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

[Tami]

John Bresnahan@BresPolitico
.⁦@RepEliotEngel, chairman of the Foreign Affairs Cmte, says Trump fired the State Dept. IG to protect Pompeo.

Twitter Link

Pompeo was under investigation by the IG, so Trump fired the IG.

[Tami]

Alaska legislator compares pandemic safety measures at Capitol to Nazi treatment of Jews

JUNEAU — A Nikiski Republican lawmaker opposed to pandemic safety measures at the Alaska Capitol compared them to Nazi Germany’s labeling of Jews in an email exchange Friday with fellow members of the Alaska House of Representatives.

When lawmakers return to Juneau on Monday, they will be required to undergo a health screening. Those who pass the screening will be asked to wear a sticker.

“How about an arm band that won’t fall off like a sticker will?” Rep. Ben Carpenter wrote in a message copied to all 40 members of the Alaska House. “If my sticker falls off, do I get a new one or do I get public shaming too? Are the stickers available as a yellow Star of David?”

Two Jewish members of the Legislature immediately responded, again copying all members of the House.

“Ben, This is disgusting. Keep your Holocaust jokes to yourself,” wrote Rep. Grier Hopkins, D-Fairbanks.

[The no face guy]

Alaska legislator compares pandemic safety measures at Capitol to Nazi treatment of Jews

I would like everyone in their 20's to take note:

The older you get, the more and more it becomes apparent that many people in positions of power are there because they are simply one thing. Type A personality social climbers void of any intelligence. Anyone who wants to dispute that simply needs to read the above link on Alaska. That person is a tool, and should not be anywhere near government.

[Powerboy]

I'm curious how many people here have discovered the podcast/ youtube stuff of people like Sam Harris, Joe Rogan and Ben Shapiro among others. I just stumbled onto them and find them amazing. Talks of one to three hours with two people willing to let an opposing opinion be heard in detail with facts and evidence for that view as opposed to the television news networks where partisanship and bias are the rule regardless of which side someone is on and people get maybe ten seconds if they're lucky to explain a point of view or respond to a question. I had no idea how misrepresented both Shapiro's and Harris's views are by "the other side". Rogan let Edward Snowden talk for three hours and mostly only talked when Snowden said "I've hogged the whole conversation. Feel free to disagree or ask questions". Then I find out Rogan does this with every guest. Harris and Shapiro was an amazing friendship and mutual discussion rather than using any false debating techniques to win an argument.

Obviously people who watch Fox or CNN and only want to hear views that support what they already believe will not be interested but, for me, it feels like a new frontier of information and ideas.

[PwrdOn]

The problem I see with these right wing internet and media personalities is that they invariably get much larger platforms than equivalent voices on the left. Everybody at this point knows who Ben Shapiro, Jordan Peterson, Alex Jones, etc. are, but even the most radical left leaning folks would be hard pressed to really point out any equivalent voices on the other side of the aisle, despite the fact that liberals decisively outnumber conservatives and thus you would think there would be a much bigger audience. But this is sort of how the moneyed interests in this country have steered the conversation, because by simply giving these alt rights types a platform they can spread their views among the public, while still having plausible deniability when pressed on whether they support these views themselves. Just look at these lockdown protests, while most respectable media figures have not voiced support for them, simply by giving them so much coverage, they started a conversation about opening up, a conversation nobody in their right mind wanted or needed. Meanwhile, any discussion of progressive policy initiatives is completely shut out of the public sphere, and even as the virus highlights so much of what was wrong with our society, people still are led to believe we can flip a switch and everything will go back to the way it was. I just find it pathetic that the right is constantly complaining about deplatforming, while any objective analysis of the situation would indicate that they are getting a much bigger platform than their discredited viewpoints and limited audience would warrant.

[PaulBullion]

Honestly, he needs a better case than just that.

Not trying to say that he does not have that case. Just saying that it should be a part of a bigger pitch.

I think nobody here implied we want only an ad that says "Do you want Trump in charge when the next crisis hits" every day for the next few months.

[PaulBullion]

Trump is the worst president of the US. Even befoe the Covid, Trump handled everything badly.

Coronavirus crisis is already making Trump look bad. I hope it doesn't delay the elections.

