I am often asked what immigration patriots a.

WilyRickWiles comments on Jun 24, 2020:

Where did the coup hurt you?

WilyRickWiles replies on Jun 24, 2020:

@dd54 Grow a pair? Whining? What are you talking about?

AOC deleted this, but...

dd54 comments on Jun 23, 2020:

This little SJW loud mouth us running with the activist group *Sunrise* that is actively recruiting under age kids up to millenials to *escalate these actions* with violence to over throw our government. She and her marxist comrades need ti ve removed from our country period. ...

WilyRickWiles replies on Jun 24, 2020:

@dd54 I am sincere and wide awake. The burden of proof is on you to support your claim. I support organizations like Sunrise Movement and have followed them for a long time. I have been at protests and stayed informed about what is going on in my city. Your claim doesn't track. 👁️

ANARCHISM ISN’T ABOUT HYPER-INDIVIDUALISM. ANARCHISM IS ABOUT COMMUNITY AND COOPERATION

Naomi comments on Jun 24, 2020:

Are you familiar with the idea of communalist anarchism, @JacksonNought, @WilyRickWiles, @Crikey, @DeJake, @GuyB, @Hanno, @Josf-Kelley, @N0DD? And anyone else?

WilyRickWiles replies on Jun 24, 2020:

What was helpful for me was Chomsky pointing me to some examples from history: Bakunin, the shift from farms to factories as the US industrialized (it wasn't practiced but it informed the ideologies of organized workers), the IWW, Barcelona during the Spanish Civil War (and Orwell's part in that history), the Zapatistas in Mexico, the Sandinistas in Nicaragua, Murray Bookchin, Abdullah Öcalan, and the Kurds in Rojava. There's much more that I still need to learn about.

ANARCHISM ISN’T ABOUT HYPER-INDIVIDUALISM. ANARCHISM IS ABOUT COMMUNITY AND COOPERATION

Naomi comments on Jun 24, 2020:

Are you familiar with the idea of communalist anarchism, @JacksonNought, @WilyRickWiles, @Crikey, @DeJake, @GuyB, @Hanno, @Josf-Kelley, @N0DD? And anyone else?

WilyRickWiles replies on Jun 24, 2020:

Not nearly enough. After Trump's election, I finally learned about anarchism as a legitimate political project, after listening to some talks by Noam Chomsky. Before I just thought it was a nihilistic ideology devoted to chaos. I think some great principles for civil liberties, guarding against tyrannny, and resilience during failures of the state can be drawn from it, and that parts can be pursued simultaneously with the pursuit of social democracy (i.e. dual power), but ultimately I think it is a utopian project--perhaps the ideal political system--and unrealistic until power dynamics in the world become more egalitarian, e.g. by the hand of the state.

Remember two weeks ago when everyone agreed the cops were out of control and the right-wing ...

PhilipFry comments on Jun 24, 2020:

By Right-wing Propaganda machine do you mean ?

WilyRickWiles replies on Jun 24, 2020:

@ThomasinaPaine "taking the token loonies and hyper-elevating their position to denounce the entire concept." The ideology of the John Birch Society has consumed the right. They are no longer token loonies. This isn't just Richard Spencer we're talking about. And you're amplifying their message. If you don't want that, then be specific about power structures. That's where it actually gets interesting and constructive.

Remember two weeks ago when everyone agreed the cops were out of control and the right-wing ...

ThomasinaPaine comments on Jun 24, 2020:

There is no "narrative" when 98% of the media is to the left. This isn't the year 2003. It's 2020. Fox and the Daily Wire are the only two outlets covering it without left leaning spin and one of those is pretty much only on the web now. The media calls rioters "protesters". They are rioting. People...

WilyRickWiles replies on Jun 24, 2020:

@ThomasinaPaine "I do not know why you cannot fathom having principles." To paraphrase the maxim, right is right even when no one is paying you.

Remember two weeks ago when everyone agreed the cops were out of control and the right-wing ...

ThomasinaPaine comments on Jun 24, 2020:

There is no "narrative" when 98% of the media is to the left. This isn't the year 2003. It's 2020. Fox and the Daily Wire are the only two outlets covering it without left leaning spin and one of those is pretty much only on the web now. The media calls rioters "protesters". They are rioting. People...

WilyRickWiles replies on Jun 24, 2020:

@ThomasinaPaine "What civil rights do blacks not have today?" You said yourself: "Do I think there are far far too many corrupt police? Hell to the yeh. Do I think they were meaner to blacks? Yep, that too." There you go. An example of inequality before the law.

Remember two weeks ago when everyone agreed the cops were out of control and the right-wing ...

ThomasinaPaine comments on Jun 24, 2020:

There is no "narrative" when 98% of the media is to the left. This isn't the year 2003. It's 2020. Fox and the Daily Wire are the only two outlets covering it without left leaning spin and one of those is pretty much only on the web now. The media calls rioters "protesters". They are rioting. People...

WilyRickWiles replies on Jun 24, 2020:

@ThomasinaPaine Why do you lump all progressive candidates and most progressive media figures in with establishment Democrats for taking money from Soros, Omidyar, et al. yet you give the benefit of the doubt to Goodman, Scahill and Greenwald who do the same?

Remember two weeks ago when everyone agreed the cops were out of control and the right-wing ...

ThomasinaPaine comments on Jun 24, 2020:

There is no "narrative" when 98% of the media is to the left. This isn't the year 2003. It's 2020. Fox and the Daily Wire are the only two outlets covering it without left leaning spin and one of those is pretty much only on the web now. The media calls rioters "protesters". They are rioting. People...

WilyRickWiles replies on Jun 24, 2020:

@ThomasinaPaine "I can make a list of all of the people who no longer trust the mainstream media or the Democratic Party." Then why can't you compute that I am among those people? Is it because I haven't bought the right-wing talking points hook line and sinker?

Remember two weeks ago when everyone agreed the cops were out of control and the right-wing ...

ThomasinaPaine comments on Jun 24, 2020:

There is no "narrative" when 98% of the media is to the left. This isn't the year 2003. It's 2020. Fox and the Daily Wire are the only two outlets covering it without left leaning spin and one of those is pretty much only on the web now. The media calls rioters "protesters". They are rioting. People...

WilyRickWiles replies on Jun 24, 2020:

@ThomasinaPaine "BTW, I can't wait to tell my family that someone implied I'm a Jew hater today. They'll laugh their latkes off." If you're not super sensitive, then act like it. This is like the left/right debate about racism. I'm not impugning you as a person. I'm criticizing your use of the word, which has a bad connotation. Using "globalists" obscures the discourse about multilateral institutions and their model of governance as well as the debate about elites in a way that is favorable for the nativist position. It suggests that internationalism is inherently bad and undemocratic, and yes that a Jewish conspiracy controls the world. It erases capitalism's role as a force for cosmopolitanism.

Latest writing from Dr Peterson.

WilyRickWiles comments on Jun 22, 2020:

Yes, people like Peterson might want to consider where their aggrieved defense of traditional gender roles and race science fits in the narrative of history.

WilyRickWiles replies on Jun 24, 2020:

@govols It's been debunked time and time again.

Remember two weeks ago when everyone agreed the cops were out of control and the right-wing ...

