So great that there is some verification of what has been swirling around for decades. Who didn’t know that the church had turned evil, and more than the Southern Baptists. Who didn’t know that the 2016 election was marred from the start with shady dealings, Republican shady dealings. Who didn’t know from the start of the chump admini…
So great that there is some verification of what has been swirling around for decades. Who didn’t know that the church had turned evil, and more than the Southern Baptists. Who didn’t know that the 2016 election was marred from the start with shady dealings, Republican shady dealings. Who didn’t know from the start of the chump administration (and before) that Bannon personified evil. Who didn’t know that billionaire money bought the integrity of Republicans. Who didn’t know that Zuckerberg was/is the Zombie Apocalypse. In fact, I am still dealing with the fallout from a Facebook data breach several years ago, before they banned me for calling chump the traitor that most non-MAGAts now know him to be. Has there ever been a time when so much information is available to us all, yet propaganda rules. May the layers be peeled back and the truth revealed. May there be ears to hear.
More than just ears to hear. Minds to recognize the truth and act in it to hold people to account. The R’s just turned their backs on tRump’s criminality.
Jenn…They (Repugnant Republicans RR’s) didn’t just turn their backs on tRump’s criminality…they have condoned it, endorsed it and fundamentally supported it. What they have turned their backs on is…America and American Democracy. If the political pundits are to be believed about the Midterms and the RR’s regaining control…we are facing some really dark times!!
I love you Ally for good reasons. One of them is you go to the 'back of the bus'. You check the whole line, a principle of yours? You do it on the forum. A few subscriber folks jump the line. Whether or not their messages truly relate to the ideas of the first few comments on top; some subscribers want to be read and or polished by 20 or more likes. We all seem to know that very few are like you, Ally, and willingly go to 'the back of the bus'. That's still true in America and elsewhere. Might it be a metaphor? The gulf between the ultra rich at the rest of us -- how wide is space?
As someone who has probably unwittingly “jumped the line”, I have a question about Substack forum etiquette in general, or LFAA forum etiquette specifically. Is it the custom that the first few people who comment on the author’s post set the topics or direction for the discussion, and the norm is that there is always one big conversation and everyone who comes later is well-advised to read all prior comments on the thread before adding a new comment? Is there a socially approved method or place for going off on a different tangent? I don’t want to offend by not having picked up on the unspoken rules.
Elizabeth, It was thoughtful of you to respond. There is no protocol with reference to comments and replies on the forum, except to behave respectfully toward one another. I observe behavior and patterns...observant by nature. I was expressing my thoughts about a few patterns on the forum, and seeing Ally this late morning reminded me of them. She faithfully looks over comments, I surmise not reading them all, but scrolling for what pricks her interest and what she would like to reply to. I appreciate that practice and try to follow it. Most subscribers who come later, simply post when they arrive and often their comments are not read. One reason for that has to do with subscriber/readers come and go at different times. and many seem to come early. Another reason is that some subscribers just read a few comments at the top. I noticed as well that a small number who do not come early make it a practice to hookup with one of the early commenters. Most often there are good reasons to hook up with a comment, adding info, another perspective, etc. Some may just want to make sure that what they have written is read and or collect a good number of 'likes' - a matter of self-esteem?
I have found jewels in the back of the bus, so try to get there. Most if not all of us don't have the time to stop at most posts. We all have our favorites. I was signaling that there is value back there.
One piece of good news today- Ian Prior of the Fight for Schools group in Loudoun County VA had his group’s demand for the recall of 2 school board members dismissed by a judge for lack of evidence to support the accusations. Sadly, not before these two citizens and their families suffered significant abuse and distress.
