Published by Scotties Playtime
I am an older gay guy in a long-term wonderful relationship. My spouse and I are in our 34th year together. I love politics and news. I enjoy civil discussions and have no taboo subjects. My pronouns are he / him / his and my email is scottiesplaytime@gmail.com
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There isn’t a good/appropriate place to put this, but it’s adjacent, I guess. Here’s a KS Reflector piece about a Republican who voted against the R bill to deny care to kids.
https://19thnews.org/2024/05/kansas-republican-veto-gender-affirming- care/
🙂 And there, it’s not Kansas Reflector, it’s the 19th! So you may have seen it already, but just in case.
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Wow Ali. That is a grand article. Rarely is a news article that in dept yet engaging and informative. I love it. I also love that some republicans care about how what they are voting on effects the people involved, rather than just looking to see if it makes them look good in the party. But what the lawmaker said is true, these bills don’t address the mental heal of real issues, they create problems, not solve them. I debated posting it because it is a grand win for trans kids, but I doubt many will read the entire article to see the real information and benefits of the article. But one important thing the article only skimmed over at the end. These anti-trans anti-LGBTQ+ bills are failing all over the red states right now. The rest of the people have caught on to what the fundamentalists religious republicans are doing, and are fighting back. The majority of the people do not agree with the Christian purges and the republicans know if they keep pushing these things they will be voted out. Again, thanks for the link. Hugs. Scottie
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Tehran and Kabul will be pleased with this. Firstly they can get on with these guys, they talk the same way. And in the spirit of duplicity….. Secondly they can tell their own populations…’Look. The USA is truly The Great Satan,’
Now if these guys can explain how they intend to impose their will on a 300,000,000 population over five time zones….
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Hello Roger. I am sorry good man. I know you are very smart and normally I follow what you mean but …
I know most Christians don’t know the history of their own religion, but didn’t it start out as word of mouth because it was not accepted in the areas they pushed it in. At least at first. Then after a couple centuries, the government of Rome stepped in to anoint the first version of the Christian bible with selected versions of those mouth tales.
And I know that the Islamic people have different warlord texts they certified as the holy word.
But please explain, if you would for me, how totally delusional Christians who don’t understand their faith and think a Muslim hating racist bigot is sent by the Christian god to make their world better?
As for enforcing their will on the population. You see how they are doing it. They use gang thug tactics. They show up armed and threaten anyone doing what they don’t approve, scaring both the participants and the children from attending. At drag queen story hours I have seen the videos. The kids are happy listening to a story read by a costumed person and then angry violent people burst into the room. They scare the pants off the kids as they scream at the parents and threaten the presenter. That is the gang thug republican way. That is why you don’t hear of many drag queen story hours now, these assholes show up with AR-15 riffles and then the republican lawyers come out to threaten lawsuits and republican social media tries to sic all the angry thugs they can on the event.
Oh yes, isn’t democracy grand. Hugs. Scottie
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Oh Scottie, the exasperation, rage, scorn and contempt which I experience when witnessing this absolute nonsense, this hysterical embracing of something so far removed from the actual reality of the circumstance that in less turbulent days it would have only seen light in MAD magazine.
I have witnessed this offensive garbage in the wake of the pro-Brexit victory when some dared to claim that their efforts and ‘sacrifices’ were comparable to those of the Nation in WWI and WWII.
I have watched in furious horror at the UK Left give Assad in Syria a free pass to slaughter thousands of his own civilians. Adding to this by their conspiracy ridden attacks Human Rights groups critical of Assad. And all because the twisted dupes thought the opposition was aided by ‘The West’.
The same crew conducted vitriolic hate campaigns on a journalist which would have made MAGA proud. just because she tripped up ‘the sainted’ Jeremy Corbyn and he went whinging to the BBC about biased reporting.
And we have Germans who think that falling back on the extreme right ways
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alternative_for_Germany
Is a solution; like 1944-45 never, ever happened.
Given the chance these I have cited would act just the same way as these hate-mongers you have cited.
The blind prejudice and loathing by these and many others only leads to a similar reaction against those they turn on.
I can only explain Scottie as a flaw in Humanity, as base corrosive flaw that should be purged.
It is why those of liberal and moderate tendencies should never rest, never file the Extremist as a figure of fun who can be dealt with by ridicule. They are a threat, and I do not subscribe to them having any rights to their beliefs.
Now I’m getting into my uncompromising harsh version of Socialism, so I’ll stop now, before I start going against core true Christian beliefs.
