Polite Politics

[SnarkyGoblin]

43 minutes ago, Anti Marine Layer said:

James LIndsay calls the critical theorists version of social justice "critical social justice" or simply Social Justice (capital s, capital j) to differ it from the liberal version of social justice of MLK Jr.

So we could also distinguish "woke" and "Woke", where woke means "aware of and actively attentive to important societal facts and issues (especially issues of racial and social justice)." and is a good thing.

Capital W Woke means "understanding that America is a systematically racist place and also that capitalism is inherently unjust and unfair". Most conservatives would not like to say "capital W Woke" all the time, though.

But capitalized, Wokeism is a religion just like Christianity, Islam, and Buddhism.

America Is Fast Becoming a Woke Theocracy | Opinion (newsweek.com)

 

Why should I care about what this guy thinks?

[Anti Marine Layer]

2 hours ago, SnarkyGoblin said:

Why should I care about what this guy thinks?

Me or the New Discourses guy?

[Andie]

This Biden investigation is beginning to look a bit like the Nixon probe of old.  Different accusations but similar atmosphere.  
Thing is, I don’t think Hunter hid his business affairs very well and Dad will be in the pudding.  

[roadtonowhere08]

3 hours ago, Anti Marine Layer said:

Me or the New Discourses guy?

Pretty sure he means James Lindsay.

[Andie]

It’s getting a little rough in Texas.  Major cities are experiencing the stresses of the migrant influx. 

The Biden administration began releasing migrants without court dates to alleviate overcrowding in March 2021, but had previously enrolled those migrants in a program known as Alternatives to Detention, which required them to check in on a mobile app until they were eventually given a court date. The new policy would release them on “parole” with a notice to report to an Immigration and Customs Enforcement office but without enrolling them in the program. We don’t have a solid estimate on the “getaways”.  
 

A further question is in these massive crossings - how many are unfriendlies, be they cartel contacts or potential terrorists?  Venezuela has already admitted to emptying its prisons. 
I wonder what we will see unfold over the next 5 yrs or so?

In 2021-2022 approximately 2 million known immigrants have entered the country. 2023 will break those annual records. 
This situation could be handled far better and safer for all.  

[SnarkyGoblin]

18 hours ago, Anti Marine Layer said:

Me or the New Discourses guy?

The author of the opinion article you sent. He's not serious.

[SnarkyGoblin]

58 minutes ago, Andie said:

It’s getting a little rough in Texas.  Major cities are experiencing the stresses of the migrant influx. 

The Biden administration began releasing migrants without court dates to alleviate overcrowding in March 2021, but had previously enrolled those migrants in a program known as Alternatives to Detention, which required them to check in on a mobile app until they were eventually given a court date. The new policy would release them on “parole” with a notice to report to an Immigration and Customs Enforcement office but without enrolling them in the program. We don’t have a solid estimate on the “getaways”.  
 

A further question is in these massive crossings - how many are unfriendlies, be they cartel contacts or potential terrorists?  Venezuela has already admitted to emptying its prisons. 
I wonder what we will see unfold over the next 5 yrs or so?

In 2021-2022 approximately 2 million known immigrants have entered the country. 2023 will break those annual records. 
This situation could be handled far better and safer for all.  

Another coup attempt by the far right?

Or maybe more far right terrorist attacks to scare the Others?

Or how about another OK City bombing?

I find it strange how much attention you pay to something that is far less likely to happen.  

I would much rather be in a roomful of migrants than a roomful of red-hat wearing, likely packing white dudes, ready to "protect their freedoms"

[Anti Marine Layer]

56 minutes ago, SnarkyGoblin said:

The author of the opinion article you sent. He's not serious.

Why did he write the article then?

[SilverFallsAndrew]

5 hours ago, SnarkyGoblin said:

Another coup attempt by the far right?

Or maybe more far right terrorist attacks to scare the Others?

Or how about another OK City bombing?

I find it strange how much attention you pay to something that is far less likely to happen.  

I would much rather be in a roomful of migrants than a roomful of red-hat wearing, likely packing white dudes, ready to "protect their freedoms"

You don't understand why someone in Texas would be concerned about this? 

Edited May 11, 2023 by SilverFallsAndrew

[Rubus Leucodermis]

11 hours ago, SnarkyGoblin said:

Another coup attempt by the far right?

Or maybe more far right terrorist attacks to scare the Others?

Or how about another OK City bombing?

