70 thoughts on “Playpen 8.6.25”

    • I’ve never been to Russia so I’ll have to take your word for it, but…
      Last week I thought it would be fun to bond with my son by helping him with a landscape job. Nothing major, just wheelbarrowing a trailer load of river pebbles into a backyard bed. By 3 o’clock I literally thought I was going to white eye right there in the yard.
      Being outside in late July, in Georgia, is like being an ant under God’s own magnifying glass.

        • I think I’d trade a little swampy ass for a Turbo Dog and an Etouffee’ I didn’t have to make myself. My people are from West Carroll Parish, BTW…

          • I was born on the bayou in coonass country. The hospital was situated along Bayou Lafourche in those days.

          • You’re painting with a broad brush when you say boudin is overrated and andouille is great. There’s lots of mediocre andouille and boudin out there. Pretty much any store-bought andouille is just smoked sausage with a little extra pepper. A real andouille has big pieces of fat and garlic and is heavily smoked. Andouille was traditionally used to flavor stews, soups and vegetables rather than to eat whole or on a bun.

            There guys (https://bourgeoismeatmarket.com/) have awesome andouille, but their white boudin (pork) and red boudin (blood sausage) are merely OK, IMO, but their crawfish boudin is very good. They also make a shrimp boudin. As far as blood sausage goes, Bourgeois is one of the few butcher shops where you can even find it. Their hog’s head cheese isn’t too bad, but they are renowned for their beef jerky.

          • I stand corrected, the brush WAS too broad. When I speak of Louisiana Charcouterie I’m not talking about what you find in the local Pubix. We have made our own my entire life. I happen to be an andouille fan for the exact reasons you mentioned but the crawfish boudin is a treat. Recommend 10/10.

        • Made my first trip to Houma for mardi gras this year. The group that invited us had it’s own trailer of guys cooking stuff that’d been swimming the day before, not to mention the best boudin I’ve ever eaten.

          • There are some things the coonass does right. And I ain’t afraid to say it:
            Boudin is overrated. Andouille is where it’s at.

  2. No, in Russia these people would never be heard from again.

    • Alexei Navalny may have received better treatment than these two. I mean, at least he was up to something. These two were just standing around being citizens.

  3. But only in America can State Legislators walk out of session and take a hiatus out of state to keep from voting on something they disagree with or CAN THEY. But not in Russia.

  4. This shit is depressing. But they’re only going after the worst of the worst, right?

        • Its in the genes!

          I find it disgusting to listen to anyone in 2025 let racist tropes like that to roll off their tongue like its a century or more ago.

          I would have hoped that we (especially those in positions of power) would have realized by now how just stupid racial stereotyping is.

          Sure there are modest cultural differences driven by a variety of circumstances over time, but stating bluntly that Mexicans are naturally suited to picking fruit is horrifying.

  5. Since finding out last week that members of our group would not agree that child rapists should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law, I’ve come to the conclusion that there is no bar too low, no social construct that the MAGA group wouldn’t violate to be able to say that they didn’t agree with a liberal on a topic, even protecting our children from predators.
    If this fact doesn’t sadden you for our future, and the future of our grandchildren, well, no words I can say will change your course.

    The question I’ve asked since the re-birth of the Playpen, is what sort of future do you foresee for our grandchildren based off of your political leanings. Are you A Brave New World advocate where the needs for labor, the numbers and skill sets are controlled by the state? Are you A Logan’s Run fan where life ends at 30 to make room for new generations because of the depletion of resources? A Soylent Green fan where the 1% are the only ones able to get “creature comforts” that we expect normally now, and suicide is encouraged to make food for the rest? Of course your view could be as simple as The Children of the Damned, pure white super children.
    I ask the question about the future because what we’re doing now affects our grandchildren’s world. The U.S. policies internally and externally will determine if they can worship freely, travel abroad, buy goods at the best prices and have clean air and water. Just whitening America is not going to solve all of the challenges. Whitening America is not going to put us in the 1%.

    • I see these things as the three big threats to humanity:
      1. Global climate change – The planet is heating up which will lead to more droughts, more intense weather, more floods in coastal areas, more threats to our food supply, more use of fossil fuels to cool our homes, etc. Right now the polar ice caps are melting. This is not “fake news” it’s happening and it’s measurable. The more the ice melts, the more dissolved methane will be released, the more methane that’s released, the more temperatures will increase and the more the ice caps will melt releasing more methane. This feedback loop is a serious problem, but it seems like this country is going in the wrong direction with a significant part of the population having a “drill baby drill” or “we can’t do anything about it anyway” mentality.

      2. Technology – AI, robotics, self driving vehicles, distance learning, etc. – all of these will take jobs away from people. How many factory workers, truck drivers, teachers, lawyers, programmers, writers, etc., will we need? A hell of a lot fewer if the machines are doing all the work. Have you used AI like ChatGPT? Once AI becomes the standard it will be “the new Google” Ask a question and you’ll get an answer in seconds. Lazy, ignorant people (most of the planet) who are incapable of critical thinking will take the quick AI answer rather than doing research. What’s to keep the owner of the AI from tailoring the answer to what they want you to hear?

