Death is lighter than a feather, duty is heavier than a mountain.
Isn't it interesting how doing the right thing almost always seems harder and more expensive than doing the wrong thing? Says something about humanity, I think--such great aspirations brought low by our nature.
There is no bottom. That isn't just a meme, it is the reality. There is ultimately nothing that these people will not do if they think they can get away with it. All the shit they have projected onto the Democrats all these years... including the murders? Ya, they are up for that.
You are talking about MAGA. There are plenty of Republicans and liberal (not progressive) Democrats, as well as former Republicans and Democrats, who are attempting to defend the values of Western civilization undermined by both parties.
You wrote: ". . . defend the values of Western civilization undermined by both parties." Well, both parties except for the Democrats. Perhaps you meant the Republicans and the Libertarians.
Anyway, the Democrats are not undermining anything. I doubt they are capable of it. It would take concerted action and organization, and as Will Rogers said: "I am not a member of any organized political party. I am a Democrat."
Unfortunately from what I see on FoxNews there are a lot of R's that deserve the following slogan: "I'm not MAGA...I just hang out with them"
Most of them simply will not call out their "brethren" no matter how disgusting, crazy or factually wrong their post is. They are convinced that the Dems are far more the real problem with the US.
For what it's worth, I registered Independent after voting Republican for many years. I talk about the dangers of Trump and, of course, have been accused of TDS and dismissed many times. You are correct - we need intellectual honesty, but we need it on both sides. If reasonable Dems aren't willing to call out repressive environments on college campuses, the ridiculousness of "defund the police" movement and the curbing of parental rights with respect to their children's gender identity issues, they can't come down hard on GOP not pushing back on MAGA.
There are plenty of Democrats who do voice support for exactly those positions but the media is only interested in controversy so defending moderate positions gets very little attention.
And there are a lot of people who are not MAGA who will still vote for this crap because.... R is beside someone's name. People who aren't willing to do anything themselves and MIGHT be against something... but not enough to be against it (openly) until it is too late because it is already happening or happened--or are willing to selectively believe the BS because of some one thing in there that they like.
Sure I voted for the face-eating leopard--I didn't believe he would actually eat MY face and I wanted a tax cut.
You know what kills me? Whenever these people talk about defending Western Civilization, I laugh out loud because in reality, they reject all the advances that "Western Civilization" has made. They don't believe in science. They don't believe in individual liberty. What they do want is to go back to an era before the Enlightenment and implement some form of throne-and-altar style of government.
Well, it would help if many of them actually knew what socialism was... because it is pretty apparent that they don't. If you do not know what something is, it isn't surprising if you do not know where it came from.
That is exactly the key. This whole thing, or whatever you want to call it, is because they see their electoral power as unable to completely regain the throne lawfully. They do not want to share power. They do not want to compromise with democrats. It seems to me that most of them want to live in a white suburb in the late 1950's.
One of the things lying behind this relationship with authority (or lack of one) is what is often referred to as "borderer" culture. People that live on the edges of empires or between competing empires or in frontier zones that are not fully under control.
Many of the settlers of certain areas of this country came from such backgrounds.
When I participated in my own experiment, befriending a MAGA, I did a thought experiment about one year in. Could I imagine her hurting me physically? It chilled me to realize I could easily imagine it.
There are some truly brainwashed souls out there. Their response to a world-wide pandemic was mind boggling and I never in a million years would think a modern society would behave so cravenly in response.
I was an eye witness to the MAGA response on FoxNews. Honestly...it seemed like the pandemic ended up being the catalyst for the final plunge into misinformation on steroids.
I just finished an article by Peter Sagal about the cult of Trumpism. He verifies that it checks all the boxes of being a тАЬcultтАЩ. His opinion is that it wonтАЩt break until death intervenes - not TrumpтАЩs death, but the death of those brainwashed souls. Luckily he also included data that MAGAs trend toward the elderly demographic. Tick tock. IтАЩm old too, so I wonder if IтАЩll make it to witness a recovery.
Yes...it's like the baby boomers ended up being a prime target for this propaganda. I'm a tail ender baby boomer and am extremely disappointed with many of my peers.
In my opinion...some of it is simply laziness. It's just easy to let the Fox hosts do all of the thinking for you...providing your talking points about those evil Dems.
