USCE 2023: Please let them shove a camera up your butt

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Leon Trotsky 2012: Aug 27, 2009; YOU CAN TRUST ME!*

_{*Israeli Government-affiliated poster}

The Washington Post reports that the next step in the culture war is shutting down high school theater for being too gay.

Even as Republicans underperformed in 2022 nationally, conservative activists were incredibly successful at electing entirely new school boards all across the country. These new boards have taken up various "anti-woke" and anti-LGBT policies during their tenure. Now, a national group that helped elect many of them is organizing a program to shut down high school theater for encouraging homosexuality and transgenderism.

They have also set out to find "pro-CRT" school plays and shut them down as well. They argue that these plays cause divisions among the students and may offend local parents.

15 states have implemented policies to prevent high school theater from putting on performances where characters crossdress.

quote:

The culture war�s latest casualty: The high school musical

The crew had built most of the set. Choreographers had blocked out almost all the dances. The students were halfway through rehearsals.

Then in late January, musical director Vanessa Allen called an emergency meeting. She told the cast and crew of 21 teens that their show � the musical �The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee� � was off. Board members in Ohio�s Cardinal Local Schools disliked some features of �Spelling Bee,� Allen explained, including a song about erections, the appearance of Jesus Christ and the fact that one character has two fathers.

Sobs broke out across the room, said Riley Matchinga, 18, who was slated to play one of the leads: Logainne Schwartzandgrubenierre, the character whose fathers are gay. �Everyone�s faces just fell,� she said. �I could see everyone�s hearts melting, because we had worked so hard.�

Following a record-setting surge in efforts to change curriculums and ban books at schools nationwide, the education culture war has now reached the stage. The controversy in Cardinal is one of a number of recent instances in which school administrators have intervened to nix or alter school theatrical productions deemed objectionable � often because they feature LGBTQ characters or deal with issues of race and racism.

In Florida�s Duval County Public Schools this January, administrators stopped a production of the play �Indecent,� which details a love affair between two women, due to its �mature content.� In February, Indiana�s Northwest Allen County Schools pulled the plug on a production of the play �Marian� after adults raised the alarm over its depiction of a same-sex couple and a nonbinary character. And in March, Iowa�s South Tama County Community School District halted a performance of the play �August: Osage County� over fears that its treatment of suicide, addiction and racism was inappropriate for school-aged children.

Censorship of K-12 student productions has been happening for years, said Howard Sherman, managing director of the performing arts center at New York�s Baruch College. Since 2011, Sherman has tracked and fought efforts to end or edit school theater, assisting with roughly four dozen such cases, many of which never became public.

Still, this most recent wave of opposition seems more intense and organized than in past years, Sherman said, and more tightly focused on plays and musicals with LGBTQ content.

�Something that was being dealt with community by community has now, for some people, become a cause, � he said. �You see politicians and officials enacting rules and laws which are incredibly onerous and designed to enforce a very narrow view of what students can see, read, learn or act on stage.�

The cancellations come amid fierce political fights over what children should be allowed to learn and do at school. State legislatures are proposing and passing a historic wave of laws and policies restricting LGBTQ student rights and representation at school; in Florida last month, for example, the Board of Education banned education about gender identity and sexuality at all grade levels. Some legislation may directly affect school theater productions: Bills advanced in at least 15 states forbidding drag shows could be interpreted as outlawing cross-dressing in school plays, said Jennifer Katona, executive director of the Educational Theatre Association.

�That�s a hallmark of theater because the majority of theater programs have more female-identifying than male-identifying students, yet plays are written with majority male-identifying casts,� Katona said. �It�s a tough time for school theater.�

Some argue it is school officials� job to ensure that productions are age-appropriate and aligned with families� preferences. Contemporary musicals are often quite sophisticated and entangled with social issues, said Robert Pondiscio, a senior fellow at the conservative American Enterprise Institute.

