U.S. Politics: The Biggest Trade in WNBA History

[JourneymanN00b]

Trump says he expects to be arrested on Tuesday, calls for protests

A spokesman for Trump said the former president had not been notified of any arrest. Trump provided no evidence of leaks from the Manhattan district attorney's office and did not discuss the possible charges.

www.reuters.com

Aaand now Trump is trying to provoke riots as a response to a possible, and very deserved if it does happen, indictment next week.

Rushing off to buy a couple of boxes of 5.56 and .38 Special +P ammo for my Kel-Tec and Ruger in case I get surrounded by rioters (or criminals taking advantage of the upcoming chaos) when the insurgency attacks, retaliatory violence, or the fascist coup attempts happen next week. It looks like we have to refresh the tree of liberty with the blood of tyrants, since they are far too big of a threat to be ignored.

Please be vigilant for potential action against law enforcement/government officials and possible attacks on critical infrastructure points. Better safe than sorry, since January 6th is a lesson to take when we try to say “Nothing’s going to happen.”

 

[AuraChannelerChris]

That's one way of luring other would-be criminals out in the open, I guess.

 

[Divine Retribution]

I am absolutely an advocate for leftists and members of vulnerable demographics responsibly arming themselves and forming community aid groups, but I would strongly encourage you not to go purposefully putting yourself in dangerous situations. That's how you end up with situations like the Rittenhouse shootings, or worse (from your perspective at least) end up dead in a confrontation that didn't need to happen, whether from armed fascists or the police. There's nothing wrong with stocking up on ammo just in case **** really hits the fan, but I strongly advocate against open carrying at protests unless part of an organized group doing an armed demonstration.

If you aren't already a member, I would recommend trying to find an join a local left-leaning LGBTQ+/BIPOC-friendly firearms/community aid group. I'm a member of the Massachusetts branch of the Socialist Rifle Association and can absolutely vouch for them as an invaluable source of support, training, and other resources without the usual gun culture bullshit that comes attached to right-wing gun groups. The John Brown Gun Club/Redneck Revolt, Pink Pistols, Project Blazing Sword, Huey P. Newton Gun Club, Latino Rifle Association, and Armed Equality are other groups I've heard positive things about from leftist friends.

 

[SunGodNika1997]

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1638208340214915072

Obviously fake photos, but they do give me the tiniest bit of joy and hope that this becomes a reality.

 

[JourneymanN00b]

I am absolutely an advocate for leftists and members of vulnerable demographics responsibly arming themselves and forming community aid groups, but I would strongly encourage you not to go purposefully putting yourself in dangerous situations. That's how you end up with situations like the Rittenhouse shootings, or worse (from your perspective at least) end up dead in a confrontation that didn't need to happen, whether from armed fascists or the police. There's nothing wrong with stocking up on ammo just in case **** really hits the fan, but I strongly advocate against open carrying at protests unless part of an organized group doing an armed demonstration.

If you aren't already a member, I would recommend trying to find an join a local left-leaning LGBTQ+/BIPOC-friendly firearms/community aid group. I'm a member of the Massachusetts branch of the Socialist Rifle Association and can absolutely vouch for them as an invaluable source of support, training, and other resources without the usual gun culture bullshit that comes attached to right-wing gun groups. The John Brown Gun Club/Redneck Revolt, Pink Pistols, Project Blazing Sword, Huey P. Newton Gun Club, Latino Rifle Association, and Armed Equality are other groups I've heard positive things about from leftist friends.

Fully agree with this. Every pro-gun liberal who I have talked to and myself (there are quite a few in my area, which is not always the case in a lot of blue areas) know these facts without being told. The point I wanted to emphasize is of the "be prepared" mentality. Having weapons, knowing when to use them properly, and being aware of upcoming threats are the key facts that I wanted to emphasize in my post. Everyone here knows this, but there are far too many right-wing actors who *will* take advantage of possible situations like this to assault and kill people for heaven knows what ends. And I have already run into several over the past week because of this latest call for violent protests.

My mistake for not adding these disclaimers, as I wanted to keep the post relatively short. The one thing that I would like to add to the post, and which I also should have mentioned, is to trust your instincts. If something *looks* dangerous and bad, it probably is, and it is probably time to think of possible answers to stay alive.

I am a member of the Liberal Gun Club and also a member of the Socialist Rifle Association, so it is heartening to see someone along the same lines.

