ROK Drop Open Thread – August 9, 2015

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tbonetylr
tbonetylr
9 years ago

White Police Officer In Training Shoots Unarmed Black Teen
Where? Where else but in Texas, the state where they also want to stop minority(college student) voters from voting…There in Texas they even teach racism to 50 year old men @ racist cop shops ~ Actually, I didn’t know men that old qualify as cop trainees? Did this guy buy/own/donate huge amounts of $$$ to this cop shop and then force them to train him?
http://crimeblog.dallasnews.com/2015/08/arlington-police-officer-fatally-shot-a-man-early-friday-at-car-dealership.html/
“A 49-year-old police trainee killed an unarmed teen burglary suspect who drove an SUV into the showroom of an Arlington car dealership early Friday.
Officer Brad Miller shot 19-year-old Christian Taylor about 1 a.m. after officers responded to a burglar alarm at Classic Buick GMC near Interstate 20 and Collins Street, police said.
Taylor, a football star and 2014 graduate of Mansfield Summit, was unarmed, police said.”

tbonetylr
tbonetylr
9 years ago

FoxNOTnews/questions @ Pretend Debate Further Hurt Republicans With Women ~ Who’d a thunk it ❓
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/08/08/us/politics/fear-that-debate-could-hurt-gop-in-womens-eyes.html?_r=2
“The Republican debate did no favors for the image of the Republican Party with women.
After Senator Marco Rubio of Florida insisted at the Republican presidential debate that rape and incest victims should carry pregnancies to term, aides to Hillary Rodham Clinton could barely contain their delight at his unyielding stance, rushing to tell reporters at her headquarters that those remarks would hurt Mr. Rubio with female voters.
When Donald J. Trump chose on Friday to stand by his slights against women during the debate, saying the Fox News journalist Megyn Kelly “behaved very badly” as a moderator — and then promoting a Twitter message calling her a “bimbo” — feminists were not the only ones outraged: the chairwoman of the New Hampshire Republican Party accused Mr. Trump of chauvinism.
And in response to multiple male candidates saying they would shut down the federal government over financing for Planned Parenthood, the Democratic National Committee emailed talking points to allies within an hour saying that among the losers at the debate were “American women, who were attacked at every turn.”

tbonetylr
tbonetylr
9 years ago

The ACA or Obamacare has caused healthcare prices to level off but it still ain’t good enough especially for the uninsured just as before the ACA…
http://www.real-time-with-bill-maher-blog.com/index/2015/8/4/cure-nonsense
“Rich Republicans love to call healthcare an entitlement but who, in this case, is behaving like they’re entitled? Because they inherited wealth or benefitted from white privilege or are simply winning life’s Monopoly game, they get peace of mind and full coverage while an entire class of less fortunate Americans are left just one illness away from lifelong financial ruin?

Republicans also love to say that federal involvement in the healthcare system is “the government getting between you and your doctor.” I know all regulations are bad, but seeing what the gouging,for-profit hospitals and the fat cat insurance companies do when they get between you and your doctor, isn’t it time the government stepped in?

When it comes to basic healthcare – getting a broken bone set or a wound stitched up or a tumor removed – shouldn’t that be universal, the one basic, shared human endeavor that transcends class? You know, “one nation under God” and all that?

A new study by Health Affairs finds that 50 hospitals in the US are charging the uninsured a more than 1,000 percent markup on the actual cost of patient care. If you’re lucky enough to be insured, no problem – there are negotiated, reasonable rates for you. But no insurance? Assume that appendectomy is going to wreck your credit and ruin you financially for life.

According to The Washington Post, “All but one of the facilities are owned by for-profit entities… Community Health Systems operates 25 of the hospitals on the list. Hospital Corporation of America operates 14 others.”

The study’s co-author, Johns Hopkins’ Gerard Anderson says, “They are price-gouging because they can. They are marking up the prices because no one is telling them they can’t.”

