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CharlesPhipps Since: Jan, 2001
#243151: May 22nd 2018 at 9:54:12 AM

I think Trump will be angry the fact there's already a fence where he wants to build the Wall.

And it was a terrible idea when Dubya did it.

Author of The Rules of Supervillainy, Cthulhu Armageddon, and United States of Monsters.
MrAHR Ahr river from ಠ_ಠ Since: Oct, 2010 Relationship Status: A cockroach, nothing can kill it.
Ahr river
#243152: May 22nd 2018 at 10:15:15 AM

As a muslim I'd really like if "mistaken for terrorist" wasn't a plot at all. It just sort of continues to pigeonhole us. and also it's kind of paranoia inducing. Even if someone is "nice" they'll mistake you as a terrorist lol.

Read my stories!
Larkmarn Since: Nov, 2010 Relationship Status: Hello, I love you
#243153: May 22nd 2018 at 10:36:45 AM

Yeah, the "Not all of them are bad people" episodes tend to carry the connotation "... but some of them are," which, you know, doesn't help.

Found a Youtube Channel with political stances you want to share? Hop on over to this page and add them.
AdricDePsycho Rock on, Gold Dust Woman from Never Going Back Again Since: Oct, 2014 Relationship Status: [TOP SECRET]
Rock on, Gold Dust Woman
#243154: May 22nd 2018 at 10:45:11 AM

Roseanne is the star, lesbian liberal commentator Sarah Gilbert is the producer as well as primary writer.

And lesbians can't be right wing conservatives or sympathetic to them. Sara Gilbert is a piece of shit. She's openly collaborating with a right wing TERF like Barr, that's an open goddamn betrayal to the LGBT community. She's openly working with someone who thinks I shouldn't exist.

So no, do not defend this shit. This show isn't liberal, it's crap. Barr is a right wing transphobe and her show is not liberal.

Have you any dreams you'd like to sell?
tclittle Professional Forum Ninja from Somewhere Down in Texas Since: Apr, 2010
Professional Forum Ninja
#243155: May 22nd 2018 at 11:06:31 AM

Even though they never got published, Roaseanne did cosplay as Hitler for a Jewish satirical magazine, Heeb, for it's "Germany" issue back in 2009.

Sinkhole opened up on White House lawn earlier this week near Deputy Press Secretary Hogan Gidley's office.

Insert "Lucifer coming for his bribe" joke here.

"We're all paper, we're all scissors, we're all fightin' with our mirrors, scared we'll never find somebody to love."
CenturyEye Tell Me, Have You Seen the Yellow Sign? from I don't know where the Yith sent me this time... Since: Jan, 2017 Relationship Status: Having tea with Cthulhu
Tell Me, Have You Seen the Yellow Sign?
#243156: May 22nd 2018 at 11:08:28 AM

An aside: Primaries in GA are today.

  1. Georgians vote in race centered on immigration, education
  2. Understanding Georgia’s race for governor

Georgians vote in race centered on immigration, education note 

Understanding Georgia’s race for governor note 

The race for Georgia governor reaches a climax Tuesday when voters decide contests between two Democratic women striving to redefine their party’s philosophy and five GOP rivals dueling each other over their conservative chops.

Here is our guide to the people, events and trends that have helped shape the race for governor.

...

Understanding Georgia’s race for governor A closer look at the people, trends and policies that shape Tuesday’s primary Updated 1 hour ago By

Greg Bluestein

Share on Facebook Share on Twitter ... More

The race for Georgia governor reaches a climax Tuesday when voters decide contests between two Democratic women striving to redefine their party’s philosophy and five GOP rivals dueling each other over their conservative chops.

Here is our guide to the people, events and trends that have helped shape the race for governor.

Big changes in Georgia politics at stake in Tuesday’s vote

Republicans are trying to outdo each other with aggressive promises on a blend of tried-and-true conservative issues, such as cutting taxes, cracking down on illegal immigration and expanding gun rights. And the Democratic contenders, for the first time in decades, are following a similar tack with a tack to the party’s base. ­­­­– Greg Bluestein, May 20

The home upgrades that will pay off in 2018 ADVERTISER CONTENT: Champion Windows & Home Exteriors The home upgrades that will pay off in 2018

In Georgia, Democratic primary hinges on appeal to black voters

The Democratic race for governor has highlighted a tense scramble to win over black voters, who make up the biggest bloc of the party’s electorate. – Greg Bluestein, May 16

Georgia Democrats turn left ahead of primaries. Can it work in a GOP-led state?

