All purpose news and politics thread part VI: This Is Not The Time For Posing

[Gray Lensman]

He won't be required to pay any where near that amount.

I'm more interested in the legal jeapordy he could finally bein. Guys like Alex Jones have been immune to consequences for far too long.

The cap in Texas is 750k, plus twice the economic damages. Which in this case are zero - at least as defined by Texas law.

[CSTowle]

"On the border, they've expanded slowly since then and are continuing to" - what "border"? Or what "borders"? Let's be more precise in what we're talking about, please, what border(s)? Are you talking about borders or about settlements?

"but both sides don't get equal condemnation" - they don't? At least here in Europe it's mostly (not always) Israel getting criticized and the Palestinians getting defended - I can send you news articles from reputed newspapers. I can understand that that might be different in the US?

"On Arab minority status, fine to freeze them out" - what do you mean 'freeze them out'? I mentioned that it's written in Law in Israel that Arab Israelis have the same rights as Israeli Jews, this is a fact (are you denying this?). The only major difference is having to serve in the IDF, which brings about many economic/ social advantages, but Arab Jews can choose to serve or not to serve (most don't because of obvious stigma).
And I didn't say that they're a democracy just because they have elections (but also because they have elections, of course) - I sent you data showing that they have one of the highest Human Development Indexes in the world, far above that of any Arab nation. There are various other ways to demonstrate that Israel is a democracy, or at least far more democratic than Arab nations.

According to democracymatrix.org, Israel are even ranked above the US in quality of democracy (and above any/all Arab country):
https://www.democracymatrix.com/ranking

I see that you disregarded all the other points. You're presenting very little substance in your arguments, just some very general notions/ soundbytes of "apartheid" and "land stealing" without explaining what that means, I have a feeling you're not that well versed in Israel/ Palestine, which is quite common when people talk about this topic.

On the borders and land theft, they're one and the same. When you take land your borders expand. This isn't complicated. Are you still denying the land theft?

On Palestinian criticism vs criticism of Israel, a few things. First, when they join groups or commit terrorist acts on their own it's universally condemned in the West. It's when Israel does the equivalent that the conversation becomes less one-sided. And as I mentioned in a previous post most of the civilized world (including Europe) has strong and deserved condemnation of Israel's actions. It's my own country that blocks consequences for them and silences debate.

If it needs to be said to avoid pedantic "well, ackchyually" posts I'm speaking on an American based board in a political discussion board that's largely dominated by American politics (though we always welcome non-Americans and enjoy getting outside perspectives and stories we might miss in mainstream US media).

On their status as a democracy and not the Jewish homeland you said it was (or ethno-theocracy, as I labeled it) pointing out that they're doing better than Saudi Arabia or have more resources and thus a higher standard of living in general doesn't make them a democracy. And continued denial of the second-class status of non-Jewish/Hebrew citizens is akin to doing the same for black Americans or the Native population here. It serves a political purpose, but as you said "doesn't align with reality".

On being naive or uninformed, I'm not surprised that you're resorting to insults to dismiss. It's sad but not surprising to see someone who complains about being subject to this tactic on the board do the same. You've continually misrepresented or ignored my arguments, denied basic realities, and continued to link any disagreement with at best ignorance of the topic and at worst a clear example of antisemitism. Again, not my first rodeo on this discussion. Arguing in good faith and without bias on this topic is as rare a thing as you'll find in any discussion on this board (or elsewhere).

Had I criticized Saudi Arabia, or Russia, or even France or the US I would not get reflexive pushback (at least on this board) for the simple audacity of doing so. I'd get arguments where others disagreed on specifics, but I wouldn't be reflexively attacked just for the act of doing it. That's the double standard, that's what enables them to do what they do (and ultimately is as bad for them as it is for everyone else involved), that's why so many of their own citizens protest their government and military's actions, and that's why it's not a "far left" thing to do it (even in this country) and why it needs to be a conversation we have instead of a topic we won't touch with a 10-foot pole.

You don't seem to make a post without using the words "fascist" or "fascism", pretty good scaremongering right there

I would say that a promise of not certifying a legal result if your guy does not win, That lawmakers and candidates promising to pass laws that would let them replace the winner of an election with their guy is pretty close to fascism.

Dictatorial power - The people voted for who they want but it wasnt who we say it should be so we refuse to certify that result and even send electors to vote for our guy.