That’s why you see on the bill, “hygiene supplies – $30,” and it turns out to be a box of Kleenex.”

tbonetylr
tbonetylr
9 years ago

Red State or GOP Socialism…
http://democraticactionteam.org/redstatesocialism/
“Of the 32 states which receive more than they contribute, 27 states(84%) are REPUBLICAN/GOPer STATES ❗ ”
‘Why the right is more pinko than you think’
http://www.salon.com/2015/08/05/sarah_palins_red_state_socialism_why_the_right_is_more_pinko_than_you_think/
“…Recently, Salon spoke over the phone with Alperovitz and Hanna. Besides their Op-Ed, we discussed how American-style socialism might be packaged to survive in America’s historically socialism-phobic political culture, and how these early signs may one day be looked upon the same way as the decades preceding the New Deal. Our conversation is below and has been edited for clarity and length.

You make the case that “American socialism” exists today. What does it look like in practice?

Gar Alperovitz (GA): The obvious thing is that in communities all over the country, there are publicly owned utilities — 2,000 of them — that are just common, conventional ideas. That’s the most obvious place in which you see public ownership. In red states, you see it in ports, cooperatives, hospitals, and hotels owned by cities. Much of it is very conventional, available, and ordinary, but it doesn’t get much press. Public ownership — profits going the public, city or state — is quite common, and we think that’s significant. It needs to be talked about, how it might be approved and how it might be drawn upon, reformed, and built upon in other areas.

What’s a specific working example of this?

GA: Alaska’s oil revenue is a very good example of this. This is Sarah Palin’s project — it was done before her, but she elaborated on it…”

Leon LaPorte
9 years ago

Chicken: “Give me 3 packets of condoms, please.”
Cashier: “Do you need a paper bag with that, sir?”
Chicken: “Nah…She’s purty good lookin’…..”

setnaffa
setnaffa
9 years ago

“unarmed teen”… yeah… just minding his business destroying property in a auto dealership…

In Texas after dark, you can legally be shot for property damage, theft, or even trespassing.

All “unarmed teens” should pay more attention to other people’s rights. The store owner could have shot the guy and been no-billed by a Grand Jury. Now the FBI is involved.

And oh, by the way, how many “unarmed teens”have been killed by other “teens” in Chicago, St Louis, and Washington DC this year? How many got an FBI investigation? How many got swept under the rug?

setnaffa
setnaffa
9 years ago

Uninsured in America? Surely not! Obamacare cured all that and Global Warming, too!

tbonetylr
tbonetylr
9 years ago

GOP is just like EGGHEAD the way he demeans women…And Trump is not the only GOPer that does so ~
Republicans raced to the bottom on women’s rights during the first GOP debate.
http://www.usnews.com/opinion/blogs/laura-chapin/2015/08/07/the-gop-debates-sexist-stand-against-womens-rights
“Last night, all the Republican candidates were running to be president of the Republic of Gilead, with Carly Fiorina in the role of Aunt Lydia. For those unfamiliar with the reference, the Republic of Gilead is a dystopian future U.S., as envisioned by writer Margaret Atwood in her book “The Handmaid’s Tale.” Society is strictly segregated by class and gender roles, and social status is assigned by fertility and sexual productivity. “Aunts” collaborate in the oppression of other women. Abortion is banned, women are chattel and men are in charge.

Which is pretty much how the Republican candidates on stage see American women and reproductive rights.

Florida Sen. Marco Rubio had to actually correct himself to say he opposed a rape and incest exception for abortion. Because now, in the Republican Party, forcing sexual assault victims to carry a resulting pregnancy to term is standard.
A physician in Colorado, who recently testified against an abortion ban bill here, stated that she’d provided an abortion to a 14-year-old girl molested by her mother’s boyfriend. So question for Rubio: Who goes to jail, the doctor, the child or both?

Ohio Gov. John Kasich, despite his magnanimous willingness to attend a gay wedding, is no better. He signed a bill mandating women pay for transvaginal ultrasounds if seeking an abortion at a clinic that receives state funding. He also signed a gag order on state-funded rape crisis centers that let women know abortion is an option. When asked about it at a Cleveland Plain Dealer editorial board meeting during his last run for governor, Kasich refused to answer the question and later demanded the video be taken down.

Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, as Roger Simon observed, appears to have “wandered into an election he wants no part of.” In addition to personally intervening in the Terry Schiavo case to keep a brain-dead woman on machines against her family’s wishes, he defunded Planned Parenthood in Florida. The result? “In a 2014 evaluation of dozens of health statistics,” reports Mic.com, “the Center for Reproductive Rights reports that Florida is tied with Oklahoma and Arkansas for the worst state for women’s well-being in the country.”

And of course all of them see Planned Parenthood as The Great Satan, despite the fact Planned Parenthood is far more popular than they are. The entire Republican Party is, in the words of The Washington Post’s Paul Waldman, “a bunch of puritanical old white guys who are sent into paroxysms of rage by the thought of women having any modicum of control over their sexuality and reproductive lives.”
And thus, the race to the bottom on women’s rights for the 2016 GOP field continues.”

“There is something unnerving about the rush of Republican presidential candidates to go on record as standing firmly against women’s reproductive rights.”
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/fran-moreland-johns/men-against-womens-rights_b_7876518.html
“Addressing a recent gathering of the National Right to Life Committee — which itself stands firmly against reproductive rights for women; its sole concern is with the fetus — a handful of the leading Republican candidates tried to outdo each other in expressing their anti-women positions.

This was before Wisconsin governor Scott Walker threw his hat into the ring with a stirring promise to work for “the unborn.” What Walker means is this: he has zero interest in the mothers of those “unborns;” but he welcomes the political support of anti-abortion forces.

And anti-abortion forces have a lot of political muscle. A sample of the comments being made by candidates seeking to capture it would include:

Jeb Bush, whose “moral absolutes” do not include a woman’s moral right to make her own reproductive decisions, points to the laws passed during his tenure as governor of Florida: the funding of adoption counseling — but not abortion counseling, banning late-term abortion and imposing medically unnecessary regulations on clinics offering abortion.

Rick Perry wanted the anti-abortion group to understand that when he was governor of Texas his record on denial of a woman’s right to choose was best of all. “That’s a fact,” he said. “We passed a parental notification law. I signed a parental consent law. I signed a sonogram law so mothers facing that agonizing choice can actually see.” Forcing parental involvement on very young women who often need to keep their decision private, and all women to view a medically irrelevant sonogram whether they wish to or not — these are the sources of Perry’s pride.

And lastly, Marco Rubio seeks to enter the White House because it “needs an occupant who values and prioritizes life.” Read: life of “the unborn.” If Rubio gave a fig for the lives of uncounted thousands of women put at risk by the restrictive laws he supports — his values and priorities might shift.
All of the above are men, without the vaguest notion of what it is like to be pregnant as a result of abuse, incest, assault or a multitude of other wrongs, or simply what it is like to be a woman denied control of her own body, her own most private and personal decision making.”

