The Sam Spade Memorial Good Post Gallery

[I spent the winter writing songs about getting better]

Damn, three or four years later now, and we still have folks defending that piece of garbage Gaddafi. When murderous tyrants are killed, this is absolutely the correct reaction, and Gaddafi's death will go down in history with some of the other great mob executions of dictators, like Mussolini's or Ceausescu's.

[I spent the winter writing songs about getting better]

Is anyone truly shocked by the behavior of these SAE douches? I mean, I understand they're saying some pretty terrible sh[inks], and since it was captured on video, they're essentially representing the University ... but come on.

This is how ALL frat douches act. They may not say the n-word, but guaranteed they're douching it up being exclusionary against SOMEONE. THAT'S WHAT FRATERNITIES ARE ... exclusionary organizations. Certain people don't make it in ... could be money, could be looks, could be race, could be religion. They exclude based on SOMETHING in each and every case. Hell, historically black fraternities don't have a hell of a lot of white people, either. Do they say some sh[inks] behind closed doors that people would be "shocked" by?

Yeah, probably so.

So while these douches are particularly vile because of the sh[inks] they were saying ... which, for the record, I can't defend other than it being technically protected speech ... they are representing every single fraternity's essential, core behavior.

This shouldn't surprise anyone.

[I spent the winter writing songs about getting better]

There's nothing braver than standing against political correctness, am I right?

The notion of "political correctness" is a shibboleth for those who don't care about minority rights. Whenever "political correctness" is used in a pejorative manner, it sends the message that the concerns ethnic or racial minorities aren't worthwhile. Whether or not this is the intention is besides the point, whenever you use the term "political correctness", a phenomenon that doesn't have a basis in reality, as a catch-all term that may be used to lampoon the use of words that are more respectful, you send the message that you don't care.

Corporate directives that instruct employees to undertake "diversity training" may be counter-productive and the constant sectarian bickering between segments of the left over the semantics of race may be tiring but at least society is making an attempt to promote multiculturalism. Say what you will about the negative consequences of the idea of a "post-racial" America but racial intermarriage continues to increase and many racial barriers are eroding. In the broad scheme of things, we're moving in the right direction.

Nice to see a deserving post directly posted into the GPG for once considering how "directly posting into the Deluge" occurs far more often.

[I spent the winter writing songs about getting better]

That might be even worse than Oldiesfreak's "contributions" to this.

[I spent the winter writing songs about getting better]

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[I spent the winter writing songs about getting better]

Maybe the whole idea that we can make vast judgments about people's character based on what they watch is dumb or something.

Also the idea that only little girls can watch My Little Pony is sexist, and the idea that adults can't watch and enjoy kids cartoons is the reason most children's television sucks.

[I spent the winter writing songs about getting better]

dead0man surprisingly makes it in here:

People see Columbus Day more as a symbol of Italian heritage and exploration, than about the man himself. 

I think Enrico Fermi could replace Columbus and everyone would be happy with that.

^^^^^

Only racists and Italians are attached to Columbus Day. I can't say that I'm concerned about the racists but I think that Italian-Americans deserve some sort of celebration for their contributions to American society, Enrico Fermi seems like a good choice.

Why do Italian-Americans deserve a holiday?  Is there another group of _____-Americans that have a Federal holiday? (the answer is no if you were wondering...unless you think MLK jr day is one for African-Americans, which wouldn't be a crazy thing to think)  More Americans have German heritage than any other, what are the odds we get a German-American federal holiday? zero.  German culture in America was beaten to an inch of it's life during WWI, and then put out of it's memory during WWII.

[I spent the winter writing songs about getting better]

Here's my thoughts on the matter: it's about party, not ideology.

My proof? Look at the avatars: we have Republican, Democrat, and Independent, not Conservative, Liberal, and Moderate.

Therefore, if you support the Democrats over the Socialist party, you should technically have a D- avatar, even if you ideologically agree with the Socialists more, and if you support the Republicans over the Libertarian Party, you should technically have a R- avatar, even if you're an ideological libertarian. I'd question why you're supporting lesser-of-the-two-evils candidates anyway, but that's just me.

It's not that big of a deal, really, and I don't really have a lower opinion of someone just because they don't use the avatar I snobbily declare as "correct," but it is a bit odd to see so many users on here claim to represent a party that doesn't even make the top 5 of most popular parties in this nation.

