The Skeptical Introvert

found online by Raymond

 
From Infidel753:

Like most people, I’m concerned about protecting privacy. Just as happens in politics, those who hope to profit from invading privacy seek to undermine our morale and paralyze us by convincing us that it’s already a lost cause. I recently read this essay, which is a good example of the “they’ve already won so you might as well give up” school of defeatism-mongering.

It asserts that Google already knows a terrifying amount of personal information about me, and that there’s nothing I can do about it.

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The Shutdown

found online by Raymond

 
From tengrain at Mock Paper Scissors:

And of course, most of the members of Congress have already headed home for the holidays to the warm and loving embrace of their donors, and you know what? A lot of Representatives got You’re Fired’ed by We the People, and they ain’t coming back for a symbolic vote.

So every day between now and January 3 is either a holiday or a weekend, and many of the remainder are days that white collar workers who can take them, do take them as vacation days. Then, on January 3, the new congressional term will start.

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GOPer: Dems Too Crazy On Impeachment To Focus On Healthcare

found online by Raymond

 
From Frances Langum:

But Noelle Nikpour went there.

Newly-elected Democrats are “doing a disservice to the people who elected them to office, to work with Republicans for immigration…for healthcare.”

She went on to predict that if Democrats do nothing but impeachment “we’ll flip the house back to Republicans in 2020” because they won’t do anything to help the American people!!!!

And she was saying this to Jason “Mr. Benghazi” Chaffetz filling in for Hannity.

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DHS Secretary Doesn’t Know How Many Have Died in Custody

found online by Raymond

 
From Tommy Christopher:

At a contentious congressional hearing, Rep. David Cicilline (D-RI) blasted Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen for not knowing how many migrants — like 7-year-old Jakelin Caal Maquin — have died in her department’s custody this year.

Cicilline was among several Democrats on the House Judiciary Committee who Nielsen to task at that hearing Thursday. He began his questioning by incredulously asking “Madam Secretary, did I understand you correctly to say that as you sit here today, you do not know how many human beings have died while in the custody of the department that you lead?”

“And you, in preparation for today’s hearing, you didn’t ascertain that number, but you don’t know it today?” he asked.

“I don’t have an exact figure for you,” Nielsen replied.

“Do you have a rough idea?” Cicilline asked.

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Selling out the Nation

found online by Raymond

 
From Green Eagle:

The whole of these policies could have very well been a wish list straight from Putin.

Well, even the lamebrained mainstream press seems to have now awakened to the overwhelming evidence that the Russians materially aided Trump’s campaign for the Presidency, and that without their help, he would in all likelihood have lost. But the other side of this deal- the constant action by Trump to promote the interests of the Russians and diminish our country’s own authority on the world stage, is still being ignored.

The man is a traitor. And not in some minor way, or through an extreme interpretation of the law.

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Christmas: A Holiday for All

found online by Raymond

 
From Libertarian Michael A. LaFerrara:

Can non-Christians celebrate Christmas? Many do, and why not? I’m an atheist and I have no problem celebrating Christmas, even though it has no religious significance for me.

What’s great about Christmas is that it is both a religious holiday, being based upon the birth of the Christian icon Jesus, and a secular holiday as well. That makes it a holiday for everyone.

How can I say that? I am indebted to philosopher Ayn Rand for resolving that seemingly contradictory proposition.

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You Gotta Believe In Something

found online by Raymond

 
From Glenn R. Geist at MadMikesAmerica:

I think the notion that absurdity demands to be chosen over demonstrability stems from the truly ancient idea that reality isn’t real. The world isn’t as we see it and only exists in our minds: shadows in caves, romantic noumena hiding behind the phenomena we see or can comprehend, Yahweh in the burning bush, Enki whispering through the reed fence. And of course, by one measure that may be true. Matter is indeed nearly all empty space and no different from energy. The properties we perceive aren’t really what they seem. The danger in that notion of course is that it’s a powerful tool for those who would delude us.

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Losing Mattis Is a Disaster for Trump

found online by Raymond

 
From Jonathan Bernstein:

Had Mattis merely singled out Syria or Afghanistan policy, he might’ve divided Trump’s opponents, some of whom are very much in favor of bringing troops home. Instead, he aligned himself with the broader foreign-policy consensus of those who support NATO and other international arrangements, leaving Trump on the fringes. In historical terms, Mattis is with Franklin Roosevelt, Harry Truman and Dwight Eisenhower; Trump is with (at best) Henry Wallace or the Birchers.

It’s not clear that Trump realizes the risks he now faces. He had already been losing influence with congressional Republicans since the midterms, as expected. The more dangerous the world looks to members of Congress from both parties, the better Vice President Mike Pence looks. And Trump has furnished Congress with plenty of excuses to remove him if they otherwise want to; within a few months, it may be hard to avoid the question of impeachment and removal even for those who don’t particularly want to do it.

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President Homunculus

found online by Raymond

 
From nojo at Stinque:

Mattis had been part of the Deal, the deal establishment Republicans had made to accept Trump as their leader: They could have everything they wanted, and the grownups would keep him out of trouble. Only now the deal was off, the grownups were gone, and suddenly they were fearing what the rest of us had feared from the start, that an insane, malevolent force was running our country.

But they did not fear for our country. They feared for themselves. But still, they feared.

Their fears are not our fears. They made their deal, they reaped the benefits.

Our fear is that Trump’s weakness has been revealed, his true nature, the complete absence of anything at all in him, and how easily that can be exploited. Our fear is that those who hold power over him haven’t recognized the power they hold, that they are not supplicants, but masters, that he needs them more than they need him.

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