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IIRC that's the book that refers to a Tea Party like fringe as Fappers. edit Yes! Yes it is!
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Apr 2, 2013 22:06
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Anyone know where the talking point about California being the least free state to live in has come from? I only ask because it's come up twice in casual conversation in the last week or so. I've asked both of them "what do you mean?" and they responded with something about taxes but I didn't really parse what they were getting at and let them know that it wasn't making much sense. This is all happening in SoCal, where I live and I don't really feel my freedoms are being impinged on in any way but maybe I need to tune in to my oppressed side. If it's an actual point being floated by some media figure (or politician, if there's a difference nowadays) I'd like to know so I can understand where they are coming from and with what motivation. Unless it's just more "liberal California hippies" poo poo, which I'm ok with too.
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Apr 2, 2013 23:04
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durabrand107 posted:Anyone know where the talking point about California being the least free state to live in has come from? I only ask because it's come up twice in casual conversation in the last week or so. I've asked both of them "what do you mean?" and they responded with something about taxes but I didn't really parse what they were getting at and let them know that it wasn't making much sense. Well, since they finally got a Democratic super majority, they are raising taxes, which is currently scaring every single business out of California into Texas. Specifically Texas.
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Apr 2, 2013 23:12
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Dr Christmas posted:Well, since they finally got a Democratic super majority, they are raising taxes, which is currently scaring every single business out of California into Texas. Specifically Texas. Ahh. All of the businesses are all gone. It's like other states, except there are no businesses here. Googling "how many businesses have left California" reveals a string of results hosted from URLs that I would rather not visit as they seem to contain a very heavy bias.
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Apr 2, 2013 23:28
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durabrand107 posted:Anyone know where the talking point about California being the least free state to live in has come from? I only ask because it's come up twice in casual conversation in the last week or so. I've asked both of them "what do you mean?" and they responded with something about taxes but I didn't really parse what they were getting at and let them know that it wasn't making much sense. It is from a study by the Mercatus Center, a libertarian think tank that is funded by the Koch's. It basically looked at how business friendly and right-leaning states are and called it a freedom ranking. It completely ignored any legislation related to reproductive rights, which should disqualify North Dakota from being the most free state. It also counted right to work laws as a positive freedom. Here is a pretty skeptical look at it. The list is basically meaningless unless you agree with the author's political viewpoints.
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Apr 2, 2013 23:32
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durabrand107 posted:Ahh. All of the businesses are all gone. It's like other states, except there are no businesses here. It's all Fox News and everyone who parrots Fox News.
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Apr 2, 2013 23:39
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Roxors posted:It is from a study by the Mercatus Center, a libertarian think tank that is funded by the Koch's. It basically looked at how business friendly and right-leaning states are and called it a freedom ranking. It completely ignored any legislation related to reproductive rights, which should disqualify North Dakota from being the most free state. It also counted right to work laws as a positive freedom. Here is a pretty skeptical look at it. The list is basically meaningless unless you agree with the author's political viewpoints. They explicitly list labor laws that strengthen collective bargaining as anti-freedom. The rankings actually make perfect sense if you're a CEO...
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Apr 2, 2013 23:43
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Roxors posted:It is from a study by the Mercatus Center, a libertarian think tank that is funded by the Koch's. It basically looked at how business friendly and right-leaning states are and called it a freedom ranking. It completely ignored any legislation related to reproductive rights, which should disqualify North Dakota from being the most free state. It also counted right to work laws as a positive freedom. Here is a pretty skeptical look at it. The list is basically meaningless unless you agree with the author's political viewpoints. This is exactly what I was looking for thanks very much. I wonder, when next this point comes up, if I mention this study to the person if they will even know what I'm talking about. So it follows the old echo chamber routine, study by biased think tank, creates a headline for Fox, is parroted to me by Fox News viewers, with no actual research done on their part. Which sucks because I kind of like the lady that said it to me the second time, but I can't just listen to this kind of crap without saying something about it.
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Apr 2, 2013 23:45
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IllIllIll posted:They explicitly list labor laws that strengthen collective bargaining as anti-freedom. Having to wear a seatbelt in a car or a helmet on a motorcycle = ANTI TRAVEL FREEDOM.