[I spent the winter writing songs about getting better]

Well, the Workers' Party of Korea, in spite of it's bureaucratic leadership caste, has managed to develop what was once a colonial backwater into a modern, industrial state with a highly educated population that enjoys a degree of social equality unlike that of other states facing similar material conditions. The planned, nationalized economy provided for rapid industrial growth during the Cold War, transforming what was previously a largely agrarian, peasant society into an industrial one, and lifting millions of people out of dire poverty in the process. While modern society in North Korea leaves quite a lot to be desired, the problems facing North Korea are a combination of isolation (imposed upon North Korea by the United States) leading to a degree of material scarcity, and bureaucratic misrule by the Stalinized WPK and the Kim family in particular.

The problems facing North Korea could be solved by a political revolution there which would dispose of the Kim family and the Stalinist bureaucrats and instill a workers' and peasants' government there, an event that would no doubt have repercussions in neo-colonial South Korea and the Chinese deformed workers' state as well. Nevertheless, North Korea represents a historically progressive formation in that it is free from capitalist domination and control. The same cannot be said of ISIS/ISIL, which scorns education, embraces reactionary religious fundamentalism, and seeks not to construct a new society but simply Islamicize the old.  

have you been kidnapped by a cult?

it's really sad that you think that this is the case. i hope that, in time, you realize the inanity of this post. it is no longer 1965. it's patently clear to anyone with a pulse that north korea's distribution system has failed to provide for its populace and that, indeed, this is intentional. while it's interesting that north korea's economic trajectory outpaced south korea, it's an academic curiosity and little else. north korea is hardly electrified, its population is malnourished etc.

why not disown north korea and embrace vietnam or cuba? i cannot comprehend why you think that a country that has disowned marx and lenin is worth defending as a "worker's state".

[I spent the winter writing songs about getting better]

In all seriousness, I'm pretty sure that Castro loses most voters who take the idea that the VP should be capable of serving as president as needed with any seriousness.

I don't get the obsession with the guy and presume that his name is being circulated for strategic reasons. Otherwise it's just predicated on the shallowest possible understanding of the role of the vice presidency. Castro has the charisma of a damp rag, nobody outside of Texas has ever heard of him, and he has no meaningful record on most national issues to evaluate.

On the other hand, running with Clinton and serving as her VP will probably be a career-ended for whoever accepts the role. But there's a non-negligible chance that the person will serve as president, which means that she needs to do better than someone whose entire record is a handful years as an unremarkable mayor followed by several years running what is simultaneously one of the most corrupt and least understood departments of the federal government.

[I spent the winter writing songs about getting better]

Hillary is a proud Methodist.  

That's the best anti-Hillary argument I've heard yet! Who's proud to be a Methodist

Beats being a Catholic.

[I spent the winter writing songs about getting better]

On what possible grounds is this the correct thread for that post?

I was on mobile and couldn't find the Simple Truths Mine or whatever it's called now.

[I spent the winter writing songs about getting better]

Frankly, I'm not against this because I like West Virginia or anything. It's just that your feeble, pathetic attempts at 'comedy' are the most unfunny, ridiculous endeavors I have ever heard of. At least TNVolunteer is entertaining in some ways. IceSpear, you used to be a good poster. What the hell happened? Nobody takes you seriously anymore because you get so triggered by West Virginia.

[I spent the winter writing songs about getting better]

If anything, I'd rather see Islam become more Catholic. (And for that matter the Protestant Reformation largely reversed while we're at it).

Yes let's return to the religious overlordship of a Roman autocrat, no thank I prefer a pluralistic Church which doesn't bend its head to a foreign head of state. Also I prefer a clergy who rapes as few children as possible and on that point we do better.

[I spent the winter writing songs about getting better]

Not only is that not properly a Good Post, it's not even a Simple Truth because it's based on a possibly-willful misunderstanding of what CrabCake meant.

It's also in incredibly poor taste to enshrine these sorts of religious insults as Good Posts and Simple Truths, especially completely boilerplate insults that read like something one of the Paisleys might say at a No Popery rally. I wouldn't put a post uncreatively attacking hipster Christianity, or Pentecostalism, or some other religion that I don't like but isn't objectively monstrous, in one of these threads. Because that actually kind of wounds people, you know?

You should see what Straha is saying about hipster Christianity on AAD on a forum I moderate.

How wounded am I? I haven't deleted a single one of his posts.

[I spent the winter writing songs about getting better]

Also I don't associate comments like that with Paisley types because I'd most likely hear it from someone in the scene or on some progressive activist forum.

[I spent the winter writing songs about getting better]

Not only is that not properly a Good Post, it's not even a Simple Truth because it's based on a possibly-willful misunderstanding of what CrabCake meant.

It's also in incredibly poor taste to enshrine these sorts of religious insults as Good Posts and Simple Truths, especially completely boilerplate insults that read like something one of the Paisleys might say at a No Popery rally. I wouldn't put a post uncreatively attacking hipster Christianity, or Pentecostalism, or some other religion that I don't like but isn't objectively monstrous, in one of these threads. Because that actually kind of wounds people, you know?

