Polite Politics

[Rubus Leucodermis]

17 minutes ago, TT-SEA said:

Well the pandemic was an invisible enemy that immediately became so politicized.   

And my argument is that an attack by a visible enemy would likewise be politicized in the current environment.

[roadtonowhere08]

1 hour ago, TT-SEA said:

...It will take something terrible like another direct attack on America to unify us again.   

Yeah, I think that ship has sailed for the foreseeable future.  We have allowed ourselves to be played against each other for too long to reconcile now.  That dopamine hit of confirmation bias and echo chambers is too strong.

Pavlov would be proud.

Regarding the Jesus comment.  It was a nothing comment.  Whether it was edited out due to time constraints or some form of objection is immaterial: people will be offended one way or another.  I suppose that is a sign we have reached our zenith a while ago and are clearly on our downward trajectory.  We have lost our way and spin our wheels instead of striving for purpose and greatness.

I guess what I am saying is that the U.S. is a lot like U2.

[hawkstwelve]

1 hour ago, TT-SEA said:

They absolutely could have cut it out on the national broadcast.   Just takes a small delay... very easy.    They didn't care.   And I doubt anyone there cares.   You really think they need to hide athletes thanking God??   Its literally the most cliche thing in sports.   I can hear them now... hey we can't remind people of this God thing and we need to cut that out.   It so cliche and over-used that if they were really anti-God then it would help their cause more to leave it in.    And if they were really that militant about taking it out then do it on the national broadcast.   This all sounds like tin foil hat conspiracy crap to me.    It could have literally been one person's decision while making a social media post.

And Fox News and other right wing media outlets definitely manufacturer the culture war for viewership.    They want to make you angry.    And it clearly works.   CNN and MSNBC do the same thing on the other side.  Its all about dividing us for ratings.   And we just get more polarized in our corners as result of the never-ending media circus in this country.   It will take something terrible like another direct attack on America to unify us again.   

While I agree that many media outlets love to pit one group against another and stoke culture wars because it means good ratings, I don't agree with you conflating that with this situation. I'm not talking about ginning up controversy. I am talking about a media outlet blatantly being anti-religious all the while they continuously pander to what they deem to be the "just" or "righteous" cause, such as LGBTQ+ or black equality or whatever else is the rah-rah issue of the day.

Without getting too preachy, I think this country (let alone the world) would be much better off if believing in God wasn't so actively shunned into the corner. If there was a basis of faith, of morality, of community and love and common good and all that religions generally help promote perhaps we wouldn't have so many of the issues that we currently have, especially when it comes to the 'at eachothers throats' aspect that you and roadtonowhere are touching on. Perhaps if media outlets didn't actively try and silence religious praises that matter would get ever so slightly better. But no, instead religion and Jesus will continue to remain on the back-burner and considered a stain in the current zeitgeist. Let's see where that continues to get us.

[Mercurial]

13 hours ago, Rubus Leucodermis said:

Hereditary rich people from big coastal cities who went to expensive private schools and inherited millions from their parents are part of the elite.

One of the two people running for president in 2020 (and, it seems, again in 2024) met this definition to a ’T’ and it was not Joe Biden…

Well, I actually agree that Trump is a charlatan with a paucity of accomplishments in his first term.  But he's *our* charlatan, gosh darnit. 

[SilverFallsAndrew]

On 1/29/2024 at 10:10 AM, Iceresistance said:

I never thought I would see this from Ilhan Omar, she wants Somalia to expand with Islam first, she values America last
 

 

Unreal.

 

11 hours ago, Andie said:

Out of the loop lately, but this -

: "Take our Border Back" convoy has departed from Norfolk, Virginia for Eagle Pass to protest against Biden's open border.

The organizer, Craig Hudgins, says he wants to show his support for the Texas National Guard as they defend Texas.

Hudgins estimated that a whopping 40,000 truckers would come support with them.

"This is about being a peaceful demonstration. We do not want our National Guard guys to take the brunt of what is going on," he said before they departed.

"I am hearing 40,000 truckers coming from all over the country."

___________________
This will be interesting.  Stay tuned. 

I HIGHLY doubt they will have that big of a convoy. This thing legitimately seems like fake news. 

[SilverFallsAndrew]

4 hours ago, hawkstwelve said:

While I agree that many media outlets love to pit one group against another and stoke culture wars because it means good ratings, I don't agree with you conflating that with this situation. I'm not talking about ginning up controversy. I am talking about a media outlet blatantly being anti-religious all the while they continuously pander to what they deem to be the "just" or "righteous" cause, such as LGBTQ+ or black equality or whatever else is the rah-rah issue of the day.

