Search found 2931 matches

by Ziggy Stardust
2021-02-03 05:55pm
Forum: News and Politics
Topic: Biden Lifts Health Care Plan From Insurance Lobbyists
Replies: 55
Views: 19686

Re: Biden Lifts Health Care Plan From Insurance Lobbyists

Noticeably more seething rage among the general public. Okay, cool, so the Democrats will be even more angry at the Republicans, and the Republicans will be even more angry at the Democrats. The problem is this rage is a symptom of hyper-polarization, not some sign that people are coming to their s...
by Ziggy Stardust
2021-02-02 10:38am
Forum: News and Politics
Topic: Biden Lifts Health Care Plan From Insurance Lobbyists
Replies: 55
Views: 19686

Re: Biden Lifts Health Care Plan From Insurance Lobbyists

It makes it harder for people to blame the Democrats for stuff not getting done when everyone gets to see Republicans blocking it by reading the phonebook for hours at a time instead of doing something that looks productive. That might not be enough to cause any meaningful change, but I can't see h...
by Ziggy Stardust
2021-01-27 02:23pm
Forum: News and Politics
Topic: Biden Lifts Health Care Plan From Insurance Lobbyists
Replies: 55
Views: 19686

Re: Biden Lifts Health Care Plan From Insurance Lobbyists

Bring it on, I say - let the Republicans read the telephonebook for hours to prevent relief checks - and broadcast it... Lets see if they are willing to threaten filibuster if they actually have to DO it, and be seen. Why do you think that would be a bad thing for them? Their base will eat up every...
by Ziggy Stardust
2021-01-25 07:15pm
Forum: News and Politics
Topic: Will Trump end up as a 'secondary' president to the GOP?
Replies: 90
Views: 31711

Re: Will Trump end up as a 'secondary' president to the GOP?

It also ignores the fact the fact that inciting violence is sometimes totally okay depending on who the targets are. Iraq was still a whole hell of a lot worse and more violent than anything Trump did in office. Nothing like this ever happened to Bush or his administration, then or now. I'm not tot...
by Ziggy Stardust
2021-01-25 12:35pm
Forum: News and Politics
Topic: Will Trump end up as a 'secondary' president to the GOP?
Replies: 90
Views: 31711

Re: Will Trump end up as a 'secondary' president to the GOP?

Do we just accept that companies like Facebook and Twitter get to bar one of the major candidates from major organizing platforms? Liberals apparently do. I am pretty disturbed at the way so many people are actively celebrating the idea that corporations get to make political decisions by fiat. Eve...
by Ziggy Stardust
2021-01-21 05:36pm
Forum: News and Politics
Topic: Trump/Republican Coup Thread
Replies: 527
Views: 104226

Re: Trump/Republican Coup Thread

Solauren wrote: 2021-01-20 06:23pm No one told them to go to the job interview.
... are you kidding?
by Ziggy Stardust
2021-01-15 10:46am
Forum: News and Politics
Topic: Trump/Republican Coup Thread
Replies: 527
Views: 104226

Re: Trump/Republican Coup Thread

The possibility of Trump ever serving a single second of a prison sentence are approximately 3,720 to 1. But seriously. Only 10 out of 207 Republican congressmen voted to impeach. That's 5%. How much higher do you really expect the rate of defection to be in the Senate? Need it to be 34% (17/50) for...
by Ziggy Stardust
2021-01-10 09:39am
Forum: News and Politics
Topic: Trump/Republican Coup Thread
Replies: 527
Views: 104226

Re: Trump/Republican Coup Thread

I think one the major reasons why this "revolution" will fail is that the people doing it want to overthrow the government but don't want to be inconvenienced while doing so, so they get upset and rant when the government has the audacity to object to being overthrown but the Trumpists ar...
by Ziggy Stardust
2021-01-10 09:28am
Forum: News and Politics
Topic: Is Democracy Working?
Replies: 33
Views: 11806

Re: Is Democracy Working?