      3. Fascism – Rise of autocrats and the subsequent concentration of wealth among the elites. As people are frightened or angry, many will gravitate to strongman personalities. Once you have an autocrat in power, the rich will get richer and the poor will get poorer. Trump has already convinced half the country that our elections are rigged despite his own people saying they weren’t. He’s pushed out the idea that the media can’t be trusted, and the only one telling the truth is him.

      • The return to serfdom is what I fear. We have decided that money is political power that can’t legally be restricted and due to the contributions of the benefactors of that policy, we have piled massive political power into the hands of a very few.

        We are either going to have to go through the process of repatriating that power back to the people, which as always is an ugly process, OR the .001% are going to convert ownership of our government and media to a de facto ownership of the population which is worse and far more long lasting and damn hard to get out of.

        From the demise of the Roman Republic to the Declaration of Independence was just over 1800 years and lots of blood was spilt in between.

        I think the 3 factors you list (and others) could make the climb back to self-government even uglier and more difficult to achieve.

        We need to abandon short sighted ideologies and other childish issues that only divide us and get back to a government for, or and by the people. That includes abandoning arguments over who deserves to be counted as “the people.”

      • Anonymous, what’s your handle, by all means take credit for your well thought out response. BTW, I use AI all of the time, and if you’re not scared, you should at least be antsy. Ask google how many presidents have been arrested, they’ve cleansed the response to “sitting president” now, but before it just answered Grant. Completely ignoring the felon that has his booking portrait framed outside of the Oval office. AI will be teaching our children soon, whoever controls the output will shade the response.

        • Budlite: We’re definitely on the same page (except maybe about beer, ha ha), but I’m staying anonymous for now.

          • Like I’ve said many times before, I’ve never tasted the swill, that I can remember. I’ll just refer to you as the sentient anonymous when I see your posts again. Live long and prosper

      • Read multiple articles recently that Antarctica has increased in ice.

  6. You obviously didn’t get the talking points. Stalin, Lenin, Mao, Castro, Che – those are the progressive heroes. Enforcing immigration law is Gestapo tactics. You’re getting sloppy with your analogies.

    Progressive policies allowed tens of millions of illegals to enter this country, while managing to LOSE over 400,000 unaccompanied minors in the process. Progressive politicians, pundits, and internet “influencers” tell illegals daily to RESIST. So when a US citizen is caught up in the lawful removal of illegals and RESISTS, it’s arma-fuckin-geddon? Cry me a river. The means of recourse available to citizens for an unlawful questioning, detainment or arrest do NOT include physically resisting the officer. I hope she sues every progressive yahoo who urged her to “RESIST”. You listen and obey those people at your peril.

    • Fitin2 – what’s your take on these “enforcement officers” wearing masks to cover their faces, many with their badges (if they have them) with the numbers taped over, and many with no clear cut gear issued by law enforcement?
      Somehow I don’t feel like “Submit” is your answer. I don’t feel like you tell the women folk in your family to pull over for any unmarked car flashing lights behind them at night on a lonely road. Of course, I could be wrong, the preservation of submission by the population could be your driving force.

      • Analogies don’t appear to be the left’s strong point. If you don’t know what to do, or what to tell your wife to do, if she is being pulled over on a “lonely road at night by an unmarked car” then I can’t help you. That is not a parallel to ICE/CBP enforcement actions.

        In the beginning, the LEOs conducting the immigration actions were not wearing masks. It was only after being told to resist that mobs of people began descending on the officers in the course of the arrests and began impeding, assaulting (both verbally and physically) and generally interfering with the lawful removal of illegal aliens. Then they started making apps to show people where ICE and CBP were active. Then they started doxxing officers on the internet so the left could harass and threaten them and their families. YOUR SIDE started the shit with the LEOs, they are just responding to having their wives accosted at the grocery store, their children bullied at school, and their lives threatened anonymously over the phone and on the internet. In typical progressive fashion, your side always cause the problem, then bitch and moan when measures are taken to alleviate it. How bout we just get out of the fucking way and let the proper authorities handle the deportations. Novel idea I know, but I have a feeling a lot less people would get hurt that way. Or resist. Your call.

        WordPress appears to be down atm, so:
        Fitin2

          • Don’t know about judges and pizza but the warden will make sure you are masked when they throw the switch. I hear that electrical grimacing is pretty bad.

        • Fitin2 – In the America I grew up in, the criminals wore masks and LEOs proudly did their job unmasked. You say the change is because all of us loosey-goosey liberals that are unable to keep in step at a Pride parade have stoked such fear into the hearts of our stalwart protectors of freedom that they are forced to do their deeds anonymously. Or it could be because they don’t want their momma to see what they’re doing. As stated before, the whole anonymous thing doesn’t work for me.

    • Not armageddon. More like a fascist dictatorship. You know like Chile or Argentina in the 1970’s. At least the gestapo would ask for your papers first.

