President Donald Trump: The Thread

[greg775]

This is something Greg has talked a lot about, the feeling of being persecuted for his Christian beliefs...so you have the Dems, who largely embrace diversity (mixing of cultures/values), and the Republicans, who largely embrace a WASP religious belief.

 

 

Republicans, on the other hand, are much less likely than Democrats to believe any minority group faces a lot of discrimination, and they believe Christians and whites face roughly as much discrimination as immigrants, Muslims and gay and transgender people. Moreover, only 27 percent of Republicans say blacks experience a lot of discrimination, while 43 percent say whites do and 48 percent say the same of Christians.

 

Taken as a whole, these partisan portraits highlight contrasting responses to the country’s changing demographics and culture, especially over the past decade as the country has ceased to be a majority white Christian nation — from 54 percent in 2008 to 43 percent today. Democrats — only 29 percent of whom are white and Christian — are embracing these changes as central to their vision of an evolving American identity that is strengthened and renewed by diversity. By contrast, Republicans — nearly three-quarters of whom identify as white and Christian — see these changes eroding a core white Christian American identity and perceive themselves to be under siege as the country changes around them.

 

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/05/02/opinion/...ol-right-region

 

 

This is also part of the reason for that seismic shift of Obama voters in 2008 and 2012 moving to Trump in 2016.

At the risk of being quoted out of context and being buried by different groups, I was intrigued by this and would like to say Christians and especially Catholics are the only group that everybody is comfortable ridiculing/bashing. Guys like Maher will rail against believers for an entire episode and comics make fun of the idea of God. But it's the Christians/Catholics who get made fun of. The other religions that believe in deities are off the hook. You criticize certain religions you'd be booed/heckled, maybe fired. Catholics? Go for it. I remind everybody that Obama believed in God; Hillary believed in God, but Democrats don't want to talk about that. I even had one person say Hillary knows there is no God but acted like she was a believer to get votes. Some of the more vocal non God people who happen to be liberals don't even like to think their beloved Hillary/Obama/others believe in something so ridiculous as God. So they don't even want to think about it. So I think the Republicans that are believers do take offense at the ridicule. You say Dems "embrace diversity," yeah, but many of them don't embrace those of us who are believers. They mock us freely, the idea that there is a God and priest jokes.

 

p.s. Now in a couple weeks somebody will say I was complaining about Catholics being mocked when in truth I'm merely giving my take on somebody's post. I didn't start this, I'm responding.

Edited May 3, 2017 by greg775

[StrangeSox]

Sen. Casey is live-tweeting Trump & Co. sending a 5 year old and his mother to their deaths:

 

https://twitter.com/senbobcasey/status/859801158482882560

 

[RockRaines]

At the risk of being quoted out of context and being buried by different groups, I was intrigued by this and would like to say Christians and especially Catholics are the only group that everybody is comfortable ridiculing/bashing. Guys like Maher will rail against believers for an entire episode and comics make fun of the idea of God. But it's the Christians/Catholics who get made fun of. The other religions that believe in deities are off the hook. You criticize certain religions you'd be booed/heckled, maybe fired. Catholics? Go for it. I remind everybody that Obama believed in God; Hillary believed in God, but Democrats don't want to talk about that. I even had one person say Hillary knows there is no God but acted like she was a believer to get votes. Some of the more vocal non God people who happen to be liberals don't even like to think their beloved Hillary/Obama/others believe in something so ridiculous as God. So they don't even want to think about it. So I think the Republicans that are believers do take offense at the ridicule. You say Dems "embrace diversity," yeah, but many of them don't embrace those of us who are believers. They mock us freely, the idea that there is a God and priest jokes.

 

p.s. Now in a couple weeks somebody will say I was complaining about Catholics being mocked when in truth I'm merely giving my take on somebody's post. I didn't start this, I'm responding.

