My letter to the editor today in the local paper (don't read if you aren't interested in political posts)

@chienfou Which, until the population demographic of senile old coots & biddies changes, i have no doubt would keep reelecting the anti-“woke” authoritarian & wannabe dictator.

@ircon96
how dare you talk to Felton like that!

@Kidsandliz I have to ask. How does one “suck a brick”?

@Kidsandliz
@detailer Ask your mom.

@detailer @Kidsandliz Ask MTG, she is now sucking McCarthy’s schmeckle and has probably sucked all varieties of animal, vegetable and mineral during her lifetime.

@detailer @Kidsandliz
Hey, @Felton10, thanks for THAT mental image! I’ll send you the therapy bill.

@detailer @Felton10 @ircon96 UPDATE!!! After trying for 6 or so weeks, calling over 300 times (my phone kept track and I added them all up the week before last where it was 302, more now and not bothering to count) and often staying on hold for 6-8+ hours (where you are not disconnected when their work day ends) or immediately being cut off I FINALLY got through to customer service at unemployment.

They had no idea what the problem was but directed me to where you can actually upload information and contact them. It’s a 7 step process that uses a url that has no link to it on their main website (why am I not surprised. Sigh.). I took screen shots of each step so I could duplicate it if I need to in the future. So I sent them all my documentation and application all over again with an explanation as to why I was doing it (eg no action and my 12 weeks of benefits ended already without me getting a penny yet).

But the website is down on the weekends and I will need to wait until next week to see what happens but at least I have a non-phone way to contact them now. Of course I have no idea if it is useful or not. This has been done on purpose by preventing unemployment from having enough money to upgrade anything nor hire enough people to make the phone number even useful. Of course why should the governor care. We are just lazy bums trying to live off of not working. Yeah right. The max amount of unemployment per month is below the poverty line for even one person and most states pay much more and 26 weeks, not 12.

This is NOT what we want running the country. It is bad enough he is running Florida.

@medz @medz

Prime example of maga politicians doing what is best for themselves
and not the people they allegedly serve.

Nothing new under the sun.
Ecclesiastes 10:5-6:

5There is another evil I have seen under the sun. Kings and rulers make a grave mistake 6 when they give great authority to foolish people and low positions to people of proven worth.

@phendrick So, let me get this straight. These days, conservatives are for minimal taxes & laissez-faire, free-market capitalism, but only for companies that aren’t “woke”?

IIRC, Disney (of which I’m no huge fan, BTW) brings in MASSIVE amounts of tourism capital (& resulting tax revenue) to the state, so it’s more than a bit of a “cutting off the nose to spite the face” approach, all in the name of “owning the libs” to shore up DeSantis’ MAGA bona fides in advance of his anticipated presidential campaign.

So, it seems to be yet another example of the current craven, spineless lack of traditional conservative convictions when it comes to kowtowing to the basest motivations of their base.

@phendrick And, BTW, when attempting to refute an argument, you should accurately quote it. @Felton10 specifically stated he was referring to NORMAL people moving there. Neither AARP nor the census specifies the mental state or functioning of those who are relocating.

@phendrick Let me address some of your comments.

At first I thought DeSantis was going to be an OK governor until the presidential bugs bit him. His only road to the Republican nomination was Trump’s 33% MAGA vote but as many who have fallen by the wayside learned going up against Trump directly is a death sentence for any politician. So he decided get everyone’s attention by ruining Florida by enacting the most far right anti everybody and everything laws in the country.

Take my word people are moving to FL for the weather-not for the laws DeSantis has put in place.

Florida does not have a state income tax so I doubt all the benefit given Disney outweigh all the taxes they pay at every level which helps fill the state treasury coffers. And if the deal made with them was so awful why hadn’t some questioned it for over 50 years until DeSantis got his panties in a wad because Disney exercised their right of free speech to comment on his “Don’t say Gay” law.

If and when he gets the nomination, he is going to have a hard time defending all the draconian laws he and his lemming legislature have passed in Florida.

@ircon96 @phendrick I don’t pretend to understand all the complexities involved in the DeSantis/Disney kerfuffle and I’m not defending DeSantis’ actions.

However, removing special tax incentives from one company so that they’re all on the same playing field is kind of the definition of the “traditional conservative conviction of laissez-faire, free-market capitalism.”

And I hope by your followup comment you weren’t implying that everyone moving to Florida must be mentally incompetent. We can discuss politics without resorting to insulting everyone who disagrees with us.

