All-purpose news and politics thread: Two Steps Beyond!

[worstblogever]

It's damn funny how Republicans rant and rave about how gays are the "biggest threat" to traditional marriage, convieniently ignoring the fact that heterosexuals are the far bigger reason why marriage is on the rocks. But hey, the GOP loves to have a target to unload on, and gays are the perpetual flavor of the month for them.

And as for Mr. Lankford, with hurricane season just having begun yesterday, let's see how fast he and his hypocritical Republican bretheren in Oklahoma beg like dogs for money from that uppity black man in the Oval Office after the inevitable twisters tear his state apart.

Lankford is actually one of the GOP still talking about pushing for "religious liberty" legislation to allow people to legally discriminate against gays, last I checked.

[WestPhillyPunisher]

Lankford is actually one of the GOP still talking about pushing for "religious liberty" legislation to allow people to legally discriminate against gays, last I checked.

*pauses to shake head ruefully*

Gotta love how the GOP wants government out of the lives of the people....except when it comes to having laws enacted that favor their rampant bigotry, prejudice and intolerance.

[bert]

he totally looks like a guy in the closet.

wont surprise me when he's outed.

[PretenderNX01]

Pro-choice and pro-life don't work for me since every "pro" implies an "anti". Pro-abortion and anti-abortion works, pro-choice and anti-choice works too, but pro-life and anti-life doesn't work because the only person on team anti-life is Darkseid. In fact, I've seen people use the "pro-life" label deliberately so that they can call the pro-abortion side out on being "anti-life", which not only isn't really true and doesn't help their argument, but kind of makes them look like jerks.

At most the anti-abortion side is only pro-birth. Pro-life to me indicates you care about it after it's born instead of cutting welfare and teenage mother programs.

he totally looks like a guy in the closet.

wont surprise me when he's outed.

It's that smug Ken doll look. You know he's hiding something.

[Mister Mets]

Incorrect.

He argued that "pro-life" is really "anti-woman".

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AvF1Q3UidWM

George Carlin had a lengthy career, during which he has made more than one comment about abortion.

The two statements are not contradictory.

Pro-choice and pro-life don't work for me since every "pro" implies an "anti". Pro-abortion and anti-abortion works, pro-choice and anti-choice works too, but pro-life and anti-life doesn't work because the only person on team anti-life is Darkseid. In fact, I've seen people use the "pro-life" label deliberately so that they can call the pro-abortion side out on being "anti-life", which not only isn't really true and doesn't help their argument, but kind of makes them look like jerks.

The pro works because it suggests what the priority is, and what the debate is generally about. The pro-choice side believes that society is better if women are able to terminate unplanned pregnancies, while the pro-life side believes the choice to take lives shouldn't be available.

No, Mes. Lowry's point IS wrong. It's pure, unadulterated blame-shifting and a distraction from the point raised. Wanting better from the police in no way implies that they do not care about 'black on black' crime. And I don't think you addressed the substance of my point here at all.

Josh Marshall says it better than I can.



Aside from the fact that Lowry is a piece of human slime, this argument is often used by conservatives to prop up current police practices, which are clearly on the defensive. There are no 'data points' which can defend Ferguson's vast number of warrants out, for example. Baltimore's long history of gang violence and more in no way will deter people from wanting /better policing/ from the police, because they can actually affect police behavior. Not so much from the criminals.

I didn't address the substance of your point because it's about a perceived trend, rather than the topic that I wrote about (Lowry's piece for Politico.)

Lowry specifically noted that there were anti-violence protests in the city, but that those aren't getting much media attention.

[Jeff Brady]

George Carlin had a lengthy career, during which he has made more than one comment about abortion.

The two statements are not contradictory.

I've followed Carlin's career, almost fanatically. He tends not to retread a topic after a certain amount of time. Please provide (a) source(s).

[Mister Mets]

But African Americans should totally stop worrying about the cops because black on black crime!



http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2...rmed-shot-dead

I'm sure he's just another fine and upstanding officer who's just doing his job, and that this menace deserved to be shot in the face.