You should see what Straha is saying about hipster Christianity on AAD on a forum I moderate.

How wounded am I? I haven't deleted a single one of his posts.

Good for you. You're either thicker-skinned than most people I know (in which case, sincerely, good for you) or don't really have your religion as too central a part of your little world after all.

Also I don't associate comments like that with Paisley types because I'd most likely hear it from someone in the scene or on some progressive activist forum.

Good for you.

Well yeah if you couldn't tell on here I tend to be thick skinned. Actually I think hipster Christians and Christians in the scene in general are because we'll associate with people that'll result in hearing far more Christian bashing than most people. I mean look at some if the records I own.

Also that you shouldn't get angry at anti-Christians because God doesn't need you to fight that battle is a common topic preached in hipster Christianity and the theme of someone's sermon shortly after the Charlie Hebdo attack.

[I spent the winter writing songs about getting better]

Genuinely curious: Does God need or want anybody to fight that battle, according to these people? If so, whom?

Basically no. Just turn the other cheek.

I'd say it's a much more healthy attitude than someone like Bushie or anyone who unironically talks about Christian persecution in America.

(Now if we're talking about somewhere that has actual Christian persecution that's quite different.)

[I spent the winter writing songs about getting better]

I think it's a very Millennial style view thanks to that the Internet has brought forth a lot of this stuff that has made people more desensitized and that getting visibly offended is counter productive because that's usually what the provocateur wants.

It's kind of like what Alcon pointed out with Trump's taco bowl tweet and that the best response to such a thing is simple mockery and ridicule instead of pearl clutching outrage because that's exactly the response Trump was trying to provoke.

[I spent the winter writing songs about getting better]

Yeah I'm still wondering what CrabCake thinks should be done with liberal Protestant churches that ordain women and accept gays.

[I spent the winter writing songs about getting better]

The split would've inevitably happened at some point. It should be obvious that people like me in the current year wouldn't be OK accepting the Vatican as an authority.

[I spent the winter writing songs about getting better]

Sam Spade was never banned. He left of his own accord.

[I spent the winter writing songs about getting better]

Yes several posters have been unbanned and given second chances. Some have been rebanned though.

[I spent the winter writing songs about getting better]

This is stupid, and you're engaging in Russiaphobia. The stupidity is astonoshing, do you also seriously have a flag of Ukraine, with it's fascist authoritarian government.

Grow a fycking brain, you dense person.

Ukrainian government is not fascist. And, most definitely, not authoritarian. It is a weak, mildly nationalist, somewhat liberal, not very ideologically-defined democratically elected government, that is unlikely to survive the next election. Few Ukrainians care much about their current (or past) leaders and they are pretty free to replace them. Poroshenko is no autocrat: he is barely capable of enforcing his will within 30 meters of where he happens to be standing. Neither he is a fascist, under any description. His PM is Jewish, his interior minister is Armenian, his Foreign Minister is Russian (the last two weren't even born in Ukraine: Avakov is from Azerbaijan, Klimkin is from Russia itself). Georgians and Lithuanians have played a strong role in the government in recent past. Naturally, many cabinet members speak Russian among themselves. If anything, it is an ex-Soviet internationalist regime The government itself is a weak coalition in parliament, and Poroshenko has not chosen it, nor will he be able to determine what will replace it.  

You can say a lot of nasty things about that government (some of them are corrupt, some are incompetent, many are both). But it is neither fascist, nor a dictatorship in any imaginable meaning of the word. All of you who continue mouthing this nonsense are just a clear illustration of how effective Russian propaganda may be. A real fascist authoritarian regime in Russia (and it is both fascist and authoritarian by any standard) managing to convince a big chunk of the world that a weak democratic neighbour is a nasty authoritarian fascist monster. It is incredible demonstration of the power of calumny.

[I spent the winter writing songs about getting better]

What the US did in 1948 (and the 30 years that followed) was shameful and Italy is still today suffering from the traumatic consequences of their meddling.

Guess what? Two wrongs don't make a right.

No it was the best thing that happened to Italy. Look at Czechoslovakia. It probably saved hundreds of thousands of lives, and Italy is about 4 times richer than it would have been if it had suffered under a Communist dictatorship. "Eurocomunism" was decades away at that point. Communists in any office meant one vote, one time, and then mass anti-Semitic purges following the break with Tito.

I don't think people comprehend how awful those Stalinist regimes were. They make Putin's Russia look like Sweden. Really, the only thing comparable today is North Korea.