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Hello Roger. Thank you, thank you very much. First thing though, please never violate or compromise your core Christian beliefs for anything on my blog. I know you are a good man, I know you are passionate in giving protection to the weak, a voice to the voiceless, and go the extra mile to help others. But while we don’t share the same religion, we do share the same basic core code of life I think.
That said I have questions.
I read the article at the link. Of all countries impacted by far right hate politics Germany and Japan were the most harmed in the end by their leaders being that way. Are the memories of humans shorter than goldfish or cats? Why would anyone in these countries endorse those policies ever again? I can think of only the same reason that people in the US are endorsing both Putin / Russia and Nazis. Racism and bigotry accompanied by the overwhelming fear of losing their sweet privileges of being a white person in a majority white country. That is why the entire Republican Party in the US right now. White fragility combined with fundamentalist religious fanatics equals the deny every brown / black person entry to the country with hate every equality and diversity of rights and access since the 1950s. The goal is to return the US to a time when white cis straight men were automatically in charge, the women had strict gender roles that included being subservient / dependent on men, Christianity was the only real religion so its leaders assumed to be above moral reproach or question, black people knew their place in society and stayed there, and the LGBTQ+ were not seen or heard from as they were stuck in the closet terrified of being found out. That is the world these people crave so damn much. This is why these people in the US are in Love with Putin / Russia and love Nazi ideas.
But my real question, and I realize this is getting long and apologize for that, but I keep hearing about the radical left. In the US the right, especially republicans in congress go on social media to use that to accuse the left of doing everything that they themselves are doing. It is proven that they are or have been doing something so they then instead of denying claim that the radical left is doing it. The radical left is authoritarian and loves Nazis, the radical left is stealing the money from hardworking people, The radical left doesn’t like difference of opinion, the radical left is banning books, the radical left is pushing religion on the country, the radical left is using the government to target people they don’t like (something trump bragged he will do on day one), this one is totally crazy the radical left is forcing their religion on everyone, and you get the idea. Everything the republicans are accused credibly of doing their tactic is to now claim the radical left is doing.
My question is this, you identified the case in the US where the left was clearly wrong. I don’t know anything about it so will agree with you. Who is the radical left? Can you list some groups I can look up or could you tell me their stance that makes them the radical left?
See in the US I can not think who the radical left is these people are talking about, except they label any person not of the Republican Party the radical left. If you do not follow tRump as a cult member, if you don’t agree with the republicans in congress, if you do agree with or support Biden you are the radical left. That makes me the radical left. If I understand you correctly in my country you would be the radical left.
Just who are these mythical beasts and how do we slay them to take back the sacred honored name of the left. Hugs. Scottie
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Hi Scottie.
This might be a long one…here we go.
When discussing ‘The Left’ in the USA, it is essential to separate the term into two categories:
1. The Reality of The Left.
2. The hysterical hyperbole manufactured by the American Right. For the purposes of this which I hope will be a mature reply, you can ignore this woeful display of political ignorance until I get to a summary.
The Left in the USA has a history which can go back to the early 19th century, arguably ahead of its rise in Europe when various workers groups campaigned for rights and better conditions. (It can also be argued that this was the main motivation for northerners in the Civil War, workers fearing the spread of slave owning would have an unfair advantage over paid labour)
In latter decades this coalesced into stronger better organised groups. However these were suppressed or their membership fell apart due to in-fighting, a common failure with the Left.
Another aspect which would take up volumes is why there is no truly organised scale Left Wing Party in the USA. Suffice it to say ‘The Left’ as a left-winger in Europe would define it is very much a minority’s minority.
Example:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Socialist_Workers_Party_(United_States)
Those mainstream politicians who have some left wing tendencies, such as say Bernie Sanders identify themselves as Democrats. How ‘Left’ they are depends on where the person viewing them stands themselves. Sanders identifies himself as a ‘Democratic Socialist’ which would place him in European terms as ‘Left of Centre’ – which some Leftist consider a ‘sell-out’ (Go figure).
Basically you could identify Left which appeals to those Americans of that stance as something akin to Roosevelt, the two Kennedys, maybe Bill Clinton and at a stretch Obama. In short a populist appeal to folk who want a Fair Shares, Fair Deal for all with a government to make sure it happens.
To skip ahead just a bit and give you idea as to what actually is ‘The Left’ in the USA here is the wiki link….Warning this in its printable form is 15 pages long with an additional 18 pages of notes. I advise reading it, in bits, but its indication of The Reality gives you idea as to how hysterical the Right is on the matter.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Left
Overall, therefore Scottie you have the correct perception. This ‘Left’ the ‘Right’ have conjuror up is simply their response to Equality for All and their fear of White cis (or sexual hypocrisy in their case) privilege.
