Political Discussion Thread (With Rules)

[Cygnia]

Elsewhere, unfortunately...

 

Jan. 6 panel is told that Trump indicated support for hanging Pence during insurrection

[Pariah]

Mixing politics and college sports? Not a problem under the new NIL guidelines!

 

College football QB lands first known political NIL deal, endorses local district attorney candidate

[Pariah]

Texas official, tasked with identifying Uvalde shooting victims, finds bodies of classmate, friends' kids

[unclevlad]

2 hours ago, Pariah said:

Mixing politics and college sports? Not a problem under the new NIL guidelines!

 

College football QB lands first known political NIL deal, endorses local district attorney candidate

 

At least that one makes sense.  The kid's in his 6th year at the school...not a johnny-come-lately transfer or a 5 star recruit being bribed.  

 

Granted, that won't be the end of it.  

[Sociotard]

 

[Cygnia]

Today's Something Positive 😕

[Old Man]

That’s not “something positive” at all! /s

 

Newer kid “graduated” from middle school today. The teachers and staff really outdid themselves making it a special event. But you could tell we were all thinking about Uvalde. 

[Pattern Ghost]

17 hours ago, Old Man said:

They bulldozed Sandy Hook completely IIRC.  No idea what's there now.  Shooting range for all I know.

 

They built a Sandy Hook Elementary on the property: https://www.businessinsider.com/sandy-hook-elementary-new-school-newtown-connecticut-2016-7

 

 

[unclevlad]

That would be awful, just due to timing...

 

My soph year in HS, one of the seniors was killed by a drunk driver, the night before graduation.  Almost no one knew about it beforehand;  they found out *at* the ceremony.  I wasn't there...but reporting was, it hit everyone pretty hard.  Our classes weren't that big, and the guy was well known and quite popular.

[Cygnia]

We ordered the same gun used in Uvalde. Here’s how easy it was

[Hermit]

The more I hear about the Uvalde police, how they handled this... or more accurately the way they didn't handle this, the more my disgust for them grows.

[BarretWallace]

Sometimes it feels like those who want to take action in situations like this have no power to do so.  Those who have the power to take action are sitting on their hands.

[Pariah]

Looks like it's easier for a woman in America to get a gun than reproductive health care.

 

Just as "God" intended, I suppose. 

[Hermit]

2 minutes ago, BarretWallace said:

Sometimes it feels like those who want to take action in situations like this have no power to do so.  Those who have the power to take action are sitting on their hands.

Well, apparently they didn't take action to save any kids but their own, but they DID restrain and taser parents who wanted to get in and get their kids since the police wouldn't. Really good at stomping unarmed citizens, the UPD

[BarretWallace]

31 minutes ago, Hermit said:

Well, apparently they didn't take action to save any kids but their own, but they DID restrain and taser parents who wanted to get in and get their kids since the police wouldn't. Really good at stomping unarmed citizens, the UPD

I was thinking of "take action" in the context of preventing things like this from happening again, but yes, you have a good point.

[Hermit]

1 minute ago, BarretWallace said:

I was thinking of "take action" in the context of preventing things like this from happening again, but yes, you have a good point.

 

Of course. And apologies if I put words in your mouth. I hate when folks do that to me and don't like doing the same to others even accidentally

 

 

[Lord Liaden]

1 hour ago, Hermit said:

The more I hear about the Uvalde police, how they handled this... or more accurately the way they didn't handle this, the more my disgust for them grows.

 

What I keep hearing about training in police forces across the United States nowadays, is that they're being taught their priority is to keep themselves safe. That isn't the job. Firefighters don't avoid fires. Soldiers don't avoid the front lines. The job of cops is to put themselves between danger and innocent civilians. Any cop who isn't prepared to do that should look for another job.

[DShomshak]

You will notice that the old motto of "To Serve and Protect" does not say who cops serve and protect. A cynical person might say it's the ruling class. And that though police are part of a wider "pacification project" to keep the wider populace sufficiently docile that they do not trouble their betters, a certain degree of random violence does not entirely displease some of the people in power.

 

I have no proof, of course, just a nasty, suspicious mind.

 

Dean Shomshak

[Ternaugh]

What's been going through my mind with the "thoughts and prayers": https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0oHtLmjKRbE

 

[Cygnia]

2 hours ago, BarretWallace said:

 Those who have the power to take action are sitting on their hands.

Worse.  Willfully ignoring things.  Or out and out interfering.

[Ragitsu]

47 minutes ago, DShomshak said:

the old motto of "To Serve and Protect" does not say who cops serve and protect.

 

Serve up a beating.

Protect your own ass.

[Joe Walsh]

2 hours ago, DShomshak said:

You will notice that the old motto of "To Serve and Protect" does not say who cops serve and protect. A cynical person might say it's the ruling class. And that though police are part of a wider "pacification project" to keep the wider populace sufficiently docile that they do not trouble their betters, a certain degree of random violence does not entirely displease some of the people in power.

 

I have no proof, of course, just a nasty, suspicious mind.

 

Dean Shomshak

 

No cynicism needed. The Supreme Court has held that the police have no duty to protect us.

https://www.nytimes.com/2005/06/28/politics/justices-rule-police-do-not-have-a-constitutional-duty-to-protect.html

 

It's taken me a long time to realize the truth. Police write up reports for insurance companies and (selectively) police our behavior.  Above all, they protect the wealthy and powerful (and their property) from the rest of us.

 

It's not an accident as far as I can tell; the system seems to be set up that way. Heck, when we peaceably assemble in front of a supreme court judge's home, look what happens. Or when we assemble to protest legitimate concerns such as elites shipping our jobs overseas (one-sided trade agreements) or police summarily executing citizens with impunity. But when a murderer enters a school to kill children, the police make room for him and start arresting the parents who ask them why they're not saving the children. And then they lie about it. They apparently lie constantly, seemingly reflexively, about every aspect of their jobs. And they get away with it, are given almost complete impunity for their behavior toward us.

 

It seems pretty clear to me what the police are there for, and unfortunately it's not what decades of copaganda TV shows had led me to believe.

[BarretWallace]

3 hours ago, Hermit said:

 

Of course. And apologies if I put words in your mouth. I hate when folks do that to me and don't like doing the same to others even accidentally

 

 

No problem here; I did write a rather [unintentionally] nebulous statement.  😜

[dmjalund]

US citizens need to realize that they are all on the wrong side of the thin blue line

[Joe Walsh]