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Why or why not?
What good do you see or don't see living in land of North America?
If it is not great what would make it great?
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Miscellaneous
Is slavery in and of itself so called morally neutral?
Is it inherently neither right or wrong?
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Miscellaneous
Me and Greyparrot have started a book club. He suggested the first book. I get the second book and whoever is 3rd gets to pick 3rd if they participate.
This is the book we are on:
Thomas Sowell. Dismantling America
A few rules about book selection.
1. Don't be a smart ass
2. If you don't participate I'm discussions then we will skip your book selection
3. The book must be available for free on youtube
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Miscellaneous
What Donald Trump ever a "white" supremacist?
Did he do more for minorities than Barack Obama?
Is Trump more Christian than any other P.O.T.U.S.?
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Current events
Disclaimer: I posted this initially on a reddit thread I won't say which and this was literally deleted and I was blocked for this very simple and actually non controversial point. So now I ask two questions. a. Should I have been blocked and b. Should feminism be falsifiable in our political discourse?
I ask this because though I identify as a feminist, I notice many women like myself who do not seem open to the idea that feminism may be incorrect (it isn't) or at minimum wrong on some things, but instead resort to a shutting down of opposing arguments from the other side. This seems to pose 2 major problems:
- Telling people to "stop talking" hardly seems productive in the current culture wars. It seems dangerous and antagonistic to other truths we hold as well, not just feminism but the freedom of speech. Disagreement and even offense cannot be grounds to dismiss speech. Simply because someone is offended that I consider their religion to be oppressive and misguided is not reason for me to stop talking about it or possibly have a healthy rational discourse/disagreement about it. The same would apply to discourses on feminism.
- Feminism falls under gender studies which falls under the social science of Sociology. There are criteria to determine if an idea is scientific or not. In particular, an idea/theory must be falsifiable. In other words, it must be refutable or quite simply, have the capacity to be proven wrong. I am not saying that it is wrong (it's what I believe) I am saying the possibility of it being so. An example in a hard science would be that of the atom, initially people thought that they were like solid balls, then they discovered electrons, then protons, then neutrons. This evolution of thought was as a result of accepting that the theory is falsifiable and "could be wrong" so it was open to criticism and refinement. Another example in the social sciences would be that Sigmund Freud's thought that cocaine was a good form of psychotherapy. Well, despite Freud being the father of modern psychology we do not believe this today because we could criticize and assess his ideas and prevent people with mental health from developing an addiction as well. If feminism is not refutable, then it is not scientific and if it is not, then how will it be different from religion or mere dogma?
As a feminist, I see neither 1 or 2 as desirable. No discourse sounds like a recipe for social strife and I don't think feminism is some dogma to be believed in. I think there are facts to be assessed that will give people good reason to believe it and even if it isn't accepted by someone, at least I know that I was rigorous and thorough in my beliefs.
Thoughts? Does anyone agree? Should feminism be falsifiable?
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Current events
There isn’t a racial category of human beings on this planet that hasn’t been enslaved by another, or their own race.
Africans started slavery long before Europeans came along, and they surely have continued the practice to present day. They even sold their own to the Atlantic Slave Trade.
America owes no one an apology for slavery. No one. If they want it, they can get it from Africa.
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Politics
The midterms are today. Go vote, then come here and post all your darkest fears, then watch the results come in, then cry hysterically about America's future. Ready? Here we go!
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Politics
A LITTLE OVER A YEAR AGO I RECEIVED A NOTE FROM A GOLD STAR FATHER. HE SAID TO ME, STANDING UP FOR TRUTH HONORS ALL WHO GAVE ALL AND I HAVE THOUGHT OF HIS WORDS EVERY SINGLE DAY SINCE THEN I'VE THOUGHT OF THEM BECAUSE THEY ARE A REMINDER OF HOW WE MUST ALL CONDUCT OURSELVES. WE MUST CONDUCT OURSELVES IN A WAY THAT IS WORTHY OF THE MEN AND WOMEN WHO WEAR THE UNIFORM OF THIS NATION AND IN PARTICULAR OF THOSE WHO HAVE GIVEN THE ULTIMATE SACRIFICE.
