Jump to content

GW Hayduke

Legacy Members
  • Posts

    1666
  • Joined

  • Last visited

Posts posted by GW Hayduke

  1. 2 hours ago, Fastbreak said:


    Actually it does:

    Militia: composition and classes
    (a) The militia of the United States consists of all able-bodied males at least 17 years of age and, except as provided in section 313 of title 32, under 45 years of age who are, or who have made a declaration of intention to become, citizens of the United States and of female citizens of the United States who are members of the National Guard.
    (b) The classes of the militia are—
    (1) the organized militia, which consists of the National Guard and the Naval Militia; and
    (2) the unorganized militia, which consists of the members of the militia who are not members of the National Guard or the Naval Militia.

    Unorganized militia =/= well-regulated militia. 

     

     

    • Hook 'Em 1
  2. It is odd that a substantial portion of the population has developed a flawed value system to the point they prefer dead children over slight inconveniences with obtaining firearms. Imagine holding that flawed value system and then calling themselves a responsible gun owner

    • Hook 'Em 2
    • Like 2
    • Rage+1 2
    • Fuck Around and Find Out 1
  3. 20 minutes ago, B00M said:

    It’s nothing but a semi-auto rifle. It’s indistinguishable from a hunting rifle other than cosmetic features. 

    You are a shitty Hunter if you need a high-velocity, high-capacity, high rate-of-fire firearm.  Maybe try fishing

    • Hook 'Em 5
    • Like 1
    • Fuck Around and Find Out 1
  4. 1 hour ago, RomaVicta said:

    Read the materials that I suggested. One is composed by a scientist and the other by a meticulous historian whose book is about 40 percent bibliography. The application of these sciences points to the fact that we lie to ourselves about our history and perversely use the lies to justify further killing.

    I'm not talking about the world. I'm talking about the United States. 

    On an individual level, you get Americans believing in the power of the gun to solve problems. Cue Mark Twain. If all you have is a hammer, everything looks like a nail. The lunatic who slaughtered the family in Cleveland, Texas was out shooting his rifle at 11pm. A neighbor asks him to stop.

    That he's out in his yard firing his rifle when people are trying to sleep nearby sounds uniquely American to me. His annoying neighbor interrupts his excercise of his God-given right, an attitude that seems uniquely American to me. He slaughters the neighbor's family, an action all too common in America and rare elsewhere.

     

    That’s cool. Do note that the history and science that you describe in those books doesn’t appear to be inconsistent with with what Sawbonez is saying and isn’t inconsistent the Diamond’s take. 

  5. 14 hours ago, RomaVicta said:

    I couldn't disagree more, but we've each had our say.

    This was an interesting conversation to read. Morality and science. The two of you are not having a disagreement on the facts of history. It seems the disagreement is about the application of moral judgement and whether it is good/bad for civilizations to conquer (assimilate, displace, eradicate) other civilizations.  I understand you feel the history of North America is immoral. Sawbonz and Jared Diamond (in Guns, Germs and Steel) from what I recall are describing the phenomenon and are not applying moral judgement.

    The separation of morality from science is normal and required. People can understand a situation without applying moral judgement, or they can choose to both try to understand a situation and judge at the same time. The downfall of applying morality is that it clouds our understanding of science. Plus moral systems change over time. The downfall of only applying science is that it can be used to hide from today's moral system and promote immoral actions today (Israel/Palestine, Ukraine/Russia, current displacement of indigenous populations in SA, lack of health care and education opportunities in today's indigenous populations in NA). 

  6. 1 hour ago, atomheartbevo said:

    It'd be nice to think that young people would be cynical about the bullshit they see online, given that they are growing up with an online presence being the norm, but nope.  Just as fucking stupid as many before them.

     

    Kind of wild how the morally flawed parts of our population seem to perfectly align with Putin’s Russia. 

    • Hook 'Em 3
    • Like 3
  7. 2 hours ago, royiv said:

    A couple of posts today have got me thinking about what would it take to fix the shit show that is Texas politics. Nothing is going to change until we figure out a way to remove the GQP's influence from the capitol so what are things that would actually move the needle? That said, I thought I would make a list of things I would do if I were king of Texas. I'm interested to hear what others thoughts are on these issues. These are in no particular order.

