Dems should've held off until today. Now they'll do McCarthy's job for him while giving him an opportunity to rail against 'silencing' other 'opinions'.

I know these fucks will find and/or make-up something to complain about, but no need to serve one up.

2/3/2021 9:35:00 PM

McCarthy apparently has never even heard of QAnon. I mean, he doesn't even know how to pronounce it.

https://www.vice.com/en/article/n7v5ez/kevin-mccarthy-wants-you-to-believe-he-has-no-idea-what-qanon-is

2/4/2021 9:37:04 AM

how many more times will they go after AOC only to get immediately get called out for their awful, cynical bullshit before realizing they shouldn’t?

(I say this knowing that the echo chamber that they’re all in will never report how wrong they are after they’re proven to be bullshitting, but one can hope)

[Edited on February 4, 2021 at 1:06 PM. Reason : .]

2/4/2021 12:53:30 PM

https://www.wral.com/we-shouldn-t-have-followed-him-haley-speaks-out-against-trump/19523597/

Quote :

"Nikki Haley, the former U.N. ambassador in the Trump administration, criticized Donald Trump in an interview published by Politico on Friday, saying that she was “disgusted” by the former president’s conduct Jan. 6 and believed he had “lost any sort of political viability.”"

You don't say!

2/12/2021 3:15:36 PM

https://amp.cnn.com/cnn/2021/02/12/politics/trump-mccarthy-shouting-match-details/index.html?__twitter_impression=true

McCarthy is the biggest, most spineless cuck you can possibly imagine

Quote :

""Well, Kevin, I guess these people are more upset about the election than you are," Trump said, according to lawmakers who were briefed on the call afterward by McCarthy. McCarthy insisted that the rioters were Trump's supporters and begged Trump to call them off. Trump's comment set off what Republican lawmakers familiar with the call described as a shouting match between the two men. A furious McCarthy told the President the rioters were breaking into his office through the windows, and asked Trump, "Who the f--k do you think you are talking to?" according to a Republican lawmaker familiar with the call."

[Edited on February 12, 2021 at 7:28 PM. Reason : ]

2/12/2021 7:28:15 PM

Not credible.

2/12/2021 8:17:02 PM

Quote :

"Who the f--k do you think you are talking to?"

As it turns out, Trump knew exactly who he was talking to.

What a pathetic piece of shit.

2/13/2021 12:30:36 AM

What a dumb strategy: "Well, yeah he was guilty, but we let him get away with it because of a lame technicality that would have never flown in a real court room."

I worry about violence, because people are fucking pissed.

2/13/2021 5:28:53 PM

I'm pissed. But I'm not going to be violent.

2/13/2021 8:43:40 PM

[Edited on February 14, 2021 at 12:15 PM. Reason : ]

2/14/2021 12:14:32 PM

I hate to say it, but I’m kinda impressed that Liz Cheney seems to have more balls than all the “MAGA tuff guys” in the house combined.

2/24/2021 4:36:27 PM

safe to assume that Marjorie Taylor Greene‘s favorability within the GOP will rise after her awful anti-trans stunt?

2/25/2021 11:46:26 AM

Kamala Harris is like a younger Elaine Chao. Mitch McConnell and Elaine Chao remain leader of GOP after all these yrs.

2/25/2021 1:26:22 PM

Kristi Noem slamming Dr. Fauci at CPAC to a standing ovation. Not credible.

2/27/2021 10:54:07 PM

It's a race to the bottom with the GOP. I've been thinking about how despicable they've gotten over the years. They are pandering to lunatics and idiots now.

2/28/2021 9:57:18 AM

Unfortunately the lunatics and idiots reproduce at higher rates than the educated. It's concerning. Facebook certainly shares the blame for where we find ourselves thanks to their echo-chambers and algorithmically-optimized anger-induction, as you correctly pointed out.

2/28/2021 11:00:24 AM

^educated is not the opposite of stupid/lunatic. Plenty of educated republicans.

^x5ish

Quote :

"CPAC attendees lining up to take pictures with Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene https://t.co/NtmlPUiDBl"

2/28/2021 11:39:21 AM

I'll have to give you that point on a technicality. It's hard for me to believe that a truly educated person can favor the policies and personality of one Donald Trump.