      My understanding of the Constitution is that you can’t be arrested without cause. Until now. Now its ok because rights belong only to whom you say they do and when you decide they do.

      But I suppose as dear leader made clear, you have to “terminate the Constitution” as needed.

      There was a deal to be made on immigration under Obama and Biden. All they insisted upon was protection for Dreamers. That was a bridge too far for wingnuts so you got what you wanted: a political and divisive issue and millions of undocumenteds to boot. You decide for yourselves how well you played your hand.

      • NOW you have it – FASCIST! I knew you had it in you. Don’t forget to mention that Nazi Sweeney and her good jeans for extra credit.

        Your understanding of the Constitution could be written on the head of a pin. You might want to research immigration law regarding warrants, detainments, and deportations before trying to crowd that under your constitutional umbrella. ICE, CBP and DHS are following the law in regards to arrests and deportations. Cry moar.

        Still no WordPress access, so:
        Fitin2

        • The link is about 2 American citizens.

          Do things in this order:

          1) read

          2) get triggered

          You get that shit backwards and you look silly af.

          • You and Bud both having difficulties with reading comprehension I see. My very first post referred to US citizens. Keep trying.

  7. I like how the Playpen always presents bad actions on both sides of the political spectrum. Very unbiased

    • As far as I know, you can post any counter arguments you’d like, but that might take a bit of effort on your part. It’s definitely harder that just complaining.

      • Orrrr, hear me out, Derek could make a post critical of Democrats for once, and you could post your counterarguments to that. Fair?

        • Did you miss the week where Mandami was the playpen topic or is the CPU input discriminator always on “selective” and set to “victim?”

          • Yeah I actually did miss it. Care to share the link?

            And I love this site but it doesn’t seem like asking for a little balance from you is a big deal

        • Here ya go:

          https://gtprefugees.com/2025/07/02/playpen-7-2-25/

          Two things on “balance”:

          1) I don’t know that “preaching to the choir” would serve the same purpose that I think the playpen serves, which is encouraging people to keep politics out of the other topics posted on the site. I can’t think of an example where someone interjected a “left of center” perspective on a football post. It may have happened but I don’t recall it. The other way? Plenty. How many people wear democratic candidate gear to a game at Sanford? Now do GOP. That’s difference matters here IMHO.

          2) if this were a Cal Bears blog the content would be entirely flipped. I personally think your average Army Recruitment Center protester is just as dumb as the average magat, but we don’t have many of those folks around these parts. Fwiw, no one hates the 10,000 folks who showed up to vote Nader in FL in 2000 more than me.

          In short, while I could rail on commies and the know-it-all hippie types, a) I don’t want/need your approval and b) I don’t know that we’d have a debate because, among this group, I don’t think there is one so why go there?

    • I’m always open to topic suggestions.

      Just be happy that we didn’t do Epstein again.

      • Topic suggestions: With all the complaining from the left about MAGA being slaves to the wealthy, how did Kamala manage to spend over $1B in a little more than 3 months? How are the Clintons, Obamas, Bidens, Pelosis et al multi-millionaires given their lifetime of public service? How did Hunter land such a sweet gig at an international energy firm? How is a long time liberal stronghold like California dead broke? How is it not interference in our Democracy when IL and NY fund dem lawmakers from TX hiding out from their appointed duties? I can keep going….

        • I wouldn’t say “slaves.” I would say “unwitting dupes.”

          The citizens united case made it impossible not to bend over for Goldman Sachs and their ilk. If you don’t you can’t compete.

          Most of those folks money came from selling books to publishers and unlike trump you can read many of their tax records because they have been made publicly available online. Trumps remain under a decade plus long audit with the Epstein files.

          Back to dupes, who was it that sold America on the idea that you can:

          Cut spending by lowering taxes AND raise revenue by lowering taxes?

          Two mutually exclusive ideas and both of which have dug us a 37 trillion dollar hole in the budget.

          But we do have a handful of near trillionaires to show for it.

  8. How does the group feel about American Eagle’s very non-inclusive “Nice Jeans” ad campaign?

    • Overwrought.

      Who cares?

      I don’t think the double entendre needs to be stretched out of whack there. I also don’t think as many people are as upset as some would hope.

    • My wife just returned from shopping earlier today with the granddaughter. Looks like we spent a grand $$ at American Eagle. That answer the question?

      • What choice do you have if you think the alleged racism was intentional and you really support the message?

        If it wasn’t intended then there would be no incentive to support and stock up would there?

        • Derek and ” Budlite” please don’t ever change, You two are the gift that keeps on giving.

          • Derek is pud lite and Jim from the racket club and anonymous when he wants to argue with himself and be the victim. he really doesn’t hate himself enough…

        • I certainly don’t agree with everything that Trump or republicans do But you two take the cake, How can someone just be against everything someone is trying to do simple because they are “conservative”

    • Good to see Madison Ave going back to trying to win over customers as opposed to brow beating them. And good on American Eagle for not caving to the internet mob.

Comments are closed.