Come on man. Christians are the only religious group that is mocked? Thats f***ing insanity. I hope you are joking or have you head buried so far in the sand you havent seen a single movie or tv show. Ever.

[StrangeSox]

Tillerson: US won't insist nations adopt US values, rights

 

Translating "America First" into diplomatic policy, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson on Wednesday declared the United States would no longer condition its foreign relationships on countries adopting U.S. values like human rights. He spoke to a State Department eager for answers about changing priorities and a sweeping, impending overhaul.

The former Exxon Mobil CEO distinguished between U.S. "values" and "policies" that he said would drive his strategy. Policies can and must change, he said, while the challenge for diplomats is identifying how to best represent U.S. values. For America's national security, he added, policies won't necessarily be contingent on values.

 

Rights groups and lawmakers from both parties have raised concerns about the Trump administration deemphasizing human rights, pointing to Trump's warm interactions with leaders of nations like the Philippines and Egypt, which have experience democratic backsliding in recent years. Tillerson's remarks reinforced the notion that under Trump, the U.S. is willing to cut deals and cooperate closely with governments failing to improve their rights records.

 

"In some circumstances, if you condition our national security efforts on someone adopting our values, we probably can't achieve our national security goals," Tillerson said. "It really does create obstacles."

[chw42]

Come on man. Christians are the only religious group that is mocked? Thats f***ing insanity. I hope you are joking or have you head buried so far in the sand you havent seen a single movie or tv show. Ever.

 

I guess Greg's never been asked to leave this country because of his religion. Nor have neo-nazis on the internet (and real life) blamed his entire religion for everything wrong in the world. But people making fun of his religion? That s***'s persecution.

Edited May 3, 2017 by chw42

[caulfield12]

http://www.cnn.com/2017/05/03/politics/don...nomy/index.html

 

CNN fake news?, more and more people pleased with general direction of economy...augurs well for Trump despite stumbles

 

 

 

https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/201...ment?yptr=yahoo

US Department of Justice is literally prosecuting a woman for laughing during Jeff Sessions' confirmation hearings.

 

She was just convicted on TWO counts by a jury.

 

 

According to Ryan Reilly at HuffPost, Code Pink activist Desiree Fairooz was arrested in January after she laughed at a claim from Sen. Richard Shelby (R-AL) that Sessions’s history of “treating all Americans equally under the law is clear and well-documented.”

 

But federal prosecutors have pushed forward with the case against Fairooz. As Reilly reported, prosecutors argue that “the laugh amounted to willful ‘disorderly and disruptive conduct’ intended to ‘impede, disrupt, and disturb the orderly conduct’ of congressional proceedings.” In court, they have tried to emphasize that the laugh was extraordinarily disruptive, with a US Capitol Police officer claiming that Fairooz laughed “very loudly” and people in the hearings turned around when they heard it.

 

Fairooz’s defense, meanwhile, has argued that her laughter was a reflex and not meant to disrupt the hearings. Fairooz was also in the back of the room, and her laughter had no noticeable impact, based on video of the hearings, on Shelby’s introductory speech for Sessions.

 

The trial will continue at the Superior Court in DC this week. If convicted, Fairooz faces a fine of up to $500 and up to six months’ imprisonment for the laugh-related charge. She is also charged with another misdemeanor for “allegedly parading, demonstrating or picketing within a Capitol, evidently for her actions after she was being escorted from the room,” Reilly reported.

Edited May 4, 2017 by caulfield12

[caulfield12]

I guess Greg's never been asked to leave this country because of his religion. Nor have neo-nazis on the internet (and real life) blamed his entire religion for everything wrong in the world. But people making fun of his religion? That s***'s persecution.

 

Greg, the Pope has actually reversed a lot of the anti-Catholic damage done around the world in the last 20-30 years.

 

But there's no way you come back from the priest sexual abuse scandal/epidemic without becoming a target of jokes and derision. Even lifetime Catholics are aghast that so many of their contributions that they thought were going for ministering to the poor and sick are actually being used for lawyers' fees and the settling of thousands of lawsuits.

