American Politics: The Speaker's Cornered

[Bombadil]

So, is "wokeness" effectively a terrible euphemism for "Cultural Marxism?"

It has history, it was originally used in the 30's I think, when Africans talked to the black community needing to 'wake up', which became 'woke'.

It was also used in the 1960's in a NYT piece first outlining how 'hip' words, like 'cool', 'dig it' and 'woke' weren't from the Beatnik era, but came out of Jazz in the 40's, first talking to the appropriation of culture and how much of US cultural origins actually lay in the black community.

It then came to prominence again in the 2010's to mean being aware of any form of discrimination.

So once again white America has taken a word that originated in black culture as a tool to beat down any form of progression by blanket terming it over anything they don't like.

Naturally they've tied it to their historically favourite - communism - so any form of equality and progression is now 'woke' and 'communist'.

[Shrillland]

We've got the go ahead, there won't be any more rolling political threads, but these can still exist as stand alones. It is spring of 2023 in the US, the glacial movement towards Trump's indictment continues, and banks/ techbros are nostaligic for the 2000s with bank failures and tech startup chaos. On top of that, we've got a Mayoral vote in Chicago in April, three states with gubernatorials this year, and a pittance of ballot inititiatives. This is the thres to discuss American campaigns, political news, and general US politics. Enjoy yourselves, play nice, and always remember days and memes gone by.

Plebiscite Plaza 2023:

Louisiana's first amendment, up for a vote on Saturday, November 18, would allow the state legislature to consider vetoed bills during a regular or special session without having to convene a separate veto session. It would also stipulate that the governor's deadline to act on a bill is based on the legislative session in which the bill is passed or vetoed.

Normally, Oklahoma doesn't make odd-numbered year appearances, but a measure got on the ballot too late for 2022. SQ 820, up for a vote on March 7, would legalise marijuana in Oklahoma. Adults over age 21 could possess, transport, or distribute up to one ounce or marijuana, eight grams of concentrated marijuana, or up to eight grams of concentrated marijuana in infused products such as edibles. People could own up to six mature plants and up to six seedlings, and a process would be set up for expungement or modification of previous marijuana-related crimes. Sales would be taxed at 15%, with most funds going to the Oklahoma Medical Marijuana Authority's implementation of this measure. Remaining funds would be distributed to the state's general fund(30%), public school grants to encourage student retention, after-school and enrichment, and campaigns against substance abuse(30%), grants to government agencies and non-profits to fund addiction treatment and OD prevention programmes(20%), the state judicial revolving fund(10%), and the city or county where the weed was sold(10%). REJECTED

Question 1, to be voted on on April 4 with the next measure, would amend the constitution to allow the state legislature to define "serious harm" in relation to the conditions that a judge can impose on an accused person if they're released from jail before conviction. At the moment, judges can impose any condition they want to prevent bodily harm to others.

Question 2 would amend the constitution to allow judges to consider an accused person's previous convictions, the probability of them not appearing in court, the need to protect the community from serious harm(as defined by Question 1 if it passes), the need to protect witnesses from harm, and any potential affirmative defences before setting cash bail amounts.

What happened with the threads?

The Mods just got tired of threads continuously rolling without any significant connection between them.

[Fractalnavel]

Can't quote from the previous thread, but in response to this response to my post about why minor parties bother with the presidency when they know they don't have a snowball's chance in hell (to reach a 5% national share of the vote for ballot and funding access)...20 years of banging that drum here I've managed to get that across to now like three people so my time hasn't been completely wasted...

This one:

No third party anywhere believes for a second they're going to win the presidency and they're not trying to. They're trying to get 5% in a national election that grants them ballot access and eligibility to federal funds. They actually contest much smaller seats. The Green Party currently holds 128 seats nationally.. The Libertarian Party have over 300.

So there is actually potential value in voting for non-R/D in national elections, beyond 'sending a message'. Good to know.

(A "get quote markup" feature really needs to be added.)

[Thermodolia]

Tiktok should be banned

It'll just be replaced with something else like it. Reels on FB/Insta, something new. Hell, TikTok is just a version of a bunch of other shit that came before it that I can't remember the name of. Vine? Vine was one of them.

It being replaced by something else isn’t an issue, the problem is that TikTok is effectively Chinese spyware

[Socialist Montenegro]

So, is "wokeness" effectively a terrible euphemism for "Cultural Marxism?"

