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Some airlines still do.

You nailed it. They absolutely are sociopaths (some even psychopaths). When you study a bit into what each entails, and the little differences between them (Sociopaths are made, Psychopaths are born), and you look at the core of the extreme right-wing/Trumpian/inflame 'the libs' side of the sociopolitical spectrum, there is a lot of sociopathy, at the very least. To derive such pleasure from manipulating and inflaming for their own gain, and to do so by sinking to the lowest levels, and showing absolutely no shred of remorse or empathy... Trump is that exactly, and he's validated it in these types of people.

Surprise, surprise...

An interesting and scary read about who is shaping policy - The ‘Religious Freedom’ Agenda Trump-administration officials are using a two-word phrase as a rhetorical Swiss Army knife on the world stage. Pompeo’s new commission, launched last week with a Wall Street Journal op-ed and a press conference, is another prong of the broader effort to recast the foundations of U.S. foreign policy. The commission will be headed by one of Pompeo’s longtime mentors, the conservative Harvard Law jurist Mary Ann Glendon, who has criticized same-sex marriage and abortion rights. Pompeo has said that the commission’s goal is to refocus the definition of human rights around originalist readings of the Founders, the 1948 UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and the Declaration of Independence, which locates the origin of “inalienable rights” in a “creator.” Pompeo hasn’t been specific about the problems that he perceives with the current human-rights discourse, but he has raised the issue of it being “corrupted or hijacked,” as well as some rights coming into conflict with others. Critics worry that the commission’s stated focus on “natural” and “unalienable” rights could mean reversing the LGBTQ community’s hard-won and very recent progress toward equality and the right to marry. Last year’s ministerial included a panel on the “politicization” of human rights that promised to explore “why natural rights are best protected when they are protected for all, not for members of particular identity groups.” (The schedule for this year’s ministerial includes a panel on how to “harmonize” freedom of religion with the rights of women and “L.G.B.T.” people, co-sponsored by Human Rights Watch.) Brownback, when repeatedly pressed by Senator Tim Kaine of Virginia at his confirmation hearing, did not rule out the possibility that religious freedom could justify the criminalization of identifying as LGBTQ. https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2019/07/trump-administration-religious-freedom/594040/

THIS. Equally as terrifying is the effect on validating the extreme fringe, not just in the US but the world over too. These folks who think they know the actual 'truth', what is 'real news' vs 'fake news', what is or isn't free speech, etc....... people so deep down the rabbit hole of conspiracy and insanity it's literally terrifying. There is no reasoning with these people. Sometimes I slip into a masochistic moment and look at the twitter feed of one of his followers, and it just blows my mind how insane these people are. Even the folks not at the core, but those who you would think have some sense of reason that are just won over by him and everything he stands for... like the Scientology of politics. And even if he was gone, they're still going to go for what he represents. I think we're at a point where there is a certain amount of people that truly want to live under fascism. Full on fascism.

THIS. There absolutely is an agenda behind it. The progress that has taken place in the last couple decades has terrified them, I think. Here in the US, marriage equality passing was the kicker (not to mention a black man in the White House for 8 years), I think, that sent their side panicking, hence the "Religious Liberty" battles that started up. The 'powers that be' on the right know how profitable and valuable that religous/conservative vote is. It's their bread and butter so much that the most un-Christian thing - Trump himself - buttered up to those folks, and they ate it right up. US, Australia, etc...they want ultimate power. Period. Western liberal democracy be-damned. It's clear to me, within my lifetime, that they don't simply want a seat at the table...they want to dominate it. That's the literal ideology - Christian Dominionism. Never underestimate how low they will sink for power. The Handmaids Tale (even in a watered-down sense) isn't an impossibility if these types gain too much power. (Look at what they're already trying to do with abortion laws in the US). Spot on. Painting themselves as the new persecuted minority is a major tactic...and it's effective. It's how Trump rose to power - treating a certain portion of America like they were the minority, and the liberals were the new bullies. And sadly, thats become far too easy to do now that they have used the far-left to paint all liberals/liberalism/democrats as being this PC boogie man. That's why as much as I am no fan of political correctness/cancel culture/purity culture/etc...I've become more careful of getting sucked down that rabbit hole of only focusing on the far-left like too many do, even using the "SJW" moniker (as it was essentially coined by the right-wing). It's actually not even close to being the majority of liberal/independent views... but they paint it that way. It's all tactics. Anyways, I'm rambling...

I don't think it's any coincidence that a lot of countries showing a rise in extreme far-right/neo-fascist views are those with major media networks run by Rupert Murdoch (or those that function like his). A slow and steady diet of right-wing propaganda sold as "news" has warped far too many minds. Legitimately frightening. That describes the US in a nutshell. Sad to see Australia going down this road.

Fuck these two assholes.

And you are off, again... Homophobia has so many more layers, elements, and levels of meaning than just the dictionary definition. If you learned a little more about our history and how it plays out from more than just your own perspective, you might come to actually understand that.

In this context, what you are describing literally IS a form of homophobia. jesus fucking christ.

Disgusting.

Sounds like exactly what happened to America. I'm the farthest thing from a conspiracy theorist, but something is going down in this world...a fundamental shift...and it seems to be another turn to darkness before we see the dawn again. Something is off-balance in the way of the world. Stay strong @Jazzy Jan and any other Australians here. We Americans know how you feel...it takes time to center yourself again. But you'll get there to fight another day.

There definitely is. Plenty of porn blogs and posts still up/being uploaded. Somewhat censored though. That's exactly what most people were asking for - create a system or dept. that can get rid of the porn bots who upload this horrific garbage, while leaving the rest alone. I believe other sites have done such (or so I've heard), but Tumblr just took the lazy approach and banned it all to get back on the Apple app store.

They tried.

Ridiculous. Feels like everything is getting more conservative and censored...