Jump to content

staboner

Legacy Members
  • Posts

    4605
  • Joined

Posts posted by staboner

  1. 4 hours ago, Mole said:

    I haven't thought deeply enough about Kanye's point or his music to have a strong opinion, but the entire body of his quotes make his "choice" comment seem like a ham-handed attempt to make a larger point. We have such a pathological need to be offended (and thereby claim some sort of pointless offense moral high ground) that we're only able to read the "choice" comment about 1 inch from our face rather than discuss what he is trying to say.

    I think the principle of charity thread would serve everyone well here.

    agreed

    i believe i heard the point he was trying to make as well. "slavery" became a mindset and now is somewhat always a black thing. its too narrow. too mentally confined. at least i think that is what he tried to say. 

  2. i have a hard time believing he doesn't get reelected

    its extremely hard to stop 35% of the population with that mentality and a system that favors them (the EC)

    generally speaking its always hard stopping single issue thinking. the SOBs are simply never going to respond to anything other than their own hate-filled messaging

    my wife had a GD collapse when he won in 2016. i had to wait for the i told you so's. anyone can win the POTUS election. The pope, batman or the devil. everyone will get 45% of the vote. The division is more important than the candidate, values, positions, etc. its such a remarkably corrupted system we support now. but we know that...

    happy wednesday friends

    • Like 1
  3. On 5/1/2018 at 11:32 AM, Chad Fuck said:

    There's a dozen down list bands that I'm interested in.  Not a bad line up this year to my tastes.

    this is what i am usually looking for. what acts specifically are you most interested in?

  4. 11 hours ago, Dahobbs said:

    I've lived in both and still travel to Austin regularly. Austin's traffic may get more intense for short periods of time at morning and evening rush hour. But Houston's traffic is consistently worse. And rush hour lasts at least 2 hours longer in Houston than in Austin. There really isn't a comparison between the two. Not saying Austin shouldn't add more lanes/roads and practical mass transit. But it isn't the traffic hell y'all make it out to be. I mean, I live 6 miles from work, and it takes on average 35-45 minutes whether I leave at 7:00 am or 9:00 am.  

    i've lived in both and find austin to be the worst. probably depends on what exact route you take. 

    everyone thinks their weather and traffic is the worst

    i love driving in houston because you have lanes and shit. like lots of them. its glorious. 

  5. 26 minutes ago, WhatTheBuck said:

    Typical for a schoolyard bully. 

    yep

    learned long ago to never trust

    1) people who talk to fucking much

    2) people who tell other people how to live their lives

    ergo politicians. current POTUS is just a fucking glass jawed rube. ideal representation really of 'merica

  6. 2 hours ago, RomaVicta said:

    Maybe I'm short sighted, but I've wanted us out of Korea for a long time.

    China will inevitably grow in power, I don't think an American Army on the Asian mainland will do much to stop that. Plus, it's expensive to maintain that presence. 

    I honestly don't know how much Trump has to do with this beyond allowing the leaders of the north and south agree that the current leader of the US is crazy, stupid and dangerous. It's not really a policy, but if it gets us out of Korea and the Koreans further from war and closer to a better relationship then rah-rah Trump.

    i think you are spot on.

    supporting a standing conventional army in SK is a waste of money and time. The future of war is guys sitting behind computers. Great chance to trim the fat and continue to re-position of military accordingly. 

    Let them continue to be China's refugee crisis. Let China sink in resources to help get them out of the Bronze Age. 

    War with SK? SK is vital in global trade. I don't see China thinking (at least now) a war with SK (with China on watch over NK) is a good thing at all

  7. 47 minutes ago, Brisketexan said:

    I think it's a fair thread derail, and I think your point is fair.

    It's frustrating to see casual denial or purposeful ignorance of what are still open and raw wounds, telling folks actual words or words that amount to "Get over it," all while failing to EVER own the role of our institutions and predecessors in some truly heinous shit.

    Yet it's equally frustrating for all to be painted with one brush -- there were many courageous men and women of deep faith and principles who fought so hard against injustice and evil, and they don't much need further repentance or acknowledgement.  Just continue to do their Good Works.

    I certainly confess that my reaction to these events is emotional -- I have an overdeveloped sense of justice and fairness.  I have a fantastic book on the movement that we picked up browsing shops in New Orleans on a long-ago rainy weekend:

    the-civil-rights-movement.jpg?1477475736

    Every time I've sat down with this book, my eyes end up clouded with tears of anger and rage.  Probably not healthy for me.  But it's pure and visceral.

    And I posted way back about our visit to the Manzanar internment camp (Japanese internment camp on the eastern side of the Sierras).  Same thing happened to me there.  Tears, shame, incredible anger.

    I admit that I don't understand how you can be human and NOT feel that way when you see or read about these events.  And how you CAN'T see how brutalizing and crushing they were, for decades, centuries even.

    Slavery and Jim Crow are among our nation's deepest shames.  And we have NEVER truly reckoned with them.  Which is fascinating, because we had a damned bloody war about the first thing, but we never actually reckoned with it.

