Political Discussion Thread (With Rules)

[Lord Liaden]

4 hours ago, Cygnia said:

Federal appeals court strikes down domestic violence gun law

 

 I looked up which states are within the Fifth Circuit Court's jurisdiction. I wish I could say I was surprised.

[Pattern Ghost]

Update: Looks like Hemphill was fired.

 

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/sixth-memphis-officer-fired-tyre-nichols-death-rcna69121

[DShomshak]

A while back, I posted links to Perun Gaming's essays on how corruption and lies destroy armies. He's now dropped the third volume of this trilogy, on how militaries are sabotaged by personalist politics. As he says, the way politics works in autocracies, where personal ambition and CYA inhibits collective competence, is not unique to Russia. Some people might even see familiar elements in Trumpworld.

 

Dean Shomshak

[TrickstaPriest]

1 hour ago, DShomshak said:

A while back, I posted links to Perun Gaming's essays on how corruption and lies destroy armies. He's now dropped the third volume of this trilogy, on how militaries are sabotaged by personalist politics. As he says, the way politics works in autocracies, where personal ambition and CYA inhibits collective competence, is not unique to Russia. Some people might even see familiar elements in Trumpworld.

...

 

Dean Shomshak

 

Perun does good work.

 

I'd also argue that's a common thread in a lot of politics... which is why they tend to destroy anything they become invested in.

[DShomshak]

Well, yes. As Perun notes in his introduction, the dynamics can happen in anything from empires to sports teams. But they perhaps become most destructive in war.

 

Meanwhile, remember those predictions early in the war that Russia's economy would collapse by June? Perun also made a video explaining why this didn't happen, and indeed why war economies can persist far longer than anyone expects. Short answer: A lot becomes possible when you don't care about present hardship for future victory; or conversely, if you are willing to mortgage your future for resources in the present.

 

Dean Shomshak

[TrickstaPriest]

I've been following his content for a few months now

[unclevlad]

Remember that high altitude Chinese balloon?

 

 

 

That's all it is now...

[Lord Liaden]

This brief video is worth a chuckle and a tear:

 

 

[Dr. MID-Nite]

More tears than chuckles. Such a f****** waste of time. I could care less what Congress thinks of Socialism. Most members of Congress aren't qualified for their jobs.

[Old Man]

6 hours ago, DShomshak said:

A while back, I posted links to Perun Gaming's essays on how corruption and lies destroy armies. He's now dropped the third volume of this trilogy, on how militaries are sabotaged by personalist politics. As he says, the way politics works in autocracies, where personal ambition and CYA inhibits collective competence, is not unique to Russia. Some people might even see familiar elements in Trumpworld.

 

Dean Shomshak

 

One of the favorite books in my collection is From the Jaws of Victory, by Charles Fair.  The subject of the book is how militaries tend to attract and promote idiots who are then perfectly placed to inflict catastrophic amount of damage on their own side when the fighting starts.  Crassus, the French in the Middle Ages, both Charles XII and his opponent Peter the Great, anyone in the Napoleonic Wars except the Duke of Wellington, almost any Union general during the Civil War, the French again in the Franco-Prussian war, everyone in WWI, and the U.S. command in Vietnam.  Putin and his toadies would absolutely merit their own chapter if this book were to be updated.

[DShomshak]

44 minutes ago, Dr. MID-Nite said:

More tears than chuckles. Such a f****** waste of time. I could care less what Congress thinks of Socialism. Most members of Congress aren't qualified for their jobs.

Depending, of course, on what one thinks their job is. If a member of Congress' job is merely to get elected, raise money for the next election, distract the base

and rubber-stamp the latest proposal from a think-tank, many Republicans are excellently qualified.

 

Incidentally, does anyone know if the resolution bothered to define what was meant by socialism? (I would expect not, but I'm not going to waste more of my time looking for the text.)

 

Dean Shomshak

[Tom]

On 1/21/2023 at 10:25 AM, Starlord said:

The 'JR-15,' an AR-15 rifle for kids, is being marketed again weeks after a 6-year-old shot a teacher

I have a bit of a tangential question here, having recently seen an argument that essentially compared the marketing of sugary cereals to kids with the marketing of rifles like the JR-15.

 

Now I can see (and remember) the arguments back then. The specific focus was on Saturday morning cartoons.

 

Yeah, the commercials were on programming aimed at kids with the intent the little darlings tell their parents to buy the product. 
 

I don’t watch much TV, hardly any in fact, so I’ve got a question.  Can anyone tell me where they’ve seen firearms advertised where they think children/minors could be targeted?

[archer]

Bill That Would Allow Inmates to Trade Their Organs for Less Prison Time Introduced in Massachusetts

 

https://www.complex.com/life/bill-would-inmates-trade-their-organs-less-prison-time-massachusetts

 

"the controversial legislation is sponsored by two state Democrats, Reps. Judith Garcia, of Chelsea; and Carlos Gonzalez of Springfield...The representatives argued it would be especially beneficial for people of color, who are at higher risk of organ failure, but tend to have trouble finding a match."

