This forum is for talking about non-music-related stuff that the DBT fanbase might be interested in. This is not the place for inside jokes and BS. Take that crap to some other board.
Why is Mike Johnson still Speaker of the House? Or perhaps the better question is why isn't Kevin McCarthy again/still the Speaker of the House?
Expecting consistency here was your first mistake.
Yep. The post you quote was my first reaction. Realizing that expecting consistency was absurd was my second. But my third, and the reason I went ahead and posted, is that 90+ reps voted against the continuing resolution which is a lot more than "just" the freedom caucus to say nothing of the "hated 8." It would seem that the objectors have a strong position internally. What I have read in a couple of places is that they're "saving their powder" for "the right moment" but I'm not really sure what that means.
In any case, Congress is in recess yet again. Tell me again why these guys/gals get paid?
What used to be is gone and what ought to be ought not to be so hard
Why is Mike Johnson still Speaker of the House? Or perhaps the better question is why isn't Kevin McCarthy again/still the Speaker of the House?
Expecting consistency here was your first mistake.
Yep. The post you quote was my first reaction. Realizing that expecting consistency was absurd was my second. But my third, and the reason I went ahead and posted, is that 90+ reps voted against the continuing resolution which is a lot more than "just" the freedom caucus to say nothing of the "hated 8." It would seem that the objectors have a strong position internally. What I have read in a couple of places is that they're "saving their powder" for "the right moment" but I'm not really sure what that means.
In any case, Congress is in recess yet again. Tell me again why these guys/gals get paid?
they have to leave DC so they can do more fundraising, duh.
So elsewhere in a heated discussion, one person whose first language is not English accused another person of spreading "theorist propaganda".
I've been looking for the word to describe a particular phenomenon I've observed over the years, and now I've got it. Theorism is being so in love with a theory, any theory, that it allows you--no, requires you--to justify whatever, dude.
The sooner we put those assholes in the grave&piss on the dirt above it, the better off we'll be
So elsewhere in a heated discussion, one person whose first language is not English accused another person of spreading "theorist propaganda".
I've been looking for the word to describe a particular phenomenon I've observed over the years, and now I've got it. Theorism is being so in love with a theory, any theory, that it allows you--no, requires you--to justify whatever, dude.
I always thought the emphasis in "conspiracy theory" was on the conspiracy but perhaps it should be on the theory, or theorist.
What used to be is gone and what ought to be ought not to be so hard
In her newsletter today, Jennifer Rubin of the WaPo summarized some of the recent "improving" but still grossly inadequate coverage of Trump's outrageous statements, terrifying plans for his second term and increasing evidence of his mental decline and said this:
"Mainstream news organizations are still failing, however, to convey the dire stakes the nation faces in the 2024 election. Though the Associated Press accurately reported on Trump’s agenda, “A mass deportation operation. A new Muslim ban. Tariffs on all imported goods and ‘freedom cities’ built on federal land,” it quickly descended into laughable understatement: “His ideas, and even the issues he focuses on most, are wildly different from President Joe Biden’s proposals. If implemented, Trump’s plans would represent a dramatic government overhaul arguably more consequential than that of his first term.” Yes, authoritarianism and suspension of civil liberties would be different, all right. (And though the AP presents radical ideas such as stripping out civil service protection, the report oddly omitted Trump’s pledge to weaponize the Justice Department and become the MAGA crowd’s “retribution.”)
"Whatever the reason for the long delay in focusing on the MAGA cult leader’s frightful, unabashed vow to create an authoritarian state, responsible media outlets now have an obligation to blanket the airwaves with coverage of Trump’s designs. There is no excuse to treat the two parties as equivalent or to not explain that Trump is a uniquely dangerous figure. Interviewers are obligated to grill Republicans about supporting an antagonist of basic democratic values.
"Meanwhile, in perhaps another recognition that coverage has been out of kilter, some coverage now points out that it’s the 77-year-old Trump who sounds confused, incoherent and feeble, not President Biden. The New York Times, which has elevated poll-obsession and endlessly quizzed voters only about one candidate’s mental acuity, now lets on that “Mr. Trump has had a string of unforced gaffes, garble and general disjointedness that go beyond his usual discursive nature, and that his Republican rivals are pointing to as signs of his declining performance....
"...what matters is focusing on the potential for a less-than-cogent, dictatorial-minded candidate’s effort to recapture the government he tried to overturn.