Yeah, so much for тАЬflower powerтАЭ and the Summer of Love. It would be interesting to know if thereтАЩs any crossover from people who identified as hippies, and Fox News viewers. Probably not.
I wish there was some way to give Fox viewers a chill pill. Or some weed. Could it be possible theyтАЩre already partaking?
We can all lament what the GOP has become, and we can fear what it may yet become. That's the easiest thing in the world. The hard part, as always, is thinking about the day after. What does our country look like after the Republican Party totally crumbles or worse, goes full-on fascist?
Don't like what you see? What'll be our next step?
The point here is that we're far better off trying to change things now, than later.
We need to challenge the few remaining decent moderate Republicans to step up and confront MAGA in the one place where they actually exercise real power: the House of Representatives. I'm talking about Don Bacon (R-NE), Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA), Mike Gallagher (R-WI), Dave Joyce (R-OH) and a few others.
A bipartisan non-MAGA majority passed the debt limit bill (Fiscal Responsibility Act) and will eventually also pass appropriation bills to fund the government. But to solve the real problem, they need to pass a motion to "vacate the chair", remove Kevin McCarthy as Speaker and replace him with one of their own.
At Feathers of Hope, a network of ordinary citizens has been advocating this since January. Everyone is invited to pitch in and help bring it about by contacting select Representatives and every media outlet we can think of.
There are no stated policies any more. No platform, no legislation, no positive activities, no "Morning in America". Only dark, dark, dark. Who are these people and where did they come from? Why do the worst of the worst rise to the top?
The bankruptcy of the GOP began in theтАЩ80s with the rise of Newt Gingrich and Rush Limbaugh. They began building the permission structure that ultimately allowed the conspiracy freaks and the brazen racists to re-emerge from their caves, where they had been exiled to in the тАШ70s.
These people were always around. They simply needed party leaders willing and cynical enough to loosen the leash. The ascendancy of Trump capped off that long-term effort.
Well, you may be right about the GOP 150 years ago, but since the Nixon "southern strategy" in the early 1970s, a lot has changed with the GOP if not entirely flipped. As a student of history I like looking to the past to interpret the present and think about the future, but a rote comparison and extension is not warranted.
It is impossible to trust someone who publicly lied or provided agency for someone else's lies. The first lie is the hardest; everything after supports the first act of lying.
Gee. Care to explain how Reagan had such unilateral powers?
Or did you conveniently forget your saintly Democrats, who controlled the House for ReaganтАЩs entire presidency, signed off on every single one of those things.
Repeat after me.
The GOP is exactly what it wants to be.
The GOP is exactly what it wants to be.
(Apologies) It ISN'T what it wants to be, but it is getting there, step by step, inch by inch.
How much worse do you think it can get?
Never challenge them.
Every time I think they can't do something worse, they work overtime to prove me wrong.
Just imagine we were all sucked into a giant black hole; thatтАЩs the best we can hope for, so it can get even worse than that!...:)
Death is lighter than a feather, duty is heavier than a mountain.
Isn't it interesting how doing the right thing almost always seems harder and more expensive than doing the wrong thing? Says something about humanity, I think--such great aspirations brought low by our nature.
Well said...:)
There is no bottom. That isn't just a meme, it is the reality. There is ultimately nothing that these people will not do if they think they can get away with it. All the shit they have projected onto the Democrats all these years... including the murders? Ya, they are up for that.
And it is all okay because it is:
In the service of God; or
Defending Western Civilization;
For Law and Order (laugh, I thought I'd die);
For the Children;
Making America Great Again.
In the service of "Mango Jesus".
You are talking about MAGA. There are plenty of Republicans and liberal (not progressive) Democrats, as well as former Republicans and Democrats, who are attempting to defend the values of Western civilization undermined by both parties.
You wrote: ". . . defend the values of Western civilization undermined by both parties." Well, both parties except for the Democrats. Perhaps you meant the Republicans and the Libertarians.
Anyway, the Democrats are not undermining anything. I doubt they are capable of it. It would take concerted action and organization, and as Will Rogers said: "I am not a member of any organized political party. I am a Democrat."