@ircon96

@Felton10 specifically stated he was referring to NORMAL people moving there.

OK, I’ll bite. Exactly who or what would be the “normal” person in Florida?
I keep hearing memes about “Florida man”. So is that the image of “normal” there? Felton seems to be saying that non-conservatives (or such as not agreeing with R DS) not coming there. Are they your “normal” people? If that is key to this part of the discussion, I’d appreciate a definition of the term, or any mention of such would just be idle filler.

Neither AARP nor the census specifies the mental state or functioning of those who are relocating.

How would they go about that, anyway? Again, a straw man argument.

@ircon96 @phendrick I probably should have been more specific by saying instead of the usual perception of old farts (which I am one now BTW although I moved here 20 years ago) moving to FL to retire, enjoy the warm weather and die (hopefully later than sooner), I was referring to people with children who plan to move to Florida to raise a family and live here for many years.

With all the crazy laws restricting what can be taught in schools, I doubt many “normal” people would consider this an inviting habitat for learning.

@phendrick @Weboh To both of you, i wasn’t the one who used the word “normal,” i was merely pointing out that Felton did, and he clarified his intention with a follow-up comment, so you’d have to address that with him instead of me.

@phendrick, I simply noticed that your reply specifically stated, “No wonder nobody ever moves there from other states” and that is not at all what @Felton10 said. That has nothing to do with whether AARP or the census could or should define normal, just that your response didn’t address it, either. As for the Florida Man trope, that’s just the kind of person Felton’s statement indicates they DON’T need more of moving there. Both perfect examples of straw men, provided by you. Maybe you should refresh your memory of the definition of that term before accusing others of using them.

@Weboh, i specifically mentioned “minimal taxes” as an example of traditional conservative values, so i would argue, in this case, that would mean giving all companies the same incentives that Disney was given, which would also level the playing field, although more in line with what i was referencing. Of course, that doesn’t address the tourism income i mentioned, the absence of which would likely leave the state in a financial pickle, which is what i meant by the “cutting off the nose…” comment.

@Felton10 @ircon96 @Weboh
Too much unfounded in there to refute.
And you have a knack for twisting statements (no doubt from lots of practice, as I have noticed on these forums).

But…
I doubt that if there is any drop off in Disney tourism, it has much to do with Disney paying more in taxes (also part of next point).
If Disney and/or other companies are given tax breaks that reduce what they pay in such, either other taxpayers (meaning mostly residents) will have to make up the difference or the state and local governments will have to curtail spending – which most don’t have much appetite for.
Only the Federal government gets to print money.

In my local community, there have been many examples of the city councils (many times made up of local C of C members, if that tells you anything) giving multi-year tax breaks to companies that have come in, promising to hire X number of new employees, and then these same companies closing operations, often before the tax breaks have expired (read that as, before they have paid their fair share of taxes) and most times before they have hired anywhere near X local people. This after the local community has expanded infrastructure to accommodate the new business; and then the properties sit idle for a year or three waiting for new occupants.

I hear about the enticements, then get my property tax statement, then I snarl. In my latest tax appraisal, my values are up about 10%. I haven’t got the latest tax estimate (they are waiting for the tax base to be settled, after protests), but with my existing exemptions, I am expecting my bill to be up about 14% over last year. With my assets worth about 6% less than they were last year, thanks to our Federal gummit. But I pay my taxes. Disney should too.

I know that companies shop around for new areas that will give them the sweetest possible deal. I understand that. If I were a stockholder, I would certainly expect that. I blame the communities who bend over backwards and then get shafted after overly sweetening the pot with high-grade honey.

Seems like Florida is merely turning off some of the spigots.

I hate cronyism in any form, whether from Republicans or Democrats, military/military-industrial, bureaucrats, elected officials. But you can feel free to promote it.

@damnshit

https://www.redfin.com/blog/where-people-leaving-portland-are-considering-moving-to/

@damnshit @lisaviolet
1 companies leaving and people leaving are two different things
2 the article specifies the most SEARCHED for relocation spots. There is no indication they actually ended up there in the same numbers.

@chienfou @damnshit I understand that, but since I couldn’t find “droves” of companies leaving (I did find some mostly due to high crime rates, like REI, which is still in the area suburbs, but not enough that I would call it “droves”), I thought to myself “well, let’s see where the people are moving since jobs are gone”.