Without getting too preachy, I think this country (let alone the world) would be much better off if believing in God wasn't so actively shunned into the corner. If there was a basis of faith, of morality, of community and love and common good and all that religions generally help promote perhaps we wouldn't have so many of the issues that we currently have, especially when it comes to the 'at eachothers throats' aspect that you and roadtonowhere are touching on. Perhaps if media outlets didn't actively try and silence religious praises that matter would get ever so slightly better. But no, instead religion and Jesus will continue to remain on the back-burner and considered a stain in the current zeitgeist. Let's see where that continues to get us.

100% in agreement of this. 

[Andie]

13 hours ago, snow_wizard said:

40,000 big trucks will be quite the display indeed.  I'm sure Biden will hate every minute of it!

Can't wait to see what it looks like.

I think they should have snarled DC instead.  Out on the border May barely get noticed.   

Sending migrants in bulk to sanctuary cities will do more good  Denver is already critical of Prezzy. 

 

[Rubus Leucodermis]

On 1/28/2024 at 4:46 PM, SilverFallsAndrew said:

We are talking about murder and drug trafficking. I'm not advocating capitol punishment for illegal immigration. 

Most of the rest of the world gets along just fine without capital punishment. And all of the world gets by without jailing as many people as the USA does. (The USA is the worlds #1 jailer. It locks up more than even China or Russia do.)

This love for authority*, submission to it, and harsh retribution for those who refuse to submit (despite endless hypocritical sanctimony about being the “land of the free”) is one of the things I miss the least about the USA.

 * And even the love for authority is hypocritical. It vanishes in a New York millisecond if one’s own political team breaks a law for political purposes.

[TT-SEA]

12 hours ago, hawkstwelve said:

While I agree that many media outlets love to pit one group against another and stoke culture wars because it means good ratings, I don't agree with you conflating that with this situation. I'm not talking about ginning up controversy. I am talking about a media outlet blatantly being anti-religious all the while they continuously pander to what they deem to be the "just" or "righteous" cause, such as LGBTQ+ or black equality or whatever else is the rah-rah issue of the day.

Without getting too preachy, I think this country (let alone the world) would be much better off if believing in God wasn't so actively shunned into the corner. If there was a basis of faith, of morality, of community and love and common good and all that religions generally help promote perhaps we wouldn't have so many of the issues that we currently have, especially when it comes to the 'at eachothers throats' aspect that you and roadtonowhere are touching on. Perhaps if media outlets didn't actively try and silence religious praises that matter would get ever so slightly better. But no, instead religion and Jesus will continue to remain on the back-burner and considered a stain in the current zeitgeist. Let's see where that continues to get us.

This seems like its much bigger for you than some person in a cubicle cutting down a sports interview for a social media post.

And the problem with what you are saying is that not everyone believes in the same God or in Jesus so its obviously a fine line when we have to interact in group and institutional settings.    What if we decided that allah should be openly praised in social settings?  Don't think you would like that very much.   And here we are creating divisions again.   The reality is that human beings have been fighting and killing each other in the name of religion for thousands of years.   We just can't figure it out.   I think your kumbaya stance about everyone believing in the same God and getting along so well is just not reality.   

[Rubus Leucodermis]

18 hours ago, snow_wizard said:

40,000 big trucks will be quite the display indeed.  I'm sure Biden will hate every minute of it!

Can't wait to see what it looks like.

40,000? LOL.

They will be lucky if so many as 400 big trucks show up.

[hawkstwelve]

36 minutes ago, TT-SEA said:

This seems like its much bigger for you than some person in a cubicle cutting down a sports interview for a social media post.

And the problem with what you are saying is that not everyone believes in the same God or in Jesus so its obviously a fine line when we have to interact in group and institutional settings.    What if we decided that allah should be openly praised in social settings?  Don't think you would like that very much.   And here we are creating divisions again.   The reality is that human beings have been fighting and killing each other in the name of religion for thousands of years.   We just can't figure it out.   I think your kumbaya stance about everyone believing in the same God and getting along so well is just not reality.   

You keep trying to downplay the issue, which is fine I guess.