tbonetylr
tbonetylr
9 years ago

Trump’s misogynistic stance on women is well-known, but some other GOP candidates’ agendas aren’t exactly enlightened
http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/stasi-trump-not-gop-candidate-demeaning-women-article-1.2319373
BOYS WILL BE BOORS
Mane man Donald Trump was rightfully called out by Fox’s Megyn Kelly for calling women he hates, “Fat pigs, dogs, slobs, and disgusting animals.” A real chauvinist pig, as feminists used to say.
• Rating: This Big Piggy Owns The Market
And now The Donald’s all a-Twitter raging back at Kelly. While she’s right about him, the fact is that all of the other male candidates on stage with Trump — who didn’t get called out — have core political agendas that are demeaning, degrading and downright damning to women in both word and most certainly in legislation.
With limited room, the most egregious ones not called out by Kelly are:
Mike Huckabee once said that it’s “a statistical reality that most single moms are very poor, under-educated, can’t get a job, and if it weren’t for government assistance, their kids would be starving to death.” His statistics, in reality, turned out to be pure pig arse!
• Rating: Old School Oinker!
Then there’s Jeb Bush, who is pro-life but who as Florida governor waived a veto on what he called the “Scarlet Letter Law” (later replaced), which advocated public shaming as the cure for unmarried women who chose to give their children up for adoption. It required them to give their names, ages and the names of sexual partners for newspaper ads that would run every week for one month!
• Rating: Ain’t Fit to Roll With a Pig.
As college students, ophthalmologist Rand Paul (he founded the now-defunct board that certified him) and his buddy allegedly kidnapped and blindfolded a female student and tried to force her to take hits off a bong.
More recently, prankster Rand put up a fake Hillary Clinton Pinterest page called, “Hillary Clinton’s new Valentine’s Day Pinterest board” with pictures of how she’d redecorate the White House — including a heart-shaped tub and a wicker desk in the Oval Office.
• Rating: Hog-Wild Fratboy
Creepy Ted Cruz reportedly said in a debate at Harvard that God should “give women a hymen that grows back every time she has intercourse with a different guy, because that will be a ‘visible sign’ of the breach of trust.” He never said what “God” should do to cheating men.
• Rating, (in the original German): Schweinehund!
Neurosurgeon Ben Carson needs to have his own head examined. Carson said that “women’s lib” was responsible for the violence in Ferguson, because now women believe, “You know, it really should be about us.” What?
• Rating: Pig-Headed
Chris Christie’s BridgeGate scandal report, done by his hired male mouthpiece Randy Mastro, almost single-handedly blamed the whole disastrous traffic jam on one woman, Christie’s Chief of Staff Bridget Kelly, whom he described as an “emotional,” erratic liar. Permanent PMS, Randy?
Equally disturbing is what Christie himself said when he was stumping for Mitt Romney. When women in the audience yelled about jobs “going down,” Christie, the swine, answered, “You know, something may be going down tonight, but it ain’t going to be jobs, sweetheart.” Oooink!
• Rating: A Real Porker.

tbonetylr
tbonetylr
9 years ago

Trump Tops Polls after debate.
Donald Trump has the support of 23% of Republican primary voters following the debate, which had the
highest viewership ever for a primary debate, with 24 million watchers. The poll was in the field for only
a 24-hour period, during which Mr. Trump continued to make more headlines for his negative
comments about Fox News moderator Megyn Kelly, which got him disinvited from speaking at a
gathering of conservatives in Atlanta.
Ted Cruz and Carly Fiorina were the candidates with the most gains in support, 7 points and 6 points
respectively, but there was no real change among most candidates given an error estimate of plus or
minus 3.4 percentage points.
Change since last week among Republican primary voters including leaners
Last Week/Now/Change
Ted Cruz 6% 13% +7
Carly Fiorina 2 8 +6
Ben Carson 8 11 +3
Donald Trump 22 23 +1
Mike Huckabee 4 5 +1
Lindsey Graham 1 1 0
Marco Rubio 8 8 0
Bobby Jindal 1 1 0
George Pataki 0 0 0
Rick Perry 2 2 0
John Kasich 3 2 -1
Rand Paul 6 5 -1
Rick Santorum 1 0 -1
Chris Christie 3 1 -2
Jeb Bush 10 7 -3
Scott Walker 10 7 -3

Scott Walker informs Megyn Kelly: Abortion is not necessary to save a mother’s life(video)
http://liveactionnews.org/scott-walker-informs-megyn-kelly-abortion-not-necessary-to-save-mothers-life/
“Fox News host Megyn Kelly was among the moderators of last night’s Republican presidential debate, and her question to Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker – “Would you really let a mother die rather than have an abortion?” – has garnered disappointment with pro-lifers for various reasons, not the least of which is because it is not based in fact.
In 2012, a panel of obstetric and gynecological experts signed the Dublin Declaration, which states that “direct abortion is not medically necessary to save the life of a woman… there is a fundamental difference between abortion, and necessary medical treatments that are carried out to save the life of the mother, even if such treatment results in the loss of life of her unborn child.”
When the mother’s life is at stake, medical actions are taken with the intent to save the woman, not to dispose of the child.”

