Conventional wisdom within the Democratic Party says that Donald Trump is politically toxic, yet when he appoints one of the most horrendous political nominees in American history, a woman who is unquestionably guilty of crimes against humanity in the form of torture, they vote for her to become the head of the CIA.
Democratic #Resistance Senators Vote for Torturer
Ted Rall
Ted Rall is a syndicated political cartoonist for Andrews McMeel Syndication and WhoWhatWhy.org and Counterpoint. He is a contributor to Centerclip and co-host of "The Final Countdown" talk show on Radio Sputnik. He is a graphic novelist and author of many books of art and prose, and an occasional war correspondent. He is, recently, the author of the graphic novel "2024: Revisited."
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In 1981, in an article for Newsweek, Michael Levin made the case for torture, calling it in some cases the only method of resolution.
He asks, “Could you sleep nights knowing millions died because you could not apply the electrodes?”
Yes I could and soundly.
@EvilWizardGlick
I’d be out like a baby.
Torture as used by the CIA is not punishment.
Essential information needs to be extracted.
So what if it’s the wrong Mohammed?
> Essential information needs to be extracted.
Okay, I read that to mean that if someone applied electrodes to your genitals, or your wife’s genitals, or your momma’s genitals, you’d be perfectly okay with it. No problem whatsoever, just democracy in action.
@CH
My name is not Mohammed. My wife doesn’t wear the niquab. Not worried.
I’m sorry, I don’t see where the constitution or intentional law makes that particular distinction.
Why do you hate America?
@CH
America is not a prepositional nation. It was made by whites for whites. Nothing wrong with that.
> “Could you sleep nights knowing millions died because you could not apply the electrodes?”
Me, I’d just call Spiderman, ‘cuz if you’re going to suggest comic book plots, I’m going to propose comic book solutions. The real world doens’t work that way and even the CIA admits that torture doesn’t work.
RWNJs are notorious for not thinking things through. If The Government has the power to torture other people, then he has the power to torture YOU AND YOUR LOVED ONES.
… duh?
So, in your Sunday School classes do you quote all the Scripture where Jesus waterboards people? Shoves bamboo spikes under their fingernails? Electrodes on their genitals?
“Torture unto others as you would have others torture unto you.”
“Torture they neighbor as thy torture thyself”
“Thou shalt have no other torturers before me.”
“Thou shalt torture they neighbor’s wife, his manservant and maidservant, and most especially his ass”
“Blessed are the torturers, for they shall inherit the earth.
“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for torture, for they shall be tortured.”
“Blessed are the torturers, for they shall receive torture.”
“I like your Christ, I do not like your Christians. Your Christians are so unlike your Christ.” – Gandhi (disputed – but still accurate.)
CrazyH
In the Lost books of the bible Jesus was a right prick as a child.
“O evil, ungodly, and foolish one, what hurt did the pools and the waters do thee? Behold, now also thou shalt be withered like a tree, and shalt not bear leaves, neither root, nor fruit.” And straightway that lad withered up wholly.
— Infancy Gospel of Thomas 3:2-3
In Thomas’ version of events, later that same day as Jesus was casually strolling around town, running divine errands, another boy accidentally bumped into him on the street. So what would Jesus do? He’d probably use his divine presence to heal the boy of being friggin’ clumsy, right? Let’s see:
Jesus was provoked and said unto him, “Thou shalt not finish thy course.” And immediately he fell down and died.
— Infancy Gospel of Thomas 4:1
Then the Lord Jesus calling the serpent, it presently came forth and submitted to him; to whom he said, “Go and suck out all the poison which thou hast infused into that boy”; so the serpent crept to the boy, and took away all its poison again. Then the Lord Jesus cursed the serpent so that it immediately burst asunder, and died.
— First Gospel of Infancy 18:13-16
By now the parents of Nazareth were understandably upset: Jesus was walking around town ruining little kids like a bad divorce. So they gave Joseph an ultimatum: Either Jesus learns to use his powers for good, or the family has to leave town. Considering that, by this point, Jesus has killed more kids than a Willy Wonka tour group, that sounded pretty reasonable. But Christ ain’t tolerating no narcs up in yore:
Jesus said, “I know that these thy words are not thine: nevertheless for thy sake I will hold my peace: but they shall bear their punishment.” And straightway they that accused him were smitten with blindness.
— Infancy Gospel of Thomas 5:1
And that was the last straw: Joseph finally decided to discipline his son. But what do you do in response to a list of crimes more befitting a Grand Theft Auto sequel than a holy child? Grounding? Caning? Imprisonment?
None of the above.
Joseph “grabbed [Jesus’] ear” and “wrung it til it was sore.” You may laugh, but in the end Jesus does end up uncursing everybody; just not out of some well-deserved sense of remorse or the slightest hint of empathy or anything. Eventually, a local teacher starts frantically screaming to everybody that Jesus Christ is probably God, after a Good Will Hunting-style display of intelligence at his Nazareth grade school. (Funny, you’d think the boy’s ability to kill with words would have clued everyone in sooner.)
So now that the secret’s out (the kid laying siege to entire countries with his superpowers is– surprise — extraordinary), Jesus figures he may as well reverse all the death and destruction because, hey, once you get your propers, there’s just no reason to blast them bitches no more.
https://io9.gizmodo.com/7-moments-in-the-bible-when-jesus-acted-very-un-jesus-l-1731054203
3) Killing a Tree
The most baffling Jesus-related moment in the New Testament is unquestionably when the Son of God found himself a touch peckish while he was traveling. From Mark 11:
The next day as they were leaving Bethany, Jesus was hungry.
