At least the guns are okay

[The Thriller]

Beau is extremely p***ed off about this. The is kind of a master class is rhetoric, here.


View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XiFxHAU453M

Very good. I’d just like to add that it’s not just happening in Tennessee. It’s happening in all red states. Florida, Texas, Utah, Wisconsin, Idaho, etc. Red states are telling women, young people, LGBTs, POC, “**** you, you don’t matter. Shut up and do as you’re told or else!” This is a war between multi-cultural democracy vs authoritarian fascism. Do we want a democracy that values different races, religions, and views or not? We’ll soon see what America wants to be in the next few election cycles.

Sadly, I think we’re headed towards something like the pre-civil rights era where red states repress women and minorities and threats and violence is used to squash dissent (we see that daily at school boards). Not that dissimilar from The Troubles in Northern Ireland. Not until Democrats have a sustained coalition that’ll blow the filibuster, pass much needed democratic reforms to eliminate gerrymandering and restore voting rights, and restore a sane Supreme Court (even if the VRA were restored today, it’d be struck down again by this fascist court). There’s just so much work to do. And we need some luck. We need more Americans to open up their hearts and minds to the 21st century. Too many have had their brains rotted out by racism and nostalgia for an American 1950s that just wasn’t ever that great anyway.

 

[Al-O-Meter]

Beau is extremely p***ed off about this. The is kind of a master class is rhetoric, here.


View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XiFxHAU453M

This is dumb. Beau states his understanding that his state does not have the votes to push through gun control, then says this act was to subvert democracy. Dumb. There is no need to subvert democracy on this issue because the majority are having their say. What these former reps who were just kicked out did was no different from the QAnon Shaman. If anything, what they did was worse because the QAnon Shaman didn't have a bullhorn. They improperly interrupted a schedule proceeding of a legislative body. The QAnon Shaman got years of prison for it and these former reps got kicked out of the assembly for it. I'd say the QAnon Shaman received much harsher treatment. The message of the legislature wasn't 'do as you are told' but rather 'do not act like toddlers throwing a tantrum when losing a vote'.

 

[The Thriller]

I think it’s interesting to see the desperation from the right. They’ve given up trying to persuade. They’ve given up on the marketplace of ideas. Aside from banning, bullying, gerrymandering, and suppressing, what do they stand for? What are they offering young people today? What are their solutions for inequality, division, and climate change? They’re just desperately clinging to power.

Bill Kristol isn’t exactly a liberal. But he put it perfectly:



View: https://twitter.com/billkristol/status/1644150641114206208?s=46&t=QT7YFlZ_IlHq81PpZAhKgw

 

[gandalfe]

I think it’s interesting to see the desperation from the right. They’ve given up trying to persuade. They’ve given up on the marketplace of ideas. Aside from banning, bullying, gerrymandering, and suppressing, what do they stand for? What are they offering young people today? What are their solutions for inequality, division, and climate change?

Guns. Guns are their answer. It was hating the blacks/Mexicans/queers, but that seems to have diminishing returns.

 

[The Thriller]

Guns. Guns are their answer. It was hating the blacks/Mexicans/queers, but that seems to have diminishing returns.

No wonder why they need to suppress votes and gerrymander the **** out of major cities. This is how TN is gerrymandered.



Reminds me a little bit like how SL county has been gerrymandered into 4 different districts to prevent any Democrat from winning:

 

[Gameface]

No wonder why they need to suppress votes and gerrymander the **** out of major cities. This is how TN is gerrymandered.

View attachment 14218

Reminds me a little bit like how SL county has been gerrymandered into 4 different districts to prevent any Democrat from winning:
View attachment 14219

I don't do the "both parties" thing often, but gerrymandering is NOT only a Republican game. If you oppose it, don't just call out Republicans for doing it.

 

[The Thriller]

I don't do the "both parties" thing often, but gerrymandering is NOT only a Republican game. If you oppose it, don't just call out Republicans for doing it.

Been advocating for independent commissions to draw up maps fairly for years. Thanks!

Good thoughts here.

Why do we allow state legislatures to draw up congressional maps? Won’t they just gerrymander them to help their own party? Some states have an independent commission drawing up the maps. HR1 would make every state delegate the drawing of congressional maps to independent commissions.
https://www.brennancenter.org/our-work/analysis-opinion/five-ways-hr-1-would-transform-redistricting

 

[Gameface]

Been advocating for independent commissions to draw up maps fairly for years. Thanks!

The way you framed this in the post I responded to was that Republicans were horrible because of gerrymandering.

You're welcome!

 

[The Thriller]

The way you framed this in the post I responded to was that Republicans were horrible because of gerrymandering.