 

[SunGodNika1997]

Nashville school shooting: six shot dead by former student

A heavily armed 28-year-old fatally shot three children and three adult staffers at a private Christian school the suspect once attended in Tennessee's capital city before police killed the assailant.

www.reuters.com

Hits close to home for me. I know people that were dangerously close to where this shooting occurred. I'm not the first to say this, nor will I be the last at this rate, but how much longer are we going to just let these things happen?

 

[AuraChannelerChris]

Meanwhile, MTG got "threatened" by a literal whistle blower making noise outside her office and called him evil.

Nashville school shooting: six shot dead by former student

A heavily armed 28-year-old fatally shot three children and three adult staffers at a private Christian school the suspect once attended in Tennessee's capital city before police killed the assailant.

www.reuters.com

Hits close to home for me. I know people that were dangerously close to where this shooting occurred. I'm not the first to say this, nor will I be the last at this rate, but how much longer are we going to just let these things happen?

As long as the NRA keeps giving Republicans money.

 

[lemoncatpower]

Nashville school shooting: six shot dead by former student

A heavily armed 28-year-old fatally shot three children and three adult staffers at a private Christian school the suspect once attended in Tennessee's capital city before police killed the assailant.

www.reuters.com

Hits close to home for me. I know people that were dangerously close to where this shooting occurred. I'm not the first to say this, nor will I be the last at this rate, but how much longer are we going to just let these things happen?

This is such a random shooting... a 28 year old woman goes into a K to 6th grade school and shoots staff and students? tf? If a country is going to permit their citizens to openly and secretly carry guns, and barely go through much to get those guns, they SHOULD have, at least, top notch mental health care for its citizens.

 

[SunGodNika1997]

This is such a random shooting... a 28 year old woman goes into a K to 6th grade school and shoots staff and students? tf? If a country is going to permit their citizens to openly and secretly carry guns, and barely go through much to get those guns, they SHOULD have, at least, top notch mental health care for its citizens.

Republicans love to use the mental health argument after these events in order to deflect from gun control talks, but nothing is ever really done about it. Just forgotten about until they can use it as a strawman after the next shooting.

Edit: To be clear, most definitely not trying to undermine mental health care, as that's a huge issue in and of itself that needs a lot of attention. But in cases like these, it could have easily been prevented with proper laws and regulations on firearms.

 

[Auraninja]

And of course, the trans community as a whole gets blamed for this shooting because the shooter happened to be trans.

 

[WishIhadaManafi5]

This bill is VERY bad.

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1640711381447000064

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1640712622088806407

 

[SunGodNika1997]

This bill is VERY bad.

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1640711381447000064

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1640712622088806407

This, on top of the news dropped by Twitter’s fearless leader (/s) yesterday. So much for “free speech”. Not a good time for internet users right now.

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1640502698549075972

 

[WishIhadaManafi5]

This, on top of the news dropped by Twitter’s fearless leader (/s) yesterday. So much for “free speech”. Not a good time for internet users right now.

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1640502698549075972

Definitely. It's looking very dark right now.

 

[masdog]

The RESTRICT act is definitely bad. It's overly broad, gives the government a lot of power that it shouldn't otherwise have, and can definitely be abused as the political winds shift.

But...I'd be careful in going right to the extreme alarmist point of view in that Twitter thread. Why? First, this bill only covers entities that are 1) foreign controlled or held in a way to hide foreign control, 2) participate in certain activities and 3) have 1,000,000 or more US residents as subscribers/customers more than 1 million units sold in the US in the calendar year before the company was referred to for investigation. The bill does not create a new "Secretary of Communications" or allow for warrant-less wiretapping of individuals or devices, and it doesn't outright ban products made in "foreign adversaries" or VPNs.

The actual bill text is a little technical, but I'm not sure it gives the government the right to inspect any computing device. My read is that it allows the government to investigate the service/device itself, including any 3rd-party services that it relies on. But I am not a lawyer, and I would defer to one for a better read.

Don't get me wrong. There are serious issues with the bill and its ability to be abused. But the alarmism on the other side of this isn't helping either.

The normal legal analysts that I would look to haven't really posted anything on this yet, but then it was just released yesterday. It might take a few days for it to sink in.

 

[WishIhadaManafi5]

The RESTRICT act is definitely bad. It's overly broad, gives the government a lot of power that it shouldn't otherwise have, and can definitely be abused as the political winds shift.

But...I'd be careful in going right to the extreme alarmist point of view in that Twitter thread. Why? First, this bill only covers entities that are 1) foreign controlled or held in a way to hide foreign control, 2) participate in certain activities and 3) have 1,000,000 or more US residents as subscribers/customers more than 1 million units sold in the US in the calendar year before the company was referred to for investigation. The bill does not create a new "Secretary of Communications" or allow for warrant-less wiretapping of individuals or devices, and it doesn't outright ban products made in "foreign adversaries" or VPNs.

