A thread for Democrats Only by THGRRI

The Joss Whedon script for Serenity, where Wash lives, is Serenity-190pages.pdf at https://www.mediafire.com/two

This guy could pay every Republican Congressman $1 million per year. No reason to think he isn’t (IRS says it doesn't collect $1 trillion per year and asked Congress for help; IRS didn't get the help. GOP filibustered the IRS.):

Meet the Multi-Billionaire and Rising GOP Mega-Donor Who’s Gaming the Tax System

Investor Jeff Yass has avoided $1 billion in taxes while largely escaping public scrutiny. He’s now pouring his money into campaigns to cut taxes and support election deniers.

Jeffrey Yass and his friends found a way to outwit horse racetrack bookies, according to interviews, records and news accounts. They’d wagered $160,000, gambling that, with tens of thousands of bets, they could nail the exact order of seven horses in three different races. It was a sophisticated theory of the racing odds, honed with help from a Ph.D. statistician who’d worked for NASA on the moon landing, and it proved right. They bagged $760,000, then the richest payoff in American racing history.

Yass and his friends repeated variations of the strategy at horse and greyhound tracks around the country. Then they decided to turn their focus from a world of hundreds of thousands of dollars to a world of billions: Wall Street.

Four decades later, the firm he and his friends founded, Susquehanna International Group, is a sprawling global company that makes billions of dollars. Yass and his team used their numerical expertise to make rapid-fire computer-driven trades in options and other securities, eventually becoming a giant middleman in the markets for stocks and other securities.

One crucial aspect of his ascent to stratospheric wealth has transpired out of public view. Using the same prowess that he’s applied to race tracks and options markets, Yass has taken aim at another target: his tax bill.

Yass paid an average federal income tax rate of just 19%, far below that of comparable Wall Street traders. Yass’ low rate is particularly notable because Susquehanna, by its own description, specializes in short-term trading. Money made from such rapid trades is typically taxed at rates around 40%.

Democratic Congressmen long tried to stamp out widely used techniques that seek to transform profits taxed at the high rate into profits taxed at the low rate. But Yass and his colleagues have managed to avoid higher taxes anyway. (By paying Republican Congressman to filibuster the changes to tax law.)

The tax savings have contributed to an explosion in wealth for Yass, who has increasingly poured that fortune into candidates and causes on the political right. He has spent more than $100 million on election campaigns in recent years. The money has gone to everything from anti-tax advocacy and charter schools to campaigns against so-called critical race theory and for candidates who falsely say the 2020 election was stolen and seek to ban abortion.

Gregg Polsky, a University of Georgia law professor and former corporate tax lawyer who was retained by ProPublica to review Susquehanna’s tax records, said the tax strategies were “very suspicious and suggestive of potential abuse that should be examined by the IRS.”

More at https://www.propublica.org/article/jeff-yass-susquehanna-tiktok-tax-av
oidance

The Joss Whedon script for Serenity, where Wash lives, is Serenity-190pages.pdf at https://www.mediafire.com/two

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Saturday, July 2, 2022 5:44 AM

The Joss Whedon script for Serenity, where Wash lives, is Serenity-190pages.pdf at https://www.mediafire.com/two

How Charles Koch Purchased the Supreme Court’s EPA Decision

Decades of contributions aimed at influencing the judiciary bought the fossil fuel billionaire the ruling he’s always wanted.

June 30 2022, 12:36 p.m.

Today’s 6-3 Supreme Court decision restricting the ability of the Environmental Protection Agency to regulate carbon emissions will benefit power plants and fossil fuel companies throughout the U.S. and profoundly hobble the government’s ability to address the worsening climate catastrophe.

The decision, written by Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts and joined by conservative Justices Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito, Amy Coney Barrett, Neil Gorsuch, and Brett Kavanaugh, finds that the EPA does not have the authority to impose caps on carbon emissions by mandating a shift to cleaner energy sources. The ruling means that Congress, rather than the EPA and its staff of scientific experts, will handle the critical task of curbing greenhouse gas emissions.

“Today, the Court strips the EPA of the power Congress gave it to respond to ‘the most pressing environmental challenge of our time,’” Justice Elena Kagan wrote in a dissenting opinion joined by Justices Sonia Sotomayor and Stephen Breyer. “Whatever else this Court may know about, it does not have a clue about how to address climate change. Yet the Court today prevents congressionally authorized agency action to curb power plants’ carbon dioxide emissions. The Court appoints itself—instead of Congress or the expert agency—the decisionmaker on climate policy. I cannot think of many things more frightening.”

A number of energy magnates and fossil fuel trade groups pushed for the case that could kneecap the agency and boost their profits. But perhaps no one did more to bring West Virginia v. Environmental Protection Agency to the Supreme Court — or ensure that ultraconservative justices would be on the bench to decide in the companies’ favor — than Charles Koch.

The billionaire energy executive who reigns over Koch Industries is known for playing the long game. He bought up pipelines in advance of the fracking boom — and waited calmly until they delivered billions in profits. He invested in obscure, failing companies even though he knew that it would take years before they could add to his bottom line. And he has been cautious as he’s ventured into new markets — his empire now includes glass, pulp and paper, chemicals, agricultural products, and commodities trading — making small acquisitions to see if they’d be profitable before gradually taking over.

Such patience and strategic use of his enormous wealth have benefited Koch handsomely. His net worth has steadily climbed to more than $60 billion. Koch Industries, which makes more than half of its money from fossil fuels and owns refineries, petrochemical plants, and thousands of miles of oil and gas pipelines, is now the second-biggest privately held company in the country.

To ensure further growth of his riches even as science showed that the continued use of fossil fuels would accelerate climate disaster, Koch has funneled some of his vast fortune into an extraordinary network of political front groups, lobbying efforts, think tanks, and activist networks that aim to stifle climate action.

More at https://web.archive.org/web/20220630235944/https://theintercept.com/20
22/06/30/supreme-court-epa-climate-charles-koch/

The Joss Whedon script for Serenity, where Wash lives, is Serenity-190pages.pdf at https://www.mediafire.com/two

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Sunday, July 3, 2022 6:55 AM

The Joss Whedon script for Serenity, where Wash lives, is Serenity-190pages.pdf at https://www.mediafire.com/two

The Nightmare Scenario SCOTUS is Plotting For the 2024 Election Takeover

This scenario isn’t just plausible: it’s probable. GOP-controlled states are already changing their state laws to allow for it, regardless of how their people vote

Six Republicans on the Supreme Court just announced — a story that has largely flown under the nation’s political radar — that they’ll consider pre-rigging the presidential election of 2024.

Here’s how one aspect of it could work out, if they go along with the GOP’s arguments that will be before the Court this October:

It’s November, 2024, and the presidential race between Biden and DeSantis has been tabulated by the states and called by the networks. Biden won 84,355,740 votes to DeSantis’ 77,366,412, clearly carrying the popular vote.

But the popular vote isn’t enough: George W. Bush lost to Al Gore by a half-million votes and Donald Trump lost to Hillary Clinton by 3 million votes but both ended up in the White House. What matters is the Electoral College vote, and that looks good for Biden, too.

As CNN is reporting, the outcome is a virtual clone of the 2020 election: Biden carries the same states he did that year and DeSantis gets all the Trump states. It’s 306 to 232 in the Electoral College, a 74-vote Electoral College lead for Biden, at least as calculated by CNN and the rest of the media. Biden is heading to the White House for another 4 years.

Until the announcement comes out of Georgia. Although Biden won the popular vote in Georgia, their legislature decided it can overrule the popular vote and just awarded the state’s 16 electoral votes to DeSantis instead of Biden.

An hour later we hear from five other states with Republican-controlled legislatures where Biden won the majority of the vote, just like he had in 2020: North Carolina (15 electoral votes), Wisconsin (10), Michigan (16), Pennsylvania (20) and Arizona (11).

Each has followed Georgia’s lead and their legislatures have awarded their Electoral College votes — even though Biden won the popular vote in each state — to DeSantis.

Thus, a total of 88 Electoral College votes from those six states move from Biden to DeSantis, who’s declared the winner and will be sworn in on January 20, 2025.

Wolf Blitzer announces that DeSantis has won the election, and millions of people pour into the streets to protest. They’re met with a hail of bullets as Republican-affiliated militias have been rehearsing for this exact moment.

Just as happened when Pinochet’s militias shot into crowds as he took over Chile, Mussolini’s volunteer militia the Blackshirts killed civilians as he took over Italy, and Hitler’s volunteer Brownshirts did the same in Germany, their allies among the police refuse to intervene.

After a few thousand people lay dead in the streets of two dozen cities, the police begin to round up the surviving “instigators,” who are charged with seditious conspiracy for resisting the Republican legislatures of their states.

After he’s sworn in on January 20th, President DeSantis points to the ongoing demonstrations, declares a permanent state of emergency, and suspends future elections, just as Trump had repeatedly told the world he planned for 2020.

Sound far fetched?

Six Republicans on the Supreme Court just announced that one of the first cases they’ll decide next year could include whether that very scenario is constitutional or not. And at least 5 of the Republicans on this Court will almost certainly say that it is.

Article II, Section 1 of the Constitution lays out the process clearly, and it doesn’t even once mention the popular vote or the will of the people:

“Each State shall appoint, in such Manner as the Legislature thereof may direct, a Number of Electors, equal to the whole Number of Senators and Representatives to which the State may be entitled in the Congress... [emphasis added]

“The Electors shall meet in their respective States, and vote by Ballot for two Persons … which List they shall sign and certify, and transmit sealed to the Seat of the Government of the United States, directed to the President of the Senate. The President of the Senate shall, in the Presence of the Senate and House of Representatives, open all the Certificates, and the Votes shall then be counted. The Person having the greatest Number of Votes shall be the President…”

It’s not particularly ambiguous, even as clarified by the 12th Amendment and the Electoral Count Act of 1887.

Neither mentions the will of the people, although the Electoral Count Act requires each state’s governor to certify the vote before passing it along to Washington, DC. And half of those states have Democratic governors.

Which brings us to the Supreme Court’s probable 2023 decision. As Robert Barnes wrote yesterday for The Washington Post:

“The Supreme Court on Thursday said it will consider what would be a radical change in the way federal elections are conducted, giving state legislatures sole authority to set the rules for contests even if their actions violated state constitutions and resulted in extreme partisan gerrymandering for congressional seats.”

While the main issue being debated in Moore v Harper, scheduled for a hearing this October, is a gerrymander that conflicts with North Carolina’s constitution, the issue at the core of the debate is what’s called the “Independent State Legislature Doctrine.”

It literally gives state legislatures the power to pre-rig or simply hand elections to the candidate of their choice.

