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

[Dalak]

Because I’ve been busy last couple of days and haven’t carefully read any of the longer posts, no other particular reason.

Who is this Joel who is a cold hearted bastard??

I actually started from the premise that a generous and kind hearted person might make some non woke and or non politically correct remarks, but still be obviously a good person.

Do you really not know somebody of that type??

Joel was a joke, as was Ellie. It might not have come across, but that's what I saw the first time I read it.

I'm fairly sure from the rest of the reply he's not saying anything like what you are implying.

Here's a way to settle this finally...

When this hypothetical person makes their 'mistake'...you point it out to them and ask them to do better in the future. If they apologize and make effort to change...its all good. If they start crying about 'wokeness', 'political correctness', 'you can't make jokes anymore', etc...then we're all perfectly justified in calling them out for being an asshat.

Yeah, that's pretty much what I said before it continued on.

[Dalak]

They've all lost their damned minds. The only "normal" (and that is being a bit generous) ones like Mitt Romney don't say boo about any of the nonsense going on in the GOP.

How does the saying go? "Power corrupts, absolute power corrupts absolutely."

They are on a power trip, blind to the potholes, warning signs, and dead ends ahead of them.

Talk about a monstrous abuse of power!

And just because one-to-a-few gets anything resembling punishment it doesn't excuse the rest for doing the same on a lesser scale, or those enabling such wide-spread tampering with any scale they can put a thumb on to benefit themselves.

There’s also, sadly, nothing new about Christianity, other religions, or even secular philosophies starting as altruistic and compassionate belief systems, and then being co-opted for generations by the elite as an endorsement of their behavior. The whole Divine Right of Kings was one of those things that both Protestants and Catholics ruthlessly clung to even when killing each other over which prayer book to read; Henry VIII of England and Louis XIV both made careers of despotism and debauchery that was flagrantly un-Christlike, but “justified” by their “holy” nature.

The American Evangelical Church (which includes white “political” Evangelicals, and the others who aren’t defined by white nationalism) has long had a fractious, feuding manner within itself towards the prosperity gospel members of the demographic… but one that it’s notable hasn’t slowed down political Evangelical support of Trump’s “spiritual advisors” coming from that brand.

Yeah, I think you got to a big part of it. If the rich are blessed by God then what they do is his will, no matter who they hurt or how immoral their actions.

How many times can you treat someone with respect, expecting the same from them, and then have them treat you like shit, before you realize that you're being played for a sucker?

And if a third party tells you that you should continue to play nice with the one who treats you like shit , well that third party is playing you for a sucker too.

Bravo!

Bullshit you don't.

The sheer condescenion.

Exactly this. There is no "other side" to the idea that people simply deserve to exist that should be taken seriously or give any kind of equal consideration.

I'm fine with treating Nazis the way they aspire to treat the people they despise.

Like we told you.

https://floridaban.com/

Just gonna quote repost my previous post

"So as a trans person in Florida let me tell you about how "moderate" DeSantis is, and by extension the Republicans...

-Access to hormones is now precarious, the recent laws banned the way most(roughly 80%) of us got our prescriptions, sending everyone scrambling to try and get set up with a doctor that can treat them. This is compounded further by the other recent laws that allow doctors to discriminate and refuse to treat us, not just not for HRT, just as a patient AT ALL. Oh and to continue getting care you know need to sign a form from DeSantis handpicked health board which contains a bunch of medical misinformation. They also have the power to pull a Missouri and decide "no care for anyone" ANY DAY.

-We've got the infamous "bathroom bill" now too, so now not only is it dangerous for us to use public restrooms as before, now if your in the wrong place you risk jail time. For using a bathroom

-Thanks to the "Don't Say Gay" bill and the book banning, you can't acknowledge *our existence*, along with any other LGBT members, in schools. LGBT teachers can't even have pictures of their spouses.

-I've seen firsthand the recent "boycott" at my local target. Last week they had the Pride display out at the front, but this week? Not only is it not hidden deeper in the store like some articles have been saying, it's gone, completely. No rainbow merchandise at all, because of terrorist threats.

-The whole "groomer" and "pedophile" thing has been a success in dehumanizing us, rampant transphobia (and to a lesser extent homophobia) is just accepted just about everywhere.