�You have to be mindful of local values,� Pondiscio said. �School has always existed to signal to children what is worth knowing and valuable, what we praise and condemn, and you have to apply that to musicals as well.�

In Pennsylvania�s Northern Lebanon School District this March, the school board voted down a proposed 2024 performance of the musical �The Addams Family,� 7-to-2, after some board members said they found the script too gloomy.

The theme of �The Addams Family� is �darkness, grief and unspeakable sorrow,� board member Michael Marlowe said at a meeting before the vote. Marlowe, who did not respond to a request for comment, noted the musical has songs about killing, scenes of children smoking and references to torture and self-harm.

�These are the things that today�s students are fighting and we�re making light of it a little bit, or promoting it,� he said in a public video of the meeting. �These are not themes that we as a school would permit � so I don�t think we should put it out there.�

Northern Lebanon district spokeswoman Lauren Bruce wrote in a statement that �the practice of the School Board approving our annual musical has been in place for many years,� although it is not formalized in policy. Bruce wrote that another musical has been put forward for next spring and �we look forward to seeing it.� Per board documents, that musical is �Roald Dahl�s Willy Wonka.�

Board member Michelle Bucks, one of the two votes in favor of the musical, said she thinks the board acted against the recommendations of faculty and the desires of students who wanted to stage �The Addams Family.� In 2019, the musical was the most popular high school production in America, per the Educational Theatre Association.

Student performers, denied their turn before the spotlights, are dismayed.

In Iowa�s South Tama County Community School District, senior Libby Albright was excited to perform in tragicomedy �August: Osage County� � until administrators scrapped the production this spring, three weeks into rehearsal. Theater director Dixie Forcht said Superintendent John Cain watched the film version of �August,� decided it was inappropriate and directed the South Tama County High School principal to shut down the play.

Cain, who did not respond to questions, told a local newspaper the play was �beyond rated PG.� Albright said she and three other students met with Cain the day after the cancellation and he repeated several times that �the community isn�t ready.�

�August,� which debuted on Broadway in 2007, features an implied suicide, incest and drug addiction, as well as racist treatment of a Native American character.

Albright acknowledged the Pulitzer-winning play is difficult. But that, she said, is why students wanted to act it.

�The only productions I�ve ever been in have been fairy tale or comedy,� she said. �To grow as actors, we need to be challenged � to do things that really test us and make us think harder, that drive us to keep creating art.�

She had developed a strong connection to her �August� character, Barbara Fordham, who is stuck in a disintegrating marriage. Albright said she recently emerged from a �rough� relationship and that Barbara�s lines felt like �things I had said before.� A member of Albright�s family died by suicide this spring, she said, and performing in �August� would have helped her grieve.

To replace �August,� the school chose a light 1930s comedy, �You Can�t Take It With You.� Albright played Penny Sycamore. She said it was fun � but not fulfilling.

�It was unfortunate to go from having a character that felt like so much of me � to this dumbed-down, cute little lady with her typewriter who doesn�t let herself fix any of her issues,� Albright said.

In Indiana, 18-year-old Meadowe Freeman had just wrapped the second day of auditions for �Marian, or the True Tale of Robin Hood,� a gender-bending retelling of Robin Hood, when the Carroll High School principal gathered interested students and said the production could not go forward. The principal said he�d gotten phone calls from adults upset about the play�s LGBTQ characters, Freeman recalled � and that he feared protests would disrupt the show and endanger students� safety.

District spokeswoman Lizette Downey said in an interview, �We want our kids protected, we want it to be a positive experience for them, and I think the concern was: It�s possible people could show up and say rude comments.� Superintendent Wayne Barker said he was unavailable for an interview but shared the text of an email he sent to a parent in which he wrote that he hadn�t heard the complaints the principal cited. �The decision to change the production emanated from ... disruptions already occurring between students who wanted to participate in the play,� he said.

Freeman helped select a replacement play, choosing �Puffs, or Seven Increasingly Eventful Years at a Certain School of Magic and Magic,� a 2015 parody of Harry Potter. But she is still sad about �Marian.�

�I think the [LGBTQ] representation has been lost,� Freeman said. �And that�s sad because we were seeing more of these stories that weren�t told for so long, and now � they�re getting censored.�

In Ohio�s Cardinal schools, Matchinga and her peers were determined to put on �Spelling Bee.� They bombarded the school board with emails questioning the cancellation.

