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

[The no face guy]

There's creating a tangent during a debate, and then there's just starting a whole different book.

Good lord, this one might as well be a new J.K. Rowling novel that it's so transphobic. Please stop.

I shall, conversation over.

It's not a political issue for me, it is a scientific one, any claim (particularly political) must be backed up by empirical science, otherwise we get the outcome of the video above.

[Frobisher]

LOL at empirical science meaning "watching one video". No wonder so many people buy into crap like QAnon.

[The no face guy]

Trans fighting women in MMA has to be the saddest joke i have the misfortune to ever hear about.

That's just a dude beating up women. Simple as that.

It is the consequence of ignoring science, and empirical fact.

Transgender men to women however are not men, we know this from empirical evidence provided by MRI brain scans. (Their neuropathways operate similar to women)

However they are not the biological equivalent of women either, science clearly shows they have retain male biological advantages in muscle mass, reflexes ect.

Whether your are on the left or the right, science and factual evidence must become before politics at all time. Those who cannot do this are political fanatics.

[Steel Inquisitor]

I'm perfectly fine with Rowling being dragged for her horrible TERF views.

[Tendrin]

I'm perfectly fine with Rowling being dragged for her horrible TERF views.

Rowling's done more harm to trans women as a whole than most anyone I can think of.

[worstblogever]

I'm perfectly fine with Rowling being dragged for her horrible TERF views.

I am proud to have somehow developed a consensus on something, at least.

[worstblogever]

It was on this day in both 2014, as well as 2015, that we published our original "Crazy/Stupid Republican of the Day" profile of South Dakota State Senator Phil Jensen, a man who drew national headlines back in March of 2013 for producing legislation that would allow businesses to discriminate against whoever they want, Civil Rights Act be damned. Jensen actually tried claiming that if a bakery owned by the KKK tried discriminating against an African American, that the matter would take care of itself, because customers would be too offended to patronize such a place. This logic, of course then fails to understand everything about the Jim Crow era South. Anyway, South Dakota Republicans threw Jensen under the bus for his remarks, but have never said anything about other extreme legislation he's produced or supported, including drug testing welfare recipients, an unnecessary ban on Sharia Law in the United States, and an attempt to criminalize abortions as "attacks on a fetus". More recently, he has become obsessed with transgendered citizens, sponsoring as many transphobic bills as he can to limit their access to public bathrooms as well as high school locker rooms, while also co-sponsoring a "religious freedom" bill to try to make it legal to discriminate against the LGBT community. Believe it or not, Phil Jensen is enough of a crazy ***hole that we accidentally profiled him twice within a year, on May 15th.
https://republicinsanity.tumblr.com/...en-2017-update



Jerry Sonnenberg

It was in 2016, 2017, 2018, as well as in 2019, that “Crazy/Stupid Republican of the Day” profiled Jerry Sonnenberg, a member of the Colorado State Senate, representing District 1, in what is most of rural eastern Colorado. Sonnenberg was a member of the Colorado House of Representatives for eight years from 2007-2015, and when he was term-limited in 2014, he successfully got himself elected to the upper chamber. Sonnenberg drew some attention back in 2011, when he had a meltdown and began screaming profanities at a medical marijuana advocate at the state capitol, and literally shredded up the written amendment that legislators had been working on because he was outraged that someone had dared to film him while he was negotiating with lobbyists (which was their right). Sonnenberg then claimed the cameraman had spit on a lobbyist during their exchange with the cameraman (which was false, because DUH, they filmed their exchange). Through the years, Jerry Sonnenberg has developed a reputation as being staunchly anti-gay rights, and perhaps the best measuring stick to determine that would be that he has voted against bans on gay conversion therapy on minors when Colorado Democrats have attempted to do away with the ridiculous practice back in April of 2015. Sonnenberg is an anti-abortion radical as well, co-sponsoring a bill to attempt to redefine what a "person" is in the legal definition of assault and murder so that it included "fetus" as a person. Y'know, to just outlaw all abortions as "murder", because that's constitutional. Mind you, he's so "pro-life" that he voted against Colorado's attempts to repeal the death penalty in 2009. Sonnenberg even voted against a bill to set regulations in youth corrections facilities, because he’s apparently comfortable with abusive conditions being placed on minors in custody. He also co-sponsored legislation while in the Colorado House of Representatives to attempt to nullify the Affordable Care Act back in 2012, but hands down, perhaps the most disgusting moment from Jerry Sonnenberg came in January of 2016, not long after President Obama announced several executive orders on gun control, after seeing Republicans in the Senate block all gun control legislation since the Newtown Massacre. Reflecting on several mass shootings, the president thought of the victims, and became emotional, with a tear running down his face. Sonnenberg thought it was a great time to be a partisan troll, so he got on social media to share a picture of a gun being lubricated with "Obama tears".