    Legislative Session

    -Institute an annual legislative session. Texas is one of four states with a biennial session, the others being MT, ND and NV. It seems nuts to me that a state as large, complex and important as Texas thinks we can effectively govern meeting once every two years for 140 days. 

    Marijuana

    -Legalize it and tax it. Use tax proceeds to fund mental health and addiction services for homeless and un/under-insured Texans.

    -Pardon all inmates that are serving a sentence for only simple possession. I would listen to ideas of how far that should go. As a bonus, it would be great if this would help Texas get out of the private prison business. I would include expunging the records of those who have already served sentences under the same terms.

    Healthcare

    -Expand Medicaid. It blows my mind that we as a state leave federal dollars on the table. That means we all pay federal taxes and we're leaving money on the table to be sent to other states that could be coming our way.

    -Repeal the anti-abortion law. Allow women and their healthcare provider to make decisions about an individual woman's health.

    -Stop the attacks on LGBTQ+ community. 

    Guns

    -Institute a red flag law. We need to make sure that Texans suffering a mental health crisis don't have access to guns. We need to protect our own.

    -Institute a 21 year age minimum to purchase an assault weapon (and, no fatty, I'm not going to get into one of your dumb bullet debates with you - these are all 10k foot ideas).

    -Get rid of constitutional carry. You want to carry a gun legally, you're going to need a permit for that.

    -Waiting period on the purchase of guns. 7 days for shotguns, sporting rifles, 14 days for handguns, 28 days for assault weapons (again, fatty, don't muck this up with your bullet talk).

    Education

    -Reevaluate Robin Hood. I admit that I'm not an expert in how to equitably fund education in this state, but I'm smart enough to know our current system is broken. We have bright people in this state, let's get them together and figure out a fix.

    -Improve funding for higher education. California kicks our ass up and down the field on this one. We are woeful for a state of our stature.

    -Get God out of the public schools. End the book ban BS. Return sanity to the classroom so that kids can learn. Listen to our best and brightest educators and fix standardized testing.

    Gambling

    -Why do we let so many dollars cross state lines into LA and OK? Lots of other states have figured out to regulate and tax casino gambling. Let's quit donating money to LA and OK.

    -Legalize sports gambling. See above.

    TABC

    -Burn it to the ground and start over. It's an oversized agency with oversized power in this state. It needs to be overhauled. 

    Taxes

    -This is probably the biggest bogeyman. Our hands are tied w/r/t an income tax in this state so we have got to figure out how we fix the regressive propert tax burden placed on Texans. I'm not the guy to figure it out, but I'd love to brainstorm with some smart economists.

    What am I missing? Transportation? Other agencies that need to be completely overhauled? I'm really interested in hearing people's thoughts. I'm hoping this turns into a thread of healthy discussion on ideas how to change the current course of our state, but it will probably turn into monkeys flinging shit at each other by the fourth post.

    In order to accomplish most of those things, the Texas GOP would either need to be removed from power (lose elections) or get to the point where it becomes obvious to them that they will lose elections if they don't change their polices.

    In order for that to happen, the Texas voting population is going to need to shift from voting for the GOP to the Democrats.

    In order for that to happen, we probably need a mix of a) curtailment or regulation of misinformation and disinformation, b) increase in education funding, c) reform the education system to address critical thinking and propaganda susceptibility and instill basic moral values (citizenship, compassion, lying is bad, breaking the law is bad, adults acting like children is bad, adults insulting others is bad, etc.), d) mobilization of progressive donors, e) reform the Dem's party apparatus to increase effectiveness, f) increase voter turnout (remove barriers and increase motivation)... there are probably several other things but those are at the top of mind. 

    It sucks but elections have consequences and the Texas population and their voting habits are very flawed.

  8. 10 hours ago, hornmpa96 said:

    The original ban grandfathered weapons already owned. Given the proliferation of these guns since the 2004 expiration, I don’t think a ban with grandfathering would have significant impact while all of the other potential mitigations would likely significantly reduce gun-related violence. Just my opinion.