I find it strange how much attention you pay to something that is far less likely to happen.  

I would much rather be in a roomful of migrants than a roomful of red-hat wearing, likely packing white dudes, ready to "protect their freedoms"

Obviously temporary COVID measures should be ended as quickly as possible (assuming they even ought to exist in the first place). Unless they mostly harm brown people, then they should be made permanent.

[Anti Marine Layer]

12 hours ago, SnarkyGoblin said:

Another coup attempt by the far right?

Or maybe more far right terrorist attacks to scare the Others?

Or how about another OK City bombing?

I find it strange how much attention you pay to something that is far less likely to happen.  

I would much rather be in a roomful of migrants than a roomful of red-hat wearing, likely packing white dudes, ready to "protect their freedoms"

Let's say 2 million come in and 99% are not criminals or bad people. That's still 20,000 new criminals. One of them could bring in a gun and sell it to a "red hat" for the next mass shooting. 

Also remember what happened when those 50 people were sent to Martha's Vineyard. Their lovely liberal residents sent them away to a nearby town. They didn't want them there. @SnarkyGoblin was not one of those residents though. 

 

[Andie]

Let’s address safety first as in the forecast for the next 2-3 days.  
6 to 8” rain is  forecast for Sat-Mon that include South Texas and the Valley & N Mx. 

How is this compassionate?  The Rio will become a heavy flowing river and it’s known for being dangerous at these times.  Undertows and riverbeds become a shifting nightmare.  We know this here but most people never think of the border and its dangers with desert and a dangerous river. I’ve lived with it all my life. 

How many will be injured or killed?  It would seem the compassionate Left will own this and any consequences.  The Rio will rise and people will be hurt or killed. 
Many with criminal backgrounds have been caught and sent back but many will get through now in the crush. They’re headed for greener pastures and likely will work for the cartels  

I spoke with a friend on the border and her husband is sending her and their children north into Central Tx. Ranches are being damaged, and home owners have experienced men knocking on their kids windows. They leave well pumps running, cut fences and even killed calves and partially butchered them   The area is a landfill and stinks of feces.  Now, imagine that is your ranch.  Your hard work, costly damage. 

 And for the record I’m not a red hat or blue hat radical. I’ve been an Independent all my life. But you just keep those blinders on and keep marching to the beat.  
And you might plan a trip to the Rio soon but leave those blinders at home. It’s a danger to all down there and it’s been allowed to get out of control.  
Question is why?
 

[Andie]

No where to post this but for dog lovers this is insane.  
Bobi — a purebred Rafeiro do Alentejo born May 11, 1992 — was named “oldest living dog” by Guinness World Records and is also the oldest canine ever recorded.  He’s 31 !

[SnarkyGoblin]

Article

I can't believe Nikki Haley's quote on the bottom.  The guy gets away with so much and is never held accountable, even from his supposed "opponents".

Quote

In surveys and focus groups, a fair share of Republican voters say that they would prefer a less polarizing, more electable nominee. But a near taboo against criticizing Mr. Trump has made it hard for rivals, apart from Mr. Christie and one or two others near the bottom of polls, to stand out.

 

In what looks like a rerun of the 2016 Republican primary, almost none of Mr. Trump’s competitors have openly gone after him, despite his glaring vulnerabilities. Instead, they are hoping — now as then — that he will somehow self-destruct, leaving them to inherit his voters.

After a jury found Mr. Trump liable for sexual abuse and defamation of the writer E. Jean Carroll on Tuesday, Mike Pence, the former vice president, who is weighing a 2024 campaign, declined to criticize Mr. Trump. In an interview with NBC News, Mr. Pence said it was “just one more story focusing on my former running mate that I know is a great fascination to members of the national media, but I just don’t think it’s where the American people are focused.”

Other 2024 candidates either defended Mr. Trump, such as the entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy, or played down the verdict, including Nikki Haley, the former South Carolina governor. Ms. Haley, who announced her candidacy in February, even defended Mr. Trump this week for threatening to skip Republican primary debates. “With the numbers he has now, why would he go get on a debate stage and risk that?” she said.

 

[SnarkyGoblin]

No one mentioned the CNN town hall with trump on here. I watched some of the train wreck.  When he stays on script (ie lies lies lies) he does give the outward appearance of control which I guess is appealing to some where the truth doesn't matter anymore and all they want is to win.

