Category: Vote / Voting

PROPAGANDA – They Showed This To High School Kids In 1948! Would They Allow This Today?

This film was made to sell to high school media departments who purchased it to show to their juniors and seniors. Students in public high schools were being exposed to the concept of propaganda, especially given the context of World War II and the early Cold War. At this time there was an emphasis on educating citizens, including school children, about the role of propaganda. Would anyone make a film like this to run in schools involving media fake media or not?

Propaganda from all sides was studied including in history or social studies classes. Teachers used examples from Nazi Germany, Fascist Italy or Imperial Japan to illustrate how propaganda was used to control information and manipulate public opinion during the war.

In civics or government classes, students discussed propaganda in the context of democratic values, freedom of speech and the role of the press. This included conversations about the differences between propaganda, misinformation, and the free exchange of ideas. In English or other language arts classes propaganda was discussed as a form of rhetoric or persuasion.

The early stages of the Cold War and the 1948 presidential election were events for discussion in classrooms. Teachers used these current events to talk about the role of propaganda in politics and international relations.

High school clubs and other extracurricular activities focused on debate, journalism and politics.

Many Americans were well aware of political propaganda in 1948. Political Campaigns: Many people recognized the use of slogans, posters, and speeches during political campaigns as forms of persuasion, if not always identifying these tactics explicitly as “propaganda.”

Given the early stages of the Cold War, Americans were being exposed to constant anti-communist messaging from the government and media. Some saw this as propaganda, though others saw it as necessary information or patriotic messaging.

Newspapers, radio broadcasts, and the then relatively new medium of television would were sources of both overt and subtle propaganda. Some media outlets criticized propaganda efforts, thereby making their audiences more aware of them.

The mid-20th century was also a time when public relations and advertising were growing and becoming more sophisticated. Some people recognized that these industries used similar tactics to those found in political propaganda.

The year 1948 was especially filled with political propaganda with the presidential election and internationally with the ongoing Cold War. In 1948 President Harry S. Truman was running for re-election against Thomas E. Dewey. The now-famous “Dewey Defeats Truman” headline from the Chicago Daily Tribune was an example of premature victory claim due to inaccurate polling data which could be seen as a form of propaganda, trying to shape the narrative before the election was even over. Truman’s own campaign used the slogan “Give ‘Em Hell, Harry!” to rally the working-class vote and present Truman as a straightforward, no-nonsense candidate.

In the context of the early Cold War, both the United States & the Soviet Union used propaganda extensively to promote their respective ideologies and to denigrate the other. In the US, fear of communism was ramped up with government-sponsored propaganda, including films like “Red Nightmare” warning about the supposed dangers of communism. The government also produced numerous posters & leaflets depicting the Soviet Union as a menacing, totalitarian state that threatened American freedom.

With the establishment of Israel in 1948, there was significant propaganda on both sides of the conflict. Arab nations spread messages depicting the newly formed state of Israel as a colonial imposition, exploiting religious sentiments & framing it as a battle against Zionism. Conversely, Israeli propaganda emphasized the need for a Jewish homeland after the horrors of the Holocaust & cast their struggle as one of survival against hostile neighbors.

In 1948-1949, when the Soviet Union blocked access to West Berlin, the U.S., U.K., & their allies organized an airlift to supply the city with food, fuel, and other necessities. This event was accompanied by extensive propaganda on both sides. The West highlighted it as a humanitarian mission & an example of democratic nations stepping in to help those in need, while the Soviets depicted it as an aggressive act & an attempt to exert control over Berlin.

Organizations & companies advertise on this video clip. It is interesting to see what they are using this for. Search the words Disinformation. Public relations in business. Political advocacy. Political campaign. Public relations consulting firms. Healthcare agency. PR consultant. Best public relations. Media public relations. Political action committee.

TRUMP “ATTACKED!!” | Armageddon Update | Christopher Titus. Thanks to Randy for sending the link.

Soome Sam Seder clips I thought were important.

https://www.youtube.com/@TheMajorityReport/videos

The MR crew looks at horrifying reports coming out of Texas that show Republican governor Greg Abbott ordered border agents to begin drowning and dehydrating migrant children.
A woman who is undergoing hormone treatments calls in to dispel the myths that transgendered individuals are dominating women’s sports and then gives a powerful story of her own transition.
Jeff Sharlet, professor of English at Dartmouth College, joins to discuss his recent book The Undertow: Scenes From a Slow Civil War.
Ben Shapiro reacts to a piece in the New York Times about a recent fashion trend that is seeing men wearing crop tops. Shapiro says: “Just as a fashion matter, no one wants to see the midriff of another man. Just as a general-i’m not going to speak for gay men. women, i don’t think, are interested. Neither are straight men.”
Charlie Kirk responds to reporting from MSNBC that far Right-Wing extremists have used at-home workout trends to expand their reach into mixed martial arts spaces. Kirk says that reporting like this shows that liberals only want men to be weak, depressed, and have low testosterone.
CNN’S Kaitlan Collins asks Senator Tommy Tuberville about the comments he made regarding White Nationalists serving in the military. Collins asks if he’d want to clarify that he wouldn’t want racists to be serving in the military. Tuberville reiterates his belief that he doesn’t see White Nationalists as necessarily racist, and that it’s people’s opinions that they’re racist. He says, however, that if there are White Nationalists who are racist, he wouldn’t support them serving in the military.

Later Tuberville was asked by reporters on Capitol Hill About why he continued to double down on his stance on White Nationalists. Tuberville attempted to amend his response: “I’m totally against racism. If the Democrats want to say that White Nationalists are racists, i’m totally against that, too.”

Oh my dogs that love gravy! I caught up. I will explain below.