The gulf between the top Democrats and Republicans in Georgia is as wide as it has been in decades. – Greg Bluestein, May 13

Abrams banks on debt as advantage in final stretch of gov race

Rather than downplaying the fraught topic of her roughly $200,000 in debt, Stacey Abrams has been anything but quiet about her finances lately. – Greg Bluestein, May 10

Locked and loaded: Republicans race to right on guns

A few months after a mass shooting at a Florida high school reignited a nationwide debate over gun control, Georgia Republicans have aggressively moved in the opposite direction. – Greg Bluestein and James Salzer, May 7

...

After Delta flap, some execs pony up to Georgia Democrats

In the days after Georgia Republicans exacted political revenge on Delta Air Lines, several high-profile business leaders and airline executives quietly threw their support behind one of the two Democrats running for governor. – Greg Bluestein, April 10

In Georgia, Democrats chart new course on gun control

Not so long ago, most leading Georgia Democrats cozied up to pro-gun groups. Not anymore. Now Georgia Democrats are embracing proposed firearms restrictions and openly warring with the gun lobby, a remarkably quick shift that upends the party’s decades-old political approach to the debate. – Greg Bluestein, March 22

Georgia GOP counting on tax overhaul to help during elections

Georgia Republicans plan to lean heavily on the recently passed tax overhaul as they hit the campaign trail this year to counter a surge of civic activism on the left and the headwinds that face a party in power in a tough political environment. – Tamar Hallerman and Greg Bluestein, March 18

2018 election will weigh heavily on Georgia Legislature

Every Georgia legislative session is influenced by political machinations and maneuvering. But not every session features a bumper crop of open statewide races and a slew of newly competitive legislative seats up for grabs in an uncertain, combustible political environment. – Greg Bluestein, Dec. 28, 2017

A divide over the two Staceys has Georgia Democrats worried

Though the protest was but one moment in a brewing campaign, it instantly underscored racial tensions within the Democratic coalition, a tenuous alliance of a growing bloc of black voters and a dwindling number of whites. – Greg Bluestein, Aug. 25, 2017

There's a few more links in the article. These just stood out to me.

Look with century eyes... With our backs to the arch And the wreck of our kind We will stare straight ahead For the rest of our lives
CharlesPhipps Since: Jan, 2001
#243157: May 22nd 2018 at 11:08:51 AM

No defense on Barr's transphobia, its vile.

I also believe Darlene's son should be transgender rather than simply gender norm breaking.

But if you're of the mind it's a terrible show because of its content, you're probably right and I'm wrong.

Here's a good "I hate the reboot" article: https://www.marieclaire.com/culture/a19653457/roseanne-reboot-politics/

edited 22nd May '18 11:15:46 AM by CharlesPhipps

Author of The Rules of Supervillainy, Cthulhu Armageddon, and United States of Monsters.
BlueNinja0 The Mod with the Migraine from Taking a left at Albuquerque Since: Dec, 2010 Relationship Status: Showing feelings of an almost human nature
The Mod with the Migraine
#243158: May 22nd 2018 at 11:15:46 AM

I found it slightly humorous that one of the people running for office in the Las Vegas primaries was named "Casino."note  But my ballot is in the mail.

So, how is Trump going to blame Mexicans and/or Iran for the sinkhole?

That’s the epitome of privilege right there, not considering armed nazis a threat to your life. - Silasw
M84 Oh, bother. from Our little blue planet Since: Jun, 2010 Relationship Status: Chocolate!
Oh, bother.
#243159: May 22nd 2018 at 11:19:04 AM

If I were a religious person, I'd quip that maybe God is re-enacting Numbers 26:10.

Disgusted, but not surprised
Deadbeatloser22 from Disappeared by Space Magic (Great Old One) Relationship Status: Tsundere'ing
#243160: May 22nd 2018 at 11:54:26 AM

And the earth opened her mouth, and swallowed them up together with Korah, when that company died, what time the fire devoured two hundred and fifty men: and they became a sign.

...Huh.

"Yup. That tasted purple."
thatindiantroper Since: Feb, 2015
#243161: May 22nd 2018 at 12:08:08 PM

The problem with that episode is that “Not all Muslims are terrorists” is a lesson that should have been learnt by now. It’s arguably more sympathetic towards Rosanne than someone who still feels such naked bigotry deserves.

