James Comey Book Release Prompts Pee-Tape News Revival: Reason Roundup

Plus: More charges for Backpage and moves to legalize hemp.

Jeff Malet Photography/Newscom

James Comey's book leak prompts pee-tape talk, moralizing. "I don't know whether… the current president of the United States was with prostitutes peeing on each other in Moscow in 2013. It's possible, but I don't know." That's former FBI director James Comey on the George Stephanopoulos show this morning, discussing allegations in the infamous Steele dossier about possible Russian "kompromat" on Donald Trump.

Comey has been making the media rounds ahead of his upcoming book release. The pompously titled book (A Higher Loyalty: Truth, Lies and Leadership) will officially come out on April 17, but a leaked copy has already permeated the internet. (Read some excerpts in The Washington Post.)

Talking to Stephanopoulos, Comey elaborated on the book's claim that Trump wanted him to investigate the so-called pee-tape dossier to "prove that it didn't happen" so Melania Trump wouldn't be mad at him. According to Comey, the president told him "If there's even a 1 percent chance my wife thinks that's true, that's terrible."

Apparently, Comey couldn't help but serve up some moralizing along with his claims:

And I remember thinking, 'How could your wife think there's a 1 percent chance you were with prostitutes peeing on each other in Moscow?' I'm a flawed human being, but there is literally zero chance that my wife would think that was true. So, what kind of marriage to what kind of man does your wife think [that] there's only a 99 percent chance you didn't do that?

Comey said the whole conversation with Trump was "really weird" and left him with an "almost out-of-body experience":

I was floating above myself, looking down, saying, 'you're sitting here, briefing the incoming president of the United States about prostitutes in Moscow.

In the book, he also claims that Trump denied the allegations by citing his personal cleanliness standards: " "I'm a germaphobe," Trump allegedly told Comey in January 2017. "There's no way I would let people pee on each other around me. No way."

Trump lashed out via Twitter this morning over Comey's media blitz and claims, calling him a "proven leaker and liar" whom it was Trump's "great honor to fire."

James Comey is a proven LEAKER & LIAR. Virtually everyone in Washington thought he should be fired for the terrible job he did-until he was, in fact, fired. He leaked CLASSIFIED information, for which he should be prosecuted. He lied to Congress under OATH. He is a weak and…..

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 13, 2018

….untruthful slime ball who was, as time has proven, a terrible Director of the FBI. His handling of the Crooked Hillary Clinton case, and the events surrounding it, will go down as one of the worst "botch jobs" of history. It was my great honor to fire James Comey!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 13, 2018

But despite all the attention Comey's book is getting, it doesn't seem to reveal much in the way of new information, and certainly no bombshells. Rather, Comey meditates on the meaning of leadership and indulges in all sorts of other inspirational blather.

FREE MINDS

More federal charges for Backpage—but still none for sex trafficking. On Thursday evening, the Department of Justice (DOJ) announced further federal prosecution of people and entities associated with the classified-ad site Backpage, which has now been-seized and shut down entirely. Earlier this week, DOJ dropped a 93-count indictment against seven Backpage executives that included charges of money laundering, conspiracy, and violating the Travel Act (which prohibits using interstate commerce to facilitate prostitution)—but, notably, not any charges related to sex trafficking, which has all along been given as the reason for the nationwide witch hunt against Backpage.

A press release about the new prosecution, against Backpage CEO Carl Ferrar and "several Backpage related corporate entities," opens by calling Backpage "the Internet's leading forum for prostitution ads, including ads depicting the prostitution of children," and mentioning the earlier 93-count indicment—giving the immediate impression that the previous charges and/or the new ones are related to "the prostitution of children."

But, in fact, the charges that Ferrar and the Backpage-related entities copped to were also related to money laundering and violating the Travel Act. From the DOJ:

… Backpage's co-founder and CEO, Carl Ferrer, 57, of Frisco, Texas, has pleaded guilty to conspiracy to facilitate prostitution using a facility in interstate or foreign commerce and to engage in money laundering. Additionally, several Backpage-related corporate entities, including Backpage.com LLC, have entered guilty pleas to conspiracy to engage in money laundering.

Nonetheless, the DOJ press release follows up the announcement of these non-sex-trafficking convictions with a lot of quotes about how great it is that our brave government shut down a sex trafficking operation. "This website will no longer serve as a platform for human traffickers to thrive," said FBI Director Christopher Wray.

FREE MARKETS

Congress moves to legalize hemp. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) yesterday introduced a bill that would remove hemp—the non-psychoactive cannabis cousin of marijuana—from the Controlled Substances List.

Here's my bottom line on hemp ?? If you can BUY it in a supermarket in America, farmers should be allowed to GROW it in America. #HempFarmingAct

— Ron Wyden (@RonWyden) April 12, 2018

The measure, co-sponsored by Sens. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) and Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.) would make hemp legal under federal law and "remove restrictions on banking access, water rights and other roadblocks that farmers and processors currently face," explains Forbes contributor and Marijuana Majority chairman Tom Angell. It would allow hemp farmers to be eligible for crop insurance and federal research grants.

As it stands, U.S. retailers can sell products made from hemp and hemp-derived foods. But U.S. farmers aren't allowed to grow it for commercial purposes and only a few states are allowed to run hemp-farming research programs.

QUICK HITS

• After spending months blasting it, Trump said the U.S. may re-enter the Trans Pacific Partnership if he can get a better deal than Obama.
• "Hungary's democracy is pretty much dead."
• An appeals court ruled that Planet Fitness did not violate a female gym patron's rights by allowing a transgender woman to use the women's locker room. Michigan's Supreme Court is now forcing the lower court to reconsider.
• Belorussian "seduction coach" Nastya Rybka, still imprisoned in Thailand (and still credibly claiming to have dirt on Russian influence in the U.S. presidential election), now faces a 10-year prison sentence for prostitution.
• "By passing sentencing reform that doesn't look like sentencing reform," Congress may be able to move forward with criminal justice reform measures.
• Trump has been floating the idea of pardoning Lewis "Scooter" Libby, who served as chief of staff for former Vice President Dick Cheney and was convicted of four felonies connected to the leak of CIA officer Valerie Plame's identity.

Comments

[Fist of Etiquette]

James Comey's... leak prompts pee...

[Fist of Etiquette]

"I don't know whether? the current president of the United States was with prostitutes peeing on each other in Moscow in 2013. It's possible, but I don't know."

What's this? Something about wife beatings?

[General_Tso]

"I don't know whether? the current president of the United States was with prostitutes peeing on each other in Moscow in 2013. It's possible, but I don't know."

Couldn't the same be said of anybody? Well, anybody with a passport.

[Tom Bombadil]

"I don't know whether James Comey slurped Loretta Lynch's pee off of Hillary's gash. It's possible, but I don't know".

Yeah, that's got a classy ring to it.

[James Comey]

IT WAS HILLARY'S PEE AND HUMA'S ASSHOLE, ASSHOLE1!!!

[Don't look at me.]

IT WAS HER TURN!

[The Inappropriate Comedy Tree]

And I remember thinking, 'How could your wife think there's a 1 percent chance you were with prostitutes peeing on each other in Moscow?' I'm a flawed human being, but there is literally zero chance that my wife would think that was true. So, what kind of marriage to what kind of man does your wife think [that] there's only a 99 percent chance you didn't do that?

So Comey, what prostitutes does your wife think you frequent? Because there's no way in hell she doesn't think you go to them. Unless she's a complete idiot. But everybody knows the head of the FBI fucks hookers.

[Aloysious]

So Comey, what prostitutes does your wife think you frequent?

Short Hindu Hispanic physically handicapped communist gay black women?

[Ska]

*siiiigh*

*unzips*

[Cy]

Now that his ol' pals have seized backpage, they've got a long list of potential "informants." I'm sure they'd never threaten jail time in order to use someone for their ill gotten gains.

[Tom Bombadil]

I'm pretty sure Comey swings in the tradition of Hoover.

[Don't look at me.]

I don't know, but it's possible.

[Fist of Etiquette]

Trump has been floating the idea of pardoning Lewis "Scooter" Libby...

Hoping someone in the future will pardon his fall guy son-in-law.

[The Inappropriate Comedy Tree]

An appeals court ruled that Planet Fitness did not violate a female gym patron's rights by allowing a transgender woman to use the women's locker room. Michigan's Supreme Court is now forcing the lower court to reconsider.

...remind me again why the whole "separate locker rooms" issue isn't something each business can decide for itself?

[Elizabeth Nolan Brown]

Because FYTW?

[Citizen X - #6]

ENB gets it.

[Tom Bombadil]

There needs to be a "drops mic" button.

[Just Say'n]

Because if you allow businesses to make their own policies than the NCAA and other private companies will boycott your state for reasons.

[Just Say'n]

Or are we still pretending like that's not what North Carolina did after Charlotte passed a law mandating pee pee rules?

[EscherEnigma]

I don't know, are you still pretending that's *all* NC did?

[BestUsedCarSales]

They also did vinegar based BBQ.

[Citizen X - #6]

NC-style bbq sauce is fucking delicious and i will not have you slander it baselessly, asshole.

Nothing against those other glorified ketchups; they too have their role. But cider vinegar, brown sugar, and red pepper is all you goddamn need.

[Fuck you, Shikha (Nunya)]

I'm bitter and sour enough without adding vinegar, thank you very much.

[BestUsedCarSales]

All I said is what they did. I did not imply it was good or bad.

Why don't you get out of your Deep South, NoVa attitude and realize the whole country isn't out to get you or the General Lee car I believe you are legally obligated to drive down there.

