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ZooeyModerator
ZooeyModeratorKate Mitchell, from Facebook
In the El Paso shooting, the gunman drove 9 hours, purposely targeting that border town with an AK-47 in a Walmart hosting whole families on a tax-free, school-shopping weekend. We are being terrorized by our own from within.
But it is Antifa, who has killed exactly zero people ever, whom the GOP want to classify as Terrorists.
ZooeyModeratorThat’s how you make an argument. That was a good read.
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ZooeyModeratorPut them on the defensive for a change.
Yeah.
That seems obvious to me.
So obvious, in fact, that is raises the question, “Why AREN’T Democrats doing that?”
And the only answer that makes any sense, is this…
A goal scored against the GOP is a goal scored against their own benefactors.
That is the only explanation for why the Democrats behave the way they do. They kiss the same ring. Nothing else explains their behavior as well, and no other explanation is as simple.
ZooeyModeratorAnyway its not quite dark enough. Zooey, you are too light and optimistic about America.
No, sir.
I just still have the ability to block out everything in my head sometimes, and bash on, regardless.
ZooeyModeratorBut the democrats should be stating over and over that Trump is incompetent, a liar, and a disgrace for a sustained period before the election by conducting the impeachment hearings and having people testify and talk about how sleazy Trump is.
I agree with this completely.
But I think in order to win, the democrats have to do more than that. I think they have to sell an alternative vision…a vision of a future where everyone benefits from a boom in a green economy, a sustainable future, and cool Silicon Valley/Elon Musk shit. And contrast that with the GOP dystopia headed up by President Sleaze. (The “everyone benefits from a boom in the economy” part is the most important message, imo. More people obviously care about their income than the environment. But if the GND is sold primarily as an ECONOMIC stimulus, you’re going to get people on board).
Pick Your Future, America.
That’s what I’d do if I were heading the democrat party. But the democrats are terrible at messaging because to the core of their souls, they do not really care about the green new dream, or whatever it’s called, because THEY are on the take from the same “Looters and Polluters” as the GOP. As we all know.
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ZooeyModeratorIt’s evident that the Democrats are not impeaching because their political calculations conclude they shouldn’t. Trump has committed several infractions worthy of impeachment on their own, let alone the sheer weight of all of them bundled together. No president has deserved impeachment more than Trump.
Furthermore, while Pelosi wrings her hands that only 43% (or whatever) of people favor impeachment hearings, she must have been made aware – in the discussions of political calculus – that 43% in favor of impeachment proceedings is double the support that impeachment hearings had in the case of either Nixon or Clinton. Impeaching Trump is a downhill journey.
Of course, impeachment would die in the Senate. McConnell might not even let it come to the floor. (I dunno if he could stop it, but he seems to have one hell of a lot more power than I ever knew a single senator could have). So…yes…the outcome would certainly not result in Trump leaving office early under compulsion of the Senate.
It appears that the goal is to just keep banging away at this weary horse that nobody wants to actually cross the finish line, perhaps in hopes of maintaining that cloud of dust surrounding the administration. That seems pointless to me, maybe even counterproductive. There is a steady stream of material coming out of the administration anyway, and many of those issues are more important to the public anyway than the collusion with Russia. So I don’t know why they don’t just flat out let Mueller go.
Democrats just suck. There are all kinds of things they could run on, messages they could send, but they don’t do it. Not because they are afraid of alienating the public by going too far (with healthcare, for example), but because they are afraid of alienating their donors. I mean…everybody here knows that perfectly well.
I didn’t watch any of the hearings because there was never any chance of anything new being revealed, and the only thing that could come out of it – at best – would be one of those Viral moments…that would come to my attention anyway because…viral. But unsurprisingly, nothing happened.
ZooeyModeratorI think there has been decay in social etiquette, if that’s what you’re talking about. People no longer stand when guests enter a room, or remove their hats indoors. There is less…respect…for time and place. People are more brusque and salty generally.
Is that decay or just a change in what is considered normal social behavior? What is lost by not removing a hat indoors or not standing when someone enters a room?
I anticipated that argument, and thought carefully before I made my statement.
It is certainly true that there is nothing empirically “well-behaved” about removing one’s hat indoors, or…you know…making a better wardrobe effort than shorts, t-shirt, and flip flops when going to an upscale restaurant, or a Broadway show. Those are arbitrary markers of Respect, or Class, or Etiquette, or whatever, and have no merit in and of themselves.
I think, however, that those Pointless Conventions demonstrate an awareness of others, and a deference of Ego.
I mean…I think that unless you can show me that the Deference and Respect have been simply altered and assumed shape in some other sphere or behavior, I’m gonna stick with that. I think it reflects a trend towards selfishness, basically. We are now saying, as a culture, “I’m gonna be comfortable doing what I’m doing, and not stop to acknowledge our Common Space as worth respecting. You matter less than this arbitrary convention, and the fact is that I’m comfortable in this chair doing what I’m doing, and I don’t want to interrupt that just because you waltzed into the room. Etc.”
ZooeyModeratorYeah, there is probably something to the argument that impeachment would reassure many people that the system works when, in fact, it would accomplish nothing beyond symbolism.
ZooeyModeratorRight. And this is a self-perpetuating point of view, as Chomsky pointed out in MC. The entire fabric of our ideology sees neo-liberalism as Left Wing now.
Interesting commentary.
ZooeyModeratorYeah, I’m talking about the symbolism of it, but I think that has some value…in the Bash On, Regardless spirit of things.
