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babylonsister
babylonsister's Journal
babylonsister's Journal
May 17, 2023
Tue, May 16th, 2023 by Jason Easley
Hakeem Jeffries Just Used George Santos To Set Up House Republicans
Democratic House leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) set up House Republicans to link themselves to George Santos by voting against expelling him.
Video of Jeffries @ link:
Rep. Jeffries said on MSNBC’s The Reid Out:
It is very simple. George Santos is under federal felony indictment. He didn’t just lie to get elected. The freshman New York Republican congressman is accused of committing crimes related to his election and position.
If Republicans, especially the New York Republican delegation are sincere in their desire to have Santos gone, they can do something about it tomorrow, but if they vote no on the resolution to expel Rep. Santos, they will be linking themselves to him, and setting Democrats up to retake the House next year.
The stakes of the vote are more far-reaching than George Santos. The vote could be a big step in Democrats taking back the majority in the House of Representatives.
Hakeem Jeffries Just Used George Santos To Set Up House Republicans
https://www.politicususa.com/2023/05/16/hakeem-jeffries-just-used-george-santos-to-set-up-house-republicans.htmlTue, May 16th, 2023 by Jason Easley
Hakeem Jeffries Just Used George Santos To Set Up House Republicans
Democratic House leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) set up House Republicans to link themselves to George Santos by voting against expelling him.
Video of Jeffries @ link:
Rep. Jeffries said on MSNBC’s The Reid Out:
You know, George Santos is a serial fraudster. He does not belong anywhere near the House of Representatives. He defrauded the people of the third congressional district in New York. Lied about everything. Lied about his life, lied about his jobs, lied about his finances, lied about his professional experiences. Lied about being Jewish. He perpetrated a fraud on the people of New York. He was elected under false pretenses.
So I commend Congressman Garcia for bringing this privileged resolution forward, and the real question is, are House Republicans going to stand on the side of truth or stand on the side of George Santos? It’s important to mention, Santos was referred to the ethics committee months ago. So what are we doing? You’re either going to hold him accountable under the constitution or you’re not. It’s going to be interesting to see how these so-called moderates in terms of New York House Republicans vote. They have all said that they want him out. And he doesn’t belong in the House of Representatives. Tomorrow, they will have an opportunity to vote their word.
So I commend Congressman Garcia for bringing this privileged resolution forward, and the real question is, are House Republicans going to stand on the side of truth or stand on the side of George Santos? It’s important to mention, Santos was referred to the ethics committee months ago. So what are we doing? You’re either going to hold him accountable under the constitution or you’re not. It’s going to be interesting to see how these so-called moderates in terms of New York House Republicans vote. They have all said that they want him out. And he doesn’t belong in the House of Representatives. Tomorrow, they will have an opportunity to vote their word.
It is very simple. George Santos is under federal felony indictment. He didn’t just lie to get elected. The freshman New York Republican congressman is accused of committing crimes related to his election and position.
If Republicans, especially the New York Republican delegation are sincere in their desire to have Santos gone, they can do something about it tomorrow, but if they vote no on the resolution to expel Rep. Santos, they will be linking themselves to him, and setting Democrats up to retake the House next year.
The stakes of the vote are more far-reaching than George Santos. The vote could be a big step in Democrats taking back the majority in the House of Representatives.
May 12, 2023
Trump Defends CNN Town Hall Because It Got 'Sky High Ratings'
OK, he is so ludicrous I had to laugh.
https://www.thedailybeast.com/trump-defends-cnn-town-hall-because-it-got-sky-high-ratings?ref=home
Trump Defends CNN Town Hall Because It Got ‘Sky High Ratings’
‘VERY SMART’
Dan Ladden-Hall
News Correspondent
Published May. 12, 2023 7:51AM ET
Donald Trump hit back at people condemning CNN for allowing him to spew a torrent of lies across the airwaves on Wednesday night. “People are criticizing CNN for giving me a Forum to tell the TRUTH,” the former president wrote on his Truth Social platform on Thursday. “I believe it was a very smart thing that they did, with Sky High Ratings that they haven’t seen in a very long time. It was by far the biggest Show of the night, the week, and the month!” The network has been excoriated by people furious that it allowed Trump to repeat his falsehoods in front of an approving audience, with dissent even coming from CNN’s own on-air talent. But Trump dismissed the criticisms from what he saw as the “Radical Left” being upset that he made “so many important points.” “Many minds were changed on Wednesday night by listening to Common Sense, and sheer ‘Brilliance,’” he added.
