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Codewords and Their Unspoken Meanings in American Politics


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2012 Jul 5, 5:46am   36,985 views  121 comments

by Patrick   ➕follow (55)   💰tip   ignore  

In a comment today I pointed out that "limited constitutional government" is code-speak for something very different from what it sounds like:

Limited = no Social Security or Medicare

Constitutional = letting states enact racist laws

What other codewords are used, and what are their unspoken definitions?

#politics

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41   bdrasin   2012 Jul 6, 2:53am  

CL says

It's a really crappy job. And summers off is barely true, at least in the first few years and depending on the number of subjects taught.

Teach (or babysit) all day. Lesson plans and grading at night. Prep all summer. And low pay/respect.

Oh yeah? Then how do you explain this?

We all know you're clowning around and farting through silk all day. You're not fooling anyone!

42   freak80   2012 Jul 6, 3:22am  

zzyzzx says

Lavish pension and health benefits, job security, and in some places bloated salaries.

I suppose it depends on the school district. I know lots of teachers making little more than fast food salaries. All for the privilage of babysitting the children of meth addicts.

43   Honest Abe   2012 Jul 6, 12:17pm  

But they get tenure, TENURE, hahaha. You can't fire me, I got TENURE, now get outta my face.

44   thomas.wong1986   2012 Jul 6, 12:37pm  

PockyClipsNow says

I hope you guys like federally mandated porn filters on your computers.
Thats what Mitt says he will do if elected.

Pretty much in favor of it.. much of it like so much spam is full of foreign virus which is designed to control US computers by foreign powers... we are in a war if you havent noticed. So having filters is a good thing.

45   thomas.wong1986   2012 Jul 6, 12:46pm  

CL says

2010 was an anomaly. And the white vote is shrinking every cycle, especially in the General. Demographics don't bode well for the GOP

There are plenty of non-whites who dont favor Democrats or the Liberal agenda. Its all about maturity! what do the Liberals, offer! Not much!

"It's much the same as Alexis de Tocqueville talked about in 'Democracy In America' -- that this American republic will collapse once Congress and obviously our president realizes they can bribe the public by using the public's treasury," Allen West

46   Dan8267   2012 Jul 6, 12:54pm  

bdrasin says

Sounds like the plot of a porno.

47   thomas.wong1986   2012 Jul 6, 1:09pm  

APOCALYPSEFUCK is Shostakovich says

LOL! we are going to have start calling you APOCALYPSEFUCK is WAGNER

48   rootvg   2012 Jul 7, 12:03am  

Honest Abe says

But they get tenure, TENURE, hahaha. You can't fire me, I got TENURE, now get outta my face.

Ohio did away with tenure a few years ago. The older teachers have it, younger ones do not.

49   marcus   2012 Jul 7, 7:47am  

zzyzzx says

No Child Left Behind = Welfare for Teachers.

Haha. If it were a contest, I say you win.

(by the way - teachers generally hate NCLB )

50   freak80   2012 Jul 7, 8:08am  

thomas.wong1986 says

It's much the same as Alexis de Tocqueville talked about in 'Democracy In America' -- that this American republic will collapse once Congress and obviously our president realizes they can bribe the public by using the public's treasury," Allen West

Fair enough. But don't forget "corporate welfare." Like the bank bailouts. Both Bush and Obama did that, am I correct?

51   freak80   2012 Jul 7, 8:13am  

thomas.wong1986 says

Its all about maturity! what do the Liberals, offer! Not much!

Give me a break. If Patnet conservatives are any indication, conservatives aren't much better. Heck most (not all) of the people I have on "ignore" just spout the same far-right talking points I can get from AM radio and Fox News.

52   Honest Abe   2012 Jul 7, 10:51am  

Codeword for The Justice Department: the Department of Fraud, Coverups, and Injustice

53   freak80   2012 Jul 7, 11:21am  

Wow, what's with the "dislike" of almost every post?

54   marcus   2012 Jul 7, 1:30pm  

wthrfrk80 says

Wow, what's with the "dislike" of almost every post?

I noticed that too. Some child goes through and likes every right wingers post and dislikes all their "enemy's" posts. It wouldn't matter what I said. I could post something about how great mises.org is with a link to some article and it would get a dislike.