Just to be clear, I never said it had to be the same God or that everyone must believe in Jesus. I never said it needed to be a monolithic religion that everyone in the world must prescribe to. I said there is a basis of faith that is missing in today's world, especially in our country, where it leads to a void of connectivity, of coming together knowing there are a set of commonly shared principles among your neighbors. The vast majority of religions teach similar things: love, community, morality, common good, etc. There might be different flavors of how to go about preaching those things but when you boil it all down those are normally the pillars of many faiths. In my opinion, the restoration and more wide acceptance of those beliefs would go a long way in fixing the vast divisions that have arose in our society. 

Yes, I am touching upon a much larger issue at play but it's one that coincides with the NBC cutting of Jesus from that interview. Until we can change how Jesus/religion/faith is perceived in today's world, what I discussed above will never come to fruition. And again, NBC would be just fine keeping any mention of LGBTQ+ or black equality or whatever else they deem popular and "cool" in today's culture but don't want to keep a mention of Jesus because gasps it could be controversial and trigger some people. Two separate issues there that together form a nasty habit of media outlets deciding what is good and what is bad for people to digest.

[TT-SEA]

10 minutes ago, hawkstwelve said:

You keep trying to downplay the issue, which is fine I guess.

Just to be clear, I never said it had to be the same God or that everyone must believe in Jesus. I never said it needed to be a monolithic religion that everyone in the world must prescribe to. I said there is a basis of faith that is missing in today's world, especially in our country, where it leads to a void of connectivity, of coming together knowing there are a set of commonly shared principles among your neighbors. The vast majority of religions teach similar things: love, community, morality, common good, etc. There might be different flavors of how to go about preaching those things but when you boil it all down those are normally the pillars of many faiths. In my opinion, the restoration and more wide acceptance of those beliefs would go a long way in fixing the vast divisions that have arose in our society. 

Yes, I am touching upon a much larger issue at play but it's one that coincides with the NBC cutting of Jesus from that interview. Until we can change how Jesus/religion/faith is perceived in today's world, what I discussed above will never come to fruition. And again, NBC would be just fine keeping any mention of LGBTQ+ or black equality or whatever else they deem popular and "cool" in today's culture but don't want to keep a mention of Jesus because gasps it could be controversial and trigger some people. Two separate issues there that together form a nasty habit of media outlets deciding what is good and what is bad for people to digest.

I don't have any answers... but I don't think making religion more prominent in our melting pot society is going to go well based on thousands of years of human history.  

[roadtonowhere08]

1 hour ago, hawkstwelve said:

You keep trying to downplay the issue, which is fine I guess.

Just to be clear, I never said it had to be the same God or that everyone must believe in Jesus. I never said it needed to be a monolithic religion that everyone in the world must prescribe to. I said there is a basis of faith that is missing in today's world, especially in our country, where it leads to a void of connectivity, of coming together knowing there are a set of commonly shared principles among your neighbors. The vast majority of religions teach similar things: love, community, morality, common good, etc. There might be different flavors of how to go about preaching those things but when you boil it all down those are normally the pillars of many faiths. In my opinion, the restoration and more wide acceptance of those beliefs would go a long way in fixing the vast divisions that have arose in our society. 

Yes, I am touching upon a much larger issue at play but it's one that coincides with the NBC cutting of Jesus from that interview. Until we can change how Jesus/religion/faith is perceived in today's world, what I discussed above will never come to fruition. And again, NBC would be just fine keeping any mention of LGBTQ+ or black equality or whatever else they deem popular and "cool" in today's culture but don't want to keep a mention of Jesus because gasps it could be controversial and trigger some people. Two separate issues there that together form a nasty habit of media outlets deciding what is good and what is bad for people to digest.

I see what you are saying but there is not exactly a shortage of very religious societies/countries who rank among the most turbulent and violence prone areas in the world.

I personally do not see this as a problem religion can fix.  In fact it is often used as wedge issue.  Take any conflicted area of the world.  The select few politicians, business leaders, and religious leaders are enriching themselves at the expense of everyone else.  It transcends religion and nullifies any positive qualities that it might bring.  It might being comfort and order to the masses, but it's not fixing the root cause of the problems at hand.

Religion can either be a powerful tool for healing and model for ethics, or it can be the most powerful weapon to turn otherwise peaceful people against each other.  It is not a panacea for our current cultural decay though.

[SnarkyGoblin]

3 hours ago, roadtonowhere08 said:

I see what you are saying but there is not exactly a shortage of very religious societies/countries who rank among the most turbulent and violence prone areas in the world.