I could go on and on and that's only for myself, as an adult, that's not even begging to get into how much worse it its for anyone under 18, where the recent bills WILL cause even more suicides. All because the Republicans have no policy, nothing to make the country better, all they have is hate to retain their power, and were the easiest target. We have essentially zero political representation and support from the Democrats is tepid at best, the % of the US population of adults that identify as trans is 0.5, and yet...there has been 555 anti trans bills in the US this year alone, so far.

So yeah, I'm gonna keep calling out that Nazi shit every single time, because i'm so god damned tired of having to justify my existence."

As to where I stand at the moment? Not a fucking clue, I get my prescriptions from an MD and she is going to try and help me, but obviously the law is set up to be vague and confusing on her side too.

More evidence to be thrown out or ignored.

Jesus Christ. Hey, uh... WBE?

Bad enough, but it gets WAY worse from there.

https://www.yahoo.com/news/ohio-tran...183608674.html

See Above

Tara goes to Moscow

We're all shocked, I'm sure we'll get apologies from all the wannabe lefttists who kicked and screamed at us for not believing her story and called us !@#$libs and so on.

Don't forget "rape apologists."

Unrelated, and probably malicious compliance.

Fox News Host Calls for President Biden to Pardon Trump and It Might Not Be the Worst Idea



Well, I happen to think it's a horrible idea, just like Ford pardoning Nixon set the precedent for a terrible miscarriage of justice when it was evident Tricky Dick committed all manner of crimes associated with Watergate. Beyond the fact that NO ONE should EVER be above the law, not even a former president, the major worry for me is that Trump will simply go back on his word once he has a pardon in hand and run anyway. The power that came from being President was intoxicating to Trump, the ultimate high for a raging egomaniac like him, he desperately craves that drug a second time, and he'll do anything to get it.

My own twist on the pardon idea would be that in return for a Stay Out Of Jail card for Trump, he'd have to leave the country within thirty days (no postponements) and NEVER return, or the pardon is immediately revoked and all the charges against him reinstated. Beyond a middle of the night heart attack, kicking Trump out of the U.S. is, in my mind, the only way to end the threat of MAGA once and for all.

I am on the same page, this would be a HORRIBLE idea. Letting people skate for trying to overthrow the government alone sets a bad precedent.

Actions do speak louder than words, however, don't completely discount the words since words can predict the actions or even incite them.

Agreed, words are the only way we can communicate, and as long as there's nothing artifically lowering inhibitions or affecting judgement they can be very revealing in a moment of unguarded truth.

I was not responding "exclusively" to anything -- my first post makes it clear exactly what I was responding to and exactly what I was saying.

People do not have to "be nice" to those who seek to oppress them -- you are the one who isn't addressing what was stated.

Again -- if you wanted to address the issues instead of repeatedly trying to argue over semantics and decorum you would have already done so.

Instead you project and distract but never address the white nationalism and homophobia in your party.

Perhaps that's a mistake on your end but to do so repeatedly for months shows intentional oversight.

It's understandable -- most people wouldn't want to admit openly to supporting the things you are trying to avoid discussing.

When the reasons given for not voting for Trump have been shown to apply just as strongly to DeSantis yet a vote for him is still one a "Moderate" can excuse, it's clear how much disagreement with White Nationalism and anti-LGBT bigotry actually matters to certain "Moderate" voters.

[aja_christopher]

When the reasons given for not voting for Trump have been shown to apply just as strongly to DeSantis yet a vote for him is still one a "Moderate" can excuse, it's clear how much disagreement with White Nationalism and anti-LGBT bigotry actually matters to certain "Moderate" voters.

[Vakanai]

When the reasons given for not voting for Trump have been shown to apply just as strongly to DeSantis yet a vote for him is still one a "Moderate" can excuse, it's clear how much disagreement with White Nationalism and anti-LGBT bigotry actually matters to certain "Moderate" voters.

It really feels like the only problem some "moderates" have with Trump is the verbal vitriol and lack of decorum. Repackage the same bigoted policies and hate in a calm, mannerly, old fashioned politician and they're good to go. Because it's only the way the hatemonger presents himself that's the problem, not the actual hate itself.