@damnshit @lisaviolet
Again… searching for info about a place, and actually moving there are not necessarily the same statistics.

@chienfou @damnshit Thank you, thank you, thank you so much for explaining that to me.

I would have gone to my grave not knowing that. I am forever in your debt.

@lisaviolet
/image you’re welcome

@Weboh “but most of the things attributed to him like “allowing concealed carry without a permit, a six-week abortion ban, [and] ‘limiting the discussion of menstrual issues in school,’” are things a majority of state lawmakers voted for’ with the approval of the people that voted for them. Isn’t that how democracy is supposed to work?”
yes, that is how it’s supposed to work…but does it ACTUALLY happen?
often not. largely b/c we have one party who has gone out of their way to 1) make it harder to vote in general. 2) Gerrymander districts in such a way to guarantee their party maintains power…some states, my own def. included are gerrymandered enough to deliver super majorities every time.
as soon as they have that locked down, they couldn’t give 2 shits what their constituents want, it’s what does their donors, and “The Party” want.

heck, here in OH, several years back we passed a constitutional amendment about redistricting moving map drawing power from the majority party, to a “Bi-Partisan” commission.
when the time came following the 2020 census, the 7 person “Bipartisan” commission, was made of all elected officials, 5 GOP (including the Gov. Attorney general, and Auditor) 2 Dems.
every map they delivered was disputed, and sent to the state supreme court, who deemed them all unconstitutional based on the amendment, but also that they couldn’t intercede.

this dragged on almost up to the '22 election itself, and ended with the court putting one of the rejected maps in place, but only for that cycle. we have to go through it all again before the '24 election.

I should also mention, the Gov. is on the commission, and one of the supreme court justices ruling on those maps, is his son…who refused to recuse himself.
our maps are drawn to the point where most are considered “non competitive” basically anyone you run as long as they have that little ® next to their name will be elected.
My own congressional district is proof of that…I’m “Represented” by Jim Jordan, whom I’ve Voted against every time he’s Run.

https://ohiocapitaljournal.com/2022/09/02/redistricting-one-year-later-ohio-a-unique-flawed-case/
https://www.redistricting.ohio.gov/
https://www.redistricting.ohio.gov/public-comment

Oh… this year, there have been several ballot initiatives to get proposed amendments on future ballots, enshrining other things in the state constitution, things like reproductive health/abortion, and recreational Cannabis.
their response… an august special election to make it harder to get initiatives on the ballot.
instead of a simple majority to to get the proposed amendment on the next ballot, you’d need a 60% super majority.
https://ohiocapitaljournal.com/2023/05/15/upcoming-august-special-election-is-illegal-law-experts-say/

@Weboh Just because the Democratic party in FL is a mess and DeSantis had gerrymandered the hell out of every democratic voting district in FL, made it harder for every non white person to vote and pandered to every racist, homophobic, anti immigrant lowlife in FL and gotten the rubber stamp legislature to go along with his craziness, I am supposed to like it.

He has ignored every ongoing problem that exists in FL to pander to the MAGAnuts. Insurance rates, red tide, seaweed, storm surge, hurricane preparation all have taken a back seat to the Herr Fuhrer mentality that goes around in his brain (assuming he has one). Have you heard how many times he uses woke in every speech-his lame brain followers can’t even spell it much a less tell you want it means other than it is bad?

I thought Trump was bad-this guy is much worse as his brain isn’t quite a fried as Trumps and he should know better, but he doesn’t care one bit about the people of FL and once all his sexually disease infected supporters in the Villages die, Florida is really going to be the shit hole of the nation as no one with a young family will have moved here assuming of course the whole state had not disappeared under water.

Guess you know my feeling by now.

@earlyre @Weboh
yeah, but on the other hand, in Alabama they end up having to gerrymander districts to ensure there will be electable candidates for racial reasons. Should THAT be allowed? It’s hard to argue for one and not permit the others… Seems like if you load all the Republicans (in Ohio’s case) into supermajority districts you leave a bunch of districts that have the rest of the ‘non-republican’ voters and they would be the dominate voice in those districts.

@earlyre @Weboh I personally think that gerrymandering in any form is by definition “anti-democracy”, no matter which party does it. And there is absolutely no doubt that whichever party is in power in a given jurisdiction attempts to do it, given an opportunity.
Here in Texas we get some very awkwardly configured congressional districts after each new census, and these are usually arrived at by the Republican legislature. Of course, these are subject to some review by federal courts, but that in itself opens up some new cans of worms.
I’m willing to bet that such shenanigans also play out in blue states.

