Jump to content

Recommended Posts

Posted
On 3/7/2025 at 7:20 AM, Brisketexan said:

Oh, I have (it's been a while).  Trust me, I know how to get punched pretty hard and bleed.  Hell, that's why I decided I didn't like fighting much as I matured: even when you "win," the other guy usually lands a few, and punches hurt.  Also, chicks hated it when dudes fought, and when I was out and about and tensions got high to where a fight was possible, I was also likely at a bar or somesuch trying to meet girls.

End up in fight with random dumbass vs. chat up the cute brunette with the button nose at the end of the bar?  No-brainer, man.

But what I'm suggesting is not exactly novel.  It's right out of the civil rights movement and Ghandi's nonviolent resistance.  Make the oppressor take offensive, brutal action against you in the light of day.  Those sorts of images turn the stomach of civilized people, or even people who like to think they're civilized.

Images like this changed the world.

GTY-blm-civil-rights-17-jef-161228_20x13

ap3967239957153-ed895697624a65928dc71e4a

I was never particularly good at fighting. Probably more Jerry Cooney than Iron Mike Tyson. What I have always been good at is taking punches. I think it just goes back to always playing sports and getting the tar knocked out of me playing football. Punches never hurt. 
 

I say that to say that yes if you are in a situation that gets heated don’t give in and throw punches or pull out a weapon trying to go all John Wick on someone. Take your cue from John Lewis and show up and dare someone to violently attack you just by being there. I would love to see more of this from Democrats, but too many near the top of the pyramid are entrenched and just aren’t interested. I find it humorous that three of the Democrats willing to be vocal and not back down in AOC, Ilhan Omar and Jasmine Crockett are all small in stature, but they each never stop pushing back against fascists. These are the people I want leading among a few others. Jeffries can kick rocks. Just a free healthcare and paycheck collecting fraud.

  • Hook 'Em 4
Posted

The Republican base and Democratic lawmakers share the similarity of living in an alternate reality. Republicans reality being one where facts don't matter, while Democratic politicians live in a world where rules and norms still exist.

  • Hook 'Em 8
Posted
4 minutes ago, UpperWestside said:

I was never particularly good at fighting. Probably more Jerry Cooney than Iron Mike Tyson. What I have always been good at is taking punches. I think it just goes back to always playing sports and getting the tar knocked out of me playing football. Punches never hurt. 
 

I say that to say that yes if you are in a situation that gets heated don’t give in and throw punches or pull out a weapon trying to go all John Wick on someone. Take your cue from John Lewis and show up and dare someone to violently attack you just by being there. I would love to see more of this from Democrats, but too many near the top of the pyramid are entrenched and just aren’t interested. I find it humorous that three of the Democrats willing to be vocal and not back down in AOC, Ilhan Omar and Jasmine Crockett are all small in stature, but they each never stop pushing back against fascists. These are the people I want leading among a few others. Jeffries can kick rocks. Just a free healthcare and paycheck collecting fraud.

Some years ago, I was in a W. Texas courtroom, representing the good local folks against an overreaching and arrogant oilman type, who was used to getting his way.  After an afternoon in court, he was most definitely not getting his way.  After telling him what was what, the judge ordered us to the jury room to talk things over and see if we could work out a deal.  We went there.  I sat in a chair, and laid out our position and expectations (we had the upper hand, and I wasn't giving it away).  He got RIPSHIT pissed.  He got up from his chair across the room, and he came at me, with no doubt as to his intentions.  And I recall sitting there in my chair, thinking with a slight grin "he's going to punch me.  It's going to hurt.  Also, I'm going to win this whole damned case, he's going to write me a personal check, and he's gonna spend the night in jail."  My grin got bigger.  I didn't move -- I wanted him to punch me in a chair in a room full of witnesses.  Because that's how you fucking WIN.

Unfortunately, HIS lawyer saw what was happening, jumped up, and cut him off.  We still did well that day, but man....him punching a defenseless man sitting in a chair would have handed me total victory on a silver platter.

Make them do incredibly shitty things in broad daylight.  It's how they lose any legitimacy they had.  Make 'em do shit like this:

1*k1XAWaDdv05rnV9vFZu3xQ.jpeg

  • Hook 'Em 3
  • Like 1
Posted
1 hour ago, David Dennison said:

The Republicans needed votes for cloture. You'd think Democrats could get something out of that.

Oh well. Guess not.

Get 'em next time, team.

Oh it is far worse than that man. If this was just a simple stop gap funding bill and the Democrats simply failed to extract any concessions from this situation that would be one thing. That would be shameful.

