420PyRoS
Well-known member
Why on fucking earth do you put so much effort into CARING about this garbage?
That is the 360 degree circle jerk question of this whole thread?
Why?
No one, fuckin, cares. lol
Covid is a accidental Lab leaked bioweapon
- Thread starter gaiusmarius
- Start date
That is the 360 degree circle jerk question of this whole thread?
Why?
No one, fuckin, cares. lol
I'm not sure you even understand what you are doing here.
My country is in danger because people believe bullshit.
I'm pointing out the bullshit because there's some people who don't know.
Then there's the people who refuse to believe anything else but bullshit.
I care because I have been watching my fellow citizens tearing apart families and friendships over stuff that they don't have to sucker into.
420PyRoS
Well-known member
See above.
So your solution is to say, hey, I'm the only one who is right. Only my thinking. Only my way can we succeed. Pretty Authoritarian.
People can believe whatever they want.
Diversity.
I don't want a clone only of you in society. Sorry.
You're actually the problem. Get it?
What I am doing is showing people how dangerous Trump and his poisonous attitude are to the nation. I believe in liberty and the Constitution.
Trump doesn't understand the Constitution and is not pleased with the limit it puts on his power.
I think that everyone should vote how they want. It doesn't stop me from pointing out bullshit.
Trump's the only one dumb enough to say something like: "I and I alone can fix it".
I'm thinking more like: "It takes an entire country to run the country".
He likes to spread hate and divide people. The division is here to help him seem like the only way.
I think we're better off with cooperation across the aisle than reality TV stars fighting in Congress (except over the war machine, obviously).
Trump doesn't understand the Constitution and is not pleased with the limit it puts on his power.
I think that everyone should vote how they want. It doesn't stop me from pointing out bullshit.
Trump's the only one dumb enough to say something like: "I and I alone can fix it".
I'm thinking more like: "It takes an entire country to run the country".
He likes to spread hate and divide people. The division is here to help him seem like the only way.
I think we're better off with cooperation across the aisle than reality TV stars fighting in Congress (except over the war machine, obviously).
420PyRoS
Well-known member
Well, good luck.
I think you're all over reacting.
Should be always America first. For all.
Close your fuckin border to the south while your at it. Keep those CCP out.
They would have hanged Pence if they had found him.
Overreacting I think not.
Overreacting I think not.
420PyRoS
Well-known member
Well, this is kinda how we see ya's.
Fresh off the presses this one.
Author of the article:
J.D. Tuccille
Published Feb 11, 2024 • Last updated 4 hours ago • 5 minute read
https://nationalpost.com/opinion/americas-bipartisan-slide-into-authoritarianism#comments-area
U.S. President Joe Biden, left, and former president Donald Trump. PHOTO BY SAUL LOEB AND TIMOTHY A. CLARY/AFP
Last month, Gallup reported that a “record low” 28 per cent of Americans are happy with the way democracy is working in the United States. An earlier Bipartisan Policy Center poll flipped that around and found 82 per cent of Democrats and Republicans alike worried about the state of democracy. President Joe Biden thinks he knows where to place the blame: on his main opponent.
“Donald Trump’s campaign is obsessed with the past, not the future. He’s willing to sacrifice our democracy, put himself in power,” the president told a Pennsylvania audience on the third anniversary of the Capitol riot. “Our campaign is about preserving and strengthening our American democracy.”
Biden’s supporters agree with him. In December, 87 per cent of surveyed Democrats told AP-NORC pollsters that a Trump victory in November would “weaken democracy.” Then again, 82 per cent of Republicans said the same of a Biden victory. An October 2023 poll by PRRI found similar bipartisan fears that a win by the opposition would constitute a “threat to American democracy.”
They both have a point.
“We will root out the communists, Marxists, fascists and the radical-left thugs that live like vermin within the confines of our country,” Trump told a New Hampshire crowd last Veteran’s Day, in language rather more apocalyptic than you usually hear in electoral democracies.
Calling the ex-president’s words “damn dangerous,” former defence secretary Chuck Hagel, a Republican who crossed the aisle to serve in President Barack Obama’s cabinet, warned: “He continues to push people into corners and give voice to this polarization in our country.”
But much the same might be said of Biden’s 2022 accusation that his opponents endorse “semi-fascism” and that, “MAGA Republicans do not respect the constitution. They do not believe in the rule of law. They do not recognize the will of the people.”
By that time, three-quarters of both Democrats and Republicans had told University of Chicago researchers that members of the other party are “are generally bullies who want to impose their political beliefs on those who disagree.” And they were hell-bent on proving the point!
“Majorities of every political stripe agree or strongly agree with the idea that solving the nation’s problems depends on strong leaders who will take action against those who would undermine American values,” Allegheny College political scientists reported last year.