 

I say this as someone who was an altar boy (never saw abuse, but that doesn't mean it wasn't happening) and someone who was forced to go to Sunday mass every weekend until I reached college...and would surely have gone to a Catholic high school were it the 50's or 60's instead of the 1980's.

[greg775]

Come on man. Christians are the only religious group that is mocked? Thats f***ing insanity. I hope you are joking or have you head buried so far in the sand you havent seen a single movie or tv show. Ever.

What religions are mocked by comedians, etc? You mock a Catholic/Christian, it's funny. Who else is getting joked upon??

 

I guess Greg's never been asked to leave this country because of his religion. Nor have neo-nazis on the internet (and real life) blamed his entire religion for everything wrong in the world. But people making fun of his religion? That s***'s persecution.

Classic example of overstating my position on this board. You guys just don't want any discussion sometimes. This happens all the time to my posts. My gawd.

 

But there's no way you come back from the priest sexual abuse scandal/epidemic without becoming a target of jokes and derision.

WRONG! There have been incidents of abuse in the Boy Scouts and no jokes, no nothing but horror expressed. I am against all abuse. But cmon. There have been other cases of abuse and it is not mocked like the priests are mocked and derided. Now somebody go ahead and say I am downplaying abuse. Of course abuse is horrid. My brother, a rich lawyer, disowned his high school over its coverup of abuse. He is so mad. I am so mad but they are individual cases not to be mocked.

[Kyyle23]

Greg, saying "why haven't the Boy Scouts been mocked as much as the Catholic Church for pedophile behavior" is a piss poor argument. Seriously one of the worst you have ever had

[RockRaines]

What religions are mocked by comedians, etc? You mock a Catholic/Christian, it's funny. Who else is getting joked upon??

MORE than christians?

 

Muslims

Jews

Atheists

Scientologists

Hindus

Buddhists

 

 

 

Christianity is the ONLY religion in the US that is ok to worship out in the open. Christianity is prevalent in everything from the government, media and even sports. Directv has 16 christian networks that it broadcasts every day. SiriusXM has 5 religious channels, all christian. But yes, it's tough to be christian...

Edited May 4, 2017 by RockRaines

[chw42]

What religions are mocked by comedians, etc? You mock a Catholic/Christian, it's funny. Who else is getting joked upon??

 

 

Classic example of overstating my position on this board. You guys just don't want any discussion sometimes. This happens all the time to my posts. My gawd.

 

 

WRONG! There have been incidents of abuse in the Boy Scouts and no jokes, no nothing but horror expressed. I am against all abuse. But cmon. There have been other cases of abuse and it is not mocked like the priests are mocked and derided. Now somebody go ahead and say I am downplaying abuse. Of course abuse is horrid. My brother, a rich lawyer, disowned his high school over its coverup of abuse. He is so mad. I am so mad but they are individual cases not to be mocked.

 

That's because your example is overstated to begin with Greg. You act like Christians are somehow persecuted in this country. Guess what? It's the majority religion and it controls a large portion of this country's political climate. You can't even run for office as an Atheist in a handful of states. Hell I'd say you have to almost run as a Christian to win for office anywhere.

 

When a politician creates an entire campaign with rhetoric against Christianity and wins partly because of it or when hate groups start blaming Christians for everything wrong in the world, then you can have your persecution. Until then, you're overstating things.

[BigSqwert]

Greg, saying "why haven't the Boy Scouts been mocked as much as the Catholic Church for pedophile behavior" is a piss poor argument. Seriously one of the worst you have ever had

 

The guy listens to Limbaugh and watched O'Reilley. What do you expect?

[RockRaines]

Trump just passed an executive order to allow christians to discriminate based on their religious beliefs. But yeah, sucks to be a christian.