ThomasinaPaine comments on Jun 24, 2020:

There is no "narrative" when 98% of the media is to the left. This isn't the year 2003. It's 2020. Fox and the Daily Wire are the only two outlets covering it without left leaning spin and one of those is pretty much only on the web now. The media calls rioters "protesters". They are rioting. People...

WilyRickWiles replies on Jun 24, 2020:

@David42 Is having your feelings hurt a bridge too far for black people to have civil rights? Despite what Thomasina will tell you, political movements are not all controlled from the top down by "globalists." I recommend engaging their demands in good faith and being resilient. We are a nation that values individualism--why not act like it? The irony is she is asking the extremes of left movements to be centrally managed, which would lead to actual authoritarianism.

Latest writing from Dr Peterson.

WilyRickWiles comments on Jun 22, 2020:

Yes, people like Peterson might want to consider where their aggrieved defense of traditional gender roles and race science fits in the narrative of history.

WilyRickWiles replies on Jun 24, 2020:

@govols A hint.

Latest writing from Dr Peterson.

WilyRickWiles comments on Jun 22, 2020:

Yes, people like Peterson might want to consider where their aggrieved defense of traditional gender roles and race science fits in the narrative of history.

WilyRickWiles replies on Jun 24, 2020:

@govols I use that term interchangeably with "race science," because it is the name of the movement from which race science came.

Remember two weeks ago when everyone agreed the cops were out of control and the right-wing ...

ThomasinaPaine comments on Jun 24, 2020:

There is no "narrative" when 98% of the media is to the left. This isn't the year 2003. It's 2020. Fox and the Daily Wire are the only two outlets covering it without left leaning spin and one of those is pretty much only on the web now. The media calls rioters "protesters". They are rioting. People...

WilyRickWiles replies on Jun 24, 2020:

Amy Goodman left the left? That's news to me. Scahill and Greenwald, for that matter did not leave. Scahill is a weird egg, by the way, who collaborated with RevCom, yes Bob Avakian's Revolutionary Communist Party, around Trump's election! You know, the cult often featured in the right's antifa fearmongering. Don't know what is up with Tim Pool, but he strikes me as more Marquette Park 1966 than left despite taking pictures at Occupy. Women and lesbians are leaving... are you going to tell me black people are leaving next? As for Rubin and... others like him... not all of us have his incentives, though I understand they are easy to come by as long as you say the right things. Tell me more about how you can beat the "globalists," counter divisive narratives, and advance your causes by sucking up to billionaire right-wing propagandists!

Latest writing from Dr Peterson.

WilyRickWiles comments on Jun 22, 2020:

Yes, people like Peterson might want to consider where their aggrieved defense of traditional gender roles and race science fits in the narrative of history.

WilyRickWiles replies on Jun 24, 2020:

@govols He's promoted Charles Murray's "The Bell Curve," which is rehashed eugenics.

Remember two weeks ago when everyone agreed the cops were out of control and the right-wing ...

Jaster_Mereel comments on Jun 24, 2020:

Don't you miss the times when everyone agreed lumping one group of people into your narrative was wrong? There are bad cops like there are bad doctors like there are bad lawyers like there are bad teachers like there are bad accountants ad infinitum.

WilyRickWiles replies on Jun 24, 2020:

Sometimes those bad eggs dominate their profession's culture.

Remember two weeks ago when everyone agreed the cops were out of control and the right-wing ...

PhilipFry comments on Jun 24, 2020:

By Right-wing Propaganda machine do you mean ?

WilyRickWiles replies on Jun 24, 2020:

@ThomasinaPaine This is what you have thrown your lot in with. Have you reconsidered your use of "globalists" yet?

Remember two weeks ago when everyone agreed the cops were out of control and the right-wing ...

Tycho comments on Jun 24, 2020:

"Right-wing propaganda machine - narrative"? I don't recall "everyone" agreeing that the cops (all cops) were out of control. What's the so called "narrative"? That the Floyd death should not have happened? Or that peaceful protest is a right, but burning, looting, vandalism, attacking the ...

WilyRickWiles replies on Jun 24, 2020:

My point is that now you probably think that incidents of such violence outnumbers the peaceful protests. Perhaps they have been linked together in your mind, changing your opinion on the entire course of events and the people involved. That's the power of the right repeating the narrative over and over even when nothing has changed!

I am often asked what immigration patriots a.

WilyRickWiles comments on Jun 24, 2020:

Where did the coup hurt you?

WilyRickWiles replies on Jun 24, 2020:

@Tycho Some symbols got hurt in the recent protests for black civil rights. Is that more than you can bear? Have you really considered what those symbols mean lately, and whether they have a place in the multicultural nation we have become?

I am often asked what immigration patriots a.

WilyRickWiles comments on Jun 24, 2020:

Where did the coup hurt you?

WilyRickWiles replies on Jun 24, 2020:

@dd54 Oooh SJW, please!

They are so desperate to find those elusive racists.

coalburned comments on Jun 24, 2020:

This is exactly what I've been trying to tell people, but could find the right words. Well said. We're dealing with people who don't want racism to end. Yes, there will always be some element of it as long as humans are in existence. But it's foolish to pretend only one group is responsible or ...

WilyRickWiles replies on Jun 24, 2020:

Yes it is, which is why no one claims those things.

Watch 16 Shots for free.

Jaster_Mereel comments on Jun 23, 2020:

Yawn

WilyRickWiles replies on Jun 24, 2020:

@Jaster_Mereel So having a problem with a murder by the police and its cover up at all levels of local government is "race peddling?"

I am trying to figure out why so many get stuck in the Republican/Democrat rut.

WilyRickWiles comments on Jun 24, 2020:

Does that include both right-wing and left-wing libertarians?

WilyRickWiles replies on Jun 24, 2020:

@Peelsr When thinking about this thing, I've always consulted this research from the Voter Study Group. Looks like the upper quadrants outnumber the lower ones, but maybe you could convert some populists or moderates. https://www.voterstudygroup.org/publication/political-divisions-in-2016-and-beyond

AOC deleted this, but...

dd54 comments on Jun 23, 2020:

This little SJW loud mouth us running with the activist group *Sunrise* that is actively recruiting under age kids up to millenials to *escalate these actions* with violence to over throw our government. She and her marxist comrades need ti ve removed from our country period. ...

WilyRickWiles replies on Jun 23, 2020:

@dd54 Police riots, my friend.

The U.

ThomasinaPaine comments on Jun 23, 2020:

Which is different from previous presidents how? > That Obama detests Netanyahu is common knowledge. What is less well known is that Obama’s personal antipathy towards the prime minister co-exists with a genuine commitment to the welfare and security of the Jewish state. Obama’s actual ...

WilyRickWiles replies on Jun 23, 2020:

@dd54 And I think you're chasing the wrong dog by going after protesters like me and supporting Trump. I am fighting all the ways available to me. Cheers.

Great stories from about good police officers! For ever bad cop their are 10 good ones! Enjoy ...

WilyRickWiles comments on Jun 23, 2020:

You probably heard about the Buffalo police riot team that gave an old man brain damage and then did nothing to help him. After two colleagues were suspended for that, all 57 members quit the team. Using the 1 in 10 rule, you would have thought that only 6 would have done that. Is this just not ...

