Rants, Raves and Opinions AKA "The Octagon"

It's not going to matter if we don't get our shit together. Right now we are on a path of dependency through all the various entitlements that have been increased over the last 40 years or so. At the break over point is when we as country lose our freedom of democracy. The subject has been written about for over 200 years and we are not paying enough attention. BTW last time I checked we were not too far from 50% being on some type of aid. Voters on the "draw" almost always vote for the candidates that will benefit them more in the future. So while we are being fractured into different arguments some of which are magnified by outside influence like Russia and China, we are losing.

[QUOTE=INeedAnother;5528159]Sorry, bud, that's just stupid. The KKK is irrelevant. Republicans are for individual rights and freedoms, not suppression. If you believe that vote integrity has anything to do with suppression, you're an idiot, plain and simple. The democrats are cheaters, always have been, always will be.

For democrats to believe that a person should vote a certain way because of the color of their skin, regardless are upbringing, belief in form of government, religion, economic status, etc, is inherently racist. But that's all democrats have because their policies suck.

Inflation, taxation, economic oppression, destruction of jobs and middle class, and now, essentially, outright socialism / communism, is what the democrats are. Everything the democrats have said for the past 6 years has been bullshit, because that's all they have. Their policies are basically shit. Give me freedom.[/QUOTE]Which part of the Texas "heartbeat bill" is, "for individual rights and freedoms, not suppression"? The Texas Medical Association, the largest state medical association in the country released an open letter ([URL]https://www.texmed.org/Template.aspx?id=57687[/URL]) that says, [I][b]"If permitted to proceed, this law will be precedent-setting and could normalize vigilante interference in the patient-physician relationship in other complex, controversial medical or ethical situations."[/b][/I]. That sounds like suppression, not promoting individual rights and freedoms.

Also, were the GOP promoting individual rights and freedoms when they fought tooth and nail to keep same sex marriage from being made legal? I don't see how.

What about all those GOP transphobic bathroom bills? Weren't those designed to keep trans people from simply using the bathroom?

BTW-- why is Kevin McCarthy threatening telecommunication companies from obeying subpoena? Not only is it against the law to try to interfere with congressional investigations by trying to intimidate potential witnesses, but that's also interfering with a business' freedom to comply with the law.

You're talking the talk, but clearly the GOP isn't walking the walk.

[QUOTE=DNut;5528445]Which part of the Texas "heartbeat bill" is, "for individual rights and freedoms, not suppression"? The Texas Medical Association, the largest state medical association in the country released an open letter ([URL]https://www.texmed.org/Template.aspx?id=57687[/URL]) that says, [I][b]"If permitted to proceed, this law will be precedent-setting and could normalize vigilante interference in the patient-physician relationship in other complex, controversial medical or ethical situations."[/b][/I]. That sounds like suppression, not promoting individual rights and freedoms.

Also, were the GOP promoting individual rights and freedoms when they fought tooth and nail to keep same sex marriage from being made legal? I don't see how.

What about all those GOP transphobic bathroom bills? Weren't those designed to keep trans people from simply using the bathroom?

BTW-- why is Kevin McCarthy threatening telecommunication companies from obeying subpoena? Not only is it against the law to try to interfere with congressional investigations by trying to intimidate potential witnesses, but that's also interfering with a business' freedom to comply with the law.

You're talking the talk, but clearly the GOP isn't walking the walk.[/QUOTE]What the republicans mean when they say "freedom," is freedom for whatever bullshit they like, but not for anyone else. The lack of self-awareness would be comical if it didn't fuck with other people trying to get by.

[QUOTE=RogerOver;5526319]The simple minded fools always mention the fact that they're the party of Lincoln, democrats were racist, blah blah blah. The fact is that's all behind them. Lincoln wouldn't have breakfast with these rightard clowns today. For that matter, none of the founding fathers would.[/QUOTE]AAAAAAAaaaaaaamen Brother!

[QUOTE=DNut;5528445]Which part of the Texas "heartbeat bill" is, "for individual rights and freedoms, not suppression"? The Texas Medical Association, the largest state medical association in the country released an open letter ([URL]https://www.texmed.org/Template.aspx?id=57687[/URL]) that says, [I][b]"If permitted to proceed, this law will be precedent-setting and could normalize vigilante interference in the patient-physician relationship in other complex, controversial medical or ethical situations."[/b][/I]. That sounds like suppression, not promoting individual rights and freedoms.

Also, were the GOP promoting individual rights and freedoms when they fought tooth and nail to keep same sex marriage from being made legal? I don't see how.

What about all those GOP transphobic bathroom bills? Weren't those designed to keep trans people from simply using the bathroom?

BTW-- why is Kevin McCarthy threatening telecommunication companies from obeying subpoena? Not only is it against the law to try to interfere with congressional investigations by trying to intimidate potential witnesses, but that's also interfering with a business' freedom to comply with the law.