CrimsonZephyr Would that it were so simple. from Massachusetts Since: Aug, 2010 Relationship Status: It's complicated
Would that it were so simple.
#243162: May 22nd 2018 at 12:18:22 PM

[up]x4: That was a very slippery backtrack, Charles. The new Roseanne is vile because it centers on a wealthy white actress wearing the skin of a working woman to make jokes that punch down. The very first episode has a tone deaf joke about kneeling NFL players — I mean, like, they're protesting their black brothers and sisters being beaten and shot, you walking septic tank. There was a recent episode where a Muslim family is suspected of being a terrorist until he gives Roseanne his Wi Fi password (at which point, whew, he ain't an Islamist, guys!). Brown people (people very much like me) are literally being murdered over that sort of bigotry. It's not funny, especially when it comes from the mouth of a white person. Roseanne herself retweets racist rants, conspiracy theories, and boilerplate ultraconservative nonsense with regularity for her fanbase to consume and anyone who puts money in her pocket is complicit. And it's not even good TV. The jokes always fall flat, and her comic timing is so bad, Iit feels like a Hong Kong dub. Riefenstahl at least was a good filmmaker, Trump has his television propagandist in Barr, and she's just a miserable pile of filth.

More to the point, there are some ideologies that don't really need "representation" so much as "rejection." Even at its most liberal (which isn't saying much), Roseanne gives bigotry a mouthpiece, even if the ultimate conclusion is against Roseanne the character.

edited 22nd May '18 12:47:43 PM by CrimsonZephyr

"For all those whose cares have been our concern, the work goes on, the cause endures, the hope still lives, and the dream shall never die."
megaeliz Since: Mar, 2017
#243163: May 22nd 2018 at 12:22:41 PM

[up] Well, I will give it this:

It accurately represents the world views of a large subset of Trump voters.

My grandma told me last night, that "there's Fox News, and everything else, and one has to be lying." (She thinks it's everyone else.)

edited 22nd May '18 12:27:50 PM by megaeliz

sgamer82 Since: Jan, 2001
#243164: May 22nd 2018 at 12:34:01 PM

https://whatthefuckjusthappenedtoday.com/2018/05/22/day-488/

Day 488: Too inconvenient.

1/ Trump uses White House cellphones that lack the proper security features required to protect his communications, potentially leaving him open to hacking or surveillance. Trump uses at least two different iPhones — one for making calls and one for Twitter and news — and has resisted efforts from his staff to beef up the security around his phone use. Aides have urged Trump to swap out his Twitter phone on a monthly basis, but Trump says it's "too inconvenient." Trump has gone as long as five months without having his phone checked by security experts. (Politico)

https://www.politico.com/story/2018/05/21/trump-phone-security-risk-hackers-601903

Trump is essentially doing the same thing he demanded Hillary Clinton be locked up for doing. Trump's actions are identical to Clinton’s, but Trump's situation is an easier target for foreign hackers, especially since Trump is particularly vulnerable to espionage and blackmail due to his concealed business interests and alleged adultery. (New York Magazine)

http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2018/05/trump-thanks-secure-phone-too-inconvenient-lock-him-up.html

Trump's communication security practices illustrate the clear double standard between Hillary Clinton’s emails and his own cell phones. Whether or not convenience was actually Clinton's reasoning for the use of her private server is a fair question, but there are still clear parallels between what Trump attacked Clinton for and what he's doing now. (Washington Post)

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-fix/wp/2018/05/22/trump-warned-of-great-danger-posed-by-clintons-emails-but-he-eschews-security-procedures-for-his-own-phone/?noredirect=on&utm_term=.dd1c7650882d

2/ White House employees who draft proposed tweets for Trump intentionally use bad grammar and incorporate spelling errors to make it sound like Trump is the one tweeting. The overuse of exclamation points, random capitalization of words for emphasis, and use of fragmented sentences are all part of a process intended to make the tweets seem like genuine Trump communications. (Boston Globe)

https://www.bostonglobe.com/news/nation/2018/05/21/trump-tweets-include-grammatical-errors-and-some-them-are-purpose/JeL7AtKLPevJDIIOMG7TrN/story.html

James Clapper: Trump tweets are 'disturbing assault' on Justice Department's independence. The former Director of National Intelligence accused Trump of leading "a very disturbing assault on the independence of the Department of Justice." (CNN)

https://www.cnn.com/2018/05/21/politics/clapper-trump-disturbing-assault-doj-cnntv/index.html

