The All Things Political Topic - A conservative is someone who makes no changes and consults his grandmother when in doubt

[Sarex]

29 minutes ago, majestic said:

People who use instead of the far superior fall on the very far end of the unstable part of the spectrum.

[PK htiw klaw eriF]

25 minutes ago, Sarex said:

[Gfted1]

Biden Administration Cancels $1.2 Billion in Student Loan Debt for 150,000 Borrowers | Education News | U.S. News (usnews.com)

Aww, yeah! Now lets get that UHC, UBI and UFH rolling! w00tw00t!

[uuuhhii]

mean while other politician are bringing back child labor and make killing embryo murder

 

[Gromnir]

Tax records reveal the lucrative world of covid misinformation

Children’s Health Defense, an anti-vaccine group founded by Robert F. Kennedy Jr., received $23.5 million in contributions, grants and other revenue in 2022 alone — eight times what it collected the year before the pandemic began — allowing it to expand its state-based lobbying operations to cover half the country. Another influential anti-vaccine group, Informed Consent Action Network, nearly quadrupled its revenue during that time to about $13.4 million in 2022, giving it the resources to finance lawsuits seeking to roll back vaccine requirements as Americans’ faith in vaccines drops.

edit(for paywall material we keep the copy/paste minimal, but the following provides necessary context):

As the groups’ coffers grew, so did the salaries of some top executives. Children’s Health Defense paid Kennedy, then chairman and chief legal counsel and now an independent candidate for president, more than $510,000 in 2022, double his 2019 salary, tax records show. Informed Consent Action Network paid Executive Director Del Bigtree $284,000 in 2022, a 22 percent increase from 2019. Bigtree now works as communications director for Kennedy’s presidential campaign.

Some of the individuals behind the family foundations or trusts that fund the four groups also contributed the legal maximum in personal donations to Kennedy’s presidential bid, according to OpenSecrets, which tracks political donations.

not unrelated

Six cases of measles confirmed in outbreak at a Florida elementary school

Florida surgeon general doesn't urge vaccinations amid measles outbreak

for those unaware, measles ain't a childhood disease deserving a shrug and a reflexive qq response. measles is one o' the most readily communicable disease and there is a relative high rate o' hospitalization which accompanies infections. 

conspiracy theories have real human costs and people getting rich off o' the human cost makes it all the more contemptable.

HA! Good Fun!

Edited February 22 by Gromnir

[Gromnir]

Florida surgeon general defies science amid measles outbreak

Instead of following what he acknowledged was the “normal” recommendation that parents keep unvaccinated children home for up to 21 days — the incubation period for measles — Ladapo said the state health department “is deferring to parents or guardians to make decisions about school attendance.”

...

Because measles virus particles can linger in the air and on surfaces for up to two hours after an infected person leaves the area, up to 90 percent of people without immunity will contract measles if exposed. People who have been infected or received the full two doses of the MMR vaccine are 98 percent protected and very unlikely to contract the disease. That is why public health officials typically advocate for vaccination amid outbreaks.

...

A drop below 95 percent vaccination coverage for measles can compromise herd immunity and allow a virus to spread more quickly. Florida’s state vaccination coverage is 90.6 percent, but statewide vaccination coverage does not identify pockets where there may be lower coverage.

[majestic]

Well, what do you know, our lying sack of manure former chancellor was found guilty of perjury.

Not that eight months conditional sentence seems like such a great blow against Kurz, however - while it stands as a terrible indictment of the political landscape of our time that this perjury trial is by far and large a minor side theater in a much larger corruption complex with Kurz and his former associates at the heart of it all -  aspiring crown witness Thomas Schmid being judged credible is a major win for our federal attorneys.

Sebastian Kurz already said that he wants to appeal, which can be a bad idea. A slap on the wrist sentence (8 months out of potential three years with no time served in prison) like that can blow up in the face of the convicted parties after an appeal, as these sentences are basically unofficial offers to close up cases when the judiciary has better things to do. Usually when the convicted party appeals, the federal attourneys follow suit and appeal the sentence. Well, we will see. I am still rooting for him seeing a prison from the inside, the much more interesting trial for the misappropriation of public funds is still coming.

 

[Malcador]

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/us-air-force-member-set-fire-israeli-embassy-dc-died-rcna140455

Rare to see self immolation in NA.

[Valsuelm]

1 hour ago, Malcador said:

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/us-air-force-member-set-fire-israeli-embassy-dc-died-rcna140455

Rare to see self immolation in NA.

Is it common elsewhere?

I was always under the impression it was a pretty rare thing all over. I think most humans can think of more productive things to do with their time, and if inclined to immolate something find more a productive target.

A sad waste this was...

I'll put $100 on the guy being on psychotropics.

[Malcador]

2 hours ago, Valsuelm said:

Is it common elsewhere?

I was always under the impression it was a pretty rare thing all over. I think most humans can think of more productive things to do with their time, and if inclined to immolate something find more a productive target.

A sad waste this was...

I'll put $100 on the guy being on psychotropics.

Have recalled it happening elsewhere, first time I've heard of it in NA.   The video of the guy does have one darkly funny bit, a cop or guard draws his gun on him and keeps it on him another tries to put out the fire and render aid. 

