1

Philosophy, Religion & Society / Re: Trump

« on: July 03, 2022, 01:48:48 AM »

Trump has been seen riding in cars with no partition before, like in this video from October 2020 (most visible at around the 4:25 mark):



If any car the president rides in really is required to have a partition, then the president presumably has the privilege of raising or lowering it as they like. Which makes sense. They're the president, not a prisoner. Besides, if there really was an impenetrable barrier between Trump and the agents, Trump or his defenders would have already said so. They haven't been shy about angrily denying Hutchinson's assertions, so why would they keep quiet about the evidence that would incontrovertibly prove that her account wasn't true?

Or better yet, you here have been calling into question his physical and mental fitness, now suddenly deem him capable of pulling off such a stunt.

Once again, it does not take any remarkable level of fitness or strength to lunge for a steering wheel or shove someone. He is "capable of pulling off such a stunt" in the same way that a ten-year old kid would be.

Multiple people are ready to testify under oath this woman is lying through her cavernous vagina.

No, they aren't. They're ready to talk on social media about it. For some mysterious reason, they don't want to officially testify about it in a setting where lying is punished.

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Philosophy, Religion & Society / Re: Trump

« on: July 02, 2022, 07:41:30 PM »

Nobody claimed that Trump physically overpowered a Secret Service agent, or anyone for that matter, just that he tried to shove one aside and lunged for the steering wheel. That's perfectly plausible, and in no way contradicts the assertion that Trump was in far worse physical shape during his presidency than he or his doctors would admit to. And just repeating "hearsay" really isn't a convincing reason to not believe Hutchinson. This isn't a criminal trial, there's no rule automatically declaring hearsay to be inadmissible evidence, and has some people have already pointed out, the committee has asked for Trump and any witnesses who might know what happened to testify. They are not being excluded. They are simply refusing to share their side of the story - under oath, that is. They're more than happy to shoot their mouths off on social media, where there are no legal consequences for lying. Something similar happened during Trumpworld's attempts to overturn the election, didn't it? Lots of big talk to the media and their own supporters, then suddenly clamming up as soon as it came time to take an oath. Really jogs the noggin.

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Philosophy, Religion & Society / Re: Trump

« on: July 01, 2022, 02:23:59 AM »

There's been a lot of news about Trump lately in the ongoing hearings, but the one big story everyone is talking about is Cassidy Hutchinson's testimony. Here's a good article summarizing it:

https://www.vox.com/2022/6/28/23186748/cassidy-hutchinson-january-6-hearing-committee

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Philosophy, Religion & Society / Re: Trump shill accounts are resurfacing

« on: June 28, 2022, 02:11:21 AM »

Interestingly enough, Q has also resurfaced:

https://thehill.com/homenews/3537704-qanon-leader-returns-with-first-post-in-more-than-a-year/

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Philosophy, Religion & Society / Re: Bye Bye Abortion

« on: June 27, 2022, 05:53:25 AM »

Americans being less likely to call themselves Democrats (which, like the article points out, is almost certainly in direct correlation to Biden's declining approval rating) is not evidence that Americans have grown more ideologically conservative. Whether they call themselves Republicans or Democrats, Americans largely support (limited) abortion rights, LGBT rights, and gay marriage, and they overwhelmingly support sexual freedom and contraceptive access. It's going to be absolutely nuts when Republicans come for those last two - which they have they every intention of doing, for the optimists out there who need a reality check. Republicans are not going to stop at abortion, nor at gay people. They will eventually be policing us all.

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Philosophy, Religion & Society / Re: Bye Bye Abortion

« on: June 27, 2022, 01:41:46 AM »

There is no "cultural swing to the right." The majority of Americans support at least some abortion rights, regardless of whatever extreme cases you can find and then argue shouldn't be allowed. Republicans know that their policies are broadly unpopular among the current American population - and not likely to become any more popular in the future - so they're doing everything they can to entrench their unpopular beliefs and policies into law as firmly as they can while they still have the power to do so. It's not a coincidence that this is happening at the same time as the deliberately coordinated attacks on LGBT people from the right. That's another subject Republicans want to lock their unpopular policies into place on, as the majority of Americans also support LGBT rights and gay marriage.