More at https://hartmannreport.com/p/the-nightmare-scenario-scotus-is

The Joss Whedon script for Serenity, where Wash lives, is Serenity-190pages.pdf at https://www.mediafire.com/two

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Monday, July 4, 2022 6:44 AM

The Joss Whedon script for Serenity, where Wash lives, is Serenity-190pages.pdf at https://www.mediafire.com/two

America Is Growing Apart

It may be time to stop talking about “red” and “blue” America. That’s the provocative conclusion of Michael Podhorzer, a longtime political strategist for labor unions and the chair of the Analyst Institute, a collaborative of progressive groups that studies elections. In a private newsletter that he writes for a small group of activists, Podhorzer recently laid out a detailed case for thinking of the two blocs as fundamentally different nations uneasily sharing the same geographic space.

“When we think about the United States, we make the essential error of imagining it as a single nation, a marbled mix of Red and Blue people,” Podhorzer writes. “But in truth, we have never been one nation. We are more like a federated republic of two nations: Blue Nation and Red Nation. This is not a metaphor; it is a geographic and historical reality.” . . .

The big story remains that blue states are benefiting more as the nation transitions into a high-productivity, 21st-century information economy, and red states (apart from their major metropolitan centers participating in that economy) are suffering as the powerhouse industries of the 20th century — agriculture, manufacturing, and fossil-fuel extraction — decline. (Biden-voting counties equal 70% of America’s economy. https://www.brookings.edu/blog/the-avenue/2020/11/09/biden-voting-coun
ties-equal-70-of-americas-economy-what-does-this-mean-for-the-nations-political-economic-divide/ )

The gross domestic product per person and the median household income are now both more than 25 percent greater in the blue section than in the red, according to Podhorzer’s calculations. The share of kids in poverty is more than 20 percent lower in the blue section than red, and the share of working households with incomes below the poverty line is nearly 40 percent lower. Health outcomes are diverging too. Gun deaths are almost twice as high per capita in the red places as in the blue, as is the maternal mortality rate. The COVID vaccination rate is about 20 percent higher in the blue section, and the per capita COVID death rate is about 20 percent higher in the red. Life expectancy is nearly three years greater in the blue (80.1 years) than the red (77.4) states. (On most of these measures, the purple states, fittingly, fall somewhere in between.)

Per capita spending on elementary and secondary education is almost 50 percent higher in the blue states compared with red. All of the blue states have expanded access to Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act, while about 60 percent of the total red-nation population lives in states that have refused to do so. All of the blue states have set a minimum wage higher than the federal level of $7.25, while only about one-third of the red-state residents live in places that have done so. Right-to-work laws are common in the red states and nonexistent in the blue, with the result that the latter have a much higher share of unionized workers than the former. No state in the blue section has a law on the books banning abortion before fetal viability, while almost all of the red states are poised to restrict abortion rights if the Republican-appointed Supreme Court majority, as expected, overturns Roe v. Wade. Almost all of the red states have also passed “stand your ground” laws backed by the National Rifle Association, which provide a legal defense for those who use weapons against a perceived threat, while none of the blue states have done so.

The flurry of socially conservative laws that red states have passed since 2021, on issues such as abortion; classroom discussions of race, gender, and sexual orientation; and LGBTQ rights, is widening this split. No Democratic-controlled state has passed any of those measures.

Lilliana Mason, a Johns Hopkins University political scientist, told me that the experience of Jim Crow segregation offers an important reference point for understanding how far red states might take this movement to roll back civil rights and liberties—not that they literally would seek to restore segregation, but that they are comfortable with “a time when states” had laws so “entirely different” that they created a form of domestic apartheid. As the distance widens between the two sections, she said, “there are all kinds of potential for really deep disruptions, social disruptions, that aren’t just about our feelings and our opinions.”

To Podhorzer, the growing separation means that after the period of fading distinctions, bedrock differences dating back to the country’s founding are resurfacing. And one crucial element of that, he argues, is the return of what he calls “one-party rule in the red nation.”

With some complex but telling statistical calculations, he documents a return to historical patterns from the Jim Crow era in which the dominant party (segregationist Democrats then, conservative Republicans now) has skewed the playing field to achieve a level of political dominance in the red nation far beyond its level of popular support. Undergirding that advantage, he argues, are laws that make registering or voting in many of the red states more difficult, and severe gerrymanders that have allowed Republicans to virtually lock in indefinite control of many state legislatures. Grumbach reached a similar conclusion in a recent paper analyzing trends in small-d democracy across the states. “It’s a really stacked deck in these states because of this democratic backsliding,” Grumbach said.

The core question that Podhorzer’s analysis raises is how the United States will function with two sections that are moving so far apart. History, in my view, offers two models.

During the seven decades of legal Jim Crow segregation from the 1890s through the 1960s, the principal goal of the southern states at the core of red America was defensive: They worked tirelessly to prevent federal interference with state-sponsored segregation but did not seek to impose it on states outside the region.

By contrast, in the last years before the Civil War, the South’s political orientation was offensive: Through the courts (the 1857 Dred Scott decision) and in Congress (the Kansas-Nebraska Act in 1854), its principal aim was to authorize the expansion of slavery into more territories and states. Rather than just protecting slavery within their borders, the Southern states sought to control federal policy to impose their vision across more of the nation, including, potentially, to the point of overriding the prohibitions against slavery in the free states.

It seems unlikely that the Trump-era Republicans installing the policy priorities of their preponderantly white and Christian coalition across the red states will be satisfied just setting the rules in the places now under their control. Podhorzer, like Mason and Grumbach, believes that the MAGA movement’s long-term goal is to tilt the electoral rules in enough states to make winning Congress or the White House almost impossible for Democrats. Then, with support from the GOP-appointed majority on the Supreme Court, Republicans could impose red-state values and programs nationwide, even if most Americans oppose them. The “MAGA movement is not stopping at the borders of the states it already controls,” Podhorzer writes. “It seeks to conquer as much territory as possible by any means possible.”

The Trump model, in other words, is more the South in 1850 than the South in 1950, more John Calhoun than Richard Russell. (Some red-state Republicans are even distantly echoing Calhoun in promising to nullify — that is, defy — federal laws with which they disagree.) That doesn’t mean that Americans are condemned to fight one another again as they did after the 1850s. But it does mean that the 2020s may bring the greatest threats to the country’s basic stability since those dark and tumultuous years.

More at https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2022/06/red-and-blue-stat
e-divide-is-growing-michael-podhorzer-newsletter/661377/

or

https://web.archive.org/web/20220702200612/https://www.theatlantic.com
/politics/archive/2022/06/red-and-blue-state-divide-is-growing-michael-podhorzer-newsletter/661377/

The Joss Whedon script for Serenity, where Wash lives, is Serenity-190pages.pdf at https://www.mediafire.com/two

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Monday, July 4, 2022 10:35 AM

Quote:
Originally posted by second:
After he’s sworn in on January 20th, President DeSantis points to the ongoing demonstrations, declares a permanent state of emergency, and suspends future elections, just as Trump had repeatedly told the world he planned for 2020.

Trump NEVER once said this.

Also, Trump will be your next President.

--------------------------------------------------

Falsus in unum, falsus in omnibus

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Tuesday, July 5, 2022 7:42 AM

The Joss Whedon script for Serenity, where Wash lives, is Serenity-190pages.pdf at https://www.mediafire.com/two

Quote:
Originally posted by 6IXSTRINGJACK:
Quote:
Originally posted by second:
After he’s sworn in on January 20th, President DeSantis points to the ongoing demonstrations, declares a permanent state of emergency, and suspends future elections, just as Trump had repeatedly told the world he planned for 2020.

Trump NEVER once said this.

Also, Trump will be your next President.

Not if DeSantis kicks Trump's fat ass. By the way, Trump did say it and DeSantis can use it to kick Trump's fat ass. DeSantis can also blame Trump for the Supreme Court, which destroyed some very popular policies:

The supreme court adjourned on Thursday, after a week of decisions that blew up much of the framework of American policy and politics. The court’s targets were adopted in a few short years in the 1960s and 1970s.

Roe v Wade dates to 1973, the fruit of many year’s work by committed feminists. Thursday’s attack on the ability of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to regulate greenhouse gases guts the Clean Air Act, which in its strong form dates from 1970 – indeed, both that law and the EPA itself were the result of the first Earth Day protests in April of that year, which drew 20 million Americans (10% of the country’s population in those days) into the streets demanding action. Even firearms sanity, badly weakened once more in last week’s decision on concealed carry permits, reached its zenith in 1968 with the passage of the Gun Control Act in response to the assassinations of that turbulent year.

It’s pretty clear that some on the high court have other gains from that era in their sights: Justice Clarence Thomas singled out the 1960s protections for contraception, and the drive for equal rights for LGBTQ+ people that broke into the open at the Stonewall protests in 1969. And the court and conservative legislatures have worked steadily to undermine the protections of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, restricting the franchise that the civil rights movement had once worked so powerfully to extend.

This attack on the political and cultural transformations of that remarkable period should remind us that with committed effort change really can come fast. All who witnessed these transformations now watch as they are washed away.

There are 70 million Americans over the age of 60 (and 10,000 more every day). They vote in huge numbers, and they have most of the wealth – about 70% of the country’s financial assets. So both Washington and Wall Street would need to worry if they re-emerged as a force for progress.

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2022/jul/03/us-supreme-court
-term-roe-v-wade

The Joss Whedon script for Serenity, where Wash lives, is Serenity-190pages.pdf at https://www.mediafire.com/two

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Tuesday, July 5, 2022 11:38 AM

Quote:
Originally posted by second:
Quote:
Originally posted by 6IXSTRINGJACK:
Quote:
Originally posted by second:
After he’s sworn in on January 20th, President DeSantis points to the ongoing demonstrations, declares a permanent state of emergency, and suspends future elections, just as Trump had repeatedly told the world he planned for 2020.

Trump NEVER once said this.

Also, Trump will be your next President.
Not if DeSantis kicks Trump's fat ass. By the way, Trump did say it and DeSantis can use it to kick Trump's fat ass.

No. Trump didn't say it.

DeSantis won't kick Trump's ass. He's a hopeful for a future President, but the best thing he can do for himself is support Trump's reelection.

Trump WANTS the job. DeSantis has no interest filling that seat with all of the problems that Democrats will be laying in his lap. He's still young. He's got plenty of time to let Trump and maybe even one other person fix all the shit that Democrats have been destroying before he gets the job.

I do find it hilarious that both you and Cap'n now have started talking positive about DeSantis. That's exactly what your Leftist Media Masters have been telling you to think and say.

I wonder if you even notice it when they do it anymore, or if it's just automatic?

--------------------------------------------------

Falsus in unum, falsus in omnibus

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Tuesday, July 5, 2022 6:38 PM

Every day just spells out more doom for Democrats.