Seeing in the distance a fig tree in leaf, he went to find out if it had any fruit. When he reached it, he found nothing but leaves, because it was not the season for figs.
Then he said to the tree,“May no one ever eat fruit from you again.” And his disciples heard him say it.
You are reading this correctly: Jesus killed a tree. He was hungry, the fig tree had no fruit, and Jesus was so pissed off at this he cursed the tree, and it died.
Now, there are only two explanations for the tree not having fruit: 1) the weather had been bad, possibly from lack of rain, which prevented the tree from bearing fruit. This would have been totally God’s fault. The other option is crazier: 2) Figs just weren’t in season. So the tree was only obeying the natural rules that God had set, and Jesus, throwing a very uncharacteristic temper tantrum, murdered the tree for not somehow bending the rules. Please note that at this point in the book of Matthew, Jesus had already performed several miracles including restoring sight to the blind, restoring the ability to speak to the mute and, making money appear in fish. So it stands to reason he could have made the tree produce fruit if he’d wanted to… but instead, he really wanted to kill the tree. Maybe the tree was a sinner of some kind?
7) Murdering a Whole Bunch of Pigs
If you thought the fig tree had it bad, please enjoy this actual event and non-parable from Matthew 8:
When he arrived at the other side in the region of the Gadarenes,[c] two demon-possessed men coming from the tombs met him. They were so violent that no one could pass that way.
“What do you want with us, Son of God?” they shouted. “Have you come here to torture us before the appointed time?”
Some distance from them a large herd of pigs was feeding.
The demons begged Jesus, “If you drive us out, send us into the herd of pigs.”
He said to them, “Go!” So they came out and went into the pigs, and the whole herd rushed down the steep bank into the lake and died in the water.
So let’s set the scene. A herd of pigs is hanging out, eating things, and basically just chilling. Down the road, maybe a pig or two happens to hear an argument between a man and two thugs, but it’s not their concerns, so they’re minding their own piggy business. That is, until two demons appear in their midst from out of nowhere, terrifying all the pigs so badly they run off a cliff into the sea and drown. This herd of pigs—some versions of the Bible say there were 2000—were all scared to death by demons, all because they had the misfortune of being nearby.
Shockingly, the pig-owners were not thrilled:
Those tending the pigs ran off, went into the town and reported all this, including what had happened to the demon-possessed men.
Then the whole town went out to meet Jesus. And when they saw him, they pleaded with him to leave their region.
Yeah, I imagine Jesus blew his chance to convert these people. Anyways, I’d tell you to say a prayer for these poor, innocent pigs—but who would you pray to?
“I like your Christ, I do not like your Christians. Your Christians are so unlike your Christ.” – Gandhi (disputed – but still accurate.)
Ghandi was a racist before he was against it.
People sure do change their stripes and opinions once they become popular.
#Mohandas Gandhi
“Why, of all places in Johannesburg, the Indian Location should be chosen for dumping down all the Kaffirs of the town passes my comprehension…the Town Council must withdraw the Kaffirs from the Location.” (Reference: CWMG, Vol I, pp. 244-245)
His description of black inmates: “Only a degree removed from the animal.” Also, “Kaffirs are as a rule uncivilized – the convicts even more so. They are troublesome, very dirty and live almost like animals.” – Mar. 7, 1908 (Reference: CWMG, Vol VIII, pp. 135-136)
@Wiz – I get the feeling that you have some dispute with something I’ve posted, but for the life of me I can’t figure out WTF that would be.
Try this: Write one, simple, succinct, declarative sentence which summarizes your dispute. Then write a paragraph of fifty words or less which explains why you dispute it.
“I get the feeling that you have some dispute with something I’ve posted, but for the life of me I can’t figure out WTF that would be.
Try this: Write one, simple, succinct, declarative sentence which summarizes your dispute. Then write a paragraph of fifty words or less which explains why you dispute it.”
Not at all.
I just have all this shit I’ve learned floating around. It comes out. Well, I’ll give you the Deadhead thing as being fashionable thus destroying any true meaning or depth the original retained. Like replacing the guns with cell phones in ET. Despicable.
Or those who have NEVER read the Song of Fire and ice books and ONLY know the tv Game of thrones.
Quite a lot I have seen become popular I was a fan of way fucking before names were even uttered, like Altered Carbon. Or various Science flaws/discoveries. Or politics.
Trivia forever circles me and makes connections like a patchwork pattern.
Then it all needs to spew forth.
Some strange creativity that requires immediate meth like focus and utterance.
I’m often amazed at what people don’t know that has been knocking around my brain for decades.
Unfortunately certain people just happen to be nearby when the bomb explodes.
Henri is a pompous twit thus another story.
Most everything else is like you accidentally stepped on a live wire and get seized.
Even the Dave’s not here thing relates to the toon an oblique simile.
I don’t really socialize well. I can’t make small talk, like “how was your day”. MIne is ” this city program is a big scam designed to create a Potemkin village with deep financial and social flaws not getting addressed, Thus I can not support your city wide gardening plaques when the cash could be spent feeding poor people’.
I also have never complimented a woman on the quality or physicality of a sexual act.
My abusive father would move us frequently. Even after he got rich.I never learned how to maintain ties.
It’s really nice for freedom of thought, but sucks for the daily shit.
Anyway, one day as a youth I was playing by myself outside and he approached me. He told me I didn’t need people. I think that scared the shit out of him.
I am a recluse by circumstance and choice.
@CH
I don’t understand why you keep injecting Jesus into the argument. Your ilk generally despises organized religion. In any event, you rely on Jesus as a crutch to make the argument that you can’t make on your own. And it doesn’t work.