It has history, it was originally used in the 30's I think, when Africans talked to the black community needing to 'wake up', which became 'woke'.

It was also used in the 1960's in a NYT piece first outlining how 'hip' words, like 'cool', 'dig it' and 'woke' weren't from the Beatnik era, but came out of Jazz in the 40's, first talking to the appropriation of culture and how much of US cultural origins actually lay in the black community.

It then came to prominence again in the 2010's to mean being aware of any form of discrimination.

So once again white America has taken a word that originated in black culture as a tool to beat down any form of progression by blanket terming it over anything they don't like.

Naturally they've tied it to their historically favourite - communism - so any form of equality and progression is now 'woke' and 'communist'.

There isn't a Cultural Marxism, but there is a Cultural Maoism, and by that, I mean, constant public pressure for those who are "canceled" to make some kind of contrite, insincere confession/apology that will allow them to be eventually rehabilitated. Not without time in the cultural doghouse, of course. There are show trials by kangaroo courts of social media and such, the accused must accept their "wrongdoing" instead of defending themselves, agree to a one-sided version of events, and swear to behave themselves according to the wishes of those bringing pressure on them for daring to dissent.

Very Maoist, you see?

[Bombadil]

It has history, it was originally used in the 30's I think, when Africans talked to the black community needing to 'wake up', which became 'woke'.

It was also used in the 1960's in a NYT piece first outlining how 'hip' words, like 'cool', 'dig it' and 'woke' weren't from the Beatnik era, but came out of Jazz in the 40's, first talking to the appropriation of culture and how much of US cultural origins actually lay in the black community.

It then came to prominence again in the 2010's to mean being aware of any form of discrimination.

So once again white America has taken a word that originated in black culture as a tool to beat down any form of progression by blanket terming it over anything they don't like.

Naturally they've tied it to their historically favourite - communism - so any form of equality and progression is now 'woke' and 'communist'.

There isn't a Cultural Marxism, but there is a Cultural Maoism, and by that, I mean, constant public pressure for those who are "canceled" to make some kind of contrite, insincere confession/apology that will allow them to be eventually rehabilitated. Not without time in the cultural doghouse, of course. There are show trials by kangaroo courts of social media and such, the accused must accept their "wrongdoing" instead of defending themselves, agree to a one-sided version of events, and swear to behave themselves according to the wishes of those bringing pressure on them for daring to dissent.

Very Maoist, you see?

Near all of this 'constant public pressure' is played out on Twitter, which is filled with media, talking heads and celebrities, which creates a convergence of noise that is way over-amplified in the public sphere. It's a platform of 450M of which 90% are passive and the other 10% are either way over-entitled about their views or just trolling.

99% of the population couldn't give a shit about the debate on 'woke' or 'cancel culture' since 99% of the population aren't affected by it other than having to constantly read about some made up controversy that, on closer reading, isn't even a controversy.

Most people are concerned with having an equal chance at things, getting by and being treated fairly. However much of these basic requests are drowned out by media turning it into a massive culture war based on the opinion of a few.

[Socialist Montenegro]

There isn't a Cultural Marxism, but there is a Cultural Maoism, and by that, I mean, constant public pressure for those who are "canceled" to make some kind of contrite, insincere confession/apology that will allow them to be eventually rehabilitated. Not without time in the cultural doghouse, of course. There are show trials by kangaroo courts of social media and such, the accused must accept their "wrongdoing" instead of defending themselves, agree to a one-sided version of events, and swear to behave themselves according to the wishes of those bringing pressure on them for daring to dissent.

Very Maoist, you see?

Near all of this 'constant public pressure' is played out on Twitter, which is filled with media, talking heads and celebrities, which creates a convergence of noise that is way over-amplified in the public sphere. It's a platform of 450M of which 90% are passive and the other 10% are either way over-entitled about their views or just trolling.

99% of the population couldn't give a shit about the debate on 'woke' or 'cancel culture' since 99% of the population aren't affected by it other than having to constantly read about some made up controversy that, on closer reading, isn't even a controversy.

Most people are concerned with having an equal chance at things, getting by and being treated fairly. However much of these basic requests are drowned out by media turning it into a massive culture war based on the opinion of a few.

What I also call the "politics of butthurt." Sorry, but people in the real world have real issues to worry about, not manufactured and selective outrage. I advise people not to read any articles by Buzzfeed, by the way. They really seem to have bees in their bonnets about "problematic" movies and TV series. They need to worry about letting their staff unionize instead.