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Apr 3, 2013 00:05
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Eulogistics posted:I would like to officially submit the major motion picture "Olympus Has Fallen" as a piece of right-wing media (constant use of the American flag as a piece of imagery, the Pledge of Allegiance, multiple references to God); I would like to also officially submit it as a movie where almost EVERY technical detail is wrong or misleading(self-destructing a nuclear missile causes the nuclear reaction, North Korea has a million-man army on the border to South Korea, the Secret Service carries handguns and not uzis, etc). Almost every movie dealing with modern military stuff is approved by the state department and amounts to propaganda in some way - they do this kind of roundabout censorship of films by denying access to equipment and set pieces and other technical stuff to films that do things which the US military & government interests don't want to see portrayed. (For example, if you want to film a military helicopter, you have to get that approved.) It's very hard and expensive to make films, and so jingoistic propaganda pieces have an unfair advantage over films that might be critical of the US. If you want to make a piece of art that questions US military action, good loving luck with that - the deck is horribly stacked against you. Which is why I have a lot of respect for the rare US directors/producers/etc who are compelled to make such films. I think one of the most horribly racist films I've ever seen in my life is 'rules of engagement' - which is a pure propaganda film that the US state department is directly responsible for. It demonizes the people of Yemen to an absurd degree. The worst part is, at first the film tricks you into thinking it's going to be even-handed. But no, even little injured children turn out to be weapon-wielding enemies of the state - so civilian massacre is totally justifiable! 
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Apr 3, 2013 15:10
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Install Gentoo posted:Having to wear a seatbelt in a car or a helmet on a motorcycle = ANTI TRAVEL FREEDOM. You joke, but...
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Apr 3, 2013 15:16
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I have a coworker that has a refrigerator magnet from some law firm specializing in motorcycle related laws and it has a map of the US that displays different helmet laws relating to state. On the legend most of the different levels of helmet requirements are just solid colors for but on the states with none it's red, white and blue. 
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Apr 3, 2013 15:36
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So it seems that the right wing extremists of the prison gang 'aryan brotherhood' are engaging in organized domestic terrorism by murdering and/or threatening government officials. In addition to murders, this has resulted in at least one state prosecutor stepping down due to security concerns. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hriakOH9gwE I fully expect the right wing media to ignore this or to downplay it. Or somehow blame it on liberals.  To be fair, the mainstream media isn't giving this anywhere near the attention it deserves at the moment though. We have to get serious about this very fast. Spacedad fucked around with this message at 16:09 on Apr 3, 2013 |
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Apr 3, 2013 16:07
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How long has that been going on? That is a very unsettling trend. e - Oh I guess it is 4 people in the last year. This will probably only continue to get worse as food access gets more expensive and scarce. Ocean Book fucked around with this message at 16:19 on Apr 3, 2013 |
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Apr 3, 2013 16:15
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Ocean Book posted:How long has that been going on? That is a very unsettling trend. Quite a while, because the people that are supposed to be tracking these guys tend to be underfunded and don't have enough manpower to go around. It also doesn't help that when the Southern Poverty Law Center warned of the rise of domestic right wing extremist groups early on in Obama's first term, the right wing media machine attacked the SPLC.
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Apr 3, 2013 16:18
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Spacedad posted:So it seems that the right wing extremists of the prison gang 'aryan brotherhood' are engaging in organized domestic terrorism by murdering and/or threatening government officials. In addition to murders, this has resulted in at least one state prosecutor stepping down due to security concerns. I've heard at least one right wing radio guy report on it. He basically said that gang members (left unspecified allowing you to assume whatever/probably black people) are killing court officials in Texas and the state is bravely encouraging prosecutors to get CCW permits. Then there was something about how they wouldn't be allowed to defend themselves if this was happening in a liberal state and then he took calls that were all about gun control. Can't remember which host it was now, though.
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Apr 3, 2013 16:18
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Spacedad posted:So it seems that the right wing extremists of the prison gang 'aryan brotherhood' are engaging in organized domestic terrorism by murdering and/or threatening government officials. In addition to murders, this has resulted in at least one state prosecutor stepping down due to security concerns. If they're neonazis how is it NOT the fault of liberals?  They're just emulating Führer Obama.