Unfortunately from what I see on FoxNews there are a lot of R's that deserve the following slogan: "I'm not MAGA...I just hang out with them"
Most of them simply will not call out their "brethren" no matter how disgusting, crazy or factually wrong their post is. They are convinced that the Dems are far more the real problem with the US.
For what it's worth, I registered Independent after voting Republican for many years. I talk about the dangers of Trump and, of course, have been accused of TDS and dismissed many times. You are correct - we need intellectual honesty, but we need it on both sides. If reasonable Dems aren't willing to call out repressive environments on college campuses, the ridiculousness of "defund the police" movement and the curbing of parental rights with respect to their children's gender identity issues, they can't come down hard on GOP not pushing back on MAGA.
There are plenty of Democrats who do voice support for exactly those positions but the media is only interested in controversy so defending moderate positions gets very little attention.
100% agree, but the problem on the GOP side is a Code Blue at the moment and the Dems aren't anywhere near that these days.
And there are a lot of people who are not MAGA who will still vote for this crap because.... R is beside someone's name. People who aren't willing to do anything themselves and MIGHT be against something... but not enough to be against it (openly) until it is too late because it is already happening or happened--or are willing to selectively believe the BS because of some one thing in there that they like.
Sure I voted for the face-eating leopard--I didn't believe he would actually eat MY face and I wanted a tax cut.
Then let's Make America Trumpless Again, MATA v MAGA.
You know what kills me? Whenever these people talk about defending Western Civilization, I laugh out loud because in reality, they reject all the advances that "Western Civilization" has made. They don't believe in science. They don't believe in individual liberty. What they do want is to go back to an era before the Enlightenment and implement some form of throne-and-altar style of government.
Re the Enlightenment, see my satire that I wrote a couple of years ago:
https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2021/3/23/2022464/-The-Enlightenment-Was-a-Hoax-Satire
Is it really satire, though? :)
All satires rely on real-world acts, but I agree it's not very funny.
There is no real requirement for satire to be "funny."
True. It's more social or political commentary. Funny is a bonus.
It's darkly funny.
Oh goody! I can't wait to get back to the middle ages. No vaccines, no dentists, no education.
Also, socialism is 100% "Western" in origin. Funny how they never acknowledge that.
Well, it would help if many of them actually knew what socialism was... because it is pretty apparent that they don't. If you do not know what something is, it isn't surprising if you do not know where it came from.
As long as they are sitting on the throne and control the altar.
That is exactly the key. This whole thing, or whatever you want to call it, is because they see their electoral power as unable to completely regain the throne lawfully. They do not want to share power. They do not want to compromise with democrats. It seems to me that most of them want to live in a white suburb in the late 1950's.
Exactly. These people have a disordered relationship with authority. They reject it, yet crave it at the same time.
I do not know that I would characterize it as "disordered." It is actually kind of normal.
People do not like being placed UNDER authority. People hate being under authority that they do not agree with. People LOVE being in authority.
An interesting read in connection to this issue:
https://www.amazon.com/American-Nations-History-Regional-Cultures-ebook/dp/B0052RDIZA/ref=sr_1_1?crid=1PMMJ1GPK1XJM&keywords=american+nations&qid=1693407658&sprefix=american+nations%2Caps%2C142&sr=8-1
One of the things lying behind this relationship with authority (or lack of one) is what is often referred to as "borderer" culture. People that live on the edges of empires or between competing empires or in frontier zones that are not fully under control.
Many of the settlers of certain areas of this country came from such backgrounds.
There is no bottom, I agree.
When I participated in my own experiment, befriending a MAGA, I did a thought experiment about one year in. Could I imagine her hurting me physically? It chilled me to realize I could easily imagine it.
There are some truly brainwashed souls out there. Their response to a world-wide pandemic was mind boggling and I never in a million years would think a modern society would behave so cravenly in response.
I was an eye witness to the MAGA response on FoxNews. Honestly...it seemed like the pandemic ended up being the catalyst for the final plunge into misinformation on steroids.
I just finished an article by Peter Sagal about the cult of Trumpism. He verifies that it checks all the boxes of being a тАЬcultтАЩ. His opinion is that it wonтАЩt break until death intervenes - not TrumpтАЩs death, but the death of those brainwashed souls. Luckily he also included data that MAGAs trend toward the elderly demographic. Tick tock. IтАЩm old too, so I wonder if IтАЩll make it to witness a recovery.