The actual bill text is a little technical, but I'm not sure it gives the government the right to inspect any computing device. My read is that it allows the government to investigate the service/device itself, including any 3rd-party services that it relies on. But I am not a lawyer, and I would defer to one for a better read.

Don't get me wrong. There are serious issues with the bill and its ability to be abused. But the alarmism on the other side of this isn't helping either.

The normal legal analysts that I would look to haven't really posted anything on this yet, but then it was just released yesterday. It might take a few days for it to sink in.

And that's the biggest concern... the broadness of the scope. I don't find it to be alarmist to be concerned about the slippery slope that this bill is. The more it gets out there, the better.

Some bits that are pretty concerning...

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1640712202696130560

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1640712622088806407

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1640555179148992512

 

[lemoncatpower]

This bill is VERY bad.

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1640711381447000064

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1640712622088806407

This, on top of the news dropped by Twitter’s fearless leader (/s) yesterday. So much for “free speech”. Not a good time for internet users right now.

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1640502698549075972

What are you doing online that makes you alarmed by this bill... or who are you trying to protect? If you aren't doing anything online that would be considered illegal in real life, you'll be fine.

edit: i just realized how detrimental it could be if state governments are able to do this, and if another republican gov got into power how bad it would be.

 

[WishIhadaManafi5]

What are you doing online that makes you alarmed by this bill... or who are you trying to protect? If you aren't doing anything online that would be considered illegal in real life, you'll be fine.

edit: i just realized how detrimental it could be if state governments are able to do this, and if another republican gov got into power how bad it would be.

Your edit is why it's mostly concerning.

 

[Divine Retribution]

The whole "if you have nothing to hide, you have nothing to fear" mentality assumes that those in power will always act fairly and in the best interest of the public... which you only need to look at previous regimes who have pushed that line to see is very clearly not the case. Your right to privacy is not only a fundamental human right, it's also a check to your government's power over you, and, at the risk of sounding like a libertarian (I'm not; worse, I'm an anarchist) if you remove too many of those checks you leave yourself defenseless against overreach of the state. That could very well mean overreach of a far-right state, against LGBTQ+ people, BIPOC, vocal leftists, and other vulnerable groups.

 

[WishIhadaManafi5]

The whole "if you have nothing to hide, you have nothing to fear" mentality assumes that those in power will always act fairly and in the best interest of the public... which you only need to look at previous regimes who have pushed that line to see is very clearly not the case. Your right to privacy is not only a fundamental human right, it's also a check to your government's power over you, and, at the risk of sounding like a libertarian (I'm not; worse, I'm an anarchist) if you remove too many of those checks you leave yourself defenseless against overreach of the state. That could very well mean overreach of a far-right state, against LGBTQ+ people, BIPOC, vocal leftists, and other vulnerable groups.

Exactly. Nah. It's common sense. You don't want the government to overstep. Definitely, which is and would be downright scary.

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1640830215936159744

 

[masdog]

And that's the biggest concern... the broadness of the scope. I don't find it to be alarmist to be concerned about the slippery slope that this bill is. The more it gets out there, the better.

Some bits that are pretty concerning...

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1640712202696130560

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1640712622088806407

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1640555179148992512

I was wrong about VPNs. That was a misreading on my part.

But the second and third tweets you link to are overly alarmist and not helping. I did not see anything about unlimited monitoring or device access anywhere in the bill’s text. The text around devices is vague, though, so I can see how someone would interpret those sections that way.

The third tweet is way over the top. It ignores several things actually in the bill to set up strawman arguments about why it’s bad or ignores power the government already has. The government already has a lot of power over businesses on national security grounds…it’s why TikTok already has separate US operations. The President can even nationalize companies in the name of national security through the Defense Production Act.

So claiming that something like the Apache Web Server will be confiscated by the government because people can use it to set up websites that the government may not like is the definition of “not helping.”

Twitter would have a lot to worry about under this bill because of its ownership, some of its acquisition funding, and how it’s been weaponized over the last few years.

What are you doing online that makes you alarmed by this bill... or who are you trying to protect? If you aren't doing anything online that would be considered illegal in real life, you'll be fine.

That’s not the point at all. But I think you got that with your edit…

Exactly. Nah. It's common sense. You don't want the government to overstep. Definitely, which is and would be downright scary.

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1640830215936159744

That Reuters column seems like a pretty good analysis.

A TikTok clone fully owned and operated by a U.S. entity wouldn’t have this issue.