And Now Time For Our Regularly Scheduled Conspiracy Theory

[LDSGator]

Almost all my liberal friends are swallowing a bitter pill and voting for Biden. If your side is wise they’d ride the GOP civil war to Bidens second term and laugh for the entire ride. 
 

If your adversary wants to shoot himself in the leg, stand there and let them!  

[NeuroTypical]

13 hours ago, Vort said:

Yes, the fact that the Left acts vastly worse than J6 and doesn't get called on it is not only relevant, IT'S THE WHOLE POINT.

My whole point, was in response to this claim:  

Quote

It’s been well established that what happened was not done by “right-wing extremists.”

I found this claim actually more absurd, less defensible, than the leftist media's claim that the spring and summer of 2020 was "mostly peaceful".   So I laid out my argument, and ended up coming across as a dupe of the left.  

Anyway, good post Vort.  I agree with all of it, except for 2 points:  

- I don't think I'm a left wing media schill.  I tried quite hard to go to the source, watch the raw videos, read the various timelines and what they are based on.  There are endless bits of stupid, virtue signalingly irrelevant, or flat out false accusations against Trump and J6.  But dude had a hand in whipping up a violent riot that delayed the peaceful transfer of power, long after his attempts to win ran out of legitimacy.  Shame on him and his banana republic tinpot dictator narcissist bullcrap.  I'm doing my best to get ready and vote for him again, because I believe the good things he'll do will outweigh the bad, but I hope he's learned his lesson.  That is my opinion.  It is not handed to me by any group of any agenda, it was developed by me, as I spent the last 3 years reading, watching, learning, and thinking. I am not bound to alter it in order to appear less aligned with the left.

-  Antifa and BLM riot defenders spent years screaming at the top of their lungs: "You jump to conclusions with your pro-cop pro-capitalist antiblack bias, while totally ignoring the reasons people are mad and pouring into the streets!"  I can't see much light between that notion, and yours here:

Quote

I hear you parroting the distortions and excesses of the "mainstream media" while offering no counterpoint that might explain the immense dissatisfaction felt by those who are ostensibly (and wrongly accused of being) the supporters and perpetrators of J6

I figure both notions are fatally flawed.  It's ok to understand right-leaning issues, black anger,  and leftist anticapitalist rage. It's ok when folks protest.  It stops being ok, IMO, after the first bit of vandalism, property destruction, pushed-through crowd control barrier.  I don't care what side you're on, you lose my support the second your anger and rage and protesting turns into property destruction and interfering with the rule of law or the proper functioning of our protective institutions.

Anyway, everything else in your post, I agree with 100%.  (And the feelings of goodwill and respect, are, of course, mutual.)

We still buddies?

Edited March 5 by NeuroTypical

[Phoenix_person]

3 hours ago, LDSGator said:

Do you think most democrats will hold their nose and still vote for Biden? I do.  

In November, yes. I think most leftists will as well. I also think that a lot of us will be using the "uncommitted" option today (or yesterday in my case) to send Biden a message. 

 

Edited March 5 by Phoenix_person
Apparently, tweets don't embed anymore. Thanks, Elmo.

[LDSGator]

6 minutes ago, Phoenix_person said:

In November, yes. I think most leftists will as well. I also think that a lot of us will be using the "uncommitted" option today (or yesterday in my case) to send Biden a message. 

https://twitter.com/jeremiah4north/status/1764993413076733987?t=nqDYs89i3uTTuv79V4WH4w&s=19

If you guys win in November you should send thank you flowers to Trump and his voters. I’m serious. Anyone but Trump could sweep the floor with Biden.  

[NeuroTypical]

1 minute ago, LDSGator said:

Anyone but Trump could sweep the floor with Biden.  

I'm still mad at DeSantis.  All dude had to say was "I'm for all the things Trump is for, but I'm not a dangerous narcissist, and I'm 30 years younger!"   He would have had the nomination.