No one knows what Jesus would say because the question was never put to him. Hopefully, he would not sacrifice thousands of lives for the pain of one terrorist, who can end his own torment by giving up the information.
But please stop twisting the Bible. Paul Tillich you are not. Stick with your left wing platitudes.
> I don’t understand why you keep injecting Jesus into the argument.
1) Because you claim to be a Christian
2) Because you have no fucking clue what Christ stood for.
You’ve already stating that you think JC would have shot children at My Lai – that tells my everything I need to know about your profound ignorance.
I am not a Christian, I do indeed despise religion – partially because it breeds self-righteous fanatics like you. I do, however, like Christ’s own teachings – teachings which are far, far removed from your philosophy of life. If you actually sat down and READ the gospels instead of picking and choosing quotes out of context, you’d easily be able to extrapolate what the Prince of Peace would have thought.
But hey, you don’t have to take my word for it. The pope calls torture “a mortal sin” (He’s infallible, doncha know?)
https://www.romereports.com/en/2014/06/23/pope-francis-torture-is-a-mortal-sin/
If you re-read my post, you may find that I did make an argument relying solely on first principles, which you evaded as usual.
> But please stop twisting the Bible.
uhhh, yeah. I’m “twisting” the bible by insisting that JC was a pacifist, while you’re quoting small bits out of context to justify your preconceived notions.
That’s silly.
But I’ll make you a deal, I’ll stop quoting it when you start reading it.
“I do indeed despise religion – partially because it breeds self-righteous fanatics ”
That sentence is true of everything. There are true believers, about %10-15 of every social movement and ideology. There are areound %30 who are dogmatists, core base of every political party and social movement.
Then you have around %25 -30 who are followers of the group. They fear to disagree with what their peers state.
I’ve accounted for roughly half the populace.
Of the other half a very small minority actually choose to think for themselves and are socially
independent..
Religion is not a bad thing. Christianity is not a bad thing. Hang outside a Baptist church when they sing on Sunday morning.
The problems you state are the result of being human. People are fucked up. We are the architects of religious and social movements. We are the ones who fall into traps. We victimize orselves. We choose not to delve deeply into our own fears, biases, and ugly side.
That’s why a woman can leave a person she hit stuck in a car window in the garage to die. Or someone can take a child’s life for interrupting a video game.
Assholes and saints exist in culture across the spectrum.
Organized religion draws no more than does Climate change or BLM.
You through the dart at the big target but the bullseye is walking right in front of you on the street.
@EvilWizardGlick
Great points, as a always.
Progressivism, or whatever the word is for being a hardcore leftist, is a cult filled with the people you describe.
@Wiz – we are in partial agreement, here.
“Those who can make you believe absurdities, can make you commit atrocities.” – Voltaire
While tribalism and groupthink are indeed endemic to homo sap, superstition exacerbates the worst tendencies.
Studies show that religious people are more likely to be bigots. They’re brought up to believe that “we” are going to be reincarnated as a higher life form while “they” are not. Once you’ve adopted that mindset, it’s easy to apply to any “other.”
Religionists are brought up on authoritarianism. They are punished for thinking for themselves. This makes them susceptible to superficially “strong” leaders, which is disastrous in a democracy.
Take an issue such as overpopulation or global warming. If you believe that the Flying Spaghetti Monster is looking out for you, it’s easy to ignore real problems. They believe that the FSM created the earth and will always sustain it regardless of the actions of men. This is an extremely self-destructive attitude here in the real world.
They actively teach that opinion outweighs proof. Scientists are in league with Teh Devil to disprove Jebus! Once you’ve been infected with that mindset, reality goes out the window.
Look what we’ve got going right now – all three of the Abrahamic religions are certain that THE SAME GOD told them to kill each other off. I can get behind that – I just wish they’d finish the job quickly.
I’m tired of getting caught in the crossfire.
You lumped a whole lot of religions and sctes into a single category.
I personally don’t believe in Global warming or its new selling point Climate Change. I don’t feel over population is an issue either.
I’ve read studies which support my claims.
Studies differ.
I’ve read studies stating that the religious donate more to charity than the non-religious.
Studies that non climate chage beleivers are more likely to keep the environment clean than beleivers. That one was recent.
The real problem is you have removed the individual and the individuals psychological make up from the equation.
Keep this in mind, someone was stated that there were three types of concentration camp guards, good people, bad people, and those just doing their jobs.
Finally, why simply list the three derivatives of Judaism, Judaism/ChristianityIslam. There are 4,200 religions in the world we know of. New ones get created every day.
Every religion runs the same range from dogmatist to free thinker.
I’m a Gnostic Pantheist with Taoist tendencies. I know the universe works the way it is supposed to. That all things must pass.
That the Vulcan IDIC philosophy holds true.
Take some comfort in this
I met a traveller from an antique land,
Who said—“Two vast and trunkless legs of stone
Stand in the desert. . . . Near them, on the sand,
Half sunk a shattered visage lies, whose frown,
And wrinkled lip, and sneer of cold command,
Tell that its sculptor well those passions read
Which yet survive, stamped on these lifeless things,
The hand that mocked them, and the heart that fed;
And on the pedestal, these words appear:
My name is Ozymandias, King of Kings;
Look on my Works, ye Mighty, and despair!
Nothing beside remains. Round the decay
Of that colossal Wreck, boundless and bare
The lone and level sands stretch far away.”
@Wiz – I meant to respond to this earlier.
> You lumped a whole lot of religions and sctes into a single category.
Yes, it’s a generalization. I’m discussing the problem with religions in general. Hinduism has a worse problem with authoritarianism than Christianity due to the caste system – but it’s still the same underlying problem.
