Breaking News, Politics version

[Tortoise]

Indeed. When I watch video of the Capitol police standing down and only weakly pushing back against the protesters, it seems to me that there are only two possible explanations that make sense:

a) The storming of the building was a staged event to generate such outrage at Trump and his supporters that Congress would be even less likely to vote in favor of any objections raised during the electoral vote counting. (Yeah, yeah... conspiracy theory. Unlikely.)

b) The Capitol police were at least somewhat sympathetic to the anger of the protesters who were storming the building. (Much more likely.)

c) In the video I saw last night it looked like the police were just totally undermanned in terms of being able to repel that many people pushing forward.

And why would that be, if everyone with a few functional brain cells knew there was going to be tremendous outrage from one side or the other on Jan 6th regardless of how Pence and Congress decided to handle the electoral votes?

[doodle]

Indeed. When I watch video of the Capitol police standing down and only weakly pushing back against the protesters, it seems to me that there are only two possible explanations that make sense:

a) The storming of the building was a staged event to generate such outrage at Trump and his supporters that Congress would be even less likely to vote in favor of any objections raised during the electoral vote counting. (Yeah, yeah... conspiracy theory. Unlikely.)

b) The Capitol police were at least somewhat sympathetic to the anger of the protesters who were storming the building. (Much more likely.)

c) In the video I saw last night it looked like the police were just totally undermanned in terms of being able to repel that many people pushing forward.

And why would that be, if everyone with a few functional brain cells knew there was going to be tremendous outrage from one side or the other on Jan 6th regardless of how Pence and Congress decided to handle the electoral votes?

Soros and the globalist cabal? What are you driving at? That is was a leftist conspiracy because it reflected so poorly on the political right and Trump?

[Xan]

Indeed. When I watch video of the Capitol police standing down and only weakly pushing back against the protesters, it seems to me that there are only two possible explanations that make sense:

a) The storming of the building was a staged event to generate such outrage at Trump and his supporters that Congress would be even less likely to vote in favor of any objections raised during the electoral vote counting. (Yeah, yeah... conspiracy theory. Unlikely.)

b) The Capitol police were at least somewhat sympathetic to the anger of the protesters who were storming the building. (Much more likely.)

c) In the video I saw last night it looked like the police were just totally undermanned in terms of being able to repel that many people pushing forward.

And why would that be, if everyone with a few functional brain cells knew there was going to be tremendous outrage from one side or the other on Jan 6th regardless of how Pence and Congress decided to handle the electoral votes?

Soros and the globalist cabal? What are you driving at? That is was a leftist conspiracy because it reflected so poorly on the political right and Trump?

No, he's saying that ISN'T what happened.

[Maddy]

We don't yet know who all of the "stormers" were. There's credible evidence that many of them were left-wing activists, masquerading as Trump supporters, who were escorted in, protected by Capitol police. The guy in Viking horns has been outed, and the rest are likely to be identified in the coming days.

How do I feel about the storming of the capital building? Frankly, it's hard for me to get exercised about it. it's a freaking drop in the bucket compared to the night-after-night occupation and destruction of entire cities that we've witnessed from Antifa and BLM for much of the last year. In a crowd of. . . what. . . over a million?. . . I'd say that the Trump supporters showed amazing restraint.

Those prepared speeches that went on and on about the horrendousness of it all were sickening. These were the very same people who egged on the senseless destruction of our cities and who ordered the standdown of police while people were being pummeled to a pulp, while wives and children were being terrorized in their homes, and while and ordinary peoples' businesses were going up in flames. And who turned a blind eye to the violence while blaming "systemic injustice" for it all.

While those phonies were being whisked away into tunnels with the best security taxpayer money could buy, I wonder whether they considered--for even a minute--what life has been like for the people whose neighborhoods were victimized by their minions for months on end.

Damn I hope those criminal psychopaths all go away in handcuffs.

