I still pay attention to politics, for the simple reason that no matter which of the two big parties hold the upper hand, I'm in their crosshairs, one way or another -- or more accurately, I'm in the crosshairs of some of their politicians, some of the time. I'm too old, too female, I own too many guns or I like the Fourth Amendment too much, or the First, or the Second; I'm too pale or too well-off or I work in the wrong industry and no matter what, I'm far too willing to get along with those horrible liberals and those vile conservatives.
So any more, I mostly just watch. At the Federal level, the two sides -- and I understand that many people favor one over the other, for reasons they find to be good and sufficient, and feel even the suggestion of moral equivalence is offensive -- have egged one another into positions from which they cannot compromise, not even on the simplest and least controversial of matters.
About all I can do is watch, note where the fire extinguishers are and keep an eye on the exits. I'd add, "review the number for 911," but the FedGov is supposed to be its own 911 and that system is pretty busy right now, mostly with its own helmet fires.
Hey, at least nobody's rioting under the colors of their favorite chariot-racing team, right? Not so far, anyway.
Update
3 days ago
9 comments:
The hardening Of positions at the National is troubling. While I don’t feel like compromising any more on gun rights anymore, I fear we’re headed for another Harpers Ferry or mass secession event.
Sometimes I feel like we’re reliving the late 1850s again. By 1860, the moderates in Congress we’re gone or outnumbered and the President (Buchanan) seemed incapable or unable to do anything about the oncoming train wreck that was the Civil War (odd name for such an ugly event).
Waiting is.
I have compromised for 50 years. I am done. When this all started it was just gays wanting to be not persecuted. Now is gays driving bakers out of business because they are Christian and thought making a pornographic cake was distance they did not want to go.
No, I am ready for a civil war. they have ruined the country I loved and I am done.
And yes, it does not matter which side of the aisle the pols are on, they all want the same end state and I, for one, and not going to go into that cattle car willingly.
Let's hope we don't reach the point of Chariot Teams rioting. If we see a repeat it's more likely to be like David Drake's version than the original.
I fully understand the thinking of your post. I grow more and more into the "A pox on both thy houses. And the horses thoust did ride in on" mode
Paul, "...gays driving bakers out of business because they are Christian and thought making a pornographic cake was distance they did not want to go," really? Look, people are entitled to their own opinion -- but not their own set of facts.
The most prominent case is a baker in Colorado, who is still very much in business. He refused to bake a wedding cake for a gay marriage citing his religious beliefs, a cake that was otherwise unremarkable. He was taken to court under Colorado's non-discrimination law, lost, and appealed; when the case ended up before the U. S. Supreme Court, they ruled "...that members of the Colorado Civil Rights Commission showed animus toward Phillips specifically when they suggested his claims of religious freedom were made to justify discrimination." Or, simplified, that trying to prevent one sort of discrimination doesn't justify practicing another.
Your description is significantly askew from the facts in the case:
1. The baker wasn't driven out of business
2. The original case was brought not because the baker was Christian (there are, after all, lots of Christian denominations that don't have a problem with same-sex marriage) but over his refusal to bake a wedding cake.
3. The Court (eventually) held that the State -- not the gay couple, the State of Colorado -- acted in a way that showed bias against the baker because of his religious beliefs.
It's not a terribly easy or neat resolution and anyone dancing in the street over it needs to go have another try at reading the Supreme Court's tea leaves -- but it is emphatically not the tale of a baker forced to shutter his business because of anti-Christian homosexuals.
The public reaction to and debate over the case, and in particular the slanted news coverage, Left and Right alike, is an excellent example of the present climate of extreme polarization. Nobody's content with the facts, they've got to embroider them a bit to make the drama and conflict more obvious.
"The most prominent case is a baker in Colorado" The most prominent case - not the only case. Several have been driven out of business - mostly due to legal fees - and the guy from Colorado, even though he just won a freaking SCOTUS judgement, the State Of Colorado is back at him over a "transition-celebration cake." He will likely prevail again, but every time the state does that, they cost him money.
I'm old enough to remember when a friend got bashed, one of the worst things you could do is call the cops, because they were almost guaranteed to make a bad situation worse. (I have seen them arrest the guy bleeding on the sidewalk. Why? I still have no fucking clue.)
"We're Here! We're Queer! Get Used to It!" has morphed into "You will do exactly what we tell you."
Here is how NPR is covering it. Colorado Baker Sues State Again, After Refusing To Make Cake For Transgender Woman
*Attorneys for Jack Phillips, who owns Masterpiece Cakeshop in Lakewood, Colo., said Wednesday that the state is "continuing to single out Jack for punishment and to exhibit hostility toward his religious beliefs."*
I saw that case, Zendo. Freakin' ugly situation, but the Court was pretty clear.
We don't riot over our favorite chariot team, we riot over our favorite football team.
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-football-nfl-superbowl-philadelphia/philadelphia-fans-set-fire-damage-property-after-super-bowl-win-idUSKBN1FP0YH
People just don't change much.
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