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Philosophy, Religion & Society / Re: Bye Bye Abortion

« on: June 24, 2022, 05:30:39 PM »

Yep here we go -

https://twitter.com/fordm/status/1540338064324698112

Gosh, it sounds a lot like that conservative bugbear, judicial activism! Just wait until all these cases just happen to fall before the court and just happen to end up on their docket, all so the GOP can ram their warped agenda through the system as quickly as possible. I hope everyone here is ready for the miserable new world on the horizon. You're not going to like it. Very, very few people outside of the Mike Pences of the world will like it.

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Philosophy, Religion & Society / Re: The Texas GOP

« on: June 24, 2022, 04:12:22 PM »

Politicians saying crazy and outrageous things is a non-issue! If their views aren't popular, then they'll lose, and if their views are popular, then it's democracy in action!

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Arts & Entertainment / Re: Superhero Movies & Comics General

« on: June 09, 2022, 05:24:14 AM »

04/25: Grace Randolph isn't exactly a reliable source, and I question if she actually qualifies as an "insider" rather than just a prominent and vocal fangirl - I mean, come on, anyone who watched the Oscars could have told you that the whole "fan favorite" segment was an awkward and embarrassing moment for everyone present. No inside information was needed to figure that one out. Nevertheless, the Samba TV information seems legit, and it makes sense. It's a vocal minority that somehow bluffed WB's new owners into thinking that Snyder was a widely beloved director, and given Snyder's lucrative new deal with Netflix where he's now once again making expensive blockbusters with what appears to be his usual full creative freedom, it looks like Netflix fell for it too. I'll admit that I'm a little annoyed by it. In a perfect world, everyone would be free to make all the movies they like exactly the way they want to and all that, but this is a world with limited resources, there are only so many seats at the table, and the opportunities that Snyder continues to receive must necessarily come at the expense of someone else. Private companies can do what they want with their own money, of course, but I think it's a shame that the guy with half a dozen major critical and commercial failures (or at the very least, underperformances) to his name is being given yet another chance when there are so many aspiring directors and writers out there who never even get one chance.

https://gizmodo.com/joker-2-script-todd-phillips-joaquin-phoenix-dc-films-b-1849031772

We live in a society. I wasn't a fan of Joker, and I really doubt that a sequel from the same creative team won't just be more of what I disliked, but I guess I'll watch it when it comes out anyway. I have to, right? I can't just not watch it. Like the article discusses, the title indicates shared madness, which has led to speculation that the story will introduce Harley Quinn. I have to admit, going down that route is a good idea if they want to spark controversy and grab everyone's attention once again. A story about a ruthless criminal who manipulates, bullies, and brainwashes an innocent, professional young woman into becoming a criminal herself as well as his girlfriend - but you know, he's sympathetic, and maybe this is more society's fault than his? I can already see the outraged headlines.

In other news, even more legal problems seem to be piling up for Ezra Miller:

https://www.avclub.com/ezra-miller-protective-order-filing-parents-of-tokata-i-1849039302

https://www.avclub.com/ezra-miller-now-accused-of-housing-3-kids-on-farm-fille-1849102751

Oh, and there's a trailer for Black Adam:



Pierce Brosnan as Dr. Fate is inspired casting, but I don't know if the rest of it looks all that promising. It feels like it's trying too hard to be all cool and edgy, especially with details like the exchange about killing people.

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Philosophy, Religion & Society / Re: President Joe Biden

« on: May 31, 2022, 05:18:56 AM »

They're rational, but they're cynical to the core and have long since abandoned their principles in favor of grasping at power wherever they can at the expense of our democracy. They can't be trusted, and making any sort of plan that relies on their help or cooperation is guaranteed to backfire.

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Philosophy, Religion & Society / Re: President Joe Biden

« on: May 31, 2022, 03:51:44 AM »

Changing the subject back to actual news about Biden:

https://www.politico.com/news/2022/05/30/biden-guns-congress-00035882

No, Joe. This is bad and you should know better.

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Philosophy, Religion & Society / Re: President Joe Biden

« on: May 26, 2022, 06:03:38 PM »

You don't care about gay rights, though.

