Politics And Current Events

[MWB]

When trump dies, does anyone fill the void? I feel like that isn’t really possible.

[faftorial]

[MWB]

All Louisiana public schools are now required to display the national motto of “In God We Trust” inside of classrooms, under a new law that went into effect on August 1.

The law known as HB8, which was officially signed by Gov. John Bel Edwards in June, states that each classroom must have a “minimum requirement of a paper sign” with the religious motto.

The pledge is bad enough… now this?

[shafnutz05]

Theocratic democracy.

[mikey]

Like, whatever, it's already on every dollar bill out there (not that these kids are likely to see many of them in their lives - hey-o!)...but someone had to think of that bill and then write it down on something and then people had to vote on it...just nothing else on the table that could have advanced your stinky ass state in some way...? Or was it just a rider with something else maybe...?

[NTP66]

[Freddy Rumsen]

This article is an awful look for the U.S. Military.

https://news.yahoo.com/ukrainian-troops ... _test=0_00

[count2infinity]

Like, whatever, it's already on every dollar bill out there (not that these kids are likely to see many of them in their lives - hey-o!)...but someone had to think of that bill and then write it down on something and then people had to vote on it...just nothing else on the table that could have advanced your stinky ass state in some way...? Or was it just a rider with something else maybe...?

It's one of those spurious correlations things. Number of problems I see over time, up and to the right. People that don't trust in god over time, up and to the right. If we force them to trust in god, the problems will go away.

[CBear3]

This article is an awful look for the U.S. Military.

https://news.yahoo.com/ukrainian-troops ... _test=0_00

That's what you took out of it?
Felt more like a case of you can't teach old dogs new tricks. It's hard to blame the U.S. military's training for a unit delaying a nighttime action until the light of day.

[genoscoif]

The number of times I've heard, "I'm not a republican, but...." and then they align themselves with the GOP on every single issue. Well, it's a lot.

Meh. I see/hear this point a lot, and I just don't buy it. Not trying to invalidate your experiences or anything c2i (honestly), but I'd venture to bet that, for example, you and I have different definitions of 'align themselves with the GOP on every single issue'. To me, this again falls under the '100% with us, or you're against us' mentality that seems so pervasive in today's political environment. For so many people, they've basically eliminated any middle ground for others to live in. Like, if I were to lay out the entirety of my views on a complicated issue like abortion, both sides would most likely say I'm aligning with the other because neither side allows any wiggle room for the nuances that I believe.

So 'I'm not a republican, but' isn't really a false or protective or veiled statement by them, it's an attempt to establish a neutral ground away from your perception of where a moderate or independent's views land them on your political spectrum...which would understandably often fall more to the 'right' than someone firmly on the left. Why would they have to do that? Well because for sooo many on the 'left' the actual term republican is synonymous with racist, bigoted, misogynistic, homophobic, fascist, etc., and in today's society soooo many people base their entire personality on political affiliation. So moderates, independents, and even small c conservatives know that, to someone on the left, 'republican' is basically a slur, and they are going to try to establish that they aren't any of the above-mentioned synonyms.

tl;dnr It's not me, it's you.

[Troy Loney]

The number of times I've heard, "I'm not a republican, but...." and then they align themselves with the GOP on every single issue. Well, it's a lot.

Meh. I see/hear this point a lot, and I just don't buy it. Not trying to invalidate your experiences or anything c2i (honestly), but I'd venture to bet that, for example, you and I have different definitions of 'align themselves with the GOP on every single issue'. To me, this again falls under the '100% with us, or you're against us' mentality that seems so pervasive in today's political environment. For so many people, they've basically eliminated any middle ground for others to live in. Like, if I were to lay out the entirety of my views on a complicated issue like abortion, both sides would most likely say I'm aligning with the other because neither side allows any wiggle room for the nuances that I believe.

