We don’t really understand anything about consciousness. So it’s hard to say if insects have it or not.

He’s also looking and sounding a lot older these days. Not as old as Biden, but it still shows through the bronzer.

Well if it’s all a ruse, I give full marks for consistency.

I’m so inundated with Fox News that I may have missed it. — NOS4A2

Indeed.

No corruption at all. Totally clean. Unless you can provide a quote of him stating “I am engaging in corruption.”

Given we know you know the correct answer to the silly quiz is D, why continue to pretend you don't know that? — Baden

He’s not pretending. He really believes it’s C.

What corruption? — NOS4A2

Yeah, and we’re not supposed to laugh.

:lol:

So anything shy of “Go and storm the Capitol building” doesn’t count. Got it.

“the action of provoking unlawful behavior or urging someone to behave unlawfully.“

Simple definition. Fits the bill. But no matter — I’m sure you think he bears no responsibility for what happened — which was of course only a peaceful riot. Carry on.

Feel free to shit on me all you want. — NOS4A2

I leave that to others. I mostly laugh. Which admittedly is rude to state explicitly— mea culpa.

But if you want to believe a political rally is "incitement to insurrection", which is the same line repeated by the worst elements in American politics, make a case. — NOS4A2

The evidence is pretty clear. It wasn’t only the rally, of course— it was weeks of whipping the followers up into a frenzy by telling them the election was stolen, a lie so obvious (and yet you accept) it’s laughable. It was completely predictable that something violent would happen.

Trump knew all this, of course, but is not stupid enough to outright state “go storm the Capitol building” — which apparently is what you want…although I’d expect you’d find some way of letting him off the hook even then.

doubtful that you're not a victim of propaganda — NOS4A2

Hilarious coming from you.

All I know is as soon as I post something about a politician, there you and the others are, like clockwork. — NOS4A2

I can’t speak for others, but I don’t engage you often.

This has been the case my entire time here. Why is that? — NOS4A2

In all seriousness, it’s because there aren’t many Trump followers here to shit on.

you feign believing D and pretend to hold both to the same standards but I can go to any page on this or the other thread to see the facts of the matter. — NOS4A2

See, not being in the Trump or Biden cult has an added benefit: the ability to recognize degree. You won’t once find me minimizing Biden’s record (a la “Trump held a rally”) because I’m not in the cult of personality. But if it makes you happy, by all means continue. I mostly read you to laugh anyway.

Your laughing lets me know you have nothing else. — NOS4A2

Nothing else?

The fact that you think I should be defending Joe or Hunter Biden somehow by “refuting” what you say point by point is exactly why I’m laughing at you. There is nothing else.

See Baden’s quiz above. You opt for C). That’s why you’re a clown — not because Joe Biden isn’t dirty. But it’s also funny that you still, after all these years, struggle to see this.

:rofl:

“I have to take all of my things out…”

Let me guess: corporations? — NOS4A2

No no— everyone knows the real problem is Hunter Biden. Please keep railing— I’m definitely not laughing at you.

More fair and balanced analysis. Please don’t let me deter you from railing against the real problem.

Interesting trial in Montana going on right now. A group of children have sued the state government for violating the state constitution by encouraging fossil fuel use. I imagine many more of these lawsuits are in the works. The trial has ended and judge’s orders are expected in a few weeks.

https://mtclimatecase.flatheadbeacon.com/latest-updates/

Held v. Montana is the case.

That said, does anyone really think a gas company had a legitimate reason for giving a self described out of control drug addict hundreds of thousands of dollars a year for a part time gig in an industry he had no real experience in? — Count Timothy von Icarus

No. Hunter Biden should go to jail, along with Joe. For plenty of reasons. It’s just funny to watch the Trump cult’s split personality on these issues. Trump’s innocent; Hunter deserves the chair. Fair and balanced.

Trump just held a peaceful rally. No big deal.

But a non-president did drugs and hired prostitutes! Outrageous.

:lol:

You mean we can't keep giving money away? — jgill

To corporate America, particularly the financial sector? True. We shouldn’t keep giving money away to them.

Also, Friedman’s thinking is long obsolete.

Not talking about a "living wage", only raising wages in general for the purpose of blunting inflation. That's a recipe for leaving older generations on fixed incomes behind. — jgill

So keeping real wages stagnant helps older people. Is this serious?