I have not been able to get to all the news tabs I had opened, so each night I pushed them into the next morning.  I had several hundreds of open tabs, at least past the beginning of the month into last June.  Maybe 300+  But Ron left Sunday morning to go to NC to pick up his family and take them to see their brother in a nursing home under hospice care.   He does this at least once a year, often more.   This year with everything going on, it is a huge hardship drain on our finances.  But it is family, so …

So with Ron gone, no distractions over the simple needed chores (feeding cats, cleaning cat boxes, doing dishes, taking out trash) I have had all the free time to work on the computer.  I am now with this post caught up to Friday night / Saturday morning.   I hope to finish the next few days worth quickly, so I can tell everyone what my medical tests showed.  Spoiler I have minor heart damage, but seem to have a bad lung problem.  The first meme is my fav.   More later.    Best wishes and hugs 

DeSantis Rejects $377 Million In Federal Energy Funds
According to a green energy group, the rebates would have meant people in Florida would get “lower utility bills and healthier and more comfortable homes as well as lower greenhouse gas emissions.” Meanwhile, DeSantis has proposed millions in tax credits for people who buy gas stoves.

This used to be him. Hate does some strange shit to you…

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Weeks of news over hundreds of open tabs. I only have 0ne more open window with 39 open tabs and I will be caught up as of Saturday. Only taken three days so far. Hugs

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Randy50311 days ago

Next time, instead of arguing whether America was founded on ‘christianity”, ask them why it is so important for them to make their (incorrect) point.
Okay, we were founded on Christian principles of slavery, and women as chattel with no vote, natives were stripped of their land and other rights, and only white male property owners could vote. Not to mention child labor was rampant, the majority of the country were small farmers, divorce was nearly impossible and so on.
Hurray! What is you want NOW? You want to reinstitute all of that? No, they will likely say, they just want “Christian principles” reinstitute. Like what? Name them, specifically. They will be likely more in line with Christian nationalism — no LBGT rights, minorities voting is restricted, reduction in social safety net, more deregulation and so on.
So now you can drill down — what does Christianity have to say about laws that control pollution, radioactive waste, plastics in our food, chemicals in the water you drink? They will give you mumbo jumbo about freedom, and all that. “”So why do we have to be a Christian nation” to achieve your goals of less regulation?
What it will likely come down to is morals and values. Again, we can hit hard back — you mean no divorce? Because Jesus had a lot to say about it. Premarital sex? Birth control? IF you want to talk about morals, let’s talk about children going to bed or to school hungry, of which millions do. What about the homeless? Again, we don’t need Christian nationalism to tackle those issues.
It wil come down to nothing at all — just a vague desire to make people go to church more, pray more, and be more aligned with god or something. “So you want to force people to pray?”
I could go on, but you just have to nail them down on specifics. Hawley is just about control — they don’t want drag queens, people having wanton sex, abortion, and all that. Force them to admit that.

Nice to know the GOP understands they don’t represent the USA
Do the Republicans know that they are not supposed to be working for Russia? Seems far too many do work for Russia.

Gregory In Seattle11 days ago

I remember in 2020 when they used the flag of the Russian Federation to decorate the Republican National Convention, which inspired me to make this meme.

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Wintercat11 days ago edited

GQP ads constantly have Russian troops, ships and MiGs because they use creative agencies in Russia, because few US agencies often full of GQP intended victims will do work for them.

Creative houses use the stock images they have on hand. That’s why so much Russian stuff shows up in their ads.

Flora DeMann Stogiebear11 days ago

When children first are taught the letters of the alphabet, the letters are capitalized. Maybe the MAGAs never got farther than that.

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Elagabalus2 days ago
Reminds me of the time Megyn Kelly got so flummoxed that Santa Claus was presented as black because in her worldview, Santa Claus was clearly white. What is it with conservatives and fictional characters?

Houndentenor Elagabalus2 days ago

It’s that thing when someone is so racist they can’t hear how racist they sound.

Chucktech Elagabalus2 days ago

See also: White Jesus

William2 days ago

I found this picture of the real new Snow White online.

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perversatile Rebecca Gardner2 days ago edited

Heads will crack open when they learn about the Black Madonna(s)

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If you read the articles on this it says that trump did not argue that the evidence was not there to show he committed a crime but that it was improperly gained. His lawyers are admitting to the crime basically. Hugs

Tick Tock

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“Library staffers were deluged with harassment and a bomb threat.”

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Talk about ego !!!!

“God doesn’t make mistakes”

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Family Leader is an anti-LGBTQ hate group.

Abortion should be freely available at any stage of pregnancy, on demand, without apology.

Reposting:

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“The very concept of sin comes from the Bible. Christianity offers to solve a problem of its own making! Would you be thankful to a person who cut you with a knife in order to sell you a bandage?”

― Dan Barker, Losing Faith in Faith: From Preacher to Atheist

How many of our congress is on the payroll of Russia. Hugs
Indeed trans men should sign up for selective service when they turn 18, just like all cis men. But then trans men should be able to use the men’s room, just like all cis men do.

The current law states that all persons either born in the US or (with few exceptions) legally resident when they turn 18, and identified as male at birth are required to register for the Selective Service when they turn 18, no exceptions. If you are an American citizen living abroad, you must still register. If you are a legal resident alien, you must still register. If you are in a prison or mental asylum, you must still register. If you are here under a diplomatic passport (say, a parent works at an embassy or consulate) or have a tourist or student visa, you do not need to register. People who were identified as female at birth are NOT required to register for the Selective Service, and in fact trying to register can get you in legal trouble for filing a “frivolous” legal document (not sure if it has ever been prosecuted, but it is in the regulations.)

