Has the Republican party lost its collective mind?

[ydoaPs]

I really hope that the people in Indiana (A given red state for decades) have enough sense to not vote for this guy.

 

We voted for Obama, but we also voted for Mitch Daniels.

[Ringer]

It seems like Southern Indiana, where I'm from, votes primarily Democrat, but it's pretty racist/religious/idiotic here as well.

[akh]

Seems the last election cycle was not message enough. To think that Boehner is worried about Obama "annihilating" the GOP. Yet he should be more worried about the sickness in his own party.

 

Disgusting

 

 

http://www.forbes.com/sites/rickungar/2013/01/24/proposed-new-mexico-law-would-send-rape-victims-who-abort-pregnancies-to-prison-for-tampering-with-evidence/

[Phi for All]

Seems the last election cycle was not message enough. To think that Boehner is worried about Obama "annihilating" the GOP. Yet he should be more worried about the sickness in his own party.

 

Disgusting

 

 

http://www.forbes.com/sites/rickungar/2013/01/24/proposed-new-mexico-law-would-send-rape-victims-who-abort-pregnancies-to-prison-for-tampering-with-evidence/

Wrong on so many levels. More limited thinking from the anti-abortion crowd. With so many in the GOP who support poorly-thought-out kneejerk legislation, it's no wonder we have such a hard time keeping spending down and working on worthwhile long-range investments in our country.

[Ringer]

Wrong on so many levels. More limited thinking from the anti-abortion crowd. With so many in the GOP who support poorly-thought-out kneejerk legislation, it's no wonder we have such a hard time keeping spending down and working on worthwhile long-range investments in our country.

What my cynical mind thinks is that they're trying to set up the pro-abortion people. If they say this is wrong on moral grounds (such as due to a person being used as evidence as the article says)then they have a point of argument that if it's immoral to force someone to be evidence why can you kill them.

 

It would still be an absolute crap argument and a myriad of ways to get around it (DNA can be obtained from the fetus) but it seems like a strategy that politicians would try to use. Or they could just be incredibly dumb. Actually maybe they all have bets against each other on who can be the most repulsive to the other side.

[overtone]

.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steve_Symms , http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Steve_Symms Example of Atwater's tools.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helen_Chenoweth-Hage The black helicopters are coming - there's long been Palins in that Party.

http://www.quotationspage.com/quotes/Dan_Quayle/ The only reason Bush didn't get a quote comedy book of his own, the way Reagan and W did, was this guy hogging the limelight.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ronald_Reagan "Trees cause more pollution than automobiles" etc.

" Three things have been difficult to tame: the oceans, fools and women. We may soon be able to tame the oceans; fools and women will take a little longer. " Spiro T. Agnew Resigned as VP after getting caught taking envelopes of cash bribes across his official VP desk during ordinary business hours. Cheney at least had a safe in his office to hide them in.

 

And then there's the incomparable, inimitable W.

 

The point is: the Republican Party did not suddenly turn crazy and stupid when the black man put his hand on the Bible and swore the oath of office of the Presidency. They've been batshit ("voodoo economics", YEC, obliviously misogynist, bizarre sex stuff and financial crimes, fantasy versions of history and geography and physics and biology, hypnotized by military force and fancy weaponry, etc etc etc) for thirty years and more, on average, as a Party, as found in their leadership and standard bearers and the preponderance of their voting ranks.

 

And to this day (Buchanan is still a media figure):

''Of all those caught up -- on both sides -- in the American tragedy of
1973-1974, Spiro Agnew was one of the good guys,'' said Patrick J.
Buchanan, the unsuccessful Republican candidate for President who
mourned the disgraced Vice President today for ''raw political courage''
in having served as ''the voice of the silent majority.''

That's what they think of themselves - not corrupt and crazy and treasonous, but possessed of political courage. When they shit the bed, when they wake up momentarily in the middle of some horrible stinking mess they have once again made out of some formerly decent part of the American dream, it's an "American tragedy" - nobody's fault, really. "Both sides" contributed to the inexplicable and completely unexpected misfortune.