The behavior speaks for itself.

55   freak80   2012 Jul 7, 3:54pm  

Maybe it's El Capitan.

56   marcus   2012 Jul 7, 7:50pm  

No way, it's not CS or Bap. One of the other right wingers.

57   marcus   2012 Jul 8, 3:45am  

Right. Somehow you get from not knowing when a zygote or fetus becomes a person, and therefore believing in a woman's choice, but still wanting to minimize abortions, to "killing as many of our babies as possible."

This kind of thinking/feeling is a perfect example of the flaw in humans that dooms us as a species.

As for hating whites ? Very similar to the other. I guess not being a white supremacist, and being able to acknowledge the sometimes aggressive behavior of white euro men in the past and not being a scared little girl about what the world will be like when we are a minority, because we get that were all the same, and finally being tolerant of homosexuals, is to you equal to being a hater of whiteness.

58   dublin hillz   2012 Jul 9, 5:09am  

Why is there obesity epidemic in red states? Cuz they would fry water if they could!

59   Honest Abe   2012 Jul 9, 5:27am  

Marcus, you dumbsh*t, unless something is done to STOP the natural process, after fertilization takes place, a human will be born. "Stopping the process" AKA abortion, is stopping a life, irregardless of how its spun or sugar coated.

Oh wait, stopping a life 30 seconds before birth is OK, but 30 seconds after birth is murder? Are you libs insane?

You libs have created laws that offer more protection for animals, and animal babies than for humans, admit it.

No wonder your caricature has a scowl, you libs are mean spirited, immoral people.

60   marcus   2012 Jul 9, 6:03am  

Honest Abe says

Marcus, you dumbsh*t, unless something is done to STOP the natural process, after fertilization takes place, a human will be born. "

What if I'm attracted to a woman, and she's willing to have my baby. Is it a immoral me to not make it happen as often as possible ? I'm pretty sure that I could have had about 30 children by now, not that I would have been able to provide for them, and many would probably be in miserable situations right now.

But how was it not blocking life if I didn't make it happen, if I used a condom or wacked off instead ?

Didn't that "block life ?"

Didn't that "STOP the natural process ?"

61   marcus   2012 Jul 9, 6:08am  

Honest Abe says

Oh wait, stopping a life 30 seconds before birth is OK, but 30 seconds after birth is murder?

This is exactly what us "libs" say, in Abe's oh so special little imaginary world.

62   freak80   2012 Jul 9, 6:11am  

Obey the Tripods.

63   marcus   2012 Jul 9, 6:19am  

Btw, I am not in favor of, nor do I approve abortion as a form of birth control (as some may infer from my comment above). In fact I detest abortions and would like to see them minimized.

But I do not know that an early abortion is murder and I believe that it is an individuals choice.

There are many individual choices that we allow people to make in this relatively free country. Some choices may be immoral to some and not immoral to others. There are some choices even that most people consider immoral, that we do not have government laws against.

I personally reserve judging those who choose to have an abortion. That's above my pay grade. The fact that some right winger believe they know, often due to religion, and in this particular case, I don't even judge them, which makes this issue somewhat unique.

I do think they are somewhat arrogant to think that they know that a zygote is a human with rights that transcend the rights of the woman carrying it. But once they do feel that they know, I can't really blame them for fighting it.

64   dublin hillz   2012 Jul 9, 7:19am  

Abortion is clearly an emotionally charged topic and righfully so. There are pros and cons to each position. For example, there is plenty of evidence that where abortion is illegal, orphanages, child abandonemt and level sof overall crime in society proliferate. At the same time, we can logically conclude that if the aborted fetus was allowed to continue its course that the creature would end up a living human being in an overwhelming amount of cases which makes abortion a de facto murder. The best thing that can be done is to not end up in this situation in the first place, such as use birth control - that will save the affected parties from having to make these very tough decisions.

65   Honest Abe   2012 Jul 9, 7:26am  

Marcus, on your first question about a condom stopping the natural process - the answer is no, the natural process was not stopped. Thats because fertilization had not occurred.

