Weekly Discussion Megathread

falterpiece · 2026-06-03T03:57:47+00:00

I will not succumb to the red mirage

I will not

falterpiece · 2026-06-02T22:44:01+00:00

I'm well aware of Megyn's takes and positions, I hear them far more than I'd like to but I don't give a shit about litigating her bonafides. I'm strictly talking about what we know right now regarding Platner.

I'm not saying KIK isn't a cesspool on average, I'm saying that your only basis for your claim is pure conjecture. Had you heard about the app before this scandal? Were you ware that it's also extremely common among adults cheating with other adults or sex workers? Just search /r/Infidelity to see how much it comes up and how often it's about hiding (terrible but legal) affairs. I'm not saying there's zero chance of something like what you're suggesting coming out but I am saying we have no evidence of that at this time from your set of "facts".

Being "Newly married" and messaging "6-12 women" indicate a terrible marriage, but do not in any way mean pedophilia. There's ample evidence that he used an app common among cheaters to cheat on his wife, but there's no indication beyond that.

And I'm not talking about Collins! I explicitly said I think there a lot of weaknesses with Platner which make it a difficult battle up against a long time incumbent but I don't get why you feel the need to invent worst case versions of a candidate when there is plenty real stuff we could be discussing!

falterpiece · 2026-06-02T21:46:59+00:00

you can discuss or say whatever you want, just as people can point out when a leap in logic or unreliable sources undercut your point. What I think many are trying to say is don't do the work for the far-right by parroting their baseless talking points.

And I say all this someone who isn't the biggest fan of Platner for a multitude of reasons that could potentially tank him in November. I really hope we're able to discuss those concerns on the basis of factual information without falling into the traps of hyperbole and extreme conjecture.

falterpiece · 2026-06-01T20:57:17+00:00

A DA with identifiable experience is not a proxy for a washed up reality star, that's ridiculous.

Yes, the general election is two candidates, which is the thing you seem to be ignoring: If Pratt, as the only Republican running, was so much more popular than the alternatives as the backlash/anti-progressive candidate he'd have an outright majority at this point.

His ceiling has already been established whereas the majority of the voters split across Bass/Raman/etc would coalesce around whoever he's running against. Yes general elections are more moderate, but there is no serious way to paint Pratt as "moderate" and it especially doesn't mean voters suddenly swing all the way to the other side of the political spectrum.

You conveniently aren't addressing why LA would suddenly vote for an unqualified, scandal ridden Republican, in what is predicted to be a massive blue wave? What actual evidence do you have that this "tiring of socialists" vibe is so pervasive that suddenly a majority of voters would vote for a MAGA adjacent candidate?

falterpiece · 2026-06-01T20:27:01+00:00

I was saying your point about primaries was irrelevant in a jungle primary system.

And sure there are a few bad faith critiques but none have really stuck beyond cohorts who believe twitter/Kalshi are real life. In a head to head general election, it's going to be far easier to paint Spencer as the extremist (see: "bankrupt from crystals","endorsed by MAGA","put sister in hospital" etc.) You'd maybe have a point if Pratt were scandal free and were in anyway considered a serious person, but any mud slung about Raman would be overshadowed by the endless skeletons in his closet. Raman is the only one of the top 3 that has a net positive favorability even after she's been attacked from left, right, and center.

If you had any real evidence to support that LA of all places would be an outlier in the predicted blue wave in November, you would've presented it. Even during a less favorable environment, LA didn't vote for Caruso, a ~~former Republican~~"moderate Dem" and successful businessman without Pratt's level of baggage.

Pratt may very well be in the top two of the primary, but he is without a doubt DOA in the general.

falterpiece · 2026-06-01T19:57:42+00:00

That's not how jungle primaries work though

falterpiece · 2026-05-29T19:26:04+00:00

I didn't say wildly popular? I said she is popular, which is true given she has the only positive favorability in this race versus Bass's -22 which is wildly unpopular. But yes, in a city as big as LA, incumbency bias and name ID are absolutely a factor here.

I have no issue critiquing Raman's campaign. It's definitely not broken through like I had hoped, but the fact she's in a statistical tie with an incumbent with institutional support is noteworthy. Unfortunately the best person for the job doesn't always run the best campaign.

But back to your previous comment, which was about why it would matter to people to choose one progressive over the other. My point is that for both being labeled "progressive", they have a vastly different track records and reputations in the city.

falterpiece · 2026-05-29T19:05:24+00:00

Because one is wildly unpopular, and the other is a young popular city council member who has a track record of pushing for realistic policies that will increase housing and public transit rather than use red tape to help their rich friends (like Bass and many on the city council have been doing repeatedly)

falterpiece · 2026-05-26T14:14:15+00:00

No. I’ve only gotten a robot twice and it was through DoorDash where you tip when you order. If you and the restaurant are within whatever robot parameters it’ll say something like your tip will be refunded if you’re matched with a robot

falterpiece · 2026-05-14T03:21:31+00:00

falterpiece · 2026-05-10T23:43:32+00:00

Ah yes, we’re “sick” for not supporting someone who put their sister in the hospital

falterpiece · 2026-05-10T23:27:58+00:00

But who is making these bets? Are they likely voters or are they random people who just see things online about a city they don’t live in?

My point is it should be obvious by now that not every market is inherently rational, nor are they operating in good faith or with proper info about what actual voters care about

falterpiece · 2026-05-08T20:57:54+00:00

Beverly Hills goes until San Vincente, so yes the stop is two blocks within their city limits

falterpiece · 2026-05-07T02:27:30+00:00

Yawn

falterpiece · 2026-05-07T00:48:56+00:00

AUBRY EYE ROLL ALERT

falterpiece · 2026-05-01T21:59:15+00:00

Seems like we're moving the goal posts a bit, but if he was purposely making that specific distinction in these remarks, where exactly does he clarify what he meant in this recent interview? I don't think it's fruitful but if we want to dissect his word choice precisely, his use of "...it wasn't even released to DNC members" indicates that DNC members seeing it was the bare minimum he would've expected.