[Citizen X - #6]

DID YOU JUST IMPLY I LIVE IN NORTHERN VIRGINIA MOTHERFUCKER

DID YOU

I am literally spitting all over the place right now, i am so mad. Spit just everywhere i can't even see the monitor anymroe

[Just Say'n]

What else did they do? Are you referring to them maintaining sex segregated bathrooms in state buildings? I mean by that metric the vast majority of states are no worse than NC

[Bee Tagger]

Trump has been floating the idea of pardoning Lewis "Scooter" Libby, who served as chief of staff for former Vice President Dick Cheney and was convicted of four felonies connected to the leak of CIA officer Valerie Plame's identity.

Democrats heard chanting "Lock scootHER up!" at rallies across the country

[The Inappropriate Comedy Tree]

Democrats heard chanting "Lock scootHER up!" at rallies riots across the country

Fixed that one for ya.

[Mike Laursen]

Trump kinda floats a lot of ideas.

[BestUsedCarSales]

I want a picture of Trump now, at a writing desk, and his head is exploding with all the ideas he has. Like a bad art school project.

[loveconstitution1789]

To be fair, Trump would probably sign some good repeal bills if Congress would ever get off their asses and rollback some gubmint.

With idle time on his hands, Trumps makes mistakes like signing the sex trafficking law and not pulling US troops completely out of Afghanistan.

[Fist of Etiquette]

An appeals court ruled that Planet Fitness did not violate a female gym patron's rights by allowing a transgender woman to use the women's locker room. Michigan's Supreme Court is now forcing the lower court to reconsider.

Michigan justices have gym memberships, too, you know.

[Bee Tagger]

After spending months blasting it, Trump said the U.S. may re-enter the Trans Pacific Partnership if he can get a better deal than Obama.

Wheelsanddeals not principles

[Jerryskids]

So somebody finally managed to explain to Trump that the TPP wasn't a deal made with Ghina but a deal made against Ghina.

[Just Say'n]

It's CHI-na

[Just Say'n]

Dave Smith has a good bit about this.

[The Inappropriate Comedy Tree]

Belorussian "seduction coach" Nastya Rybka, still imprisoned in Thailand (and still credibly claiming to have dirt on Russian influence in the U.S. presidential election), now faces a 10-year prison sentence for prostituion.

Oh, prostitues! That's what Comey's wife doesn't think he visits.

[Just Say'n]

Are we going to pretend like Trump hiring bookers to pee on a bed is really outside the realm of possibilities? Sure there's no proof, but it doesn't sound that crazy

[Just Say'n]

*hookers

[DJF]

I have heard that people who misspell hookers refuse to sleep in a bed unless a hooker has peed on it.

[Just Say'n]

You heard right

[colorblindkid]

Are we going to pretend like Hillary Clinton having a lesbian affair with Huma Abedin is outside the realm of possibilities? Sure there's no proof, but it doesn't sound that crazy.

[Just Say'n]

Agreed

[Tom Bombadil]

The proof is in the poontang.

[Don't look at me.]

Something about that smells fishy.

[Fuck you, Shikha (Nunya)]

I'm sure they'll clear that up with a mother to daughter talk about freshness.

[Red Rocks White Privilege]

One thing that's become evident after all these years of mass media and our obsession with Hollywood "glamour" is that whatever degenerate activities you can imagine, our ruling class of media/celebrity elites have probably participated in it to some degree.

[Jerryskids]

You know, this is why I've never liked Trump. Back about the time I was in high school there was this new celebrity gossip rag called People magazine that came out and it quickly became a very popular magazine. I thought it was a pretty poor reflection on the American people (meaning an accurate reflection) that they would eat this shit up with a spoon. But I remember as a kid going over to my grandmother's and up in her attic were a ton of my aunt's old Photoplay magazines - cheesy, publicity agent-written dreck about the latest Hollywood stars with lots of pin-up style pictures. It was funny going through some of those and seeing "world-famous superstars" you've never heard of and reading some of the crap about how wonderful these people were when the ones you had heard of you knew were drunks and druggies and wife-beaters and child molesters.

But there in the pages of People was the first I ever heard of this Donald Trump, a Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous celebrity "business mogul". Of course, he wasn't actually a business mogul, he just played one on TV. The fucker's been in the reality TV business all his life, selling champagne wishes and caviar dreams. No better than the Kardashians or the Jersey Shore mutts.

[Number 2]

Yes, it is interesting how quickly the entertainment media and industry forgot their role in creating the myth of Donald Trump as the Deal Master/Real Estate Wiz Kid/Business Genius.

[Red Rocks White Privilege]

Not only created, but happily burnished it through various cameo appearances on teevee and movies as well as incessant coverage of his various marriage dramas and roller-coasters of his fortunes.

[Fist of Etiquette]

"By passing sentencing reform that doesn't look like sentencing reform," Congress may be able to move forward with criminal justice reform measures.

More likely you're going to get sentencing reform that isn't sentencing reform.

[Bee Tagger]

And I remember thinking, 'How could your wife think there's a 1 percent chance you were with prostitutes peeing on each other in Moscow?' I'm a flawed human being, but there is literally zero chance that my wife would think that was true. So, what kind of marriage to what kind of man does your wife think [that] there's only a 99 percent chance you didn't do that?

It troubles me that a director of the FBI thinks that there are things about human behavior you should be 100% confident in.

[Texasmotiv]

I figure if it was on the news, that would introduce at least a shadow of a doubt.

[BestUsedCarSales]

If he had doubt then some of the things he has ordered done might be monstrous.

[The Inappropriate Comedy Tree]

Rather, Comey meditates on the meaning of leadership and indulges in all sorts of other inspirational blather.

Inspirational Blather was Obama's attempt at a rap demo back in the early 90s.

[Citizen X - #6]

It was a completely forgettable mixtape, aside from a young DMX's guest spot on "Bitta Clingaz."

[The Inappropriate Comedy Tree]

I dunno, it did serve as a strong introduction to Obama's speaking style.

[Citizen X - #6]

Let me be clear, uh, my new mixtape is dropping, uh, next Tuesday. (P. Diddy in background: "Thas right.")

[BestUsedCarSales]

Man, he was truly the finest speaker of our generation, nay, our century.

[Citizen X - #6]

"I mean, you got the first mainstream African-American who is articulate and bright and clean and a nice-looking guy. I mean, that's a storybook, man" - Diamond Joe

[Red Rocks White Privilege]

Kind of sad that Comey's been reduced to writing what amounts to a self-help book to pay the bills.

[colorblindkid]

From what I understand, Libby was completely railroaded in the whole thing, and even some more liberal observers admit so. It was a witch hunt in need of a witch. It turns out Plame was a lunatic ant-Semite anyway.

[Citizen X - #6]

An ant-Semite? Like, a tiny Hebrew insect?

[John]

He was totally railroaded. Bush was a complete coward for not pardoning him as he left office.

[Just Say'n]

I don't know if forwarding some divergent foreign policy articles that are more negative toward Israel makes you an anti-Semite.

[TrickyVic (old school)]

When you lie and your handwritten note is evidence of it. I wouldn't call it railroaded.

However, being the passes I've seen given to other liars since Libby's days. He probably does deserve a pardon.

[Fist of Etiquette]

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) yesterday introduced a bill that would remove hemp?the non-psychoactive cannabis cousin of marijuana?from the Controlled Substances List.

If only his constituency would benefit financially from de-scheduling marijuana.

[dan'o en barrel]

Have long been a big proponent of getting weed off of Schedule I, but heard that moving it to Schedule II or III will subject any medical claims/products to the FDA's retarded gauntlet-of-an-approval process.

[Robert]

Theoretically such marketing claims have been subject to FDA approval in interstate commerce, & to that of state pharmacy bds. in intrastate comments, all along.

[Don't look at me.]

So brave.

[MP]

Every snippet I've read of Comey's book so far makes him come off as a moralizing pompass ass. I mean, harping on Trump for sitting behind his desk in the Oval Office? Seriously? WAHHH!!! The President doesn't want to be my pal! WAHHH!!!

Yes, Trump has a huge ego and he's a boor. If that's all this book has to offer, then it's worse than useless.

[The Inappropriate Comedy Tree]

moralizing pompous ass

Tony's nickname in middle school.

[Unicorn Abattoir]

I thought his nickname in middle school was that bitch I stuffed in a locker

[Shirley Knott]

I thought it was the definition of 'public servant.'

[The Inappropriate Comedy Tree]

After spending months blasting it, Trump said the U.S. may re-enter the Trans Pacific Partnership if he can get a better deal than Obama.

See, Republicans? Why take ownership of Obamacare when you can take ownership of a trade deal? You know, apart from being complete idiots.

[DJF]

""""That his Fidesz party was just able to capture the two-thirds supermajority it needed to rule unimpeded with only 48 percent of the vote.""""

If a party getting less then 50% of the vote and getting a supermajoirity in Parliament is undemocratic
that means that Canada, Britain and others are not democratic since they have the "First Past the Post" system

Britain has not had a party get a majority of the vote since the early 1930's yet they have had many times give a majority of seats to single parties.

[Fist of Etiquette]

Earlier this week, DOJ dropped a 93-count indictment against seven Backpage executives...

REWORD THIS.

[Citizen X - #6]

I had Indian for dinner the other night, and afterwards dropped a 93-count indictment of my own.

[Citizen X - #6]

"There's no way I would let people pee on each other around me. No way."

That's a phrase you'd NEVER read on Hit'n'Run, otherwise.

[Ken Shultz]

"I don't know whether? the current president of the United States was with prostitutes peeing on each other in Moscow in 2013. It's possible, but I don't know." That's former FBI director James Comey on the George Stephanopoulos show this morning."

