How does the World view America these days?

[Rubin Farr]

7 hours ago, chenGOD said:

Texas really going hard for worst state for women to live in:

https://www.npr.org/2021/09/01/1033202132/texas-abortion-ban-what-happens-next

I’m so fucking glad I moved, right before the power grid failed. It’s becoming a 3rd world nation.

[zero]

you know these R bastards got it to that number just to ruffle them dem feathers. either that, or the devil is at work here:

https://www.npr.org/2021/09/01/1032894148/in-texas-666-laws-take-effect-sept-1-including-many-conservative-priorities

Quote

In Texas, 666 Laws Take Effect Wednesday, Including Many Conservative Priorities

 

[joshuatxuk]

Hey y'all. Yeah it's been rough the last few days. I have to say I'm fortunate to live in one of the cities, specifically regarding my kids going to a school district like AISD. In the same state that some school districts are firing people over teaching "critical race theory" our superintendent actually issued a statement when George Floyd's killers were sentenced about how inspiring Darnella Frazier is, the teenage who captured the video in a situation she and most others would feel completely helpless in. The PC war waged by the right is pretty much putting half of the country in a state of deluded fear and anger detached from reality. A lot of suburbs and exburbs get very reactionary and right-wing very fast, honestly considering those areas are changing the most demographic wise (i.e. it's where a lot of working class and non-white residents can actually afford to live) I expect those places to get more heated election wise and in things like school board drama and law enforcement abuses. 
 

Next year's election will be wild, I keep hoping something will break, there's a point where this increasingly vitriolic and deceitful platform can't sustain itself either in rhetoric or illegal and unconstitutional power grabs and loophole exploitation. There's a good chance Abbott might actually lose their primaries (deservingly) but to more extreme opponents. It might be enough to actually prompt Dems to retake the majority for the first time since the 1980s. This is a blue state that stays red because so many vote naively for "small government" Republicans, don't vote because it's so difficult to even do so or get informed, or completely tune out everything out of pure disillusionment. The mask is off more than ever. It's not like the past was better, but even then the worst racist and old white good ole boy legislators still passed laws and achieved goals in things like improving and modernizing the state. They weren't these reactionary clowns hellbent on openly destroying the public good in the name of cynical, angry, and often religiously apocalyptic right-wing populism.

My pet theory of Texas and the US in general is pretty much the same - things are better and things are worse, and honestly the US has always had these parallel and contradictory trends. The gains in progressive social laws and norms, general standard of living, and in access to tech and commodities is incredible but at the same time public services, infrastructure, and protections have been completely gutted and the gap between working class and the rich and powerful is obscene. Poke around r/boringdystopia to get a reminder of how absurd things are. 

Anyway, been awhile since I posted here. Hope all is well. Was laid off this summer but returned to work and even have an office now where I can listen to my cassette tapes. Funny enough I also inadvertently got into firearms as a hobby (2020 Election freaked me out, I felt if the Nazis had guns why shouldn't I?) and and found a niche of - get this - left-wing gun collectors and plinkers. I was even talking to a few on a discord about how much we like Boards of Canada. Reminded me of y'all. Still pretty much the same though, when the going gets weird the weird turn pro.

[zero]

2 hours ago, joshuatxuk said:

Funny enough I also inadvertently got into firearms as a hobby

you pick up a few items from one of our numerous gun shows? the one they have on the reg out near where I live (east Dallas) is always packed. will usually have a massive line stretching all around the building on the weekends they have shows.

that loophole is the craziest thing. for those who may not be familiar - anyone can walk in to a gun show here in Texas and get an assault rifle with no background check, nothing, can just pay cash and get strapped.

[Rubin Farr]

6 minutes ago, zero said:

you pick up a few items from one of our numerous gun shows? the one they have on the reg out near where I live (east Dallas) is always packed. will usually have a massive line stretching all around the building on the weekends they have shows.

that loophole is the craziest thing. for those who may not be familiar - anyone can walk in to a gun show here in Texas and get an assault rifle with no background check, nothing, can just pay cash and get strapped.

We have a gun store where I live called SHOOTERS, with the O’s being crosshairs on someone. Disgusting.

