Yesterday a bunch of anti-Planned Parenthood rallies were held in front of clinics. But in response, pro-PP rallies happened.
No violence, no confrontation, which is really heartening to see.
I did my part by donating some money yesterday to Planned Parenthood. This is an organization that provides education, contraception, and essential check-ups like cancer screenings to both men and women in low-income families. They have literally saved thousands of lives, and to me, that makes them more than worth keeping around.
Jason Chaffetz, the man who is in charge of investigations in the House, was confronted with a very angry town hall crowd last week. The story now?? They were, of course, paid protesters, and, he says, he was being bullied. Funny that the same thing was never assumed about the Tea Party. But liberals are the "snowflakes". Gotcha.
Meanwhile, Stephen Miller, on the Sunday shows this morning, was implying that not only did 3-5 million people vote illegally, but that busloads of Mass. voters were bused into New Hampshire, and that's why Trump lost that State. I'd like to point out that Stephen Miller and Richard Spencer have known ties from their younger days. So you have an associate of a Neo-Nazi on ABC This Week spewing total bullshit.
I get that politicians lie. Everyone knows this. But what do you do when the Party in power is lying about EVERYTHING?? And not just little lies to make themselves look better or to cover up for a mistake. but lies that are told by design as a matter of strategy to create a completely alternate reality among the 30-35% of the populace who believes them. Every anti-Trump or anti-Republican protester is "paid". Every state or election that is lost is a result of "massive voter fraud". Every negative news story or poll is "fake news". Not in certain instances, but 100% of the time. EVERYTHING is written off with a lie and a conspiracy theory. Think what you want about the Democrats. You can be against what they stand for, or don't stand for, and think they are terrible. But know this: What Trump and the Republicans are engaged in is what destroys a democracy. What's now coming out of their mouths every time they are on TV is not run-of-the-mill political BS, but simply blanket, coordinated propaganda.
I am becoming more pessimistic about the situation. I find the voter fraud allegation especially disturbing. It's not a normal falsehood.
1. Trump said it just as the event was allegedly happening. So you can't blame it on Trump just misremembering something.
2. Trump said it long before even fake evidence showed up. So you can't blame it on faulty evidence.
3. Every election monitor in the country confirmed that voter fraud was barely existent or nonexistent in their district. So you can't blame it on the experts making a mistake and giving people the impression that massive voter fraud happened.
4. Until Trump first claimed the election was going to be rigged, there was no serious debate about whether American elections were legitimate. This wasn't a long-running partisan debate like whether or not climate change is a thing.
That means no one misinformed him about it.
I can think of a lot of things that people have said that weren't true. But there's always been a possible explanation besides dishonesty: maybe their memory was wrong, maybe they had unreliable evidence, maybe the experts got it wrong, or maybe they just heard something and believed it. But none of those things apply here.
How would we continue to function as a democracy if it becomes normal to just make stuff up out of thin air?
I am becoming more pessimistic about the situation. I find the voter fraud allegation especially disturbing. It's not a normal falsehood.
1. Trump said it just as the event was allegedly happening. So you can't blame it on Trump just misremembering something.
2. Trump said it long before even fake evidence showed up. So you can't blame it on faulty evidence.
3. Every election monitor in the country confirmed that voter fraud was barely existent or nonexistent in their district. So you can't blame it on the experts making a mistake and giving people the impression that massive voter fraud happened.
4. Until Trump first claimed the election was going to be rigged, there was no serious debate about whether American elections were legitimate. This wasn't a long-running partisan debate like whether or not climate change is a thing.
That means no one misinformed him about it.
I can think of a lot of things that people have said that weren't true. But there's always been a possible explanation besides dishonesty: maybe their memory was wrong, maybe they had unreliable evidence, maybe the experts got it wrong, or maybe they just heard something and believed it. But none of those things apply here.
How would we continue to function as a democracy if it becomes normal to just make stuff up out of thin air?
