Miscellaneous And Off Topic Subjects

[Hannibal]

The dem plan is to blame Trump for Covid-19 and the riots. Not a whole lot of legitimacy to either charge, but it will probably stick with the general public.

Covid-19, there's a lot of substance there. Conflicting message and a confusing federal response have made for some pretty bad optics.

The riots -- they'd be foolish not to downplay those as much as possible. Trump does not have even a tangential connection to the blame there. If Trump had any sense he would make the riots his #1 campaign issue.

[Jeff Buchanan]

.............The riots -- they'd be foolish not to downplay those as much as possible. Trump does not have even a tangential connection to the blame there. If Trump had any sense he would make the riots his #1 campaign issue.

There are signs that he and his campaign staff have done that. To some, his adds showing voice messages from unanswered 911 calls with crimes and rioting being played in the background, may have resonated. The one's about jobs fleeing America under BO/JB were less effective but not bad. The R law and order theme though is a bit worn-out. It isn't going to play with moderate undecideds or swing Rs who see Trump's personality as strongly convicting his presidency and disqualifying him for another 4ys.

But generally, I think you are right that Trump can't be connected to the riots in a meaningful way. To me the greatest threat to a rise in civil unrest is D's gaining a majority foothold at the federal and state levels. talent has done a pretty good job of framing this threat appropriately. The likes of the progressives at all levels of government are going to just bide their time ..... and salivate over socialist/marxist ideals in the body politic soon to come.

[Dr. Strangelove]

The dem plan is to blame Trump for Covid-19 and the riots. Not a whole lot of legitimacy to either charge, but it will probably stick with the general public.

If Trump were a normal human being he could easily improve his standing on covid. The reason (I think) his approval is so bad is not because of any particular policy or failure to act but just his general attitude. People have the impression he doesn't care or is at best indifferent. And keeps offering quack medical advice. Or insisting things are much better than people think and that they need to be thanking him more.

[iam416]

The likes of the progressives at all levels of government are going to just bide their time ..... and salivate over socialist/marxist ideals in the body politic soon to come.

The threat is at the federal level. Locally, I'm perfectly fine with folks governing themselves as they see fit. If they want no police, then have the fuck at it. Statewide I'm generally fine. It's been going on for awhile anyway. The only caveat is that states don't get to come begging for Federal help when their failed policies fuck them (I'm looking at you, Illinois).

But, federally you're going to see the massive push for control of local issues under the guise of "systemic racism" and "social justice" and, hell, even "science." The Progressives will decide what is just, what is racist and what is science and try to cram policies down localities throats. That's how it'll work.

This little blog entry pretty well sums it up:

I was unsurprised to learn of the patient’s struggles in comprehending the precise meaning of “social justice.” The difficulty proceeds from his default to reason, presuming that the term is meant to have a commonly held meaning.

Kindly instruct the patient that social justice is a remarkably flexible tool for the acquisition of power, assertion of moral superiority, and enforcement of ideological conformity. It means whatever he wants it to mean; but in any case, it is always good and right. Thus, it renders him the sovereign arbiter of what is “good” and “just,” an irresistible flattery that suggests that no one — from Aristotle to Aquinas to the Founders — had properly considered the correct brand of justice. Accordingly, the patient will rationalize repudiating these figures as well as eternal verities in furtherance of his newly minted principles of enlightenment.

Cultivate in the patient an image of himself as a savior of the oppressed. He will quickly comprehend that most individuals and institutions will yield to nearly anything in the pursuit of “social justice,” for only the most deplorable would oppose justice. This will incline him to deploy the term promiscuously. Do not restrain him, for the term is most effective when used confidently, even arrogantly, before the public can discern that it is a Trojan horse designed to promote, through shame and coercion, false and absurd propositions that otherwise could not gain purchase. After all, few have the confidence or temerity to question, let alone oppose, “justice,” even if they do not know precisely what such “justice” is!

Be assured that, in the end, the patient will be convinced, as were all of our most celebrated patients throughout history, that anything is permissible in pursuit of justice — even tyranny. Broken eggs, omelets, and all that.

In my next letter, dear nephew, I shall address use of the delightfully insidious term “implicit bias.”

(Apologies to Mr. Lewis.)

[Dr. Strangelove]

Ahh, this is a bummer. Longtime Cleveland weatherman Dick Goddard has passed away

https://fox8.com/news/dick-goddard-legendary-fox-8-meteorologist-dies-at-89/

[Ghengis Jon]

"To me the greatest threat to a rise in civil unrest is D's gaining a majority foothold at the federal and state levels. ....The likes of the progressives at all levels of government are going to just bide their time ..... and salivate over socialist/marxist ideals in the body politic soon to come."


