#Political Controversies

[michigantopnews]

Honor A Past President or Please A New One - Senator Runestad Wants Whitmer To Raise Flag On Inauguration Day

Runestad demands Whitmer raise Michigan flags for Trump’s swearing-in, challenging Biden’s Carter tribute. Will the governor comply or clash?

Sen. Jim Runestad asks Gov. Gretchen Whitmer to honor Trump’s inauguration with full-staff flags, calling for respect amid conflicting tributes. LANSING, Mich. — In a display of partisan fervor, Sen. Jim Runestad, R-White Lake, is urging Gov. Gretchen Whitmer to raise Michigan flags to full-staff on Jan. 20 in celebration of Donald J. Trump’s inauguration as the 47th president of the United…

[townpostin]

Jharkhand Cabinet Set for Full Expansion; BJP Hits Out at Irfan Ansari

Champai Government to Fill All 12 Ministerial Berths The impending cabinet expansion in Jharkhand is poised to address long-standing vacancies, stirring political debates and speculations about potential appointees. RANCHI – Jharkhand’s Champai Soren-led government is on the verge of a significant cabinet expansion, aiming to fill all ministerial positions for the first time in years. The…

[pressrealz]

Physicians, Elected Officials, and Upcoming Candidates Want to Pull COVID-19 Vaccines Off Market

Mary Talley Bowden MD at JOY MD On December 29, 2023, Mary Talley Bowden MD, a Houston ear, nose, and throat specialist, shared a social media post celebrating the growing number of candidates and elected officials who publicly demand the removal of COVID-19 shots from the market. According to her post, 45 candidates and 27 elected officials from 18 states are now part of this…

[lady-raziel]

Not to talk about the watcher thing again as I’ve already kind of said my piece, but one of the most batshit insane parts of this whole unbelievable situation is that for some reason they decided that for some fucking reason the BEST time to announce this highly controversial decision was literally DAYS before they would be going on an international tour and having to face irate fans IN PERSON. Guys. What the hell. At least have the sensibility to announce a move that you HAD to have known would make people upset AFTER one of the few times you actually interact in person with your fanbase.

I hope you’re ready to investigate the Tower of London for ghosts, because I have a feeling the Londoners will be more than happy to acquaint you with the building later this week.

Insane move after insane move. Truly.

[spending-life-pretending]

conservatives really wanna act like the “woke left” is winning the culture war or whatever when people are out here making basil and dorian brothers and casting white men to play heathcliff in 2024

[alwaysbewoke]

[theonion]

Touting the coin as the first in American history to feature an assassin, the United States Mint introduced a controversial new John Wilkes Booth penny Friday. “With this one-cent coin, we honor John Wilkes Booth, a man who, while not perfect, altered the course of our nation in indelible ways,” said the mint’s director, Ventris Gibson, who added that one side of the new penny would include a relief portrait of the 19th-century actor-turned-gunman while the other would feature the Latin inscription “Sic semper tyrannis.” Full Story

[doomdoomofdoom]

If you've been boycotting Eurovision, you may have missed out on how bad it truly was, so here are a few events in no particular order:

The opening act of the semi-finals was Eric Saade, a swedish-palestinian singer who participated in Eurovision 2011. He wore a keffiyeh, a palestinian headdress, around his arm like a wristband.

Despite not making any political statements or drawing attention to his accessory, he was reprimanded by the EBU for "compromising the non-political nature of the event".

During their semi-final performance, the Irish contestant had the word "ceasefire" in old irish runes painted on their face. They were ordered to change it for the final, as it was deemed too political.

The contestant from Israel was not allowed to mingle with the other contestants, due to supposed security risks.

During an Interview, she was asked if she felt any concerns over her participation potentially endangering the event and the people present. The host told her she did not have to answer this question. Dutch contestant 'Joost' asked "why not?"

Joost, while not openly antagonizing the Israeli contestant, has made covert critical remarks about the EBUs decision to allow Israel to participate.

On Friday, the day before the Finale, Joost was investigated by the swedish police for a supposed incident where he threatened an EBU crew member. Thursday, a female camera operator had followed him off-stage to continue filming, even though there was an agreement not to film him off-stage. After she ignored his requests to stop, he threatened her with some sort of gesture.

Joost was disqualified mere hours before the finale. He was slotted to perform just before Israel and considered a favorite and potential winner.

The show itself did not address his disqualification. The dutch entry was simply skipped with no further comment.

Israeli broadcaster KAN was confirmed to have broken EBU rules during their coverage of the Irish act in the Semifinal. The commentator spoke negatively about their act, condemning the very scary goth aesthetic, and noting their willingness to criticize Israel's actions.

Despite Irish contestant Bambie Thug lodging a complaint with the EBU, there was no penalty or other repercussion.

If you were hoping that the event itself would turn into some sort of protest, I have to disappoint you:

Despite rumors of other contestants dropping out over Joost's disqualification, all of them performed.

There was audible booing every time Israel was on-screen, including their performance, announcement of points, and every time they received points. There was equally audible cheering.

No contestant or spokesperson directly addressed the ""controversy"" (read: ongoing genocide being artwashed), although very few made covert remarks about peace, love, dignity, and equality.

The most explicit it got was the Austrian spokesperson, saying something along the lines of "It's hard to find only positive words in a time where heartlessness prevails. But we hope everyone can unite through music and show that everyone deserves to be treated equally"

No one stormed on stage or held up a palestinian flag or anything, if you were hoping for that. I certainly was.

Israel gave its 12 points (both Jury and public) to Luxembourg. The singer is half-israeli and born in Jerusalem.

Jury votes mostly ignored Israel, netting them a total of 52 points through jury votes, which put them somewhere in the middle of the scoreboard. Norway, Cyprus, and Germany awarded them 8 points each, making them the main contributors.