The definition of such values was deliberately left vague to leave respondents room to justify their own authoritarian instincts if they chose to do so — and they did. The same study found widespread support — a majority among strong Republicans — for shutting down news organizations that political leaders believe are “attempting to undermine American values.”
In October 2023, the University of Virginia’s Center for Politics revealed that 41 per cent of Biden voters and 38 per cent of Trump voters believe it’s “acceptable to use violence“ to thwart political opponents. Large shares of both groups said they were open to using “undemocratic means” to exercise power.
Most researchers say the American political right began shifting in an authoritarian direction first, with the rise of Trump and his cult of personality and populism. That led to a cottage industry in warnings that the Republican party had left liberal democracy behind and must be crushed for the sake of the nation. But it’s possible to get high on your own supply of self-righteousness on the way to creating new perils.
“The decision to bar former president Donald J. Trump … from Colorado’s presidential primary ballot flies in the face of the due process doctrine,” Colorado Judge Carlos Samour cautioned after his colleagues voted to boot the candidate without a trial or other safeguards (the matter is now in the hands of the U.S. Supreme Court).
Clearly, the U.S. left has also shifted in a totalitarian direction that questions the value of individualism and liberty, and has even hollowed out the American Civil Liberties Union’s dedication to free speech.
“While politically less threatening than conservatism (the far right still commands far more power in American life), the PC left is actually more philosophically threatening. It is an undemocratic creed,” New York magazine’s Jonathan Chait wrote in 2015.
Last October, with the political centre of gravity shifting, Chait revisited the issue to warn of the “pro-Hamas left” and “the illiberal left’s inherent cruelty, repression and inhumanity.” He did so a year after Reason magazine’s Stephanie Slade observed that, “Partisan animosity suits the authoritarian elements on the left and right just fine,” and that each of the factions is moving “in an illiberal direction.”
In this, the sides feed off each other. By attributing evil characteristics and motives to their enemies, partisans justify ever-hardening positions. A 2023 study published in “Nature Human Behaviour” found that, “U.S. partisans are willing to subvert democratic norms to the extent that they believe opposing partisans are willing to do the same.”
The nastier they consider their adversaries to be, the more willing Americans are to ban rallies, freeze journalists’ social media accounts and turn to violence. “Democracy-loving voters may vote away their political rights in part because would-be authoritarians convince their supporters that the other party is subverting democracy,” wrote the authors.
So there’s a pay-off to smearing opponents as “radical-left thugs,” or as adherents of “semi-fascism.” It comes in the form of supporters who are evermore willing to accept the illiberal excesses of their own side.
Next year may well be a watershed year in American politics. But with both major political factions becoming evermore illiberal, it’s not clear where the American people should turn for relief — or even how many of them want to break from the path to authoritarianism.
Fresh off the presses this one.
J.D. Tuccille: America's bipartisan slide into authoritarianism
Both sides feed off each other. By attributing evil characteristics and motives to their enemies, partisans justify ever-hardening positionsAuthor of the article:
J.D. Tuccille
Published Feb 11, 2024 • Last updated 4 hours ago • 5 minute read
https://nationalpost.com/opinion/americas-bipartisan-slide-into-authoritarianism#comments-area
In the 2024 United States presidential election, the future of democracy is at stake, we’re constantly warned. Where the threat comes from depends on who points the finger, with Democrats blaming the GOP and Republicans returning the favour. But what if they’re both right? What if America’s dominant political factions both pose a clear and present danger to the country’s political system and the liberty it’s supposed to protect?Last month, Gallup reported that a “record low” 28 per cent of Americans are happy with the way democracy is working in the United States. An earlier Bipartisan Policy Center poll flipped that around and found 82 per cent of Democrats and Republicans alike worried about the state of democracy. President Joe Biden thinks he knows where to place the blame: on his main opponent.
“Donald Trump’s campaign is obsessed with the past, not the future. He’s willing to sacrifice our democracy, put himself in power,” the president told a Pennsylvania audience on the third anniversary of the Capitol riot. “Our campaign is about preserving and strengthening our American democracy.”
Biden’s supporters agree with him. In December, 87 per cent of surveyed Democrats told AP-NORC pollsters that a Trump victory in November would “weaken democracy.” Then again, 82 per cent of Republicans said the same of a Biden victory. An October 2023 poll by PRRI found similar bipartisan fears that a win by the opposition would constitute a “threat to American democracy.”
They both have a point.
“We will root out the communists, Marxists, fascists and the radical-left thugs that live like vermin within the confines of our country,” Trump told a New Hampshire crowd last Veteran’s Day, in language rather more apocalyptic than you usually hear in electoral democracies.
Calling the ex-president’s words “damn dangerous,” former defence secretary Chuck Hagel, a Republican who crossed the aisle to serve in President Barack Obama’s cabinet, warned: “He continues to push people into corners and give voice to this polarization in our country.”
