leh-nerd skin-erd
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Posts posted by leh-nerd skin-erd
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4 hours ago, ComradeKayAdams said:
Broadly speaking, the purpose of these protests is to raise public awareness on any/all of the following issues:
1. The ongoing genocide in Gaza.
2. Israel’s illegal settlements in the West Bank.
3. Israel’s active prevention of Palestinian statehood.
4. Israel’s system of apartheid against Palestinians.
5. The financial and diplomatic culpability of the United States in all of the above.
The hope is that increased public awareness will, in turn, lead to both political pressure in the eventual form of a permanent ceasefire and widespread economic pressure in the form of the BDS (Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions) movement.
Judging by the level of media coverage of these college protests, both good AND bad, both nationally and internationally, I’d say that they have been wildly successful in their objective! Recent polling trends support my assessment.
Nevertheless, what’s so pathetic (but predictable) is the intellectual regression of American right-wingers. For fleeting moments within the past decade, one COULD sort of argue that they were the standard-bearers of free speech and anti-establishment politics. Their overall response, however, to the Gaza crisis and to these protestors has erased such Pollyanna-ish thoughts.
You’re not for the First Amendment if you want the police to crack down on peaceful college protests. You’re not a crusader against the political establishment if you so easily fall for media narratives framed by the MIC, AIPAC, and all corporate oligarchs who financially benefit from the bellicosity of the U.S. empire’s Middle East vassal state. And you’re DEFINITELY not the ones fighting Nazis if you condone collective punishment, ethnic cleansing, and genocide against anybody!
Broadly speaking, I would suggest that the intent of the protest(s) encompasses:
- Those with a sincere desire for peace and change in the region;
- Those that want to see the eradication of Israel and it's people;
- Those who protest professionally;
- Those with nothing better on their agenda than to protest something, about something;
- Those who would show up if the protest was about the relative crispiness of Arby's curly fries;
Protests are fine, but when they cross a certain point, law and order should prevail. When that point comes, the protestors should be removed from campus by the police, and suspended from school should they attend.
With respect to "corporate oligarchs", any sensible analysis would include the universities/institutions themselves in that regard. In many cases, these are institutions catering to the wealthy, with well-compensated faculty/staff, valuable real estate, corporate brand/vision statements, and massive reserves. As to whether or not the organizers of protests themselves are part of an oligarchy of sorts, probably. There's big money in hate.
Go First Amendment!
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On 2/10/2024 at 11:45 PM, Orlando Tim said:
You truly are the only person who doesn't know that Biden ran for president in 1988 and 2008. If you did know these facts then this claim would just be comical.
The only thing that kept Biden from running multiple times was Joe Biden and his propensity to say stupid things, do stupid things, and make up preposterous stories on the spot.
The fervent Biden supporter of today had grandparents/great grandparents who rejected him soundly as a serious candidate.
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On 4/19/2024 at 10:52 AM, B-Man said:
Joe Biden and the Wawa Cannibals—An American Tragedy.
“One of the most galling results of the mainstream media’s dereliction of duty is that every syllable that Donald Trump utters is fact-checked seven or eight thousand times, while Biden is given carte blanche to keep repeating stories that are truth-free garbage.
They don’t even call him on his oft-recited lie that his son Beau was a casualty of war. This isn’t merely an elderly man’s confusion about a date or a place; either he’s so addled that he truly doesn’t remember where and how his son died, or he knows he’s deliberately lying.”
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In the case of his son, and his family tragedy in the past, I want to give him the benefit of the doubt. The guy has seen tragedy befall his family on multiple occasions. Still, he seems awfully quick to leverage the tragedy in political situations, and that goes back decades. When he got to the point of comparing his middle-aged son’s death in hospice, with the gruesome deaths of young American soldiers on his watch, to the families of the soldiers, it’s hard to give him a pass.
It’s amazing to have to say this in 2024, but people can look past a fabricated story about your uncle being eaten by cannibals, but there should be some basic human decency applied when meeting with the families of soldiers lost in combat.
