US Politics the Biden's age a nothing burger edition

[Mr. Chatywin et al.]

26 minutes ago, Phylum of Alexandria said:

Also, for my own edification, if @mcbigski would like to tell his tale of how he came to embrace this cynical, paranoid, trollish, and contempt-fueled worldview, I would like to know more.

 

Sucking at golf can drive a man to the brink of insanity. And he can't even blame it on an alligator biting his hand off. 

[Phylum of Alexandria]

2 minutes ago, Tywin et al. said:

Sucking at golf can drive a man to the brink of insanity. And he can't even blame it on an alligator biting his hand off. 

We miss you, Chubbs...

[Zorral]

2 hours ago, Guy Kilmore said:

Thread title still sucks.  It is neither pithy or informative, now it just feels salty.

Yes.  Not helping. And distracting from the reality that the way the fascists have been operating in all the states, have RIGGED the elections against the Dems, which was THEIR point, because They can't win elections with fair voting.

This is the thread title needed:

The Election Is Rigged All Right … FOR Trump

https://www.wsj.com/politics/elections/trumps-big-advantages-as-the-election-year-unfolds-cca11d29

Not Some Crazy Conspiracy Theory
A good reminder from Gerald F. Seib of the structural advantages Donald Trump and Republicans continues to enjoy heading into 2024:

Quote

....The Republican advantage is so pronounced that [Charlie] Cook estimates that President Biden, the presumptive Democratic nominee, will have to win the national popular vote by four to seven percentage points to win in the Electoral College, much as he did in 2020 when he won the popular vote by 4.5% over Trump. ....

 

[kissdbyfire]

Will this help Trump with his  gag order appeals? /s

 

[A Horse Named Stranger]

I never ever want to hear any complaints about my thread titles ever again.

 

If you want to make a title dedicated to old man joe's age play a bit around.

ABiden the time between the age enlightement and retirement.

Isn't great either for a title, but it still better than what's on offer right now. Just riff around a bit.

[Phylum of Alexandria]

19 minutes ago, A Horse Named Stranger said:

If you want to make a title dedicated to old man joe's age play a bit around.

 

Geriatric Showdown; Methuselah to the Rescue; Race for the Iron Wheelchair; First the Country, then the World, Then I'll Tell You a Little Story About Corn Pop...

[A True Kaniggit]

So clearly I must needs make a few posts in order to put this thread into the ground a bit sooner.

Edited November 23, 2023 by A True Kaniggit

[A True Kaniggit]

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

[Jace, Extat]

Damn, y'all are coming down hard on a motherfucker. It's a bad title, sure... I mean, lame? Absolutely. 

Uninspired. 

Limp.

Soft.

Say-nothing and commentary free, a waste of space and a missed opportunity. 

But leave the poor guy alone!

[The Anti-Targ]

Does anyone know of any half sane reason why someone would claim they have a right to a cat for religious reasons? About all I can think of is if you are a Bastet worshipper?

Asking for a friend, because they are dealing with a (USA) person who claims they need their cat for religious reasons, and my friend is currently in a position to control the fate of the cat.

[kissdbyfire]

22 minutes ago, The Anti-Targ said:

Does anyone know of any half sane reason why someone would claim they have a right to a cat for religious reasons? About all I can think of is if you are a Bastet worshipper?

Asking for a friend, because they are dealing with a (USA) person who claims they need their cat for religious reasons, and my friend is currently in a position to control the fate of the cat.

Why can't they just keep their cat? I mean, if they're complying w/ all the rules & regulations, vaccinations, microchip, etc?

I remember reading something about Islam having something or other to do w/ cats, but iirc it's more like a positive (religious) view than something mandatory. 

 

[The Anti-Targ]

14 minutes ago, kissdbyfire said:

Why can't they just keep their cat? I mean, if they're complying w/ all the rules & regulations, vaccinations, microchip, etc?

I remember reading something about Islam having something or other to do w/ cats, but iirc it's more like a positive (religious) view than something mandatory. 