Banning the Opposition - We will let you run. But if you win too bad we wont recognize it nor let you take your office.

Removing personal liberties - We will let the people have the right to vote. We will just ignore it if it doesnt go our way.

Establishing a rigid social hierarchy - We are going to openly talk about being the party of Christian values and Christian beliefs and pass laws based on that outlook.

It looks to me that they check all of the boxes. because these are things openly talked about and promised by current law makers and candidates.

Pretty simple. They're not dog-whistling anymore, or trying to hide it. They're openly building toward it.

All this talk about a potential Civil War has gotten me thinking.

While I pray that it doesn't happen, I'd be lying if I said I hadn't considered that we were heading in that direction. But the more I think about it, the more I question just how effective a new Confederacy would be?

In the last civil war, both sides were essentially equal, with the Union maybe being better equipped. But if we have a new civil war- unless there are massive defections from the military, I'd say those fighting to keep the country united would have a serious tactical advantage over a new Confederacy. The Union would have overwhelming air and sea power at its disposal, which could make quick work of the militias that rise up against the government.

Of course, I do realize that overwhelming force doesn't always equal victory- I just have to look at Vietnam or Afghanistan to prove that. But I can't see there being enough people in this country that want to break away that could form that kind of long-term insurgency. And the ones that do want to do that aren't exactly the cream of the crop.

Anyways, that's just my two cents. What do you all think?

Most of those who fantasize about this scenario don't think much beyond wanting to take up arms against the hated bogeyman of Government (and everyone else who disagrees with them or threatens their worldview). It likely wouldn't result in a split country (as Mets pointed out), but if the military split and the government collapsed we'd likely break off into several small countries and it would be awful for just about everyone (except our enemies in the world, or those exploited by us for resources).

[worstblogever]

Got an alert that Alex Jones has been ordered to pay $45 million to Sandy Hook parents. To quote Montgomery Burns….EXCELLENT!

Looking more forward to him being sentenced for that perjury he committed through the whole trial.

[worstblogever]

I’m not going to waste time trying to explain things about Klownish Krysten to Mets because chances are it’ll go in one ear and out the other. He damn well knows what Sinema is, if he wants to plead ignorance, that’s his bag.

Let's just sum it all up that her fashion choices are a sideshow that prove she's full of it.

Like how she asked to be sworn in on a book copy of the Constitution and not the Bible in a cocktail dress because she's a "dedicated atheist" when she's playing to the left... and then when she's out there blocking the filibuster, she's wearing a crucifix necklace.

Like, one of those times, she was acting out for show. Anyone who wants to defend her, explain that one away.

[worstblogever]

In 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, as swell as 2021, “Fanatical Republican Extremist of the Day” published profiles of the U.S. House Representative from Alaska’s “At Large” Congressional District, Don Young whose photo above, we still assure you is not doctored in any way (he’s protesting the Obama administration calling for harnessing energy from wind turbines). Don Young is a twenty-two term Congressman, and we’ll save you the trouble of doing the math… he’s held office since 1973, meaning he was around during Watergate, and was actually congratulated on being elected to office at the White House by Richard Nixon. Our first take on Rep. Young address his protestations of the use of green technologies to harness wind power (yes, he put that hat on willingly). This is a man who has blurted out words like “buttf***ing” in front of school children while paying them a visit (to say nothing of when he uses racial slurs like "w*tback" and then defends it), and he remains, to this day, the only member of Congress to have ever brandished an oosik on the floor of the House or Senate (that’s not a metaphor, he wielded a walrus penis bone at the head of U.S. Fish and Wildlife Services) and. Young also assaulted a Congressional aide informed him he was trying to access a door where admittance was not allowed, and Young grabbed him by the wrist and twisted until he was allowed to pass... while on camera. Oh, and in 2019, he stooped to shoving a female reporter. His tendency towards threats and violence was not limited to aides and reporters, though, as former Speaker John Boehner had an anecdote in his memoir about Don Young putting a knife to his throat in the Speaker's office to make demands on a bill being amended. He once took to the floor of the House when and complained about how gray wolves are a protected species, and then threw out the idea that the wolves should be turned loose on America's homeless population as a way to reduce their number. In our second look at Don Young in 2015, we had to talk about how yet again he embarrassed himself while visiting a public school, where during a 45 minute question and answer session, when he as asked about what could be done to reduce suicide rates, he gave an answer that blamed it on the family and friends of the victims. In our 2016 update, we noted that Don Young had another brilliant idea while talking about the potential legalization of marijuana... instead we could lower the number of people being incarcerated for marijuana by suggesting capital punishment should be applied to all drug dealers. (That’s… a lot of executions, at least 90,000 in federal prison alone).