3/ The EPA banned the Associated Press and CNN from a national summit on harmful water contaminants. The EPA also blocked the environmentally-focused E&E News from attending the meeting in Washington, which was convened by Scott Pruitt. One AP reporter was grabbed by the shoulders and forcibly removed from the EPA building after she asked to speak to an EPA public affairs representative. "This was simply an issue of the room reaching capacity," said EPA spokesperson Jahan Wilcox, "which reporters were aware of prior to the event." Wilcox later announced that the afternoon session of the meeting would be open to all press. (Associated Press / NBC News / Axios / CNBC)

https://apnews.com/d799f4e096cc42cf99ae01b02d1e0688

4/ The Interior Department plans to reverse a 2015 ban that prohibits hunters on some public lands in Alaska from using bacon and doughnuts as bait or using spotlights to shoot mother black bears and cubs while hibernating in their dens. The proposed changes would allow hunters to hunt black bears by using dogs, kill wolves and pups in their dens, and use motor boats to kill swimming caribou. These and other hunting methods have been condemned as cruel by wildlife protection advocates and were outlawed on federal lands under the Obama administration. The Interior Department will accept public comments on the proposed rule changes for the next 60 days. (NBC News)

https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/white-house/interior-dept-moves-allow-alaska-bear-hunting-doughnuts-bacon-n876306

5/ Elliot Broidy received the largest U.S. government payout in the history of his company while he was selling access to Trump to Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. In addition to securing nearly $1 billion in contracts from Saudi Arabia and the UAE in 2017 in exchange for lobbying against Qatar, Broidy and George Nader locked down more than $4 million in contracts from the Defense Department in August and September of the same year. The most Circinus LCC had received in defense contracts prior to Broidy's lobbying work in Washington D.C. was $7,501. (Daily Beast)

https://www.thedailybeast.com/elliott-broidys-company-got-its-biggest-us-government-contract-ever-while-he-pitched-trump-administration

6/ A bipartisan group of lawmakers say they will try to stop Trump from reducing penalties against ZTE, the Chinese telecom giant. The proposed deal would life a seven-year ban on the use or sale of ZTE components by U.S. chipmakers and other companies. In return, China would eliminate tariffs on U.S. agriculture or agree to buy more farm products from American companies. Republican and Democratic lawmakers are looking at ways to block any possible changes to the ban. "We will begin working on veto-proof congressional action," Marco Rubio tweeted. Dick Durbin said lawmakers are considering several options and plan to act "soon." (Reuters)

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-trade-china/u-s-lawmakers-say-they-will-try-to-block-possible-zte-deal-with-china-idUSKCN1IN27O

China has already reduced its import tariff on passenger cars from 25% to 15% following a truce between Trump and Chinese officials. The move opens up a market that has been a major target of the U.S. in its trade ongoing battle with the world’s second-largest economy. The reduction will be a boon to U.S. carmakers, but it will also end up benefiting European and Asian manufacturers from Daimler AG to Toyota Motor Corp. (Bloomberg)

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-05-22/china-is-said-to-cut-car-import-duty-in-boost-for-lexus-bmw

How China acquires ‘the crown jewels’ of U.S. technology: The U.S. frequently fails to police foreign deals over the cutting-edge software that powers the military and American economic strength. (Politico)

https://www.politico.com/story/2018/05/22/china-us-tech-companies-cfius-572413

Notables.

Harley-Davidson took a tax cut, closed a factory in Kansas City, and rewarded shareholders with a nearly $700 million stock buyback plan. Four moths after receiving a tax cut as a result of the GOP federal tax bill, the company laid off 800 workers, moved its factory to Pennsylvania, and announced a dividend increase and a stock buyback plan to repurchase 15 million of its shares, which are valued at around $696 million. (Vox)

https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2018/5/22/17350180/harley-davidson-tax-buyback-kansas-city-factory

The Supreme Court ruled for the first time in a 5-4 decision that private sector workers may not band together to challenge violations of federal labor laws. In the majority opinion Justice Neil Gorsuch said that the 1925 Federal Arbitration Act trumps the National Labor Relations Act, meaning that employees who sign employee agreements to arbitrate claims must waive their rights to join a class action lawsuit and go through arbitration on an individual basis. (NPR / Politico)

https://www.npr.org/2018/05/21/605012795/supreme-court-decision-delivers-blow-to-workers-rights

