World is Falling Apart Thread (Locked forever)

[dsheinem]

But I suppose I should hold my tongue and not complain until those people that I actually know who are being mocked, threatened, and otherwise harassed in the wake of Trump's election...are physically harmed? Are denied rights? Are interred? At what point would you find it acceptable for me to raise my voice in protest and defiance?

If any of the bolded things actually happen during his presidency as a direct mandate by Trump, then I'll be right there with you as an activist. But right now hate crimes happening due to bigots acting out on their own, because they suddenly feel entitled, you should blame the bigots, not Trump or Trump voters at large. Just like you didn't blame Obama for the NBPP trying to intimate voters on their own.

I blame both: the bigots for their bigotry and Trump voters for their general non-response and defensiveness. If it were a few isolated incidents, that would be one thing. Pretending it isn't, especially while Trump appoints neo-Nazi hero Bannon, is inexcusable.

[dsheinem]

Well, I'm sorry to hear that. I'm here in the Deep South, and I haven't seen anything. So there's some anecdotal evidence to throw on the pile.

Do you have family or many friends who are in the groups being targeted (people of color, LGBTQ people, muslims, feminists, etc.)? I do, which is why I am sure I know of and have seen firsthand as many incidents as I have.

As a white straight man, I'm good: no one will harass me or suggest I leave because of some immutable component of my identity. But if you don't fall into that category, and you are afraid, those fears are justifiable.

[Sarge]

Given that I work in a university environment, I have colleagues and friends from all walks of life.

[Exhuminator]

Do you have family or many friends who are in the groups being targeted (people of color, LGBTQ people, muslims, feminists, etc.)?

There are latinos and blacks at the company I work with. I talk to those guys whenever I see them. They haven't mentioned anything like that. I have gay family members and a few gay friends. They haven't mentioned any Trump-influenced discrimination either. I'm not saying it hasn't happened elsewhere, but speaking from a personal standpoint, I don't know anyone IRL being subjugated or oppressed due to the election results.

[marurun]

Wow that was a bullshit excuse to dismiss it, if basically if you're seen as the not historically upperhand group, it's totally cool to be a bigot, racist...riiight.

What the actual fuck? Where did anyone say that? You are just the king of reductio ad absurdum or just plain not bothering to read the things people type. Your entire modus operandi in this thread has been to wildly misinterpret or misconstrue anything you think you might disagree with. It is clear you have no interest in good-faith discussion.

[CRTGAMER]

I heard about this the other day, forgot to post. All I can say is wow! Neat that Henry Kissinger still active at his age, proof that you are never too old to contribute to society. I hope that I might be that active at that age.

http://www.timesofisrael.com/trump-pick ... kes-shape/

November 17, 2016, 10:39 pm - Taking break from cabinet vetting, president-elect meets with former US secretary to talk about China, Russian, Iran, and Europe

President-elect Donald Trump took a break from recruiting a national security team Thursday to seek advice from one of the more illustrious — if controversial — officials from the past: Henry Kissinger. The 93-year-old served as secretary of state and national security adviser under presidents Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford, was the architect of the US outreach to China and helped negotiate the Paris Peace Accords that ended the Vietnam War. He is still a respected policy expert and consultant, but his reputation has been clouded by criticism of his role in a CIA-backed coup in Chile and America’s illegal Vietnam-era bombing of Cambodia.

Trump, who has no foreign policy experience — or indeed time in political office — of his own, had already met with Kissinger during his campaign and was delighted to welcome him to Trump Tower. There, the Republican’s close-knit team are debating who to invite to join his administration and observers and foreign capitals are watching closely to see if his staff and cabinet picks offer any clue as to the direction of his policy. "I have tremendous respect for Dr. Kissinger and appreciate him sharing his thoughts with me," Trump said after the pair met in his luxury New York skyscraper, adding that they had discussed China, Russian, Iran, Europe and broader world affairs.

While Kissinger has been happy to share his wisdom with Trump, he is known to have been closer to his defeated Democratic rival Hillary Clinton, and has admitted that he expected her to win the White House race. In an interview published this month with Jeffrey Goldberg, the editor of The Atlantic magazine, Kissinger said that of the 2016 candidates only Clinton shared America’s "traditional, outward-looking, internationalist model. The uncertainty over the attitude of a candidate like Trump, he said, means that for the first time since the end of the Second World War, the future relationship of America to the world is not fully settled."

Trump was to meet Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe later in the day and then to pick his secretary of state, national security adviser and defense secretary in the days to come.