THIS IS NOT A GAME. EVERY ONE OF US MUST BE COMMITTED TO THE ETERNAL DEFENSE OF THIS MIRACULOUS EXPERIMENT CALLED AMERICA AND AT THE HEART OF OUR DEMOCRATIC PROCESS, OUR ELECTIONS. THEY ARE THE FOUNDATIONAL PRINCIPLE OF OUR CONSTITUTION.
TWO YEARS AGO, I WON THIS PRIMARY WITH 73% OF THE VOTE. I COULD EASILY HAVE DONE THE SAME AGAIN. THE PATH WAS CLEAR BUT IT WOULD HAVE REQUIRED THAT I GO ALONG WITH PRESIDENT TRUMP'S LIE ABOUT THE 2020 ELECTION. IT WOULD HAVE REQUIRED THAT I ENABLE HIS ONGOING EFFORTS TO UNRAVEL OUR DEMOCRATIC SYSTEM AND ATTACK THE FOUNDATIONS OF OUR REPUBLIC. THAT WAS A PATH I COULD NOT AND WOULD NOT TAKE.
NO HOUSE SEAT. NO OFFICE IN THIS LAND IS MORE IMPORTANT THAN THE PRINCIPLES THAT WE ARE ALL SWORN TO PROTECT AND I WELL UNDERSTOOD THE POTENTIAL POLITICAL CONSEQUENCES OF ABIDING BY MY DUTY. OUR REPUBLIC RELIES UPON THE GOODWILL OF ALL CANDIDATES FOR OFFICE TO ACCEPT HONORABLY THE OUTCOME OF ELECTIONS. THIS PRIMARY ELECTION IS OVER BUT NOW THE REAL WORK BEGINS.
THE GREAT AND ORIGINAL CHAMPION OF OUR PARTY, ABRAHAM LINCOLN WAS DEFEATED IN ELECTIONS FOR THE SENATE AND THE HOUSE BEFORE HE WON THE MOST IMPORTANT ELECTION OF ALL. LINCOLN ULTIMATELY PREVAILED. HE SAVED OUR UNION AND HE DEFINED OUR OBLIGATION AS AMERICANS FOR ALL OF HISTORY. SPEAKING AT GETTYSBURG, OF THE GREAT TASK REMAINING BEFORE US, LINCOLN SAID THAT WE HERE HIGHLY RESOLVE THAT THESE DEAD SHALL NOT HAVE DIED IN VAIN. THAT THIS NATION UNDER GOD SHALL HAVE A NEW BIRTH OF FREEDOM AND THAT GOVERNMENT OF THE PEOPLE BY THE PEOPLE AND FOR THE PEOPLE SHALL NOT PERISH FROM THIS EARTH . AS WE MEET HERE TONIGHT, THAT REMAINS OUR GREATEST AND MOST IMPORTANT TASK.
MOST OF WORLD HISTORY IS A STORY OF VIOLENT CONFLICT[ OF SERVITUDE AND SUFFERING. MOST PEOPLE IN MOST PLACES HAVE NOT LIVED IN FREEDOM. OUR AMERICAN FREEDOM IS A PROVIDENTIAL DEPARTURE FROM HISTORY. WE ARE THE EXCEPTION, WE HAVE BEEN GIVEN THE GIFT OF FREEDOM BY GOD AND OUR FOUNDING FATHERS.
IT HAS BEEN SAID THAT THE LONG ARC OF HISTORY BENDS TOWARDS JUSTICE AND FREEDOM. THAT'S TRUE, BUT ONLY IF WE MAKE IT BEND. TODAY OUR HIGHEST DUTY IS TO BEND THE ARC OF HISTORY, TO PRESERVE OUR NATION AND ITS BLESSINGS TO ENSURE THAT FREEDOM WILL NOT PERISH, TO PROTECT THE VERY FOUNDATIONS OF THIS CONSTITUTIONAL REPUBLIC.