[Dick Allen]

Trump just passed an executive order to allow christians to discriminate based on their religious beliefs. But yeah, sucks to be a christian.

remember when Trump railed on Obama for signing executive orders instead of passing laws. That was awesome.

[RockRaines]

What is your basis of the bolded? I went to public high school and private college and both schools had designated areas for Muslims to pray. Other religions didn't have that. That's all fine and dandy with me because Islam is more ritualistic in their daily practicing but let's not act like one group is getting more than another unless there's evidence of it.

Did you have a chapel on campus? Did you have religious radio stations and religious groups? I also used the two major communication networks in DTV and Sirius as evidence. So plenty of basis.

[Y2Jimmy0]

At the risk of being quoted out of context and being buried by different groups, I was intrigued by this and would like to say Christians and especially Catholics are the only group that everybody is comfortable ridiculing/bashing. Guys like Maher will rail against believers for an entire episode and comics make fun of the idea of God. But it's the Christians/Catholics who get made fun of. The other religions that believe in deities are off the hook. You criticize certain religions you'd be booed/heckled, maybe fired. Catholics? Go for it. I remind everybody that Obama believed in God; Hillary believed in God, but Democrats don't want to talk about that. I even had one person say Hillary knows there is no God but acted like she was a believer to get votes. Some of the more vocal non God people who happen to be liberals don't even like to think their beloved Hillary/Obama/others believe in something so ridiculous as God. So they don't even want to think about it. So I think the Republicans that are believers do take offense at the ridicule. You say Dems "embrace diversity," yeah, but many of them don't embrace those of us who are believers. They mock us freely, the idea that there is a God and priest jokes.

 

p.s. Now in a couple weeks somebody will say I was complaining about Catholics being mocked when in truth I'm merely giving my take on somebody's post. I didn't start this, I'm responding.

 

 

Maher makes fun of all religions quite equally. He's an atheist. He thinks they are all complete bulls***.

[RockRaines]

The country is 70% Christian according to PEW. Muslims are less than 1%. Should we have the same amount of mosques and Muslim radio stations for the sake of "fairness"? It's proportionate to the demographics to the country. My point was that groups aren't being discriminated against systematically. You did nothing to provide a basis against that.

so you are saying that Christians arent being discriminated against?

[greg775]

Greg, saying "why haven't the Boy Scouts been mocked as much as the Catholic Church for pedophile behavior" is a piss poor argument. Seriously one of the worst you have ever had

Taken out of context. You guys are good, I already told you that. If most of you guys weren't on debate teams in h.s., you should have been. Excellent job of taking stuff out of context again.

[greg775]

MORE than christians?

 

Muslims

Jews

Atheists

Scientologists

Hindus

Buddhists

 

 

Christianity is the ONLY religion in the US that is ok to worship out in the open. Christianity is prevalent in everything from the government, media and even sports. Directv has 16 christian networks that it broadcasts every day. SiriusXM has 5 religious channels, all christian. But yes, it's tough to be christian...

These groups are mocked by comedians? Cmon. I never used the word persecuted, we're talking about mocking a religion on TV, twitter, everywhere. Catholics are a safe group to mock. And I never was arguing it's tough to be a Christian, responding to caulfield's post. Thanks for getting me in trouble here again, Caulfield You knew I'd take the bait.

 

 

That's because your example is overstated to begin with Greg. You act like Christians are somehow persecuted in this country. Guess what? It's the majority religion and it controls a large portion of this country's political climate. You can't even run for office as an Atheist in a handful of states. Hell I'd say you have to almost run as a Christian to win for office anywhere.

 

When a politician creates an entire campaign with rhetoric against Christianity and wins partly because of it or when hate groups start blaming Christians for everything wrong in the world, then you can have your persecution. Until then, you're overstating things.

I don't know what I'm overstating. Just lamenting the fact my Catholic religion gets mocked all the time. That's all.

 

The guy listens to Limbaugh and watched O'Reilley. What do you expect?

