Political Discussion Thread (With Rules)

[Cygnia]

https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2022/09/22/incels-rape-murder-study/

 

[Joe Walsh]

If the Arpanet folks had known, I wonder if they'd have unplugged that first node and smashed it to bits.

 

[Ragitsu]

Ariel=/=Arial.

[Old Man]

Helvetica > either.

[wcw43921]

Trump’s Embrace of QAnon Realizes the Dream of the Religious Right

[Ragitsu]

47 minutes ago, Old Man said:

Helvetica > either.

 

What did the small aquatic humanoid ever do to you?

[unclevlad]

15 minutes ago, Ragitsu said:

 

What did the small aquatic humanoid ever do to you?

 

Probably stood him up on a date back in the Pleistocene.

[Sociotard]

On 9/21/2022 at 1:29 PM, Old Man said:

 

So whatever percentage of those reservists that don't flee Russia or literally cripple themselves to get out of serving, will be handed some museum piece weapon and put on a one way train to Ukraine to sit in a trench and wait to be killed

 

On 9/21/2022 at 11:08 PM, Lord Liaden said:

 

Many Russian weapons and vehicles are old, and have frequently shown the wear that comes from years of inadequate storage and maintenance in the country's harsh climate.

 

I am compelled to acknowledge you are probably right.

 

 

[Lord Liaden]

Dear God. I knew the Russian materiel situation was poor, but that rifle is more dangerous to the wielder than to its target.

 

Literal cannon fodder.

 

I'm betting this is another situation Putin's corrupt generals didn't inform him about. Putin wanted nothing but yes-men who won't tell him any upsetting truths. This is the result.

[Lord Liaden]

Anger flares as Russia mobilization hits minority regions and protesters.

[TrickstaPriest]

Arizona just set forth a total and complete ban on abortion with a vague 'health of mother' exception.  Still waiting to hear how this affects contraception.

[Sociotard]

Wow. I thought Arizona was a bit more purple.

[TrickstaPriest]

Just now, Sociotard said:

Wow. I thought Arizona was a bit more purple.

 

The legislature doesn't care

[Lord Liaden]

Horrible for the people of Arizona, but more evidence as to who the GOP really are. They aren't politicians any more, they're ideologues.

[Pattern Ghost]

2 hours ago, Sociotard said:

 

 

I am compelled to acknowledge you are probably right.

 

 

 

That rifle looks muddy, not half-rotten. Seems to be in OK shape. Probably dropped in the mud while training.

[DShomshak]

The story of an Evangelical pastor who found his church subverted by Trumpism.

 

The Pastors Being Driven Out by Trumpism - The New York Times (nytimes.com)

 

Dean Shomshak

[Cygnia]

1 hour ago, DShomshak said:

The story of an Evangelical pastor who found his church subverted by Trumpism.

 

The Pastors Being Driven Out by Trumpism - The New York Times (nytimes.com)

 

Dean Shomshak

 

[unclevlad]

2 hours ago, DShomshak said:

The story of an Evangelical pastor who found his church subverted by Trumpism.

 

The Pastors Being Driven Out by Trumpism - The New York Times (nytimes.com)

 

Dean Shomshak

 

One of the replies to this piece said it better than I ever could:

 

Quote

I suspected this would be happy, and I am sorry Pastors are bailing out of teaching the word of God because of the political divide in this county that has also divided the church. I am an elderly, southern born, white male, and devoted Christian brought up in the Baptist Church outside an Army base in Georgia.  I am also a successful 30 year retired Military Officer, who believed the oath I took to the constitution, and the values of honesty, integrity, and unselfish commitment to doing the right thing. So I did not take to Mr. Trump, who did not share my Christian or Military values.  Unfortunately most of brothers in the church did, and they expected our minister to side with them.

 

[Lord Liaden]

8 hours ago, Pattern Ghost said:

 

That rifle looks muddy, not half-rotten. Seems to be in OK shape. Probably dropped in the mud while training.

 

Nope, look closer. A lot of that clearly isn't mud, it's rust. The metal is badly corroded, flaking away in several places. The stock and wood fittings are cracking. If the outside is like that, the inside must be just as bad.

[unclevlad]

1 hour ago, Lord Liaden said:

 

Nope, look closer. A lot of that clearly isn't mud, it's rust. The metal is badly corroded, flaking away in several places. The stock and wood fittings are cracking. If the outside is like that, the inside must be just as bad.

 

And even if it was just mud, it cannot be a good idea to store a weapon in that condition.

 

Yeah, if that's at all representative, these new call-ups are just going to get slaughtered.

 

As a complement to the WaPo story, here's one from Reuters describing...issues...with the mobilization.  Is any of this a surprise?  The extent of Russian incompetence appears boundless.  Protests are also rising, but at this point it seems unlikely they'll get anywhere.

 

EDIT:  DOH!!! the link...

https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/complaints-about-russias-chaotic-mobilisation-grow-louder-2022-09-24/

[Sociotard]

The last translation I heard was the guy saying "They issued me this rifle because I'm a tank driver and I shouldn't need a good rifle." Which is stupid.

[Pariah]

Russia still has tanks?

[L. Marcus]

No. But they've still got to meet their quota of trained tank drivers.

[Cygnia]

Students Say They Were ‘Duped’ Into Attending Twisted Religious Event

Quote

The East Baton Rouge school system in Louisiana has been accused of tricking hundreds of high school seniors into attending a religious event this week disguised as a college and career fair.

After students arrived at the venue—a church called the Living Faith Christian Center—they say they found something much different than a career fair called the “Day of Hope.” While several colleges did have a presence at the event, students said the emphasis appeared to be on something else entirely.

The pupils were reportedly separated into two groups by gender, forced to register to vote in order to obtain the promoted free food, and listen to speakers share disturbing stories of rape, suicide, and abstinence. One teacher claimed in a Facebook post that some transgender students were bullied by their peers at the event.

Now, a group called “Day of Nope” is seeking to file a lawsuit over the episode and asking attendees to share their experiences via a new website. “This was supposed to be a college fair, but the girls were talked to about abstinence, bullying, and death. And the guys played games,” one student told ABC affiliate WBRZ, which reported on the latest backlash to the event.


“Boys were encouraged to perform macho acts while girls were advised to forgive men who rape and assault them,” says a GoFundMe for this litigation effort, which had raised $75 as of Saturday. “Speakers subjected students to graphic tales and reenactment of suicide, which left some students with past loss due to suicide disturbed and upset with no emotional support to help them. Students were found in the bathroom weeping.”

 

[Old Man]

2 hours ago, Pariah said:

Russia still has tanks?

 

Yes, and if you thought that rifle was rusty, wait'll you see the tank.