You're welcome!

It’s increasingly becoming a weapon of the GOP in states like Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, and North Carolina to combat democracy. They’re giving up in convincing others of their ideas and policies. In states that are experiencing demographic change especially, gerrymandering is a tool for authoritarian republicans to roll back the rights that you and your family enjoy, no matter how you and your neighbors vote. Are Democrats looking to ban medical treatment for your family?

I think we need to look at which party is abusing the gerrymander and why.

In TN, Nashville has been gerrymandered to prevent the urban vote from mattering. And now their legislature is ignoring mass protests for gun reform and just expelled two African American representatives. The racial undertones are pretty obvious.

Had New York State maintained its gerrymandered maps, Democrats would likely still have control of the House.

 

[Gameface]

It’s increasingly becoming a weapon of the GOP in states like Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, and North Carolina to combat democracy. They’re giving up in convincing others of their ideas and policies. In states that are experiencing demographic change especially, gerrymandering is a tool for authoritarian republicans to roll back the rights that you and your family enjoy, no matter how you and your neighbors vote. Are Democrats looking to ban medical treatment for your family?

I think we need to look at which party is abusing the gerrymander and why.

In TN, Nashville has been gerrymandered to prevent the urban vote from mattering. And now their legislature is ignoring mass protests for gun reform and just expelled two African American representatives. The racial undertones are pretty obvious.

Had New York State maintained its gerrymandered maps, Democrats would likely still have control of the House.

I don't think we need to look at the results of gerrymandering, I think we need to say loudly and clearly that it is bad for our nation.

Yes, it should be called out when Republicans do it, but not in a way that implies that this is a specific problem with the Republican party.

I know we don't agree on this, but I think there is room for a Republican party that opposes the Democratic party but isn't run by children. I actually want a strong, competent and capable Republican party. I don't want to smash them into the ground and have a new dichotomy of Liberal Lite and Liberal Ultra.

On a serious note, yeah, I was overly hostile to you recently. I am sorry for that.

I want to apologize to you for that.

But we seem to not agree that a healthy opposition party is beneficial. Am I wrong?

 

[gandalfe]

The way you framed this in the post I responded to was that Republicans were horrible because of gerrymandering.

You're welcome!

While "both sides" do it, it is currently the GQP that does it more and more aggregiously. Because they have more power, frankly, I'm sure the Ds would do the same if they could.

But, yes, indepent districting would be awesome. It would be even better if we could get someone to write code to do it automatically, examined the code to make sure there was no hint of bias, and examined the results to make sure none came through.

 

[Rubashov]

I was watching a Dayz stream yesterday and some French dude was taunting an American to come shoot him like he was a bullied high school kid, I lost my **** I was laughing so hard.

 

[The Thriller]

While "both sides" do it, it is currently the GQP that does it more and more aggregiously. Because they have more power, frankly, I'm sure the Ds would do the same if they could.

But, yes, indepent districting would be awesome. It would be even better if we could get someone to write code to do it automatically, examined the code to make sure there was no hint of bias, and examined the results to make sure none came through.

In the last few years the Supreme Court has deferred to the legislative branch to figure out gerrymandering… the same branch that created gerrymandered districts in the first place. Sort of a “physician heal thyself” sort of thing. By asking politicians who pick their votes to form maps to pick their votes, what do we think the end result will be?

It’s exactly the sort of issue the Supreme Court was designed to intervene in and resolve but won’t because the 5-4 majority (when the Nc case was heard) and the current 6-3 majority know that gerrymandering is one of the few ways their party stays in power without serious changes to its unpopular candidates and policies.

 

[LogGrad98]

I don't think we need to look at the results of gerrymandering, I think we need to say loudly and clearly that it is bad for our nation.

Yes, it should be called out when Republicans do it, but not in a way that implies that this is a specific problem with the Republican party.

I know we don't agree on this, but I think there is room for a Republican party that opposes the Democratic party but isn't run by children. I actually want a strong, competent and capable Republican party. I don't want to smash them into the ground and have a new dichotomy of Liberal Lite and Liberal Ultra.

On a serious note, yeah, I was overly hostile to you recently. I am sorry for that.

I want to apologize to you for that.

But we seem to not agree that a healthy opposition party is beneficial. Am I wrong?

