182 Comments
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Joan the Dork's avatar

Said it before, will say it again: the day it becomes mandatory to say the pledge, is the day it becomes a moral imperative not to. The day it becomes illegal to burn a flag, is the day it becomes a moral imperative to fetch the matches and make some fucking flag flambé.

Compulsory nationalism is not patriotism. Never has been, never will be.

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maddog7's avatar

"Compulsory nationalism is not patriotism"

... smells like N.Korea

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Matri's avatar

Trump's Bestie and the GOP's role model.

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BTII's avatar

The Eisenhower generation's MAGAts turned the Pledge of Allegiance into a blanket promise to support a nation under *their* God and then repackaged it as "Patriotism"...All of this happened before storming the Capitol for their seditionist Cheetoh-colored deity who is the modern incarnation of their god.

Please don't lecture us about patriotism, MAGAts. Not until you're willing to show it yourselves.

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Critical Dragon1177's avatar

Trump and his depraved wingnut supporters are basically willing to destroy our democracy because they can't accept the fact that he lost, either that are they are dumb enough to believe completely nonsensical and baseless claims of voter fraud, while a real fraud is staring them in the face. I lost all respect for Chris Chapel when he came out as MAGA "stop the steal" conspiracy theorist. Now I'm completely skeptical of anyone who uses China Uncensored or America Uncovered as a source, and I hate to say it, but I did that a couple times in the past.

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Matri's avatar

It's a democracy when the right-wing wins, and a dictatorship when the right-wing loses.

Despite reality being the complete opposite of that...

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Critical Dragon1177's avatar

Sadly Trump and Mitch were able to win in 2016 even through we were technically a democracy

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Matri's avatar

The electoral college: Created by the Confederacy, for the racists.

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Critical Dragon1177's avatar

No, it was created by the founding fathers who were also racists, sadly.

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Val Uptuous NotAgain's avatar

Oh this is rich! One man is getting his way with the SCOTUS because he thinks that insisting on his team praying after football games is a violation of his free speech while fucking IOWA (whatever you can come up with for the acronym, but definitely a good place to be from) decided that teachers don’t get a say in what they can say.

This is clearly unconstitutional. Who gets to decide what statements might be anti-American? This is just milking the CRT craze past its due date. “Please don’t expose us as racists, it makes us feel bad. It won’t make us change though, we’ll just get more venomous.”

Fuck em all with red hot pokers covered in lemon juice and salt.

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Critical Dragon1177's avatar

This makes the Supreme Court overturning Biden's vaccine mandate, all the more troubling.

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regmeyer's avatar

Plenty of barb wire in that state.

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larry parker's avatar

Luckly, I'm not from Iowa. I've only lived here for 52 years. ; )

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Val Uptuous NotAgain's avatar

I’m sorry for you.

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larry parker's avatar

Could be worse, could be Wisconsin. (Marty Feldman voice.)

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Val Uptuous NotAgain's avatar

Ouch! I didn’t choose to live here, we had to for work.

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regmeyer's avatar

Now you know why I was so eager to get out.

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CageGirl's avatar

"And frankly, our country isn’t always one that deserves admiration — why would we want to “pledge allegiance” to a nation that is so often a global embarrassment?"

Gotta say, from the outside looking in, the idea of American Exceptionalism is a mind-boggling thing. Like, I get feeling a connection to one's country. I'm Canadian. I love it, and I consider myself fortunate as hell that I was born here. But it's not perfect. Far from it. There's always room for improvement. I simply cannot wrap my head around thinking otherwise.

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larry parker's avatar

You'd make a terrible Republican.

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Zorginipsoundsor's avatar

"You'd make a terrible Republican."

There is no greater complement than that.

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Lisa Lippitz's avatar

High praise, indeed.

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CageGirl's avatar

Thank you. :)

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Val Uptuous NotAgain's avatar

OT I just heard that the friend I’ve been talking about who was against masks and was recently in the hospital for Covid, succumbed to it. I was hoping she would recover and I’m very sad to lose her. In her Facebook live streams she asked her friends to get vaccinated. I hope they take her advice now they have felt the consequences.

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moke the panicked's avatar

They will just claim she was denied the cure by horse dewormer. Her death will change nothing.

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Val Uptuous NotAgain's avatar

Her friends have moved onto colloidal silver. Thank goodness they hadn’t heard the piss thing yet.

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Akira625's avatar

Colloidal silver? If they take too much of that stuff, they will end up looking like a Smurf.

