Idk. I live in southern CA. My congressman is a Democrat and very normal, i.e. lawyer, married, 2 kids, concerned about the environment. My neighbors are very ordinary, some are Republicans, some Democrats and many Independents. My son is a HS teacher. I have never heard anyone use Latinx and there a lot of Hispanics in CA. I never hear anyone complain about acknowledging racial problems in our country, I don't know anyone who talks about transsexuals and problems. My son was never taught to give special consideration to gay or transsexuals students. It's not even mentioned.
So all I ever know about these wild issues comes from Right Wing news people or politicians complaining about Democrats pushing these ideas. Just because some person in media or show business or academia says people should do away with pronouns or people should let their child pick their own sex or Hispanics should no longer differentiate sex in the Spanish language. Doesn't mean everyone thinks that way.
My point being there are people who put forth these ideas and some of them may vote Democratic, but they do not speak for Democratic Party. They don't speak for people who are left of center any more than the Ku Klux Klan is part of the Republican Party.
M&Ms company is probably responding to lower revenue by hiring a new, young marketing team who suggested that the M&M commercials should try to appeal to a more young female demographic. Not realizing that teenage girls don't usually eat M&M's because they're fattening. The company would better off marketing diet M&Ms.
I love Amanda, but I’m a little skeptical of this sensate map of doom, in particular regarding in a commonwealth that borders her own WV.
While I can’t speak to what’s going on in Virginia (which seems like a weird one on the list given the general Blueness of the state) as a resident of the North East city our former President described as one where bad things happen, color me weary on the potential dangers of an R winning in PA. Bob Casey has won all three of his Senate general elections with a margin of anywhere from 9-17 points. The state has gone D in the pres year 3-of-4 presidential elections since he’s been there. He’s a close ally of the last former president to (get this) not have been impeached. We just elected a guy whose health issues (unfairly) gave many swing voters some pause and who has historically been part of the Bernie coalition, not to mention his vulnerabilities on crime last year. He won by 5 points against a handsome weirdo who wasn’t all in on Stop the Steal and fed abortion restrictions. Is Pa really going to boot the most milk-toast liberal in the entire Senate for a guy with Stephen Miller on the payroll?…
Look, we shouldn’t be caught off guard and Ds should run like Casey’s ten points behind, but I sort of think the current panic is a little bit of the commentariat being too cautious due to lingering 2016 PTSD.
I'm relieved to hear of the same-party Senator rightfully calling out a charlatan chameleon that is G.S., or whatever he/she/they/we/us/it masquerades himself as this week. Sen. John Kennedy is OK in my book. What's not OK is how the GOP labels the "unimportant people," i.e., those who are not in the House, who may be non-binary as heretics, yet OK with G. "Carnival Carmelita" Santos parading around Rio in high heels!
How do YOU eat your M&Ms? I always ate the red ones last. I don't eat M&Ms much anymore, but I imagine that I still would -- old habits die hard. I didn't know what gender red M&Ms were. I still don't, as a matter of fact. Hope nobody's offended.
"The American right is no longer an intellectual force; it’s a group of hecklers getting their jollies by gleefully shitting on all they observe, sort of like an unfunny, nativist Statler and Waldorf."
More like a troop of monkeys, right down to screaming and biting for no apparent reason.
Irl I never see crazy leftist stuff here in liberal state. Online yes. Irl no. Latinix is dumb and a lot of liberals/democrats/ the NYT even agree. Democrats police their own party. Republicans do not. I have republican friends and family say sone bat shit crazy things parroted from the lovely Fox news. This article is not completely false, but way too bothsidesism.
They’re still far right. Like the other families you mentioned their primary motivation is making money, and they probably expected this advertising idea to result in more sales. If they really thought “anti-woke” advertising would result in more sales they would have done that instead.
"The problem is that it fails to note that the thing that the right is freaking out about is, indeed, pretty harebrained.”
Nope, this is absurd. The right only freaks out on two occasions. When the problem is inconsequential but can drum up public outrage that they can harness, or when the problem is complex enough they think they can lie about it successfully.