[J T]

I read recently (though the article is from June) that Newt Gingrich wants to bring back the House Un-American Activities Committee. The return of McCarthyism... That's a terrifying thought. I can only imagine how much this would suck in the current political climate and with the NSAs ability to spy on just about everything you do online or on/near your mobile. There is also a republican senator here in Washington State who now wants to prosecute crimes committed during protests as a form of terrorism. This is an ugly time for America.

[CRTGAMER]

I read recently (though the article is from June) that Newt Gingrich wants to bring back the House Un-American Activities Committee. The return of McCarthyism... That's a terrifying thought. I can only imagine how much this would suck in the current political climate and with the NSAs ability to spy on just about everything you do online or on/near your mobile. There is also a republican senator here in Washington State who now wants to prosecute crimes committed during protests as a form of terrorism. This is an ugly time for America.

That is very extreme, no one should be investigated just on hearsay. The McCarthy hearings were a sham, many innocent (notably Hollywood writers and actors) were persecuted. However, I do agree with the very last statement below.

http://www.cnn.com/2016/06/14/politics/ ... index.html

Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich is calling for the creation of a new House Committee on Un-American Activities, invoking the infamous "Red Scare"-era congressional body as a blueprint for weeding out American ISIS adherents and sympathizers. "We originally created the House Un-American Activities Committee to go after Nazis," he said during an appearance on "Fox and Friends" this week. "We passed several laws in 1938 and 1939 to go after Nazis and we made it illegal to help the Nazis. We're going to presently have to go take the similar steps here."

Gingrich, a vocal supporter of Donald Trump, has been touted as a potential running mate for the presumptive Republican nominee. His comments on Monday echoed Trump's, as the billionaire businessman suggested "Muslim communities" should be held to greater account for the actions of their neighbors. "They know what is going on," Trump said during a speech Monday in New Hampshire. "They know that (the Orlando killer) was bad. They knew the people in San Bernardino were bad. But you know what, they didn't turn them in, and we had death and destruction."

The House Un-American Activities Committee was founded on the eve of World War II but gained greater notoriety a decade later as it ​launched a series of investigations into alleged communist elements inside the U.S. government and other aspects of U.S. society. Gingrich framed the idea of its revival in some form as part of an inevitable escalation of the conflict with the Syria and Iraq-based militant group.

"We're going to ultimately declare a war on Islamic supremacists and we're going to say, if you pledge allegiance to ISIS, you are a traitor and you have lost your citizenship," he said. "We're going to take much tougher positions."

[Tanooki]

Wow that was a bullshit excuse to dismiss it, if basically if you're seen as the not historically upperhand group, it's totally cool to be a bigot, racist...riiight.

What the actual fuck? Where did anyone say that? You are just the king of reductio ad absurdum or just plain not bothering to read the things people type. Your entire modus operandi in this thread has been to wildly misinterpret or misconstrue anything you think you might disagree with. It is clear you have no interest in good-faith discussion.

At start I did, but when it degraded into a loop after loop libtard rant fest placing blame everywhere trying to label people for all sorts of crap by association with Trump and therefore racists, bigots, homophobes and the rest the sorriest attempt at even trying to reason it out any further seemed pretty pointless. I never knew there were so many far left types on this site so grounded in their own biases. There's a few good boards I visit, and this one surprises me as another has a few gays, bisexuals, transsexuals and others on there and they don't agree with the arguments going down here and feel very much the opposite. When they say rational stuff as they do seeing both sides and not laying fingers and blame on people as I've seen in this thread it just seems sad, depressing and pointless to try and engage in any active open dialog when it goes into some endless groundhog's day loop.


Anyway back to reality, that bit on Kissinger is pretty good news and hopefully he schools Trump a bit and he absorbs the information while he can as by the time you're in your early-mid 90s you're counting the days not years left so get it while it's good. Newt can go blow himself if he wants HUAC back, hell no. That said, I kind of have to agree with that bolded bit. If you do in fact (and it can be proven) that you have committed yourself to ISIS (or any terrorist org at war with the US) you should lose your rights. You're basically a military target at that rate and if you're captured, screw local courts, put that person in front of a military judge.

[dsheinem]

Henry Kissinger
How I'm missing yer
You're the Doctor of my dreams
with your crinkly hair
and your glassy stare
and your Machiavellian schemes
I know they say that you are very vain
and short and fat and pushy
but at least you're not insane
Henry Kissinger
How I'm missing yer
and wishing you were here

Henry Kissinger
how I'm missing yer
you're so chubby and so neat
with your funny clothes
and your squishy nose
you're like a German par-a-keet
alright so people say that you don't care
but you've got nicer legs than Hitler
and bigger tits than Cher
Henry Kissinger
How I'm missing yer
and wishing you were here