[ignatius]

12 minutes ago, zero said:

you pick up a few items from one of our numerous gun shows? the one they have on the reg out near where I live (east Dallas) is always packed. will usually have a massive line stretching all around the building on the weekends they have shows.

that loophole is the craziest thing. for those who may not be familiar - anyone can walk in to a gun show here in Texas and get an assault rifle with no background check, nothing, can just pay cash and get strapped.

pretty sure that's the loophole in many states.  here in oregon the expo center down the road from me usually has 1 or 2 gun shows a month half the year.  you can walk in there and buy a handgun and walk out with it. i know someone who bought a nice little 38 and a smaller 25 caliber pistol at one show and i don't think he even gave the guy his name. 

there's also loopholes in other states where you can do a 'strawman' purchase and one person can buy like 50 guns at once saying he's buying them for other people.  usually this is because the person is going to go to new york or chicago or wherever and sell them illegally for 2 or 3 times the price. it's part of the reason cities get flooded with guns. 

that being said.. there's generally no background check for any rifle in a lot of places. shotgun, hunting rifle etc.. walk in.. walk out. 

[ignatius]

 

[joshuatxuk]

4 hours ago, Rubin Farr said:

We have a gun store where I live called SHOOTERS, with the O’s being crosshairs on someone. Disgusting.

Yeah man, that kind of toxic gross bullshit is still very much around and TBH a huge reason I didn't get into guns earlier. It's like a lot of other hobbies and subcultures I guess. Underground electric drowned out by EDM, big ass expensive trucks overshadowing actual 4x4 enthusiasts. Obviously with guns this is amplified 100x over.

[ambermonk]

I still own two guns, but feel uncomfortable going to public ranges anymore, at least alone. Seems like they're too much in bed with the NRA and other right-wing nutjob groups. And I want no affiliation with them.

Also WTF Remington. Pretty sure the bereaved parents could sue the shit out of them.

[joshuatxuk]

8 minutes ago, ambermonke said:

I still own two guns, but feel uncomfortable going to public ranges anymore, at least alone. Seems like they're too much in bed with the NRA and other right-wing nutjob groups. And I want no affiliation with them.

Also WTF Remington. Pretty sure the bereaved parents could sue the shit out of them.

Remington has new owners, they went bankrupt and assets were divided up. Probably new owners doing. They were declining in QC since the Freedom Group bought them in 2007, the gun violence lawsuits just accelerated it.

I'll DM you but you might be able to find a group to shoot with. SRA and LGO are pretty big now, there's another one I've done meetups with that is moderate to left. TX doesn't have public ranges but I know many private/pay ones are professional and apolitical - obvs. you can't bar RWingers but many do focus on safety and inclusion. It's been a big issue for POC, LGBTQA+, and liberal and left-wing enthusiasts.

[joshuatxuk]

@zero and @ignatius I bought mine online and picked them up via a FFL. Even my shift on gun ownership hasn't warmed me to the idea of buying or selling as a private party to private party. Not just morally or legally but pragmatically, seems sketch.

TBH regardless of politics it's a big no no among most online gun communities, not just because of app and site policies but legally overall. In fact people perpetually follow and discuss ATF regs (which are TBH often arbitrary and contridictory), NFA forms and tax stamps, stricter state rules like in CA and NY, etc. Those nuts with big collections of gucci ARs and stuff will spend time and money ensuring they are violating any laws, even if they despise them. Again this is the online community of enthusiasts, collectors, hobbyists, etc.

The one legal loophole I do see often is 80% recievers. These do not have serial #s and often are criticized as "ghost guns." They are legal to buy, build legal firearms with (i.e. AR style semi auto rifles, glock style strike action handguns) so long as they are personal use only. If you sell them or mod them illegally it's a violation. ATF is testing the water with these but they are still an option. It is not the same as 3D printed either, the components are publicly sold via authorized venders and makers. A lot of people using them are not paranoid anti-Fed nutters but geeks who want custom DIY models or people on a budget who want to aquire a self-defense gun without dropping a lot at a local gun store.