[Cannot think of a name]

There is a spectacular blindspot when it comes to outrage, selective or not and it frustrates the fuck out of me at how willingly people are to be lead around by the nose.

Essentially the formula is this:

X thing happens. A black girl is cast as Ariel, etc.

Some underpaid deadline driven writer at a content mill finds some schmoe with all of maybe 2000 engagements (or less, more on that in a second) on Twitter who is 'big mad. They collect generally speaking no more than four of these nobodies.

Then they write a clickbait headline that feeds in to people's prepackaged narrative of 'people be too sensitive these days' or 'people be angry about small changes to the culture.' Generally hyperbolic, "The Internet is Losing it's Mind Over..." "Fans Are Enraged That" and they include these Norman Nobody posts as 'evidence.'

Then, people who are nice and fired up about 'snowflakes' or 'people afraid of change' see that headline and share it to their social media feeds with some dumbass hashtag as proof positive the entire world has gone mad in exactly the flavor they've bought into.

No one reads the article. Definitely no one engages with the supposed source of this outrage because by the time it's being passed around these posts still only have about 2000 engagements, meaning after being boosted and shared around less than 2000 people actually bothered to check the sources. They didn't need to, they 'knew' the truth already.

Then this drives the machine, the outrage at the outrage where you struggle to find the person who gives a shit about Ariel but you find plenty of the self righteous people clucking their tongue at the 'people freaking out' never once recognizing it's them.

And if you point out that the 'source' the buzzfeed or whatever article provided was just some fucking nobody with no followers and that maybe this hysteria is manufactured they double down and lash back insisting "Oh no, it's totally a problem. Otherwise I would have emotionally invested myself in an obvious manipulation and I'm not about to admit that."

And then we all kinda die a little inside.

Shit is as reliable as the tides and so are people refusing to recognize their own culpability.

[Mayhem Era Anglo-America]

There is a spectacular blindspot when it comes to outrage, selective or not and it frustrates the fuck out of me at how willingly people are to be lead around by the nose.

Essentially the formula is this:

X thing happens. A black girl is cast as Ariel, etc.

Some underpaid deadline driven writer at a content mill finds some schmoe with all of maybe 2000 engagements (or less, more on that in a second) on Twitter who is 'big mad. They collect generally speaking no more than four of these nobodies.

Then they write a clickbait headline that feeds in to people's prepackaged narrative of 'people be too sensitive these days' or 'people be angry about small changes to the culture.' Generally hyperbolic, "The Internet is Losing it's Mind Over..." "Fans Are Enraged That" and they include these Norman Nobody posts as 'evidence.'

Then, people who are nice and fired up about 'snowflakes' or 'people afraid of change' see that headline and share it to their social media feeds with some dumbass hashtag as proof positive the entire world has gone mad in exactly the flavor they've bought into.

No one reads the article. Definitely no one engages with the supposed source of this outrage because by the time it's being passed around these posts still only have about 2000 engagements, meaning after being boosted and shared around less than 2000 people actually bothered to check the sources. They didn't need to, they 'knew' the truth already.

Then this drives the machine, the outrage at the outrage where you struggle to find the person who gives a shit about Ariel but you find plenty of the self righteous people clucking their tongue at the 'people freaking out' never once recognizing it's them.

And if you point out that the 'source' the buzzfeed or whatever article provided was just some fucking nobody with no followers and that maybe this hysteria is manufactured they double down and lash back insisting "Oh no, it's totally a problem. Otherwise I would have emotionally invested myself in an obvious manipulation and I'm not about to admit that."

And then we all kinda die a little inside.

Shit is as reliable as the tides and so are people refusing to recognize their own culpability.

And Thus Spoke Meta, I think. That's pretty much how these guys get their notoriety, I guess. Attention-seekers left and right alike.

[Bombadil]

What was Chris Rock's guide to social fame?

Show ass
Actually be good at something
Be a victim

Since not everyone has great ass, and actually being good at something is hard, easier to get all butthurt and play the victim.

Meanwhile, ignore actual issues where people are genuine victims.. (unless you're FOX and the victim is a blonde cheerleader and the transgressor is African American, that's front page news baby..)

