December 20, 2015

AFAIK, this is the most progressive of the large discussion boards

I'm sure there's some very low traffic boards that are more progressive, if you obtained a median value. It's pretty easy to stay here. You observe the TOS, and don't go out of your way to piss Skinner and EarlG off. It's common sense, and not rocket science.

We have socialists here. We have marxists here. We have anarchists here. We have the very most progressive wing of the Democratic Party here. We have people who disagree, sometimes very intensely, with President Obama on many of his policies. All of those people are still here. Why ? They chose, somehow, to obey the TOS. I don't think the TOS is overly burdensome. I'm guessing many here disagree with me, rather intensely. Ok, we disagree. It's a partisan Democratic site that allows a wide variety of opinions, many of which are non-Democratic-party-in-origin.

If you want to type absolutely anything that pops into your head at any time, yea, this is not the site for you. If you want to openly state or imply that not voting for the Democratic nominee in November 2016 is a good idea, yes, this is not the site for you. We all have freedom to go where we wish and where we're comfortable.

It's really easy to stay here. Just stay away from the topic of not voting Democratic in November 2016. If you want to vote for Bernie in November 2016 no matter what (and yes, I'm voting for him in the Florida primaries, search the archives if you don't believe me), then you have the legal right to do so. If you want to announce that decision or the decision to vote for someone other than the official Democratic nominee, then yes, you will most likely get banned. It's in the TOS. It always has been.

There is no demand of being loyal to the Democratic Party, just a demand to not publicly announce not voting Democratic. It's really simple. I have a strong feeling that a large percentage of this site are not comfortable with this aspect of the TOS. We all have freedom in where to go for politics on the internet. Exercise it. Or not. If I was that strongly opposed to that aspect of the TOS, I damn sure would not be here.

ETA: To be crystal clear, I advocate voting for the official Democratic Party candidate in November 2016.

December 3, 2015

This is a free society, so we have to accept the fact that X number of people will be slaughtered...

per week in mass shootings. After all, there's nothing you can do about this without compromising rights.

in case I need it.


NRA and 2nd Amendment rights boosters, YOU come up with the correct solution to this horrible situation! I'm tired of EVERY
policy proposal countered with some reason why it can't be done or won't work. SOMETHING can be done. I would never advocate
a total confiscation of weapons (because it won't happen, let's be realistic), but mandatory registration of ALL weapons changing hands and mandatory background checks is a viable option IMHO. Yea yea, I know people will still evade that, but at least SOMETHING is being tried.

Also, my opinion (which you're free to violently disagree with) is that if you use a firearm in the commission of ANY crime, you get life in prison without possibility of parole. Sorry, but you fuck up with a firearm, you deserve to sit in prison forever. KEEP YOUR GODDAMN WEAPON AT HOME FOR SELF-DEFENSE. If you carry concealed, keep it in the goddamn holster unless you're legally authorized to take it out (whatever those laws are).

So fucking sick of my country going insane!!!! It was NEVER like this in the past, at least not more than maybe once or twice a year at the very most.

December 2, 2015

Sorry to see that, Number23

The arrogance of SOME of Bernie's supporters is mind-boggling. They (the percentage I'm referring to) have the audacity, on a regular basis, to tell black posters and black people how to THINK and how to FEEL about everything. That's wrong. As I've said several times, I'll follow the lead of the black community on issues directly related to it.

Come back to DU when you feel like it. It gives me no pleasure to say this, but at the rate his campaign is going, he is going to lose the primaries, starting in South Carolina if not earlier. His percentages in the AA community are very low, too low, to win the primaries or the GE. I said weeks ago that he needed to "camp out" in the communities with large AA populations, and I still think that's what he should do. Will he do it ? I doubt it, but I'd be glad to be wrong.

I won't be surprised if I get my very first hide in over ten years for this post.

November 22, 2015

Iconic photo from 1969 Black Panthers in Chicago some of you may like

http://www.motherjones.com/media/2015/11/magnum-photos-eli-reed-hiroji-kubota-danny-lyon

It's at that link above. I don't know the story behind it, sorry.

Here it is on my Photobucket account:



You can save it by right-clicking the image and choosing a Save option. Enjoy!

November 7, 2015

How is everyone in this sub-forum ?

I mean, how are you, as a member of this sub-forum and DU as a whole ? I've been away lately. I got burned out. I still have the AA community's back, forever and always! Best wishes to all of you.