Because, as far as Republicans are concerned, the best way (maybe the only way) to gain and maintain control (for their personal benefit) is to cheat, lie, and "create" problems they will rise up to blame on Democrats but never sit down and work to resolve - i.e. the latest examples being the baby formula House Bill where 193 Republicans voted against the solution after raising the hue and cry about the need for the federal government to DO something. Or the Bill Republicans voted against that was to insure the long-term solvency for the care and treatment of U.S. veterans and 9/11 first responders. Then there was the Bill to send more support to Ukraine and, led by Rand Paul, more Republicans votes against it. With the exception of Kinzinger and Liz Cheney (not her father) I can't think of ANY Republican in office voters should trust or believe. Republican voters who automatically vote for any candidate with the "R" brand were perfect sheep just waiting for Trump to come along with his three-ring circus selling sickening "sweet" racist and hateful candy. And their "base" ate it up to the point they can't imagine thinking for themselves or consider how sick the national political health is because of him and their blind trust even when the truth is staring them in the face (unless they are so mesmerized by fake Fox news their mentality prohibits considering anything that doesn't come out of the mouths of Carlson, Hannity, or Ingraham). What a perfect environment the Southern Baptist evangelical faction was for the likes of Trump - to the point of proclaiming he was sent by God (while ignoring the lack of any moral compass or human compassion). There is no colonic strong enough to clean out what the radical right republicans and Trump have created in this country other than to call it anti-American, anti-democracy, white (male) supremacy, racist hate-based preparatory fascism, and evil.
Rusty, you hit the nail on the head. Legislators in my state continue to rail on what they claim 'failed-policies' and problems. The classic deflection, bait-and-switch to draw attention from the great things being accomplished and simply complain. Of course I always respond to them suggesting they do more than find something to complain about and actually go to work representing our state. After all, they work for us, not the other way around. As I posted above, 'wars are about deception', no matter what war or what evil is desired to be accomplished. You do as you want, and to cover your evil, you lie about it, deflect and point the finger at someone else claiming they are at fault for some made up crime. I truly fear for this country and what is happening to the actual ability of people to reason and think.
I do wish ppl would abandon referring to "tRump". It doesn't damage him (I'd be fine with it if it really did damage him), and the derriere is a critical part of the human body, as well as often a beautiful part and a secondary sex characteristic. It evolved into its current form to enable H. sapiens to run (no other primates have it and no other primates run), along with the nuchal ligament (holds the head steady while running) and the achilles tendon, as during hunter-gatherer days people often chased prey animals for hours, which we, unlike the prey, could do, as we also could keep our bodies cool through sweating and lack of hair.
Thanks for letting us know your sense of this. I'm have referred to Donald as tRump because he is an a**, in the worst sense if the word. His physical attributes have nothing to do with it. He is intellectually a socially a third rate boar. Spiritually, we all have to answer to God: I'll let God handle that. Donald's behavior is unforgivable. His niece says she refers to him as Donald because he hates it. She knows him well, so I will follow her example from now on, in hopes of referring to him as clearly and as disrespectfully as I can.
He's a horrible person. (I also read and felt enlightened by Mary Trump's book.) My problem is when words for sexually related body parts take on pejorative connotations, when I'd prefer that they have nothing but good connotations.
Well... it looks like the Republicans themselves are the dreaded lizard people sexually abusing the bodies and souls of children and destroying their innocence.
Yep. I was not in the least surprised by the report. Whenever people have inordinate power over others, this is what happens. And who, for evangelicals, have more power than their pastors. In fact, this sort of set up attracts egoists who love telling others what to do with every aspect of their lives while often sexually using them. Pro-family, my behind. As for Facebook and Zuckerberg, I still get way to much advertising and sometimes ads for Rs. I remove them of course. Faking signatures for political purposes, who knew?? And as aside, on our own little political scandal here in Oregon, the vote counting mess continues in Clackistan County. The clerk does have help from other county workers, and other counties now, but she is stonewalling as much as she can in terms of info and actually put a piece of paper over her face with she saw the local NBC affiliate's camera. She does have this large cross hanging around her neck which maybe has cut off oxygen to her brain. May she be replaced in November although she should resign before that.
Just read an article about the Oregon voting mess. Wow, between that and the signature debacle in Michigan it's as if some Republicans want to prove that our voting systems are flawed.
This particular county clerk has been inept for a long time and it was under her watch that a R election worker marked spots that the voters had left blank. There was an audit earlier and she refused to follow any of the suggestions. Other entities immediately offered help, but she initially refused. The Oregon sec. of state is on her case. I'm sure that the clerk is a R. and of course, she has all kinds of excuses. People can watch and the ones on the news last night were surely Rs, holding flags and blabbing about making sure elections were not fraudulent because as we all know (Rs have told us) there is rampant fraud.
