The Batshit Crazy Republicans Roundup

Why bother with any other forum?
Forum rules
We once roamed the vast forums of Corona Coming Attractions. Some of us had been around from The Before Times, in the Days of Excelsior, while others of us had only recently begun our trek. When our home became filled with much evil, including the villainous Cannot-Post-in-This-Browser and the dreaded Cannot-Log-In, we flounced away most huffily to this new home away from home. We follow the flag of Jubboiter and talk about movies, life, the universe, and everything, often in a most vulgar fashion. All are welcome here, so long as they do not take offense to our particular idiom.
Post Reply
User avatar
The Swollen Goiter of God
Postapocalypse Survivor - 7510 Posts
Postapocalypse Survivor - 7510 Posts
Posts: 8905
Joined: January 9th, 2014, 8:46 pm
Location: St. Louis

Re: The Batshit Crazy Republicans Roundup

Post by The Swollen Goiter of God »

Can you guarantee that every person in Group X is genuinely unoffended when Group X is insulted, marginalized, or trivialized, or do you just take the word of Group X's Outspokenly Unoffended Guy and assume he speaks for the whole of Group X? Can you guarantee that every person in Group X both has a voice and actually feels like that voice can be expressed without censure or dismissal? Can you guarantee that marginalization through language won't graduate to marginalization through deed?

It's regrettable that people in positions of power and privilege (PiPoPaP) can get smug about their support of underprivileged and underrepresented groups (UaUG), and it's regrettable and often wrong that they sometimes speak for those groups--often without those groups' input. There's an inherent air of condescension to the whole affair. Still, there have been plenty of times throughout history where their having allied themselves with and spoken for those groups meant that those groups finally got their voices heard.

There are, of course, PiPoPaP out there who are totally self-involved douches and who cry crocodile tears on the behalf of others for no reason other than to make themselves feel better about themselves. At the same time, though, there are some PiPoPaP who want to show their allegiance with the UaUG just to remind other PiPoPaP that, should they ever decide to steamroll the UaUG, they will encounter some resistance from within their own ranks. PiPoPaP rarely listen to any voices that aren't the voices of other PiPoPaP. Dismissing the offense of a splinter group of PiPoPaP on behalf of the UaUG altogether could mean the dismissal of the only dissenting voices within the PiPoPaP. The only recourse left to the UaUG, then, is to take up arms. Unfortunately, the PiPoPaP have made it so that they have the heavier arms. It often ends up a bloody goddamn slaughter.
User avatar
The Swollen Goiter of God
Postapocalypse Survivor - 7510 Posts
Postapocalypse Survivor - 7510 Posts
Posts: 8905
Joined: January 9th, 2014, 8:46 pm
Location: St. Louis

Re: The Batshit Crazy Republicans Roundup

Post by The Swollen Goiter of God »

A shorter version of the above:

People in positions of power and privilege have the luxury of deciding whether or not to take offense, because the only shit that tends to have an effect on their well-being is the shit they do to themselves.

I mean, like, I guess underprivileged and underrepresented people can also decide not to take offense, but they'll always have to worry that the inch they gave will look like an invitation to take a mile.
User avatar
The Swollen Goiter of God
Postapocalypse Survivor - 7510 Posts
Postapocalypse Survivor - 7510 Posts
Posts: 8905
Joined: January 9th, 2014, 8:46 pm
Location: St. Louis

Re: The Batshit Crazy Republicans Roundup

Post by The Swollen Goiter of God »

Trump's 2005 taxes are out in the world, thanks in part to Rachel Maddow. I don't have the specific numbers in front of me, and I haven't bothered to read any of the articles that are now peppering my Facebook feed, but a number of interesting things have already come of it:

(1) The White House/Trump rushed to get the tax returns out in advance of Maddow's report.
(2) The White House's numbers and Maddow's, as far as I know, are in agreement with one another.
(3) 2005 Trump appears to have been only a low-to-mid-range millionaire.
(4) Trump's income tax rate was about twenty-five percent, which is considerably higher than Romney's infamous fourteen percent.

There are probably all kinds of reasons all these points are interesting, but I can think of at least one reason for each point. The first point is interesting because it showed that the so-called mainstream media, rather than being powerless (as it is often presented as being by the Trump administration), is capable of forcing Trump's hand. Trump would not have released these returns otherwise. (He may go on to claim he would have, but he's passed up way too many chances for anyone but his most sycophantic followers to believe him. [Only joking. Even his casual fans seem to be willing, almost indefatigably, to give him the benefit of the doubt.) The right's/Trump's grandstanding about how Obama was pressured into showing his birth certificate may come back to haunt, here, as the left may take to engaging in some this-is-for-that grandstanding.