And what did this kid do to warrant this?



This sounds familiar. Surely, they have some evidence that he'd done something wrong, right?



http://www.dailykos.com/story/2015/0...ng?showAll=yes

478 people have been killed by police this year so far.

The Washington Post had a piece a few days ago analyzing police shootings. Their figure was at least 385 shootings. The major reason for the discrepancy is that killedbypolice.net, which is now up to 480, lists fatal taserings, head injuries and other causes of death, plus some situations that are still pending investigation.

A majority of the shootings in the Post piece (221 out of 385) include a suspect who is armed with a gun. More than 80 percent of the deceased had a potentially lethal object on them. This is not to suggest that each of those police shootings was justified.

To put the numbers in context, there were an estimated 14,196 murders in the United States in 2013. Reducing that number would save more lives than eliminating police violence.

[WestPhillyPunisher]

he totally looks like a guy in the closet.

wont surprise me when he's outed.

Wouldn't surprise me either. All part of that wonderful Republican hypocrisy.

[Double 0]

Republicans believe that their policies will solve these problems. Plenty have done their research.

For who Mets. For who?

Because big two comic books thought their work appeals to everyone, but when your bullpen's full of white guys, maybe a few (see a lot) of demographics' concerns fall by the wayside. Meanwhile, the republicans outright forced those demos out (besides white women, and I'm not even going to go there).


EDIT: Also, Black Americans killed by police twice as likely to be unarmed as white people


I would say reducing the amount of guns available/changing gun laws, examining how we see and utilize law enforcement and the prison system, pushing for economic reforms to change structural poverty (and that would mean reforms in welfare, not just bootstrap shit), and straight up police reform would solve way more than trying to act like we can just stop murders.

Police violence is not supposed to happen. Supposedly, it goes against what the police is about. But it has, and it does, mostly to black people. Historically to black people.

Don't act like it's not a problem and then act like republicans give a shit about black people.

Because that's all it is. An act. A feigned concern.

[WestPhillyPunisher]

I would say reducing the amount of guns available/changing gun laws, examining how we see and utilize law enforcement and the prison system, pushing for economic reforms to change structural poverty (and that would mean reforms in welfare, not just bootstrap shit), and straight up police reform would solve way more than trying to act like we can just stop murders.

Police violence is not supposed to happen. Supposedly, it goes against what the police is about. But it has, and it does, mostly to black people. Historically to black people.

Don't act like it's not a problem and then act like republicans give a shit about black people.

Because that's all it is. An act. A feigned concern.

And not even a well performed act at that. When it comes to acting like they're concerned about black people, Republicans make Nicolas Cage look like Laurence Olivier. Gun control? HA! Good luck with that pipe dream. The instant a politician on either side of the aisle so much as whispers "gun control", the NRA instantly bites down hard on his ass and doesn't let go until he begs for mercy. No one in Washington has the balls to jump on that hand grenade as long as this country has it's insane addiction with guns and the NRA continues being the country's pusher.

[Malvolio]

The NRA doesn't even really care about gun rights. They care about making money for the firearm industry.

[Double 0]

As blunt as possible, if black death is a semantics game, a statistic to you, don't try to rationalize it. Just make it clear. Makes things easier for everyone involved so we can move the discourse forward.

Because it's a god damn shame that it takes so much research, so many photos and videos and tweets, just to say "the police/*insert system* is killing us. Please help us stop this!" Only to hear, "Well actually..."


For some of us, ducking racist cops and "dirty harry" wannabes (or straight up mobs) is more than just a way of life, but a part of family history. And for others, denial and ignoring these things until it personally affects them have similarly long histories.

[7thangel]

[WestPhillyPunisher]

The NRA doesn't even really care about gun rights. They care about making money for the firearm industry.

Ahh, but that's the rub. If gun rights even remotely gets in the way of the bottom line for the NRA, then they DO care.

[Spike-X]

Rick Santorum to Pope - "Leave the science to the scientists."

...says the guy who wants creationism taught in schools.