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Apr 3, 2013 16:18
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Good Citizen posted:I've heard at least one right wing radio guy report on it. He basically said that gang members (left unspecified allowing you to assume whatever/probably black people) are killing court officials in Texas and the state is bravely encouraging prosecutors to get CCW permits. Then there was something about how they wouldn't be allowed to defend themselves if this was happening in a liberal state and then he took calls that were all about gun control. I would surmise that the white supremacists aren't being mentioned because the radio guy is worried about scaring away right wing listeners who might agree with the white supremacists. Specifically the group being investigated regarding this is the aryan brotherhood of Texas - the vanilla (heh) aryan brotherhood is a California-based prison gang, which is a different group with its own different rules. Again though, the SPLC warned people about this kind of thing years ago - and it was thrown back in their faces by the right wing media. Now we see the problem growing, because it wasn't given the attention or treated with the seriousness it deserves. The right wing media has also taken great pains to try to claim that nazis are left wing over the last decade or so, much to the chagrin of actual neo-nazis, who despise left-wingers. It shows that they really don't take the idea of fighting domestic terrorism seriously. It doesn't surprise me in the least that it didn't take long to find an example of the problem not being taken seriously by them. Anyway, this isn't just a problem of domestic terrorism - this is also a symptom of our horribly broken prison and justice system, which takes ordinary people who might have hat a shot at rehabilitation and turns them into hardened crazed extremist brutes. Spacedad fucked around with this message at 16:50 on Apr 3, 2013 |
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Apr 3, 2013 16:25
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Spacedad posted:Specifically the group being investigated regarding this is the aryan brotherhood of Texas - the vanilla (heh) aryan brotherhood is a California-based prison gang, which is a different group with its own different rules. Left- and right-wing politics have shifted in the last few years, I think, to be measured on more collectivist (left) vs. individualist (right) values. That's how you can have people saying that fascism and communism are the exact same thing when, under older models, communism was the extreme left and fascism was the extreme right. But now the "battle", if that's what you want to call it, seems to be more about one side thinking that if every individual was allowed to do whatever the hell they wanted, everything would be great because people would naturally look out for #1 and everyone would reach their maximum potential which would then trickle down to people who haven't gotten there yet, versus people thinking that if we all work together to raise everyone up on equal footing, everyone has a equal chance to find their potential and society as a whole benefits because of a trickle up. Maybe I'm wrong (or still too young) and this has always been a part of it, but I'm hearing more and more right-wingers saying that "every -ism is a left-wing invention" than I used to.
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Apr 3, 2013 16:49
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Good Citizen posted:I've heard at least one right wing radio guy report on it. He basically said that gang members (left unspecified allowing you to assume whatever/probably black people) are killing court officials in Texas and the state is bravely encouraging prosecutors to get CCW permits. Then there was something about how they wouldn't be allowed to defend themselves if this was happening in a liberal state and then he took calls that were all about gun control. I would be shocked if there is a single prosecutor in Texas that doesn't already have a CCW. That being said, the solution to everthing, as always, is more guns.
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Apr 3, 2013 16:53
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Leofish posted:Maybe I'm wrong (or still too young) and this has always been a part of it, but I'm hearing more and more right-wingers saying that "every -ism is a left-wing invention" than I used to. You forgot Freedomism.
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Apr 3, 2013 16:54
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Spacedad posted:I think one of the most horribly racist films I've ever seen in my life is 'rules of engagement' - which is a pure propaganda film that the US state department is directly responsible for. It demonizes the people of Yemen to an absurd degree. The worst part is, at first the film tricks you into thinking it's going to be even-handed. But no, even little injured children turn out to be weapon-wielding enemies of the state - so civilian massacre is totally justifiable! What's really weird is that its written by the writer of traffic and syriana.