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Zorginipsoundsor's avatar

In their minds, Brainy Smurf.

Edit - Hey, that reminds me, the Smurfs are French.

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RegularJoe's avatar

French-ish....

The Smurfs (French: Les Schtroumpfs) is a Belgian comic series, created by cartoonist Peyo (pen name of Pierre Culliford).

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Smurfs_(comics)

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Black Hole and DM mourner's avatar

Brainy Smurf is a pretentious know it next to nothing so it's more accurate than you seem to think.

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Matri's avatar

The Smurfs are also socialist, or communist depending on how you see it...

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User's avatar
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Jan 15, 2022Edited
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Matri's avatar

And a gazebo, and a lawn, and a-

You know what, I'll just stay home.

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Jan 15, 2022Edited
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moke the panicked's avatar

Not going top happen. Their dying words will be "It is just the flu."

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Zorginipsoundsor's avatar

Yup, it was the doctors and nurses that kilt them just for shits and grins.

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regmeyer's avatar

It's a way of reducing their workload.

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Jan 15, 2022Edited
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Zorginipsoundsor's avatar

"Nobody ever works for the good of others unless it is the people who stand around doing nothing but complaining, it seems."

So you've seen the construction crews "working" on I75's malfunction junction in Tampa?

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Jan 15, 2022
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GrandmascienCe's avatar

My middle school has become an infestation site. Admin was calling kids out of class all day yesterday to get tested. One of my students came back and said, "Dang vaccine!" She's vaccinated, tested negative, and didn't get to go home! :D

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Matri's avatar

Explain to the student that if they tested positive, they won't ever be going home again. They'll be confined to the hospital for 14 days, and then die and be put into a coffin.

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San_Ban's avatar

This is such an extreme exaggeration! I don't believe in lying to kids. Much more likely that they'll go home to quarantine and infect grandma, who will be hospitalised.

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ORAXX's avatar

One of the things that used to separate the United States from some other parts of the world was that government couldn't make you say anything you didn't want to. It is, without exception, the people who make the most noise about their conservatism that are the most willing to play fast and loose with the Constitution. The Bill of Rights wouldn't last ten minutes with these people.

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CorporalKlinger's avatar

<One of the things that used to separate the United States from some other parts of the world was that government couldn't make you say anything you didn't want to.>

I suppose, a lot of people at the time didn't want to say “Yes, Master”, but they had to, because the gov. allowed those Masters to beat to death certain people without any consequences.

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maddog7's avatar

"If a teacher violates those rules, a first offense would lead to ... a letter sent home to parents ...."

Whose parents? LoL

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GrandmascienCe's avatar

Dear Mr. and Mrs. GrandmascienCe (both of whom are dead),

We regret to inform you that since your daughter has refused, three days in a row, to stand and recite the pledge of allegiance, she is hereby fired from her position as distinguished teacher of math and science for the past 32 years, including all her coaching championships, innovative methods, and teaching accolades, and will be moving into your basement since a teacher's retirement fund is even more paltry than a teacher's salary.

Sincerely,

School District Board

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RegularJoe's avatar

Dear Mr. & Mrs. Jones,

We regret to inform you that Billy violated the rules in class today. Please know that should future occurences...um...occure, Billy will be terminated per school board policy and state law here in the Cornhole State. ProTip: As we're Trumpublican, and Billy, him being a teacher, is already born, termination may well involve the most sacred of the Amendments: The Second.

Deal with your teacher boy, else.....

Sincerely,

Principal Bubba McSistrfukr

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moke the panicked's avatar

FYI. Gay Marriage has now been here longer than the confederacy. No meme allowed.

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Jan 15, 2022
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Matri's avatar

Heck, Phineas & Ferb has been here longer than the confederacy....

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Akira625's avatar

The very idea of the Pledge of Allegiance is undemocratic, yet many people in this country have no problem with it. It’s the stuff of totalitarian regimes, where you are required to ritually declare your allegiance to the state.

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XJC's avatar

"...one nation, under Trump,..."

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Joan the Dork's avatar

"...one nation, under-educated..."

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Val Uptuous NotAgain's avatar

“…one nation, under siege…”

Thanks Nazis.

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Critical Dragon1177's avatar

Thanks young Earth Creationists

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Critical Dragon1177's avatar

More like one nation destroyed by Trump, because I doubt that he will ever be president again, and if he is dumb enough to run again in 2024, all the more reason for Biden to run again

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Matri's avatar

Yeah, don't forget the millions who voted for him a second time.