Like I said, they aren't lying in REACTION to events, they are lying to create a completely false reality. As for the reason they are lying about voter fraud (which, by any statistical measure, does not exist), it's rather simple. If you destroy confidence in the voting apparatus, you have made it very easy (at least among your core supporters) to do one of three things: a.) not accept an Election result that isn't in your favor based on "voter fraud" or b.) delay or cancel an election altogether until we can "figure out what's going on with voter fraud" and c.) enact massive nation-wide voter suppression efforts based on laws in Wisconsin and NC. What other reason do they have to keep bringing this up?? They won, and nobody was (or is) talking about it except when they bring it up. There is nothing that needs defending by telling this lie. It can only be a preemptive measure for future actions.
I'll leave you with a quote from the aforementioned Stephen Miller from this morning, when talking directly to protesters of the Muslim ban and opponents in Congress. This is a direct quote:
"The end result of this, though, is that our opponents, the media and the whole world will soon see as we begin to take further actions, that the powers of the president to protect our country are very substantial and will not be questioned."
You think these people won't push to the scenarios listed above?? Just watch.....
"How would we continue to function as a democracy if it becomes normal to just make stuff up out of thin air?" You mean it wasn't already? This kind of behavior has been flat out encouraged. I have been in a disheartening number of political discussions where people dismiss all kinds of political lies with, "Of course politicians lie, its ridiculous to expect anything else." We accepted and let politicians get away with this crap for so long. What we are looking at now is the result.
"How would we continue to function as a democracy if it becomes normal to just make stuff up out of thin air?" You mean it wasn't already? This kind of behavior has been flat out encouraged. I have been in a disheartening number of political discussions where people dismiss all kinds of political lies with, "Of course politicians lie, its ridiculous to expect anything else." We accepted and let politicians get away with this crap for so long. What we are looking at now is the result.
The result of taking that line and removing any sense of decency or shame at twisting the truth. Lying taken to 11.
Personally I think the father should indeed have a say in the matter. The decision affects him, too. But since it has a greater impact on the mother by default, simply because of those 9 months of pregnancy, the father has 49% of the vote at best, and the mother 51% at least. It's not even, but it's fair.
I'll leave you with a quote from the aforementioned Stephen Miller from this morning, when talking directly to protesters of the Muslim ban and opponents in Congress. This is a direct quote:
"The end result of this, though, is that our opponents, the media and the whole world will soon see as we begin to take further actions, that the powers of the president to protect our country are very substantial and will not be questioned."
I just saw that on TV a moment ago... and it sounds worse than it reads. What kind of person warns people not to question power?
So what happens if we do question the president's power?
So Trump was discussing national security stuff in (semi) public at his Florida resort. The resort is exclusive to rich people but that's about it.
Some random dude was snapping photos of the nuclear football case, and discussions with the Japanese prime Minister about North Korea's latest provocation.
Personally I think the father should indeed have a say in the matter. The decision affects him, too. But since it has a greater impact on the mother by default, simply because of those 9 months of pregnancy, the father has 49% of the vote at best, and the mother 51% at least. It's not even, but it's fair.
He's a natural born citizen and works for the federal government's most prestigious aerospace laboratory, but hey, he's got brown skin and weird sounding name, so he must be a threat, right.
Just remember, Trump's ban is keeping us safe somehow, and it has nothing to do with racism. Just keep repeating that, maybe one day you'll believe it.
Personally I think the father should indeed have a say in the matter. The decision affects him, too. But since it has a greater impact on the mother by default, simply because of those 9 months of pregnancy, the father has 49% of the vote at best, and the mother 51% at least. It's not even, but it's fair.
Not in domesic violence situations, he shouldn't.
Agreed, but I don't think that is what semiticgod intended.
I'll leave you with a quote from the aforementioned Stephen Miller from this morning, when talking directly to protesters of the Muslim ban and opponents in Congress. This is a direct quote:
"The end result of this, though, is that our opponents, the media and the whole world will soon see as we begin to take further actions, that the powers of the president to protect our country are very substantial and will not be questioned."
I just saw that on TV a moment ago... and it sounds worse than it reads. What kind of person warns people not to question power?
So what happens if we do question the president's power?