ChickenHead
ChickenHead
9 years ago

If a woman gets pregnant and she does not want the baby, she has the right to terminate it.

But what about men’s reproductive rights?

If I get some skank pregnant and I don’t want the baby, do I have the equal right to terminate it?

Or will a SWAT team be kicking down my door to enforce court-ordered child support?

Women can have the right to their bodies when there is equality.

…and it wouldn’t hurt to have a little responsibility, too.

MTB Rider
9 years ago

With Teadrinker long gone, but T-Bonehead spewing his cr@p every day, I thought tea might make things better:

http://www.thepoke.co.uk/2015/08/10/chinese-tea-advert-suggests-tea-can-make-anything-better/

What’s up with spamming every thread instead of just mass spamming the Open Thread lately? You’re just adding to the maintnance cycle of my wheel mouse. I still don’t bother reading your cr@p.

tbonetylr
tbonetylr
9 years ago

Trump hammers Jeb in Instagram video mocking first two Bush presidents and declares ‘The third time won’t be a charm’ VIDEO
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3192768/Trump-hammers-Jeb-Instagram-video-mocking-two-Bush-presidents-declares-time-won-t-charm.html
“Donald Trump mocked Republican rival Jeb Bush on Monday, comparing him to his more famous presidential father and brother in a short Web video that plays over a circus-music soundtrack.
The Instagram video starts with a clip of George H.W. Bush’s infamous tax pledge at the 1988 Republican National Convention.
‘Read my lips – no new taxes,’ the then-vice president said in a pledge that came back to haunt his one-term presidency after he agreed to a Democratic Congress’s demands for hikes in the rates of existing taxes.
SCROLL DOWN FOR VIDEO

The video also mocks former President George W. Bush’s failure to find weapons of mass destruction during his invasion of Iraq, after then-Secretary of State Colin Powell had outlined intelligence reports that all but guaranteed dictator Saddam Hussein had stockpiles of them at the ready.

‘Those weapons of mass destruction have gotta be somewhere,’ Jeb’s older brother says in a clip pulled from the 2004 White House Correspondents Association dinner.
Laughter ensued, making Trump’s point without the candidate needing to say a word.
‘The third time won’t be a charm,’ his video concludes, suggesting that Jeb’s promises won’t hold any more weight than those of the Bushes that came before him.

A Jeb Bush campaign spokesperson did not respond to a request for comment about the Instagram release, which Trump blasted out Monday afternoon on Twitter.

‘Enough is Enough,’ he tweeted. ‘[N]o more Bushes!'”

tbonetylr
tbonetylr
9 years ago

“But what about men’s reproductive rights?”

Men are safe, just ask Ted Cruz(male cheating okay) & Jeb Bush(no shaming of men, ONLY women).

see comment #9

Ted Cruz…
“Creepy Ted Cruz reportedly said in a debate at Harvard that God should “give women a hymen that grows back every time she has intercourse with a different guy, because that will be a ‘visible sign’ of the breach of trust.” He never said what “God” should do to cheating men.”

Jeb Bush…
“Then there’s Jeb Bush, who is pro-life but who as Florida governor waived a veto on what he called the “Scarlet Letter Law” (later replaced), which advocated public shaming as the cure for unmarried women who chose to give their children up for adoption. It required them to give their names, ages and the names of sexual partners for newspaper ads that would run every week for one month!”

Liz
Liz
9 years ago

“What’s up with spamming every thread instead of just mass spamming the Open Thread lately?”

Like the Saudi Arabia of spam. Huge proven reserves.

tbonetylr
tbonetylr
9 years ago

MTB HYPOCRITE is such an EGGHEAD just like the original EGGHEAD, CONGRATS MTB EGGHEAD ❗
https://www.rokdrop.net/2015/08/north-korea-once-again-demands-that-us-and-rok-stop-military-training/

LIZ and MTB Rider sitting in the tree…having an abortion as needless as can be…but wait, MTB Rider can’t support Liz’z alien baby and neither cheated because they have so much LOVE for each other ❓

MTB EGGHEAD complains(copies Leon like he does others including ME) about me commenting on other posts(as has LIZ) but he nor she has got anything to say on those other posts. What a bunch of dummkopfs ❗ Too Chickenface/EGGHEADED to rationally respond to my comments. 🙄

I didn’t know MTB EGGHEAD and LIZ EGGHEAD(Mr./Junior & Mrs. EGGHEAD) rule this website ❓

tbonetylr
tbonetylr
9 years ago

@13 MTB EGGHEAD
“What’s up with spamming every thread instead of just mass spamming the Open Thread lately?”

