worse internet etiquette.
Many politicians, and especially conservative ones, are basically <blank> only <blank>
I've made a meme template, have at it internet.;)
For real though the top three lines are just me trying to describe the three cornerstones of the modern Republican party as I see it. First, they're for sale to the highest bidder, acting for the super wealthy and the super wealthy alone as long as the money comes in, aka prostitution. Second, they're very much running things like a mob run operation, from the hierarchy to the infighting for power to the shady dealing to the cover ups, it all feels like organized crime to me. And third, their trolling, bringing out anger and resentment and then playing the victim because their base eats it up.
Sure, the left is guilty of all this too, but to such a lesser extent any whataboutisms just ring hollow. The right has gone all in on this.
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[QUOTE=Adam Allen;6484349]Smugness being the most empathetic response, of course!:cool:
But hey, when you're right, you're right. Honestly, it rather pains me when others speak of empathy as if it is some sort of cudgel.
Okay, for our conservative friends: empathy is not some kind of box that gets checked off, and once you have it, it's all good. It's not like ... I mean, consider it less a noun, than a verb, kind of? It's less something you [I]have[/I] and more something you [I]do[/I] ... as for an example, I do practice empathy when interacting with and even thinking of my few random conservative friends/acquaintances. I even have really old friends who support Trump. [I]Having empathy for that is a continual process.[/I]
I don't know, I kind of can't think of a better example, because these folks support politicians and policies which ... well, ffs, as people have shown over and over on this thread, MAGA=white nationalism, and as both a POC and gender/sexual minority ... I mean yeah, I would [I]love[/I] to "insist" that they understand they're supporting a political party that wants me meek and disempowered at best, and literally dead at worst. I mean, I honestly have no idea how they're able to ignore all the violence; or to somehow buy that "Antifa" or Black Lives Matter are somehow greater threats.
But whatever, again just for the right-leaning: please, please consider the possibility that use of empathy is actually an unambiguous good. That shouldn't be controversial in the slightest. [I]How best to practice empathy[/I] is again a continual process, but we seriously have to at least start at a point of understanding that empathy is not ... like an evil philosophy or something?[/QUOTE] I agree with you that having and practicing empathy is good, but that using it as some kind of cudgel is bad.
[QUOTE=thwhtGuardian;6484333]Many people have linked to why Ron Desantis is a terrible choice, but hey, here's another [URL="https://www.glaad.org/gap/ron-desantis"]link[/URL]. But really, it's all common knowledge at this point. You cannot be a moderate but support politicians who choose to disenfranchise the gay and minority communities. It's as simple as that, if someone enacts a law that is discriminatory towards the gay and minority communicates that should an absolutely unelectable candidate for anyone claiming to be a moderate Republican...and if it isn't then that person isn't really moderate.
And President Trump was nowhere near the center. Again, no one who disparages the gay or minority communities can be center, once you do that you are irrevocably to the right. And if you're saying that those kind of policies and comments are just"generic Republican" then that's [B]VERY[/B] telling.[/QUOTE] I'm looking for the worse things he's done.
The main responses I'm getting tend to combine a lot of stuff, some of which isn't too bad, but I'm looking for quality (or lack thereof) rather than quantity.
[QUOTE=aja_christopher;6484128]That you can make this statement while supporting a Republican party that does exactly that to LGBT citizens is -- par for course in this discussion.
People are currently being persecuted and killed by extremists as a result of right-wing rhetoric that dehumanizes "minorities" as less than others.
[video=youtube;FN6BUtBTKt0]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FN6BUtBTKt0[/video]
Republicans aren't being "dehumanized" -- they are being called out for their behaviors and their policies with facts and evidence.
No one is obligated to "be nice" when pointing out the truth about Republican behaviors that are leading to discrimination against and the death of American citizens.
It is not "both sides" engaging in this kind of discriminatory and violent behavior -- it is clearly primarily a right wing issue.[/QUOTE] We should treat the other side the way we'd like them to treat us and the most sensitive people on our side. The belief that you're right doesn't mean it's a bad thing to be nice or kind to the people you disagree with.
[QUOTE=Vakanai;6484094]No, not at all. Our posts might have commentary and venting, but the links and articles provided are facts not venting. You could ignore what we say about the articles without ignoring the articles. My venting over them does not invalidate the facts - he has passed these laws targeting the LGBTQ community, he has passed legislation to stifle the press from being able to investigate him and report on him, he has brought in cops with disturbing histories and criminal records of their own, he has said he intends to pardon some of the Jan 6 traitors, he has changed the law to remain in power while going out to campaign as president. These are all inarguable examples of where he as a politician has crossed the line into extremism. We're not talking about things that are vague, these are all the specifics.[/QUOTE] I appreciate the response here.
I wonder how much people really mind that the legislature changed the law to let him run for President just as many sitting Governors have done. Legislatures have the power to change the law, they've done it before in Florida (to make it possible for Charlie Crist to be consdiered for Vice President.) Legislatures in other states make similar changes, including Massachusetts Democrats making it so a Republican Governor couldn't select the replacement of a Senator unable to complete his term, when Kerry ran for President.
This was an article on stifling reporting. The specifics were exaggerated.
[url]https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/florida-republican-wants-any-blogger-writing-about-ron-desantis-to-register-with-the-state/ar-AA189xDC?ocid=msedgntp&cvid=a11af565b5014b0c9a7522dbfdc69164&ei=8[/url]
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I saw the GOP presser on the deal for the debt ceiling. Sounds like there are quite a few spending cuts and work requirements in there. Unless I heard wrong.
My question is the GOP are happy about it. But what are the chances the Dems in the Senate vote it through.