 

Because in this view "both sides" are dominated, led, organized, represented by, as well as stuffed full of, this kind of guy: "He surfaced from time to time in a new life of worldwide business
travels and an apparently rich social life with Frank Sinatra and other
influential figures in his new California circles. Making influential
contacts was his specialty, Mr. Agnew once said. In one business
undertaking, Mr. Agnew served as the intermediary in a complex $181
million deal by former Nixon aides to sell uniforms to Saddam Hussein of
Iraq. His intermediary role was recommended by Mr. Nixon himself to the
supplier of the uniforms, the Romanian dictator Nicolae Ceausescu, the
historian Stephen E. Ambrose said."

 

That was the guy who before h got caught was the third most admired political figure in America - behind Richard Nixon and Billy Graham.

Edited January 29, 2013 by overtone

[John Cuthber]

OK, sorry to dig up an old thread but what do people think about this?

http://www.clarionledger.com/story/opinion/columnists/2014/06/25/coulter-growing-interest-soccer-sign-nations-moral-decay/11372137/

[swansont]

OK, sorry to dig up an old thread but what do people think about this?

http://www.clarionledger.com/story/opinion/columnists/2014/06/25/coulter-growing-interest-soccer-sign-nations-moral-decay/11372137/

 

I am amazed that anyone gives a rat's ass what Ann Coulter thinks. She doesn't like soccer, so nobody should like soccer. I'm sure it resonates with her target audience, because older white folks in the pro-homogeneity crowd probably don't enjoy soccer.

 

My view is that it's not worth the effort to rebut all that's factually wrong or small-minded about that screed.

[Endy0816]

I really don't see how anyone is even vaguely surprised about the cultural shift underway in the US towards soccer.

 

Pretty much everyone else in the World likes soccer, so lot of money available for advertising. We have a changing population dynamic. More opportunities for "Sports" Tourism with soccer than football, so stadiums/cities stand to make more money from a shift. A ton of force on one side and very little on the other.

[John Cuthber]

...

 

My view is that it's not worth the effort to rebut all that's factually wrong or small-minded about that screed.

I can't be bothered to find the video but

"Ain't nobody got time for that".

It might be quicker to see if any of it is actually correct.

[Phi for All]

OK, sorry to dig up an old thread but what do people think about this?

http://www.clarionledger.com/story/opinion/columnists/2014/06/25/coulter-growing-interest-soccer-sign-nations-moral-decay/11372137/

 

There is a portion of the populace in the US who think their opinion should be everyone's opinion. These are usually bigots and evangelical Christians, with a healthy dose of businesspeople who want to manipulate the free market in their favor. They're not always Republicans but usually call themselves conservatives, even though their vision of the US is actually pretty radical.

 

I'm starting to see signs that nonsense like Coulter's blog is actually starting productive dialog about issues in this country. She's getting less and less support the more she attacks out of personal incredulity. I'm actually kind of amazed she wrote this since part of her base has to be the Soccer Mom Army. She gained no friends in Colorado with that crap, if the attendance for our little league soccer games is any indication.

[Janus]

I am amazed that anyone gives a rat's ass what Ann Coulter thinks. She doesn't like soccer, so nobody should like soccer. I'm sure it resonates with her target audience, because older white folks in the pro-homogeneity crowd probably don't enjoy soccer.

 

My view is that it's not worth the effort to rebut all that's factually wrong or small-minded about that screed.

Agreed. In fact, I find it amazing that someone could be so wrong about so many different things in just one article!

[Delta1212]

OK, sorry to dig up an old thread but what do people think about this?

http://www.clarionledger.com/story/opinion/columnists/2014/06/25/coulter-growing-interest-soccer-sign-nations-moral-decay/11372137/

I've given up being surprised when Ann Coulter says anything angry and nuts, but even still, I wasn't expecting that rant. I realize her job is to be a troll that attacks anything new and different, but soccer is really not a "left-wing" thing, and I'm pretty sure I can use this article to some effect on a few "leans Republican" friends who are basically soccer hooligans.

 

The problem with politicizing literally everything is that eventually you put yourself on the wrong side of some otherwise innocuous crap from people who would otherwise support you and wind up alienating them. Especially in the current GOP environment of "If you don't exactly share every one of my positions on every issue, you're against me."

 

They really have become the party of "everyone should share my opinion on everything."