Even worse than I read about! We have to vote for County Clerk here this year and I am scrutinizing the candidates closely. We have never had problems here and it's sad that the people who run our elections whether they are paid or volunteers are having their integrity questioned.
Nor is she is contrite. "What, me worry?" seems to be her attitude. Maybe the real reason Republicans are anti-government is that they're congenitally inept at managing it.
" Faking signatures for political purposes, who knew??" But who's surprised? Not me. Probably easier to do in some states than others. Our local Registrar of Voters (San Diego CA) samples a random 10% of signatures for initiatives and I wouldn't be surprised if they check all signatures on petitions for candidates to be on the ballot here in California. The required number of signatures for candidacy is relatively small depending on whether local or state-level.
It's at the point where, if they make an accusation of any kind I just wait for the news story where they are somehow embroiled in that very thing. Every time Trump speaks I concur, yes, an election was indeed stolen and it was in 2016.
Our recent elections and all these “goings on” appear really familiar to Ukrainians, as much of these ‘shenanigans’ were perpetrated in their elections of the past decade and longer. Who ( Republican Consultant) was there, advising Russian backed Yankovich, and how did very wealthy Conservative Ukrainian Oligarch’s and all Media behave/operate in their politics in the last 20 years? It is weirdly familiar.
I marveled at how the Southern Baptist arrived at their conclusions so add my name to those who didn't know. Begs the question of what else am I missing.
I knew once I saw Christian leaders backing Trump after the way they treated Bill Clinton that none of this was about moral standards, but power. It's been hard to take. And I concur with Russell Moore that the report reveals much more evil than I had even anticipated (& I really did anticipate). So many lives ruined that should have been protected, and would have been if these narcissistic leaders had just listened to victims like Christa Brown over 15 years ago. There *are* decent SB people & churches, but this is a time to mourn, not to defend anyone but the violated innocents.
Right, it was limited to findings about the SBC Executive Committee related to abuse or response to it since 2000. Pretty incredible under that limited scope.
Some of the information has been around for awhile, and I knew why both Moores left the denomination. Am at the moment reading “Shadow Network” by Anne Nelson laying out the right_wing parties’ involvement in our government. Just finished “White Too Long” by Robert P Jones, giving the history of the SBC.
Hope you’ve also read Nancy MacLean’s Democracy in Chains and Jane Mayer’s Dark Money. Along with Shadow Network, they are almost a trilogy of sorts. They’re important in helping make sense of where we are now.
"The fallacy of begging the question occurs when an argument's premises assume the truth of the conclusion, instead of supporting it. In other words, you assume without proof the stand/position, or a significant part of the stand, that is in question. Begging the question is also called arguing in a circle."
Among several examples, this website gives this one: "Of course smoking causes cancer. The smoke from cigarettes is a carcinogen."
For some reason, I found HRC's brilliant, as usual, essay strangely comforting today. 15 million Southern Baptists (I went to Texas Tech in the early 80s so I know all about the SBC) called for Transparency and Decency and the Righting of Wrongs in unison. They did indeed have the "ears to hear" the truth. If that can happen there is hope.
That's my hope too- the unanimity of the 2021 messengers, and also strong efforts by EC trustees, to fight for a transparent investigation. Maybe truth can turn the tide, force out the scum, or both.
So great that there is some verification of what has been swirling around for decades. Who didn’t know that the church had turned evil, and more than the Southern Baptists. Who didn’t know that the 2016 election was marred from the start with shady dealings, Republican shady dealings. Who didn’t know from the start of the chump administration (and before) that Bannon personified evil. Who didn’t know that billionaire money bought the integrity of Republicans. Who didn’t know that Zuckerberg was/is the Zombie Apocalypse. In fact, I am still dealing with the fallout from a Facebook data breach several years ago, before they banned me for calling chump the traitor that most non-MAGAts now know him to be. Has there ever been a time when so much information is available to us all, yet propaganda rules. May the layers be peeled back and the truth revealed. May there be ears to hear.
More than just ears to hear. Minds to recognize the truth and act in it to hold people to account. The R’s just turned their backs on tRump’s criminality.
Jenn…They (Repugnant Republicans RR’s) didn’t just turn their backs on tRump’s criminality…they have condoned it, endorsed it and fundamentally supported it. What they have turned their backs on is…America and American Democracy. If the political pundits are to be believed about the Midterms and the RR’s regaining control…we are facing some really dark times!!