That's pretty cruel. Another one liner to attack my long thoughtful response to Caulfield and then others. I said you guys have defeated me. You have crushed me in a debate.

 

Trump just passed an executive order to allow christians to discriminate based on their religious beliefs. But yeah, sucks to be a christian.

You really are overstating my comments. I never said it sucks to be a Christian. I like it.

 

Maher makes fun of all religions quite equally. He's an atheist. He thinks they are all complete bulls***.

If true, I've missed those episodes. Priest jokes, sure. But jokes about specifics of the Jewish and Hindu faiths, etc., really?

[RockRaines]

These groups are mocked by comedians? Cmon. I never used the word persecuted, we're talking about mocking a religion on TV, twitter, everywhere. Catholics are a safe group to mock. And I never was arguing it's tough to be a Christian, responding to caulfield's post. Thanks for getting me in trouble here again, Caulfield You knew I'd take the bait.

LOL, yes, over and over and over. Movies and TV shows have been mocking minority religious groups since they were invented. Its ridiculous to even say that they arent.

[chw42]

These groups are mocked by comedians? Cmon. I never used the word persecuted, we're talking about mocking a religion on TV, twitter, everywhere. Catholics are a safe group to mock. And I never was arguing it's tough to be a Christian, responding to caulfield's post. Thanks for getting me in trouble here again, Caulfield You knew I'd take the bait.

 

 

 

I don't know what I'm overstating. Just lamenting the fact my Catholic religion gets mocked all the time. That's all.

 

 

That's pretty cruel. Another one liner to attack my long thoughtful response to Caulfield and then others. I said you guys have defeated me. You have crushed me in a debate.

 

 

You really are overstating my comments. I never said it sucks to be a Christian. I like it.

 

 

If true, I've missed those episodes. Priest jokes, sure. But jokes about specifics of the Jewish and Hindu faiths, etc., really?

 

Your overstatement was that Christianity is the only religion being ridiculed. That is so far from the truth. Even when Christianity is ridiculed, I wouldn't consider any of it truly harmful or hateful. But when you see people talk badly about Islam, it's usually about how Muslims are terrorists. Imagine yourself as a Muslim who has no intention of committing terrorism yet the people around you probably think that there is a possibility you will. Sucks, doesn't it? There is not something equal to that in if you're a Christian in this country.

 

 

[greg775]

Your overstatement was that Christianity is the only religion being ridiculed. That is so far from the truth. Even when Christianity is ridiculed, I wouldn't consider any of it truly harmful or hateful. But when you see people talk badly about Islam, it's usually about how Muslims are terrorists. Imagine yourself as a Muslim who has no intention of committing terrorism yet the people around you probably think that there is a possibility you will. Sucks, doesn't it? There is not something equal to that in if you're a Christian in this country.

I'm talking about on the record ridicule. Not anonymous racist crap against Muslims saying they are terrorists. We're talking about different things. There is discrimination against many religions. I'm saying comics see an easy target in mocking Catholics and joking about the pope and abuse, etc. You don't publicly joke about Muslims, etc.

 

Of course there is anonymous hatred of many religions which is truly awful. I'm talking on the record funny stuff from people in the public eye.

Edited May 5, 2017 by greg775

[caulfield12]

70% might identify as Christians (majority), but the percentage of regularly attending churchgoers has gone from around 54% to 43% in the last decade.

 

Their influence is waning, just like labor unions on the Democratic side.

[Texsox]

Greg, saying "why haven't the Boy Scouts been mocked as much as the Catholic Church for pedophile behavior" is a piss poor argument. Seriously one of the worst you have ever had

 

As a long time Boy Scout leader getting mocked was preferable to the usual looks.

[greg775]

As a long time Boy Scout leader getting mocked was preferable to the usual looks.

What do u mean, Tex? Are people all over boy scout leaders? Any volunteer work is cool with me! Congrats on giving your time to the Scouts.