[Ten oz]

Soccer will continue to grow in the States. I think less and less parents want there children playing Football as an ever growing amount of research is linking football to brain injuries. Soccer is also easier and cheaper to organize for kids than Football and Baseball. Less equipment, less specialization in position, and can be played just about anywhere. I doubt Soccer becomes the number one sport here in the States in my life time but it's audience will continue to grow throughout my lifetime.

This is just another stupid thing Replublicans need to shutup about. Seems like Ann Coulter is looking to replace the myth of the black athlete with the myth of the Latino athlete.

[Phi for All]

They really have become the party of "everyone should share my opinion on everything."

 

Made worse by the fact that so many Republicans disagree on platform issues. How is a small government going to successfully regulate all those people having sex and playing soccer?!

[Delta1212]

 

Made worse by the fact that so many Republicans disagree on platform issues. How is a small government going to successfully regulate all those people having sex and playing soccer?!

It's quite simple, really. You strip down the governments ability to interfere in your business and then deputize citizens to enforce the laws that prevent other people from doing things that are immoral. Without big government getting in the way of our well regulated militias, everything would sort itself out in short order.

 

Just like how government shackles the invisible hand of the free market, preventing it from making our economy run more efficiently.

[Phi for All]

Just like how government shackles the invisible hand of the free market, preventing it from making our economy run more efficiently.

 

If I didn't know you better, I'd swear you're claiming that Ann Coulter bought herself a baseball supply company.

[overtone]

I really don't see how anyone is even vaguely surprised about the cultural shift underway in the US towards soccer.

 

Pretty much everyone else in the World likes soccer, so lot of money available for advertising. We have a changing population dynamic.

Yes. We're getting poorer of late, reduced in both space and leisure time, and separating on class lines - soccer is cheap, can be played very well by people malnourished as children (does not need height or great strength), and lends itself to 'hood identification.

 

 

 

I think less and less parents want there children playing Football as an ever growing amount of research is linking football to brain injuries. Soccer is also easier and cheaper to organize for kids than Football and Baseball. Less equipment, less specialization in position, and can be played just about anywhere

The brain injuries suffered by soccer players are going to be getting better known in the near future. The cheaper gear is of course a big factor at the school level in the US.

 

We are also - imho - changing in some hard to define but easy to notice aspects of national character in ways that bode ill for baseball (the sport most vulnerable, as soccer takes its share of time and attention). An inability to hold still and focus, an acceptance of things like diving and emoting, a need for motion regardless of progress, an unfamiliarity with leverage and hand tools, and so forth. The parallels with the state of Republican politics - which was once a gentleman's game played by gentlemen and watched by intellectuals, and has become (famously like soccer) a gentleman's game played by thugs and watched by hooligans - are kind of interesting.

Edited June 27, 2014 by overtone

[John Cuthber]

Sorry, can we just clarify something (see picture)?

 

Also, when you say "The brain injuries suffered by soccer players are going to be getting better known in the near future.", on what basis do you make that assertion?

I'm not saying it's an unrealistic idea, I'm just wondering if you can explain the asserted timing.

Edited June 28, 2014 by John Cuthber

[swansont]

and lends itself to 'hood identification.

 

Unlike the "Coulter-approved" sports?

[Endy0816]

@Overtone:

 

A number of the countries playing are first world. In this case we really are the oddball and poverty level has nothing to do with it. I'm sure there are socioeconomic factors associated with fan mania. That is a human factor though not dependent on the sport.

 

The global wealth distribution is off in terms of the US as compared with other countries. It has simply been equalizing. Rest of the world is not that bad off in terms of necessities so the midpoint promises to remain fairly rosy(particularly with modern technologies at the ready).

[Ten oz]

 

The brain injuries suffered by soccer players are going to be getting better known in the near future. The cheaper gear is of course a big factor at the school level in the US.

 

We are also - imho - changing in some hard to define but easy to notice aspects of national character in ways that bode ill for baseball (the sport most vulnerable, as soccer takes its share of time and attention). An inability to hold still and focus, an acceptance of things like diving and emoting, a need for motion regardless of progress, an unfamiliarity with leverage and hand tools, and so forth. The parallels with the state of Republican politics - which was once a gentleman's game played by gentlemen and watched by intellectuals, and has become (famously like soccer) a gentleman's game played by thugs and watched by hooligans - are kind of interesting.