NEVER IN OUR NATION'S 246 YEARS HAVE WE SEEN WHAT WE SAW ON JANUARY 6. LIKE SO MANY AMERICANS, I ASSUMED THAT THE VIOLENCE AND THE CHAOS OF THAT DAY WOULD HAVE PROMPTED A UNITED RESPONSE, A RECOGNITION THAT THIS WAS A LINE THAT MUST NEVER BE CROSSED, A TRAGIC CHAPTER IN OUR NATION'S HISTORY TO BE STUDIED BY HISTORIANS TO ENSURE THAT IT CAN NEVER HAPPEN AGAIN. BUT INSTEAD, MAJOR ELEMENTS OF MY PARTY STILL VEHEMENTLY DEFENDS THOSE WHO CAUSED IT.
AT THE HEART OF THE ATTACK ON JANUARY 6, IS A WILLINGNESS TO EMBRACE DANGEROUS CONSPIRACIES THAT ATTACK THE VERY CORE PREMISE OF OUR NATION. THAT LAWFUL ELECTIONS REVIEWED BY THE COURTS WHEN NECESSARY AND CERTIFIED BY THE STATES AND ELECTORAL COLLEGE DETERMINE WHO SERVES AS PRESIDENT. IF WE DO NOT CONDEMN THE CONSPIRACIES AND THE LIES, IF WE DO NOT HOLD THOSE RESPONSIBLE TO ACCOUNT, WE WILL BE EXCUSING THIS CONDUCT AND IT WILL BECOME A FEATURE OF ALL ELECTIONS.
AMERICA WILL NEVER BE THE SAME .
TODAY AS WE MEET HERE, THERE ARE REPUBLICAN CANDIDATES FOR GOVERNOR WHO DENY THE OUTCOME OF THE 2020 ELECTION AND WHO MAY REFUSE TO CERTIFY FUTURE ELECTIONS IF THEY OPPOSE THE RESULTS.
WE HAVE CANDIDATES FOR SECRETARY OF STATE WHO MAY REFUSE TO REPORT THE ACTUAL RESULTS OF THE POPULAR VOTE IN FUTURE ELECTIONS.
AND WE HAVE CANDIDATES FOR CONGRESS INCLUDING HERE IN WYOMING, WHO REFUSED TO ACKNOWLEDGE THAT JOE BIDEN WON THE 2020 ELECTION AND SUGGESTED STATES DECERTIFY THEIR RESULTS.
OUR NATION IS BARRELING ONCE AGAIN TOWARDS CRISIS, LAWLESSNESS, AND VIOLENCE! NO AMERICAN SHOULD SUPPORT ELECTION DENIERS FOR ANY POSITION OF GENUINE RESPONSIBILITY WHERE THEIR REFUSAL TO FOLLOW THE RULE OF LAW WILL CORRUPT OUR FUTURE!
OUR NATION IS YOUNG IN THE HISTORY OF MANKIND AND YET WE'RE THE OLDEST DEMOCRACY IN THE WORLD. OUR SURVIVAL IS NOT GUARANTEED. HISTORY HAS SHOWN US OVER AND OVER AGAIN HOW POISONOUS LIES DESTROY FREE NATIONS.
OVER THE LAST SEVERAL MONTHS, IN THE JANUARY SIX HEARINGS, THE AMERICAN PEOPLE HAVE WATCHED DOZENS OF REPUBLICANS, INCLUDING THE MOST SENIOR OFFICIALS WORKING FOR PRESIDENT TRUMP IN THE WHITE HOUSE, THE JUSTICE DEPARTMENT AND ON HIS CAMPAIGN. PEOPLE WHO SERVED PRESIDENT TRUMP LOYALLY TESTIFY THAT THEY TOLD HIM THE ELECTION WAS NOT STOLEN OR RIGGED AND THAT THERE WAS NO MASSIVE FRAUD. THAT'S WHY PRESIDENT TRUMP AND OTHERS INVENT EXCUSES AND PRETEXTS FOR PEOPLE NOT TO WATCH THE HEARINGS AT ALL,
BUT NO CITIZEN OF THIS REPUBLIC IS A BYSTANDER.