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2 hours ago, B-Man said:
Gosh, after reading this, was she actually in Gaza when she got pinched by The man?
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30 minutes ago, Tiberius said:
Good is positive. Evil is merely privative, not absolute. It is like cold, which is the privation of heat. All evil is so much death or nonentity. Benevolence is absolute and real. So much benevolence as a man hath, so much life hath he. For all things proceed out of this same spirit, which is differently named love, justice, temperance, in its different applications, just as the ocean receives different names on the several shores which it washes. All things proceed out of the same spirit, and all things conspire with it. Whilst a man seeks good ends, he is strong by the whole strength of nature. In so far as he roves from these ends, he bereaves himself of power, of auxiliaries; his being shrinks out of all remote channels, he becomes less and less, a mote, a point, until absolute badness is absolute death.
Emerson
Sometimes you gotta fight when you’re a man.
Rogers
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23 hours ago, Wacka said:
I trrmrmber seeing the Street Survivors album in Cavages. I have the Who album.
The other day, I was trying to remember the names of local record stores from that time. I forgot about “Cavages”! Ty, and hope you’re feeling well!
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10 minutes ago, Tiberius said:
Two cannibals were eating a comedian.
One cannibal looks over at the other and says:
This taste funny to you?
Classic!
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1 hour ago, Tiberius said:
Boo hoo
I can’t believe you’re pro-cannibalism, Tibs. That’s shocking. I’m shocked.
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35 minutes ago, Tommy Callahan said:
He looks so confused and scared. All the loud noises and lack of white faces got him locked right up.
I’ll give the guy credit here. When politicians pander for votes, they do silly things and typically are ridiculed mercilessly for it. The Dean scream. Hillary with “I done come too far…” speech. Marco Rubio in the big chair. Of course, Biden over 50 years.
In this case, I believe his handlers told him not to clap along, sing or dance. That would be a recipe for disaster. You can see at one point he thinks he should clap along, and you can almost feel the tension amongst his his people as they scream into each other’s earpieces “CELTIC RAMBO WANTS TO CLAP! DANCING IMMINENT! DEPLOY DIVERSION NOW!” but then he folds his hands together as old men often do. Crisis averted. Kudos, Joe.
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On 4/18/2024 at 3:45 PM, Doc said:
I'll be dead within another 40". So...no.
I saw this morning that Comrade Jane Fonda was advising students at USC on the subject of climate change. She’s been lauded as an activist, of course, and has lent her image to a number of high profile causes, the government of North Vietnam a few low rent skin flicks, and a decent movie or two, too.
Anyway, one of the student activists expressed how she connected with CJF in spite of their age difference.
That caused me to check out her commitment to saving the world, comments she has made about climate change, and her personal lifestyle.
Seems the bottom line is CJF blames the patriarchy, white men, corporatism, and a few others for our collective predicament. The strange part is that w google returns an awful lot of articles about her lifestyle choices, and it seems she’s perfectly comfortable as a white woman of privilege indulging in all sorts of climate-busting activity. Travel. Real estate. Opulent furnishings. Indulgence in all manner of goods and services that huge corporations no doubt availing themselves of cheap labor have to offer. That’s not even considering the impact of the occasional nip n tuck indulgences and the impact of elective surgery that has a massive impact on energy consumption.
I wonder if there comes a time when that student, or someone like her, comes to terms with what was being sold to her, and what reality actually shows.
While I recognize the impact of the patriarchy mentality on the world, and the need for more voices with diverse backgrounds at the table, is it fair to say this 80+ year old woman, living in the seat of power for multiple decades, engaging in any variety of destructive activity, represents a part of the problem v the solution? How long does she get a pass, and more importantly, what was USC thinking?
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19 hours ago, Tiberius said:
Russia attacked our electoral system in 2016 to help Trump.
And Ukrainian cannibals ate JB’s uncle during the raid at Entebbe. Ultimately everything is interconnected, and all shall be revealed. I’m serious.
