Cattress 's Techdirt Comments

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  • NY Launches Ridiculous, Blatantly Unconstitutional ‘Investigations’ Into Twitch, Discord; Deflecting Blame From NY’s Own Failings

    Cattress ( profile ), 21 May, 2022 @ 03:38pm

    He had 3 guns. He only carried one of them during the attack, the other 2 we're in the car. He did not buy an assault rifle, he modified a regular rifle in an illegal way. He didn't make a specific threat against the school. He answered a question about what he wants to do when he retires one day and he wrote murder/suicide. But that was enough to get him in for an evaluation, in what is likely a seriously under-resourced hospital (many if not most mental health facilities are). However, his parents knew he was troubled, had no friends. Any mention of suicide should be enough reason not to buy him a gun or not permit him to keep possession of one in their home. But they ignored his problems and apparently didn't seek additional help after that exam. The school, the local police took one little thing as enough reason to commit him for an exam, but were too lazy to see if there were other public records indicating how serious his problems were, including a detailed written account of this little shit torturing and killing a neighborhood cat (I don't know whether that occurred before or after the incident at school). But they couldn't be bothered I guess, nothing worry some about a white loner teenage boy talking about murder suicide. And the parents, who knows. This little shit is a legal adult, we aren't going to find out if his home life reflected anything like the Crumbley kid. There's a whole lotta failure here that has nothing to do with Twitch or Discord or Reddit.

  • If You Think Free Speech Is Defined By Your Ability To Be An Asshole Without Consequence, You Don’t Understand Free Speech (But You Remain An Asshole)

    Cattress ( profile ), 21 May, 2022 @ 02:42pm

    We could take a vote on whether readers here think you are an asshole if you'd like. I'm a yes vote.

  • If You Think Free Speech Is Defined By Your Ability To Be An Asshole Without Consequence, You Don’t Understand Free Speech (But You Remain An Asshole)

    Cattress ( profile ), 21 May, 2022 @ 02:26pm

    Why should the general opinion sway back to transphobia? Why should society in general become less accepting of trans persons, what do we stand to gain by reverting back to this attitude? Comedy? Mocking trans women and masculine women for not looking daintier and fitting your idea of feminine? I don't know that those "jokes" really would ever hit the same when we know the real people that make up the trans community, our friends and family. A healthier reality based lifestyle for all? If you want to argue that society is indulging mentally ill folks in too much fantasy, then explain what is the new best practice that the woke folks have suppressed? Because we already know that forcing someone to live as their sex assigned at birth and rejecting who they know they are just results in their misery and often suicide. Accommodating a trans person by simply accepting them as they present themselves, and respecting their right to privacy as it concerns their health and medical history just like we would for everyone who fits a narrow definition of sex and gender norms seems like the easiest and most beneficial to the most people. I mean, aside from some competitive sports that need careful consideration to determine the fairest rules, who is harmed? And please, save the bathroom/locker room privacy garbage, I don't know what men thinks goes on in ladies spaces like those but it's not whatever they fantasize. Also, I know some very good women going through menopause that have facial hair, who are not particularly feminine, and I dare someone to ask them to produce proof of their biological sex. I feel especially defensive of them because I know them, but my gut tells me I would find myself similarly enraged whether I knew them, or private information such as their biological sex, trans status or menopausal state. Enforcement of formal/legal restrictions on public bathrooms or otherwise sex segregated spaces would end up requiring expensive and resource intensive system, and I'm not cool with scanning my ID to enter a public restroom. Getting back to the benefits of shaming trans folks... Ah yes, to protect the children from the trans agenda (whatever that is) or from idolizing trans lifestyle and becoming trans themselves, or to eliminate the novelty factor so that parents don't force their kids to be trans. The protect the children trope. Do we really need to breakdown how stupid this is? You can't make a kid be trans, and it's dehumanizing to say that parents force their kids to be trans like a fashion accessory. We heard this bullshit about homosexuality and it's exactly that- bullshit. Most people want to teach their kids to love and accept everyone, that diversity and inclusion are strengths in society. I don't see bringing back the hate as a winning ideology, or one that people want to give room to thrive (considering the conspiracy theories spouted from hate revivalists, I can see why) What did I miss here? What benefit to society does trans exclusion bring? What supports your feeling that you should work to prevail over the so-called woke ideals of accepting and loving everyone and treating everyone with dignity? What was better before trans people had acceptance? You won't get booted off TechDirt for explaining your position, though readers will probably have to choose to read it as I suspect it will come from vile and hateful ideals