    A prohibition on selling high-capacity, high-velocity, high rate-of-fire firearms with grandfathering isn’t expected to immediately solve the problem. It would need to work with other firearm control measures. It would however immediately be a sizable barrier for the acquisition by the young - those just turning of age - or those just experiencing a crisis and wanting to act out.  Over the course of time, that benefit would slowly increase as those type of firearms naturally decay. We can increase the speed of that benefit with either voluntary or mandatory buy-back programs.  The speed could be further increased over time with requiring a registration and permitting system (for those grandfathered) and prohibiting inheritance transfer absent a permit. We could also tack on required training to the grandfather permit.

    No single measure should be expected to fix our problem. We would need an array of measures. 

    • Hook 'Em 5
    • Like 3
  9. Nobody fucks with Mike Pence and walks away from it.

    https://www.cnn.com/2023/03/11/politics/mike-pence-gridiron-dinner/index.html

     

    Quote

    Pence rebuked Trump for his role in the January 6, 2021 attack, saying he was “wrong” for claiming Pence had the authority to overturn the results of the 2020 election in his role presiding over Congress that day, saying “history will hold Donald Trump accountable.”

    “President Trump was wrong. I had no right to overturn the election and his reckless words endangered my family and everyone at the Capitol that day, and I know that history will hold Donald Trump accountable,” Pence said.

    Pence also scolded those who have downplayed the people who entered the Capitol on January 6th as tourists.

    “Tourists don’t injure 140 police officers by sightseeing,” Pence said. “Tourists don’t break down doors to get to the Speaker of the House or voice threats against public officials.”

    Pence chastised Republicans who minimized the insurrection, days after Fox News host Tucker Carlson aired new security footage from inside the Capitol on January 6th in an attempt to defend the mob.

    “Make no mistake about it, what happened that day was a disgrace, and it mocks decency to portray it in any other way,” Pence said at the dinner.

    Pence also said people “have a right to know what took place” during the insurrection, days after he asked a judge to block a subpoena for his testimony to the special counsel investigating the insurrection.

     

     

    Nobody fucks with Mike Pence and walks away from it.

    https://www.cnn.com/2023/03/11/politics/mike-pence-gridiron-dinner/index.html

     

    Quote

    Pence rebuked Trump for his role in the January 6, 2021 attack, saying he was “wrong” for claiming Pence had the authority to overturn the results of the 2020 election in his role presiding over Congress that day, saying “history will hold Donald Trump accountable.”

    “President Trump was wrong. I had no right to overturn the election and his reckless words endangered my family and everyone at the Capitol that day, and I know that history will hold Donald Trump accountable,” Pence said.

    Pence also scolded those who have downplayed the people who entered the Capitol on January 6th as tourists.

    “Tourists don’t injure 140 police officers by sightseeing,” Pence said. “Tourists don’t break down doors to get to the Speaker of the House or voice threats against public officials.”

    Pence chastised Republicans who minimized the insurrection, days after Fox News host Tucker Carlson aired new security footage from inside the Capitol on January 6th in an attempt to defend the mob.

    “Make no mistake about it, what happened that day was a disgrace, and it mocks decency to portray it in any other way,” Pence said at the dinner.

    Pence also said people “have a right to know what took place” during the insurrection, days after he asked a judge to block a subpoena for his testimony to the special counsel investigating the insurrection.

     

     

    • Hook 'Em 1
  10. 2 minutes ago, Longhorn_Fan68 said:

    so the hours of video of the cops showing people around and even leading them into the chambers and not out the doors is somehow not complicit? look, I'm not a natural cop hater - I fall somewhere in the middle - but every officer in and around that building who was not doing everything they could to get people out and secure the perimeter failed our country that day. saying otherwise is an injustice to those who did try to fight back and protect our capitol. 

    Yes. Those videos of cops intertwined with the protestors, the videos of cops opening barriers, etc. is not evidence of complicity.  
     

    Those videos are used by propagandists (Tucker, Twitter trolls) to make it look like they are complicit and to sow discord and division. 
     

    Barriers were opened and abandoned when protestors had breached behind the barriers. There isn’t a point in battling protestors if they can just walk around.  It would have been extraordinarily dangerous to try and do that. Once an area had been breached, once a part of the capital was breached, the cops were outnumbered and all they could do was keep the peace - I.e., be present and wait for the clear out activities to commence.  