Musical director Allen began revising the script to erase lines board members dubbed inappropriate � eliminating profanity, a line about �[beating] up� kids and replacing the phrase �fake mom� with �step mom,� according to school documents obtained by The Washington Post. She was assisted by Rachel Sheinkin, one of the writers of the 2005 Broadway musical. Ultimately, after requesting more than two dozen edits and receiving 12, the school board voted to let �Spelling Bee� proceed.

Alterations to Matchinga�s lines included replacing �and I�ve heard she is pro-choice/though still a virgin� with �but she will not make her choice/til she is certain.�

�I don�t think that really made a big effect on the story, and the show was still really funny and we got a ton of laughs,� Matchinga said. �Overall, I think it was okay.�

Librettist Sheinkin wrote in communications to the school board obtained by The Post that she was �happy to accommodate� the erasure of profanity, but she dismissed as impossible any more �fundamental� changes, writing that she hoped the musical would spark �productive conversation� in the community.

�What we changed were individual words overwhelmingly and we mostly changed variations on the word �goddamnit� or �drat it,�� Sheinkin said in an interview. �We of course didn�t change anything to do with the gay dads ... we didn�t change anything that affected the story or the characters.�

Allen has mixed feelings.

Staging the lightly edited version of �Spelling Bee� felt like a victory. But in late April, the superintendent informed Allen of a new policy: From now on, any play or musical must be submitted for formal approval to the principal, the superintendent and the full board. (The school district did not respond to a request for comment or questions asking about the policy.)

�It makes me worry about the future and the scrutiny I am going to face,� Allen said. �It makes me paranoid about every decision.�

# ? May 2, 2023 20:16

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# ? May 27, 2024 05:54

FlamingLiberal: Jan 18, 2009; Would you like to play a game?

Apparently it�s ok to send kids to war but not let them hear the word �goddamn�

# ? May 2, 2023 20:21

GhostofJohnMuir: Aug 14, 2014; anime is not good

ugh, i remember performing "the laramie project" when i was in high school as part of an elective drama class. really was an eye opening experience at a time when being out in high school was a very bold choice. of course that's the kind of poo poo they want to shut down

and "a midsummers night dream" i guess, what with the crossdressing acting troupe. they can put it in the same banned section as michelangelo's david

# ? May 2, 2023 20:25

nine-gear crow: Aug 10, 2013

Leon Trotsky 2012 posted:

Trump says he will boycott the Republican Presidential primary debates and likely the general election debates as well if he wins the nomination.

However, members of his campaign think he might end up doing them if people criticize him during him during debates and he isn't there because he will feel compelled to respond.

Additionally, he is mad that the Reagan Library and Fox News are hosting the Republican debates.

https://twitter.com/maggieNYT/status/1653472841285660672

Well that sucks. Literally the only thing of value that could have came out of those debates would have been Trump ruthlessly beclowning Ron DeSantis to his face on stage, and we're not even going to get that because Trump is lazy, scared, or probably both. :sad:

# ? May 2, 2023 20:28

haveblue: Aug 15, 2005; Toilet Rascal

GhostofJohnMuir posted:

and "a midsummers night dream" i guess, what with the crossdressing acting troupe. they can put it in the same banned section as michelangelo's david

All of Shakespeare has to be thrown out, that was how all his female roles were intended, Sorry, bard, should have been less woke

nine-gear crow posted:

Well that sucks. Literally the only thing of value that could have came out of those debates would have been Trump ruthlessly beclowning Ron DeSantis to his face on stage, and we're not even going to get that because Trump is lazy, scared, or probably both.