I haven’t tried doing such myself, but I think there should be some mathematical/geometrical way of redistricting based on changes in population. Essentially a method based on a prescribed “formula” (more a process rather than an equation). This might be analogous to a “box-packing” problem with known shapes. A physical analogue might be the way that electrons distribute themselves when confined. At any rate, the method would have to be arrived at and agreed to by all parties concerned BEFORE any elections occur.

@chienfou My personal view is that ANYTHING that takes into account race is inherently discriminatory and we should make every effort to do away with such tactics. I thought the goal was to do away with racial treatments. Arguing that you cure discrimination (even in the past) by doing more discrimination is self-defeating.

As I said earlier, I try to view everything in the lens of consistency and logic. Someone explain to me how Asians in this country are “not a minority” and get no special preference whereas other minorities do. In fact there have been recent lawsuits by Asian interests claiming that they have been discriminated against with the use of racial quotas, such as graduate/professional school admissions.

And this is totally ignoring the stigma that goes with “affirmative action”. Oh, you just got the nod because of your race, gender, religion, nationality, whatever, not because you are especially qualified.

@Felton10
Re DeSantis and MTG. Nice that you always use nothing but logic instead of ad hominem attacks.

You give your opinions as if they were facts. Maybe actually state some concrete facts to back them up?

Such as. How is it harder for anyone to vote there? Note- that’s not the same things as whether their vote actually matters, which is what gerrymandering affects.

the Democratic party in FL is a mess

Look closer. The Democratic party is a mess in most states, as well as the Republican party.
.
As long as their are no term limits, the same old shits will be making the same policies over and over. I think there should be limits of max two terms for any congressman (or woman). And a huge reduction in retirement benefits.
I think the country would be better off without either Schumer or McConnel.
The new electees generally come in fired up to fix things. Then they get beat down by those with seniority.
If I were king, their pensions would be in tune with the national debt, inversely. And only be for a set time, not indefinitely, even after a two year term.
(Definitely, you can keep printing money with no effect on inflation. Yeah, sure. Isn’t that what we’ve been seeing?)

@phendrick How is it harder to vote-tighten the rules re drop boxes, who and how many votes people can take to the drop boxes for their neighbors, the hours for early voting. Even said you can’t give people in line waiting to vote water because that might influence who they would vote for. But the two biggest things effecting voting rights were when the voter passed a referendum that was on the ballot about letting convicted felons vote. Thinking this meant more were going to vote Democratic, he overrode the intended will of the voters and got passed a section that only allowed those convicted felons to vote who had paid all their back fees (which was nowhere in the original referendum).

And then there where the election police-He held a news conference and made a big deal about the 20 people his gestapo picked up who had voted illegally. Unfortunately he didn’t do his homework and it was found out that most were told they were ok to vote, allowed to register to vote and given voter registration cards. Hard to prove intent to vote illegally when you were told you could vote by local officials. No mind that several lost their jobs as a result of their arrest even though their cases were either dismissed or thrown out of court. You don’t think something like this would have a chilling effect on those who could vote but don’t want to take the chance that DeDumbass and his storm troopers will arrest them?

@Felton10 @phendrick While i completely agree with term limits & curtailing the outrageous benefits Congress has bestowed upon itself, i would argue that there isn’t a person more worthy of an ad hominem “attack” (and an insulting epithet) than MAGAty “Jewish Space Lasers” .Gangrene. In addition to that gem, her record of unhinged craziness includes many more conspiracy theories straight from QAnon & the like, involving 9/11, school & mass shooting false flags (not to mention accosting a survivor of a school shooting in the street) and various accusations of Democrats being involved in cannibalism, pedophilia, Satanic rituals (the perfect example of ad hominem attacks), etc., etc., ad nauseum. If you want an idea of how far “out there” she & her ilk have gone, Google “frazzledrip.” Oy. Do you really think she shores up your argument? Plus, the only mention of her was an irreverent joke in response to another’s attempt at one. That hardly qualifies as an ad hominem attack, don’t you think?

@chienfou Get out of here with your logic and useful statistics!

@chienfou @zinimusprime The problem with those bar charts is that credible ones are supposed to have the same number of “units” (in this case years) in each bar. This one does not. 24 and under is by 5 years and 55 and older is by 5 years, all the middle ones are by 10 years.

