Political Discussion Thread (With Rules)

[Cygnia]

9 hours ago, Old Man said:

I mean, of course kids should be forced to learn math.  Seriously.  What's the alternative?

Workin' in the factory of course!

[unclevlad]

13 hours ago, Old Man said:

I mean, of course kids should be forced to learn math.  Seriously.  What's the alternative?

 

The current state of math and science education?

 

 

[unclevlad]

Ugh...from NYT, about the shooting of United Healthcare's CEO:

 

1.

 

Quote

Investigators also are looking into words, including “delay” and “deny,” that appear to have been inscribed on casings collected after Brian Thompson was shot outside a Midtown hotel.

 

That ties in to my first thought for the motivation.

 

2.  Darker yet.

https://www.nytimes.com/2024/12/05/nyregion/social-media-insurance-industry-brian-thompson.html?unlocked_article_code=1.fE4.1Om0.oJAIyqaTJQA4&smid=url-share

[Old Man]

Totally unrelated photo of a book.

 

 

 

[Iuz the Evil]

15 hours ago, Old Man said:

Totally unrelated photo of a book.

 

 

 

Except as it relates to motivation, sure. I’m anticipating the big social change from this terrible act is a significant increase in security costs for healthcare executives. 

[Hermit]

19 minutes ago, Iuz the Evil said:

Except as it relates to motivation, sure. I’m anticipating the big social change from this terrible act is a significant increase in security costs for healthcare executives. 

 

Pretty much this.

 

If the media was looking for sympathy for the late CEO they have severely underestimated the number of lives that have been hurt or even lost thanks to medical insurance corporations' denials and delays. Comments like "My thoughts and prayers were denied as they're out of network" are flying on social media.

But mostly what the companies are 'learning' is to increase security and to take down their 'about us' pages where pictures and info of their execs are most easily found.

Give up excess profit and actually work to save human lives? NEVAH

[Old Man]

36 minutes ago, Iuz the Evil said:

Except as it relates to motivation, sure. I’m anticipating the big social change from this terrible act is a significant increase in security costs for healthcare executives. 

 

Well, it also compelled the health insurance companies to take down the executive who's who pages from their public websites.

[Cygnia]

Just so we don't forget...

 

The Religious Right Is Plotting How To Get Christianity Into Schools

Quote

From displaying the Ten Commandments to demanding that teachers use the Bible in their classrooms, conservatives seem determined to blur the lines between church and state by infusing Christianity into public schools. And with Donald Trump headed back to the White House and a conservative majority in the U.S. Supreme Court, reshaping the country’s education system is looking increasingly feasible.

Late last month, the Texas State Board of Education approved a Bible-based curriculum for public school students in kindergarten through fifth grade. Texas schools will not be forced to use the curriculum, but those that do will be rewarded with extra funding, up to $60 per student.

The material uses the Bible in a variety of lessons, including directly quoting from it, as well as teaching about Creationism — the Christian belief that God created the Earth in one week — and the crucifixion of Jesus.

“[Conservatives] have globbed onto schools as a place to indoctrinate students,” Rachel Laser, the president and CEO of Americans United for the Separation of Church and State, a nonprofit organization dedicated to keeping public institutions secular, told HuffPost. “They want to raise the next generation to learn false history, illegitimate science, and to favor Christianity over other faiths and nonreligion.”

 

Proponents of including the Bible in public classrooms argue that doing so doesn’t violate the Constitution because Christianity is central to understanding the history and founding of the United States.

Public school educators, however, were quick to blast the move.

“Texas American Federation of Teachers believes that not only do these materials violate the separation of church and state and the academic freedom of our classroom, but also the sanctity of the teaching profession,” the teachers union said in a statement. “These prescriptive materials cannot meet all learners in all contexts, and teachers must be empowered to adapt to the needs of their students.”

 

[Ternaugh]

10 minutes ago, Cygnia said:

Just so we don't forget...

 

The Religious Right Is Plotting How To Get Christianity Into Schools

 

 

I sincerely wish that they'd plot to get the actual teachings of Christ back in their "Christianity". 

[Iuz the Evil]

4 hours ago, Hermit said:

 

Pretty much this.

 

If the media was looking for sympathy for the late CEO they have severely underestimated the number of lives that have been hurt or even lost thanks to medical insurance corporations' denials and delays. Comments like "My thoughts and prayers were denied as they're out of network" are flying on social media.

But mostly what the companies are 'learning' is to increase security and to take down their 'about us' pages where pictures and info of their execs are most easily found.

Give up excess profit and actually work to save human lives? NEVAH

The thoughts and prayers comment I had not heard yet. Did see comments that his last words were likely something like “that’s not a covered benefit”. Or maybe converting a call center to AI robocall format in order to lay off the staff and improve Q2 profits just in time for Christmas.