 

I don't think I can answer without violating my workplace code of conduct. It was dodgy enough to ask the original question, so if it's not enough context to be able to answer best to ignore it I guess. Pretend I never asked.

I think for Islam there's something about dogs being dirty creatures, cats don't seem to come in for the same treatment. I blame the pro-Bastet, anti-Anubis infiltration of Islam back in the day...only joking.

[Darzin]

7 hours ago, kissdbyfire said:

I remember reading something about Islam having something or other to do w/ cats, but iirc it's more like a positive (religious) view than something mandatory. 

 

In Islam Cats are considered the only animal that is ritually clean and are the only animal allowed in Mosques and Islamic Holy sites. Muhammed himself was a bit of cat lover and there are several accounts in the hadith of him being kind to cats. 

As for @The Anti-Targ's colleague they are barking up the wrong tree. If you want a Cat somewhere it's not supposed to be you gotta go for the emotional support animal grift rather than the first amendment grift. I've never heard of any religion that requires keeping a cat, much less making it enough of a thing for religious discrimination grounds. 

Edited November 24, 2023 by Darzin

[mormont]

Emotional support animals are not a 'grift'. For many they're a genuine help.

Edited November 24, 2023 by mormont

[Mentat]

10 hours ago, The Anti-Targ said:

Does anyone know of any half sane reason why someone would claim they have a right to a cat for religious reasons?

The right to generally have a cat, no. However, if this person already has a cat, and if they don't have a way to ensure the cat is well taken care of should they stop caring for it themselves, then that could constitute animal cruelty or a dereliction of one's specific duty of care towards another living being. While most major religions care little about animals, there are plenty of (admittedly minor) animistic/pantheist religions which could consider this a breach of conduct.

Being a cat lover myself, I agree with kissdbyfire that, should no other considerations exist and if the person making the decision has enough discretion over the matter, the rights of the animal, and of this person who cares about it enough to have kicked up some serious fuss, should be respected.

ETA: I found this fun/useful link: https://hraf.yale.edu/the-wild-world-of-cat-beliefs/

Edited November 24, 2023 by Mentat
addition

[Darzin]

1 hour ago, mormont said:

Emotional support animals are not a 'grift'. For many they're a genuine help.

I didn't say they were, though reading back I can see how my comment could be read that way. I meant to imply that if you are going to cynically abuse systems to get a cat where a cat is not normally allowed the ESA route is far easier than the first amendment route.

[BigFatCoward]

1 hour ago, mormont said:

Emotional support animals are not a 'grift'. For many they're a genuine help.

Surely both can be true, for some its a massive pisstake and a way of trying to impose their 'wants' on others.  For others its a very real and necessary help. 

[mormont]

4 hours ago, BigFatCoward said:

Surely both can be true, for some its a massive pisstake and a way of trying to impose their 'wants' on others.  For others its a very real and necessary help. 

Of course, but as expressed (and thank you Darzin for acknowledging that) there's an implication that in general, they are a grift. I mean, it can be true both that some people get benefits they're not entitled to and that most genuinely need them, but a casual reference to 'benefit scroungers', on its own, would carry certain connotations, right?

There's a lot of such casual talk about disability aids, so it's worth pointing out.

[Mr. Chatywin et al.]

4 hours ago, BigFatCoward said:

Surely both can be true, for some its a massive pisstake and a way of trying to impose their 'wants' on others.  For others its a very real and necessary help. 

There are some individuals with disabilities that really need them, but it seems increasingly the former are the ones wanting them for BS reasons. 

This topic deserves its own thread though if people want to discuss it. 

Edited November 24, 2023 by Tywin et al.

[A Horse Named Stranger]

Only if you share the story, how you tried to pass your mad bitey dog off as a support animal and your doggo dashing off into the cockpit and biting one of the bloody pilots, when the flight attendant brought them some coffee.

It's a great story, doesn' matter that never happened.