"To accurately cover the race, news outlets must keep front and center Trump’s unprecedented threat to end American democracy."
What used to be is gone and what ought to be ought not to be so hard
Indeed. But also stunning in comparison to pretty much every other headline ever written in the MSM. This one ought to break through the "noise."
Fuck that motherfucker. I hope the devil is fucking him in the ass with a huge barbed cock. I hope his last 20 years were miserable and he suffered constant pain. FUCK HIM
Indeed. But also stunning in comparison to pretty much every other headline ever written in the MSM. This one ought to break through the "noise."
Fuck that motherfucker. I hope the devil is fucking him in the ass with a huge barbed cock. I hope his last 20 years were miserable and he suffered constant pain. FUCK HIM
Why don't you tell us how you really feel? Haha, just teasing. I feel the same way about Kissinger. All of the US presidents after Jimmy Carter aren't far behind. That goes for both parties.
Indeed. But also stunning in comparison to pretty much every other headline ever written in the MSM. This one ought to break through the "noise."
Fuck that motherfucker. I hope the devil is fucking him in the ass with a huge barbed cock. I hope his last 20 years were miserable and he suffered constant pain. FUCK HIM
This
Son, this ain't a dream no more, it's the real thing
The reporting on KIssinger that I've seen (RS headline notwithstanding) has been rather bizarre. It's like they writers/editors don't know what position to take and it's just a bunch of tedious middle of the road, on the one hand but on the other bullshit. Incredible yet not surprising I suppose. The articles that "celebrate" Kissinger's "swinging nerd" rep are particularly weird since the more honest of them are more or less forced to admit that while he liked to be seen as a player and have his picture taken w/ beautiful women, he was essentially celibate. I will never get back the precious minutes I spent reading that garbage.
Doc, I have no personal details about Kissinger's later years (nor do I want them) but his son did publish an op ed in the WaPo on K's 100th birthday which basically said he was active, engaged and charging sucker big companies a not so small fortune for his consulting services at least up until that point a few months ago. Fucker.
What used to be is gone and what ought to be ought not to be so hard
Doc, I have no personal details about Kissinger's later years (nor do I want them) but his son did publish an op ed in the WaPo on K's 100th birthday which basically said he was active, engaged and charging sucker big companies a not so small fortune for his consulting services at least up until that point a few months ago. Fucker.
And so we have another ginned up "controversy" distracting from important stuff in the 21st century way. The problem with asking whether calling for genocide of the Jewish people on a college campus constitutes harassment or bullying of Jewish students on that campus is with the bullying and harassment policies themselves. The "poor" college presidents seemed to know this instinctively but also seemed incapable of properly analyzing the issue, at least in the context of the Congressional hearing. They were of course stuck with their campus bullying & harassment policies which, generally speaking, are absurdly overbroad and too protective of the comfort or triggers of perceived or alleged victims. So in the end this tempest is really about "wokeness" in its more extreme campus form, not Jews, genocide or the sometimes subtle differences between speech and action. One man's opinion, anyway.
If it needs to be said, it's also my opinion that calling for the genocide of any people is disgusting, unacceptable in any context I can think of and constitutes "fighting words," which means, sure you can say it and not be accused or guilty of bullying, but a member or supporter of that targeted people can can respond by punching you in the nose without being liable criminally or civilly.
What used to be is gone and what ought to be ought not to be so hard
What I love about that is the precise formula. Exactly 30 minutes and exactly 17%. Probably overthinking it but that seems more Stepfordian than psychotic to me but either way i get your point.
What used to be is gone and what ought to be ought not to be so hard
More generally, for the first time since right around 10/7, in the past couple of days I've had 3 or 4 unsolicited conversations about the Israel/Hamas/Palestinian/US situation with Jewish friends, all of whom have different perspectives or priorities/concerns and all of whom clearly expected me to be in complete agreement with them. Like the man sang, nobody's right if everybody's wrong.
What used to be is gone and what ought to be ought not to be so hard
I don't agree with Jason Willick very often, and I don't agree with everything he says here, but I do think he gets the "college presidents controversy" essentially right. As I said above, the "problem" stems from college speech codes and bullying policies, not the particulars of any hateful speech per se.
We've all heard it a million times: By virtually every statistical measure, the economy is not only doing well, it's going gangbusters. But then there's the so-called perception gap, where "people" say (a) they themselves are doing ok or better but (b) they still think the "overall economy" sucks and (c) Biden is to blame for that. Democrats and talking heads have been wringing their hands over this dichotomy for some time now and even more now that the election is less than a year away.