Embraced it as well. Kind of like it has given them license to go forward in all the worst ways.
I love you Ally for good reasons. One of them is you go to the 'back of the bus'. You check the whole line, a principle of yours? You do it on the forum. A few subscriber folks jump the line. Whether or not their messages truly relate to the ideas of the first few comments on top; some subscribers want to be read and or polished by 20 or more likes. We all seem to know that very few are like you, Ally, and willingly go to 'the back of the bus'. That's still true in America and elsewhere. Might it be a metaphor? The gulf between the ultra rich at the rest of us -- how wide is space?
As someone who has probably unwittingly “jumped the line”, I have a question about Substack forum etiquette in general, or LFAA forum etiquette specifically. Is it the custom that the first few people who comment on the author’s post set the topics or direction for the discussion, and the norm is that there is always one big conversation and everyone who comes later is well-advised to read all prior comments on the thread before adding a new comment? Is there a socially approved method or place for going off on a different tangent? I don’t want to offend by not having picked up on the unspoken rules.
Thanks.
Elizabeth, It was thoughtful of you to respond. There is no protocol with reference to comments and replies on the forum, except to behave respectfully toward one another. I observe behavior and patterns...observant by nature. I was expressing my thoughts about a few patterns on the forum, and seeing Ally this late morning reminded me of them. She faithfully looks over comments, I surmise not reading them all, but scrolling for what pricks her interest and what she would like to reply to. I appreciate that practice and try to follow it. Most subscribers who come later, simply post when they arrive and often their comments are not read. One reason for that has to do with subscriber/readers come and go at different times. and many seem to come early. Another reason is that some subscribers just read a few comments at the top. I noticed as well that a small number who do not come early make it a practice to hookup with one of the early commenters. Most often there are good reasons to hook up with a comment, adding info, another perspective, etc. Some may just want to make sure that what they have written is read and or collect a good number of 'likes' - a matter of self-esteem?
I have found jewels in the back of the bus, so try to get there. Most if not all of us don't have the time to stop at most posts. We all have our favorites. I was signaling that there is value back there.
Yes, as someone close to me likes to say, they go on about liberty but what they really want is license.
One piece of good news today- Ian Prior of the Fight for Schools group in Loudoun County VA had his group’s demand for the recall of 2 school board members dismissed by a judge for lack of evidence to support the accusations. Sadly, not before these two citizens and their families suffered significant abuse and distress.
https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2018/10/the-cruelty-is-the-point/572104/
Ally, yes they have. They are his match to the flame.
Because, as far as Republicans are concerned, the best way (maybe the only way) to gain and maintain control (for their personal benefit) is to cheat, lie, and "create" problems they will rise up to blame on Democrats but never sit down and work to resolve - i.e. the latest examples being the baby formula House Bill where 193 Republicans voted against the solution after raising the hue and cry about the need for the federal government to DO something. Or the Bill Republicans voted against that was to insure the long-term solvency for the care and treatment of U.S. veterans and 9/11 first responders. Then there was the Bill to send more support to Ukraine and, led by Rand Paul, more Republicans votes against it. With the exception of Kinzinger and Liz Cheney (not her father) I can't think of ANY Republican in office voters should trust or believe. Republican voters who automatically vote for any candidate with the "R" brand were perfect sheep just waiting for Trump to come along with his three-ring circus selling sickening "sweet" racist and hateful candy. And their "base" ate it up to the point they can't imagine thinking for themselves or consider how sick the national political health is because of him and their blind trust even when the truth is staring them in the face (unless they are so mesmerized by fake Fox news their mentality prohibits considering anything that doesn't come out of the mouths of Carlson, Hannity, or Ingraham). What a perfect environment the Southern Baptist evangelical faction was for the likes of Trump - to the point of proclaiming he was sent by God (while ignoring the lack of any moral compass or human compassion). There is no colonic strong enough to clean out what the radical right republicans and Trump have created in this country other than to call it anti-American, anti-democracy, white (male) supremacy, racist hate-based preparatory fascism, and evil.
