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

[Mister Mets]

I really like how Biden ended his speech. "For God's sake, this man cannot remain in power."

[JackDaw]

Who knows, we might soon see a new, contagious type of heart attacks spreading in Russia.

Between that and Ukraine snipers specifically targeting senior Russian officers, it looks like part of Putin’s master plan is to save money on paying senior officer pensions.

[Mister Mets]

Tell me, do you understand the difference between 'What' and 'Who'?

I do. Having children can count as a what that people may meaningful at 33 in a way they didn't at 13.

It's very clear...because treating transpeople as less than people is wrong. And those concerns are total non issues that I and others have explained to you dozens of times now.
I get it, you're a bigot and don't get it so at least it's in the open now so thanks for that.

You and a few others are mistaken about people you disagree with politically, and that's going to make it difficult to persuade people to join your side. I'm just picturing an activist going "We've been so clear that everyone who cares about these nonissues is a bigot. Why did we lose the Senate seats in Connecticut and Colorado?"

Here is the obvious issue...

If anything like you are saying is even remotely how it will play out?

The entire thing will right itself once an initial wave of folks have been able to do so, and it all goes into the ditch.

Which, to any meaningful degree, probably is not going to happen.

It's a fair point that we'll see if it goes into a ditch soon enough.

Though it's better to avoid making serious policy mistakes than to deal with the consequences after that.

Oh WBE-Eeeeeeee....



https://twitter.com/ashtonpittman/st...527875/photo/1

https://www.mississippifreepress.org...olitical-foes/

But, yeah. The conservatives are just scared kids might change their mind about 'fertility'.

God, I can't believe anyone here is actively credulous enough to buy that.

Why is it outrageous to think minors might change their mind about fertility?

The idiot in Mississippi is a state legislator best known for finishing third in a gubernatorial primary.

Should conservatives look at crazy progressive state legislators/ city council members to determine what Democrats truly believe as a whole?

Russian troops attack own commanding officer after suffering heavy losses



Russian troops reportedly attack commanding officer after heavy losses

Good.

@ Mets

You asked What position have I expressed that you believe no reasonable person should hold?

How about not supporting a party that is TransPhobic, HomoPhobic, Supports Treason, Supports cutting back womans rights.

You said people vote for the party they view as the lesser of two evils.

Anyone who at this point feels the GOP is the lesser of two evils needs to take a long look at their moral enter and how they got there.

I'm a registered Republican, but that does mean I have some ability to vote for better Republican candidates.

Who have I supported in a general election that you believe to be behind the pale?

What policy have I supported that you believe to be beyond the pale?

Yeah, there are only three ways a Supreme Court Justice is removed- death, retirement, or impeachment. According to Google:



As much as some of the Justices have been trying to defend the legitimacy of the Court recently, I can't see Roberts or the rest trying to force Thomas out. And Thomas strikes me as someone who would stay on the court and refuse to recuse himself in cases where his wife was politically active just to spite people.

But that brings up an interesting thought- say Thomas does decide to retire, be it because of his health, because Roberts talks him into it, or because the heat around his wife becomes too much. Would he try to wait it out until after the midterms, where Republicans stand a good chance of picking up a majority in the Senate, so that they could try and force another conservative justice to replace him? And if he does that, and Biden still picks a liberal judge to at least try and balance the court out again, will McConnell refuse to hold a hearing for them again? He already held a seat open for one year; I have no doubt he'd try to do it for two.

Or if he retires before the midterms and Biden gets to pick another one, do you think he can get another liberal judge confirmed?

To be clear, I don't think he'll retire. But I'm curious as to what everyone thinks.

What exactly has Clarence Thomas done to merit being pushed out, or being impeached?

And I am curious as to the "evil" platform of the Democratic Party. The actual Party, not an editorial from a fringe left writer. As opposed to the evil of sitting GOP politicians

In the context of American politics, "the lesser of two evils" generally refers to policies you disagree with. We're not choosing between Hitler and Stalin here.

[numberthirty]

...

It's a fair point that we'll see if it goes into a ditch soon enough.

Though it's better to avoid making serious policy mistakes than to deal with the consequences after that.

...

No one that(Well, that I have seen...) has anything like a credible case for that this will even be a mistake.

Never mind a serious one.

[thwhtGuardian]

I do. Having children can count as a what that people may meaningful at 33 in a way they didn't at 13.

You and a few others are mistaken about people you disagree with politically, and that's going to make it difficult to persuade people to join your side. I'm just picturing an activist going "We've been so clear that everyone who cares about these nonissues is a bigot. Why did we lose the Senate seats in Connecticut and Colorado?"

It's a fair point that we'll see if it goes into a ditch soon enough.

Though it's better to avoid making serious policy mistakes than to deal with the consequences after that.

Why is it outrageous to think minors might change their mind about fertility?

The idiot in Mississippi is a state legislator best known for finishing third in a gubernatorial primary.

Should conservatives look at crazy progressive state legislators/ city council members to determine what Democrats truly believe as a whole?

Good.

I'm a registered Republican, but that does mean I have some ability to vote for better Republican candidates.

Who have I supported in a general election that you believe to be behind the pale?

What policy have I supported that you believe to be beyond the pale?

What exactly has Clarence Thomas done to merit being pushed out, or being impeached?



In the context of American politics, "the lesser of two evils" generally refers to policies you disagree with. We're not choosing between Hitler and Stalin here.

Bigots don't change and you can't make policies that appease them.

It's outrageous because again, fertility isn't a huge issue. In the off chance that the therapy does cause fertility issues its fairly standard practice to have patients freeze sperm or eggs for later use if they so choose at a latter date. It was right there as clear as day in the link to the Mayo clinic's description of standard practices regarding transitions I posted earlier.