Trump is correctly characterizing this as a waste of everyone's time. DeSantis has zero chance of owning him so hard on stage that it meaningfully changes the race. It probably wouldn't even be funny for us leftists to watch

# ? May 2, 2023 20:30

nine-gear crow: Aug 10, 2013

haveblue posted:

All of Shakespeare has to be thrown out, that was how all his female roles were intended, Sorry, bard, should have been less woke

Trump is correctly characterizing this as a waste of everyone's time. DeSantis has zero chance of owning him so hard on stage that it meaningfully changes the race. It probably wouldn't even be funny for us leftists to watch

It would be mildly funny to watch a couple of minutes from a single debate, but otherwise yes you're right it's a complete waste of time for him. He has the nomination in the bag already, actually showing up would hurt him more than help him.

# ? May 2, 2023 20:35

cr0y: Mar 24, 2005

Our future is going to be so dumb and boring.

# ? May 2, 2023 20:37

PhazonLink: Jul 17, 2010

has anyone told that regressive supa pac that they can have white people do blackface and trigger libs oh and maybe even find a play to say that word they really really want to say?

Also isnt theater a pretty good item for college application resumes?

# ? May 2, 2023 20:53

haveblue: Aug 15, 2005; Toilet Rascal

PhazonLink posted:

Also isnt theater a pretty good item for college application resumes?

Woke liberal colleges, maybe. If you want to go to a real college, get good at football

# ? May 2, 2023 20:55

Judgy Fucker: Mar 24, 2006

haveblue posted:

Woke liberal colleges, maybe. If you want to go to a real college, get good at football

Alternately, get good at mommy and daddy have money or are legacies

# ? May 2, 2023 20:56

Sax Mortar: Aug 24, 2004

A new law comes into effect where all theater departments can only do reproductions of Friday Night Lights or Rudy.

# ? May 2, 2023 21:04

DynamicSloth: Jul 30, 2006; "Man is least himself when he talks in his own person. Give him a mask, and he will tell you the truth."

Leon Trotsky 2012 posted:

Trump says he will boycott the Republican Presidential primary debates and likely the general election debates as well if he wins the nomination.

This is just every politician, commit to debates when you're down in the polls, avoid them like the plague if you're already winning. I don't see Trump being goaded into a platform where he gets the same amount of speaking time as Tim Scott, even if they say mean things about him when he's not there. If his polls dip that's a different story but I doubt it will be the debates that move the needle.

# ? May 2, 2023 21:25

Judgy Fucker: Mar 24, 2006

Either Trump or someone in his orbit knows there'll be live coverage of whatever he posts on Truth in real time response to whatever is said about him. He'll get to hit back from a distance, and the other debaters won't be able to reply to what he says.

And honestly the current way "debates" are done are pointless anyway, they're an institution dying a slow death. They aren't persuasive to anyone, it's just about razzing up people already in your camp. That's not to say we shouldn't have debates--quite the contrary, electoral opponents should have to face off against one another--but it's all about soundbites and gotchas and not actually about policy.

It's going to become more and more common to skip out on debates in both primaries and the general until they're just gone altogether.

Judgy Fucker fucked around with this message at 21:29 on May 2, 2023

# ? May 2, 2023 21:27

Class3KillStorm: Feb 17, 2011

Judgy Fucker posted:

Either Trump or someone in his orbit knows there'll be live coverage of whatever he posts on Truth in real time response to whatever is said about him. He'll get to hit back from a distance, and the other debaters won't be able to reply to what he says.

And honestly the current way "debates" are done are pointless anyway, they're an institution dying a slow death. They aren't persuasive to anyone, it's just about razzing up people already in your camp. That's not to say we shouldn't have debates--quite the contrary, electoral opponents should have to face off against one another--but it's all about soundbites and gotchas and not actually about policy.

It's going to become more and more common to skip out on debates in both primaries and the general until they're just gone altogether.

It's one thing to skip a primary debate, but if Trump skips the general debate(s), don't they just turn into 2-hour primetime Biden town halls? Seems like it would be a foolish thing to give your opponent free airtime like that - Trump of all people should know how powerful that can be, considering how much the networks handed him in the run-up to 2016.

