Virus thread, the political one.

[Todd Amunrud]

For our current president

[caleb]

The instantaneous production of protests in Michigan make a little more sense after reading this article about Gov. Whitmer. Potentially you will be able to track potential running mates for Joe Biden by the number of protestors that materialize outside their door. So if you wake up in the morning and there is a militia in your front yard, don't panic. Biden just put you on his list of potential VP's.

I hope every newspaper in Michigan runs this photo on their front page:

[j44ke]

That's quite a family photo.

[guido]

Certainly a justified usage of the phrase "Lock them up".

[Colinmclelland]

I hope every newspaper in Michigan runs this photo on their front page:

We gad a slightly different photo in our paper, but my instant reaction was “oh, they’ve brought out the army”. It’s insane that general punters can get guns like those.

And speaking of insane, I hear Brazil has just told everyone to go back to work. That will be a sad curve to watch...

[GrantM]

I hope every newspaper in Michigan runs this photo on their front page:

It's amazing they are able to spell some of those words without obvious help from any women supporters.

-g

[BBB]

All male, all white, all carrying guns and too stupid to realise that a Trump doesn't give a sh*t about them or their concerns, other than receiving their vote.

[guido]

There is a joke circulating:

What borders on stupidity? Mexico and Canada.

[bironi]

There is a joke circulating:

What borders on stupidity? Mexico and Canada.

Mexico's response was worse than that of the U.S.
The president was until recently encouraging hugs, hand shakes, kisses etc.
The country has no testing capacity and no buffer on hospital beds, equipment etc.
My wife lived in Guadalajara and Mexico City for 10+ years.
She scolded me for the comparison between advanced countries and developing countries.
I get that.
There is a huge gap.
But the gap between presidential leadership is slim to none.

[GeneK]

We gad a slightly different photo in our paper, but my instant reaction was “oh, they’ve brought out the army”. It’s insane that general punters can get guns like those.

And speaking of insane, I hear Brazil has just told everyone to go back to work. That will be a sad curve to watch...

With possible exception of the guy with the pistol, all of the guys with firearms had the ability to kill dozens of people within seconds. No doubt that’s what the founding fathers intended.

[Mabouya]

With possible exception of the guy with the pistol, all of the guys with firearms had the ability to kill dozens of people within seconds. No doubt that’s what the founding fathers intended.

After all, they do look well regulated to me...

[monadnocky]

After all, they do look well regulated to me...

They look like insecure man-children playing soldiers to me.

[ldamelio]

They look like insecure man-children playing soldiers to me.

That's exactly what they are. Unfortunately, the guns are real and they would be unlikely to receive your analysis well. It cuts to the heart of the psychopathy driving the need to own such a destructive weapon in an otherwise civilized society.

[mzilliox]

They look like insecure man-children playing soldiers to me.

and this would be exactly what they are. brains never developed past high school punkery. play video games in their basement (or their moms more likely). these folks are the worst. they give any gun owner who hunts or otherwise uses their gun as the tool it was intended for, a bad name. they are holding toys, no intent =ever of using them as tools, just toys.

[Tom]

The tough part is these people aren't being sent out to change minds or change events. They're being used to create a diversion and take the heat off the federal administration, executive branch in particular. I'd be willing to wager that these people don't mind being exploited. They get to dress up and act out. They get their ya-yas out, all is good.

[htwoopup]

May be telling or may not, but notice the 4 most prominent guys (the biggest ones with the beards)...definite resemblance. Two if not all four are brothers. Sort of a nature or nourish or combination of the two in one home kind of observation.

[rowdyhillrambler]

i see what you mean in regards to the resemblance.. However, there are about 8 guys in that photo that look the same to me- kinda like seeing a group of lycra clad cyclist, to most folks we look similar.. That being said, you have a bunch of chubby to fat white fellas with some fairly lazy facial hair all dressed in some sort of paramilitary costumes playing dress up.. Cos-play for the middle age fruitcake and conspiracy theorist MAGA.. you would be hard pressed to pick any of them out of a line up_

[guido]

Stay home orders: What the anti-stay-at-home protests are really about - Vox

"Anti-social-distancing and stay-at-home order rallies are cropping up across the country, reminiscent of the early days of the Tea Party, when well-funded right-leaning groups lit a fire under an already outraged Republican base and helped to ignite a political movement.

In fact, Adam Brandon, president of FreedomWorks, a right-leaning advocacy group that helped support the Tea Party movement back in 2009, said in an interview that “this has the same DNA [as] the Tea Party movement.”

The events — some, like in Michigan, featuring thousands of attendees — are organized largely by conservative groups who are calling state-based measures too draconian. Some of the groups have posted links and images on Facebook that downplay the seriousness of the virus. And other leaders have advocated against following CDC guidelines, like a ban on big gatherings and wearing face masks (because wearing them would be “counterproductive.”) Some of the protests have taken on the feel of 2016 Trump campaign rallies, with some participants wearing Make America Great Again hats and waving flags emblazoned with the president’s face."

[Mark Kelly]

After all, they do look well regulated to me...

Brilliant.

[guido]

Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.

"People grew sick of social distancing measured as they dragged into the summer of 1918. When the great war finally ended in late November, people took to the streets to celebrate their good fortune. In the following weeks, the second wave of the pandemic killed more people than the war."