Don Young always was one of the worst Congressman when it comes to the environment, throwing a tantrum and arguing that not building a road through the middle of the Arctic Wildlife Refuge was “killing people”, which not only makes zero sense, but then again, it’s against the advice of the Dept. of U.S. Fish and Wildlife Services, his old nemesis (at least he didn’t wield a walrus dong at them this time).
In February of 2018, he made the bizarre and insensitive argument about gun control that the Holocaust would not have been as bad if Jews had just been packing heat to defend themselves:

‘How many Jews were put into the ovens because they were unarmed?”

As a result of Don Young reversing his supposed position on the House GOP’s attempt at repealing the Affordable Care Act because it would cause health insurance premiums to skyrocket, he reversed course and voted for it anyway. This did not go unnoticed back in Alaska, where a protest was staged outside his office in Anchorage.

During the pandemic, Rep. Young was one of many Republicans who had, shall we say… insensitive remarks regarding coronavirus, making light of the tens of thousands of deaths from Covid-19 by referring to the disease as “the beer virus” at the time of his remarks while doing in-person campaign events. And yet… Don Young was re-elected yet again, this time at the age of 87 with only 53% of the vote and still underperforming the +12 lean that his district is supposed to have, by far.

Don Young’s career stretched 49 years, and while he had planned on making it to fifty or more, filing to run for re-election in 2022, he passed away in March of 2022.

Let us hope whoever Alaska sends to the Capitol next is at least going to clear the low bar he set for how a Congressman should act, what with allegedly pulling knives, assaulting pages on video, making numerous racist statements, and waving parts of a walrus’ genitalia around.

Hell of a legacy, that.

[GindyPosts]

And it's now law. Indiana officially has restricted most abortions and, naturally, Holcomb and the rest ignored all phone calls and emails to the contrary by shutting them off.

God, we're going to suffer greatly from ideological bullshit.

[Jack Dracula]

Technically you should be thinking of someplace from Italy.
The word fascism is derived from the Latin fasces, which was (I believe) an ancient Etruscan symbol of power co-opted by the Romans. It's also featured in some early American artwork/seals, as the founding fathers were enamored of the Roman Republic.

And, since history repeats itself the post-fascist party the Brothers of Italy is now gaining in popularity and may join the next Italian government.

[shooshoomanjoe]

All this talk about a potential Civil War has gotten me thinking.

While I pray that it doesn't happen, I'd be lying if I said I hadn't considered that we were heading in that direction. But the more I think about it, the more I question just how effective a new Confederacy would be?

In the last civil war, both sides were essentially equal, with the Union maybe being better equipped. But if we have a new civil war- unless there are massive defections from the military, I'd say those fighting to keep the country united would have a serious tactical advantage over a new Confederacy. The Union would have overwhelming air and sea power at its disposal, which could make quick work of the militias that rise up against the government.

Of course, I do realize that overwhelming force doesn't always equal victory- I just have to look at Vietnam or Afghanistan to prove that. But I can't see there being enough people in this country that want to break away that could form that kind of long-term insurgency. And the ones that do want to do that aren't exactly the cream of the crop.

Anyways, that's just my two cents. What do you all think?

It's not a civil war they are predicting, it's a race war. I think it goes as far back as Charles Manson's helter skelter days but I don't see it happening.

[Dalak]

It's not a civil war they are predicting, it's a race war. I think it goes as far back as Charles Manson's helter skelter days but I don't see it happening.

Stick to your reefers, no race war was even hinted at here.

[shooshoomanjoe]

Stick to your reefers, no race war was even hinted at here.

I'd rather not have of psychosis.

[Tendrin]

I'd rather not have of psychosis.

If you're not young, don't have a history of schizohprenia in your family, and don't smoke a ton of high potency THC every day, you are extraordinarily unlikely to develop any form of psychosis from casual marijuana use, let alone a long lasting or permanent affliction.

