US politics - Yes country for old men

[DMC]

4 minutes ago, BigFatCoward said:

drones notoriously being unable to travel across borders.

That's why he moved around "off the grid" in Mexico - to evade the US government being after him!

[Zorral]

13 hours ago, Kalbear said:

Apparently RFK Jr. has reached out to Jesse Ventura and Aaron Rodgers to be his running mate.

Holy fuck we live in such a stupid timeline

https://www.nytimes.com/2024/03/12/us/politics/rfk-jr-aaron-rodgers-jesse-ventura.html?campaign_id=190&emc=edit_ufn_20240312&instance_id=117442&nl=from-the-times&regi_id=62607880&segment_id=160588&te=1&user_id=22745856cc8b56416cc6c344655eb99f

That the blob media wd even talk about this is an insult to our intelligence.

[Mr. Chatywin et al.]

3 hours ago, BigFatCoward said:

I honestly think the actual predator would be better than most of your politicians. 

I will accept this if it's the one that tossed Danny Glover the gun. He was bipartisan. 

 

[A Horse Named Stranger]

4 hours ago, DMC said:

Last I checked over the last decade Jesse Ventura moved to Mexico "so the drones wouldn't get him" and had a show on RT America.  These are verifiable facts.

So he has ty's vote nailed down in a swing state.

[DMC]

Any thoughts on the TIktok ban (really a forced divestment).  The House is primed to pass it later today.  I mean..let's just say I'm just glad my students are on Spring Break this week.  The kids are NOT happy.

I don't think it gets to the floor in the Senate, but still, interesting dynamics.  Trump tried to do this by EO as president.  Now, he's against it.  Why?  Because it will help facebook, of course.

I am uncomfortable with legislation targeted at one specific site.  As others have noted, this should be a more comprehensive approach.

[Ser Scot A Ellison]

4 minutes ago, DMC said:

am uncomfortable with legislation targeted at one specific site.  As others have noted, this should be a more comprehensive approach.

Isn’t the Congress passing a law demanding forced divestiture… a classic example of the State interfering with the private right to contract freely?

[DMC]

3 minutes ago, Ser Scot A Ellison said:

Isn’t the Congress passing a law demanding forced divestiture… a classic example of the State interfering with the private right to contract freely?

Well yeah, but considering the parent company's ties to the Chinese - i.e. a foreign - government, that "private right" has been violated time and again by Congress.  Plenty of precedent for it.  Don't want to overstate things.

[A Horse Named Stranger]

Well, TikTok is sorta complicated. The US are not alone with their scepticism.

I'll just give a broad description of the criticism regarding TikTok, whether you think Diabeteshill's site is any better is a question you can answer for yourselves.

 

TikTok...

...is Chinese social media, that is taking user data and uses it to its own ends. The troubling thing is the closeness of any Chinese firm to the Chinese goverment.

...'s other issue lies with the algorithm and what's being pushed/promoted. I know it's all fun and games to watch cat videos, or DMC doing the harlem shuffle while posting Pics of his...food (ofc food get your mind out of the gutter, just because he is in Florida (you didn't think, I'd make it thru a post without getting at least one Florida reference in, did you?)).  However, when the next Video that is being pushed by recommendation/autoplay on kids (in particular) after DMC doing the Harlem shuffle, is some QAnon weirdo spreading his QAnon weirdness and election denials, then it gets problematic. The weirdness of DMC doing the Harlem shuffle is one thing, a bit dated and weird but basically harmless fun (I guess). But some rando spreading conspiracy theories being giving a large platform is distinctively less so, and can influence elections (and policies) in the US.

Edited March 13 by A Horse Named Stranger

[DMC]

For the record, the only shuffle I know how to do is the Ickey Shuffle:

 

[Mr. Chatywin et al.]

Idk if an outright ban is the correct move, but in general social media needs to be regulated significantly. Furthermore, parents and kids need to be taught about how addictive and problematic it can be. 

Now let me get back to spending days arguing with DMC and Kal.

[Larry of the Lawn]

I think tiktok rots brains, and I know the Dems are never going to do anything but scorn the under 30 vote, but fucking hell, if Biden is equivocating on let's just say, a very lopsided violent conflict because he doesn't want to lose votes, why the fuck are they coming after tiktok in an election year?

 

Edit: and by that "they" in the last sentence, I mean any Dems or part of the administration that thinks a bill banning tiktok would be something Biden should sign.  

Edited March 13 by Larry of the Lawn

[Zorral]

9 minutes ago, Larry of the Lawn said:

I think tiktok rots brains, and I know the Dems are never going to do anything but scorn the under 30 vote, but fucking hell, if Biden is equivocating on let's just say, a very lopsided violent conflict because he doesn't want to lose votes, why the fuck are they coming after tiktok in an election year?