But this is not that situation. The Republicans are extracting massive concessions to the Democrats and threatening them to get them to accept those concessions and vote yes. The Republicans are going to slash funding to benefits including Medicaid, they are unconstitutionally transferring taxing authority to the President. And if the Democrats do not vote for this, they are threatening that DOGE and Musk will dismantle the Federal Government while it is shutdown because the courts will not be functional. But Musk and Trump are going to do that anyway and the courts are always two steps behind.

I mean with a threat that dire the Democrats absolutely should refuse to play ball and demand all the unconstitutional shit and all the benefit reductions are removed. Those aren't concessions, just a demand for the status quo which is insane when the status quo is Trump and Musk destroying the government unconstitutionally anyway. But they aren't even getting the current status quo. They have been outplayed, outflanked, and totally politically crushed. They have no plan, no fight, no nothing. So they are going to give concessions to the Republicans and fold. And now when Trump is doing all this shit, he will have Democratic votes supporting him.

And for what? For Trump to do all this shit anyway? Let him gut the government. Don't vote for unconstitutional bills. Don't vote to slash benefits. This is important enough to take a stand on.

Granted, they haven't even done it yet AFAIK. So I will hold back my outrage just a bit.

  • Hook 'Em 4
  • Fuck Around and Find Out 1
Posted
30 minutes ago, The Original Greaser Bob said:

But Jeffries talks funny so I kinda like him.

At least he held firm...but of course he could hold firm and it wouldn't actually do anything because he didn't have the votes. Schumer does have the votes so he won't.

Posted
2 minutes ago, Valmy77 said:

Oh it is far worse than that man. If this was just a simple stop gap funding bill and the Democrats simply failed to extract any concessions from this situation that would be one thing. That would be shameful.

But this is not that situation. The Republicans are extracting massive concessions to the Democrats and threatening them to get them to accept those concessions and vote yes. The Republicans are going to slash funding to benefits including Medicaid, they are unconstitutionally transferring taxing authority to the President. And if the Democrats do not vote for this, they are threatening that DOGE and Musk will dismantle the Federal Government while it is shutdown because the courts will not be functional. But Musk and Trump are going to do that anyway and the courts are always two steps behind.

I mean with a threat that dire the Democrats absolutely should refuse to play ball and demand all the unconstitutional shit and all the benefit reductions are removed. Those aren't concessions, just a demand for the status quo which is insane when the status quo is Trump and Musk destroying the government unconstitutionally anyway. But they aren't even getting the current status quo. They have been outplayed, outflanked, and totally politically crushed. They have no plan, no fight, no nothing. So they are going to give concessions to the Republicans and fold. And now when Trump is doing all this shit, he will have Democratic votes supporting him.

And for what? For Trump to do all this shit anyway? Let him gut the government. Don't vote for unconstitutional bills. Don't vote to slash benefits. This is important enough to take a stand on.

Granted, they haven't even done it yet AFAIK. So I will hold back my outrage just a bit.

What Chuck Schumer and Senate Democrats are saying with this capitulation is that they agree with the notion that the Executive Branch has the power to unilaterally privatize the federal bureaucracy and there's not damn thing the opposition will do about it.

Wonderful.

  • Hook 'Em 1
Posted
1 hour ago, David Dennison said:

 

Well that is the most unsurprising yet most depressing thing I have ever read.

Quote

There was a recognition up in the Senate yesterday that letting the bill pass was a bad idea, but that was matched by a pained realization that the caucus wasn’t ready for the fight. They hadn’t laid any of the groundwork. They didn’t have a clear answer of what they’d be fighting for if a shutdown happened. They’d put their bets on Mike Johnson not being able to get a bill through the House without Democratic votes. When he did, they were caught flatfooted. But the “they” here is Chuck Schumer. That’s the leader’s job. He lead them into a corner.

What the fuck? You senile old incompetent buffoon!! You had no plan, no strategy? You just fucking assumed EVERYTHING WOULD MAGICALLY WORK OUT FOR YOU!!!11 Schumer's strategy was FUCKING WISHFUL THINKING?!

He should be in prison for criminal negligence. And then he schemed to trick his caucus into voting for the bill by some easily discoverable bullshit?

Is there any way short of murder we can get rid of this guy? A Republican double agent couldn't do a better job.

  • Hook 'Em 1
Posted
1 minute ago, David Dennison said:

What Chuck Schumer and Senate Democrats are saying with this capitulation is that they agree with the notion that the Executive Branch has the power to unilaterally privatize the federal bureaucracy and there's not damn thing the opposition will do about it.

Wonderful.

Give up on everything. Because they are going to swoop back to power in the midterms and in 2028 you see and...accomplish nothing at all and basically let all of Trump's actions slide. I have seen this movie before.

If they had no plan for Trump's presidency and no plan for this bill and do nothing but sit around and react incompetently to every trap laid for them, do we really think they are going to be able to radically, quickly, and effectively reshape the wrecked government and economy that Trump would hand them even if they did win? They will have no plan and no vision at all.