[LDSGator]

Just now, NeuroTypical said:

I'm still mad at DeSantis.  All dude had to say was "I'm for all the things Trump is for, but I'm not a dangerous narcissist, and I'm 30 years younger!"   He would have had the nomination.

He’s mad at you too for being a Brony. 😜 

[Vort]

1 hour ago, NeuroTypical said:

Anyway, good post Vort.  I agree with all of it, except for 2 points:  

- I don't think I'm a left wing media schill.

Nor do I. You are many things, mostly good things, but even among the not-so-good bits that any mortal man must exhibit, I've never seen you as a shill for the Left. I simply think you have accepted the Left's view of the J6 events, and in that I disagree.

1 hour ago, NeuroTypical said:

-  Antifa and BLM riot defenders spent years screaming at the top of their lungs: "You jump to conclusions with your pro-cop pro-capitalist antiblack bias, while totally ignoring the reasons people are mad and pouring into the streets!"  I can't see much light between that notion, and yours here:

Quote

I hear you parroting the distortions and excesses of the "mainstream media" while offering no counterpoint that might explain the immense dissatisfaction felt by those who are ostensibly (and wrongly accused of being) the supporters and perpetrators of J6

I figure both notions are fatally flawed.  It's ok to understand right-leaning issues, black anger,  and leftist anticapitalist rage. It's ok when folks protest.  It stops being ok, IMO, after the first bit of vandalism, property destruction, pushed-through crowd control barrier.  I don't care what side you're on, you lose my support the second your anger and rage and protesting turns into property destruction and interfering with the rule of law or the proper functioning of our protective institutions.

I actually agree with the substance of your analysis. While I do not buy into the whole BLM philosophy, I think they could potentially make a good point that the whole societal structure masks the injustices they perceive. I think that they are right to some degree, though not nearly to the degree that they claim. So yes, I am essentially preaching that same gospel, though applied differently. I disbelieve their application of it, which I see to be immensely self-serving and perverse, but I have no fundamental beef with the underlying idea or principle that perceptions are shaped and influenced by the status quo and by seemingly unrelated things, such as verbal expressions and actions that act for some as "dog whistles". I deplore the Left's relentness cynicism and nihilism that they freely use to achieve their end goals, but I don't dispute the fundamental idea that manipulation of perceptions is real. On the contrary, the Left are masters at such manipulation. They wrote the book on it.

1 hour ago, NeuroTypical said:

Anyway, everything else in your post, I agree with 100%.  (And the feelings of goodwill and respect, are, of course, mutual.)

We still buddies?

Of course. That was never at issue, at least not in my mind. My apologies if I came across as too strong. Overreact? Moi? Shirley ewe jest.

[NeuroTypical]

Super Tuesday fun:

- Haley ended her campaign after Trump got triple the support.  She actually won Virginia, but Trump was the clear victor everywhere else.

- Hat tip to @Phoenix_person!  ~19% of Minnesota democrats and lefties voted “uncommitted” in protest.

- In one location, some rando named Jason Palmer actually beat Biden in the raw vote, and tied him in the delegate haul. 

- Smart money says deep, deep blue Cali will send bright red Republican Adam Schiff to the senate. 

- I heard Trump's voice on the radio last night, the first time in 3 years (outside of J6 drama).  I remember when my leftie buddy honestly claimed to get genuinely triggered by clicking a link I shared and being surprised by hearing Trump's voice.  He called foul and said reasonable folks should give TR/CRs before sharing any video or audio of Trump.   It's a distinct possibility that a small segment of the US population is gonna spend 4 years in a constant state of being triggered.

- Oh, and remember all those decades of complaining we've done about liberal bias in higher education?  We've got a graph for that now:

Edited March 6 by NeuroTypical

[Traveler]

Having spent some time trying to talk with some liberal friends – I have concluded that it is unlikely that a contest between Trump and Biden will in anyway calm the troubled waters brewing politically in this country.  If anything, I believe it will boil over.  I doubt that we will reach November without open violence and an impossible political divide.  I do not think either party has the means or desire to deal with the opposition that is building.

