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softlynow

Certifiably Surly
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Everything posted by softlynow

  1. On the one hand, the electorate isn't progressive enough for the aggressive pols we need. On the other, the centrist Dems who can win are suffering PTSD from decades of getting shellacked anytime they enact any policy, even if that policy is coopted from the fucking Heritage Foundation. In the end we get the representation we deserve, and a majority of the people in a majority of the surface area of this country (and remember, that is what matters according to our demi-god founding fathers) do not like progressives. The why doesn't matter. They just don't. If we are to return from the precipice it will be because the dumbasses that remained "independent" after Trump was elected see the light. Unfortunately that means nominating more Biden's, which means more orderly retreat. On top of the ideological/rural problem, add in this nonsense: Yes, it's unseemly to fundraise off of bodily autonomy. Sure, the Dems are inept as fuck. But guess what, your house is on fire, and you're yelling at the firefighters for trampling your azaleas while they struggle with antiquated equipment procured by a government that thinks only God should put out fires. $15? Your rights are under attack by folks with a $15 billion war chest, and they're counting on you asking for Dems to be ideologically pure, to accept and abide by the niceties of a long-dead style of politics and they're going to make banning abortion look liberal by comparison to their future acts of hatred. Time and again Dems say, THIS group of young people will vote. THIS generation gets it. Fuck no they don't. They're as naive and stupid as every generation before. They will get distracted and not vote, or get enchanted by the next Nader/Jill Stein or vote Trump/Desantis because Dems only agree with them 92% of the time and "you've got to send them a message." Dems will lose Congress in '22, and have, at best, a 30% shot at losing the WH in '24. Right now the constitution is holding this country back. But, I guess if rural America changes its mind about blacks, gays, guns, unions, abortion, misogyny, immigration, climate change, and democracy itself, we can move forward without structural change to our form of government. Might as well ask aggy to fuck only bipeds and ou to not suck.
  2. People should definitely vote for the party that will end the war in Ukraine . . . which is the the GOP, who will allow Putin to annex what he wants in exchange for dark money and social media assistance.
  3. Col. Word Salad. He will inadvertently admit his crimes, in passing, as he regales us with tales of things that wholly irrelevant and are demonstrably untrue.
  4. I usually have to inform loony leftists on the realities of politics, but you really should know better than to confuse truth with power. I’m not sure why you failed to comprehend my first post. You feeling alright?
  5. Nope. The profession remains ahead of you. We realize that reasoning doesn’t mater when handing down decisions. The timing of when a spot opens is all that does.
  6. As a criminal defense lawyer, I welcome the increased mental health funding. It will really help with low-level assaultive, property and drug-related crime. It won’t prevent many mass shootings, though.
  7. Sure there is. Credit card transactions aren't instantaneous yet.
  8. IA should be the best funded part of every department, and successful investigators the best rewarded in the department (and their time there should be capped to prevent an overreach of that power). Also, and I've said this before, any fact about an interaction between LE and the rest of us should be inadmissible unless it is seen AND heard on dash and/or body cam. Too often I've reviewed body cam footage that suddenly cuts out one or the other right at the moment I need to see/hear the most. Most video footage I watch only confirms the cops' stories, so what are they so afraid of?
  9. Actions said it. Actions which made this latest massacre more likely, not less. You saw those actions and signed on to the team. You “venture” where facts are spoken because you know your worldview is unmoored from any morality, and want to continue to believe the lies you tell yourself.
  10. Thanks for weighing in. Your complicity is duly noted. To carry water for those who are pro-dead children is . . . well it's something.
  11. Correct. The whole point of this is to muddy the discussion until we move on the next thing. I think we should try to get back on message: Republicans like dead school children.
  12. Just like "mental health(!)," it's not a serious suggestion. He knows the brainwashed at home loll their heads at the suggestion, harden themselves to any serious gun control suggestions because free-dumb, and he's done his part in running out the clock of the news cycle. They know they only need to deflect for a few days, and then we'll be on to the next thing. They're probably hoping a brawl breaks out an NBA playoff game or gas hits a new easy to rail against benchmark in the next few days. If not, a verdict will likely be reached in the Depp/Heard trial next week. Then they're off the hook.
