They just get worse and worse

[Innula Zenovka]

The party has had legalizing gay marriage in the platform since the 1970's, but once again, there is a big division between the more left and more right leaning libertarians. I was always on the side of "let people do what they want" but many of the more contrarian libertarians seemed to turn against the gay community once gay rights became mainstream.

A friend of mine. the black sheep east coast lefty member of a wealthy Colorado family, told me her libertarian brother back in Colorado Springs opposed the legalisation of gay marriage because this would mean that, by marrying, same sex couples would marry in order to reduce their shared tax burden by qualifying for the same tax breaks that were hitherto available only to heterosexual married couples.

As a result, he feared, the available tax pool would shrink, so his taxes would have to increase to make up for the shortfall.

Having to pay more tax, of course, was anathema to his libertarian principles, so he had to oppose gay marriage.

(I thought she was joking, but she directed me to his blog for confirmation).

 

[Noodles]

As a result, he feared, the available tax pool would shrink, so his taxes would have to increase to make up for the shortfall.

Having to pay more tax, of course, was anathema to his libertarian principles, so he had to oppose gay marriage.

You know what, I can't agree with his sentiment but at least I can accept that there is some actual followable logic in there, which is more than I can say for most against gay marriage.

 

[GoblinCampFollower]

A friend of mine. the black sheep east coast lefty member of a wealthy Colorado family, told me her libertarian brother back in Colorado Springs opposed the legalisation of gay marriage because this would mean that, by marrying, same sex couples would marry in order to reduce their shared tax burden by qualifying for the same tax breaks that were hitherto available only to heterosexual married couples.

As a result, he feared, the available tax pool would shrink, so his taxes would have to increase to make up for the shortfall.

Having to pay more tax, of course, was anathema to his libertarian principles, so he had to oppose gay marriage.

(I thought she was joking, but she directed me to his blog for confirmation).

I heard such absurd arguments but could never take them seriously. Most libertarians of course believed in a flat tax so that such things wouldn't matter.

 

[Jolene Benoir]

A friend of mine. the black sheep east coast lefty member of a wealthy Colorado family, told me her libertarian brother back in Colorado Springs opposed the legalisation of gay marriage because this would mean that, by marrying, same sex couples would marry in order to reduce their shared tax burden by qualifying for the same tax breaks that were hitherto available only to heterosexual married couples.

As a result, he feared, the available tax pool would shrink, so his taxes would have to increase to make up for the shortfall.

Having to pay more tax, of course, was anathema to his libertarian principles, so he had to oppose gay marriage.

(I thought she was joking, but she directed me to his blog for confirmation).

Well, I reckon if he was married, he should divorce his wife so that he may do his due diligence in paying his tax burden. No?

I've heard this reason/excuse bandied about for a very long time, as far back as a discussion about it in late 90's/early 2000's. In every case it was a man making the argument and in every case they were married, receiving their tax breaks.

For me, not for thee is what I put it down to; same old "I got mine, screw you" that is so prevalent among far too many people.

 

[Innula Zenovka]

Well, I reckon if he was married, he should divorce his wife so that he may do his due diligence in paying his tax burden. No?

To be fair, he and his partner weren't married (still aren't AFAIK).

 

[Katheryne Helendale]

A friend of mine. the black sheep east coast lefty member of a wealthy Colorado family, told me her libertarian brother back in Colorado Springs opposed the legalisation of gay marriage because this would mean that, by marrying, same sex couples would marry in order to reduce their shared tax burden by qualifying for the same tax breaks that were hitherto available only to heterosexual married couples.

As a result, he feared, the available tax pool would shrink, so his taxes would have to increase to make up for the shortfall.

Having to pay more tax, of course, was anathema to his libertarian principles, so he had to oppose gay marriage.

(I thought she was joking, but she directed me to his blog for confirmation).

Rights for me, but not for thee.

 

[GoblinCampFollower]

Well, I reckon if he was married, he should divorce his wife so that he may do his due diligence in paying his tax burden. No?

I've heard this reason/excuse bandied about for a very long time, as far back as a discussion about it in late 90's/early 2000's. In every case it was a man making the argument and in every case they were married, receiving their tax breaks.