Rusty, you hit the nail on the head. Legislators in my state continue to rail on what they claim 'failed-policies' and problems. The classic deflection, bait-and-switch to draw attention from the great things being accomplished and simply complain. Of course I always respond to them suggesting they do more than find something to complain about and actually go to work representing our state. After all, they work for us, not the other way around. As I posted above, 'wars are about deception', no matter what war or what evil is desired to be accomplished. You do as you want, and to cover your evil, you lie about it, deflect and point the finger at someone else claiming they are at fault for some made up crime. I truly fear for this country and what is happening to the actual ability of people to reason and think.
Perfect!!!!
I do wish ppl would abandon referring to "tRump". It doesn't damage him (I'd be fine with it if it really did damage him), and the derriere is a critical part of the human body, as well as often a beautiful part and a secondary sex characteristic. It evolved into its current form to enable H. sapiens to run (no other primates have it and no other primates run), along with the nuchal ligament (holds the head steady while running) and the achilles tendon, as during hunter-gatherer days people often chased prey animals for hours, which we, unlike the prey, could do, as we also could keep our bodies cool through sweating and lack of hair.
Here's more for anyone who's interested:
https://www.nature.com/articles/news041115-9#:~:text=Long%2Ddistance%20running%20was%20crucial,right%20up%20to%20our%20heads.
Amazing comment! Never-ending enlightenment in this crowd!
Thanks for letting us know your sense of this. I'm have referred to Donald as tRump because he is an a**, in the worst sense if the word. His physical attributes have nothing to do with it. He is intellectually a socially a third rate boar. Spiritually, we all have to answer to God: I'll let God handle that. Donald's behavior is unforgivable. His niece says she refers to him as Donald because he hates it. She knows him well, so I will follow her example from now on, in hopes of referring to him as clearly and as disrespectfully as I can.
He's a horrible person. (I also read and felt enlightened by Mary Trump's book.) My problem is when words for sexually related body parts take on pejorative connotations, when I'd prefer that they have nothing but good connotations.
I absolutely refuse to say/type his name. I refer to him at No. 45.
the cheeto is my refrain
I agree that the cutesy terms add nothing to the writers’ arguments.
But owe, no pun intended until I noticed it, how we loathe the insipid one.
Great comment!
I have always called him the Orange Sadist.
Well... it looks like the Republicans themselves are the dreaded lizard people sexually abusing the bodies and souls of children and destroying their innocence.
Yep. I was not in the least surprised by the report. Whenever people have inordinate power over others, this is what happens. And who, for evangelicals, have more power than their pastors. In fact, this sort of set up attracts egoists who love telling others what to do with every aspect of their lives while often sexually using them. Pro-family, my behind. As for Facebook and Zuckerberg, I still get way to much advertising and sometimes ads for Rs. I remove them of course. Faking signatures for political purposes, who knew?? And as aside, on our own little political scandal here in Oregon, the vote counting mess continues in Clackistan County. The clerk does have help from other county workers, and other counties now, but she is stonewalling as much as she can in terms of info and actually put a piece of paper over her face with she saw the local NBC affiliate's camera. She does have this large cross hanging around her neck which maybe has cut off oxygen to her brain. May she be replaced in November although she should resign before that.
Just read an article about the Oregon voting mess. Wow, between that and the signature debacle in Michigan it's as if some Republicans want to prove that our voting systems are flawed.
This particular county clerk has been inept for a long time and it was under her watch that a R election worker marked spots that the voters had left blank. There was an audit earlier and she refused to follow any of the suggestions. Other entities immediately offered help, but she initially refused. The Oregon sec. of state is on her case. I'm sure that the clerk is a R. and of course, she has all kinds of excuses. People can watch and the ones on the news last night were surely Rs, holding flags and blabbing about making sure elections were not fraudulent because as we all know (Rs have told us) there is rampant fraud.
Even worse than I read about! We have to vote for County Clerk here this year and I am scrutinizing the candidates closely. We have never had problems here and it's sad that the people who run our elections whether they are paid or volunteers are having their integrity questioned.
This one should have her integrity questioned.
Nor is she is contrite. "What, me worry?" seems to be her attitude. Maybe the real reason Republicans are anti-government is that they're congenitally inept at managing it.
Exactly.
Sigh.
Yes, sigh. She is really unrepentant.
