tvashtarkatena

I prefer to think of my dick as more of a factorial

healthy food has always been available if you were willing to do the work but it hasn't prevented most to eat shit. The issue is ease of access. A grunt isn't going to sort sources of news. First, he'd have to realize the pablum he is served is mostly propaganda. and ignore how they manufacture consent? Yeah, we know FAUX news is propaganda. This isn't 'news' to anyone at this point. I ignore what I can't do anything about and work on stuff I can. Plus, Fox perfect for the treadmill - it only requires about 5 active neurons to watch.

Well, there's an election right around the corner, so there'll be ample opportunity to pour boiling oil on the marauding Kochsmoking zombie hordes. Or you can watch the fun from the comfort of your yoga mat.

From "End the Fed" to "Restoring America" in 60 seconds. These hoopleheads will be too dumb to figure out they got played. I know. I first introduced that idea to this forum. Why? Because I'm awesome. The media is what it is and there isn't fuck all any of us can do about it. Vetting news and information is still a personal responsibility, last time I checked. It's all out there...far more accessible, varied in viewpoint, and critiqued than ever before. So STFU about 'the media' and get to work, cunties.

No, no, no, Rob, you've got Nitrox all wrong. He has nothing at all against gays (he even said so, so you know it's true)...as long as they continue to STFU. It's only the uppity ones that he believes need to be punished.

It's always an interesting, if brief, exercise to compare the contributions to humanity of such proclaimers with the targets of their derision. The results are invariably predictable.

I don't think it's out of line at all to label the character of a woman who a) none of us has ever met, b) has spent her career serving her country nursing the wounded, and c) who was decorated twice for evacuating wounded soldiers while under fire - as a shitbag because she had consensual sex with somebody's closeted gay wife. As I'm sure you'll all agree, I know my armchair provides an infallible pulpit for issuing such proclamations.

Media consolidation is an issue, but people choose where to get their information. All the reliable sources are still there and then some. You'd be better off picking a battle that you can actually fight.

Let's also not forget that lobbyists can be just as effective if not more so for their expertise and long term relationships as for their money...and they're not all evil. Our lobbyist in Olympia is as poor as dirt...and won young lawyer of the year. His expertise on the issues and knowledge of individual legislators and their quirks, fears, and concerns is unparalleled. That, not money, is the key to his success. If you think your organization or grass roots movement is going to effectively change policy or legislation in any direction without a good lobbyist, you're high. Not that there's anything wrong with that. Why fly blind? The other side isn't.

And let's not forget Ross Perot.

Um...MLK aligned himself with and leveraged the capabilities of the political establishment and powerful organizations (the ACLU being one) to push the civil rights agenda over many years. You're dreaming if you think he just popped up with a bright idea and led the charge to victory. Hardly. His success (which was certainly not a given until near the end...he very nearly abandoned his efforts) was a result of his strategic thinking and alignments, not because of his inspiring oratory. That was memorialized as a result of his success, not the other way around. Ghandi was also a shrewd coalition builder. You apparently still believe in the Ayn Rand myth of the loan super hero. Then again, there's the shining example of Ralph Nader LOL.

If you're expecting the fundies and regressives to go away, they won't. They can be beaten at the polls and in court, however, if you get off your ass and help make it happen. If you're looking for the 'dawning of the age of aquarius', well, take another (illegal) bong hit.

Big victories are a series of smaller victories. I'll take my gay weed victories over sitting around worrying about the cataclysmic end of civilization as we know it...which I think is hooey, anyway. That's an old story that crops up every now and then. All humanity has to do to cope with any global problem is voluntarily depopulate, which only takes 25 years or so. The solution is always at hand...always will be.

I present to you.... ....the teabagger movement. Technology is politically agnostic.

In any case, as everyone (else) has probably already ascertained, this case is a 'major' victory for tens of thousands of uniformed folks who serve their country. It's not really about Witt at all. It never is. And sure, it has obviously pissed off the bigots amongst us, who tend to be pretty adept at self-identification. So much sweeter the victory.

You have managed to get Billcoe to permanently attach his sycophantic gob onto one of your testicles, I will give you that much.

Speaking of shitbags, I'm noting just a wee bit of representation of the facts on your part (see my previous statement re: opinions v facts)...not that your credibility will, or could suffer, any more than it has already. Clinton famously tried to rid the military of all sanctions based on sexual orientation as one of his first acts as president. Your bigot buddies in the Rfuck camp howled bloody murder...DADT, a compromise policy, was the fucked up result. I wish you were a better opponent. It would make for a better overall discussion. You're not.

If you've been searching for a statement virtually everyone on the planet can agree with, you might have found it. As its practical meaning, however... Kind of like saying "air is good".

My niece!

Finally, although its neither hear nor there regarding this principles of this case, the AF might have considered not decorated Witt...twice...if they thought she was such a shitbag. We're all entitled to our own opinions, however discounted yours may be, but not our own facts. And that, my friend, is why our side wins stuff like this and your side loses.

You'll also be comforted to know that Congress has been waiting for this decision as an instruction on how to move forward with or without DADT, so this case will have immediate, far reaching ramifications. Which is why we choose to pursue it, duh.

She admitted to it under oath, the AF doesn't need to prove anything. She either faces adultery or perjury. The military usually prosecute adultery under UCMJ with non judiciary punishment. However, in this case it'd be multiple counts so Maj Witt would more likely be facing Conduct Unbecoming. Its funny how the ACLU glommed onto this shitbird just so they could get a crack at DADT, they certainly didn't pick the exemplary officer in the AF. Probably because an exemplary officer wouldn't be trying to nail the spouses of other soldiers/officers. Witt shouldn't have been an AF officer in the first place, this long drawn out court battle seems to highlight that. While you're out there whining, opining, speculating, and pontificating about an imaginary world full of wonder and promise, we're out there winning court cases. In the end, you kind of have to suck on that, whether you like it or not. I thought our higher agenda of ending DADT was just a wee bit obvious to everyone. Guess not. Apparently, we picked the right Major and the right case cuz, like, we won.

As for our system, it's really no better or worse than any other democratic system out there. It's the people both in and outside the system that matter.

I agree that public campaign financing at the minimum amount to give a candidate a meaningful shot would be a good reform, but I don't think campaign financing matters that much, nor do I think that our system is any more broken than it ever was. Most get-out-the-vote volunteers are just that - they work for free, and in the age where anyone can make a campaign commercial with a $200 camera and post it for free, when network viewing is headed into the dirt, it's just not as big a deal as it once was. Political apathy and lack of participation is a much bigger deal, IMO. If you want your agenda put into practice, send money and manpower to an organization with a measurable track record of getting results...in addition to any personal lifestyle choices you might be willing to make to chip away at the problem. It's pretty much that simple. Interesting how few people actually do those things, however shrill the conversation becomes.

Reforming the process requires working within the process. It's always a mixed bag...always has been. Bigotry is going down in this country - racial, gender, and sexual equality are all on the rise through statute, jurisprudence, and just plain social norms. Conversely, we're now in our fourth decade of a drug war that puts blacks in prison with a documented, court recognized 3x bias. So now it's time to tackle that one. The progressive myth has always been that there will be some magic sea change in 'global consciousness' and that everything will suddenly be rainbows and friendly unicorns afterwards. Don't hold your breath. The boxing match never ends. The key is this: if you're not in the ring, someone else will be.