Politics Thread

[GoMuskies]

I will resist the urge to click on that. :)

You shouldn't. It's pretty great. You should find some of their videos as well. I mean, unless you're scared of the TRUTH, brother.

[paulxu]

Apparently I having a robotic replica turkey next month. Hope there's room for the stuffing.

[noteggs]

I think that what ultimately drives the most discourse is that discourse seems to be becoming the main objective. It's all about trolling the other side, or sticking it to the other side. The actual policies don't matter. It's a turf war and the goal is to gain control of the turf and/or to deny the other side any control at all.

The Right calls out Fake News, and in a lot of cases they're right, and it's something that everyone should call out, but a huge faction of The Right also believes in Q, and that the election was stolen, and a bunch of other nonsense that is so fake that it's basically as fictitious as Lord of the Rings. They hate Fake News, but not the Fake News that works in their favor.

The Left is quick to call out what can accurately be described as an Insurrection at the Capitol, and they should. Everyone should. But they don't seem to see any problem with the violence that erupts at their own political protests. This, right here, is one of the many microcosms of the discourse that exists in our country. The Right supports the police!! But...not on January 6th. Not when the police are in THEIR way. The Left wants to Defund the Police!!! (which is stupid beyond description) but..not on January 6th. They wanted the cops on that day!

The Right fears socialism, but I guess they like it if it actually gives THEM something and their people are in charge. The first COVID stimulus checks were mailed out and approved under the Trump Administration. When push came to shove, all COVID testing and vaccines were free to the vast majority of people. The Left says The Right wants to take away their healthcare, but in the time of a pandemic the healthcare was there.

This is one of my favorite observations. I don't know how valid it is now, but I'll share it. You know how you can tell whether a person is liberal or conservative?? By how tidy their house is. Liberals are slobs. Conservatives are neat-freaks. Yet liberals care about the environment, and clean air, and healthy food, and safe farming, and conservatives don't seem to care that the Earth is quickly starting to resemble an elevator that someone farted in. That always seemed kind of backwards to me. But, the environment, and the climate is an issue. Industrial farming is an issue. It's an issue that effects all of us, but yet because (and really ONLY because) The Right looks at it as a "liberal issue," they always push back on it even though it's in their best interest not to. To bend on that would mean losing the turf war!! Even if you don't believe that pollution and the lax restrictions on industrial farming is bad for the climate, you have to at least admit that pollution causes pollution! Why can't the neat-freaks with tidy houses tell the rest of the slobs in America to clean up their freakin' mess!!?? We can't even agree that cleaner air, and healthier better food is a good thing!!

When Trump won in 2016, The Left couldn't handle it. They basically didn't. They basically accused the Russians of hacking in to the voting machines to sway the election toward Trump almost because they needed a coping mechanism. They didn't want to admit that the real reason they lost was because how much people in America thought they sucked. The Right was appalled at the response, and understandably so. They correctly pointed out that The Right had never acted that way before after an election, and insinuated in a way that was believable (at the time) that they never would. They would accept the results and move on. Well...in 2020, THAT OBVIOUSLY DIDN'T HAPPEN!!! Now The Left is calling out The Right for inventing a narrative rather than accepting the results, and they should. But, again, it's the double standard of each side throwing a fit and inventing a narrative when they don't win an election, and calling out the other side for not accepting the results when they do win an election.

The Right calls out The Left for Cancel Culture, and they should. Yet, Colin Kaepernick got cancelled. No one on The Right was too upset about that. They don't want people cancelled...except for the ones they do want cancelled. The Left criticizes The Right for this...yet they themselves won't stop cancelling people for stupid shit that usually doesn't matter and that oftentimes happened a long time ago. I'm highly concerned about the day that someone from The Left realizes that Willie Nelson played Uncle Jesse in The Dukes of Hazzard and demands that he be banished from society. Both sides are all for freedom of speech!! Unless, of course, it's something they don't want to hear.

Here is some advice that won't be followed...