# ? May 2, 2023 21:33

Judgy Fucker: Mar 24, 2006

Class3KillStorm posted:

It's one thing to skip a primary debate, but if Trump skips the general debate(s), don't they just turn into 2-hour primetime Biden town halls? Seems like it would be a foolish thing to give your opponent free airtime like that - Trump of all people should know how powerful that can be, considering how much the networks handed him in the run-up to 2016.

They probably would turn into functional town halls, yeah, but again--who is tuning into that? Candidates already do town halls and they don't seem to get any kind of meaningful coverage unless there's a major gaffe like McCain's "[Obama]'s not a Muslim, he's a good man" slip.

# ? May 2, 2023 21:38

Madkal: Feb 11, 2008; Fallen Rib

I saw a school put on a play of Agamemnon....the play about a dude who sacrificed his children to win a war. It was a really good production. I wonder if that would get banned or would the board members like the idea of sacrificing children for some stupid reason.

# ? May 2, 2023 21:49

socialsecurity: Aug 30, 2003

Yeah I follow this political poo poo way more than your average Brandon and I still don't give a poo poo/barely pay attention to the debates beyond the juicy bits that come out in threads like this.

# ? May 2, 2023 21:56

Gyges: Aug 4, 2004; NOW NO ONE
RECOGNIZE HULK

The thing is that the only people who watch debate are dumb idiots like us, and the dumb idiots who are waiting until the Presidential Debates to make up their mind over who to vote for.

nine-gear crow posted:

Well that sucks. Literally the only thing of value that could have came out of those debates would have been Trump ruthlessly beclowning Ron DeSantis to his face on stage, and we're not even going to get that because Trump is lazy, scared, or probably both.

There will be a certain entertainment in the post debate clips of DeSantis freezing up as Asa Hutchinson destroys him on the dumbest loving question mankind has ever seen. Besides, Donny's going to be giving us the golden destruction via Puddin' Finger ads and live Truth Social bon mots about what a loving loser that meatball is.

# ? May 2, 2023 22:03

Veryslightlymad: Jun 3, 2007; I fight with
my brain
and with an
underlying
hatred of the
Erebonian
Noble Faction

Giving it some consideration, most of the things I well and truly hated about school were the deeply conservative parts, or the sorts of things conservatives seem to believe are OK. So it hurts me to hear they're were able to weasel into a lot of school boards even as they failed to meet their expectations elsewhere.

Those bastards have no place near children. Anywhere.

# ? May 2, 2023 22:03

PhazonLink: Jul 17, 2010

fairweathers that suddenly form opinions every 4 years watch debates because thats what growns ups do.

*lets school board become chuds in midterms and wonders why things suck soo much*

# ? May 2, 2023 22:07

Willa Rogers: Mar 11, 2005

Leon Trotsky 2012 posted:

Trump says he will boycott the Republican Presidential primary debates and likely the general election debates as well if he wins the nomination.

When was the last presidential race for which both major-party candidates were refusing to participate in primary debates?

I'm pretty sure I've seen Democratic Party loyalist/liberal pundits also argue that Biden shouldn't legitimize Trump by participating in g.e. debates. (Happy to dig this up if anyone needs to see it.)

Also, has there been another presidential election when the same two candidates faced each other in two subsequent elections?

This coming election year looks like it might set all sorts of records, with the candidates' ages leading the pack.

# ? May 2, 2023 22:07

Judgy Fucker: Mar 24, 2006

Gyges posted:

The thing is that the only people who watch debate are dumb idiots like us, and the dumb idiots who are waiting until the Presidential Debates to make up their mind over who to vote for.

Do these people actually exist, though? I know they usually trot out a few people who claim to be as such as props for the town halls and debates but I've never once met someone in my life who has claimed that a debate swayed them one way or the other, and nothing I've experienced suggests these people exist in any kind of meaningful number*

But, my experiences aren't data, so if anyone does have data showing that an actually relevant number of voters do in fact make decisions based on one or more debates I'd love to see it.