    It all makes me sad, and angry.  Still.  I don't know if I'll ever pass through Bama again.  If so, I might oughta visit this memorial.  But knowing how I'd feel walking away from it, maybe I shouldn't.  That's some rough shit.

    I hear you man. I know you have a heavy justice bend. Same here. I also read/watch/remember stuff like this and just can't fathom how people can behave in such a manner. Its shocking to me. 

    Sometimes I feel like talking through the positive lens of the story is best. but don't get me wrong, I go about it the other way plenty of times. In this instance, ironically enough, I think I felt the white Christian folks are in the minority of the discussion, so I kind of backed them (my justice and fairness bend). As in maybe they aren't recognized for their work here nearly enough. 

    Take it easy man

    • Like 2
  8. 45 minutes ago, Brisketexan said:

    I think it is.

    We've never come to terms with the horrors and cruelty we  -- white folks, churchgoing folks, local leadership -- inflicted on black people.

    We passed the Civil Rights Act (and now we get to hear people tell us how that was a bad idea).  And we have told black people, since the day it was voted on, to "get over it."

    If that was me sitting at that lunch counter with food poured on my head...or if that was my father or grandfather there...or my great grandfather, swinging from a tree while the entire town points and smiles...I don't think I'd be "over it."

    I don't know man. seems like talking down is a disease on the internet.  there are white Christians who helped end slavery, as i know you know. 

    anyway, thread derail apology

  9. 1 hour ago, d2o said:

    Thank you for this.   We may have to take a trip up there.   Sobering.  Sickening.  But it needs to be scene.

    *seen

    agreed

    4 minutes ago, LongestHorn said:

    Christian Whites would proudly pose for photographs in front of the people they murdered.  For doing their part.  In murder.  

    not a constructive comment at all

    • Like 3
  10. June would be very different than August

    good new - less french people there in August (just kidding, love me some frenchies)

    bad news - even if its in the 80s during day - which is very possible in August - that flat may be sticky

    of course don't be in the flat and do other stuff cuz Paris

    of course historical averages are available to consult

  11. 1 hour ago, Mojo Hand said:

    Democracy is the worst form of government, except for all the others that have been tried.  We should keep trying to improve our representative democracy, but our government will always be an imperfect compromise between the ideal of self-governance and the reality that we the people make terrible decisions for terrible reasons.   Myself included.

    Things do improve over time, but incrementally and not without retrenchment along the way.   Look at civil rights for every minority group over the last 60 years.   Hell, LGBT rights has progressed exponentially over the last decade, more than I ever could have imagined.   That's real change that happened because of who won elections.

    Institutions like political parties are rarely the same.   Individually, people are fundamentally the same, which is why you can always point to "both sides!", but in groups they go in different directions.  Right now the Rs are much worse, but that could change.   The way to effect real change is to push institutions in the right direction.   If you're a lib, vote for better Dems and punish bad ones by withholding your vote or going R occasionally.   And the converse on the right.   Over time, that works. 

    I would argue LGBT rights should have been here decades ago and because of who won elections it was held back. That was a cultural win in the making for quite a while

    Over my time paying attention - the 22 years of being an adult - I have seen decreasing liberty, increasing debt, more human rights infractions, increasing ideological BS, corporatists making things happen, banks wagging the entire government head to toe, the list goes.  I don't see how anyone can say "its working". 

    Sure it worked. And its still working for some people. But the data says otherwise in many ways that we as a country are not "working"

    We haven't paid for it not working, but its coming. We are hanging onto the lagging indicators right now. 

    We definitely need to improve our representative democracy. Thats exactly what I am saying. Change is better than cracks in a system that now has just devils' interests. Any change is good. If this was a business - the manager would look at the input (billions of dollars of manufactured horseshit) and the output (devils running a muck) and change the process, because thats what you do to get a large complex machine trending back to being productive. But for some reason we haven't realized that yet with our government because we haven't endured the pain that its failure has/will get us. Oh sorry, lots are experiencing the pain that their shitty governance has yielded, but that don't post on this board

    tl;dr - you are probably in yours 20s and I in my 40s. 

  12. 1 hour ago, Hugo Stiglitz said:

    It all comes down to both parties needing better candidates that are in it for the right reasons.

    America’s best and brightest don’t go into politics like they used to because of all the liability and invasion of privacy that comes with it.  They probably feel they can do more good for the world outside of the political swamp.

    This has created a vacuum of sorts that bad actors have figured out how to exploit.

    Like I said, better candidates in it for better reasons would solve a lot of the problems.

    sure. thats easy. how do we make that happen?

  13. 1 hour ago, Hugo Stiglitz said:

    The false equivalency and whataboutism between the Dems and the GOP is spectacular to witness. 

    I used to be of the belief the parties are the same

    Then I graduated to believing the parties operate the same

    Now I simply believe that voting for one over the other will not correct our governance in any meaningful way. Translated for me - voting for Democrats across the board (because of the retard Trumpers) may offer short term relief, but it won't help out all in the long run. The cancer is set. 

    In summary - yes and maybe some more ways to think about it

×
×
  • Create New...