Octopus Overlords

Maybe they found an additional 11,000 votes up there.

Holman wrote: ↑Fri Nov 19, 2021 2:40 pm Biden went under anesthesia today for a colonoscopy, officially transferring presidential power to VP Harris.

For 85 minutes we had our first female president.

Technically we had our first woman exercising presidential powers, right? She didn't actually become president.

Jeez this Peng Shuai situation is bleak. A corrupt, authoritarian China disappeared her after she claimed sexual abuse by a senior political figure. The fallout? The WTA stands up for her and cancels all activities in China. Then the always corrupt IOC stepped up to aid the Chinese in covering it up. I for one won't watch a second of the Winter Games if they want to participate in enabling human right's abuses.

Good for them. They seem to be the only ones standing up to China, as the article says.

Also, we don't think she's dead, right? Since I guess some people have spoken to her? But it seems pretty clear that she's essentially imprisoned / under house arrest - is that right?

I didn't realize that the IOC was the ones saying they spoke to her. Or that they weren't releasing video proof of those conversations.

El Guapo wrote: ↑Thu Dec 02, 2021 6:41 pmGood for them. They seem to be the only ones standing up to China, as the article says.

Yep and I suspect everyone will watch as they lose out in the only way these organizations care about - monetarily. I appreciate it though because at the very least they are sort of making it obvious that China is acting extremely authoritarian here for all to see.

Also, we don't think she's dead, right? Since I guess some people have spoken to her? But it seems pretty clear that she's essentially imprisoned / under house arrest - is that right?

People that we don't and shouldn't trust claim to be talking to her. Still it seems more likely she is under house arrest than anything else. Still it implies she was basically imprisoned without trial for airing a serious allegation against a powerful man.

El Guapo wrote: ↑Thu Dec 02, 2021 6:41 pm Also, we don't think she's dead, right? Since I guess some people have spoken to her? But it seems pretty clear that she's essentially imprisoned / under house arrest - is that right?

From what I've read, the Chinese government is fond of putting dissidents into what is essentially house arrest and assigning goons to accompany them as they do grocery shopping, household errands, etc. Their phones and mail are heavily monitored.

This was the case with journalists involved in (e.g.) writing about Tienanmen Square. I'd imagine it's the case here too.

Authoritarian China is authoritarian.

Speaking of authoritarianism, Malchior, and anyone else interested in the longish journey of how we got “here”, I beg you to read or listen to “ Jesus and John Wayne: How White Evangelicals Corrupted a Faith and Fractured a Nation”.

I resisted reading it for a while because…well actually I’m not sure why. But the research, writing and connections made in this book are astounding. Highly, highly recommend.

Jesus and John Wayne: How White Evangel ... YH559KD0X8

Your link doesn’t seem to work for me.

Jesus and John Wayne: How White Evangelicals Corrupted a Faith and Fractured a Nation

There ya go, hep. I cleaned it up.

Thanks, doing anything other than typing a message on a forum in Safari/smallish iPhone is…not easy. Links are hard, quotes are damn near impossible.

Thanks. I'll add it to my reading list!

malchior wrote: ↑Thu Dec 02, 2021 11:40 pm Thanks. I'll add it to my reading list!

I just grabbed it as well - thanks!

Note that I have only listened to a couple of chapters, and no idea where those chapters are relative to entirety of book.

But one thing was made immediately clear to me: I had suspected that the underlying strategy of the Republicans to get where we are today with the courts, gerrymandering, authoritarian love, etc. was more or less started around Newt Gingrich’s peak power, but no. It started much MUCH earlier.

The parts tying in the ideas and actions by Phyllis Schlafly, radio and televangelists, and Ollie North are not necessarily shocking in a “I can’t believe that!” way, more like a “Holy shit, NOW I see it!” way.

Interesting factoid: The Cold War and wanting to differentiate ourselves from the ‘Godless Commies’ led to things like adding ‘under God’ to the Pledge of Allegiance in the mid to late 1950’s. There was zero God in the pledge before that modification.

This Fox News Christmas Tree story just keeps giving.

“It’s a tree that unites us that brings us together, it is about the Christmas spirit, it is about the holiday season, it is about Jesus, it is about Hanukkah,” Earhardt said on Fox & Friend

https://www.jpost.com/diaspora/its-abou ... own-688235

What the fuck?

(Also, "extinguish the darkness" is an interesting slip...)

More coverage

Fox News Christmas tree relit after fire in Midtown; suspect released

Daehawk wrote: ↑Thu Dec 09, 2021 11:59 pm More coverage

Fox News Christmas tree relit after fire in Midtown; suspect released

He has been charged with criminal mischief, reckless endangerment, arson, criminal nuisance, endangering others, criminal trespass, criminal tampering and disorderly conduct.

He has three prior arrests, two for drug possession and one for public intoxication.

Investigators say Tamahana may have tried to set the Christmas tree at Rockefeller Center, a few blocks away, on fire first.

According to Fox's coverage all day yesterday, the perpetrator hates God and America and is easily History's Greatest Monster.

I'm willing to bet money that if the perpetrator did succeed in lighting the Rockefeller Center tree on fire instead, Fox News would have no problem with it. They might not even bother covering it.

I've been thinking about that for years. I still don't have answers.

Does anyone ever check Liam Nisson's Twitter?? The guy is funny. Maybe he likes Liam Neeson but Ill give him the laughs .

"There enlies"? Good lord, this woman is a moron.

365,348 children went missing in 2020.

You haven't heard a word from the media about it.

There enlies the problem.

Where lies? There lies! (h/t Young Frankenstein)

There enlies the problem.

I guess this goes here. I'm tired.

In West Virginia, over ONE QUARTER of people 65 and older have NO NATURAL TEETH — the highest rate of any state in the country. It makes no sense that @Sen_JoeManchin has rebuffed efforts to add a DENTAL BENEFIT to Medicare.

That's a crazy factoid.

Hypothetically, if there was a state where the people made no use of the dental community, those people wouldn’t care about the added benefits and they would also likely have the worst dental health statistics.

Not saying it fits, but it can be explained.

And isn’t that proof that they’re luxury bones that everyone can do without?

Was the word "fake" news ever a thing before Trump.

Daehawk wrote: ↑Sat Dec 11, 2021 12:20 pm Does anyone ever check Liam Nisson's Twitter?? The guy is funny. Maybe he likes Liam Neeson but Ill give him the laughs .

Liam Nissan? Pretty sure that's not who you think it is.

Who does he think it is? He knows it's not Liam Neeson.

Alefroth wrote: ↑Tue Dec 14, 2021 5:12 pm

LawBeefaroni wrote: ↑Tue Dec 14, 2021 4:17 pm

Liam Nissan? Pretty sure that's not who you think it is.

Who does he think it is? He knows it's not Liam Neeson.

But he might think it's Liam Nisson.

Daehawk wrote: ↑Sat Dec 11, 2021 12:20 pm Does anyone ever check Liam Nisson's Twitter??

Maybe, but I assumed it was a typo.

He's no Datsun Diamond.

Alefroth wrote: ↑Tue Dec 14, 2021 5:28 pm Maybe, but I assumed it was a typo.

Probably. Just poking fun. There were three different names in the one post.

dbt1949 wrote: ↑Tue Dec 14, 2021 3:22 pm Was the word "fake" news ever a thing before Trump.

"Fake News" started as a term for propaganda and misinformation of the sort coming from loons like Glenn Beck and Alex Jones.

Trump seized on it and made it a term of derision against real journalism.

That's my memory. Trump has shown himself to be the king of projection and his cult eat that shit up, like an abused gaslit spouse that protects their other from the people trying to help.