[Mountaineer]

And Schummer calling for impeachment or 25th - what the hell is up with that? Way to go Chuckie, pour more gas on the fire to unite us? DISGUSTING!!!!!!!!!!!! Pure political theater. We are doomed.

In fact I believe our deteriorating secular condition stems from thinking we are in charge and turning our backs on God. He is not taking shots at us, but perhaps has removed his protective hand, as I think he did several times in the old testament, and has said to us, "you want to be in charge, so please, go ahead and see how it works out". As in the past, it's not going so well.

[SomeDude]

I don't care if they were Antifa or Trump supporters quite frankly. I'm sure there was a mix of both. Without Antifa there, there's probably no chance of any break in. If the police hadn't deliberately let them in, there wouldn't have been a break in.

You have to be some kind of stupid to think the police couldn't stop this group from getting in. You're telling me there is more security at a football game than at the capital when all the senators and whatnot are in there?

lol.....staged. Staged for their narrative and crackdown on patriots. Apparently some people are falling for it.

The best Americans were there, they traveled from across the country to protest a stolen election. They were stabbed in the back the politicians they thought were on their side. The entire country was stabbed in the back and now handed over to a vile group of criminals and their boot-licking controlled opposition.

I'm with you Maddy. I saw one my state senators Rubio grandstand last night, saying pretty much everyone he knows thinks the election was fraudulent, and that he knows it was unconstitutional. But.......none of that matters. The police shot an unarmed woman dead, a vet, Ashli Babbitt, a veteran, patriot, and now martyr. They shot her dead and that's Trump's fault so we must kneel before Biden.

Republican politicians are the worst kind of scum. I suggest anyone inclined to vote for the lesser of two evils to please stop. They aren't the lesser. If there's going to be any kind of rescue of the country from the communists it will have to come from real opposition. We can't waste time and energy on these traitors like Pence, and McConnel and Rubio.

R.I.P. Ashli

I congratulate the "mostly peaceful" protestors. That's a CNN term. I wish I could have been there.

Where do we go from here? I think Trump's next move will dictate a lot that. He still has the momentum to lead a movement of patriots, he might even have a lot more momentum, despite what the shills on TV are saying.

Or he might stab us in the back too. He's given more than anyone could ask of anyone already, maybe he's tired. I hope he doesn't quit.


*** @ Mountaineer - Yes it looks like God has turned his favor from us. I had renewed hope when he spared us from Hillary, but we've done nothing in those 4 years to keep it. The genocide of the unborn continues, and we gave up worship this year and in some places celebrating Christ's birth because the flu. We don't deserve his favor, and now the real pain begins.

[Tortoise]

And why would that be, if everyone with a few functional brain cells knew there was going to be tremendous outrage from one side or the other on Jan 6th regardless of how Pence and Congress decided to handle the electoral votes?

Soros and the globalist cabal? What are you driving at? That is was a leftist conspiracy because it reflected so poorly on the political right and Trump?

No, as I said in my post before that one, I think a conspiracy to stage the storming is unlikely. Tempting to consider, but unlikely. Too elaborate and probably unnecessary.

Someone in the Capitol police's chain of command apparently lacks a few functioning brain cells. Everyone should have seen a big confrontation on Jan 6th coming from a mile away, regardless of how the electoral votes would be counted. If the count had gone in the other direction, it probably would have been the woke mob breaking into the Capitol (or at least trying).

...when you look into the Viking horn dude, he seems like the reason he was at the BLM riots was that he was a counter-rioter. I saw an interview he did with the news where he claims to support Trump, done earlier this year.

Yes, I saw the same footage. Viking dude does seem to be an actual Trump supporter based on his statements made earlier last year.

In fact I believe our deteriorating secular condition stems from thinking we are in charge and turning our backs on God. He is not taking shots at us, but perhaps has removed his protective hand, as I think he did several times in the old testament, and has said to us, "you want to be in charge, so please, go ahead and see how it works out". As in the past, it's not going so well.