If they are going to make transmen register, then they must also make transwomen exempt. They will also need to clarify at what point relative to the age of 18 this will kick in: is it enough to identify as trans, or will they need to have passed some benchmark in transitioning? What if a person comes out as trans after they are 18, but before they turn 25 (the age that your registration remains in effect)? And if transwomen are not exempt, they they should make registration mandatory for ALL 18 year olds regardless of gender identity: there is no longer any restriction from women serving in combat, after all. Maybe if their precious daughters are required to register, and fact the very serious penalties for not registering, we can finally get rid of this whole Selective Service idiocy once and for all.

I guess it was done the same way the former idiot allowed a bunch of Russian spies into the building.

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This is the country and leader the republicans love almost as much as Putin.

Because if you don’t acknowledge LBGTs exist, kids will stop being gay

This year in the U.S. the majority of books most often banned are by LGBT writers and writers of color.

Here’s a good report from the writers’ organization PEN on the state of censorship in the U.S.
https://pen.org/report/bann…

Full fucking racism and full on white supramacy.
How did people get it in their heads that they have a “right” to never be offended? That is not a right and never has been. Freedom of speech, remember? Astonishing how the “fuck your feelings” crowd so quickly turn around to demand safe spaces where their precious feelings are prioritized so much.
Didn’t a black woman in Texas get five years for voting just once?
I think they claimed she was ineligible for some reason. And it was a provisional ballot and was not counted. Further it was a poll worker that told her to fill out a provisional ballot.
Jesus isn’t in the Constitution either. Let’s start there.
Censorship by school boards is chipping away at the reality of LGBTQ history and our very existence. Good for Newsom.
They’ve already grabbed lots of the courts, then they want to control education (‘member how so many righties loves to quote hitler on this…) & inject religion into the schools – while wiping out all dissenting ideas & critical thinking – fast forward 10 years and VOILA – you have a whole generation of little christo-fascists that taxpayers are footing the bill to educate with xtian nationalist dogma. These wack job conservatives (an extreme minority) are proving too damn good at a multi-decade slow play here. People have to wake up.

‘Desperate’: Ohio Republicans pull ‘brazen stunt’ to undermine abortion rights

“There are no lengths to which they will not go to make sure that every woman who gets pregnant in Ohio is forced to give birth,” Chris Hayes says of the ballot initiative in Ohio pushed by Republicans. David Pepper joins to discuss. 

No One Is Talking About What Ron DeSantis Has Actually Done to Florida

https://time.com/6266618/ron-desantis-florida-governance-essay/

https://time.com/6266618/ron-desantis-florida-governance-essay/

Media coverage of Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’s all-but-announced candidacy for president is already in full frenzy, and so far the script is exactly as his handlers would like it to be. The governor regularly opens up new fronts in the culture wars, sowing alarm over critical race theory, transgender rights, or border policies. In response, liberal pundits fall into the trap of accentuating the very issues DeSantis has chosen to fire up his base.

Omitted from the public debate about DeSantis’s policies is almost any discussion of his actual record of governance—what exactly he has delivered to the citizens of his state, especially those without seven-figure incomes and lush investment portfolios.

 

Even a cursory dip into the statistics of social and economic well-being reveals that Florida falls short in almost any measure that matters to the lives of its citizens. More than four years into the DeSantis governorship, Florida continues to languish toward the bottom of state rankings assessing the quality of health care, school funding, long-term elder care, and other areas key to a successful society.

Florida may be the place where “woke goes to die”—as DeSantis is fond of saying—but it is also where teachers’ salaries are among the lowest in the nation, unemployment benefits are stingier than in any other state, and wage theft flourishes with little interference from the DeSantis administration. In 2021, DeSantis campaigned against a successful ballot initiative to raise the state’s minimum wage, which had been stuck at $8.65 an hour. Under DeSantis’s watch, the Sunshine State has not exactly been a workers’ paradise.

Read More: Why “Woke” Is A Convenient Republican Dog Whistle

DeSantis weaponizes the cultural wars to distract attention from the core missions of his governorship, which is to starve programs geared toward bettering the lives of ordinary citizens so he can maintain low taxes on the wealthy and corporations. Florida is the ideal haven for privileged Americans who don’t want to pay their fair share of taxes. It has no income tax for individuals, and its corporate tax rate of 5.5% is among the lowest in the nation. An investigation by the Orlando Sentinel in late 2019 revealed the startling fact that 99% of Florida’s companies paid no corporate income tax, abetted by tax-avoidance schemes and state officials who gave a low priority to enforcing tax laws.

This is a pattern that shows up in the statistics of many Republican-led states, which on average commit fewer dollars per-capita to health care, public education, and other crucial services compared to their blue counterparts, while making sure corporations and wealthy individuals are prioritized for tax relief. Arizona cut taxes every year between 1990 and 2019, following up with a shift to a flat tax this year that will cost its budget $1.9 billion. Meanwhile, its public-school spending ranks 48 among the 50 states.

In Florida, the state’s tax revenues come largely through sales and excise taxes, which fall hardest on the poor and middle class. A 2018 study by the left-leaning Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy found that Florida had the third least-equitable tax system of the 50 states. In the state’s “upside-down” tax structure, the poorest 20% of Florida families paid 12.7% of their income in taxes, while the families whose income was in the top 4% paid 4.5%, and the top 1% paid 2.3%, according to the study.

Florida taxpayers get less for their money than residents of many other states. The Commonwealth Fund, a private foundation that studies health-care systems globally, found in its 2022 “scorecard” that Florida had the 16th worst health care among the 50 states. It’s no wonder that Florida ranks below the northern blue states in life expectancy and rates of cancer death, diabetes, fatal overdoses, teen birth rates, and infant mortality.

Largely because of DeSantis’s obstinacy, Florida is one of 10 states that have refused to expand Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act, an act of political spite that has cost those states billions in federal health care dollars and cost thousands of people their lives. More than 12% of Floridians are without medical insurance, a worse record than all but four other states. Despite having the country’s highest percentage of retirees, Florida has the worst long-term care among the 50 states, according to the American Association of Retired Persons.

