Ongoing discussion of the political news of the day. This thread is for 'smaller' stories that don't call for their own thread. If a story blows up, please start a new thread for it.
Chumpy_McChump wrote:Chairman_Mao wrote:Convicted coal baron Don Blankenship is running for U.S. Senate.
Seriously: the f*ck you guys doing down there??
Mostly children, apparently
I laughed, now I feel guilty for laughing....
thrawn82 wrote:Chumpy_McChump wrote:Chairman_Mao wrote:Convicted coal baron Don Blankenship is running for U.S. Senate.
Seriously: the f*ck you guys doing down there??
Mostly children, apparently
I laughed, now I feel guilty for laughing....
in line with Sillyrabbit's... Yoink
Hobear wrote:thrawn82 wrote:Chumpy_McChump wrote:Chairman_Mao wrote:Convicted coal baron Don Blankenship is running for U.S. Senate.
Seriously: the f*ck you guys doing down there??
Mostly children, apparently
I laughed, now I feel guilty for laughing....
in line with Sillyrabbit's... Yoink
Let's cool it on the child rape jokes, please.
Anytime I can post a possible Sig I am just glad to be at the party 
So to take us away from the dangerous topic of Southern Politicians:
Russia Banned from Winter Olympics by I.O.C.
Russia’s Olympic team has been barred from the 2018 Winter Games in Pyeongchang, South Korea. The country’s government officials are forbidden to attend, its flag will not be displayed at the opening ceremony and its anthem will not sound.Any athletes from Russia who receive special dispensation to compete will do so as individuals wearing a neutral uniform, and the official record books will forever show that Russia won zero medals.
Is this the first time an entire country has been banned from competition?
Well there was Germany in the 30s...
Well there was Germany in the 30s...
Germany hosted in the 1930's.
It looks like this is the answer:
Has a Country Ever Been Banned
The Olympic Games have been beset by political controversy before, most memorably during the First and Second World Wars. The 1916 and 1940 Games occurred during wartime, forcing the IOC to cancel both. In the aftermath, the countries deemed the perpetrators were not invited: Austria, Bulgaria, Turkey, and Hungary in 1920, and Germany and Japan in 1948.
Hmm did we (the US) not go? Or am I confusing that for the cold war thing?
Portugal’s radical drugs policy is working. Why hasn’t the world copied it?
Since it decriminalised all drugs in 2001, Portugal has seen dramatic drops in overdoses, HIV infection and drug-related crime.
Glad the crisis of conscience is over for the RNC.
President Trump led an aggressive charge Monday on behalf of embattled Senate nominee Roy Moore, with the Republican National Committee rejoining Moore’s side in Alabama weeks after cutting ties with him following allegations of sexual misconduct.Before dawn, Trump took to Twitter to declare his strongest support yet for Moore. By day’s end, the RNC was back in his corner and America First Action, a pro-Trump group, said it would spend $1.1 million to try to push Moore across the finish line.
...
Trump and Senate Republicans have already started pondering Moore’s place in the party if he gets past Democrat Doug Jones in a contest that recent polling shows is neck and neck. The president wrote on Twitter on Monday that the united Democratic opposition to the GOP’s sweeping tax plan showed “why we need Republican Roy Moore to win in Alabama.”
“We need his vote on stopping crime, illegal immigration, Border Wall, Military, Pro Life, V.A., Judges 2nd Amendment and more. No to Jones, a Pelosi/Schumer Puppet!” Trump wrote.
Portugal’s radical drugs policy is working. Why hasn’t the world copied it?
Since it decriminalised all drugs in 2001, Portugal has seen dramatic drops in overdoses, HIV infection and drug-related crime.
This issue is what frustrates about the US's system of "Schedule I" drugs and the way they are treated. Not only does it not solve the demand problem, it makes the situation worse by preventing people from getting help/support/resources if they want it, and it blocks the use and research into compounds that DO have potential medical uses.
At least in the US, probably because busting druggies is (or at least was in 2008) a huge source of funding for law enforcement.
A more recent (2014) report in the New Yorker says that "In some Texas counties, nearly forty per cent of police budgets comes from forfeiture."
Hmm did we (the US) not go? Or am I confusing that for the cold war thing?
There was 1936 when Jesse Owens owned the nazi party utterly.
But you're probably thinking about the boycott.
Chairman_Mao wrote:Convicted coal baron Don Blankenship is running for U.S. Senate.
So felons can hold office at the highest level in the land?
But can't get a job at a Subway. Yep.
So to take us away from the dangerous topic of Southern Politicians:
Russia Banned from Winter Olympics by I.O.C.
Russia’s Olympic team has been barred from the 2018 Winter Games in Pyeongchang, South Korea. The country’s government officials are forbidden to attend, its flag will not be displayed at the opening ceremony and its anthem will not sound.Any athletes from Russia who receive special dispensation to compete will do so as individuals wearing a neutral uniform, and the official record books will forever show that Russia won zero medals.
Wow, Russia must be really behind on its bribery payments.
The president wrote on Twitter on Monday that the united Democratic opposition to the GOP’s sweeping tax plan showed “why we need Republican Roy Moore to win in Alabama.”
I find this line of thinking so utterly baffling, and just don't understand how North American politics (moreso in the States than up here, but we aren't immune) has become a matter of if-people-are-opposed-we-obviously-need-more-people-in-favour-to-bludgeon-it-through instead of if-people-are-opposed-we-should-see-why-and-find-compromise. Maybe that's just my own naivete, but it's weird, man.