  • White Deputies Search Bus Full Of Black College Students Just Because, Lie About It Later

    Cattress ( profile ), 19 May, 2022 @ 02:01pm

    They didn't even issue a citation to the driver for the supposed lane infraction they pulled him over for. And they never explained why the dog supposedly signalled the presence of drugs yet didn't find any. Hmmm, I wonder if that dog was a lying racist?! If they were so worried about child trafficking or sex trafficking, why didn't they ask some of the young ladies if they were on the bus and participating on a voluntary basis? Nope, instead they tried to prompt a confession and implied that entirely legal things like food scales(which are commonly used by athletes that are on strict diets) were illegal. I would like to know how many of these bus searches, particularly of those obviously filled with college athletes, have turned up anything, or anything more than a personal amount of pot that couldn't possibly justify pulling 6 plus officers to help investigate. Have they found little white children cowering in sports equipment and duffle bags? Or busted a field hockey fentanyl ring? And this bullshit in a town called Liberty.

  • White Deputies Search Bus Full Of Black College Students Just Because, Lie About It Later

    Cattress ( profile ), 19 May, 2022 @ 01:25pm

    That jackass officer thought not knowing what was in a gift wrapped package was suspicious... I applaud those young ladies for managing to prevent the phrase "dumb motherfucker" from escaping their mouths, I don't think I would possess the same strength. Frankly I think those officers just wanted to touch and sniff the panties of young women women that knuckle-draggers like them could never get the time of day from.

  • PlayStation Boss Addresses Abortion Concerns From Staff With Jaunty Email About His Cats

    Cattress ( profile ), 18 May, 2022 @ 10:41pm

    I don't want to shit on you because I think loving families that follow the actual teachings of the bible (& not the patriarchal culture rules) and want to help others are in short supply. But, you have to see it from someone else's perspective, someone who doesn't know you. This woman didn't say she was looking for a sign to tell her what she should do; she didn't ask for a family to take her in, or for some kind potential parents slide into her DMs, or offer up surrogacy service. You kinda come off like you want to lease her body and buy her baby. You don't mention the details of her story which leads me to believe she didn't tell you, or you determined that her reasoning for abortion wasn't sufficient enough and you think your plan is superior. Either way, you come off as rather presumptuous by not respecting the decision already made. Not what you intended right? Now exactly a bastion of altruism. Adoption doesn't compartmentalize that 40 weeks as just a blip that can be filed away. Pregnancy changes a person inside and out and placing a baby for adoption is often traumatic.

  • PlayStation Boss Addresses Abortion Concerns From Staff With Jaunty Email About His Cats

    Cattress ( profile ), 18 May, 2022 @ 09:45pm

    I see this claim of "abortion" up until birth and it's just a ploy to demonize and question the morality of women and doctors, to evoke an almost visceral response. I call it a ploy because Roe set the point of viability, and any abortion after that for unviable life, and in only the most rare and absolutely tragic situations does a pregnancy progress until nearly 40 weeks before detecting the fetus suffers a condition incompatible with life. And no one has the right to tell the mother, parents, what they should or shouldn't do. Not even a doctor; the doctor should present all options in a frank and compassionate but otherwise neutral way, which they are ethically compelled to do, and leave the decision to mom/parents. If you think you should have any say, that all life sustaining efforts must be availed, you are wrong and need to shut your mouth, this isn't your business. I mean seriously, there is way too much micromanaging of these private decisions as it is. I've had 2 miscarriages, both wanted pregnancies. And both times I knew super early that I was pregnant, and found out something was amiss by 7-8 weeks, but still had to get repeat blood tests, and multiple transvaginal ultrasounds. When I say amiss, I mean a progesterone level too low sustain pregnancy, and a super slow rate of cardiac activity. And I'm squeamish about blood being drawn, I get sweaty and shaky and sometimes a full blown panic attack (and you can't take a Xanax if you're preggers), so repeating the blood tests is especially stressful to me. Transvaginal ultrasound is not as fun as some might think; it's one thing to get a couple peeks at your growing pea, or grape, or apricot, it's another to see, well the lack of whatever fruit coordinated to that week. And instead of moving forward clearing the contents of my uterus so that grieve and heal and get back on my cycle, I had to wait until it was verified that an obviously unviable pregnancy had become a loss. Oh and to add insult to injury, the drugs I was prescribed to move that process along were not covered by my insurance, as if I really wanted to have any sort of conversation with the pharmacist that day. All this because I have Medicaid that dictates that an abortion is only covered for a miscarriage, not a (nonviable) pregnancy. Now I'm sure no one really needed to hear about the details of my experience to agree that this wasn't really any of their business (and I'm sorry if the subject was triggering to anyone, i may not always be as sensitive as I should be for such a delicate subject) and should have been at my discretion how many more checks I wanted or didn't want to make to look for a miracle. And that should be the same for everyone, whether the they ever wanted the pregnancy or not. For whatever reason they sought the care of a Doctor. Doctor, patient. That's it.

