@GottaLaff
Have you read the dude's profile? He's never going to be anything but what he is: a powerlifting Christian computer programmer which, in my book, is three strikes against being a decent human.

@LeslieBurns No. I didn't need to.

@GottaLaff @ech I’m so tired of the both sidesisms in this current political climate. Democrats have been holding each other accountable and ousting each other when they break the law for all of recent memory. However the Republicans party has been playing the victim on everything and only point to the rare occurrences they do something (typically when it impacts their own party members, not their constituents).

It’s a lazy disingenuous argument only holding water because it’s being given any semblance of factuality since it keeps being perpetuated as the “middle ground”.

@73rdNemesio @GottaLaff @ech Yes, this is common in typical libertarian speak. They can only promote their view by demonizing all other sides because they really have no actionable plans that could work themselves. Our state was overrun with this crap and it opened the door for right wing extremism to step in.

@pdiff1 @73rdNemesio @GottaLaff Yeah, I've noticed this too about hardcore libertarians. I mean, there's a balance, right? You don't want the state to be too authoritarian, but certain things probably aren't going to go so well if you go too far in the other direction.

@ech @pdiff1 @GottaLaff my view of the “hardcore libertarians” today is that they’re not libertarian unless it comes to _their_ personal actions. They epitomize “Rules for thee, not for me”.

There isn’t a push for smaller government except in specific areas. It’s not a push for civil liberties if you’re calling out any cities for decriminalizing anything when it doesn’t impact yourself, discomfort isn’t something that is supposed to be controlled by the government.

The most disrespectful way I can state it plainly is: Closeted Republicans w/ Daddy Issues (read as mentor issues). IE: the ability to claim you’re something else because you want to feel like you know something/are in the know of something they don’t/aren’t.

Our reporters/networks continue to normalize “Far Right” views/tendencies while questioning or arguing against “centrist” and anything left of that. It’s playing with fire and continually burning yourself and others but taking pain killers to continue the game without learning the lesson and adjusting to stop the burning/pain.

It’s just tiring and damaging to both the country and our individualism.

@73rdNemesio @ech @pdiff1 @GottaLaff Yeah, "hardcore libertarians" seems to me, anyway, to be the latest smokescreen used by advocates of conservatism... who notoriously think that rules are for little people, not movers and shakers.

@73rdNemesio @pdiff1 @GottaLaff “Rules for thee, not for me” – Sure, some people deserve that criticism (any pol or rich person who favors making it ~impossible to get a CCW and yet rolls around with armed bodyguards, etc, etc).

But there are some who are consistent at least – no "rules" enforced by a violent state actor. Both left and right, of course. Like you I don't see how that would work too well.

@GottaLaff @ech Dont feed the trolls 🧌

@opethminded @GottaLaff @ech@qoto.org

Yes! For heavens sake just block him like the test of us has already done. He was bad for my blood pressure. It hates both-side-zing when one side is fascist.

@GottaLaff @ech

When it comes to opportunists assholes are not exclusive to Republicans. On the Democrat side. one can Manchin Sinema?

#Democrats #assholes #Republicans

@GottaLaff @ech If there is any equivalency at all, which I find dubious, it founders on the rock that any authoritarianism among the Democrats' members isn't allowed anywhere near the levers of power while in the GOP authoritarians *are* the ones moving the levers.

@GottaLaff @ech@qoto.org Starting a profile sentence with ‘Christian’ is an immediate red flag to me. It’s a taint nowadays and if one uses that in their profile, it is a telltale signals to me that the person is not to be reasoned with.

@Wabbit I’m with you

@GottaLaff @ech@qoto.org ooph. Just saw his profile.

No thanks. Just the type of individual who trashed the internet into the toilet, along with their shitty beliefs.

@faraiwe Hence my “toodles” (blocked)

@GottaLaff frankly, I was shocked he was NOT rocking the "high n tight with Sumerian beard" signature christo fascist proto nazi PoS look.

@GottaLaff I think the thing I was replying to or boosting there was deleted or something, so that post may not make much sense.

@jhavok @GottaLaff @emptywheel beg pardon, I tried to address that (with "at least, it seems structurally there are always 2 major parties that will seek balance") but I can see I was totally unclear with the next sentence. My claim is that with the way US presidential elections work, it appears that there will always be two parties, and neither will dominate (for long). One may die and be replaced by something else ~right away that has a different name – we've seen that, you're absolutely right.

@morecowbell @GottaLaff @emptywheel OK yeah the swearing fealty thing is weird, I'll give you that. No D's are doing that publicly that I know of. 😂

A lot of those questions are meaningless political rhetoric, but one of them reminds me of Jose Medina's (D-CA) AB 2756 requiring fire alarm inspections for schools, which would have made homeschooling harder. This was probably in reaction to the Turpin/Perris incident – you see, we can't trust you to take care of your kids without constant supervision, better to let us experts do it; let the state raise your kids. (Nevermind that they didn't do anything to prevent this problem when the Turpins went to public schools either, this patronizing philosophy is incredibly stupid.)

Again, though, as I replied to someone else, maybe this isn't what is meant by authoritarian? If not pardon me: yes, Ds are less likely to support R policies, and if you define those arbitrarily as "authoritarian" then right: Ds are a lot less likely to be "authoritarian". But even so, there are pro-life democrats and so on.

@ech @GottaLaff @emptywheel “Which would’ve made homeschooling harder”.

??? How??? Are you saying the CA is some how inherently against homeschooling?

Have you remodeled your house lately? Is the state against remodeling too because it requires hardwired fire detectors now?

