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TorontoGold

Mr. Dumb Moron
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Sure, I agree with a lot of what you’re saying but it then begs the question of how does a society go about reigning in belligerent corporations and or the super wealthy both of which use their exponential accumulation of power to then distort markets in order to favor their interests?

I would argue taxation and regulation are key. Now, if one is constantly demonizing those I find it hard to believe that they are serious about tackling said issues.

Case in point, most of the current members of congress from California sure as shit aren’t serious about reigning in Big Tech given their pathetic track record on that issue.

Now, I understand and agree that the federal government is a bloated mess. What I strongly disagree with is that the focus should be on cutting social programs and even relatively small time federal agencies like the DEA.

If one were to get serious about fraud, waste and abuse I would think one might want to start with the one agency that is so bloated and convoluted that it can’t even be audited, the Pentagon.

For me personally I would then think getting serious about cracking down on white collar crime (which would have the added benefit of reigning in Narcos via cracking down on the financial institutions that enable them) and or enforcing existing anti-trust laws would be the next biggest priorities.
Enforcing and strengthening residency taxation laws would appeal to the broad electorate as well. I see it and do it daily, moving profits out the country is so incredibly easy. You would think a populist/nationalist candidate like Trump would push for something like this. What's the point of having tax treaties with countries around the world if these corporations just loot the local towns for tax breaks and ship the profits out of the country.
 

ulukinatme

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How could they hate transgender teens so much?

It's good to see common sense is beginning to win out. I'm a bit surprised they're changing course, but it's a welcome change and I give them credit for doing the right thing.

These crazy bitches, on the other hand...
“The Biden administration is flat wrong on this,” said Kelley Robinson, president of the Human Rights Campaign, which has endorsed Biden and poured millions into his reelection. “It’s wrong on the science and wrong on the substance. It’s also inconsistent with other steps the administration has taken to support transgender youth.”

Allison Scott, director of impact and innovation at the Campaign for Southern Equality, a nonprofit organization supporting LGBTQ people in the South, called the administration’s statement “cowardly.”

“It is a troubling concession to the right-wing assault on transgender Americans, falling for their false narratives about surgical care and betraying a commitment to equality and trust in the medical community,” Scott said in a statement. “Let’s be very, very clear: Government has no business inserting itself into private medical decisions that should be exclusively between patients, their providers, and the patients’ parent or guardian.”
they can go fuck off. If children can't aren't being protected from nutjob parents, the government absolutely can step in to block life altering changes from being done to them. Children get removed from parental custody everyday due to negligence and harm.
 

drayer54

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It's good to see common sense is beginning to win out. I'm a bit surprised they're changing course, but it's a welcome change and I give them credit for doing the right thing.

These crazy bitches, on the other hand...

they can go fuck off. If children can't aren't being protected from nutjob parents, the government absolutely can step in to block life altering changes from being done to them. Children get removed from parental custody everyday due to negligence and harm.
Dems in statehouses have screamed at Republicans for this stance, saying they have blood on their hands. The logic is that they will kill themselves or something if they can't access this. There's no data or logic to support it, but it's what the looneys say. It's odd to go against that, but it's good. It's all signaling for November, though.
 

IRISHDODGER

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I’m sure most, if not all, of you have watched “Soft White Underbelly” where the host interviews interesting folks from all walks of life. This is a fascinating (and not that long) interview w/ an undercover narcotics agent. I could listen to his stories all day.

 

Bishop2b5

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This happened back in May, but apparently the arrest and the incident becoming big news just happened in the past 48 hours.

A Florida woman, Stephanie Pedroso, scheduled a birthday party for her daughter at a skate rink. Her contract with the rink required her to hire two off-duty deputies for security. She failed to do so, so the rink cancelled the event and refunded her money. Pedroso then used her daughter's social media to make a live video encouraging friends to show up to inflict violence in the community, which included many of the businesses around Astro Skate, the sheriff’s office said.

"Using social media to weaponize our youth is absolutely deplorable," Sheriff Chad Chronister said. "As a parent, I cannot fathom what went through this woman's mind when she put lives at risk to provoke this mayhem."