So 'I'm not a republican, but' isn't really a false or protective or veiled statement by them, it's an attempt to establish a neutral ground away from your perception of where a moderate or independent's views land them on your political spectrum...which would understandably often fall more to the 'right' than someone firmly on the left. Why would they have to do that? Well because for sooo many on the 'left' the actual term republican is synonymous with racist, bigoted, misogynistic, homophobic, fascist, etc., and in today's society soooo many people base their entire personality on political affiliation. So moderates, independents, and even small c conservatives know that, to someone on the left, 'republican' is basically a slur, and they are going to try to establish that they aren't any of the above-mentioned synonyms.

tl;dnr It's not me, it's you.

Aren't you just doing the exact same thing here that you're accusing people of?

[count2infinity]

Republican is not a slur. It's a political party that you align with. It is not my fault that in this country your only real choices are R or D. It seems to me, and this is through my lens of life, so your view may be different. There are more straight ticket R voters who say they're not a republican than straight ticket D voters who say they're not a democrat. I have zero data to back that up, so a wall o' text is not necessary.

[Kaiser]

When trump dies, does anyone fill the void? I feel like that isn’t really possible.

I predict dozens of wackjobs trying to imitate him as closely as they can. One by one they'll fail, since they don't have the acting skills to convincingly sound as stupid as him.

[Troy Loney]

Yeah, people want to wax poetic on their political views as though they’re crafted from genius.

I vote democrat because the republicans actively pursue policies I disagree with. The democrats are politicians, and their goal is to raise money and thus befriend rich people, and as a results are too moderate for me so i don’t personally identify as a democrat. But that’s meaningless for all intents and purposes.

[MWB]

The small group of people who use the word Republican in a derogatory way come to that because of the actions of some republicans. The words, bills, and actions that fit the mold of racist, misogynist, homophobic, etc. But no, that doesn’t represent all republicans of course, and most on the left don’t think it does. Most people know that there are extremes on both sides but that the majority are somewhere in the middle.

[CBear3]

I get where geno is coming from.
Much like I'd say I'm not a Democrat, but we could pick a dozen or more positions I agree with them on. If you forced me to align with a party I'm going that way, but I'm more than blue or red.

[DigitalGypsy66]

Rising oil costs and heat-induced refinery production cuts have driven gas prices to their highest levels in nine months.

The average price for a gallon of regular-grade gas in the United States reached $3.80 on Wednesday, 26 cents more compared with a month ago, according to data from AAA. It is the highest level since November, though still lower than the peak average of $5 in June 2022.

Hot weather has hurt refinery output, AAA spokesman Andrew Gross said.

“Last June, the prices were a war-induced mania,” Gross said. “Now, prices are a reaction to scorching summer temperatures.”

Refineries aren’t designed to operate in temperatures above 95 degrees, so companies scale back production during heat waves as a safety and efficiency measure. Much of the country’s refinery capacity is in areas of Texas and Louisiana where the average daily maximum temperature in July has been at least 95 degrees.

Weather ultimately will decide whether drivers see financial relief at the pump, Gross said. But the cost of crude oil also has an impact on gasoline prices, Gross and others said.

Oil prices are around $80 a barrel. Crude supply cuts have led to global declines in oil inventories, said Patrick DeHaan, head of petroleum analysis at GasBuddy.

“Heat has been a sudden jolt the past two weeks, but brewing behind the scenes has been the price of oil, which for five straight weeks has been rising,” DeHaan said. “The Russians and Saudis have been colluding to limit production into the market at a time that it’s looking like the economy may not get dragged to the depths of a recession.”

Analysts expect gas prices to ease by October, but hurricane season could lead to more hikes in the short term. In South Florida especially, where water temperatures off the Gulf Coast exceeded 100 degrees last week, the potential for hurricane damage looms large.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/business ... ries-heat/

So let me get this straight: the refineries can't operate when it's too hot out. We just had the hottest July on record, globally. The heat is caused by climate change brought on in part by vehicle emissions....from burning refined fuels. Hmm.