WilyRickWiles replies on Jun 23, 2020:

@Header Are we counting stories or cops?

Great stories from about good police officers! For ever bad cop their are 10 good ones! Enjoy ...

WilyRickWiles comments on Jun 23, 2020:

You probably heard about the Buffalo police riot team that gave an old man brain damage and then did nothing to help him. After two colleagues were suspended for that, all 57 members quit the team. Using the 1 in 10 rule, you would have thought that only 6 would have done that. Is this just not ...

WilyRickWiles replies on Jun 23, 2020:

@Header Was the Buffalo team just a bad officer hot spot?

The U.

ThomasinaPaine comments on Jun 23, 2020:

Which is different from previous presidents how? > That Obama detests Netanyahu is common knowledge. What is less well known is that Obama’s personal antipathy towards the prime minister co-exists with a genuine commitment to the welfare and security of the Jewish state. Obama’s actual ...

WilyRickWiles replies on Jun 23, 2020:

@dd54 I was responding to what she wrote about sending a message through her vote or abstention.

The U.

ThomasinaPaine comments on Jun 23, 2020:

Which is different from previous presidents how? > That Obama detests Netanyahu is common knowledge. What is less well known is that Obama’s personal antipathy towards the prime minister co-exists with a genuine commitment to the welfare and security of the Jewish state. Obama’s actual ...

WilyRickWiles replies on Jun 23, 2020:

@ThomasinaPaine While I agree with much of what you just said, there were small accomplishments which seem insufficient in the face of decades of larger losses. And while the Democrats have abandoned working class and rural people, and are insensitive to them, "hate your neighbor because they're Nazis" is a stretch. In fact, I find your message not much better. You seek to demonize and collectively punish left-leaning individuals when you know that there are more powerful interests distorting narratives and dividing people.

Watch 16 Shots for free.

Jaster_Mereel comments on Jun 23, 2020:

Yawn

WilyRickWiles replies on Jun 23, 2020:

Civics is boring, huh.

AOC deleted this, but...

dd54 comments on Jun 23, 2020:

This little SJW loud mouth us running with the activist group *Sunrise* that is actively recruiting under age kids up to millenials to *escalate these actions* with violence to over throw our government. She and her marxist comrades need ti ve removed from our country period. ...

WilyRickWiles replies on Jun 23, 2020:

@Hanno His claim: Sunrise Movement is recruiting young people in a plan to escalate protests with violence in order to overthrow the government. That claim demands proof that the organization Sunrise Movement, which is a mainstream activist organization focused on climate change, is 1. Planning to overthrow the government, 2. Planning violence. As someone who is aware of that organization, that seems absurd on its face. Whether there has violence initiated by recent protesters, and of what magnitude, is a separate question. I'd argue that most violence has been initiated by police thus far, and that there is no meaningful or organized effort to "overthrow the government." Whether Sunrise Movement has been involved in the recent protests is yet another separate question (I don't know that they have).

The U.

ThomasinaPaine comments on Jun 23, 2020:

Which is different from previous presidents how? > That Obama detests Netanyahu is common knowledge. What is less well known is that Obama’s personal antipathy towards the prime minister co-exists with a genuine commitment to the welfare and security of the Jewish state. Obama’s actual ...

WilyRickWiles replies on Jun 23, 2020:

@ThomasinaPaine Bottom line, vote tactically, but admit its limits and acknowledge that power dynamics are more complicated than "the four banks decide everything." Each voter will make their own calculation.

The U.

ThomasinaPaine comments on Jun 23, 2020:

Which is different from previous presidents how? > That Obama detests Netanyahu is common knowledge. What is less well known is that Obama’s personal antipathy towards the prime minister co-exists with a genuine commitment to the welfare and security of the Jewish state. Obama’s actual ...

WilyRickWiles replies on Jun 23, 2020:

@ThomasinaPaine The problem I see with your strategy is that there are two viable parties. You aren't interested in organizing, so that means you can only teach a lesson to one party at a time. Assuming that you are able to communicate your message, which is dubious because politics is complex, the parties and their backers have the advantage of using their platforms to influence the narrative. Just look at the durability of the "white working class swing voter" narrative despite all of the recent research about non-voters and polarization. Was the Democrats' loss in 2016 enough to teach them a lesson? In 2018 and 2020, the Democratic leadership continued decades-long trends of supporting candidates friendly to capital and voter attrition with young, working class, and rural voters, while some outside left-leaning groups supported more progressive candidates. Their strategy turned out to be moot because negative partisanship (hatred of Trump) caused a surge in turnout. We can only speculate on whether that surge could have been anticipated. Regardless, the party's backers also have the ability to move their support from one party to another, neutralizing your strategy.

The U.

ThomasinaPaine comments on Jun 23, 2020:

Which is different from previous presidents how? > That Obama detests Netanyahu is common knowledge. What is less well known is that Obama’s personal antipathy towards the prime minister co-exists with a genuine commitment to the welfare and security of the Jewish state. Obama’s actual ...

WilyRickWiles replies on Jun 23, 2020:

@ThomasinaPaine Sending a message? What evidence supports the effectiveness of that strategy? I'll concede that it sends a message to out-of-state interest groups that they can swoop in and exploit low or third party voting with an astroturf campaign. No, abstention is ineffective and third party voting is pointless barring the enactment of ranked choice voting. The difference between your politics and mine is that your strategy to take on "those four banks" is to drop out. Mine is to use multiple tactics--all of the tactics at my disposal--to confront them.

AOC deleted this, but...

WilyRickWiles comments on Jun 23, 2020:

Are you really that gullible? https://www.mediamatters.org/coronavirus-covid-19/rush-limbaugh-and-right-wing-media-figures-spread-fake-ocasio-cortez-tweet

WilyRickWiles replies on Jun 23, 2020:

@dd54 Well, I will admit that you are right, that Trump is not to blame for everything. I think you will find that I don't blame Trump to excess. And yes, I am able to call out Obama's faults, and was quite mad at him for his first two years, until the Tea Party temporarily shrunk my political horizons and brought me back on board.

AOC deleted this, but...

dd54 comments on Jun 23, 2020:

This little SJW loud mouth us running with the activist group *Sunrise* that is actively recruiting under age kids up to millenials to *escalate these actions* with violence to over throw our government. She and her marxist comrades need ti ve removed from our country period. ...

WilyRickWiles replies on Jun 23, 2020:

You call peaceful protest violence?

AOC deleted this, but...

WilyRickWiles comments on Jun 23, 2020:

Are you really that gullible? https://www.mediamatters.org/coronavirus-covid-19/rush-limbaugh-and-right-wing-media-figures-spread-fake-ocasio-cortez-tweet

WilyRickWiles replies on Jun 23, 2020:

@dd54 Toughen up! I respect other people enough to be direct with them. The truth hurts sometimes, but I hope that people learn from it. As for your comments on the story, just because something feels true, doesn't make it so. Sadly, Trump has infected our discourse with his bandwagon fallacies ("people are saying") and substituting stereotypes for facts and logic.

How Black Chicago Youth Perceive Police [americanbar.org]

Xtra comments on Jun 23, 2020:

What do you suppose the solution is?