In contrast, Israel received 323 points from the public voting. They were second only to Croatia with 337. 15 public votings, including "rest of the world" awarded Israel their 12 points, more than any other country would receive. The only countries not to award any points to Israel in the public vote were Croatia and Ukraine.

Israel thereby placed 5th out of 25.

But hey, at least the winner (Switzerland) was nonbinary, diversity win amirite. Notably, they had to smuggle in their pride flag, since EBU guidelines only allow flags of participating countries and the rainbow flag. (This is also why palestinian flags were not allowed. It's not a new rule, but they certainly weren't going to start bending it now.)

If there's one thing to take away from this: Do not ever think the rest of the world is on your side, just because your social media is. The rest of the world has shown their allegiance, and it lies with Israel and Genocide.

Do not stop fighting for what is right.

[itsblosseybitch]

The GOP appeals to the white working class not through class issues, but through racism. Because the white working class in the United States is, by and large, racist.

There's definitely a Horseshoe Effect when it comes to the racial politics between wealthy white Republicans and white working class Republicans. It's arguably their biggest common ground.

It's not that the white working class doesn't care about being underpaid and exploited for their labor. It's not that they're unaware of how much bosses and the capitalist system screw them over. On the contrary, they're quite cognizant of those issues. It's just that they are much more fearful of competing with immigrants over jobs or minorities fighting for racial equality, and they vote accordingly.

Some anecdotal evidence on my part: I'm a white woman born and raised in the South where my mom, dad, and stepdad's sides are all economically diverse but solidly Republican. I've heard pretty much every racist talking point across this large class gamut that doesn't include overt, KKK racism. A very close family member, a woman who grew up working class (and became middle class by marriage), cited the aforementioned fear of immigrants and minorities on why she voted for Trump, more than any other issue. The white working class kids I went to school with were also solidly Republican, and you bet your ass they had racist views!

There's a popular narrative that the white working class started voting Republican because the Democratic Party abandoned class issues. That narrative implies that the Republican Party has made class issues a large part of their platform, but that couldn't be further from the truth, as their embrace of Trickle Down Economics proves. Instead, the Democratic Party started emphasizing racial equality, which turned off the white working class by and large.

There's another popular but just as inaccurate narrative that the white working class are voting against their interests. From a class perspective, that's true. But once again, the white working class greatly prioritizes their racial politics over their class politics, so in reality, they actually are voting for their interests. Maintaining white supremacy - whether they want to admit it or not - interests them more than addressing wealth inequality.

As long as all of these factors hold true, the Republican Party will continue to court the white working class vote with Race Panic ad infinitum.

[silvermoon424]

We need to bully Elon Musk even more than we do now.

I'm so serious. This man played a huge rule in Trump getting reelected and his influence over that dementia-ridden sack of shit is so obvious that people are calling him "President Elon."

Fortunately, Elon Musk is also incredibly thin-skinned, desperate for attention and approval, and the type of person who reads every tweet that mentions him. He is so chronically online that he willingly chooses to expose himself to Discourse and cyberbullying even though he has every opportunity to just fuck off to Tahiti and never worry about anything again.

Make fun of his hairline. Make fun of how his kids hate him. Tell him how unfunny his 2012 Reddit humor is. Really study what gets under his skin and sling the most hurtfully accurate insults at him. Tumblr users are some of the most vicious and funny people out there so I know you can do it.

[mapsontheweb]

Some highliged political topics in 2023 per country.

by loverofgeography

[crowdusk]

i really think there should be more physically disabled PCs and main characters in popular dnd campaigns like dimension 20 etc and fantasy settings in general. not just for representation but truly bc it’s so fun and interesting from a storytelling point of view?? like there’s so much potential for creativity and inspired choices - tell me someone fighting with their crutches or having magical mobility aids wouldn’t be incredible to explore. (thoughts actually inspired by how well these things are done in witch hat atelier and also me and my friend joking i’d have lower hp bc of disabilities).

i feel like so often you get characters and it’s like “oh they have a mechanical arm” or “they were in a traumatic accident as a child” and it’s like, ok and their relationship to their body, pain etc is supposedly not shaped by that at all?! come on.

and of course it opens up a whole other dimension of - what does ableism look like in that world, if it exists? what is a “healthy” body under racial capitalism and/or conditions of oppression? has the world “solved” certain issues but overlooked a whole bunch or made things worse for some people? disability and body politics offer so much richness and complexity, especially alongside race, gender, etc.

[pressrealz]

Judge Chutkan Denies Trump's Attempt to Subpoena Jan 6 Committee Records

Getty Images Art made in Canva In the ongoing legal battle surrounding the events of January 6th, federal judge Tanya Chutkan has made a significant decision by blocking former President Donald Trump’s legal team’s attempts to subpoena what they claim are “missing” records from the Jan 6 Committee. Chutkan, who hails from Jamaica, is overseeing Trump’s prosecution related to the January 6th…

[oscargender]

Heartbreaking: “problematic” danmei everyone told you to avoid is actually pretty decent and has mildly interesting things to say about poverty and class

[pokemonbattletournament]

I think people are too focused on the "Gaia" thing in the speculation about the next Pokémon region. A few previous code names were also Greek. Now it's also been leaked that it's going to be set on an archipelago, so I personally think that the Caribbean, New Zealand or even Indonesia are more likely candidates. With "Gaia", I'm kinda thinking that there might be plans to lean more heavily into the environmentalist themes Pokémon usually has. I'd kinda say with that information the Galapagos islands would be a shoe-in given those two things, but those are already the inspiration for Lental from New Pokémon Snap. With "too much water" as a hint I'm going to lock in the Caribbean as my final answer, and not just because I personally think it would be a really cool region that I've had designs for myself.