In the Instagram live video stream, Pedroso made multiple “violent and vulgar “statements as well as numerous racial slurs, including:
  • “For y’all, if y’all still go up there, tear the (expletive) out of them. I’ve got some money for y’all, and I’ll pay y’all (expletive).”
  • “I hope everybody still show up and tear this (expletive) up tomorrow.”
  • "Make them crackers work."
  • “Stress them the (expletive) out.”

Woman charged with inciting 500-person riot at Brandon Astro Skate, sheriff says​

Police said Stephanie Pedroso offered to pay rioters after the skating rink canceled her daughter’s birthday party.


Stephanie Pedroso is facing charges after she incited a riot at a Brandon skate park, according to the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office.

Stephanie Pedroso is facing charges after she incited a riot at a Brandon skate park, according to the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office. [ Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office ]

By

Published Yesterday|Updated Yesterday

If Stephanie Pedroso’s daughter couldn’t have her birthday at Astro Skate in Brandon, then no one could.

That’s what Hillsborough County Sheriff Chad Chronister said motivated Pedroso to make social media posts urging people to “terrorize” the skating rink the night of May 18, sparking a riot that took more than 40 sheriff’s deputies to quell.

“If y’all still go up there, tear the f--k out of them,” Pedroso said in an Instagram livestream during the attack. “I’ve got some money for y’all.”

A crowd of about 500 people obliged. At around 9:20 p.m., they poured into the street near the rink and wreaked havoc. Fights broke out, and a teen was thrown through the plate-glass window of a nearby barber shop. Rioters broke into a 7-Eleven across the street and looted it, causing $500 in damages, sheriff’s officials said.

After six hours of mayhem, 23 children and three adults were arrested. Pedroso, who stayed home on the night of the riot, was not among them.

No deputies were injured, though Chronister said rioters punched and jumped on the backs of deputies trying to make arrests.

All this, Chronister said, because the skate rink canceled the reservation for Pedroso’s daughter’s party. The contract required her to hire two off-duty deputies for event security, and because she didn’t, the venue canceled the event and issued a full refund.

Pedroso now faces felony charges for inciting a riot and unlawful use of a two-way communication device. Others present were charged with trespassing, resisting arrest and battery on a law enforcement officer.

“Stephanie Pedroso intended to cause terror the evening of May 18, and that’s exactly what she did,” Chronister said.
Pedroso could not be reached for comment Thursday by phone or email.

Hillsborough County State Attorney Suzy Lopez, in the midst of a reelection campaign, tried to use the charges to strike a contrast with her predecessor, suspended state attorney Andrew Warren.

“The Legislature enacts the law, we enforce the law,” Lopez said. “That may be confusing for some people, but it is not confusing for me.”
Warren shot back in a statement, noting that his office filed more than 265 charges following violence in May 2020 at protests over the police killing of George Floyd.

“Clearly the acting state attorney is lying about my record because she’s desperate to distract from the fact that crime has skyrocketed under her watch,” Warren wrote.

At Thursday’s news conference, Lopez noted that speech advocates in 2021 challenged the anti-incitement statute used to charge Pedroso on the grounds that it was unconstitutionally vague and could be used to crack down on protesters.

The Florida Supreme Court upheld the anti-incitement law in June, though clarified that it could not be applied to bystanders at protests or to protesters who do not participate in violence.

“This case is not about free speech,” Lopez said. “This case is about rioters, and in Hillsborough County, we will prosecute rioters.”
 

Bluto

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This happened back in May, but apparently the arrest and the incident becoming big news just happened in the past 48 hours.

A Florida woman, Stephanie Pedroso, scheduled a birthday party for her daughter at a skate rink. Her contract with the rink required her to hire two off-duty deputies for security. She failed to do so, so the rink cancelled the event and refunded her money. Pedroso then used her daughter's social media to make a live video encouraging friends to show up to inflict violence in the community, which included many of the businesses around Astro Skate, the sheriff’s office said.

"Using social media to weaponize our youth is absolutely deplorable," Sheriff Chad Chronister said. "As a parent, I cannot fathom what went through this woman's mind when she put lives at risk to provoke this mayhem."

In the Instagram live video stream, Pedroso made multiple “violent and vulgar “statements as well as numerous racial slurs, including:
  • “For y’all, if y’all still go up there, tear the (expletive) out of them. I’ve got some money for y’all, and I’ll pay y’all (expletive).”
  • “I hope everybody still show up and tear this (expletive) up tomorrow.”
  • "Make them crackers work."
  • “Stress them the (expletive) out.”

