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Edited by Mrph1 on Nov 30th 2023 at 11:03:59 AM

CharlesPhipps Since: Jan, 2001
#282526: Jun 11th 2019 at 8:44:23 AM

Speaking anecdotally but I got in fights every day with my bullies for two years.

They just came back for more and hated me more.

We eventually just got over it for other reasons.

Author of The Rules of Supervillainy, Cthulhu Armageddon, and United States of Monsters.
GoldenKaos Captain of the Dead City from Cirith Ungol Since: Mar, 2014 Relationship Status: Showing feelings of an almost human nature
Captain of the Dead City
#282527: Jun 11th 2019 at 8:45:15 AM

Bullies often become bullies because they themselves were bullied. They won't always back down at the first sign of resistance, sometimes they're spoiling for a fight, and there's a good chance they've more experience at taking punishment than you.

[up][up]

carry a lasting psychological trauma for me to be sure that the lesson is sufficiently likely to take root

This seems to be beyond merely defending yourself to me. There's a middle ground between inflicting 'lasting trauma' and 'lying down'.

Edited by GoldenKaos on Jun 11th 2019 at 4:46:59 PM

"...in the end the Shadow was only a small and passing thing: there was light and high beauty for ever beyond its reach."
wisewillow She/her Since: May, 2011
She/her
#282528: Jun 11th 2019 at 8:46:52 AM

And sometimes they’re just assholes and cowards who will leave you alone if you resist. Not even bully has a tragic backstory; sometimes they’re just jerks.

GoldenKaos Captain of the Dead City from Cirith Ungol Since: Mar, 2014 Relationship Status: Showing feelings of an almost human nature
Captain of the Dead City
#282529: Jun 11th 2019 at 8:49:44 AM

And sometimes those jerks are the type who won't chicken out at the first sign of resistance. Sometimes resistance only makes them want to escalate.

"...in the end the Shadow was only a small and passing thing: there was light and high beauty for ever beyond its reach."
PhysicalStamina i'm tired, my friend (4 Score & 7 Years Ago) Relationship Status: Coming soon to theaters
i'm tired, my friend
#282530: Jun 11th 2019 at 8:54:31 AM

I'd suggest we all take some time to Google "case-by-case basis" before this goes any further.

i'm tired, my friend
GoldenKaos Captain of the Dead City from Cirith Ungol Since: Mar, 2014 Relationship Status: Showing feelings of an almost human nature
Captain of the Dead City
#282531: Jun 11th 2019 at 9:00:00 AM

Yeah, there's never a one-size-fits-all solution to bullies.

"...in the end the Shadow was only a small and passing thing: there was light and high beauty for ever beyond its reach."
unknowing from somewhere.. Since: Mar, 2014
#282532: Jun 11th 2019 at 9:41:30 AM

Because bullying is a pattern of behivor not a thing in general, people do bullying, they not are.

lest kee this in mind, some are jerk, other stupid people, the most general thing is that bullying at times seen to overcompensate for something.

"My Name is Bolt, Bolt Crank and I dont care if you believe or not"
ironballs16 Since: Jul, 2009 Relationship Status: Owner of a lonely heart
#282533: Jun 11th 2019 at 11:40:14 AM

So Jon Stewart read the riot act to the House Judiciary Committee over the fact that, of 14 members of the panel, five (four Democrats, one Republican) actually bothered to show up for the hearing over the 9/11 Victim Compensation Fund.

“As I sit here today, I can’t help but think what an incredible metaphor this room is for the entire process that getting health care and benefits for 9/11 first responders has come to,” Stewart began. “Behind me a filled room of 9/11 first responders and in front of me a nearly empty Congress.”

“Sick and dying, they brought themselves down here to speak to no one,” he continued. “Shameful. It’s an embarrassment to the country and a stain on this institution and you should be ashamed of yourselves, for those who aren’t here, but you won’t be because accountability doesn’t appear to be something that occurs in this chamber.”

Edited by ironballs16 on Jun 11th 2019 at 2:40:54 PM

"Why would I inflict myself on somebody else?"
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
#282534: Jun 11th 2019 at 11:56:13 AM

Is there a non-tabloid source on what happened? I’d especially like to know which democrats failed to turn up and what they were playing at, but I know better than to trust anything the New York Post says.

