All purpose news and politics thread part VII: News & Politics Total Landscaping

[Tendrin]

A good read from a local perspective:

I am the granddaughter of a Mississippi sheriff. I am also a historian who has spent the last five years researching the history of law enforcement in Mississippi. For these reasons, I was sadly unsurprised by the violent actions of a group of White male deputies in Rankin County, Mississippi some of whom called themselves the “The Goon Squad.”

https://www.yahoo.com/news/opinion-m...102343664.html

[Mister Mets]

Yes. This has been explained to you.

It was relevant to the point that "He hasn't checked to see if/how they've addressed it since or responded to that, he's simply maintained that them not updating old stories makes them Trash in this case."

I checked the link.

Mets, making up arbitrary standards about who needs to update what before you'll bother is very silly. It's also very convenient as a dodge for you. We all see what you're doing.

It's not a journalism site. Diaries are written by users that are reflective of that point in time, and you have still chosen to ignore the reason it was linked: the links contained within that aggregate sources of news from journalists.

Future diaries and user comments reflect the ME's ruling and user feelings about it. Attempting to declare a source 'poor' because it reflects a moment in time is a very stupid way to approach things, especially when it was linked well before the ME made the ruling in the first place. This really just makes you look silly.

I didn't think there would be much disagreement on the idea that if someone makes a video, article or podcast where it turns out they treated incorrect speculation as facts, they should update the source.

As for whether the Daily Kos should be understood as diaries, where there's no need to correct things that turn out to be untrue, they mainly describe themselves as a news site.

https://www.dailykos.com/about-us

"Daily Kos is a progressive news site that fights for democracy by giving our audience information and resources to win elections and impact government."

"Our coverage is assiduously factual, ethical, and unapologetically progressive—there’s never a need to “both sides” the truth. Still, everything we write is based in reality, which means that we do not hesitate to report when the news does not favor our preferred party or positions. We don’t contort facts to fit preconceived narratives or biases."

"Daily Kos is an independent media organization owned by Kos Media, LLC, which also owns the polling and survey firm Civiqs and nothing else. "

"In addition to our news and activism, the Daily Kos Elections team provides detailed analysis of congressional elections, state, and local office races year-round."

"Founded in 2002, Daily Kos is a digital media platform for news you can do something about."

[Tendrin]

"Founded in 2002, Daily Kos is a digital media platform for news you can do something about."

It's okay to acknowledge you don't want to understand and that you would rather discuss the supposed 'lack of standards of journalism' for random users on DailyKos as a means to deflect than you would the articles linked to in a diary about the bullying Nex endured, or the bomb threats to Oklahoma schools over the rights of people like him, or the targeting of teachers that would support people like him.

I mean, if I were in your shoes, I would certainly not want to talk about those things either and would strive to find a reason not to do so.

It's plainly obvious what's happening here and why.

[Dalak]

Notes about Trophy Club, Texas

The school district is the biggest employer in the city with a famous high school.

30 minutes from Dallas.

Household income is $185K

77% White population.

The mayor was a write in candidate winner and SOUNDLY won by 63%.

70% for Trump.

Not that I'm in a better location than Texas, but there are only a few things I miss about living there - Mainly family & regional foods.

I don't know. My life has only gotten worse with each new president. My life was better under Trump than it was Biden and it was better under Obama than it was Trump. Like I said, I see nothing but misery and death in our future regardless of who is in office.

Has it occurred to you that maybe there's something going on with you or those around you that's been making your life more miserable? Something that has nothing to do with whoever is President? I guess I would have to know more about the nature of your misery to be sure.

No offense, but the opportunities have been much better under Biden than under Trump. Maybe you need to look for the reasons for your perceived failures elsewhere?

Hell, the opportunity to just LIVE was better under Biden, especially right after he took office while COVID was still an issue.

I've noticed that as one grows older there's less insulating you from the drudgery of living day to day, but that has nothing to do with the President specifically. I've still got issues with so many companies refusing to lower their "inflation" prices or constantly lowering the amount of product in their packaging. Basically, try to discover what's actually causing you problems and find out if there's something you can do to alleviate it in some way instead of blaming your problems on an outside force.

Can't do Gibson since he's not a US born citizen, let's go with David Duke, similar effect.

I don't care who Trump picks as they will be nothing special, but Duke would embody today's GoP.

A good read from a local perspective:

https://www.yahoo.com/news/opinion-m...102343664.html

Local perspectives can be eye-opening in many ways.

[Dalak]

Mets, making up arbitrary standards about who needs to update what before you'll bother is very silly. It's also very convenient as a dodge for you. We all see what you're doing.

It's not a journalism site. Diaries are written by users that are reflective of that point in time, and you have still chosen to ignore the reason it was linked: the links contained within that aggregate sources of news from journalists.