See the two issues mentioned above. M&Ms: totally inconsequential. CRT: the right's argument against it was based on lies and exaggerations.
They turned it into nothing more than a brand for "things conservatives don't like". That was Rufo's stated strategy from the beginning. There was no real objection to graduate level CRT in school, and the most "damning" thing they could find in public schools were internal documents talking about racial inequality. No one was teaching white kids to feel guilty or hate themselves. No one was teaching that America is irredeemably evil. All of those accusations were lies.
And look at what did happen. A bunch of radicalized conservatives took over school boards. They started banning books about inequality, racism, and the holocaust. They started persecuting LGBT teachers and students. They banned elective AP history courses about black history. They even started proposing laws to imprison librarians.
So you don't get to play both sides here. Between this disingenuous take and the Bulwark's terrible take on trans people, it seems like you're so desperate to hang on to your "conservative" credentials that you're just starting to sink back into the muck with the rest of the maga right.
The Bulwark doesn't have a "terrible take on trans people", it has a critical take on professionals, medical and educational, who may be rushing kids -- that is, minors -- into transitions that may or may not address their real problems, and keeping secrets from their parents.
Those certainly are points of view that are open to debate, and the writers here are willing to debate them. They don't deserve to be labeled and dismissed out of hand. Intentionally or not, you've just modeled the second half of your accusation, "when the problem is complex enough they think they can lie about it successfully."
I wonder who is better at understanding the needs of trans people and finding the appropriate standards for care? Would it be the medical and educational professionals who work directly with trans people and pay attention to the research? Nope, it's definitely political pundits who were also opposed to the rights of gay people in the 90s and 00s.
I have engaged in this debate on other posts, but frankly it's a little tiring debating trans people's right to exist. When one side's take is let individuals live their lives without state interference and the other side is trying to eliminate trans people from society, pretending that there is room for this debate in the public sphere is grossly negligent.
The Bulwark's takes are terrible because they are exactly the same conservative talking points we've left in the dust about gay and lesbian people. Children aren't being "transed" by activists any more than they are being "groomed" to be gay. Trans athletes are such a small percentage of the population that most of these laws might as well include a list of names of people banned from sports. The insistence that this is a fad is an irresponsible claim that lacks evidence, especially when you look at the real numbers of people receiving care.
Maybe if the Bulwark had ever invited a trans guest on their podcast to discuss these issues I wouldn't think their takes were terrible. But instead they "both sides" this issue in a way that gives cover to bigots on the right who would eliminate trans people entirely.
RE: "It's an incomplete narrative engineered for political purposes."
Forget that crap about politics being warfare by other means. You want to know what politics is? This is it. At least American politics in the 21st century. Though that former explainer isn't all that far off these days either as far as one side of the political spectrum goes.
Y'all will have to excuse me now. Have to go stick my head under the spigot to douse the flames, remembering not to yawn too derisively for too long while doing so, lest I drown. Then I'm gonna' go buy me some M&Ms, kick back with a copy of Green Eggs and Ham and have an effin' beer, while keepin' up with what's on my Twitter and FB feeds and maybe takin' in a little of the Rev. Al and Tuck as I reach for another beer. That oughta' do it for keepin' my perspective about things fair and balanced. Yep. Yessiree. You betcha'!
If the Republicans take votes on decreasing Medicare and Social Security and other likely stupid things maybe our Senators are not in such bad shape. These next two years are just going to be so much fun. The Dodd decision wasn't enough they will go for more. I hope so much they take every vote. Democrats should be making ads now for those vulnerable states and running them; on kitchen table issues and promoting the jobs Joe Biden is producing in each state; district by district.
Part of the problem is that the personalities that get the most attention are the ones who want and need it the most. They often don’t care what they need to do to maintain the attention.
Scoring 60 points takes real talent and dedication. But it isn’t what’s necessary to win.