Ba da ba ba ba..... I'm lovin' it!

--------------------------------------------------

Falsus in unum, falsus in omnibus

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Wednesday, July 6, 2022 7:29 AM

The Joss Whedon script for Serenity, where Wash lives, is Serenity-190pages.pdf at https://www.mediafire.com/two

July 4, 2022 -- There is currently a documentary series on HBO Max called, The Way Down, which chronicles the religious (cult?) leader, Gwen Shamblin Lara. She founded and became wealthy from a large, evangelical church in Tennessee with a strange emphasis on weight loss. It’s a good series if you’re into the anthropological study of how so many seemingly normal people can fall for an obvious charlatan, but all that aside, you have to see her hair. It’s the biggest thing you’ve likely ever seen growing out of a living person’s head.

It’s difficult not to notice how many people in positions of dubious authority wear big, crazy hair. I’ve not made a scientific study of this but it seems to me that TV evangelists are traditionally the most famous for this and, since that group grew from the rural American faithful, the early ones were likely imitating a group that rural Americans already adored, country-western singers. But I think there is something deeper at work here than simple celebrity impersonation. I’ll get to that in a minute.

First, if you tune into any number of Christian preacher shows on TV, you’ll likely see the men strutting around with pompadours of power, while their wives are parading an imposing tower of protein above their pates as well. I’m not sure if this is a trick we borrowed from other species or if it is also evolutionarily ingrained in us, but it works. We see it in politicians of late, too. I think it is no coincidence that Donald Trump and Boris Johnson both sport absurd cockscombs.

Is it a coincidence that the leader of a troupe of apes is the male with the biggest, most colorful or bulbous face? . . . I think a similar concept is at play with politicians.

I’ve also noticed this trick works better with conservatives than with liberals and, not surprisingly, I have a theory about that, too. If you’re looking for a leader who is intelligent, well-educated, compassionate, who embraces science, honors the environment, and cares about making the world a better place, you’re going to go for the nebbishy guy with glasses, or the sensible, well-spoken woman with a sophisticated style. But if you’re looking for an authority figure, someone who will take charge and protect you from the myriad things you are afraid of (modern conservative politics are all about “fear of other”) you want the person who is in your face and can physically dominate and intimidate others. It’s also a common animal response when threatened to puff themselves up and make themselves look larger. Giant hair achieves this, too. It is intimidating to others, aggressive even. If you’re face-to-face with a person whose weird hairdo towers above you and you are a normal, polite person, you are at their mercy. They can say and do whatever they want because you’re using all your energy not to stare at their crazy hair or comment on it. You have no idea what they’re saying because you can’t stop thinking, Is this person serious?!

Additionally, outlandish costumes are a traditional sign of authority. Big hair can be seen as a tonsorial substitute for a uniform with a disco mirrorball of medals and brass buttons, and a big Napoleon hat or a crown. And the same subconscious assumption is at work here as it is in the animal kingdom: if this guy can rise through the ranks of successful powerholders looking like a complete idiot, and not get laughed out of the room, he must be a real badass! Plus, he’s easy to spot in a crowd, so I’ll have no trouble following him.

If America continues on its collision course with theocracy, and if Gwen Shamblin had not perished in a plane crash, she may have been its first female president. I suppose there is some small consolation in knowing we’ve dodged at least that bullet.

Happy Independence Day! -- https://www.bizarro.com/blog/2022/7/4/hidden-meanings

https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5c08178c1137a64a2bef43f2
/edaddf26-b891-4ad4-b350-00713dcb47ed/gTrumpJohnson.jpeg
https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5c08178c1137a64a2bef43f2
/e9e78ddc-ba5c-41d4-a9dc-dfd66267e82f/gOrangutan.jpeg

The Joss Whedon script for Serenity, where Wash lives, is Serenity-190pages.pdf at https://www.mediafire.com/two

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Wednesday, July 6, 2022 7:55 AM

... stay crunchy...

Quote:
Originally posted by 6IXSTRINGJACK:

I do find it hilarious that both you and Cap'n now have started talking positive about DeSantis. That's exactly what your Leftist Media Masters have been telling you to think and say.

How much does Ziggy pay you to say the dumbest sht imaginable? There's no other explanation.

Trump's time is over, get used to it. That leaves the Reps with .... who? I asked the same question about the Dems. No one is coming forward. They're all too scared. This could be an election where nobody wants anybody to win.

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Wednesday, July 6, 2022 8:05 AM

... stay crunchy...

Quote:
Originally posted by second:
July 4, 2022 -- There is currently a documentary series on HBO Max called, The Way Down, which chronicles the religious (cult?) leader, Gwen Shamblin Lara. She founded and became wealthy from a large, evangelical church in Tennessee with a strange emphasis on weight loss. It’s a good series if you’re into the anthropological study of how so many seemingly normal people can fall for an obvious charlatan, but all that aside, you have to see her hair. It’s the biggest thing you’ve likely ever seen growing out of a living person’s head.

It’s difficult not to notice how many people in positions of dubious authority wear big, crazy hair. I’ve not made a scientific study of this but it seems to me that TV evangelists are traditionally the most famous for this and, since that group grew from the rural American faithful, the early ones were likely imitating a group that rural Americans already adored, country-western singers. But I think there is something deeper at work here than simple celebrity impersonation. I’ll get to that in a minute.

Ha - funny stuff.

It's a near daily wonder how soooooo many Americans were duped by Trump for so long. Duped to the point of committing violence and risking lengthy jail time by breaking into the capital. The image of protestors trying to impale cops with an American flag is so heavy with irony and Message that it almost breaks the screen. These are the very people Trump had the least amount of respect for (if any). How does someone from the sticks think a slick, constantly lying super wealthy big city Real Estate dude is going to be on their side??? It's one of the great mysteries.

Don't forget facial hair, second. Big deal with the warring thugs in the middle east. And also Stalin's 'stache.

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Wednesday, July 6, 2022 11:58 AM

Quote:
Originally posted by captaincrunch:
Quote:
Originally posted by second:
July 4, 2022 -- There is currently a documentary series on HBO Max called, The Way Down, which chronicles the religious (cult?) leader, Gwen Shamblin Lara. She founded and became wealthy from a large, evangelical church in Tennessee with a strange emphasis on weight loss. It’s a good series if you’re into the anthropological study of how so many seemingly normal people can fall for an obvious charlatan, but all that aside, you have to see her hair. It’s the biggest thing you’ve likely ever seen growing out of a living person’s head.

It’s difficult not to notice how many people in positions of dubious authority wear big, crazy hair. I’ve not made a scientific study of this but it seems to me that TV evangelists are traditionally the most famous for this and, since that group grew from the rural American faithful, the early ones were likely imitating a group that rural Americans already adored, country-western singers. But I think there is something deeper at work here than simple celebrity impersonation. I’ll get to that in a minute.

Ha - funny stuff.

It's a near daily wonder how soooooo many Americans were duped by Trump for so long. Duped to the point of committing violence and risking lengthy jail time by breaking into the capital. The image of protestors trying to impale cops with an American flag is so heavy with irony and Message that it almost breaks the screen. These are the very people Trump had the least amount of respect for (if any). How does someone from the sticks think a slick, constantly lying super wealthy big city Real Estate dude is going to be on their side??? It's one of the great mysteries.

Don't forget facial hair, second. Big deal with the warring thugs in the middle east. And also Stalin's 'stache.

Yup. We were duped by 3.5 years of low gas prices, no new wars, acceptable employment numbers, acceptable inflation numbers.

Meanwhile, the asshole you voted for and his cadre of diversity hires he put everywhere have destroyed the economy, the supply chain, and American's hope for the future.

Trump isn't going anywhere. He's going to be your next President.

--------------------------------------------------

Falsus in unum, falsus in omnibus

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Wednesday, July 6, 2022 12:00 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by captaincrunch:
Quote:
Originally posted by 6IXSTRINGJACK:

I do find it hilarious that both you and Cap'n now have started talking positive about DeSantis. That's exactly what your Leftist Media Masters have been telling you to think and say.

How much does Ziggy pay you to say the dumbest sht imaginable? There's no other explanation.

Trump's time is over, get used to it. That leaves the Reps with .... who? I asked the same question about the Dems. No one is coming forward. They're all too scared. This could be an election where nobody wants anybody to win.

Trump's time is over? lol

Then you follow it up with nobody wants to run.

Trump wants to run.

And you're right... Democrats have NOBODY to run.

--------------------------------------------------

Falsus in unum, falsus in omnibus

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Wednesday, July 6, 2022 5:25 PM

... stay crunchy...

Quote:
Originally posted by 6IXSTRINGJACK:
Trump's time is over? lol

Then you follow it up with nobody wants to run.

Trump wants to run.

And you're right... Democrats have NOBODY to run.

Trump wants you and every other 'Tard to think he is running so he can milk every last sent from you. How do you not see him for the Grifter he is?

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Wednesday, July 6, 2022 8:48 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by captaincrunch:
Quote:
Originally posted by 6IXSTRINGJACK:
Trump's time is over? lol

Then you follow it up with nobody wants to run.

Trump wants to run.

And you're right... Democrats have NOBODY to run.

Trump wants you and every other 'Tard to think he is running so he can milk every last sent from you. How do you not see him for the Grifter he is?

That's funny. I haven't given Trump a cent.

Let me ask you this... Why do YOU believe he's not going to run?

--------------------------------------------------

Falsus in unum, falsus in omnibus

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Thursday, July 7, 2022 8:13 AM

... stay crunchy...

Quote:
Originally posted by 6IXSTRINGJACK:
Let me ask you this... Why do YOU believe he's not going to run?

From observing life arcs. Trump may actually *think* he's going to run, who knows what's in that rat's nest brain of his ($$), but he captured lighting in a bottle in 2016 because of extraordinary circumstances and timing, and those things are never going to align again. 2020 was a sign of how unique 2016 was. He lost to a complete underdog. Watch any sports? Teams have their time, they rise and fall. Always and forever. Some stay up longer than others but they always fall. Jan 6 was Trump's final last gasp at holding on, but it was also the start of his fall. He's older and even crazier now (wait until 2024). He's not on every channel or social platform, not getting as much notice, not like before. His schtick is old, he's old, his old supporters are distancing themselves or turning on him. The magic - whatever it was - is gone, and the novelty has been dulled by repetition. Shows and athletes and politicians come and go - always. Cya bye, go be a footnote.

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Thursday, July 7, 2022 8:17 AM

The Joss Whedon script for Serenity, where Wash lives, is Serenity-190pages.pdf at https://www.mediafire.com/two

How the Democrats Forgot the New Deal and Paved the Way for Trumpism

Author Robert Kuttner on how Biden can keep American fascism at bay.