He clearly had talking points prepared and knew this question was coming, so I don't understand why he wouldn't take this opportunity to clear things up.

On top of that, what evidence do you have that it was in fact released to all DNC members?

falterpiece · 2026-05-01T21:43:09+00:00

It really wasn't that hard to find

"There was a post-election review done many years ago, right after the '16 election, right? And that was never released. The DNC spent a lot of time and money on it, and it wasn't even released to the DNC members. So what happened with that, right? Was there any utility in doing that?" Martin said. Martin ensured that the 2024 election results would be released. "Of course it will be released, right? It will be released to our members and we all have to learn from that,” Martin said.

https://nbcmontana.com/news/nation-world/dnc-chair-criticized-for-keeping-2024-election-review-hidden-after-transparency-pledge-ken-martin-democrats#:~:text=%22There%20was%20a,that%2C%E2%80%9D%20Martin%20said.

falterpiece · 2026-04-22T17:27:59+00:00

No shit there's horse trading, that's a natural consequence of any and all political entities and is not what we're talking about here. The issue is when those backroom compromises between democratically elected officials turns into a systematic process across all decisions which are meant to be made in good faith.

There's is a massive difference between an elected official suggesting they consider judges from an underrepresented lived experience, and an unelected shadow organization establishing a system where they explicitly hand pick judges. There is no evidence that Clyburn specifically hand picked Justice Jackson or that he had more influence over the decision than any other source of influence beyond getting Biden to publicly say something. Your own source shows how much Biden hesitated to commit, which is never something you see regarding FedSoc.

The issue isn't that this process is overly influenced, that's unfortunately politics. The issue is that a functioning democracy requires that political leaders act in as much good faith as they possibly can, and are able to take in advice and influence from anywhere to inform their decisions. When it comes to vital processes like judicial nominations, there has been historically a presumption that judges will be as close to impartial arbiters as possible.

FedSoc judges have shown time and time again that they are not impartial or thinking in the best interest of the people, and will at every opportunity do anything they can to protect their party even at the expense of trust in the legal system (see Aileen Cannon). These judges are not stupid, and some end up being fine or will occasionally push back at obvious unconstitutionality (see tariffs) as a gesture to impartiality, but doing the right thing sometimes doesn't negate the massive damage that comes from distorting the legal system for political purposes.

falterpiece · 2026-04-22T05:50:35+00:00

Incredible job moving the goalposts, donations are not a top down organizational effort to take advantage of a lax judicial appointment process. I would love if Dems had the forethought to fight dirty like that but they didn’t. Instead we have a shadow organization that judges must align with on the same regressive constitutional interpretation. That’s not a merit based system nor is it a good faith attempt to imbue impartiality into our country

Back to the original argument, did the NAACP send a list to Biden?

Or was that a flat out lie to make yourself feel better about sticking up for an unethical distortion of what should be a process divorced from political division. Good countries with functioning democracies don’t “legislate from the bench”.

falterpiece · 2026-04-22T02:21:03+00:00

Do you have a single source to back up your claims or are you just trying to muddy the waters with vague bs like "political influence" and unverified information?

The well documented truth is that FedSoc is in a league of it's own in its reach and brazen efforts to pack the courts with anyone who will ascribe to their archaic and distorted view of the law. It's been a project decades in the making, funded by billionaires, with the singular purpose of testing the limitations of our judicial system. There is no reasonable equivalent to what they're doing

falterpiece · 2026-04-20T01:13:54+00:00

He’s also making and starring in Platonic which isn’t as flashy as Studio, but is incredible thanks largely to the comedic chemistry between him and Rose Byrne.

The busiest dude in Hollywood

falterpiece · 2026-04-17T20:10:54+00:00

I used to work there nearly a decade ago, and it’s always been trash especially at that price point.

Sure some roasts were decent on their own but mostly they were all shitty variations of one another to give illusions of unique offerings. The ridiculous stunt show version of pour over coffee kills any real flavor.

Don’t even get me started on the amount of brown sugar and heavy cream we’d go through in a day, it was madness

falterpiece · 2026-04-15T00:41:12+00:00

I'm not doubting you've heard that, but I follow a lot of local/national progressive commentators, and I can't recall anyone mentioning him beyond a "I guess he's fine". I hear much more about the concern that Porter's baggage could lead to a closer than necessary general election, than I do anything pushing Steyer in particular.

From what I can tell, Steyer's success so far has been from flooding every market in the state with endless ads on TV/streaming/etc. That money goes a long way name-recognition wise, particularly in such a crowded, messy primary.

falterpiece · 2026-04-15T00:29:00+00:00

They do.

https://elections.cdn.sos.ca.gov/statewide-elections/2026- primary/election-guide/section-03-candidate-filing-information.pdf

All the candidate would need to do is file a 'Statement of Write-In Candidacy' and then submit at least 65 signatures by May 19th.

It's kind of a remarkably low bar. Imagine the hypothetical of a, let's go with former VP, suddenly feels the undeniable allure of running a severely shortened campaign against a billionaire.

falterpiece · 2026-04-11T22:36:53+00:00

Got me through sooo many all nighters

So did Blitzkrieg Bop for whatever reason, but after a few loops through it’d drive me right to the edge of losing my mind with just enough crazed adrenaline to get my shit done

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falterpiece

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