I’m American, very much not a liberal, and I agree that Falun Gong has as much rightful place in a civilized society as cholera does.

So don’t patronize me with your lectures about what Americans are like. You have no idea what we think.

There are plenty of real reasons to despise the CCP, but Falun Gong are about as much a pro-democracy opposition as the Manson Family was.

Falun Gong were never innocuous. They’re about as sane as Aum Shinrikyo or the Moonies. I despise the CCP, but those whackjobs are no better.

the paper’s ostensibly liberal/progressive line

They’re aligned with the Liberal party, which is a centrist party which is seldom if ever progressive. The Guardian does put up some articles by progressives, on occasion, but they also publish articles by conservatives. When the Labour Party was led by Corbyn, the Guardian was consistently critical of Labour policy and bought into the rightwing press’s phony accusations that Corbyn was antisemitic. Overall, the Guardian’s core politics are those of the metropolitan bourgeoisie, as can also be seen by their lifestyle and media commentary, as well as their general smugness. And on economic matters, their coverage is utterly useless. On that, the Economist and the FT are far superior, despite their occasionally odious politics in their editorial pages.

I still read the Graun, though, since the rest of the British press is far, far worse.

A couple of years late, but OK.

The teacher had also known Ty for a single day.

So the teacher had opportunity to read Ty’s file and either didn’t read it, or didn’t understand.

Anyone who complies with an unjust law is collaborating with the evil swine who passed it.

It’s their job to understand the conditions that kids have who are under their care. If they’re too stupid to do that, they should be fired.

Reactive idiots should not be allowed to be in positions of responsibility.

An even better alternative is to replace it with nothing. The Twitter-like messaging paradigm is only good for trivia and rumor-mongering.

If anyone weighs the same as a duck, it’s Netanyahu.

Ukraine will have to give back all its gains in Russia. Russia won’t have to give back anything. And Ukraine will be restricted in its ability to join alliances. That will be the deal. The only question is whether Zelensky is forced to step down as well.

“But he never started a war!”

Just surrendered in Afghanistan (and left Biden to finish the withdrawal), sold out the Kurds, sent weapons to the Saudis to massacre Yemenis, tried (and failed) to start a war by assassinating an Iranian general, and made the shitty fake Middle East peace deal that invited Netanyahi to start the Gaza genocide.

In other words, rewarding Russia’s aggression. Putin says “jump,” Trump says “How high?”

It’s the peace of the graveyard.

It’s been that way for a lot longer than that.

It’s not just the men, it’s the social rituals and expectations that accompany marriage, dating, sex, etc. People internalize those unwritten rules, even when they intellectually know it’s bullshit. It’s the path of least resistance.

Anyway, it’s their choice: some men, all men, whatever. From your (or my) point of view as a man, some women just won’t want to get with you, and they’re not obligated to explain why. That’s autonomy, and whining about it doesn’t change the fact that they don’t have to tell you their reasons. It’s ultimately none of your business. They can opt in if and when they choose, and if they choose not to, get over it.

Nobody should be forced into relationships and customs that don’t suit them. It’s up to them to decide if the downsides are excessive or a price worth paying.

Read Lysistrata and good luck to you.

When the system becomes too odious, non-participation is one way of dealing with it.

Because the standard for Democrats is perfectionism, but the standard for Republicans is “That’s just Trump being Trump.”

In other words, they didn’t think it through, they got suckered by propaganda.