The most disappointing part was how CNN managed the audience.  It became a rally - not a town hall 

Quote

The disaster that was the CNN “town hall” with Trump in New Hampshire on Wednesday night was both predictable and predicted. None of it was a surprise. The Donald Trump running in the 2024 Presidential election is the same Donald Trump he always was, a purveyor of industrial-strength untruths. A demagogue. A hater. The struggle of the interviewer, CNN’s Kaitlan Collins, to fact-check his fire hose of falsehoods was painful to watch. The kindest thing to say is that she tried. It is not easy when the former President of the United States is calling you a “nasty person” in front of a cheering crowd of his voters.

 

 

The cheering crowd, in fact, was the tell, the most revealing part of the whole exercise. Trump without the approval of the mob, his mob, would be just another angry old American man, an unwilling Florida retiree shouting at the television after a round of golf. Instead, he still commands his following, which means that he gets to be an angry old man shouting on the television and not merely at it. CNN described the audience on Wednesday night at Saint Anselm College as a collection of Republican and undecided New Hampshire voters who would consider voting Republican in the upcoming G.O.P. primary. But the whoops and cheers for Trump throughout did not convey undecidedness.

The crowd hooted, chuckled, or clapped when Trump called the former Speaker of the House “Crazy Nancy” and when he insisted that his former Vice-President, Mike Pence, had the power to single-handedly overturn the election results on January 6, 2021. They laughed when he insulted Collins. The more offensive Trump’s words, it seemed, the more they cheered. Only a day before the CNN event, a jury in New York had found Trump civilly liable for sexually abusing and defaming the writer E. Jean Carroll and awarded her five million dollars in damages. Trump’s response was to insult Carroll again on national TV. When he said that he felt sorry for her ex-husband, the audience laughed. When he called her a “whack job,” they laughed once more. When the show was finally over, the audience offered Trump a standing ovation

The party of "family values" right there.  

[Rubus Leucodermis]

12 hours ago, Anti Marine Layer said:

Let's say 2 million come in and 99% are not criminals or bad people. That's still 20,000 new criminals. One of them could bring in a gun and sell it to a "red hat" for the next mass shooting.

Let’s say that 99% of Republicans do not support the January 6th insurrection. That’s still hundreds of thousands that do. Best to ban the party as a whole.

Same logic.

[Rubus Leucodermis]

6 hours ago, Andie said:

Let’s address safety first as in the forecast for the next 2-3 days.  
6 to 8” rain is  forecast for Sat-Mon that include South Texas and the Valley & N Mx. 

How is this compassionate?  The Rio will become a heavy flowing river and it’s known for being dangerous at these times.  Undertows and riverbeds become a shifting nightmare.  We know this here but most people never think of the border and its dangers with desert and a dangerous river. I’ve lived with it all my life.

Officials have said repeatedly that crossing the border anyplace other than a customs and immigration facility remains unlawful and that those who do so are subject to arrest and detention.

[roadtonowhere08]

1 hour ago, SnarkyGoblin said:

No one mentioned the CNN town hall with trump on here. I watched some of the train wreck.  When he stays on script (ie lies lies lies) he does give the outward appearance of control which I guess is appealing to some where the truth doesn't matter anymore and all they want is to win.

The most disappointing part was how CNN managed the audience.  It became a rally - not a town hall 

The party of "family values" right there.  

CNN knew.  Ratings are king.

[Andie]

17 minutes ago, Rubus Leucodermis said:

Officials have said repeatedly that crossing the border anyplace other than a customs and immigration facility remains unlawful and that those who do so are subject to arrest and detention.

I appreciate that but it isn't happening.  Where would they detain them?  Best to make them return to Mexico, but that won't happen either.  It's a poorly scripted farce.

The heavy rain could not be in a worse place.

Edited May 12, 2023 by Andie
add map

[Anti Marine Layer]

25 minutes ago, Rubus Leucodermis said:

Let’s say that 99% of Republicans do not support the January 6th insurrection. That’s still hundreds of thousands that do. Best to ban the party as a whole.

Same logic.

Why do people build walls around their houses and schools? Also after January 6, they made a big barbed wire wall around the Capitol.

Why not totally get rid of customs and any kind of security whatsoever at airports?

Why are so many people coming to this irredeemable (unless we convert to socialism) systemically racist country in the first place?

 

[Rubus Leucodermis]

12 minutes ago, Anti Marine Layer said:

Why do people build walls around their houses and schools? Also after January 6, they made a big barbed wire wall around the Capitol.

Why not totally get rid of customs and any kind of security whatsoever at airports?