Governments exist to write regulation. Period. Regulation is not authoritarianism, it is civilization.

Building codes are why CA won’t suffer the same fate as Turkey in the next earthquake.

@morecowbell @GottaLaff @emptywheel does the fire department come inspect your smoke alarms in a residence regularly? Do you have to pay for that? Not in California.

@morecowbell @GottaLaff @emptywheel Medina made it clear that cracking down on homeschool was the goal. Some fire inspectors weren't too thrilled with being used to keep tabs on parenting techniques: “You are putting the fire inspectors out to look for social problems. That is not our role.”—Fresno Deputy Fire Chief Ted Semonious

@ech @GottaLaff @emptywheel “Cracking down”? Would you support social workers instead of fire inspectors?

You know the first thing that happened when those children escaped? People like you blamed the government.

You what happens when the government tries to take action? People like you screaming “authoritarian”. “We need Trump to kill all the oppressive liberals!”

You’re children with a Casandra Complex.

@morecowbell @GottaLaff @emptywheel no, I don't think The state should require mandatory inspections of parents parenting their children, regardless of what you call the inspectors.

I don't think it occurred to me to blame the government after I heard about the Turpins.

I can't follow the rest of what you're saying.

@ech @GottaLaff @emptywheel Do you ever wonder why you make really paranoid and weird connections between requiring fire alarms and an “authoritarian” government not letting raise your own children?

Do wonder why you support a government imposing the religious beliefs of a minority to the point where they will use violence on a woman who does the “wrong” thing with HER OWN body?

@morecowbell @GottaLaff @emptywheel no, I don't wonder why I made that connection, because the person proposing the law made it very clear what the connection was. No need to wonder. (Do you wrestle with this cognitive dissonance now that you know that?)

@morecowbell @GottaLaff @emptywheel on one hand, I'm encouraged that you think it's so bizarre that a politician would propose home inspections on homeschoolers that the only way I would conclude that a fire inspection regulation had to do with homeschool was incoherent paranoia. This says something good about you; don't get me wrong!

@ech @GottaLaff@qoto.org @emptywheel@qoto.org On the other hand, you apparently believe the government has no role keeping children safe and somehow equate that with authoritarianism.

Again - how does a fire alarm inspection make homeschooling “harder”?

Are you aware that preschools have surprise inspections by social workers? Home preschools as well?

Do you consider those authoritarianism?

Or are you just mad at the gubment because that’s what your father was?

@morecowbell can you see the difference between a home preschool with a bunch of other people's kids versus just you with your kids?

Do I consider preschool inspections authoritarian? It's a spectrum, right? I've made it pretty clear elsewhere in this thread that I'm not an absolutist non-authoritarian or whatever weird thing you like to lump everyone in together with.

Look some people are totally comfortable with the government doing all kinds of things to keep them safe or whatever. Other people aren't, because it's expensive or they see where that kind of oversight can go wrong. It's pretty clear which kind of voter leads to more authoritarian governments.

Some particularly privileged people have no problem with inspections and that kind of thing: the more the merrier. Like Eric Schmidt said, why are you worried about surveillance if you weren't doing anything wrong. I think when you become more aware of how those kinds of things are abused or can lead to unintended consequences, you get a little bit more wary.

@ech @morecowbell What are you talking about. Hypothetically imagine the best government. Don’t say none because unless you’re ready to defend Somalia or the tribal areas of Pakistan.

The best government possible (in the real world) makes sure the rights of all citizens are balanced. Children are citizens. If their parents are violating their rights through abuse, the best government possible identifies and stops that abuse. Period.

@morecowbell yep! But there's balance right? You could make up some pretty dystopian things in the name of preventing abuse, yes? So where is that balance? Privileged people who don't understand how the government could possibly abuse them, or people naturally comfortable with authoritarianism are going to want a different balance than other people, who are a little bit more wary of too much statist control.

Think about the RNC convention in 2016: it was all about setting aside your civil liberties so that we can keep you safe. Did you watch it? It totally had that vibe. Some people are comfortable with that: "the best government identifies and stops that crime" – this to me was where we really saw an uptick of authoritarianism in the Republican party.

@morecowbell Your characterization of those areas of Pakistan or Somalia I think is inaccurate and problematic. A lot of areas with no Western-style government that you can understand are being functionally governed nonetheless just fine by other forms of government.

@ech Lmao

@ech @GottaLaff @emptywheel Why don’t you look up “authoritarianism”. It’s an English word that has a meaning. Just like the word “fascism”.

Both words were coined to describe actual historical political phenomena. Those phenomena don’t include fire inspections or visits by social workers to make sure children are safe.

No matter what drama queens like you believe.

@morecowbell @GottaLaff @emptywheel I guess that's a "no" about the cognitive dissonance?

Yeah like I said above maybe I'm using a different definition. Just looked it up in a dictionary, which perhaps isn't the best place for this conversation, and yeah, making it more difficult to choose the non-state-approved solution for educating your kids would certainly count.

I mean look, I'm not necessarily against building inspections and things like that, but I think home inspections to check up on your parenting is a bit too far?

@ech @GottaLaff@qoto.org @emptywheel@qoto.org No. It wouldn’t.

And again....how do fire alarm inspections make home schooling “more difficult”.

No. Just like the government inspecting home preschools and requiring background checks for employees isn’t “authoritarianism”.

For godsake - most of you guys think taxation is tyranny. It’s not like you have a reasonable position.

Do you what’s actual tyranny? The government seizing control of your body.

@morecowbell did I ever say taxation was tyranny? Why are you making up weird things and pretending I believe them?