Justice Thomas makes it clear decisions support our rights are next

[Guest]

On 6/26/2022 at 4:30 PM, NEDenver said:

For the outsiders, then.  For decades, the Republican Party has been anti-gay, anti-woman’s rights, and anti-black and brown people.  Some of them will make noises that Democrats are the real racists because supporting social safety net programs that keep people alive makes POC more reliant on the largesse of government, but they’re alive. We also endure mewling about how Republicans freed the slaves and Democrats controlled the South in the civil war because they got basically nothing less than 160 years old.  
 

The source of the stupid is the media echo chamber on the right which insists that people on their side are only members of the tribe in good standing if they only accept each other and their accepted media outlets for all information.  The result is steadily increasing radicalization of basic rank and file Republicans.  For example, we went from no late term abortions, to first trimester only, to first trimester only for rape, incest, or life of the mother, to blastocysts are people, and if the mother dies so be it.  We’re now in an Overton Window where saving the life of the woman in an ectopic pregnancy is illegal in places because morons in their echo chamber keep repeating that there’s a procedure to remove the cells that have attached themselves in the Fallopian tube to the uterus.  So now they think that is a thing in the stupidest echo chamber in the dumbest of all possible timelines.  
 

And that bullshit radicalization is on every topic.  They think Joe Biden is responsible for worldwide gas price increases because if it’s just capitalism being capitalism and they love capitalism like it’s the best dick on the planet pounding their ass until they bleed and can’t form a coherent thought because they can’t.

And part of it isn’t their fault.  The Republican Dichotomy still holds:  All Republicans are stupid or evil and there’s a lot more dumb in the world than malice.

So it looks like Democrats vs. Republicans, but it’s people trying to get to a better world, although too many Democrats are too slow, vs. people who are mindlessly dumb due to brainwashing from media consumption willing to destroy the world and themselves so some rich people can get more rich.
 

 

Wow. Just wow. All that can be said of Democrats. 

[Guest]

9 hours ago, tallslenderguy said:

 i think many of these people are absolutely sincere and convinced they  are doing "Gods" bidding because they don't just believe in "God," they know "God."  

i think "God" is the ultimate ethnocentricity. 

You don't want to know what God was saying about you when we played chess last night. 😉  (Kidding, lighting the mood here).

 

9 hours ago, drscorpio said:

Should the Democrats have passed laws to protect abortion rights at some point during the 50 years Roe was in force? Probably. But as we discussed before, it was considered settled case law. 

Part of what SCOTUS is supposed to do is make unifying decisions for the country when law differs from state to state in a way that is disruptive. I do think we were better off with Roe in place. 

Not sure where I picked it up, but I think 'the Notorious R.B.G. (Justice Ruth Ginsburg) was of the opinion that although she supported the rights from Roe, she too had doubts if the SCOTUS ruling was the best way to settle the argument about (abortion-) rights as it sort of skips public debate and therefore there's less chance of a broad general consensus on such a subject.
On the other end of the spectrum, there's the referendum by which Ireland adopted gay-marriage for instance. 

Right or wrong, for better or for worse:
As I see this Justice Thomas has effectively played the ball about several human rights issues, into the court of public discourse and discussion, and that of the directly elected politicians. And perhaps that will turn out to be a good thing if these rights then will turn out to have a stronger support among the general public.

But I also feel that any minority whether it is based on your cultural background, race, gender or a characteristic of one's own chasing like religion (!) should always be wary about the stability of the rights they once won. Cause people including the majority might change their mind at any point in history.

 

6 hours ago, Jackruby said:

Wow. Just wow. All that can be said of Democrats. 

I've asked this before, as I would like a Republican point of view on the matter:

What are your thoughts on the role of governments in protecting (or not) the right to have sex with someone of your own gender, and same-sex-relationships, if any?

Should these be protected or not, if so: how and preferably by Federal or by (your) State government? 

If not, how do you feel about anti-sodomy laws when concerning homosexuality and (biblical/religious) groups that are against all gay sex and for instance favour conversion therapy where parents can send their young-adult or pubescent children to?

