Mod note: Play nice, stay on topic, and no personal attacks. Cheers.
8 Likes
Tom Friedman has a great lede.
And that, ladies and gentlemen, is how Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin got assassinated.
8 Likes
Typically, it’s interpreted to mean: “A citizen by virtue of birth.”
3 Likes
The man who screwed an entire country (The Economist)
9 Likes
Oh, I’m not advocating that at all. It does strike me though, when I hear (almost exclusively) Republican politicians talking about “taking back our country” they seem to mean the fictional country of Donna Reed, Father Knows Best, Leave It to Beaver, and Andy Griffith.
And while duels were illegal, I’m just pointing out that prominent U. S. statemen did participate. Former prestdent Andrew Jackson fought at least two. Lincoln was talked out of a duel by his second while he was an Illinois legislator.
Whereas Trump cowardly exhorts others to do the dirty work for him.
13 Likes
Yet another reason not to romanticize the Founding Fathers. Anyone who fucked underage slaves and engaged in ritual murder isn’t really the best possible model for how we should conduct ourselves in the 21st Century.
15 Likes
Hugs. He thinks more hugs with those organized arms will change her views. Sheesh, some people are so negative.
10 Likes
Uh k. I said I wasn’t willing to continue further down a path I don’t really care about that much. If it was some kind of a contest, you forfeited way back when you said:
My original response to you was to ask you to elaborate on why you believe this:
Those two statements alone show quite clearly that you are emotionally unable or unwilling to discuss this issue rationally.
7 Likes
You declared me forfeit so… You Win! I wanted to come offer my concession.
Coming to an agreement is winning an argument, IMO… Those statements expressed understanding of a massive public sentiment, so I don’t think I would be voted to be irrational, for what that’s worth (nothing). They are consistent. I do understand the resistance, but I get your last point. That idea (we’re only going to ban assault rifles with a 10 round clip, etc.) does have a habit of further encroaching, if you have followed this topic at all. Your political enemies are not mindless zombies. Hardly anyone is.
I think it’s “that certain little something”.
1 Like
That world never existed outside of someone’s warped fantasies.
I thought that was already pretty apparent from the temper tantrum, earlier this morning.
11 Likes
I may misunderstand the law, but haven’t ‘stand your ground’ states effectively legalized dueling? Aaron and Alexander both show up the park with guns (AKA open carry), they both feel threatened and start shooting (AKA stand their ground) and Alexander dies (AKA a victory for the principle of self-defense.)
Edit: Oh, and they’re both white, of course.
13 Likes
Schroedinger’s Presidential Election; there may or may not be a sane Trump in the box, but if there was even a 50:50 chance, you probably wouldn’t want to open it.
12 Likes
No. But you do need to have n+1 in order for your statement to be considered non-hyperbole.
You might want to look up the definition of the word “ongoing”.
10 Likes
23 Likes
Nitpick: Sally Hemings was not “underage.” Age of consent laws in Europe and the U.S. either didn’t exist or were as low as 10-11 at the time their sexual relationship probably began, when she was around 15. In most of the U.S., a 15 year old wouldn’t have been considered underage until the early 20th century.
Of course that still leaves the whole “owning slaves” thing, but this is derailing.
What does the law have to do with it? Both slavery and fucking barely-pubescent girls were legal activities at the time. That doesn’t make either practice OK. And you don’t get bonus points for staying within the bounds of the law when YOU ARE ONE OF THE PEOPLE WHO WROTE THOSE LAWS.
9 Likes
As they had been through most all of human history. No, they don’t get “bonus points” for staying within those bounds, but they also shouldn’t be excoriated for failing to overthrow all of civilization’s wrongs instead of just some of them.
Two hundred years from now, slaughtering animals for food may well be looked on with the same revulsion. Should all historical non-vegetarians be remembered for their future-perfect atrocities? “Einstein? Fuck that guy, he ate meat! Even though he did feel guilty about it.”
2 Likes