Future diaries and user comments reflect the ME's ruling and user feelings about it. Attempting to declare a source 'poor' because it reflects a moment in time is a very stupid way to approach things, especially when it was linked well before the ME made the ruling in the first place. This really just makes you look silly.

Yes. This has been explained to you.

As should be painfully clear by now to anyone reading along at home, simply explaining things to Mets doesn't get any change in behavior or response from him. He's gotten to the point of claiming clicking the same link again is searching for what's been done since instead of actually searching, while adding so much plausible sounding bovine-excrement (without evidence) to The Week's article to excuse their lies & refusal to update.

It's okay to acknowledge you don't want to understand and that you would rather discuss the supposed 'lack of standards of journalism' for random users on DailyKos as a means to deflect than you would the articles linked to in a diary about the bullying Nex endured, or the bomb threats to Oklahoma schools over the rights of people like him, or the targeting of teachers that would support people like him.

I mean, if I were in your shoes, I would certainly not want to talk about those things either and would strive to find a reason not to do so.

It's plainly obvious what's happening here and why.

I don't think anyone is actually fooled by this, but it's best to point it out in case any aren't sure which is why I continue.

-------

And back to The Week's lies, To review:

in surveys by the American College Health Association, the number of students brought up as girls identifying as transgender soared from 1 in 2,000 in 2008 to 1 in 20. You're going to have different responses to those changes depending on your earlier understanding on politics and culture.

3 Trans woman 0.2
4 Trans man 0.3
5 Genderqueer 0.5
6 My identity is not listed 0.5
7 Agender 0.3
8 Genderfluid 0.5
9 Non-binary 1.9
10 Intersex 0.0

can you tell me if they were brought up as boys/girls? Can you tell me how they were assigned at birth? Can you tell me anything other than they were anonymous students who said they were Genderfluid/etc?

As it is impossible to do so from the data provided, you know exactly how The Week inflated their numbers in order to make the transphobic lie quoted here:

Everything else is used to disguise that fact & how you refuse to admit it,

You can tell they are lies because nothing of what Mets has brought up was actually mentioned in the article, nor is there any evidence of the reporter diligently tracking down anonymous respondents to check their chromosomes. On top of that, Mets has 'forgotten' that 0.5 of his total is listed as "My Identity Is Not Listed". When we remove them and AMAB individuals from the count we wind up with 3.5 instead of 5. Then we get to the truly transphobic part of these lies: If we assume that exactly half of the respondents are born Male/Female, there is absolutely no point other than causing fear & hate to bring up only those brought up as girls.

It's also been pointed out (with at least one study posted) that the rising Anti-Trans bigotry is particularly focused on trans women and making them out to be predators (BATHROOMS!), which would chill many of those individuals from coming out as trans so evidence has been posted to explain any disparity in numbers. I'm sure I could find other studies mentioning that with a quick google search just like Mets could, but I'm not linking to what's been already posted deliberately to see if he will try to find it or question if it's actually been posted (Like with evidence of Nex's Bullying).

But Daily Kos is trash and we should all acknowledge it. (eyeroll)

Here's another attempt to get the point about The Week through to Mets:

[Kirby101]

And it is working. Here we are discussing the threat that Trans kids pose to the nation, rather than a racist despot who wants to be dictator. Good job.

[Tendrin]

I mean, we've talked about that too.

[Dalak]

And it is working. Here we are discussing the threat that Trans kids pose to the nation, rather than a racist despot who wants to be dictator. Good job.

Yes, we do need to be worried about the man who's predicting a bloodbath if he loses. We also need to be worried about the people behind Project 2025 and all the other think tanks that are being used to make our country more of a theocracy than a democracy as has been pointed out - They won't be going away if Trump loses. That's why I've started putting the bulk of Mets-talk into other posts.

[WestPhillyPunisher]

Yes, we do need to be worried about the man who's predicting a bloodbath if he loses. We also need to be worried about the people behind Project 2025 and all the other think tanks that are being used to make our country more of a theocracy than a democracy as has been pointed out - They won't be going away if Trump loses. That's why I've started putting the bulk of Mets-talk into other posts.

Agreed. Trump is nothing more than a symptom of the disease that's the lunatics behind Project 2025, and yeah, they're here to stay. Even if they lose come November, they'll just bide their time and wait for 2028, safe and secure in the knowledge that a Qpublican will more than likely win the presidency as no one party has held the White House for three straight terms since the GOP with Reagan and Bush I (1981-1992). Then there's the not so insignificant matter of a dangerously right leaning SCOTUS and the part they're bound to play in reshaping the country's laws to suit the theocrats. The danger of democracy as we know it going down the toilet is as eminent now as it's ever been, and that's no hyperbole.