*I do remember a number of people I knew being horrified at Palin's debate performance vs. Biden in '08, one exception

# ? May 2, 2023 22:08

Judgy Fucker: Mar 24, 2006

Willa Rogers posted:

Also, has there been another presidential election when the same two candidates faced each other in two subsequent elections?

Yes, 1896 and 1900

And Bryan would go on to be the Democratic nominee again in 1908

# ? May 2, 2023 22:09

BDawg: May 19, 2004; In Full Stereo Symphony

Leon Trotsky 2012 posted:

Anyone who can prove they are materially impacted could sue once they prove the impact (or have a default happen, which would be de facto proof).

If they wanted to go the 14th amendment route, then Congress could sue as soon as Treasury asserts that it has the power to pay debts without congressional approval and announces it will be acting on that authority.

Wouldn�t the argument against that line be that Congress had its say when it created the Treasury Department and passed the 14th amendment?

# ? May 2, 2023 22:11

Willa Rogers: Mar 11, 2005

Judgy Fucker posted:

Yes, 1896 and 1900

And Bryan would go on to be the Democratic nominee again in 1908

Ohoho, I should've remembered that one, bc I docented at a museum for which that was part of my patter.

***

From a Vox piece last week:

quote:

Will Trump and Biden debate at all?

A big question is whether Trump and Biden will debate each other if they both make it to the general election. Most remember the first debate between the two in 2020 not for its content but for its chaos: They were speaking over each other so much that it was practically unintelligible. They turned the temperature down in their second debate that year after a mute button was introduced.

Kamarck said it�s typically in candidates� interest to debate in a general election because presidential elections have recently been very close and they can�t pass over the opportunity to speak to a national audience. But it�s unlikely that either Trump or Biden will be eager to rehash past clashes in 2024. (We reached out to the Trump campaign and the DNC but did not immediately hear back.)

Though debates have become an unofficial requirement for running for president, there are modern precedents for presidential candidates refusing to debate in a general election. After the first televised presidential debate in 1960, there was a period of 16 years in which there were no presidential debates, with former Presidents Lyndon B. Johnson and Richard Nixon both refusing to participate. And in 1980, former President Jimmy Carter opted not to participate in the first presidential debate over objections to the inclusion of an independent candidate.

It�s not clear whether Biden and Trump will opt to break the streak. If they do, it would be another symptom of the larger breakdown in American political dialogue.

https://www.vox.com/politics/2023/4/27/23700848/donald-trump-joe-biden-presidential-debates-2024-election

eta what might be another record-setter:

quote:

Ironically, a return engagement looks increasingly likely at a time when the vast majority of Americans believe the country the two men led back-to-back is on the wrong track. More pointedly, in an NBC News survey released Sunday, 70 percent of respondents said Biden shouldn't run, and 60 percent said Trump shouldn't.

https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2024-election/biden-vs-trump-2024-rematch-nobody-wants-rcna80933

# ? May 2, 2023 22:16

Sir John Falstaff: Apr 13, 2010

Judgy Fucker posted:

Yes, 1896 and 1900

And Bryan would go on to be the Democratic nominee again in 1908

Not sure you have to go that far back--Eisenhower and Adlai Stevenson faced each other in 1952 and 1956.

# ? May 2, 2023 22:19

Dpulex: Feb 26, 2013

republichuds are the biggest goddam snowflakes. Half of all plays ever written have cross gender roles. This number is made up, but it is a lot of plays.

# ? May 2, 2023 22:21

Judgy Fucker: Mar 24, 2006

Sir John Falstaff posted:

Not sure you have to go that far back--Eisenhower and Adlai Stevenson faced each other in 1952 and 1956.

Yeah that's right. Kinda funny (lovely, actually) this is the third time it'll happen.

# ? May 2, 2023 22:24

BiggerBoat: Sep 26, 2007; Don't you tell me my business again.

Blindeye posted:

Rehobeth beach and Ocean City in Maryland just south are honestly great. Hot but not as humid as beaches in the south, decent waves, broad, clean sandy beaches and water that isn't filled with seaweed like stuff farther up like the Jersey shore/NYC.