I think the problem is that you are approaching this as if you think you are the first person to ever think of this and trying to build your notions of an ideal society based on absolutely nothing other than your own intuition. There is a truly massive amount of philosophy (both political and otherw...
by Ziggy Stardust
2021-01-08 12:39pm
Forum: News and Politics
Topic: Is Democracy Working?
Replies: 33
Views: 11806

Re: Is Democracy Working?

Remember that "established experts in their fields" are the ones that came up with the idea of eugenics (and all that resulted, from sterilization of native communities and other undesirables to the Holocaust). The notion that just because someone is an "expert" that they will so...
by Ziggy Stardust
2021-01-06 09:03am
Forum: News and Politics
Topic: Trump/Republican Coup Thread
Replies: 527
Views: 104226

Re: Trump/Republican Coup Thread

What IS it with republicans still voting for an openly oligarchic borderline fascist party with a shit-for-brains maniac in command? Don't they see that the GOP is sliding into la-la-land? Can't they see it because they themselves are shit-for-brains? Because they've been radicalized for decades by...
by Ziggy Stardust
2021-01-06 08:58am
Forum: Fantasy
Topic: Wonder Woman 1984 Discussion Thread (spoilers)
Replies: 21
Views: 13982

Re: Wonder Woman 1984 Discussion Thread (spoilers)

The only thing about this movie that was not execrable was Pedro Pascal. He was clearly the only person who read the script and realized what kind of movie this was and hammed it up accordingly (think Joel Schumacher Batman era campiness). Everyone else took it waaaay too seriously. Especially the w...
by Ziggy Stardust
2020-12-22 10:23am
Forum: Pure Star Wars
Topic: The Mandalorian Discussion Thread (spoilers and such)
Replies: 602
Views: 240376

Re: The Mandalorian Discussion Thread (spoilers and such)

*Yawn* As usual, no challenge was resented to our protagonists, and there was never a setback to their plan. half the show was essentially them waltzing down the middle of hallways with people falling down around them as if they weren't there to begin with. And even worse, until Gideon returned to ...
by Ziggy Stardust
2020-12-16 09:17am
Forum: News and Politics
Topic: Right-Wing Embrace Of Conspiracy Is 'Mass Radicalization,' Experts Warn
Replies: 9
Views: 5029

Re: Right-Wing Embrace Of Conspiracy Is 'Mass Radicalization,' Experts Warn

It is a pretty fascinating situation. I mean, it's tough to think about it dispassionately seeing as it is an immediate and existential threat. But sometimes it feels like it's a giant science experiment designed by Slavoj Zizek or something. I mean, you have this absolutely massive bloc of the popu...
by Ziggy Stardust
2020-12-15 10:44am
Forum: Science, Logic, And Morality
Topic: Astronomers Discover Cosmic 'Superhighways' For Fast Travel Through the Solar System
Replies: 8
Views: 8071

Re: Astronomers Discover Cosmic 'Superhighways' For Fast Travel Through the Solar System

I don't entirely understand what they are talking about. Is this some gravitational anomaly that somehow speeds up the orbits of objects that pass through it? Like some super effective version of a slingshot/gravity assist maneuver?
by Ziggy Stardust
2020-12-12 09:28am
Forum: News and Politics
Topic: SUPERTHREAD: 2020 United States Elections
Replies: 2322
Views: 762532

Re: SUPERTHREAD: 2020 United States Elections

I do remember Mark Blyth making a convincing case that the supreme court being stacked in favor of republicans, might not be the big advantage/disadvantage that both repubs/dems believe it is. I still think it's a pretty major advantage (I mean the current court's history is still littered with dec...
by Ziggy Stardust
2020-12-11 01:36pm
Forum: Pure Star Wars
Topic: Disney developing more Star Wars TV
Replies: 15
Views: 10165