+1

[Cortopassi]

I have no doubt others were there. If there were some BLM/Antifa supporters there who incite violence against conservatives, hell yes, I understand why they'd want to be at this rally. A small number of assholes ruin it for everyone, both sides.

I also have no doubt that the majority of Trump supporters would not have entered the Capitol. Just like the majority of protesters this summer would not have looted and started stuff on fire.

But the fact is, the Capitol was stormed. A lady was killed. Three others died.

Staged Antifa attack? Holy shit, conspiracies start getting written before the riot is even over.

It's over. Trump is done. I think he's sealed his fate. There will be no 2024 run. At this point, he may not even make it as president to Jan 20, 2021.

Let's hope for 4 years of not talking much about politics.

[SomeDude]

It's over. Trump is done. I think he's sealed his fate. There will be no 2024 run. At this point, he may not even make it as president to Jan 20, 2021.

Let's hope for 4 years of not talking much about politics.

FWIW I think you're right on the first five sentences here Cort. We'll see. We are in clown world, but I think you're right.

On the last line...............not a chance in the US, er, I mean Hell lol.

[Tortoise]

Let's hope for 4 years of not talking much about politics.

LOL! You're all right, Corto. I really needed that laugh.

[D1984]

In fact I believe our deteriorating secular condition stems from thinking we are in charge and turning our backs on God. He is not taking shots at us, but perhaps has removed his protective hand, as I think he did several times in the old testament, and has said to us, "you want to be in charge, so please, go ahead and see how it works out". As in the past, it's not going so well.

+1

Perhaps I should've replied to Mountaineer--seeing as how the original post was his--but how could you (or Mountaineer or Somedude, should either of them wish to reply to this as well) believe this? If by "deteriorating condition" you mean severe political polarization and the willingness of people to do things like violently storm the national legislature in an attempt to halt the results of an election then ask yourselves this (to me) seemingly blindingly obvious question: Why do otherwise-similar-to-the-US but much more atheistic/secular nations that are also First World countries (i.e. places like the Benelux countries, all of Scandinavia, the Baltic countries, France, Germany, Canada, Australia, Czech Republic, Taiwan, Japan, New Zealand, etc) not have problems in this regard that are nearly as bad as those of the United States? All of these countries are in practice much more societally secular/atheistic than the US and have a much lower percentage of their population as Christians than does the US and yet they don't have idiots storming their legislatures.

Could it be that belief in reason, evidence, science, and secularism is actually GOOD for a society? Probably so...at least the kind of people who are rationally minded, non-superstitious, and nongullible enough to presumably be willing to question the evidence for any kind of God are probably also not as easily susceptible to believe any cockamamie "Stop The Steal" or QAnon conspiracy type BS and to act on said nonsense.

[Tortoise]

...at least the kind of people who are rationally minded, non-superstitious, and nongullible enough to presumably be willing to question the evidence for any kind of God are probably also not as easily susceptible to believe any cockamamie "Stop The Steal" or QAnon conspiracy type BS and to act on said nonsense.

Even if that were true, a lot of those same people are apparently susceptible to believe in the media's incessant propaganda about systemic racism and white supremacy and act on said nonsense by rioting in various cities across the US. Many, if not most, Antifa scum are self-avowed atheists.

In other words, propaganda can work disturbingly well on both theists and atheists.

Atheists are just as "religious" as theists. Their "religion" just happens to be whatever set of ideals they passionately pour themselves into and vigorously defend.

[Mark Leavy]

(i.e. places like the Benelux countries, all of Scandinavia, the Baltic countries, France, Germany, Canada, Australia, Czech Republic, Taiwan, Japan, New Zealand, etc)
...
and yet they don't have idiots storming their legislatures.

D1984, I am 100% in agreement with the premise of your post. But, surely you are jesting about the part I quoted above? Maybe not this year but well within recent history.

[doodle]

It's over. Trump is done. I think he's sealed his fate. There will be no 2024 run. At this point, he may not even make it as president to Jan 20, 2021.

I think Trump has an even stronger chance of not only running in 2024 but of actually winning in 2024. Polarization of the populace works both ways.

