Political Discussion

[RenegadeMonster]

Here in MA they are done with protest on college campuses. Most universities now have a zero tolerance towards protesters. They set deadlines for all protesters to leave. And any protesters who didn't leave by the deadline would be forcefully removed, arrested and face suspension or expulsion. The protesters did not leave, and they were all removed.

However, they keep resetting up there encampments and sit ins. For a second day in a row, more than 100 students were arrested at UMass Amherst for resettings encampments for continued protests.

UMass Amherst is the largest campus, but similar events are happening at the other campuses, as well as MIT and Harvard.

 

[RenegadeMonster]

City Trees Save Lives — WIRED

Green spaces significantly cool our ever-hotter cities. New research suggests more trees could cut heat-related ER visits in LA by up to two-thirds.

apple.news

This isn't new news to me. I have known it for awhile.

I thought I would bring it up here as it can be a political situation in a way. For example, we know Boston is becoming a urban heat island.

The trees we do have around the city have been disappearing for years. There are so many cutouts in the side walks where trees once were.

Within the last 5 years, the mayor made a big campaign initiative to replace all the missing trees. But the reality of it ended up being, they could not even keep up with replacing the trees that died and the tree loss continued to grow. The main reason, the DPW didn't have enough people to plant the trees. Years of budget cuts have stretched them too thin.

 

[Joe Mac]

City Trees Save Lives — WIRED

Green spaces significantly cool our ever-hotter cities. New research suggests more trees could cut heat-related ER visits in LA by up to two-thirds.

apple.news

This isn't new news to me. I have known it for awhile.

I thought I would bring it up here as it can be a political situation in a way. For example, we know Boston is becoming a urban heat island.

The trees we do have around the city have been disappearing for years. There are so many cutouts in the side walks where trees once were.

Within the last 5 years, the mayor made a big campaign initiative to replace all the missing trees. But the reality of it ended up being, they could not even keep up with replacing the trees that died and the tree loss continued to grow. The main reason, the DPW didn't have enough people to plant the trees. Years of budget cuts have stretched them too thin.

It’s also tree management and care. Most local authorities can’t afford to look after them and the trees end up costing them a fortune in damages claims in our litigious cultures.

 

[Dtknuckles]

The main story of last nights episode of John Oliver was about public libraries and the book ban movement.

It is within the publics right to contest books in a public libraries collection. And up until recently, contesting of books was rare, only done by individuals and were often about one single book a particular parent made that their child read.

We have seen the number of requests to contest books skyrocket, are mostly done by religions and non profit organizations and the number of books listed being contested by a single request now exceeds 100 books in the majority of cases.

We have seen several libraries move children's picture books about farting to the adult section of the library as well as anatomy and puberty related books for teens due to local and/or state laws banning any books with any sexual obscenities in them from being accessible to minors.

We have seen bomb threats against libraries and death threats against librarians. Librarians are being called pedophiles and accused of indoctrinating children. Laws have been proposed in several states that would make it a felony for librarians to have books in the library that are sexually obscene / not appropriate for children.

Political ads and organizations are electing pro book ban people to library boards across the country, and these boards all to often vote to fire the library director or librarians over contested books. Which in many cases, the library does not even have, or are already in the adult only section.

Having a book in the adult only section, or relocating a book to the adult only section isn't enough for many of these organizations. They are looking for the complete removal of the books to protect children. As a child could still get their hands on it in the adult section and be exposed to these obscenities according to them.

One city voted to defund their library over books they were concerned about being present, most of which didn't even exist in the library, and then were surprised when the library said it would have to close and angry.

Wait till they find out that kids can easily get much worse on all those devices they are carrying around. Wait doesn’t the right always talk about virtue signaling.

 

[RenegadeMonster]

Oh, I see that Dan Price is still at at.

 

[TenderLovingKiller®]

How racist do you have to be to decide that this is the right thing to do?

Virginia school board votes to restore names of Confederate leaders to schools

In the wake of George Floyd’s murder, a school board in Virginia stripped the names of Confederate military figures from two schools. Four years later, the board approved a motion to restore the names.

www.nbcnews.com

“When you read about this man — who he was, what he stood for, his character, his loyalty, his leadership, how Godly a man he was — those standards that he had were much higher than any leadership of the school system in 2020,” said Tom Streett, one the board members.

Pretty racist apparently.

 

[TenderLovingKiller®]

How racist do you have to be to decide that this is the right thing to do?

Virginia school board votes to restore names of Confederate leaders to schools

In the wake of George Floyd’s murder, a school board in Virginia stripped the names of Confederate military figures from two schools. Four years later, the board approved a motion to restore the names.

www.nbcnews.com

“When you read about this man — who he was, what he stood for, his character, his loyalty, his leadership, how Godly a man he was — those standards that he had were much higher than any leadership of the school system in 2020,” said Tom Streett, one the board members.

Pretty racist apparently.

Stonewall Jackson was a slave owner that fought against the United States. Tommy musta missed that part when he was reading about Stonewall “Shot by his own troops” Jackson.

