America - The Official Thread
- Thread starter ///M-Spec
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- 11,650
- Marin County
So this is interesting: the acting chief of the bureau of land management (the other BLM), William Perry Pendley, has been serving in that capacity since July 2019. This is a position that requires congressional approval - a classic "checks and balances" thing. The thing is, Pendley was never confirmed (his nomination was withdrawn before it was even voted on because it was clear he would not be confirmed) he was merely appointed to the position by the Secretary of the Interior. A federal judge has deemed his existence there as illegal (424 days of illegal occupation actually) and ordered him to vacate the post. Except this is the Trump administration, so he...just isn't leaving. So the executive branch, in this case, is simply ignoring the authority of both of the other branches of government.
Is this what Law and Order looks like? Huh, anyone?
Is this what Law and Order looks like? Huh, anyone?
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Dotini
(Banned)
- 15,742
- Seattle
- CR80_Shifty
According to the article you posted, the district court's decision is pending appeal to a higher court.
Joey D
Premium
- 47,168
- Boyne Falls, MI
- GTP_Joey
- GTP Joey
Ya he's one of the people advocating for mining and other resource extraction on federal land. Utah has a ton of federal land as well as resources, so understandably people here are pissed. Even the diehard Republicans are against it since the mining companies would be paying the land use rights to the federal government instead of the state government, meaning we'd lose out on money. If there's one thing Utah politicians agree on, it's fleecing money out of anyone and everyone.
So ya, this guy can go get bent.
- 11,650
- Marin County
Dotini
(Banned)
- 15,742
- Seattle
- CR80_Shifty
Nope. I approve doing everything by the rule of law, but I do not approve approve of blanket or wholesale federal control of state resources. I approve as much decentralized control as possible.
- 4,722
- United Kingdom
On the face of how you describe it and when combined with other words and actions of the current White House it looks dangerously close to Nazism.
- 11,650
- Marin County
You approve of doing everything by the rule of law. Well that's easy enough to claim. Do you disapprove of things being done not by the rule of law? I feel like that's the more pertinent test here.
The total irrelevance of policy to this issue and that you decided to weigh in on it anyways makes it pretty clear that you are just fine with Pendley in that position, legal or not.
- 875
- NS, Canada
Well, if things weren't ugly enough in the U.S. , this happens.
A Trump supporter was shot dead in Denver by a security guard hired by a local TV station that was covering the event.
He was spraying mace when he was shot .
It was a duel rally with Trump supporters on one side and BLM/Antifa on the other side, the rally was over with no problems and there were dozens of police in the immediate area.
There is video of it.
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/10/10/us/Denver-shooting-protest.html
A Trump supporter was shot dead in Denver by a security guard hired by a local TV station that was covering the event.
He was spraying mace when he was shot .
It was a duel rally with Trump supporters on one side and BLM/Antifa on the other side, the rally was over with no problems and there were dozens of police in the immediate area.
There is video of it.
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/10/10/us/Denver-shooting-protest.html
- 2,647
She should have been disqualified a long time ago.
- 29,459
- a baby, candy, it's like taking.
- TexRex72
This whole thing is amazing.
The New York Post, an outlet founded by Alexander Hamilton and then purchased by ****-eating Rupert Murdoch, after which point its reputation for journalistic integrity was abandoned to peddle pussy pics, concocts a story so full of holes that it could be used to drain ****ing pasta, and a private company that has finally begun to make an effort to crack down on the spread of misinformation through the platform that it provides does so by preventing users from referring to the story directly, triggering those users (who have freely made the choice to use the platform that's been provided to them, by the way) to decry action that said private company has every right to take.
I would enjoy observing the right going over the edge over perceived infringement of their right to free expression if it wasn't so absolutely terrifying that they are actually willing to tear down the very protections for which they're calling because they're inconvenienced by others exercising the right that they haven't actually infringed upon, because they can't possibly, because they're not the government.
The right has lost the script completely.
As much as I'd love to blame Trump for this, I...I just can't. His managing to con the feebleminded is instead a byproduct of it. Trump, interested only in what the country that I love can do for him, feeds off of it like a parasite. Indeed the core Trump family, as entrenched in government as it is, which is itself crazy when you consider the Post's fabrication alleges privilege of the vice president's son and association with his father's role in government.
Amazing. Terrifying...but absolutely amazing.
The New York Post, an outlet founded by Alexander Hamilton and then purchased by ****-eating Rupert Murdoch, after which point its reputation for journalistic integrity was abandoned to peddle pussy pics, concocts a story so full of holes that it could be used to drain ****ing pasta, and a private company that has finally begun to make an effort to crack down on the spread of misinformation through the platform that it provides does so by preventing users from referring to the story directly, triggering those users (who have freely made the choice to use the platform that's been provided to them, by the way) to decry action that said private company has every right to take.
I would enjoy observing the right going over the edge over perceived infringement of their right to free expression if it wasn't so absolutely terrifying that they are actually willing to tear down the very protections for which they're calling because they're inconvenienced by others exercising the right that they haven't actually infringed upon, because they can't possibly, because they're not the government.
