That’s just plain ol dismissive, DJ

When it becomes acceptable and permissible to circumvent freedoms and rights, it gets easier and easier to keep bending them until you don’t even realize it’s broken

Big things have small beginnings.



——.

I just rewatched Spartacus. I remember watching that for the first time in grade 8 advanced history

The number of extras they used for the army formations is incredible. Thousands upon thousands

Back when they used to make movies like that.

Only thing that comes close, in my estimation, is Project X. They had to bus background actors into the neighborhood for the final scene.

The one with the monkeys and apes with Matthew Broderick ??


Hey so I’m thinking of making a joke post on FB but I don’t think I will cuz I think it opens me up to really lame comments. But the joke (which isn’t a joke, it’s actually happening) is:

You are of course correct, gerrymandering eventually, after some amount of time and the slippery slope effect, results in murdering opponents. And therefore, logically, they are both equally valid aspects of democracies, so long as people have the power to vote.

In all honesty; Gerrymandering is a form of eliminating your opponent. By burying votes for your opponents you might as well not have one.


---z
No Barney. Project X is the 2012 movie about the kids in Pasadena who threw a party so large it gained national attention. There was easily 500 extras in the house, the backyard and in the streets for the movie. Not quite Sparticus, Ben Hur or 10 Commandments level but I'm sure it's the largest by # of actors for the last few decades

Who is this frigging Gerry guy?

Gary Glitter, Cucho. Try and keep up

Elbridge Gerry

Yeah exactly what I’ve been saying

Gerrymandering = eliminating your opponent = murdering your opponent

Therefore

Russia = America = Democracy

QED.

DJ... what the **** are you even arguing?

Cucho, did you start that show yet?

I’m on season 2 now and it’s still great. The sub-characters are really good. Her assistant is hilarious

I hover over it the other day and watch the intro I was laughing but the TV had appointments with other shows, I will for sure watch episode one at least.

I’m arguing against this.

Well I would only add that I think you are not doing a great job at that
... xD

I’m watching the beach volleyball Olympic match between Canada and USA and I’m super conflicted cuz the short American girl is super cute

Got a Shealene Woodley vibe

USA wins first set 21-17. I think I’m rooting for the US team lol.

—-

And they win 2nd set super quick ftw. That Nuss chick is so good it’s crazy. Her partner is 6’4” but she’s much shorter and yet is devastating on attack. She has this light touch and the ball just goes to these insane spots.

The stadium is right beside the Eiffel Tower too which is crazy. Building an entire stadium with all that sand too.

I heard that Nuss is the winniest volleyball player is US history. Looking forward to seeing her more


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So remember the team Canada women’s soccer scandal? FIFA announced the penalties. 300k fine, 3 coaches suspended for a year including head coach but a really brutal SIX point penalty for the Olympics. That ALMOST makes it mathematically impossible to advance.

Stupid stupid moronic coaching staff. Feel bad for the players

I feel like a lot of sarcasm is somehow getting missed here, so let me cut the irony, and be direct.

Russia is a **** dictatorship. Gerrymandering is not even remotely equivalent to killing the opposition - to the point that bringing it up borders on shocking to me. Calling Russia a democracy is ridiculous no matter how many elections they pretend they are having. No amount of whataboutism will make Russia equivalent to the US.

Trump is definitely dangerous. The people calling him an existential threat either really mean it, in which case they should stop denouncing the attempt on Trump’s life, or they don’t, in which case they are irresponsible at best and dangerous hypocrites at worst. Before anyone says Trump is worse, who **** cares? It’s all very bad, we shouldn’t accept any of it.

Your idea of a wait and see approach to Democracy will fail if the threat is real. You don’t get to vote dictators out of power, the only way to stop them is to ensure/guarantee they never take control in the first place. The US has already passed this test on Jan 6th, but has since completely failed it.

I don’t think I can be any clearer. These are very dark times, and I hope the US comes out of them okay. I plan to leave at the first sign of trouble.

okay listen up you noodle heads

When Duke University has a course called From Stalin to Putin: The Art of Dictatorship (Cross-Listed As RUSSIAN 224) it's hard to argue that Russia isn't a dictatorship

ger·ry·man·der
/ˈjerēˌmandər/
verb
gerund or present participle: gerrymandering
manipulate the boundaries of (an electoral constituency) so as to favor one party or class.
achieve (a result) by manipulating the boundaries of an electoral constituency.
"a total freedom to gerrymander the results they want"

So yeah total equal

While I'm not as pessimistic as DJ about this and tbh if DJ were totally pessimistic he more than likely would have already left or put in place plans to leave before or even after election day after the first debate.

Last entry on this subject, a dictatorship involves among other things: the seizure of power through force, often following the loss of a democratic election. In a dictatorship, political opponents are frequently imprisoned, killed, tortured, or disappeared. The media's ability to inform is restricted, civil rights are suspended, and both the congress and judiciary system are either dissolved or controlled by the dictatorship. It's difficult for me to understand how you fail to grasp this concept, especially given that the US has supported sooo many dictatorships in the past.

You are missing the point entirely. There's a fallacy in your discourse that I'm not inclined to point out, but your argument is absurd, to say the least. You can't defend Trump's right to undermine your democracy on a daily basis, as that course of action is in fact putting your country at risk.

He poses the most significant threat that the US has faced in a long time. This second time, he has messianic elements that make him incredibly dangerous. You are in a precarious situation now, and I suggest conserving your energy to focus on the actual problem: Trump and those willing to overlook his actions and elect him. You have influence with liberals and right-wing leaders. I urge you not to defend Trump in any way, but rather to defend your liberal values from Trump because he is threatening them, and you most certainly should not be drawing false equivalencies between pointing how this guy is a threat, to assigning responsibility over the assassination attempt to people that are actually trying to defend your country from this lunatic.

@dp, I did put plans into place, or more specifically take steps to prepare, before the debate.

@cucho, reading that last paragraph, I’m not drawing false equivalencies.