Public schools fare no better than health care in DeSantis’s Florida. Not only did Florida rank 49th in the country for average teacher pay in 2020, but the Education Law Center, a non-profit advocacy group based in New Jersey, found in a 2021 report that the state had the seventh-lowest per-pupil funding in the country. Education Week, which ranks states public school annually, looking beyond mere test scores, placed Florida 23rd in its 2021 report, a lackluster showing for a large and wealthy state.

It says something about the state of our political discourse that Florida’s denuded public sector was not more of an issue in last year’s gubernatorial campaign. In endorsing DeSantis’s Democratic opponent, Charlie Crist, the Tampa Bay Times spent so many column inches on the incumbent’s demagoguery, vindictiveness, and authoritarian tendencies that it never even got to the minutiae of his governance. “No matter what you think about the state of the Florida economy or its schools or its future…,” the paper wrote, “the choice really is this simple: Do you want the state governed by a decent man or a bully?”

To be fair to the media, DeSantis and his allies manned the trenches of the culture wars so ferociously that it was all reporters could do to keep up with all the bomb throwing. How do you delve into the state’s tax policy when your governor is flying planeloads of migrants to Martha’s Vineyard or declaring war on Disney for issuing a statement in opposition to the state’s so-called “Don’t Say Gay Law”?

But that is very much the point of wedge issues, as they have been wielded by scurrilous politicians for decades, to anger and distract voters so they won’t notice the actions of public officials that mainly benefit the wealthy and are against the public interest.

As the 2024 election draws closer, DeSantis must not be allowed to accomplish nationally what he did in his state—cloak his service to the wealthy by frightening working people with stories about transgender recruiting and “socialist” college professors. There are unmistakable signs that Americans are focused on what an activist government can do for the public good, as evidenced by Floridians’ vote to increase the minimum wage.

The failure of DeSantis to better serve the most vulnerable citizens of his state is his weak underbelly in a national campaign.

More crazy and bigoted news that drives my depression

New Net Favorability Ratings: Disney +31, DeSantis -16
Yale History Major Doubles Down On Vow To Restore Confederate Base Name, Claims Ignorance Of History

From the linked article in the above Joe.My.God. post.   Remember, this is a Yale history grad, claiming that is OK to honor Confederate Generals that fought the US government to keep slavery because “But at the end of the day, you know, we had people that have done great things for this country,” DeSantis said.”

Ron DeSantis doubles down on restoration of ‘iconic’ Fort Bragg name

Despite the limited scope of the DoD’s renaming, the Governor likened taking Bragg’s name off the fort to moves to “take Abraham Lincoln off the statue down in Boston … take Teddy Roosevelt down in New York City” and “remove George Washington’s name from schools in San Francisco.”

“And that’s not, I think, what I want to see. I mean, I think you can look back at anybody and you could find flaws. But at the end of the day, you know, we had people that have done great things for this country,” DeSantis said.

“I’m not in a position to say that somehow I’m so much better than any of this. It’s a different time. People make mistakes. There’s different parts of our society, we look back and can say was a mistake. But this idea that we’re going to erase history, I just think, is fundamentally wrong, and we’re not going to do that.”

Brian Curtis 2 days ago
“We shouldn’t erase history,” say Republicans who support expunging all record of Trump’s impeachments.

You Again? Brian Curtis2 days ago

And no teaching the histories of minority groups unless they reflect positively on white, christian men.

That would be too traumatic for them to bear!

Rebecca Gardner2 days ago

While we’re at it, let’s also create Fort Hirohito. Why not, he was the leader of a foreign nation that attacked the United States. Let’s run with this theme Governor Fucknutz.

carswell Hayseed2 days ago edited

Fort Rosa Parks. Black, female, uppity, liberal. The GQP will have a collective aneurysm.

mkbear682 days ago

“And here’s the thing, you know, you learn from history, you don’t erase the history” and yet history that makes students uncomfortable can’t be taught in schools…right

band💋 DmR2 days ago

That’s what happens when you’re clearly running for president of the Confederate States of America.

tbj5 Yves R. Mektin2 days ago

Trump’s an elderly sociopathic narcissist, he’s spent decades refining his charisma and reflexes to lie instantly, without hesitation and with complete believability.

Ronnie isn’t, even if he’s a sociopath himself, he’s just hungry for power and clout and tries constantly to copy Trump to try and steal his thunder and his followers. But he can never be as good a liar.

🔄arithrianos🔄2 days ago edited

Wow, he first says the name of the military base did not cause him to learn any history at all, then claims keeping the name is vital to learning the history he was totally ignorant about until they removed the name of the incompetent traitorous slaver, demonstrating he is lying through his teeth. He must have experts help him prove himself a liar like that, I don’t think he’s clever enough to figure it out himself.

TK2 days ago edited

I guess he means we learn only from white history, not the black history he is censoring in the schools. That’s erasing history, asshole!! This guy is such a lying fucking hypocrite.

Watters: Obama Isn’t Real American, Roots Are African
Watters wanted and got the Tucker spot at fox. To get it he has to appeal to the most right wing demographics sought after by media, and to win them he has to be full open racist and the most ardent supporter of the right wing conspiracies along with pushing the idea of Christian nationalism. Hugs

Sarah2 days ago edited

So, if we make DC and Puerto Rico states, will Hawaii become “real America,” since it won’t be the most recent anymore?

Anyway, well, we know why he doesn’t think Obama is a “real American.”

vap Sarah2 days ago

No. Because in MAGA land only White, Christians are “real Americans”

John L vap2 days ago

Even then you have to be the Reich kind of “Christian”

Houndentenor Sarah2 days ago

No, he means that Obama is black and therefore not a real American because real Americans are white.

SkokieDaddy – wiener dog dad2 days ago

Now that he’s been given Tuckum’s time slot, he needs to up his hate-the-black-guy game to earn his bona fides.