@chienfou @Kidsandliz @zinimusprime Except for 65-74.
The grouping is kind of odd. I don’t know if that’s just how the Census Bureau does it or what, but the numbers don’t look to be messed-with. The bins that are twice as wide also contain about twice the population. I’m honestly surprised at how flat it is.

@Kidsandliz That’s inconsequential to the aggregate grouping of population. 50% of the population by age group is still 50% regardless of how it’s binned.

@Kidsandliz @zinimusprime

The problem with those bar charts is that credible ones are supposed to have the same number of “units” (in this case years) in each bar.

Ummm… WHAT? The statistics I quoted are the actual NUMBERS (percentages) The size of the bars is totally irrelevant to that discussion. Sure it makes a pretty picture, but numbers are numbers.

@chienfou FL has, number wise, the 3rd most number of 65+ living there (beat only by CA and TX which are states that have a higher population too) and has the second highest percentage of 65+ who live there.

The percent of people in the USA is 65+ is 16.8%. FL beats that percent of population in their state.

And, of course, the younger half of the boomer generation has yet to hit 65 (boomers are currently 58-77) and when they finally do the percent 65+ will be 22%

@chienfou @zinimusprime Each bar is supposed to include the same number of years (for example 5 year range or 10 year range, not both as that bar chart does).

@chienfou Don’t know what happened to my screen shots when I edited for clarity. Here they are:

@chienfou @Kidsandliz No fair. You haven’t normalized your font size by land area.

@Kidsandliz

And, of course, the younger half of the boomer generation has yet to hit 65 (boomers are currently 58-77) and when they finally do the percent 65+ will be 22%

“younger half”…is that by age or by percentage of the cohort/population?? If it’s by age, it’s closer to one third…

but that all still begs the question posed earlier…
“they can’t seem to elect the ‘right’ candidate… why is that??”

@Limewater

You haven’t normalized your font size by land area.

@chienfou Well less than half are under 65, but some have divided the boomer generation roughly in half due to differences between those subjected to the draft and those who escaped that because the USA pulled out.

@Kidsandliz
so are saying that half the total boomer population is under 65 currently, but they were 15 when we pulled out of 'Nam (March 1973)?? Or are you saying those born before 1955 make up half the cohort of boomers (defined as born 1946-1964)?

@chienfou I apologize for the confusion, the coots & biddies comment was intended to be facetious. I didn’t mean to insinuate senility was the only reason that Floridians would reelect that pandering simp, after all, there are so many character flaws & intellectual inadequacies from which to choose!

@ircon96
< there are so many character flaws & intellectual inadequacies from which to choose

does this refer to the candidate or the electorate?

@chienfou Since i mentioned senility, i have to admit i was referring to the electorate, but otherwise, you have a point there, it could certainly apply to both! Sadly, i don’t think senility is this candidate’s problem, I’m pretty sure he could pass the “man, woman, camera, person, TV” test with flying colors. I just see him as an opportunistic slimeball glomming onto Drumpf’s tyrannical coattails.

@shahnm Heh.
I usually react negatively to the political crap that gets interjected into the forum for Meh’s daily deal on refurbished diapers, or whatever.
But @Felton10 did announce in advance that it was a political post, and random naifs wandering into the forum wouldn’t be blindsided, so I thought it was fair in our any-random-thought-goes style here.
So I was just hoping for some well-reasoned discourse. Some was, some wasn’t.

I think the political circular-firing-squad mentalities we tend to have in this country today is primarily due to the LACK of decent discourse. I think too much has been shut down in the name of Political Correctness, or I’m Offended by YOUR opinion (though I’m entitled to mine).

I think most Mehmbers have sufficient mental aptitude for good debate (though not convinced they all use it, all the time.)

@phendrick

I think most Mehmbers have sufficient mental aptitude for good debate (though not convinced they all use it, all the time.)

This is the problem, and that’s why I (and I think a lot of us) hate political stuff here. It turns some people into monsters, and once they show that side of themselves, it’s a lot less fun here afterward…

@shahnm Good one !!

@Kyeh To Late; Did Read;
Wish I Hadn’t

@Kyeh @macromeh
TL;DdR;WIH?
New internet initialism?

@macromeh I’m referring to all the logorrheic comments, especially; he did say don’t read if you aren’t interested in political posts, but of course everyone does anyway.

@Kyeh @macromeh I never heard of that word. I had to look it up. It is an absolutely perfect word.