Posted

Schumer has a mutiny on his hands. No clue how the cloture vote ends up going, but he may not have the votes and he's betrayed his caucus, house Dems, and Democratic voters so thoroughly and openly that there's not really any way he can remain part of the Dem senate leadership.  

  • Hook 'Em 4
Posted
2 minutes ago, wildcat09 said:

Schumer has a mutiny on his hands. No clue how the cloture vote ends up going, but he may not have the votes and he's betrayed his caucus, house Dems, and Democratic voters so thoroughly and openly that there's not really any way he can remain part of the Dem senate leadership.  

Oh, there's a way. We're talking about Democrats after all.

  • Like 1
  • Fuck Around and Find Out 1
Posted (edited)
28 minutes ago, wildcat09 said:

Schumer has a mutiny on his hands. No clue how the cloture vote ends up going, but he may not have the votes and he's betrayed his caucus, house Dems, and Democratic voters so thoroughly and openly that there's not really any way he can remain part of the Dem senate leadership.  

Oh God. You are probably wrong but I hope this is true. I have hope, that doesn't usually work out for me.

Edited by Valmy77
Posted
2 hours ago, The Original Greaser Bob said:

But Jeffries talks funny so I kinda like him.

He sounds fairly normal  to me in how he speaks in tone and cadence. Maybe I’m missing something.

Posted
3 hours ago, StassneyHorn said:

people love digging the well even deeper on the “mediocre white male” taunt.

We already have Chuck Schumer, how more mediocre a white man is there?

  • Fuck Around and Find Out 1
Posted (edited)
3 hours ago, David Dennison said:

 

I think Schumer is right.

Think about it: R's are trying to dismantle and shut down the government. 

If the R's pass the government budget and stave off a shut down, but the D's appear in the perception and narrative that they are the reason for the shutdown, then the R's get to further distort reality and crow about how they are the ones who are trying to keep the government running and the D's are destroying the government and the economy, etc.

The R's would essentially be getting the D's to do the dirty work for them, because they want the government crippled.

Edited by Vegas64
Posted
31 minutes ago, UpperWestside said:

He sounds fairly normal  to me in how he speaks in tone and cadence. Maybe I’m missing something.

Heavy new yawk accent that’s borderline lispy 

Posted
3 minutes ago, Vegas64 said:

I think Schumer is right.

Think about it: R's are trying to dismantle and shut down the government. 

If the R's pass the government budget and stave off a shut down, but the D's appear in the perception and narrative that they are the reason for the shutdown, then the R's get to further distort reality and crow about how they are the ones who are trying to keep the government running and the D's are destroying the government and the economy, etc.

The R's would essentially be getting the D's to do the dirty work for them, because they want the government crippled.

They're crippling it anyway.

Posted
3 minutes ago, Texas Flood said:

Heavy new yawk accent that’s borderline lispy 

I spent 8 and a half years there and he has a light accent, if that, for a New Yorker. I spent a lot of time out on Long Island where the actual New York accents are mostly at, and Jeffries sounds like Walter Kronkite in comparison.

Posted
15 minutes ago, Valmy77 said:

We already have Chuck Schumer, how more mediocre a white man is there?

America is the home of the mediocre white man. There's another Schumer just waiting to fill in admirably as the next mediocre white man up if called upon.

Posted
5 minutes ago, David Dennison said:

They're crippling it anyway.

Of course they are and it's morally rephrensible. Let the R's cleanly own the disaster and steer clear of being int he same vicinity as the R's in their destruction of the government. I think that's what Schumer and the like are saying and I think they are ultimately correct, even if it's emotionally unsatisfying and feels like capitulation in the moment and in short term.

Posted (edited)
10 minutes ago, Vegas64 said:

Of course they are and it's morally rephrensible. Let the R's cleanly own the disaster and steer clear of being int he same vicinity as the R's in their destruction of the government. I think that's what Schumer and the like are saying and I think they are ultimately correct, even if it's emotionally unsatisfying and feels like capitulation in the moment and in short term.

I don't have much faith in Democratic leadership to be able to pin the disaster on the Republican Party or on Donald Trump. 

Edited by David Dennison
Posted
27 minutes ago, Vegas64 said:

I think Schumer is right.

Think about it: R's are trying to dismantle and shut down the government. 

If the R's pass the government budget and stave off a shut down, but the D's appear in the perception and narrative that they are the reason for the shutdown, then the R's get to further distort reality and crow about how they are the ones who are trying to keep the government running and the D's are destroying the government and the economy, etc.

The R's would essentially be getting the D's to do the dirty work for them, because they want the government crippled.

This bill would legitimize what Trump is doing, violate the separation of powers of the Constitution and slash benefits. It isn't just keeping the government open. 