And the "no crime 30 seconds before and a criminal act 30 seconds after" scenario is codified in law. That makes it real, doesn't it? But you're right, early abortion is not considered murder (although it is still taking a human life).

Under existing law, if I'm not mistaken, a women can terminate her zygote, fetus or baby any time up to partial birth. Once the baby is out of the birth canal, her "right" to terminate ends. At first you can terminate, abort, kill the baby...but now you can't.

So a women has "freedom of choice". Her "rights" can transcend the rights and extinguish the life of another living being, even though it is her own offspring. Where's the caring, love and nurturing in that? To me that is a very simple example that demonstrates democrats are not the caring, loving, nurturing individuals they make themselves out to be.

I read that more babies are aborted every week in America, than all who died in the 9-11 tragedy. Isn't that an ongoing American tragedy?

66   bdrasin   2012 Jul 9, 7:59am  

Honest Abe says

And the "no crime 30 seconds before and a criminal act 30 seconds after" scenario is codified in law. That makes it real, doesn't it? But you're right, early abortion is not considered murder (although it is still taking a human life).

Under existing law, if I'm not mistaken, a women can terminate her zygote, fetus or baby any time up to partial birth. Once the baby is out of the birth canal, her "right" to terminate ends. At first you can terminate, abort, kill the baby...but now you can't.

You are mistaken. Laws vary by state, but abortion is generally available on demand only in the first trimester, somewhat restricted in the second, and available only under extreme circumstances in the third trimester. Late term (post-viability) abortions are not allowed in most states under normal circumstances. There's nowhere in the country where a woman can have an elective abortion 30 minutes prior to delivery, nor should there be.

67   Honest Abe   2012 Jul 9, 2:56pm  

I stand corrected, thank you. Abe

68   bdrasin   2012 Jul 10, 2:11am  

Honest Abe says

I stand corrected, thank you. Abe

Wow, in 15 years of arguing on the Internet that's never happened to me. I think I need to lie down now...

69   FortWayne   2012 Jul 10, 3:18am  

marcus says

zzyzzx says

No Child Left Behind = Welfare for Teachers.

Haha. If it were a contest, I say you win.

(by the way - teachers generally hate NCLB )

Marcus could you explain this from your point of view as a teacher. What do you think of NCLB, good bad etc...?

70   CL   2012 Jul 10, 3:49am  

thomas.wong1986 says

There are plenty of non-whites who dont favor Democrats or the Liberal agenda. Its all about maturity! what do the Liberals, offer! Not much!

Not a single minority Demographic supports the GOP. Not one. And they haven't really, for a long time.

If you're being honest as a party loyalist, you should be asking why. And you should be concerned at the reasons you'll find. And you'd know that minorities aren't dumb, and they know where they are not welcome, and that's in the GOP.

71   Tenpoundbass   2012 Jul 10, 4:25am  

CL says

Not a single minority Demographic supports the GOP. Not one. And they haven't really, for a long time.

You have no idea what in the hell you're talking about.
Most of the Hispanics in this country are here to escape Leftists that have destroyed their country.

And self sufficient blacks that aren't on the public dole or aren't employed by a branch of government, i.e. business owners, or aspiring business owners are majority Republican.

It's not a coincidence that most poor people are Liberals only until they make good and break out on their own. By time they own property, get money in the bank, build up credit, and have some skin in the game, these are the people that elected Bush twice.

72   Tenpoundbass   2012 Jul 10, 4:28am  

zzyzzx says

No Child Left Behind = Welfare for Teachers.

No Child Left Behind = Fuck'em!

Good Schools or else!

73   CL   2012 Jul 10, 5:14am  

CaptainShuddup says

You have no idea what in the hell you're talking about.
Most of the Hispanics in this country are here to escape Leftists that have destroyed their country.

Do you have any, ya know, FACTS to back that up? I've read the polls and none support this theory you want to believe.

In fact, South America has been electing a lot of leftist leaders nowadays, now that many have had free and fair elections and support the will of the indigenas.

74   marcus   2012 Jul 10, 6:08am  

FortWayne says

Marcus could you explain this from your point of view as a teacher.

There's a lot to it, but the biggest problem is testing. Giving tests and preparing students for tests takes a lot of time. "Teaching to the test" is what teachers generally hate.

