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Newsmax agrees to pay $67M in defamation case over bogus 2020 election claims

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Re: Newsmax agrees to pay $67M in defamation case over bogus 2020 election claims

#171

Earlier quoted context omitted.

To get a student ID, you have to have a government ID from your home state or a passport. You don’t think schools just take your word for it as they allow you to use their services that cost tens of thousands a year?

Community colleges also issue student IDs Forgery is far more simple for those than a LTC

Absolutely no one is forging an ID to vote.

This is the percentage of voter fraud found in the US by the conservative Heritsge foundation.

https://www.brookings.edu/articles/how-widespread-is-electio...

The largest voter fraud ever attempted in the US was actually 2020 with the Republican fake electors.

Re: Newsmax agrees to pay $67M in defamation case over bogus 2020 election claims

#172
post #142

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I had been worried about what would happen as the American republic goes down, whether other countries would follow suit. So those two examples are cause for hope. As for the second term, we can’t forget that the Democrats basically threw the election. This election was a layup. An easy win. And they did absolutely everything wrong. I almost blame them as much as Trump for this mess.

You're not wrong. Biden, who is basically an unwrapped mummy at this point would have won easily if he handled Israel/Gaza with any sort of grace. All Harris had to do was challenge Biden's position on the issue, and not parade Liz Cheney out on stage like the "disillusioned Republican vote" was a real thing.

No he wouldnt have. The non voters didnt make enough of a difference and people who voted for trump over harris and said it was because of Gaza are not serious people and should not be catered to.

Re: Newsmax agrees to pay $67M in defamation case over bogus 2020 election claims

#173
post #96

Earlier quoted context omitted.

ID isn't a poll tax because it isn't a poll tax. Voter ID requirements are no more discriminatory than they are for air travel.

Air Travel isn't a constitutionally protected right. Try again.

That doesn't change the discrimination logic.

No one imagines that everyone is just fine with what is implied to be the same level of discrimination in accessing air travel that they state is going on when voter ID requirements are in force. And yet.

Re: Newsmax agrees to pay $67M in defamation case over bogus 2020 election claims

#174
post #27

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Hogan (Thiel) vs Gawker and Sandy Hook vs Alex Jones provided a blueprint to weaponize defamation law for political change in an environment where right-wing journalism has turned into a defamation pipeline and then a defamation -> moral-panic -> stochastic-terror cannon that would impress Gerald Bull. These are supposed journalistic institutions, and that used to mean something, legally and culturally speaking. Maki…

> Hogan (Thiel) vs Gawker and Sandy Hook vs Alex Jones provided a blueprint to weaponize defamation law for political change Sandy Hook v Jones was not "political". It was deeply, profoundly personal. The Gawker lawsuit was also about settling personal scores. Obviously Hogan wasn't as sympathetic of a plaintiff as the Sandy Hook parents. But it was more odious because Thiel wanted to punish Gawker simply for hurting…

Perhaps if there was, we wouldn't need to have this conversation.

The closest we've got is the zombie husk of liberal George Soros, who is a center-left finance bro from a Holocaust survivor family who isn't fond of authoritarianism. While a constantly mentioned specter of the right (the fact that he's Jewish and talks with a foreign accent factors, for paleoconservatives), and probably the largest single donor to Democratic causes...

He isn't actually particularly left-wing, and his work isn't remotely comparable in scope or in aggression to the ideological warfare waged by the Koch Brothers, or the dozens of other billionaires who have joined hand in hand to establish the durable top-down political infrastructure of the GOP. If a politician or pundit just plays along with these people, if you stay loyal to the cause even in the most tortured argument, you will be a made man. There are thousands of positions held open at endowed economics departments, think tanks, lobbying firms, and captive media to reward people who fight the good fight for the right. Lose an election? There is always the possibility of another campaign in another district. Conversely there is a constant threat of well-funded primary campaigns against anyone who doesn't toe the line and kiss the ring.

The Democrats have no such leverage. Their operational interests conflict with the interests of their political base. They mostly seem to come into politics poisoned by Mr Smith Goes to Washington, or The West Wing, and then the people who survive are the ones with more ambition than ideology who do whatever they need to do to ensure incumbency. Their institutional infrastructure seems to be ~five lobbying firms whose only apparent purpose is punching left when their base comes into conflict with corporate donors, and skimming off the top. The only time you will see money weaponized in a meaningful way is to fight against a primary challenge from the left, to include running independents against the primary winner in eg NYC's 2025 mayoral. So goes the "big tent" party.

But if by chance an angry left-wing billionaire spontaneously occurred (let's say the Trump vs Musk relationship went down a little differently)... There are tortious weapons sitting on the table unused, which could be put into effect dismantling this flavor of "journalism". As long as red America is being fed cradle-to-grave, violently ethnonationalist propaganda we're going to have a tough time persuading them out of their worldview.

Re: Newsmax agrees to pay $67M in defamation case over bogus 2020 election claims

#175

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Ahh, Australia, "so obviously corrupt" that mandatory voting is the only thing that lends an air of democracy. I love this notion that the US is such a special snowflake that there's always a reason that things that work nearly everywhere else couldn't possibly work here.