  • Blaming Social Media And Section 230 For Mass Shootings Is Ridiculous; Stop It

    Cattress ( profile ), 16 May, 2022 @ 05:36pm

    Let's be careful here when talking about gun laws. First, buying a fully automatic gun is nearly impossible for the vast majority of citizens. Yes some people have them, legally and not, and there are modifiers than can make a semi operate the same or nearly as automatic. Walmart has a sporting goods section, some that sell hunting rifles and pellet guns of sorts. No one is going to the local Kroger's or Acme and picking up a Bushmaster, Glock 17 or Browning with their frozen peas and bacon. NY actually has some of the strictest gun control laws in the nation, including background checks, & red flag laws that have a tendency to get the disabled killed by cops disproportionately. But you are dead on about authorities not acting when there is a credible threat. This kid, just like Cruz in FL, the TX church shooter, the kid in Michigan, all had red flags. I'm not saying that any of these attacks could have been prevented absolutely, just that there was plenty of publicly known reason and at least one contact with authorities for them to be on the radar of cops, FBI or even homeland security. Why didn't this kid get regular follow ups after the threat to school that landed him in the psych ward for an exam? I'm not saying harassment, or invading his privacy. I'm talking about continued mental health services, involving his family, and examining his publicly available social media. Flag him for gun purchases for a temporary period, talk to the family about making sure they don't have any guns he could get. He might still get one illegally, but the easiest routes would be shut down temporarily. This is just like blaming social media for CSAM, but not using the law to go after the purveyors.

  • Cops Are Being Trained By Consultants Who Have Publicly Outed Themselves As Bigots And Far Right Extremists

    Cattress ( profile ), 16 May, 2022 @ 04:36pm

    How long after a pulse was no longer detected did that scumbag continue to kneel on George Floyd's neck? How many times do we see cops blowing a bunch a holes into a suspect and handcuff them while they bleed out? There are so many cases of brutality that I can think of where the violence continued long after resistance and consciousness stopped that I'm getting choked up thinking about it. How about Ronald Green? Or what about Daniel Shaver groveling for his life while a trying to comply with conflicting orders before getting pumped full of lead? Assuming your most benevolent intentions and that you have an honest view from the other side, your family is the exception, not the rule. I'd expect nothing less than vigorous defense of your loved ones, but you have to remember that they are not representative of what a troubling amount of the rest of us experience. They don't have to own blame for other bad actors, but they do shoulder responsibility for not fighting for higher expectations and real accountability, and advocating any and everywhere for whatever police need to do better, to be better- whether it's more training, more mental healthcare for themselves, better organization of emergency services. Even if they aren't successful in bringing the needed changes, they need to be doing what they can, especially where they might hold real influence.

  • Cops Are Being Trained By Consultants Who Have Publicly Outed Themselves As Bigots And Far Right Extremists

    Cattress ( profile ), 16 May, 2022 @ 03:45pm

    That's also a lie about cops leaving their gravy train, I pointed out before, I think Propublica has the real statistics and show nothing of the sort. Plus, there aren't really background checks, at least none of use since there is no tracking of past employment as a cop that actually reports things that should be a concern. When they do, they are ignored. Davec thinks he has a point when all he's talking about are some of the fluctuations and adjustments of trying to return to normal after covid. The cops always get paid, get paid well, get paid before anyone else, get raises before anyone else. Overtime pays insane money, and often increases their pension pay if they are nearing retirement. Don't believe that garbage. Cops recruit shitty people because they don't want anyone spoiling their fun.