    • Hook 'Em 2
    • Like 1
  11. 2 hours ago, Longhorn_Fan68 said:

    I see @GW Hayduke negged my post. Maybe they would like to explain their stance and why they want to be on the wrong side of history. 

    Because the police weren’t being complicit. That is just a dumb narrative pushed by Tucker Carlson, right wing trolls, and those gullible to their propaganda. 

  12. 33 minutes ago, Pescado_Rojo said:

    Evidence? Of course I don't have evidence. I'm just some schmuck opining on an internet message board. But when you consider that these assholes love to blame the other side for the shit they are actually doing (every accusation is a confession), and how quick they were to blame a very specific Dominion voting machine, it makes me wonder. They didn't just pick Dominion voting machines out of a hat, and with the involvement of Steve Bannon...a guy who's made a lot of money "influencing" elections all over the 3rd world...something doesn't pass the smell test. 

    HG and WTB are probably closer to the truth, but every time one of the conspiracy theorists in my life starts spouting some bullshit, I hit them with the "Republicans actually hacked the voting machines" and watch the gears grind. It's kind of fun, actually. 

    Ok.  The Stop the Steal folks also don't have evidence.  I perceive that theory to be anti-democratic, dangerous to the US, and exactly what our foreign adversaries want. Is there a reason I shouldn't perceive your theory as the same?

    • Hook 'Em 1
  13. On 2/10/2023 at 5:13 PM, Pescado_Rojo said:

    My theory is the reason they went apeshit about it in 2020 is in 2016 they had hacked the specific voting machines they were bitching about. They ran the same play in 2020, with the same number of votes in the same precincts but didn't account for higher turnout. Trump acted like a guy that lost a lot of money on a fight he thought was fixed.  

    Is there evidence supporting this theory? Seems dangerous. I understand Hillary was considered the favorite and she lost the electoral vote.  Other than that, is there anything else?  I understand the 2016 nationwide results were mostly within the margin of error.  538 gave Trump an overall 3/10 shot at winning.  I don't discount the Russian meddling at all and believe their involvement contributed to Trump's narrow win - but that would likely have been generally captured in polling. I also wouldn't discount Comey's unprecedented meddling when he publicly announced his investigation 11 days before election day, which was during early voting.  The polling leading up to that time wouldn't have factored Comey's meddling. Here is a good video on how "wrong" the polls were in 2016 - i.e., not very wrong.    

    https://fivethirtyeight.com/videos/polling-101-what-happened-to-the-polls-in-2016-and-what-you-should-know-about-them-in-2020/

    • Fuck Around and Find Out 1
  14. 1 hour ago, Incredulity said:

    I don’t think the current state of affairs in congress with regards to removal from committees is sustainable.  It will get worse before it gets better.

    Swalwells political accountability should be to his constituents and his party.  
     

    An effective opponent in his district should be able to use  the Fang Fang situation against him pretty effectively 

    You still seem to be assuming that he should face consequences just for being targeted.  Just because Trump, Trump Jr., and McCarthy say Swalwell acted inappropriate, doesn’t mean he actually did.  Just like we shouldn’t kick reps from committees just because they are targeted by our adversaries, we also shouldn’t expect our political process to remove them either. 

    • Hook 'Em 1
  15. 1 hour ago, Incredulity said:

    There absolutely should be a political consequence for getting honeypotted by a Chinese spy.  Just like there should have been a political consequence for leaving the intern you are having an affair with drowning in the car you just drunk drove off a bridge.  Yet here we are.

     

    Those tweets and responses are objectively funny.  Pot shot Twitter gotchas are not what I want politicians focusing on. Yet here we are.

    Why should someone deserve consequences and be booted from the house intelligence committee for being targeted?  
     

    Isn’t it possible for anyone to be targeted? Should we give our adversaries total control of who is on that committee? They can just target anyone they don’t want it and then not target those they do.

  16. 17 hours ago, Laxtonto said:

    This thing looks to me more about payback than over-zealousness.

    It is possible this might be the desired effect of the potential misinformation about the ex's baby mama and pic taking twitter rumors.  Move the opinion of a few from "this is an instance indicating reform is still needed" to "this is just a bad apple who had a personal grievance." 

    • Like 1
×
×
  • Create New...