I don't know whether James Comey likes to shove gerbils up his ass.

It's possible, but I don't know.

[James Comey]

THEY WERE HAMSTERS, ASSHOLE!!11

[Drave Robber]

Gerbils are easier to pull out because they have longer tails.

[Citizen X - #6]

That sounds suspiciously like the voice of experience, Drave.

[MP]

I'm not saying that James Comey is a sheep fucker.

[James Comey]

THOSE WERE KITTENS IN SWEATERS, ASSHOLE!!1!

[gormadoc]

"There is literally a 5% chance my wife would believe this."

[The Inappropriate Comedy Tree]

Read some excerpts in The Washington Post.

Yeah, see, they have this whole, paywall thing, and I can't read it, and they want me to shut down my ad blocker so they can put all kinds of trackers and shit on my computer, and, well, I just gotta say, they're pretty shady. It's like their whole website is a giant dark patch, of like, darkness.

[Fuck you, Shikha (Nunya)]

Being behind a partial and insisting you disable ad blockers is especially assholish.

[Just Say'n]

That Hungary story doesn't provide any evidence to suggest how Orban (who was jailed as a young man as a communist dissident) is a dictator other than "he's not Angela Merkel's preferred candidate. No one's questioning the legitimacy of the election results and the media companies that have closed down were funded by the US and other Western countries opposed to Orban and naturally that funding ran out after the election.

[John]

You beat me to it. In the Post's view, anytime someone who doesn't support absolute open borders and isn't willing to lie about the dangers posed by Muslim refugees wins an election, it is the end of democracy. It is really an unbelievably dishonest piece even by the Post's admittedly low standards. It is Dalmia level stupid and dishonest.

[Just Say'n]

People are in for a rude awakening if they believe that declaring fair and free elections as "fascism" because you don't like the results will convince voters to reconsider

[Robert]

They treated a statement that it can be difficult for cultures to co-exist as if that were blasphemy. They revealed that the winning side in an election set out to consolidate power, as if that weren't the expected result of gov't proceedings. The cities were doing better than the country, how novel!

I've read that Fidesz started as a libertarian party, then turned less so. I'd like to see more substantive analysis of that in pages like this. Some commenters here have filled us in on that before, so why doesn't someone on staff get on it?

[Ken Shultz]

That's an interesting point, but it fails to mention that Orban is anti-immigration.

Obviously, if you don't want Syrian refugees flooding into your country, you're by definition a dictator.

That's why Trump is a dictator, too. Don't you know anything about politics?!

/sarc

[John]

How many Christmas markets have had some lunatic run a truck down them in Hungary? How many women were groped and raped last New Year's in Budapest? How many "no go" zones are there in Hungary? Hungary must just have good luck. Racists always seem to have good luck.

[Ken Shultz]

Regardless, has anyone asked the Hungarian people what they want?

If he's doing what the people of Hungary want, that doesn't make him a dictator.

If he were imposing an unpopular liberal immigration policy on the Hungarian people against their will, that would be indicative of a dictator.

He may be a dictator for all I know, but probably not for this reason.

[Drave Robber]

Stolen Was Bike, Hungarian version

[Fist of Etiquette]

After spending months blasting it, Trump.... may re-enter the Trans...

[General_Tso]

Only after the trans pees on him, of course.

[John]

"Hungary's democracy is pretty much dead."

That is Post speak for "someone we don't like won an election. The article never says how Orban is destroying democracy. It only says that he won and is "gasp" saying bad things about refugees. Wow. Hungry looked at Germany and said "no thanks". The racist bastards. There is not a single example of anything undemocratic Orban has done. I love this part

Worst of all, this encourages an apocalyptic mode of thinking ? if you don't win now, the country you love will be gone forever ? that justifies any and all tactics, no matter how undemocratic. It's why researchers have found that Orban's supporters aren't troubled by his dictatorial turn. He's doing what he needs to.

There are a few million young, violent nasty men at the border wanting to come in and squat and do you real harm. Saying no to that and deciding to keep things as they are is not apocalyptic thinking. It is facing reality you silly half wit.

[Just Say'n]

It's socialist propaganda, literally. That's Orban's opposition party.

[John]

I love how he blames the socialists for the economic problems and says "sure they should have been put out of office" but then calls when they were the end of democracy. Socialist should be held accountable for their failures just so long as nothing actually changes.

[Just Say'n]

You should read the book "Demon in Democracy" written by an anti-communist dissident from Poland. He argues that after the end of the Cold War the Western powers reintegrated communist party members into government while isolating former anti-communists

[John]

I have heard of that book and read a few excerpts in magazines. I do need to read it. And I think the guy pretty much nails what happened from what I can see.

[Just Say'n]

The former leader of Solidarity also echoes that this is what happened. Of course he's a Nazi now for reasons

[Red Rocks White Privilege]

I wonder, once the last white man is dead, who becomes the next target of blame for all of the world's problems?

[Just Say'n]

It has nothing to do with "white or black". Macron and Merkel are whiter than Orban, but they're leadership is beyond reproach

[Red Rocks White Privilege]

I think you underestimate the degree of self-loathing that white leftists indulge in.

[chemjeff radical individualist]

The article never says how Orban is destroying democracy. It only says that he won and is "gasp" saying bad things about refugees.

^^^ didn't read the article

[John]

Okay, tell what I missed. If the article says how he is dismantling democracy, cut and paste that language here and enlighten us. Otherwise, shut the fuck up.

[chemjeff radical individualist]

Prime Minister Viktor Orban has rigged the rules in his favor to such an extent ? everything from turning the state broadcaster into a propaganda outlet to changing how elections are decided so they're easier for him to win to even some eyebrow-raising vote totals in a few districts ? that his Fidesz party was just able to capture the two-thirds supermajority it needed to rule unimpeded with only 48 percent of the vote.

it's in the second paragraph, John

[Just Say'n]

And yet no evidence is provided. And literally no one has questioned the legitimacy of the election.

[chemjeff radical individualist]

^^^ shifting the goalposts

[Just Say'n]

What goalposts were shifted?

[John]

everything from turning the state broadcaster into a propaganda outlet to changing how elections are decided so they're easier for him to win

It is state run media. Of course, it is propaganda. NPR is propaganda for the left. Does that make Obama's election and re-election illegitimate?

And what does it mean to "change how elections are decided"? That statement doesn't make any sense. There are a lot of ways to elect a government. Changing from one way to another isn't necessarily destroying democracy. If we got rid of the electoral college, that would be "changing how elections are decided to make it easier for Democrats". Would the Post think that was the end of democracy? I don't think so.

Without further explanation, that paragraph is meaningless. The article presented no evidence or examples of how Orban is becoming a dictator. Having a friendly state-run media outlet and changing the way elections are decided by themselves do not diminish democracy.

Thanks for providing a quote from the article that exactly proves my point.

[chemjeff radical individualist]

no, it's that you are choosing to interpret the article in a manner most charitable to Orban. which isn't all that surprising. it's not about "saying mean things about refugees".

read this for example about Orban's propaganda:

http://www.politico.eu/article.....ropaganda/

[John]

You are taking it in a manner most critical of him. So what? If he is destroying democracy, you should be able to explain why. The fact that you can't and the author of this piece cannot do it, is pretty strong evidence that he isn't.

And so what if he engages in propaganda? What is propaganda other than political speech that you don't like? Moreover, the fact that he feels the need to engage in it, is pretty strong evidence that democracy is alive and well in Hungary. If it wasn't, Orban would have no reason to convince his people of anything and would instead be directing his propaganda at foreign nations not his own people.

[chemjeff radical individualist]

You are taking it in a manner most critical of him. So what?

I'm actually taking the article at face value. you are the one demanding a 100-page dissertation of proof.

And so what if he engages in propaganda?

lol John is defending propaganda now. Does that mean you are pro-NPR now?

[What Smells Like Pee?]

lol John is defending propaganda now. Does that mean you are pro-NPR now?

"so what" isn't a defense

you seem very stupid and ideologically blinkered

[BestUsedCarSales]

"so what" isn't a defense

Well, if someone is saying a person committed an immoral action, and someone respond that the action is not immoral, then that is an implicit defense of the person making the action at least. And if not encouraging the action, is a defense against it being immoral.

But the next sentence is an explicit defense of it, "What is propaganda other than political speech that you don't like?" Which I think is a good point. Propaganda is thrown around a lot, and I don't know enough about the specifics here to say whether this implementation is bad.

Finally, "Moreover, the fact that he feels the need to engage in it, is pretty strong evidence that democracy is alive and well in Hungary" is a silly statement. That just ignores all historical evidence of how dictorships have flourished. Unless democracy was alive and well in Facist Italy, the USSR, and modern day North Korea.

[John]

Dictatorships don't need to engage in propaganda. They own all the information.

[Michael S. Langston]

'So what' in this context wasn't proffered as a defense, but used as a sarcastic way of saying the point was irrelevant.

Which without agreeing at all with John, I can say he explained in the very next paragraph why he thought 'engaging in propaganda' is not a relevant data point to answering whether a given leader is moving towards a dictatorship.

FWIW - I agree with John there is really no evidence given for the assertions made, but age with you that dictators engage in domestic propaganda all the time (see North Korea). So I don't think it logically flows that those engaging in it are likely to be doing so within an environment of free speech. But it also doesn't flow that the use of propaganda means dictator.

In either case, the article sucks and it's far too common around here. Like many blanket assertions about extremists holding extremist views, without a single link to the extremist writing a single extreme thing, etc, etc, etc.