But it's not pretty, per se. Just a good beach if what you want to do is swim and tan.

Edit: Nebraska is pretty only if you like expanses of nothing but corn. Stock desktop-rear end state.

Having grown up in Delaware, this is, at most, partially true. Beach erosion has rendered the actual "beach" almost non existent and the ocean frequently reaches all the way to the boardwalk(s). Parking is abysmal and traffic is a nightmare. For the "Great Party Beach" crowd, the cops in OC and Rehobeth are notorious assholes and routinely gently caress with pretty much anyone. Both beaches are incredibly crowded also and getting to and from either of them is a pain in the rear end.

I had some good times there but the only time I had the most fun was when we had a cottage or a room right there close to a few things and were able to take the trolley thing to wherever we went on the "strip".

Judgy Fucker posted:

Do these people actually exist, though? I know they usually trot out a few people who claim to be as such as props for the town halls and debates but I've never once met someone in my life who has claimed that a debate swayed them one way or the other, and nothing I've experienced suggests these people exist in any kind of meaningful number*

But, my experiences aren't data, so if anyone does have data showing that an actually relevant number of voters do in fact make decisions based on one or more debates I'd love to see it.

*I do remember a number of people I knew being horrified at Palin's debate performance vs. Biden in '08, one exception

The biggest one I can remember was actually a vice presidential debate where Ross Perot was running as an Independent and his VP pick was Admiral James Stockdale who gave a performance so bizarre, incompetent and just plain dumb that it single handedly sank whatever chance Perot had to be competitive.

There have been a few "zingers" ans "moments" that caught on over the years that may have swayed some elections a bit but the thing is, all this poo poo is done on social media and internet websites now. No one needs to tune in to know what candidates think or to hear them lay a sick burn on their opponent. Hell, it's starting to happen already right now and anyone who cares already knows about it.

BiggerBoat fucked around with this message at 22:53 on May 2, 2023

# ? May 2, 2023 22:41

mawarannahr: May 21, 2019

This will be a great slap in the face to the enemy nation of Iran, which continues wokely to enforce crossdressing on stage
Iran detains pair over A Midsummer Night's Dream production

www.theguardian.com | 2018 posted:

Iranian authorities have detained two artists over a theatre production of A Midsummer Night�s Dream.
✂️
Karami said they were taken into custody on Sunday evening after the broadcast of a video trailer about the work. He said it had caused a "misunderstanding�, but did not elaborate, adding that a court had accepted to release the pair on $24,000 (�18,500) bail each.

A clip on social media showed female actors dancing with men as part of the trailer, an illegal act under the Islamic Republic�s strict rules that forbid gender mixing and women dancing in public.

The play was on stage for seven nights before the detentions. The comic fantasy tracks the intertwined fates of four lovers and is one of Shakespeare�s most popular plays.
✂️

# ? May 2, 2023 22:50

BiggerBoat: Sep 26, 2007; Don't you tell me my business again.

I don't think any of us really need a Biden v Trump debate, if I'm being honest, and I don't think it would really do either of them any favors. I can already imagine what a poo poo show like that would be and I kind of even doubt I'd watch it myself.

# ? May 2, 2023 22:55

PostNouveau: Sep 3, 2011; VY till I die; Grimey Drawer

Charliegrs posted:

So realistically how hard will it be to find internet porn in Utah after the ID bill passes? Like ok pornhub won't be available but what about the 100 billion other porn sites? Will Utah have some kind of great firewall like China?

The effect in Louisiana has just been that no one uses pornhub and a couple of the other big ones and instead use the other 100 billion porn sites.

I'd love to see a FOIA request on how many people actually went through the "please give me a porn pass here is all my identifying information" step.

# ? May 2, 2023 23:00

Zotix: Aug 14, 2011

These 1500 troops being deployed to the border seems very iffy. They do say that the troops will be used in a support role, but it feels like it's tiptoeing on the posse comitatus act.

# ? May 2, 2023 23:10

FlamingLiberal: Jan 18, 2009; Would you like to play a game?

