Current or modern politics in the United States

[Rogerbh]

Part of the politically correct bullshit today can be seen in the lack of coverage of the two white lesbians who drove their six adopted black kids off a cliff in California.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/arti...TENTIONAL.html
https://www.cnn.com/2018/04/04/us/ha...rch/index.html

Lesbian murders six black kids, not major news in PC USA, maybe if she used an AR-15, but not with a SUV.

[bowlinggreen]

Originally Posted by Brian249x

Some are advocating getting rid 60 to 80% of us. The problem is that most of us believe without any convincing evidence that we ought not be included in the reduction.

I read a Tom Clancy novel once in which a small group of people were going to kill off most of humanity with a disease, and "save" the human race and the planet.

It really wouldn't surprise me to find out that somewhere, someone is plotting to do that for real. You would need a very special disease in order for that to go down in the proper manner, however.

More realistically, I think it is a future nuclear war that will significantly reduce the human presence on earth. So far, our leaders have been able to restrain themselves; one day, they will find themselves unable to.

A major nuclear strike by the US on the Chinese mainland alone would get rid of maybe half a billion people at one blow. And with all the fallout coming down in the ensuing months and years, we'd be well on our way...

[crinolynne]

Originally Posted by Rogerbh

Part of the politically correct bullshit today can be seen in the lack of coverage of the two white lesbians who drove their six adopted black kids off a cliff in California.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/arti...TENTIONAL.html
https://www.cnn.com/2018/04/04/us/ha...rch/index.html

Lesbian murders six black kids, not major news in PC USA, maybe if she used an AR-15, but not with a SUV.

It was on CNN, and as everybody knows, that's all fake news.

[HugoHackenbush]

Originally Posted by bowlinggreen

I read a Tom Clancy novel once in which a small group of people were going to kill off most of humanity with a disease, and "save" the human race and the planet.
It really wouldn't surprise me to find out that somewhere, someone is plotting to do that for real. You would need a very special disease in order for that to go down in the proper manner, however.

I think if you remember about it for a moment, this event is called "The Rapture", and its adherents are evangelical Christians. Of course they, as true believers, won't be around when all the bad stuff goes down.

[bowlinggreen]

Originally Posted by HugoHackenbush

I think if you remember about it for a moment, this event is called "The Rapture", and its adherents are evangelical Christians. Of course they, as true believers, won't be around when all the bad stuff goes down.

I suppose there are a lot of those Christian sorts waiting happily for some sort of world-ending event. I suspect they are going to be unpleasantly surprised when it's actually time to meet Jesus, however, along with the rest of us.

Taking a page out of xyzde69's book, Marx said "Religion is the opiate of the people." You have to admit, that particular addiction has certain benefits, compared to say, alcoholism or addiction to meth, insofar as your physical health is concerned.

I suppose a lot of people derive happiness from riding on the Jesus bus, I guess if that's what floats your boat and keeps you going through life, hey, there are worse things.

Personally, that is not something I could ever get into, maybe I am just too skeptical for my own good.

[Arturo2nd]

HUD Secretary Ben Carson is proposing to triple the rents charged to the poorest families in subsidized housing and institute work requirements. That ought to help reduce the number of homeless families on our streets in a hurry.

I am not clear whether he intends these measures to apply to senior citizens and the disabled.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/hu...cid=spartandhp

He must be sharing meals with Clarence Thomas.

[Arturo2nd]

Originally Posted by Rogerbh

Part of the politically correct bullshit today can be seen in the lack of coverage of the two white lesbians who drove their six adopted black kids off a cliff in California.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/arti...TENTIONAL.html
https://www.cnn.com/2018/04/04/us/ha...rch/index.html

Lesbian murders six black kids, not major news in PC USA, maybe if she used an AR-15, but not with a SUV.

And folks wonder why I continue to advocate 2 parent heterosexual homes. They, too, are less than perfect, but it appears that neighbors and authorities were aware of problems with these two women. But, the inertia is to let things go and hope for the best. If you have seen the group homes and know of the lack of support available for "throw away kids" you understand how these things happen.