The right has lost the script completely.
As much as I'd love to blame Trump for this, I...I just can't. His managing to con the feebleminded is instead a byproduct of it. Trump, interested only in what the country that I love can do for him, feeds off of it like a parasite. Indeed the core Trump family, as entrenched in government as it is, which is itself crazy when you consider the Post's fabrication alleges privilege of the vice president's son and association with his father's role in government.
Amazing. Terrifying...but absolutely amazing.
Danoff
Premium
- 33,628
- Mile High City
I get fleeting glimpses where I feel like I can process the whole of what's really going on, and when I do it's stunning. And then I kinda lose lock on it.
I think what's being exposed right now is, at its core, a broad failure of critical thinking across huge swaths of humanity. I'm not sure this is a new phenomenon, but it seems to be a phenomenon that is particularly destructive in the (mis)information age.
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- 19,587
- Alabamamania
Nowadays, people can have the critical thinking done for them, without all those messy and uncomfortable feelings of:
- doubt
- uncertainty
- sitting on the fence
- making informed decisions which might occasionally contradict other decisions
- pissing off our sponsors
...which is great, until one fails to question/analyze those particular check and balances on reason and logic.
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- 29,459
- a baby, candy, it's like taking.
- TexRex72
If you have an encounter with it that isn't so fleeting, would you help me out?
From what I can tell, it's firmly rooted in the Trump impeachment proceedings. Trump violated a law intended to reassert the control of the purse that only Congress has by limiting the power of the Executive, a law, the Impoundment Control Act of 1974, created more than four decades before he took office. This violation occurred when he attempted to extort the Ukrainian government for dirt on Biden and the announcement of mere investigation into Biden by withholding funds that had been appropriated by Congress, effectively a law that was passed and may not be vetoed, and no attempt to appeal the passage of this law, as is mandated by ICA74, was made. Following discovery of this violation, discovery that resulted in governmental employment casualties because that's totally not below board, the right, for want of meaningful defense of the violation beyond the assertion that an above board investigation by the Ukrainian government was being pushed (an assertion that was kneecapped by the the release of funds upon discovery of the violation rather than being withheld further, contingent on said above board investigation), instead peddled conspiracy, conflated it with Biden's threat to withhold loan guarantees secured by multiple governments and very much not congressionally appropriated funds, and even put forth the plainly pathetic "Democrats wanted to impeach Trump for three years," which may very well be the case, but then someone less corrupt than Trump would likely avoid corrupt behavior while under that kind of scrutiny. The right made such an effort to attack impeachment proceedings and those seeking to impeach so that they could avoid having to baselessly acquit in the Senate, which they then did because he was actually impeached.
Revenge is old brain. Reasoning is young brain. Old brain trumps young brain.
Neil deGrasse Tyson
ROAD_DOGG33J
Premium
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- IL, USA
- holyc0w1
- holyc0w
We are but a flock of sheep. I think humans are very susceptible to misinformation, and it seems that people are taking advantage of that. We are prone to judging a book by its cover. There is also so much misinformation that it takes a long time to check everything.
- 8,613
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McLaren
Premium
- 45,216
- Texas
Since the NYPost was brought up, @TexRex might enjoy this. Folks have found the metadata of the email information shared by the NYPost was created 4 months after the laptop was dropped off.
https://www.ibtimes.sg/hunter-biden...ths-after-laptop-was-dropped-off-repair-52517
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- 3,846
- St.Pete, FL
- NotThePrez
- NotThePrez
That's assuming a person even considers checking something they see, hear or read. There are a lot of people who don't even bother trying to look into what they see, and will stick with anything that supports their viewpoint(s), even if their viewpoint(s) are objectively outdated and/or incorrect. I've seen some individuals behave as if their literal life is on the line if they even consider the possibility that their PoV might be wrong.
I've even noticed a few instances of literal cases willful ignorance in my day-to-day. Individuals who will look at objective information, acknowledge it, and still say "I don't care, I'm sticking with what I already believe in." That, to me at least, is both remarkable and devastating.
- 3,846
- St.Pete, FL
- NotThePrez
- NotThePrez
^I am so confused by that .gif.
- 29,459
- a baby, candy, it's like taking.
- TexRex72
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- 3,846
- St.Pete, FL
- NotThePrez
- NotThePrez
Ooohhhhhhh....
*Gets coffee*
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- 29,459
- a baby, candy, it's like taking.
- TexRex72
There was a time when sinks commonly had an area next to the basin(s) that featured a slight pitch. A rack could be placed on this surface and washed dishes in said rack to drain excess water prior to drying. I can see using this area to drain pasta if the basin itself doesn't drain quickly, which may result in pasta getting a coating of anything that may line the bottom of the basin or even the plumbing beneath.
- 13,830
- Adelaide
- Neomone
That's a tactic that's been around for a while. It's called the Gish Gallop.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gish_gallop
Lie so much that it's impossible for people to actually fact check you, and lean into the fact that at least some people will probably believe what you're saying. It's primarily a debating tactic but given the speed of news propagation in 2020 I'd argue that it works just as well in general media now.
