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Why don't we want and why can't we have nice things?

Bullshit. None of those are MAGA principles - those are conservative principles co-opted by a raving buffoon and his kool aid cultists.

MAGA is a mindset - a snarky, absurd sense of rhetoric that somehow emboldens miscreants from our society ranging from incels to white supremacists. Note that I’m not saying Trump supporters are in this bucket, but true blue MAGA people are.

Oh and I also pay more taxes because of the Truml tax plan. So that’s cool - and super conservative right?
Of course they are conservative principles and incorporated into a campaign hat and bumper sticker. Why is that a problem? I’m not here to defend Trump, but I will speak about how many have turned MAGA into an unacceptable term. Make America Great Again has taken on a new meaning thanks to the whole Biden/Democrat asymmetrical disaster I don’t know what you mean by true blue MAGA people other than you have bought the MAGA talking points the Democrats and their media sycophants have foisted upon us.

And my taxes are down because of Trump tax reform. Yeah Trump made taxes more progressive, not less. You noticed, but others Democrats lie about it. Be glad you are high earner. ;)
 
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Of course they are conservative principles and incorporated into a campaign hat and bumper sticker. Why is that a problem? I’m not here to defend Trump, but I will speak about how many have turned MAGA into an unacceptable term. Make America Great Again has taken on a new meaning thanks to the whole Biden/Democrat asymmetrical disaster I don’t know what you mean by true blue MAGA people other than you have bought the MAGA talking points the Democrats and their media sycophants have foisted upon us.

And my taxes are down because of Trump tax reform. Yeah Trump made taxes more progressive, not less. You noticed, but others Democrats lie about it. Be glad you are high earner. ;)
MAGA is a Cult and has been since the 2016 election. The cult leader makes ridiculous proclamations from on high and the cult swallows them all up. America was great and will remain great despite trump.

Messaging matters - and I’m not talking about mean tweets. I’m talking about emboldening extremists (obviously Dem rhetoric does this too) through language and words. This is unacceptable. This is MAGA.

If your point is that we have to take the bad with the good then that’s essentially the “Other than what happened, did you enjoy the play Mrs. Lincoln?” argument.
 
What is disastrous about MAGA? I think almost all the MAGA policies are pretty damn good and we can use those now, especially border, energy, criminal justice and America First foreign policy.

Looks to me you have fallen into the Biden/Democrat/Media ulta-MAGA nonsense by painting solid GOP policies as a disaster just because Trump accomplished them.

Fareed Zakaria makes the case Biden's foreign policy resembles Trump's.

Border policy needs a Congressional rewrite. Cannot talk about energy without including climate.

Criminal justice continues to be a state and local challenge along with education.
 
Fareed Zakaria makes the case Biden's foreign policy resembles Trump's.
What is his case in a nutshell? Afghanistan, Nordstream, Israel, and the Northern Triangle Agreements suggest otherwise. All of this is painted over with Biden’s profound timidity and cognitive deficits.

Border policy needs a Congressional rewrite. Cannot talk about energy without including climate
immigration laws only need a rewrite if you are a Democrat who doesn’t approve of existing law. The law is fine if enforced as written. Democrats won’t do that.

You certainly can talk about energy and climate and they go together. But curtailing US energy production while the rest of the world ramps up coal and other hydrocarbon use is blinkered ignorant short-sighted politics. We can be much smarter and better in all aspects of energy production and consumption. But so long as we have an energy secretary and climate czar who are better suited for The View than serious government advisors, we are screwed.



Criminal justice continues to be a state and local challenge along with education
That’s true to a large extent. But the Administration and DoJ set the tone and that tone is decidedly unjustly anti cop and lack of education rigor.
 
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MAGA is a Cult and has been since the 2016 election. The cult leader makes ridiculous proclamations from on high and the cult swallows them all up. America was great and will remain great despite trump.

Messaging matters - and I’m not talking about mean tweets. I’m talking about emboldening extremists (obviously Dem rhetoric does this too) through language and words. This is unacceptable. This is MAGA.

If your point is that we have to take the bad with the good then that’s essentially the “Other than what happened, did you enjoy the play Mrs. Lincoln?” argument.
All the politics is cult talk is nonsense. Politics is about ideas, not people.

But yeah, there are those who see politics as people. Those are the people who believe cults are always others.
 
