Politics And Current Events

[King Colby]

The CRT debate is a total boogeyman. Mattafack, it's really fkn annoying and distracts from things that matter.

How many kids even give a **** about what they're being taught in HS. I assume HS because any younger than that and "slavery was bad" is the level of comprehension they can tolerate. And when I was in HS all I cared about was where I was putting my fingers on Friday night after the football game

[MR25]

But I thought removing the Governor's emergency orders was supposed to help businesses... this seems to do the opposite.

Does this seem a little cherry-picky to you?

Cherry picky how? Like "GOP bad" cherry picky, or "they're doing the opposite of their intent" cherry picky?

I mean, the whole reason they put that ballot initiative on in the first place was to neuter the governor, and their reasoning was "because businesses" and whatever else Trump was telling them. It's pretty clear they didn't think what potential ramifications were for this, other than Big Bad Wolf couldn't tell them what to do anymore.

It was incredibly short-sighted, imo, and I have a feeling this could cause major issues going forward if we ever have another emergency (regardless if it's a nationwide pandemic or something else).

[NAN]

With regard to the Gov power override, just a question for the people criticizing getting rid of it, what if PA had someone like DeSantis or someone calling the shots?

I personally thing that one person shouldn't wield that emergency decision making, one way or the other.

[Morkle]

With regard to the Gov power override, just a question for the people criticizing getting rid of it, what if PA had someone like DeSantis or someone calling the shots?

I personally thing that one person shouldn't wield that emergency decision making, one way or the other.

Well given that it's GOP controlled with exception of Governor. We'd have more pressing issues than COVID in PA, like election fraud being under investigation non-stop. I think the only reason why this is the way it is, is because you have a Dem Gov and a Republican everything else.

Personally, I don't care one way or the other what happened during a once in a generation event and I hope that it never happens again. These people create laws that benefit them now, and usually burn them later and they cry about it then too, when it happens.

[MR25]

I disagree. The pandemic, and other disasters, need strong leadership from the top down, which starts at the governor level.

This entire thing is just so Rs can shutdown any time a D governor needs to make an emergency declaration.

[MalkinIsMyHomeboy]

I'll spoiler the not serious post. But I laughed

There are a lot of stupid talking points out there vis-a-vis Critical Race Theory. I'm happy that there is resistance to CRT but hearing some of the GOP comment on it is pretty cringe.

I posted an explanation a couple of weeks ago about CRT which I felt laid out rationally why I think it is a trojan horse. Yes, children should be taught about America's past, warts and all. Yes, children should be encouraged to steer away from racism, prejudice, etc. That's not what CRT is though. It's being portrayed as "I guess you don't want kids learning about the bad things America has done". No, that's not true at all.

Sharing this Op-Ed again.

https://www.unionleader.com/opinion/op- ... 67d83.html

While CRT and Maoism are not identical ideologies, they share five features in common. The first is the development of a quasi-religious following of zealous youth devoted to unrestrained destruction of what is old to advance that which is new. Whereas Mao called for traditional Chinese culture to be destroyed, CRT calls for “dismantling systems of oppression,” which, like Mao’s definition of “the old,” is subjectively dependent on what they define as oppressive. The second feature is that both ideologies reduce complex problems to the classical Marxist dichotomy: society is constituted of those who “oppress” and those who are oppressed. CRT divides society into oppressor class (White) and oppressed class (people of color). Third, the processes in CRT training are similar to those in Struggle Sessions: writing self-criticizing letters, apologizing for being born White, public shaming, instilling guilt and hatred. Fourth, both ideologies are taught to school-age children without parental consent. The students are made to feel ashamed and guilty about their family history going back generations. Children are taught and trained to be “social justice warriors” by advocating for racial equity, which is about wealth redistribution. Fifth, the chaos, violence, identity politics and social division conjured up by both ideologies open the way for political factions to systematically divide and conquer until usurpation of the existing political system is one check-mate away.