Kuttner Interview:
https://theintercept.com/2022/07/01/deconstructed-fdr-biden-new-deal-r
obert-kuttner/

In Robert Kuttner’s new book, “Going Big: FDR’s Legacy, Biden’s New Deal, and the Struggle to Save Democracy,” he explains how we got to our present political inflection point, how high the stakes are, and what comes next.

Download Kuttner’s books for free from the mirrors at https://libgen.unblockit.name/search.php?req=Robert+Kuttner

Download “How the Democrats Forgot” from Cloudflare at https://libgen.unblockit.name/libraryp2/main/0C5A51958BE9C56AB9BA5739D
26FC230

We got very, very lucky. There was an assassination attempt on Roosevelt’s life in Florida in January or February 1933 before he takes the oath of office, and the assassin gets within 6 or 7 feet of the president-elect and hits the mayor of Chicago by mistake who dies. Roosevelt is not struck.

And had the assassin’s bullet been true, the President of the United States in March 1933 would have been John Nance Garner, Cactus Jack, and we would not have had a New Deal.

We also got lucky in that Roosevelt was gradually getting more and more radicalized. He had been a liberal progressive governor of New York but he starts out campaigning against Hoover from the right for deficit spending. And it’s only during that period between the time of his election and the time of his inauguration that he really appreciates how bad things are, and how radical the remedies need to be. And then you have the first 100 days, of course, and a lot more. And you also have people pushing on Roosevelt from his left.

And, miraculously, it all comes together. We have a huge amount of regulation of finance. We have the invention of the modern housing mortgage system; four different New Deal agencies. We have public capital through the Reconstruction Finance Corporation. We have social security. We have the Wagner Act, and within the space of a decade, complemented by World War II, when the state is even more powerful, we have the government in league with organized workers acting as a counterweight to capitalism.

And it works. It works. The New Deal gets the economy about halfway out of the Great Depression; World War II does the rest. It’s the very rare circumstance where we don’t have a depression after a war.

The Joss Whedon script for Serenity, where Wash lives, is Serenity-190pages.pdf at https://www.mediafire.com/two

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Thursday, July 7, 2022 9:39 AM

Quote:
Originally posted by captaincrunch:
Quote:
Originally posted by 6IXSTRINGJACK:
Let me ask you this... Why do YOU believe he's not going to run?

From observing life arcs. Trump may actually *think* he's going to run, who knows what's in that rat's nest brain of his ($$), but he captured lighting in a bottle in 2016 because of extraordinary circumstances and timing, and those things are never going to align again. 2020 was a sign of how unique 2016 was. He lost to a complete underdog. Watch any sports? Teams have their time, they rise and fall. Always and forever. Some stay up longer than others but they always fall. Jan 6 was Trump's final last gasp at holding on, but it was also the start of his fall. He's older and even crazier now (wait until 2024). He's not on every channel or social platform, not getting as much notice, not like before. His schtick is old, he's old, his old supporters are distancing themselves or turning on him. The magic - whatever it was - is gone, and the novelty has been dulled by repetition. Shows and athletes and politicians come and go - always. Cya bye, go be a footnote.

Okay, but none of that is actual reality. It's what your news sites tell you is reality.

Trump is the only ex-President that anybody has decided was worth keeping track of in favorability polling, and for more than a year now he polls more favorably than Biden* does.

If Trump decides to run, DeSantis isn't going to seriously run against him. And DeSantis is the only other person right now that the GOP would even consider letting a Primary challenge even happen. They're not going to do that for Ted Cruz. Why would the GOP have their own eating each other on stage when they can just sit back and let all of the Democrats with lower approval ratings than Trump eat each other in the months leading up to the election?

Democrats only have two options. Let the old senile man who will lose to anybody the GOP puts up there run again, or suffer the embarrassment of having to have a primary while one of their own is still President.

Many states aren't even going to have a primary if Trump runs. He's still technically the incumbent for the party.

This dog and pony show about January 6th amounts to nothing. All polling shows that even Democrats don't care about it with inflation and gas prices.

If Trump decides to run again, he will be re-elected as your President in 2024. Whether he's running against Biden or anybody else makes no difference. The Democrats don't have a single person who could beat him.

--------------------------------------------------

Falsus in unum, falsus in omnibus

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Thursday, July 7, 2022 11:39 AM

... stay crunchy...

Quote:
Originally posted by 6IXSTRINGJACK:
Okay, but none of that is actual reality. It's what your news sites tell you is reality.

Um, yeah. Which things aren't real? Which news sites do I watch and how would you know?

Quote:
Originally posted by 6IXSTRINGJACK:
Trump is the only ex-President that anybody has decided was worth keeping track of in favorability polling, and for more than a year now he polls more favorably than Biden* does.

You who are so unwise as to how this big world turns. Trump makes more money for other people - especially media owners and especially online - than just about anyone in living history. Actually, maybe the Kardashians make more for other people. Anyhow, if anyone is tracking Trump for any data point (like popularity) it's to make $. Simple. There is no other reason. And Trump has a rabid following, so baked in attention. Doesn't matter if you have ever donate a penny, your interest in his polling numbers on a daily basis adds to his bank account and to the sites that are professing to have that data. Times every MAGA with a computer or smart phone and cha-ching.

Quote:
Originally posted by 6IXSTRINGJACK:
If Trump decides to run, DeSantis isn't going to seriously run against him.

Fck yeah he will. He's got an ego and wants to be president. He's not going to wait. AND he smells blood in the water. He knows Trump is dead meat.

Quote:
Originally posted by 6IXSTRINGJACK:
Why would the GOP have their own eating each other on stage when they can just sit back and let all of the Democrats with lower approval ratings than Trump eat each other in the months leading up to the election?

Because ratings would be through the roof. Two fat mouthy fckers teeing off on each other, young versus old. It's total American TV. WWF in politics. Trump knows like any great advertiser attention is almost everything, way more important than message.

Quote:
Originally posted by 6IXSTRINGJACK:
Democrats only have two options. Let the old senile man who will lose to anybody the GOP puts up there run again, or suffer the embarrassment of having to have a primary while one of their own is still President.

Naw, any embarrassment is fleeting and not that great when you consider the alternative. In truth, you might read Dems today saying they'd vote Biden, but as we get closer they're going to be hoping for someone else. But whatever - if it came down to it I'd vote Biden on a ventilator over any Trump and I'm probably like most voters who hate Trump. I think Biden is as much toast as Trump though. I think we're in trouble if either wins.

Quote:
Originally posted by 6IXSTRINGJACK:
Many states aren't even going to have a primary if Trump runs. He's still technically the incumbent for the party.

You should contact DeSantis - he's running ads already that sure look like prez ads. Plus, you got Musk and Rogan pimping for him.

Quote:
Originally posted by 6IXSTRINGJACK:
This dog and pony show about January 6th amounts to nothing. All polling shows that even Democrats don't care about it with inflation and gas prices.

Too early. Both can change by 2024.

Quote:
Originally posted by 6IXSTRINGJACK:
If Trump decides to run again, he will be re-elected as your President in 2024. Whether he's running against Biden or anybody else makes no difference. The Democrats don't have a single person who could beat him.

Oh yeah? Michellllllle Ooooooooobama!

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Thursday, July 7, 2022 12:21 PM

I relish the idea of Michelle Obama running. That would be hilarious. Her time was the 2020 election. She missed her window of opportunity. The country is sick of Democrat politics and policy, you've lost the minority vote, and people want leadership... not woke diversity hires unfit for the job (*ahem* Kamala Harris).

Anyhow, I'm not even going to debate this with you any further. I'm right. You're wrong. Period.

And unlike Ted's endless Tick Tock threads, we actually have a date on this one. So until that day comes, I'll just be here to tell you that you're wrong every time you can't control your fingers from typing the impulses that your media mushified brain commands you to.

Do be a dear and stick around to take your lumps when this doesn't play out the way you wanted it to or you thought it would go.

I'm still waiting for Second to go back to the Cinema boards and take his on the hilarious loss of money for Disney that Lightyear turned out to be after he put down more personal attacks on me for daring to predict that it would be a flop when all the websites said it was going to be fabulous.

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Thursday, July 7, 2022 1:50 PM

... stay crunchy...

Quote:
Originally posted by 6IXSTRINGJACK:
So until that day comes, I'll just be here to tell you that you're wrong every time you can't control your fingers from typing the impulses that your media mushified brain commands you to.

No problem - no one would recognize you if you weren't being a total fckwad.

Quote:
Originally posted by 6IXSTRINGJACK:
Do be a dear and stick around to take your lumps when this doesn't play out the way you wanted it to or you thought it would go.

Man, you sure set the standard for taking lumps. Epic. How many times did you say Trump was guaranteed and you were going to drink liberal tears or some such BS? And then OPPS, you were totally, comprehensively embarrassed and humiliated. That wasn't bad enough for you though. Instead of owning it you made it EVEN WORSE by latching on to the "mail in ballot" conspiracy hoax that court after court - even Trump's SCOTUS - rejected almost out of hand. I should have been surprised you'd try that for cover, but you continue to show you have no shame or simple common sense.

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Thursday, July 7, 2022 6:06 PM

The Joss Whedon script for Serenity, where Wash lives, is Serenity-190pages.pdf at https://www.mediafire.com/two

Quote:
Originally posted by captaincrunch:

How many times did you say Trump was guaranteed and you were going to drink liberal tears or some such BS? And then OPPS, you were totally, comprehensively embarrassed and humiliated.

The GOP is less likely to lose next time. Why? Personnel changes to who counts the votes.

Three weeks ago, retired appellate Judge J. Michael Luttig issued a loud and clear warning that our democracy is on “a knife’s edge.” Luttig, whose conservative credentials are unquestioned, accused Donald Trump and his allies of raging “a war on democracy” and warned that they pose “a clear and present danger” to our nation.

Trump and MAGA Republicans have looked at where they fell short last time. So, this cycle, they are going all in to take over the administration and certification of elections. In several key states — Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Michigan — they are running Big Lie candidates for secretary of state.

Judge Luttig's statement:
https://www.cnn.com/2022/06/16/politics/read-luttig-statement/index.ht
ml

The Joss Whedon script for Serenity, where Wash lives, is Serenity-190pages.pdf at https://www.mediafire.com/two

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Thursday, July 7, 2022 6:20 PM

SIGNYM

I believe in solving problems, not sharing them.

Quote:
Originally posted by second:
Quote:
Originally posted by captaincrunch:

How many times did you say Trump was guaranteed and you were going to drink liberal tears or some such BS? And then OPPS, you were totally, comprehensively embarrassed and humiliated.
The GOP is less likely to lose next time. Why? Personnel changes to who counts the votes.

Is this a backhanded admission that Dem vote-counters swung the last vote?

