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Fourthspartan56 from Georgia, US Since: Oct, 2016 Relationship Status: THIS CONCEPT OF 'WUV' CONFUSES AND INFURIATES US!
#278901: Apr 26th 2019 at 1:09:55 PM

Legislative supremacy is not mob rule, and the Supreme Court has just as much been a source of harm as it has been a source of benefit.

If the majority want to kill the minority then the Supreme Court will not stop them, especially considering that it has clearly sided with them several times in its existence.

Edited by Fourthspartan56 on Apr 26th 2019 at 1:37:19 AM

"Einstein would turn over in his grave. Not only does God play dice, the dice are loaded." -Chairman Sheng-Ji Yang
Parable Since: Aug, 2009
#278902: Apr 26th 2019 at 1:34:45 PM

Off the top of my head, what kept the 51% white majority from killing the 49% black minority - or the 99% white majority from killing the 1% that was elementary schooler Ruby Bridges - generally was the presence of armed Federal troopers.

Silasw A procrastination in of itself from A handcart to hell (4 Score & 7 Years Ago) Relationship Status: And they all lived happily ever after <3
A procrastination in of itself
#278903: Apr 26th 2019 at 1:51:30 PM

Yeah when the feds wanted to while a minority group out the Supreme Court dulled that they couldn’t, that ruling was promptly ignored.

I’d still say look at how other countries work, the UK has a non-partisan judicial system, Germany has a Supreme Court that interprets the Basic Law, other options do exist.

“And the Bunny nails it!” ~ Gabrael “If the UN can get through a day without everyone strangling everyone else so can we.” ~ Cyran
TobiasDrake (•̀⤙•́) (Edited uphill both ways) Relationship Status: Arm chopping is not a love language!
(•̀⤙•́)
#278904: Apr 26th 2019 at 1:56:30 PM

I think the biggest problem with exploring other options is simply pride. Americans have a lot of undeserved pride in our Constitution. There's this myth that floats around the country wherein the Founding Fathers were godlike beings of pure wisdom and intellect who descended upon the Earth and, in 1776, singlehandedly invented and perfected democracy.

The nationalism here is so thick that even just suggesting that the Constitution may be flawed can get you beat up in some parts of the country.

The god-Founders also apparently invented freedom, BTW.

Edited by TobiasDrake on Apr 26th 2019 at 2:57:35 AM

My Tumblr. Currently side-by-side liveblogging Digimon Adventure, sub vs dub.
speedyboris Since: Feb, 2010
#278905: Apr 26th 2019 at 1:57:27 PM

Trump Moves To Withdraw U.S. From U.N. Arms Trade Treaty

And the isolationist policies that have countries around the world asking "How can we trust you ever again?" continue...

Ultimatum Disasturbator from the Amiga Forest (Old as dirt) Relationship Status: Who needs love when you have waffles?
Disasturbator
#278906: Apr 26th 2019 at 2:00:08 PM

[up][up]

The only founder who gets treated like a deity from what I've seen is George Washington and considering how he helped found the country and the main state is named after him its not too surprising

have a listen and have a link to my discord server
SciFiSlasher from Absolutely none of your business. Since: Dec, 2011 Relationship Status: YOU'RE TEARING ME APART LISA
#278907: Apr 26th 2019 at 2:02:18 PM

Alright, I'm starting to get seriously uncomfortable with the amount of people calling Bernie Sanders 'White'.

Maybe because Sanders is a white Jew, and white Jews are a group that exists?

Kind of like how, y'know, Muslim=/=brown. The fact that Sanders is a white Jew does not exclude him from enjoying white privilege, even as he is hated by antisemites. It's also more than a little icky that other white people are trying to paint "Jewish" as "instantly Po C." As such, here is a piece from an actual Jewish source. Here are some key passages to note:

From listening to Jews of Color, we know that there is both overt and subtle racism in Jewish communities. From listening to other white Jews, we believe that some of this is a consequence of white Jews who have not confronted our own whiteness and white privilege.

We live at the intersections of multiple, often fluid, identities. This helps us understand and explain how, as white Jews, we can simultaneously experience privilege as white people, while also experiencing oppression as Jews. Identities and oppression shift in different times and places.

At the same time that Jim Crow laws were working to solidify institutional racism for black and brown people, barriers to white Jews being considered white were falling away.

If you cannot accept the perspectives of actual Jewish people saying this, then there is something very wrong with your point of view.