FWIW, we learned about Jim Crow, poll taxes, Reconstruction, lynchings, etc in high school in Altoona, PA, hardly a bastion of liberal tolerance.

the problem with this op-ed and most CRT criticisms is that they fail to reference schools that are actually teaching this kind of stuff. Like, if there was a school with a common curriculum that followed this stuff, ok I totally 100% agree. But finding real life examples of this stuff is like finding humor in a shmenguin post. They just don't exist.

The only example I've been able to find is where a single second grade teacher in Seattle was teaching their kids that cops were shitty or something. I don't think they have a job anymore

so much of it feels like a strawman. Yes, teaching that "white people should feel guilty about being white" is bad but I don't think there are as many examples of schools doing this as anti-CRT people think there are

[tifosi77]

"Cops are shitty" isn't CRT.

CRT is generally a law school thing, anyway. Ain't no kidlets studying this stuff in 3rd period.

[Troy Loney]

the problem with this op-ed and most CRT criticisms is that they fail to reference schools that are actually teaching this kind of stuff. Like, if there was a school with a common curriculum that followed this stuff, ok I totally 100% agree. But finding real life examples of this stuff is like finding humor in a shmenguin post. They just don't exist.

The only example I've been able to find is where a single second grade teacher in Seattle was teaching their kids that cops were shitty or something. I don't think they have a job anymore

so much of it feels like a strawman. Yes, teaching that "white people should feel guilty about being white" is bad but I don't think there are as many examples of schools doing this as anti-CRT people think there are

Yes, there shouldn't be any controversy about this.

CRT is not being taught in primary schools, because it's a theory, you aren't teaching social theory and criticism in high school, and I imagine most college curriculum is dumbed down to avoid teaching it to college students as well, unless you are a history or literature major. So, on it's face, to anyone with tacit knowledge of (gestures broadly) "things" gets that. But at the same time, we all agree that no school should teach CRT, or have a CRT curriculum.

But even so, people now feel like, even if their kid isn't being told to write apology letters to Barack Obama and Colin Kaepernick, they need to go to school board meetings and yell at everyone and protect their kids from having to do that.

[MWB]

I'll spoiler the not serious post. But I laughed

There are a lot of stupid talking points out there vis-a-vis Critical Race Theory. I'm happy that there is resistance to CRT but hearing some of the GOP comment on it is pretty cringe.

I posted an explanation a couple of weeks ago about CRT which I felt laid out rationally why I think it is a trojan horse. Yes, children should be taught about America's past, warts and all. Yes, children should be encouraged to steer away from racism, prejudice, etc. That's not what CRT is though. It's being portrayed as "I guess you don't want kids learning about the bad things America has done". No, that's not true at all.

Sharing this Op-Ed again.

https://www.unionleader.com/opinion/op- ... 67d83.html

While CRT and Maoism are not identical ideologies, they share five features in common. The first is the development of a quasi-religious following of zealous youth devoted to unrestrained destruction of what is old to advance that which is new. Whereas Mao called for traditional Chinese culture to be destroyed, CRT calls for “dismantling systems of oppression,” which, like Mao’s definition of “the old,” is subjectively dependent on what they define as oppressive. The second feature is that both ideologies reduce complex problems to the classical Marxist dichotomy: society is constituted of those who “oppress” and those who are oppressed. CRT divides society into oppressor class (White) and oppressed class (people of color). Third, the processes in CRT training are similar to those in Struggle Sessions: writing self-criticizing letters, apologizing for being born White, public shaming, instilling guilt and hatred. Fourth, both ideologies are taught to school-age children without parental consent. The students are made to feel ashamed and guilty about their family history going back generations. Children are taught and trained to be “social justice warriors” by advocating for racial equity, which is about wealth redistribution. Fifth, the chaos, violence, identity politics and social division conjured up by both ideologies open the way for political factions to systematically divide and conquer until usurpation of the existing political system is one check-mate away.

FWIW, we learned about Jim Crow, poll taxes, Reconstruction, lynchings, etc in high school in Altoona, PA, hardly a bastion of liberal tolerance.