May 12, 2023
Another Fox Defamation Suit Filed By Former Government Official
Former Homeland Security official Nina Jankowicz got the full Fox treatment. She was demonized on-air and as a result, hit with rape and death threats.
By Susie Madrak — May 12, 2023
Fox News was hit this week with yet another defamation lawsuit, this one from a woman who said the network promoted lies about her that generated serious threats to her safety and harmed her career prospects. In other words, business as usual! Via the New York Times:
Jankowicz resigned to escape the threats. Fox hosts and guests said she was fired.
We're all familiar with the Fox treatment of Democratic politicians. After all, it's their business model! But attacks on government officials and employees who are simply doing their jobs are way over the line,
Guess who's representing her?
I'm glad she's doing this, and by God, I hope she wins.
Another Fox Defamation Suit Filed By Former Government Official
https://crooksandliars.com/2023/05/another-fox-defamation-suit-filed-formerAnother Fox Defamation Suit Filed By Former Government Official
Former Homeland Security official Nina Jankowicz got the full Fox treatment. She was demonized on-air and as a result, hit with rape and death threats.
By Susie Madrak — May 12, 2023
Fox News was hit this week with yet another defamation lawsuit, this one from a woman who said the network promoted lies about her that generated serious threats to her safety and harmed her career prospects. In other words, business as usual! Via the New York Times:
The suit was filed on behalf of Nina Jankowicz, the former executive director of a short-lived Department of Homeland Security division assigned with coordinating efforts to monitor and address disinformation threats to national security. Right-wing pundits and politicians falsely portrayed her group as part of an Orwellian bid to control the speech and thought of ordinary Americans.
Ms. Jankowicz, a prominent specialist in Russian disinformation and online harassment, became the primary subject of their attacks. In 300 mentions over eight months on Fox last year, she was repeatedly demeaned and defamed in highly personal language, the lawsuit asserts. Hosts including Tucker Carlson, Maria Bartiromo and Sean Hannity said her job was “to silence anyone who criticizes the Biden administration” and possibly even, as Mr. Carlson warned, “get men with guns to tell you to shut up.”
The unit Ms. Jankowicz briefly headed, called the Disinformation Governance Board, had no such powers, or any direct authority to affect speech. The department created it to help unify and oversee existing efforts by its various divisions to monitor and defend against disinformation from foreign agents seeking to influence elections; cartels promoting human smuggling operations; and those seeking to undermine the government’s public health and safety efforts.
Ms. Jankowicz, a prominent specialist in Russian disinformation and online harassment, became the primary subject of their attacks. In 300 mentions over eight months on Fox last year, she was repeatedly demeaned and defamed in highly personal language, the lawsuit asserts. Hosts including Tucker Carlson, Maria Bartiromo and Sean Hannity said her job was “to silence anyone who criticizes the Biden administration” and possibly even, as Mr. Carlson warned, “get men with guns to tell you to shut up.”
The unit Ms. Jankowicz briefly headed, called the Disinformation Governance Board, had no such powers, or any direct authority to affect speech. The department created it to help unify and oversee existing efforts by its various divisions to monitor and defend against disinformation from foreign agents seeking to influence elections; cartels promoting human smuggling operations; and those seeking to undermine the government’s public health and safety efforts.
Jankowicz resigned to escape the threats. Fox hosts and guests said she was fired.
We're all familiar with the Fox treatment of Democratic politicians. After all, it's their business model! But attacks on government officials and employees who are simply doing their jobs are way over the line,
According to Ms. Jankowicz’s lawsuit, Fox’s coverage “resulted in immediate online harassment and threats, which continue even now,” citing a litany of misogynistic, antisemitic and violent messages and a doxxing campaign.
Guess who's representing her?