Purdue Pharma hired Giuliani in the mid-2000s to head off a federal investigation into its marketing of Oxy Contin so it could continue selling the drug, which has been at the center of the national opioid crisis. Purdue turned Oxy Contin into a multibillion-dollar drug after its launch in 1996 and launched an unprecedented marketing campaign to pitch the painkiller to doctors. (The Guardian)

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2018/may/22/rudy-giuliani-opioid-epidemic-oxycontin-purdue-pharma

Bob Corker turned down the offer to become the next U.S. ambassador to Australia. "I had a number of conversations with both President Trump and [Mike] Pompeo," Corker said. "At the end of the day though…it just felt like it wasn't the right step." (The Tennessean)

https://www.tennessean.com/story/news/politics/2018/05/21/u-s-sen-bob-corker-turns-down-trump-administration-offer-become-next-u-s-ambassador-australia/629726002/

Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen pushed back on the intelligence community's assessment that Vladimir Putin intervened in the 2016 presidential elections in an attemtp to help Trump and hurt Clinton. "I don't believe that I have seen that conclusion … that the specific intent was to help President Trump win," Nielsen said. (CNN)

https://www.cnn.com/2018/05/22/politics/kirstjen-nielsen-election-russia-meddling/index.html


Is it weird that I'm especially disturbed by the second one, about how Trump's tweets are written. That the people who write out the tweets deliberately dumb them down so people will feel certain they were written by the President of the United States?

megaeliz Since: Mar, 2017
#243165: May 22nd 2018 at 12:51:21 PM

Since I already pointed out Rosenstein's careful deflection of Trump's demands for the DOJ to investigate the FBI's use of an informant, yesterday, this is worth a read. (From Wa Po)

Did Rosenstein and Wray play Trump?

On Monday, President Trump met at the White House with Deputy Attorney General Rod J. Rosenstein, FBI Director Christopher Wray and Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats (among others) about the investigation into “any irregularities with the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s or the Department of Justice’s tactics concerning the Trump Campaign” and congressional access to highly confidential material. This set off a furious reaction among those concerned with the erosion of democratic norms. There is widespread agreement outside of Trumpland that the meeting between investigators responsible for an inquiry into the president’s misconduct and those directly involved in the investigation is unprecedented and alarming. When it comes to the wisdom of Rosenstein and Wray’s attendance, there are two schools of thought.

As a preliminary matter, let’s note that all three of these are Trump appointees, all three have publicly attested that Russia interfered in the election to help Trump and none has a close personal relationship with Trump (nor does, for example, Attorney General Jeff Sessions). One side, aptly represented by experts such as Jack Goldsmith, argues that we need to cut Rosenstein and Wray some slack. “Some people think they already should have resigned because of the president’s attacks on the integrity and independence of DOJ and FBI. They would certainly have plenty of reason to resign in protest,” he said in an interview with Isaac Chotiner. “But the main reason they appear to be staying on is to see the investigation through. It would disrupt the investigation for an uncertain period, and in an uncertain but probably bad way if Rosenstein, Wray, or Mueller left for any reason. That’s why I think we should support them in their decision to stay on, take the heat, and see the investigation to its completion, or at least as far towards completion as possible.” He added, “ I am sure there are red lines, but given the stakes of resignation, and Trump’s unpredictable behavior, it is hard to know what they are.” The thinking is that the meeting was a tactical concession that gives up little ground, a means of deflecting Trump that permits them to do their work.

Others, including former attorney general Eric Holder, argue that the meeting was a hugely significant breach of democratic norms and Justice Department practice. Accordingly, Wray and Rosenstein are essentially enabling, rather than curtailing Trump’s trashing of constitutional norms. These critics worry that Rosenstein and Wray are incrementally damaging the very norms they want to protect.

I find the latter argument a little hard to fathom given that Wray and Rosenstein almost surely consulted with special counsel Robert S. Mueller III before attending. Moreover, Rosenstein has demonstrated that he is determined to give Mueller wide berth to conduct the investigation, including a recent public declaration that the Justice Department would “not be extorted.” Unless he has experienced a complete change of heart, one should imagine that in agreeing to the meeting he did not consider himself to be a victim of extortion.