Pedants need not reply. Thank yew, very much.

@lisaviolet It is a useful word, isn’t it?

@lisaviolet Well shit - I was just about to reply.
Guess there’s no need…

@Felton10 Uh. Every single one of those measures is the sane thing to do.

There’s no “right-wing code” for anything. There’s right, and there’s wrong. You just listed a bunch of ways in which DeSantis is doing what is right.

Thank you.

@shahnm Obviously I don’t agree with you, but differences of opinion is what makes the world go around. If everyone thought the same it would be a pretty boring place although these days wish it would be a little more boring.

@Felton10 Agreed. And thank you for the civility in your reply. I don’t doubt that we both want what we believe will lead to a better country, though we fundamentally disagree on the way in which to achieve that. I also don’t think either will convince the other of the virtues of our views. With that said, nothing can be accomplished with vitriol, other than to make the world a worse place. I appreciate dialogue, if not necessarily to convince or to be convinced, but at least to understand. There can be compassion and even perhaps camaraderie amongst those who understand each other. In these times, those are worthy goals to strive for.

@Felton10 So, will the station that carries RuPaul’s Drag Race (I think it’s MTV now) be blocked in Florida? Will Logo? And Bravo?

Will movie channels that carry movies like Brokeback Mountain still be allowed?

Where doe it stop? Right now, Florida seems like each day is another “Hold my beer” meme day.

@Felton10 @lisaviolet No one has ever suggested blocking any of those things. The point of the “memes”, is to protect young kids from being sexualized (from any orientation - this isn’t limited to gay or trans issues as has been popular to mischaracterize by the media and the poorly informed), to protect the rights and privacy of as many as possible, and to ensure the value and validity of women’s sports.

Debate about any of those topics has not been shut down, but it becomes somewhat futile when those proposing counter-arguments start off with grossly inaccurate hyperbole and imaginary strawmen…

@Felton10 @lisaviolet @shahnm

and to ensure the value and validity of women’s sports.

Why would we do that? It’s way better to allow a man that barely placed in competitive swimming to dominate against woman…

@Felton10 @lisaviolet @shahnm @zinimusprime
Wow, it’s amazing, how many men are suddenly taking an interest in protecting women’s sports!

@lisaviolet One article I read suggested that children would be banned from attending the play “Mrs. Doubtfire” under the new law. My wife and I saw the play (and obviously the movie also). Only a warped mind would consider that play’s purpose to be indoctronating. Is there such a word?

@Felton10 @lisaviolet Why would you base your viewpoint about the policy, or the minds behind it, upon what a biased writer of an opinion piece would postulate? Neither that play nor that movie are drag shows. If it makes you feel better, children would also be banned from cis-het straight strip/sex/sexually-charged shows.

Sexualizing and/or graphically displaying sexuality to young children has become a bizarre addition to the already bizarre catechism of leftism. Why??

@Felton10 @shahnm

I’m done here. I honestly feel like I’m wasting my time. So, please, when you respond?

Remove my name so I no longer receive notifications in my email. Thanks.

@Felton10 @shahnm UGH, I’m really not wanting to get drawn into this dispute but do you really not see the absurdity of this statement?!?

Sexualizing and/or graphically displaying sexuality to young children

Do you not watch any mainstream TV or look at magazines? Remember Brook Shields?
Have you walked down the toy aisles where the heavily-made-up pouty dolls are sold?
I mean - it’s gone on forever but it’s only become a problem now that people have agreed to acknowledge that some kids who don’t even understand about procreation yet just know that they don’t relate to the gender expectations that come with their biological bodies?

@Felton10 @Kyeh

they don’t relate to the gender expectations that come with their biological bodies

A 3 (or 4, or 5, or 6…) year old child is not capable of fully understanding that statement. A child cannot reasonably understand and make decisions regarding destructive hormone treatment, permanently disfiguring surgery, and irreversible psychological manipulation.

As adults, it is incumbent upon us to protect children. Governor DeSantis’ policies are designed to protect children. Most people seem to understand this, which is why he has significant support (even though not everyone agrees with his political positions on other things).

@Kyeh @shahnm He main goal is to go as far to the right as possible to win the MAGA voters without having to directly confront Trump who will eat him alive. I think once he ventures out of the friendly confines of Florida he will find a less support and agreement for his policies-especially those dealing with abortion, immigration, and interfering with free speech.