So anyone with a perspective from another political background is happily invited to respond (preferably in more than a one-liner... Feel free to try and convince me your point of view is better.) 😉 

Edited June 29, 2022 by Guest

[Guest]

On 6/26/2022 at 12:31 PM, hungry_hole said:

I second this

Could you tell us how and why?

[hungry_hole]

35 minutes ago, BareLover666 said:

Could you tell us how and why?

I think that abortion is a "special right", unlike any other because no matter how you look at it, it involves terminating a potential life.  So I think that worrying about potential censorship of inter-racial same-sex marriage is, in my opinion, paranoia. The paranoia is being incited by the Democrats in the hope of getting more votes.

[Guest]

30 minutes ago, hungry_hole said:

I think that abortion is a "special right", unlike any other because no matter how you look at it, it involves terminating a potential life.  So I think that worrying about potential censorship of inter-racial same-sex marriage is, in my opinion, paranoia. The paranoia is being incited by the Democrats in the hope of getting more votes.

I'm less optimistic about the solidity of rights we've won for ourselves as gay (and bisexual) people to make love, fuck and marry who we want and think history can always repeat itself, but of course it's not set in stone that it shall.
Thanks for the elaboration. 

What's your basis, that you feel our rights, freedoms and liberties are safe though?
I'm not worried a lot about being burgled but I still lock my front door at night and when I go out.

[hntnhole]

11 hours ago, Close2MyBro said:

This is only the start of our decline as a nation.

When weighed against similar situations throughout recorded history, well ........... the outlook is not bright.  To my mind, the zenith of Washington's power and influence was reached during the Johnson Administration and began to decline at that point. The failure in SE Asia, Kent State, young folks questioning the validity of the Administration's actions (which had not happened in any substantial numbers prior), the Kennedy murders, etc etc etc.  

I'm really glad I'm not a kid anymore.  Close2MyBro may very well be spot-on.

[Guest]

12 hours ago, Close2MyBro said:

If you have politicians who openly encourage defying the structure (instead of changing it) is a corrupt politician. We have excellent examples of this behavior by looking at Mexico, Venezeuela and Cuba. This is only the start of our decline as a nation.

It's interesting that the looming end of society and certain values,  a perceived decline, are often arguments used in  extreme or far-right politics and religions.  

[Close2MyBro]

2 hours ago, BareLover666 said:

It's interesting that the looming end of society and certain values,  a perceived decline, are often arguments used in  extreme or far-right politics and religions.  

Or far left politics as well.

[NEDenver]

11 hours ago, Jackruby said:

Wow. Just wow. All that can be said of Democrats. 

I’d say the difference between you and me is that as a veteran, I’ve been through mental conditioning and came out of it, which gives perspective on when it’s happening. You’re either not a veteran, and my mental conditioning says nothing you say matters, or you are and haven’t broken back out.  If that seems self-congratulatory, it probably is.  I earned my veteran status and you’re welcome for my service.

Conservatives bleating about CNN being fake news and assorted projection and whataboutism is a sign of intellectual inadequacy.  

[PozBearWI]

I have enjoyed reading this conversation after a few days away from  BZ.  First, I love this sort of conversation, smack dab in the middle of a sexual place.  Appropriate to me as sex is a big part of my self identity; especially as a retired person (sort of).  I work for fun now and have more time to make sexual pleasure a priority.  

What is troubling me about our political dialogue is that it is entrenched, it seems, in religious dogma.  I am an atheist which informs a good part of my view on our whole global social dilemma.  I realize and accept that some of my friends believe differently.  We don't however tell each other to live their life based on our differing beliefs.  There is stuff that some people choose to believe,  And by all means, believe anything you want.  Some belief's are based on individuals who may have lived thousands of years ago.  We know this stuff only from stories.  We might see artifacts of that time in our history.  However, we are skilled as a species at embellishing, minimizing, editing our stories.   There are other beliefs which are based on measurable, observable.  Many of us can see two things and spot the differences (very much like the newspaper "spot the differences" cartoons from my youth).  Most of us, I hope, read with a certain amount of horror of the Salem Witch trials which were, in human history, not very long ago; or some of the brutal treatment of homosexuals attempting to torture them into finding opposite sex more attractive.  Why do we seem as a society to tell others who they should be or what they should do?