Based on what I've been reading over at r/conservative Trump is done and this is going to hurt the GOP. Many on this forum belong to a radical minority (I think you are aware of this). The opinions expressed here by many are some of the most extreme I have seen expressed anywhere. From everything I have read online and conversations I've had with conservative friends and family this was a wake up call. Completely agree with Corto.

[Xan]

...at least the kind of people who are rationally minded, non-superstitious, and nongullible enough to presumably be willing to question the evidence for any kind of God are probably also not as easily susceptible to believe any cockamamie "Stop The Steal" or QAnon conspiracy type BS and to act on said nonsense.

Even if that were true, a lot of those same people are apparently susceptible to believe in the media's incessant propaganda about systemic racism and white supremacy and act on said nonsense by rioting in various cities across the US. Many, if not most, Antifa scum are self-avowed atheists.

In other words, propaganda can work disturbingly well on both theists and atheists.

Atheists are just as "religious" as theists. Their "religion" just happens to be whatever set of ideals they passionately pour themselves into and vigorously defend.

Don't forget how in touch with the science of biology it is to believe in however many dozens of "genders"!

[vnatale]

It's over. Trump is done. I think he's sealed his fate. There will be no 2024 run. At this point, he may not even make it as president to Jan 20, 2021.

I think Trump has an even stronger chance of not only running in 2024 but of actually winning in 2024. Polarization of the populace works both ways.

Based on what I've been reading over at r/conservative Trump is done and this is going to hurt the GOP. Many on this forum belong to a radical minority (I think you are aware of this). The opinions expressed here by many are some of the most extreme I have seen expressed anywhere. From everything I have read online and conversations I've had with conservative friends and family this was a wake up call. Completely agree with Corto.

Underscored by what I received (below) from a conservative friend today who voted for Trump both in 2016 and 2020. Would never, ever vote for the Democratic candidate.

Vinny


Well, the President in 24 hours has gone from a possible Republican candidate in 2024 to someone who has no chance to be considered in 2024 as a serious candidate.

I’d said that if he was to be a successful President, he would need to listen to his advisors around him and just not surround himself with yes men.

And, somehow, turn down his rhetoric and tweets.

Well, nothing has changed – not suprising.

Regrettably, whatever good he accomplished as President will be forgotten.

He will be compared to the last days of Nixon, a disgraced former President.

And he has no one to blame but himself; for the election loss to a weak candidate and all that has happened since.

[SomeDude]

It's over. Trump is done. I think he's sealed his fate. There will be no 2024 run. At this point, he may not even make it as president to Jan 20, 2021.

I think Trump has an even stronger chance of not only running in 2024 but of actually winning in 2024. Polarization of the populace works both ways.

TF.....do you expect the dominion voting machines to become sentient and fix themselves??????

[Cortopassi]

One of the most amazing things to me is the apparent omnipotence of the dems or the new world order, or whatever or whoever some believe is behind all this.

They’ve manipulated multiple state elections to get Biden a win. They apparently control the judiciary at all levels to prevent fraud cases from being heard. They can time a riot to the minute to prevent the real evidence of the election from coming out.

If they are this powerful, maybe they should run the world! Or they probably already are.

And Trump, simply Trump is the focus for all their efforts?

Or, is it the old Occam's razor thing, that the simplest explanation is the right one? And that explanation remains that Trump lost because he lost people like me through his actions, exaggerations and flat out lying.

[D1984]

...at least the kind of people who are rationally minded, non-superstitious, and nongullible enough to presumably be willing to question the evidence for any kind of God are probably also not as easily susceptible to believe any cockamamie "Stop The Steal" or QAnon conspiracy type BS and to act on said nonsense.

Even if that were true, a lot of those same people are apparently susceptible to believe in the media's incessant propaganda about systemic racism and white supremacy and act on said nonsense by rioting in various cities across the US. Many, if not most, Antifa scum are self-avowed atheists.