Edited by SciFiSlasher on Apr 26th 2019 at 4:04:06 AM

"Somehow the hated have to walk a tightrope, while those who hate do not."
wisewillow She/her Since: May, 2011
She/her
#278908: Apr 26th 2019 at 2:07:42 PM

[up] Yeah; you can acknowledge that white Jews benefit from white supremacy while also acknowledging that they are vulnerable to antisemitism. There’s plenty of articles by Black Jews about the issue.

3of4 Just a harmless giant from a foreign land. from Five Seconds in the Future. Since: Jan, 2010 Relationship Status: GAR for Archer
Just a harmless giant from a foreign land.
#278909: Apr 26th 2019 at 2:07:53 PM

I think a more appropriate term might be White-passing Jew. White is more than skin color, its a social identity. People who are not intended part of that identity (light skinned Latinx, for example) might be able to swim with that stream (and profit of it) but they are not really part of it when it comes down to the hard line and glass ceiling.

Edited by 3of4 on Apr 26th 2019 at 11:09:16 AM

"You can reply to this Message!"
Silasw A procrastination in of itself from A handcart to hell (4 Score & 7 Years Ago) Relationship Status: And they all lived happily ever after <3
A procrastination in of itself
#278910: Apr 26th 2019 at 2:48:17 PM

[up]X4 There’s individual founders and then there’s The Founders (with capital letters), as a collective they’re pretty worshiped, even though many people wouldn’t be able to name more than two or three of them.

Their biggest blind spot was not seeing political parties coming, the system was never build for political parties and it shows.

Also D.C. isn’t a state.

Edited by Silasw on Apr 26th 2019 at 9:48:45 AM

“And the Bunny nails it!” ~ Gabrael “If the UN can get through a day without everyone strangling everyone else so can we.” ~ Cyran
Parable Since: Aug, 2009
#278911: Apr 26th 2019 at 3:05:40 PM

DC not being a state or part of a state wasn't an oversight, it was the point. They didn't want any one state having special influence over federal officials.

That DC would grow into a quasi-state anyway is beyond the Founders ability to influence.

CharlesPhipps Since: Jan, 2001
#278912: Apr 26th 2019 at 3:18:55 PM

DC needs to be a state like Puerto Rico but that will fuck the Republicans so they're going to fight tooth and nail against it.

And the Supreme Court exists to make sure that rights are not infringed on via the Constitution. The problem is that the Constitution is frequently made by people who are not perfect or good.

People basically need to accept that to improve all branches of government, you need to get the public to vote good people in.

That's the problem. If you can't fix that, all of the above complaints are worthless.

Author of The Rules of Supervillainy, Cthulhu Armageddon, and United States of Monsters.
CharlesPhipps Since: Jan, 2001
#278913: Apr 26th 2019 at 3:20:04 PM

Maybe because Sanders is a white Jew, and white Jews are a group that exists?

Does he identify as it? Does he present himself as white? Is he white everywhere or some places?

Author of The Rules of Supervillainy, Cthulhu Armageddon, and United States of Monsters.
Ultimatum Disasturbator from the Amiga Forest (Old as dirt) Relationship Status: Who needs love when you have waffles?
Disasturbator
#278914: Apr 26th 2019 at 3:21:15 PM

> DC needs to be a state like Puerto Rico but that will fuck the Republicans so they're going to fight tooth and nail against it.

No it doesn't because Puerto Rico is a another country altogether (an island as it turns out) and Washington is the state capital,they are vastly different to be even be even remotely comparable

Edited by Ultimatum on Apr 26th 2019 at 10:22:20 AM

have a listen and have a link to my discord server
LSBK Since: Sep, 2014
#278915: Apr 26th 2019 at 3:22:54 PM

Pretty sure they meant that both D.C. and Puerto Rico need to be states. And Puerto Rico isn't a separate country; at the very least most of the population certainly doesn't support being completely dependent from the U.S.

Protagonist506 from Oregon Since: Dec, 2013 Relationship Status: Chocolate!
#278916: Apr 26th 2019 at 3:23:57 PM

Washington DC is deliberately not a state. That's kind of the point.

Leviticus 19:34
wisewillow She/her Since: May, 2011
She/her
#278917: Apr 26th 2019 at 3:25:16 PM

Literally everyone who lays eyes on Bernie sees him as white or white passing, come on.