It's an interesting topic often more nuanced than people think. 1st time gun ownership exploded last year as did numbers of non-white, non-CIS, and non-right wing owners and buyers. Ironically the rules and regs and fees deter law abiding working class and vulnerable folks from owning and getting training, those who are wingnuts gladly exercise their privilege in open carry states and have no qualms with spending money to buy more needless guns and hoard ammo. 2020's unrest and close call of 4 more years of accelerated fascism def pivoted things. I would not be shocked if things come full circle and Republicans start passing gun control again the way they did under Reagan in CA and elsewhere: as an effort to deny minorities and poor people from arming themselves as communities against corrupt local governments.

[Schlitze]

Jesus christ, this forum could use a little pussy

[Rubin Farr]

Must be a sign from God, lol

[ignatius]

4 hours ago, Schlitze said:

Jesus christ, this forum could use a little pussy

or even a big one. 

[chenGOD]

5 hours ago, Schlitze said:

Jesus christ, this forum could use a little pussy

why, we have you...

[auxien]

https://www.nytimes.com/2021/09/03/technology/texas-abortion-law-website-tiktok.html

Quote

Others on Twitter called for a boycott of GoDaddy, the company that hosts the Texas Right to Life tip site. They claimed the site violated GoDaddy’s rules that prohibit customers from collecting or harvesting nonpublic information about anyone without their “prior written consent.”

GoDaddy said late Thursday that it had given Texas Right to Life 24 hours to find a new hosting provider before cutting off service.

i mean idk the full details of how website/app hosting works but if GoDaddy shuts down the site where you can report evil aborters to and no other host picks them up, the whole effort might fall apart? my understanding of the law is that it's entirely dependent upon citizens reporting it to these people. (please correct me if my info is off)

[Rubin Farr]

4 hours ago, auxien said:

https://www.nytimes.com/2021/09/03/technology/texas-abortion-law-website-tiktok.html

i mean idk the full details of how website/app hosting works but if GoDaddy shuts down the site where you can report evil aborters to and no other host picks them up, the whole effort might fall apart? my understanding of the law is that it's entirely dependent upon citizens reporting it to these people. (please correct me if my info is off)

They said they already found another web host 

[Nebraska]

On 9/1/2021 at 8:16 PM, chenGOD said:

Texas really going hard for worst state for women to live in:

https://www.npr.org/2021/09/01/1033202132/texas-abortion-ban-what-happens-next

the satanic church argues its members in Texas should be exempt from Senate Bill 8 under the Texas Religious Freedom Restoration Act, which bans government from infringing on religion.

“The Satanic Temple stands ready to assist any member that shares its deeply-held religious convictions regarding the right to reproductive freedom.

Accordingly, we encourage any member who resides in Texas and wishes to undergo the Satanic Abortion Ritual within the first 24 weeks of pregnancy to contact The Satanic Temple so we may help them fight this law directly.”

https://thesatanictemple.com/pages/faq

https://www.khou.com/amp/article/news/local/texas/satanic-temple-challenges-texas-abortion-law/285-edf8b1f8-8605-4e6d-9331-afeefe1e5352

[zero]

it's not everyday you root for the Satanic temple, but hey, I'll take it if it throws a wrench into the R clown show thing going on right now

[sweepstakes]

2 hours ago, zero said:

it's not everyday you root for the Satanic temple, but hey, I'll take it if it throws a wrench into the R clown show thing going on right now

idk, I find myself rooting for them pretty much every time they make a headline.

[Limo]

Isn’t the Satanic Temple just a social club for libtards with an edgy name?

[ignatius]

5 minutes ago, rhmilo said:

Isn’t the Satanic Temple just a social club for libtards with an edgy name?

no. 

[Nebraska]

7 minutes ago, rhmilo said:

Isn’t the Satanic Temple just a social club for libtards with an edgy name?

no, that's the church of scientology. and their "main" political affiliation is with the "based" conservative party

[Limo]

You guys had me doubting, so I looked it up:

Quote

The Mission Of The Satanic Temple Is To Encourage Benevolence And Empathy, Reject Tyrannical Authority, Advocate Practical Common Sense, Oppose Injustice, And Undertake Noble Pursuits.

So: yes.

 

[zero]

yeah wtf... disappointed to learn they're a human rights organization masquerading as a religious institution for tax break purposes. so not the devil worshipping fetus eaters I was hoping they'd be. kinda lame to name your group "The Satanic Temple," and you don't have anything to do with Satan / the devil...