Political Discussion Thread (With Rules)

[unclevlad]

1 minute ago, Hermit said:

https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2022/12/13/23505459/supreme-court-birth-control-contraception-constitution-matthew-kacsmaryk-deanda-becerra

 

Yup. They're going after Birth Control Access. My apology to the writer of The HandMaid's Tale. I thought it was far fetched.. boy was I wrong.

 

Of course they are.  I'm not that worried about it, yet.  Go back to the special master appeal...the judge who said yes to it, got roundly criticized.  There's strong reason to expect this will be struck down on appeal.

 

And it's not news that the religious right will never stop until their notion of acceptable sexual behavior is made law.  

 

Remember Heinlein's Future History?  It included a right-wing takeover, that buried America under all kinds of repressions, and America as a theocracy.  It led to the Howard Families' bailing in Methuselah's Children, and thus set up Time Enough for Love.  The culmination was the counter-revolution in Revolt in 2100.  There are hints of it in Stranger...but that's actually a different universe.  Still, remember the power that church wielded, in Stranger.

[Lord Liaden]

25 minutes ago, Hermit said:

https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2022/12/13/23505459/supreme-court-birth-control-contraception-constitution-matthew-kacsmaryk-deanda-becerra

 

Yup. They're going after Birth Control Access. My apology to the writer of The HandMaid's Tale. I thought it was far fetched.. boy was I wrong.

 

Kacsmaryk sounds like one of those people with a lot of repressed sexual guilt and confusion, who's projecting his frustration and self-loathing outward.

[unclevlad]

I'm more worried about the massive increase in banned books, than about this ruling.  The banned books movement is another clear indication of their overall intent, so trying for the contraception ban is completely in their ideological focus.

[Cygnia]

1 hour ago, unclevlad said:

 

Of course they are.  I'm not that worried about it, yet.  Go back to the special master appeal...the judge who said yes to it, got roundly criticized.  There's strong reason to expect this will be struck down on appeal.

 

I am.  I've yet to find a doctor who'll sterilize me.

[DShomshak]

Yep, we've been here before. Today's episode of Fresh Air interviews the author of a book about American history 1917-1921 -- the country's participation in WW1 and shortly thereafter -- when the US went beyond flirting with Fascism to some pretty serious foreplay. The Federal government shutting down newspapers and magazines for unapproved political views. Thousands of people jailed for speaking against the US joining the war. A government-chartered vigilante society. A scheme for mass deportation of immigrants. Pogroms against Black people and organized labor. So much that the Trunmp administration tried, the Wilson administration actually did. But it's also been swept under the carpet. No need to trouble the Land of the Free with history of a successful campaign of state repression.

 

Woodrow Wilson led the U.S. into WWI. He also waged war on democracy at home : NPR

 

Everything old is new again.

 

Dean Shomshak

[csyphrett]

Murdoch got deposed for Fox News falsehoods. if Dominion wins, he might lose control of his empire.

CES

[unclevlad]

Related story from yesterday:

https://www.reuters.com/legal/legalindustry/attorney-sanctions-upheld-utterly-baseless-lawsuit-challenging-2020-election-2022-12-13/

[DShomshak]

16 hours ago, Hermit said:

https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2022/12/13/23505459/supreme-court-birth-control-contraception-constitution-matthew-kacsmaryk-deanda-becerra

 

Yup. They're going after Birth Control Access. My apology to the writer of The HandMaid's Tale. I thought it was far fetched.. boy was I wrong.

It sounds like there are two issues here. Birth control is one. The other is parental sovereignty over children. The goal in this suit may be to establish that minors cannot interact with government without their parents' permission as it is to erode rights to contraception, as such.

 

Dean Shomshak

[DShomshak]

When the SCOTUS overturned Roe v Wade six months ago, anti-abortion forces seemed to have won. No federal protection for abortion, trigger laws taking effect in many states, and Republican legislatures ready to pass additional bans.

 

But now? Thie situation is far less clear. The fight will surely be long and fierce, but abortion rights advocates have found strategies and won some victories... sometimes using the very words conservatives placed into state constitutions.

 

The Unexpected Ways the Left is Winning in the Abortion Fight - The New York Times (nytimes.com)

 

Dean Shomshak

[unclevlad]

But there is also a related story I saw this morning...can't find now.  It noted that many states with the most restrictive policies, also have no allowance for citizens to place a measure onto the ballot.  So the only way to get things change there, would be to manage to get the Republican control broken.  

[Lord Liaden]

In the long run, abortion restrictions will be shot down. American society is growing more diverse, more accepting, with every generation. Access to abortion is already accepted by a solid majority of Americans. It's why many conservatives have become so reactionary -- they can feel they're losing, and it frightens them, so they try to force time backward.

 

Humanity is constantly growing more urban and interconnected. Access to information about the whole world has never been so great. No government can put the genie completely back in the bottle.

[Logan D. Hurricanes]

The big announcement is here! You are not ready. 

 

Spoiler

 

 

[Joe Walsh]

Yep. After NFTs ran their course from hype to flop, Trump announces $99 NFT "trading cards".

[Logan D. Hurricanes]

I'm still laughing. At a total loss for words. 

 

[Pariah]

I'm not sure if the former President is aware of this, but I'm pretty sure the cape he's wearing is a violation of the US Flag Code.

[Cygnia]

14 minutes ago, Pariah said:

I'm not sure if the former President is aware of this, but I'm pretty sure the cape he's wearing is a violation of the US Flag Code.

He probably doesn't care.  This is the same guy who humped a flag during one of his cult meetings.

[wcw43921]

So are those black & white flags with a blue or red stripe in the center.  Or those flags that are half US flag and half Confederate battle flag.  Or nearly all the super-patriot costumes, like The Shield, or Captain America, or--ughh--Homelander.  True patriotic Americans honor and respect the United States flag, but realize that the First Amendment is paramount over any code of conduct.

 

But we can scowl in disgust and disappointment at those who dishonor and disrespect the flag.  Like so--

 

 

We're looking at you, Trump.  We're all looking at you.

[Lord Liaden]

 

1 hour ago, Logan D. Hurricanes said:

The big announcement is here! You are not ready. 

 

  Reveal hidden contents

 

 

 

 

 

 

Maybe the worst part is, Trump probably sees himself that way.

[Pariah]

55 minutes ago, wcw43921 said:

Or nearly all the super-patriot costumes, like The Shield, or Captain America, or--ughh--Homelander.

 

I remember an early issue of Alpha Flight where Guardian (James, before he died) was talking about the fact that unlike Captain America, he could actually wear the flag. 

[Logan D. Hurricanes]

BWAHAHAHAHA!

 

 

[L. Marcus]

Ooohhh nooo, the cringe ... !

[unclevlad]

5 hours ago, Logan D. Hurricanes said:

The big announcement is here! You are not ready. 

 

  Hide contents

 

 

 

I should sue you for the damage done to my eyes by even glancing at that image.  I'm quite sure it's irreparable.

 

[Old Man]

Soooo, who wants to stat that out in Hero?

[dmjalund]

12 minutes ago, Old Man said:

Soooo, who wants to stat that out in Hero?

how would you do 'small hands' as a Physical Complication?

[Lord Liaden]

Reportedly in Trump's case, it would correlate to a penalty to Seduction/Charm Skill rolls.