Among the lawyers representing Dominion in that case were Brian and Michael Farnan of the Wilmington, Delaware, firm Farnan LLP. And so Fox is probably not thrilled to see their names on a new defamation complaint filed in the Superior Court of the Delaware on behalf of former Department of Homeland Security official Nina Jankowicz.
I'm glad she's doing this, and by God, I hope she wins.
May 12, 2023
https://twitter.com/i/status/1656822734079311872
"You gave evil a cheering section..."
Kerry O’Grady 🌻🇺🇦
@kerryogrady5280
Apologize all you want @AC360. CNN failed. You gave evil a cheering section. This was a one-sided, hate-spewing, circus without a ringmaster. Stop normalizing fascism and intolerance. Balanced coverage is not an open mic for despotism. You fuel the beast to line your pockets.
https://twitter.com/i/status/1656822734079311872
May 12, 2023
Job satisfaction at a 36 year high
Published by digby on May 11, 2023
But sure, bring back Orange Julius Caesar
And yet people say the economy has gone to hell in a handbasket and half the country believes, erroneously, that Donald Trump presided over the greatest economy in the history of the world (as he claimed last night.) And why is this happening? Because the media reflexively reports every economic number as bad news. Just yesterday, it was reported that inflation has dipped below 5% and it was reported on CNN as very bad news because day care costs are too high and social security recipients have less buying power than they did in 1980. They can cherry pick bad news all day long and they do.
Maybe this will change before long but time is wasting.
Job satisfaction at a 36 year high
https://digbysblog.net/2023/05/11/job-satisfaction-at-a-36-year-high/Job satisfaction at a 36 year high
Published by digby on May 11, 2023
But sure, bring back Orange Julius Caesar
Job satisfaction hit a 36-year high in 2022, reflecting two effects of the tight pandemic labor market: The quality of jobs improved as wages and work flexibility increased, and workers moved into positions that were a better fit.
Last year, 62.3% of U.S. workers said they were satisfied with their jobs, according to new data from the Conference Board, up from 60.2% in 2021 and 56.8% in 2020. The business-research organization polled workers on 26 aspects of work, and found that people were most content with their commutes, their co-workers, the physical environment of their workplace and job security.
Among the happiest workers: people who voluntarily switched jobs during the pandemic and individuals working in hybrid roles with a mix of in-person and remote work. Men’s satisfaction was higher than women’s in every component, especially in areas such as leave policies, bonus plans, promotions, communication and organizational culture.
Last year, 62.3% of U.S. workers said they were satisfied with their jobs, according to new data from the Conference Board, up from 60.2% in 2021 and 56.8% in 2020. The business-research organization polled workers on 26 aspects of work, and found that people were most content with their commutes, their co-workers, the physical environment of their workplace and job security.
Among the happiest workers: people who voluntarily switched jobs during the pandemic and individuals working in hybrid roles with a mix of in-person and remote work. Men’s satisfaction was higher than women’s in every component, especially in areas such as leave policies, bonus plans, promotions, communication and organizational culture.
And yet people say the economy has gone to hell in a handbasket and half the country believes, erroneously, that Donald Trump presided over the greatest economy in the history of the world (as he claimed last night.) And why is this happening? Because the media reflexively reports every economic number as bad news. Just yesterday, it was reported that inflation has dipped below 5% and it was reported on CNN as very bad news because day care costs are too high and social security recipients have less buying power than they did in 1980. They can cherry pick bad news all day long and they do.
Maybe this will change before long but time is wasting.
May 12, 2023
Who’s going to build their houses?
Published by digby on May 11, 2023
https://twitter.com/i/status/1655251609054584832
I don’t think people realize how much the construction industry depends upon immigrant labor. It looks like Florida is about to find out. So is Kentucky:
more...
https://digbysblog.net/2023/05/11/whos-going-to-build-their-houses/
Who's going to build their houses?
Who’s going to build their houses?
Published by digby on May 11, 2023
https://twitter.com/i/status/1655251609054584832
Construction workers say many employees have not showed up to work because they fear deportation.
Critics say Florida Senate Bill 1718 is to blame.
