JoeWeber

What Kool Aid? This was a lesson in energy grid economics for which I am very much appreciative. As a result, I intend to study this a bit more. That said, I read no inherent wrongness to Solar Power in the postings. The fact is that public policy is often shaped by these sorts of inequities. Cigarette smokers, as a matter of public policy, are heavily taxed to affect that behavior. I see that as good policy. Subsidizing solar, at least here and now, also seems like good policy. But then I believe that anthropogenic climate change is real.

I discover vast amounts of previously unknown info right here in the SC. Qanon was revealed by ryoder. [SC = Intel] [15 days?] [ASK...door opened] [Paranoia/Humor] [WWG1 - WGA] Now everyone will be reading ryoder for revealed truths. Wait, I know, blowing his specop's cover is a reverse play intended to divert our attention from humorous paranoia. After all, if you mix up the pizzagate letters it spells: gaze at zip! Which means it's all right here in SC, all the intel we'll ever need. That's it right?

While it's nice that you acknowledge that much, some of your earlier posts leave the impression that you feel that there is a possibility of some basis in fact around the "pizza gate" bundle of lies. Do you now agree that the whole thing was a falsehood? No Do you subscribe to the whole conspiracy? Do you think there may be nuggets of truth here and there? Or do you just think Leftists are evil so there must be something to it? I'm just trying to understand the rationale behind somebody getting on this bandwagon. I go with nuggets of truth. Except for when you pull Jaybird out of mothballs to argue your defense who here thinks your imaginings are founded in reality? You seriously need to think about how quickly and readily you believe things like Qanon and Pizzagate and what it say's about your state of mind. You don't believe weird shit based on nuggets, man. All you did was say out loud that you don't care about truth or facts. Nope, you just want your paranoid suspicions validated.

Thank you. BTW: There is a well detailed independent documentary about Pizzagate on YouTube. The creator connects the dots without making accusations. I was going to post the link but thought it might violate the rules regarding child abuse and pedophilia. Do you have any advice? Ron, Like Ken, I'll also offer you some unsolicited advice. Take a note pad and write down the things you believe to be true: Qanon, Pizzagate and so on. Arrange the things in two columns; the belief in one column and how long it took you to be convinced it was truth in the other. Now consider it as if you were counseling another. What you have is not a simple, innocent affinity for the implausible. What you have is an addiction. You are addicted to delusion. The crazy theory is your drug of choice, the delusion is your high. Don't wait until, like Edgar Welch, you shoot the lock off the door. Get yourself some help now. Joe Thank you for your concern. I am not going to follow the subject here. As a side note, do you know how many people it takes to validate an individual's psychological frame of reference? The answer is only one if that person is a trusted friend. Once validation has been accepted a multitude of opposing opinions are not likely alter the individual's perspective. As in: Bonnie and Clyde Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid Frank and Jesse James The Lonely Hearts Killers William Burke & William Hare Leopold and Loeb Julius and Ethel Rosenberg The Menendez Brothers The Columbine Killers The DC Snipers Ron and Marc?

Thank you. BTW: There is a well detailed independent documentary about Pizzagate on YouTube. The creator connects the dots without making accusations. I was going to post the link but thought it might violate the rules regarding child abuse and pedophilia. Do you have any advice? Ron, Like Ken, I'll also offer you some unsolicited advice. Take a note pad and write down the things you believe to be true: Qanon, Pizzagate and so on. Arrange the things in two columns; the belief in one column and how long it took you to be convinced it was truth in the other. Now consider it as if you were counseling another. What you have is not a simple, innocent affinity for the implausible. What you have is an addiction. You are addicted to delusion. The crazy theory is your drug of choice, the delusion is your high. Don't wait until, like Edgar Welch, you shoot the lock off the door. Get yourself some help now. Joe

I wrote a bot some time ago that makes rush-esque posts. It just picks randomly from a list of his favorite 15 or 20 phrases and then responds to Bill or Kallend after a time delay. I've still got the code around here somewhere. Replacing a human being on a forum, their thoughts, interpretations and opinions should not be a 10 minute piece of work and a less than 30 lines of code. No shit? I want a bot. I'm happy to pay your rate for a good one. Never having to answer an email? Priceless.