> I personally don’t believe in Global warming or its new selling point Climate Change. I don’t feel over population is an issue either.
That proves only that religion isn’t the only source of denialism and suicidal ignorance.
Anybody who passed high school algebra should be able to understand why overpopulation is a problem, Malthus figured it out over two centuries ago and he didn’t have satellite maps or calculators.
As for global warming: You can’t be serious. The math may be over the average high schooler’s head. But he surely can understand that 99% of the people who are *competent* in the field agree.
> I’ve read studies which support my claims.
I’ve read studies which “prove” the earth is flat, and I will believe them on the day that 99% of the world’s geographers agree that it is, indeed, flat.
Summary
Dem votes “for”:
Donnelly (D-IN)
Heitkamp (D-ND)
Manchin (D-WV)
Nelson (D-FL)
Shaheen (D-NH)
Warner (D-VA)
GOP votes “against”:
Flake (R-AZ)
Paul (R-KY)
Complete roll call vote: tinyurl.com/y7j23cz6
falco
Does it matter anymore?
Has it ever mattered?
TPTB gets what it wants when it wants.
“The creatures outside looked from pig to man, and from man to pig, and from pig to man again; but already it was impossible to say which was which.”
― George Orwell, Animal Farm
Tommy Chong turned 80.
It seems just yesterday he went to federal prison for selling bongs online.
(Soft knocks at the door)
CHONG: Who is it?
CHEECH: It’s me, Dave. Open up, man, I got the stuff
(More knocks)
CHONG: Who is it?
CHEECH: It’s me, Dave, man. Open up, I got the stuff
CHONG: Who?
CHEECH: It’s, Dave, man. Open up, I think the cops saw me come in here
(More knocks)
CHONG: Who is it?
CHEECH: It’s, Dave, man. Will you open up, I got the stuff with me
CHONG: Who?
CHEECH: Dave, man. Open up
CHONG: Dave?
CHEECH: Yeah, Dave. C’mon, man, open up, I think the cops saw me
CHONG: Dave’s not here
CHEECH: No, man, I’m Dave, man
(Sharp knocks at the door)
CHEECH: Hey, c’mon, man
CHONG: Who is it?
CHEECH: It’s Dave, man. Will you open up? I got the stuff with me
CHONG: Who?
CHEECH: Dave, man. Open up
CHONG: Dave?
CHEECH: Yeah, Dave
CHONG: Dave’s not here
CHEECH: What the hell? No, man, I am Dave, man. Will you…
(More knocks)
CHEECH: C’mon! Open up the door, will you? I got the stuff with me, I think the cops saw me
CHONG: Who is it?
CHEECH: Oh, what the hell is it…c’mon. Open up the door! It’s Dave!
CHONG: Who?
CHEECH: Dave! D-A-V-E! Will you open up the goddam door!
CHONG: Dave?
CHEECH: Yeah, Dave!
CHONG: Dave?
CHEECH: Right, man. Dave. Now will you open up the door?
CHONG: Dave’s not here
@CH
Congratulations – you managed an entire post without saying something stupid.
@CH
I made up for it, buddy
At least we can agree on that.
@CH
You sad racial masochist.
This pope is a heretic and should be burned at the stake.
Again, we don’t know how Jesus would have handled many things; as he said, his kingdom is not of this world. We do know that the Vietnamese were not his neighbors.
The CIA says torture does not work because they don’t want people like you protesting outside Langley.
It certainly found us Osama bin Laden; the Pakistani couriers were “interrogated” in Kosovo.
Of course, you would like interrogations to be gentle, on soft cushions, with gelato.
This all comes down to your lack of racial confidence. You need help.
> We do know that the Vietnamese were not his neighbors.
We do know that you are a functional illiterate. The questioner in “The Good Samaritan” was looking for the exact, same, loophole you are. Jesus shot him down. Substitute “Vietnamese” or “Nigger” for “Samaritan” and it carries the same message. THAT WAS THE WHOLE POINT.
… duh?
Earlier you stated that Jesus didn’t know about Honduras. Isn’t he supposed to be omniscient? Didn’t he create Honduras in his secret identity as The Sacred Spook?
Loopholes. Yeah, I’d like to be there when you’re kneeling before the Celestial Throne trying to explain the loopholes. I suggest you be buried in shorts and a tank top – it’s gonna be warm where you’re going.
> This all comes down to your lack of racial confidence. You need help.
Priceless, just priceless. Go find a mirror and read that to your reflection. I’m not the one running scared.
@CH
As I said, you are no Paul Tillich. Clearly, you are not familiar with the Arian controversy. And its implications.
This comment section is to talk about torture, not argue about God.
One sometimes has to choose the greater good.
Sacrifice yourself if you must. Don’t be so willing to sacrifice your fellow whites
You are not my “fellow” any more than you are my “buddy”
Islam is not the problem, Judaism is not the problem, RELIGIOUS INTOLERANCE is the problem, and you are no less guilty than Osama. If a Muslim tortures a Christian, you have ZERO room to complain.
You can’t claim to be morally superior when you act just like the bad guys. (Oh, wait – you will do that very thing in your next evasive reply – I should say “you can’t credibly claim…”)
@CH
If we weren’t such good pals, I’d put you on a spit and roast you.
I make no claim to moral superiority. I just want to win the war on terror. And spare me, don’t babble on about creating future jihadis.
> not familiar with the Arian controversy
I consider it about as relevant to real life as arguing about the number of angels which can dance on the head of the pin. Ignoramuses debating fantasies don’t exactly inspire confidence.
There are absolutely contradictions in Teh Holey Babble. Superstitious people perform rhetorical gymnastics trying to defend self-contradictory gibberish.
