Miscellaneous And Off Topic Subjects

[Wild Hoss]

I really thought my tallest hotel skyscraper talk would get more play here. That's grade A good content, folks.

That skyscraper is so tall, you can almost see hope from the top floor.

You're welcome.

[Prime2]

Isn't that a natural consequence of the massive identity politics at play in the US? Progressives have transitioned from casting the issue of African-American community failure from equality under the law and remedying effects of segregation to blaming "white privilege." It's a shrewd move because the latter is a catchall excuse for any minority of any sort, especially if you cast it as "white male privilege" or, lol, even better..."white hetero cis-male privilege."

So now that progressives are clearly shitting on white males, what's the natural response? The feckless will beg forgiveness and acquiesce to the ludicrous. The other end of the spectrum is to ardently defend white males. And why not point out the various contributions made by white males as a way of saying, ummm, yeah, white males ain't all bad.

Then that argument gets carried to the flip side and one asks what have non-white males pitched in so we can do a little comparison.

It's all fucking ridiculous. Just fucking ridiculous. I can't stand the identity politics that Trump is playing. I can't stand the identity politics the progressives play on -- and I fucking hate that their bullshit occasionally pushes me to think about issues in terms of my race. I consider adopting identity politics in response to identity politics absolutely awful and refuse to do it.

So, yeah, I can pretty easily see how Steve King gets there. I can also see how the Baltimore DA is charging total bullshit in the Freddie Gray case and getting assraped for it. I think I understand, at least partially, where it comes from. And it can all rot in hell.

I will continue to quote MLK -- "judged not by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character." I realize that's a conservative line these days, but it's still fucking dead balls true.

Black judge, black prosecutor, 4 police officers acquitted so far.

18 -time arrested drug dealer Freddie Gray, doomed his fate when he chose to resist arrest.

There will be law and order, fuck this animals.

[hack]

Isn't that a natural consequence of the massive identity politics at play in the US? Progressives have transitioned from casting the issue of African-American community failure from equality under the law and remedying effects of segregation to blaming "white privilege." It's a shrewd move because the latter is a catchall excuse for any minority of any sort, especially if you cast it as "white male privilege" or, lol, even better..."white hetero cis-male privilege."

So now that progressives are clearly shitting on white males, what's the natural response? The feckless will beg forgiveness and acquiesce to the ludicrous. The other end of the spectrum is to ardently defend white males. And why not point out the various contributions made by white males as a way of saying, ummm, yeah, white males ain't all bad.

Then that argument gets carried to the flip side and one asks what have non-white males pitched in so we can do a little comparison.

It's all fucking ridiculous. Just fucking ridiculous. I can't stand the identity politics that Trump is playing. I can't stand the identity politics the progressives play on -- and I fucking hate that their bullshit occasionally pushes me to think about issues in terms of my race. I consider adopting identity politics in response to identity politics absolutely awful and refuse to do it.

So, yeah, I can pretty easily see how Steve King gets there. I can also see how the Baltimore DA is charging total bullshit in the Freddie Gray case and getting assraped for it. I think I understand, at least partially, where it comes from. And it can all rot in hell.

I will continue to quote MLK -- "judged not by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character." I realize that's a conservative line these days, but it's still fucking dead balls true.

Reminds me of Liney's ``oh yeah well try being white and getting pulled over by a black cop in Flint and also they started it not us'' posts.

[hack]

Incidentally, anyone want to weigh in on this? LOL.

Depends on if Italians are categorized as white or very light brown?

[iam416]

Aside from the hilarious Melania political malfeasance, my favorite bit of the RNC and associated commentary is the liberal commentators losing their minds about mothers of dead soldiers and such speaking at the RNC. It's hilarious not in and of itself, but rather when viewed in the context of the DNC trotting out several mothers of AAs killed by the police to speak at their convention including the mothers of Michael Brown and Sandra Bland. Heh. Oh how the commentary will flip (on both sides).

Me--I don't get what these mothers that have spoken and will speak at the DNC have to do with larger policy issues, so meh -- but they are mothers who have suffered tremendous loss, so cutting them slack -- like lots of it, is probably the human thing to do. But goddamn is this a hateful time. Makes me think I'm really not trying hard enough in my hatred of Alabam"Alum".

[AlabamAlum]

heh.

The thing that is amazing to me, on a personal note, is that I believe I was a tick or two to the right of Talent years ago. I think I'm a tick or two the left of him now. And no, I haven't changed at all. I'm still correct on everything.

[iam416]

Well, I'm still voting for the PAH. I stand firmly w/ the #nevertrump folks, and merely not voting isn't an option for me.

But my statewide ballot is no longer party line. It's very fluid. I'll probably vote for Portman over Strickland in the Senate race, e.g. Yeah, that would have been unthinkable for me 10-12 years ago.