Aka such moderates aren't really moderates at all, they're just self aware enough to not to want to associate with the nutbag yelling their head off, but they still agree with what the nutbag is yelling. But really, they're still extremists.

Edit: I didn't quote mets because out of my whole post, he ignored the actual important part about how DeFascist is attacking the LGBTQ community.

[Dalak]

It really feels like the only problem some "moderates" have with Trump is the verbal vitriol and lack of decorum. Repackage the same bigoted policies and hate in a calm, mannerly, old fashioned politician and they're good to go. Because it's only the way the hatemonger presents himself that's the problem, not the actual hate itself.

Aka such moderates aren't really moderates at all, they're just self aware enough to not to want to associate with the nutbag yelling their head off, but they still agree with what the nutbag is yelling. But really, they're still extremists.

Edit: I didn't quote mets because out of my whole post, he ignored the actual important part about how DeFascist is attacking the LGBTQ community.

When you go through the effort of posting evidence, making your arguments as understandable as you can, and remaining respectful for the person you are debating to show none of it in response it's clear that all the points about decorum are hypocritical in the extreme.

[Adam Allen]

Who is this Joel who is a cold hearted bastard??

I actually started from the premise that a generous and kind hearted person might make some non woke and or non politically correct remarks, but still be obviously a good person.

Do you really not know somebody of that type??

Aw, dude -- you totally need to watch The Last of Us on HBO. But yah, Dalak is right, this was a joke; just characters from that game/show. But WBE posted a gif of the Hound earlier, that reference would have worked just as well: the guy who looks outwardly/initially monstrous, but with the heart of a hero underneath. The point being, you're talking about a person's words/demeanor not always reflecting their deeper spirit like that's not one of the oldest storytelling tropes on the planet.

FFS dude, Driving Miss Daisy won Best Picture in 1990, and Green Book won Best Picture 30 years later in 2019 with the exact same premise: White person who initially seems racist ends up being a really great friend to a black person!

But okay, in case all my pop culture references still aren't clear: Yes, I am aware that it is entirely possible that a good person could say some bad things. Good people can even do bad things. You know, thankfully for us all, doing a bad thing does not make someone forever-after a "bad person".

All that said, agreed with scourge:

When this hypothetical person makes their 'mistake'...you point it out to them and ask them to do better in the future. If they apologize and make effort to change...its all good. If they start crying about 'wokeness', 'political correctness', 'you can't make jokes anymore', etc...then we're all perfectly justified in calling them out for being an asshat.

I mean, is there some reason people really should be protected -- from what, our opinion of their opinion? Surely that's not the argument?

Realizing, I honestly really am still not sure exactly what we're arguing about. If it's that people shouldn't be faulted for not being politically correct or woke enough ... okay, I guess. I mean, part of my point is that I don't really see those terms being central in most of our vocabulary anyway, but maybe I'm wrong on that.

[Iron Maiden]

CATFIGHT!!

Casey DeSantis Appears to Be Taking a Shot at Melania Trump With Her Plans to Be a Better ‘First Lady’

Casey DeStepford is aiming too high. First Lady of Florida is about as high as she's EVER going to go. Razor Cheeks has nothing to worry about.

Melania just has to be the worst First Lady ever. She is practically a no show unless Trump decides to trot her out at one of his rallies.

[WestPhillyPunisher]

Melania just has to be the worst First Lady ever. She is practically a no show unless Trump decides to trot her out at one of his rallies.

Razor Cheeks never wanted the job anyway. I’ll never forget seeing a picture online (I forget where it was from) of an artist’s drawing that depicted the inside the Trump war room right when it had been announced that he won the election. Trump looked surprised, maybe even shocked while Melania was in tears, and not tears of joy because she knew she was about to get into some deep shit she wanted no part of. And yeah, she was an absolute disaster as First Lady.