@CH
Good. Then you know that Jesus himself was contradictory. Good white men have spent 2000 years arguing about him.
The same can’t be said for that warrior Mohammed and his moon God Allah.
> And spare me, don’t babble on about creating future jihadis.
… because making the same mistake over & over again is bound to produce different results sooner or later. The incidence of global terrorism has *increased* since Dumbya started his war on Terra.
But hey, you’ve never let facts get in the way or your opinion before, have you?
> I make no claim to moral superiority.
Oh, so gay people are just as moral as you are? Women with multiple sex partners? Muslims? Blacks? Jews? All are on your same lofty level?
When did you change you mind?
@CH
Not a supporter of that neocon Bush.
I must say, I did like what Obama did with drones.
Just because I am a humble man doesn’t mean I can’t think that whores and gays are degenerate.
Since you like Jesus so much, I wish there was some mission territory to which you could go…and not come back.
> Just because I am a humble man doesn’t mean I can’t think that whores and gays are degenerate.
HOOOOOOoooooo HA!
You have just proven my case. (with bonus points for ‘humble’)
I thank you for your support.
@CH
Night, buddy. Say hi to my pal, derlehrer
@CH
That is such a superficial understanding.
Studies also show that religious people contribute more to charity and lead happier lives.
Religionists have worked hand in hand with scientists. Take the Puritans, a group I am certain you love to hate. They furthered science because they thought it was for the glory of God. Darwin and Galton were devout Christians to the end of their lives.
Btw, how much do you contribute to charity?
> Religionists have worked hand in hand with scientists.
Hey, didja notice that Teh Church just pardoned Galileo after 350 years? Ever been to the Creation Museum? The Church denounced early physicians as ghouls for performing dissections and autopsies; burned old ladies at the stake for suggesting that birchbark tea was more efficacious than prayer for headaches; and actively fought germ theory ‘cuz they “knew” disease was caused by evil spirits. In the late fifties, the shamans preached that NASA’s rockets were going to poke holes in heaven and piss off the angels.
The best you got is Gregor Mendel – who didn’t realize he was laying the groundwork for disproving the xtian creation myth. Now that’s irony.
> Studies also show that religious people contribute more to charity
Bill Gates and Mark Zuckerberg are both atheists.
https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/2018/01/03/2017-top-charitable-donations/1000242001/
Contributions to The Church are not charity, rather they corroborate my point about the flock’s gullibility.
> Darwin … devout Christians to the end of their lives.
You, sir, have just borne false witness against thine neighbour.
Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour.
– Exodus 20:16
Further, you have lied.
…all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death.
– Revelation 21:8
Burn, baby, burn!
I’ve asked this question of many cafeteria christians, yet I’ve never received an answer. Perhaps you will be the first.
Q: Why do you defend a god that is going to throw you in the lake of fire forever an’ ever?
(Fair warning: if you evade that question, I shall be forced to mock you again)
CH
I am not going to read and refute any of your drivel until you answer and stop evading my one question.
How much do you contribute to charity?
@CH.
Just as I thought
Hey, everyone, Crazy H does not contribute to charity. But then, leftists don’t
> How much do you contribute to charity?
I’m currently unemployed – ergo, I have zero salary of which to contribute a percentage. When I was working, I had a portion deducted from each paycheck as well as contributing to my company’s yearly charity drive. The drive was a big deal, and I was a highly visible manager. I was expected to bid big on auctions and make large donations – hundreds for sure, maybe a couple thousand for a personal cause.
I do, however, devote a significant portion of my time today and resources to caring for our environment. Forest restoration, trail & meadow repair, and community education. I, personally, breed several native troubled species for reintroduction to their natural habitat. My property abuts a conservation area, and approximately nine of my ten acres are devoted to the natural environment rather than being “improved.” People around me have logged & subdivided for a substantial profit – I could do the same, but I prefer to support my local habitat instead. So, offhand that would be a ‘contribution’ of hundreds of thousands of dollars.
I have answered your question – now will you kindly answer mine on pain of mockery?
“Why do you defend a god that is going to throw you in the lake of fire forever an’ ever?”
@CH
I won’t answer that right now because guess what, Crazy H?
You and I do the same thing! I own several acres of wetlands. I’d defend every inch before I’d see it drained. And my taxes are tremendous.
What species do you breed?
Very briefly:
1. Barack Obama wouldn’t pardon Jack Johnson because of the “optics” (my word, not his enablers’) of a black president pardoning a black man for a crime.
2. Hillary Clinton wouldn’t fight for universal health care. I’m not interested in her arguments. She did not — absolutely, without equivocation — come forward as an advocate for universal health care.
3. I do not like Donald Trump. He’s a huckster. His blather doesn’t hold up to scrutiny (much like HRC and Barack Obama).
Frankly, I’m sick of ANY defense of the Democrats (and I’m a registered Democrat). You defend something worth saving. Barack Obama? What a shell of a human being. His biggest selling points? He didn’t cheat on his wife, his kids weren’t maniacs, he was black. Unpack those items.
NOT cheating on your spouse? That’s like saying you deserve a medal for not murdering people. If you get married, that’s the whole damned point of the exercise. (Those who have “open” marriages? You’ve simply come up with a more complicated way to have a roommate. Please don’t tell me about how your “marriage” matters; it doesn’t. When you actually sacrifice for it, we can have a discussion. Until then, please.)
That his kids weren’t crazy? Okay. Congrats. I extend an equal percentage of congrats to the children themselves. I also extend a whole lot more time and emotional energy for all the children out there who were butchered by all the bombs dropped by Mista Preznit. Those children deserve a lot more press coverage than First Child 1 and First Child 2.