Your individual opinion of Australia, name calling, appeal to group behavior, and vague "things that work everywhere" doesn't negate the fact that not voting is a form of protest (or often just a simple preference) that a healthy democracy shouldn't have an issue with. After all, if nine months of partisan rioting in an election season is kosher before a "free and fair election", which leads to over twenty five death…

> Your individual opinion of Australia, name calling, appeal to group behavior, and vague "things that work everywhere" doesn't negate the fact that not voting is a form of protest (or often just a simple preference) that a healthy democracy shouldn't have an issue with.

You are free to not vote for any candidate in Australia. You are free to write "Fuck you all" on your ballot. All you must do is attend a voting station. And unlike the US, there are many legally enshrined protections to ensure you can.

I'm not sure your complaint. You are the one that tarred mandatory voting with a wide brush. I apologize for offering a counter-argument.

Re: Newsmax agrees to pay $67M in defamation case over bogus 2020 election claims

#176

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Community colleges also issue student IDs Forgery is far more simple for those than a LTC

Absolutely no one is forging an ID to vote. This is the percentage of voter fraud found in the US by the conservative Heritsge foundation. https://www.brookings.edu/articles/how-widespread-is-electio... The largest voter fraud ever attempted in the US was actually 2020 with the Republican fake electors.

I meant forgery to obtain a student id vs a LTC.

I think you are misunderstanding my intent here.

The student ID thing is a weak argument. If they need a government issue ID/passport to get a student ID -- then so what if a student ID is not allowed? They already have a valid ID to vote with.

It's a distraction. Texas has been doing trumpism since before trump was a thing. Allowing LTC but not student ID does 2 things only and neither has to do with voting; it pisses off people not in their camp and being a valid Texas state ID keeps in line with using a valid Texas ID in places where that is used (not only voting).

A student ID is not a valid Texas state ID (voting or otherwise). Stating that LTC is okay and not a student ID specifically for voting is them trolling and you are falling right into it. It's getting people caught up on something that seems like it's done to disadvantage one side, but really a student ID is simply not a valid Texas ID, nor is it good for anything other than as a supporting identity document to go along with primary or secondary ID documents in obtaining a valid Texas ID. Note: you can't get a LTC without a valid ID.

My vote for largest voter fraud was 2000, of course no one would call it that.

Re: Newsmax agrees to pay $67M in defamation case over bogus 2020 election claims

#177
post #82

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I've never understood why elections are held on a Tuesday. Why aren't they held on a Sunday, which would eliminate the excuse of "I have to go to work"?

If you work at someplace other than Chik-Fil-A you're not guaranteed Sundays off either

Early voting solves this. There are some voting booths open all week, then on the Saturday/Sunday the main vote happens and they all open. If you can't make the Sunday you pop in during the week.

Re: Newsmax agrees to pay $67M in defamation case over bogus 2020 election claims

#178
post #142

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I had been worried about what would happen as the American republic goes down, whether other countries would follow suit. So those two examples are cause for hope. As for the second term, we can’t forget that the Democrats basically threw the election. This election was a layup. An easy win. And they did absolutely everything wrong. I almost blame them as much as Trump for this mess.

When it comes to pleasing the base, or the voters, Democrats always choose the former. At least they can feel good about losing.

I see so much hate for James Carville but he was right. Grocery prices affect more people than abortions so why the hell did Dems run on abortions?!

Re: Newsmax agrees to pay $67M in defamation case over bogus 2020 election claims

#179

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Absolutely no one is forging an ID to vote. This is the percentage of voter fraud found in the US by the conservative Heritsge foundation. https://www.brookings.edu/articles/how-widespread-is-electio... The largest voter fraud ever attempted in the US was actually 2020 with the Republican fake electors.

I meant forgery to obtain a student id vs a LTC. I think you are misunderstanding my intent here. The student ID thing is a weak argument. If they need a government issue ID/passport to get a student ID -- then so what if a student ID is not allowed? They already have a valid ID to vote with. It's a distraction. Texas has been doing trumpism since before trump was a thing. Allowing LTC but not student ID does 2 thing…

No, a student ID requires a valid identification which can be from their home state.

But a student is allowed to vote in the state where they are attending college or their home state. But not both.

Of course Texas did everything possible to make it harder for college students to vote

https://www.texastribune.org/2022/10/28/texas-young-voter-tu...

Re: Newsmax agrees to pay $67M in defamation case over bogus 2020 election claims

#180
post #167

Unpopular opinion: Paper ballots with in person voting (with an ID) is the only 100% fool proof and verifiable voting system. Everything else could be manipulated or hacked. And when there's trillions of dollars and world power on the line, it's just a matter of time when the "could be" turns to "would be".

In Minnesota we have paper ballots, we run them through an optical scanner straight into a lockbox attached to the scanner. The scanner counts the votes, but there's a paper copy and they can audit the machine and ballot 1:1. In theory you could just run it through the exact machine again and you'd get a good test for what is going on, and you have a physical copy to count / verify. I think it is a good system, and a…

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