12903

Yes, this is true. Trump himself was literally only a republican in name. If the Democrats had acquired his bullshit, he totally would have run on their ticket, and most of his cult would happily pull the D lever. They have no allegiance beyond the dear leader.

12904
12905

For a different politician who wasn’t mustache-twirlingly evil, that would actually be a pretty decent joke, showing some self-deprecation and self-awareness.

But it’s Ted Cruz, so of course it’s just more depravity designed to get us mad.

12906

I think it would fail for anyone given the circumstances.

“Hey remember when I ran away on vacation while you had no power and froze?”
Is not a winning statement for anyone at the end of the day.

Hell, people died.

12907
12908

Eh… He abandoned his state and went on vacation in Cancun while his constituents we’re dying of exposure.

Not sure that’s the kind of thing you get to joke about afterwards.

12909

Not Ted Cruz, definitely not.

But I can imagine a politician who did the same thing but was more, uh, sincerely earnest and apologetic about the whole thing. Who had a moment of self-reflection and rushed back and then actually tried to help his state bolster the power grid such that there was no worry or risk going into this season. I think that kind of politician could crack jokes about it and have them land.

But again, this is the GOP, they’ll just sacrifice their own constituents to the money gods to make a buck, and in that context, it’s horrifying.

12910

FOX just put Rudy Guiliani on the Masked Singer show. Two of the celebrity judges walked out in protest.

12911

I thought you were joking.

12912

Well yeah, we know the fate of people who sit next to him on a panel

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12913

I agree. Ted is a very smart guy, and for a guy over 50 (especially Republican) has a pretty decent social media game and a good sense of humor.

Fortunately, for the country. He also has the type of personality that makes normally non-violent people want to punch him and stick his head in a toilet and flush it. This seems to be a bipartisan feeling. (See Lindsay Graham and other Republican Senator comments.) I think this should keep him out of the White House.

12914

Remember folks, Disney owns FOX now. I can’t imagine they’re going to be happy about this.

12915

I didn’t realize Disney owned Fox.

12916

It was pretty big news back in 2017.

12917

Actually, I may be wrong. FOX-owned TV stations spun off with networks like FOX News, so it’s possible the FOX Network is part of that. I can’t really tell, because, for example, Disney owns The Simpsons among lots of other properties.

12918

That’s 20th Century Fox owned, as part of their content creation teams.

Fox broadcasting is a separate entity. This wasn’t a super relevant distinction before but is now.

Disney has nothing to do with the show or the broadcast stations that run it.

12919

This is correct.

12920

Lets just say that the line isn’t red, it’s green. Money and power have been flowing from this, and that’s why today’s GOP encourages it.

On the other hand, it has gotten to the point where it can and will threaten the Republic. Short-Term thinking and greed will kill the Golden Goose for most of them. The rest will either kiss the ring of the winner, or end up like Navalny,

12921

This is quite a good little story on a young white conservative woman attending an actual Critical Race Theory class at the University of Mississippi Law School.

12922

Still reading, but one thing that immediately jumped out was that the CRT class was 700-level Law School content. That’s my main issue with the whole issue, CRT is a thing, yes, but it ain’t a thing that anybody outside of post-grad university with a particular need or desire to take it is exposed to. It’s like bitching that we shouldn’t be teaching spinal surgery in middle school. I mean I agree, but . . .

I also really love this:

On the first day, the professor, Yvette Butler, issued a disclaimer that Murphree took to heart. Critical race theory, Butler said, examines difficult and potentially upsetting topics, but it was important that the class remain a safe, respectful space. Students were going to disagree with the readings and with each other; when they did, Butler asked them to give each other “radical acceptance.”

That’s something that has really been kicking around in my head after participating in the Cancel Culture thread and others, the phrase I’ve been working on is, “Start with the most charitable interpretation first, and go from there.” Recent Whoopi Goldberg incident being a good example.