If signed by Gov. Ron DeSantis, businesses could face a $10,000 fine for every undocumented employee and the state could revoke their business license.
Because of this, many construction workers who spoke to CBS News Miami say they are fearful of the future.
“Many workers are leaving, thinking they’re going to be deported, so they’re going to other states,” says Jose, an employee. “Everyone is really uneasy…we just want to work to help our families.”
Critics say Florida Senate Bill 1718 is to blame.
If signed by Gov. Ron DeSantis, businesses could face a $10,000 fine for every undocumented employee and the state could revoke their business license.
Because of this, many construction workers who spoke to CBS News Miami say they are fearful of the future.
“Many workers are leaving, thinking they’re going to be deported, so they’re going to other states,” says Jose, an employee. “Everyone is really uneasy…we just want to work to help our families.”
I don’t think people realize how much the construction industry depends upon immigrant labor. It looks like Florida is about to find out. So is Kentucky:
more...
https://digbysblog.net/2023/05/11/whos-going-to-build-their-houses/
May 10, 2023
A Brief History of Presidential Raping
by Jaime O’Neill | May 10, 2023 - 7:00am
snip//
There was surely a lot of sexual misconduct we never heard about. We know that JFK was a legendary womanizer and adulterer. Even Dwight D. Eisenhower had a woman on the side, as did FDR before him. Harding was also quite active outside the bounds of marriage. And though he wasn't a POTUS, Ben Franklin was busy in beds from Pennsylvania to Paris.
So, this isn't entirely new, though in the degree of plain ol' scuzziness and scumbaggery, Trump is hard to beat. And not just in the annals of bad actors high in the hierarchy of American leaders. Trump has been a sleaze in so many arenas of human behavior that even a guy who raped slaves he legally owned probably ain't in the same class of scoundrel as Trump, who has behaved so badly in word and deed that we can only begin to imagine how many other bad things he's done for which he has yet to have been called to account. He's gotten away with more shit than even Nixon could match, from the volume of lies told to the numbers of women he molested without consent. He just couldn't help himself, as he confessed on those infamous Access Hollywood tapes we all heard before he was elected to lead us.
But my God, what a great feeling it was to hear that verdict with those hefty fines being announced yesterday. It went to the heart of every American who still wants to believe that even the richest and slimiest of human weasels just might be held liable for crimes, even if the punishment is only "civil" and monetary. It gives us hope, and hope in this realm has been in short supply where this creep has been concerned for his entire life.
Yesterday was one crack in the dam that has been holding back justice for this guy for so long. There's a lot of bad water stored up behind that dam, a lot of pressure building for that dam to crumble. In all likelihood, there should be enough water flooding through to drown the son of a bitch. His days of skulking around beauty pageants hoping to catch sight of teenage girls nekkid are drawing to a close. The spineless allegiance of even the most craven and spineless Republicans might begin to recede now, though that remains to be seen. The big banks that have been so willing to keep the guy afloat may tighten up as his always-inflated valuations of his wealth begin to be dubious even to banks who love to be profligate with loans to men who don't need the money. Even the men who believed that it was just "locker room talk" when Trump boasted on tape about what he could get away with because he was a "star" might begin to feel a little ashamed of themselves, might wonder if their hero was the sort they'd want their sons to see as a role model, let alone a guy who should have a second shot at being POTUS.
What we can take from this sordid tale is that perhaps, and just maybe, the country will unite behind the idea that such dickish behavior is just not something we want to see on future applications from men who want to be presidents.
Or Supreme Courts justices, either, for that matter.
A Brief History of Presidential Raping
http://www.smirkingchimp.com/thread/jaime-o-neill/106185/a-brief-history-of-presidential-rapingA Brief History of Presidential Raping
by Jaime O’Neill | May 10, 2023 - 7:00am
snip//
There was surely a lot of sexual misconduct we never heard about. We know that JFK was a legendary womanizer and adulterer. Even Dwight D. Eisenhower had a woman on the side, as did FDR before him. Harding was also quite active outside the bounds of marriage. And though he wasn't a POTUS, Ben Franklin was busy in beds from Pennsylvania to Paris.