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Philosophy, Religion & Society / Re: President Joe Biden

« on: May 25, 2022, 04:50:21 AM »

Halfhearted support of gay rights, even for the wrong reasons, is vastly preferable to enthusiastic opposition to gay rights. But yes, the Democrats as a whole are more than overdue for the old guard to cede their dominance to the newer, more progressive wing of the party.

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Philosophy, Religion & Society / Re: President Joe Biden

« on: May 24, 2022, 05:47:49 AM »

It's interesting to see people who are themselves firmly opposed to gay rights criticize politicians for having not always supported gay rights. It might seem completely nonsensical at first, but you have to remember that right-wing political discourse isn't so much focused on reason and logic as it on just trying to own the libs in any way possible.

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Philosophy, Religion & Society / Re: Bye Bye Abortion

« on: May 15, 2022, 09:56:53 PM »

Yes, it's the woman's body and therefore the woman's right to choose, not the man's.

This is an argument that women have absolute right over their body.They do not. It is widely illegal in most areas to abort after a certain number of weeks, even in very liberal areas in the US. The woman is forced by the law to carry the baby and is forced to give birth, even if she doesn't want to. They do not have a choice. This shows that women do not have the right to do what they want with their bodies.

This is a really bizarre argument. We are currently discussing abortions that happen, not hypothetical abortions that don't happen because it's too late in the pregnancy. I explained - correctly - that women are allowed to "abandon" their unborn children through abortions while men aren't because it's the woman's body and therefore her right to choose. That is the reason why abortion - legal abortions that happen, not hypothetical abortions that don't happen - is legal. A woman's right to an abortion doesn't need to be "absolute" for it to exist generally, no more than any other right or freedom does.

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Philosophy, Religion & Society / Re: Bye Bye Abortion

« on: May 15, 2022, 05:27:39 AM »

It is considered unacceptable for a man to abandon his unborn child upon learning that his partner was pregnant regardless of whether the child is later born or killed by abortion.

Yes, because of the assumption that the child will be born; hence his abandoning her in the first place. If it were clearly understood beforehand that she was getting an abortion, than any "abandonment" of her on his part would be entirely unnotable and no different to any other breakup. We don't hear about those cases precisely because of their lack of notability. This isn't any sort of tacit societal admission that fetuses are important whether they're born or not.

Somehow it is acceptable for a woman to abandon responsibility to her unborn child, but it is unacceptable for a man to do it.

Yes, it's the woman's body and therefore the woman's right to choose, not the man's.

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Philosophy, Religion & Society / Re: Bye Bye Abortion

« on: May 15, 2022, 04:11:57 AM »

Nobody would care about a man abandoning an unborn child without the prior assumption that the child will be born, and therefore the man will be expected to be a father. That's why they're doing the abandoning in the first place, isn't it?

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Arts & Entertainment / Re: Just Watched

« on: May 13, 2022, 03:47:42 AM »

Well, I'm glad it's not some weird kind of self-imposed nerdy "obligation" on your part, but I think when faced with a potential third viewing, none of your friends would think any less of you if you just said, "You know, guys, I saw this one twice already, and I really wasn't a fan. I think I'll sit this one out," or even suggested an alternative.

Also, the Marvel Cinematic Universe and its consequences have been a disaster for the human race.

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Arts & Entertainment / Re: Just Watched

« on: May 13, 2022, 01:37:50 AM »

Tell me more.

I've watched it three times now and it is still shit, but less shit than the initial viewing. You still should not pay to watch it, but if you do make sure it is on discount Tuesday or something.

Why? Why are you spending your time and money on going to see a move you don't even like multiple times? I don't get theatrical repeat viewers. I mean, if it's first and foremost a social event, then fine, but going to see a movie in theaters again specifically because you want to see that same movie again is just weird to me. No matter how much I might love a movie, I don't want to see it again within a few days or weeks. That makes the movie feel stale, and wears it out in my mind. I'd much rather watch a movie for the second time after at least a few months' time. And I wouldn't waste my time on rewatching a movie I especially disliked at all.

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Philosophy, Religion & Society / Re: Bye Bye Abortion

« on: May 11, 2022, 02:04:36 AM »

If you need a continuous line of excuses for why you are not a murderer... it's murder.

Evidence of not being a murderer is actually evidence of being a murderer. Very Kafkaesque.