You're talking the talk, but clearly the GOP isn't walking the walk.[/QUOTE]So abortion and trans bathrooms are your big issues that mean more to you than taxation, massive growth of government and spending and destruction of manufacturing and loss of jobs and loss of real middle class?

Abortion, it's not really an issue of mine. I understand it, but it's practical if nothing else. I don't see it going away and think the Texas law is too restrictive, personally. I'm actually sorry it passed because it will motivate a demotivated dem base.

So make family bathrooms, no big deal. Please try to understand men not wanting to send their young daughters into bathrooms with trans men.

Subpoena personal phone data, for congressional political investigation, not even through warrants? To witch-hunt individuals for political persecution? THAT is infringements of rights. We're supposed to be free. Jan 6 was much ado about nothing. It is made into a big deal just for political purposes to get Trump.

[QUOTE=RogerOver;5528519]What the republicans mean when they say "freedom," is freedom for whatever bullshit they like, but not for anyone else. The lack of self-awareness would be comical if it didn't fuck with other people trying to get by.[/QUOTE]The GOP fights for every ones rights. This includes the rights of child and the father of that child. Unlike the Socialist Democrats that think that a woman has the right to murder a baby. Women have the right not to have sex, use protection, have their tubes tide or adoption. Plan Parenthood is America's gas chambers. There is a reason why the Socialist Democrats have them in low income, minority / black & brown neighborhoods. The majority of babies murdered are black or brown. Just part of LBJ master plan. One day we will all meet our maker and when he or she ask did you support killing my children or did you oppose it, and what will you say. You will not be able to blow any smoke because it's a simple yes or no question.

[QUOTE=INeedAnother;5528978]n.

Subpoena personal phone data, for congressional political investigation, not even through warrants? To witch-hunt individuals for political persecution? THAT is infringements of rights. We're supposed to be free. Jan 6 was much ado about nothing. It is made into a big deal just for political purposes to get Trump.[/QUOTE]First of all, my example are NOT ALL ENCOMPASSING, but simply a few examples that contradict the notion that the GOP is all about personal freedoms. The GOP is about white Christian evangelicalism, gun access, and xenophobia. The KKK, neo-Nazis, and run of the mill Trumpters all identify with the GOP. As Roger succinctly put it, they're only about their freedoms, not anyone else's. They're about their freedom to persecute others than don't believe, or act, (or look) as they do.

Secondly your question asking why Congress is using a supeona instead of a warrant is because the difference between a subpoena and a warrant is that a subpoena is usually directed to a nonparty witness, while a warrant is usually directed to someone in law enforcement to do something. A warrant is an order or writ issued by a court, a grand jury, or an authorized investigative body that gives a law enforcement agent a specific type of authorization. A supeona is issued to a witness or someone with evidence.

So before you start asking these questions, make sure they are the correct questions. Otherwise, you can look pretty foolish.

I think INeedAnother made some good points. I find it interesting that the democrat / liberal constituents consistently support a campaign of fake outrage and hypocrisy. They won't complain against blatant law breaks and smear campaigns when it benefits them. But will unfortunately complain when it fits their narrative. Don't get me wrong all lives matter, and it would be nice to just respectfully agree to disagree without trashing each other. But look at Ferguson MO when the truth came out in circa 2015-16. Not one democrat or liberal of high rank apologized for that. Furthermore where was justice during the fake phony Russian hoax / Mueller investigation of 2 years, that frankly ended up incriminating Hillary and the DNC? Where was justice and the Dems speaking out against the unlawful FISA warrants? Where were they when back in 2016 the message from Dems / Liberals was "resist. Hit them lower", the shooting of Rep Scalise, and the storming of the Capital by BLM and Antifa. I read that back then they had more arrests in 2016 compared to 2021. Obama creates a known terror vacuum and creates ISIS, and Biden creates another haven for terror in 2021 . And contributes $Billions to Iran, largest supporter of international terror and the Hamas. And Dems don't complain?

And regarding McCarthy, like it or not my friend, those rights are protected by law (remember back when we had LAWS?). AND GET THIS: It's an ADMITTED over reach by the dems that they cannot lawfully demand these records (see Missouri Democrat comment, Bennie Thompson, who admitted this, just last FRI). There was also a leaked admission last week that the Dems are afraid they'll loose votes from pro-abortion folks. AND THE FREEDOM YOU SPEAK OF. Is for the rights of the unborn. Remember them? You were once one, so was I. Don't they have rights? It's the baby's body, and these ambassadors are standing in the gap for the unborn, when no one else will, and knowingly know that it does not help them politically. That's integrity. That's character. That's "values."