“And the Bunny nails it!” ~ Gabrael “If the UN can get through a day without everyone strangling everyone else so can we.” ~ Cyran
ironballs16 Since: Jul, 2009 Relationship Status: Owner of a lonely heart
#282535: Jun 11th 2019 at 12:00:31 PM

Courtesy of CBS.

Congress passed the James Zadroga 9/11 Health and Compensation Act in 2010, over opposition from some Republicans who balked at its $7 billion price tag. The act was reauthorized in 2015 for 90 years. But a portion of the law — the Victim Compensation Fund — was only funded for five years, through the end of 2020. The fund aimed to provide necessary financial support for the thousands who suffered serious medical issues, including a spate of cancer diagnoses, after the 2001 attacks.

...

Stewart's testimony was not the first to bring members of Congress and the audience to its feet. Luis Alvarez, a retired NYPD detective and 9/11 responder, also testified before the House panel. He is set to begin his 69th round of chemotherapy on Wednesday to treat the cancer he was diagnosed with after the World Trade Center fell.

"This fund isn't a ticket to paradise, it's to provide our families with care," said Alvarez. "You all said you would never forget. Well, I'm here to make sure that you don't," Alvarez said to a room of loud applause.

"Why would I inflict myself on somebody else?"
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
#282536: Jun 11th 2019 at 12:13:52 PM

Thanks, anyone able to work out which democrats were missing and what the hell they were doing that was so important? Because short of them having surgery I can’t think of a legitimate reason to not be there.

“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
#282537: Jun 11th 2019 at 12:14:45 PM

It was a committee of 15, right? How many Democrats and Republicans, each?

ironballs16 Since: Jul, 2009 Relationship Status: Owner of a lonely heart
#282538: Jun 11th 2019 at 12:15:33 PM

Should be an 8-7 split, since the Democrats have control of the House - so half the Democrats were there, while only 1/7 of the GOP was.

"Why would I inflict myself on somebody else?"
Parable Since: Aug, 2009
#282539: Jun 11th 2019 at 1:01:40 PM

The Post article has the names of the committee members who were there, along with a few other representatives who were in the audience. You can probably just cross them off the list and see who is left to tell who didn't show up.

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
#282540: Jun 11th 2019 at 1:11:17 PM

Problem is the Post isn’t a news organisation, it’s a tabloid and thus can’t be trusted to not outright lie.

Edit: So I’ve done some digging, it’s a 14 person sub-committee (8 democrats and 6 republicans) and the top democrat is saying that all the democrats were there at some point but that “members were present in other committee meetings or visiting with constituents.”

Basically congressmen have multiple obligations to serve at the same time and can’t be everywhere at once, for something that is clearly predicted to pass the house (but maybe not get a vote in the senate) they chose to spend some time there on it but not all their time.

I don’t know what other committees were sitting at the time but if it was a situation of “in room one there’s a meeting on healthcare for 9/11 firefighters, in room two there’s a meeting on holding Barr accountable and in room three there’s a meeting on feeding starving children, pick one room to go to or try and spread yourself between all three” I can understand they being split and sympathise with a position of trying to help multiple groups at once.

I suspect that the root problem is not having enough members of Congress for people to sit only on a single committee/sub-committee so that they can properly devote their time to that committee/sub-committee’s business.

Edited by Silasw on Jun 11th 2019 at 8:37:37 AM

“And the Bunny nails it!” ~ Gabrael “If the UN can get through a day without everyone strangling everyone else so can we.” ~ Cyran
HailMuffins Since: May, 2016 Relationship Status: Shipping fictional characters
#282541: Jun 11th 2019 at 1:48:13 PM

[up]Now that the topic has come up, what are the most reliable sources for news about the US?

CNN is greatly disliked for their tendency towards false equivalence, and Fox News... speaks for itself, really, but I frankly don't know quite enough to fully judge the rest, or at least the biggest ones.