But I get it, if you acknowledge that the reasons you give for denying people rights are meritless you're only left with bigotry as your reason for opposing equal rights for the trans-community and you're smart enough to know that's not a great look.

[Catlady in training]

My concern is that Ukraine will blame NATO, as well as Russia, for the war. Not passing judgment on NATO, but if Ukraine backs away from forging ties with the west, that could leave the country vulnerable to future threats.

That could depend on how long this goes on. Right now, Ukraine wants all the ties with the west they can have, the problem is the opposite, some NATO countries don't want them in fear of provoking Russia - Zelensky already said that they will probably have to accept not joining NATO, if they are not wanted. Same can still happen with EU. Some countries (*cough* Germany, Hungary) are apparently opposed to it, which is a real shame. So if the war goes on and Ukraine keeps loosing people while the rest of the world just watches, I don't see how anyone could blame them for feeling betrayed by the west.

[JackDaw]

That could depend on how long this goes on. Right now, Ukraine wants all the ties with the west they can have, the problem is the opposite, some NATO countries don't want them in fear of provoking Russia - Zelensky already said that they will probably have to accept not joining NATO, if they are not wanted. Same can still happen with EU. Some countries (*cough* Germany, Hungary) are apparently opposed to it, which is a real shame. So if the war goes on and Ukraine keeps loosing people while the rest of the world just watches, I don't see how anyone could blame them for feeling betrayed by the west.

The rest of the world is not just watching.

Apart from the sanctions which have patently hurt Russia, several Western countries have been supplying arms to Ukraine. And Poland has been amazing in the welcome it has given to refugees.

My own guess is that Russia has been surprised by the extent of the actions, given how feeble past responses have been to various Russian actions.

Of course, you could say it’s not enough, but it’s obviously factually wrong to say “nothing”. And it’s obvious that it’s an incredibly hard balancing act for US/ EU/ etc to know what to do…if a no fly zone had been imposed, for example the Russian escalation might have been horrifying.

I really, really don’t envy the senior Western politicians having to deal with this….it’s really far from obvious what the best course of action is.

[Iron Maiden]

Jeff Fortenberry: The US lawmaker toppled by a Nigerian billionaire

That Nigerian billionaire must have made his money from all of those scam emails that would should up in your inbox.

[Jack Dracula]

My concern is that Ukraine will blame NATO, as well as Russia, for the war. Not passing judgment on NATO, but if Ukraine backs away from forging ties with the west, that could leave the country vulnerable to future threats.

The W Bush administration had urged NATO to accept Ukraine as member back in the 00’s but they balked for fear of upsetting Putin.

[Tami]

Understanding the weapons that have drawn the world’s attention since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine

Some Western experts worry that Moscow, amid pressure to escalate in the face of mounting losses, could go even further, using chemical weapons or even tactical nuclear weapons.

But Ukraine has weapons, too, many of which its Western allies have supplied. Antitank weapons, including the Javelin missile sent by the United States, have become a symbol of Ukrainian resistance. Not only have drones made by Turkey hit Russian targets but footage of the strikes has become a win on the social media battlefield.

Here are some of the weapons that are in use, or that experts fear could have a role in the conflict.

[Robotman]

Russian commander deliberately killed by his own demoralised troops, Western officials claim

[Malvolio]

That Nigerian billionaire must have made his money from all of those scam emails that would should up in your inbox.

I had a similar notion. I was wondering if that Nigerian billionaire also happened to be a Prince.

[The Cool Thatguy]

Russian commander deliberately killed by his own demoralised troops, Western officials claim

"When the officers are leading from the front, look for an attack from the rear."

[WestPhillyPunisher]

Russian commander deliberately killed by his own demoralised troops, Western officials claim

Damndest thing I’ve ever heard. My history is faulty, was it THIS bad for Russia during their war in Afghanistan?

[skyvolt2000]

https://www.mediaite.com/opinion/wha...orks-collapse/

When the Black News Channel (BNC) launched in February 2020, it was touted as a necessary and refreshing approach to cable news, “by black people, for black people.”

Within hours, the Los Angeles Times reported that the network was filing for bankruptcy and shutting down. Its 230 staffers no longer have a job.

To understand how BNC came to fall, it’s worth exploring the unusual story behind the company’s founding. BNC was started by J.C. Watts, a Black politician who served as a Republican congressman for Oklahoma. Watts co-founded the network with Bob Brillante, a veteran TV executive, who is White. A majority share is owned by Shahid Khan, a Pakistani entrepreneur who also owns the All-Elite Wrestling (AEW) league and the NFL’s Jacksonville Jaguars.

Yet, BNC was tied with Comedy.tv for second-to-last place in ratings amongst all cable networks tracked by Nielsen during the year of 2021, averaging just 4,000 viewers. For comparison: BET averaged 365,000 viewers last year, 92 times BNC’s viewership. TV One averaged 109,000 (both networks boast much less news or daily original content than BNC). There is an audience out there for news and Black-centric content, but BNC never won it over.

Despite its roster of mostly liberal hosts, the network drew most attention for giving airtime to controversial conservatives, like radio host and former California gubernatorial candidate Larry Elder, Trump sycophant Ben Carson, and activist CJ Pearson. BNC’s airwaves have also featured Bill Cosby and his spokespersons, accused grifters Umar Johnson and Shaun King, and anti-social justice activists such as Christopher Rufo, allowing them to launder their reputations and promote beliefs or actions that critics argue harm Black people. Such commentary made the network appealing to the Republican Party, which made a five-figure ad buy in February.