All the politics is cult talk is nonsense. Politics is about ideas, not people.

But yeah, there are those who see politics as people. Those are the people who believe cults are always others.
There is no suitable amount of good policy that can overcome the damage and insanity caused by Donald J Trump. He was and remains completely unfit for office.

 
All the politics is cult talk is nonsense. Politics is about ideas, not people.

But yeah, there are those who see politics as people. Those are the people who believe cults are always others.
So binary.

Politics is about ideas, and the people who have/support/push them.
Cults are about people, and the ideas they have/support/push.
The difference is nuanced.
 
So binary.

Politics is about ideas, and the people who have/support/push them.
Cults are about people, and the ideas they have/support/push.
The difference is nuanced.
Nuanced and you know it when you see it. There is a Trump cult on the right and a Woke cult on the left. I think we’ll be rid of ours soon. I’m not hopeful on yours.
 
Nuanced and you know it when you see it. There is a Trump cult on the right and a Woke cult on the left. I think we’ll be rid of ours soon. I’m not hopeful on yours.
Thank you!

images
 
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What is his case in a nutshell? Afghanistan, Nordstream, Israel, and the Northern Triangle Agreements suggest otherwise. All of this is painted over with Biden’s profound timidity and cognitive deficits.


immigration laws only need a rewrite if you are a Democrat who doesn’t approve of existing law. The law is fine if enforced as written. Democrats won’t do that.

You certainly can talk about energy and climate and they go together. But curtailing US energy production while the rest of the world ramps up coal and other hydrocarbon use is blinkered ignorant short-sighted politics. We can be much smarter and better in all aspects of energy production and consumption. But so long as we have an energy secretary and climate czar who are better suited for The View than serious government advisors, we are screwed.




That’s true to a large extent. But the Administration and DoJ set the tone and that tone is decidedly unjustly anti cop and lack of education rigor.
CoH, you state the following....

Immigration laws only need a rewrite if you are a Democrat who doesn’t approve of existing law. The law is fine if enforced as written. Democrats won’t do that.

If current laws address immigration challenges, why do so many policy questions end up in the courts and the executive branch ?.

Thus Democrats are unhappy with Trump's policies and Republicans are unhappy with Biden's. Thought we were a nation of laws and not men.
 
So binary.

Politics is about ideas, and the people who have/support/push them.
Cults are about people, and the ideas they have/support/push.
The difference is nuanced.
Government by consent of the governed, our 14th Amendment, and Brown v Board of education are all American great ideas. No cult attaches to any of that. Claims of “cultism” is primarily a tool for those who don’t like certain people.
 
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Government by consent of the governed, our 14th Amendment, and Brown v Board of education are all American great ideas. No cult attaches to any of that. Claims of “cultism” is primarily a tool for those who don’t like certain people.
Government by consent of the governed, our 14th Amendment, and Brown v Board of education are all American great ideas. No cult attaches to any of that. Claims of “cultism” is primarily a tool for those who don’t like certain people.
Politicians and government aren’t the same thing.
 
Nuanced and you know it when you see it. There is a Trump cult on the right and a Woke cult on the left. I think we’ll be rid of ours soon. I’m not hopeful on yours.
I appreciate your optimism, but it relies on the idea that when Trump disappears, all those Trumpers magically turn back into normal Republicans. I don't think that's going to happen. They didn't become various types of deplorable because of Trump; they were attracted to him because they already were deplorable. They are likely to remain deplorable when Trump exits the stage.
 
I appreciate your optimism, but it relies on the idea that when Trump disappears, all those Trumpers magically turn back into normal Republicans. I don't think that's going to happen. They didn't become various types of deplorable because of Trump; they were attracted to him because they already were deplorable. They are likely to remain deplorable when Trump exits the stage.
Yes but they won’t have power. That’s my point.
 
Your continued ostriching over woke is my favorite thing about you. It’s almost exceeding your music knowledge. But I choose to remember music TMP.
So, maybe define it ... and I'll quit.

But, since no one can ... I'll just say it's not my head that's buried in sand ..
 
So, maybe define it ... and I'll quit.

But, since no one can ... I'll just say it's not my head that's buried in sand ..
It’s pretty simple, it was originally used under good and virtuous intention. Being alert (woke) to social injustice.