I agree, it is far worse when you see him say it on TV. There are plenty of stories out today about Mr. Stephen Miller, most of them from people he went to high school with (which isn't as irrelevant as it sounds since he is only 31). The guy is a royal scumbag. But that's the thing. This White House is filled to the brim with the absolute worst people imaginable.
So Trump was discussing national security stuff in (semi) public at his Florida resort. The resort is exclusive to rich people but that's about it.
Some random dude was snapping photos of the nuclear football case, and discussions with the Japanese prime Minister about North Korea's latest provocation.
So Trump was discussing national security stuff in (semi) public at his Florida resort. The resort is exclusive to rich people but that's about it.
Some random dude was snapping photos of the nuclear football case, and discussions with the Japanese prime Minister about North Korea's latest provocation.
This makes me think of an ancient line of thinking that all life was in the man's semen, and the woman's role was merely to nurture the vitality of the seed. It's used by Apollo in a play by Aeschylus to argue that patricide justifies matricide. The issue of domestic violence has always been wound up with the issue of the right to choose.
So Flynn just "resigned". Usually that means you were forced to quit because being fired makes the idiot who hired you look bad. So you resign, and then it supposedly doesn't look as bad for all involved. The Hardee's guy is in danger of not getting appointed but I'm not holding my breath they let Sessions, Flynn, and Devos among others go already, why not this guy too?
Anyway, Flynn's gone. So that's 1 down, how many more we got to go?
-----------------------
Monday night the plot thickened with the Washington Post reporting that top officials at the Department of Justice warned the Trump administration weeks ago that Flynn might have been compromised by Russian influences and The New York Times reporting that the Army had investigated whether Flynn received payments from the Russian government in 2015. ... ...
As recently as a few hours before the resignation was announced, White House counsel Kellyanne Conway had said that Flynn enjoyed the “full confidence of the president.”
Personally I think the father should indeed have a say in the matter. The decision affects him, too. But since it has a greater impact on the mother by default, simply because of those 9 months of pregnancy, the father has 49% of the vote at best, and the mother 51% at least. It's not even, but it's fair.
@semiticgod So what would that mean on practice? What difference does having a minority vote have? Could the father force or prevent a termination? If not, this is absolutely pointless.
@FinneousPJ: That's actually my point. The father should ideally have a say, but the mother's vote would outweigh it. Saying 49% was just an example number.
@FinneousPJ: I'll clarify. I was addressing the notion that
1. "The father should have a say because his feelings are just as important as the mother's."
by saying that actually
2. "The father has no say because the mother's are at least a little more important than his."
However, I do not believe that
3. "The father has no say because his feelings don't matter; only the mother's do."
I say it this way because people who believe 1 (pro-life people) might think I'm saying 3 (the polar opposite of 1), when I'm actually saying 2.
I was acknowledging a valid point of the pro-life position (I think the father's feelings matter) without agreeing with it entirely (I think the father still doesn't get to decide).
It's not really an important point; I wanted to keep it short.
Comments
http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation-now/2017/02/11/planned-parenthood-critics-backers-rally-across-us/97793746/
Yesterday a bunch of anti-Planned Parenthood rallies were held in front of clinics. But in response, pro-PP rallies happened.
No violence, no confrontation, which is really heartening to see.
I did my part by donating some money yesterday to Planned Parenthood. This is an organization that provides education, contraception, and essential check-ups like cancer screenings to both men and women in low-income families. They have literally saved thousands of lives, and to me, that makes them more than worth keeping around.
Meanwhile, Stephen Miller, on the Sunday shows this morning, was implying that not only did 3-5 million people vote illegally, but that busloads of Mass. voters were bused into New Hampshire, and that's why Trump lost that State. I'd like to point out that Stephen Miller and Richard Spencer have known ties from their younger days. So you have an associate of a Neo-Nazi on ABC This Week spewing total bullshit.