The second point is interesting because, whether Trump likes it or not, his corroboration of Maddow's/MSNBC's numbers re-legitimizes the "mainstream media" a bit. The right will probably try to deflect and say this is an invasion of privacy and a damnable action, but it will not be able to argue (with any degree of honesty, at least) that the sources were wrong. Some on the right may try to argue/may feel compelled to argue that Maddow/MSNBC didn't actually have the returns and that they simply copied the White House's/Trump's numbers once they were released, but this would be an inadvisable tack to take, as it will make Trump look weak. If the White House/Trump didn't actually believe Maddow/MSNBC had the returns, why rush to get them out? Some may argue it was for housekeeping purposes or that it was only in order to make sure that the real numbers were out there to check against Maddow's/MSNBC's potentially falsified information, but this, too, would be an inadvisable tack to take, since, again, the numbers match up. All this does is admit in a pretty pouty way that the media had things right/wasn't being "fake."

The third point is interesting for obvious reasons. It's long been assumed that Trump was small-potatoes rich, and this confirms that--in 2005, at least--he was. Granted, 2005 Trump is not 2017 Trump--persistent propensity for pussy-grabbing notwithstanding. For all we know, he may be an actual billionaire again.

The fourth point is interesting because it suggests that it pays to be both rich and in politics. The argument that tax rates for the wealthy are "unfair"--if they could truly be said to be unfair in any way, since, you know, the taxed person's still fucking richer than the vast, vast majority of people--could be strengthened by this. Trump's decision to pursue politics very well may have been motivated in part by this. Maybe this whole thing will bring greater visibility to how taxation works for the rich who are not in politics versus how it works for the rich who are in politics. Don't be surprised if right-leaning sites start harping on how the tax rates paid by various leftist organizations and luminaries is/was lower than what Trump was paying in 2005. Don't be surprised, also, if the greatest focus remains on how he paid a ton in taxes and how this shows that (1) Trump's an upstanding individual and just an all-around good, honest, hard-working American and that (2) the left and the mainstream media is mean for picking on him and dumb to confirm that he is, in fact, a tax payer.

Of course, much of this may only matter to the left. Most of the right, I suspect, doesn't give a shit. Their guy's in office, so many of them feel their fight is done. Most of my Alabama kin shrugged their shoulders at politics on 9 November of last year and have yet to look back. The people on the right who are still engaged are likely to look at this whole thing as a dud on Maddow's part and are likely to say this just makes the left and the mainstream media look worse than it already does. (In other words, brace yourself for comparisons to the Geraldo Rivera/Al Capone's tomb debacle.) The people on the left, of course, will think the opposite.

Whatever the case, I hope this takes at least some of the attention away from the Conway/microwave thing. The left's been mocking and petty about that, and it does no one any good.
User avatar
The Swollen Goiter of God
Postapocalypse Survivor - 7510 Posts
Postapocalypse Survivor - 7510 Posts
Posts: 8905
Joined: January 9th, 2014, 8:46 pm
Location: St. Louis

Re: The Batshit Crazy Republicans Roundup

Post by The Swollen Goiter of God »

I've been thinking a lot about that dumb look (vacant, muted goof smile) on Trump's face when Merkel asks if he wants to shake hands:



It reminded me of something. At first, I thought it was reminiscent of a stock Harry Langdon face, but that didn't feel quite right. I think I've finally figured it out. It's almost exactly the face Kramer makes before saying, "What, is that a Titleist?!":



Funny or Die's cameras, of course, caught something slightly different:

User avatar
The Swollen Goiter of God
Postapocalypse Survivor - 7510 Posts
Postapocalypse Survivor - 7510 Posts
Posts: 8905
Joined: January 9th, 2014, 8:46 pm
Location: St. Louis

Re: The Batshit Crazy Republicans Roundup

Post by The Swollen Goiter of God »

There's all kinds of shit to write about, but I really just want to say two things:

(1) The National Review appears to have turned on Trump. That's not exactly game over, but it may be approaching endgame.
(2) I suppose the Trump presidency suggests heavily that the US has yet to make any contact with aliens. If it had, Trump almost certainly would have bragged about being told of it. We'll find out for sure, I'm guessing, if he gets pushed out. (This is assuming, of course, that any of those who might be in the know were dumb enough to let Trump in on any of it. With any luck, despite Trump's being the president, people were smart enough to keep him in the dark on any number of things.)
User avatar
Dalty
Vegeta-ble Slicer - 9001 Posts
Vegeta-ble Slicer - 9001 Posts
Posts: 9564
Joined: January 11th, 2014, 5:28 am