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Apr 3, 2013 17:02
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Leofish posted:Left- and right-wing politics have shifted in the last few years, I think, to be measured on more collectivist (left) vs. individualist (right) values. That's how you can have people saying that fascism and communism are the exact same thing when, under older models, communism was the extreme left and fascism was the extreme right. People more versed in this stuff can engage you on this more, but one thing that is pretty interesting to check out regarding the 'always look out for #1' idea is a series of documentaries by Adam Curtis called "the century of the self." https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s7EwXmxpExw In particular, the idea that people 'always look out for #1' has been found in both practice and in scientific settings to be simply false - human beings are much more complex than a principle as simplistic & selfish as that, and also apparently a great deal nicer and more altruistic. It also means that systems which are built around the idea of selfishness are doomed to failure due to failing to take into account the much more complex nature of people - which they did, repeatedly. (But really, any system that over-simplifies the human experience is doomed to inevitable failure.) Also, another doc series, also by Adam Curtis, called "The Trap" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gZt2HhFXB3M Spacedad fucked around with this message at 17:57 on Apr 3, 2013 |
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Apr 3, 2013 17:03
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Spacedad posted:Quite a while, because the people that are supposed to be tracking these guys tend to be underfunded and don't have enough manpower to go around. Wasn't there an FBI memo a couple of years ago about the increasing membership and activity of white nationalist, anti-government militias, and domestic terrorism groups which some on the right labelled as "misguided"? Misguided as in they were aghast that the FBI would be turning its attentions towards white Christians and not Muslims.
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Apr 3, 2013 18:03
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Crasscrab posted:Wasn't there an FBI memo a couple of years ago about the increasing membership and activity of white nationalist, anti-government militias, and domestic terrorism groups which some on the right labelled as "misguided"? Misguided as in they were aghast that the FBI would be turning its attentions towards white Christians and not Muslims. It was the department of homeland security: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/04/14/homeland-security-report_n_186834.html You can read the whole thing there. The article has a full copy of the memo embedded. There were right wing media idiots and politicians who apparently had anti-government right wing terrorists confused with loyal American citizens who happen to be conservative. They freaked out about the memo in ways that rang of 'methinks they doth protest too much.' In that there's a strain of approval and association as bedfellows with extremism on the political right in this country. Their reactions to the memo are a barometer of just how far gone the mainstream American right was at the time - and they've only gotten worse since. As more situations like this crop up, look forward to more useful idiots on the American mainstream right defending or dismissing the threat of Spacedad fucked around with this message at 18:23 on Apr 3, 2013 |
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Apr 3, 2013 18:18
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So my local right-wing radio station's host was going on and on about "dogwhistles" yesterday. It wasn't particularly original (LIBS JUST WANNA CALL US RACIST) but he seemed a lot more cognizant of what leftists mean when we point out the virulent racism most of these dudes espouse. How long has the dittosphere been aware of the whole dogwhistle thing? I thought that was predominately a liberal criticism they wouldn't acknowledge.
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Apr 3, 2013 19:29
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Fandyien posted:So my local right-wing radio station's host was going on and on about "dogwhistles" yesterday. It wasn't particularly original (LIBS JUST WANNA CALL US RACIST) but he seemed a lot more cognizant of what leftists mean when we point out the virulent racism most of these dudes espouse. How long has the dittosphere been aware of the whole dogwhistle thing? I thought that was predominately a liberal criticism they wouldn't acknowledge. They've been aware of it for a while, but they don't really know how to address it - mainly because making people aware of it runs the risk of people in their own ranks realizing how they're being manipulated.
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Apr 3, 2013 19:32
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I thought the talking point was along the lines of "I didn't hear a whistle; if you hear it then YOU are the racist."
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Apr 3, 2013 19:35
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"Telling me I can't do something because of the color of my skin? You're the racist!" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b0R3OjMcOqg az fucked around with this message at 19:45 on Apr 3, 2013 |
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Apr 3, 2013 19:41
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Couple of things here. First, very former Republican Presidential candidate and prominent televangelist Pat Robertson has proclaimed that Americans aren’t experiencing God’s miracles because they are too “sophisticated.”. quote:Why do miracles “happen with great frequency in Africa, and not here in the USA?” asked a 700 Club patron Ken. “People overseas didn’t go to Ivy League schools,” Robertson replied with a chuckle. I don't know how to take this as anything other than an admission that knowledge and education is the key to eradicating religious extremism. Second, that stuff about the Aryan Brotherhood is too close for comfort to my home here in Texas. It's not even getting the air time and print time it deserves here. Kaufman County is just east of Dallas, one of the largest metropolitan areas in the nation, and these fuckers, or somebody with a big grudge, just assassinated two district attorneys in less than three months. Plus, the white supremacist that killed the Colorado Prisons Director died in a shootout here. I can only hope that the FBI is actively involved in this investigation of not just these shootings but white supremacist activities in Texas because, contrary to whatever anyone outside the state thinks, our premier law enforcement department, the Texas Rangers, the lawmen not the ball players, and yes they still exist, is a joke. The ball team may also be a joke this year but that's a different story.
