Iuz the Evil

8 hours ago, Pariah said:

Batman is the word's greatest detective with extensive martial arts training.

 

Captain America is a Super SOLDIER.

 

Cap wins. Quod erat demonstrandum.

Prep time…

(ducks)

Well, OSHA delayed their vote today until June 3 on revised workplace safety for vaccinated individuals. Seems cautious, but that’s OSHA. June 15, California will be pretty much back to normal.

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.nytimes.com/2021/05/12/us/politics/liz-cheney-ousted-voted-out.amp.html
 

So, Liz Cheney is out for her refusal to bend the knee to Trump. And her statements of fact about the election and January 6 insurrection.

I do not like her family or politics, but that’s not a good sign for future election cycles if you enjoy things like Democratic process and smooth transitions of power...

Winter falcon or whatever that was bored me to tears.

 Other than that, it was kind of tame. Some semi entertaining action scenes, but not that memorable.

I’ll probably pass on the sequel, it’s just not as cool without Chris Evans. I’ll likely feel the same about whatever they do re: Iron Man. Would rather they move on to new characters, cleaner break. Same problem with Black Panther.

 WandaVision was cool, very different. Would’ve been cooler with Dr. Strange in it, but it was a weird, fun time. 
 

Looking forward to Loki 

That seems like a pretty decent list to me. Nebraska has fallen so far as to be impossible to consider, which makes me sad in some ways. Michigan is maybe possible from a pure monetary perspective, they certainly are not a competitive team in that crowd. Miami is on the bubble of being not even an honorable mention. 
 

Florida State? they have a somewhat recent natty. Last thirty years are impressive. Maybe?

Washington is a good call. It’s a fantastic venue too. 
 

That’s a cool mental exercise, thank you for doing that.

49 minutes ago, Old Man said:

 

No, I was surprised. 

 

We'll see how the inevitable appeal goes.

I’m not sure how that appeal will go, Maxine Waters should get a thank you note from the defense. The judge even commented.

 That said, it was a reassuring verdict and I’m pleased to see the legal system work as intended in this aspect of a tragic loss of life.

On 1/8/2021 at 4:18 PM, Iuz the Evil said:

 

I disagree with the idea of violence as a mechanism to further political change. He does make compelling arguments, which I largely agree with aside from  that moment.

On 1/8/2021 at 5:12 PM, Iuz the Evil said:

I can accept that. I also think that the elected body politic can and should respond with all appropriate force to prevent such actions. I was dismayed that was not the case this week.

 

I’m not a pacifist, I am a strong believer in the Rule of Law. If it is acceptable to use violence when sufficiently outraged, or feels that they have a moral imperative to act, people make terrible and misinformed decisions that in retrospect are deeply regrettable. Mob rule does not appeal to me, however noble the intent. Process matters.

This remains my belief on violence as a tool for social change. That’s no different in the case of events three months later.

11 hours ago, pinecone said:

I hope as well. But, no question, Justice must precede Peace.

I generally agree with this. The rule of law must be honored by all concerned.

Individuals are responsible for their actions, and my hope is that the result of this trial is one that is broadly accepted. If it is not, peaceful demonstrations are of course protected in our democracy.

https://www.wsj.com/articles/no-criminal-charges-for-officer-who-shot-capitol-rioter-ashli-babbitt-11618423059?st=s3v1a22uwwolj8z&reflink=article_copyURL_share
 

This also seems a reasonable outcome of the legal process to me, given the circumstances. 
 

She was part of crowd breaking down a barricade where members of the senate and possibly the Vp were being protected. She was warned to stop. She jumped through and was met with appropriate force. Pretty much what I’d expect.

32 minutes ago, dmjalund said:

I was thinking she might get less union support because she's a woman

That’s possible, more likely to play out in the funding for legal defense than the charges though. The District Attorney isn’t likely to care how the Union feels, only in how winnable the case is and their re-election.

 edit: apparently she was the Union president in 2019. Union support is not her problem right now.

I would expect those differences in weight and feel to be a key in the prosecution’s case establishing criminal negligence. Along with training previously provided aimed at preventing exactly this sort of situation. And her confession that she “shot him” immediately after the incident.

Her career is over and she will be prosecuted. The Chief of Police is done professionally. Mayor seems to maybe be up next. It’s definitely not an accountability free situation, response seems swift and the charge seems to match the facts as they’ve been reported.

22 minutes ago, dmjalund said:

I wander if we would get such a result if the officer was male

Given the political implications concurrent with this charge, I would guess at a minimum...

3 minutes ago, wcw43921 said:

Kim Potter Charged With Manslaughter In Shooting Of Danute Wright

 

This is the 26-year veteran police officer who mistook her firearm for her taser.

Sounds like the correct charge. Criminal negligence resulting in death.

https://www.gov.ca.gov/2021/04/06/governor-newsom-outlines-the-states-next-step-in-the-covid-19-pandemic-recovery-moving-beyond-the-blueprint/
 

Ends the California Blueprint for a Safer Economy effective June 15. "All sectors listed in the current Blueprint for a Safer Economy grid may return to usual operations in compliance with Cal/OSHA requirements and with common-sense public health policies in place, such as required masking, testing and with vaccinations encouraged.”

 Further it will allow for large scale public gatherings:

“Large-scale indoor events, such as conventions, will be allowed to occur with testing or vaccination verification requirements.”
 

Conditions are enough vaccine for ages 16+ and hospitalization rates that are “stable and low” (whatever that last one means). So there’s that.