WilyRickWiles replies on Jun 23, 2020:

Because cities have put so much funding into police and not enough into social services, police in schools end up the only tool for dealing with the social problems of students. The solution to that is to remove police from schools and fund more social workers. The main solution to the larger problem of the culture of police misconduct is to reverse the power dynamic that police have over communities by instituting community control of the police through a democratically elected board with the power to hire, fire, and begin to reshape the the institution of policing. Policing as a whole is not unlike policing in schools. They are left responding to social problems that would be better addressed by specialized social workers and by reallocating and increasing funding to address economic injustice which is the root cause of crime.

Democrat's tactics come straight out of an insurgent's playbook.

ThomasinaPaine comments on Jun 20, 2020:

Of course they are and they are not wrong about Republicans and other conservatives. This whole "Red Blooded Patriot" stuff just is a slogan on a hat or Tshirt. They wouldn't fight to protect their liberty and they'll be the first ones taken out when it all happens because they were law abiding ...

WilyRickWiles replies on Jun 23, 2020:

@ThomasinaPaine Something unrelated just occurred to me. You said that you were an Occupy Wall Street protester. Did you know Leah Hunt-Hendrix? Just curious on your impression since she has seemingly been instrumental in funding several recent developments on the political left.

Candace Owens Says Right & Left Should SEPARATE!!! | Why the Left Always Destroys: STATUS ANXIETY - ...

WilyRickWiles comments on Jun 23, 2020:

Interesting that she brings up "status anxiety." That is the very reason that the right takes issue with statues being taken down. Greedy political interests want us to fight over such scarce cultural symbols rather than join to demand more economic justice. Because while status symbols may be ...

WilyRickWiles replies on Jun 23, 2020:

@dd54 Are you and Candace not guilty of the same? Just different values?

The U.

ThomasinaPaine comments on Jun 23, 2020:

Which is different from previous presidents how? > That Obama detests Netanyahu is common knowledge. What is less well known is that Obama’s personal antipathy towards the prime minister co-exists with a genuine commitment to the welfare and security of the Jewish state. Obama’s actual ...

WilyRickWiles replies on Jun 23, 2020:

I do call out the establishment Democrats. Just today I called out the elevation of huge racist Chris Coons. But doing so here would be yelling into the void because it's mostly right-wingers.

The U.

ThomasinaPaine comments on Jun 23, 2020:

Which is different from previous presidents how? > That Obama detests Netanyahu is common knowledge. What is less well known is that Obama’s personal antipathy towards the prime minister co-exists with a genuine commitment to the welfare and security of the Jewish state. Obama’s actual ...

WilyRickWiles replies on Jun 23, 2020:

While there is a difference, you are right that there is not much of a difference. Not sure why that matters when Republicans are in power, though.

THE TIRING SEARCH FOR MEANING TO LIFE IN THIS AGE OF RAGE Well, I am in the winter of my life ...

WilyRickWiles comments on Jun 22, 2020:

Past generations did not have the internet, cable TV, talk radio, and a right-wing political machine priming their outrage 24/7. I suggest that you tune out. Your generation's constant moral panic has finally manifested a reaction from the 18-40 year olds, who now have the numbers to make their ...

WilyRickWiles replies on Jun 23, 2020:

@drshallal You did accuse me of being Joseph McCarthy reincarnate for using those words. Nevertheless, your final warning to study the past is well-received.

I watched Carlson tonight.

WilyRickWiles comments on Jun 22, 2020:

As I've said before: If people are going to take issue with the removal of statues and portraits because "they erase history," we should consider whether such objects provide an accurate and full account of that history. And if they don't, then we owe it to those people to correct the record, as it ...

WilyRickWiles replies on Jun 23, 2020:

@Lexpd1145 If you don't trust historians to "correct the record," why do you trust, e.g. monuments that were built 50-150 years after Civil War to commemorate the losers of history?

THE TIRING SEARCH FOR MEANING TO LIFE IN THIS AGE OF RAGE Well, I am in the winter of my life ...

WilyRickWiles comments on Jun 22, 2020:

Past generations did not have the internet, cable TV, talk radio, and a right-wing political machine priming their outrage 24/7. I suggest that you tune out. Your generation's constant moral panic has finally manifested a reaction from the 18-40 year olds, who now have the numbers to make their ...

WilyRickWiles replies on Jun 23, 2020:

@drshallal You have it reversed. Those were the words of Joseph Welch, the Army lawyer admonishing McCarthy. Guess who McCarthy's lawyer was: Roy Cohn, Donald Trump's mentor. Your generation has allowed the nativism of McCarthy and the John Birch Society to consume our politics. You have made history repeat itself only this time the young people are not naive hippies or radical dilettantes. Please hear his words.

THE TIRING SEARCH FOR MEANING TO LIFE IN THIS AGE OF RAGE Well, I am in the winter of my life ...

WilyRickWiles comments on Jun 22, 2020:

Past generations did not have the internet, cable TV, talk radio, and a right-wing political machine priming their outrage 24/7. I suggest that you tune out. Your generation's constant moral panic has finally manifested a reaction from the 18-40 year olds, who now have the numbers to make their ...

WilyRickWiles replies on Jun 23, 2020:

@drshallal 66 years ago, very fitting words were spoken to a right-wing demagogue Senator. I'll paraphrase: Let us not assassinate this generation further. You have done enough. Have you no sense of decency?

I watched Carlson tonight.

WilyRickWiles comments on Jun 22, 2020:

As I've said before: If people are going to take issue with the removal of statues and portraits because "they erase history," we should consider whether such objects provide an accurate and full account of that history. And if they don't, then we owe it to those people to correct the record, as it ...

WilyRickWiles replies on Jun 23, 2020:

@Marsbonfire Some people's line is babies in cages, for others it's a statue coming down.

I watched Carlson tonight.

WilyRickWiles comments on Jun 22, 2020:

As I've said before: If people are going to take issue with the removal of statues and portraits because "they erase history," we should consider whether such objects provide an accurate and full account of that history. And if they don't, then we owe it to those people to correct the record, as it ...

WilyRickWiles replies on Jun 23, 2020:

@Lexpd1145 Statues are not accounts of history. They contain some historical information yes, but that is it. It's absurd to suggest that there is some cutoff date for historical research.

Until the 70s, ambulance services were generally run by local police and fire departments ...

Slugo comments on Jun 23, 2020:

Who expected this to end well? Untrained medial emergency care from folks don't want to be there and are only there cause they weren't good at being cops or firemen. Good god. I couldn't make a worse mess if I tried.

WilyRickWiles replies on Jun 23, 2020:

Huh?

"The federal government gave big internet service providers, like CenturyLink and Frontier ...

Tycho comments on Jun 22, 2020:

That's why I believe in a government limited to it's proper Constitutional powers. *“I cannot undertake to lay my finger on that article of the Constitution which granted a right to Congress of expending, on objects of benevolence, the money of their constituents.”* *"The government of ...

WilyRickWiles replies on Jun 22, 2020:

@Tycho Examples: Roads, the phone system, the internet, nuclear power, defense projects, education, health care, and finance. And I didn't say that they took "more than a lifetime to produce 'some sort of value to society.'" I said that they took more than a lifetime to be profitable to a business, but might still provide some sort of value to society.