Yet magically those found to be the 'wrong people' in all these lazy articles, are also seen as the wrong type of people, by a single, very specific demographic in the US.

This is just more of the same: worthless analysis with no real thought or research, underscored with blind and inaccurate assertions, infused with opinions written with such strong convinctions, they appear to be unassailable.

Yep - nothing says great journalism more than writing which utilizes only ignorance and arrogance as the keys to good analysis.

[CatoTheChipper]

It's not as though Hungarians can't access satellite TV and Internet that distribute the opposition's view. It isn't North Korea or Cuba.

[Kivlor]

turning the state broadcaster into a propaganda outlet

Hungary's state broadcaster was already a propaganda outlet. Fidesz only shifted the slant of the propaganda. That is not "the end of democracy". If it is, then it was already dead due to being a propaganda outlet already.

changing how elections are decided so they're easier for him to win

Eh? How did he change how elections "unwinnable" by any other party, as the article claims? There is zero evidence provided beyond "WAAAAA! The Left keeps losing to the right in Hungary! The elections are rigged!!11!"

Fidesz party was just able to capture the two-thirds supermajority it needed to rule unimpeded with only 48 percent of the vote

You know, this may be news for you loons on the left, but the only competition for Fidesz was the even farther right JOBBIK, which won 26 seats.

[Just Say'n]

^^^ Definitely didn't read the article

[John]

Funny, the article listed all of these attacks on democracy but Chemjeff chose not to include them in his post and instead just made an unsupported assertion that they exist out of kindness I guess. Making an easily provable assertion without any proof and then claiming that the other side is asking you to prove a negative when asked for the proof is one of the more common stupid human tricks leftists on here pull.

[chemjeff radical individualist]

it's right there in the article

[John]

No its not. The paragraph you cited lists nothing that indicates he is destroying democracy. They are just baseless and unsupported assertions. Since baseless assertions is your stock and trade, I guess it shouldn't surprise me that you don't understand how to recognize them much less how unpersuasive they are.

[chemjeff radical individualist]

The paragraph you cited lists nothing that indicates he is destroying democracy.

yeah it does. it just doesn't have the supposed "smoking gun proof" that you supposedly demand from a simple news article.

[John]

It doesn't list anything. "Changing how elections are decided" does not mean the new elections are no longer democratic. Moreover, the failure of the author to explain what those changes are and how they destroy democracy is the dog that didn't bark. If those changes really did do that, the author would have explained how bad they were instead of just making an assertion that people like you can take pejoratively but in reality means nothing. He wrote it that way because Orban isn't destroying democracy but he wanted to give trolls like you a talking point. Sorry, but it isn't working.

[chemjeff radical individualist]

oh and by the way John. Orban is not merely "saying bad things about refugees". He believes in the same cultural essentialism that the alt-right does, that individuals have fixed immutable beliefs that they carry with them forever and ever. "Demography is destiny" and all that crap. I don't see how you can get behind such a guy.

[Just Say'n]

That's not supported by the evidence. Next you'll tell me about how the Polish had a march where they said "Death to all Muslims"

http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wo.....7d430af749

http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wo.....bdc8fe35e8

Whoops

[Just Say'n]

FYI- The Washington Post has absolutely terrible foreign reporting- especially with regards to eastern Europe

[chemjeff radical individualist]

yup there we go. one mistake means that all of WaPo is full of lies. logical fallacy 101

[Just Say'n]

No- it proves that Washington Post is running with his opposition's propaganda. You're crazy to think otherwise

[Kivlor]

Next you'll tell me about how the Polish had a march where they said "Death to all Muslims"

They totally did back in October of 2017. They even formed a human wall of racists in order to pray for the death of their enemies.

/chemjeff

[What Smells Like Pee?]

Maybe the guy has a nice pooper.

[John]

I see no evidence of that. What I do see is that he doesn't believe in the leftist fantasy that people from thrid world cultures will magically transform once they come to the West. Just because individuals have free will and can choose to change, doesn't mean as a group they will. It never occurs to morons like you that maybe those refugees don't like your culture and prefer theirs. If you were not such an appalling racist and could see them as human beings, you would understand that. You don't like their culture, what makes you think they like yours?

And you sure as hell see the evils of culture when it comes to Christians and conservative white people. You are just a dishonest half wit Jeff. I am sorry but that is what you are.

[chemjeff radical individualist]

I see no evidence of that.

that's because you're not looking

http://www.reuters.com/article.....SKCN1G20PV

[chemjeff radical individualist]

the leftist fantasy that people from thrid world cultures will magically transform once they come to the West.

How would you describe the result of mass immigration from Southern/Eastern Europe to the US at the start of the 20th century, John? It turned the US into a third-world shithole, right?

[John]

Yes, you believe they will magically transform. This isn't 1900 and Syrian and African Muslims are not Eastern European. How would you describe the refugees that are currently terrorizing Europe and have turned what were as recently as ten years ago some of the most peaceful and crime-free places in the world like Sweden into murder and rape infested hell holes? How would you describe that?

The facts are what they are. The results of mass Muslim immigration have been disastrous for Europe. What you conclude from that is your business. But don't insult people's intelligence by pretending the truth is something other than it is. And stop calling people who see the truth and don't want it to happen to them, racists. It is not their jobs to suffer so hateful idiots like you can feel smug.

[chemjeff radical individualist]

Yes, you believe they will magically transform.

actually John, no I don't. refugees from conservative traditional Muslim areas will likely still act like conservative traditional Muslims even if they immigrate here. but their kids won't, because their kids will have grown up in a different world compared to their parents. that is how assimilation works. It is not "magical transformation" of first-generation immigrants into red-blooded Americans. It is the assimilation of immigrants into American culture which will then over time make them indistinguishable from other native-born citizens.

the problem with the cultural essentialists, like the alt-right, and like Orban seems to be, is that they think the host country's culture is so fragile and weak that it can be toppled and overrun by a few % of immigrants who come there. They don't believe in the strength of their own institutions to assimilate newcomers into the host culture, rather than the reverse process happening.

if American institutions are so weak that they can be fundamentally transformed by just a few % of immigrants, then America is doomed anyway, and immigrants are just revealing the reality of the situation.

but if American institutions are strong enough to resist being completely transformed into a different set of institutions, and instead serve to assimilate new immigrants into an American way of being, then there is nothing to worry about.

[John]

No their kids will. In France and Sweden, most of the immigrants are second and third generation. In fact, later generations seem to be more radical. Moreover, even if that were true, that doesn't help the people who live in Europe now. They shouldn't have to see their quality of life and safety destroyed so that maybe a few decades from now there might be Muslims who have assimilated. They are under no obligation to let dangerous people into their countries on the theory that their kids might someday assimilate.

[Kivlor]

their kids won't, because their kids will have grown up in a different world compared to their parents

No, we've seen plenty of evidence that their kids will actually radicalize and be more supportive of both Sharia and terrorism in the name of Allah.

[chemjeff radical individualist]

http://www.pewforum.org/2017/0.....extremism/

The view of American Muslims on killing civilians in the name of religion is indistinguishable from the view of the rest of Americans on killing civilians in the name of religion.

[BestUsedCarSales]

I don't even know if it's fair to compare the US to Europe in general. Historically it's a shit hole, who Americans seem to believe is cultured. But it's a festering shitpot of paternalism, old rivalries, nationalism, and socialism.

And even if they were, it's demographically and historically so different from the US, that any comparison will be iffy at best. But we still do. We here have this completely inexplicable self-esteem issue where many Americans seem to think of us less cultured in some way than Europe.

I still think we should just ignore them. They're old world. They're broken. They will be the source of the next world war, just as they were the source for the last two. We're not perfect over here, no one is, but I our fixation with Europe is just weird genetic nostalgia.

[chemjeff radical individualist]

Countries which shoved Muslims into ghettoes saw more radical second-generation Muslim citizens, precisely because they *didn't* assimilate.

[Kivlor]

Countries which shoved Muslims into woodchippers saw zero radical second-generation Muslim citizens...

[chemjeff radical individualist]

And this is relevant how?

Is there someone proposing to shove Muslims into woodchippers?

[Kivlor]

It was a joke to illustrate that If you don't let the problem take root at all, you don't have to worry about normalizing their children. That's the relevance.

No one is advocating actually putting them in woodchippers, just like no one was advocating actually putting judges/prosecutors in them either.

[Just Say'n]

chemjeff, I agree with your position on immigration and disagree, generally speaking, with Orban's position. But, to suggest that Orban is a fascist or to refuse to take in refugees somehow makes you a fascist is ludicrous.

[chemjeff radical individualist]

I didn't call Orban a fascist and as far as I can tell, the author of the WaPo article didn't either.

[Red Rocks White Privilege]

Yeah, the country became more socialist when we let in millions of socialist immigrants who later gained political power. Who could have seen that coming?

[chemjeff radical individualist]

Actually a lot of the Progressive Era "reforms" were anti-immigrant in nature.

Prohibition was in part a pushback against immigrants who were viewed as drunks (Irish, Italians) spreading bad morals.

Progressive reforms against political machines were due in part because political bosses of the day figured out how to turn immigrants into voting blocs. So fighting against the political machines was also about weakening the political power of immigrants.

This era also created the first quota-based immigration laws, which were explicitly about restricting immigration from the 'undesirable' countries like in Southern/Eastern Europe.

And of course don't forget about eugenics.

[Red Rocks White Privilege]

Prohibition was in part a pushback against immigrants who were viewed as drunks (Irish, Italians) spreading bad morals.