[The Oracle]

Feel the Johnson!!!

[Cody_Russell]

I'm still Trump (or write-in Scooby Doo) because I think it will be hilarious how butt-hurt the Huffington Post will be if Trump is president.

[Jeff Buchanan]

Feel the Johnson!!!

Pretty sure that's where my vote is going.

talent, I get your frustration with today's Identity Politics but the phenomena as it relates to politics in general can be traced back to Marx's earliest statements about a class becoming conscious of itself and developing a class identity.

Not that you don't know this, I suspect you do, but when you put this sort of political argument in a historical perspective, it becomes less annoying.

It's hard but still possible to sort through the chaff and get to the wheat, eliminate the noise, whatever, to see where the candidates are likely to take us as President, and this is, of course, ignoring the political realities hamstringing the Presidency.

The most frustrating thing about this election season for me is that neither of the R/D candidates can be easily mainstreamed into any particular policy direction I might favor. I can do that with Johnson.

Too bad all Johnson is going to do is siphon off votes for the two main R and D candidates creating the potential for a popular and electoral vote mess.

Interesting times.

[The Oracle]

Mine too, just frustrating that he has no chance to win.

[iam416]

talent, I get your frustration with today's Identity Politics but the phenomena as it relates to politics in general can be traced back to Marx's earliest statements about a class becoming conscious of itself and developing a class identity.

I have more patience with "classist" politics, Buchanan. I strongly disagree with Bernie's policies, but he is very much a poor folks-rich folks guy. To the extent he waded into identity politics, it was probably because he felt compelled to do so by his supporters, but you could tell that's not where his passion is (IMO).

Poor is poor. I've seen my fair share of absolutely awful Appalachian towns and I've seen the east side of Cleveland up close and personal. I'm not sure where there is more despair, but I'm pretty damn sure it's splitting hairs. Bernie appealed to both or tried to. I'm not sure the rest of his progressive bunch is of the same mind.

Likewise, running on a platform of lower taxes, free trade and other pro-business stuff is very much a "classist" approach. Railing against immigrants, while tried and true dating back to the Know-Nothings and their sensible hatred of the Irish, is identity bullshit.

I'm not so naive to think that identity politics will go away, but it seems to me that this election has hit a fever pitch, and I hate it. The notion that a person ought to vote for a candidate based on the race/gender/etc of the voter is awful, IMO, but it has heightened currency these days. It's just so antithetical to the teachings of MLK. If one's interests are determined by one's race or gender or whatever, then it strikes me as legitimizing judging one by one's race or gender or whatever. F that.

As always, JMO. I'm certainly not changing anyone's mind on these issues and don't pretend to think I am.

[Prime2]

I'm still Trump (or write-in Scooby Doo) because I think it will be hilarious how butt-hurt the Huffington Post will be if Trump is president.

Me too, protest vote at this point, shame Trump is so fundamentally flawed.

[hack]

I have more patience with "classist" politics, Buchanan. I strongly disagree with Bernie's policies, but he is very much a poor folks-rich folks guy. To the extent he waded into identity politics, it was probably because he felt compelled to do so by his supporters, but you could tell that's not where his passion is (IMO).

Poor is poor. I've seen my fair share of absolutely awful Appalachian towns and I've seen the east side of Cleveland up close and personal. I'm not sure where there is more despair, but I'm pretty damn sure it's splitting hairs. Bernie appealed to both or tried to. I'm not sure the rest of his progressive bunch is of the same mind.

Likewise, running on a platform of lower taxes, free trade and other pro-business stuff is very much a "classist" approach. Railing against immigrants, while tried and true dating back to the Know-Nothings and their sensible hatred of the Irish, is identity bullshit.

I'm not so naive to think that identity politics will go away, but it seems to me that this election has hit a fever pitch, and I hate it. The notion that a person ought to vote for a candidate based on the race/gender/etc of the voter is awful, IMO, but it has heightened currency these days. It's just so antithetical to the teachings of MLK. If one's interests are determined by one's race or gender or whatever, then it strikes me as legitimizing judging one by one's race or gender or whatever. F that.

As always, JMO. I'm certainly not changing anyone's mind on these issues and don't pretend to think I am.

Good post.

[Jeff Buchanan]

If one's interests are determined by one's race or gender or whatever, then it strikes me as legitimizing judging one by one's race or gender or whatever. F that.

As always, JMO. I'm certainly not changing anyone's mind on these issues and don't pretend to think I am.

Absolutely agree with you on the first point. It's mind-boggling to me that the press doesn't drill down on this, shame them, both the candidates and their election support staff, some of which will ride the coat tails of whomever gets elected.

On your second point, ".....JMO ....", I value your input on topics we've discussed here lately, despite what AlabamAlum says about you ...... which is probably true.