Re: The Batshit Crazy Republicans Roundup

Post by Dalty »

That's a very good point. Kinda nails those theories.
User avatar
Dalty
Vegeta-ble Slicer - 9001 Posts
Vegeta-ble Slicer - 9001 Posts
Posts: 9564
Joined: January 11th, 2014, 5:28 am

Re: The Batshit Crazy Republicans Roundup

Post by Dalty »

So is he really done!? Is this the end game?
User avatar
Mal Shot First
Wall of Text Climber - 2500 Posts
Wall of Text Climber - 2500 Posts
Posts: 2731
Joined: January 10th, 2014, 5:05 pm

Re: The Batshit Crazy Republicans Roundup

Post by Mal Shot First »

It ain't over 'til the fat lady sings.

And by that I mean Rosie O'Donnell.
User avatar
The Swollen Goiter of God
Postapocalypse Survivor - 7510 Posts
Postapocalypse Survivor - 7510 Posts
Posts: 8905
Joined: January 9th, 2014, 8:46 pm
Location: St. Louis

Re: The Batshit Crazy Republicans Roundup

Post by The Swollen Goiter of God »

Rosie O'Donnell. Mitch McConnell. Mitch McConnell. Rosie O'Donnell.

I feel much better.

Have you kids met H. R. McMaster?

* * *

Things look bad for the Trump Administration, but Trump has a lifelong habit of upward-failing privilege. With the right combination of inheritance, bluster, a deeply ingrained sense of entitlement, and celebrity, one can get away with much. One can do near anything. One may even find one is able to grab 'em by the pussy.
User avatar
Dalty
Vegeta-ble Slicer - 9001 Posts
Vegeta-ble Slicer - 9001 Posts
Posts: 9564
Joined: January 11th, 2014, 5:28 am

Re: The Batshit Crazy Republicans Roundup

Post by Dalty »

If you only listened to UK comedy and social media you would be convinced that the Bastard Tories cause all evil in the UK and brave Jeremy Corbyn is to lead a march to remove them at the coming election. However the reality is very different and much more balanced.

Similarly most of my current view of US politics comes from every other news story (from a variety of sources..... at least a third biased) posted in US friends Facebook feeds and SNL clips also reposted all over social media. I wondered if behind the hysteria there is a reality view..... or of the hysteria is the reality?
User avatar
The Swollen Goiter of God
Postapocalypse Survivor - 7510 Posts
Postapocalypse Survivor - 7510 Posts
Posts: 8905
Joined: January 9th, 2014, 8:46 pm
Location: St. Louis

Re: The Batshit Crazy Republicans Roundup

Post by The Swollen Goiter of God »

Fake Strider might have an answer for you.
User avatar
Dalty
Vegeta-ble Slicer - 9001 Posts
Vegeta-ble Slicer - 9001 Posts
Posts: 9564
Joined: January 11th, 2014, 5:28 am

Re: The Batshit Crazy Republicans Roundup

Post by Dalty »

Fake Strider can't vote.
User avatar
The Swollen Goiter of God
Postapocalypse Survivor - 7510 Posts
Postapocalypse Survivor - 7510 Posts
Posts: 8905
Joined: January 9th, 2014, 8:46 pm
Location: St. Louis

Re: The Batshit Crazy Republicans Roundup

Post by The Swollen Goiter of God »

Trump-supporting conspiracy theorists continue to assert that three-plus-million people voted illegally. Specifically, they voted for Clinton. This explains, according to them, why she had a better popular vote showing than Trump.
User avatar
Dalty
Vegeta-ble Slicer - 9001 Posts
Vegeta-ble Slicer - 9001 Posts
Posts: 9564
Joined: January 11th, 2014, 5:28 am

Re: The Batshit Crazy Republicans Roundup

Post by Dalty »

How do you vote illegally?

In the U.K. I have to be on the electoral register. A month or so before th election I get a card through the mail. On the day of the election I go to my local polling station and give them my card, or failing that tell them my name. They tick me off the list. I go into a little booth and cast my vote.