But - as is what happens when you give power - it’s devolved into a performative land grab to declare anything that doesn’t advance extreme progressivist (mostly Marxist) positions to be racist, sexist, bigoted, etc. It’s seeing racism whether or not there is some - it’s seeing sexism whether or not there is some - because society is messy and not binary and it’s trying to cause a fundamental reshaping of our society towards equality of outcome.

Barack Obama recognized it and counseled against it. It exists - no matter how hard you try to deny it.

 
MAGA is a Cult and has been since the 2016 election. The cult leader makes ridiculous proclamations from on high and the cult swallows them all up. America was great and will remain great despite trump.

Messaging matters - and I’m not talking about mean tweets. I’m talking about emboldening extremists (obviously Dem rhetoric does this too) through language and words. This is unacceptable. This is MAGA.

If your point is that we have to take the bad with the good then that’s essentially the “Other than what happened, did you enjoy the play Mrs. Lincoln?” argument.
Here’s what I know and believe

We are a stronger democracy that includes a robust MAGA presence than one where the authorities hound MAGA out of existence. Turning political adversaries into enemies of the state, weakens us. Mass media’s thumb on the scale of justice and common people in the internet belittling people with stupidity like cultists is not for the good of the country.

If we can’t have an intelligent and robust debate about politics without flushing the others down the toilet, our politics isn’t worth a shit.

I believe in the jelly bean principle. The more participation we have from more points of view, the better outcomes we will have.
 
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Here’s what I know and believe

We are a stronger democracy that includes a robust MAGA presence than one where the authorities hound MAGA out of existence. Turning political adversaries into enemies of the state, weakens us. Mass media’s thumb on the scale of justice and common people in the internet belittling people with stupidity like cultists is not for the good of the country.

If we can’t have an intelligent and robust debate about politics without flushing the others down the toilet, our politics isn’t worth a shit.

I believe in the jelly bean principle. The more participation we have from more points of view, the better outcomes we will have.
depends. There are some really shitty jelly bean flavors
 
Once you label yourself or be labeled as a conservative, liberal, woke, moderate, progressive, authoritarian, socialist, or whatever and either buy it, or despise it ,
you lose something.

If you buy into it, you risk being open minded. If you despise it, you risk being both open minded, and becoming an asshole.
 
I appreciate your optimism, but it relies on the idea that when Trump disappears, all those Trumpers magically turn back into normal Republicans. I don't think that's going to happen. They didn't become various types of deplorable because of Trump; they were attracted to him because they already were deplorable. They are likely to remain deplorable when Trump exits the stage.
You mean like liberals that were deplorable people before they had Trump to bitch about and will still be deplorable people after he is gone?
 
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You mean like liberals that were deplorable people before they had Trump to bitch about and will still be deplorable people after he is gone?
Uh, no. The cult on the left Ranger referenced has nothing to do with any deplorables. It has to do with radical leftist progressives. However, in that corrected context, they were not radicalized by AOC or Omar or Bernie or whomever else you guys are really scared of right now, and if those politicians all ride off into the sunset, the radical left will remain radical.
 
Uh, no. The cult on the left Ranger referenced has nothing to do with any deplorables. It has to do with radical leftist progressives. However, in that corrected context, they were not radicalized by AOC or Omar or Bernie or whomever else you guys are really scared of right now, and if those politicians all ride off into the sunset, the radical left will remain radical.
You guys? What does whatever imaginary cult you have made up have to do with terming people deplorable? You seem to take offense at the idea that there are deplorable people that are liberals as well. Labeling people as a group seems to be a deplorable habit amongst the liberal crowd it seems
 
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You guys? What does whatever imaginary cult you have made up have to do with terming people deplorable? You seem to take offense at the idea that there are deplorable people that are liberals as well. Labeling people as a group seems to be a deplorable habit amongst the liberal crowd it seems
Maybe you should go back and read the entire thread so you can make some sense of it.
 
But - as is what happens when you give power - it’s devolved into a performative land grab to declare anything that doesn’t advance extreme progressivist (mostly Marxist) positions to be racist, sexist, bigoted, etc. It’s seeing racism whether or not there is some - it’s seeing sexism whether or not there is some - because society is messy and not binary and it’s trying to cause a fundamental reshaping of our society towards equality of outcome.
IDGAFF what Obama thinks about it ...he doesn't speak for me.