[count2infinity]

I fully understand that there's nuance... I think straight ticket R voters are more hesitant to say so than straight ticket D voters. If that's because people who lean left are big ole meanies that find the R ticket to be full of racist, misogynistic, homophobes, well... get over yourself.

[CBear3]

There's apparently a NYTimes oped making the rounds today about the learned elite caused Trumpers to be Trumpers. Basically the mikey philosophy, so I ain't paying to read that drivel when I can get it here for free.

I mean, its great for people to try to de-smug themselves, but it also gives people a free pass on being Bible thumping hypocrites and lacking empathy on social issues.

[Troy Loney]

The small group of people who use the word Republican in a derogatory way come to that because of the actions of some republicans. The words, bills, and actions that fit the mold of racist, misogynist, homophobic, etc. But no, that doesn’t represent all republicans of course, and most on the left don’t think it does. Most people know that there are extremes on both sides but that the majority are somewhere in the middle.

The same way that liberal is used as a slur by people on the right.

It's one thing to go into forums and such where the intent of the discussion is to engage on politics. But no one does this in real life, and for me, the only people at work that ever want to talk politics are republicans. Doesn't seem like this idea that right leaning people have to tread lightly due to left bullies has any merit.

[Kaiser]

What home-grown grass roots small town principles. FAMILY VALUES if you will.
"I'm not a racist, misogynist, or homophobe, but I'll vote for one."

The word Republican isn't a slur, it's a term of loathing for people who have no integrity about what they vote for.

[Troy Loney]

There's apparently a NYTimes oped making the rounds today about the learned elite caused Trumpers to be Trumpers. Basically the mikey philosophy, so I ain't paying to read that drivel when I can get it here for free.

David Brooks at it again, definitely no reason to read that.

[mikey]

The small group of people who use the word Republican in a derogatory way come to that because of the actions of some republicans. The words, bills, and actions that fit the mold of racist, misogynist, homophobic, etc. But no, that doesn’t represent all republicans of course, and most on the left don’t think it does. Most people know that there are extremes on both sides but that the majority are somewhere in the middle.

The same way that liberal is used as a slur by people on the right.

It's one thing to go into forums and such where the intent of the discussion is to engage on politics. But no one does this in real life, and for me, the only people at work that ever want to talk politics are republicans. Doesn't seem like this idea that right leaning people have to tread lightly due to left bullies has any merit.

Maybe in the "Northern South" where you live...but not anywhere that I've lived in my life, it's the opposite.

[mikey]

Yeah, people want to wax poetic on their political views as though they’re crafted from genius.

I vote democrat because the republicans actively pursue policies I disagree with. The democrats are politicians, and their goal is to raise money and thus befriend rich people, and as a results are too moderate for me so i don’t personally identify as a democrat. But that’s meaningless for all intents and purposes.

"I don't personally identify as a democrat...too moderate for me..."

*Full-heartedly and directly supports the party*

Expects change? Expects to ever be even partially represented by his own country?

[MWB]

The small group of people who use the word Republican in a derogatory way come to that because of the actions of some republicans. The words, bills, and actions that fit the mold of racist, misogynist, homophobic, etc. But no, that doesn’t represent all republicans of course, and most on the left don’t think it does. Most people know that there are extremes on both sides but that the majority are somewhere in the middle.

The same way that liberal is used as a slur by people on the right.

It's one thing to go into forums and such where the intent of the discussion is to engage on politics. But no one does this in real life, and for me, the only people at work that ever want to talk politics are republicans. Doesn't seem like this idea that right leaning people have to tread lightly due to left bullies has any merit.

Maybe in the "Northern South" where you live...but not anywhere that I've lived in my life, it's the opposite.

Yeah, liberal is definitely used that way. Being a “libtard,” I am definitely in the minority down here. The south earns its reputation, but in this area, there’s also a ton of northeast transplants who are/were trump voters and love to hate liberals.