I saw too where the largest amount of charitable and benevolence giving to charities and social causes comes from those who I'd themselves as "conservatives" , and do it privately which is the way it should be, but yet no ones acknowledges that.

I love all people, but again hate the destructive narrative that gets spun to create dissension, all because those who are anti-American have an agenda. Guys, they're just trying to turn us against each other. 1 more Case in point: I read an article that highlighted # of those shot to death by police in year 2020. I'm not qualifying each scenario as cops have it tough today, but it said 241 of those shot by police were black African American, and 169 were Hispanic. There was no mention of any other ethnic background in the narrative, but they did supply a table. Upon closer look at the table, 457 were white. I'm not justifying any actions on the part of criminals, one way or the other, but why not practice fair journalism, and speak for all sides?

We could go on an on, but the hypocrisy is obvious. And above this we should ALL be concerned about the questionable and deceitful character we see in our current president. TRAITOR JOE BIDEN (come shop at TRAITOR JOE's). He irresponsibly left Americans (and Afghans) behind in Afghanistan. Totally unacceptable. It was a botched plan of the most awful regard (many think intentional). But why should we be surprised? BIDEN was part of the SAME LEAVING AMERICANS BEHIND in BENGHAZI in 2012. You see. It's a pattern. He does not care about us. And passing these billion dollar packages pushing us into a "Venezuela" like inflation shows he further doesn't care.

So I respect your right to believe what you want, and agree to disagree, but it's hard to accept any narrative from the Dem / Liberal side of things when it's filled with ... Fake Outrage and Hypocrisy. Pure and Simple.

[QUOTE=DNut;5528445]Which part of the Texas "heartbeat bill" is, "for individual rights and freedoms, not suppression"? The Texas Medical Association, the largest state medical association in the country released an open letter ([URL]https://www.texmed.org/Template.aspx?id=57687[/URL]) that says, [I][b]"If permitted to proceed, this law will be precedent-setting and could normalize vigilante interference in the patient-physician relationship in other complex, controversial medical or ethical situations."[/b][/I]. That sounds like suppression, not promoting individual rights and freedoms.

Also, were the GOP promoting individual rights and freedoms when they fought tooth and nail to keep same sex marriage from being made legal? I don't see how.

What about all those GOP transphobic bathroom bills? Weren't those designed to keep trans people from simply using the bathroom?

BTW-- why is Kevin McCarthy threatening telecommunication companies from obeying subpoena? Not only is it against the law to try to interfere with congressional investigations by trying to intimidate potential witnesses, but that's also interfering with a business' freedom to comply with the law.

You're talking the talk, but clearly the GOP isn't walking the walk.[/QUOTE]

It was just a poor (and frankly, failed) excuse to witch hunt Trump. INeedAnother is exactly right. I find it interesting that even though Trump is no longer in office, the "other side" is still scared to death of him. Hilarious.

[QUOTE=INeedAnother;5528978]So abortion and trans bathrooms are your big issues that mean more to you than taxation, massive growth of government and spending and destruction of manufacturing and loss of jobs and loss of real middle class?

Abortion, it's not really an issue of mine. I understand it, but it's practical if nothing else. I don't see it going away and think the Texas law is too restrictive, personally. I'm actually sorry it passed because it will motivate a demotivated dem base.

So make family bathrooms, no big deal. Please try to understand men not wanting to send their young daughters into bathrooms with trans men.

Subpoena personal phone data, for congressional political investigation, not even through warrants? To witch-hunt individuals for political persecution? THAT is infringements of rights. We're supposed to be free. Jan 6 was much ado about nothing. It is made into a big deal just for political purposes to get Trump.[/QUOTE]

[QUOTE=GoodWill123;5529335]I think INeedAnother made some good points. I find it interesting that the democrat / liberal constituents consistently support a campaign of fake outrage and hypocrisy. They'll won't complain against blatant laws and smear campaigns when it benefits them. But will unfortunately complain when it fits their narrative. Don't get me wrong all lives matter, and it would be nice to just respectfully agree to disagree without trashing each other. But look at Ferguson MO when the truth came out in circa 2015-16. Not one democrat or liberal of high rank apologized for that. Furthermore where was justice during the fake phony Russian hoax / Mueller investigation of 2 years, that frankly ended up incriminating Hillary and the DNC? Where was justice and the Dems speaking out against the unlawful FISA warrants? Where were they when back in 2016 the message from Dems / Liberals was "resist. Hit them lower", the shooting of Rep Scalise, and the storming of the Capital by BLM and Antifa. I read that back then they had more arrests in 2016 compared to 2021. Obama creates a known terror vacuum and creates ISIS, and Biden creates another haven for terror in 2021 . And contributes $Billions to Iran, largest supporter of international terror and the Hamas. And Dems don't complain?