"The federal government gave big internet service providers, like CenturyLink and Frontier ...

Tycho comments on Jun 22, 2020:

That's why I believe in a government limited to it's proper Constitutional powers. *“I cannot undertake to lay my finger on that article of the Constitution which granted a right to Congress of expending, on objects of benevolence, the money of their constituents.”* *"The government of ...

WilyRickWiles replies on Jun 22, 2020:

@Tycho It's only illegal in an alternate libertarian reality. I think what I'm saying is pretty clear. To give an extreme example, if something takes a human lifetime to become profitable, a business isn't going to do it. That thing might still have enough value of some sort to society to be worth doing.

"The federal government gave big internet service providers, like CenturyLink and Frontier ...

Tycho comments on Jun 22, 2020:

That's why I believe in a government limited to it's proper Constitutional powers. *“I cannot undertake to lay my finger on that article of the Constitution which granted a right to Congress of expending, on objects of benevolence, the money of their constituents.”* *"The government of ...

WilyRickWiles replies on Jun 22, 2020:

@Tycho Because public goods and infrastructure aren't profitable on the timescale of a business, at least not without creating perverse incentives.

"The federal government gave big internet service providers, like CenturyLink and Frontier ...

Tycho comments on Jun 22, 2020:

That's why I believe in a government limited to it's proper Constitutional powers. *“I cannot undertake to lay my finger on that article of the Constitution which granted a right to Congress of expending, on objects of benevolence, the money of their constituents.”* *"The government of ...

WilyRickWiles replies on Jun 22, 2020:

I'd rather these projects be done directly by the federal government or at least planned and contracted out.

Fed Hearings Rooted in Failed 1978 Pledge to Fix Inequality [bloomberg.com]

Jeeper752 comments on Jun 17, 2020:

There are limits to what government can do. Equalizing all outcomes is well beyond those limits.

WilyRickWiles replies on Jun 22, 2020:

@Jeeper752 Believe what you want. Big picture: how do you explain how the South switched from solidly Democratic to solidly Republican while remaining conservative especially when the Republican party was previously more liberal?

Fed Hearings Rooted in Failed 1978 Pledge to Fix Inequality [bloomberg.com]

Jeeper752 comments on Jun 17, 2020:

There are limits to what government can do. Equalizing all outcomes is well beyond those limits.

WilyRickWiles replies on Jun 22, 2020:

@Jeeper752 Yes, many of them retired or died and were replaced with conservative Republicans.

Defund NATO now! Trump spoke about defunding NATO on the campaign trail and the progressive Maxist ...

WilyRickWiles comments on Jun 19, 2020:

Uhhh... Marxists aren't pro-NATO. Moreover, abolitionist activists are not calling for national or privatized police forces--they want to abolish the institution entirely.

WilyRickWiles replies on Jun 22, 2020:

@dd54 Sorry, I was pithy in how I answered the two parts of your question.

Hello.

WilyRickWiles comments on Jun 20, 2020:

It depends on your values. Both parties cater to powerful interests like private equity. The Republicans generally cater more to individual billionaires, energy companies, and defense companies, and the Democrats more to the professional class (e.g. executives, managers, doctors), Wall Street, and ...

WilyRickWiles replies on Jun 22, 2020:

@ThomasinaPaine Politics isn't limited to the personality we choose for President. You minimize harm when your options are limited.

Defund NATO now! Trump spoke about defunding NATO on the campaign trail and the progressive Maxist ...

WilyRickWiles comments on Jun 19, 2020:

Uhhh... Marxists aren't pro-NATO. Moreover, abolitionist activists are not calling for national or privatized police forces--they want to abolish the institution entirely.

WilyRickWiles replies on Jun 22, 2020:

@dd54 That was my point, right? A thing doesn't need to be democratized if it is already democratic.

Hello.

WilyRickWiles comments on Jun 20, 2020:

It depends on your values. Both parties cater to powerful interests like private equity. The Republicans generally cater more to individual billionaires, energy companies, and defense companies, and the Democrats more to the professional class (e.g. executives, managers, doctors), Wall Street, and ...

WilyRickWiles replies on Jun 22, 2020:

@ThomasinaPaine Oh, I definitely spoke up about Tara Reade during the primary campaign, when I supported Sanders, a candidate to whom I donated $2,000. During that time I also spoke up about the dangers of the neoliberal authoritarians Bloomberg and Buttigieg. I just above mentioned how Biden contributed to many of the ills of modern society. And being that I live in a safely blue state, I will probably vote for a leftist third party candidate if one is compelling. I certainly won't donate or volunteer to Biden. He says the wrong things all of the time. I'm still waiting for a signal that he will include progressives in his administration and make concessions on policy. After Sanders dropped out, and before the BLM protests, my political horizon had moved to pressuring a weak Biden administration that might not make it through an entire term. But Biden, who is not a leftist by the way, is still better than the nativist, self-dealing, lazy authoritarian, rapist Trump. And Gabbard, who isn't running third party, is still a Hindu nationalist and more of an establishment figure than you think.

Defund NATO now! Trump spoke about defunding NATO on the campaign trail and the progressive Maxist ...

WilyRickWiles comments on Jun 19, 2020:

Uhhh... Marxists aren't pro-NATO. Moreover, abolitionist activists are not calling for national or privatized police forces--they want to abolish the institution entirely.

WilyRickWiles replies on Jun 21, 2020:

@dd54 Obama?

Defund NATO now! Trump spoke about defunding NATO on the campaign trail and the progressive Maxist ...

WilyRickWiles comments on Jun 19, 2020:

Uhhh... Marxists aren't pro-NATO. Moreover, abolitionist activists are not calling for national or privatized police forces--they want to abolish the institution entirely.

WilyRickWiles replies on Jun 21, 2020:

@dd54 E.g. let people elect the people who actually have the power. E.g. the UN and EU.

Defund NATO now! Trump spoke about defunding NATO on the campaign trail and the progressive Maxist ...

WilyRickWiles comments on Jun 19, 2020:

Uhhh... Marxists aren't pro-NATO. Moreover, abolitionist activists are not calling for national or privatized police forces--they want to abolish the institution entirely.

WilyRickWiles replies on Jun 21, 2020:

@dd54 I'd rather democratize international institutions.

Speak Truth - A message that needs to be heard. Blue Lives Matter.

WilyRickWiles comments on Jun 14, 2020:

These are the only blue lives that matter. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=epnsRRPtoeU

WilyRickWiles replies on Jun 21, 2020:

@Sheepdog Resentment isn't healthy.

Speak Truth - A message that needs to be heard. Blue Lives Matter.

WilyRickWiles comments on Jun 14, 2020:

These are the only blue lives that matter. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=epnsRRPtoeU

WilyRickWiles replies on Jun 21, 2020:

@Naomimi We have nonpartisan mayoral elections. If you want to have a meaningful debate and not just a cudgel against the opposing party, criticise the policies, and do so in the context of state and national policies.

Defund NATO now! Trump spoke about defunding NATO on the campaign trail and the progressive Maxist ...

WilyRickWiles comments on Jun 19, 2020:

Uhhh... Marxists aren't pro-NATO. Moreover, abolitionist activists are not calling for national or privatized police forces--they want to abolish the institution entirely.