Wages can keep up with inflation and social programs like Medicaid / Medicare and SS will be just fine. There’s plenty of money to go around, provided we deal with the $800 billion a year gift to defense contractors and the massive tax cuts Trump gave to the corporate sector. To say nothing about trillions in stock buybacks that could easily be given to the workers who generate the astronomical profits we’ve seen the last…40 years.

Conservative canards aside, this can be done —and, importantly, has been done before.

wage-inflation spiral. — jgill

There’s no law of economics that says if you give workers a raise, you must raise your prices to make up for it. I think Wal Mart making 1 or 10 billion less in profits— i.e., absorbing the cost — would be survivable. Considering they make roughly 150 billion. Or, rather than buy back their own stocks, companies can reinvest in workers — like they did for decades prior to the neoliberal assault.

So there is no “wage-inflation spiral.” It’s just more excuses. It’s a pity you buy into this nonsense.

Hunter Biden didn’t pay taxes. As a former president, he should know better. Oh wait.

Donald Trump tried to overturn an election and incited an insurrection, to say nothing about the rapes, tax avoidance, fraud, and homicidal policies (see environmental policies, eg).

Totally the same. In fact, we should be more outraged about… (::checks Fox News::) Hunter Biden. :up:

"Perhaps that's acceptable since ageism is thriving"

ego requiem meam causa. — jgill

No it doesn’t. — Mikie

I rest my case. I’ll repeat: the idea that workers being paid a living wage in the richest country on Earth somehow hurts older Americans is a lie.

Thus, it has nothing to do with being acceptable because of “ageism,” because it’s complete bullshit. Got it? Cool.

Compensating workers more drives up the spiral and leaves retirees behind in the dust. — jgill

No it doesn’t.

The excuses for keeping wages low are getting more and more pathetic. Now it’s supposed to hurt old people… :roll:

Compensate workers more.

True— but you know what really surprised me? Frankie Valli. He was big before Dylan and the Beatles!

The Limey (1999).

Great movie. Especially the ending.

In the sense that metaphysics and ontology are closely related, I can see the point: science has ontological foundations, like everything else. There’s no way around it.

Science was once called natural philosophy, and for good reason. I think it’s exactly that, at its core. You have to assume a naturalism, or even a materialism, to be “doing” science. The very concept of nature, of material, etc., is within the realm of metaphysics.

Maybe this is somewhat close to what you’re getting at? Otherwise I’ve not fully understood.

Most Republicans I know are good people. They go to work, pay their bills on time, are decent to their friends and neighbors, good parents, etc. If any of them had a kid who acted like Trump they would say, "Stop being a sore loser. Stop accusing the game of being rigged every time you lose. Stop fighting with the referees." That's why it amazes me that so many of them support Trump, seemingly unconditionally. Trump is the quintessential sore loser, a spoiled brat... it's only okay when he wins -- when someone else wins, it's because they cheated. We all knew someone like that when we were young, didn't we? No one wants to play with that kid, and every decent parent knows it. So they usually put a stop to that behavior. But with Donald Trump, they support it... — GRWelsh

Exactly.

The reason it doesn’t matter, and they support him no matter what, is because they’ve been conditioned to do so— through the dominance of conservative media. Limbaugh, Fox News, WSJ, etc. Once social media was added to the mix and Trump ran for president, the stage was already set and people already primed.

They’ve gone off the rails now. Now everything is a conspiracy— elections are stolen when we lose, facts are rejected if they go against the narrative we prefer, or if Trump says so, etc. The left has problems and are also conditioned, but not to the degree of reality-denying delusion. They still try to maintain some contact with the world.

Trump took classified documents, either out of spite or looking to make a buck somehow (as always), refused to return them after being asked multiple times, and of course lied every step of the way.

Pretty cut and dry.

Also, there’s a process to declassification. You can’t just will it in your sleep.

I much rather an elected politician than an unelected administrative state, personally. — NOS4A2

Just think of it as a corporation, which you endlessly defend.

Seriously, capitalism functions on the principle "maximize profit." How much worse off can we be if we decide to operate on the principle "maximize ecological harmony"? — Pantagruel

What’s funny is that there’s plenty of profit to be made and plenty of work to be done. We need to electrify everything, which means transforming our electric grid— and retrofitting buildings, producing more heat pumps, solar panels, induction stoves, wind turbines, EVs, etc etc. We can use government subsidy and investment to help the transformation— just as we did with the fossil fuel based economy.

None of this has anything to do with destroying capitalism, really — only a psychotic and vicious variation of capitalism, one that’s dedicated to destroying the normal functioning of human life to serve the interests of Exxon.