The states hold the elections, and in the US, it is a lot harder to delay elections because the date is, I believe, enshrined in the constitution.

[PaulBullion]

I love how abbreviation by twitter makes even the most thoroughly vindicating article about the Tara Reade smear sound sinister:




Reminder to never just read the headlines.

[The no face guy]

The problem I see with these right wing internet and media personalities is that they invariably get much larger platforms than equivalent voices on the left. Everybody at this point knows who Ben Shapiro, Jordan Peterson, Alex Jones, etc. are, but even the most radical left leaning folks would be hard pressed to really point out any equivalent voices on the other side of the aisle, despite the fact that liberals decisively outnumber conservatives and thus you would think there would be a much bigger audience. But this is sort of how the moneyed interests in this country have steered the conversation, because by simply giving these alt rights types a platform they can spread their views among the public, while still having plausible deniability when pressed on whether they support these views themselves. Just look at these lockdown protests, while most respectable media figures have not voiced support for them, simply by giving them so much coverage, they started a conversation about opening up, a conversation nobody in their right mind wanted or needed. Meanwhile, any discussion of progressive policy initiatives is completely shut out of the public sphere, and even as the virus highlights so much of what was wrong with our society, people still are led to believe we can flip a switch and everything will go back to the way it was. I just find it pathetic that the right is constantly complaining about deplatforming, while any objective analysis of the situation would indicate that they are getting a much bigger platform than their discredited viewpoints and limited audience would warrant.

Yes and no, in the case of Alex Jones, silicon valley has pretty much de-platformed him from Twitter/you tube ect, to the point where he's back on the fringes where he belongs. Shapiro and Peterson are different kettles of fish (in that they are sane & rational, even if you don't like their politics) but your right, they do get a fair amount of support from right wing billionaires involved in the world of media.

The left also overeached and created a backlash that turned people like Jordan Peterson and Douglas Murray into cult heroes overnight, because they were seen as fighting the good fight against the tyranny of political correctness. A lot of people weren't privy to the fact that the far left switched from economics to cultural issues (ie from the workers controlling the means of production, to banning the wearing of black witch hats on Halloween because its is a sign of racism & white supremacy???) It's far left because it's claims are so subjective that your treading into Alex Jones fruit loop land.

On the flip side, you get a lot of left wing economists who get air play, Paul Krugman, Joseph Stiglitz, Thomas Piketty because despite a welfare state, the right still dominates economic policy, particularly in the United States. There are still some notable cultural left wing figures out there Yanis Varoufakis, Slavov Zizek, Henry Levi, but I'm not sure how much air play they get in the states.

[PaulBullion]

The tyranny of political correctness?

Oh boy.

[PaulBullion]

This reads like a perfectly fine democracy. Nothing to worry about.



(coke to Tami... I didn't see that between those tweets fawning about racist and transphobic podcasters)

[The no face guy]

The tyranny of political correctness?

Oh boy.

I meant that from the perspective of those who follow people like Jordan Peterson, and Douglas Murray, not as in my own opinion.

[PaulBullion]

Sweden's approach of "we don't need a full lockdown bEcAUsE hERd ImMunITy looks like a fatal disaster.



It looked good for a hot minute there on May 4th, and then the infections surged back.

[PaulBullion]

I meant that from the perspective of those who follow people like Jordan Peterson, and Douglas Murray, not as in my own opinion.

Then what exactly was the "overreach of the left" that does seem to be a thing in your own opinion?

[The no face guy]

Then what exactly was the "overreach of the left" that does seem to be a thing in your own opinion?

The overeach on the left would be the result of a loss of objectivity in favour of subjectivity as I explained. So for instance, interpreting and banning black witch hats on Halloween because they are a symbol of racism or white supremacy is one example. Allowing a transgender man to compete in women's mixed martial arts to the point he's able to kick the crap out of every female opponent because he's biologically a man is another.

We should all be supporting racial and gender equality at all times, but when you abandon objectivity and scientific empirical evidence for subjectivity, you not only help right wing pundits like Jordan Peterson and Douglas Murrray grow in popularity, you become as irrational as the right wing nutballs like Alex Jones & Michael Savage.