His pissing contest with Disney is not going to end well for him. Just saw today Disney cancelled plans to spend a billion dollars for a new campus in Florida.

@Felton10 @Kyeh @shahnm Actually, children of that age DO have some understanding of their gender identity, even if they can’t yet put it into words. There are many cases of children who are born with “ambiguous genitalia” or have some other condition that causes them to appear to be the opposite of their biological gender. When they have been “assigned” a gender that does not align with their biology, many of them have described knowing something was wrong or off at a very early age, well before they understood these concepts. These laws ensure that those children will continue to be scarred by similar experiences when they are denied the opportunity to decide for themselves, before puberty (when the permanent physical changes take place), what gender fits their own identity. Just as you & i did not “decide” or “choose” to be a specific gender or sexual orientation, neither do these children. They simply know how they feel inside, and if they aren’t allowed to live their lives accordingly, they frequently suffer serious emotional & psychological damage, as well as threats to their physical safety resulting from ignorance &/or intolerance of their situation. Also, children of that age are not subjected to surgery or any other irreversible treatments, they ideally receive counseling to explore their feelings & support from their loved ones until they are old enough to make a decision about THEIR bodies.

As for the danger of drag, children understand that at an early age, also. Much of their play is based on dressing up as various characters, including those of the opposite gender. So are their Halloween costumes. Anyone who thinks drag performers reading children’s books to young library patrons is a sexual thing needs to get informed, and possibly get professional help. They are not stripping, engaging in nightclub acts, or trying to recruit kids into an alternate lifestyle, or whatever the fear mongers are alleging, they are just hosting fun events that encourage a love of reading & imaginative play. Don’t take it from me, take it from a Baptist minister & theologian:

https://baptistnews.com/article/drag-queens-reading-books-to-children-are-not-the-problem/

And, how do you know no one has ever suggested banning those TV shows/channels? Maybe those who are now in positions of power haven’t yet said the quiet part out loud, but i can easily envision that being part of the larger plan. It wouldn’t even need a slippery slope to materialize, since it’s directly in line with their current path.

You used the phrase “bizarre catechism of leftism”–is that the kind of dialogue you hope leads to compassion & camaraderie? But seriously, there are extremist members of both parties (MTG is about as bizarre as they come), but the difference is, in the Republican party, the extreme views are increasingly becoming part of the mainstream platform, which is much scarier to me. Their winner-take-all, take-no-prisoners approach to holding onto power makes them especially beholden to the most extreme members of their base in order to avoid being primaried. While this has always been the deal to some extent in both parties, it seems that the Republicans are taking it to a new, disturbing level. If the center of the party doesn’t figure out how to regain control of it, assuming they want to, it seems that it’s headed for some even darker waters &/or certain doom.

@ircon96 @Kyeh @shahnm Agree 150%. McCarthy sold his soul to the devil to get the speakership and now with the Republican’s slim majority, MTG and Jim Jordan and the other far right wackos are steering the ship.

@ircon96 first off, it wasn’t being invaded by people that don’t belong there previously. Secondly, I love women in sports. They should be supported in all facets of life. Their viability as a commercial and entertainment success, that a different story and not of my material concern, but women in sports is awesome. But if my daughter has to compete against some dude because he feels like he should’ve been a girl, of course I’m going to speak up. I never did before because there was nothing to speak up against at least in my corner of the world. Now there is so now I speak.

PANS! GLANDS! CRAYONS! AWESOME!

@Felton10 Whoops. You missed a reply thingy

@Felton10 Now, hey, that’s some generalization.

@Felton10

trying to cut health care, school lunch programs and all other programs that are necessary for the child to develop into a healthy and happy adult.

???

Really. ??? ?

@shahnm From where I view it, Republican are all concerned about the life of child before it is born but after it is born could care less whether they get enough food, have proper health insurance, have clean air to breath, adequate housing and proper schooling. They are always trying to cut programs that provide the above. But when a bill comes around that gives the wealthy more tax cuts or cuts oversight by the IRS they are all in for those bills.

Anyone has to be a mentally impaired to believe what the Republicans are shoveling about the 80,000 IRS agents with guns going door to door auditing and harassing low income taxpayers. You know why tax season went so smoothly this year-because of the extra money they got to hire more customer service employees and upgrade their equipment. As a CPA I know this for a fact to be true.

@zhicks1987 Of course I did, but I warned you what it was about beforehand so you have no complaints if you did and got pissed over my point of view.