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Culture War Roundup for the week of January 5, 2026

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If you want to interact with me in some mutually beneficial way, then interact with me. I'm not chasing you with a cluebat and then disappearing into the wilderness after every bonk. Hell, the first reply I had to one of your comments I can find is nearly three months old, and it's not some harsh teardown of your every claim: it's saying that I wanted to believe you were right, but that being right wouldn't be enough to argue against malicious actors.

Or, you could comment on ways I'm wrong. Lord knows it happens enough. I'm not a gracious loser, but I like to think I can at least notice when I've lost, and you've got the domain expertise to do a credible contest in some matters.

I'm sorry that I'm not just pointing "this (up arrow emoji)" on the MMUD or tauren druid posts, but I generally try to avoid posting unless I either have further information or a correction, especially since this time of year is a clusterfuck.

Perhaps the way I wrote my comment misled you, but I wasn't specifically referring to that bill. The majority of Trump's agenda has been through executive orders that will be reversed the day after he leaves office, particularly since the center and center-left have soured on immigration enforcement after the last year.

That's more close to a coherent claim, though I'd quibble about how the start time works.

But you do understand why it's not that persuasive as a crux of your argument? There's zero trust that 'moderate' enforcement regimes would be tolerated or accepted -- not just because of the Lankford bill showing that 'moderate' meant no actual mandate, or that literal decades before that 'moderate' enforcement meant wildly net-positive illegal immigration, but simply that Trump tried that in the first administration, it was overwhelmingly not tolerated or accepted, and indeed its use was made to justify the massive uptick in tolerated illegal immigration under Biden.

Why do you think anything could be done about immigration on January 19th, 2025?

I'm sorry that I'm not just pointing "this (up arrow emoji)" on the MMUD or tauren druid posts, but I generally try to avoid posting unless I either have further information or a correction, especially since this time of year is a clusterfuck.

If you think I do this for the adoration of the community and the fuzzy feels, look at the vote counts on most of my posts. Or I can send you some of the death threat DMs, although those died down a bit since I mostly started avoiding grabbing live wire culture war issues.

That's more close to a coherent claim

Saying that conservatives should have taken HR815 as a compromise is a coherent claim, just one you dislike and disagree with.

But you do understand why it's not that persuasive as a crux of your argument? There's zero trust that 'moderate' enforcement regimes would be tolerated or accepted -- not just because of the Lankford bill showing that 'moderate' meant no actual mandate, or that literal decades before that 'moderate' enforcement meant wildly net-positive illegal immigration, but simply that Trump tried that in the first administration, it was overwhelmingly not tolerated or accepted, and indeed its use was made to justify the massive uptick in tolerated illegal immigration under Biden.

I understand why it's not persuasive to you, and frankly to the others with dug in positions on immigrants and American identity. Do you understand why 'we will never trust any legislation on immigration again' is also not persuasive as an argument, in addition to being rather stupid? If you're done with the legislative process, go join the fedposters and leave me alone.

simply that Trump tried that in the first administration

He did what? You think the rhetoric around muslim travel bans and shithole countries and building the wall with DOD funds rather than taking a DACA deal is the 'moderate' position? Stoking partisanship is going to win you elections and make your base love you, but it's not a recipe for passing laws in congress or winning in the court of popular opinion.

indeed its use was made to justify the massive uptick in tolerated illegal immigration under Biden.

Yes, extreme positions and rhetoric provoke backlash, the same way that Biden suffered a backlash on immigration near the end of his term and Trump is probably suffering some level of backlash on ICE now. Time will tell, but however much people like to play rules lawyer about cars being lethal weapons, I don't think normies like seeing normie moms getting shot in the head.

Why do you think anything could be done about immigration on January 19th, 2025?

Because Ezra Klein, Gavin Newsom, Kathy Hochul and a host of influential figures on the left admitting that illegal immigration is a problem and the Biden admin fucked up combined with shifts in the general population is the ideal time to pass immigration legislation. When else do you think it's going to happen? Now that Trump is calling blue cities warzones and making shitposts about Chiraq and we're seeing ICE raids in our neighborhoods? The opportunity for rapprochement and compromise was wasted.

If you want to interact with me in some mutually beneficial way, then interact with me.

I don't know how, and frankly I'd rather not - honestly, we'd both be happier if you went and found someone else to argue with.