What does spam mean to MTB EGGHEAD? How can MTB EGGHEAD call something “spam” when he hasn’t even read it ❓

MTB EGGHEAD says…”I still don’t bother reading your cr@p.”

MTB EGGHEAD and Chickenface/EGGHEAD sitting in the tree K I S S I N G, first comes love, then comes marriage, then comes illiteracy & EGGHEADEDNESS FOREVER ❗

tbonetylr
tbonetylr
9 years ago

EGGHEAD and EGGHEADS like him have tried to say/minimize the BLACKLIVESMATTER movement by saying it’s just a moment or etc…
http://blacklivesmatter.com/
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
August 9, 2015
“At this time, #BlackLivesMatter does not endorse any presidential candidate. Moreover, we are not affiliated with a political party. Our work is not funded or driven by any political party nor is it influenced by local or national candidates.
As stated in our mission, #BlackLivesMatter is an ideological and political intervention; we are not controlled by the same political machine we are attempting to hold accountable. In the year leading up to the elections, we are committed to holding all candidates for Office accountable to the needs and dreams of Black people. We embrace a diversity of tactics. We are a decentralized network aiming to build the leadership and power of black people. We do not endorse any political party and we are not supported by any political party. Our political aims we’ve stated clearly.
Historically, all political parties have participated in the systematic disenfranchisement of Black people. Anti-black racism, especially that sanctioned by the state, has resulted in the loss of healthy and thriving Black life and well-being. Given that, we will continue to hold politicians and political parties accountable for their policies and platforms. We will also continue to demand the intentional dismantling of structural racism.
For more information about #BlackLivesMatter nationally, please visit the official website at http://www.blacklivesmatter.com, follow @BlkLivesMatter on Twitter, or visit the Facebook page here.
1) Every 28 hours a black man, woman, or child is murdered by police or vigilante law enforcement.

2) An estimated 25.1 percent of black American women live in poverty. This is higher than any other ethnic group.

3) The average life expectancy for a black transgender woman is 35 years.”

What will the GOP do about BLACKLIVESMATTER ❓

So far the GOP has FAILED in gathering the WOMEN vote and LATINO vote, so how EGGHEADED will they be in ignoring the BLACKLIVESMATTER vote ❓

tbonetylr
tbonetylr
9 years ago

GOP Rick Perry is done, or will be soon. He ain’t got enough $$$ to continue his wannabe 2016 presidential campaign since he’s been indicted(etc…) for felonies in TEXAS.
http://www.latinpost.com/articles/19471/20140818/rick-perry-indictment-update-texas-governor-reacts-felony-charges.htm
“In response, Texans for Public Justice, a liberal watchdog group, filed an ethics complaint, alleging that Perry had broken the law by trying to coerce Lehmberg into resigning by using the threat of slashing her office’s funding.”

But YOU can still donate to his campaign fund…Come on…DO IT ❗
https://www.crowdpac.com/candidates/9999830/rick-perry

Liz
Liz
9 years ago

Make that OPEC.

setnaffa
setnaffa
9 years ago

I think tbone is really just ground turkey these days.

ChickenHead
ChickenHead
9 years ago

The sad thing about Tbone is that, adding insult to injury, your tax dollars are supporting him.

His annoyance is starting to get to the point where I’m fantasizing over a couple underhanded ways of shutting that down.

Liz
Liz
9 years ago

“His annoyance is starting to get to the point where I’m fantasizing over a couple underhanded ways of shutting that down.”

I know there is a line between events on the internet and in the real world that you won’t cross lightly. But I’m close to the point of a triple dog dare.