I agree that the current democratic leadership is old, stale, uninspiring, and a thorough housecleaning is in order. Even here in Georgia where a democrat has a shot at the governorship, it seems to me that the political ads are watered down, way too underplayed. Even when they are talking about Republicans wanting to strip health insurance from everyone with pre-existing conditions they do it without conveying any sense of outrage. On the other hand the Republicans are running ads that make it clear they are completely untethered from any regard for the truth. They photoshop Stacey Abrams photos to make her skin super dark and her eyes and teeth super white to the point where she looks demonic, and then they lie through their teeth saying she wants to unleash sex offenders and armed violent criminals on our schools. They are really playing up the fear angle, and the appeal to racism and sexism is totally in your face. Who would choose an insane criminal-loving black female demon over a nice white boy? But back to the issue at hand, how will pitchforks and marching up (I assume Capitol) Hill at dawn keep the Republicans from voting on those judges when they control the agenda and have a majority in the senate? Republicans are already playing up the "Democrats are nothing but an insane mob" angle; it's hard for me to see how proving them right will sway enough votes towards the democrats to help. Unfortunately it might already be too late for the senate. Pelosi and Schumer should have stepped aside months ago so they could be replaced with dynamic new leaders. Not going to happen now. Don Don, It was meant as a metaphor for taking action. As I think about it now, it would make a great flag for the movement. Joe So what do you actually mean then Joe? The Democrats should use a metaphor to stop the Republicans from using their majority to do things their majority can force through regardless? I actually mean what I actually wrote. Obstruct, even if it is futile. Drag out everything, never give an inch willingly. The court appointments are a prime example. I don't give a crap if they were going to get them anyway. That doesn't mean Schumer should give them up a single second faster than need be. I mean get on TV and outright lie, obfuscate, conflate and talk bullshit if that will get the job done. I mean throwing the same big fat fuck you at them that they tossed our way. You don't win a fight by hoping the son of a bitch gets tired of whomping on you. And unless there are referees, you always win by fighting dirty. So, enough of the when they go low we go high business. The good fight thing isn't working. When you are getting your ass kicked, even a swing and a miss is better than no swing at all.

Maybe so. But good luck motivating them! You go straight to the tried and true: lie to them. Tell them Trump is planning to confiscate all Grateful Dead Albums, ban Yoga and tie-dye and serve the last remaining Fluffy Bellied Danderhooie's in school lunches. Say whatever it takes to get them out of their yurts and into a voting booth. Win first, feel crappy later.

There is a reason for that Joe. It fires up the base and motivates them to vote. Until the opposition shows that it is motivated to vote it will be considered counter productive to engage in a fierce fight. Right wing voters will just get more motivated. They are afraid of change and there is no greater motivator than fear. I get it Ken. That's my point, almost entirely. I'm saying the time for fucking around is past. Moreover, I reject the proposition that the Democrats have fewer manipulatable dipshits to motivate than the Republicans. Indeed, it would seem to be quite the opposite.

I agree that the current democratic leadership is old, stale, uninspiring, and a thorough housecleaning is in order. Even here in Georgia where a democrat has a shot at the governorship, it seems to me that the political ads are watered down, way too underplayed. Even when they are talking about Republicans wanting to strip health insurance from everyone with pre-existing conditions they do it without conveying any sense of outrage. On the other hand the Republicans are running ads that make it clear they are completely untethered from any regard for the truth. They photoshop Stacey Abrams photos to make her skin super dark and her eyes and teeth super white to the point where she looks demonic, and then they lie through their teeth saying she wants to unleash sex offenders and armed violent criminals on our schools. They are really playing up the fear angle, and the appeal to racism and sexism is totally in your face. Who would choose an insane criminal-loving black female demon over a nice white boy? But back to the issue at hand, how will pitchforks and marching up (I assume Capitol) Hill at dawn keep the Republicans from voting on those judges when they control the agenda and have a majority in the senate? Republicans are already playing up the "Democrats are nothing but an insane mob" angle; it's hard for me to see how proving them right will sway enough votes towards the democrats to help. Unfortunately it might already be too late for the senate. Pelosi and Schumer should have stepped aside months ago so they could be replaced with dynamic new leaders. Not going to happen now. Don Don, It was meant as a metaphor for taking action. As I think about it now, it would make a great flag for the movement. Joe

Bill needs to get rid of the trolls before SC devolves into a forum of just him and Kallend and anyone else who can not resist responding to Marc. Censorship, a primary tool of the progressive left as indicated by Google/YouTube, Facebook and, Twitter. If you don't like what they opine then don't let them say it. Maybe some forensic Marcologist could go back and analyze his posts to see how often he writes lol or you make this too easy or just tosses out an emoticon for his message. I know what you believe. I think you are bat shit crazy to believe it, sure. But at least I believe you believe it. Do I fervently wish that you would run it through an operating gullible-o-meter before posting it? Of course. But I do not doubt that you believe it. I also believe you think about it. With #Marc-too it's regurgitated sound bites; no more than what someone else believes. He's like putting Honest Ernie's Oil Additive in your crankcase. Does it increase the volume? Absolutely. Is it really doing anything useful? Nope.