Idk. I live in southern CA. My congressman is a Democrat and very normal, i.e. lawyer, married, 2 kids, concerned about the environment. My neighbors are very ordinary, some are Republicans, some Democrats and many Independents. My son is a HS teacher. I have never heard anyone use Latinx and there a lot of Hispanics in CA. I never hear anyone complain about acknowledging racial problems in our country, I don't know anyone who talks about transsexuals and problems. My son was never taught to give special consideration to gay or transsexuals students. It's not even mentioned.
So all I ever know about these wild issues comes from Right Wing news people or politicians complaining about Democrats pushing these ideas. Just because some person in media or show business or academia says people should do away with pronouns or people should let their child pick their own sex or Hispanics should no longer differentiate sex in the Spanish language. Doesn't mean everyone thinks that way.
My point being there are people who put forth these ideas and some of them may vote Democratic, but they do not speak for Democratic Party. They don't speak for people who are left of center any more than the Ku Klux Klan is part of the Republican Party.
M&Ms company is probably responding to lower revenue by hiring a new, young marketing team who suggested that the M&M commercials should try to appeal to a more young female demographic. Not realizing that teenage girls don't usually eat M&M's because they're fattening. The company would better off marketing diet M&Ms.
I love Amanda, but I’m a little skeptical of this sensate map of doom, in particular regarding in a commonwealth that borders her own WV.
While I can’t speak to what’s going on in Virginia (which seems like a weird one on the list given the general Blueness of the state) as a resident of the North East city our former President described as one where bad things happen, color me weary on the potential dangers of an R winning in PA. Bob Casey has won all three of his Senate general elections with a margin of anywhere from 9-17 points. The state has gone D in the pres year 3-of-4 presidential elections since he’s been there. He’s a close ally of the last former president to (get this) not have been impeached. We just elected a guy whose health issues (unfairly) gave many swing voters some pause and who has historically been part of the Bernie coalition, not to mention his vulnerabilities on crime last year. He won by 5 points against a handsome weirdo who wasn’t all in on Stop the Steal and fed abortion restrictions. Is Pa really going to boot the most milk-toast liberal in the entire Senate for a guy with Stephen Miller on the payroll?…
Look, we shouldn’t be caught off guard and Ds should run like Casey’s ten points behind, but I sort of think the current panic is a little bit of the commentariat being too cautious due to lingering 2016 PTSD.
RE: Cheap Shots
I'm relieved to hear of the same-party Senator rightfully calling out a charlatan chameleon that is G.S., or whatever he/she/they/we/us/it masquerades himself as this week. Sen. John Kennedy is OK in my book. What's not OK is how the GOP labels the "unimportant people," i.e., those who are not in the House, who may be non-binary as heretics, yet OK with G. "Carnival Carmelita" Santos parading around Rio in high heels!
How do YOU eat your M&Ms? I always ate the red ones last. I don't eat M&Ms much anymore, but I imagine that I still would -- old habits die hard. I didn't know what gender red M&Ms were. I still don't, as a matter of fact. Hope nobody's offended.
"The American right is no longer an intellectual force; it’s a group of hecklers getting their jollies by gleefully shitting on all they observe, sort of like an unfunny, nativist Statler and Waldorf."
More like a troop of monkeys, right down to screaming and biting for no apparent reason.
Irl I never see crazy leftist stuff here in liberal state. Online yes. Irl no. Latinix is dumb and a lot of liberals/democrats/ the NYT even agree. Democrats police their own party. Republicans do not. I have republican friends and family say sone bat shit crazy things parroted from the lovely Fox news. This article is not completely false, but way too bothsidesism.
The Mars family used to be about as far to the extreme right as the Koch family, the Coors family, or the DeVos family. What happened?
They’re still far right. Like the other families you mentioned their primary motivation is making money, and they probably expected this advertising idea to result in more sales. If they really thought “anti-woke” advertising would result in more sales they would have done that instead.
Yes!
So, what's the over/under on Democrats retaking the House, Republicans retaking the Senate, and Biden still being in the White House?
"The problem is that it fails to note that the thing that the right is freaking out about is, indeed, pretty harebrained.”
Nope, this is absurd. The right only freaks out on two occasions. When the problem is inconsequential but can drum up public outrage that they can harness, or when the problem is complex enough they think they can lie about it successfully.