Because parents are begging them to, are devastated by the horrors pepetrated on their children by rings of boys and men as old as 40.  Big story on that in the WaPo. 

https://wapo.st/4cb7bi9

 

[maarsen]

15 hours ago, mormont said:

Next in the 'novel legal theories tried by Donald Trump':

In the New York hush money trial, Trump intends to rely on an 'advice of counsel' defence. But he won't be waiving privilege, because it's not a formal 'advice of counsel' defence, so he won't telling us what his counsel actually advised. Instead, he'll be advancing the argument, and I kid not, that he

So it's actually a 'general sense that counsel of some sort were involved at some point' defence. If a lawyer has been involved in any way, you naturally assume everything that follows is entirely legal, without question. Due diligence completed. What's the problem?

https://uk.news.yahoo.com/trump-argue-t-held-responsible-223221150.html?guccounter=1&guce_referrer=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuZ29vZ2xlLmNvbS8&guce_referrer_sig=AQAAAAc4lWA4wHeL5KqsGtsPxHYFeIHXrCAUyma2CoErtO0LXSEwvGXB2TmRqHKSZw_clmxJAV3MPrIlySTFtP9eyGA4EQ-ly99IYGUP0E1SMjJW263ayo-WSJtN4R1dzKLFUW-QFOcmlM2vtIg60YJreWvJITlOHQUJVMNOY0QtneaI

The old "I'm so stupid I hired stupid lawyers" defense. Considering how well it worked when he really did hire a stupid lawyer I have high hopes for a conviction.

[Mr. Chatywin et al.]

So the judge just threw out the charges regarding Trump trying to commit voter fraud in GA even though every person with a working brain heard him do it. This country is so fucked. 

[Ser Scot A Ellison]

36 minutes ago, Zorral said:

Because parents are begging them to, are devastated by the horrors pepetrated on their children by rings of boys and men as old as 40.  Big story on that in the WaPo. 

https://wapo.st/4cb7bi9

 

My son is on discord.  He and I are going to talk.

 

[LongRider]

Ugh.

ATLANTA (AP) — The judge overseeing the Georgia election interference case on Wednesday dismissed some of the charges against former President Donald Trump, but many other counts in the indictment remain.

Fulton County Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee wrote in an order that six of the counts in the indictment must be quashed, including three against Trump, the presumptive 2024 Republican presidential nominee. But the order leaves intact other charges, and the judge wrote that prosecutors could seek a new indictment on the charges he dismissed.

Judge for Georgia election case dismisses some charges against Trump | AP News

[Larry of the Lawn]

42 minutes ago, Zorral said:

Because parents are begging them to, are devastated by the horrors pepetrated on their children by rings of boys and men as old as 40.  Big story on that in the WaPo. 

https://wapo.st/4cb7bi9

 

Yeah, that's awful.  Nothing that horrific, but my little brother is 17 and it's been a nightmare trying to get him to unlearn a bunch of the shit pouring out of the right wing toxic masculinity Andrew Tate aligned crowd that he's come across through gaming and gaming discord. 

 

I'd be negligent if I didn't point out though, that it's tiktok that's being targeted by the ban. Not any of the apps or services mentioned in the linked Wapo piece.  

Edited March 13 by Larry of the Lawn

[Gorn]

1 hour ago, Larry of the Lawn said:

I think tiktok rots brains, and I know the Dems are never going to do anything but scorn the under 30 vote, but fucking hell, if Biden is equivocating on let's just say, a very lopsided violent conflict because he doesn't want to lose votes, why the fuck are they coming after tiktok in an election year?

Because of valid and very real security concerns?

China is a global rival to the US, and an app that gives its government information about 150 million Americans (such as contact lists, biometric identifiers, geolocation data, access to messages, access to their phone's camera and speaker...) is not a great thing, to put it mildly. Neither is its ability to influence content algorithms and control the access to news and information.

And no, this isn't just scaremongering. I suggest that you research how Kaspersky anti-virus software was used by the Russian intelligence services, and also to consider that there is a high risk that China will invade Taiwan sometime in the next decade.

Edited March 13 by Gorn

[mormont]

1 hour ago, Larry of the Lawn said:

I think tiktok rots brains

Like TV, or rock'n'roll, or novels?

Kids today.

1 hour ago, maarsen said:

The old "I'm so stupid I hired stupid lawyers" defense. 

It's not even that, since he's not going to be specific about what the lawyers said/did. The defence appears to be just vibes. Lawyers had been involved, so I had the feeling that it was all legit. 

[Liffguard]

15 minutes ago, mormont said:

Like TV, or rock'n'roll, or novels?

To be fair I think there's a qualitative difference between these and social media platforms which a) deeply surveill their users and b) algorithmically push content designed to maximise eyeball time above all other factors. Not that Tiktok is unique in that obviously.