The ghost of Tecumseh Sherman might need to march to the sea again as a reminder.

 

[ayayrawn]

The New York Times winning a pulitzer for their widely disputed coverage of october 7th makes more sense when you remember the pulitzers are handed out by Columbia, the current epicenter of the militant Gaza protest crackdown. It's not always you get such a clear cut and obvious example of manufacturing consent, but there you go. Shams.

 

[RenegadeMonster]

A 19-year-old called 911 in a crisis and ended up dead. For advocates, it’s a call for a better way of policing — CNN

“Please don’t shoot,” Notan Eva Costa, a 48-year-old Bangladeshi immigrant living in Queens, begged the two New York City police officers who entered her home after her teenage son called 911.

apple.news

 

[AnthonyI]

Was DJT trying to do "comedy" with his Hannibal Lecter schtick?

 

[RenegadeMonster]

I don't know if this is something we have discussed here yet, but it was something I was reading about over the weekend that is going to be a huge impact on public education.

One of the last remaining covid public health emergency funs paid school districts aid through this school year. It does not exist anymore for the 2024/2025 school year and teachers across the country are bracing for layoffs as their school districts take a steep decline in funding for the next school year.

Very few school districts will not be impacted and be forced to scale back budgets and make cuts.

Some states will be impacted more so than others. For example, some states balanced their budgets by cutting from education as the public health emergency was funding education.

So, understaffed and cash strapped schools are only going to see things continue to decline.

Has anyone here heard more on this topic?

 

[Dtknuckles]

I don't know if this is something we have discussed here yet, but it was something I was reading about over the weekend that is going to be a huge impact on public education.

One of the last remaining covid public health emergency funs paid school districts aid through this school year. It does not exist anymore for the 2024/2025 school year and teachers across the country are bracing for layoffs as their school districts take a steep decline in funding for the next school year.

Very few school districts will not be impacted and be forced to scale back budgets and make cuts.

Some states will be impacted more so than others. For example, some states balanced their budgets by cutting from education as the public health emergency was funding education.

So, understaffed and cash strapped schools are only going to see things continue to decline.

Has anyone here heard more on this topic?

So the superintendent is cutting budgets at schools where I work. The results have been cutting campus aide and mental health workers at schools. The two unions had a rally during the school board meetings and made a public comment.

Considering that we had a campus aide physically prevent a suicide on campus as well as all the mental health professionals that provide interventions for crisis behaviors. These cuts are very short sighted.

Student performance will go down, discipline problems will go up, cronic absenteeism will go unchecked. And the school system will be blamed.

But at least we aren’t spreading LGBTQ propaganda and critical race theory right .

 

[RenegadeMonster]

Biden Moves Forward on $1 Billion in New Arms for Israel — The Wall Street Journal

The administration notifies Congress of a large arms package after withholding shipment of bombs last week

apple.news

 

[ayayrawn]

Biden Moves Forward on $1 Billion in New Arms for Israel — The Wall Street Journal

The administration notifies Congress of a large arms package after withholding shipment of bombs last week

apple.news

 

[RenegadeMonster]

Apparently Trump is also going to sit out on any debates with Biden heading into the 2024 election.

 

[Joe Mac]

Apparently Trump is also going to sit out on any debates with Biden heading into the 2024 election.

Are you surprised?

 

[RenegadeMonster]

Are you surprised?

Nope

It worked for him during the primaries.

 

[Joe Mac]

Nope

It worked for him during the primaries.

I think it’s more the opposite, damage limitation, debates destroy him.

 

[TenderLovingKiller®]

Apparently Trump is also going to sit out on any debates with Biden heading into the 2024 election.

I heard Biden wants two debates but is eschewing the bi-partisan debate commission. Also, he wants microphones cut off after the allotted time, no third-party candidates, and no audience. Hosted by news organizations at a TV Studio. One in June and one in September.

And Trump seemingly agreed to the debates on social media last night.

Trump accepts Biden campaign’s debate proposal: ‘Let’s get ready to Rumble!’

Former President Trump said Wednesday that he is “ready and willing” to debate President Biden after the Biden campaign proposed holding two debates, one in June and one in September. T…

thehill.com

I don’t think either really wants to debate and I would be surprised if it actually happens but at least right now, Trump is saying he’s willing to debate.

 

[Hemotep]

I heard Biden wants two debates but is eschewing the bi-partisan debate commission. Also, he wants microphones cut off after the allotted time, no third-party candidates, and no audience. Hosted by news organizations at a TV Studio. One in June and one in September.

And Trump seemingly agreed to the debates on social media last night.

Trump accepts Biden campaign’s debate proposal: ‘Let’s get ready to Rumble!’

Former President Trump said Wednesday that he is “ready and willing” to debate President Biden after the Biden campaign proposed holding two debates, one in June and one in September. T…

thehill.com

I don’t think either really wants to debate and I would be surprised if it actually happens but at least right now, Trump is saying he’s willing to debate.

It really infuriates me that in a supposedly democratic society that those running for the highest office can dictate how questions are asked of them and whether they even want to debate or not.