I’m in a pretty dark place, too. I think we’ve passed the tipping point, and hell awaits us. But I can’t surrender to the darkness, and I can’t ignore it and party it up with the time that’s left.
All the world’s a stage, buddy, and men and women merely players. We have our entrances, and exits. And the final scene is always sans everything.
ZooeyModeratorI think there has been decay in social etiquette, if that’s what you’re talking about. People no longer stand when guests enter a room, or remove their hats indoors. There is less…respect…for time and place. People are more brusque and salty generally.
I think television in particular has led the way by making sassy kids and self-aggrandizing behavior funny and cool. People imitate the behaviors they see, and I think Hollywood has become our cultural teacher, rather than families.
I have no way of knowing how much erosion there has been. Your complaint is hardly a new one, and one can find examples of writers lamenting the same thing for centuries. But I tend to agree that basic manners have eroded somewhat.
July 20, 2019 at 8:31 pm in reply to: ZN: a request for info on the subject of "race" as social construct. #103095ZooeyModeratorThe field you want is called Critical Race Theory.
Scholars important to the theory include Derrick Bell, Patricia Williams, Richard Delgado, Kimberlé Williams Crenshaw, Camara Phyllis Jones, and Mari Matsuda.
That’s a different thing. Allied but different.
It’s welcome too. But BT was specifically asking about the genetics, and that’s an entirely different group of people doing that.
Your documentary (which you graciously copied for me) does address the genetics (Race: The Power of an Illusion).
He asked about race as a social construct. He’s says at the top he already agrees that race doesn’t exist genetically or biologically.
ZooeyModeratorBut I agree with her about not trying to impeach him. With a Repugnant Senate, it would be pointless. It would fail. And we are now close to the election. Let the voters decide.
Here’s the thing, though. Impeaching him, even though it is hopeless to expect to remove him from office, draws a line.
If Trump can’t be impeached for what he’s done, wtf? We have just sat by and accepted, without formal complaint, the most corrupt administration in US history.
July 20, 2019 at 12:26 pm in reply to: ZN: a request for info on the subject of "race" as social construct. #103086ZooeyModeratorThe field you want is called Critical Race Theory.
Scholars important to the theory include Derrick Bell, Patricia Williams, Richard Delgado, Kimberlé Williams Crenshaw, Camara Phyllis Jones, and Mari Matsuda.
Derrick Bell, Race, Racism and American Law, first published in 73, is now in its 6th edition. I’ve never read it. Bell is considered one of the originators of CRT.
I started reading a book called “How to be Less Stupid About Race” (or something similar to that), but I’ve been interrupted by multiple activities, and set it aside a couple of weeks ago. Based on the first half of it, I can only say I have learned nothing I didn’t already know. I’m gonna finish it, though, as I am looking for new material for the unit I teach on race.
We had a GIGANTIC thread on race a few years ago, but I think the board has been reset since then.
My central spine for the race unit is a documentary called Race: The Power of an Illusion. It’s 3 episodes long, about an hour each. It is well worth watching if you can find it. It’s probably on youtube. The first episode is on science…i.e. there is no such thing as race. The second episode focuses on how we got where we are today when race wasn’t a big deal even a few hundred years ago. The third episode is the one that shows how racial constructs have systemically fucked over people of color through public policies. That one is indispensable for understanding the present, including – really – the MAGA people.
ZooeyModerator
ZooeyModeratorOkay, well. That was an insightful and interesting commentary. But I don’t think he made any case for the left “winning.” He gave no reason why communities of strength will lose out to communities of vulnerability. All he really did was argue that COV are more honest than COS – and that rings True to me – but I heard no reason to believe that honesty will win out over self-delusion.
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July 13, 2019 at 10:35 am in reply to: the one-shot tweets thread (diff'rent stuff, funny angry interesting) #102895ZooeyModeratorCoast Guardsman jumps onto narco-submarine loaded with drugs in Pacific Ocean I ABC7
“So…how’d it go at work today, honey? Anything interesting?”
ZooeyModerator“…They’re four people, and that’s how many votes they got.”
Pelosi is right about this. It ‘is’ a very small group of leftists in the system.
w
vYes, but it is gratifying at least to see that just those few people are making the establishment very uncomfortable.
For being a freshman congresswoman in her first 6 months of time on the hill, AOC has waaaayyyyy disproportionate influence on the national conversation. While it is true that the attention she receives does not directly translate into policy, it is at least giving mainstream daylight to some critical issues that can no longer be ignored. It’s progress (although it does feel like scoring a TD late in the 4th quarter to narrow the deficit to 42-17). So…yay to her and Omar (who has been abusively targeted for her religion, race, and gender – the trifecta).
Don Irwin, in the above tweet, left out Feinstein is his comment of regressive California Democrats. She’s considerably more right wing than even Pelosi and Harris. (Though what’s this about Harris receiving a donation from Trump? I knew about Mnuchin, but this is the first I’ve heard about Trump. I’m surprised he would donate to ANYTHING, let alone a bi-racial, female politician in the opposition party).
ZooeyModeratorAndrew Brandt@AndrewBrandt
Key number from annual @packers financial report: $274 million. It is the national distribution to each team, before they even turn the lights on. Player Salary Cap was $180 million. These are salad days for NFL owners.I’d love to see the operating expenses of each team. Not just the totals for each team, but how much they are spending on different aspects of the business side – scouting, salaries, rent/mortgage, and so on. It would be interesting to see the differences between teams, and what they’re “getting” for their money.
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