That's not how it's used though, is it? It is used as a broad brush description of anyone or anything that disagrees with racism, misogyny, homophobia, or authoritarianism. Regardless if unfounded ....

It's lazy-minded AF, meme level in concept and as such can be easily propagandized and perverted....

You many use it in the manner stated but more use it as I have described above.

Anything anti - what ever the sleeping believe as a conservative anti-liberty authoritarian - is called woke.

The FBI is woke because they're supposedly anti-republican/anti Trump. Cool story. The DOJ is also woke because they're prosecuting police officers who killed a black person and served a warrant on Trump.

Yup I always think of DOJ and FBI as racially paranoid LGBTQ supporting Marxist organizations.

LotR is woke because it has black hobbits but an actor is being called woke because he doesn't think a non Latino should be playing a Latino in a film.

So many ways to be woke .. So it has a wide range of uses, huh? Much wider than what you described above .. Much.

fwiw - can't stop society from becoming more liberal and progressive. It's just human nature. If pressure is applied it will only speed up the process. The young love to piss off the old .. Rock n roll ..
 
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How do you know teachers are "bring[ing] religion, sexual orientation, politics or anything else into it"?

MrsSope taught middle school math for 17 years and the primary thing she complained about was the additional bureaucratic bullshit that W's No Child Left Behind brought with it.

There was no religion, sexual orientation, politics or anything else brought into it. That's just a conservative's myth.
People know of it because of COVID19 shutdown and with zoom classes parents could see what was going on. It is going on in all schools but in many schools. Zoom classes and talking to their children tell parents what is happening, it is in the news for others to see.
 
IDGAFF what Obama thinks about it ...he doesn't speak for me.

That's not how it's used though, is it? It is used as a broad brush description of anyone or anything that disagrees with racism, misogyny, homophobia, or authoritarianism. Regardless if unfounded ....

It's lazy-minded AF, meme level in concept and as such can be easily propagandized and perverted....

You many use it in the manner stated but more use it as I have described above.

Anything anti - what ever the sleeping believe as a conservative anti-liberty authoritarian - is called woke.

The FBI is woke because they're supposedly anti-republican/anti Trump. Cool story. The DOJ is also woke because they're prosecuting police officers who killed a black person and served a warrant on Trump.

Yup I always think of DOJ and FBI as racially paranoid LGBTQ supporting Marxist organizations.

LotR is woke because it has black hobbits but an actor is being called woke because he doesn't think a non Latino should be playing a Latino in a film.

So many ways to be woke .. So it has a wide range of uses, huh? Much wider than what you described above .. Much.

fwiw - can't stop society from becoming more liberal and progressive. It's just human nature. If pressure is applied it will only speed up the process. The young love to piss off the old .. Rock n roll ..
And all great societies implode. Coincidence??
 
And all great societies implode. Coincidence??
He is completely wrong about societies becoming more progressive and liberal. He is viewing the world through a Western lense.

As to the rest, "Woke" is ascribing life experiences to people based on color and who they sleep with and then using those characterizations to decide a hierarchy of the aggrieved. The more "oppressed" people with your characteristics are deemed, the more your opinion is worth.
 
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I think one of the purposes of a free public education is to build a cohesive common culture beyond educating students. Any sense of a common cohesive culture in the USA has now been blown to smithereens
Which culture? You know as well as anyone the west is deeply influenced by Hispanic culture. The Midwest by German. The large east coast cities by Irish. The culture of the south was historically different than the north and helped drive the civil war. There was a Black culture, of course a Native culture. Not to mention class differences, the elites of a Boston or NYC had little in common with the chimney sweep.

The idea there was ever one America is a myth.
 
IDGAFF what Obama thinks about it ...he doesn't speak for me.

That's not how it's used though, is it? It is used as a broad brush description of anyone or anything that disagrees with racism, misogyny, homophobia, or authoritarianism. Regardless if unfounded ....

It's lazy-minded AF, meme level in concept and as such can be easily propagandized and perverted....

You many use it in the manner stated but more use it as I have described above.

Anything anti - what ever the sleeping believe as a conservative anti-liberty authoritarian - is called woke.

The FBI is woke because they're supposedly anti-republican/anti Trump. Cool story. The DOJ is also woke because they're prosecuting police officers who killed a black person and served a warrant on Trump.

