1. The Devil’s Advocate
Time Stamp: 8:49
- Why Satanists should stop crying about free speech.
- If you live in America, you are told that you have inalienable rights, and that all men are created equal. We know both of these statements are lies.
- There is no such thing as equality, and every right we have, comes with restrictions.
- Why then are Satanists who inherently are a counter or sub culture, so obsessed over a public corporation restricting speech on their platforms?
- We are supposed to not be forgetful of past orthodoxies, like when we were demonised for existing, and yet we cry when popular culture rejects us. OF COURSE THEY DO
- I thought that was part of the point. We didn’t want to be part of popular culture, and yet there you are, engaging in it at every opportunity, flying your bad guy badge
- Why are you a Satanist? Is it to show other people how edgy you are, or is it to be yourself, for yourself?
- Why do you use public forums to share your edgy ideas if that is not what you should be doing as a Satanist? How is that helping you as an individual?
- Why should you care if a public arena doesnt want your voice, YOU SHOULDN’T WANT THAT PUBLIC ARENA!
- Your free speech isn’t being hampered, just your ego, when you are banned from a public platform. You shouldn’t have been there in the first place. You are acting as a member of the herd, the very herd you propose to dislike or reject.
- You are the very thing you hate.
2. infernal Informant
Time Stamp: 26:30
- Pro-Trump Republican freshmen who joined Josh Hawley’s election crusade should worry us
- https://www.nbcnews.com/think/opinion/pro-trump-republican-freshmen-who-joined-josh-hawley-s-election-ncna1253634
- This week’s biggest political story was undoubtedly the violent attempted coup perpetrated by President Donald Trump’s supporters at the U.S. Capitol. But we should not forget the legislative event that this long-planned insurrection coincided with, and indeed was largely motivated by. Some eight Republican senators and 139 Republican House members objected to the Electoral College vote tallies in Pennsylvania and Arizona confirming President-elect Joe Biden’s victory in. As has been written previously and exhaustively, these objections were always doomed to fail.
- But the objections did their job of providing a public spectacle and a rallying cry for insurrectionists. It prolonged and drew attention to a process that, for nearly every presidential election, has served as a rubber stamp. It served as a chance for Republican members to signal their fealty to Donald Trump above all else. It gave them an opportunity to say that they would rather lose American democracy than see Trump lose an election.
- Importantly, some members protested the presidential election results in their own states. That is, they objected to the electoral systems that put them in office. Others objected to the elections that put their new colleagues in office.
- Sen. Tommy Tuberville, R-Ala., was sworn in on Sunday as Doug Jones’ replacement — one of his first acts as a senator was to object to a free and fair election. Indeed, he did so after Wednesday’s violent events. He was one of three newly minted senators to register objections to one or both of the states.
- In the House, the number of first-time lawmakers opposing Electoral College vote totals was far higher. Those who objected included Reps. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia, Madison Cawthorn of North Carolina, Lauren Boebert of Colorado and Diana Harshbarger of Tennessee.
- Not long ago, calling for the overturning of a presidential election was seen as a risky activity, and the only people who would make such arguments were either stray cranks or those with enough experience and with respectable enough reputations to be taken seriously. For these freshmen Republicans to be doing so with just a few days of experience under their belts suggests such extremism is now a mainstream position within the Republican Party — and distinguishing oneself by undermining democratic elections is a possible path to advancement. This is highly concerning for the future.
- But to find another widespread objection to legitimate election results in which the bulk of a major party simply refuses to accept the other party’s victory, you’d really have to go back to 1860, as E.J. Dionne noted in a recent piece. Southern Democrats vehemently objected to Abraham Lincoln’s election because the Republican had made clear his party’s opposition to the expansion of slavery into U.S. territories. The Southern Democrats were not simply objecting this his policies, however — they considered his election illegitimate, dismissing him as a sectional president who won only around 40 percent of the popular vote.