This doesn't change the fact that socialism didn't become politically viable in this country until after mass immigration from socialist-sympathetic populations, particularly from southern/eastern Europe and Russia, and those populations steadily gained citizenship.

Progressive reforms against political machines were due in part because political bosses of the day figured out how to turn immigrants into voting blocs

So basically, you're admitting that masses of immigrants were able to influence politics to such a degree that reformers targeted the machines that knew how to nuture that influence to retain and expand their power.

This era also created the first quota-based immigration laws, which were explicitly about restricting immigration from the 'undesirable' countries like in Southern/Eastern Europe.

Immigration laws have restricted who could migrate here since the 1790 Naturalization Act.

And of course don't forget about eugenics.

Non-sequiter.

[chemjeff radical individualist]

"This doesn't change the fact that socialism didn't become politically viable in this country until after mass immigration "

It shows that your cause and effect is backwards. The modern labor movement in this country started in the 1880s and 1890s, just as the Industrial Revolution was really ramping up in this country. The famous Pullman Strike was in 1894. The SDA was founded in 1897. The IWW was started in 1905. Eugene Debs was a native-born American. By contrast mass immigration peaked in the 1910's and 1920's. Socialism gained favor because of the conditions brought about by industrialization and factory life, not because immigrants seduced native-born Americans into falling for socialism. Had there been no immigration, there still would have been people working in those miserable factory jobs coming to the same conclusions that maybe working long hours in dangerous jobs for pittance wages isn't such a great deal for us.

[Red Rocks White Privilege]

The modern labor movement in this country started in the 1880s and 1890s, just as the Industrial Revolution was really ramping up in this country. The famous Pullman Strike was in 1894. The SDA was founded in 1897. The IWW was started in 1905. Eugene Debs was a native-born American. By contrast mass immigration peaked in the 1910's and 1920's. Socialism gained favor because of the conditions brought about by industrialization and factory life, not because immigrants seduced native-born Americans into falling for socialism.

Jesus Christ--when exactly did the Industrial Revolution start in Europe? Long before the 1880s, which is when mass immigration began ramping up in response to the demand for cheap labor to work in the mines and factories. Organizations like the WFM, Molly Maguires, and IWW formed precisely because those industries heavily recruited European immigrants, many of whom that had worked in heavy industry in their home countries. And surprise, surprise, they unionized in response. .

[chemjeff radical individualist]

Good Lord, you really are determined to blame the immigrants for everything, aren't you?

I said the Industrial Revolution was ramping up IN THIS COUNTRY at the end of the 19th/beginning of 20th century. How do you think labor unions came to be in this country? Do you think it was a bunch of immigrants sitting around saying "hey, what's the best way to promote Marxism and impose socialism in our new country that we just came to"? Labor unionism, and by extension socialism, was a response to the generally terrible working conditions in these industrial jobs, conditions which would have been the SAME regardless of who held the jobs, immigrants or not.

[chemjeff radical individualist]

So basically, you're admitting that masses of immigrants were able to influence politics to such a degree that reformers targeted the machines that knew how to nuture that influence to retain and expand their power.

No. The political BOSSES held the power, not the immigrants. The immigrants were just numbers to the bosses.

Immigration laws have restricted who could migrate here since the 1790 Naturalization Act.

I said QUOTA-BASED. The immigration laws of the 1910's and 1920's, pushed through by Progressives, were explicitly about stopping immigration from the "shithole countries" of the day, by manipulating quotas on who could enter and who couldn't.

[Red Rocks White Privilege]

The political BOSSES held the power, not the immigrants. The immigrants were just numbers to the bosses.

Dumbshit, do you really think they'd have that power if it wasn't for the immigrants?

I said QUOTA-BASED.

Which is a distinction without much of a difference. Even back in the earliest years of the Republic, the country's leaders limited who was able to come here.

The immigration laws of the 1910's and 1920's, pushed through by Progressives

Plenty of conservatives supported those laws, too.

[chemjeff radical individualist]

Furthermore back in the day, the most Republican places of the country were also the ones with the biggest immigration populations - the Northeast. They were the places that were anti-Roosevelt and anti-New Deal. Roosevelt's socialism was not "immigrants imposing socialism on regular capitalist Americans". Roosevelt's socialism was the result of what the good downhome folk of flyover country wanted.

[Red Rocks White Privilege]

Furthermore back in the day, the most Republican places of the country were also the ones with the biggest immigration populations - the Northeast. They were the places that were anti-Roosevelt and anti-New Deal. Roosevelt's socialism was not "immigrants imposing socialism on regular capitalist Americans". Roosevelt's socialism was the result of what the good downhome folk of flyover country wanted.

LOL wut? This is absolutely not accurate. FDR explicitly nurtured support amongst the urban populations of the Northeast because that's where the votes were, and you had people in big cities standing in soup lines looking for any kind of lifeline to work or relief.

FDR's main opposition in the Northeast was from rural areas like Vermont, New Hampshire, upstate New York, and Maine. By 1940, he was losing the Plains states and other rural counties in states that he won, not population-heavy areas. By the end of his term, voting patterns had more or less settled into their historical norms of the North voting for Republicans and the South voting for Democrats.

This contention that FDR's main opponents were large, immigrant-heavy northern cities is a fantasy of the highest order.

[Nardz]

"is a fantasy of the highest order."

As are all Progressive assertions

[Ken Shultz]

"I don't know whether? the current president of the United States was with prostitutes peeing on each other in Moscow in 2013. It's possible, but I don't know." That's former FBI director James Comey on the George Stephanopoulos show this morning."

With ultra-political comments like this, James Comey is trying to prove that his actions at the FBI weren't politically motivated?

Senator, when did you stop beating your wife?!

That's pathetic

[The Inappropriate Comedy Tree]

I was floating above myself, looking down, saying, 'you're sitting here, briefing the incoming president of the United States about prostitutes in Moscow.

He has a point here. The FBI never had to brief Roosevelt, Truman, Eisenhower, Kennedy, Johnson, Nixon, Ford, Carter, Reagan, Bush, or Clinton on Russian hookers.

It was the CIA.

[John]

And he was doing that out of patriotism not because he was giving the President the message to play ball or face the consequences of resisting the FBI's blackmail or anything.

[Don't look at me.]

"I was floating above myself, looking down"

Don't bogart that joint, my friend.

[BestUsedCarSales]

That's sound closer to DXM or something

[Palin's Buttplug]

After spending months blasting it, Trump said the U.S. may re-enter the Trans Pacific Partnership if he can get a better deal than Obama.

Dumbass Dotard thought China was in the TPP - he doesn't know what a "better deal" is.

Thankfully, the TPP is finished and Dumbass Donnie can't fuck it up.

[James Comey]

YOU'RE AN ASSHOLE, ASSHOLE!111

[Just Say'n]

Thank you for your self-serving service, sir

[John]

WAAAAA WAAAAA TRADE WAR!!!

Maybe he will send the Chinese a billion dollars in cash on pallets. That seemed to work well with Iran, right?

[loveconstitution1789]

Unmarked cash that is.

Maybe the cash was marked after all and the US government deep state is getting all sorts of great intel off tracking where and who spends that cash. yeah right.

[Ken Shultz]

I mentioned this yesterday as further evidence that when the media's crisis of the moment is over, the story pretty much gets dropped.

Emperor Xi announced that he's dropping trade barriers, including the limits on how many American cars can be imported into China, the North Koreans confirmed that, yes, denuclearization is on the table for the Kim-Trump summit in May, and, meanwhile, Trump is instructing his staff to take the preliminary steps to reenter the Trans-Pacific Partnership . . .

Wasn't the media telling us that world trade was in a state of crisis just on Monday?

They can't go back on that after pushing the panic button, so, now, instead of telling us that they were full of shit, they tell us that Trump is going back on his word?

Only idiots obsess over Trump's tweets, and the news media is full of idiots.

P.S. Remember how I kept pointing to the price of Boeing, Soybeans, and Soybean futures to show that the markets were shrugging off the talk of a trade war? Score another one for the wisdom of markets and give the media another "F".

[Ken Shultz]

Do these people want a destructive trade war?

Are they saying that Trump should initiate a trade war they oppose--regardless of whether doing so is destructive--because otherwise he'd be breaking his word?

What childish shit.

[Don't look at me.]

Yes, they really want something terrible to happen so they will be "right".

[The Inappropriate Comedy Tree]

one of the worst "botch jobs" of history

Whoa, hold on. When did we start talking about PB's breast augmentation?

[Brian]

I remember back when Trump was Comey's fault, not Facebook's.

Those were the days.

[Aloysious]

That was then. This is now, so it's totes different.

[OpenBordersLiberal-tarian]

Statistics genius Nate Silver says The Comey letter probably cost Clinton the election. Still, we can recognize the influence of other factors: Russia, sexism, white nationalism, xenophobia, GamerGate, and so on.

[Just Say'n]

Also, to blame: voters disliking Hillary more than a vulgar and simple-minded huckster and Hillary never once visiting the state of Wisconsin and Michigan during the election.

Those nefarious Russians prevented her from visiting Wisconsin and Michigan. I want to believe

[OpenBordersLiberal-tarian]

That's correct. The outdated Electoral College system is also to blame for Hillary's loss. Why should she need to visit Wisconsin or Michigan or any other state, when more total voters nationwide preferred her to Drumpf?

[John]

There is nothing outdated about the electoral college. It worked exactly as it should. It was created to prevent candidates like Hillary, who are only capable of winning a majority of votes because of they are popular in a very few places, from winning the Presidency. We have a democratic republic, not a democracy you half wit.

[Citizen X - #6]

John, stop yelling at an obvious parody.