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Apr 3, 2013 23:54
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Welp, O'Reilly's gradual descent into logic and realization has taken another tumble, because now he's just gotten into a catfight with Laura Ingram over the whole Bible-thumpers thing. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=htn-RLF8d2g
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Apr 4, 2013 00:01
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ShadowCatboy posted:Welp, O'Reilly's gradual descent into logic and realization has taken another tumble, because now he's just gotten into a catfight with Laura Ingram over the whole Bible-thumpers thing. This is the perfect blood for the blood god ratings bonanza for Fox. They usually have Ingraham sub in for O'Reilly when he's on vacation, and so this is looking more and more like something you'd see in pro wrestling. Laura Ingraham is gonna come in and steal the title belt! It's a puppet show. The memo about shifting slightly left and ceding the gay marriage issue was handed down from on high, but they still have to placate viewers by having people like Ingraham on to bloviate about it. Nobody in a key position at Fox is ever going to say they're pro gay marriage, but we'll get a lot of soft, "Why are we paying attention to gay marriage? It's not a real issue. Nobody cares about it. What about the jobs numbers?" so the viewers don't get whiplash turning off their TV. ErIog fucked around with this message at 00:55 on Apr 4, 2013 |
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Apr 4, 2013 00:52
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radical meme posted:Couple of things here. First, very former Republican Presidential candidate and prominent televangelist Pat Robertson has proclaimed that Americans aren’t experiencing God’s miracles because they are too “sophisticated.”. The gently caress is he talking about? People are always finding Jesus's face on a slice of toast or grilled cheese.
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Apr 4, 2013 00:56
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He's basically saying - seemingly intentionally, almost - that more miracles happen over there because they are loving stupid as poo poo. Of course, this accomplishes a bunch of things: -anti-intellectualism -racist attitude towards Africans - "noble savages" sentiments directed at a whole loving continent of actual modern thinking intelligent human beings -trashing on science(anti-evolution, anti-fact agenda) -acting like he respects non whites(yeah right) -suggests we just need to be more conservative to invite god's miracles It really is the most retarded bunch of ideological bullshit. Knowing him, the miracles he is talking about are occurring primarily in Darfur.
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Apr 4, 2013 01:10
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Pat likes the people he believes are the easiest to bully and curtail with superstitious threats of hellfire and damnation. Also, who mine blood diamonds for him.
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Apr 4, 2013 01:14
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Fox news execs have probably realized the conservative opinion on gay marriage is going to continue to be more and more untenable and are attempting to use O'Reilly to steer the viewer ship into as soft a landing as possible. Bill has come off as abit more reasonable sounding lately but I'm not sure if he really is or everyone else there is just sounding ever crazier by comparison.
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Apr 4, 2013 01:27
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In some ways you can't really blame them as they have to deal with this golem they've created - but this kind of naked audience manipulation by a "news" channel is just another reason to urge on the death of cable television.
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Apr 4, 2013 01:29
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When he says "sophisticated," he means it sarcastically, in the context of a hoity-toity, modern art-loving, latte-sipping liberals.
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Apr 4, 2013 01:29
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Warchicken posted:He's basically saying - seemingly intentionally, almost - that more miracles happen over there because they are loving stupid as poo poo. Of course, this accomplishes a bunch of things: Don't forget being solidly pro-magnets now. 
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Apr 4, 2013 01:30
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Spacedad posted:It was the department of homeland security: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/04/14/homeland-security-report_n_186834.html Didn't the FBI declare juggalos a terrorist group?
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