-----------
Pity would be no more,
If we did not MAKE someone poor - William Blake

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Saturday, July 9, 2022 9:43 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by captaincrunch:
Quote:
Originally posted by 6IXSTRINGJACK:
So until that day comes, I'll just be here to tell you that you're wrong every time you can't control your fingers from typing the impulses that your media mushified brain commands you to.

No problem - no one would recognize you if you weren't being a total fckwad.

Quote:
Originally posted by 6IXSTRINGJACK:
Do be a dear and stick around to take your lumps when this doesn't play out the way you wanted it to or you thought it would go.

Man, you sure set the standard for taking lumps. Epic. How many times did you say Trump was guaranteed and you were going to drink liberal tears or some such BS?

I guaranty you I never once said anything as faggy as that.

Quote:
And then OPPS, you were totally, comprehensively embarrassed and humiliated. That wasn't bad enough for you though. Instead of owning it you made it EVEN WORSE by latching on to the "mail in ballot" conspiracy hoax that court after court - even Trump's SCOTUS - rejected almost out of hand. I should have been surprised you'd try that for cover, but you continue to show you have no shame or simple common sense.

I wasn't wrong. It was mail-in fraud. It could only be orchestrated by faking a pandemic and destroying the economy.

The Democrats are reaping the rewards of that as we speak.

I'm cool with how it all went down.

--------------------------------------------------

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Sunday, July 10, 2022 7:46 AM

The Joss Whedon script for Serenity, where Wash lives, is Serenity-190pages.pdf at https://www.mediafire.com/two

The post-Trump era has produced a library’s worth of books from people who had access to the rooms where decisions were made but kept quiet about the things they witnessed. The volumes mostly read as after-the-fact justifications for debatable behavior spiced up with a few damning anecdotes that feel too-little-too-late.

Tim Miller’s Why We Did It: A Travelogue from the Republican Road to Hell is not one of those books.

Miller was a self-described GOP “hit man” for the Republican National Committee and an opposition research firm he helped start. Along the way he got quite comfortable operating within the trollish zero-sum norms of “the Game,” inflaming voters who weren’t in on the joke.

Tim Miller’s new book reveals the ways he and his fellow GOP operatives poisoned the national discourse.

What distinguishes Miller’s book from many other insider accounts is his willingness to put his own behavior under the microscope. This confessional tone gives the book its distinctive oomph and affords Miller the license to dissect with mordant wit the many varieties of rationalization that his colleagues in the GOP employed.

“America never would’ve gotten into this mess if it weren’t for me and my friends.” That’s the first sentence. It’s a great first sentence. For those who have not yet read this book, what do you mean by that?

Tim Miller: I meant that the people in the conservative media ecosystem were necessary if not sufficient for the degradation of our political discourse, and for this very tumultuous political world that we live in.

My life’s work, frankly, was a net drag on the country and on our society. This whole notion that there should be someone who is a specialist in defaming their political foes in the media is not something I look back on with any pride.

A guy that I barely even know wrote on my Facebook page about how I was degrading the discourse, and all my friends were talking about how big of a jerk he was. This was when I started America Rising, which is an opposition research firm. And I sit here now and look at it, and that guy was exactly right. You can’t look at America Rising or any of the affiliated organizations that just specialize in trashing political foes and think that it’s anything but degrading the discourse. Donald Trump really just supercharged this game of smearing people and bad-faith attacks on opponents and tongue-in-cheek attacks on opponents where the voters and the readers aren’t in on the joke. I was doing all of that. Just not to the same degree as he was.

More of the interview with Tim Miller at https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2022/06/30/tim-miller-republica
n-campaigns-00043250

The Joss Whedon script for Serenity, where Wash lives, is Serenity-190pages.pdf at https://www.mediafire.com/two

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Sunday, July 10, 2022 8:29 AM

The Joss Whedon script for Serenity, where Wash lives, is Serenity-190pages.pdf at https://www.mediafire.com/two

Essay: Lost hope after Supreme Court decisions? We’ve been here before.

U.S. Sen. Lyman Trumbull of Illinois explained the act’s purpose just days after the 13th Amendment was certified:

“That amendment declared that all persons in the United States should be free,” Trumbull said as he introduced the bill. “There is very little importance in the general declaration of abstract truths and principles unless they can be carried into effect, unless the persons who are to be affected by them have some means of availing themselves of their benefits.”

But the 1866 bill did little to ensure Black people would be fully welcomed into the social and cultural life of their nation. To insist that they be admitted to theaters, allowed to book hotel rooms, and granted passage aboard trains, Sumner introduced a second Civil Rights Act in 1870. Congress, now full of members from the South, debated it for five years. Passage came in 1875, just after Sumner’s death in Washington.

But enforcing the new law proved difficult. By 1883, five cases alleging violations of the act had arrived at the high court. Black persons had been denied admission to theaters in New York and San Francisco, denied seats on a train and refused lodgings in a hotel. The court voted 8-1 to find that exclusions based on race were merely civil wrongs, not leftover vestiges of servitude, and therefore did not violate the 13th Amendment. And as for the 14th, the justices declared it had power only to stop racial discrimination by the states, not by private businesses or individuals.

Only Justice John Marshal Harlan, a unionist (and former slaveholder) from Kentucky, dissented.

Thirteen years later, the court ruled even state-mandated discrimination didn’t necessarily violate the Constitution. It upheld a Louisiana law requiring railroad operators to supply “separate but equal” coaches for white and Black passengers. In Plessy v. Ferguson, the justices reasoned the laws left no true harm. “We consider the underlying fallacy of the plaintiff’s argument to consist in the assumption that the enforced separation of the two races stamps the colored race with a badge of inferiority,” wrote Justice Henry Brown of Michigan. “If this be so, it is not by reason of anything found in the act, but solely because the colored race chooses to put that construction upon it.”

Again, only Justice Harlan dissented. Despite the demise of slavery, Harlan wrote that there remained in America a system adopted by “the states, by sinister legislation, to interfere with the full enjoyment of the blessings of freedom, to regulate civil rights, common to all citizens, upon the basis of race.”

Those bold words failed to win the day, and the majority’s argument in favor of racial discrimination would hold sway for more than a half-century. Racial segregation became the norm, especially — but not only — throughout the South. Together with the Civil Rights Cases of 1883, the holdings locked in place a system in America under which private citizens could discriminate at will, and state governments could enforce a separation that led to what seemed like a permanent underclass and second-class citizenship.

More at https://web.archive.org/web/20220709202111/https://www.houstonchronicl
e.com/opinion/outlook/article/Essay-Lost-hope-after-Supreme-Court-decisions-17293510.php

The Joss Whedon script for Serenity, where Wash lives, is Serenity-190pages.pdf at https://www.mediafire.com/two

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Monday, July 11, 2022 7:52 AM

JAYNEZTOWN

Rumors say he has illegal pics of his niece, is accused of masturbating in front of his niece
Beds, Russian Hookers and Ukraine...perhpas Hillary's Pissgate thing was not original meant for Trump but the Biden family, they never expected Jeb Bush to be a loser to Trump.

My apologies for the shit noises or music, I rarely if ever share tone deaf noisy electronic retarded CRAP Rap 'music' but maybe it is fitting here

https://gab.com/White__Rabbit/posts/108626756088319547

The Hunter Biden iPhone from hell telegram group has now gone. However telegram was bought out by islamic royals

Joe links and old Joe and Mommy knew about this stuff, missing guns
Hunter Biden seems out of his mind doing lots and lots of Drugs

Crack?
https://twitter.com/Phallustinian/status/1546286552086712322

demented sick family.

and early Joe was right to fight this drug culture, CRACK IS WHACK

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Tuesday, July 12, 2022 6:31 AM

The Joss Whedon script for Serenity, where Wash lives, is Serenity-190pages.pdf at https://www.mediafire.com/two

The Self-Fulfilling Prophecies of Clarence Thomas

For decades, Thomas has had a deeply pessimistic view of the country, rooted in his reading of the Fourteenth Amendment. After the Supreme Court’s recent opinions, his dystopia is becoming our reality.

Like so much else in this country, the largeness of Thomas’s vision hinges on the smallest of claims: two clauses, all of thirty-eight words, in the second sentence of the Fourteenth Amendment. One is the due-process clause, which Thomas believes has been misread. In Thomas’s view, that misreading is a stain on the nation—and the reason for its fall.

The due-process clause, which prohibits the state from depriving anyone of “life, liberty, or property, without the due process of the law,” is the basis for the constitutional right to contraception, same-sex sexual conduct, same-sex marriage, and, until a few weeks ago, abortion. To some, it might seem strange that the clause contains an affirmative right to anything. Doesn’t it simply require that the state declare the law, set out a punishment for violating the law, charge a suspect for its violation, try him in court, and so on? That, as it happens, is Thomas’s view.

But there’s a second, more expansive, interpretation of the clause, which holds that certain rights are so intrinsic to “liberty,” so fundamental to what it means to be free, that they may never be abridged without a vital reason. It’s not enough for the state to dot its “i”s and cross its “t”s before it takes those rights away. The state should not take them away at all—unless it must. Among those rights is privacy, from which derive the rights to contraception and so on.

Most liberals and conservatives accept some version of this second interpretation—which is called “substantive due process”—but argue over which rights it protects. Liberals say abortion; conservatives say guns. Thomas rejects the entire idea of substantive due process. In his concurrence in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, which overturned Roe v. Wade, Thomas calls substantive due process an “oxymoron” and a “legal fiction.” The due-process clause “guarantees process” only. Because it “does not secure any substantive rights,” he writes, “it does not secure a right to abortion.” The same goes for birth control, same-sex sexual conduct, and gay marriage.

Thomas’s argument against substantive due process is more than doctrinal. It’s political. In a speech before the Federalist Society and the Manhattan Institute which he gave in his second year on the Court, Thomas linked a broad reading of the due-process clause, with its ever-expanding list of “unenumerated” rights, to a liberal “rights revolution” that has undermined traditional authority and generated a culture of permissiveness and passivity. That revolution, which began with the New Deal and peaked in the nineteen-sixties, established the welfare state, weakened criminal law, and promulgated sexual freedom. The result has been personal dissipation and widespread disorder. Workers lose their incentive to labor. Men abandon wives and children. Criminals roam and rule the streets.

Today, the left ties itself into knots over whether it should defend sexual minorities, dismantle the carceral state, or fight for social democracy. For Thomas, these are three fronts of the same war. To reverse the downward spiral of social decadence and patriarchal decay, conservatives must undo the liberal culture of rights, starting with the unenumerated rights of substantive due process.