 

There’s not a lot of love for insurance execs out there in the world. I do feel sorry for him and his family, this was very tragic for them. I hope they catch the guy.

[csyphrett]

7 hours ago, Iuz the Evil said:

The thoughts and prayers comment I had not heard yet. Did see comments that his last words were likely something like “that’s not a covered benefit”. Or maybe converting a call center to AI robocall format in order to lay off the staff and improve Q2 profits just in time for Christmas.

 

There’s not a lot of love for insurance execs out there in the world. I do feel sorry for him and his family, this was very tragic for them. I hope they catch the guy.

Word is NYPD is blasting the guy's face across the city in the hopes someone sees him and turns him in.

CES

[Iuz the Evil]

He’s gotta be out of New York by now, unless he’s just not very bright. Was very well planned, one would think he’d have an exit strategy. Maybe leave the country. We will see, there will be a lot of pressure on authorities to catch him, I’m sure they’ll keep after it.

[Matt the Bruins]

If they do catch him, good luck getting a jury of 12 people willing to convict!

[unclevlad]

5 hours ago, Matt the Bruins said:

If they do catch him, good luck getting a jury of 12 people willing to convict!

 

That'd be a question the prosecution would want to bring up, about whether the potential juror would be swayed because of the victim's status.

 

I agree to a point...there'll be some percent of people who would be swayed...but I suspect the percentage of people who'd go THAT far isn't all that high.  Angry as heck at the insurance companies does not translate to leave to assassinate.

[unclevlad]

BIG NEWS.

 

Being reported by multiple outlets that Syrian rebels have taken Damascus, and Bashar al-Assad has fled.

[assault]

Syria is going to get messy before things get better. Too many conflicting agendas and factions, both internal and external.

One thing that we can count on: no faction loves Israel. 

[Cygnia]

10 hours ago, unclevlad said:

BIG NEWS.

 

Being reported by multiple outlets that Syrian rebels have taken Damascus, and Bashar al-Assad has fled.

https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/syria-rebels-celebrate-captured-homs-set-sights-damascus-2024-12-07/

[Clonus]

 

Aging like milk aside, this seems to have pushed Trump away from his earlier admiration for Putin.  After all, he likes people who win. 

[Iuz the Evil]

Israel just hammering suspected chemical weapon and other targeted sites. Makes sense, this is their opportunity and they obviously don’t want that stuff in the hands of who knows who in an unstable quasi-state. The Iran-Russia-Syria “axis of resistance” is pretty broken for the moment. Ergodan and Turkey would love this to keep going the way it is, lots of things that essentially support US and Western interests in the region going down. And the implications for Russian backed African dictatorships are dire, Syria being an essential (the only) Russian staging area off the Mediterranean. 
 

Crazy stuff. 

[unclevlad]

3 hours ago, Iuz the Evil said:

Israel just hammering suspected chemical weapon and other targeted sites. Makes sense, this is their opportunity and they obviously don’t want that stuff in the hands of who knows who in an unstable quasi-state. The Iran-Russia-Syria “axis of resistance” is pretty broken for the moment. Ergodan and Turkey would love this to keep going the way it is, lots of things that essentially support US and Western interests in the region going down. And the implications for Russian backed African dictatorships are dire, Syria being an essential (the only) Russian staging area off the Mediterranean. 
 

Crazy stuff. 

 

Oh, but no worries.  The Great Stabilizer takes office in 6 weeks, and his Deep Compassion and Wisdom will help steer us in these Difficult Times.  

[Iuz the Evil]

1 hour ago, unclevlad said:

 

Oh, but no worries.  The Great Stabilizer takes office in 6 weeks, and his Deep Compassion and Wisdom will help steer us in these Difficult Times.  

I’m kind of hoping he stays out of it entirely, as he’s indicating. The situation appears to be resolving positively (or as positively as anything in that region ever does) without undue American involvement. Maybe this time it didn’t need to be about us.

[Pattern Ghost]

9 minutes ago, Iuz the Evil said:

Maybe this time it didn’t need to be about us.

 

They didn't do it without us supplying them. Not fond of my tax dollars supporting their methods, personally.

[Iuz the Evil]

5 minutes ago, Pattern Ghost said:

 

They didn't do it without us supplying them. Not fond of my tax dollars supporting their methods, personally.

Okay, I get that. I’m okay with the outcome, myself. This was a win for what I’m hoping to see in terms of geo political outcomes.

[Cygnia]

 

[Pattern Ghost]

On 12/9/2024 at 4:28 PM, Iuz the Evil said:

Okay, I get that. I’m okay with the outcome, myself. This was a win for what I’m hoping to see in terms of geo political outcomes.

 

Seems like a lot better outcome than it could have been. I can agree on that.