Woman charged with inciting 500-person riot at Brandon Astro Skate, sheriff says​

Police said Stephanie Pedroso offered to pay rioters after the skating rink canceled her daughter’s birthday party.


Stephanie Pedroso is facing charges after she incited a riot at a Brandon skate park, according to the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office.'s Office.

Stephanie Pedroso is facing charges after she incited a riot at a Brandon skate park, according to the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office. [ Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office ]

By

Published Yesterday|Updated Yesterday

If Stephanie Pedroso’s daughter couldn’t have her birthday at Astro Skate in Brandon, then no one could.

That’s what Hillsborough County Sheriff Chad Chronister said motivated Pedroso to make social media posts urging people to “terrorize” the skating rink the night of May 18, sparking a riot that took more than 40 sheriff’s deputies to quell.

“If y’all still go up there, tear the f--k out of them,” Pedroso said in an Instagram livestream during the attack. “I’ve got some money for y’all.”

A crowd of about 500 people obliged. At around 9:20 p.m., they poured into the street near the rink and wreaked havoc. Fights broke out, and a teen was thrown through the plate-glass window of a nearby barber shop. Rioters broke into a 7-Eleven across the street and looted it, causing $500 in damages, sheriff’s officials said.

After six hours of mayhem, 23 children and three adults were arrested. Pedroso, who stayed home on the night of the riot, was not among them.

No deputies were injured, though Chronister said rioters punched and jumped on the backs of deputies trying to make arrests.

All this, Chronister said, because the skate rink canceled the reservation for Pedroso’s daughter’s party. The contract required her to hire two off-duty deputies for event security, and because she didn’t, the venue canceled the event and issued a full refund.

Pedroso now faces felony charges for inciting a riot and unlawful use of a two-way communication device. Others present were charged with trespassing, resisting arrest and battery on a law enforcement officer.

“Stephanie Pedroso intended to cause terror the evening of May 18, and that’s exactly what she did,” Chronister said.
Pedroso could not be reached for comment Thursday by phone or email.

Hillsborough County State Attorney Suzy Lopez, in the midst of a reelection campaign, tried to use the charges to strike a contrast with her predecessor, suspended state attorney Andrew Warren.

“The Legislature enacts the law, we enforce the law,” Lopez said. “That may be confusing for some people, but it is not confusing for me.”
Warren shot back in a statement, noting that his office filed more than 265 charges following violence in May 2020 at protests over the police killing of George Floyd.

“Clearly the acting state attorney is lying about my record because she’s desperate to distract from the fact that crime has skyrocketed under her watch,” Warren wrote.

At Thursday’s news conference, Lopez noted that speech advocates in 2021 challenged the anti-incitement statute used to charge Pedroso on the grounds that it was unconstitutionally vague and could be used to crack down on protesters.

The Florida Supreme Court upheld the anti-incitement law in June, though clarified that it could not be applied to bystanders at protests or to protesters who do not participate in violence.

“This case is not about free speech,” Lopez said. “This case is about rioters, and in Hillsborough County, we will prosecute rioters.”
So, she’s a b league Donald Trump?
 

calvegas04

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Crazy how many people defend what happened on January 6th, multiple people died. And no I don't support or condone the riots that were happening during covid, I wish they were all thrown in jail and faced heavy fines.

 

Bluto

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Or any liberal that encouraged the summer riots. Those did way more property damage.
I suppose the DOJ and FBI failing to follow up on rounding up and prosecuting said “liberals” involved in inciting said riots during his term in office would be yet another example of the Trump administration dropping the ball.

His administration seems to have bungled just about everything except installing right wing nut jobs on the Supreme Court largely predicated on the assumption that they would outlaw abortion nation wide. Oh wait…
 

ulukinatme

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Crazy how many people defend what happened on January 6th, multiple people died. And no I don't support or condone the riots that were happening during covid, I wish they were all thrown in jail and faced heavy fines.