For me, not for thee is what I put it down to; same old "I got mine, screw you" that is so prevalent among far too many people.

nono, only HIS tax rate is the important one, and should always be lower! It's clear reasoning for people that just have no self awareness.

 

[Free]

Republicans Have So Little Hunter Biden Evidence They Shared His Nudes Instead

Marjorie Taylor Greene waved the photos around in a congressional hearing.

newrepublic.com

Republicans have yet to produce any evidence of actual wrongdoing by Hunter Biden, so they let Marjorie Taylor Greene wave his nude photos around Wednesday during a House Oversight Committee hearing on his taxes.

House Republicans have for months accused the Bidens of corruption and other forms of wrongdoing, although they have yet to produce any actual evidence. They’ve recently seized on Hunter Biden’s plea deal on his taxes, which will allow him to avoid jail time. But again, during that House hearing, Republicans and their “whistleblower” witnesses failed to show any meaningful evidence of said corruption.

So instead, Greene tried to claim that Biden engaged in sex trafficking and listed payments to sex workers as a tax writeoff. As part of her argument, she held up poster-size prints of Biden’s nude photos, which were taken off his laptop.

Not only was Greene’s decision to wave Biden’s nudes around wildly inappropriate for a congressional hearing, but it may also have violated D.C. revenge porn law. City law prohibits knowingly disclosing one or more sexual images of an identified or identifiable person when the person in the photo did not consent to the image being shared.

LOCK HER UP!

 

[GoblinCampFollower]

So the twitter war between Nina Turner and the army of libertarian fools continues...

A lot of the lefties responding to them are making an understandable mistake. If you let them have their theoretical world of a-priori logic, you won't do well. It honestly is very hard to justify taxation and government control in a fantasy world of pure imagination and logic.

It was empirical evidence that turned me away from libertarianism. There is just no way you can know much about the history of the labor movement and still want to live in a total free market as a vaguely working class person. In a real free market, your employer owns your ass. I'm much less of a slave than a lot of early Industrial Revolution workers.

 

[Aribeth Zelin]

Republicans Have So Little Hunter Biden Evidence They Shared His Nudes Instead

Marjorie Taylor Greene waved the photos around in a congressional hearing.

newrepublic.com

LOCK HER UP!

Well, she might be okay for showing them in Committee, but apparently she sent them out to her constituents as well - with no age lock - when I talk to my mom tonight, I'll ask if she got them

 

[Noodles]

So the twitter war between Nina Turner and the army of libertarian fools continues...

A lot of the lefties responding to them are making an understandable mistake. If you let them have their theoretical world of a-priori logic, you won't do well. It honestly is very hard to justify taxation and government control in a fantasy world of pure imagination and logic.

It was empirical evidence that turned me away from libertarianism. There is just no way you can know much about the history of the labor movement and still want to live in a total free market as a vaguely working class person. In a real free market, your employer owns your ass. I'm much less of a slave than a lot of early Industrial Revolution workers.

Something I have gathered from these folks is a lot of them have this vision of "We all just live free and live off thebland and hunter gathered etc".

Without realizing just HOW MANY people exist.

And how ineffixiently damaging to the world ecosystem that would be.

Basically, almost all Libertarian policy concepts completely collapse at any scale larger than a "Galt's Gulch" commune.

 

[GoblinCampFollower]

Something I have gathered from these folks is a lot of them have this vision of "We all just live free and live off thebland and hunter gathered etc".

Without realizing just HOW MANY people exist.

And how ineffixiently damaging to the world ecosystem that would be.

Basically, almost all Libertarian policy concepts completely collapse at any scale larger than a "Galt's Gulch" commune.

I think most libertarians love industry, but there is such a thing as an anarcho-primitivist and other trendy people who want to live off the grid who I agree, don't realize this lifestyle won't sustain all of Earth's population.

 

[Jolene Benoir]

Was it here that I read about the town that libertarians took over and things went very predictably? Keep in mind that they didn't just go off into an uninhabited area to "live freely". They took over an existing town.

