Posts by Craig Ranapia
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@James: In all seriousness, I can’t find anyone who thinks seriously and credibly about the global economy who shares your Pollyanna-on-steroids view of the consequences of a debt ceiling crisis. I just suspect contractors, state and local government and US Bond holders, foreign and domestic, aren’t going to be quite so liberal when the Treasury Secretary calls and says “Chill, bitches. I’ll have your money next month. Probably.” We're not talking about some spoiled brat with a fistful of Daddy's credit cards, but the idea that the largest economy on the planet should be expected to pay its bills.
(BTW, I’ve long reconciled myself to the fact that on your planet the GOP doesn’t bear any responsibility for anything, and Obama is some deranged love child of Marie Antoinette & Stalin. But it would be useful to acknowledge that Congressional Republicans aren’t exactly passive bystanders.)
Of course, nobody knows for sure what will happen if the sociopath wing of the Republican Party get to try and shut down the global economy along with the federal government. It's never happened before, but no serious person thinks it's an occasion to be glibly dismissive about.
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Hard News: The Crazy Gang Nation, in reply to SteveH,
I love the latest line from the right: that Obama will negotiate with Iran and Russia but he won’t negotiate with the Republicans. They are actually proud of being more difficult to negotiate with than Iran.
Just when you think the GOP has finally hit the floor, they turn it into high ceiling. Whatever policy differences I have with Obama (there's a lot), I'm going to miss him being the designated grown-up in the room.
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Hard News: The Crazy Gang Nation, in reply to Kyle Matthews,
It really does show the failings of multiple layers of FPP.
The United States is a federal republic with a bicameral federal legislature, and a separate executive branch.
So is the Federal Republic of Germany and they seem to be managing without totally shitting the figurative bed, despite Angela Merkel having to cobble together a new governing coalition with the major opposition party against a backdrop of severe economic and political uncertainty. Then again, Germans do seem to have a fairly high expectation that their politicians behave like functional adults.
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Hard News: The Crazy Gang Nation, in reply to Rich of Observationz,
That would be no bad thing
In the meantime, do you think oral sex would be an acceptable medium of exchange for goods and services?
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I, for one, wish to register a protest at my family’s well-being and security being put at the mercy of a gang of crazy people.
The thing is, I don't believe Congressional Republicans are "crazy" at all. They're terrifyingly sane in their mendacious irresponsibility; their fear of a string of Tea Party primaries; and their grasp of their party base that has terminally confused politics with a religious cult. As many others have pointed out, even a large chunk of Senate Republicans think the only thing on Ted Cruz's empty little head is positioning himself for the 2016 Republican primary season with donors who think Mitt Romney's only problem was that he wasn't extreme enough.
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Hard News: Rape and unreason, in reply to Russell Brown,
Of course. I’m still not entirely sure that the majority of people who’d benefit from such a warning are actually familiar with the phrase.
Especially on Twitter, where brevity isn’t only a virtue but a necessity, what’s the alternative? #NSFW really doesn’t cover all the bases. With context in the body of the Tweet, “triggering” does the job, at least for me. But, regardless, it really is important to remember that you just don't know who out there might find having explicit rape apologetics sprung on them unaware seriously distressing.
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Hard News: Rape and unreason, in reply to Russell Brown,
Also, I’m a bit over the idea that Albert Park is some kind of dark place where no one should go. It is lit, it’s in the centre of the city and it’s fucking thoroughfare for young people.
Yes – and how would Jones feel if he went to Berlin and he got handed a leaflet at the airport warning him to avoid the Tiergarten at any time of day because… you know… old dude. Or was advised by the desk clerk at his hotel to avoid being “provocative” by wearing a watch, jewellery or carrying cash while wearing expensive clothes?
Of course, it would never happen because elderly affluent men are never told to "adjust to reality" and stop provoking crimes against their person or property. Never.
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Hard News: Rape and unreason, in reply to andin,
So lets all just lie back and accept the realities of life as they are.
Is that what you are saying?Well, here's a dose of real reality from Melissa McEwan whose Rape Culture 101 (Strong trigger warning for link) should, but probably never will be, required reading for every journalist, judge, lawyer and politician.
Rape culture is refusing to acknowledge that the only thing a person can do to avoid being raped is never be in the same room as a rapist. Rape culture is avoiding talking about what an absurdly unreasonable expectation that is, since rapists don't announce themselves or wear signs or glow purple.
and...
Rape culture is tasking victims with the burden of rape prevention. Rape culture is encouraging women to take self-defense as though that is the only solution required to preventing rape. Rape culture is admonishing women to "learn common sense" or "be more responsible" or "be aware of barroom risks" or "avoid these places" or "don't dress this way," and failing to admonish men to not rape.
I don't know why any of the above is so hard to grasp, but that's rape culture too. Bob Jones and Shayne Currie don't have to, and I guess simple empathy is too much like work.
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Hard News: Rape and unreason, in reply to Jackie Clark,
That people were tweeting at the Herald, when the person who really makes the decisions will not be the one reading all the tweets, every single last one, but an employee who is paid to do that, and how distressing and demoralising they may have found that.
I'm sure that's true, but I'm also fairly confident Shayne Currie knows what people are saying about his paper on social media. Is saying "fuck this shit" the only form of activism out there? Of course not, but to my mind a foundation of rape culture is silence. The same kind of silence that lends assent to the vile notion that rape only happens in the middle of the night in alleys and dark corners to "plausible" victims.
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Hard News: Rape and unreason, in reply to Craig Ranapia,
If my daughter came home and said she’d been wandering around in a park at night I’d tell her it’s a dumb thing to do and it’s unfortunate that’s the reality of it. If something happened to her, I wouldn’t tell her she asked for it but I would suggest that she regulate her behaviour to align with reality.
Jesus, Bob… And how would you suggest this woman should have “regulated her behaviour” to align with the reality that being a 62 year-old woman in the middle of the afternoon didn’t protect her from being savagely assaulted in Nelson's Victory Community Gardens on New Year's Day? To paraphrase Helen Clark, dude you’re in a hole. Time to stop digging. Please.
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