Imagine being a high school teacher working with kids that are behind in math. They're in say ninth grade Algebra (note: algebra can be taken as early as 7th if kids are ready).

Imagine further that this 9th grade class is comprised primarily of kids that already took algebra in 8th and failed. They failed because somewhere along the line they got behind. So they need a lot of work with basic arithmetic, problem solving fractions and so on. As a teacher you want to come up with a plan for mixing in enough review.

(note: many elementary school teachers hate MAth, and this is sometimes the reason these kids are behind. But also parents sometimes give their kids permission from an early age. "That's okay honey, I was terrible at math too.")

So you want to work on bringing the kids up to grade level, while also covering basics of Algebra. But next week you have to give a quarterly assessment on linear equations. This test isn't as important as the state tests they take at the end of the year, it's a district test that's designed to keep us on pace for the State test. But it takes a day to give the test. I have to give it, even if my students aren't resady for it (because I've been working on things they should have learned before).

So what do I do ? Do I forget about working on the most important basics, and try to get whichever students I can I can ready for this test? Or do I focus on what I think its best, but then waste a day giving the test, and make the kids feel bad because they aren't ready for it?

I could continue, but the point is that even though there is more insistence on teachers being qualified, there is less trust in them doing what they want and need to do. Curriculum is very prescribed, and tests (even now) are increasing in importance.

The result is actually leaving kids behind, rather than the other way around.

Look up "teaching to the test" if you want to know more.

Here's an example of the kind of thing you'll find.

http://www.bestmastersineducation.com/teaching-to-tests/

75   Tenpoundbass   2012 Jul 10, 6:17am  

CL says

Do you have any, ya know, FACTS to back that up?

Marco Rubio is a Cuban-American Florida Senator that was just elected with about 60% of the Latino vote.

http://www.nytimes.com/roomfordebate/2012/04/12/are-hard-line-cuban-americans-strong-as-ever/old-guard-are-reliable-voters-and-organized

The illegals vote Democrat, but not those with papers. That is why the Left is fighting Florida's right to purge the voters polls of dead and illegal voters so hard.

76   freak80   2012 Jul 10, 6:23am  

There's no way that one person can possibly educate 20 or 30 other people. Education requires individual attention.

Without parental involvent in a child's education, the child won't get very far.

Throwing lots of money, standards, and tests at the problem won't do a damn thing.

77   freak80   2012 Jul 10, 6:26am  

marcus says

Look up "teaching to the test" if you want to know more.

I remember being in that kind of environment as a jr. high student the year I lived in Texas. It was terrible.

All systems are gamed. People who design easily-gamable systems belong in the lowest circle of hell. --Charlie Munger

What do you think teachers will do if it's all about test-taking? They'll just teach the test.

78   marcus   2012 Jul 10, 6:31am  

Cubans are unique among hispanics and tend to often be republican.

CaptainShuddup says

That is why the Left is fighting Florida's right to purge the voters polls of dead and illegal voters so hard.

This is a blatant lie. Nobody is trying to keep dead and illegals on the voting lists.

Sources ?

Do you vote ? Do you know how it works ? Do you have any idea how difficult it is for an illegal to get on the list of voters that is used at the polls. Do you have sources that prove how often this happens ?

Oh there's a criminal named jose martinez, let's go ahead and delete all of them.

Back in 2000, 12,000 eligible voters – a number twenty-two times larger than George W. Bush’s 537 vote triumph over Al Gore – were wrongly identified as convicted felons and purged from the voting rolls in Florida, according to the Brennan Center for Justice.

The truth is more likely that you're the kind of guy that get's a kick out of seeing the GOP cheat. I have a name for that. It ends with bag.

http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/blogs/national-affairs/florida-gop-takes-voter-supression-to-a-brazen-new-extreme-20120530#ixzz20FlrllUz

79   Tenpoundbass   2012 Jul 10, 6:33am  

Um Rollingstone can't even make decent article on the sad state of the music and entertainment industry(they helped destroy btw) Why on earth would I consider them as a valid source of political pontification?

80   marcus   2012 Jul 10, 6:35am  

Yes, facts are now political pontification.

You're more than just well on your way.

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