Re: Disney developing more Star Wars TV

Sorry to double-post, but I've read that the Kenobi show is actually supposed to be a six-episode miniseries? i.e. not intentionally meant to be a recurring show. In which case it might be a little more restrained in how it handles things, if it is really supposed to be a stand-alone. Still wildly u...
by Ziggy Stardust
2020-12-11 01:21pm
Forum: Pure Star Wars
Topic: Disney developing more Star Wars TV
Replies: 15
Views: 10165

Re: Disney developing more Star Wars TV

You'd get better ratings with them nearly running into each other on numerous occasions, with Kenobi hiding his force signature to Vader doesn't know who/what it is. The possibility of a confrontation will drive the plot and ratings, until finally, at the end of the series, Kenobi is back on Tattoo...
by Ziggy Stardust
2020-12-11 09:46am
Forum: Pure Star Wars
Topic: Disney developing more Star Wars TV
Replies: 15
Views: 10165

Re: Disney developing more Star Wars TV

"Rogue Squadron" should be fun, I've always wanted an adaptation of that. Hopefully it won't be as flagrantly bad as the other recent Star Wars movies. Have zero opinion on Patty Jenkins specifically, "Wonder Woman" was pretty interchangeable with just about every other superhero...
by Ziggy Stardust
2020-12-10 10:04am
Forum: Pure Star Wars
Topic: The Mandalorian Discussion Thread (spoilers and such)
Replies: 602
Views: 240376

Re: The Mandalorian Discussion Thread (spoilers and such)

This season needs to end in a resounding and painful defeat so we know there are some stakes involved. However, I am sure the Cylons will both fight for the first time and be promptly swatted aside effortlessly in the season finale. Yeah, it would be nice if there were actual stakes, or ever an act...
by Ziggy Stardust
2020-12-04 11:24am
Forum: News and Politics
Topic: WB to give all 2021 movies a simultaneous streaming release
Replies: 23
Views: 7700

Re: WB to give all 2021 movies a simultaneous streaming release

I think the claims that movie theaters will all disappear are pretty overblown. Big spectacle movies will still attract people to theaters, especially when you start seeing movies filmed in 8k at higher frame rates that simply can't be supported by home theater technology. And art-house/independent ...
by Ziggy Stardust
2020-12-03 09:52am
Forum: News and Politics
Topic: COVID-19 ongoing thread part 2
Replies: 737
Views: 264330

Re: COVID-19 ongoing thread part 2

How much health literacy is there among Native American communities? Like, are there lots of natives not wearing masks? (I realize that the disproportionate burden on them is largely due to structural issues, I'm not trying to pass the blame onto those communities in any way, I am just curious becau...
by Ziggy Stardust
2020-12-03 09:45am
Forum: News and Politics
Topic: West Papuan separatists declares independence from Indonesia
Replies: 6
Views: 4547

Re: West Papuan separatists declares independence from Indonesia

Is there even much of a West Papuan diaspora anywhere, like Australia? Advocates/activists out of that would usually be my go to for coordinating any sort of outreach or donations. Even beyond colonial/capitalist complicity (which certainly shouldn't be glossed over), that part of the world feels so...
by Ziggy Stardust
2020-12-02 08:43am
Forum: News and Politics
Topic: West Papuan separatists declares independence from Indonesia
Replies: 6
Views: 4547

Re: West Papuan separatists declares independence from Indonesia

Unfortunately not an issue likely to get a lot of attention in the US, a lot of people I know could barely tell you what "Indonesia" is, nevermind West Papua. I've always had a soft spot in my heart for West Papua based on one of my more random experiences in my life (on a long layover at ...
by Ziggy Stardust
2020-11-24 06:08pm
Forum: News and Politics
Topic: SUPERTHREAD: 2020 United States Elections
Replies: 2322
Views: 762532

Re: SUPERTHREAD: 2020 United States Elections

Add on to that list another few years of ruthless gerrymandering to further disenfranchise Democrat-leaning constituencies, Tribble. As you said, the Republicans have only learned that there can be no "half measures". They are going to continue doing their work to undermine the legitimacy ...