Uncle Mark: HoHo-smoking homo Doug10518 hours ago

I’ll check Texas for the proper roasting temperature setting

Rosanne Barr: “Nobody Died In The Holocaust” [VIDEO]
clay 2 days ago
Between her sarcasm, mental health problems, and internalized anti-Semitism, how can I take her seriously enough to even criticize her?

Hayseed2 days ago

Who cares about the tapes or even the documents case? We need to focus on what is really important…

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Chris Baker Reality.Bitesa day ago edited

If man sees a kid playing in the street, then notice a car driving down the street, and he shrugs and says ‘free will’ and the car hits the kid, is that man a good person or a bad person?

Yet somehow Christians want to tell you that God is good, even though he allows bad things to happen. (And he could have just stopped it all by making Adam and Eve barren, or ending the world 4000 years ago.)

NotJoea day ago

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Gigia day ago

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Texans Asked To Reduce Power Usage Amid Brutal Heat

RR Unbordered Americana day ago

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TWO MEN leaving a public restroom .
Man#1 approaches Man#2 and says:
“Excuse me sir but I noticed you didn’t wash your hands after using the urinal. I’m from Texas and in Texas we’re taught you should always wash your hands after using the restroom.”
Man#2 replies: “Well I’m from California and in California we’re taught you should’nt pee all over yourself.”

bambinoitalianoa day ago

This is Biden trying to take away our electricity! I’m going full blast until it brownout! Freedum!

Sarah bambinoitalianoa day ago

I’m going full blast until it brownout!

Happens to me after I eat bean soup.

Skeptical_Inquirer bambinoitalianoa day ago

I wish non-Dem Texans would learn to blame the GQP they vote in for the shitty state of their infrastructure but if the Ted Cruz fleeing for Cancun didn’t teach them shit . . .

Serene Pumpkin Skeptical_Inquirera day ago

The GQP has had 100% control of the state for what, 20 years? And still the fascists find ways to blame powerless Democrats

IamSmartypantsa day ago

This is really a non-issue because if the power goes out and people die, nobody can sue the power company because the Republican Texas Supreme Court just held that Republican-controlled ERCOT is immune from lawsuits. No liability = No Problem.

Secure 💪🏻 IamSmartypantsa day ago

This is nothing like the giant frozen front of 2021. We did all of this last summer. If anything, it would be rolling blackouts. We will be fine.

What, me worry?a day ago

Did they ever get around to upgrading their grid? I’m guessing it will go down and stay down for days before the 4th.

bambinoitaliano What, me worry?a day ago

No, they told everyone to kiss their grid when they rejected Beto.

Christian Site CEO: Bud Light Is Bringing The End Times
Strang previously appeared here when he declared that people who oppose Trump are possessed by demons and that voting against Trump is a vote for the “apocalypse.” Also, holograms and Trump’s impeachments? Both the work of Satan. We last heard from him when he appeared in a “documentary” with Dr. Demon Semen.

Ščŏŧŧ Ċ – 🇺🇦 🕊3 days ago

What’s happening lines up with God’s Word regarding what would happen in the end times before Jesus returns.

But that’s what you want, isn’t it? Shouldn’t you be happy? I mean, your imaginary friend is going to show everyone he’s not imaginary after all. That’s a good thing, right?

Chris Baker mythictom3 days ago

There was a book, “The Late Great Planet Earth” that was popular among the end times folks. “The last days are nigh!” Published in 1970. 53 years ago. And even in the late 1800s, preachers were saying the end times were near.

They literally pray “Lord come quickly!” But then complain about all the “signs of the end times” as if that’s a bad thing. They should be working -toward- the ‘one world government” and a global currency and world peace and “the mark of the beast” because that’s what will bring the rapture. (Your eschatology may vary).

Harveyrabbit 🐱3 days ago

Expelled from caucus. AKA thrown back in the pen.

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DeSantis Joins Trump On Banning Birthright Citizenship
This is basically the attempt by white supremacists to prevent the natural decline of white majority / supremacy in the US. They are terrified over the demographics that shows the steady decline of the white majority and the increase in non-white people. It terrifies them because they fear being treated as they have treated POC all during the history of the US. They want to remain the unchallenged authority they have always been. This denies everything we understand about culture and human development, not to mention what the US has always stood for. We are better / stronger / improved the more we blend and add to our prior society. Hey if you treat others that are different from you decently, they will do the same to you. If you act like an asshole toward them, they might do the same back. The thing to understand is be a decent nice person to others. Remember race is a social construct. We are all humans. We may look different but we really are the same species. Do dogs or cats of different colors be racist against each other, and should they, as they are all dogs or cats. Hugs

Todd20036 Rex3 days ago

DeSantis is worse than trump. He’s smarter, more ambitious, and actually wants to rule the country

Trump just wants the pomp and circumstances

Darreth TexasBoy3 days ago

Yes… and look which demographic he’s coddling. They’ll fall totally in line with him. Evangelicals always find the worst in humanity to align themselves with

NorthBayFella Dave B3 days ago

I don’t do 1930s/40s comparisons lightly or often, but DeSantis could certainly be someone to take us down a
similar road, just a 2020s version of it. He’s already taking actions in that vein — shipping human beings like cargo, book bannings, etc. I’m not suggesting it could be a literal Holocaust, but he will seriously and intentionally harm a lot of Americans (and more so, people wanting to become Americans) before he would be done. A lot of people would die.

Also, I’m not not saying he wouldn’t cause a literal Holocaust, either.