[Just Say'n]

Shhhh...I want to see how long before John and the parody reach common ground

[General_Tso]

You mean when John and the parody reach...parity?

[Lucius Fergeson]

It's a parody m8. Don't get so a mad at it.

[Kivlor]

There is nothing outdated about the electoral college. It worked exactly as it should.

I don't know... maybe we should update it. 2 votes per state. So everyone has an equal seat at the table.

[John]

http://www.yahoo.com/gma/bill-.....soc_trk=fb

Cosby accuser admits concocting story for a memoir. Wouldn't it be something if he turns out to be innocent?

[The Inappropriate Comedy Tree]

Cosby? He got acquitted, I thought.

[John]

It was a mistrial or a hung jury. I forget which. But he was not acquitted and they are now retrying him.

[loveconstitution1789]

You're presumed innocent unless a trier of fact fails to reach a non-unanimous conviction, then you're assumed guilty which is why you can be retried multiple times.

If you were actually presumed innocent, then anything but a unanimous guilty verdict on the first trial would mean you're not guilty by default.

[The Inappropriate Comedy Tree]

Belorussian "seduction coach" Nastya Rybka, still imprisoned in Thailand (and still credibly claiming to have dirt on Russian influence in the U.S. presidential election), now faces a 10-year prison sentence for prostitution.

I can't get over that name. If she actually had something, Trump would be calling her a "Nasty Bitch" by now.

[John]

What dirt could she have? That Trump banged the odd Slavic hooker over the years?

[Citizen X - #6]

I'm pretty sure that's been commonly assumed since the '80s.

[John]

I am pretty sure of that as well. If the voters considered banging Slavic hookers to be a big deal, Trump wouldn't be President.

[$park? leftist poser]

the odd Slavic hooker

Hey, you leave that poor girl alone. She can't help it.

[John]

Her oddity is a big part of her charm.

[Shirley Knott]

It certainly impacts her rates.

[Just Say'n]

How dare you suggest that Trump, an immoral and self-absorbed man, would ever be unfaithful to his wife with a prostitute! That's just unbelievable.

[Weigel's Cock Ring]

The only people who think that so-called "story" is credible are certifiable lunatics like Elizabeth Nolan Brown and a few of her fellow scumbags and scumbagettas in the JournoList.

[$park? leftist poser]

certifiable lunatics
...
scumbags and scumbagettas in the JournoList.

[What Smells Like Pee?]

scubagetta feels racist against guineas

[Citizen X - #6]

"Scumbagetta" was originally Simple Mikey's sobriquet for Shikha Dalmia, apparently based on the belief that she is one a' them dusky Eye-talians.

[CatoTheChipper]

Sure, sure, it's ridiculous that a jailed Russian hooker's desperate claims of knowledge of a FSB plot to hack the US election can hardly be considered credible absent some really compelling evidence to corroborate.

But show some compassion, and see things from ENB's perspective. Reason is a good gig, but she certainly has higher aspirations for the future. Now consider what happened after The Atlantic hired Kevin Williamson. The Reason writers need to be very careful not to ruin a future shot at the big leagues. Also, cocktail parties.

[Juice]

Ms. Rybka if you're Nastya.

[DajjaI]

"Hi, I'm Jim Comey. And if you take just one pill, you could get addicted and stop doing your homework and hate your parents and teachers and go on a crime spree. And if you watch just one ISIS video you could get radicalized and stop doing your homework and hate your parents and teachers and bomb your local sports arena. And if there is just 1% chance you were in a pee tape, then you could get impeached and stop taking your daily intel briefings and nuke the whole world!"

[OpenBordersLiberal-tarian]

An appeals court ruled that Planet Fitness did not violate a female gym patron's rights by allowing a transgender woman to use the women's locker room.

I cannot believe that in 2018 some science deniers still don't understand that #TransWomenAreWomen. Whether a person is a man, woman, or neither has nothing to do with chromosomes, genitalia, physical characteristics, or any of that stuff. Rather, it's entirely determined by how one identifies.

Look at this photo of Lily and Lana Wachowski, the creators of The Matrix. Right-wing bigots will try to convince you that's a photo of two men. Don't believe them!

[John]

DNA is racist!!

[OpenBordersLiberal-tarian]

That's a deliberate misreading of what I'm saying. The Wachowskis are white, so it's impossible to be "racist" against them anyway.

I'm saying that obsessing about XX versus XY chromosomes is transphobic. Just because the vast majority of XY humans born with penises are male, that does not prove those are the defining characteristics of a male. Our current scientific understanding of gender is that what's most important is how a person identifies.

[John]

Yes pointing out biology instead of fantasy is "phobic" and hateful. You called it dude. And sex is totally a social construct. If you think you are the other sex, then that is what you are. Your DNA, body and entire physical makeup be damned. Race, in contrast, is something that is totally objective and can never be denied or changed. Your DNA means nothing. But the color of your skin means everything. Race is in no way a social construct like sex.

You called it there dude. You and your deep scientific thinking.

[Tom Bombadil]

John. You've been absent a lot, but several people have informed you that OBL is parody account. Even if they hadn't, you should be able to figure it out. You are arguing with a ventriloquist's dummy.

[Brandybuck]

It's 2018. The line between parody and reality is pretty dim. There are actually real people who really do think like OBL. And they tend to all live within a half mile of a university campus.

[John]

I have a terrible weakness for yelling at sock puppets. My bad. And thanks for calling me on it.

[Incomprehensible Bitching]

The high concept of self-identification applies to race as well.

As a society, we should strive to acknowledge and cherish our diverse backgrounds, fighting for social justice for marginalized groups, while also respecting each indivdual's right to their identity.

In this way, Elizabeth Warrens self-identification as a Native American is all that matters, and ''tis a noble choice, indeed: can you think of a race that's any more victim/less victimizer?

#IStandWithPocahontasToo!

[BestUsedCarSales]

The Wachowskis are white, so it's impossible to be "racist" against them anyway.

This is a great line.

[Red Rocks White Privilege]

The Wachowskis are a great example of what happens when goons hang around Hollywood's insane asylum for too long.

[MP]

You can't stop making shitty movies?

[BestUsedCarSales]

The story of them is weirder than that, and is really an example of what happens when you're crazy lonely and get your life taken over by a dominatrix.

[$park? leftist poser]

After spending months blasting it, Trump said the U.S. may re-enter the Trans Pacific Partnership if he can get a better deal than Obama.

How many times does "Ken Shultz" have to tell you that you can't go around believing anything the President says?

[John]

Pretty much. I wouldn't believe he is serious about this until he actually makes some kind of a deal. "Entering into negotiations" means nothing. It is not so much that you can't believe what he says as it is that you have to look at what he actually says and the context of it. Normally, "entering into negotiations" means "we are going to do this no matter what". Well, Trump doesn't roll that way. It means he is going to enter into negotiations and may or may not even be serious about them. Gee, maybe not telling the world how desperate you are to make a deal and how you plan to sign something no matter what it is might make your negotiations more successful? What a radical idea.

[Ken Shultz]

One more time . . .

Trump's tweets and the media's reaction should never have been taken so seriously.

It was shrugged off by the markets. There was a short drop off the day Emperor Xi announced that he was targeting soybeans and Boeing for retaliatory tariffs (Wednesday last week), but the next day (although nothing had changed) both soybeans and Boeing were up over one percent. By Friday of last week, both Boeing and Soybeans were trading higher than they were the day before Xi announced that he would target them with 25% retaliatory tariffs.

It was embarrassing to see libertarians running around screaming about a trade war when the markets were signaling that the trade war (while a risk) was unlikely to happen. We're supposed to be smarter than that (and some of us are). Part of the problem was that the media kept reporting on these tariffs as if announcing them were the same as them having happened. There's actually a big difference between announcing something that might happen in the future and something that's already happened.

[Mike Laursen]

How can you look at just two indicators (the price of two exchange items) and conclude there's no harm from tariffs? I believe it was reported right here at Reason that the steel tariff was hitting a steel can manufacturer's bottom line ? that's just one story countering your narrative.

[Ken Shultz]

How can you look at my comment and conclude that I think that tariffs aren't harmful?

President Xi announced that if Trump implemented his announced tariffs, China would hit soybeans and Boeing aircraft with a 25% tariff.

Within three days, the price of soybeans and their futures as well as Boeing stock were trading above where they were before President Xi announced the tariffs.

This is a clear indication that the market was telling us that the tariffs in question probably WOULD NOT HAPPEN.

Not that tariffs aren't harmful.

For days after the price of soybeans and Boeing stock continued to trade as if the tariffs would not happen (above where they were before China announced retaliatory tariffs), the media (even people at Reason) were still writing about a trade war--as if it were already underway. In fact, last Monday, morning links featured the word "delusional" suggesting that the Trump administration was out of its mind for fanning out across the Sunday talk shows and telling everybody that the trade war was unlikely.

If you're one of the people who thinks that Boeing and Soy were hit with tariffs, then you've been a victim of this. Those tariffs were never implemented--and neither were the last round of tariffs Trump announced he would implement unless China made certain concessions.

[Mike Laursen]

I dunno, I guess that I concluded that because you went on and on about libertarians running around screaming, but didn't write anything along the lines of: "...not that I don't think tariffs are harmful..."

[Ken Shultz]

Tariffs don't happen in the media. Anybody can announce tariffs in the future. If there are no tariffs actually implemented, then they didn't happen, and if those tariffs are never implemented, then they aren't really tariffs at all.

Is any of this getting through? Do you understand now? I didn't not argue that the tariffs are not harmful.

I argued that according to the markets, the tariffs in question were unlikely--and a tariff war was unlikely.