  • Cops Are Being Trained By Consultants Who Have Publicly Outed Themselves As Bigots And Far Right Extremists

    Cattress ( profile ), 16 May, 2022 @ 03:36pm

    Oh no no no, cops make extremely good money. That coward fucker school resource officer that pissed his pants and hid instead of at least trying to enter the building to find the shooter or help the victims during the Florida school shooting on Valentine's day waltzed away making over $4000 bucks a month in retirement. Don't believe that bullshit. And it's not as dangerous as they claim, they killed more of themselves off refusing masks and vaccines. They do put themselves in danger unnecessarily, but usually shoot their way out of it. Corrections officers do tend to make shitty money for a far more dangerous job (which is in part because of the understaffing), but it's still well above minimum wage, and more than $15 in most places.

  • The 5th Circuit Reinstates Texas’ Obviously Unconstitutional Social Media Law Effective Immediately

    Cattress ( profile ), 16 May, 2022 @ 02:09pm

    It is literally impossible to "care" for the unborn in any manner that isn't directly to the pregnant person. The fetus doesn't matter until she declares it does, and even then her life will still be prioritized in an medical emergency. For every step towards giving a fetus rights to person-hood, you effectively strip the rights pregnant women, actual persons. There is already a pervasive problem of society collectively trying to own pregnant bodies. From people who touch pregnant bellies without invitation or permission, to the tsks and lectures over drinking coffee, smoking, heavy lifting, or having a glass of wine. When the fetus has rights, legislation that "protects" the fetus will follow. There is already a disturbing amount of pregnancy surveillance, like surreptitiously testing lab samples for drug use, in particular for Medicaid patients. And in cases of miscarriage, or fetal demise, there are already legislators chomping at the bit to make forensic investigation into whether the loss was caused intentionally or not the law. Do you understand the sweeping implications for every female in America, because I don't think you have the faintest clue. I also don't think any of the so-called pro-lifers have a clue how granting rights to the unborn will devastate anyone seeking infertility treatment, or family building plan. Of course we hear cavalier and ignorant suggestions that adoption solves all these problems, like babies are some kind of commodity that can be bought, sold, or traded based on market forced of supply & demand. The entire anti-abortion movement stems from white males fearing the inevitable slip of their iron grip on social order and power. If you think this is about saving babies, you have been duped and used. Your emotions and sensitivity activated by misleading statistics, inaccurate information, grossly edited images from scientific study. Your argument that freedom of choice results some how in loss of freedom of choice because there is risk of coercion, doesn't even make logical sense. And my god, if you think coerced abortion so horrible (and any coerced decision is absolutely wrong and equally awful) then you need to know how forced birth works out for mother and child. The turn away study is a good start, but pretty mild. Look at the legacy of orphanages, homes for unwed mothers. There is a lot of brutal abuse, death, suffering. Babies left in the sun to die, children left with so little human interaction and without all the necessary stimulation that they rock themselves and beat their heads on the sides of their cribs, children sexuality and violently physically abused, buried in unmarked graves to be forgotten. Women forced to place babies for adoption traumatized for decades. I don't know how anyone sees the reality of real children actually suffering physically, emotionally, spiritually in reality, pain that is not fabricated or imagined, children with sentience and actual capability of the human experience, is some how a preferable way to be (because that's what life is like when abortion is not legal, no need to imagine, we know).

  • Illinois Cops Are Hitting Students With Hefty Fines For Breaking School Rules

    Cattress ( profile ), 08 May, 2022 @ 11:12am

    Where did you get this fact-free nonsense from? Do a really believe that teachers and schools lack authority to discipline students? Or is it that they lack authority to punish kids the way you think they should, like corporal punishment? Paddling is still shockingly legal in nearly 20 states, despite research being around for over 40 years that has concluded any sort of spanking or hitting of children causes permanent damage and is wholely ineffective.