 

I'd be more worried about desperate. impoverished, and poorly-educated prisoners permanently compromising their health by giving away their organs due to pressure by what amounts to "salesmen not making the risks fully transparent"...

[Ternaugh]

2 hours ago, archer said:

Bill That Would Allow Inmates to Trade Their Organs for Less Prison Time Introduced in Massachusetts

 

https://www.complex.com/life/bill-would-inmates-trade-their-organs-less-prison-time-massachusetts

 

"the controversial legislation is sponsored by two state Democrats, Reps. Judith Garcia, of Chelsea; and Carlos Gonzalez of Springfield...The representatives argued it would be especially beneficial for people of color, who are at higher risk of organ failure, but tend to have trouble finding a match."

 

I'd be more worried about desperate. impoverished, and poorly-educated prisoners permanently compromising their health by giving away their organs due to pressure by what amounts to "salesmen not making the risks fully transparent"...

 

All we need now is for some evil corporation to release blipverts, and my Max Headroom bingo card will be complete.

[Cygnia]

18 hours ago, unclevlad said:

Remember that high altitude Chinese balloon?

 

 

 

That's all it is now...

[TrickstaPriest]

15 hours ago, Tom said:

I have a bit of a tangential question here, having recently seen an argument that essentially compared the marketing of sugary cereals to kids with the marketing of rifles like the JR-15.

 

Now I can see (and remember) the arguments back then. The specific focus was on Saturday morning cartoons.

 

Yeah, the commercials were on programming aimed at kids with the intent the little darlings tell their parents to buy the product. 
 

I don’t watch much TV, hardly any in fact, so I’ve got a question.  Can anyone tell me where they’ve seen firearms advertised where they think children/minors could be targeted?

 

Nope.  I am mixed on this - my brother was threatened at gunpoint at his high school by one of the other kids, but I don't know that the JR-15 rifle 'itself' is more than a note on the significant cultural issues around gun ownership that produce regular shooting.  ie- it's a symptom, its not really going to be a cause (of much)

[Pariah]

16 hours ago, DShomshak said:

Depending, of course, on what one thinks their job is. 

 

According to Douglas Adams, the job of the president (and by extension any politician) is not to wield power, but to draw attention away from it.

 

By this definition, these GOP is the most successful political party in history.

[csyphrett]

15 hours ago, archer said:

Bill That Would Allow Inmates to Trade Their Organs for Less Prison Time Introduced in Massachusetts

 

https://www.complex.com/life/bill-would-inmates-trade-their-organs-less-prison-time-massachusetts

 

"the controversial legislation is sponsored by two state Democrats, Reps. Judith Garcia, of Chelsea; and Carlos Gonzalez of Springfield...The representatives argued it would be especially beneficial for people of color, who are at higher risk of organ failure, but tend to have trouble finding a match."

 

I'd be more worried about desperate. impoverished, and poorly-educated prisoners permanently compromising their health by giving away their organs due to pressure by what amounts to "salesmen not making the risks fully transparent"...

This was a sideplot of the last Reacher book. A private prison was harvesting prisoners against their will

CES 

[csyphrett]

It's odd that the Gop are bothered by Biden shooting down a spy balloon when they said nothing about Trump letting three of these things fly overhead without doing anything. I guess Maxine Waters was right.

CES

[Old Man]

48 minutes ago, csyphrett said:

It's odd that the Gop are bothered by Biden shooting down a spy balloon when they said nothing about Trump letting three of these things fly overhead without doing anything. I guess Maxine Waters was right.

CES

 

IOKIYAR.

[DShomshak]

2 hours ago, csyphrett said:

It's odd that the Gop are bothered by Biden shooting down a spy balloon when they said nothing about Trump letting three of these things fly overhead without doing anything. I guess Maxine Waters was right.

CES

Well, the headline on my newsfeed is that they're upset he didn't shoot it down before it was over the US. I didn't take the clickbait to learn more because, duh, no matter what Biden does the GOP will scream that it was stupidly wrong and endangered the US. So any statement can be ignored.

 

Dean Shomshak

[Cygnia]

The F-22 that took down China's surveillance balloon used the call sign 'FRANK01' in an apparent homage to a heroic pilot from WWI

[unclevlad]

3 hours ago, DShomshak said:

Well, the headline on my newsfeed is that they're upset he didn't shoot it down before it was over the US. I didn't take the clickbait to learn more because, duh, no matter what Biden does the GOP will scream that it was stupidly wrong and endangered the US. So any statement can be ignored.

 

Dean Shomshak

 

We can go back to Beau's point.

Social Media Engagement.

 

They scream and let their echo chamber scream back.  Like a high school gym, where the cheerleaders point to one side, then the other.  But the HS students are better behaved.

[wcw43921]

Now they're turning on themselves.  .  .

[Logan D. Hurricanes]

4 minutes ago, wcw43921 said:

Now they're turning on themselves.  .  .

 

Horrible, for so many reasons.