I personally do not see this as a problem religion can fix.  In fact it is often used as wedge issue.  Take any conflicted area of the world.  The select few politicians, business leaders, and religious leaders are enriching themselves at the expense of everyone else.  It transcends religion and nullifies any positive qualities that it might bring.  It might being comfort and order to the masses, but it's not fixing the root cause of the problems at hand.

Religion can either be a powerful tool for healing and model for ethics, or it can be the most powerful weapon to turn otherwise peaceful people against each other.  It is not a panacea for our current cultural decay though.

Yeah man.  I don't get the idea of we need to be more religious.  I'd rather hang around 100 atheists than 1 fundamentalist.

[roadtonowhere08]

3 hours ago, SnarkyGoblin said:

Yeah man.  I don't get the idea of we need to be more religious.  I'd rather hang around 100 atheists than 1 fundamentalist.

What if those atheists are as fundamentalist and insufferable as Bill Maher?

[Andie]

Well, this from Wired today.  It looks like a bust.  
 

Though they claimed that up to 40,000 trucks would be joining, only 20 vehicles made up the convoy as it rolled into Jacksonville, Florida, 14 hours later. The promised support had not materialized—not a single truck showed up, tires were reportedly slashed, participants got lost, and paranoia struck the group. In short, the convoy was a complete mess.

[Andie]

I can’t believe it but the Texit Movement is alive and well.  Threats the movement to leave the Union.   
It you ask me they’re crazy.  Doesn’t get my vote.  Too many reasons to stay and not enough to leave. They resurrect this every time a major difference arises. 
Work our your differences people!!! Grow up!

[SnarkyGoblin]

Trump spent $55 million of his donors' money last year on legal fees.

Talk about being bamboozled.

[SnarkyGoblin]

The panic, rage, and conspiracies coming from the right around Taylor Swift are both humorous and sad.

[Hoosier]

2 hours ago, SnarkyGoblin said:

The panic, rage, and conspiracies coming from the right around Taylor Swift are both humorous and sad.

It's bizarre

[Iceresistance]

22 minutes ago, Hoosier said:

It's bizarre

I think what is going on is that Taylor Swift can make more voters choose who should be POTUS compared to other politicians. She has a much higher sphere of influence.

[Rubus Leucodermis]

15 hours ago, Andie said:

Well, this from Wired today.  It looks like a bust.  
 

Though they claimed that up to 40,000 trucks would be joining, only 20 vehicles made up the convoy as it rolled into Jacksonville, Florida, 14 hours later. The promised support had not materialized—not a single truck showed up, tires were reportedly slashed, participants got lost, and paranoia struck the group. In short, the convoy was a complete mess.

Off by only three orders of magnitude!

[Hoosier]

11 minutes ago, Iceresistance said:

I think what is going on is that Taylor Swift can make more voters choose who should be POTUS compared to other politicians. She has a much higher sphere of influence.

I can understand people on the right not wanting her to endorse Biden, but there are multiple layers to the conspiracy theories out there right now, including the game being rigged so KC can win.

Taylor Swift has a mixed win-loss record when it comes to political endorsements.  I think endorsements tend to be overrated, but anything and everything can matter in a close election.  And she's like queen of the world at this point so maybe, just maybe, she would be able to sway things in a close race.

[snow_wizard]

22 hours ago, Andie said:

I can’t believe it but the Texit Movement is alive and well.  Threats the movement to leave the Union.   
It you ask me they’re crazy.  Doesn’t get my vote.  Too many reasons to stay and not enough to leave. They resurrect this every time a major difference arises. 
Work our your differences people!!! Grow up!

Quite frankly the United States can't afford to lose Texas now.  It's way too important for the Republicans.

I love watching the left spin their wheels always saying Texas is going to flip.

[Rubus Leucodermis]

1 minute ago, snow_wizard said:

I love watching the left spin their wheels always saying Texas is going to flip.

Eventually, it will.

The rub is, “eventually” can take a long time.

[snow_wizard]

7 hours ago, Hoosier said:

I can understand people on the right not wanting her to endorse Biden, but there are multiple layers to the conspiracy theories out there right now, including the game being rigged so KC can win.

Taylor Swift has a mixed win-loss record when it comes to political endorsements.  I think endorsements tend to be overrated, but anything and everything can matter in a close election.  And she's like queen of the world at this point so maybe, just maybe, she would be able to sway things in a close race.