  • SafeGraph Stops Selling Location Data Of Abortion Clinic Visitors, But…

    Cattress ( profile ), 07 May, 2022 @ 06:45pm

    I believe your intentions come from a good place and I understand the point you want to make. But because Plan B is fundamentally different than Ella, in that it does not and cannot end a pregnancy, and that it is sold without a prescription in the same section of as any store along with family planning and sanitary feminine products, this data point isn't going to be anymore relevant than any other that can be de-anonymized and linked to a politician. You would need more than location data to determine that Plan B was the item purchased, and given the amount of confusion that already exists around Plan B, it's not worth damaging the reputation of a still novel form of contraception. You simply can't prove the hypocrisy with this data set. Abortion rights and data privacy are not issues I think can be effectively tackled when tied together among the conservative wing. I actually think they would be happy to mandate collection and turning such data over to government goons. Politicians rarely feel the pains of the average person,they act based on political pain. IE, campaign contributions and re-election. So their constituents would be the ones that need to feel the impact of data exploitation so that they would apply the pressure to fix the problem in order to get re-elected.

  • SafeGraph Stops Selling Location Data Of Abortion Clinic Visitors, But…

    Cattress ( profile ), 06 May, 2022 @ 11:57am

    Slightly off topic, but please don't equate Plan B with medical or surgical abortion. Plan B delays ovulation, it is not the same thing as the two drug protocol used to end pregnancy. Plan B can be purchased generally over the counter, though I don't doubt a number of states still have unnecessary restrictions because of poorly informed legislatures. I'm not saying you are poorly informed or trying to insult you, it's just very important to be precise with language. Trying to point out the hypocrisy of these conservatives isn't going to be effective if we out a bunch of women who bought treatment for yeast infections, condoms or sanitary products. And while I agree that conservatives are ignoring the needs of their constituents and even their own family, I highly doubt invading the privacy of countless women would change anything more than the freely known data regarding how beneficial SNAP benefits and free school lunches are that they continue to fight against. And even if we could parse the data to only point out the hypocrites, I still have a problem with collecting the data at all. Everyone deserves to have their right to privacy respected, and turn about is fair play. Weaponizing data is like nuclear war, everyone loses.

  • Marjorie Taylor Greene Has A Bill To Burden Elon Musk’s Twitter With An Avalanche Of Frivolous Lawsuits

    Cattress ( profile ), 02 May, 2022 @ 08:05pm

    There is a huge difference between criticizing the well known criminal activity of the worst kind that the Catholic Church has been involved in, and calling catholic people or the entirety of the clergy evil. Are you trying to make a serious argument with this drivel?

  • Marjorie Taylor Greene Has A Bill To Burden Elon Musk’s Twitter With An Avalanche Of Frivolous Lawsuits

    Cattress ( profile ), 02 May, 2022 @ 07:46pm

    Breastfeeding, plummer's 'crack' or other drooping of pants intentional or not, giving birth, anatomical diagrams, photos of medical conditions and procedures,surgical outcomes, tattoos & body art/modification, indigenous people going about their lives, people enjoying clothing optional recreation and group activities, acts of protest, documenting crime or event of public interest- like the naked protester in 2020 that cops weren't too sure how to handle, but decided to go home rather than engage. Nudity doesn't even spark much concern on my mommy radar of things to worry about my child seeing, it's way more what sorts of activity are the people are participating in, because I don't want my child to see sex acts or real documented, footage of violence. I know that in a blink of an eye , she will be grown up and I won't be able to keep her so sheltered. Nudity should be more normalized, so long as any body in the state of undress is old &wise enough to give their consent & has done so. I'm not saying that sex acts or real accounts of violence are so obscene that they should be banned, just that encounters with such materials should be voluntarily or intentionally sought, affirmatively chosen to view, not some random pop up or cheap trick.

  • People Are Lying To The Media About EARN IT; The Media Has To Stop Parroting Their False Claims

    Cattress ( profile ), 27 Apr, 2022 @ 09:33pm

    Is that supposed to be sarcasm? Because it's not clear that it is, and it sounds like you don't understand the problems that are laid out in the article. Trolls are always lurking so forgive me if I misunderstood you.