" Faking signatures for political purposes, who knew??" But who's surprised? Not me. Probably easier to do in some states than others. Our local Registrar of Voters (San Diego CA) samples a random 10% of signatures for initiatives and I wouldn't be surprised if they check all signatures on petitions for candidates to be on the ballot here in California. The required number of signatures for candidacy is relatively small depending on whether local or state-level.
LOL!
Again: any right wing accusation is a confession
So true!
It's at the point where, if they make an accusation of any kind I just wait for the news story where they are somehow embroiled in that very thing. Every time Trump speaks I concur, yes, an election was indeed stolen and it was in 2016.
👌🏼
From Blowin’ In The Wind. Bob Dylan.
“Yes, and how many times can a man turn his head
And pretend that he just doesn't see?“
Perfect, H. H.
Our recent elections and all these “goings on” appear really familiar to Ukrainians, as much of these ‘shenanigans’ were perpetrated in their elections of the past decade and longer. Who ( Republican Consultant) was there, advising Russian backed Yankovich, and how did very wealthy Conservative Ukrainian Oligarch’s and all Media behave/operate in their politics in the last 20 years? It is weirdly familiar.
The Trial Run, :)
East meets West. 100% sharing best ( sneaky dirty tricks) practices.
I marveled at how the Southern Baptist arrived at their conclusions so add my name to those who didn't know. Begs the question of what else am I missing.
I knew once I saw Christian leaders backing Trump after the way they treated Bill Clinton that none of this was about moral standards, but power. It's been hard to take. And I concur with Russell Moore that the report reveals much more evil than I had even anticipated (& I really did anticipate). So many lives ruined that should have been protected, and would have been if these narcissistic leaders had just listened to victims like Christa Brown over 15 years ago. There *are* decent SB people & churches, but this is a time to mourn, not to defend anyone but the violated innocents.
And this report does not even include the many years of sexual abuse at the Evangelical & Christian youth camp called Kanakuk Camp.
Right, it was limited to findings about the SBC Executive Committee related to abuse or response to it since 2000. Pretty incredible under that limited scope.
Some of the information has been around for awhile, and I knew why both Moores left the denomination. Am at the moment reading “Shadow Network” by Anne Nelson laying out the right_wing parties’ involvement in our government. Just finished “White Too Long” by Robert P Jones, giving the history of the SBC.
Hope you’ve also read Nancy MacLean’s Democracy in Chains and Jane Mayer’s Dark Money. Along with Shadow Network, they are almost a trilogy of sorts. They’re important in helping make sense of where we are now.
Ms Rauth: having read the first two, I say (today, of course) Amen to your recommendation. Shadow Network goes on my reading list.
We owe these authors, especially Jane Mayer (Ginni Thomas). After these books, continue on with Whiteshift, for background on rascism.
Yes, I have already read those.
I was surprised to learn, some time ago, that this is an incorrect use of "beg the question". Here is an explanation:
https://www.txstate.edu/philosophy/resources/fallacy-definitions/Begging-the-Question.html
"The fallacy of begging the question occurs when an argument's premises assume the truth of the conclusion, instead of supporting it. In other words, you assume without proof the stand/position, or a significant part of the stand, that is in question. Begging the question is also called arguing in a circle."
Among several examples, this website gives this one: "Of course smoking causes cancer. The smoke from cigarettes is a carcinogen."
Better to say, "raises the question".
(Courtesy of your local nitpicker.)
Follow me and you will stay very busy. :)
Isn't religion autocratic by definition?
For some reason, I found HRC's brilliant, as usual, essay strangely comforting today. 15 million Southern Baptists (I went to Texas Tech in the early 80s so I know all about the SBC) called for Transparency and Decency and the Righting of Wrongs in unison. They did indeed have the "ears to hear" the truth. If that can happen there is hope.
That's my hope too- the unanimity of the 2021 messengers, and also strong efforts by EC trustees, to fight for a transparent investigation. Maybe truth can turn the tide, force out the scum, or both.
The chump administration. I am SO stealing that.
Getting banned for calling Chump the loser a traitor is a badge of honor which I am bestowing on you today.
👌
Your last two sentences remind me of the publication The Onion and its many, many dedicated readers.
Salud, Jeri. Your commentary is in the sizzlin’ category.
@Jeri Chulcutt. May the ears be many and the words echo as written
Jeri! "MAGAts" !!! Thank you!