In other words, propaganda can work disturbingly well on both theists and atheists.

Atheists are just as "religious" as theists. Their "religion" just happens to be whatever set of ideals they passionately pour themselves into and vigorously defend.

Are you saying systemic racism doesn't exist at all? That there are zero disadvantages black people in America face that white people don't?

You won't get any defense of rioters (whether Antifa, QAnon/hardcore Trumpist, for some other political reason, or just plain out to smash windows and steal things to get free stuff and don't care much about the politics of any of it, etc) but I don't see how any reasonable person could say that black people today face no more disadvantages on average than white people....for instance, how else can you explain the results of the study that found that black people without a criminal record were less likely to be called back for job interviews than equally qualified white people WITH a criminal record?

Now, about religion correlating with a greater willingness to believe in right-wing conspiracy theories (and for that matter to be credulous and gullible and believe in things that are not likely to be true in general) vs a majority of "Antifa" types being atheists: I can at least come up with a plausible theory of why someone who believed every word of the Bible was literally true would be more likely to fall for a conspiracy theory; namely, that to believe pretty much any religious book is literally true word-for-word requires abandonment of reason, serious willingness to suspend disbelief, a mind that naturally gravitates toward simplistic solutions, a willingness to believe something because another member of your in-group (especially if that member of your in group was someone in authority or a person that one felt one could trust) told you it was true, an unwillingness to examine evidence if it disagrees with one's preconceptions, being ready to take something on faith and or revelation without actually examining much/all/any of the actual evidence, belief in a strong "us vs them" and/or "us against the world" viewpoint, etc. If someone will believe in something religious that is absurd, they are probably at least somewhat likely to be the type of person who would believe in a conspiracy theory with no real factual evidence that it was true.

What similar set of traits exactly would lead the type of person who was likely to become an atheist to be also be the kind of person who be more likley to want to be a member of an antifa-type group than would a non-atheist? I'm not trying to be snarky or dismissive...this is a serious question; pretty much all of the other atheists I have known are either:

Moderate libertarians

Hardcore libertarian types (albeit not as far as say, Libertarian666 or tomfoolery....I'm talking about the kind of folks, say, who think driver's licenses are unconstitutional, who are against any form of gun control, and who think that most of what government does could be done by the private sector but don't think all government is immoral and want to abolish it outright)

Left-wingers of various stripes (albeit no actual Communists or Anarcho-communists)

FWIW only one atheist I know was a conservative but he was more of the traditional mainline Bush/McCain/Dole/Reagan type.

And finally, on to what you said about religion...I'm glad you put it in quotation marks because your definition of "religion" was so overly broad as to render the term all but meaningless. According to the dictionary, religion is a belief in, acknowledgment of, reverence for, worship of, obedience to, or belief in a god, gods, or other superhuman or supernatural power or force. This is what most people mean when they use the word religion. Atheism isn't really a belief IN anything....it's simply the lack of belief in a supreme being (and presumably as well a lack of any belief the supernatural of any kind). The most succinct (and wry) explanation of this I ever heard was "atheism is a religion like bald is a hair color"! I guess you could say an atheist's belief system is indeed atheism (so perhaps "belief system" would be a better description than simply saying "religion" ), but IMO calling atheism an actual religion is a stretch.

[Maddy]

On Dan Bongino's show today, Dan had a montage of recorded clips from the very same politicians who are ready to lynch Trump and his supporters for yesterday's rush on the capitol building. Only they're commenting, in those clips, on the entirely lawless, unprecedentedly violent political protests and "occupations" sponsored by the Progressive Left that were allowed to continue unimpeded and with the blessing of law enforcement over the course of the last year. One after another, they were heard making every excuse under the sun for the violent protesters' behavior, fanning the flames, overtly calling for more. I think anybody that has anything to say about yesterday's comparably mild display of civil disobedience should have to explain why there are two different sets of rules for liberals and conservatives when it comes to political protest.

[D1984]

One of the most amazing things to me is the apparent omnipotence of the dems or the new world order, or whatever or whoever some believe is behind all this.