Why are so many people coming to this irredeemable (unless we convert to socialism) systemically racist country in the first place?

Is Strawmen 'R' Us having a sale today?

[Rubus Leucodermis]

Now this is what I call making the punishment fit the crime.

https://www.npr.org/2022/12/01/1140096697/jacob-wohl-jack-burkman-robocalls-ohio-sentence

And hopefully under supervision to it can be certified they do the service they have been required to.

[Anti Marine Layer]

19 minutes ago, Rubus Leucodermis said:

Is Strawmen 'R' Us having a sale today?

Simple question: Are border walls racist?

Also @SnarkyGoblin makes general assumptions against people on the right sometimes that can be stereotypical. Why aren't those strawmen?

[Rubus Leucodermis]

2 minutes ago, Anti Marine Layer said:

Simple question: Are border walls racist?

Also @SnarkyGoblin makes general arguments against people on the right sometimes that can be stereotypes. Why aren't those strawmen?

“But Mommy, he hit me first!”

[Anti Marine Layer]

1 minute ago, Rubus Leucodermis said:

“But Mommy, he hit me first!”

Further proving my point that leftists don't like to answer questions.

[roadtonowhere08]

Regardless of political affiliation, enforcing border security and making sure legal immigration happens in an orderly fashion is a basic function of any government.  Any lapse in it is either due to predatory economics or politics or both.  End of story.

[Anti Marine Layer]

Pretty much any opinion piece arguing against the left or the right from any media source always uses examples of the most radical people and has some strawmen. That is how they make money. 

There's also a reason some people distinguish leftists from liberals. 

[Rubus Leucodermis]

17 minutes ago, Anti Marine Layer said:

Further proving my point that leftists don't like to answer questions.

I will answer honest questions asked in good faith and which follow logically from earlier points. I will mock non-sequiturs and other logical fallacies.

Now cry harder.

[Anti Marine Layer]

2 minutes ago, Rubus Leucodermis said:

I will answer honest questions asked in good faith and which follow logically from earlier points. I will mock non-sequiturs and other logical fallacies.

Now cry harder.

Does "Will the marine layer burn off today?" and "How will climate change affect the marine layer?" follow logically from an earlier point.

[SnarkyGoblin]

3 hours ago, Anti Marine Layer said:

Simple question: Are border walls racist?

Also @SnarkyGoblin makes general assumptions against people on the right sometimes that can be stereotypical. Why aren't those strawmen?

Do I?  I'm curious what you're talking about.  

I understand that not every conservative is the same - but there are clear trends inside the party that are irrefutable.  

Either way, generalizing and strawman are not the same.

[Anti Marine Layer]

2 hours ago, SnarkyGoblin said:

Do I?  I'm curious what you're talking about.  

I understand that not every conservative is the same - but there are clear trends inside the party that are irrefutable.  

Either way, generalizing and strawman are not the same.

Like calling people "red hats" or calling people "haters" because they don't support gender transition surgery for young children. Pretty similar to saying, "X realizes there are issues with income equality in America. Therefore X must be a socialist."

Conservatives have not changed much in the past 20 years. They've always been pro-life, for example, but what's changing is the general population of America as they are becoming less and less religious. That's something you can't really blame on Trump or Biden though. Conservatives just don't want America to become a secular country because they believe freedom and individual responsibility go together, as John Adams said. For example, to reduce the need for abortions, don't have sex outside of marriage.

Most conservatives don't like the stupid things Trump says and does either. Maybe it's not all conservatives who like him the most and are keeping him popular.

 

 

[SnarkyGoblin]

2 hours ago, Anti Marine Layer said:

Like calling people "red hats"

You are misrepresenting what I said.  I never said all conservatives wear red hats.  Or even most.  Or even some.  I said I didn't want to be in a room full of people wearing red hats.

2 hours ago, Anti Marine Layer said:

calling people "haters"

Not sure what you're referencing here.  

2 hours ago, Anti Marine Layer said:

Most conservatives don't like the stupid things Trump says and does either.

Then explain why trump won the primary in 2016 and why he is the clear front runner today.  And did you watch any of the CNN town hall?  The entire conservative/"undecided" crowd ate up literally everything he said, which included more lies about the 2020 election, calling the host "nasty" and that he was going to pardon the Jan 6th criminals.  And this was in New Hampshire! 

This is not some fringe political movement.