2/28/2021 1:46:57 PM

I work with plenty of educated and very smart people that, at minimum, would/have vote for Trump. They may not be in the worshipful crowd but def willing to support.

2/28/2021 2:00:25 PM

To what do you attribute this? I certainly believe you, but I can't rationalize the mental gymnastics required to get to that position. I'm sure I also work with a lot of people who are the same, but I purposely don't talk politics. Is it as simple as Trump not being a "libtard"?

2/28/2021 4:26:37 PM

Low taxes and racism? A certain lack of compassion and selfishness? Religion abortion? Prob all of the above

2/28/2021 4:54:44 PM

I suppose that's a good enough guess. I have difficulty separating the policy from the person. He's a shit human being. I cannot overlook the vehicle of ANY policy and all the collateral damage.

2/28/2021 7:23:05 PM

it all comes down to selfishness

2/28/2021 7:31:15 PM

OIC. But if the country and the planet are destroyed, what good are your low taxes?

2/28/2021 8:22:02 PM

I was chatting once with a guy that is super smart in my field, I respect(ed?) him more than almost anyone I work with. He then said climate change very sarcastically, but maybe I misheard? Anyway after that I became much more careful how I talked at work.

2/28/2021 11:00:31 PM

The crowd started a "We Love You!" chant during Trump's speech @ the CPAC.

He said something like "We asked experts and pollsters, and we think this is the first time the crowd has ever chanted that before!"

3/1/2021 1:39:51 PM

Because we know that Trump immensely values the output of experts and pollsters. Accordingly, seems an odd thing for him to say.

3/1/2021 6:04:17 PM

^^^A higher proportion of engineers and scientists are more skeptical of climate change than the average Joe.

Food for thought.

3/2/2021 9:56:52 AM

Based on my experience, i agree for engineers. But definitely not your average person who works in the science field. I'm not sure what you're basing that on.

Also food for thought, a majority of engineers are religious (but not scientists)

3/2/2021 10:05:24 AM

^^ Classic example from Burt Rutan http://burtrutan.com/downloads/EngrCritiqueCAGW-v4o3.pdf

Unrelated to global warming making the rounds:

https://astralcodexten.substack.com/p/a-modest-proposal-for-republicans

Quote :

"Trump stood against the upper class. He might define them as: people who live in nice apartments in Manhattan or SF or DC and laugh under their breath if anybody comes from Akron or Tampa. Who eat Thai food and Ethiopian food and anything fusion, think they would gain 200 lbs if they ever stepped in a McDonalds, and won't even speak the name Chick-Fil-A. Who usually go to Ivy League colleges, though Amherst or Berkeley is acceptable if absolutely necessary. Who conspicuously love Broadway (especially Hamilton), LGBT, education, "expertise", mass transit, and foreign anything. They conspicuously hate NASCAR, wrestling, football, "fast food", SUVs, FOX, guns, the South, evangelicals, and reality TV. Who would never get married before age 25 and have cutesy pins about how cats are better than children. Who get jobs in journalism, academia, government, consulting, or anything else with no time-card where you never have to use your hands. Who all have exactly the same political and aesthetic opinions on everything, and think the noblest and most important task imaginable is to gatekeep information in ways that force everyone else to share those opinions too."

[Edited on March 2, 2021 at 10:16 AM. Reason : A]

3/2/2021 10:12:11 AM

nobody thinks less of Republicans than ruling class Republicans

3/2/2021 10:47:12 AM

^^I'm not clicking that link but that first sentence is bullshit


As for enginerrs/scientists and climate change, it only really matters what CLIMATE scientists and those in related fields think. Everyone else (including me) is reading and understanding on a limited basis and making judgements based on priors.

https://www.pnas.org/content/114/36/9587

3/2/2021 11:45:59 AM

Quote :

"As for enginerrs/scientists and climate change, it only really matters what CLIMATE scientists and those in related fields think."

Think evolutionary theory would have gotten as far if instead of, "look at this hip bone in a whale!" They were, "biology can only be understood by biologists". Maybe Dawkins and Sagan shouldn't have written all those popsci books? Your high priests have your best interests at heart.

