losthighway wrote: Sun Aug 04, 2024 10:05 am As an educator and first amendment fan, this situation in OK has me on the edge of my seat.

https://thehill.com/homenews/education/ ... and-state/

If I was a teacher in Oklahoma, I would use that mandate as an opportunity to teach the real message of Jesus, which was feed the poor, hang out with horse, and practice Socialism.

Edit: that was supposed to say “hang out with whores,” but I’m going to let that talk-to-text typo stay. Eat hot chip and lie, etc.


As far as right wing violence goes, well, I feel terrible for anyone hurt by it, but I feel like it needs to happen to identify and excise the truly dangerous factions of our society, because despite how many AR-15s and ammo stockpiles they might have, they are no match for the national guard. Even though some of them are members of the military, there are enough active duty people who are not in the Trump cult. So I say let the psychos flip out and make themselves targets for the FBI/military. Again, it’s going to suck for the innocent victims, but there are always casualties in war. I hope the FBI/DHS/etc do their jobs right, but they will always be some terrorists who fly under the radar, so no matter what we do somebody is going to get hurt in the process.

ChudFusk wrote: Sun Aug 04, 2024 1:59 pm As far as right wing violence goes, well, I feel terrible for anyone hurt by it, but I feel like it needs to happen to identify and excise the truly dangerous factions of our society, because despite how many AR-15s and ammo stockpiles they might have, they are no match for the national guard.

The assumption here is that these are still fringe ideas, which I'm less sure about over time. Compare what a handful of dweebs were doing with QAnon/8chan 6 years ago vs. what Musk is doing on Twitter for millions of followers now.

Though my initial concern was less about knuckleheads in jacked-up pickup trucks vs. low-level courts, election boards, things like that.

The whole Conservatives are weird angle is long overdue.

Gramsci wrote: Mon Aug 05, 2024 9:43 am The whole Conservatives are weird angle is long overdue.

I've been thinking a lot about this and have arrived at the idea that this is one of those so simple it's brilliant messages. I'm used to the idea that "weird" is good, leftist, counter cultural, queer, punk etc. But I think it works here for two reasons.

First for us, mainstream culture is less overtly racist, more queer positive, more feminist, less religious, more accepting of individual self expression. Let's just call it: trad wives and the men who demand them are weird, if you hate abortion or common sense gun laws you're statistically weird.

For them, there is this mythology that places xenophobic, white Maga people as some kind of classic American vision. If there's anything they're into, it's feeling traditional and "normal". Rightly pointing out how strange, comic, tragically bizarre these characters are is actually using conformity in a positive way (a weird thing for an aging punk rocker to say). Our societal norms are closing out misogyny. If your political icons are plastic surgery disasters spewing garbled talking points we're all going to laugh at you.

This goes back to the original Maga engine. The Obama years told these pecker woods that their casual banter was actually an HR complaint and they'd better shut that shit down. The orange man came and told them "No buddy. You should be entitled to hate Mexicans." They rallied round that. "Weird" is putting that monster back in the closet and telling these fuck wads to behave or go away. No guarantee that it's successful but it's heartening.

Gramsci wrote: Mon Aug 05, 2024 9:43 am

The whole Conservatives are weird angle is long overdue.

That Won't PAC Down is so fucking creepy, and not very hyperbolic either. Nice work.

losthighway wrote: Mon Aug 05, 2024 10:41 am

Gramsci wrote: Mon Aug 05, 2024 9:43 am The whole Conservatives are weird angle is long overdue.

I've been thinking a lot about this and have arrived at the idea that this is one of those so simple it's brilliant messages.

My partner nailed it by saying it's the updated version of "out of touch".

That said, the messaging only works since Biden dropped out, cuz those Dark Brandon billboards and 'shrinkflation' Super Bowl ads were pretty fuckin' weird too.

Gramsci wrote: Mon Aug 05, 2024 9:43 am

The whole Conservatives are weird angle is long overdue.

I don't know when this came out, but it feels like the timing is just right.

penningtron wrote: Mon Aug 05, 2024 11:06 am

losthighway wrote: Mon Aug 05, 2024 10:41 am

Gramsci wrote: Mon Aug 05, 2024 9:43 am The whole Conservatives are weird angle is long overdue.

I've been thinking a lot about this and have arrived at the idea that this is one of those so simple it's brilliant messages.

My partner nailed it by saying it's the updated version of "out of touch".

That said, the messaging only works since Biden dropped out, cuz those Dark Brandon billboards and 'shrinkflation' Super Bowl ads were pretty fuckin' weird too.

It's funny that the republican push back is to proclaim they are not weird, backed with doing or saying something that is really fucking weird.

Like, "we're not weird, here's a hard drive I have of a transgender women to prove that you're weird."

cakes wrote: Mon Aug 05, 2024 11:08 am It's funny that the republican push back is to proclaim they are not weird, backed with doing or saying something that is really fucking weird.

Like, "we're not weird, here's a hard drive I have of a transgender women to prove that you're weird."

Exactly. "Don't you hate it when the Woke Mob won't allow M&Ms to be sexy anymore.."