That would make sense only if there was a way to both delay the vote on the nominations and win the senate. Since it now takes only a simple majority to confirm judges, and the Republicans have that and control of the process, I don't see how Democrats could block voting on the judges until after the new senate is seated. Maybe you can explain how that could be done? Also there is no way the Democrats could win back the senate without campaigning or while fucking the millennial vote. Maybe you can offer a convincing scenario about how that could be accomplished? The worst case scenario is having the judges confirmed while failing to take the senate (or even seeing the Republican majority increase), which is what you seem to be advocating. Don Don, I am not advocating a known solution. I'm advocating outright obstruction. I'm advocating torches, pitch forks and marching up the hill at dawn. I'm advocating any goddamn thing besides the current pansy assed "whatcha gonna do?" attitude the Dem's have. The right has leaders who fight for their base. Whether or not their base are wrong headed or being deceived is not the point. The point is their leaders come off as fighters and they are winning. I can not name one Dem leader who comes off as a real fighter. And they keep losing. Giving up more lifetime appointments, which is the last thing we should want at this juncture, as an expediency because "whatcha gonna do?" and we need to go home and campaign is not acting strong. I just think that if the Dems want to motivate their base they need to start acting motivatingly. Instead, they act like it's more about keeping their jobs. During the judiciary hearings the rights base heard stirring oratory. We heard bluffing. I say give them all the Congressional Weenie of Honor Medal and send them home for good. I hate what's going on and I hope somehow, someway we get off this merry go round but I'm starting to see this continuing past my lifetime. So, sort of, I don't care if some more lose their jobs uselessly obstructing the rights agenda. Joe

I would suggest that the court system has become increasingly politicized in the US. GOP has purposely held up nominations until they were in a position to stuff the courts with people they like. Previous administrations have at least tried to look for candidates that have a bit of a neutral feel. That has ended, completely. The lasting legacy of the Trump administration will be what they have done to your court system. hence my comment earlier with the Democrats having to take off their gloves. The GOP isn't going to stop doing this. Asshat Schumer just negotiated away several more lifetime appointments so his yo's can go home and campaign, Get real Dem's. Our leaders are losers. Fuck the millennial vote. You need to get agro.

Bill needs to get rid of the trolls before SC devolves into a forum of just him and Kallend and anyone else who can not resist responding to Marc.

If the Democrats want to survive they need to get off their arses and actually do SOMETHING, not just sit and whinge about how shitty Trump's government is. They're a fucking embarrassment at the moment with how they EXPECT things to go their way in November. If nothing else every single state should be flooded with adverts from the DNC telling people to get out and vote; that the future of the country is literally in the hands of the people and that if people choose not to vote then they can't complain about the next 4 or 6 years. TV. Radio, billboards - whatever. But they're not. And even if they did somehow stumble into the majority in the House they're more likely to roll over and pee on their bellies than go to war. McConnell is already warning them to behave if they win and I have no doubt many will comply. I can already hear Pelosi, gavel in hand, saying that they need to focus on 2020 and not make anyone mad over things they can't change. It's too soon. It's harsh, but the R's are probably unstoppable for a long while. Sadly, it's not now, and for at least a very long while, not going to be the country I'd like it to be. Just the way it is.