So, this isn't entirely new, though in the degree of plain ol' scuzziness and scumbaggery, Trump is hard to beat. And not just in the annals of bad actors high in the hierarchy of American leaders. Trump has been a sleaze in so many arenas of human behavior that even a guy who raped slaves he legally owned probably ain't in the same class of scoundrel as Trump, who has behaved so badly in word and deed that we can only begin to imagine how many other bad things he's done for which he has yet to have been called to account. He's gotten away with more shit than even Nixon could match, from the volume of lies told to the numbers of women he molested without consent. He just couldn't help himself, as he confessed on those infamous Access Hollywood tapes we all heard before he was elected to lead us.
But my God, what a great feeling it was to hear that verdict with those hefty fines being announced yesterday. It went to the heart of every American who still wants to believe that even the richest and slimiest of human weasels just might be held liable for crimes, even if the punishment is only "civil" and monetary. It gives us hope, and hope in this realm has been in short supply where this creep has been concerned for his entire life.
Yesterday was one crack in the dam that has been holding back justice for this guy for so long. There's a lot of bad water stored up behind that dam, a lot of pressure building for that dam to crumble. In all likelihood, there should be enough water flooding through to drown the son of a bitch. His days of skulking around beauty pageants hoping to catch sight of teenage girls nekkid are drawing to a close. The spineless allegiance of even the most craven and spineless Republicans might begin to recede now, though that remains to be seen. The big banks that have been so willing to keep the guy afloat may tighten up as his always-inflated valuations of his wealth begin to be dubious even to banks who love to be profligate with loans to men who don't need the money. Even the men who believed that it was just "locker room talk" when Trump boasted on tape about what he could get away with because he was a "star" might begin to feel a little ashamed of themselves, might wonder if their hero was the sort they'd want their sons to see as a role model, let alone a guy who should have a second shot at being POTUS.
What we can take from this sordid tale is that perhaps, and just maybe, the country will unite behind the idea that such dickish behavior is just not something we want to see on future applications from men who want to be presidents.
Or Supreme Courts justices, either, for that matter.
May 9, 2023
Ron DeSantis Signs Bill Aimed At Weakening Public Sector Unions
How I despise this guy ... 
Ron DeSantis Signs Bill Aimed At Weakening Public Sector Unions
Florida unions have blasted the legislation as a naked power grab meant to hurt the governor’s political enemies.
Dave Jamieson
May 9, 2023, 11:55 AM EDT
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) said Tuesday that he signed a major piece of legislation aimed at weakening public sector unions by making it harder for them to collect dues from members.
Senate Bill 256 forbids most unions representing government employees from having dues deducted directly from workers’ paychecks. It also requires that affected unions maintain at least 60% membership in their bargaining units, or else they could face decertification and lose their contracts.
The new law will force public sector unions to develop new ways of getting dues from members — such as setting up electronic bank transfers — and will also imperil the existence of those unions that don’t meet the 60% threshold.
Although DeSantis and other Republicans have cast the bill as “paycheck protection” for workers, they excluded unions representing police, firefighters and corrections officers — i.e., the unions that are typically more likely to support Republicans. The unions that are subject to the law tend to represent teachers, sanitation workers and other government employees.
snip//
“The goal of the bill is to eliminate collective bargaining for public-sector workers who the governor doesn’t like,” Rich Templin, the director of politics and public policy at the Florida AFL-CIO labor federation, told HuffPost last month. “Nobody that’s directly involved has asked for this. This is another in a very long line of policies being advanced solely for the governor’s run for the White House.”
more...
https://www.huffpost.com/entry/ron-desantis-teachers-anti-union-bill_n_645a5db3e4b09eef83023a52
May 8, 2023
Posted on Sun, May 7th, 2023 by Jason Easley
Jamie Raskin Says Jack Smith Could Conceivably Charge Trump With Seditious Conspiracy
House Oversight Committee ranking member Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-MD) explained why Special Counsel Jack Smith could be considering seditious conspiracy charges against Trump.
Video @ link~
On MSNBC’s Inside with Jen Psaki, Psaki asked Rep. Raskin if Jack Smith could be conceivably considering seditious conspiracy charges against Trump.