I cited my source for the proposition that climate change policies that are not adhered to by major climate change contributors will not be effective. — Hanover

It’s the new line for those who seek to delay what needs to be done: China. The reality is that China has taken bolder action on climate change then the US, which is embarrassing. Up until the IRA, the US had next to nothing noteworthy.

Yes, China and India will have to cut emissions drastically. But we have less control over that than we do our own behavior and policies — and, as a global superpower, our leadership sends a clear message to the rest of the world.

So this reasoning is, putting it as politely as I can, deeply flawed. We can and should do as much as possible to cut emissions as soon as possible and as drastically as possible — regardless of what China or India do. No sense waiting around for other countries to lead the way when we’re supposedly the leader.

If we do achieve that utopian state, let's first get Russia out of Ukraine. That seems more pressing than the smoke in New England. — Hanover

For the record, this is a strawman. No one is claiming the goal is utopia— nor is utopia necessary, any more than dealing with the ozone hole.

The invasion of Ukraine is important, of course. But just because this is true doesn’t mean unprecedented wildfires whose smoke has wafted throughout the northeast should be trivialized. That “smoke in New England” isn’t just a few rich people being inconvenienced, it’s a sign of what’s in store.

This isn't ignorance at all. It's an evil to a competing worldview I don't share. I see capitalism as a force of good and the planet as a morally neutral entity. — Hanover

It really is ignorance. You don’t have to oppose capitalism — as I happen to — to have sensible solutions. A good example is Jeremy Grantham, a capitalist if there ever was one: https://youtu.be/sAHj6mJrzns

Then I’ll owe you $10 to the charity of your choice, or whatever we agreed on. Happily.

If the national Democrats could be more like Minnesotans, perhaps they'd have a better shot.

Minnesota now offers 12 weeks of paid family and medical leave, the opportunity for any resident to buy into Medicaid, free public college tuition for low- and middle-income families, a new child tax credit for those families, free breakfast and lunch for all public school students, driver’s licenses for all residents regardless of their immigration status, and stronger protections for workers seeking to unionize.


Middle-class seniors will no longer have to pay state income taxes on Social Security benefits. A law immediately restoring the voting rights of felons who have completed their prison sentences expanded the franchise to 55,000 more people. Minnesotans serving life behind bars for crimes they committed as minors are now eligible for supervised release 15 years into their sentence. Suspending gun permits for people experiencing a mental health crisis got easier. Recreational marijuana is legal. A new state law protects abortion rights. A “trans refuge” law shields transgender children who travel to Minnesota for medical transitions from legal repercussions in their home states. And Minnesota has set a goal of moving to 100% carbon-free energy by 2040.

https://www.huffpost.com/entry/minnesota-miracle-democrats-progressive-bills_n_6484afe4e4b025003eddd498

That is, I'll concede man-made climate change, but still contend maintaining the status quo is the best solution and dealing with the climate change as it comes is the best course. — Hanover

Then I suggest learning more about the topic. This is pure ignorance.

What are the defining features of being a human? — Andrew4Handel

Language.

You devalue others in much the same way he does for much the same underlying reasons(being different). — creativesoul

No I don’t. But coming from a guy claiming those he disagrees with are “bots”, which is the very definition of dehumanizing, I’ll take it for what it is. But I’ll leave it at that.

Let’s plug in what is now claimed to be the case and see how well it holds up:

Talk about no self-awareness.
— Mikie

Mirror, mirror... = There’s a striking similarity between you and Trump supporters.
— creativesoul

Definitely makes sense in this context. :roll:

I always love when people try to save face by resorting to such stupid contortions like this. Oh well.

So funny to watch the con man’s little followers become con men of their own. Listening to their explanations (satirical rationalizations) I’m reminded of Erwin Mainway, aka Dan Akroyd on SNL:



Equally believable.

Personally I don’t care. It’s obvious he’s a criminal, based on evidence accumulated long before he was president. He’s also a sociopath and rabid narcissist, which is why our resident Trumpist will defend him to the bitter end, having similar qualities.

But no, I don’t think he’s done. That’s been said forever. I’ll believe it when I see it. He’ll be done when he’s dead— which, thankfully, is probably not too long, given his age. In the meantime, I wouldn’t get my hopes up. In any sane society, he would have been “done” long ago.

uals that the plan was “highly confidential” and “secret.” TRUMP also said, “as president I could have declassified it,” and, “Now I can’t, you know, but this is still a secret.” — creativesoul

What a buffoon.