[Dalak]

As a wake up call to actual moderate conservatives on the fence, Ron DeSantis is running to the Right of Trump

When asked about the 2020 election, DeSantis said that the problem was that Trump enabled people like Dr. Anthony Fauci, who in turn put policies into place that Democrats at the state-level used to implement voting rules like universal mail-in voting and ballot harvesting.
-----
“And so you’ve got to take the responsibility as the candidate to shape the battlefield in a way that’s going to be most advantageous to your side winning,” he said. “So what I’ll do, obviously in Florida we did it very effectively, but nationally, you look to see what the rules of the game are. Yes, we ban ballot harvesting in Florida. That’s what you should do. Yes, we ban Zucker bucks in Florida. That’s what you should do. However, not every state has done that. So if you’re in a state like Nevada, that’s a mass mail balloting state with ballot harvesting and Zucker bucks, we will have organizations in place so that we can exploit that system. If you have it in Wisconsin, we will have organizations in place to exploit that system. I think telling people not to send in a mail ballot is a huge mistake and it ends up reducing the pool of prospective voters.”

And he's also saying the quiet part out loud: "We think they're cheating, so we're going to cheat too!" These things have not been happening outside of fantasy, as shown in court - And Ron DeSantis is using them to advocate that people engage in actions he believes to be immoral and made them illegal so he can win.

[babyblob]

This is the world we live in. A broad daylight shooting in one of the neighborhoods on Cincinnati. No one killed thankfully but 4 injured including children.

Happened just a half hour ago.

The sad thing is the police got there so fast because they were two blocks down investigating another shoot where 2 people were shot this morning.

[Jack Dracula]

As a wake up call to actual moderate conservatives on the fence, Ron DeSantis is running to the Right of Trump



And he's also saying the quiet part out loud: "We think they're cheating, so we're going to cheat too!" These things have not been happening outside of fantasy, as shown in court - And Ron DeSantis is using them to advocate that people engage in actions he believes to be immoral and made them illegal so he can win.

Whenever someone uses a phrase like “exploit that system” people need to be on their guard.

[skyvolt2000]

https://www.yahoo.com/lifestyle/disn...162118173.html

Here is everything to know about the investigation and controversy surrounding the Hernando County teacher showing "Strange World:"

What is the Hernando County teacher being investigated for?
Jenna Barbee, a teacher at Winding Waters K-8 in Brooksville, alleged earlier this month that Hernando County School Board member Shannon Rodriguez reported her to the Florida Department of Education for showing her students the 2022 animated movie.

Barbee has argued that the Disney movie related to a class Earth science lesson and did not show sexually inappropriate content. She also said she had approval forms for all of the students from the beginning of the year to show PG movies.

The Hernando County School Board confirmed that a teacher was being investigated for showing "Strange World," and that a parent complained to the principal about the movie not being appropriate for students.

While the school board has closed its investigation, the state's inappropriate conduct investigation is ongoing, Barbee told CNN.

CNN reported that the investigation concluded the Disney movie was connected to the curriculum and Barbee had approval forms for all of the students. But the school district said Barbee still violated the staff handbook by not seeking and receiving administrative approval prior to showing the film.

[WestPhillyPunisher]

https://www.yahoo.com/lifestyle/disn...162118173.html

Correct me if I’m wrong, but it sounds like that teacher had permission to show the film, but when some snowflake parent bitched, suddenly, that aforementioned permission wasn’t enough, and the teacher wound up in trouble. Short and sweet: the deck was stacked against her.

[Spike-X]

In some good news, and some actual bipartisanship - Nevada's Republican Governor signs law protecting out of state abortion seekers from prosecution

This is a good thing.

Nevada’s state Senate advanced the legislation last month, with two Republican women joining Democrats in support of the bill. Following the vote, the Nevada Republican Party said it was “horrified” that the two voted for the measure...

Naturally, the Party itself isn't going to tolerate two of its members exercising their democratic right to protect people's freedom to do something the Party Of Small Government doesn't think they should have the freedom to do - make their own decisions and exercise control over their own bodies, rather than letting the Party do that for them.

[Spike-X]

librarian nazi.jpg

School librarians face a new penalty in the banned-book wars: Prison

Librarians could face years of imprisonment and tens of thousands in fines for providing sexually explicit, obscene or “harmful” books to children under new state laws that permit criminal prosecution of school and library personnel.

Are we there yet? Are we there yet? Are we there yet?