Don't get complacent.

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CorporalKlinger's avatar

Do not underestimate the power of dumb!

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Guerilla Surgeon's avatar

Forced patriotism? Hopefully it will have the opposite effect rather than the intended one. I can't think of another developed democracy that forces its kids to recite patriotic slogans. Dickey must be a scoundrel. :)

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Val Uptuous NotAgain's avatar

Will the teachers have to also say that Trump is like god? He’s the most handsome man. Weep uncontrollably at his funeral?

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CageGirl's avatar

I may just weep at his funeral. (Or at least at his death.) They'll be tears of joy, mind ...

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regmeyer's avatar

I will weep because the line is s long at his graveside.

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CorporalKlinger's avatar

Do you remember that embarrassing, ridiculous, cringe worthy cabinet meeting, where they were all licking Dear Leader's ass, praising him into high heaven?

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XJC's avatar

North Korea for 40, Alex.

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regmeyer's avatar

A product of that fine Ioway educational system.

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RegularJoe's avatar

Funny thing, Iowa was once known as an education state. It used to be known for smart people like Atanasoff (computers), Van Allen (belts), Borlaug (food)....now we're known for Grassley and King

And it's only getting worse.

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User's avatar
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Jan 15, 2022Edited
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CorporalKlinger's avatar

LawerSOSs ??

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NOGODZ20's avatar

"West Virginia State Board of Education v. Barnette, 319 U.S. 624 (1943)"

The enforced recital of the Pledge of Allegiance was ruled unconstitutional 79 years ago. Federal law trumps state law.

Want patriotism? Upon enlistment, I swore an oath to support and defend the US Constitution, not a flag or a meaningless loyalty oath. Senator Dickhead (who as far as I can tell never put on the uniform of his country) is traitor to that Constitution.

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RegularJoe's avatar

Perhaps the recitation of the pledge could be construed as a required task to be performed for teachers/staff. Not that I agree with the concept, just that some sports guy's "I'm just here so I don't get fined" compliance comes to mind, and these teachers won't even have that out.

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maddog7's avatar

Xians and Republicans want their freedom of choice, a limited subset,

but woe to anyone else that tries for choice outside that subset.

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Akira625's avatar

OT: Does anyone know what the deal is with OnlySky? It’s no longer early January, I hope this isn’t vaporware.

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Joan the Dork's avatar

They're doing *something* with it. At some point in the last few days the placeholder for the FA frontpage switched from the "sign up for notifications" spiel to a bare-bones password prompt: https://onlysky.media/friendlyatheist/

So... whatever's going on with the new site, it's going on behind closed doors for the moment.

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NOGODZ20's avatar

A password? We haven't created accounts there yet. How can they ask for a password?

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larry parker's avatar

Maybe the password is "enter". /s

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NOGODZ20's avatar

Boy, that really is bare-bones. :)

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Zorginipsoundsor's avatar

Whelp, eatshitanddie isn't the password. Okay, I'm out.

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GrandmascienCe's avatar

Neither is fuckoffanddie.

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NOGODZ20's avatar

I tried biteme. No-go.

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Zorginipsoundsor's avatar

Bender didn't work either.

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larry parker's avatar

Nothing on Twitter except a pinned tweet from the tenth of December.

https://twitter.com/onlyskymedia

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User's avatar
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Jan 16, 2022
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Matri's avatar

Again?

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larry parker's avatar

Not a word.

Reminds me of Trump's healthcare plan. (sorry, that's a low blow : )

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Maltnothops's avatar

So just two weeks away?

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NOGODZ20's avatar

Starting to get a little nervous here.

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BTII's avatar

This was the only "update" I could find (from Dec 14), from ATP's youtube channel

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SdIrOpe5lDM

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larry parker's avatar

That's the day everyone left Patheos.

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NOGODZ20's avatar

Adrian Dickless has violated his oath of office (the part where he swore to preserve, protect and defend the Constitution).

He could and should be censured and impeached. And depending upon the severity of the violation, he could even be prosecuted. POTUS' are protected from indictments for oath violations. Senators have no such protection.

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Joan the Dork's avatar

OT: Wingnut outrage factory OAN gets the boot from DirecTV.

https://apnews.com/article/business-television-elections-media-donald-trump-399c1d96e83310134d8139018445a30a

Now there's some "cancel culture" I can really get behind!

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NOGODZ20's avatar

Right wingers love them some corporations...until those corporations do something the righties don't like.

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