Thomas has never made a secret of his belief that the rights revolution hit Black people especially hard, destroying the Black patriarch whom Black women, children, and communities need for protection and instruction. “The salvation of our race,” he declared in 1985, depends upon “the strength and the will of black men.” But welfare “takes your manhood away,” as his grandfather told him. Sexual freedom takes husbands and fathers away, he told the students at a Black college in Savannah. Liberal criminal-justice policies take sons and brothers away: “The people who will suffer from our lofty pronouncements,” he writes in a dissent from a liberal Court opinion defending the rights of gang members, are those who live in Black neighborhoods. Because of their vulnerable position in American society, Black people have the greatest need of the stern patriarchal authority from which self-discipline and communal strength derive. Black fathers must become “the lion of children’s safety” and “the sheep of their peace.”

If misreading the due-process clause has caused the dissolution of Black men, another part of the Fourteenth Amendment offers their rehabilitation. For Thomas, the privileges-or-immunities clause, an obscure and mostly discarded provision that he has sought to resurrect for decades, promises the restoration of both his community and the country.

The privileges-or-immunities clause has its roots in the battle over slavery and emancipation. Before the Civil War, many Americans, particularly Southern slaveholders, argued that the Bill of Rights applied only to the federal government, leaving the states free to deny basic rights like the freedom of speech. With the privileges-or-immunities clause, which declares that “no State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States,” the authors of the Fourteenth Amendment hoped to abolish the distinction between the rights of national and state citizenship. From now on, all Americans, especially Black Americans, would enjoy fundamental rights and freedoms—“privileges or immunities”—which would be secured by the federal government. “No general assertion of human rights can be of any practical value,” Frederick Douglass declared, while “there remains such an idea as the right of each State to control its own local affairs.”

A persuasive argument, but it was never accepted. In a series of cases during Reconstruction and its aftermath, the Court gutted the meaning of the privileges-or-immunities clause, forcing later activists and lawyers to rely upon the equal-protection clause and the due-process clause to advance the claims of Black people, women, and queer people. Thomas believes that this was a crucial mistake, and that the Court’s precedents on the privileges-or-immunities clause should be revisited. The clause “gives us a foundation for interpreting not only cases involving race,” he writes, “but the entire Constitution and its scheme of protecting rights.”

Lest we think that Thomas imagines anything like the rights that contemporary liberals defend, he made clear, in Saenz v. Roe (1999), that his interpretation of the privileges-or-immunities clause would protect only a narrow range of rights. Abortion is not one of them; neither is same-sex marriage. But he does include the right to bear arms, which he views as the right that precedes all others.

More at https://web.archive.org/web/20220710123930/https://www.newyorker.com/n
ews/daily-comment/the-self-fulfilling-prophecies-of-clarence-thomas

The Joss Whedon script for Serenity, where Wash lives, is Serenity-190pages.pdf at https://www.mediafire.com/two

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Thursday, July 14, 2022 10:08 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by captaincrunch:
Quote:
Originally posted by 6IXSTRINGJACK:
Let me ask you this... Why do YOU believe he's not going to run?

From observing life arcs. Trump may actually *think* he's going to run, who knows what's in that rat's nest brain of his ($$), but he captured lighting in a bottle in 2016 because of extraordinary circumstances and timing, and those things are never going to align again. 2020 was a sign of how unique 2016 was. He lost to a complete underdog. Watch any sports? Teams have their time, they rise and fall. Always and forever. Some stay up longer than others but they always fall. Jan 6 was Trump's final last gasp at holding on, but it was also the start of his fall. He's older and even crazier now (wait until 2024). He's not on every channel or social platform, not getting as much notice, not like before. His schtick is old, he's old, his old supporters are distancing themselves or turning on him. The magic - whatever it was - is gone, and the novelty has been dulled by repetition. Shows and athletes and politicians come and go - always. Cya bye, go be a footnote.

Lightning in a Bottle: The RealClearPolitics polling average shows Trump well ahead of his potential GOP challengers, averaging 53 percent of the vote, followed by DeSantis with 20.5 percent.

https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/3559279-trump-says-hes-made-up-h
is-mind-about-2024-big-decision-is-if-announcement-is-before-or-after-midterms/

All he needs to do is be the Republican front runner. There's zero chance a Democrat is winning the Presidency in 2024 after Biden*.

And since most states aren't even going to put any challengers on a Primary ballot if Trump announces, it's going to be hilarious watching the Incumbent Party duke it out in primaries while they've currently got a sitting President* and Trump can just make fun of all the dumb shit and lies they're saying while they're all tearing each other down.

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Falsus in unum, falsus in omnibus

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Friday, July 15, 2022 5:32 AM

The Joss Whedon script for Serenity, where Wash lives, is Serenity-190pages.pdf at https://www.mediafire.com/two

How Hillary Clinton unleashed the Great Awokening

Time at last to refight the 2016 primary

by Matthew Yglesias

The 2016 presidential election was obviously an important moment in American history. But one important aspect that I think remains somewhat under-discussed is that the cycle, starting with the primary campaign, put the Democratic Party into a kind of wormhole of misperception that it has been struggling ever since to come out from.

This is a high-level narrative about 2016 that you rarely hear but that I think is broadly true:

• After eight years of Barack Obama serving in office, the national policy mood had — for predictable if somewhat mysterious thermostatic reasons — swung somewhat to the right.

• Rather than running a candidate who promised to be somewhat more moderate than Obama, Democrats nominated Hillary Clinton on a platform of being somewhat more progressive than Obama.

• Republicans, having lost twice in a row, nominated someone who agreed to abandon the conservative view on Social Security and Medicare while successfully fudging on dropping opposition to same-sex marriage.

• This combination of ideological repositioning and thermostatic public opinion should have set the stage for a commanding GOP victory, but their candidate was scandal-plagued and incompetent, so Democrats came this close to winning.

• The clear lesson for Democrats was to next time pander more aggressively to public opinion and for Republicans to nominate people with Trump-y issue positioning but who are not scandal-plagued buffoons.

Instead, Democratic Party elites shifted leftward on policy while rank-and-file Democrats decided the most important thing was to nominate a white man, and Republicans convinced themselves that Trump was some kind of political magician.

Part of the issue here is that Democrats have consistently chosen to interpret the fact that Trump is a scumbag as indicating that Trump is an ideological extremist, when these are just different questions. But I think in some ways the bigger and more unconsidered issues have to do with how the 2016 primaries played out. In particular, Clinton got spooked by Bernie Sanders’ stronger-than-expected early showing and decided to respond by outflanking him to the left on social issues. I believe that this backfired and caused Sanders to do better with moderate Democrats than he otherwise would have done and also bolstered his popularity with the general electorate.

But both Clinton and Sanders seemingly believed that her efforts in this regard were highly effective.

After the primaries, the Sanders team decided they needed to outflank the establishment by moving even further left on identity issues, and the establishment decided that front-loading identity issues was their ticket to holding an incipient socialist takeover at bay. So while the question in the 2016 primary was something like, “should we move left on identity or on economics?” the answer ended up being, “let’s do both.”

Misreading the Iowa caucus

I’ve run this backfire theory past some people involved in BernieWorld, and they think that I’m wrong.

But I think I’m right. The context, you have to remember, is that for most of 2015 the Sanders campaign wasn’t a real presidential campaign. Everyone understood that the primary was a Clinton coronation after the progressive wing failed to persuade Elizabeth Warren to run. Bernie was running a nominal protest race to draw attention to his key issues and to pin Clinton down on a couple of points like the Trans-Pacific Partnership. But then he somewhat unexpectedly caught fire with young people. In part because of the clarity of his vision, but also in part, I think, because Democratic Party leaders had a mass forgetting about how angry people were over the Iraq War.

People being upset that Hillary Clinton went along with Bush’s war was the key issue in the 2008 primary, and she lost. People who wanted to see a mainstream Democratic Party woman elected president should have remained mindful of this and put forward someone like Amy Klobuchar or Kathleen Sebelius or anyone who didn’t have this specific vulnerability. But they got sloppy and forgetful and closed ranks around someone with a huge, obvious weakness.

More at https://www.slowboring.com/p/how-hillary-clinton-unleashed-the

The Joss Whedon script for Serenity, where Wash lives, is Serenity-190pages.pdf at https://www.mediafire.com/two

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Friday, July 15, 2022 8:50 AM

Wow. That's some epic revisionist history right there.

Kudos!

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Falsus in unum, falsus in omnibus

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Monday, July 18, 2022 5:54 AM

The Joss Whedon script for Serenity, where Wash lives, is Serenity-190pages.pdf at https://www.mediafire.com/two

"Jesus vs. Jeezus"
http://www.thepaincomics.com/weekly050504.htm

Artist's Statement:

Drawing the "real" Jesus turns out to be tricky. The image carries a lot of baggage. We have absolutely no contemporary physical description of the man at all, and for some reason it's very important to everyone what he looked like. He has to be knowing, wise, compassionate, kind, stern, and humorous, all at once. Of course he ended up looking like Gandalf. My depiction is somewhat indebted to Chester Brown's characterization in his adaptation of the book of Mark in Yummy Fur-Christ as a fierce, high-browed, hatchet-faced desert prophet. In a moment of possibly misguided inspiration I gave him one blind eye, in imitation of Modigliani, who in his later portraits painted subjects he admired with one eye blank, turned inward, to suggest inner sight. Of course Christ wouldn't really have had a blind eye, or any other serious injury or deformity, because, duh, he could've healed it himself. The book of John, especially, is full of stories about Christ being mocked and chased away by crowds, so I'm sure we would've heard about the obvious contradiction if he'd had any physical infirmities.

Drawing Jeezus, on the other hand, was nothing but a good time: sanitized, kitschy, sentimental, racist, jingoistic-a big cheerful football player with twinkling blue eyes and feathered blond hair. I grew up in an Anabaptist sect that was persecuted early on for its insistence on the separation of church and state, so the sight of an American flag in church would have been tacky and offensive when I was a kid, to say nothing of Christ being draped in one. We were also one of the historic pacifist churches, so the image of the Prince of Peace wielding an M-16 is, to me, sort of obscene. But people actually pray over sporting events, imagining that God roots for one football team over another, they thank Him when they win Oscars, as though God were managing their Hollywood careers, so why not imagine that he's on our nation's side against all others? Pretty much everyone in every other nation-state in human history has believed the same thing.

More at http://www.thepaincomics.com/weekly050504a.htm

The Joss Whedon script for Serenity, where Wash lives, is Serenity-190pages.pdf at https://www.mediafire.com/two

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Monday, July 18, 2022 8:23 AM

Wow.

There's not a single joke in there that hasn't been told 1,000 times before.

How easily impressed you are.

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Falsus in unum, falsus in omnibus

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Monday, July 18, 2022 9:32 AM

The Joss Whedon script for Serenity, where Wash lives, is Serenity-190pages.pdf at https://www.mediafire.com/two

Quote:
Originally posted by 6IXSTRINGJACK:
Wow.