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17 minutes ago, The Frankish Reich said:
It is before the Supreme Court of New York State, which despite its name is the trial level court of general jurisidiction.
County courts are lower level, handling the stuff you talk about.
Because it is INCONCEIVABLE that your God Who Walks The Earth could doze off during an incredibly boring court proceeding.
It’s quite conceivable to me. Say what you want about Trump, but based on the number of live events he attends, the number of public appearances and commentary on the world, and his perpetual battles with haters of the media/government variety, it’s obvious he’s a very high energy guy. I believe the scientific term is “ants in the pants”.
To be stuck in that dreary courtroom on reimagined charges brought by a political charlatan must represent tedium on a massive scale.
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1 hour ago, The Frankish Reich said:
Good point.
This is what economists would call the moral hazard problem.
If the fees are capped at a low amount, we'd all love to think that someone carrying significant credit card debt would save that $25 difference and all consumers would be better off. But as you point out, that's not necessarily what happens.
And a larger point: I don't like throwing these credit card fees in with Biden's general attack on "junk fees." I'm in favor of that because it ought to relate to those annoying/unjustifiable fees on things we can't opt out of - the classic $30 "resort fee" that I'm charged every night (and can't opt out of) that allows me to do ordinary things like make local telephone calls (who does that on a hotel phone anymore?) and access the hotel swimming pool. The idea is that if I can't opt out, you've got to wrap that fee into the disclosed nightly rate. That makes sense as a consumer/advertising fairness issue.
Things like paying a credit card bill late are not the same thing.
That sort of itemization doesn’t bother me to any great degree. Whether I pay $192 per night and a $30 resort fee per day, or $222 per night, I make the decision on the value of services provided.
Same with baggage fees on airlines that Scranton Joe praddles on about. If the ticket is $310, and $40 for a bag, it’s $350 to fly with a bag. Go. Don’t go. Find another airline. Whatever.
And not to derail this topic further, Scranton Joe babbles on about credit card fees, baggage fees and shrinkflation and it catches the attention of the Rolling Stone and by extension, the dope-addled stoners who read it.
Meanwhile, the $1000 spent on the credit card actually totals $1082.50 with tax, and that particular dance continues month after month after month in perpetuity. Tax is important and pays for things, but never a word about automation/technology/reduction. Meanwhile, a $33 fee must be reduced to $8 if there is any justice in the world, and certain rolling stoners celebrate like they participated in the Boston Tea Party when it is.
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2 minutes ago, SCBills said:
On the face of this, no idea why anyone would oppose capping credit card fees.
However anyone capable of thinking down the line can probably foresee that, like usual, this will end up hurting those who it’s supposed to help.
If banks can’t make money on lending money to people who carry high balances and/or make minimum payments then who do we think they stop lending money to?….
Obviously the answer is the people who benefit most by capped fees.
Therefore, like usual, the wealthy benefit as they become the only ones who can obtain lines of credit and access to capital.
I look at this differently. The wealthy have no issue either way. They don't incur the fee, or incur it and pay it.
As for fees for a particular credit card, those are spelled out in the agreement when the card is obtained. If an individual doesn't read the terms and conditions of the card, they typically will find out what the late fee is the first time they make a late payment. That process is exactly the same whether the fee is $33, $28, $16, or $4.50. The larger, more important question is "What behavior is causing you to continue to incur late fees?".
If some folks want to believe that $33 is Satan, and $8 saves the world, super. Seems to me one non-wealthy individual incurring one late fee at $33 annually is in a much better place than one non-wealthy individual incurring six $8 late fees over a 12 month period.
Cap fees, fine, but pitching this as some grand gesture is silly.
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It's unconscionable in today's America that people should be required to pay for their subscription to Rolling Stone in the manner they agreed to pay it.
No fees
Yes please!
Know fees?
No Please!
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32 minutes ago, All_Pro_Bills said:
The Moon is moving away from the Earth at a rate of about 1 inch per year. That change in gravitational pull will result in the Earth's rotation slowing and change the magnitude of tidal movements.