Maybe because the high priests have gotten fat and lazy. Instead of a sales campaign to the public we get "97% agree you pleb! Check my Excel chart. Can you spell exponential?"

Quote :

"^^I'm not clicking that link but that first sentence is bullshit"

The part about trump? If you clicked the link you'd understand the context.

Quote :

"Aren't I just describing well-off people? No. Teachers, social workers, grad students, and starving artists may be poor, but can still be upper-class. Pilots, plumbers, and lumber barons are well-off, but not upper-class. Donald Trump is a billionaire, but still recognizably not upper class. The upper class is a cultural phenomenon."

[Edited on March 2, 2021 at 12:07 PM. Reason : A]

3/2/2021 12:02:22 PM

How many people do you think truly understand evolution

Climate change is widely accepted and anyone there are hundreds of resources that help explain the concept without digging into the details. Tke teg is implying that climate change is fake bc some people smart in other fields don't believe it, which is dumb


And Donald Trump is absolutely recognizably upper-class. He has gold ceiling in one house and his other house is a country club. You can't just redefine upper class and then say "see he's against it!!" Besides Trump is for people that support him and show proper reverence, and against people that don't, any other break down is just coincidental.

Also if a quote needs additional context don't post the quot by itself.

3/2/2021 12:14:43 PM

Quote :

"How many people do you think truly understand evolution "

Not many, including but not limited to the #believescience crowd. There was still an effort to sell the public politically on it. This board had threads about the Kansas state evolution in the antiquity of 2005. Can you imagine such a discussion today? I can't say I've run into anyone argue against evolution's veracity in at least 13 years. I'd argue because the scientists in that field did an impeccable sales job.

Again the reason climate science has as much doubt is "these smart people say it's true" works as well as "my daddy says..."

Quote :

"And Donald Trump is absolutely recognizably upper-class. He has gold ceiling in one house and his other house is a country club. You can't just redefine upper class and then say "see he's against it!!" Besides Trump is for people that support him and show proper reverence, and against people that don't, any other break down is just coincidental."

Donald Trump would be more from the old money class, which would also contain the Kochs and probably be on this list: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_Register. That class is dying and the new Brahmin upper class would certainly not share their table at the Chez Panisse https://www.sfgate.com/restaurants/article/Getting-to-Betsey-What-does-it-take-to-book-a-3240336.php with Donald Trump or even admit they saw him there.

This has three theories that all have rough overlap for what class is in the United States:
https://slatestarcodex.com/2016/01/30/staying-classy/. In this model Trump is an Optimate or "elite" which is not the current ruling class. The Hindu Phraseology is from UR which is racist/sexist/homophobic and generally verboten--don't click the link to that or you'll lose your booking at French Laundry should you ever try to go. Missing the Oysters and Pearls is not a life I want to live so please don't tell anyone I mentioned it.

Quote :

"But there are also some profound differences. UR says that the Elites are mostly gone, that everything’s ruled by the Gentry nowadays, and that the Gentry are allying with the criminal Underclass against Labor. MC mentions this same picture, but only as the false facade that the Elites are trying to get everyone else to believe in order to keep them divided. You could reconcile some of the differences by supposing the two models have different cutoffs. Suppose we rank people from 0 (lowest underclass) to 100 (highest elite). Maybe MC draws the Labor/Gentry and Gentry/Elite borders at 40 and 70 respectively, and UR draws the Vaisya/Brahmin and Brahmin/Optimate borders at 60 and 90. If the world’s being run by 80s, MC could be right to say it’s run by Elites and not Gentry, and UR could be right in saying it’s run by Brahmins and not Optimates. If Silicon Valley is run by 55s but being ruined by 75s, MC could say it’s run by Gentry but ruined by elites, and UR could say it’s run by Vaisyas but ruined by Brahmins. But if there’s this much variability in class boundaries, what’s the point in even drawing them in the first place?"

[Edited on March 2, 2021 at 1:03 PM. Reason : a]

3/2/2021 12:57:36 PM

You seem to arguing something that I'm not on the science thing so I'll skip that.