Yes, 4 people died that day, they were Trump supporters and none as a result of violence by the protestors. 2 heart attacks, 1 overdose, and Babbitt was shot by Capitol police. In the days after an officer died as a result of stroke and a few to suicide. It's all there.
 

ulukinatme

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I suppose the DOJ and FBI failing to follow up on rounding up and prosecuting said “liberals” involved in inciting said riots during his term in office would be yet another example of the Trump administration dropping the ball.

His administration seems to have bungled just about everything except installing right wing nut jobs on the Supreme Court largely predicated on the assumption that they would outlaw abortion nation wide. Oh wait…

Pretty sure the Supreme Court didn't outlaw abortion, they left it up to the states to decide. I'm not in the law field though, correct me if I'm wrong.
 

calvegas04

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Yes, 4 people died that day, they were Trump supporters and none as a result of violence by the protestors. 2 heart attacks, 1 overdose, and Babbitt was shot by Capitol police. In the days after an officer died as a result of stroke and a few to suicide. It's all there.
Okay cool, all good then
 

Irish#1

Livin' Your Dream!
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Amazing how a lady in Brandon Fl. Incites a riot in May 2024 and people come back with, “But January 6!”

Neither have a thing to do with each other.
 

Bluto

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Amazing how a lady in Brandon Fl. Incites a riot in May 2024 and people come back with, “But January 6!”

Neither have a thing to do with each other.
Except for the fact that they were both riots.
 

Bluto

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I went to the Oakland event of the Bill Picket Rodeo series yesterday. Hearing only hip hop and R&B at a rodeo was a first for me. Anyhow, it was super cool.
 

Bishop2b5

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Older people gripe about how bad modern music is compared to what we listened to in the 60s & 70s. Some of that is just typical generational differences, but a lot of it isn't. Music today is extremely formulaic, auto-tuned, and often digitally synthesized instead of using actual musicians on actual instruments. Almost all the drumming you hear on modern pop is a programmed drum machine, not a person with sticks in their hands.

Anyway, this 20 minute video uses a lot of science and studies and statistics to explain exactly why today's music is so much worse and more bland than that of a few decades ago, showing conclusively that there's a LOT more to it than just old people griping about the kids. They're right; the music actually IS a lot worse. To use a food analogy, we've gone from cooking well-balanced meals with fresh meats & vegetables to fast food and processed garbage full of sugar. Rather well done and entertaining video.

 

Irish#1

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Older people gripe about how bad modern music is compared to what we listened to in the 60s & 70s. Some of that is just typical generational differences, but a lot of it isn't. Music today is extremely formulaic, auto-tuned, and often digitally synthesized instead of using actual musicians on actual instruments. Almost all the drumming you hear on modern pop is a programmed drum machine, not a person with sticks in their hands.

Anyway, this 20 minute video uses a lot of science and studies and statistics to explain exactly why today's music is so much worse and more bland than that of a few decades ago, showing conclusively that there's a LOT more to it than just old people griping about the kids. They're right; the music actually IS a lot worse. To use a food analogy, we've gone from cooking well-balanced meals with fresh meats & vegetables to fast food and processed garbage full of sugar. Rather well done and entertaining video.

The last good generation of music was Grunge/Alternative.
 

Bluto

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Then why didn't you mention the riots where cities like Portland saw people killed, stores broken into, looted, set on fire, and cars set on fire?
Because they were not part of the discussion. Lol.
 

greyhammer90

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The last good generation of music was Grunge/Alternative.



Music from way back when is considered superior because we only remember the good stuff. Trust me, pop was largely shit in the 60s, 70s, 80s, 90s. We remember the Beatles but forget about Gerry & the Pacemakers. Besides, trying to claim that any art is "objectively worse" is missing the point of art.
 
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Bishop2b5

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Music from way back when is considered superior because we only remember the good stuff. Trust me, pop was largely shit in the 60s, 70s, 80s, 90s. We remember the Beatles but forget about Gerry & the Pacemakers. Besides, trying to claim that any art is "objectively worse" is missing the point of art.

Of course there was shit pop decades ago. That's not really the point of the video. There's shit pop now, there was shit pop then. The difference is now it's even shittier because it's blander, more homogenous aurally, synthesized instead of played on instruments, horribly over-processed to the nth degree, and there's virtually no current serious music like there was then with the Beatles, Stones, Zeppelin, ABB, Floyd, and etc. Did you watch the video and hear his stats and explanations?
 
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