In 1 million years it will be almost 15.8 miles further away. Should we be worried?
I’m only worrying about when to start worrying, but can see some real concern blossoming in early 2096, God willing.
Btw, they closed down the local taco place a few months back, and the closest one is now about 16 miles away. I have not noticed any substantial change beyond on occasion, wishing the return ride was only 11 or 12 miles for reasons beyond the scope of the board.
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1 hour ago, B-Man said:
I was on a jury a few years back, but the funny part about being in a rural area showed up.
I didn't know the accused, and even though I wasn't what you would call friends with the judge, she did have to notify the attorneys that she had been at a neighborhood party that I was at also, a few nights before.
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Did you folks throw all the keys in a basket, or play pin the tail on the MIL…ah never mind.
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27 minutes ago, wnyguy said:
Served on a jury twice, both times made foreman.
Management type, holding the rest of us down.
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23 minutes ago, The Frankish Reich said:
Interesting stuff (at least to me) about jury selection in the hush money case.
Anyone here have any first-hand experience?
I’ve served on a grand jury. Interesting and enlightening.
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10 hours ago, Tiberius said:
Ok, I got a detail wrong.
Now, what is "Pro-Israel" you say I am lacking in?
Right off the rip, I’d go with your claim that no Israelis have died. And, of course, that your obviously incorrect assessment of people being dead amounts to “a detail”.
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20 minutes ago, Tiberius said:
How do you define "pro-Israel"? Love to read this.
I think before we deal with that, we should deal with your definition of “died”——as in your claim “No Israelis have died”?
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39 minutes ago, Tiberius said:
Iranian missiles have rained down on Ukraine for months now. Trump and his backers here on this side have either said nothing or cheered the move to strangle Ukraine. Some even make the argument Ukraine is just as bad as Putin's Russia. No Israelis died, but Ukrainian men, women and children are being killed and MAGA says nothing. Worse Trump has encouraged Putin to fight and kill Ukrainians, saying it was a genius move, that he would push for a settlement where Russia would gain Ukrainian land. Who is Russia's criminal partner in this? Iran.
Not to say Israel is innocent in all this. Netanyahu is probably pretty happy right now, He wants a wider war, that seems obvious
No one with a pulse, having read your posts, would ever think you were pro-Israel, Tibsy. Rest easy in that regard, though I think you’re drinking the googoo juice when you suggest no Israelis have died.
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57 minutes ago, daz28 said:
LOL, you must not know what conjecture is. The GQP has been lobbing that at him incessantly.
Tell me, friend, when we as citizens are provided a complete, exhaustive and unvarnished truth on any controversial topic involving politics?
If you’re an honest man, you’ll say “rarely” or “never”. You can include the “GQP” in that analysis.
Now is the time, as it usually is.
57 minutes ago, daz28 said:If anyone supports the rhetoric from the Islamic terrorists, to harm our president, then they too are terrorists.
On this we can agree, but I see a whole lot of progressive voters and high-ranking politicians perfectly comfortable with terrorists harming our allies, from infants to the elderly, across the board.
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12 minutes ago, daz28 said:
Not really the time for conjecture. This is a result of a very long series of failed policies. Make no mistake, Iran funded the terrorism that started this current flare up. They're a clear enemy, and we have to unite against them. I will be nauseous if the GQP supports Iran and blames Biden.
No, this is absolutely the time. Biden has been a fixture in American politics for nearly 5 decades, one of the true leaders of the democrat party.
Like him, idolize him or despise him, now is the time.
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Trump's New VP - Who Will it Be?
in Politics, Polls, and Pundits
Posted
Yeah, looks like her goose is cooked. My initial thought was "Why on earth would you shoot a dog?" followed by "Why would you tell that story?". Since then, I've read her statement on the issue, referencing the law of South Dakota and how it applies to aggressive animals. I guess I can understand why she acted the way she did--I mean, kids raised on a farm/ranch learn an awful lot about life that suburban kids like me do not. That said, it's a deal killer for her and off she goes.