Yes...it's like the baby boomers ended up being a prime target for this propaganda. I'm a tail ender baby boomer and am extremely disappointed with many of my peers.
In my opinion...some of it is simply laziness. It's just easy to let the Fox hosts do all of the thinking for you...providing your talking points about those evil Dems.
Yeah, so much for тАЬflower powerтАЭ and the Summer of Love. It would be interesting to know if thereтАЩs any crossover from people who identified as hippies, and Fox News viewers. Probably not.
I wish there was some way to give Fox viewers a chill pill. Or some weed. Could it be possible theyтАЩre already partaking?
This is terrifying.
ItтАЩs definitely an outlier, and somewhat illogical, when my self-generated thought experiments surprise me.
The GOP is exactly what it wants to be!
Do at least get a participation badge?...:)
Yup. :)
The GOP is exactly what it wants to be.
Okay, I'm going to break the chain. Here's why:
We can all lament what the GOP has become, and we can fear what it may yet become. That's the easiest thing in the world. The hard part, as always, is thinking about the day after. What does our country look like after the Republican Party totally crumbles or worse, goes full-on fascist?
Don't like what you see? What'll be our next step?
The point here is that we're far better off trying to change things now, than later.
We need to challenge the few remaining decent moderate Republicans to step up and confront MAGA in the one place where they actually exercise real power: the House of Representatives. I'm talking about Don Bacon (R-NE), Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA), Mike Gallagher (R-WI), Dave Joyce (R-OH) and a few others.
A bipartisan non-MAGA majority passed the debt limit bill (Fiscal Responsibility Act) and will eventually also pass appropriation bills to fund the government. But to solve the real problem, they need to pass a motion to "vacate the chair", remove Kevin McCarthy as Speaker and replace him with one of their own.
At Feathers of Hope, a network of ordinary citizens has been advocating this since January. Everyone is invited to pitch in and help bring it about by contacting select Representatives and every media outlet we can think of.
Learn more here: www.FeathersOfHope.net or JerryWeiss.Substack.com
.
FoxNews needs to be held to account for its role in brainwashing an entire generation of GOP voters.
As long as millions of viewers obtain the majority of their "news" from this media mogul....we are shouting at the sky.
The truth has to matter or we're goners...
The GOP is exactly what it wants to be.
The GOP is exactly what it wants to be.
"" ""
The GOP is exactly what it wants to be.
I couldnтАЩt have said it better and IтАЩm glad you did ЁЯЩП
There are no stated policies any more. No platform, no legislation, no positive activities, no "Morning in America". Only dark, dark, dark. Who are these people and where did they come from? Why do the worst of the worst rise to the top?
The bankruptcy of the GOP began in theтАЩ80s with the rise of Newt Gingrich and Rush Limbaugh. They began building the permission structure that ultimately allowed the conspiracy freaks and the brazen racists to re-emerge from their caves, where they had been exiled to in the тАШ70s.
These people were always around. They simply needed party leaders willing and cynical enough to loosen the leash. The ascendancy of Trump capped off that long-term effort.
There is definitely that through line from Reconstruction and Jim Crow to todayтАЩs MAGA.
Well, you may be right about the GOP 150 years ago, but since the Nixon "southern strategy" in the early 1970s, a lot has changed with the GOP if not entirely flipped. As a student of history I like looking to the past to interpret the present and think about the future, but a rote comparison and extension is not warranted.
Correct. All that for Rutherford B Hayes.
Is that a rhetorical question?
not entirely
It is impossible to trust someone who publicly lied or provided agency for someone else's lies. The first lie is the hardest; everything after supports the first act of lying.
I'm still holding his dismal response to AIDS, his denial of global warming and our continued use of the imperial measurement system against him.
Reagan kicked off the great wealth gap with his тАЬtrickle downтАЭ tax slashing for the rich, then proceeded to blow up the national debt.
Gee. Care to explain how Reagan had such unilateral powers?
Or did you conveniently forget your saintly Democrats, who controlled the House for ReaganтАЩs entire presidency, signed off on every single one of those things.
Funny you donтАЩt mention that. I wonder why.