Though I believe the Democrats to be the more wicked of the two; I am also convinced that the Republicans are more the buffoons that are clueless and unprepared.   I wonder if the stupidity of the Republicans is somewhat by the design of their leadership.  At this point, I cannot say I trust any political process.  My hope is in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.  I had hope of the religious community of America coming together but since that community still cannot (as a whole) accepts us as Christians – I am very concerned for how much longer G-d will protect this government.  For now, I will support anyone or anything that can delay what seems to me to be inevitable.   I believe the Democrats will not only win but will win by much more than the Republicans (and other conservatives) can possibly imagine.  

 

The Traveler

[Vort]

1 hour ago, Traveler said:

Though I believe the Democrats to be the more wicked of the two; I am also convinced that the Republicans are more the buffoons that are clueless and unprepared.

I'll go further. The Republican Party is corrupt, and many or most Republican leaders are also corrupt and care about power and influence much more than freedom and liberty. Of the two major parties that have been thrust upon us, the Republicans are significantly less corrupt and awful than the Democrats, which is why I nominally support the Republicans. But I am under no illusions as to the purity of the Republican cause.

My feelings about the Republicans are in line with my feelings about Donald Trump and a potential second Trump administration: It's much better than the alternative, but that does not make it ideal, or even particularly good.

[NeuroTypical]

For over a decade, I've felt that pretty much all politicians on the federal level, follow two great commandments above all else:

1. Thou shalt get elected and gain power.
2. Thou shalt remain elected and increase power.

That viewpoint has helped me decipher pretty much everything every politician says and does.  

So, a political party is more a reflection on that party's power brokers (people and entities who can influence votes), than it is of any particular platform or ideology.

Trump seems to be a far superior deal maker than the rest of 'em.  I truly believe if he had won his 2nd term, Russia wouldn't have invaded Ukraine.  Trump would have made a deal with Putin, probably over NATO expansion and energy. 

 

Also this:

[Phoenix_person]

7 hours ago, NeuroTypical said:

Super Tuesday fun:

- Haley ended her campaign after Trump got triple the support.  She actually won Virginia, but Trump was the clear victor everywhere else.

I thought it was Vermont? 

7 hours ago, NeuroTypical said:

- Hat tip to @Phoenix_person!  ~19% of Minnesota democrats and lefties voted “uncommitted” in protest.

Last count I saw had 11 "uncommitted" delegates heading to Chicago from Minnesota. Which isn't a lot, but it's significant because Minnesota is purple at best, and Dem discord could turn us into a swing state. Combine that with last week's results in Michigan, which already IS a swing state, and we're looking at a very interesting convention.

7 hours ago, NeuroTypical said:

- Oh, and remember all those decades of complaining we've done about liberal bias in higher education?  We've got a graph for that now:

Does this show that there's a liberal bias in higher ed? Or that people with college degrees tend to vote more liberal?

4 hours ago, NeuroTypical said:

For over a decade, I've felt that pretty much all politicians on the federal level, follow two great commandments above all else:

1. Thou shalt get elected and gain power.
2. Thou shalt remain elected and increase power.

That viewpoint has helped me decipher pretty much everything every politician says and does.  

So, a political party is more a reflection on that party's power brokers (people and entities who can influence votes), than it is of any particular platform or ideology.

This perfectly encapsulates the phenomenon I outlined earlier, I believe in this thread, that party oversaturation can lead to elected officials with bipartisan disdain towards them (Lightfoot, Cuomo, Adams).

[mirkwood]

47 minutes ago, Phoenix_person said:

Does this show that there's a liberal bias in higher ed? 

 

That was my experience while earning my degree.

[LDSGator]

46 minutes ago, Phoenix_person said:

Does this show that there's a liberal bias in higher ed? Or that people with college degrees tend to vote more liberal?

I’ve always been told that people with BA’s are 50/50. The higher your degree the more left you swing, and the lower your education (GED, high school dropout) it’s generally the same. 
 

Yes, it’s a generality. I could be way off too. 