Of course, they don't even try to hide their duplicity and hypocrisy anymore. What Kavanaugh is accused of doing is reprehensible regardless of age. Of course because of how it was played, and played it was, it really wasn't proven in a legal definition sort of way. However, it never mattered to me at all whether Kavanaugh did it or not, if it was good or bad, left or right or even up or down. I simply wanted the Democrats to deny him the seat in spiteful, vindictive retribution for the theft of Obama's Supreme Court appointment. I would have wanted that if there was not a single accusation against him as there was not against Merrick Garland. By doing so, the left might have demonstrated that they are not such obviously inconsequential political nincompoops. And then maybe, just maybe, the party of duplicity and hypocrisy would have cooled their jets a little. But nope, we fucked it all up again. The R's hang together tighter than the Sopranos and practice omerta, infallibly. They stay on message and look strong. The Dem's consistently do the chicken little thing, pecking at their own feathers and running in circles screaming Uh-oh!, Uh-oh!. So, of course they were fucked. Out thinking the right ain't working. Out moralizing them ain't working, either. Dem's need to harden up and out maneuver them like they do to the Dem's with such apparent ease. The Dem's are already self flagellating before next fight starts while the right are flanking them, again. The left also just might want to put a hold on all of the laughing at the right wing claims of winning and winning. From their perches they definitely are winning. Tax cuts, regulations evaporated, science denied, religious interests strengthened, those pansy Europeans got a talking to, the Chinese got sent a bill and were put on notice, brown people are being dealt with, the LGBT community is under attack, the courts are being packed with right wing ideologues who will be there for decades to come, and, in spite of himself, Trump hasn't blown up the world. Fucking A they think they are winning, and winning is motivating. Let's face it, the Dem's retaking the House is hardly guaranteed and counting on it is dumb. The Dem's need to learn how to play this game and start winning, too. That, or they need to get used to the new normal.

Well, I do try hard and it means so much when deities notice. I'll add it to my reading list.

Like it or not that IS the society we live in. It's not desperation (although you can choose to see it like that), it's just a shitty tactic like diving in a soccer match. Voting for whoever you want isn't going to change that and it's only going to get worse I suspect. 40 or 50 years from now the attack adverts will be full of posts from ancient facebook groups, random comments made in Twitch TV streams and on forums exactly like this. It's a genuine concern of mine. Everyone has done something stupid when they were young and drunk. EVERYONE. That's going to be fair game in the future, even if it isn't as serious as sexual assault. I've thought about this for some time and don't see any particularly easy solution for it. I have thought a lot about it, as well, and I am convinced you are absolutely right. For sure, there will never be a 1980's or 90's Skydiver nominated for the Supreme Court. Catholic Priest, maybe.

But isn't that what you're hoping for? Preferably in your lifetime? Not necessarily, I would like to be in the Rapture but no one knows for certain when that will occur. How do you know it's not already underway? For all we know, it's been underway since the first prediction of when it will occur 2000 years ago. The good lord may simply be slow jammin' the thing, yo. After all, what's a billion years or two to a timeless deity? He does work in mysterious ways, you know.

Be calm people. After red October if you are lucky there will be a Blue November election. Edit, a quick search seems to reveal that the October event referred to involves Trump declaring martial law and finally destroying the evil democrats. I suppose you are hoping for the cancellation of the election and the end of that pesky democracy stuff as well. I've always suspected that you don't really respect the American Constitution and that what you really want is a fundamentalist theocracy. Don't let your suspicions overwhelm you. A theocracy will only work during the millennium when Jesus the Christ returns and sets up His government. So that's how it will work, he'll be setting up His government? And choosing all the best people, no doubt. I can only imagine how many worthies will vie for Secretary of the Department of Atheist Vaporization. Is that bit about forming a government in your book, too, or is that just another thing you've made up?

That's right, Ken. In fact, I was just doing it this morning trying to hack Ron's selfie files.

When did that trend start? It's clear in hindsight that the biggest gains from Trump's tax cuts were shareholders. Workers mostly got one-time bonuses instead of permanent wage increases. Therein lay's the conundrum of Ron. It's not about truth or facts or even simple honest engagement. It's all about getting around to religious, didactic stories or, that being too hard to organize, a biblical citation. A troll by any other name.....

I agree. Then why not retreat to your enclave and enjoy the company of your Christian friends and other conspiracy theorists who will, without a single word in opposition, let you disclaim reality and avoid answering questions directly and truthfully? Is it really that entertaining for you to come here to the zoo? Yes, not only entertaining but edifying. I used to facilitate encounter groups along with support and didactic. This is a similar environment. Well, at least you admit your motives are ulterior. Anyway, gotta go. School kids are coming and I need to preen a little.

I agree. Then why not retreat to your enclave and enjoy the company of your Christian friends and other conspiracy theorists who will, without a single word in opposition, let you disclaim reality and avoid answering questions directly and truthfully? Is it really that entertaining for you to come here to the zoo?

It is a trap in line with the IGYYSOB game. Whatever I say you will say it is wrong. Aren't you perceptive. Of course, I think I've got you. Recall that I stated: Here you have a chance to show you are not a tool and a fraud and, instead, you do your dance again. Unfortunately for you, your natural avoidance technique, once again, proves the point. You are really not very good at this.