[Gfted1]

Jeez what a terrible way to die. Might as well feed yourself into a wood chipper feet first.

[Zoraptor]

Most recent example of (politically effective) self immolation was the guy in Tunisia (Muhammed Bouazizi) who ended up bringing down Ben Ali and, uh, sparked the Arab Spring. Apart from that probably the most famous example was Duc (and other monks) in South Vietnam bringing down Diem just prior to the Vietnam War really kicking off.

Also traditional practice in some places eg Sati in India, though you have to wonder how keen the women were as opposed to their relatives not wanting to have to look after them.

Edited February 26 by Zoraptor

[melkathi]

The most recent (politically ineffective) self immolation was in Atlanta in December.

https://www.reuters.com/world/us/protester-self-immolates-outside-israeli-consulate-atlanta-2023-12-01/

[Valsuelm]

1 hour ago, melkathi said:

The most recent (politically ineffective) self immolation was in Atlanta in December.

https://www.reuters.com/world/us/protester-self-immolates-outside-israeli-consulate-atlanta-2023-12-01/

Realistically, can anyone point to a self immolation that was truly politically effective?

There's some famous ones for sure. The most famous of all being Thích Quảng Đức, but even that wasn't all that effective in the long run, even with the tidal wave of press it received. Frankly, what effect it did have was only due to western pressure that capitalized on the shocking photo taken.

There are FAR better ways to be politically effective than lighting yourself on fire. I daresay, that quite a lot of humans figured out long ago that lighting one's political enemy on fire is quite a bit more politically effective.

While not possible, it would certainly be interesting to talk to Thích at length, and discuss his reasoning. I'd wager it's a bit different than many would think.

[Malcador]

2 hours ago, melkathi said:

The most recent (politically ineffective) self immolation was in Atlanta in December.

https://www.reuters.com/world/us/protester-self-immolates-outside-israeli-consulate-atlanta-2023-12-01/

Well, stand corrected

[uuuhhii]

9 hours ago, Valsuelm said:

Is it common elsewhere?

I was always under the impression it was a pretty rare thing all over. I think most humans can think of more productive things to do with their time, and if inclined to immolate something find more a productive target.

A sad waste this was...

I'll put $100 on the guy being on psychotropics.

 

it is utterly insane for someone to burn one person to death

while massacre of thousand now million planned is just political reality

 

[Zoraptor]

4 hours ago, melkathi said:

The most recent (politically ineffective) self immolation was in Atlanta in December.

https://www.reuters.com/world/us/protester-self-immolates-outside-israeli-consulate-atlanta-2023-12-01/

Kind of classic that. Very little coverage of it, and some pretty choice quotes too. "It is tragic to see the hate and incitement toward Israel expressed in such a horrific way". Indeed; my heart bleeds the River Jordan for you, poor Israeli consul. Perhaps the most moral army in the world could stop broiling people with White Phosphorus some time if you hate people getting burnt so much? No? Didn't think so. Also, praise the lord, the police chief confirmed the consulate was safe..

...now try imagining Reuters' coverage of Bouazizi including a statement that "It is tragic to see the hate and incitement towards Ben Ali expressed in such a horrific way" from the local governor and the police chief confirming the statue he did it under was thankfully undamaged. Not quite sure what the equivalent of shoehorning in a mention of October 7th is though.

Edited February 27 by Zoraptor

[BruceVC]

3 hours ago, uuuhhii said:

 

it is utterly insane for someone to burn one person to death

while massacre of thousand now million planned is just political reality

 

I hope you going to protest about this and you  not just complaining on the Internet?

We all need to protest more, hit the streets I say 

[Gorth]

1 minute ago, BruceVC said:

I hope you going to protest about this and you  not just complaining on the Internet?

We all need to protest more, hit the streets I say 

Unless you're black, socialist, antifa, union member or otherwise in which case you're a menace to society and should be proactively locked up as a precaution

[BruceVC]

6 minutes ago, Gorth said:

Unless you're black, socialist, antifa, union member or otherwise in which case you're a menace to society and should be proactively locked up as a precaution

No of course all these groups can protest but they cant break the law when they protest

I know this is difficult to believe but there are such things as protests where people protest peacefully, its true. You can believe me on this 

[Pidesco]

[HoonDing]

Inb4 "masturbation is genocide".

[Pidesco]

So, did the Supreme Court just screw over the US, or what? Seems like not a single of the Trump cases will be done before the election.

[Lexx]

Hilarious. And then he'll win the election and it's all out the window anyways. Good job America.

[BruceVC]

1 hour ago, Lexx said:

Hilarious. And then he'll win the election and it's all out the window anyways. Good job America.

I dont want Trump to win because he doesnt take the role of US president seriously and its all theater to him 

But Im very concerned with Bidens age and mental acumen 

Saying all that all these court cases and potential charges against Trump have actually strengthened support for him because many Americans believe the DOJ and courts are trying to influence peoples right to decide who they can vote for. So now you have some GOP members who are going to vote for Trump because they genuinely believe these charges are more about political interference 

And personally I do think there is some truth to this in some cases but end of the day perception becomes reality 

They not helping if you dont want Trump to win