Miami Herald: DeSantis Keeps Losing LGBTQ Cases
JackFknTwist a day ago edited
O/T : –
At the risk of having only one tune, I don’t think it can be said often enough that in their doctrinaire zealotry the conservative Justices of the Supreme Court have betrayed their underlying hypocrisy.
In their preening self-importance all they have exposed is their lack on any integrity, their enthusiasm to lie at any opportunity and their shallow semblance of probity.
What we have on the US Supreme Court is a few liars, charlatans and those willing to prostitute themselves at the alter of the Federalist Society on the one hand and to rich ‘grooming’ billionaires on the other.
Was there ever a Supreme Court so compromised?

The_Wretched JackFknTwista day ago

Yes, 1937 or so. Towards the end of the “gilded age”, the SCOTUS was as virulently anti-decency as Alito and Thomas are now. FDR, then president, make a threat to “pack” (unfvck) the court and the court suddenly changed its tune on what the law was. Then the plan to fix the court fell apart.

There’s some suggestion that a similar thing may have happened between last term and this one with regard to KNAW, Roberts and Raspberry Baret. They have not gone along with the same degree of YOLO-ALITO that marked last year / the Dobbs Term.

SkokieDaddy – wiener dog dada day ago

“I’m in capable of crafting legislation that respects the constitution. Vote for me for president” – Ron DeSantis

[Please clap]

NotMiguela day ago

They can’t win on real issues that matter to people so we’ll have lots of noise on wedge issues over the next year. Brown people invading, drag queen groomers and Susie has to call her teacher they/them at school.

rednekokiea day ago

DeSantis keeps trying to resurrect the infamous Jones commission – which attemped to erase homosexuality from all colleges and other schools throughout the state some 50 years ago, along with the actions of Senator Joseph McCarthy, who tried it nationally. The only result was the ruining of the reputations and hopes of over 200 students and faculty in Florida.
This is evil in its strongest form.

Nic Peterson Ed B21 hours ago

Most of this is Florida law, so US SCOTUS is largely irrelevant unless there is a conflict with Federal Law. The Florida SCOTUS is packed with bigots, in a large sense the fate of Florida rests in the hands of the appellate courts.

Nic Peterson Sam_Handwich21 hours ago

That’s gonna be the kicker. We already know the FLSC is packed with bigots. The appellate courts are either going to side with a dictator or with the republic that placed them in their robes.

Ninja0980 Sam_Handwicha day ago

The 11th Circuit (thanks to Patrick Leahy’s stupidity) and SCOTUS are controlled by bigots who will uphold this shit.

Ouch It Bit Mea day ago

I feel like this is part of the whole make shit up and get it to the current Supreme Court so they can declare god and church and money or whatever. Like the website bitch in Colorado and the made up gay client.

Uncle Mark: HoHo-smoking homoa day ago

Win or lose, Tater will screech about how he’s “fighting for families* and against woke culture & a woke & woke judges.” Others will be smart enough to point out his losses or how vaguely worded his laws are, but at the end of the day, DePudding will declare himself “the great fighter for American values*”

* values & families don’t include individuals, friends or family of the LGBTQ, nonChristians, nor nonWhite racial groups. Additional exclusions not listed or implied are applicable by the tiny dictator

GladysKravitza day ago

DeFascist can indeed get the country on a different path –
Here’s what Ron DeFascist has accomplished –
– LGBT students cannot discuss their personal lives with teachers or counselors, making them feel marginalized, alone, and possibly increasing their risks of suicide. Some parents with LGBT family members are moving out of the state. State ACLU currently suing to end this.
– Universities are unsure what they can or cannot teach based on the whims of literally one man. GOP prefer students to be inculcated with cheap cheerleading America First nationalism (this shut down by a judge, results pending)
– History teachers can’t teach about the truth of American racism and black history because it might upset white people
– Some teachers are seeking employment in another state.
– A school principal had to resign because one of her teachers showed students a picture of Michelangelo’s David.
– A teacher is under investigation because she showed 13 year olds a Disney movie with a gay character.
– Women who discover they’re pregnant after 6 weeks, and are unable to have a child, can’t get an abortion in Florida, even though there should be retroactive abortion, Don Jr. lives there
– Property taxes and insurance costs are becoming unaffdable
– Million dollar contracts are given to DeFascist’s donors
– 87,141 people died of Covid in Florida. Less would have died had there been the slightest of protective measures taken, but DeFascist didn’t allow that.
– Hispanic farm and construction workers are not going to work out of fear of DeFascist’s draconian rules to punish undocumented workers and their bosses. Hispanic truckers are refusing to deliver to the state. Farm products are rotting while remaining unpicked.
– Students and companies who support diversity and inclusion are no longer allowed to do so.
– Trans children can no longer get medical care, use bathroom of pronouns of their choice (this shut down by a judge, results pending)
– a court could temporarily remove children from their homes if they receive gender-affirming care
– LGBT people who seek medical care can be denied it if they’re unlucky enough to have a religious fanatic doctor.
– Drag queens can be arrested for appearing in drag in public where children can see them. (this shut down by a judge, results pending)
– Any idiot can buy a gun without a permit, training, or with or without a criminal record.
– Disney, the state’s largest employer, is suing DeFascist because of politically motivated harassment after he started a fight with them because they don’t approve of his anti-LGBT laws. Disney cancelled a $1 billion construction project that would have brought the state over 2,000 jobs.
– More to come. White retirees probably love him because he’s getting rid of the blacks, gays, immigrants and other assorted annoyances. DeSantis calls Florida “the freest state in America.” Actually you’re free to move here, retire and die.

Nepal Allows Registration Of Same-Sex Marriages

BartmanLA2 days ago

Fantastic news! The world is evolving, but sadly the GQP and TFG will do everything in their power to stop equality in this country from becoming pernanent and legal. I’m sure TFG is probalby labelling Nepal as one of those shit hole countries he doesn’t like.

Gianni2 days ago

Apparently, our evangelical and assorted radical Christian groups, who hate us with the love of God, didn’t know where Nepal is or didn’t know such a country existed. I’ll bet they’re boning up on their geography now.