When you posted this the first time, I’m not sure I responded directly to it, but it doesn’t go into depth about what CRT actually is, and more to the point, how it’s carried out in education. This is also worth a read if you didn’t read it previously:

https://www.edweek.org/leadership/what- ... ck/2021/05

[MWB]

The CRT debate is a total boogeyman. Mattafack, it's really fkn annoying and distracts from things that matter.

This is exactly what I said a couple weeks ago… it is a boogeyman.

[King Colby]

If CRT ain't in public schools and it's taught to people voluntarily paying for their education, why does anyone care?

[MWB]

Because there are a very, very small number of teachers who teach something inappropriately and it gets labeled as “CRT.” So now school boards have decided to waste their time with it. You also have school boards looking at how their districts are dealing with race, and that must mean CRT as well.

[Troy Loney]

I agree with this. I am more opposed to voter id in theory than in practicality. Basically, just allow student ids to be used at polling places and I would have no qualms. I am not opposed to verifying identity at the polling place, I’m opposed to designing the criteria to deliberately target urban voters (kids in the city are less likely to drive). So just let them use some other photo id.

[tifosi77]

Same. I don't have an issue with the concept of voter ID, but every instance of its implementation that I'm aware of has been pretty specifically crafted to disproportionately impact certain specific voters.

[King Colby]

Just require government issued IDs and stop making people pay to get one

[MalkinIsMyHomeboy]

how about you have to show your vaccination card to vote

[NTP66]

how about you have to show your vaccination card to vote

Or count to 12.

[MR25]

How would this affect mail votes

[Troy Loney]

How would this affect mail votes

I think he wants to ban universal mail in voting. Which, I think is dumb, but I also don't care.

I am less concerned with these low-grade voter suppression efforts than I am with growingly sophisticated gerrymandering and these new laws providing state governments the ability to mess with their local districts and elections. So the important thing is to establish a national law that create standards for electoral districts and how states tabulate and certify results.

[King Colby]

How would this affect mail votes

I think he wants to ban universal mail in voting. Which, I think is dumb, but I also don't care.

I am less concerned with these low-grade voter suppression efforts than I am with growingly sophisticated gerrymandering and these new laws providing state governments the ability to mess with their local districts and elections. So the important thing is to establish a national law that create standards for electoral districts and how states tabulate and certify results.

[NAN]

I disagree. The pandemic, and other disasters, need strong leadership from the top down, which starts at the governor level.

This entire thing is just so Rs can shutdown any time a D governor needs to make an emergency declaration.

But that's my point. What if PA was controlled by the Ds and you had some R Governor with the same power. I'm sure you wouldn't want that situation.

I'm just looking in generallities. I don't think one person should hold that much power regardless.

[Kane]

It's 2021. Everyone should be automatically registered to vote when they turn 18, and we should be able to vote from an app on our phones by now.

[nocera]

It's 2021. Everyone should be automatically registered to vote when they turn 18, and we should be able to vote from an app on our phones by now.

Yep. You're required by law to register for the draft at 18. Throw a voting registration in there too.

[NTP66]

Agreed.

[count2infinity]

Re: governor's powers.

We're all just monkeys right? Maybe we should look to baboons for a second.

I heard an episode of Radio Lab last week that studied the movement of baboon troops. Interestingly enough, they have a very democratic approach of moving as a troop. There isn't this "follow the alpha" sort of movement. At any time, any baboon, of any sex, of any place in the hierarchy can move in search of food, water, whatever and the troop could follow or may not follow. Often times the decision of which way to move is democratic and they'll spend quite a bit of time to figure it out before moving. Now, let's say a leopard is coming right at them to attack. They don't spend the time to talk it out and make a decision. They look to the alpha and follow him. Period.

I find this situation to be much like that. In normal, every day governance, yes... I want them to be able talk it out, work on it, get a majority and make good legislature (although with how partisan everything has become, that's seeming less and less like a viable option). In a case where we have a once in lifetime pandemic running rampant across the world, there might not be the time to get through that process. That's when I want to trust that the person at the top was put there for a reason and can make decisions until the emergency is over.