As for being black? When being black is a monolithic experience (e.g., Bill Cosby’s children have more in common with Vice President George W. Bush’s kids than they do with the Evans children from Good Times), we can have a discussion about that. Until then? Don’t try to ram that nonsense down my throat. Barack Obama was a (ha ha) constitutional law professor before he went into politics (where the big money is). His was not the “typical” black experience and everyone who argues about it is shitting all over the very real suffering of those black Americans who have to face one hell of a tough slog every goddamn day.
The Dems have NO ONE to throw into the limelight. They have exactly ONE option left and it’s Bernie Sanders. Trump (regardless of what emotional reaction makes one WANT to think) has actually turned out to be far more effective than many people want to admit. Does anyone remember the underappreciated gem “My Bodyguard”? Trump is infinitely more effective than Gramma Hillary would have ever been. Kim Jong-Il? He’s at the end stage of a game he can’t figure out a way to escape from. Does ANYONE think he really believes all that communist horseshit? He went to school in Switzerland. Do you think he isn’t able to LOOK at things with his friggin’ eyes and figure it out? Trump’s already gotten three people released from N. Korea (and, even better, he’s able to stick the death of Eric Warbier on Barack Obama’s Barney Fife fumbling buffoonery) and one person released from Venezuela. Surprise! Those are the things people give Fuck One or Fuck Two about. Not whether he’s memorized a whole table of statistics about statistics.
I’ll tell you all right now, you need to start watching Donald Trump not as some bumbling dotard but as the guy who understands how you bluff. The game (to steal a line from Star Trek) isn’t chess. It’s poker. And if you think you’re gonna beat Donald Trump in a game of poker, you’re out of your tiny little mind.
Correction: King Jong-Un, not Kim Jong_Il. Sorry. If I were the New York Times, I’d argue that you simply weren’t reading it right, but I respect the theoretical tenets of journalism; I typed too fast, I made a mistake, I’m correcting it.
> Correction: King Jong-Un
Correction: “King Young’un” … which makes his uncle “King sick young’un”
Sorry – I can’t resist a bad pun. Or a good pun. Also, I’m not sorry.
😀 :-} 😀
Crazy H
What do you breed? I must know. I demand it.
Seeing American Teacher and CrazyH go at it is a blast! It has all the retard happy slaps of a Jordan Peterson debate without the danger of either side of recognizing the utter pointlessness of the debate. Shine on, you crazy diamonds!
Not that I want to belittle anyone, but Crazy H is not a skilled rhetorician. That is why he must drag religion (and race) into every argument, especially when it doesn’t belong there.
I hope that he is better at breeding plants and that he will share.
I seem to be quite skilled at asking questions nobody wants to answer. It’s called the “Socratic Method” – rather than simply telling you the answer, I wish to teach you to think for yourself.
So far, I’m not having much luck.
I was under the impression that religion was the bedrock of all morals and ethics. Ergo, it is quite relevant to any discussion involving morals and ethics.
It’s especially amusing when a religious person insists that their holy writ *means* the opposite of what it *says.*
Do you breed lady’s slippers?
@Fleming – I’m glad you’re enjoying the show.
One could extrapolate that to include *all* political debates, regardless of the players. At which point, one must conclude that all debates are pointless, and so the only valid reason for posting on the internet is to say “me too!”
Stop playing games.
What would Jesus say?
Do you breed lady’s slippers? (Probably not or you’d be boasting about it. They are difficult to breed)
Don’t let that little secret out! The entire internet economy hinges on people truly believing what they say matters.
Ted, you left out one of the «Democratic» Senators who voted for Ms Haspel, viz Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire. The surprising thing in all this is not that six «Democrats» voted for a torturer, but that 43 of the 49 were so motivated by their dislike of Mr Trump as to vote against her. After all, the vast majority of these are (credit ?) card-carrying members of the «bomb ’em liberals», why then, when they support all of those interminable US wars of aggression abroad, should they draw the line at «enhanced interrogation» ? As Robert Houghwout Jackson (who by the way, was a Democrat, but that was a long time ago – as Leslie Poles Hartley, put it, «The past is a foreign country; they do things differently there.») said at the Nürnberg Tribunal :
Rather than derided, the six should be applauded for their consistency….
Henri
If waging aggressive war is indeed a crime, why have the leaders of Israel never been made to stand trial?
The victor in war is never accountable.
«If waging aggressive war is indeed a crime, why have the leaders of Israel never been made to stand trial?» Because, my dear «American Teacher», Israel is backed by the United States, and thus enjoys trickle-down impunity. I’d have thought even such a lard-arse as yourself would realise that….
Henri
@Henri
The question was rhetorical, you Einsteinian genius.
The real question is will we ever stop bankrolling Israel?
Obama was our best chance. Trump is in bed with the Jews. He might as well wear a yarmulke.
I note that you made another comment about my ass. I’m telling Ted.
«The question was rhetorical, you Einsteinian genius.», I fear, my dear «American Teacher», that in your lard-arsed way, you’ve ignored the fact that people of your ilk are not allowed to use rhetorical devices. Quod licet Iovi, non licet bovi – your country’s motto, by the way, even if the eagle’s beak is – or at least was, before you people became so religious back in 1956 – portrayed as holding a banner reading E pluribus unum…. 😉
Henri
@Henri
There you go again, another reference to my body and a Latin phrase. Just say double standard. Don’t be a boob.
Israel should be thrown out of the U.N. for its yearly violation of the Kellog-Briand Pact.
«There you go again, another reference to my body and a Latin phrase»Is it your corpulence or my Latin phrases with which you have a problem, my dear «American Teacher» ? If the former, you have a remedy to hand ; if the latter, I fear you’re stuck. In any event, whinging isn’t going to do you a bit of good… 😉
Henri
I’ll tell Ted!