ALL OF US HAVE AN OBLIGATION TO UNDERSTAND WHAT ACTUALLY HAPPENED. WE CANNOT ABANDON THE TRUTH AND REMAIN A FREE NATION.
TO BELIEVE DONALD TRUMP'S ELECTION LIES, YOU MUST BELIEVE THAT DOZENS OF FEDERAL AND STATE COURTS WHO RULED AGAINST HIM, INCLUDING MANY JUDGES HE APPOINTED, WERE ALL CORRUPTED AND BIASED. THAT ALL MANNER OF CRAZY CONSPIRACY THEORIES STOLE OUR ELECTION FROM US AND THAT DONALD TRUMP ACTUALLY REMAINS PRESIDENT TODAY.
AS OF LAST WEEK, YOU MUST ALSO BELIEVE THAT 30 CAREER FBI AGENTS WHO HAVE SPENT THEIR LIVES WORKING TO SERVE OUR COUNTRY, ABANDONED THEIR HONOR AND THEIR OATHS AND WENT TO MAR A LAGO NOT TO PERFORM A LAWFUL SEARCH OR ADDRESS A NATIONAL SECURITY THREAT, BUT INSTEAD WITH A SECRET PLAN TO PLANT FAKE INCRIMINATING DOCUMENTS IN THE BOXES THEY SEIZED. THIS IS YET ANOTHER INSIDIOUS LIE.
DONALD TRUMP KNOWS THAT VOICING THESE CONSPIRACIES WILL PROVOKE VIOLENCE AND THREATS OF VIOLENCE. THIS HAPPENED ON JANUARY 6 AND IS NOW HAPPENING AGAIN. IT IS ENTIRELY FORESEEABLE THAT THE VIOLENCE WILL ESCALATE FURTHER. YET HE AND OTHERS CONTINUE PURPOSELY TO FEED THE DANGER .
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People
Something that occurred to me is whether or not one supports Kyle Rittenhouse or the 2 dead men in terms of morality, one must definitely be horrified at guns and America's easy-access culture regarding them.
In any other highly developed nation, it would horrify everybody in the society that somebody as young as Kyle Rittenhouse could just so easily grab an AR-15 and, on the other end of the spectrum, that the rioters could all be possessing pistols fully able and ready to hurt people (Rosenbaum couldn't get one because he's mentally unwell and I guess didn't want to risk getting one illegally).
The fact that guns themselves are so easy to access, as well as the fact that the possession of an AR-15 via cross-state methodology for Rittenhouse to end up possessing it doesn't warrant any legal penalty, makes me wonder what exactly Americans consider 'too far'.
At what stage, after how many incidents of either mass shootings or back-and-forth killing scenarios between criminals (Rittenhouse wasn't a criminal before and perhaps after this but the back-and-forth element was there, no matter who we support it was about to happen possibly with Huber and the guys, I'm not denying that)?
I am not making this thread to talk bad about Rittenhouse, something deeper that's an issue is how gun-happy American culture in general is. There is something deeply disturbing about the fact that events like this don't make people hate guns but instead be fervently proud of how they were wielded instead.
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Politics
When I became more interested in politics I eventually stumbled accross interviews of Vladimir Putin. I was surprised to see that he accepts interviews with American journalists, and that he answers every question clearly and politely --- unlike certain western figures. Being quite intelligent, during his long career he has accumulated a lot of knowledge. He is certainly very competent, so for me to automatically reject his viewpoints would be stupid and intelectually dishonest. I chose to listen to what he has to say, and it wasn't actually bs, but rather logical reasoning just from a perspective that wasn't American. I was compelled to rethink some of my own political and socioeconomic opinions. I wanted to share some of his viewpoints and hopefully spark some interesting discussions.
On interrnal problems of Russia:
- Democracy can't but be based on the traditions and customs of a nation. When the USA went into Afganistan they ignored the history and traditions of the people, and therefore their attempt at enforcing democracy failed miserably. The failure of USSR and the failure of American imperialism is that neither respects nor understood other people, opting instead to enforce their own values and interests. Russia will learn from USSR's mistakes.