5 minutes ago, pawsplay said:

I think before we talk about moral insight, we should talk about facts. Lincoln did not set out to end slavery, Lincoln did not end slavery at the beginning of the Civil War, Lincoln did not end slavery with the Emancipation proclamation. He wrote a letter to Horace Greeley stating that slaves could wait indefinitely to be freed if it preserved the Union. If you can't grapple with these facts, it is you who aren't ready to have this discussion.

Cute. I accept that you provide no credit to the man for his accomplishments in this area, the changing of moral compass for the nation on this issue in establishing the legal position taken by the federal government abolishing slavery, or any other matter aside from being an accomplished politician. You clearly have strong feelings about Lincoln, which in my opinion impair your judgment.

Have a nice day, I have better ways to spend my time. It’s apparent that no human in this framework can be moral, just or accomplished. Evaluating Lincoln as a man of his era, I disagree with your conclusions. 

7 minutes ago, pawsplay said:

 

Lincoln didn't end the practice of slavery. He condoned it for years during the war. The Emancipation Proclamation affected only rebels. Lincoln was okay with letting Black people pay the price with their bodies and freedoms to maintain the Union.

It’s best at this point to merely agree to disagree, as I find so many problems with the lack of moral insight present in this argument as to lose interest in the discussion. 
 

Clearly you see the scope and impact of this action differently than I. Fortunately, we live in a nation which endorsed such disagreement.

And he signed the Emancipation Proclamation. Anyone want to propose a greater single impact on civil rights then ending the legal practice of slavery? Love to hear it.

 You can say “yeah but” or “if only he’d” but he arguably did more for that cause than any American before or since with that action.

6 hours ago, pawsplay said:

 

Ok but can he withstand the criticism of his contemporaries?

 

 

Are you referencing the Frederick Douglass who was pro gun rights, anti women’s rights, and anti labor? By modern standards of course?

I had a lengthy response but will just say, I cannot accept the use of modern standards for behavior applied retroactively to Abraham Lincoln. That strikes me as a revisionist standard that no human being of any era would withstand the scrutiny of. Particularly any human being in a leadership role. But really anyone.

 Anyway, carry on. I will continue to consider him one of the few truly great Presidents and a champion of his time for human liberty. Errors and all.

2 hours ago, Old Man said:

 

First past the post voting virtually guarantees that there will be only two parties (effectively) to choose from.

I agree entirely. The problem is unchanged by that though.

 I so do not look to a party for my moral compass. They’re nice when they advance my beliefs, and asshats when they do not.

It is insanity that one cannot state those differences without an implied social penalty.

2 hours ago, unclevlad said:

The central problem with American society/culture is that it's nearly impossible to have a real dialogue on *any* meaningful subject.  The polarization is almost complete.

I was considering this just this past month. In any reasonable context I find myself easily identifiable as a 100% dyed in the wool liberal. Traditional liberal positions on most all major positions.

But there’s couple I just do not agree with. I find several popular positions of the party poorly supported by logic. Or an appeal to emotion vs logic. Or not the role of government.

 But that is intolerable these days. You are all in, across the entire party line, or you are a political enemy to be destroyed.

 It’s a bit pathetic really. There’s no room for political nuance in either party...

I’m thinking “It doesn’t end”.

We have had a dozen or more multiple shooting events in 2 weeks. Seven in the week between Atlanta and Colorado. These are just the ones making the news cycle. It happens regularly and has a long time. Current restrictions due to COVID exacerbating the situation, if that’s what is happening, is unsurprising. People all over the nation are very upset, from all walks of life. But who really can say definitively?

I’m glad they’re reducing the media coverage of the shooter themselves. That’s consistent with guidelines.

So “thoughts and prayers”, I guess. Don’t expect to experience meaningful change on this issue personally. Maybe some relatively minor firearms regulation, maybe not. 

It’s very sad we cannot meaningfully address this. We cannot as a nation even meaningfully agree on the problem. Let alone a solution.

43 minutes ago, Lord Liaden said:

I still believe we're witnessing the death throes of the old social order. White male Christian privilege can still do a lot of damage as it lashes out, but eventually it will go the way of the landed aristocracy. Human nature being what it is, some new form of elitism will eventually take its place, but we can only deal with the problems we can foresee.

I’m not entirely sure about all that - in particular the bit about the landed aristocracy. That changed a bit, but wealth dictates social advantage better than ANY other predictor and likely will continue to do so for the lifespan of everyone on this board. It’s conceivably possible to see that distribution change, I would expect (as this implies) a some reduction in racial privilege for that group mentioned to some extent. I fully expect other forms of privilege granted by wealth, physical ability, and so forth to remain in full force. To the extent any group has greater access to that they will have greater privilege. I think that change is far slower than current media representation presents it as, given how wealth is distributed (and inherited).

The Aristocracy owns hedge funds now, not castles, but they’re still here in my opinion. YMMV

53 minutes ago, Matt the Bruins said:

I heard plenty of complaints and jokes at the time that Return of the King was too long, in addition to the last few hours of it being devoted to all the fake-out endings.

 

(I'd probably have forgiven all that if Jackson also taken the extra 15 seconds or so needed to replace "I am no man" with “But no living man am I! You look upon a woman. Éowyn I am, Éomund’s daughter. You stand between me and my lord and kin. Begone, if you be not deathless! For living or dark undead, I will smite you, if you touch him.”)