Now that Trump is reengaging with the Trans-Pacific Partnership, and China has said it's willing to make trade concessions publicly, seeming to confirm the market's predictions, now people are saying that I'm delusional? These people are so confused by the media, they don't even know what they're talking about anymore.

In the meantime, there could still be a trade war that breaks out. But given all the market indicators where they are at the moment, that seems unlikely.

[Ken Shultz]

Anyway, the point was that markets and logic are more reliable indications of what's happening and what's likely to happen than journalists obsessing over Trump's tweets.

That this dumbshit is trying to turn this into something else just shows how ass-hurt he is over the whole thing.

I don't know what's going to happen in the future, but I can assure you this--anybody who goes running around like chicken little over Trump's tweets (despite what the markets are doing) will be made to look like idiots over and over and over and over and over and over and over again.

[Weigel's Cock Ring]

This is practically the entire reason Trump loves rolling these stupid retards in the JournoList so much; he knows what easy marks they are and that they'll fall for the okeydoke every single time.

[Ken Shultz]

Pointing it out to them in real time while they're doing it makes them angry, too.

Just watch the market.

Most of the tanking we saw in the indexes was attributable to Facebook's troubles.

I don't know what it is about Trump's tweets that makes some compelling to journalists--like moths to a flame.

Part of it is that it's like a getting a quote from the President--which scratches their journalistic itches.

Part of it is that they spent eight years in an imaginary world during the Obama administration, where saying anything controversial was a total gotcha moment. It's like an old football coach who won't stop calling the same play over and over again until it stops working.

. . . except with the journalists, they don't seem to understand that the play they keep calling isn't working. They've had a year and a half to figure out that Trump wasn't only elected in spite of the negative coverage--he was also elected because of the negative coverage--and they still keep calling the same failed plays over and over and over.

I guess it's also that being a successful journalist isn't about being right. Still, you'd think libertarians would pay closer attention to the markets to check themselves. But for some of them, even after getting it all so wrong, it goes beyond that. If thinking Trump's tweets will ruin the world economy is wrong, then they don't want to be right.

[The Inappropriate Comedy Tree]

He keeps play-actioning them, and they keep dogpiling the running back. Meanwhile, three wide receivers are standing around 40 yards downfield.

[RAHeinlein]

Agreed, particularly given the recent on-boarding of Larry Kudlow (TPP fan).

[Ken Shultz]

I've got something to say about that.

As I pointed out when Trump was elected and nominated Sessions, that wasn't about Sessions' views on marijuana. Trump didn't pick Sessions because of Sessions' views on anything. Trump picked Sessions because he thought he could trust Sessions to watch his back--which has been the Attorney General's primary responsibility since Watergate.

Trump was such and outsider and his chances of winning were so thin, with the exception of Sessions, the only Republicans risked their political futures backing Trump against other Republicans in the primaries were Republicans who had no political future to risk. Here's the list: Newt Gingrich, Sarah Palin, Chris Christie, Rudy Giuliani, John Bolton, Larry Kudlow, . . .

If Trump wants to pick people he can trust, that's who he can pick. In the meantime, the chances of Trump being impeached roughly approximate the chances of the Democrats taking the House. He needs people he can talk to about Russia, Putin, etc. that aren't going to turn around and sell him short.

Trump doesn't care what John Bolton or Larry Kudlow think about anything. He cares that they were loyal to him when no one else was, and he cares that that if they weren't working for him, they would have no political future to lose for being loyal to him. In short, Trump is surrounding himself with people he can trust ahead of impeachment.

[Ken Shultz]

And why shouldn't he? People say Hitler was paranoid, but the fact is that hundreds of millions of people all over the world were conspiring to kill him. All the Democrats in Washington and a nice slice of Republicans too would like to see Trump removed from office. If Trump is circling the wagons, who can blame him?

[twist]

Once. One time, just once, one will do.

Please God let it be just once.

[Just Say'n]

I give Ken credit for being fairly right in some of his analysis

[Just Say'n]

But he's still wrong to hate Rand Paul. That's blasphemy!

[Ken Shultz]

I think this is tongue in cheek, but just in case . . .

I am angry at Rand Paul for voting against a bill that cut $1.02 trillion in entitlement spending--and I won't forget about that anytime soon.

I do not hate Rand Paul.

[Ken Shultz]

If Trump's past tweets on trade with China turned out to be brinkmanship and bravado, that's hardly evidence that they should have been taken more seriously.

"Donald Trump tweeted something--and now trade with China is about to dry up and disrupt world trade forever.

. . . except Emperor Xi announced that he was allowing more U.S. built cars into the country, the North Koreans confirmed that denuclearization is on the table come the summit with Trump in May, and Donald Trump just told his staff to take steps to initiate America's reentry into the Trans-Pacific Partnership.

Wasn't free trade in total meltdown just . . . a couple of days ago?

----Ken Shultz

Thursday, April 12, 2018

http://reason.com/blog/2018/04.....nt_7222494

That was my point yesterday. Nothing has changed.

It's amazing how often someone can have his face rubbed in his own stupid shit and still not recognize that his shit is stupid. You'd do yourself a big favor if you went and humped somebody else's leg for a while.

The media coverage of trade has been ridiculous and stupid. That they can't admit they go the trade controversy all wrong is further evidence of that. Trump may tell them to jump, but it's not his fault if they oblige.

Yeah, we should stop overreacting to Trump's tweets. Nothing here suggests we should do otherwise.

[Aloysious]

The media coverage of trade has been ridiculous and stupid.

This can't be emphasized enough.

[$park? leftist poser]

I stick up for you and this is the thanks I get?

You'd do yourself a big favor if you went and humped somebody else's leg for a while

You'd do yourself a big favor if you went and inhaled a giant bag of dicks you overly-wordy motherfucker.

[Ken Shultz]

I'll never need your help for anything.

[Citizen X - #6]

Just fuck already, guys.

[$park? leftist poser]

You may not need my help, but you do need help. And I urge you to seek it ASAP.

[Cynical Asshole]

Thank God for Trump and the obsessive media. If it weren't for them we wouldn't have a headline with the phrase "Pee-Tape" in it. It's a brave new world. /sarc

[The Inappropriate Comedy Tree]

P-Tape is the title of the rap Liz Warren is going to use when she runs for President. Heard it here first.

[Cynical Asshole]

I thought it was Bernie Sanders' rapper name. Or is that B-Dawg?

[The Inappropriate Comedy Tree]

It's "The Sandman."

I'm the Sandman, I put you to sleep!
Out every day doing my sandman creep!
Karl Marx was right when he remarked on the proletariat and how class consciousness is necessary to throw off the shackles of capitalism in order to...

Nobody ever transcribed the rest of it because they got bored and dozed off at that point.

[Just Say'n]

I like pee tapes as much as the next guy, but why can't we go back to the days of celebrity sex tapes? That was good times.

[Incomprehensible Bitching]

PPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[twist]

"After spending months blasting it, Trump said the U.S. may re-enter the Trans Pacific Partnership if he can get a better deal than Obama."

Is this an observation or a criticism? If it's just an off handed observation, meh whatever, but if it's a criticism, it doesn't make any sense.

How do you think you get better deals?

[Palin's Buttplug]

But he can't renegotiate the TPP. It is done and signed by the other 11 countries and there is a re-entry provision for the US that can't be changed.

Anyway, maybe Kudlow (who likes it) will talk some sense into the dumbass.

[twist]

I said DEALS. Learn to fucking read twat.

[Palin's Buttplug]

Donnie don't do deals, dumbass. He sucks at it.

[twist]

Aw don't cry.

[Knowledge is power!]

Donnie don't do deals, dumbass. He sucks at it.

His vast fortune says otherwise.

[Palin's Buttplug]

He inherited a family business that stiffs creditors as a business model.

[Knowledge is power!]

I guess settling debt for less than you initially agreed to isn't dealing.

Who knew.

I do enjoy that you think you're getting somewhere hating on him being rich while you sit in the library posting on a computer I paid for.

[John]

I guess settling debt for less than you initially agreed to isn't dealing.

It is called business. Look up the concept of strategic breach sometime. What do you think Mitt Romney does? Do you think he takes over failing companies and by the dint of his Mormon genius figures out a way to make a better mousetrap? No. He buys failing companies and then uses the threat of bankruptcy or if that fails actual Chapter 11 to force suppliers and employees to agree to take less than their contracts entitle them to make the company profitable again and then sells the company for a profit. That is what corporate raiders like Romney do.

Trump was in the real estate business, which basically runs on the concept of strategic breach and bankruptcy cramdowns. You may not like the morality of it, but that is how it works.

[Tony]

It's how it works because of a bunch of end-runs around the sanctity of contracts and morality that government provides. It's not the sort of practice that would be tolerated in Libertopia, I hope.

[John]

I never understood why the media makes such an obsession with politicians changing their positions. Don't you want politicians to change their minds and do things that you support? Shouldn't you be praising them when they do instead of calling them hypocrites?

[Palin's Buttplug]

It is like the Iran deal.

The Dumbass tells his idiot base it sucks while his cabinet tells him not to mess with it.

[twist]

Well, considering you completely missed the point I'd appreciate it if you fucked off.

[Palin's Buttplug]

No, you are implying Dumbass "negotiates". He doesn't. He just lies.

[Knowledge is power!]

And wins. And gets stupidly rich somehow.

[twist]

Aaaaaactually, I'm implying that you're still missing the point and that you should fuck off.

[The Inappropriate Comedy Tree]

BE! A-GGRES-SIVE! B! E! A-GGRES-SIVE! B! E! A-G-G! R-E-S-S-I-V-E!