Jerry Sonnenberg added himself to the long, long list of Republicans who deny climate change, arguing that people who want to reduce carbon emissions would “kill all the trees and plants”:

”So, you know, when we talk about carbon dioxide and those type of things, actually, those are important to agriculture and to the balance of nature. Trees and plants use carbon dioxide to create oxygen. It’s part of their process. And it’s nature’s way to make things work. So I guess my argument to those enviros that want less carbon is, ‘Here, you want to kill all the trees and plants.’”

While the Colorado State legislature has come under the control of Democrats, the 2018 Blue Wave was far from enough to sweep Jerry Sonnenberg out of office in District 1, as he was re-elected with 79% of the vote in that conservative bastion in the northeastern corner of the state.

Sonnenberg has had several votes we find problematic over the past year:

• April 17tth, 2019: Sonnenberg votes against HB 1039, a bill aimed at allowing transgender Coloradans to change the gender listed on their driver’s licenses.
• April 24th, 2019: Jerry Sonnenberg votes against SB 235, a bill aimed at expanding automatic voter registration.
• April 29th, 2019: Sonnenberg votes against SB 7, which would establish new, better standards for sexual misconduct at higher education institutions.
• April 30th, 2019: Jerry Sonnenberg votes against SB 85, the Equal Pay for Equal Work Act.
• May 2nd, 2019: Sonnenberg votes against HB 1210, an effort to raise the minimum wage in Colorado.
• January 31st, 2020: Sonnenberg votes against the repeal of the death penalty in Colorado.

Sonnenberg continues to be a complete obstructionist, if he bothers to show up to vote at all. He is term-limited in 2022, a date that cannot come fast enough.

[Panfoot]

Well if there is one good thing that's come of Rowling's crap is that any discussion of her immediately outs the other bigots.

[The no face guy]

Well if there is one good thing that's come of Rowling's crap is that any discussion of her immediately outs the other bigots.

Or political extremists and fanatics who put politics ahead of scientific empirical evidence.

The difference between the center left and far left, is the former does not try to deny reality because it doesn't jive with their political sentiments, nor try to demonize people who speak up for science when its attacked by politics.

As for Rowling, I know nothing other than her one off comment on twitter, if she's done more since then than it's worth looking into

[numberthirty]

It is the consequence of ignoring science, and empirical fact.

Transgender men to women however are not men, we know this from empirical evidence provided by MRI brain scans. (Their neuropathways operate similar to women)

However they are not the biological equivalent of women either, science clearly shows they have retain male biological advantages in muscle mass, reflexes ect.

Whether your are on the left or the right, science and factual evidence must become before politics at all time. Those who cannot do this are political fanatics.

If we were looking at the actual factual evidence though?

Wouldn't the overall plight of trans folks be the issue that absolutely dwarfs the very small amount of legitimate real estate that trans women in sports actually amounts to?

Kind of feels like the actual political fanatic would be the person intent on making that very small aspect of things the center of the discussion at the expense of how trans folks are treated in the world we are going through each day.

[Tendrin]

If we were looking at the actual factual evidence though?

Wouldn't the overall plight of trans folks be the issue that absolutely dwarfs the very small amount of legitimate real estate that trans women in sports actually amounts to?