Exactly my thoughts on this. But I don't think even just an opposition party is the ultimate answer, we really would benefit from 3 or 4 viable parties. That is what drives a lot of the progress in the more successful developed nations, more than just choosing from old white guy that yells at kids to get off their lawn and old white guy that yells at his neighbor for not cutting the grass right. We need more choice than that to really flourish and I think the fact that we are stagnating in so many ways as a nation is a symptom of the deterioration caused by the 2-party system. The absence of choice has reached its natural final evolution, and the politicians are fully using that to their advantage, so they just don't give a **** since all it is about is maintaining power and lining their pockets as much as possible as long as they can stay on the gravy train. Boebert and Greene are the poster-children for this new wave in our government. And Trump is the Stay-puft Marshmallow Man of the downfall of the American republic. We need a viable 3rd or even 4th party to really shake **** up. But I think we will devolve into civil war before we see that happen.

Damn, the Simpsons got it right again. Matt Groening for prez?

 

[The Thriller]

I don't think we need to look at the results of gerrymandering, I think we need to say loudly and clearly that it is bad for our nation.

Yes, it should be called out when Republicans do it, but not in a way that implies that this is a specific problem with the Republican party.

I know we don't agree on this, but I think there is room for a Republican party that opposes the Democratic party but isn't run by children. I actually want a strong, competent and capable Republican party. I don't want to smash them into the ground and have a new dichotomy of Liberal Lite and Liberal Ultra.

On a serious note, yeah, I was overly hostile to you recently. I am sorry for that.

I want to apologize to you for that.

But we seem to not agree that a healthy opposition party is beneficial. Am I wrong?

I think we can worry about the hypothetical left wing communist takeover once we move on from the very real fascist takeover we’re seeing from the right every single day in this country. And honestly, worrying (fantasizing) about “the left” only gives further ammunition for the right to dig their heels in deeper into conspiracy, cruelty, and fascism.

 

[The Thriller]

Exactly my thoughts on this. But I don't think even just an opposition party is the ultimate answer, we really would benefit from 3 or 4 viable parties. That is what drives a lot of the progress in the more successful developed nations, more than just choosing from old white guy that yells at kids to get off their lawn and old white guy that yells at his neighbor for not cutting the grass right. We need more choice than that to really flourish and I think the fact that we are stagnating in so many ways as a nation is a symptom of the deterioration caused by the 2-party system. The absence of choice has reached its natural final evolution, and the politicians are fully using that to their advantage, so they just don't give a **** since all it is about is maintaining power and lining their pockets as much as possible as long as they can stay on the gravy train. Boebert and Greene are the poster-children for this new wave in our government. And Trump is the Stay-puft Marshmallow Man of the downfall of the American republic. We need a viable 3rd or even 4th party to really shake **** up. But I think we will devolve into civil war before we see that happen.

Damn, the Simpsons got it right again. Matt Groening for prez?

You aren’t going to see anything other than the two party system without serious structural changes to the EC, senate filibuster, and winner take all House districts. That’s without even mentioning the structural changes needed at the state legislative level. You can’t have winner take all seats and expect multiple parties to spontaneously pop up and flourish.

 

[gandalfe]

‘No Way To Prevent This,’ Says Only Nation Where This Regularly Happens

LOUISVILLE, KY—In the hours following a violent rampage in Kentucky in which a lone attacker killed at least five individuals and injured six others, citizens living in the only country where this kind of mass killing routinely occurs reportedly concluded Monday that there was no way to prevent...

www.theonion.com

 

[The Thriller]

‘No Way To Prevent This,’ Says Only Nation Where This Regularly Happens

LOUISVILLE, KY—In the hours following a violent rampage in Kentucky in which a lone attacker killed at least five individuals and injured six others, citizens living in the only country where this kind of mass killing routinely occurs reportedly concluded Monday that there was no way to prevent...

www.theonion.com

Oh no! That’s terrible! Were any of the precious guns harmed in this completely avoidable tragedy?

We just need more thoughts and prayers and throwaway sayings like “mental health” that we know republicans won’t do **** about. Rinse, wash, repeat.

Meanwhile, every other industrialized country has got this figured out. Yet, we refuse to. We know the answers. But we refuse to do anything about it because one political party Has decided that placating to its most extremist base is the only thing that matters.

 

[The Thriller]

Hmmmm



Anyone else see a pattern here?

 

[LogGrad98]

Hmmmm

View attachment 14236
View attachment 14237
Anyone else see a pattern here?

Small states have a higher per capita gun death rate. Seems to make sense to me, as it doesn't take as many gun deaths to drive the rate up as it does in like Chicago or New York. Of course you have to remember that the majority of gun deaths are usually suicides, so this shows that living in these states is just plain hell and makes people want to take any method to get out apparently? IDK I kind of like Wyoming. The parts of Alabama I have seen were ok, I guess.

Some more interesting data on gun deaths in the US.

What the data says about gun deaths in the U.S.

In 2020, the U.S. experienced a record number of gun murders, as well as a near-record number of gun suicides.

www.pewresearch.org