[NeuroTypical]

1 hour ago, Phoenix_person said:

I thought it was Vermont? 

Whoops - yep, you are correct.

Quote

Does this show that there's a liberal bias in higher ed? Or that people with college degrees tend to vote more liberal?

I would say both.  One is the direct result of the other.  The once-popular notion that a college degree makes you smart or wise by exposing you to a breadth of human knowledge, has seemed to grow less popular in the decades since I was on a campus.  Education has always been, to a certain extent, about indoctrination by people with an agenda.  In the '90's when I was there, the agenda seemed to be at least partly about creating well-rounded individuals who can take life in all it's complexity, and arrive at an independent conclusion through the application of critical reasoning skills and a general exposure to human knowledge.  Now so much of it is geared towards combating (certain) societal ills like institutional racism and transphobia, and exposing America's (certain) flaws.

[LDSGator]

2 minutes ago, NeuroTypical said:

Whoops - yep, you are correct.

I would say both.  One is the direct result of the other.  The once-popular notion that a college degree makes you smart or wise by exposing you to a breadth of human knowledge, has seemed to grow less popular in the decades since I was on a campus.  Education has always been, to a certain extent, about indoctrination by people with an agenda.  In the '90's when I was there, the agenda seemed to be at least partly about creating well-rounded individuals who can take life in all it's complexity, and arrive at an independent conclusion through the application of critical reasoning skills and a general exposure to human knowledge.  Now so much of it is geared towards combating (certain) societal ills like institutional racism and transphobia, and exposing America's (certain) flaws.

The left wing indoctrination in college turned me towards the right. I’m sure I’m not the only one that happened to. Essentially I became conservative by being around liberals, and I became libertarian by being around conservatives. 

[NeuroTypical]

@LDSGator you rebel.    What will you become after hanging around libertarians?  

[NeuroTypical]

Meanwhile, in San Francisco...

Voters empower cops, reform welfare: Is San Francisco still a liberal bastion? - The San Francisco Standard news

Quote

Famously liberal San Francisco appeared to lurch to the right Tuesday, or at least move closer to the center, as frustrated voters approved two key propositions: one that increases police surveillance powers and curbs citizen oversight, and a second that will require some welfare recipients to be screened for drug use.

Polling has shown that San Franciscans are fed up with the record drug deaths, the bodies and needles strewn on sidewalks, the tents that dot their daily commutes, the retail theft and bipping—oh, the bipping!—and the shuttered businesses they once frequented.

But few could have predicted Tuesday's results would be this decisive, elevating conversations of whether San Francisco is shifting away from being the beacon of liberalism that ruins Thanksgiving dinner conversations and gets Fox News execs sweaty.

 

[Ironhold]

Well folks, we're looking at the prospect of Gamergate 2: Electric Boogaloo. 

Some people discovered that Sweet Baby Inc, a consulting firm that specializes in "helping" video game companies make their offerings more "progressive" and "diverse", had a hand in some recent high-profile flops, leading to word of mouth and ultimately some guy from Brazil going onto video game retail platform Steam and creating a list of games Sweet Baby was known to have been involved with.

Cue employees of Sweet Baby using social media to organize a swarm to go after this person and have their account deleted as part of a larger effort to forcibly suppress knowledge that the company even exists, let alone what games they've had a hand in.

For all intents and purposes this company works off of intimidation and bullying to coerce companies into "allowing" them to "help", and they don't want anyone investigating their practices. Since this has all come out, people have made claims that other companies are doing similar. 

[NeuroTypical]

"Go woke, or we will break you"?  Nasty stuff.

[Ironhold]

1 hour ago, NeuroTypical said:

"Go woke, or we will break you"?  Nasty stuff.

More like "If you don't hire our services, how can you be sure that you won't get canceled for doing something wrong?". 

It's basically an updated version of the "Nice place you've got here; shame if something happened to it" bit that protection rackets always say in the movies.

[LDSGator]

3 hours ago, NeuroTypical said:

@LDSGator you rebel.    What will you become after hanging around libertarians?  

Depressed.