They’ve manipulated multiple state elections to get Biden a win. They apparently control the judiciary at all levels to prevent fraud cases from being heard. They can time a riot to the minute to prevent the real evidence of the election from coming out.

If they are this powerful, maybe they should run the world! Or they probably already are.

And Trump, simply Trump is the focus for all their efforts?

Or, is it the old Occam's razor thing, that the simplest explanation is the right one? And that explanation remains that Trump lost because he lost people like me through his actions, exaggerations and flat out lying.

And yet despite the supposed ostensible omnipotence of the Democrats/the "Deep State"/the NWO/The System/etc they somehow couldn't manage to get the Dem candidate any more than 306 EVs, couldn't manage to keep the Democrats from losing seats in the House, and they let the Dems lose almost every swing Senate race and only barely be saved by winning the Georgia runoffs.....curiouser and curiouser.

I've come to the unfortunate conclusion that you just can't reason with conspiracy theorists; any absolutely plausible/credible explanations you give them (even with plenty of evidence to back it up) is just more proof that either: A. The conspiracy is real (and they will just give you plenty of evidentially vacuous "facts" to "debunk" what you just told/showed them), and/or B. That you are in on it to somehow and just trying to throw them off the trail. It It doesn't matter whether it's belief that we never landed on the moon, Princess Di didn't really die back in that car crash, JFK wasn't killed by just Oswald, 9/11 was an inside job, The US didn't really get Bin Laden back in 2011, "chemtrails" are part of a secret government program, Dubya had the levees in New Orleans dynamited and it wasn't really just Katrina that caused them to fail, that vaccines cause autism, a belief in QAnon, the belief that millions of illegal immigrants voted in Cali and New York and that's why Trump didn't get the popular vote in those states, etc.....trying to logically reason with someone whose beliefs are so impervious to reason is next to useless.

Propaganda is communication that is primarily used to influence an audience and further an agenda, which may not be objective and may be selectively presenting facts in order to encourage a particular synthesis or perception, or using loaded language in order to produce an emotional rather than a rational response to the information that is being presented.Propaganda is often associated with material which is prepared by governments, but activist groups, companies, religious organizations, the media, and individuals also produce propaganda.

Pandering is the act of expressing one's views in accordance with the likes of a group to which one is attempting to appeal. The term is most notably associated with politics. In pandering, the views one is expressing are merely for the purpose of drawing support up to and including votes and do not necessarily reflect one's personal values.

it doesn't take a conspiracy for people with power money or an agenda to get them to act in concert, they just need to have the same underling goals ... power, money, control, ideological fervor

we have had a uni-party for a long time now, if you still think there is an opposition to some (insert politician, ideology, media, big business that you dislike here X ) or believe (insert politician, ideology, media, big business that are on your side here X ) you don't understand the words defined above or how much they are swaying your view to achieve power, money, control, ideological fervor ....at your expense.....

[vnatale]

One of the most amazing things to me is the apparent omnipotence of the dems or the new world order, or whatever or whoever some believe is behind all this.

They’ve manipulated multiple state elections to get Biden a win. They apparently control the judiciary at all levels to prevent fraud cases from being heard. They can time a riot to the minute to prevent the real evidence of the election from coming out.

If they are this powerful, maybe they should run the world! Or they probably already are.

And Trump, simply Trump is the focus for all their efforts?

Or, is it the old Occam's razor thing, that the simplest explanation is the right one? And that explanation remains that Trump lost because he lost people like me through his actions, exaggerations and flat out lying.

And yet despite the supposed ostensible omnipotence of the Democrats/the "Deep State"/the NWO/The System/etc they somehow couldn't manage to get the Dem candidate any more than 306 EVs, couldn't manage to keep the Democrats from losing seats in the House, and they let the Dems lose almost every swing Senate race and only barely be saved by winning the Georgia runoffs.....curiouser and curiouser.