  13. Yep. If you need new material you just have to wait for school to resume after the summer. Another sequel is in the works right now.
  14. Link? You're hoping they even respect that. I don't think they can actually be reached. At all. Correct. Elections these days are turnout battles. So tell me how cruelty to this grieving father gets more non-MAGATs to the polls? Whether I want it to be true or not is irrelevant. I never denied it was true. You're preaching to the choir (I'm actually about to head off to choir practice). Hell, I'm silently sipping my vodka on the ledge with you. But I stand by everything I've said to this point. I'll say it again another way. In "Doubt," Meryl Streep's character says you have to take a step away from God to address wrongdoing. I think this is right. Step away from god, become the monster, to WIN at the politics. But going after this father isn't stepping into shadow to win. That rationalization is just an excuse to savage this father because it feels good to do so.
  15. There is no straight-forward way to keep the discussion about policy and the horrible outcomes that you want to prevent. That's not how mass media works. It isn't how humanity works. I'm reminded of a quip about Christianity (paraphrase): Jesus was a man who pointed towards a better way of living. Christianity fails us because it focuses not on where he was pointing but on his finger. Every discussion will break down immediately from the initial message in the directions of all of our individual agendas. You "win" those discussions by realizing that and seizing the opportunity to become the authority on the subject, or a star worthy of many followers. Your comment on this being a mistake for Beto is only right if it not only doesn't work, but worsens his position.
  16. That sounds nice and all, but it isn't how policy is changed. Unfortunately you have to win at the theater to have a say in policymaking.
  17. Tell me why that's necessary against victims like this. Against McConnell, MTG, Abbot, your local DA, or school board member? Sure, I get it. Hell, I applaud it. No rules, just win. I know my posts don't register much, but I've already weighed in on the approach Dems need to take. But going after this poor guy whose life has been turned upside down? And before we even know how he'll react? That isn't cruelty with purpose, it's just sating the lust for revenge. Tell me how this kind of cruelty changes minds. Tell me how it results in electoral or legislative victory.
  18. He didn't ask for sympathy. I just don't think that diverting from the road to justice and good policy to dabble in ineffectual cruelty because of our feels is appropriate. I may not believe in Christian dogma these days, but I still consider myself an Episcopalian because of the positive values instilled in me by growing up in that church. If Jesus exists, he is grieving with this man and hoping for better from him.
  19. Based on your posting style, I don't doubt this at all. Every big tent needs its assholes, I suppose. Carry on.
  20. Suitable for discussion, not for ridicule. Let the man grieve. If he comes out of this unchanged, then, so be it, let the vitriol loose.
  21. Fuck that sentiment. He's not a lawmaker and he was never the deciding vote in an election that prevented the passage of sensible gun legislation that could have prevented this killing. He lost his child and now his shit is on blast. That's not karma, and these posts are cruelty. Dems need to be better at fighting, but along the way cannot become the flaming pieces of shit they're fighting against. Be ruthless towards Pub politicians, not poor folks devastated by their anti-life policies.
  22. Hard hitting journalism right there. Lloyd Christmas would be riveted. But I guess the average tv news viewer needs this shit spelled out.
  23. Y'all can argue it all you want, but nobody knows right now, whether Beto's move pays off. It was a gamble, to be sure. Sydney's thinking is the mainstream. The safe play. Schedule a rebuttal. Hope it gets press coverage, beyond the Tribune and some local tv affiliates. In most situations, Beto's scheduled PC gets little play. So in the coverage vein, this move worked. He is now solidly a part of this discussion. There's also a real possibility that this school shooting is one too many. At some point that day will come. Is this the shooting that changes minds? The smart money is that it is not, but the smart money often sticks with the aging champion well past his prime. For a campaign that most, including yours truly, gives little to no chance of winning, it was a fairly smart play. What does Beto have to lose if 18 children dead 5.5 months before an election doesn't move the needle with moderates? If it doesn't, he loses anyway.
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