And under those terms, you might as well shut it down.

  • Hook 'Em 1
Posted

Schumer is terrible. So, he comes out and says they wont give the votes to the Republicans but their request is to have a vote for 30 day CR. Then, the very next day he capitulates and says that they will vote for the House CR. 

WTF? Did he actually believe that Thune was going to agree on a vote for the 30 day?

This is the only time they have any leverage. To not use it is malpractice. They don’t have to take the blame for the shutdown as this isn’t a normal CR as it has no instructions for the Executive on spending (which is an absolute gift to TFG).

Trump is going to continue crashing the economy and destroying the government with it open and closed.

Schumer’s not a Palestinian - it’s more like Vichy France.

  • Hook 'Em 1
Posted
1 hour ago, hornmpa96 said:

Schumer is terrible. So, he comes out and says they wont give the votes to the Republicans but their request is to have a vote for 30 day CR. Then, the very next day he capitulates and says that they will vote for the House CR

WTF? Did he actually believe that Thune was going to agree on a vote for the 30 day?

This is the only time they have any leverage. To not use it is malpractice. They don’t have to take the blame for the shutdown as this isn’t a normal CR as it has no instructions for the Executive on spending (which is an absolute gift to TFG).

Trump is going to continue crashing the economy and destroying the government with it open and closed.

Schumer’s not a Palestinian - it’s more like Vichy France.

Schumer thought he could cut a deal with Thune to get votes on some proposed amendments that were doomed to fail in exchange for the cloture vote, so he could pretend that the Dems fought. All he wanted to do was lie to voters on his own side to pretend he wasn't really surrendering, but Thune either told him "lol no" or didn't even respond.

  • Rage+1 2
Posted

Schumer seems like he is still operating on "business as usual" mindset as opposed to a fully on insurgency war.  He is not the person needed for the job today.

  • Hook 'Em 1
  • Rage+1 2
Posted
5 hours ago, henrygandorf said:

stop worrying about blame. trump and his redhats will blame everything on the dems whether we do what’s right or wrong, so might as well do what’s right. 

I'm torn.  I'm feeling that the Maga sympathizers are feeling nervous about what Trump is doing.  (Not MAGA, they are all in no matter). 

So 10 Dems decide voting for it is, to them, doing the right thing. 

I do think it's a close call.  I'd want my rep to vote against it. 

 

  • Hook 'Em 1
Posted

It's not a close call. It's not easy, but it's not a close call. The argument against a shutdown is that Dems don't really have any leverage anyway and letting the government shut down means Trump/Elon/Vought can choose to shut down whatever they want. But they're already doing that. Courts will continue to function but DOJ staff will be greatly reduced, and hobbling the DOJ's ability to defend Trump is a good thing, not a bad thing.

The argument for a shutdown is that Trump is weaker right now than he will be in six months if they let this CR pass. He's shocked a lot of people who still remember when things were actually pretty good just a couple of months ago and he's galvanized a furious opposition again. If Dems cave on this CR that opposition will splinter and another six months of Trump's insanity will cause a lot of people to just go numb and tune it all out. Besides, he and Elon and Vought have been shutting the government down for nearly two months already. Passing this CR will effectively ratify their crimes and essentially cede Article 1 powers to Trump. It will render Congress a rump institution. Better for Congress to just shut down and not operate and not fund anything for the next 3.5 years than that. That's not even getting into how the bill defunds DC's cops, probably so they can replace them with some ICE shitheads who will arrest any troublemaking protesters. 

And they don't really want a shutdown. Elon may sort of think he does occasionally, but he's a fucking idiot. If there's a shutdown Trump and the GOP will get the majority of the blame because the shit they're doing right now is wildly unpopular and people want it to stop. There's a reason the GOP unified to pass this fucking thing and it's not any 4d chess shit. Trump can't even fucking play checkers, much less chess, and is already talking about supporting a primary challenge against their lone holdout. He doesn't want a shutdown. These guys are fucking bullies, which means they're cowards. There's nothing a coward is more afraid of than someone fighting back. 

  • Hook 'Em 9
Posted
11 minutes ago, wildcat09 said:

And they don't really want a shutdown. Elon may sort of think he does occasionally, but he's a fucking idiot. If there's a shutdown Trump and the GOP will get the majority of the blame because the shit they're doing right now is wildly unpopular and people want it to stop. There's a reason the GOP unified to pass this fucking thing and it's not any 4d chess shit. Trump can't even fucking play checkers, much less chess, and is already talking about supporting a primary challenge against their lone holdout. He doesn't want a shutdown. These guys are fucking bullies, which means they're cowards. There's nothing a coward is more afraid of than someone fighting back. 

Pretty convincing. 

  • Hook 'Em 1


×
×
  • Create New...