[CaptainEurope]

The DJI hit a new high today.

The DJI hit a new high today. Again.
As did the German DAX.

[WestPhillyPunisher]

The DJI hit a new high today. Again.
As did the German DAX.

Meanwhile, Doris from Des Moines couldn't afford to buy Powerball tickets for Saturday's drawing. You can bet your bottom dollar Biden will catch holy hell for that.

[Malvolio]

Can't do Gibson since he's not a US born citizen, let's go with David Duke, similar effect.

Mel Gibson grew up in Australia, but was born in Peekskill, NY. So yeah, he could be Trump's running mate.

[WestPhillyPunisher]

Mel Gibson grew up in Australia, but was born in Peekskill, NY. So yeah, he could be Trump's running mate.

No way that team-up would work. Trump couldn't stomach someone more charismatic than him as his running mate, he'd want another silent, stiff, weak spined yes man like Mike Pence.

[zinderel]

Agreed. Trump is nothing more than a symptom of the disease that's the lunatics behind Project 2025, and yeah, they're here to stay. Even if they lose come November, they'll just bide their time and wait for 2028, safe and secure in the knowledge that a Qpublican will more than likely win the presidency as no one party has held the White House for three straight terms since the GOP with Reagan and Bush I (1981-1992). Then there's the not so insignificant matter of a dangerously right leaning SCOTUS and the part they're bound to play in reshaping the country's laws to suit the theocrats. The danger of democracy as we know it going down the toilet is as eminent now as it's ever been, and that's no hyperbole.

Exactly. And the current focus on trans people as an acceptable target for hatred, violence, and erasure by ‘conservative christians’ is simply the latest symptom of the rot at the core of America: religious fundamentalism.

As long as we keep pretending that ‘hatred’ and ‘ignorance’ and ‘greed’ are Christian values, the fundamentalists will keep digging in. Look at the state of religious fundamentalism before Nixon. Look at what a religious conservative was. Look at what a political conservative was. Look at how the country and the world viewed the extremist sects of Christianity. Heck, look at how we treated and covered conspiracists like the John Birch Society. Did we have ANYONE who embarrassed (or plotted/supported/ignored an attempted forceful takeover of) the nation the way people like MTG or Josh Hawley or Ted Cruz or Gym Jordan or Boebert or Gohmert or Kennedy or Comer or Johnson or Trump have?

Now, jump to now. Look at what a religious conservative is, now. Look at how we treat Dominionists and prosperity cultists. Look at how influential QANON/Pizzagate/ButHerEmails!!/Benghazi!!/Obama the secret Kenyan Muslim commie/the Biden crime family ‘theories’ are with a very specific audience of ‘patriotic’, ‘Christian’ republicans. Look at the idolaters, worshipping golden idols in return for permission to wallow in their basest instincts. Look at how they claim that their hatred and ignorance are ‘deeply held religious values’. And look at the organizations pushing this narrative: The Heritage Foundation, Alliance Defending Freedom, Family Research Council, Society for American Civic Renewal.

Every one of them a front for the Christian Nationalist movement that has forgotten how to hide itself beneath the skin of the religion it has parasitized. Every single one of them promotes, supports, or defends hatred and ignorance and violence as ‘christian’ or ‘Republican’ or ‘American’ values. Nothing about this movement is Christian, or conservative, or patriotic, and EVERYTHING that has been terrible in America - income disparity, the destruction of unions, rampant disease, the immigration situation, the spread of hatred and ignorance, the violence against women and minorities, the gun deaths, the ineffective legislatures, the corrupt judges - can be laid at the feet of them and groups like them pushing a Christian Nationalist/White Nationalist narrative for decades and hiding behind ‘Christianity’ and ‘patriotism’ to do so.

So, we need to pay attention to Trump, ABSOLUTELY. But we need to pay attention to the people supporting him and electing him and financing him if we want to stop something WORSE than him - something competent - from rising out of the depths of nationalist depravity in the near future. Trump is imploding before our eyes, and so we can turn some focus onto the people still working with him and what they’re doing when they aren’t pushing a wannabe fascist dictator on us.

Because long after Trump is gone, they will still be there, more desperate than ever. And with a renewed opportunity and four more years to spread lies to - and drain money and humanity from - a captive audience.

[kidfresh512]

No way that team-up would work. Trump couldn't stomach someone more charismatic than him as his running mate, he'd want another silent, stiff, weak spined yes man like Mike Pence.

He will want someone who wont bend this time and follow the law. So even more of an ass kisser than Pence. Since Pence betrayed him and certified the election like he was supposed to. He will want someone that wont hesitate and stand in his way. Help spray tan his ass if he needs too.