ewsieg

So FYI, don't be surprised when Kyle Rittenhouse is found not guilty, at least on the bigger charges. Heading into the trial and with the video's i've seen before and the news coverage, I kind of had the thought that if those first shots were a toss up on if he was truly scared for his life, it almost didn't matter as he illegally had that gun. Sort of like a drunk driver that gets hit by someone going through a red light. Even if he wasn't technically at fault for the accident...he's still drunk. At least that's the rough idea I had based on the MSM reports of the shooting. I'm just not sure how that works with self defense, at least in Wisconsin. Plus it looks like there is some question on if he was illegally carrying. Add into it that the first guy he shot was absolutely the aggressor and Rittenhouse attempted to stay and report the shooting, until it was obvious it was too dangerous for him to stay. The guy he shot in the arm stated he thought Rittenhouse was an active shooter and hence why he was following him, but stated he was scared for Rittenhouse's life, especially when he was attacked with the skateboard and than added that Rittenhouse did not shoot him until he lowered his hands and pointed his gun at Rittenhouse. If you're interested in what you shouldn't do if you're a lawyer, go watch the photographer that was on the stand go at it with the prosecutor. 'No more questions' would have been his best friend, but nope, kept going after the witness and kept getting put in his place. Simply unreal.

I'm not going to lie, i'm lost. It's obvious you threw off your shirt and ready to rumble, but that's about all I can figure out right now. Did some media and members of the left point to anyone saying "Let's go Brandon" and call them racist, horrible human beings...yes. Are folks on the right saying it because they think it's a neat way to say Fuck Joe Biden...yes. Did the woke left/media work to put SouthWest airlines under pressure over a pilot saying "Let's go Brandon", which surprisingly faded away after the supposed audio that was used to prove it had some folks ask if it could have been 'Let's go Braves" and then it was determined that pilot audio was from a flight weeks earlier, before "Lets go Brandon" even started...yes. When the dems were able to get the Infrastructure bill over the hill, did democrats use the same "Let's go Brandon" to mock republicans....yes. And finally, did something that you think "Let's go Brandon" represented happen, which I didn't explicitly mention above....probably yes.

Anyone watching/following the Rittenhouse or Arbery trials? I've watched a little of the Rittenhouse one, doesn't seem to be going well for the prosecution IMO. Outside of Buddha, any other lawyers? From a legal standpoint, very curious about the one lesser charge, the curfew. The defense indicated they were done to the judge, the defense than asked for the curfew charge to be dismissed for lack of evidence, citing the only mention of it was a detective mentioning there was a curfew. Now the judge is allowing the prosecutor to submit further evidence to prove the curfew, which now is also under question as another court has stated the curfew was not legal. It's just a mess, and pretty much sums up everything else I saw from the prosecution. For Arbery, sounds like the prosecution is doing well building the case outside of just the video for the Arbery trial. I still feel that video alone gets the guilty verdict there, but good to build around it as well.

Not sure what you're speaking off? You mean how after the left went off their rocker about how horrible this was, they co-opted it to tout Biden's infrastructure bill? If so, yes, the left realized how to take a joke only after they found a way to 'own the right'. To note, I found it somewhat funny on both sides.

The interviewer, who has a producer in her one ear, trying to ask questions, and drown out the noise behind her, didn't realize what was being said and thought it was "Let's go Brandon", IMO. If you listen to the interview, it's very clear what was being said though, so the belief of many on the right was that she was trying to cover up for Biden. As such, "Let's go Brandon" blew up a bit on the right. So, if you say this, you're a horrible douchebag, obviously a racist, and just an overall bad person for saying something so foul on TV. Conversely, if you "Fuck Trump" at the Tony's, you get a standing ovation.

She has a way with pissing folks off, especially those that don't agree with her politically, but she's smart. She has that 'in your face' approach which I don't like, and honestly seems to match up with Trump, but it's clear in her stance about Trump, she'll only accept that attitude from folks she feels can back it up.

All I know about pre-Columbus is that all Indian tribes respected and honored each other. They would regularly meet up and sing Kumbaya.

Neither have to, would be nice if both did though.

80's and 90's here in rural Michigan. In the 80's, elementary years, it was all "in 1492, columbus sailed the ocean blue..." In the 90's, a little more in depth, but I don't remember that much focus. I was taught he 'found' it in error as he was trying to go further south for a direct route to Asia and while he wasn't the first to reach this continent, his route led to the eventual colonization. The only negative thing I remember was him bringing diseases to the new world. And nothing against learning/knowing your history on someone. But when right leaning folks are concerned about CRT, they are talking about grade school/high school. You're going to need to get rid of every other class and just have kids taking 6 history classes each day if you want to go research paper deep on every historical figure so we can truly know what's in their hearts and not just what made them historical.

No point getting out right now on infrascture, save that for this upcoming summer, but yes, it should be the headline as he travels through blue collar towns. Right now, he needs to put his weight behind the John Deere and Kellogg strikers. I grew up mostly anti-union, but as with everything in this country, everything over-corrects. If he wants to win back voters in places like Macomb county, he needs to show the union workers he'll actually fight for them.