TAKE IT DOWN A NOTCH!!! Realize that if the person who won the election is someone you didn't vote for that you're not shut out of the government, or the system, and that he or she still represents you. You didn't "lose" the turf war. You don't have to leave. Understand that while it looks like The Left and The Right are separated by a hundred miles, the wall that's separating them really isn't THAT tall or THAT deep. If for no other reason than a lot of the things that you think suck about the other side also suck about your own side. We all have to live together. No one is going anywhere. So, figure out out! Let's all grab some beers, and put the game on, and watch it together, and just chill the fuck out a little bit...

Yea definitely a fair assessment XUbrew and some good analogies. Ironically after your post, we spent the next two pages on which side has the most crazies. I won’t hesitate to say - both sides regardless what we decide to call them.

As for Kap, agree if you are talking about his right to peacefully protest. If that was the case, hats off to you because I really can’t think of another example. Sure there are more. Think he canceled himself by his play as MOR alluded to. The NFL went above and beyond to find him a spot.

Where I might slightly disagree is with the stimulus/spending. Yes Republicans can spend like drunken sailors too (have publicly denounce), but they don’t attempt to raise taxes from only specific income earners to hand to others.

Agree there will always be policy differences between the parties. With that said, my biggest beef with Biden to date has and continues to be with leaving Americans left behind in Afghanistan. Just heard the other day they’re still nearly 200 Americans who still want to leave, but are stranded. Administration told us it was only a hundred a few months ago and that’s with getting some home. This should still be a nightly story IMO. Yes plenty of negative Trump stories we can recycle, but why?

Finally, wish we could go back to the days when the press told us the news plain and simple vs what we should think while pushing their own narrative. Heck I heard on radio this morning from NBC news that the 3.5T spending bill is mostly partisan. So when Democrats have to negotiate with two moderate Democrats it suddenly becomes “mostly partisan?” Maybe I’ve complained about the press a time or two…ok think it’s more like 20. But they must think we’re complete idiots…ok they are probably right.

[Strange Brew]

You shouldn't. It's pretty great. You should find some of their videos as well. I mean, unless you're scared of the TRUTH, brother.

Dear God. That’s really, eye opening. Do they have any alternate universe, matrix glitch or Russiagate gear?

[XU_Lou]

Or you are a fucking moron who just glosses over the fact that I said I don’t side with much of what he says from a policy perspective. Lying lou who apparently wants to get on his knees and suck my dick due to his fatal attraction obsession with me strikes again.

Btw, your obsession with one side of the aisle or the other, and those polarized beliefs is your downfall and that is the part of yang’s stance I agree with. However, unless you are a complete idiot, you already knew that based on the context from which I posted, and you just decided to be a keyboard warrior prick because you can’t help yourself.

You are a representation of all that is wrong with our political system and our world right now—-great work

Okay, libby....

[Xville]

Were you guys all aware that birds aren't real?

https://birdsarentreal.com/

Ok that’s just one gigantic troll job right? That’s either hilarious or extremely sad lol

[Strange Brew]

Ok that’s just one gigantic troll job right? That’s either hilarious or extremely sad lol

The Truth is out there Ville….:)

[Strange Brew]

Hmmm, supply chain issues due to increased demand says the White House. Sounds like those demand siders were practicing a kind of economic Voodoo.

[Strange Brew]

For fun look up Haig-Simons. It’s popular in academia and left wing thinking. Then, ask yourself why you’ve never heard of it.

Bump. Told ya!

[X-man]

Ok that’s just one gigantic troll job right? That’s either hilarious or extremely sad lol

A friend of mine who lives in Jacksonville was headed to his favorite bench by the beach the other morning, but it's occupied by this older guy who had his motorcycle parked nearby. He's decked out in Trumpish regalia. My friend, a friendly sort and a retired Xavier faculty member, sits down at the other end of the bench and strikes up a conversation. It eventually turns to birds, specifically pigeons. The guy tells my friend that most of the pigeons they see have been outfitted by the government with cameras, which is why they move their heads around so oddly. The cameras are implanted to spy on us, he says. My friend asks him what evidence there is to back up his theory, and this guy says that the reason you never see any baby pigeons is because the government grabs them young and trains them to use the cameras placed behind their eyes. This guy was dead serious. My friend decided to end their conversation.