Liz
Liz
9 years ago

I know how that sort of thing goes in guy-talk.
I’ve studied up! 😀

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZLZj3zOUZNs

setnaffa
setnaffa
9 years ago

http://www.fox4news.com/clip/11725289/flower-mound-woman-fights-off-home-intruder

In my neighborhood, the guy with the mask would have been eaten by a pit bull or shot dead by the homeowner (or both).

setnaffa
setnaffa
9 years ago

http://www.cracked.com/blog/5-things-movies-always-get-wrong-about-dictatorships_p2/

In reality, entire courses can be taught on what really makes regimes collapse, and two teachers could disagree on everything. Gandhi certainly earned the ultimate honor of being portrayed by Ben Kingsley, but Indian independence was a centuries-long struggle fought by countless people. Apartheid was resisted from the moment it began. The Soviet Union collapsed when enough people living under it thought to themselves “Wait a minute, this shit sucks!” and did something about it, whether that was stage protests, write and distribute pamphlets, or simply complain to their neighbor without caring what anyone would think of them for it. And that’s not even getting into complicated outside factors that I’m too dumb to explain, like economics and international pressure.

Or entire countries conveniently popping up from out of nowhere to help.

That can make dictatorships look like terrifying and mysterious institutions that rise and fall beyond the control of a single human being. And, well, that’s because they are. But that also means every act of protest, no matter how small, builds momentum until the stage is set for someone charismatic and media-friendly enough to Katniss up the place. No one’s going to build a memorial of you because you chastised your homophobic friend for using a slur, but you still made your little addition to the growing volume of evidence that the world was changing.

By writing a story that has one person do all the hero-ing, you’re telling people that they don’t have to do anything to improve the world. Why bother? Everything will be hopeless until a sexy savior comes along. All you’ll have to do is follow their lead, and everything will be better forever. And that attitude, of course, is what created history’s worst dictatorships.

setnaffa
setnaffa
9 years ago

Sorry, my quoting didn’t take… that’s the last four paragraphs from the article.

MTB Rider
9 years ago

And another one bites the dust…

http://news.yahoo.com/north-korea-executes-vice-premier-discontent-leader-yonhap-102404638.html

Since entire families are sent off to the “Reeducation Camps” after an official is executed or sent away, apartment availability in Pyongyang must be pretty good these days. 70 High Ranking officials means 70 extended families. That’s a lot of people moving out. 😮

I’m just surprised KJU hasn’t suffered a fatal case of indigestion…

Liz
Liz
9 years ago

“I’m just surprised KJU hasn’t suffered a fatal case of indigestion…”

Maybe that’s the real story behind his hair?
Some sort of ascending arsenic-poisoning-associated hair loss.
Dare to dream.

setnaffa
setnaffa
9 years ago

Remember how many Soviet leaders got the “Moscow Flu”?

ChickenHead
ChickenHead
9 years ago

Why all the hate for KJU?

He was just a European schoolboy when he got pulled back to North Korea to serve as a figurehead for those who are really running the country.

He is likely more miserable Going Around And Looking At Stuff than we are of watching him do it.

He certainly must have few false ideas about North Korea after growing up in Europe… but he has to play his part… or else.

This seems like a clear case of Don’t Hate the Player, Hate the game.

setnaffa
setnaffa
9 years ago

Exactly. Give hime and the leadership nice estates in SoCal, make the mid-level guys junior Chaebol leaders, turn the DPRK-ians into ROK-landers…

And a free case of Orion ChocoPies for everyone who agrees to assimilate for the glory of the Fatherland/Motherland.

Liz
Liz
9 years ago

Well, put like that he sounds like a really nice guy who is simply misunderstood.
I’m kind of ashamed of myself for making fun of his bad, er…excuse me, eccentric hairdo now. Don’t the highest minds have eccentricities? I wonder if he speaks Italian?

He’s actually kind of hot, in a low-center-of-gravity-and-genetically-undermined-I’ll-shot-him-if-he-gets-within-ten-feet-of-me way.

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