The Town That Went Feral

When a group of libertarians set about scrapping their local government, chaos descended. And then the bears moved in.

newrepublic.com

How a New Hampshire libertarian utopia was foiled by bears

Seriously, this happened. You should absolutely read about it.

www.vox.com

 

[Free]

Was it here that I read about the town that libertarians took over and things went very predictably? Keep in mind that they didn't just go off into an uninhabited area to "live freely". They took over an existing town.

The Town That Went Feral

When a group of libertarians set about scrapping their local government, chaos descended. And then the bears moved in.

newrepublic.com

How a New Hampshire libertarian utopia was foiled by bears

Seriously, this happened. You should absolutely read about it.

www.vox.com

It's a great book. And a hilarious story.

 

[Beebo Brink]

Was it here that I read about the town that libertarians took over and things went very predictably?

I think it probably was, for both of us. I was intrigued enough to purchase the book: A Libertarian Walks Into a Bear: The Utopian Plot to Liberate an American Town (and Some Bears) a book by Matthew Hongoltz-Hetling (bookshop.org)

 

[Free]

Alabama Republicans refuse to draw a second Black congressional district in defiance of Supreme Court

The Supreme Court this year reaffirmed a federal court order for Alabama to include two districts where Black voters make up voting-age majorities, “or something quite close to it.”

www.nbcnews.com

Alabama Republicans rejected calls to draw a second majority-Black congressional district this week, instead creating maps that Democrats and advocates say completely ignore a recent ruling from the U.S. Supreme Court.

A federal court ordered the state to redraw its congressional map last year to include two districts where Black voters make up voting-age majorities, “or something quite close to it.” The Supreme Court affirmed the ruling this year, prompting the Legislature to call a special session to redraw the map this week.

I wonder how'd they react if we all started ignoring any old SCOTUS ruling...

 

[WolfEyes]

I think most libertarians love industry, but there is such a thing as an anarcho-primitivist and other trendy people who want to live off the grid who I agree, don't realize this lifestyle won't sustain all of Earth's population.

The current global population isn't sustainable. We were ok at around 5 billion globally but even that would be pushing it.

 

[Veritable Quandry]

A friend of mine. the black sheep east coast lefty member of a wealthy Colorado family, told me her libertarian brother back in Colorado Springs opposed the legalisation of gay marriage because this would mean that, by marrying, same sex couples would marry in order to reduce their shared tax burden by qualifying for the same tax breaks that were hitherto available only to heterosexual married couples.

The Attorney General of Missouri has just been forced to let the group that filed a Constitutional Amendment protecting reproductive freedom to start gathering signitures. He had held it up for over 3 months because by his estimate the state will lose $51 billion per year in tax revenue from reduced births. In 2020 total tax revenue for the state was $53.7 billion.

https://apnews.com/article/abortion-missouri-attorney-general-voters-initiative-petition-56ef2731480c786c87d1a8e9be191e2b

 

[Jolene Benoir]

This fuck. I swear. The very *backlash* that he and those like him engineered. He's trying to outTrump, Trump. He's so repulsive. I guess this is at the top of the list of things Florida needs handled by their Governor, not Insane housing prices, bad inflation, crumbling infrastructure, flooding, the Gulf heat wave bleaching coral and killing fishing, etc, etc, etc...

DeSantis announces inquiry into Bud Light's parent company over partnership with trans influencer

The GOP governor of Florida and 2024 presidential contender said the state is considering legal action against AB InBev.

www.nbcnews.com

The governor claimed that shareholders were affected after sales of Bud Light declined as a result of conservative backlash to the beer brand after it worked with Mulvaney.

 

[Jolene Benoir]

Some of Florida Dept of Education's list of people who *benefitted* from slavery. Many were never slaves to begin with or were like Booker T. Washington, who did well after being freed at young ages. More in article:

Benefited from slavery? Critics say some of the state’s examples were never even slaves.

The battle over Florida’s new African American history standards grows more heated.

www.tampabay.com

He mentioned Booker T. Washington, included on the state list as an educator. Washington was enslaved but did not gain his skills until after being freed at age 9. He worked in mines and as a houseboy before entering school, according to Tuskegee University, which he founded in 1881.