- We shouldn’t lionize these people, obviously — these members of Congress were agitating on behalf of human enslavement, and their actions fomented the Civil War. They were, as Lincoln observed, advocating anarchy. But in some ways, their approach was more honest. They didn’t manufacture flimsy evidence or bizarre theories to try to claim that Lincoln was improperly elected. Rather, they said that a nation that could elect Lincoln was not one they wanted to be a part of. They valued the slave economy more than they valued democracy and rather than accept a loss, they left. Today’s protesting Republicans offer no such (corrupted) principles; they want to trash democratic elections because Trump lost, even while they benefit from their own elections under the same system.
- The danger inherent in the Republicans’ behavior today is not as immediate as that perpetrated by Democrats in 1860, but it is nonetheless substantial. Imagine if Republicans win control of the House and Senate in 2022 (historically quite plausible) and Biden wins reelection in 2024 by similar margins in swing states. Now imagine Republicans filing the same objections as they have this month, following the precedent they laid down in 2020, only they now have the votes to dismiss electoral votes and theoretically install a Republican president. The result is a democratic crisis, no less of one than the nation faced in the early 1860s.
- Here’s how to spot the rare conjunction of Jupiter, Mercury, Saturn in the sky tonight
- https://www.khon2.com/news/national/heres-how-to-spot-the-rare-conjunction-of-jupiter-mercury-saturn-in-the-sky-tonight/
- Those who got a kick out of watching Jupiter and Saturn cozy up in what some called the “Christmas Star” may want to look outside a little after sundown from Saturday, Jan. 9, to Monday, Jan. 12.
- From Jan. 9-12, Jupiter and Saturn will be joined by Mercury in the southwestern sky.
- The celestial event is known as a “triple conjunction,” which means three planets appear to meet each other in the sky for a short period of time. In reality, they are millions of miles apart. The formation of the planetary triangle is rare, but not as infrequent as the closer grand conjunction seen last week, according to the Weather Channel.
- Shortly after sunset on Jan. 9, look above the southwestern horizon to see Mercury to the left of Saturn and Jupiter positioned just above Saturn. The window to see the conjunction will be short.
- “From Friday evening to Monday evening, the planet Mercury will appear to pass first by Saturn and then by Jupiter as it shifts away from the horizon, visible each evening low in the west-southwest and setting before evening twilight ends,” NASA wrote on its website.
- The southwestern sky is where the sun sets this time of year, so following the path of the sunset will point you in the right direction. The reflected light from the planets should make them appear brighter than surrounding stars.
- According to Space.com, all three planets will fit within the field of view of binoculars. “Mercury and Saturn will be a challenge to see within the evening twilight – except for skywatchers at southerly latitudes, where the sky will darken faster.”
- Viewers should find an unobstructed view of the horizon and begin stargazing no later than 45 minutes after sundown.
- The planets will form a triple conjunction again on Feb. 13, according to NASA.
3. Creature Feature
Time Stamp: 46:59
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vice_(2018_film)
- 2018 American biographical satirical comedy-drama film
- written and directed by Adam McKay.
- Stars Christian Bale as former U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney, with Amy Adams, Steve Carell, Sam Rockwell, Justin Kirk, Tyler Perry, Alison Pill, Lily Rabe, and Jesse Plemons.
- Log Line: The story of Dick Cheney, an unassuming bureaucratic Washington insider, who quietly wielded immense power as Vice President to George W. Bush, reshaping the country and the globe in ways that we still feel today.
- received eight nominations at the 91st Academy Awards, including a Best Picture nomination and a win for Best Make-Up and Hairstyling.
- six nominations at the 76th Golden Globe Awards (including a nomination for Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy),
- six nominations at the 72nd British Academy Film Awards.
- Bale, Adams, and Rockwell were nominated at all three shows, with Bale winning the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy.
- Released December 11, 2018
- Budget – $60 million
- Box office – $76.1 million
- https://www.imdb.com/title/tt6266538/, 7.2/10
- https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/vice_2018, 65% Fresh, 60% Audience