The old song says it best, "Motherless children have a hard time when their mother is gone."

If I were king we would try to do a better job of taking care of young black kids and their parents.

[Arturo2nd]

Just finished The Creation of Inequality by Kent Flannery and Joyce Marcus from the University of Michigan. It appears that my belief that inequality was imposed on agricultural societies by external conquerors was wrong. It seems to have started in villages with clan based cultures that began to use heredity as a bases for conferring leadership positions.

One truth that emerges from these studies is that different cultures have different methods of arranging and governing themselves. Countries in the Middle East, Egypt, India, Russia, and East Asia have been governed by authoritarian regimes for thousands of years and lack the democratic institutions and traditions of those of us of Western European descent. It is really rather arrogant and self defeating to assume democratic government is appropriate, desirable, or even wanted in these countries. My personal experience attests to this as our building's residents council has foundered in the face of an influx of Chinese without any experience of self government.

IMO this also speaks to the horrors of Communist governments, which have always replaced despotism. Socialism works in democratic countries with traditions of personal accountability and strong senses of communal responsibility. In countries where authority is imposed externally, the sense of responsibility extends no further than one's family, at best. The "Communist" regimes simply perpetuate the repressive despotism familiar to their populations. Those of us who regard government as a servant rather than master rebel against tyranny, but struggle to maintain order and provide services. Historically, our ancestors transitioned from hunter-gatherer tribes much later and preserve the egalitarian ethos optimal in those societies.

As a side note, the professors noted that North American tribes accepted "two-spirit people," i.e., men who dressed as women, did women's work, and performed women's religious rituals. A third of the tribes also tolerated "manly-hearted women" who dressed as men and joined male warriors on raiding parties against tribal enemies. Both "two-spirit people" and "manly hearted women" engaged in same sex marriages. "Two-spirit" men were considered very desirable brides because of their physical strength and artistic abilities. In particular, men who could support two wives would often take a "two-spirit" second wife. We know many other cultures practiced polygamy, polyandry, and same sex arrangements. Monogamy has usually been the lot of poor commoners in most cultures.

[Faceman675]

Originally Posted by Brian249x

....

It does take a very special kind of moron to go bankrupt while running casinos. I have known several people who learned the hard way about the house edge built into casino gambling games. If you are lucky, you can play for hours before losing what you are prepared to risk or even win some. In the long run, you will prove to yourself that those fancy casinos don't stay open by sheer luck.

That is so unfair. You know that most of the Atlantic City casinos fell on really hard times and it had nothing to do with how they were managed. What happened to Atlantic City gambling was an increase in Indian Casinos through out the east. I used to travel to Vegas 2 or 3 times a year but now that I live about 25 miles from the Chumash Casino I quit going to Vegas. After a couple of living near a Casino I rarely go to gamble. They have a good buffet and maybe after eating I play a few hands of BlackJack. As you accurately described the odds are in the houses favor and my goal is to lose at a rate of $20 an hour. If I am going to eat I will only gamble $20, if I go go to gamble $50 to $100. I view BlackJack as entertainment, It is the rare occasion I dont lose what I started with.

[Arturo2nd]

Originally Posted by Brian249x

It does take a very special kind of moron to go bankrupt while running casinos.

Originally Posted by Faceman675

That is so unfair. You know that most of the Atlantic City casinos fell on really hard times and it had nothing to do with how they were managed.

You are right. That is an unfair characterization. While Trump's casinos went broke (3 of 8 failed Atlantic City casinos were his), Trump paid himself large salaries and licensing fees and shifted personal debts to the casino corporations. As this 2016 NY Times article reports it was Trump's lenders, suppliers, and the taxing authorities who got stiffed.

https://www.nytimes.com/2016/06/12/n...ntic-city.html

Like I have repeatedly said, the guy is a crook who has gotten rich by stiffing his lenders and vendors. He may have put several thousand small companies out of businesses by not paying them.