[Malvolio]

In 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, as swell as 2021, “Fanatical Republican Extremist of the Day” published profiles of the U.S. House Representative from Alaska’s “At Large” Congressional District, Don Young whose photo above, we still assure you is not doctored in any way (he’s protesting the Obama administration calling for harnessing energy from wind turbines). Don Young is a twenty-two term Congressman, and we’ll save you the trouble of doing the math… he’s held office since 1973, meaning he was around during Watergate, and was actually congratulated on being elected to office at the White House by Richard Nixon. Our first take on Rep. Young address his protestations of the use of green technologies to harness wind power (yes, he put that hat on willingly). This is a man who has blurted out words like “buttf***ing” in front of school children while paying them a visit (to say nothing of when he uses racial slurs like "w*tback" and then defends it), and he remains, to this day, the only member of Congress to have ever brandished an oosik on the floor of the House or Senate (that’s not a metaphor, he wielded a walrus penis bone at the head of U.S. Fish and Wildlife Services) and. Young also assaulted a Congressional aide informed him he was trying to access a door where admittance was not allowed, and Young grabbed him by the wrist and twisted until he was allowed to pass... while on camera. Oh, and in 2019, he stooped to shoving a female reporter. His tendency towards threats and violence was not limited to aides and reporters, though, as former Speaker John Boehner had an anecdote in his memoir about Don Young putting a knife to his throat in the Speaker's office to make demands on a bill being amended. He once took to the floor of the House when and complained about how gray wolves are a protected species, and then threw out the idea that the wolves should be turned loose on America's homeless population as a way to reduce their number. In our second look at Don Young in 2015, we had to talk about how yet again he embarrassed himself while visiting a public school, where during a 45 minute question and answer session, when he as asked about what could be done to reduce suicide rates, he gave an answer that blamed it on the family and friends of the victims. In our 2016 update, we noted that Don Young had another brilliant idea while talking about the potential legalization of marijuana... instead we could lower the number of people being incarcerated for marijuana by suggesting capital punishment should be applied to all drug dealers. (That’s… a lot of executions, at least 90,000 in federal prison alone).

Don Young always was one of the worst Congressman when it comes to the environment, throwing a tantrum and arguing that not building a road through the middle of the Arctic Wildlife Refuge was “killing people”, which not only makes zero sense, but then again, it’s against the advice of the Dept. of U.S. Fish and Wildlife Services, his old nemesis (at least he didn’t wield a walrus dong at them this time).
In February of 2018, he made the bizarre and insensitive argument about gun control that the Holocaust would not have been as bad if Jews had just been packing heat to defend themselves:


As a result of Don Young reversing his supposed position on the House GOP’s attempt at repealing the Affordable Care Act because it would cause health insurance premiums to skyrocket, he reversed course and voted for it anyway. This did not go unnoticed back in Alaska, where a protest was staged outside his office in Anchorage.

During the pandemic, Rep. Young was one of many Republicans who had, shall we say… insensitive remarks regarding coronavirus, making light of the tens of thousands of deaths from Covid-19 by referring to the disease as “the beer virus” at the time of his remarks while doing in-person campaign events. And yet… Don Young was re-elected yet again, this time at the age of 87 with only 53% of the vote and still underperforming the +12 lean that his district is supposed to have, by far.

Don Young’s career stretched 49 years, and while he had planned on making it to fifty or more, filing to run for re-election in 2022, he passed away in March of 2022.

Let us hope whoever Alaska sends to the Capitol next is at least going to clear the low bar he set for how a Congressman should act, what with allegedly pulling knives, assaulting pages on video, making numerous racist statements, and waving parts of a walrus’ genitalia around.

Hell of a legacy, that.

Well, unfortunately, the front-runner to succeed Young is our old friend, Sarah "Hockey Mom" Palin.

[Malvolio]

He won't be required to pay any where near that amount.

I'm more interested in the legal jeapordy he could finally bein. Guys like Alex Jones have been immune to consequences for far too long.

Yeah, unfortunately, he will use the bankruptcy laws to keep from paying more than a small fraction of that amount.

[AnakinFlair]

Yeah, unfortunately, he will use the bankruptcy laws to keep from paying more than a small fraction of that amount.

His financials were included in that data dump his lawyers accidentally sent the defense. They could probably be used to show any bankruptcy he files is in bad faith.

[Gray Lensman]

If you're not young, don't have a history of schizohprenia in your family, and don't smoke a ton of high potency THC every day, you are extraordinarily unlikely to develop any form of psychosis from casual marijuana use, let alone a long lasting or permanent affliction.

I think he may have been making a Reefer Madness quip,