Steve

P.S. If you want to say something personal, totally cool with me, I'll be kind as I always try to be. I've been off goofing off, avoiding politics for the most part, enjoying my new headphones, and doing a pet project of mine.

September 22, 2015

What are the best hashtags (i.e, #BlackTwitter, #BlackLivesMatter) on Twitter for black folks ?

I'm trying to get up to speed on Twitter. Thanks in advance.

Steve

eta: #BlkGrad looks good too.

September 20, 2015

Microsoft gifts tech goodies to the teenager arrested for bringing a homemade clock to school

http://www.techworm.net/2015/09/microsoft-gift-goodies-teenager-arrested-homemade-clock-school.html


http://twitter.com/aliarsalem/status/645248743768391680/photo/1




Here’s a look at what Microsoft gifted the teenager who was arrested for bringing a homemade clock to school

It’s been quite an eventful week for Ahmed Mohamed, right from being arrested for bringing homemade clock to school that was mistaken for a bomb to being invited to White House, Microsoft, Google and Twitter.

It happened when past Monday, 14-year-old Ahmed, a fresher at MacArthur High School, Irving was arrested from his school after bringing a homemade clock into class to show his teacher. Later, he was taken into custody and interrogated by the police for building what the police call a “hoax bomb.”

However, Ahmed was released later without being any charges pressed against him by the police. But, this was not the end of the story. The incident went viral across the Internet with many of them supporting Ahmed’s inventive curiosity and even some thinting how “inventive” the clock was in reality.

also here: http://www.geekwire.com/2015/heres-what-microsoft-gave-the-teenager-who-was-arrested-for-bringing-a-homemade-clock-to-school/

September 20, 2015

AFRICAN-AMERICAN GROUP: Dear white progressives: Stop telling black people how to vote

http://www.salon.com/2015/07/21/dear_white_progressives_stop_telling_black_people_how_to_vote/



We are now in the midst of the 2016 presidential election, which means both parties are pandering to their bases as well as to unlikely voters who may be swayed to their respective sides. Although it’s early, this election cycle has already been dominated by questions of which candidate will garner “the black vote,” as if black people are monolithic. Given that thousands of black people are currently leading a social justice movement across the nation that the media has dubbed the “Black Lives Matter Movement,” the black electorate appears to be at the forefront of politicians’ minds.

There is a history of black communities voting Democrat — that is, when we are actually allowed to vote, as we were historically targeted for explicitly racist disenfranchisement in the 20th century and felon disenfranchisement in the 21st century. During the 19th century, the Democratic Party was well known for instituting anti-black policies in the South such as Jim Crow, poll taxes and literacy tests. Since then, the Democratic Party has shifted its image to racial indifference, while the Republican Party picked up its racially hostile characteristics.

Today black communities continue to be betrayed by both sides of the aisle in this toxic political system, which prioritizes exuberant campaign spending over protecting human rights. Both Ferguson and Baltimore saw uprisings in the face of police terror in the last year. And each city watched Democratic city and state politicians lead violent militarized occupation in response to protests, including the National Guard, tear gas, rubber bullets and riot police. The fact is that neither political party is “for black people,” but white liberal and moderate voters continually impose upon black communities the candidates they feel are most sympathetic to black experiences.

A bizarre phenomenon has developed out of this — Bernie Sanders supporters lurking in the dark trolling shadows of Twitter to condescendingly tell black people what’s best for us inside a system designed to crush us. One person even went to so far as to call Sanders “one of the first Black Lives Matter Activists.” Others juxtapose his image with captions of Martin Luther King Jr. quotes, and thrust such egregious depictions at black Twitter users. Sanders supporters list his involvement with the civil rights movement as though they have now come to collect on his debt — black people must repay Sanders for his service by voting him into office.

more at link

September 19, 2015

What do you guess the median IQ is of the regular posters on DU ?

Riffing off this thread.

Handy dandy definitions:

Median

IQ

Regular DU poster = for purposes of this poll, let's say someone who posts at least once a week. Yes, it's very arbitrary. I am including "trolls" too, since they are considered posters, ugh.

September 19, 2015

my Andy Rooney moment for the day: using nt or eom in subject lines on DU

nt = no text, it means the body of the message has nothing to read.

eom = end of message, it means the exact same thing as nt or (nt)

My understanding is, you type them in the subject line to indicate that, yes indeed, there is absolutely nothing to read in the body of the post.

If I am wrong, I will publicly flog myself with a wet noodle! Have a good weekend.