6904

Then we have 30 million internal enemies of America, and 50 million suckers. We can’t sugarcoat the problem. We just have to figure how what to do about it.

I don’t think appeasement will work at all.

Being Republican does not make you an internal enemy, just wrong. Backing replacing democracy with fascism, which to be honest is what a good bit of Republicans want now, is being an internal enemy.

Honestly though, I would say Trump didn’t legitimately win in 2016, though by the rules he did win, because he lost the popular vote. You have to dip into what they mean by illegitimate to see if someone is a threat or not (but they don’t have the excuse I did)

As for SInclair , keep Ring of Honor, they’ve done nothing wrong, but ok with burning the rest.

6905

Yeah, I keep going back to this when trying to make sense of those millions of people reflected in those polls. I think a great number of Democrats would have answered a poll question about Hillary in a similar way, due to Russian interference, the popular vote, Trump’s dirty reputation, and more.

While Biden’s margins were enough to get the job done, we all agree they weren’t were we wanted them. It was fairly close. Now factor in the pandemic and all the disruptions to our usual voting procedures and you can see why people would want to Resist that frustrating outcome when a pollster comes calling with that question. For many, it might be a more emotional answer than an actual belief.

But we need to deplatform those who knowingly peddle lies, both media figures and politicians. Technology has made us too easily exploitable. More guardrails, please!

6906

Simply put, how do you determine lies? The problem is, if the wrong folks take over ,they’ll call the truth lies. They already do, they’ll just have the power to suppress.

What is really needed is for the Dems to use their moral majority as a club and bully fascist voices into silence. The only thing fash understand is force (doesn’t necessarily have to be physical, but punching a Nazi is never something I’ll disapprove of)

6907

We can’t rely on the government to determine what is a truth and what is a lie. I mean when anyone proposes something like that, you have to remember that sometimes the government… is Trump or Nixon or Reagan… people who not only rose to power with lies but would use lies to hide truth.

The population has to regain control of our strength, and that means people have to engage and deplatform these garbage peddlers ourselves.

6908

Watching this now and didn’t see it posted. It’s very good so far.

6909

Thanks for pointing that out. I love me some Frontline. Often when I watch other documentaries that attempt to be in a similar vein (I’m looking at YOU, into the storm), I wish they were half as good as what Frontline produces.

6910

Yeah every time I’ve watched Frontline I’ve come away really impressed.

6911

back to the Group W bench

6912

I don’t know why we insist on calling these gangs of white men… militia. They’re basically just that, gangs.

They walk around with AR-15s, that’s what the video says, fingers on the trigger and not a single cop feels threaten enough to shoot them. The murder several people, and the GOP still claims the biggest threat is BLM and some lose group that label as antifa. And now we know there are actual police paying to funds to help some of these people with their legal fights.

I mean there is a different set of rules and laws in this country for different people. Those men walk around threatening people, armed to the teeth, vandalizing and beating people… and they get to go home to their families because law enforce, local, state and federal, decided a long time ago that they are part of the system that works for them and should not be challenged.

6913

I don’t know if you’re addressing me specifically but I wish I had an answer for you, but I don’t.

6914

Well the video mostly. I watched the whole thing. They say militia… a lot.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5DvmM7nPqVA

6915

Gangs typically care about their line of business and how other gangs affect it. Militias have political aims, their want ideas to spread and eventually take over. Gangs don’t care about random Joe (except in rare cases where he is a target for theft etc.). For militias, random Joe is either a potential member or an enemy.

6916

Hm. Political aims? Willing to use violence to influence or achieve those aims? Isn’t there another word for people and groups that do that?

6917

The word is antifa isn’t it?

6918

I think the old definition of ‘gang’ meant any group of people, like a work gang, a locomotive gang, a chain gang, etc.

But as far back as I’ve learned English a gang is usually a criminal for-profit endeavor. Well, there’s also high school kids who join them for mutual protection/thuggery, I guess that is the exception. In that case, all these militias also qualify as gangs since profit is not wholly necessary.

6919

Former guitarist of heavy metal band Iced Earth, now lead singer for the Oath Keepers, may have given his first performance:

Kelly, an appointee of former President Donald Trump, said new evidence presented by prosecutors showing Nordean and Biggs’ men’s central role in orchestrating the incursion was a decisive factor in his ruling. He delivered a painstaking retelling of the case against the two men, reciting their profanity-laden social media posts vowing violence against lawmakers and others preparing to certify the results of the 2020 election, as well as their private communications revealed by prosecutors as the investigation unfolded.

6920

I’ve heard his backing vocals on their tracks for years. Clever pun aside, please, no :-D

(Who’s up for an Iced Earth CD burning party post-Covid?)

I mean, I dunno, I think self-identifying as conservative is pretty good grounds for declaration as “enemy of the state and severe danger to the people.”

6921

I’d say you can be a conservative Democrat like a Manchin (Sinema’s just a loon) and while he’s frustrating, he’s not an enemy of America.

I’d even argue Romney is not an “enemy of America”, even if he advocates for the policies that led to our crisis, and is responsible for them.

To me, I save the term “enemy of America” for folks who want to truly destroy free elections and have no compunction going full fascist. That’s nearly all Republican politicians and much of the base these days, but not all.

6922
6923

I’d argue that anyone who advocates for political positions that directly result in the deaths and disenfranchisement and misery of women, POC, members of the LBGTQ community, and religious minorities is absolutely an enemy of the state, and need to be treated as such. Which includes, basically, everyone in America who votes and has conservative ideals :)