Im not sure why people eating dinner with Trump matters for anything. Then at the end you change the discussion to "ruling class" which wasn't even the topic, but Trump was just president I think he qualifies.

3/2/2021 1:02:40 PM

I was defining what Scott meant by upper class which you contested. It's essentially comprised of people that went to an upper tier college, probably shop at Whole Foods and know what Chez Panisse is. Also would politically have woke views and want to defund the police.

Basically the tastes of the coastal elite signify the current ruling class. An oil baron in 2021 though very rich is not that.

[Edited on March 2, 2021 at 1:18 PM. Reason : A]

3/2/2021 1:15:08 PM

Oh I get what hes saying he's saying Trump is against classic "liberals" but wants to be rebrand the phrase upper class to include them and exclude Trump.

3/2/2021 1:28:31 PM

^^wut?

[Edited on March 2, 2021 at 1:28 PM. Reason : ]

3/2/2021 1:28:42 PM

It's not his idea, but in summary bifurcates the elite into two: Optimates, Brahmins. Optimates fly their King Airs to SC to go hunting with their state school college buddies. Brahmins take an eco-sustainability cruise in Alaska with a wine and cheese tasting to look at Orcas. Brahmins also include teachers, doctors, lawyers, and people with upper class tastes/ambitions not related to income. The pairing of the lower classes are for the Brahamins the underclass drug addicts. Opressed by sexism and racism, these are temporarily embarrassed Whole Foods baggers. The Opimates pair well with the "DEY TEWK R JOBS" lower middle class republicans. These two circles in the elite are mixing less and less. The new ruling class in this view contains people who are not financially elite. The previous ruling class does not.

The Church view that Scott discusses says the elites are just doing this class act to stroke the fires of interclass resentment. Pitting the managerial upper 20% against the middle the 20%. I agree with this assessment. I think the woke religion is a way to prevent Bernie bros and Racist tea party uncles from holding hands. Being in the upper 20% managerial class https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Professional-managerial_class this concerns me.

The UR view, racist and sexist it may be, is that the Brahmin class is actually the ruling class and it's not an act. It's a ground swell shift where we are now a one-party state. The managerial elite has conquered and forced their tastes and hedonism on everyone. You want that cushy job? You better go to our anti-racist training! If you have other views you better be as good at Ketman as a Pakistani grocer in Wilson. https://aeon.co/ideas/ketman-and-doublethink-what-it-costs-to-comply-with-tyranny

Quote :

"Even as Milosz’s fellow intellectuals fell in line with the new regime, they privately insisted that they were acting of their own free will. Ketman helps to explain this seeming contradiction. Persecution has long forced believers to conceal their beliefs. But ketman as used by Milosz means something more than just simulation. It goes deeper than mere lying. Ketman reaches deeper into the soul than simple hypocrisy. Ketman deceives the deceiver, as much as the person being deceived."

[Edited on March 2, 2021 at 2:13 PM. Reason : a]

3/2/2021 1:57:40 PM

So an upper class manager that thinks saying the “n word” is wrong is a “ruling elite,” while an oil baron with senators on speed dial and a self-financed SuperPAC is just a pleb trying to stay afloat in the swelling cultural power of the woke mob?

This is just the age old American culture war twisted to portray the wealthy as powerless victims. Cultural power is not political power. If it were, this past summer you wouldn’t have seen cops (the ruling elites’ muscle) cracking skulls at the BLM protests (literally the woke mob, if you listen to conservatives tell it).

3/2/2021 5:23:37 PM

That's a pretty big jump. There is a rather large gap between saying the n word and banning Dr Seuss. Coke in it's anti racism training was called out for telling people to be less white. I'm sure partly overblown by right wing media, but wow.

There have been countless examples of people cancelled for asinine things not remotely racist or sexist. It doesn't even have to be actual racism, but what someone, perhaps an enemy or blogger looking for job, interprets as such. Sure seems to have passed way into the witchhunt phase. There is no allowance for redemption, straight to crucifixion.