- The development of the Russian economic, social and political spheres MUST be slow and steady as to prevent revolts and revolutions. Russia has had enough revolutions. The stability of the nation and living standard of the people must have first priority. When mass rallies in the west is met and destroyed by the police, it too is lack of freedom based on a preference for stability and order. Russia is a democracy, denying it is just a matter of how you define it. There are 32 political parties in Russia, and different departments are controlled by different parties. We know that corruption in Russia is a big problem, but it unfortunately is not unique. American lobbying, for example, is legalized corruption. Instead of pointing fingers everyone should focus on solving their problems; this is what we will be doing in Russia.
- Russia does have economic problems, but we do not print money like other countries. Our inflation is caused by being part of the world economy. We recognize the need to put much effort, focus and resources into the economy. We are also working hard to ensure that higher GDP translates into higher wages, this is a specific area of focus for the Russian administration.
Source: Interview on Russian internal status. Putin: Arms race is underway after US withdrawal from ABM treaty.
On the Russian international relations. Especially with America and its allies:
- American military excercises in Alaska, we don't care about them, its in their own territory, as such excercises should be. Russian military excercices happen regularly in the south, the east and the west, but only the war games in the west, near eastern Europe, has gotten western attention. We are viewed as aggressive despite containing our operations and infrastructure inside our own territory. Yet military infrastructure in addition to 40.000 military personell and 15.000 pieces of military equipment from Defender Europe is used in a military excercise at our southern borders, some was even airlifted there. How is Russia the aggresive one when we are the ones who keep our military excersices inside our borders?
- Gorbachov was promissed that NATO would not expand more towards the east. Interviewer: "where is that written down?" Putin: "Right, right. Well done, correct. You've got a point. They fooled him good". Everything should have been written down, but it wasn't. In fact, NATO has expanded, they have moved their military equipment close to our borders. America has also withdrawn from our treaties regulating the arms race, leading to both America and Russia accelerating the development of more and more advanced weapons. What was the point? And why is Russia the aggressive party? I have said it before and I will say it again, we are willing and eager to negotiate new treaties in order to again restrict and hopefully stop the new arms race of today.
- When it comes to economy, stability and predictability are the most important. Currency doesn't matter. America apperently does not value its currency. "it is used as an instrument against competition and political struggle. This, of course, is detrimental to the dollar as a global reserve currency" According to the world bank, among other things, settlements in dollars are shrinking. But we still prefer the dollar as an exchange currency. But we are also willing to use many other currencies for trade. We are ready to talk about transactions in Euro for gas trade, for example. Such monetary changes are acceptable to us. The way the world economy is developing, and the way America treats its currency, it is clear that multiple reserve currencies will be needed.
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Politics
Hi, I'm Kristin Urquiza. I'm one of the many who has lost a loved one to COVID. My dad, Mark Anthony Urquiza, should be here today, but he isn't. He had faith in Donald Trump. He voted for him, listened to him, believed him and his mouthpieces when they said that coronavirus was under control and going to disappear, that it was OK to end social distancing rules before it was safe, and that if you had no underlying health conditions, you'd probably be fine.
So in late May after the stay-at-home order was lifted in Arizona, my dad went to a karaoke bar with his friends. A few weeks later, he was put on a ventilator. And after five agonizing days, he died alone in the ICU with a nurse holding his hand. My dad was a healthy 65-year-old. His only pre-existing condition was trusting Donald Trump, and for that he paid with his life.
I am not alone. Once I told my story, a lot of people reached out to me to share theirs. They asked me to help them keep their communities safe, especially communities of color, which have been disproportionately affected. They asked me, a normal person, to help because Donald Trump won't.
The coronavirus has made it clear that there are two Americas, the America that Donald Trump lives in and the America that my father died in. Enough is enough. Donald Trump may not have caused the coronavirus, but his dishonesty and his irresponsible actions made it so much worse.
We need a leader who has a national coordinated data-driven response to stop this pandemic from claiming more lives and to safely reopen the country. We need a leader who will step in on day one and do his job-- to care. One of the last things that my father said to me was that he felt betrayed by the likes of Donald Trump. And so when I cast my vote for Joe Biden, I will do it for my dad.
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Politics