Is that a quote from Senator McCarthy?


Talent's over the top hand wringing and pearl clutching aside, this is simply a pendulum swinging. Left extremism as a reaction to right extremism. We'll continue see extreme rhetoric demonizing the 'other side' as that activity has morphed into a societal norm. The roles seen today will be reversed in another 6-8 years.

The sad part about covid is that this is/was an opportunity to unite a fractured nation. In the immediate days following 9/11, we were a united nation, one people, focused on a single, noble objective. Today, again facing an uncaring lethal threat, we're now more concerned in being partisan and tribal, division being more important than what unites us. For some reason, its now important to be a culture warrior than to be an American. Its now acceptable for one political persuasion to assault/murder people who ask you abide by the law to wear a mask in a public building. Its now acceptable for one political persuasion to destroy public/private property because "I'm mad". Worst of all, both sides blame the other for looting. News flash: its criminal thugs that loot not someone right or left. Criminal thugs do not ask if this a right wing riot or a left wing riot. They don't care. It's "hey the city's aflame, lets go steal stuff". Thugs are thugs. Riots are about anger not politics.

We aren't going to get anywhere so long as we continue to maintain a death grip on the us vs them attitude. Why not work together and put this shit behind us and THEN we can return to our regularly scheduled political stupidity. Oh wait, we don't have a President to set an example and lead. Never mind.

[Dr. Strangelove]

Huge explosion in downtown Beirut. A verdict in the murder trial for the former PM was supposed to be announced today. Sorry if you can’t see the tweet, but seems to have been a massive shock wave

[iam416]

The sad part about covid is that this is/was an opportunity to unite a fractured nation.

No. Just fucking no. No, there was never that chance. You somehow seem to disregard everything in your post about pendulums swinging and rampant partisanship to assume that, yeah, everyone would have been singing cumbaya with the right leadership. BULL. SHIT.

PDJT's "leadership" on Covid has been awful enough to doom his election chances. But please don't sit and fucking pretend that Covid wasn't a partisan issue from Day fucking One. Please don't pretend that PDJT could have somehow secured 60% approval or the like ("unite" a fractured nation requires way more than 50%) when 50% of the voters -- including yourself -- think he should have been impeached. Please don't sit and here and tell me that the likes of YOU would have ever followed or otherwise been united behind anything PDJT would have done. YOU and your America's SHITSTAIN and Putin's cockholster united behind PDJT. LMMFAO. I mean, LMMFAO. I'm sure there are a few people on Earth on who may fucking stupid enough to believe that crock of shit, but I ain't one of them. So, please. Just stop. Be honest with yourself.

The reality is that Covid was partisan from day 1 and it's still rampantly partisan today. The reality is that PDJT has done a bad job and is going to get punished. The reality is that, at most, PDJT might have been able to avoid losing the suburbs and poll at maybe 49-50%. MAYBE. The reality is that Ds would have NEVER united behind PDJT. I mean fucking seriously. You can't be that fucking stupid.

Grow the fuck up.

[Dr. Strangelove]

Trump now says that mail-in voting in Florida is "tried and true", and therefore okay. But nowhere else! Everywhere else = FRAUD!

Someone must have shown him the numbers that Republicans are almost 600,000 people behind Democrats in requesting mail-in ballots down there.

[Dr. Strangelove]

Lebanese health minister says at least 27 dead, 2000 injured from that explosion I posted earlier.

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-53656220

[Jeff Buchanan]

Well, at least the ME, as is usually the case, will get the world's attention with some horrific terrorist attack in the midst of other, seemingly more devastating, global crises.

Fun times. Not.

[Dr. Strangelove]

50 dead, 3000+ injured now

Lebanon was already toppling into failed state territory.

https://www.cnbc.com/2020/08/04/massive-explosion-near-beirut-port-rocks-lebanese-capital.html

[lineygoblue]

Matt Stafford has COVID ....

.... er ....

hold on .....

Maybe not ....

https://www.freep.com/story/sports/nfl/lions/2020/08/04/detroit-lions-matthew-stafford-covid-19-false-positive/3293032001/

[Dr. Strangelove]

That explosion in Lebanon was apparently caused by 2700 tons of ammonium nitrate being kept at a warehouse on the docks.

For comparison's sake the Oklahoma City bombing was carried out with just 2 tons of ammonium nitrate

[iam416]

Didn’t realize there were white nationalists in Lebanon.