But much the same might be said of Biden’s 2022 accusation that his opponents endorse “semi-fascism” and that, “MAGA Republicans do not respect the constitution. They do not believe in the rule of law. They do not recognize the will of the people.”
By that time, three-quarters of both Democrats and Republicans had told University of Chicago researchers that members of the other party are “are generally bullies who want to impose their political beliefs on those who disagree.” And they were hell-bent on proving the point!
“Majorities of every political stripe agree or strongly agree with the idea that solving the nation’s problems depends on strong leaders who will take action against those who would undermine American values,” Allegheny College political scientists reported last year.
The definition of such values was deliberately left vague to leave respondents room to justify their own authoritarian instincts if they chose to do so — and they did. The same study found widespread support — a majority among strong Republicans — for shutting down news organizations that political leaders believe are “attempting to undermine American values.”
In October 2023, the University of Virginia’s Center for Politics revealed that 41 per cent of Biden voters and 38 per cent of Trump voters believe it’s “acceptable to use violence“ to thwart political opponents. Large shares of both groups said they were open to using “undemocratic means” to exercise power.
Most researchers say the American political right began shifting in an authoritarian direction first, with the rise of Trump and his cult of personality and populism. That led to a cottage industry in warnings that the Republican party had left liberal democracy behind and must be crushed for the sake of the nation. But it’s possible to get high on your own supply of self-righteousness on the way to creating new perils.
“The decision to bar former president Donald J. Trump … from Colorado’s presidential primary ballot flies in the face of the due process doctrine,” Colorado Judge Carlos Samour cautioned after his colleagues voted to boot the candidate without a trial or other safeguards (the matter is now in the hands of the U.S. Supreme Court).
Clearly, the U.S. left has also shifted in a totalitarian direction that questions the value of individualism and liberty, and has even hollowed out the American Civil Liberties Union’s dedication to free speech.
“While politically less threatening than conservatism (the far right still commands far more power in American life), the PC left is actually more philosophically threatening. It is an undemocratic creed,” New York magazine’s Jonathan Chait wrote in 2015.
Last October, with the political centre of gravity shifting, Chait revisited the issue to warn of the “pro-Hamas left” and “the illiberal left’s inherent cruelty, repression and inhumanity.” He did so a year after Reason magazine’s Stephanie Slade observed that, “Partisan animosity suits the authoritarian elements on the left and right just fine,” and that each of the factions is moving “in an illiberal direction.”
In this, the sides feed off each other. By attributing evil characteristics and motives to their enemies, partisans justify ever-hardening positions. A 2023 study published in “Nature Human Behaviour” found that, “U.S. partisans are willing to subvert democratic norms to the extent that they believe opposing partisans are willing to do the same.”
The nastier they consider their adversaries to be, the more willing Americans are to ban rallies, freeze journalists’ social media accounts and turn to violence. “Democracy-loving voters may vote away their political rights in part because would-be authoritarians convince their supporters that the other party is subverting democracy,” wrote the authors.
So there’s a pay-off to smearing opponents as “radical-left thugs,” or as adherents of “semi-fascism.” It comes in the form of supporters who are evermore willing to accept the illiberal excesses of their own side.
Next year may well be a watershed year in American politics. But with both major political factions becoming evermore illiberal, it’s not clear where the American people should turn for relief — or even how many of them want to break from the path to authoritarianism.
The way I see it is Trump is dangerously toxic to our society and the foundation of of our country.
Then Biden was elected and he has been a target for hate from the hateful and it's inspired nothing but revenge politics and cultural division and upheaval.
Then Biden was elected and he has been a target for hate from the hateful and it's inspired nothing but revenge politics and cultural division and upheaval.
420PyRoS
Well-known member
That's how you all will see things one side or the other. From inside looking out of America.
I'm looking outside, in.
I have no skin in your game.
I'm just waiting for the brawl.
I'm not a fan of Biden. I have very little respect for Mrs. Harris.
I just don't want Trump in charge of anything but his own car.
I just don't want Trump in charge of anything but his own car.
RickLafleur
Well-known member
RickLafleur
Well-known member
This is who you are arguing with;
You’re engaging in a battle of wits with someone low on ammo.
The guy fishing just cracked me up so loudly the entire pile of fur that had collected around (and on) me woke up and scattered.
Sometimes I feel like I'm going in circles but I'm hoping it's just feeling like that and it's a spiral forward.
Sometimes I feel like I'm going in circles but I'm hoping it's just feeling like that and it's a spiral forward.
RickLafleur
Well-known member
I hear you.
Pyros isn’t interested in debate though, just trolling. Some trolls are entertaining and clever. Pyros, not so much.
As long as he got it out and feels better I'm happy.
420PyRoS
Well-known member
Says the meme queen.
You couldn't debate your way out of a wet paper bag. (Yes, I changed it from fight, as he's an established puss.)
420PyRoS
Well-known member
See, still dumb, ignorant.
Fun to watch.