Just to think, at one point that probably earned you the respect of your peers, now you might get cancelled by their kids white friends. If you have any plans for running for office, might want to do that quickly as portraying Abe might be equivalent to blackface in just a few years.

CRT is just another example of every divide we've ever seen in this country. For this issue, Republicans worry about the slippery slide of what it can become and democrats try and point out what it is today and why it shouldn't be feared. Pick any issue, one side is on the slippery slide, the other calls it nonsense. Right now the media and left narrative of CRT is that the right has mislabeled it. While I would deem that true, the democrats can't see any nuance either, as it's their far left end that defines it the same way that the right worries it'll be. There are absolutely progressives out there that think everything should be taught through the lens of race and even if there aren't obvious connotations on an issue and race, well, you better deep dive into it until you can identify one.

Safe to assume you're 100% in on Russian Collusion?

Do you actually believe this Hongbit, or are you just trolling?

I completely agree. But if you refuse to play by the rules, or claim that you will but balk when you're put to the test, well, you're out. What we do know now is this Wuhan lab wasn't playing by the rules. Was it Shi/Fauci./NHI... right now it would be irresponsible to blame them. Was it Daszak that should be blamed? Again, not sure, no clear cut evidence, but there is some evidence against him that raises eyebrows. WHO to blame? Again, the ties with Daszak are the same things that put eyes on him and therefore put eyes on them.

Overall correct, one point on knowing where it came from as being important, even if the investigation never proves it one way or the other.... China is stonewalling. Those that believe in the lab leak theory will point to that as proof. Those that don't believe in the lab leak theory, will also point to that as proof. Regardless though, putting pressure on China giving us answers is confirming just how much they are stonewalling. Personally, I don't care if new procedures/infrastructure, safeguards, are put in place, if the NIH/US or any other country chooses to put money into a Chinese lab going ahead, they need to recognize that all of that means nothing. Putting a focus on that should help persuade others from assisting a government that has no interests in getting the truth.

I'd caution against statements like 'unlikely enough'. Remember, the same people you are using to support that it's 'unlikely' now and that we should wait for evidence, were the same "Lancet" ones, without much evidence, claiming early on in the pandemic that it definitely wasn't man-made.

I don't know how you can read this article and equate the lab leak theory to other debunked conspiracy theories, which is the only point I was trying to make.

I was somewhat surprised how a few folks on this site, in another thread, believe the lab leak theory is right up there with the "stolen" election, and landing on the moon conspiracy theories. I'm not saying Covid was definitely leaked from the Wuhan lab. I'm not saying Trump calling it the 'China' virus is evidence either. If you think the lab link theory is a conspiracy theory, I just ask you to read this. It's long and i'm not going to pick out and quote any specific parts. There are some I thought about doing that with, but this article does give counter arguments and I didn't want to make it look like I was supporting one side over the other, even though there is one part that I hope folks catch. https://www.newyorker.com/science/elements/the-mysterious-case-of-the-covid-19-lab-leak-theory

We should benefit shortly as a lot of folks around here are starting to get eligible for the booster. Early evidence points to that decreasing breakthrough cases.

I don't understand this response. Is this just a generalized 'I hate the GOP' response, or is it pointed at me? If it is pointed at me, what did I exaggerate? What foolishness did I add? Do you really believe that the lab leak theory belongs in the same bucket as "stolen" election, clinton child sex trafficking, and russian collusion..... oh wait, you believe that last one, based on a few reasonable charges, played up, exaggerated, with a lot of foolishness.

That can be said about anything. When the lab leak theory was thrown into the same bucket as 'stolen election' and 'clinton child sex trafficking' and me merely pointing out it shouldn't be met with virulent disdain for Trump like i'm trying to defend him, that's silly.

That's called changing the subject or simply not being able to discuss anything that can possibly be related back to Trump without GETTING REALLY MAD AND AARRRRGGHHHH!!!!. He called it the China virus. Possibly the right thing to do, if history indicates how to name something; Spanish flu, UK variant, Indian variant, Ebola, Lyme disease..... With Trumps tone and rhetoric, I agree with you though. My point wasn't about that though, Trump indicated it could have come from lab. The response to anything Trump said in the last 6 years has been to vehemently disagree. From an odds standpoint, it's the best call. Doesn't mean it's always right though.

What record straightening did you achieve here other than try and change the course of this conversation. I didn't defend Trump. That said, when I beat up my british co-worker because of the UK variant, note the courts didn't let me blame the media for talking about it, they said I had to deal with the consequences of my own actions.

The initial argument was Trump calling it the China virus and pointing out a major lab is in Wuhan that studies coronaviruses. It was mocked, in part because outside of happenstance, no other initial evidence, plus Trump was saying it so everyone wanted him to be wrong. I heard stuff early on going back and forth as well, but it didn't take long for a united front that this was definitely not man-made became all you saw in the media, in part because, initially that's probably what people thought. We now have plenty of circumstantial evidence, combined with some researchers that are admitting, at minimum, it should be re-analyzed. To the point that the Biden administration agreed it's a credible theory.