I would suggest a third take on the meeting: Wray and Rosenstein, with Mueller’s full backing, might be setting up Trump. We know Mueller is already pursuing an obstruction-of-justice inquiry that might relate to acts such as Trump firing former FBI director James B. Comey, falsely accusing him of illegally leaking confidential material, pressuring Comey to drop the investigation into Michael Flynn, helping draft a phony cover story to explain the June 9 Trump Tower meeting and conducting an extended campaign to smear, discredit and disrupt the work of the FBI and the special counsel. In that vein, wouldn’t a meeting directly ordering Wray and Rosenstein to conduct what amounts to a wild goose chase and to put confidential material into the hands of congressional allies be part of the pattern of possible obstruction they are investigating?

Goodness knows what Trump said in the meeting and what he revealed about his intent with regard to outing the previously secret source. Moreover, Wray and Rosenstein already may have a very good idea who leaked the name of the source (initially to the right-wing Daily Caller, it appears) and may be keen to see whether the materials shared with congressional Republicans get leaked as well. (They, too, understand the finite protections of the Constitution’s “speech or debate” clause.)

This isn’t, alas, the “Deep State” at work. Remember, it’s Trump himself who is demanding the inquiry and document sharing; it’s his appointees who are complying with his wishes. If this is the “Deep State,” then it is so devious as to draft Trump and his top associates into its secret enclave.

But let’s get back to reality. Going to the meeting, taking copious notes, analyzing the notes to determine the propriety of Trump’s comments and referring that information over to Mueller is precisely what any responsible law-enforcement officials would do. It was, come to think of it, precisely what Comey did.

In short, I’m certainly inclined to give Rosenstein and Wray the benefit of the doubt as to their efforts to navigate around Trump. In fact, I’m willing to bet they knew exactly what they are doing and saw utility in having the meeting. We’ll know soon enough whether that meeting was part of the investigation, not an attempt to protectthe investigation.

I've seen people worried that they were selling out an independent DOJ, but that seems off to me. Both are dedicated Civil Servants and long-time Department of Justice employees, who have spent their careers dedicated to service and the Rule of Law. I can't see either of them selling out on that so easily.

And angry cheeto's response when a member of the press pool asked him in he has confidence in Rosenstein speaks volumes, as well.

Reporter: "Do you have confidence in Rod Rosenstein?"

US President Trump: "What's your next question please? ... Excuse me, I have a President of South Korea here, OK? He doesn't want to hear these questions, if you don't mind." [1]

edited 22nd May '18 1:01:05 PM by megaeliz

Rationalinsanity from Halifax, Canada Since: Aug, 2010 Relationship Status: It's complicated
#243166: May 22nd 2018 at 12:59:34 PM

Trump will whine about Deep State conspiracies no matter what, so they might as well humor him and prove they have nothing to hide. This diverts attention and possible action against Mueller.

Politics is the skilled use of blunt objects.
TobiasDrake (•̀⤙•́) (Edited uphill both ways) Relationship Status: Arm chopping is not a love language!
(•̀⤙•́)
#243167: May 22nd 2018 at 1:12:06 PM

That was a very slippery backtrack, Charles. The new Roseanne is vile because it centers on a wealthy white actress wearing the skin of a working woman to make jokes that punch down. The very first episode has a tone deaf joke about kneeling NFL players — I mean, like, they're protesting their black brothers and sisters being beaten and shot, you walking septic tank. There was a recent episode where a Muslim family is suspected of being a terrorist until he gives Roseanne his Wi Fi password (at which point, whew, he ain't an Islamist, guys!). Brown people (people very much like me) are literally being murdered over that sort of bigotry. It's not funny, especially when it comes from the mouth of a white person. Roseanne herself retweets racist rants, conspiracy theories, and boilerplate ultraconservative nonsense with regularity for her fanbase to consume and anyone who puts money in her pocket is complicit. And it's not even good TV. The jokes always fall flat, and her comic timing is so bad, Iit feels like a Hong Kong dub. Riefenstahl at least was a good filmmaker, Trump has his television propagandist in Barr, and she's just a miserable pile of filth.

More to the point, there are some ideologies that don't really need "representation" so much as "rejection." Even at its most liberal (which isn't saying much), Roseanne gives bigotry a mouthpiece, even if the ultimate conclusion is against Roseanne the character.

[tup][awesome]

The problem with Roseanne is that it tries to give both sides a platform in an ideological split where there really shouldn't be a middle ground. To reference something Fighteer once said, in the battle between Racist and Not Racist, Roseanne is trying to slide comfortably into Half-Racist.