Raskin replied:
more...
https://www.politicususa.com/2023/05/07/jamie-raskin-trump-seditious-conspiracy.html
Jamie Raskin Says Jack Smith Could Conceivably Charge Trump With Seditious Conspiracy
https://www.politicususa.com/2023/05/07/jamie-raskin-trump-seditious-conspiracy.htmlPosted on Sun, May 7th, 2023 by Jason Easley
Jamie Raskin Says Jack Smith Could Conceivably Charge Trump With Seditious Conspiracy
House Oversight Committee ranking member Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-MD) explained why Special Counsel Jack Smith could be considering seditious conspiracy charges against Trump.
Video @ link~
On MSNBC’s Inside with Jen Psaki, Psaki asked Rep. Raskin if Jack Smith could be conceivably considering seditious conspiracy charges against Trump.
Raskin replied:
Absolutely. I mean, that’s not a defense. If you are accused of conspiracy to overthrow the government or put down the government of the United States, which is what seditious conspiracy means, it’s not a defense to say somebody else told me to do it or somebody else was involved in the conspiracy. Trump could very much have been part of the proud boys or the oath keepers conspiracy, he might have been involved in an overlapping concentric ring conspiracy with those conspiracies.
We don’t have a system of justice, I hope, as I said at the January six hearings, where the footsoldiers and the ringleaders down below go to jail and the ringleaders above get a free pass and get to continue their insurrectionist assault on democratic institutions. So, you know, we’ve seen a lot of justice take place here, the Department of Justice has been doing an excellent job, more than 1000 arrests, hundreds of convictions have taken place, more than a dozen people have been convicted of seditious conspiracy, completely refuting those who said, well, how could this be an insurrection if nobody was trying to overthrow the government? Well, now, they have their answer, more than a dozen people have been convicted of that
. And Donald Trump of course, was impeached by 232 vote margin in the House for inciting insurrection against the union. And 57 of the 100 senators agreed that he had incited the men’s direction against the union. We did not reach the magic two-thirds number to convict the president. Yet, we have a concurrent majorities of both houses of Congress declaring that that is precisely what he did as a matter of constitutional fact.
We don’t have a system of justice, I hope, as I said at the January six hearings, where the footsoldiers and the ringleaders down below go to jail and the ringleaders above get a free pass and get to continue their insurrectionist assault on democratic institutions. So, you know, we’ve seen a lot of justice take place here, the Department of Justice has been doing an excellent job, more than 1000 arrests, hundreds of convictions have taken place, more than a dozen people have been convicted of seditious conspiracy, completely refuting those who said, well, how could this be an insurrection if nobody was trying to overthrow the government? Well, now, they have their answer, more than a dozen people have been convicted of that
. And Donald Trump of course, was impeached by 232 vote margin in the House for inciting insurrection against the union. And 57 of the 100 senators agreed that he had incited the men’s direction against the union. We did not reach the magic two-thirds number to convict the president. Yet, we have a concurrent majorities of both houses of Congress declaring that that is precisely what he did as a matter of constitutional fact.
more...
https://www.politicususa.com/2023/05/07/jamie-raskin-trump-seditious-conspiracy.html
May 8, 2023
The Rude Pundit
Proudly lowering the level of political discourse
5/07/2023
Human Life Is Cheap in the USA
snip//
We absorb horror after horror. I saw a photo from the Allen, Texas, massacre of victims of the shooter's AR-15, including a little girl with her brain splattered out. I cannot begin to fathom the depth of sociopathic depravity you have to possess in order to look at a picture like that and think, "Yeah, everything's fine with how things are going. More guns, please." I mean, if one particular gun is responsible for massacre after massacre, it's pretty clear that you need to get rid of that gun, at the very least. I mean, isn't that the most obvious, logical extension of any discussion of "what can we do"?
But we see all around us the devaluing of human life, of any sense that we should give a damn about anyone other than ourselves and those closest to us. This is what it means to live in a nation where one in three people owns a gun, where at least 20 million of those guns are the same kind that is used in massacre after massacre. This is what it means to live in that armed country where a large percentage of us believe that we are under constant assault from people known and unknown, from migrant gangs, from marauding non-whites, from woke teenagers, from the very elected government, from forces and conspiracies that only exist in the fevered minds of those who want to believe them. And then you think a good many of those threats are armed, so you have to kill them before they kill you. Human life in general doesn't matter to you anymore. Humanity doesn't matter. You and yours, that's all that does. And your guns.