Is it not similar in the US. If I was to attempt to vote without being registered, or vote twice, it would not be possible. What even IS illegal voting?
User avatar
neglet
Shoots First - 1138 Posts
Shoots First - 1138 Posts
Posts: 1199
Joined: January 11th, 2014, 2:47 pm
Location: Chicago

Re: The Batshit Crazy Republicans Roundup

Post by neglet »

A myth that the GOP uses to push voter suppression measures.
User avatar
Scotia
Money Bag Polisher - 100 Posts
Money Bag Polisher - 100 Posts
Posts: 216
Joined: April 10th, 2014, 6:03 pm
Location: New Scotland, according to the Romans

Re: The Batshit Crazy Republicans Roundup

Post by Scotia »

So the pushin and shovin' of the Moldavian PM ...is that ok? Jesus, does anything scream small cock like that. The man is a husk of a human being. My God. He is so insecure.,
User avatar
Scotia
Money Bag Polisher - 100 Posts
Money Bag Polisher - 100 Posts
Posts: 216
Joined: April 10th, 2014, 6:03 pm
Location: New Scotland, according to the Romans

Re: The Batshit Crazy Republicans Roundup

Post by Scotia »

My PM elbowed a female MP over here and it almost got him arrested. Jeeeeesus
User avatar
Space Tycoon
ü83r l33t - 1338 Posts
ü83r l33t - 1338 Posts
Posts: 2429
Joined: January 13th, 2014, 12:16 am
Location: Toronto, Ontario, Soviet Canuckistan

Re: The Batshit Crazy Republicans Roundup

Post by Space Tycoon »

So did my PM.
User avatar
The Swollen Goiter of God
Postapocalypse Survivor - 7510 Posts
Postapocalypse Survivor - 7510 Posts
Posts: 8905
Joined: January 9th, 2014, 8:46 pm
Location: St. Louis

Re: The Batshit Crazy Republicans Roundup

Post by The Swollen Goiter of God »

Nothin' sticks to Ol' Teflon Trump!















You know, he's straight up a bad person.
User avatar
Dalty
Vegeta-ble Slicer - 9001 Posts
Vegeta-ble Slicer - 9001 Posts
Posts: 9564
Joined: January 11th, 2014, 5:28 am

Re: The Batshit Crazy Republicans Roundup

Post by Dalty »

User avatar
Dalty
Vegeta-ble Slicer - 9001 Posts
Vegeta-ble Slicer - 9001 Posts
Posts: 9564
Joined: January 11th, 2014, 5:28 am

Re: The Batshit Crazy Republicans Roundup

Post by Dalty »

So Trump states in an interview that he thinks Medical Insurance should only cost $13 and finally, finally the true horror of the situation dawns on us. My God. He doesn't know. Trump thinks Medical Insurance is Life Insurance!
User avatar
The Swollen Goiter of God
Postapocalypse Survivor - 7510 Posts
Postapocalypse Survivor - 7510 Posts
Posts: 8905
Joined: January 9th, 2014, 8:46 pm
Location: St. Louis

Re: The Batshit Crazy Republicans Roundup

Post by The Swollen Goiter of God »

"He doesn't know."

This should be surprising to no one. He doesn't live in our world. He's never eaten from a lesser-metal spoon. This is part of what makes him a bad president, and this is part of what grew him into a bad human.

Granted, a person can be born into wealth and still learn compassion. A person can be born into wealth and not become so self-involved as to have blinders on to the rest of the world's problems. A person can be born into wealth and still feel a strong desire to learn and to serve. Trump, unfortunately, did not turn out to be one of these people.
User avatar
Dalty
Vegeta-ble Slicer - 9001 Posts
Vegeta-ble Slicer - 9001 Posts
Posts: 9564
Joined: January 11th, 2014, 5:28 am

Re: The Batshit Crazy Republicans Roundup

Post by Dalty »

But....bu....but.... he doesn't know the difference between medical insurance and the life insurance policy your grandparents bought from the nice man who comes to the door!
User avatar
The Swollen Goiter of God
Postapocalypse Survivor - 7510 Posts
Postapocalypse Survivor - 7510 Posts
Posts: 8905
Joined: January 9th, 2014, 8:46 pm
Location: St. Louis

Re: The Batshit Crazy Republicans Roundup

Post by The Swollen Goiter of God »

No one ever came to Trump's door. In Trump's world, Trump is the one who knocks.
User avatar
Dalty
Vegeta-ble Slicer - 9001 Posts
Vegeta-ble Slicer - 9001 Posts
Posts: 9564
Joined: January 11th, 2014, 5:28 am

Re: The Batshit Crazy Republicans Roundup

Post by Dalty »

Scaramucci.

Well, that escalated quickly.
Post Reply