«I’ll tell Ted!» Really ? Doesn’t he know already ? I thought he perused every post on these threads, to keep commenters from picking on his beloved «guest» ; indeed, I was expecting a thunderbolt…. 😉
Henri
Oh, so you’ve been talked to? The razor strop is a better method.
Israel continues to commit crimes against peace. And it is considering passing a law banning journalists from documenting the word of the IDF.
«Oh, so you’ve been talked to?» I note, not surprisingly, that one has to be rather explicit with you, my dear «American Teacher», you’ve never been the one to appreciate – or indeed, perceive – subtleties, now have you ? No, I’ve not yet been subject to any thunderbolt casting from Ted, nor do I expect to be….
As for Israel, it constitutes a smaller version of the US and has enjoyed, due to the latter’s sponsorship, impunity for its actions. Given the inevitable relative decline of US power, it will be interesting to see how long that Israeli impunity can be maintained….
Henri
Perhaps the only benefit from American decline is Israel pushed into the sea.
Then control falls to the Muzzies. At least the Jews protect Christian sites.
I’d be okay with Assad ruling the area, sort of a greater Syria. He protects the Christians
«Perhaps the only benefit from American decline is Israel pushed into the sea.» Hardly the «only benefit» or even the most significant one – the main benefit to be hoped for from the relative decline of US power with its penchant for interminable wars of foreign aggression would rather be a sporting chance for H sapiens sapiens to survive the next decade, and perhaps even the century.On the other hand, it could go the other way and those who run that benighted country could, in their frustration at seeing their dream of global hegemony fail, choose, like Samson, to pull the whole temple down….
Henri
Who do you want running the jail?
The Chinese?
Look what they’re up to in Africa.
«Look what they’re [i e, the Chinese are] up to in Africa.» Doing a far better job than their European and USA predecessors – or, for that matter, USAFRICOM (headquartered interestingly enough, in Stuttgart, some 73 years after the German surrender in WW II – the gift that keeps on giving). But you wouldn’t know that, now would you, «American Teacher» ?…
Henri
I don’t know everything and neither do you, Henri.
I’m also not sure what you mean by better. You’re not suggesting that European colonialism is the cause of African failure and that Wakanda is real?
One thing I do know: the Han Chinese are one of the sneakiest, most treacherous groups on the planet, right up there with the Jews.
«One thing I do know: the Han Chinese are one of the sneakiest, most treacherous groups on the planet, right up there with the Jews.» Not unexpectedly, «American Teacher», when it comes to a lard arse and lard brain like yourself, you don’t know fuck all. As the last 200 hundred years amply demonstrates, with regard to deviousness and sneakiness, the Chinese can’t hold a candle to people like both you and me of European ancestry, not least in its latest and most devious and dangerous incarnation, i e, the United States….
Henri
Another self-hating whitey. I have to get you and Crazy H help.
As for the Han, I have had business dealings with them. They are notorious for not signing their checks.
«As for the Han, I have had business dealings with them.» obviously, they’re not so devious and clever if they are willing to have business dealings with a fraud like yourself, «American Teacher». On the other hand, theose with whom you (claim to) have had «business dealings» probably hadn’t the pleasure of reading your rants as Ted’s guest posters….
Seeing a lard-arsed fool utterly devoid of any knowledge of the Chinese language and culture posing as an expert on that people on these threads, would be amusing, were it not so sad….
Henri
@Henri
If you do know anything at all about the Han, you should know that they conquered other ethnic minorities through warfare and mass migration. They were/are utterly vicious, driving indigenous people from fertile land and up into the mountains.
I’m concerned about you, Henri. You are more than adequate. Your ancestors were magnificent.
May I call you Hank?
«If you do know anything at all about the Han, you should know that they conquered other ethnic minorities through warfare and mass migration.»
As I pointed out earlier, seeing a lard-arsed – and, may I add, lard-brained – fool utterly devoid of any knowledge of the Chinese language and culture posing as an expert on that people on these threads, would be amusing, were it not so sad….
Henri
Hey Hank
You have added nothing here, but then, you never do.
«You have added nothing here, but then, you never do.» Unable to respond when I point out your utter lack of qualifications for commenting on China and the Chinese, «American Teacher» ? Hardly surprising, coming from a lard-arsed and lard-brained fraud like yourself – a Walter Mitty without the charm….
Tell Ted !… 😉
Henri
@Henri
You’ve said nothing to refute what I said about the Han. You engage meaningfully up to a point, then lapse into insults.
Sad, very sad, and pointless. See you on the next piece, Hank
«You’ve said nothing to refute what I said about the Han.» I don’t expect a lard-arsed and lard-brained fraud like yourself, «American Teacher», to understand or even to have heard of the following principle, but perhaps you can get someone to explain it to you : quod gratis asseritur, gratis negatur. Until such time as you gain the competence required to discuss China and Chinese culture and can adduce evidence to support your racist – quelle surprise ! – thesis, it more than suffices simply to point out that it is false….
Pathetic….
Henri
@henri
Hank, you little incel, I gave you evidence.
Now, I’m looking for my baseball bat. I’ve got a game today.
I should write to Gina Haspiel. A baseball bat could make a great instrument of torture.
«Now, I’m looking for my baseball bat. I’ve got a game today.» No evidence at all concerning the dastardly nature of the Chinese, «American Teacher», instead an impllied threat from a pitiful lard-arsed and lard-brained fraud who claims to have nearly murdered a chap with such an instrument but then was rapidly released from prison because the guards were terrified of him….
