Nov 2023 Mod notice:
There may be other, more specific, threads about some aspects of US politics, but this one tends to act as a hub for all sorts of related news and information, so it's usually one of the busiest OTC threads.
If you're new to OTC, it's worth reading the Introduction to On-Topic Conversations
and the On-Topic Conversations debate guidelines
before posting here.
Rumor-based, fear-mongering and/or inflammatory statements that damage the quality of the thread will be thumped. Off-topic posts will also be thumped. Repeat offenders may be suspended.
If time spent moderating this thread remains a distraction from moderation of the wiki itself, the thread will need to be locked. We want to avoid that, so please follow the forum rules
when posting here.
In line with the general forum rules, 'gravedancing' is prohibited here. If you're celebrating someone's death or hoping that they die, your post will get thumped. This rule applies regardless of what the person you're discussing has said or done.
Edited by Mrph1 on Nov 30th 2023 at 11:03:59 AM
I once talked to a classmate who believed that COVID was just a conspiracy to defame Trump and how the media didn't focus on Swine Flu when Obama was president.
I wisely politely nodded and said my good byes as soon as possible.
"The Black Rage makes us strong, because we must resist its temptations every day of our lives or be forever damned!"Because these people made up their minds already, so you simply asking an innocent question is taken as a challenge to their beliefs, to which they go LALALALALALA while covering their ears. We have Believing Their Own Lies for a reason.
Remember, these idiots drive, fuck, and vote. Not always in that order.Speaking of religious fanatics, it's impressive for a believed zealot that Amy Baretts doesn't seem to have a single firm opinion on anything in her answers. Given the amount of double-speak involved, I have no belief she's someone who actually intends to follow any form of principle—even one I disagree with.
Edited by CharlesPhipps on Oct 14th 2020 at 8:57:35 AM
Author of The Rules of Supervillainy, Cthulhu Armageddon, and United States of Monsters.
Either she is a self-aware religious zealot (a rarity, really, who knows how messed up her reality is to the rest of the world and keeps it too herself as a result.) or she was only picked for the spot by the GOP on the sole factor that she is a woman and nothing else.
Either case, she is totally the wrong person for this job.
She has been bizarrely unwilling to even give statements on matters of legislation, such as "is voter intimidation illegal". Which... yes? It's federal statute.
And couldn't remember the entire first amendment.
She was picked for being a woman and the youngest possible option. Her sum total of experience was 3 years on a federal bench (a spot Mc Connell wouldn't let Obama fill) and having never been a lawyer in any major case or position of importance before that. They want the court to be ideological and hold it as long as possible, not competent.
Edited by RainehDaze on Oct 14th 2020 at 4:58:32 PM
I believe that she's been heavily coached or she's playing to the base of her backers while not saying anything she thinks would give Democrats reason to denounce her.
So, "Is abortion something you'd outlaw?"
"Depends on the case."
"What about segregation?"
"Oh, there's no reason to challenge it these days."
"Can the President delay the election?"
"I'd need to hear the arguments."
Dear God, she is unsuitable.
Author of The Rules of Supervillainy, Cthulhu Armageddon, and United States of Monsters.It's theater already since the Republicans have their deathly ill plague members in the place, spreading the Red Death among journalists and others. Even though that is against the CDC guidelines.
So yes, I'm seeing her as a bog standard Republican Zealot.
I.e. it's not her religious principles that will be guiding her, just the orders from the Party.
Edited by CharlesPhipps on Oct 14th 2020 at 9:02:20 AM
Author of The Rules of Supervillainy, Cthulhu Armageddon, and United States of Monsters.So in completely unsurprising news (except perhaps how blatant they're being), the California GOP are refusing to comply with the C&D order against them
in regards to the drop boxes.
x2 Add that the Justice can't have been put into the Federal System by the same President, that they have to come from the Federal System, and that Justices can't be put into court on an Election year. And something to stop Republicans from shrinking the Courts in the event they ever regain the Senate (like they would have done if Hillary had won).
Edited by DingoWalley1 on Oct 14th 2020 at 12:28:11 PM
I agree with most butttttt....the Election Year rule is fucking stupid and a creation of the GOP. The fact the Democrats are arguing it is silly. Of course Obama should have been able to appoint is. It was a nonsense argument there.
And yes, the Republicans would try to undo it if they regained the Senate. I have the same feeling on EOS.
Yes, they'd undo them as President but they'd do that anyway.
Start arresting people.
Edited by CharlesPhipps on Oct 14th 2020 at 9:36:00 AM
Author of The Rules of Supervillainy, Cthulhu Armageddon, and United States of Monsters.That's not really a thing. Once a Supreme Court justice gets appointed, they will never face re-election, they will never face another nomination hearing, they will never have opportunity for advancement. It's the tippy-top of the ladder and it's a lifetime appointment. The moment her ass is in that seat, she will never, EVER need anything from Mitch McConnell or the Republican Party ever again.
Conservative SCOTUS Justices are not slaves to Mitch's agenda. They do not dance on the end of party strings. They do not turn to their party to ask what they should do or beg for marching orders. The hold a level of authority above and beyond their party.
The reason Conservative Justices make awful rulings isn't because they're trying to look good for Republicans or obeying partisan masters. They have no masters and nobody's opinion of them will ever matter again; their authority is absolute and, barring an impeachment hearing (exceedingly rare) or voluntary retirement, eternal for so long as they shall live.
They make awful rulings because they rule in accordance with their values. And Conservative Justices tend to have conservative values. And conservative values are terrible.
That's all there is to it. If you think Trump's nominees are dangerous because they're going to obey Trump or Mitch's will, you're missing the point. A Conservative Justice's level of menace transcends Trump and even Mitch. They are entering halls of power that they will never have to leave.
Edited by TobiasDrake on Oct 14th 2020 at 9:41:26 AM
My Tumblr. Currently side-by-side liveblogging Digimon Adventure, sub vs dub.Texas changed a law that said social workers can't refuse service based on sexual orientation, gender identity, and disability.
So now, without being asked if they actually wanted the change, they get to discriminate. Because "regulatory alignment" or something, since obviously you can't hold social workers to stricter standards.
Or require social workers to, you know, work with the disabled. That's even more wtf than normal.
That's the way it's supposed to be but we saw Roberts do NOTHING to keep impeachment on the rails. He's still part of the conservative system and the fact he can't be removed doesn't mean he's not taking orders from the Republican party.
Author of The Rules of Supervillainy, Cthulhu Armageddon, and United States of Monsters.Fortunately, that law change doesn't matter, because of American Federalism. Specifically, social workers who discriminate on any of these three bases can still be sued into poverty in federal court.

Often not even that, really. I've noticed a lot of these people are really cagey about even being asked questions at all. It has gone beyond simply conspiracy theory into active cultish distrust of anyone not in the cult.
Hope shines brightest in the darkest times