I agree that baseball is the most likely sport to lose some of its audience to soccer but I disagree about why. Baseball like football is more expensive to organize. You need several different sized bats, different gloves for different positions, a specifically arranged field and so on. Soccer can be played on any flat surface indoor or outdoor with nothing more than one ball.

As for attention deficit in modern society you allude to I think every generation feels that way. Prior to the industrial revolution it was common for people to farm a healthy portion of their own food. I am sure those humble farming generations would view people living in the 1950's (Republican's idealic America) as lazy, glutinous, and vain. It is all perspective. Generations that grew up without cable TV, video games, Internet, and vast expanses of paved areas to ride: bikes, skateboards, scooters, rollerblades, heelys, etc, etc obviously had more time to play a slower paced position game like baseball. I don't see it as a bad thing that youth today no longer have the time for such. Times have changed youth today have far more options.

[overtone]

I agree that baseball is the most likely sport to lose some of its audience to soccer but I disagree about why. Baseball like football is more expensive to organize.

So are you agreeing with me, then? That's one.

 

 

A number of the countries playing are first world.

Now they are. When they started playing soccer they had a poverty stricken underclass, and that's who picked it up.

 

 

You need several different sized bats, different gloves for different positions,

No, you don't. That's not the problem, or the key expense.

 

You do need leisure time and space for the long development of specific skills. Athletic ability is just the beginning, in baseball.

 

 

 

I don't see it as a bad thing that youth today no longer have the time for such

Or reading entire books, or listening to works of music that last more than about four minutes - or formulating something like the infield fly rule.

 

 

 

obviously had more time to play a slower paced position game like baseball

Things normally happen much faster in baseball than they do in soccer. Notice the contrasting roles and uses of slowmotion photography and "instant replay".

 

 

 

I'm not saying it's an unrealistic idea, I'm just wondering if you can explain the asserted timing.

Soccer is still in denial, partly because the extraordinary medical advances recently brought to bear on football are just beginning to be brought to bear on soccer. There are fringe Cassandras out there, and my guess here is that they will gradually get more attention. There is a movement to ban heading the ball in children's leagues in Minnesota, for example.

 

btw: Almost nobody calls soccer "football" in any language. The more accurate English translation of "futbol" would be "kickball", for example. A minority of English speakers, in smaller English speaking countries, call it "football", but most (the bigger countries) don't. Football in the US inherited its name from its origins, when there was no passing and lots more kicking of the ball - these tactics are still legal in the sport, mostly, but seldom used. They are too slow for the modern game. There is still some punting, a remnant that is still useful.

 

 

 

I am sure those humble farming generations would view people living in the 1950's (Republican's idealic America) as lazy, glutinous, and vain. It is all perspective

ADHD is not a "perspective" assessment. Neither is inability to read and write.

 

But unless soemone wants me to make connections between poverty, ignorance, inability to pay attention to complex stuff, vulnerability to soccer, and modern Republican crazyjabber, this is going astray.

Edited June 29, 2014 by overtone

[hypervalent_iodine]

!

Moderator Note

Let's try stick to the topic, please.

[overtone]

And once again the other day, as every couple of weeks, we get a reminder that the modern Republican Party didn't just flip out recently after decades of responsible conservative governance: http://www.nytimes.com/2014/06/30/us/before-shooting-in-iraq-warning-on-blackwater.html?_r=0

 

The features of the US political landscape collected into the Republican Party around 1968 (by Nixon) and taking over around 1980 (Reagan) have been a pile of shit flavored Fruit Loops breeding vermin and disease and tragicomic incompetence for many years now - what we see is not its mind lost: this is its mind in normal operation.

 

 

 

I am amazed that anyone gives a rat's ass what Ann Coulter thinks.

You can try ignoring the Republican Party

 

(Coulter is still its career best-selling author and probably most representative public speaker whenever she has finished the Republican pundit amnesia break they all have to take once in a while, get paid by a "think tank" to mark time while their target public's mind clears itself of the reek of what they were saying before).

 

but it will not go away. That thing grows in the dark.

Edited July 1, 2014 by overtone