There's not a single joke in there that hasn't been told 1,000 times before.

How easily impressed you are.

If you read just one line from the Bible, you miss the meaning. For example, one sentence used in the comic "Jesus vs. Jeezus" from Matthew 22:21 is:
“Render therefore to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.” Very easy to remember Bible verse.

But what does it mean? After reading the entire Bible chapter, Jesus means "Don't cheat when paying your taxes." East Texas Christians don't pay their taxes. They also vote for Trump, who doesn't pay his taxes. Not very Christian of Trump, is it?

When you read the entire chapter, Jesus' opinion is clear about Christians who are tax-cheaters:

https://www.bible.com/bible/114/MAT.22.NKJV

The Pharisees: Is It Lawful to Pay Taxes to Caesar?

15 Then the Pharisees went and plotted how they might entangle Him in His talk. 16 And they sent to Him their disciples with the Herodians, saying, “Teacher, we know that You are true, and teach the way of God in truth; nor do You care about anyone, for You do not regard the person of men. 17 Tell us, therefore, what do You think? Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar, or not?”

18 But Jesus perceived their wickedness, and said, “Why do you test Me, you hypocrites? 19 Show Me the tax money.”

So they brought Him a denarius.

20 And He said to them, “Whose image and inscription is this?”

21 They said to Him, “Caesar’s.”

And He said to them, “Render therefore to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.”

22 When they had heard these words, they marveled, and left Him and went their way.

When Republicans read the Bible, it is always TL;DR. I think that is why Republicans cheat on their taxes. They never read enough scripture to know what it means.

The Joss Whedon script for Serenity, where Wash lives, is Serenity-190pages.pdf at https://www.mediafire.com/two

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Monday, July 18, 2022 8:36 PM

I'm not a Republican AND I don't read the Bible, you dumb motherfucker.

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Falsus in unum, falsus in omnibus

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Monday, July 18, 2022 8:50 PM

The Joss Whedon script for Serenity, where Wash lives, is Serenity-190pages.pdf at https://www.mediafire.com/two

Quote:
Originally posted by 6IXSTRINGJACK:
I'm not a Republican AND I don't read the Bible, you dumb motherfucker.

I know so many people in East Texas who say they aren't Republicans, but they hate Democrats. They say they would vote for Trump again, they don't go to church, don't read the Bible, and they don't pay taxes because they cheat/they're poor. They are you, 6ix. (They also tend to not be married, but they may have children. "Why get married when it just ends with divorce?" is the kind of thing those Texans say. That's you, again, 6ix.)

Just so you get the point, 6ix, there are millions and millions of Texans exactly like you. They hate Democrats. They will vote for Trump, again. They don't pay taxes, either because of poverty or cheating. And they are nobody special. They are run-of-the-mill.

The Joss Whedon script for Serenity, where Wash lives, is Serenity-190pages.pdf at https://www.mediafire.com/two

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Monday, July 18, 2022 9:03 PM

Nobody cares dude.

Nobody believes one single lie you've ever told about yourself.

Second is a poorly written character.

And eventually you're going to get this handle banned off this site just like you got your other one banned.

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Falsus in unum, falsus in omnibus

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Monday, July 18, 2022 9:33 PM

The Joss Whedon script for Serenity, where Wash lives, is Serenity-190pages.pdf at https://www.mediafire.com/two

Quote:
Originally posted by 6IXSTRINGJACK:
Nobody cares dude.

Nobody believes one single lie you've ever told about yourself.

Second is a poorly written character.

And eventually you're going to get this handle banned off this site just like you got your other one banned.

--------------------------------------------------

Falsus in unum, falsus in omnibus

6ix, other things you've got in common with millions and millions of Trump voting Texans, besides the low economic status, the family problems that extend back generations and will go forward forever, is mediocrity and a short temper. By the way, I have not been banned under any other handle. You've got me confused with somebody else, which is another thing about Trumptards -- they are confused by the simplest ideas. Must be they are so brilliant. Just ask them about themselves and they will tell you how smart they are. Trump does the same, making him the biggest blowhard in America. And very likely the biggest tax-cheater.

The Joss Whedon script for Serenity, where Wash lives, is Serenity-190pages.pdf at https://www.mediafire.com/two

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Monday, July 18, 2022 11:02 PM

No. You are Reaverfan.

P.S. Here's a list of all the times you've lost your temper that I was able to archive.

http://fireflyfans.net/mthread.aspx?tid=65116

Quote:
Originally posted by 6IXSTRINGJACK:
Repost of thread to HAKEN created on June 17, 2022 and updated on June 22nd, 2022.

http://fireflyfans.net/mthread.aspx?tid=65116

-----------

NOTICE TO HAKEN: Second's Death Threats, Assassination Attempt Fantasies, Violent Posts, and other toxic behavior

The remaining members of Fireflyfans.net should not be subjected to Second's behavior, his calls for violence, his racism and his wishing death on others he doesn't agree with.

I'm asking Haken now to finally remove Second from these boards. Ever since his other handle Reaverfan was banned from Fireflyfans.net, his Second handle has devolved into little more than a violence fantasy factory.

NOTES:

July 30, 2019: Death threat against President Trump

https://archive.ph/i73bY

October 31st, 2020: Death threat against Amy Coney Barrett

https://archive.ph/6nwD9

October 31st, 2020: Second death threat that day against Amy Coney Barrett

https://archive.ph/6nwD9

September 2nd, 2021: Death threat against the Supreme Court Justices

https://archive.ph/IJw76

April 28th, 2022: Death threat against President Trump

https://archive.ph/NFbSt

March 30th, 2022: Death threat against President Trump

https://archive.ph/L0Zeq

March 30th, 2022: Second death threat that day against President Trump

https://archive.ph/nVqVC

May 2nd, 2022: Second throws around the N word like he owns it

https://archive.ph/B8ocv

May 25th, 2022: Death threat against the Supreme Court

https://archive.ph/OaT3U

June 4th, 2022: Second wishes death on me (Under his Second handle, not his Reaverfan one)

https://archive.ph/J0RY6

June 5th, 2022: Death threat against President Trump

https://archive.ph/rIr6u

June 22nd, 2022: Second threatens to burn my house down in an Italian Mafia style "It would be a shame if your house burned down" kind of way.

https://web.archive.org/web/20220622232014/http://fireflyfans.net/mthr
ead.aspx?bid=18&tid=64666&p=7

July 13, 2022: Death threat against President Trump.

https://archive.ph/rX2bm

July 14th, 2022: Death threat against President Trump

https://archive.ph/pWizO

I decided at this time not to add the stuff that Kiki has archived on her own through this site, because there are no time stamps here and unless there is a way to find posts and date/time stamps on the administrative side to verify them, they were not archived offsite like the preceding posts were. Though I do know that her archival were things he said in the past, it is too easy to fake somebody else's posts by these means without an outside archival website and I will not enter them here unless asked for them.

At this point I ask Haken either to give a stern talking to at Second about his behavior, or just outright ban him from the site entirely. There is a line, and he has repeatedly crossed it under his Second handle nearly as frequently as he did under his unabashedly toxic Reaverfan handle after he lost it.

_________________________________________________

Archived posts after thread was created:

June 22nd, 2022: Second threatens to burn my house down in an Italian Mafia style "It would be a shame if your house burned down" kind of way.

https://web.archive.org/web/20220622232014/http://fireflyfans.net/mthr
ead.aspx?bid=18&tid=64666&p=7

His death threats / kill yourself posts to other fireflyfans.net members under the Reaverfan handle can all be found here:

1: 1/23/2021: https://archive.vn/Vt9GX
2: 1/23/2021: https://archive.vn/eZZPM
3: 1/23/2021: https://archive.vn/Nmigt
4: 1/24/2021: https://archive.vn/fvxGX
5: 1/25/2021: https://archive.vn/KApRQ
6: 1/28/2021: https://archive.vn/RjISM
7: 1/31/2021: https://archive.vn/glDW5
8: 1/31/2021: https://archive.vn/EkRc2
-: 1/31/2021: https://archive.vn/17onh
9: 1/31/2021: https://archive.vn/mYCA9
10: 1/31/2021: https://archive.vn/UEv1H
11: 1/31/2021: https://archive.vn/EQlAz
12: 2/01/2021: https://archive.vn/ycOxU
13: 2/02/2021: https://archive.vn/40v84
14: 2/02/2021: https://archive.vn/oO5mf
15: 2/02/2021: https://archive.vn/YS1Sx
16: 2/02/2021: https://archive.vn/VANzJ
17: 2/02/2021: https://archive.vn/lNOEH
18: 2/02/2021: https://archive.vn/6DvPi
19: 2/02/2021: https://archive.vn/leLY0
20: 2/11/2021: https://archive.vn/2WY2t
21&22: 2/16/2021: https://archive.vn/iI06G
23: 2/18/2021: https://archive.vn/zJYbX
24: 2/18/2021: https://archive.vn/Tyxo8
25: 2/18/2021: https://archive.vn/VfaAZ
26: 2/18/2021: https://archive.vn/Ol3sv
27: 2/25/2021: https://archive.vn/4dr5D
28: 2/25/2021: https://archive.vn/q90kT
29: 3/1/2021: https://archive.vn/le0na
30: 3/1/2021: https://archive.vn/a5lRu
31: 3/4/2021: https://archive.vn/6Rfp0
32: 3/4/2021: https://archive.vn/JLwhp
33: 3/4/2021: https://archive.vn/NDrfP
34: 3/5/2021: https://archive.vn/rky7w
35: 3/16/2021: https://archive.ph/OTGop
36: 3/16/2021: https://archive.ph/0aWMd
37: 3/16/2021: https://archive.ph/V8OgT
38: 3/25/2021: https://archive.ph/MiIkg
39: 3/25/2021: https://archive.ph/YOEsA
40: 3/26/2021: https://archive.ph/MX6qF
41: 3/26/2021: https://archive.ph/xCFJ3
42: 3/28/2021: https://archive.ph/TziVE
43: 3/30/2021: https://archive.ph/pnI5d
44: 4/2/2021: https://archive.ph/g8kBd
45: 4/2/2021: https://archive.ph/HasNo
46: 4/5/2021: https://archive.ph/jUWde
47: 4/5/2021: https://archive.ph/5I7sp
48: 4/11/2021: https://archive.ph/zDeuv
49: 4/14/2021: https://archive.ph/szDuJ
50: 4/14/2021: https://archive.ph/S5nD3
51: 4/16/2021: https://archive.ph/SV47r
52: 4/17/2021: https://archive.ph/HilSl
53: 4/17/2021: https://archive.ph/xrqq1
54: 4/20/2021: https://archive.ph/1h1cU
55: 4/21/2021: https://archive.ph/OpgFr
56: 4/21/2021: https://archive.ph/D5mS2
57: 4/21/2021: https://archive.ph/vZgVE
58: 4/23/2021: https://archive.ph/hOsoA

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Falsus in unum, falsus in omnibus

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Tuesday, July 19, 2022 6:30 AM

The Joss Whedon script for Serenity, where Wash lives, is Serenity-190pages.pdf at https://www.mediafire.com/two

Why 6ix’s Hispanic step-father would vote for Trump, explained on Twitter --

Start with Frank Wilhoit's famous formulation: "Conservatism consists of exactly one proposition, to wit: There must be in-groups whom the law protects but does not bind, alongside out-groups whom the law binds but does not protect."