  • Florida Republican Gov’t Officials Bend Over Backwards To Tell Everyone That, Yes, Absolutely, They Are Punishing Disney For Its Speech

    Cattress ( profile ), 26 Apr, 2022 @ 08:21pm

    This is spoken like someone who was obviously never in any Talented & Gifted programs. Or a math league. Or debate team, or any academic team at all. Because then you would understand that your team could not win without those soft skills like communication, cooperation, listening skills. Ect. Skills that will carry over be built upon in pretty much every possible job or career, more than any of the content or subject matter of most classes. And I'm pretty sure those text books didn't ask for written essays, they just posed those question the side notes as thought exercises. One of the things that really irks me about people who seem to think that they know exactly what has led to failures of the modern education system in US is that 1)it's always the liberals, anyone they perceive as too soft or too young that are to blame, 2) anything that is taught differently than the way they learned it is inherently inferior 3) The kids are lazy, disrespectful, entitled 4) don't have any kids currently in public school, and haven't for at least 10 years, or not been in school themselves for 20 years 5) the only solution they ever have is the stupid suggestion 'har-har, just go back to basics. Reading, writing, arithmetic is all I learned. And cursive, that is obviously where education is failing our kids, they stopped teaching cursive, bring it back. And how to balance a checkbook, that's why those dummies can't afford to buy a house or put money in savings. My preferred whitewashed version of history where we wax poetically about how the whites were good to those slaves, er migrant workers. And we never got shown appreciation from those savages, er Native Americans for those land reserves that we were kind enough to give to them, tell the kids about that. From now on, send the girls to the basement to talk about that gross women stuff so that the boys don't have to be made uncomfortable or listen to them them talk endlessly, or do all that crying. And no sex ed that doesn't compare girls that are not virgins as chewed gum, used tape or something else that no one will want after it's been used by someone before. Every morning say the pledge standing hand over heart, no exceptions. Bring back spankings/paddling. That's how you get those kids to behave and learn. Dodgeball, that's all that you need for the playground, toughen up those little weaklings. Who cares if they don't learn the skills they will actually need for the future, if it was good enough for me, good enough for their ungrateful butts'

  • Florida Republican Gov’t Officials Bend Over Backwards To Tell Everyone That, Yes, Absolutely, They Are Punishing Disney For Its Speech

    Cattress ( profile ), 26 Apr, 2022 @ 06:43pm

    Delusions. Where did you get the idea that trans people are suffering delusions? They know that their bodies do not represent who they feel they are on the inside. They aren't wondering around believing things that are verifiably and concretely untrue. And perhaps the reason they feel their body is not representative of their true self falls into a sort of mental health disorder, it doesn't change the best way to help them overcome the pain it causes and live an otherwise ordinary life is access to proven medical care such as counseling, hormones, surgery with thorough psychological exam before hand, and of course a safe accepting environment and loving support network. You aren't being asked to do anything other than mind your business. Do you really want some kind of force to stop folks that don't appear to be presenting themselves consistently with their birth sex, brand them or force them to wear armbands to ensure that they don't enter the restroom/dressing room they prefer, that they still model social behaviors of their birth sex, that they are isolated from anyone under 18 who might not care at all or ask a question? I mean, what exactly do you think should trans folks should do? Just retreat somewhere you don't have to see them? Accept bullying, intimidation, threats, even more violence, more dehumanizing treatment as punishment for who they are? Go to some kook for "conversion" therapy (cuz how good was that for the gay community?)- it's not offered by actual mental health professionals- and suppress their inner self until they inevitably take a belt and fan ride? What bothers you so much about being acceptive and accommodating when it doesn't really require you to do anything? I'm a mom, and had some trouble breastfeeding. Do you think I give a shit if breastfeeding is also referred to as chest feeding? Nope. Hell, if it took some of the damn stigma off idiots acting like there is something inherently sexual or gross about nursing in public, I'd lead the charge to changing it! And please, stop pretending this has ever been about looking out for the wellbeing of of women and girls, especially as it pertains to sports. If y'all gave a rats ass about girls sports, then there would be a girls sport that was celebrated with special events like pep-rallies and homecoming dances. Cheerleaders would be widely acknowledged as the real athletes they are, and they would only practice and perform on proper tumbling mats, the same as football players get helmets and shoulder pads. There would be at least one sport that was as widely watched and supported as football or boys basketball. There would be enough market interest in women's sports that it doesn't take years of lawsuits to get equal pay to the men's team, that hasn't been winning any championships lately.

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