One of the one's that annoys me is the AITA trend, like 'am I the asshole for banning my in laws from our grandkids for being KKK members..', like shut the fuck up, no one cares about your made up situation in which you're such a hero..

Anyway, back to our regular scheduled politics.

[-Astoria-]

Version 17: new thread aroma edition.

[San Lumen]

https://thehill.com/homenews/senate/389 ... mediately/

McConnell discharged from hospital, won’t return to Senate immediately

[El Lazaro]

It has history, it was originally used in the 30's I think, when Africans talked to the black community needing to 'wake up', which became 'woke'.

It was also used in the 1960's in a NYT piece first outlining how 'hip' words, like 'cool', 'dig it' and 'woke' weren't from the Beatnik era, but came out of Jazz in the 40's, first talking to the appropriation of culture and how much of US cultural origins actually lay in the black community.

It then came to prominence again in the 2010's to mean being aware of any form of discrimination.

So once again white America has taken a word that originated in black culture as a tool to beat down any form of progression by blanket terming it over anything they don't like.

Naturally they've tied it to their historically favourite - communism - so any form of equality and progression is now 'woke' and 'communist'.

There isn't a Cultural Marxism, but there is a Cultural Maoism, and by that, I mean, constant public pressure for those who are "canceled" to make some kind of contrite, insincere confession/apology that will allow them to be eventually rehabilitated. Not without time in the cultural doghouse, of course. There are show trials by kangaroo courts of social media and such, the accused must accept their "wrongdoing" instead of defending themselves, agree to a one-sided version of events, and swear to behave themselves according to the wishes of those bringing pressure on them for daring to dissent.

Very Maoist, you see?

I’m not sure about that. It’s more so a group of cultural elites radicalizing public discourse to push their far-left vanguard agenda; I call this Cultural Bolshevism. Kulturbolschewismus within the Kulturkampf, if you prefer the original German terms used in the 20th and 19th centuries respectively, in which certain things happened to certain minority groups in a certain country.

I can’t help but shake the feeling that some of these ideas allude to, um, let’s call it German nationalism. That being said, it would be pretty crazy if conspiracy theories like white genocide and the Deep State had anything to do with those guys.

[Corrian]

Even if TikTok isn't a security threat it should be banned.

It should be banned for having some of the most cringe content in the world.

[El Lazaro]

Even if TikTok isn't a security threat it should be banned.

It should be banned for having some of the most cringe content in the world.

Posting cringe isn’t illegal. Not yet, at least.

[Elwher]

Third parties have been successful in the past. In 1854, the GOP was a third party; four years later they elected a president.

[Cannot think of a name]

What was Chris Rock's guide to social fame?

Show ass
Actually be good at something
Be a victim

Since not everyone has great ass, and actually being good at something is hard, easier to get all butthurt and play the victim.

Meanwhile, ignore actual issues where people are genuine victims.. (unless you're FOX and the victim is a blonde cheerleader and the transgressor is African American, that's front page news baby..)

One of the one's that annoys me is the AITA trend, like 'am I the asshole for banning my in laws from our grandkids for being KKK members..', like shut the fuck up, no one cares about your made up situation in which you're such a hero..

Anyway, back to our regular scheduled politics.

Okay, but here's the thing. Starting from that premise is the kind of thing that creates the phenomenon. "People get butthurt to play victim just to gain social fame." So then someone Rebecca Black's that shit, goes and finds someone who without 'outrage about outrage' self feeding system would have squandered away in obscurity and then elevate that person to prove people are out there to elevate themselves by 'playing the victim.' Some rando who posts a complaint about some random shit that's bothering them on Twitter isn't the problem. It's the people who scrape social media looking for the most egregious example of their already constructed premise and then presents it in a clickable sensationalist confirmation that 'they're out there trying to get attention', and then people who want to prove or buy in to Chris Rock or anyone else's premise shares it creating the illusion that this is an epidemic when all it ever was was just some rando who had a bad day or just so not 'man bites dog' of 'if you look long enough you'll find someone saying something nutty.' But this isn't proof of anything other than our cloying need to feel superior to someone on the internets. And there's no immunity to it except to catch yourself when making broad assumptions.

It's more complicated than 'my assumption about culture bears out.'

Alright, last tilt at that windmill. People are fairly invested in this cycle and trying to pry them out has only ever proved frustrating.

[Corrian]

So some shitty January 6th song topped the charts this week? Its a very bizarre song to even be on the charts.