I've come to the unfortunate conclusion that you just can't reason with conspiracy theorists; any absolutely plausible/credible explanations you give them (even with plenty of evidence to back it up) is just more proof that either: A. The conspiracy is real (and they will just give you plenty of evidentially vacuous "facts" to "debunk" what you just told/showed them), and/or B. That you are in on it to somehow and just trying to throw them off the trail. It It doesn't matter whether it's belief that we never landed on the moon, Princess Di didn't really die back in that car crash, JFK wasn't killed by just Oswald, 9/11 was an inside job, The US didn't really get Bin Laden back in 2011, "chemtrails" are part of a secret government program, Dubya had the levees in New Orleans dynamited and it wasn't really just Katrina that caused them to fail, that vaccines cause autism, a belief in QAnon, the belief that millions of illegal immigrants voted in Cali and New York and that's why Trump didn't get the popular vote in those states, etc.....trying to logically reason with someone whose beliefs are so impervious to reason is next to useless.

Piggybacking on what Cortopassi had written.....extremely well stated! Thank you!

Some of the conspiracies I read being espoused are on the level of then having to believe the only people NOT involved in the Kennedy assassination were you and me!

This morning I had my own personal epiphany regarding who does have the power in our country.

I constantly reject the "they" who are all in conspiracy with one another.

instead I view is as being like Afghanistan where the various warlords are constantly fighting one another to have power over certain sections of the country.

Afghanistan is now purportedly democratic but whichever warlord is in control in a given area has a heavy influence on life in the area they control in spite of there also being elected officials. Therefore, there is a "they" in the lives of those living in Afghanistan but the warlords are certainly not conspiring among one another. It is the opposite. They are in opposition to one another in their desire to get as much power and control for themselves only.

I fully believe that in our country the power resides in the mega-corporations. Through various means they get our politicians to do things certain ways that will maximally benefit them. But, again, as in the above. these corporations are NOT conspiring with one other because they are also in competition with one another. They are each trying their best to get things a certain way to maximally benefit them, to the detriment of other corporations trying to do the same.

I fully believe it is as simple as that.

I also fully subscribe to what Cortopassi stated above: the "old Occam's razor thing".

I believe for one to believe in this all encompassing "they" is indicative of oneself having a victim mentality. I've always taken full responsibility for my life, thinking my actions dictate the good and bad in my life, and, thus, have never taken the victim's route of blaming it the "they".

[Mark Leavy]

I also fully subscribe to what Cortopassi stated above: the "old Occam's razor thing".

The modern, heavily corrupted and distorted interpretation of Occam's razor is ridiculous.
The simplest answer is always the one most aligned with your own priors.

Even if you go back and read William of Okham's original treatises on logic, he was a bit of a pisser. A cafe pontificator.

Not saying your conjectures are wrong, just your reasoning.

[vnatale]

This shows two views of the woman who was shot and then who subsequently died:

https://nypost.com/2021/01/07/videos-sh ... -719093899

It's a tragedy that she ended up dead or even had any harm done to her.

However, with her being a 14 year Air Force veteran I have to question her possession of any form of common sense.

From a complete non-veteran such as myself I'd never...

1) Not think that an action such as hers would not be met with lethal force, that those on the other side of the door possessed weapons that could either harm or kill me.

2) Be the first one in

3) Go in with absolutely no body protection

What else did I leave out?

I find her 100% responsible for what happened to her and believe the shooter to have behaved appropriately. He had no idea what she possessed or what was behind her and what they possessed.

Black people have certainly either been shot or killed in some other way while presenting far less danger to those around them than she could have represented.

[SomeDude]

I think anybody that has anything to say about yesterday's comparably mild display of civil disobedience should have to explain why there are two different sets of rules for liberals and conservatives when it comes to political protest.

Below is i think a fair comparison of the two.

Please note that while the antagonist in the cartoon is depicted as an angry black woman, the majority of the BLM "protestors" were in fact pasty white vegans (no offense Vinny) and large blue haired white women so please have a sense of humor here.