There is no ‘Left’ as they term it.
I’ll draw this to a close now. Sorry for the sudden full stop. But WP has nearly lost it already!
Quit while I’m ahead.
Take care you guys
Roger
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Hi Roger. Thank you. I have to admit I have tried several times to read the page you linked to, but my eyes keep glazing over. I will save it as an open tab and hope tomorrow when I am more rested I will be able to absorb it.
I also understand that what the US calls the left is actually the right in Europe. If you look at what the right and left are today in the US compared with what it was in the 1970s you have to understand the push to move ever more to the right that the republicans have engaged in since the 1980s.
In the late 1970s / early 1980s, the democrats realized they were constantly being out raised by republicans and worried that they wouldn’t be able to compete. So they started courting businesses as the republicans did, but only promising to go half as far. Needless to say in a few decades a large part of the Democratic Party became known as the corporate democrats because they were as owned by businesses / the wealthy as the republicans were. They were led by Nancy Pelosi who started out a really left for the people equality for all to being a multimillionaire blocking all the progressive bills helping workers and allowed companies to keep harming workers for profit. She blocked raising the minimum wage, she blocked clamping down on company profits on drugs and other things. She was as republican as a lot of center republicans. And she led the side of the party that Biden was on for most of his political life.
Every couple years the right moved more right so they dragged the democrats to the new center to still be the left but not so far left not on the spectrum.
One way the republicans do this is when the democrats are in charge they demand the democrats be fair and treat them / their ideas with respect. The republicans demand the democrats reach across the aisle and meet them half way.
But when republicans are in charge they don’t say we need to repay the democrats or reach across the aisle, instead they laugh and go as extreme as they can. Moving their party to the right. Then when it shifts again and democrats are in charge the republicans again scream the same story … meet us half way, compromise. That pulls the left to the right. Yet again the republicans never compromise, yet they demand the democrats do. And we do.
For example, the Senate has something called blue slips. It is not a law but a courtesy. Blue slips allow a Senate member to deny a judge to be allowed hearings or approved from their state regardless of party. When democrats are in charge they honor that rule and it has blocked both Obama and Biden from appointing progressive left leaning judges. But when republicans are in charge and democrats put in blue slips the republicans ignore them, don’t honor them. So they get to approve and fill the judiciary with hard right judges while the democrats lose by playing nice guy.
So the country moves more right, the left is dragged right … until we reach a point where we are regressing back to the early 1900. Hugs. Scottie
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Democracy Scottie, so the saying goes is a poor form of government but all the alternatives are so much worse (there are numerous variations – that’s my favoured one).
It is based on shifting sands, with groups or parties moving their bases either to gain voter approval or because a certain faction within the party has a grip.
Democracy is also sometimes a case of choosing the least worst alternative. Or a whole set of compromises.
In the latter the ruling party or consensus across parties might well decide that they will embrace a social movement to enable them to get through some ‘hard’ stuff on the economic side, or in foreign policy.
Sometimes the parties seem to switch roles, which happened in the UK in the early 1970s in the UK when the Conservative govt had a habit of bailing out ailing industries and thus had the best social democrat record in the west.
There will always be this shifting back and forth. Though at times will come a tipping point when those groups I mentioned grab the party by the throat.
In the US because of the White Hysteria at having an African American president it came from the right which explains the disaster you now have.
In the UK it came in a twin perfect storm, the Conservatives lurched to the Right on a pro-Brexit stance while Labour lurched to the Left who had been working to ditch the middle of the road stance of Blair for years.
Neither cared a whistle about the middle of the road folk, and both were equally nasty. Currently we have Labour under Stammer sitting almost right of centre if a bid to get the further right Conservatives out.
Paradoxically although being Left that’s fine by ,me because I have no time for either extreme wing.
It;s complicated Scottie. It come down to that least worst alternative thing
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Hello Roger I goofed. In my reply I asked you to name the groups in the UK. I meant the groups in the US. I will now go back and fix the error. Thanks. Hugs. Scottie
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It’s OK Scottie😃.
As usual I am doing ‘Catch Up’. All is good.
I’ll amble back to your original reply in a short time.
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Hi Roger. I don’t know how you find the time to do all you do. You write stories, you write essays on your blog, you write thoughtful comments and replies to me that explains so much. In the meantime you have the real world life to also deal with. It amazes me how much you do in a day. Hugs. Scottie
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Thanks Scottie, very much.
That means a great deal to me because a lot of the time I don’ t think I am doing that much…Must be all down to perceptions 😄. (And those chores!)
Anyway, I am very glad to be of help to you.
You guys take care now.
Roger & Sheila
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