Yup I always think of DOJ and FBI as racially paranoid LGBTQ supporting Marxist organizations.

LotR is woke because it has black hobbits but an actor is being called woke because he doesn't think a non Latino should be playing a Latino in a film.

So many ways to be woke .. So it has a wide range of uses, huh? Much wider than what you described above .. Much.

fwiw - can't stop society from becoming more liberal and progressive. It's just human nature. If pressure is applied it will only speed up the process. The young love to piss off the old .. Rock n roll ..
Sure it can be used lazily. Do you not think that hillbilly or Trumper is used lazily? Hell some turds on this very forum call me a Trumper (paging StuffShot) because I am a conservative.

Societies that progress unchecked to rampant liberalism will destroy themselves. Just as those that do not progress at all will. There will always be one person who is more “persecuted” than the next and eventually we end up in liberal idiocracy.

Using the term Latinx is woke. Latinos don’t like it. But white women know better. Casting Latino roles with non-Latinos isn’t cause for major despair just as casting white roles in plays like Hamilton with super talented black peoples isn’t cause for despair. I bet black hobbits are super cool. Pronouns are super cool for those that want to list them - those that would try to shame/force others into it suck ass. Dismissing people - and their opinions - that don’t want to list their pronouns is the epitome of Woke.

The bottom line is that identity politics sucks ass - like The Doors music does. Those that grift off of identities suck ass and so do those who sponsor initiatives to allow the grifters to continue to grift. The world is messy and will never be crystal. The Woke want a crystal clear world that isn’t possible - just as the religious right want a 50’s style world that isn’t possible.
 
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Which culture? You know as well as anyone the west is deeply influenced by Hispanic culture. The Midwest by German. The large east coast cities by Irish. The culture of the south was historically different than the north and helped drive the civil war. There was a Black culture, of course a Native culture. Not to mention class differences, the elites of a Boston or NYC had little in common with the chimney sweep.

The idea there was ever one America is a myth.

In school, it was described as a melting pot and what made America so unique and great.
 
In school, it was described as a melting pot and what made America so unique and great.

We called it a melting pot, but we never were. One could very much tell differences as they would tour the country. Everything about Tombstone was different than Boston.

We were always a stew. A stew is one item, it can have a wonderful flavor, but you know the carrots from the potatoes from the meat.
 
We called it a melting pot, but we never were. One could very much tell differences as they would tour the country. Everything about Tombstone was different than Boston.

We were always a stew. A stew is one item, it can have a wonderful flavor, but you know the carrots from the potatoes from the meat.
The old argument continues as to whether we are a melting pot or a quilt.

i always went with quilt.
 
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Sure it can be used lazily. Do you not think that hillbilly or Trumper is used lazily? Hell some turds on this very forum call me a Trumper (paging StuffShot) because I am a conservative.

Societies that progress unchecked to rampant liberalism will destroy themselves. Just as those that do not progress at all will. There will always be one person who is more “persecuted” than the next and eventually we end up in liberal idiocracy.

Using the term Latinx is woke. Latinos don’t like it. But white women know better. Casting Latino roles with non-Latinos isn’t cause for major despair just as casting white roles in plays like Hamilton with super talented black peoples isn’t cause for despair. I bet black hobbits are super cool. Pronouns are super cool for those that want to list them - those that would try to shame/force others into it suck ass. Dismissing people - and their opinions - that don’t want to list their pronouns is the epitome of Woke.

The bottom line is that identity politics sucks ass - like The Doors music does. Those that grift off of identities suck ass and so do those who sponsor initiatives to allow the grifters to continue to grift. The world is messy and will never be crystal. The Woke want a crystal clear world that isn’t possible - just as the religious right want a 50’s style world that isn’t possible.
Ranger, agree when you state, "Societies that progress unchecked to rampant liberalism will destroy themselves".

Think you might agree, A society not willing to change will find itself unable to solve the problems it faces.

Furthermore a society needs choices to confront problems. Choices from both conservatives and progressives. When a choice doesn't work then society amends the choice made, or throws it out completely. Its called trial and error with constant checking and revising.
 
He is completely wrong about societies becoming more progressive and liberal. He is viewing the world through a Western lense.
No. I. Am. Not.

I'm not talking about governments. I'm talking about culture and society in general..
 
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