In groups & out groups. Conservatism is about defending the privileges of current in groups; liberalism is about working toward a society of peers, in which all people are equal in the eyes of the law. That's the most basic division. Thing is, though, people truly & deeply committed to multiracial democracy are likely a minority even in the Dem coalition. Rather, the Dem coalition contains lots of groups that are currently shut out but *want in*.

When I worked at Grist I once went to a high-dollar fundraiser for ... Kerry? First Obama? Can't remember. Anyway, it was thrown by a gay group & I ended up chatting with one older gay guy -- maybe 50yo -- for quite a while. I'll never forget what he said.

He pointed to all the wealthy gay folks schmoozing at the party and said, "take a good look, David. In a few years they will all be Republican." I was like, what, why?! He said, "right now there's discrimination & abuse we have to fight. Once that changes and we're accepted we're all going to revert to voting for lower taxes. We're natural Republicans." I found that so harrowing. But it does highlight the fact that many out-groups, once they're let inside, will absolutely turn & defend the status quo. They will respond to being let in like so many do: by keeping others out. Lots of folks are not committed to breaking down the division between in-group & out-group so much as they're committed to *getting in the in group* & enjoying its hegemonic privileges.

This seems to me the intuitive way to understand how white Hispanics in Arizona or Cuban-Americans in Florida end up shifting to the GOP. They feel enough In that they are willing to crap on those Out, to defend the status quo against immigrants & professors & queers & etc.

Being in an out group is not ennobling -- it doesn't make you wiser or more compassionate. It doesn't guarantee you'll support true multiethnic democracy. It may just piss you off & cause you to strive to get in the inner circle.

This dynamic poses a problem for left politics generally. Some good portion of the coalition is just yearning to get in the winners' circle so they can quit associating with weak loser outcasts. They wanna be "white," with all that entails.

So anti-racism doesn't necessarily appeal to some Hispanic or Asian voters; wealth redistribution doesn't necessarily appeal to lower-income voters; etc. Many don't want a fair *system*, they just don't want to be on the ass end of the unfairness any more.

I kinda forgot why I started this thread, but I think it was mainly about the great "mystery" of Hispanics & Asians moving toward the GOP. Lots of people, esp. small-c conservative people, *hate* the idea of being in an out group, being a victim who needs defense. So as soon as the GOP stops (or just slows) actively shitting on them, they'll jump on board. They'll start yelling at libs about gender & shiftless welfare recipients. That's much more their comfort zone.

If there's one thing I've gotten from John Jost's books, it's that most people are conservative. Most engage in system justification. Most don't like the idea of overturning the status quo, even if they suffer from it. Left politics is always, always at a disadvantage.

David Roberts @drvolts 1:39 PM · Jul 16, 2022·Twitter Web App
https://twitter.com/drvolts/status/1548376803609174017

The Joss Whedon script for Serenity, where Wash lives, is Serenity-190pages.pdf at https://www.mediafire.com/two

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Tuesday, July 19, 2022 8:31 AM

LOL. That's funny.

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Falsus in unum, falsus in omnibus

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Thursday, July 21, 2022 5:48 AM

The Joss Whedon script for Serenity, where Wash lives, is Serenity-190pages.pdf at https://www.mediafire.com/two

Blake Masters Is Peter Thiel’s Dream Candidate—and a Total Nightmare for Democracy

The right-wing tech giant, who has said he believes freedom and democracy are incompatible, has poured millions into his protégé’s Senate campaign.

He’s spending big to bend the American right to his will. He has also put at least $15 million behind Ohio Senate candidate JD Vance — another former employee, best known for his memoir Hillbilly Elegy — and helped arrange the Trump endorsement that secured Vance’s primary victory. In total, Thiel is supporting more than a dozen Republican candidates, most of whom have disputed the results of the 2020 election. And while he may soon have three senators whose rise he has helped fund — Vance, Masters, and Sen. Josh Hawley, another right-wing Stanford grad — it is Masters who would allow Thiel to effectively have a seat of his own.

More at https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2022/07/blake-masters-peter-thiel
-donald-trump-arizona-senate-mark-kelly/

The Joss Whedon script for Serenity, where Wash lives, is Serenity-190pages.pdf at https://www.mediafire.com/two

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Thursday, July 21, 2022 8:08 AM

MotherJones crying about things it doesn't understand again I see.

*yawn*

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Falsus in unum, falsus in omnibus

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Thursday, July 21, 2022 9:49 AM

The Joss Whedon script for Serenity, where Wash lives, is Serenity-190pages.pdf at https://www.mediafire.com/two

Quote:
Originally posted by 6IXSTRINGJACK:
MotherJones crying about things it doesn't understand again I see.

*yawn*

Too bad you don't understand that three employees of one multi-billionaire are about to be US Senators. One is already in. One more is guaranteed to be elected. The third is a coin flip - win/lose. All three owe their Senate seats to one guy who thinks Democracy should be replaced because it is obsolete technology.

The Joss Whedon script for Serenity, where Wash lives, is Serenity-190pages.pdf at https://www.mediafire.com/two

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Thursday, July 21, 2022 7:24 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by second:
Quote:
Originally posted by 6IXSTRINGJACK:
MotherJones crying about things it doesn't understand again I see.

*yawn*
Too bad you don't understand that three employees of one multi-billionaire are about to be US Senators. One is already in. One more is guaranteed to be elected. The third is a coin flip - win/lose. All three owe their Senate seats to one guy who thinks Democracy should be replaced because it is obsolete technology.

The Joss Whedon script for Serenity, where Wash lives, is Serenity-190pages.pdf at https://www.mediafire.com/two

Maybe if Soros hadn't shown others how to buy up elections and put people unfit for office all over the country, we wouldn't see other people doing it now too.

This is what happens when you NEVER call out the bad actors in your party.

Go fuck yourself now.

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Falsus in unum, falsus in omnibus

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Friday, July 22, 2022 2:58 PM

The Joss Whedon script for Serenity, where Wash lives, is Serenity-190pages.pdf at https://www.mediafire.com/two

The House on Thursday passed legislation that would protect access to birth control. The vote was 228-195, with eight Republicans joining every Democrat in voting in favor. All 195 "no" votes came from Republicans. The bill will die in the Senate because it requires 60 votes, but not one Republican will vote for it.

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/birth-control-contraception-bill-pass-hou
se-vote/

The Joss Whedon script for Serenity, where Wash lives, is Serenity-190pages.pdf at https://www.mediafire.com/two

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Friday, July 22, 2022 8:03 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by second:
The House on Thursday passed legislation that would protect access to birth control. The vote was 228-195, with eight Republicans joining every Democrat in voting in favor. All 195 "no" votes came from Republicans. The bill will die in the Senate because it requires 60 votes, but not one Republican will vote for it.

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/birth-control-contraception-bill-pass-hou
se-vote/

The Joss Whedon script for Serenity, where Wash lives, is Serenity-190pages.pdf at https://www.mediafire.com/two

Birth control isn't going anywhere you fuckin' dummy.

This isn't Ireland in the 1800s.

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Falsus in unum, falsus in omnibus

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Saturday, July 23, 2022 6:46 AM

The Joss Whedon script for Serenity, where Wash lives, is Serenity-190pages.pdf at https://www.mediafire.com/two

Quote:
Originally posted by 6IXSTRINGJACK:
Quote:
Originally posted by second:
The House on Thursday passed legislation that would protect access to birth control. The vote was 228-195, with eight Republicans joining every Democrat in voting in favor. All 195 "no" votes came from Republicans. The bill will die in the Senate because it requires 60 votes, but not one Republican will vote for it.

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/birth-control-contraception-bill-pass-hou
se-vote/

The Joss Whedon script for Serenity, where Wash lives, is Serenity-190pages.pdf at https://www.mediafire.com/two

Birth control isn't going anywhere you fuckin' dummy.

This isn't Ireland in the 1800s.

--------------------------------------------------

Falsus in unum, falsus in omnibus

You said the same about Roe v Wade, but the Catholic Church is opposed to Roe v Wade and the Republican Catholics on the Supreme Court had their way. The Catholic Church is opposed to many, many other things, including birth control. In case you didn't know: How the Catholic Church came to oppose birth control
https://theconversation.com/how-the-catholic-church-came-to-oppose-bir
th-control-95694

The one Democrat who is a Catholic on the Supreme Court was well aware that striking down Roe v Wade was a Catholic victory. That one particular Catholic did not force her religion on all Americans. She called those Republicans who do force their religion on non-Catholics lying sacks of shit during their confirmation hearings in the Senate:

Quote:
To reverse prior law “upon a ground no firmer than a change in the Court’s membership” — would invite the view that “this institution is little different from the two political branches of the Government.” No view could do “more lasting injury to this Court and to the system of law which it is our abiding mission to serve.” For overruling Roe, the Court would pay a “terrible price.”

The Justices who wrote those words were judges of wisdom. They would not have won any contests for the kind of ideological purity some court watchers want Justices to deliver. But if there were awards for Justices who left this Court better than they found it? And who for that reason left this country better? And the rule of law stronger? Sign those Justices up.

They knew that “the legitimacy of the Court is earned over time.” They also would have recognized that it can be destroyed much more quickly. They worked hard to avert that outcome in Casey. The American public, they thought, should never conclude that its constitutional protections hung by a thread — that a new majority, adhering to a new “doctrinal school,” could “by dint of numbers” alone expunge their rights. It is hard — no, it is impossible — to conclude that anything else has happened here. One of us once said that “it is not often in the law that so few have so quickly changed so much.” For all of us, in our time on this Court, that has never been more true than today. In overruling Roe and Casey, this Court betrays its guiding principles.

With sorrow — for this Court, but more, for the many millions of American women who have today lost a fundamental constitutional protection — we dissent.

Page 207 of 213 https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/21pdf/19-1392_6j37.pdf

The Joss Whedon script for Serenity, where Wash lives, is Serenity-190pages.pdf at https://www.mediafire.com/two

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Saturday, July 23, 2022 9:28 AM