My favorite example from long ago: https://arstechnica.com/staff/2013/03/donglegate-is-classic-overreaction-and-everyone-pays/

Quote :

"McWhorter himself (who is African American) has been called a white supremacist for questioning received wisdom on matters related to race.42 But if some students now think it’s OK to punch a fascist or white supremacist,43 and if anyone who disagrees with them can be labeled a fascist or white supremacist, well, you can see how this rhetorical move might make people hesitant to voice dissenting views on campus.44"

Quote :

"Pranav Jandhyala, a UC Berkeley student journalist and self-described “moderate liberal,” who used his cell phone to record events as they unfolded, was attacked by protesters, who tried to take his phone.22 When he fled, they chased him, punching him in the head, beating him with sticks, and calling him a “neo-Nazi.”23"

Quote :

"Mass movements can rise and spread without belief in a God, but never without belief in a devil. ERIC HOFFER, The True Believer1"

[Edited on March 2, 2021 at 6:46 PM. Reason : A]

3/2/2021 6:45:18 PM

Quote :

"If it were, this past summer you wouldn’t have seen cops (the ruling elites’ muscle) cracking skulls at the BLM protests (literally the woke mob, if you listen to conservatives tell it)."

I lived a mile from the center of the Santa Monica Riots. I had friends at this protest, people that went to Berkeley and drove to the event in a BMW X5 who were peaceful--others not so much. They burned down a sushi place, destroyed my eye doctor, looted a Vietnamese nail salon. I think that qualifies as woke mob no? I no longer live there, and bought a house further away. Almost 60% of the businesses on the promenade are closed, partly due to covid, and also due to the riots.

Despite the looting of the community most people that live there are more worried about the looters, and some even sent money to GoFundMes.

I moved in July.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y4Uw2RpKrzc

https://www.lamag.com/citythinkblog/santa-monica-police-may-31/

[Edited on March 2, 2021 at 6:59 PM. Reason : a]

3/2/2021 6:57:26 PM

That was a presidential debate level of redirect to avoid the point, well done

3/2/2021 7:13:39 PM

^ I pointed out I took the 2nd view, but the class structure idea is similar in the Church vs UR view of class which is why I included it.

Quote :

" while an oil baron with senators on speed dial and a self-financed SuperPAC is just a pleb trying to stay afloat in the swelling cultural power of the woke mob?"

The oil baron isn't a pleb in the example and they aren't trying to stay afloat in the sea of the woke mob. Are oil/red empire jobs increasing in prestige and power or waning?

AFAIK the Koch's last stand outlined in "Dark Money" is the last real play they made. Yeah they took down NC, but they didn't take anything else of consequence, and the SuperPACs are being used by the blues now too.

[Edited on March 2, 2021 at 7:31 PM. Reason : a]

3/2/2021 7:26:12 PM

Just noting that no one has banned Dr. Seuss.

3/3/2021 8:34:16 AM

Quote :

"Oh I get what hes saying he's saying Trump is against classic "liberals" but wants to be rebrand the phrase upper class to include them and exclude Trump."

Exactly. Class has always had cultural and economic aspects. Otherwise we wouldn't be able to put on airs or be novueau riche. This is an attempt to redefine class solely in terms of cultural values.

Trump is not working class. He may enjoy some working class touchstones but his economic status means he will never experience them the same way those of lower economic class do. Trump eats McDonald's (but not at McDonald's) because he chooses to. For him it is not one of a few economically-limited options.

Trump may genuinely like McDonald's food. The less charitable view is that he's slumming.

3/3/2021 7:15:34 PM

^^

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/dr-seuss-enterprises-racist-images-cease-publishing/

6 Dr. Seuss books will stop being published because of racist and insensitive images

3/4/2021 10:00:10 AM

stop being published =/= banned

3/4/2021 10:30:32 AM

Quibbling over whether to use banned, cancelled, unpublished seems to miss the entire point. If you want to roll back mandatory minimums and fix the crack/coke sentencing guidelines great. I think there is an argument there for systemic racism.

That's a far cry from corporate america playing struggle session over Dr. Seuss and apologizing for being white. Witch-hunts are used merely to wield power and terror. Unless you believe in witches.

[Edited on March 4, 2021 at 11:22 AM. Reason : A]

3/4/2021 11:17:49 AM