Zotix posted:

These 1500 troops being deployed to the border seems very iffy. They do say that the troops will be used in a support role, but it feels like it's tiptoeing on the posse comitatus act.

Didn't Trump do this at one point

I don't really see how it's going to accomplish anything but if there's one bipartisan consensus, it's that we need to militarize the border

# ? May 2, 2023 23:14

Leon Trotsky 2012: Aug 27, 2009; YOU CAN TRUST ME!*

_{*Israeli Government-affiliated poster}

Zotix posted:

These 1500 troops being deployed to the border seems very iffy. They do say that the troops will be used in a support role, but it feels like it's tiptoeing on the posse comitatus act.

Posse comitatus explicitly says that the military can be used to enforce certain federal law or defend federal property.

FlamingLiberal posted:

Didn't Trump do this at one point

I don't really see how it's going to accomplish anything but if there's one bipartisan consensus, it's that we need to militarize the border

Trump added a bunch of them, but there have been national guardsmen at the border forever. There are currently 2,500 there.

It sounds like they are basically doing administrative work to "free up" border patrol staff.

quote:

For 90 days, these 1,500 military personnel will fill critical capability gaps, such as ground-based detection and monitoring, data entry, and warehouse support, until CBP can address these needs through contracted support,

I have no idea what the effectiveness/impact of this kind of support is, though.

Leon Trotsky 2012 fucked around with this message at 23:23 on May 2, 2023

# ? May 2, 2023 23:20

Willa Rogers: Mar 11, 2005

BiggerBoat posted:

I don't think any of us really need a Biden v Trump debate, if I'm being honest, and I don't think it would really do either of them any favors. I can already imagine what a poo poo show like that would be and I kind of even doubt I'd watch it myself.

I need it, as a historic reminder of how much things have changed over the course of my lifetime, but the presidential debates haven't been good since the League of Women Voters ran them.

Check out some of the primary/g.e. debates of yore on youtube, and compare them to the same 5 questions that got asked in 2020 across the primary & g.e. debates that were aired between PhRMA ad breaks.

There also used to be far more "candidate forums" not tightly scheduled & controlled by the parties; I first learned about Howard Dean from watching him talk with other candidates on c-spam in March 2003.

I'm glad CNN is hosting a townhall with Trump next week; the one they had with Biden 18 months ago was enlightening & made for compelling television.

# ? May 2, 2023 23:24

cr0y: Mar 24, 2005

Just lol at trying to regulate porn on the internet.

# ? May 2, 2023 23:29

ManBoyChef: Aug 1, 2019; Deadbeat Dad

FlamingLiberal posted:

They�re never thinking about things that big. They would just prefer to gently caress over Biden and Dems going into 2024. That�s it.

of course they want to gently caress over biden and the dems...but there are indeed cuts to the welfare state that the conservative dems want to make. Here is a direct quote from our homeboy from WV Manchin about what us filthy poors will do if you give us money.

�I cannot accept our economy, or basically our society, moving towards an entitlement mentality,� Manchin said.

this spewed out of his pie hole in reference to the child tax credit...you know the one....that while active helped to bring many children out of poverty.

The sad thing is that many of the corporate dems also think this way because it keeps a workforce living hand to mouth with very little ability to move towards better jobs, or do anything really to improve their working conditions.

# ? May 2, 2023 23:31

Wayne Knight: May 11, 2006

Biden should mint the coin, but not for the full amount, just the amount the debt has grown since the last time they raised the ceiling. Then instead of wondering if they're gonna raise the ceiling every so often, we get to wonder if a new coin is gonna get minted.

# ? May 3, 2023 00:32

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# ? May 27, 2024 05:54

Jaxyon: Mar 7, 2016; I’m just saying I would like to see a man beat a woman in a cage. Just to be sure.

This forum would lose it's mind if the coin thing ever happened. I want it so bad.

The sound of a million policy nerds crying out in unison.

# ? May 3, 2023 00:34

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Debate & Discussion > USCE 2023: Please let them shove a camera up your butt

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