[Emotional Support Crocodile]

So some shitty January 6th song topped the charts this week? Its a very bizarre song to even be on the charts.

Trump will be demanding a cut of any profits. Probably all of them.

[-Astoria-]

So, is "wokeness" effectively a terrible euphemism for "Cultural Marxism?"

And in turn is a euphemism for the Nazi-era term "cultural Bolshevism".

---

In other news, a court rules that Uber and Lyft workers are (still) independent contractors.

US court rules Uber and Lyft workers are contractors
Published 4 hours ago
By Annabelle Liang
Business reporter

A US court has ruled that "gig" economy giants including Uber and Lyft can continue treating their workers as independent contractors in the state of California.

The California appeals court found that a labour measure, known as Proposition 22, was largely constitutional.

Labour groups and some workers had opposed the measure, saying it robbed them of rights like sick leave.

The firms say the proposition protects other benefits such as flexibility.

The latest ruling overturns a decision made by a lower court in California in 2021, which found that Proposition 22 affected lawmakers' powers to set standards at the workplace.

The state of California and a group representing Uber, Lyft and other firms appealed against the decision.

On Monday, a three-judge panel at the appeals court ruled that workers could be treated as independent contractors. However it removed a clause, which put restrictions on collective bargaining by workers, from Proposition 22.

Shares in Uber and Lyft were almost 5% higher in after-hours trading.

"Today's ruling is a victory for app-based workers and millions of Californians who voted for Prop 22," Tony West, chief legal officer at Uber said.

"We're pleased that the court respected the will of the people and that Prop 22 will remain in place, preserving independence for drivers," Mr West added.

Lyft said that the proposition "protects the independence drivers value and gives them new, historic benefits."

The Service Employees International Union, which challenged the constitutionality of Proposition 22 with several drivers, said it was considering appealing against the court's decision.

In November 2020, voters in California passed Proposition 22 that allowed freelance workers to be classified as independent contractors.

It was a victory for Uber and Lyft which run a $205m (£168.7m) campaign to support the measure.

However, the win came with some concessions and companies were required to offer workers some benefits, including healthcare and accident insurance.

Some drivers had backed Proposition 22 but other drivers and labour groups opposed it, pointing out all the benefits of being classified as employees including sick days, leave and overtime pay.

Tens of millions of people work in the global gig economy across services like food delivery and transport.

Gig workers are paid for individual tasks, such as a food delivery or a car journey, rather than getting a regular wage.

Most US federal and state labour laws, such as those requiring a minimum wage or overtime pay, do not apply to gig workers.

Firms like Uber and Lyft have come under increased scrutiny as the industry grows in size.

[Austria-Bohemia-Hungary]

So, is "wokeness" effectively a terrible euphemism for "Cultural Marxism?"

And in turn is a euphemism for the Nazi-era term "cultural Bolshevism".

More like the euphemism for "those goddamn bloodsucking jews again"

The firms say the proposition protects other benefits such as flexibility.

When the planet finally fucking realises workers want stability and livability instead of the fiction of "choice" I will have a communist party. With a red wedding cake twelve stories high.

[-Astoria-]

And in turn is a euphemism for the Nazi-era term "cultural Bolshevism".

More like the euphemism for "those goddamn bloodsucking jews again"

Yes, that was the implication.

[Vassenor]

So, is "wokeness" effectively a terrible euphemism for "Cultural Marxism?"

Or any time a work of popular media includes any sort of minority representation that isn’t negatively stereotypical.

[El Lazaro]

So, is "wokeness" effectively a terrible euphemism for "Cultural Marxism?"

Or any time a work of popular media includes any sort of minority representation that isn’t negatively stereotypical.

The inclusion of non-Aryans without demonstrating their inherent otherness makes a piece of media degenerate art by definition. What will happen to white civilization if The Woke indoctrinates Americans into believing in race-mixing and gender ideology are acceptable? The education system is also using the Frankfurt School’s communist reverse racism to make our children feel ashamed of being white, and we must therefore ban un-American books that criticize anything about our nation’s history and purge teachers who taint our racial purity.

Totally not racist at all, it’s all about free speech and stuff. SJ(e)Ws have gone too far and there’s nothing wrong with pointing that out. Why is the left accusing me of using Nazi rhetoric???

[Ifreann]

Even if TikTok isn't a security threat it should be banned.

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