Kind of feels like the actual political fanatic would be the person intent on making that very small aspect of things the center of the discussion at the expense of how trans folks are treated in the world we are going through each day.

I mean, there is this too. This is what I meant when I said that the trans sports issue was a wedge to use more broadly against trans people... leaving aside that the so-called 'empirical facts' he claims simply seem tobe his assumptions based off a reaction to an MMA matchup.

[numberthirty]

I mean, there is this too. This is what I meant when I said that the trans sports issue was a wedge to use more broadly against trans people... leaving aside that the so-called 'empirical facts' he claims simply seem tobe his assumptions based off a reaction to an MMA matchup.

Look, I don't really like feeling like I am taking the ruler to someone's knuckles when it comes to this.

That said, it's kind of hard to ignore that we are living in a world where trans folks can just be treated terribly but the focus should be on their participation in one corner of sports.

[Mister Mets]

What is there to cannibalize from a body that's already been stripped to the bone? Who is this magical individual so delicious yet so coy that they can't be tempted to join a progressive platform?

If someone is whinging about the fact that reason X is why they aren't joining up with more left-leaning ideology then they were never going to do it in the first place. Being "centrist" in America is more about feeling morally superior over these rubes who argue politics than anything else.

To add I'm not pointing at you specifically with this because your like political ideology seems quite inlined with centrists views, but I've seen what I've described too many times to count.



Depends on where it is I suppose and if you're concerned about being killed for your opinion, but a liberal is certainly more open to sharing their political ideology because they don't really have anything to hide as far as being looked at like a fool supporting bigotry and the like, which I feel is why a right-leaning person is way keener on keeping their thoughts hidden, which is why you get replies like "I'm neither left nor right." "Politics are dumb anyway let's change the subject." Because they know they don't have a leg to stand on. Especially when it comes to American politics and supporting "your" party.

As for the bolded part. Of course, they do that's not even up for debate. My point was that in a normal world a Republican should be a conservative with what is now just the usual dogma being spouted by the Republicans in power should be things you'd only hear in a Proud Boys meeting or some sort of militia bunker out in the Appalachians. The fact that there hasn't been some sort of political coup from inside the Republican party to oust that insanity tells me far more than anything else on what they wish the political narrative to be in America moving forward.

Keep in mind Trump came within one point in a few key swing states of winning the White House, so there may be less support for your political narrative about America moving forward than you think.

I suppose you could argue that liberals in the United States are less willing to tolerate differences than conservatives, which would make people less willing to voice opinions.

I do suspect that one factor is the way people sort politically, so that many progressives will interact rarely with people who disagree with them politically. This may occur less often with conservatives, as there are less areas that are as conservative as Berkley is liberal.

I do think there are environments where liberals are less open to sharing their political ideology because they don't want arguments about open borders, baby killing, Milwaukee crime increases, or teachers union decisions that don't seem to be about the children, when everyone surrounding them is going to be against them.

[The no face guy]

If we were looking at the actual factual evidence though?

Wouldn't the overall plight of trans folks be the issue that absolutely dwarfs the very small amount of legitimate real estate that trans women in sports actually amounts to?

Kind of feels like the actual political fanatic would be the person intent on making that very small aspect of things the center of the discussion at the expense of how trans folks are treated in the world we are going through each day.

Ah, but I fully support transgender rights, except when it enters into science denial, that's when you become a political extremist.

When you deny that biological sex has no affect on gender than you are a political extremist, because all the broad scientific evidence states otherwise.

At that stage, you are no better than the pro Trump anti vaccier Qanon supporters who also deny empirical science.

[Tendrin]

Ah, but I fully support transgender rights, except when it enters into science denial, that's when you become a political extremist.

When you deny that biological sex has no affect on gender than you are a political extremist, because all the broad scientific evidence states otherwise.

At that stage, you are no better than the pro Trump anti vaccier Qanon supporters who also deny empirical science.

Saying 'empirical science' a lot does not make something empirical.