[The Inappropriate Comedy Tree]

Intended as a reply to twist. Sorry y'all.

[twist]

Ah, the mediocre days of almost metal.

[BestUsedCarSales]

I say Smurves and Milves cause of Wolves and Elves

[DajjaI]

Obviously Comey is going to run for president. I think he's very smart and a good guy, even if he's a Neibhurian. Because I think the addiction and terrorism mythologies have been significantly debunked lately and thus he'll have no choice but to be honest and principled. So I'd vote for him. I mean, of course I'd vote for Paul but I'd support Comey's run like I did Trump's.

[Juice]

At this point, Hungary might be best described as a dictocracy: a de facto one-party state where others are allowed to compete in elections only on such unequal terms that they basically have no chance of winning.

Ha! The US is so much better! Twice as good, in fact!

[John]

Isn't that a perfect description of California or New York City? California is a total one-party state. I don't recall the Post bemoaning the death of democracy there. It is almost as if they are lying and just think democracy only counts if their side wins of something.

[What Smells Like Pee?]

"Nastya""

That's how I like my whores.

[Brian Dixon]

I'm commenting on Hit & Run in order to buy sex.

Anybody got a problem with that? I'm asking you, FOSTA/SESTA!

[Don't look at me.]

Are you the same dude paying for kidneys?

[$park? leftist poser]

You're right, this wasn't retarded the other day so it can't possibly be retarded again today.

[Just Say'n]

r-word, brah. Not cool

[$park? leftist poser]

Right? I guess I shouldn't have called him right.

[TrickyVic (old school)]

""FOSTA/SESTA!"'

All night long..

[Brandybuck]

""An appeals court ruled that Planet Fitness did not violate a female gym patron's rights by allowing a transgender woman to use the women's locker room.""

If the transgender person had a penis then it was not a transgender woman but a man who wanted to be woman. There is a huge difference. A huge visible difference. It's still none of hte government's business to be regulating washrooms, but that's no excuse to throw the English language through the woodchipper.

It's not the feelings, it's the morphology. Penis == male, vagina == female. We can worry about the

[John]

If Planet Fitness wants to have unisex showers, that is their business. I don't see how these people had a case unless doing that violated the terms of their contract in some way.

[Chipper Jones]

"We can worry about the..."

Sent for re-education mid-sentence. That's gotta be a record.

[BestUsedCarSales]

So your issue is that Transgender as a class does not exist?

If so, I somewhat agree. It's strange to me this weirdness where people are simultaneously told that transpeople are their chosen gender, but they are also transgender as an identifiable group. It's a bit of a mix of identity politics with having to belong to a marginalized group.

[CatoTheChipper]

"Hungary's democracy is pretty much dead."

The bill of particulars against Orban's Fidesz Party in the article: "It turned the country's courts into a rubber stamp, bullied the independent media to the point that it hardly exists anymore, funneled money to jingoistic NGOs at the same time that it cut off the critical ones, enriched the regime's friends with no-bid contracts and rewrote the electoral rules to benefit itself at the expense of the opposition."

This applies to Democrats and Republicans in the US as well.

The peculiar thing is that the Fidesz Party started out as a liberal party. It advocated for individual freedom, free markets, free trade, minority rights. and property rights and was a member of the Liberal International. It wasn't quite libertarian, though, because it advocated for various coercive government social welfare programs.

[John]

I think they still are pro free markets. They just understand that letting in huge numbers of refugees is a recipe for disaster.

[Mike Laursen]

"Hungary's democracy is pretty much dead."

One party rule, huh. Sounds like California.

[Tony]

I keep coming back to the thought that how dark does Trump have to be to do things like have hookers pee on a bed because the Obamas used it once... without being a drinker of alcohol? He came up with that stone sober?

[Just Say'n]

It's fun to joke about, but you realize that there is as much evidence supporting the pee tape as there is that Obama was Muslim

[Tony]

Well let us be sure not to joke too much about the president. This is a magazine for conservative patriots after all, and he's leading us through turbulent times as a strict but agile captain of the ship of state that is America. O say can you see.

Fuck you. He got hookers to pee and everyone knows it's true. And that's not even one of the illegal things.

[Just Say'n]

You're not well Tony. You need help. He broke you

[Tony]

Save your compassion for the hotel maids.

[Just Say'n]

This is not sane

[Tony]

Maybe the hooker piss stuff is in the 20% of the dossier that can't be verified. I don't know and neither do you.

I lived through 8 years of monkey "jokes" about the Obamas and pizza shop child sex conspiracies so you can unbunch your panties now.

[Just Say'n]

"I lived through 8 years of monkey "jokes" about the Obamas and pizza shop child sex conspiracies so you can unbunch your panties now."

The difference is that those conspiracies weren't mainstreamed by an irresponsible press. I don't care that falsehoods are being spread about the president, I just want to make sure that you can still discern between reality and fantasy. Literally nothing in that dossier has been confirmed (that we know of) beside stuff that was already public information (like so and so was in this country in this year, etc.)

[Incomprehensible Bitching]

He's making perfect sense to me, ass chipe!

[Kivlor]

I keep coming back to the thought "How low IQ do you have to be to believe some ridiculous 4Chan fan-fic erotica that was probably written by SugarFree?" And the answer continuously keeps coming back "About Tony-level Low IQ"

[BestUsedCarSales]

Don't drag SugarFree down to the level of /pol/.

[Kivlor]

C'mon, you have to admit that the whole "Piss Dossier" sounds like something he'd have written.

[BestUsedCarSales]

He would have imbued an art to it well beyond /pol/,

[The Inappropriate Comedy Tree]

Goddammit BUCS, why do you keep getting cut off?

[Tony]

Hey Ken, maybe the markets are in a holding pattern because 1) there's no point in predicting when the orangutan is going to fling more poo and at whom, and 2) they're optimistic that he'll be gone before he does something really stupid. Nobody fucking knows what he's up to. Not China, not the vice president, not his spawn, not the world's foremost psychiatrists. Yeah maybe it's rational to ignore his tweets and other insane, whiny mouth farts. It's not like they mean anything. That this is a standard nobody would ever apply to any other president does not imply that he's playing multi-dimensional chess! Everyone's just hoping we survive intact until he's forced to resign.

[Kivlor]

Tony, there are days I almost hope you get your wish of impeaching Trump. Because then we'll have President Mike "Curing Queers with Amperes" Pence, and I'm nominating you to be in the first wave of gayz sent to the camps. Think of what a Pyrrhic victory that will be...

[Tony]

I absolutely want Trump to stay on as long as possible. While that's a calculated risk, as something really could get nuked or the economy really could go into deep recession, you're right.

Pence would look normal by comparison, and the eternally forgetful dumbshits who make up the voting public of America would take that as a sign to quickly forgive Republicans for what they've inflicted on them. The status quo is Trump is helping elect Democrats in places where people fuck their cousins. He's a better gift to my party than Bush was. And he didn't even have to lie the country into a war!

[The Inappropriate Comedy Tree]

places where people fuck their cousins

So you're saying that New Jersey and Rhode Island are going to become more blue.

[Tony]

Your point would be better made if those were not the two weirdo blue states.

[The Inappropriate Comedy Tree]

Two of the three states where incest is legal. The other state is Ohio.

So, cousin-fucking...where does it happen? The answer, might surprise you!

[Tony]

Kind of like people only smoke weed where it's legal.

[Kivlor]

College hosts "No Whites Allowed" Pool Party...

Remember folks, racism is bad. And only white people can be racist. And we have to exclude white people so we can create a culture that is inclusive of people of different races.

[Tony]

That is rather gauche. One can appreciate the desire to have a "space" where only in-group members are welcome. It's most useful for places like bars and clubs, where even just for basic psychological health people need a place to be with their own kind free of the oppression of normal life where white straight people run everything. But this is best kept at the etiquette level and not made into written rules. One can't imagine that people going to the trouble of officially excluding out-group members are ever going to be relaxed, so why bother?

[Brian]

I get it: It takes nuance to understand good discrimination by race. That's what the Civil Rights Act was all about.

[Kivlor]

I think most people don't mind voluntary segregation. In fact, people often engage in it naturally. It's these written rules and double standards that gets people bothered. Imagine if I advertised a "whites only" or a "No gayz" pool party. People would freak. I'd probably be sued, and lose. But if we turn things around, it's fine because reasons.

[Tony]

Surely you understand why it's more acceptable one way than the other. The "safe space" for white straight people is almost everywhere in the country, indoors and out. Technical racism is one thing, but racism that matters in the real world is distinguished by attitudes and behavior that might actually harm groups of people. White people aren't harmed by racism on a routine basis. And people expressing immense butthurt at reverse racism are probably big fat fucking racists.

That said, they shouldn't put it in writing. You should always welcome allies into your safe space even if they don't share your minority status. Otherwise they might decide not to be allies.

[Red Rocks White Privilege]

So it's okay to be discriminatory, just as long as you're not open about it?

[Tony]

Yeah it's called manners.

[Kivlor]

Surely you understand why it's more acceptable one way than the other. The "safe space" for white straight people is almost everywhere in the country, indoors and out.

Lol. No.

[Tony]

Well it is in part subjective, so obviously the most delicate of white snowflakes will feel unsafe because some college student in Connecticut said an abrasive thing on YouTube.

[TrickyVic (old school)]

""A private college in California will be hosting a pool party later today at which white people will be excluded, with only "people who identify as POC" permitted to attend."'

But I like the people who identify.. So white people that want to identify as POC can go.

[prediksi sydney]

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[prediksifajar]

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