See the two issues mentioned above. M&Ms: totally inconsequential. CRT: the right's argument against it was based on lies and exaggerations.
They turned it into nothing more than a brand for "things conservatives don't like". That was Rufo's stated strategy from the beginning. There was no real objection to graduate level CRT in school, and the most "damning" thing they could find in public schools were internal documents talking about racial inequality. No one was teaching white kids to feel guilty or hate themselves. No one was teaching that America is irredeemably evil. All of those accusations were lies.
And look at what did happen. A bunch of radicalized conservatives took over school boards. They started banning books about inequality, racism, and the holocaust. They started persecuting LGBT teachers and students. They banned elective AP history courses about black history. They even started proposing laws to imprison librarians.
So you don't get to play both sides here. Between this disingenuous take and the Bulwark's terrible take on trans people, it seems like you're so desperate to hang on to your "conservative" credentials that you're just starting to sink back into the muck with the rest of the maga right.
The Bulwark doesn't have a "terrible take on trans people", it has a critical take on professionals, medical and educational, who may be rushing kids -- that is, minors -- into transitions that may or may not address their real problems, and keeping secrets from their parents.
Those certainly are points of view that are open to debate, and the writers here are willing to debate them. They don't deserve to be labeled and dismissed out of hand. Intentionally or not, you've just modeled the second half of your accusation, "when the problem is complex enough they think they can lie about it successfully."
I wonder who is better at understanding the needs of trans people and finding the appropriate standards for care? Would it be the medical and educational professionals who work directly with trans people and pay attention to the research? Nope, it's definitely political pundits who were also opposed to the rights of gay people in the 90s and 00s.
I have engaged in this debate on other posts, but frankly it's a little tiring debating trans people's right to exist. When one side's take is let individuals live their lives without state interference and the other side is trying to eliminate trans people from society, pretending that there is room for this debate in the public sphere is grossly negligent.
The Bulwark's takes are terrible because they are exactly the same conservative talking points we've left in the dust about gay and lesbian people. Children aren't being "transed" by activists any more than they are being "groomed" to be gay. Trans athletes are such a small percentage of the population that most of these laws might as well include a list of names of people banned from sports. The insistence that this is a fad is an irresponsible claim that lacks evidence, especially when you look at the real numbers of people receiving care.
Maybe if the Bulwark had ever invited a trans guest on their podcast to discuss these issues I wouldn't think their takes were terrible. But instead they "both sides" this issue in a way that gives cover to bigots on the right who would eliminate trans people entirely.
RE: "It's an incomplete narrative engineered for political purposes."
Forget that crap about politics being warfare by other means. You want to know what politics is? This is it. At least American politics in the 21st century. Though that former explainer isn't all that far off these days either as far as one side of the political spectrum goes.
Y'all will have to excuse me now. Have to go stick my head under the spigot to douse the flames, remembering not to yawn too derisively for too long while doing so, lest I drown. Then I'm gonna' go buy me some M&Ms, kick back with a copy of Green Eggs and Ham and have an effin' beer, while keepin' up with what's on my Twitter and FB feeds and maybe takin' in a little of the Rev. Al and Tuck as I reach for another beer. That oughta' do it for keepin' my perspective about things fair and balanced. Yep. Yessiree. You betcha'!
Yes, Yes, and YES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
If the Republicans take votes on decreasing Medicare and Social Security and other likely stupid things maybe our Senators are not in such bad shape. These next two years are just going to be so much fun. The Dodd decision wasn't enough they will go for more. I hope so much they take every vote. Democrats should be making ads now for those vulnerable states and running them; on kitchen table issues and promoting the jobs Joe Biden is producing in each state; district by district.
Part of the problem is that the personalities that get the most attention are the ones who want and need it the most. They often don’t care what they need to do to maintain the attention.
Scoring 60 points takes real talent and dedication. But it isn’t what’s necessary to win.
Glad you finally found Jeff Maurer. He has some great political humor that I think is under appreciated.
I'm surprised Carlson didn't realize the m&m was tansitioning