WilyRickWiles replies on Jun 21, 2020:

@dd54 To a nativist, everything not framed around the good of the volk looks looks like a "global" communist conspiracy.

Defund NATO now! Trump spoke about defunding NATO on the campaign trail and the progressive Maxist ...

WilyRickWiles comments on Jun 19, 2020:

Uhhh... Marxists aren't pro-NATO. Moreover, abolitionist activists are not calling for national or privatized police forces--they want to abolish the institution entirely.

WilyRickWiles replies on Jun 21, 2020:

@dd54 Lol at "neo-marxist." https://reason.com/2018/10/14/dont-blame-karl-marx-for-cultu/

Hello.

DeplorableToo comments on Jun 20, 2020:

Research Democracy Alliance (using Metacrawler, or another non-Google websearch engine) Metacrawler, DogPile, DuckDuckGo. And read about the billionaires behind the Democratic Party. Their agendas for abolishing Capitalism and then, if you agree that you are for Marxism, Socialism, or Communism, ...

WilyRickWiles replies on Jun 21, 2020:

@DeplorableToo Regardless, even your source doesn't seem to back up your claim that that they have a communist agenda.

Hello.

DeplorableToo comments on Jun 20, 2020:

Research Democracy Alliance (using Metacrawler, or another non-Google websearch engine) Metacrawler, DogPile, DuckDuckGo. And read about the billionaires behind the Democratic Party. Their agendas for abolishing Capitalism and then, if you agree that you are for Marxism, Socialism, or Communism, ...

WilyRickWiles replies on Jun 21, 2020:

@DeplorableToo Did I use that word? News flash, a critical thinker can critically consume the information compiled in a Wikipedia article and the primary sources to which it links. Meanwhile you're eagerly eating up corporate PR!

Speak Truth - A message that needs to be heard. Blue Lives Matter.

WilyRickWiles comments on Jun 14, 2020:

These are the only blue lives that matter. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=epnsRRPtoeU

WilyRickWiles replies on Jun 21, 2020:

@Sheepdog It never fails to amaze me how you right-wingers allow your political beliefs to be defined by the opposite of every moral panic your propaganda machine pumps out. In this case, you've become the opposite of a standpoint epistemologist, arguing that I have LESS standing to comment on what is happening in Chicago because I live there.

Hello.

DeplorableToo comments on Jun 20, 2020:

Research Democracy Alliance (using Metacrawler, or another non-Google websearch engine) Metacrawler, DogPile, DuckDuckGo. And read about the billionaires behind the Democratic Party. Their agendas for abolishing Capitalism and then, if you agree that you are for Marxism, Socialism, or Communism, ...

WilyRickWiles replies on Jun 21, 2020:

@DeplorableToo Here's some more reliable information on Democracy Alliance: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Democracy_Alliance https://www.vox.com/2014/11/24/7274819/democracy-alliance https://www.politico.com/story/2018/11/02/2018-elections-outside-money-democrats-democrat-alliance-soros-steyer-956032 https://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Democracy_Alliance

Hello.

DeplorableToo comments on Jun 20, 2020:

Research Democracy Alliance (using Metacrawler, or another non-Google websearch engine) Metacrawler, DogPile, DuckDuckGo. And read about the billionaires behind the Democratic Party. Their agendas for abolishing Capitalism and then, if you agree that you are for Marxism, Socialism, or Communism, ...

WilyRickWiles replies on Jun 21, 2020:

@DeplorableToo Here are some facts on your "non-biased site." https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Center_for_Organizational_Research_and_Education https://www.occupy.com/article/meet-astroturf-kingpin-rick-berman-anti-activism-propagandist Pretty much all you need to know: "The Center for Organizational Research and Education (CORE), formerly the Center for Consumer Freedom (CCF) and prior to that the Guest Choice Network, is an American non-profit entity founded by Richard Berman that lobbies on behalf of the fast food, meat, and alcohol industries."

Tucker Carlson's remaining advertisers.

WilyRickWiles comments on Jun 16, 2020:

Duly noted, I'll make sure the campaign against Tucker's advertisers is aware of these companies.

WilyRickWiles replies on Jun 21, 2020:

@liberty11 For someone who hands out book recommendations, you should read more!

Great grandson of 'Aunt Jemima' enraged her legacy is being erased by removing her from brand- ...

WilyRickWiles comments on Jun 21, 2020:

The original author in the Patch seems to have had a peculiar bone to pick since he got fired as editor at the Chicago Reader for putting a racist symbol on the paper's cover. The great-grandson, however, seems to be making a more nuanced point than the headline indicates: how dare the company ...

WilyRickWiles replies on Jun 21, 2020:

@tracycoyle Did you read my excerpts above? Quaker profited from her image, which represented a racist stereotype, without compensating her. What do you call that?

Hello.

NonAgrssvMight comments on Jun 20, 2020:

Listen to Mark Levin, Dan Bongino, Dinesh D'Souza. A few I haven't seen mentioned. The first (2) have daily podcasts and D'Souza lays out all the sordid details from the forefathers to current day in books and movies. Also check out Ben Shapiro. He's a never-Trumper, but a patriot. He calls Trump...

WilyRickWiles replies on Jun 21, 2020:

On the other side, listen/watch to The Majority Report with Sam Seder.

Hello.

DeplorableToo comments on Jun 20, 2020:

Research Democracy Alliance (using Metacrawler, or another non-Google websearch engine) Metacrawler, DogPile, DuckDuckGo. And read about the billionaires behind the Democratic Party. Their agendas for abolishing Capitalism and then, if you agree that you are for Marxism, Socialism, or Communism, ...

WilyRickWiles replies on Jun 21, 2020:

Also, you omitted the Republican billionaires and organizations she should look up. Here's a few to start. Orgs: ALEC, State Policy Network, John Birch Society, Heritage Society, Federalist Society, Castle Rock Foundation, Bradley Foundation, Mont Pelerin Society Billionaires: Koch, DeVos, Prince, Bradley, Coors, Marcus, Adelson, Friess, Mercer, Ricketts, Thiel, Uihlein, Wilks

Hello.

DeplorableToo comments on Jun 20, 2020:

Research Democracy Alliance (using Metacrawler, or another non-Google websearch engine) Metacrawler, DogPile, DuckDuckGo. And read about the billionaires behind the Democratic Party. Their agendas for abolishing Capitalism and then, if you agree that you are for Marxism, Socialism, or Communism, ...

WilyRickWiles replies on Jun 21, 2020:

The people behind Democracy Alliance probably have more influence over the mostly powerless progressive faction of the Democrats than the party as a whole. And they're social democrats at best--not communists. The original poster seemed to be looking for a candidate who cared about the American people, so I think that should be a good thing.

Great grandson of 'Aunt Jemima' enraged her legacy is being erased by removing her from brand- ...

WilyRickWiles comments on Jun 21, 2020:

The original author in the Patch seems to have had a peculiar bone to pick since he got fired as editor at the Chicago Reader for putting a racist symbol on the paper's cover. The great-grandson, however, seems to be making a more nuanced point than the headline indicates: how dare the company ...

WilyRickWiles replies on Jun 21, 2020:

@SpikeTalon After exploiting it.

