October 10, 2018

Do you have the link, please? This is just outrageous!

That is so fucked up!!! How else is one to take this as anything but a deliberate "fuck you" to the indigenous tribal people of North Dakota?

And the fact that this ruling came down so late in the election season means there's not sufficient time to craft any kind of remedy.

If there were time enough, the tribal governments could conceivably establish a system of street addresses on the reservations - nothing to do with mail delivery, just numbers and street names to signify physical locations. Then the reservation inhabitants could get new IDs with the requisite street addresses.

But, of course, the timing of this disgusting ruling left no such remedy possible - even if the tribes were able to organize such an effort in a way that would reach all their members who wanted to be able to vote. Reservations are not like towns, people are spread out all over.

And even if reservations were able to assign physical addresses to everyone, there would still be the question of whether the state would accept them or not - could North Dakota decide that it doesn't consider those arbitrary, non-postal related "street" addresses not valid?

To think, we are doomed to live with a right wing Supreme Court for decades to come...

July 17, 2018

"No one should let this news cycle pass and just go back to business as usual."

Would it be possible?

This is how we are made captive to Big Media. Will they keep up the drumbeat of Drumpf's treasonous behavior, or simply move on to the next shiny object?

Ultimately, it's Big Media who decides the narrative, what gets covered, whose speech gets attention, who shows up as a guest on the Sunday shows.

Yes, we can take to the streets - but I remember how the thousands of protestors for the bush II inauguration were blacked out by the MSM. I remember how the protests by MILLIONS all around the world against the Iraq war were conveniently left out of the MSM news coverage. Because the MSM loves a war, loves broadcasting big explosions.

I'm 68 years old. I can remember the time before "News" became a commodity, before it was expected to make a profit, when it was considered to be a social responsibility on the part of those who were granted the use of the public airwaves.

It is the fault of Television that we've ended up with such an idiot asshole for president. It is the fault of Television that there are so many stupid, shallow, mouth-breathers in our population that they would vote for such a slimey conman.

Yeah, "No one should let this news cycle pass and just go back to business as usual." - but, for our sins, it will.

July 15, 2018

I can't imagine that any artist worthy of the award would want to get their medal from trump.

Frankly, I think the fewer expectations for normal procedures from this administration, the better.

Let the trump years stand out as an aberration, an error, as much as possible.

July 7, 2018

Ethnic cleansing. That's what this is all about.

The trump regime is determined to reduce the non-white population of the U.S. by any means necessary.

June 16, 2018

So, why is no Democrat doing this?

Of course they would need television coverage of the speech - or it didn't happen.

But surely, there must a Democrat smart enough to strategize an opportunity for maximum media coverage?

I don't understand what Congressional Dems are up to. Why aren't they standing together as a group and loudly condemning what's happening to our country?

We get a peep here and there from Schiff, or Schumer, or one or two others - but nothing that relentlessly and non-stop pushes out a counter narrative.

I think if the Dems got noisy enough, relentlessly enough, they would get attention. They need to hammer out a constant message of human decency in contrast to the indecent and immoral behavior of the Trump administration and their GOP enablers.

Just as Steve Schmidt says:

Thank you, Bigtree, for posting this.

June 16, 2018

Hey man, good to see you! Thank you!

I truly think that as long as the other side is engaged in a culture war against us, we need to engage back and engage back hard.

They are wrong. They are assholes. They are bullies. They are bigots. They are liars. They should be given no quarter!

These are people who are bent on destroying the rule of law, bent on destroying empiricism, bent on destroying all vestiges of the Enlightenment.

The barbarians are at the gate. We don't need to be civil to them, we need to FIGHT them, no holds barred.

June 15, 2018

Yes, ridiculed - and also fought tooth and nail.

I'm so totally fed up with their whiney crap!

They feel like they're losing the "culture war." Well, damn right! There IS a culture war, and they are on the wrong damn side!

They reject the Enlightenment principles which infused the founding of this country. They reject science, they reject reason, they reject empirical proof, they reject the whole of the philosophical underpinnings of the Western world.

They would destroy every norm of civil behavior, destroy all the institutions built up over decades, destroy the very rule of law, in order to satisfy their lust for mocking the "elites".

I would consider them pathetic - if they had not so willfully chosen the path of ignorance, fear, and hate.

February 28, 2018

"On the other hand..."?!?!? I hope you're not serious!

In case you were actually serious, I must strenuously object.

These capabilities in the hands of the State will pretty much always be used to suppress legitimate dissent, and will rarely - if ever - be used to "fight terrorism, mass shootings, and riots."

Terrorism strengthens the State - the only reason to appear to "fight terrorism" is to impose increasing limits on the freedom of its citizens.

Mass Shootings - the only way to "fight" mass shootings is to limit the kinds and numbers of weapons in circulation. The State cannot surveill its way into the inner thoughts of gun owners. The number of gun owners needs to be severely limited, as well as the kinds of guns they are allowed to own.

Riots - Several elements to consider:

(1)This really depends on what you consider a "riot". Are you talking about surveilling sports fans to prevent them from getting drunk and running wild in the streets? Good luck with that.

(2)If you're talking about the idiot "Black Bloc" so-called anarchists who show up to break windows and shit during legitimate demonstrations, first determine how many of them are actually law enforcement undercover plants.

(3)And please bear in mind that authoritarian governments LOVE to characterize peaceful demonstrations as "riots" - I hope you know that.

There is no good to be had for ordinary people from governments having this kind of surveillance power. None.

February 23, 2018

We citizens need to make all association with the NRA totally toxic.

It's been heartening to see a few corporations recently ditching their NRA discounts, and some NRA events being cancelled.

Democratic office holders and candidates ought to continually excoriate the NRA as apologists for child killers, as a terrorist organization.

We must stop cowering in fear of the NRA - we need to spit in their eye, give them the finger, call them out relentlessly.

We can defeat the bogeyman - like Dorothy throwing the bucket of water on the wicked witch.

February 21, 2018

K&R - thank you, Hollywood Liberals!

I'm more than fine with "Hollywood Liberals" - putting their money where our principles are. What could be better? That those who have the means, give to the causes that are working to make for a better world.

Their help is welcome! Fuck the troglodytes!