My Tumblr. Currently side-by-side liveblogging Digimon Adventure, sub vs dub.
CharlesPhipps Since: Jan, 2001
#243168: May 22nd 2018 at 1:19:26 PM

[[quote]]That was a very slippery backtrack, Charles. The new Roseanne is vile because it centers on a wealthy white actress wearing the skin of a working woman to make jokes that punch down.[[/quote]]

No, you made your point and I'm persuaded.

Though I don't understand the "rich woman playing a poor woman" complaint. That's the definition of acting, isn't it?

edited 22nd May '18 1:21:29 PM by CharlesPhipps

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
#243169: May 22nd 2018 at 1:22:39 PM

When the actress and character she plays have the exat same damn opinions it's fair to say they're playing themselves

have a listen and have a link to my discord server
LSBK Since: Sep, 2014
#243170: May 22nd 2018 at 1:27:37 PM

Roseanne just seems like one of those people who tries to be as fringe and crazy as possible, without really caring about which side of the aisle. I don't know when that started, but before her turn to Trumpism I recall her being very much a Straw Feminist left-wing nutbar.

edited 22nd May '18 1:28:56 PM by LSBK

CrimsonZephyr Would that it were so simple. from Massachusetts Since: Aug, 2010 Relationship Status: It's complicated
Would that it were so simple.
#243171: May 22nd 2018 at 1:28:34 PM

It's her brainchild. I don't really think "love the art, hate the artist" or vice versa really applies when the writer or actress imposes part of their own personality on the character they write or play. The reason I bring it up is because Roseanne being considerably wealthy while playing a blue collar working Racist Grandma makes the show a kind of blue collar kitsch. Roseanne the actress is just as vile, if not more, than Roseanne the character since she speaks for a regime that hurts real people, but she couches it in an "I'm showing the struggles of the working man" premise, which comes off as inauthentic and sleazy. She's not really acting so much as changing clothes. It also promotes a false narrative. Trump's greatest support is in the American upper middle class, not the working poor, who mostly vote Democrat when their registration isn't being stricken from the record. The Trump voter is like Roseanne the actress, not Roseanne the character, with enough money in the bank and living a life of reasonable comfort or more. LAR Ping as working class is just a ploy to make her goonish politics a symptom of disillusionment and not just the mark of a diseased, privileged mind.

edited 22nd May '18 1:33:01 PM by CrimsonZephyr

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#243172: May 22nd 2018 at 1:29:27 PM

Half racist would be "I'm not racist, but..."?

Remember, these idiots drive, fuck, and vote. Not always in that order.
megaeliz Since: Mar, 2017
#243173: May 22nd 2018 at 1:29:38 PM

[up][up] The problem is, there is a not insignificant population of the country that this very accurately reflects the beliefs and world view of.

And that's the hard part...

edited 22nd May '18 1:32:27 PM by megaeliz

Rationalinsanity from Halifax, Canada Since: Aug, 2010 Relationship Status: It's complicated
#243174: May 22nd 2018 at 1:32:08 PM

And again, Barr believes in shit like Q Anon, which is fringe even by internet conspiracy standards.

Politics is the skilled use of blunt objects.
TobiasDrake (•̀⤙•́) (Edited uphill both ways) Relationship Status: Arm chopping is not a love language!
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#243175: May 22nd 2018 at 1:33:28 PM

Though I don't understand the "rich woman playing a poor woman" complaint. That's the definition of acting, isn't it?

It gets dicey when you're using the status of your character as a soapbox.

Like.

White person playing a black character? Racist, but that's beside the point.

But white person playing a black character who spends all of their onscreen time sermonizing about the right way for a proper black family to live? Suuuuuuuper racist. Kanye West saying that slavery was a choice is some dumbass shit as it is, but hearing that from Tom Cruise wearing blackface would be ten times worse.

Roseanne's socio-economic status is relevant specifically because she wants her show to be a platform for discussing the way the White Working Class interfaces with all those scary foreigners in the rest of the world. And that's an issue because Roseanne herself, the person hosting the discussion, isn't speaking from a place of experience and doesn't actually have a goddamn clue what she's talking about.

It's just another show where rich people put words in the mouths of poor people in order to help shape middle-class culture into something that benefits them.

edited 22nd May '18 1:34:42 PM by TobiasDrake

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