Democrat's tactics come straight out of an insurgent's playbook.

ThomasinaPaine comments on Jun 20, 2020:

Of course they are and they are not wrong about Republicans and other conservatives. This whole "Red Blooded Patriot" stuff just is a slogan on a hat or Tshirt. They wouldn't fight to protect their liberty and they'll be the first ones taken out when it all happens because they were law abiding ...

WilyRickWiles replies on Jun 21, 2020:

@ThomasinaPaine Fair enough. Hard to get to the bottom of this matter without, e.g. doing a massive study of speech on Twitter. I know of a couple people who did something like that to show that Bernie supporters were no more uncivil than other Democrats, and to connect IDW figures to the propagation of far right discourse. It's hard to say what speech is notable, is unique to certain subcultures, can be extrapolated to offline culture and greater movements, what behavior is merely disagreement and not censorship, what speech is inciting of violence and what to do about it, what is acceptable moderation by a private platform and when centralization makes that problematic. ANSWER, Common Dreams, and hippie stuff isn't exactly my cup of tea, but I can't think of any criticisms relevant to this debate. I find the politics I identify with in media, academia, and nonprofits, and I try to find or bring that to an organization. I also tend to be a bit of a free speech absolutist. And while vigilante action isn't really my thing, I've tended to think that there is a place for small disciplined groups like Greenpeace, Antifa, etc., as a check on the powerful who also don't play fair. I don't go hunting for people on the left saying the wrong thing--the left is already famous for infighting--and much of my time is taken up debating with my neoliberal friends and colleagues--instead I adopt and advocate the tendency I think is morally right and confront the propaganda of powerful right wing interests standing in the way of the change I want.

Democrat's tactics come straight out of an insurgent's playbook.

ThomasinaPaine comments on Jun 20, 2020:

Of course they are and they are not wrong about Republicans and other conservatives. This whole "Red Blooded Patriot" stuff just is a slogan on a hat or Tshirt. They wouldn't fight to protect their liberty and they'll be the first ones taken out when it all happens because they were law abiding ...

WilyRickWiles replies on Jun 20, 2020:

@ThomasinaPaine Sounds like a criticism of Twitter, which is incidentally an anarchistic global community. That being said, rape threats certainly cross a line, and I am sorry you experienced that. But while they are representative of offline social dynamics at some level, they are not unique to a certain political ideology. I do think moderation of these platforms is necessary but problematic because their governance is so centralized. Threats aside, I think people should try to be above the disrespectful behavior of others, and certainly avoid being provoked into changing their beliefs. That after all still lets others control you, if in reverse. IDW types, especially white men, however play the perpetual victim as an attempt to stifle dissent and defend traditional power (e.g. patriarchy and white supremacy). I can't speak to Occupy, but as for BLM, have you done some analysis of who you spoke to? Do you put Indivisible, MoveOn, DSA, M4BL, BLM, RevCom, church-based groups, student groups, community control of the police groups, black abolitionist and other radical groups, anarchists, unaffiliated protesters, and newly formed groups of professionals into the same bucket? Andy Ngo I understand collaborates with racist paramilitary groups. As for TERFs, are you advocating against civil rights for trans people? Do you feel threatened by that rights expansion?

Democrat's tactics come straight out of an insurgent's playbook.

ThomasinaPaine comments on Jun 20, 2020:

Of course they are and they are not wrong about Republicans and other conservatives. This whole "Red Blooded Patriot" stuff just is a slogan on a hat or Tshirt. They wouldn't fight to protect their liberty and they'll be the first ones taken out when it all happens because they were law abiding ...

WilyRickWiles replies on Jun 20, 2020:

@ThomasinaPaine I hope you didn't use a random Bob Avakian cultist as a stand-in for an entire generation. I trust the values and knowledge of the younger generations. Try to have some perspective. Personally, knowing what capital has done to my family in the current system, I don't trust them to do the right thing with no accountability at all.

Democrat's tactics come straight out of an insurgent's playbook.

ThomasinaPaine comments on Jun 20, 2020:

Of course they are and they are not wrong about Republicans and other conservatives. This whole "Red Blooded Patriot" stuff just is a slogan on a hat or Tshirt. They wouldn't fight to protect their liberty and they'll be the first ones taken out when it all happens because they were law abiding ...

WilyRickWiles replies on Jun 20, 2020:

@ThomasinaPaine It's possible that your vision will be better than the status quo, but my point is that if you don't try to build bottom-up power that shares your values and don't attempt to take control of capital and the state, your vision will not go well.

Fed Hearings Rooted in Failed 1978 Pledge to Fix Inequality [bloomberg.com]

Jeeper752 comments on Jun 17, 2020:

There are limits to what government can do. Equalizing all outcomes is well beyond those limits.

WilyRickWiles replies on Jun 20, 2020:

@Jeeper752 Do you expect me to do a study of every Southern Democrat? I just listed 7, it didn't happen immediately, some split parties between local and national, and some were voted out. And certainly conservative voters switched parties.

Democrat's tactics come straight out of an insurgent's playbook.

ThomasinaPaine comments on Jun 20, 2020:

Of course they are and they are not wrong about Republicans and other conservatives. This whole "Red Blooded Patriot" stuff just is a slogan on a hat or Tshirt. They wouldn't fight to protect their liberty and they'll be the first ones taken out when it all happens because they were law abiding ...

WilyRickWiles replies on Jun 20, 2020:

@ThomasinaPaine Michael Bloomberg is a billionaire and he had many black men choked. No, seeing government as a uniquely and uniformly evil form of power is overly simplistic. It is the one institution with a monopoly on force and one of very few institutions that citizens can exert some power over to check other powerful interests. I won't accept the reductive and nihilistic notion that humans are inherently evil and unable to improve society--how else did we make it this far? No, I will continue advocating for dual power, a mixed economy (social democracy), civil liberties, and democratic internationalism, because that is within reach, builds on past civil rights movements, and will advance equal opportunity. We would be foolish to abandon the US monetary system in an impatient or selfish pursuit of a libertarian utopia. The Bloombergs of the world would like that very much. No, we must first build and take power of that system.

Fed Hearings Rooted in Failed 1978 Pledge to Fix Inequality [bloomberg.com]

Jeeper752 comments on Jun 17, 2020:

There are limits to what government can do. Equalizing all outcomes is well beyond those limits.

WilyRickWiles replies on Jun 20, 2020:

@Jeeper752 I'm referring to Southern Democrats in general.

Fed Hearings Rooted in Failed 1978 Pledge to Fix Inequality [bloomberg.com]

Jeeper752 comments on Jun 17, 2020:

There are limits to what government can do. Equalizing all outcomes is well beyond those limits.

WilyRickWiles replies on Jun 20, 2020:

@Jeeper752 And Sonny Perdue.

Fed Hearings Rooted in Failed 1978 Pledge to Fix Inequality [bloomberg.com]

Jeeper752 comments on Jun 17, 2020:

There are limits to what government can do. Equalizing all outcomes is well beyond those limits.

WilyRickWiles replies on Jun 20, 2020:

@Jeeper752 And Zell Miller.