{aside; to that end it is wise to slow down sexual commitments made by youths.  Our formative years are just that; our natural intellects discovering the world around us and forming our relationship to the world around us.  I would use caution on medical interventions.  Jim sexually at 5 vs 10 vs 15 vs 25 varied quite a bit and I am thankful there was not a whole lot of pushing me to conform to any specific agenda; nor to make mistakes and learn. }

For me WRT abortion is that we have our eye on the wrong thing.  Each of us is an individual and regarding what happens to our body should be entirely ours to choose.  If what is in our body is a potential human, they are entirely dependent upon their host organism.  It does not have a voice as it is not yet born.  I think we have gone too far in this fretting over who has not been born and yet seem apathetic to post partum abortions.  

It is clear that other social gains in my lifetime are also at risk.  

"Wokeness" and fretting "name calling" is not helping us.  Life has its challenges and somehow I got to this point in life being called all the shit people now get nuts about.  Did I like it?  Hell no.  But they were words.  It was up to me to decide whether I needed to give a crap.  We seem to care way too little about what people do compared to what they say...

We, collectively, sexual enthusiasts, are at a point on deciding what we are actually going to do.  Who we vote for is going to determine our future I think.  I am a poll worker.  I am locally elected.  Perhaps it is time to rip the band aid off the seemingly prohibited Thanksgiving political and social dialogue.  I grew up on that, am so thankful I did.

Loving this thread guys;  Thank you.

[hntnhole]

16 hours ago, Close2MyBro said:

such as Maxine Waters did just a few days ago

I know that I 'lose track' of certain threads sometimes - and I completely missed the Maxine Waters whatever-it-was.  Does anyone have a link to her latest kerfuffle?   Or better, a summary of what she said/did?  

Thanks (in advance).

[hntnhole]

1 hour ago, JimInWisc said:

Loving this thread guys;  Thank you.

This ^.  100% agree.

[Close2MyBro]

1 hour ago, hntnhole said:

I know that I 'lose track' of certain threads sometimes - and I completely missed the Maxine Waters whatever-it-was.  Does anyone have a link to her latest kerfuffle?   Or better, a summary of what she said/did?  

Thanks (in advance).

[think before following links] https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/maxine-waters-urges-people-to-e2-80-98defy-e2-80-99-supreme-court-after-abortion-ruling/ar-AAYQqvF

 

[viking8x6]

18 hours ago, hntnhole said:

To less secure-minded folks, the world seems to be careening out of control: Russia on the march, financial instabilities, commodity scarceness, unreliable trade agreements

... global climate change, pandemic disease, peak carbon ...

The world is careening out of control. One has to be secure-minded indeed to face it every morning. It helps to remember that control - of anything other than oneself - is largely an illusion.

And now, back to our regularly scheduled program...

[hntnhole]

Thanks, Close2myBro.  No wonder that commentary stirred up (yet another) hornet's nest.  Her loose language doesn't really help, other than maybe fire up the base.  Still, I've liked her through the years, shooting from the lip.  Still, she has definitely "walked-the-walk", along with so many others.  

As far as I'm concerned, the more citizens that get fired up to VOTE in their primaries and the General in November, the better.  

In the M.W. vein though, I've voted at two polling places here, and both were staffed mostly by elderly Af/Am ladies.  There have been reports in the media that a lot of them are afraid of the hatemongers running amok these days, and have quit their jobs working the polling places.  So, I went downtown to the Registrar's office and volunteered to work on primary & election day.  They were delighted to accept my offer, and I am awaiting notification of where the training will take place.  While I am experienced in local political work, it wasn't here in FL, so I know the various minutia of the rules will be a bit different.  I know I can do it, and I encourage any/all of our members to do the same.  

Remember:  the mischief-makers know they're in the wrong, no matter how much bluster they put up.  It's not that tough to stand up to blathering idiots.