Fighteer Lost in Space from The Time Vortex (Time Abyss) Relationship Status: TV Tropes ruined my love life
Lost in Space
#282542: Jun 11th 2019 at 1:50:54 PM

MSNBC is seen as left-leaning but my experience of their reporting is that it is well-sourced and informative. The New York Times and Washington Post, while mainly print publications, are widely respected for the quality of their work, although both suffer from a lot of both-siderism in their opinion pages.

"It's Occam's Shuriken! If the answer is elusive, never rule out ninjas!"
wisewillow She/her Since: May, 2011
She/her
#282543: Jun 11th 2019 at 1:52:28 PM

MSNBC is dead center, they just have a couple left leaning hosts.

ironballs16 Since: Jul, 2009 Relationship Status: Owner of a lonely heart
#282544: Jun 11th 2019 at 1:55:27 PM

[up][up]

I tend to go with The Guardian, personally.

"Why would I inflict myself on somebody else?"
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
#282545: Jun 11th 2019 at 1:56:01 PM

I got my stuff from NPR, part of good sourcing is that if you don’t know a source to be reliable quickly put the name into google and see if the Wikipedia page for it throws up any obvious red flags like the word tabloid.

Also you’ll often find that media will be more biased on its own country/turf, so British papers and broadcasters can provide solid reporting on the US, Canadian broadcasters can give a good insight into the UK, solid US press can have a good understanding of Canadian issues, ect...

The multiple committee hearings occurring at once thing is insane by the way, it’s probably the closest thing we have to a real life trolly problem, imagine having to try and face the trolly problem every day, that’s destroy a person.

Edited by Silasw on Jun 11th 2019 at 8:58:02 AM

“And the Bunny nails it!” ~ Gabrael “If the UN can get through a day without everyone strangling everyone else so can we.” ~ Cyran
ironballs16 Since: Jul, 2009 Relationship Status: Owner of a lonely heart
#282546: Jun 11th 2019 at 1:58:31 PM

Double-posting because at 4:30 EST, the House officially voted 229-191 to enforce the subpoenas on Barr and McGahn. There were also 13 abstentions.

Edited by ironballs16 on Jun 11th 2019 at 4:59:05 AM

"Why would I inflict myself on somebody else?"
Oruka Since: Dec, 2018
#282547: Jun 11th 2019 at 2:03:09 PM

Jon Stewart takes Congress to task over the matter of the healthcare of First Respondents.

Please, write to your Representatives about this issue. It is unacceptable, unconscionable, unjustifiable that enough money was found to go wage revenge wars and dole out retributive death across the globe, while not enough could be spared to heal and care for the heroic civil servants who put their lives on the line to defend, protect, and save the public. As a society, the sheer ungratefulness of this is unforgivable.

There's of course a lot more problems with how we treat our First Responders in general, when it comes to pay, safety, and reward for sacrifices made and risks taken. But 9/11 first responders getting sick from doing their work, and their healing not being paid for? That's extremely egregious.

Parable Since: Aug, 2009
#282548: Jun 11th 2019 at 2:03:15 PM

If this was a party line vote, then there six Democrats and seven Republicans who didn't vote

PhysicalStamina i'm tired, my friend (4 Score & 7 Years Ago) Relationship Status: Coming soon to theaters
i'm tired, my friend
#282549: Jun 11th 2019 at 2:04:21 PM

[up][up][up]Welp.

So what happens now?

Edited by PhysicalStamina on Jun 11th 2019 at 5:04:49 AM

i'm tired, my friend
Fighteer Lost in Space from The Time Vortex (Time Abyss) Relationship Status: TV Tropes ruined my love life
Lost in Space
#282550: Jun 11th 2019 at 2:04:33 PM

There are almost always a few members of Congress who don't show up for any given vote due to obligations, health issues, vacation, or any of the things that might cause someone to be absent from any job. Effort is made to drum up a full caucus only for extremely significant or contested votes.

As for what happens now, it depends. Contempt is a procedural vote, but it carries no weight unless it is followed up by an enforcement action. The parties can be ordered to testify again, or officers can be sent to arrest and jail them.

Edited by Fighteer on Jun 11th 2019 at 5:05:58 AM

"It's Occam's Shuriken! If the answer is elusive, never rule out ninjas!"

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