Fed Hearings Rooted in Failed 1978 Pledge to Fix Inequality [bloomberg.com]

Jeeper752 comments on Jun 17, 2020:

There are limits to what government can do. Equalizing all outcomes is well beyond those limits.

WilyRickWiles replies on Jun 20, 2020:

@Jeeper752 Also John Connally and Mills E. Godwin Jr.

Fed Hearings Rooted in Failed 1978 Pledge to Fix Inequality [bloomberg.com]

Jeeper752 comments on Jun 17, 2020:

There are limits to what government can do. Equalizing all outcomes is well beyond those limits.

WilyRickWiles replies on Jun 20, 2020:

@Jeeper752 Right of the top of my head I can think of Strom Thurmond, Ricard Shelby, and Rick Perry.

Democrat's tactics come straight out of an insurgent's playbook.

ThomasinaPaine comments on Jun 20, 2020:

Of course they are and they are not wrong about Republicans and other conservatives. This whole "Red Blooded Patriot" stuff just is a slogan on a hat or Tshirt. They wouldn't fight to protect their liberty and they'll be the first ones taken out when it all happens because they were law abiding ...

WilyRickWiles replies on Jun 20, 2020:

The systems of oppression used on immigrants, blacks, the poor, and foreigners will eventually come for us all.

Know your enemy. BLM is the New Black Panthers. [youtu.be]

WilyRickWiles comments on Jun 20, 2020:

What's wrong with that? It's your choice whether to be the enemy of someone else's civil rights.

WilyRickWiles replies on Jun 20, 2020:

@FEWI For what? I've been out protesting, myself.

A North Carolina conservative weighs in on mobs tearing down statues [facebook.com]

FreedomRocker comments on Jun 20, 2020:

Sorry, he's not a native North Carolina conservative, it's his "adopted home state". Just another carpet-bagging Yankee. There are tons of these transplants in my home state (not adopted) as well. They flee Michigan, New York, New Jersey, California, etc. due to taxes, crime, cost of living and so ...

WilyRickWiles replies on Jun 20, 2020:

He was born on the border in Virginia.

Chick-fil-A’s Dan Cathy asks white Christians to repent, fight for black Americans in wake of ...

ThomasinaPaine comments on Jun 19, 2020:

Given your opinion on Christianity you must obviously disagree with this terrible, terrible man. Me personally I agree. I've noticed that the same "Muh Freedom" Americans want us to bend over and lick the boots of cops who have sworn an oath, unlike the military's oath to defend the CONSTITUTION,...

WilyRickWiles replies on Jun 20, 2020:

@johnlondon Half a century after Dr. King's death, slums are still slums and white business people still exploit black culture.

Defund NATO now! Trump spoke about defunding NATO on the campaign trail and the progressive Maxist ...

WilyRickWiles comments on Jun 19, 2020:

Uhhh... Marxists aren't pro-NATO. Moreover, abolitionist activists are not calling for national or privatized police forces--they want to abolish the institution entirely.

WilyRickWiles replies on Jun 19, 2020:

@dd54 Perhaps by Marxist you mean neoliberal! I mean I wouldn't put this sort of thing past Bloomberg, though I still don't think there are enough allied interests to go along with it. But Trump might still create a crisis bad enough to make it happen!

Chick-fil-A’s Dan Cathy asks white Christians to repent, fight for black Americans in wake of ...

ThomasinaPaine comments on Jun 19, 2020:

Given your opinion on Christianity you must obviously disagree with this terrible, terrible man. Me personally I agree. I've noticed that the same "Muh Freedom" Americans want us to bend over and lick the boots of cops who have sworn an oath, unlike the military's oath to defend the CONSTITUTION,...

WilyRickWiles replies on Jun 19, 2020:

While I'm not religious, I don't have a problem with anyone's personal practice of religion. In fact, I take issue with the intolerance and pedantry of militant athiests. I do have a problem with religion in government. And I find it problematic in the public square where debate depends on a common epistemology. Moreover, I've glimpsed Cathy's brand of paternalism via some relatives who have bought into it big time, and find it insidious, though perhaps an improvement over figures like Franklin Graham whose ideology more closely resembles white nationalism. However, I was raised a rather conservative but not quite evangelical Christian and have reconnected with the history of some of my more liberal Christian ancestors (e.g. Universalists). I have a soft spot for Christians who are Gospel-focused. My own moral system undoubtedly has some roots in the religious values of my mother, who had moved away from a more Old Testament-focused church born of '60s moral panic. And while I'm sure I disagree with him on gender roles, gay rights, abortion, and maybe even the racial implications of his paternalism, I think Cathy is doing a pretty good job in this case. Glad we can agree pretty much wholeheartedly on this one!

Chick-fil-A’s Dan Cathy asks white Christians to repent, fight for black Americans in wake of ...

Serg97 comments on Jun 19, 2020:

Ricky, it is real simple, when the officer asks you to do something, just do it, if it is unjust, the legal system is still on your side!!!! BUT, Then if you are a wanted felon, and high on drugs, guess what, when the S--T hits the fan, and if you don't follow directions from the officer, you may...

WilyRickWiles replies on Jun 19, 2020:

@Serg97 He must have had a good lawyer.

I would like to see people link mainly to bitchute or any of the alt-youtubes that are out there ...

WilyRickWiles comments on Jun 19, 2020:

Good luck with that, but I think you'd have better luck combating the network effect "monopolies" of the tech companies through antitrust policy and decentralization.

WilyRickWiles replies on Jun 19, 2020:

@A1fredo I think it is very difficult. With these online platforms, people go to the platform with the most users and creators (or other workers). That makes the networks very sticky. To compete, you need to offer something novel AND buy users and creators off (e.g. profit above the market rate, at a loss for the platform) AND do big advertising. Venture capitalists have the resources to do that, but that's a small, incestuous group.

Chick-fil-A’s Dan Cathy asks white Christians to repent, fight for black Americans in wake of ...

Serg97 comments on Jun 19, 2020:

Ricky, it is real simple, when the officer asks you to do something, just do it, if it is unjust, the legal system is still on your side!!!! BUT, Then if you are a wanted felon, and high on drugs, guess what, when the S--T hits the fan, and if you don't follow directions from the officer, you may...

WilyRickWiles replies on Jun 19, 2020:

Dude, the legal system rubber stamps the cops almost every time there is misconduct.

Media is at it again!

WilyRickWiles comments on Jun 19, 2020:

By media, do you mean random people on Twitter? https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/kendall-jenner-black-lives-matter-photoshop-instagram-pepsi-a9552931.html

WilyRickWiles replies on Jun 19, 2020:

@Hanno Well... that is a stretch.

Fed Hearings Rooted in Failed 1978 Pledge to Fix Inequality [bloomberg.com]

Jeeper752 comments on Jun 17, 2020:

There are limits to what government can do. Equalizing all outcomes is well beyond those limits.

WilyRickWiles replies on Jun 19, 2020:

@Jeeper752 Nixon shut it down on his own. Look at what he did to George Romney. And then the Democrats embraced neoliberalism, advancing rights in principle but not economic, education, housing, or criminal justice, and made no effort to pick up the baton. Your theory requires the Northern Democrats who supported civil rights to have changed their position to that of the Dixiecrats after the latter got voted out of office or defected to the Republican Party.