I think there are 2 main causes, one of which only became clear to me today: I did something today that I haven't done in probably decades which is to head out to a major shopping area near us (big regional mall, all the big box stores, restaurants galore, etc) on an Xmas season weekend and there was virtually no traffic. Typically, the highway would be backed up past the rather long exit ramp all the way back to the highway. Nope. Typically, moving a block or two would require waiting through multiple traffic light cycles, with tempers fraying as people try to get in and out of the flow or gain 6 inches of advantage. Nope. Typically you'd be guaranteed to have to circle/wait for parking, frazzling tempers even more, but nope again. So what I think is happening is that pretty much everyone lives near a retail area, whether it's the mall, a small town downtown, or a Wal Mart at the junction of 2 major roads. So everyone can see that retail is suffering. Retail also employs a lot of people particularly at this time of year. Many people used to count on that part-time/seasonal employment to generate their own Xmas shopping funds. Pretty much nobody anybody knows is working those jobs these days. Very few stores are even advertising for help. This is obvious and pervasive and i think it slips into people's psyches. Something just seems wrong. Whether those same people draw the line from their own online shopping to empty malls is a question for another day.
Second, employed or not, getting a raise or not, way, way too many people are living right on the edge of chaos, whether that's no savings, working 2 jobs to afford daycare, having to make medical decisions based on cost (or not doing so and dooming their financial future), burdened by debt incurred for good reasons or bad, trying to take care of their elderly relatives, saving for years and still not being able to buy a home, etc etc. These are all major, constant life stressors and pretty much everyone is experiencing at least one of them and I'd guess that everyone without exception knows someone experiencing some of these stressors. It is impossible to feel good about the economy (or one's self) when you're deciding between the car payment and the day care fee knowing that both of them are essential in order for you to work at all, or everyday, you're racing from job to daycare to home, praying that nobody gets sick, or you're feeling guilty that you no longer put money away every month for your kids' college education because you know that the amount you can possibly save even by stretching won't come close to the projected cost of tuition, or you write that rent check for yet another month watching that dream of a house and the economic and social benefits that come with it receding ever further. Even if you're happy with your last raise, and even if you know intellectually that your pay has crept or leaped ahead of inflation, it's hard to think of the economy as performing even averagely, much less well.
I think the previous 2 paragraphs explain the current reality very well. What do y'all think? The lessons that one might draw from these observations are full of irony and really bad for Democrats (especially Biden) and I'm happy to talk about them if anyone is interested.
Edited to fix typos
What used to be is gone and what ought to be ought not to be so hard
I don't know the names of many state attorneys general. Because the long time well known AG of MA recently became governor it even took me a a couple of beats to remember the name of the current AG here. Yet not only do I know Ken Paxton's name, I'm reasonably sure that I can mention his name without his title and most people will know who I mean. I think that probably goes a long way in explaining why he does what he does, but even for him, this current abortion fiasco/disaster is beyond the pale. Like way, waaaay beyond the pale.
Among the many thoughts that come to mind: He is the walking, talking definition of the difference between "anti-abortion" and "pro-life". I am also reminded of Barney Frank's well-known observation that he wasn't a doctor but he was playing one on C-SPAN when another tragic case became a political football (Terri Schiavo, RIP).
What a nightmare for the family. What a horrible misuse of state power. What a potentially disastrous result if Paxton isn't stopped. Paxton is a terrible, horrible, very bad, no good human being.
What used to be is gone and what ought to be ought not to be so hard
I don't know if the Republican posturing on Ukraine is politics as usual ("just negotiations") or the kind of anarchy/chaos they have recently specialized in just because they can and just to attack Biden at all costs. All i know is that the result is likely to be terrible (theoretically they can still pass an aid bill before yet another recess but the betting is that it's not going to happen).
I don't know if I can honestly say that I liked it better when foreign policy was left to the president/executive branch; lots of bad things happened under that model. But partisanship and foreign policy really don't mix well. It seems so patently obvious that supporting Ukraine is in the best interests of the United States, yet here we are. Again. It's as if Putin has a direct line into the Republican Party...
What used to be is gone and what ought to be ought not to be so hard
Probably overthinking it but that seems more Stepfordian than psychotic to me but either way i get your point.