When other countries look at the United States, they see this as madness. And it is. We have been driven mad by right-wing media and politicians who make coin and careers on exploiting the fears that right-wing media presents. I have friends in New Jersey who refuse to go into New York City because they fully believe that one of the safest places in the country is a deadly hellhole of murder. When I convince them to hang out, they are hyperalert, not thinking that everyone around them is just living their lives. No, they believe that one of them is going to rob them or take them out. And anything out of the ordinary, say, a homeless man ranting about needing food, confirms their belief that we're in a cesspool of people they should hate for existing. And then you don't have to care and think they deserve it when someone, say, chokes them to death because they think they might have a gun or might be a threat.
If you see hurting people and you don't want to help them, if you don't want to increase funding for services or ban weapons of war, if you don't want to deal with housing the unhoused or showing compassion for migrants, if you don't want to do anything to stop the hurting, if you, in fact, want them to hurt, if you think everyday things people do, like ringing a doorbell, are threats that need deadly force, then they aren't the ones who have lost their humanity. You are. And if we keep allowing our leaders to make the country deadlier, then we aren't that far behind.
The Rude Pundit: Human Life Is Cheap in the USA
https://rudepundit.blogspot.com/2023/05/human-life-is-cheap-in-usa.htmlThe Rude Pundit
Proudly lowering the level of political discourse
5/07/2023
Human Life Is Cheap in the USA
snip//
We absorb horror after horror. I saw a photo from the Allen, Texas, massacre of victims of the shooter's AR-15, including a little girl with her brain splattered out. I cannot begin to fathom the depth of sociopathic depravity you have to possess in order to look at a picture like that and think, "Yeah, everything's fine with how things are going. More guns, please." I mean, if one particular gun is responsible for massacre after massacre, it's pretty clear that you need to get rid of that gun, at the very least. I mean, isn't that the most obvious, logical extension of any discussion of "what can we do"?
But we see all around us the devaluing of human life, of any sense that we should give a damn about anyone other than ourselves and those closest to us. This is what it means to live in a nation where one in three people owns a gun, where at least 20 million of those guns are the same kind that is used in massacre after massacre. This is what it means to live in that armed country where a large percentage of us believe that we are under constant assault from people known and unknown, from migrant gangs, from marauding non-whites, from woke teenagers, from the very elected government, from forces and conspiracies that only exist in the fevered minds of those who want to believe them. And then you think a good many of those threats are armed, so you have to kill them before they kill you. Human life in general doesn't matter to you anymore. Humanity doesn't matter. You and yours, that's all that does. And your guns.
When other countries look at the United States, they see this as madness. And it is. We have been driven mad by right-wing media and politicians who make coin and careers on exploiting the fears that right-wing media presents. I have friends in New Jersey who refuse to go into New York City because they fully believe that one of the safest places in the country is a deadly hellhole of murder. When I convince them to hang out, they are hyperalert, not thinking that everyone around them is just living their lives. No, they believe that one of them is going to rob them or take them out. And anything out of the ordinary, say, a homeless man ranting about needing food, confirms their belief that we're in a cesspool of people they should hate for existing. And then you don't have to care and think they deserve it when someone, say, chokes them to death because they think they might have a gun or might be a threat.
If you see hurting people and you don't want to help them, if you don't want to increase funding for services or ban weapons of war, if you don't want to deal with housing the unhoused or showing compassion for migrants, if you don't want to do anything to stop the hurting, if you, in fact, want them to hurt, if you think everyday things people do, like ringing a doorbell, are threats that need deadly force, then they aren't the ones who have lost their humanity. You are. And if we keep allowing our leaders to make the country deadlier, then we aren't that far behind.
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Gender: FemaleHometown: NY
Home country: US
Current location: Florida
Member since: Mon Sep 6, 2004, 09:54 PM
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