Is it really this kind of egregious troll whom Ted expected to widen our views on this thread ?…
Pathetic….
Henri
@Henri
I just hit a home run.
Implied threat?
Sniveling coward in addition to pompous ass and insufferable bore.
Read up on the Han and get back to me.
«I just hit a home run.» Sure you did, «American Teacher», sure you did. And the bases were no doubt loaded, and your teammates chaired you ’round the field – after getting a crane to lift your lard-arse. As noted previously, a pathetic Walter Mitty without the charm…. 😉
Henri
@Henri
The bases were indeed loaded, but I carry my own weight.
Well, you better take to your bed for the afternoon. I’m sure that typing on the computer is giving you cramps.
«The bases were indeed loaded, but I carry my own weight.» Your team couldn’t hire a crane to lift that lard-arse onto the shoulders of your teammates ? Sad, «American Teacher», sad – your Korsakoff confabulations have gone just about as far as they can reasonably go. Talk about someone who needs to take to her/his bed !… 😉
Henri
@Henri
Another strikingly original comment.
You’re still up? And thinking about me!
Perhaps you’d like my image tattooed on your body?
«Perhaps you’d like my image tattooed on your body?» Ah, the vividness of your fantasy life, my dear «American Teacher» and what it reveals about your secret (?) and repressed (?) desires ! But what can one expect of a lard-arse ?… 😉
Henri
If only my image could be tattooed everywhere.
But it seems that your deepest desire is a tattoo of my lard-arse.
Well, you can’t have it. Only my wife can see my beautiful bum.
«But it seems that your deepest desire is a tattoo of my lard-arse.» The technical term for the type of defence against forbidden desires and fears you employ above is «projection», my dear «American Teacher» – rather primitive, but one can one expect from a lard-arsed and lard-brained fraud like yourself ?… 😉
Henri
@Henri
I understand. You are experiencing difficulties in your feelings towards me.
You like me so much that you’re convinced that I like you. That is why you keep writing and won’t leave me alone.
It’s okay so long as you get the help you need.
«You like me so much that you’re convinced that I like you.» Yet another example of your use of the primitive defence of projection. my dear «American Teacher». But don’t despair, I shall continue to respond to you, despite your disabilities – after all, as a professional, I understand your needs…. 😉
Henri
Okay, Dr Freud.
One day you’ll admit that you find me irresistible.
After all, I wake up to find messages from you and not the other way around.
«After all, I wake up to find messages from you and not the other way around.» As noted above, my dear «American Teacher», you’re not merely a lard arse, but a lard brain as well, but surely even you are able to understand that the different time zones in which we reside means that I often find your inanities in my inbox when I start my computer in the morning ? Or perhaps someone needs to explain to the «coach» the consequences of the globe being an oblate spheroid which orates on its axis ?… 😉
Henri
@Henri
I seem to be always on your mind.
«I seem to be always on your mind.» I should seem to be always on yours, my dear «American Teacher», were that lard-brain of yours able to produce one…. 😉
Henri
“Perhaps the only benefit from American decline is Israel pushed into the sea….”
Excuse me, Mr. Awesome Teacher, sir? Would that be an example of “dragging religion (and race) into every argument, especially when it doesn’t belong there.” ?
Do you breed lady’s slippers?
Answer: No.
The only thing you probably breed is cannabis, but since you are unemployed, you might consider opening a dispensary.
I made a political argument. Israel is an albatross.
Man, you’re sure hung up on lady’s slippers – but I’m afraid that you still owe me an answer.
That’s okay, no other xtian hypocrite has answered that question in the history of ever. Here’s a different version nobody’s ever answered either:
“If you’re on the side of goodness and light, then why is it necessary to lie?”
About what?
Try to keep up – it was just last period when you told that whopper about Darwin. He was most assuredly not a Christian.
We have the corroboration of not only his family who were beside his deathbed but also his own words, written in his own hand.
Now, I realize that my “interpretation” of the bible is different than yours, but I’m pretty sure Jehovah is against bearing false witness even in your peculiar version.
Darwin was a believing and practicing Christian until his dying day. From what bogus source did you get that nonsense? Maybe you are confusing him with Dawkins, who is still alive and is a rabid anti-Muslim.
And what plants, besides cannabis, do you breed?
Or was that a lie?
I dunno coach – seems like you’re the one smoking something. Sherlock Holmes kept his stash in a slipper, too.
There’s this new thing called “Google” – high school students are expected to know how to use it, then to have the reading comprehension level to understand what is revealed thereby.
Here, I’ll do the hard part:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Religious_views_of_Charles_Darwin#Darwin's_loss_of_faith
But I’ll cut you some slack. Maybe you’re not a liar, after all. Rather, you’re a gullible fool – somebody told you a big, fat whopper, and you believed them without even bothering to check their sources.
So, let’s modify the great unanswerable question:
“Given that your local shaman is on the side of goodness and light, why would he have to lie his wonders to perform?”
I see that you rely on wikipedia for your source. You are funny.
Read a good biography of the man, not today’s bogus scholarship that would make Henry James and Henry Adam’s faggots, real scholarship by people who knew how to write.
Incidentally, and since you like studies, you do know that atheists are genetic mutations?
Here we see that the superstitious primitive is incapable of processing new information when it contradicts its preconceived notions.
This corroborates my earlier hypothesis that superstitious indoctrination destroys critical thinking skills.
I would like to thank my volunteer for demonstrating my point so well.
… and that concludes the lesson for today.
Brilliant, Crazy H.
I responded to your criticism; you can’t respond to mine except with drivel.
As I’ve said, not a skilled rhetorician, but a wily one.
Night, pal.