I think the conservatives are being ridiculous though.  There are way more important things to worry about right now.  Is anyone surprised she would endorse Biden anyway?

[snow_wizard]

Just now, Rubus Leucodermis said:

Eventually, it will.

The rub is, “eventually” can take a long time.

That's assuming the migrants will go the way the Democrats think they will.  It's very presumptuous of them to take it for granted they will go left.  Right now a lot of Hispanics are running from the Democrats as a matter of fact.

[Rubus Leucodermis]

Just now, snow_wizard said:

That's assuming the migrants will go the way the Democrats think they will.  It's very presumptuous of them to take it for granted they will go left.  Right now a lot of Hispanics are running from the Democrats as a matter of fact.

No, it is assuming that little is permanent and that realignments happen.

West Virginia was once reliably Democratic. Illinois was once solidly Republican.

[snow_wizard]

4 hours ago, Rubus Leucodermis said:

No, it is assuming that little is permanent and that realignments happen.

West Virginia was once reliably Democratic. Illinois was once solidly Republican.

Yeah....But we are talking about Texas after all.

[snow_wizard]

Sometimes my side just drives me nuts.  Some Trump supporters are actually flipping Greg Abbott sheit for not doing more to lock the border down.  Can't they give the man some credit for what he HAS done.  Sheesh!

The same thing goes for Trump supporters that don't like DeSantis.  We are supposed to be on the same side and both of them would do what needs to be done as President.  The in fighting is just stupid when we have the most incompetent President in the history of the nation at the helm right now.

[Andie]

18 hours ago, Rubus Leucodermis said:

Off by only three orders of magnitude!

Yeah.  But a conflicted sentiment is growing as migrants enter larger cities and become a shared issue.  
City budgets will be strained.  They asked citizens to offer an extra bedroom. Really?  Would you do that?  
Your kids are sleeping in the next room. This administration is crazy. Let’s see if Biden takes in a couple families into his mansion?    Right. 
Fat Chance. 
Little to no proof as to their true identity.  
Ex-Con?  No problemo.  
Just change your name at the “border”.

[Andie]

11 hours ago, snow_wizard said:

Quite frankly the United States can't afford to lose Texas now.  It's way too important for the Republicans.

I love watching the left spin their wheels always saying Texas is going to flip.

Not saying it won’t flip some day. If enough lefties get enough of the crap govt they voted in. Thing is will they learn their lesson?

Many just keep voting left and expect different results. Texas is fiscally and socially successful in the past because we voted for conservative fiscal government.  
Going left will completely foul it up.  
It’s learn your lesson or spread the mess.  

[Iceresistance]

I do need to cover his profile picture, but the user censored his own name so I didn't need to worry about that

[Rubus Leucodermis]

5 hours ago, Andie said:

Yeah.  But a conflicted sentiment is growing as migrants enter larger cities and become a shared issue.  
City budgets will be strained.  They asked citizens to offer an extra bedroom. Really?  Would you do that?  
Your kids are sleeping in the next room. This administration is crazy. Let’s see if Biden takes in a couple families into his mansion?    Right. 
Fat Chance. 
Little to no proof as to their true identity.  
Ex-Con?  No problemo.  
Just change your name at the “border”.

For what seems like the 32,767th time: Trump doesn’t give a sh*t about the border.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2024/01/28/border-bill-trump-lankford/

[Rubus Leucodermis]

12 hours ago, snow_wizard said:

Yeah....But we are talking about Texas after all.

[Rubus Leucodermis]

2 hours ago, Iceresistance said:

I do need to cover his profile picture, but the user censored his own name so I didn't need to worry about that

I have been voting based on the lesser of two evils ever since turning 18, and I am almost certainly one of the oldest people here.

[snow_wizard]

2 hours ago, Rubus Leucodermis said:

For what seems like the 32,767th time: Trump doesn’t give a sh*t about the border.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2024/01/28/border-bill-trump-lankford/

His actions as President don't back that up.  I look at actions.  What he did greatly reduced the flood of migrants.

[Rubus Leucodermis]

2 hours ago, snow_wizard said:

His actions as President don't back that up.  I look at actions.  What he did greatly reduced the flood of migrants.

[Iceresistance]

25 minutes ago, Rubus Leucodermis said:

Actions speak louder than words

[SnarkyGoblin]

4 hours ago, Iceresistance said:

Actions speak louder than words

That's not how the saying is used.