Cultists Check Out All Of Library’s Pride Exhibit Books
The San Diego Union-Tribune reports:
Two protesters offended by a Pride exhibit at the Rancho Peñasquitos Library have checked out nearly all the books in the display and vowed to keep them until the library eliminates what they call “inappropriate content” for children. The anti-gay protest is the latest example of a growing national backlash against Pride exhibits, which experts say has been fueled by debates over how schools should handle transgender minors.
The Rancho Peñasquitos protest ratchets up the usual backlash San Diego library branches experience when they create Pride exhibits or host events like drag queen story times, said head librarian Misty Jones. The protesters, Peñasquitos residents Amy Vance and Martha Martin, said libraries are open, public spaces for children that should be free of references to gender identity and how adults experience sexual attraction.
Read the full article. A local city council member is raising money to buy additional copies of the books.

Phil in Colorado2 days ago

I’m starting to think this is a matter for the police. They checked them out and stated that they have no intention of returning them unless the library does exactly what they want. Last I checked, that’s called theft.

MrRobotoLA Phil in Colorado2 days ago

They get 5 renewals, unless the items have holds on them. So I urge anyone and everyone in San Diego who is disgusted by their motives to place holds. MANY HOLDS. That way they will be required to return the items or be turned in to a collections agency. That will also likely block their library privileges to borrow any other materials. If it goes beyond that, it is indeed theft.

nocadrummer2 days ago

I had a home in a small town for nearly 30 years. It had a small library, maybe twice the size of the one in my high school. The “Christians” would come in and check out ALL the non-Christian religious books and never return them. It was their way of making sure people couldn’t learn about other religions. And this was before Trump and the MAGA folks.
If your religion of “Christianity” is SO GREAT, it should be able to prove itself against the others by its merits and ideals, not by making the beliefs of others unobtainable.

astroworf2 days ago

Damn these people. A book offered me permission not to hate myself for being who I am.

*** Editor note ***  It was books that gave me my escape from my life.  It was books that let me leave the life of abuse, hurt, and fear I was living constantly at home, in my home.  It was books that let me understand I was not a horrible abomination in life that was going to do horrible things and die in a gutter as my adoptive parents (the ones beating and sexually abusing me and letting their kids do so) claimed long before they even knew I was gay, that I did not need to suffer in silence, (Which I did for most of my life).   These books that these people are trying to ban and deny to the very kids that need them meant so much to me and other kids.  Please do not let them.  Look in the 1950s these people want to revert the social and country to there were no of these kinds of books, no positive representatives in media, but gay, lesbian, and trans kids still existed.  I am going to post a video about a old long time soap opera about gay people and the damage hate can do.   Hugs.


2 days ago

When you say “wife,” “husband,” “fiancé,” “girlfriend,” etc.–all commonly heard from heterosexuals–you are inserting sexuality in public spaces where children are or may be.

Darreth weshlovrcm2 days ago

Mere gender identification on a bathroom door is the actual issue here. These delusional evangelicals are literally incapable of connecting the dots on gender/sexual expression issues.

Houndentenor Flatlander – TXPoast3 days ago

I’m currently reading a book about the John Birch Society and everything they are doing now is the same shit the Birchers were doing in the 50s and 60s. Only back then MSM and even the GOP leadership weren’t on their side.

REPORT: Trump May Face Up To 45 New DOJ Charges
DeSantis Signs GOP Ban On Zoning Referendums
Hank: NO MORE WoW!!! 3 days ago
Once again, the GQP TAKES AWAY RIGHTS & POWER FROM THE CITIZENS!!!!

ChipSF weshlovrcm3 days ago

They don’t care about corporations either. They only want Republicans to hold the power over everything – people, corporations, city councils, school boards, etc.

Kyle Childress3 days ago

Republicans sure don’t like people voting, do they? They’ll overturn elections, make it harder for statewide resolutions to pass, throw out elected officials they don’t like, and now this. Democrats might wish to mention this on the campaign trail.

Melissia3 days ago

Kinda like how Texas has created special rules that only apply to specific counties that vote mostly Democratic that take away aspects of self-governance from them.

Fascists love centralizing power.

Knowles: “Ban Evil Pride Flags From All Public Spaces”

So this morons only shtick is to push hate and fear.   Yes that is the standard operating mode of the right now.  But this guy is riding high with his almost non-stop attacks on the LGBTQ+.  Just like Matt Walsh it is all he has to have someone notice him.   It is always the other that is the fault or reason things are bad with these people.   But the guy is a flat out liar but it won’t matter as all his followers want to hear is the hate.   He claims that it is illegal to fly Nazi flags, “We ban all sorts of flags from public spaces – Nazi flags … “  Hugs

Knowles: “Ban Evil Pride Flags From All Public Spaces”

SkokieDaddy – wiener dog dad2 days ago edited

We ban all sorts of flags from public spaces – Nazi flags, hammer and sickle flags.

You might want to let Florida know.

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moisturize me SkokieDaddy – wiener dog dad2 days ago

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Chris Baker SkokieDaddy – wiener dog dad2 days ago

Yes, I don’t know where any flags are banned in public spaces. He must be living in an alternate reality,

Also, Christians have a flag. So if he is saying that no one is a real American unless they only fly the American flag, he forgets those people, and all the people who fly the ‘don’t tread on me’ flag, university flags, etc

Houndentenor Chris Baker2 days ago

I drive by countless frontyard flag poles where they are flying a Trump flag instead of the American one. It’s their property and they can fly whatever they want, but it’s definitely not the American flag. Of course when Republicans do it it’s okay.

PickyPecker2 days ago

our planet is literally on fire in so many ways, and morons like this are worried about flags? air-quality high alert (dangerous levels) for us here today. visibility is wayyy down….looks like a ground fog. my nose has been dripping all morning, GAH! first time i have seen noaa use ‘smoke’ in our forecast. looks like afternoon garden projects are on hold. again.

