What happens to the Republican Party now? (1 Viewer)

Optimus Prime said:

Common sense tells you that’s a hypocritical con game, but the fake populists run that play over and over because they assume the people are too dumb to catch on.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2022/08/14/historians-biden-white-house-rubio/

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My question is why are so many people so dumb, that they can't see it and go along with it? Or why do they go along and still vote Republican when they know it's a hypocritical con game?

SteveSBrickNJ said:

You do not know what you are talking about. Don't try to explain scripture. You are not a born again christian and thus you are just interpreting scripture trusting in your own personal intellect.

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Yeah, it is always better when you are told what to think, rather than use your brains.

Saintamaniac said:

Christians can't d cide which sin offends them to the point of discrimination. Just look at the bakery that was so offended by a gay couple asking for a cake for their wedding that they refused to bake the cake but they have no problem baking a cake for adulters and sabbath breakers.

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SteveSBrickNJ said:

You do not know what you are talking about. Don't try to explain scripture. You are not a born again christian and thus you are just interpreting scripture trusting in your own personal intellect.

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I find that the least Christian people tend to be of the "born again" variety. Jesus taught of a personal relationship with God, not one interpreted for you by someone else.

SteveSBrickNJ said:

It is not a good testimony to unbelievers to see 2 Christian's "argue"

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Calling yourself a Christian doesn't make you a Christian. Practicing and following the teachings of Jesus is what makes one a Christian. I'd argue that what is not a good testimony to "unbelievers" (who says this) is someone who doesn't even fully understand the tenets of the faith they claim.

SystemShock said:

Yeah, it is always better when you are told what to think, rather than use your brains.

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I understand their point of view. They are not telling me what to think. They are preventing me from saying things that from their point of view might make them feel defensive.

Saintamaniac said:

I find that the least Christian people tend to be of the "born again" variety. Jesus taught of a personal relationship with God, not one interpreted for you by someone else.

Calling yourself a Christian doesn't make you a Christian. Practicing and following the teachings of Jesus is what makes one a Christian. I'd argue that what is not a good testimony to "unbelievers" (who says this) is someone who doesn't even fully understand the tenets of the faith they claim.

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Very good. I don't refute your post at all. I would love to say why I agree with you but not your forum colleague....but alas I will only tell him privately.

SteveSBrickNJ said:

You do not know what you are talking about. Don't try to explain scripture. You are not a born again christian and thus you are just interpreting scripture trusting in your own personal intellect. You have said things that are erroneous but I am just gonna take a pass at continuing this. I am in my hotel room in Derry/ Londonderry Northern Ireland. It is lovely here@

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I got my head dunked in water at a Baptist church. Does that mean i am allowed to interpret scripture?

The armed attack this week on an F.B.I. office in Ohio by a supporter of former President Donald J. Trump who was enraged by the bureau’s search of Mr. Trump’s private residence in Florida was one of the most disturbing episodes of right-wing political violence in recent months.

But it was hardly the only one.

In the year and a half since a pro-Trump mob stormed the Capitol, threats of political violence and actual attacks have become a steady reality of American life, affecting school board officials, election workers, flight attendants, librarians and even members of Congress, often with few headlines and little reaction from politicians.

In late June, a former Marine stepped down as the grand marshal of a July 4 parade in Houston after a deluge of threats that focused on her support of transgender rights. A few weeks later, the gay mayor of an Oklahoma city quit his job after what he described as a series of “threats and attacks bordering on violence.”

Even the federal judge who authorized the warrant to search for classified material at Mar-a-Lago, Mr. Trump’s beachfront home and club, became a target. On pro-Trump message boards, several threats were issued against him and his family, with one person writing, “I see a rope around his neck.”

While this welter of events may feel disparate, occurring at different times and places and to different types of people, scholars who study political violence point to a common thread: the heightened use of bellicose, dehumanizing and apocalyptic language, particularly by prominent figures in right-wing politics and media.

Several right-wing or Republican figures reacted to the search of Mar-a-Lago not only with demands to dismantle the F.B.I., but also with warnings that the action had triggered “war.”

“This just shows everyone what many of us have been saying for a very long time,” Joe Kent, a Trump-endorsed House candidate in Washington State, said on a podcast run by Stephen K. Bannon, Mr. Trump’s former chief political strategist. “We’re at war.”...........

samiam5211 said:

I got my head dunked in water at a Baptist church. Does that mean i am allowed to interpret scripture?

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I am not allowed by my employer ( Board of Ed) to respond to this. I will not repeat this anymore. If people continue to try to draw me out I will just have to ignore them. Some day I will retire from teaching and then I can talk more freely on a public forum.

SteveSBrickNJ said:

I am not allowed by my employer ( Board of Ed) to respond to this. I will not repeat this anymore. If people continue to try to draw me out I will just have to ignore them. Some day I will retire from teaching and then I can talk more freely on a public forum.

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What you just said isn't true. Your employer isn't going to punish you for responding, unless you are posting from a work computer. You just want to feel persecuted.

You can ignore me if you want, i won't notice.

samiam5211 said:

What you just said isn't true. Your employer isn't going to punish you for responding, unless you are posting from a work computer. You just want to feel persecuted.

You can ignore me if you want, i won't notice.