[SilverFallsAndrew]

Andrew Sullivan with a sobering take.

https://andrewsullivan.substack.com/p/the-intermission-is-over

[Stormy]

12 hours ago, SnarkyGoblin said:

No one mentioned the CNN town hall with trump on here. I watched some of the train wreck.  When he stays on script (ie lies lies lies) he does give the outward appearance of control which I guess is appealing to some where the truth doesn't matter anymore and all they want is to win.

The most disappointing part was how CNN managed the audience.  It became a rally - not a town hall 

The party of "family values" right there.  

[Anti Marine Layer]

3 hours ago, SnarkyGoblin said:

Not sure what you're referencing here. 

You posted this one a while ago

On 4/16/2023 at 7:11 AM, SnarkyGoblin said:

Nothing riles up the hateful gop base more than a good culture war

https://www.nytimes.com/2023/04/16/us/politics/transgender-conservative-campaign.html?unlocked_article_code=J1UuFn0r-GlV4nD5pUU9JOnT23irWbQFNkkL8LNiGoTiFp4y2Y3iui_ASHDHBiH5Dj-IQFE83FrawM6vYp_0RD3UM1H3-MdKdwFDvywjEBlThKkHDI_8CsEh6k1QnhI_dE5tFafRuXupLO979YfHctTZGVbj4Xc9Me4tuCfzXATlLE0RIOcmyqpEhsXId-_W9w0_wD-LkaVm1P4nKHwmb0o5Kz_mlVvLOx4r71j1E6q0fgLCgNCfvA77N4OMD2VlkOUWxkCH6_TzEJRO6vxTJoHvQNYtIC47PzOquhKGOJntX-K5ToMMS2AyQAapVJOWB7BikmrEgJ08VUDuvs7X2AxNyFjfoqbHLkobaEm_zQ

It was mostly about transgender issues, such as whether or not minors should be allowed to have surgery and whether or not they can use the restrooms of their choice or compete in sports. As I've said before, they are now pushing it so much on kids that there are confused young people who think they are transgender, then they get the transition surgery and later they regret it.

Also, I don't think 20 years ago, which restroom trans people are allowed to use was a big issue. Even a fairly good number of Democrats were against same-sex marriage not too long ago. California voted against it in 2008, and they've been a blue state for a long time. Today anyone who opposes it is considered to be a "hater" by many people on the left. Some Democrats were also pro-life not long ago, but today if you take that position as a politician, you're shunned away from the Democrat party.

I'm not sure why Trump is so popular. Possibly because he fights so hard against his opponents. I'd much rather have someone more sane like Mike Pence, but he's also considered "hard right" today by many.

[roadtonowhere08]

43 minutes ago, SilverFallsAndrew said:

Andrew Sullivan with a sobering take.

https://andrewsullivan.substack.com/p/the-intermission-is-over

If Trump wins (and I do not think he will), the left and the DNC have nobody to blame but themselves.  Every single warning sent their way regarding issues normal people care about, they either flub it up or take the wrong stance.  And Biden running again is a huge joke.  It has to be ego at this point.

Moderate pragmatism is dead.

[roadtonowhere08]

47 minutes ago, Stormy said:

Hard to get rid of herpes as well.

[Andie]

20 hours ago, Rubus Leucodermis said:

Officials have said repeatedly that crossing the border anyplace other than a customs and immigration facility remains unlawful and that those who do so are subject to arrest and detention.

Yes, and I have some swamp land for sale.  They know how things will go down.  Purely CYA. 
 

Oh, and they reported today that in NY officials removed homeless vets from a Hotel, purposed for them, in order to house some of these immigrants. 

[SilverFallsAndrew]

1 hour ago, Andie said:

Yes, and I have some swamp land for sale.  They know how things will go down.  Purely CYA. 
 

Oh, and they reported today that in NY officials removed homeless vets from a Hotel, purposed for them, in order to house some of these immigrants. 

Well... Abbott is sending them to NY. I don't know how we allow this to happen, it really wouldn't take much to keep 90% of these people out, especially if we worked with Mexico on this, as they are mostly coming from Central America and Mexico doesn't really want them coming through either. We should invest in our hemisphere...

[Chewbacca Defense]

Spent the day aerating and thatching the lawn yesterday.  Looks like we hit 82 yesterday.  I only got the front yard thatched, trying to decide if I'm going to subject myself to another day of sun and heat to do the back yard.  its up to 76 already, so magic 8 ball is leaning towards no.

It is nice to come inside and have the AC!!