Silasw A procrastination in of itself from A handcart to hell (4 Score & 7 Years Ago) Relationship Status: And they all lived happily ever after <3
A procrastination in of itself
#278918: Apr 26th 2019 at 3:28:45 PM

[up]X4 Washington D.C. is the government capital and the people living there don’t get (voting) representation because it’s not a state, as has been said Puerto Rico is part of the US and not another country, it’s another landmass, but so is Hawaii. Remember states are a federal unit in the US, so if you’re saying “nation state” you can’t shorten is to “state” like you can when discussing international relations.

[up]X7 Ultimatum said that the “main state” of the US was named after Washington, I was correcting that, the capital is named after him, but the capital is not the main state or even a state.

Edited by Silasw on Apr 26th 2019 at 10:30:30 AM

“And the Bunny nails it!” ~ Gabrael “If the UN can get through a day without everyone strangling everyone else so can we.” ~ Cyran
Fourthspartan56 from Georgia, US Since: Oct, 2016 Relationship Status: THIS CONCEPT OF 'WUV' CONFUSES AND INFURIATES US!
#278919: Apr 26th 2019 at 3:30:10 PM

DC should be a state because they're Americans and thus should be represented.

Puerto Rico should be a state for the same reason.

Edited by Fourthspartan56 on Apr 26th 2019 at 3:30:29 AM

"Einstein would turn over in his grave. Not only does God play dice, the dice are loaded." -Chairman Sheng-Ji Yang
CharlesPhipps Since: Jan, 2001
#278920: Apr 26th 2019 at 3:35:14 PM

1. Washington DC not being a state is a major clusterfuck that disenfranchises huge numbers of voters. It was made to not be a voting block for reasons that, like the 2nd Amendment, no loger apply.

2. Puerto Rico is US territory with US citizens. They've filed to be a state and it would be monumentally unjust not to accept them as such. Other territories should be states as well.

3. Bernie is white and white passing in some parts of the USA, not all of them. There are places his ethnicity would get him subjected to violence in the USA and certainly affects his job chances, treatment, and perception.

Author of The Rules of Supervillainy, Cthulhu Armageddon, and United States of Monsters.
Protagonist506 from Oregon Since: Dec, 2013 Relationship Status: Chocolate!
#278921: Apr 26th 2019 at 3:36:12 PM

@Sanders: Well, with Sanders he's (to my understanding) an atheist of Jewish ethnicity; though one who passes for "white".

Leviticus 19:34
Heatth (X-Troper) Relationship Status: In Spades with myself
#278922: Apr 26th 2019 at 3:42:48 PM

Technically, you don't even need to make DC and Puerto Rico "states" if you don't want to. The problem is how disenfranchised these people are, so any arrangement that would give them government over themselves would be fine. It is what we did in Brazil. Our capital is in a "Federal District", like DC, but it also elects its own members of congress and senate. There are some differences from states, to account the fact the territory is also a single city, but the point is there is no unjust laws preventing their participation on government. It is mind boggling to me the US haven't managed to do something similar for its own capital and colonies, all while still bragging about Land of the Free and whatnot.

Edited by Heatth on Apr 26th 2019 at 7:43:15 AM

Silasw A procrastination in of itself from A handcart to hell (4 Score & 7 Years Ago) Relationship Status: And they all lived happily ever after <3
A procrastination in of itself
#278923: Apr 26th 2019 at 3:44:36 PM

Thing is statehood just requires passage by Congress, adding a whole new territory type requires a constitutional amendment.

“And the Bunny nails it!” ~ Gabrael “If the UN can get through a day without everyone strangling everyone else so can we.” ~ Cyran
LSBK Since: Sep, 2014
#278924: Apr 26th 2019 at 3:46:36 PM

If not making D.C. a state, you could make it a part of Maryland again (D.C. is made from land ceded from Maryland). Or, I guess, maybe Virginia.

Either option corrects the problem.

Edited by LSBK on Apr 26th 2019 at 5:46:59 AM

Wyldchyld (Old as dirt)
#278925: Apr 26th 2019 at 4:09:54 PM

At a meeting with employees, the person working on Twitter's algorithm for moderating tweets explained they can't ban white nationalists like they've done with ISIS because it would target Republicans as well.

Translation: It would target the current President.

If my post doesn't mention a giant flying sperm whale with oversized teeth and lionfish fins for flippers, it just isn't worth reading.

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