I get that politicians lie. Everyone knows this. But what do you do when the Party in power is lying about EVERYTHING?? And not just little lies to make themselves look better or to cover up for a mistake. but lies that are told by design as a matter of strategy to create a completely alternate reality among the 30-35% of the populace who believes them. Every anti-Trump or anti-Republican protester is "paid". Every state or election that is lost is a result of "massive voter fraud". Every negative news story or poll is "fake news". Not in certain instances, but 100% of the time. EVERYTHING is written off with a lie and a conspiracy theory. Think what you want about the Democrats. You can be against what they stand for, or don't stand for, and think they are terrible. But know this: What Trump and the Republicans are engaged in is what destroys a democracy. What's now coming out of their mouths every time they are on TV is not run-of-the-mill political BS, but simply blanket, coordinated propaganda.
1. Trump said it just as the event was allegedly happening. So you can't blame it on Trump just misremembering something.
2. Trump said it long before even fake evidence showed up. So you can't blame it on faulty evidence.
3. Every election monitor in the country confirmed that voter fraud was barely existent or nonexistent in their district. So you can't blame it on the experts making a mistake and giving people the impression that massive voter fraud happened.
4. Until Trump first claimed the election was going to be rigged, there was no serious debate about whether American elections were legitimate. This wasn't a long-running partisan debate like whether or not climate change is a thing.
That means no one misinformed him about it.
I can think of a lot of things that people have said that weren't true. But there's always been a possible explanation besides dishonesty: maybe their memory was wrong, maybe they had unreliable evidence, maybe the experts got it wrong, or maybe they just heard something and believed it. But none of those things apply here.
How would we continue to function as a democracy if it becomes normal to just make stuff up out of thin air?
...which is why he is undermining the press.
I'll leave you with a quote from the aforementioned Stephen Miller from this morning, when talking directly to protesters of the Muslim ban and opponents in Congress. This is a direct quote:
"The end result of this, though, is that our opponents, the media and the whole world will soon see as we begin to take further actions, that the powers of the president to protect our country are very substantial and will not be questioned."
You think these people won't push to the scenarios listed above?? Just watch.....
You mean it wasn't already? This kind of behavior has been flat out encouraged. I have been in a disheartening number of political discussions where people dismiss all kinds of political lies with, "Of course politicians lie, its ridiculous to expect anything else." We accepted and let politicians get away with this crap for so long. What we are looking at now is the result.
So what happens if we do question the president's power?
Some random dude was snapping photos of the nuclear football case, and discussions with the Japanese prime Minister about North Korea's latest provocation.
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/02/13/us/politics/mar-a-lago-north-korea-trump.html
EDIT: Corrected a link.
https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2017/02/a-nasa-engineer-is-required-to-unlock-his-phone-at-the-border/516489/
He's a natural born citizen and works for the federal government's most prestigious aerospace laboratory, but hey, he's got brown skin and weird sounding name, so he must be a threat, right.
Just remember, Trump's ban is keeping us safe somehow, and it has nothing to do with racism. Just keep repeating that, maybe one day you'll believe it.
Anyway, Flynn's gone. So that's 1 down, how many more we got to go?
-----------------------
Monday night the plot thickened with the Washington Post reporting that top officials at the Department of Justice warned the Trump administration weeks ago that Flynn might have been compromised by Russian influences and The New York Times reporting that the Army had investigated whether Flynn received payments from the Russian government in 2015.
... ...
As recently as a few hours before the resignation was announced, White House counsel Kellyanne Conway had said that Flynn enjoyed the “full confidence of the president.”
src:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/donald-trump-michael-flynn-resigns_us_589e43f5e4b03df370d68bde?jx07f5jthvqkyy14i&
1. "The father should have a say because his feelings are just as important as the mother's."
by saying that actually
2. "The father has no say because the mother's are at least a little more important than his."
However, I do not believe that
3. "The father has no say because his feelings don't matter; only the mother's do."
I say it this way because people who believe 1 (pro-life people) might think I'm saying 3 (the polar opposite of 1), when I'm actually saying 2.
I was acknowledging a valid point of the pro-life position (I think the father's feelings matter) without agreeing with it entirely (I think the father still doesn't get to decide).
It's not really an important point; I wanted to keep it short.
At this point, it's semantics anyway.
2) A person is the sum of their experiences;
3) Ergo, the more terminations the better. They should be actively encouraged.