Looks like Nebraska could vote to legalize cannabis later this year, which might open up a whole new type of smoking.

It's hard to know the true capabilities of the Borg or Empire because both these badies were only destroyed by the "God's on my side" narrative advantage conferred on the self sacrificing good guys. With no Data to shut down the Borg and no Luke, Han, and friends to risk life and limb for the Rebell...

Why wouldn't God have also kept the Germans who became Nazis on track if he has this power? What a terrible thing it would be for God to save only "his own" from the fate of becoming genocidal murders - what did the ones who became Nazis do to deserve this punishment? Why weren't all Germans "his ow...

To add to Octs point, conservative parties are doing quite well in Italy, France, Netherlands, Canada, etc. It just doesn't seem correct to say that conservatives / right wing populists are doing poorly right now. Unfortunately Trump is the Reagan/Thatcher figure who finds himself at the centre of a...

I really doubt that it's fair to denigrate conservative gay men as non-political laggards who are merely riding on the coat tails of Queer activists, or as a group that uses their gay status cynically only when it benefits them. But otherwise your post gets to the crux of my question. LGBTQIA2S+ is ...

I think there is a more charitable view of why someone might be fiscally conservative. If I'm taxed more, is that money really going to go to Namibia? Or will it be used by my government to spoil its base before the next election? Even if that money were dedicated to foreign aid, is my government we...

Most people (at least in the US) support capitalism because they are influenced by propaganda (not necessarily from the government) claiming capitalism is effective. [Redacted because this is not the Politics sub-forum]. It's probably best to be a little more generous than this when making assumpti...

Broad stroke conversations like this always seem to fall apart due, in part, to misaligned definitions. Some folks seem to think capitalism = some sort of Scrooge McDuck economy where the rich literally sit on a pile of gold rather than investing, generating wealth, etc. Meanwhile, "socialism" seems...

Your perpetual failing is your desperate need to have your particular God at the centre of all good things. Attributing dissent to intellectual dishonesty makes you blind. I thought it was masturbation that did that? Attributing blindness to masturbation makes you intellectually dishonest? :?

“But avoid foolish questions, and genealogies, and contentions, and strivings about the law; for they are unprofitable and vain” Titus 3:9 KJV ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ I'm genuinely confused by the Christian approach to politics. It seems like the common claim in this thread is that Christians should strive to be...

Esquire Bertissimmo: No government, not even the worst dictatorship, can function without ample public support, even if this comes from a minority of the population. Power dynamics within the governing coalition are beside the point. Every elected government serves its own coalition of voters/donor...

No, Christ was not a socialist. He wanted us to care for fellow man, not have the government to take our money and have the government care for those the government wants to care for. Consider 2 Corinthians 9:7: “Each of you should give what you have decided in your heart to give, not reluctantly o...

I often hear people complain how its so sad that our society pays athletes more than teachers. Indeed, this is sad. In order for teachers to make the same amount of money as athletes we would have to first reprioritize as a society what we want to waste or spend our money on. If teachers had Jersey...

Really appreciate your viewpoint here, it's very well articulated and I find all this fascinating. I think you and I may disagree just on the usefulness of policing in general. I think any large group of people in public probably benefits from a touch of policing, especially if there's drinking invo...

I can't speak to the psychic wound of police brutality against gays, but in 2024 it doesn't seem strategic to push away cops from these events. A parade needs to be policed anyhow — better they present as a welcoming and pro-LGBT organization at the event instead of just being cold authorities on th...

Looks like Israel has responded with limited missile strikes on Iran. Among the targets were Iran's nuclear sites. The online left is furious, but Iran itself has downplayed the attack. Hopefully this closes the loop of escalation. Everyone gets a domestic political victory out of this if they sell ...

This seems like a chicken and egg problem. Low interest in most women's sports leads to lower pay and prestige, which in turn means less talent development, less advertising, playing at worse venues, etc. A vicious cycle. Artificially increasing the pay and funding for women's sport beyond what is w...

That said, I was talking about Biden being a puppet of his party, of the politicians themselves, not of the people. It seems like you're trying to say Biden is unusually puppet-esque in some anti-democratic way. I don't think that's quite right. Didn't voters opt for his party in the last election?...

It's easy to exaggerate the mental decline of both Trump and Biden. Yes, it's terrible that they're both so old. Their age has cognitive consequences that, in my view, should be considered disqualifying for the most important job on earth. But they're both still smart, capable human beings. They're ...

All the G7 leaders have begged Israel not to respond. At this point the risk of escalation seems somewhat low — no doubt Israel will keep up its not-so-covert operations to disrupt Iran, but no one seems to have an appetite for a hot war. I saw a lot of mainstream news try to downplay Iran's attack ...