Makoto2 days ago

“But is it more extreme than turning Christmas day into Christmas week into Christmas month into Christmas season into — left unchecked, I promise you — Christmas always.”

Only difference between my quote and his is that the ever-expanding Christmas season really seems to be a thing… yet folks like him always talk up a “War on Christmas” as if it’s the thing under assault and bringing death threats to employees and such.

Kansas AG Sues To End Trans Birth Certificate Changes

Kansas AG Sues To End Trans Birth Certificate Changes
In 2018 Kobach lost his bid for Kansas governor after flaming out as the head of Trump’s so-called “voter fraud” commission.

Kobach’s campaign was funded in part by prominent white supremacists and anti-immigrant hate groups.

Last year he resigned from the board of Steve Bannon’s private border wall scam outfit and unlike others involved, he has somehow evaded prosecution.

That same day he appeared on Bannon’s show to compare Biden to Hitler. Then he complained that Republicans are being “demonized.”
April Smith 3 days ago edited
These Republicans’ need to quit obsessing about Transwomen’s junk!

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liondon#convictedsexoffender3 days ago
The Cruelty Is The Point
It doesn’t have to make sense. It just has to hurt.

Stultus liondon#convictedsexoffender3 days ago

They don’t want to be elected to represent us. They want to be elected to control and dominate us.

wmforr liondon#convictedsexoffender2 days ago

Why do you keep attacking the transgendered?

Easy target.

Like school kids.

Kelly Lape3 days ago

Hate sells. The GOP sells hate.

Gregory In Seattle On the road3 days ago

Exactly. The GOP would be peddling something else if hate didn’t sell as well as it did.

patty thomas3 days ago

Hmmm, should my birth certificate have stated the names of my birth parents or, as it does, state the names of my adoptive parents? If that can be changed, why not the sex…not to mention intersex children where it’s ambiguous….or surgically altered? Birth certificates aren’t %100 accurate to begin with. This is just cruelty in action.

BeccaM Chucktech3 days ago edited

Rethugs have been winning elections (and getting them close enough to steal (aka Dubya)) for a long while now by using a variety of tools: Gerrymandering, voter suppression, etc.

Among those tools is racism, bigotry, and xenophobia, intended to energize their base and also to scare the low-information voters in the middle who can be readily fooled into thinking there is some kind of ‘crisis’ that must be stopped at all costs.

In the 1950s, it was communists, Black people, and gay people. In the 1960s, it was “radical militant” hippies and Black people. In the 1970s and 80s, it was “radical” feminists and again, Black and gay people. 1990s, immigrants and Black people. 2000s, Muslims and Black people, with LGBTQ folks making a strong reappearance.

Anyway, now Rethugs have combined them all together, but their main focus is on immigrants and LGBTQ people, along with Black folks.

Always it’s the “hatred and fear of other” they pound upon, election after election.

BeccaM Chucktech3 days ago edited

Rethugs have been winning elections (and getting them close enough to steal (aka Dubya)) for a long while now by using a variety of tools: Gerrymandering, voter suppression, etc.

Among those tools is racism, bigotry, and xenophobia, intended to energize their base and also to scare the low-information voters in the middle who can be readily fooled into thinking there is some kind of ‘crisis’ that must be stopped at all costs.

In the 1950s, it was communists, Black people, and gay people. In the 1960s, it was “radical militant” hippies and Black people. In the 1970s and 80s, it was “radical” feminists and again, Black and gay people. 1990s, immigrants and Black people. 2000s, Muslims and Black people, with LGBTQ folks making a strong reappearance.

Anyway, now Rethugs have combined them all together, but their main focus is on immigrants and LGBTQ people, along with Black folks.

Always it’s the “hatred and fear of other” they pound upon, election after election.

Stultus Chucktech3 days ago

We have been defined by them as “other”. As “other”, we are not entitled to any rights. Right out of Nazi playbook in the 1930’s.

Chucktech3 days ago

Jesus fucking Christ, why is this such a big fucking issue to you filthy pukes??

Why can’t you just mind your own fucking business? Trans people have absolutely nothing to do with you, why can’t you even try walking a mile in their shoes? You know, like your (false, dead) god told you to do?

BeccaM Chucktech3 days ago

Fascists always need a nearly powerless underclass to scapegoat, oppress, and persecute. For some of them, the anti-Semitism is a little too on-target, so now it’s LGBTQ people, with a sharp focus on all the trans folks.

lenvus3 days ago edited

So, I am going to ask the question that conservatives just LOVE to ask and use against us: What standing does he have? On what basis is HE legally affected or pained by the use of an ‘X’ or other marker other than ‘M,’ or ‘F’ on a birth certificate, or for people requesting changes to said indications? He isn’t. The state of Kansas isn’t. The citizens are not. It is a fucking letter as far as he or the bigots should be concerned.

I don’t see how this should even be considered — judicial bias notwithstanding.

Max-1 🔫+cult(R)=☠️3 days ago

Show us where the “X” touched you…

G.enitalia
O.bsessed
P.erverts

Ann Kah3 days ago

Because that will really solve the problem of …of …of what, exactly?

Holytape Ann Kah3 days ago

This will solve the problem of people figuring out what the real problems are and demanding that they be fixed.

Gebildet3 days ago

As my mother used to say, “You have way too much free time on your hands sonny.”

April Smith3 days ago

It’s all about outing all Transwomen because now they are going after Transfolks that can blend in.

Yves R. Mektin3 days ago edited

And then after he does all this relentless persecution of immigrants and trans people, Kobach

complained that Republicans are being “demonized.”

I don’t know whether to file this under “added extra irony” or “zero self-awareness”.