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You are wrong. They were very clear. If you are on summer break or it is the weekend and one of their teachers posts something on Facebook that reflects badly on the school district your job is in jeopardy. This is said to us at one faculty meeting a year...year after year.The most common example is don't post photos of yourself with alcohol in your hands. I have already posted how I understand this approach. I will elaborate more though. I am in a school building where I specifically work with 5th graders. Yet let's face it, I also come in contact with kindergarten thru 4th grade and well. If you are a parent who is Muslim, how are you gonna POTENTIALLY feel if your child's teacher is posting Ephesians 2.8&9,?...or...if you lost a loved one to a drunk driver...how would you POTENTIALLY feel if your child's teacher is proudly posting images of themselves drinking alcohol? The Board of Education is just following legal advise and common sense....so... I do NOT feel bad. I do NOT feel persecuted. I am totally fine. Hopefully you get it now.

SteveSBrickNJ said:

I understand their point of view. They are not telling me what to think. They are preventing me from saying things that from their point of view might make them feel defensive.

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You said, and I quote, "You are not a born again christian [sic] and thus you are just interpreting scripture trusting in your own personal intellect." The only tool we have to understand our reality is our intellect. So, when you tell someone to forego their intellect in their attempt to understand something, the only understanding they can have is the one being told to them.

But then, the requirement to forego one's own intellect is prevalent in religions and cults. because once one starts using one's intellect, they become aware of fallacies, falsehoods, contradictions, and scientific impossibilities which, unless there is a willingness to believe on faith, most likely than not leads to secular enlightenment.

SteveSBrickNJ said:

You are wrong. They were very clear. If you are on summer break or it is the weekend and one of their teachers posts something on Facebook that reflects badly on the school district your job is in jeopardy. This is said to us at one faculty meeting a year...year after year.The most common example is don't post photos of yourself with alcohol in your hands. I have already posted how I understand this approach. I will elaborate more though. I am in a school building where I specifically work with 5th graders. Yet let's face it, I also come in contact with kindergarten thru 4th grade and well. If you are a parent who is Muslim, how are you gonna POTENTIALLY feel if your child's teacher is posting Ephesians 2.8&9,?...or...if you lost a loved one to a drunk driver...how would you POTENTIALLY feel if your child's teacher is proudly posting images of themselves drinking alcohol? The Board of Education is just following legal advise and common sense....so... I do NOT feel bad. I do NOT feel persecuted. I am totally fine. Hopefully you get it now.

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Does the BoE allow you to go to church? Or do you have to go to church in disguise?

SteveSBrickNJ said:

You are wrong. They were very clear. If you are on summer break or it is the weekend and one of their teachers posts something on Facebook that reflects badly on the school district your job is in jeopardy.

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I understand taking steps to protect one's livelihood. I'll say this though; if your school board is that specific on what you can or cannot say about your religion, you are already in jeopardy based on what you have posted. That being said, your interpretation of what they have warned about is mistaken.

SteveSBrickNJ said:

You are wrong. They were very clear. If you are on summer break or it is the weekend and one of their teachers posts something on Facebook that reflects badly on the school district your job is in jeopardy. This is said to us at one faculty meeting a year...year after year.The most common example is don't post photos of yourself with alcohol in your hands. I have already posted how I understand this approach. I will elaborate more though. I am in a school building where I specifically work with 5th graders. Yet let's face it, I also come in contact with kindergarten thru 4th grade and well. If you are a parent who is Muslim, how are you gonna POTENTIALLY feel if your child's teacher is posting Ephesians 2.8&9,?...or...if you lost a loved one to a drunk driver...how would you POTENTIALLY feel if your child's teacher is proudly posting images of themselves drinking alcohol? The Board of Education is just following legal advise and common sense....so... I do NOT feel bad. I do NOT feel persecuted. I am totally fine. Hopefully you get it now.

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I get that you are applying normal guidance like don't post crazy shirt on facebook, to a level that isn't anywhere near reality.

As someone who runs HR, some of what's being posted is just not factual. Posting a picture of yourself on Facebook having drinks with friends will not get you in trouble no matter what state you're in...

Posting on Facebook, "I love the Lord!!! You should too," should not get you in trouble.

Saying you're voting for someone on Facebook should not get you in trouble (exceptions might consist, for example, if you are working for the D.A. and saying you're for his or her opponent; that might get you fired).

Posting "All you infidels should rot in hell for not believing in God's will on abortion," might have you in HR's office. But it's all based on what's in the policy. But is shouldn't get you fired. Someone working for my organization posting that might get a funny look from folks, but they wouldn't get in trouble unless other factors came into play. For example, we suspended someone once because they were posting campaign material on Facebook while on the clock (the person was the candidate). They were not only on company time, but put funding in jeopardy as we're required to be non-partisan and the person posting that while on the clock made the person an agent of the organization.

Generally, organizations, including public ones, do their best to respect employees rights in their social media policies to an extent. This is why Delta Airlines is getting sued right now for wrongful termination.

Lovely…

I can understand your issue Steve in New Jersey.

If only there was some way to use a different name, while you were on the screen. That way people could post anonymously.

That would be so cool. Alas, nothing can de done to solve that conundrum.

Anyway, my wife Mrs Coolbrees and I are taking the two little ones out so I gotta go.