And regarding McCarty, like it or not my friend, those rights are protected by law (remember back when we had LAWS?) . AND GET THIS. It's an ADMITTED over reach by the dems that they cannot lawfully demand these records (see Missouri Democrat comment, Bennie Thompson, who admitted this, just last FRI). There was also a leaked admission last week that the Dems are afraid they'll loose votes form pro-abortion folks. AND THE FREEDOM YOU SPEAK OF. Is for the rights of the unborn. Remember them? You were once one, so was I. Don't they have rights? It's the baby's body, and these ambassadors are standing in the gap for the unborn, when no one else will, and knowingly know that it does not help them politically. That's integrity. That's character. That's "values. ".[/QUOTE]There's too many lies in this post to deserve a response. Responding to them will just validate this treatise written in Fantasyland.

[QUOTE=INeedAnother;5528978]So abortion and trans bathrooms are your big issues that mean more to you than taxation, massive growth of government and spending and destruction of manufacturing and loss of jobs and loss of real middle class?[/QUOTE]Apparently, those issues are significant on the right since they are the ones that keep making laws that restrict those activities. So why are you blaming the other side for not liking those restrictions?

Advocating for the unborn is simply a safe activity for the right. The unborn don't require assistance, education, help for widows or unwed mothers. The truth is if they knew which ones would grow up to be atheists / democrats, they'd be all for aborting those. It's like all the people that never served standing up for veterans and demanding everyone stand for the flag. Safe shit, fake outrage without having ever put skin in the game.

[QUOTE=GoodWill123;5529335]<cut out all the dumb shit.>[/QUOTE]Too many CAPS and hysteria. You're an idiot.

But while you're finding some more shit to put in all caps, have a read of what happens when we advocate for the people that have already been born. Dipshit.

[b]The Child Tax Credit Expansion Kept 3 Million Children Out of Poverty After Just Its First Payment[/b]
[url]https://www.businessinsider.com/child-tax-credit-expansion-reduce-child-poverty-rate-research-2021-8[/url]

[QUOTE=GoodWill123;5529338]It was just a poor (and frankly, failed) excuse to witch hunt Trump. INeedAnother is exactly right. I find it interesting that even though Trump is no longer in office, the "other side" is still scared to death of him. Hilarious.[/QUOTE]Let me point out that the Mueller investigation lasted 10 months, not 2 years. In that 10 months, there were close to 40 indictments (including Russians that were in Russia and could not be prosecuted locally), 7 GUILTY verdicts that resulted in jail time, and $45 million dollars in fines; that's $10 million dollars more than the cost of the investigation, so a PROFIT.

Also you seem to suggest that Donald Trump was exonerated. He wasn't. Bill Barr tried to say so, but in an extraordinary event, Director Mueller said his report did not exonerate Donald Trump, but that the only reason he did not recommend charging Trump was the DOJ's policy of not charging a sitting President. Trump was NOT exonerated.

By comparison, the GOP spent 4 YEARS (2012 to 2016) investigating Hillary Clinton, via 9 different Congressional committees, millions of dollars spent, with Hillary Clinton herself sitting in the witness stand for 13 hours, and. NOTHING. THE GOP found nothing. No crime was shown to have been committed. No charges were ever filed. 4 years, millions of dollars, 9 panels. Nothing.

[QUOTE=YoTooBig;5529158]The GOP fights for every ones rights. This includes the rights of child and the father of that child. Unlike the Socialist Democrats that think that a woman has the right to murder a baby. Women have the right not to have sex, use protection, have their tubes tide or adoption. Plan Parenthood is America's gas chambers. There is a reason why the Socialist Democrats have them in low income, minority / black & brown neighborhoods. The majority of babies murdered are black or brown. Just part of LBJ master plan. One day we will all meet our maker and when he or she ask did you support killing my children or did you oppose it, and what will you say. You will not be able to blow any smoke because it's a simple yes or no question.[/QUOTE]Because there's no maker to meet. You believe in shit with no rational basis, and it subsequently bleeds into your world view for everything. There's no god. Believing in a that sort of thing is right up there with the tooth fairy and santa. Grow the fuck up.

But if you're right, I'm sure you'll have a great explanation for fucking all these hookers. lol

[QUOTE=YoTooBig;5529158]The GOP fights for every ones rights. This includes the rights of child and the father of that child. Unlike the Socialist Democrats that think that a woman has the right to murder a baby. Women have the right not to have sex, use protection, have their tubes tide or adoption. Plan Parenthood is America's gas chambers. There is a reason why the Socialist Democrats have them in low income, minority / black & brown neighborhoods. The majority of babies murdered are black or brown. Just part of LBJ master plan. One day we will all meet our maker and when he or she ask did you support killing my children or did you oppose it, and what will you say. You will not be able to blow any smoke because it's a simple yes or no question.[/QUOTE]Don't believe everything you think.