Chumpy, consider the source.
Survey: two in three Trump supporters want a president who breaks the rules
The spectre of “authoritarian” leadership has been raised by a survey that shows two in three Donald Trump supporters think America needs a president willing to break rules in order to set the country right.The eighth annual American Values Survey from the Public Religion Research Institute (PRRI) revealed fractures in the Republican party and deepening polarisation in America.
Assaults on government agencies, the judiciary and the media have been a feature of the Trump presidency, prompting critics to draw comparisons with autocrats in Africa, the Middle East and Russia. His strongest supporters do not appear to object.
Some 66% of Republicans classified by the researchers as “Always Trump” agreed that “because things have gotten so far off track in this country, we need a leader who is willing to break some rules if that’s what it takes to set things right”, according to a random sample of 2,019 adults.
More than half (55%) of all Republicans or Republican-leaning independents hold the same view, although Trump’s sworn opponents disagree.
Robert Jones, chief executive of the PRRI, told an audience at the Brookings Institution in Washington on Tuesday: “Among the ‘Never Trump’ camp, only 35% agree that this kind of authoritarian leader is the kind we need.”
Nearly a year into his wildly unorthodox presidency, the survey shows Trump retaining diehard loyalty but hemorrhaging support elsewhere. Just over four in 10 Americans (41%) approve of the job he is doing. A majority (54%) disapprove.
But 84% of Republicans, including more than nine in 10 “strong” Republicans, approve of the job Trump is doing as president. More than seven in 10 white evangelicals approve. Nearly a third of white evangelical Protestants say there is almost nothing Trump could do to lose their approval.
Still, around one in three Republicans say they would prefer the 2020 GOP presidential nominee be someone other than Trump. There has been speculation that moderates such as Ohio governor John Kasich could mount a challenge.
Jones said: “After a tumultuous first year in office, a significant minority of Republicans would prefer another candidate in 2020. But key Republican base groups such as white evangelical Protestants are maintaining their commitment to the president.”
.................
Henry Olsen, a senior fellow at the Ethics & Public Policy Center and author of The Working Class Republican, told the audience at Brookings: “I think what it means to be a Republican under Trump is to be scared.
“What drove appeal for Donald Trump in the primaries, and what allowed him to unify a very hesitant party behind him, and now turn them into loyal fans, has been a sense of fear among different groups of Republicans.”
I think that last bit really gets to the heart of it (this also speaks to my belief that, for all of the talk of impeachment, I think Trump is a symptom, not the disease).
Do check out the actual survey being reported on though. It's really interesting.
It's being scared and having one hell of an authoritarian streak.
72 percent of supporters of then candidate Trump said they wanted someone who broke the rules.
Republicans (57%) are more likely than either political independents (48%) or Democrats (41%) to agree that America needs a leader willing to break the rules. Perhaps not surprisingly, nearly three-quarters (72%) of Trump supporters believe that things have become so dire that the country needs a leader who will disrupt the rules of the game.
Trump supporters are quite authoritarian, as the following chart shows.
Not shown are that 75% of white evangelical Protestants, 62% of white Catholics, and 55% of white mainline Protestants also expressed authoritarian preferences. 81% of white evangelicals voted for Trump along with 60% of white Catholics, and 58% of Protestants.
Maybe this will need to become it's own thread but I will start it here. What do I do and how far do I actually consider the safety of my family and the possibility that America won't bounce back? I know the fight to actually resolve taxes, healthcare, education, etc won't be resolved in the near future and this recent white nazi movement disturbs me as I know friends and family who have fallen into this trap. They won't be convinced otherwise.
Look at Texas and the infowars story about Obama attempting to start his NWO by throwing folks into concentration camps and cattle cars over guns and not participating in Islam. So worried they deployed the State Guard and State Police to prevent the President's attack.
What do I do if I actually want a country I could start believing in again? Again, see my loath post I am probably in the news too much currently and it is just bugging me. I have just seen these blowhards too close and worry America is lost or at least won't ever reach the point I want it to. I wanna be f*ck yeah America but...I have my doubts...
And you should.
I don't think we should panic yet, I think we should fight.
We should fight for the America we think we should have.
I'm with you, though. This doesn't feel like my country anymore. That's all the more reason I need to make it what I want for my kids.
But I empathize and you're not alone.
Agreed fight and try but it's in the back of my head. Glad I am not tinfoil nut job glad I have a gwjer community to fall back on and learn from. You all is smrtr than me.
Not shown are that 75% of white evangelical Protestants, 62% of white Catholics, and 55% of white mainline Protestants also expressed authoritarian preferences. 81% of white evangelicals voted for Trump along with 60% of white Catholics, and 58% of Protestants.
Well, what is a theocracy but the ultimate authoritarian regime?
Agreed fight and try but it's in the back of my head. Glad I am not tinfoil nut job
I know exactly how you feel. I was raised in the military: pride, patriotism, and love of country. What I see my country doing now scares me, and hurts particularly sharp because I see a lot of things I feel shame about rather than pride.
Hobear wrote:Agreed fight and try but it's in the back of my head. Glad I am not tinfoil nut job
I know exactly how you feel. I was raised in the military: pride, patriotism, and love of country. What I see my country doing now scares me, and hurts particularly sharp because I see a lot of things I feel shame about rather than pride.
Current Climate is definitely adding to my concern as it seems to be getting out of hand exponentially. But the past 15-20 years have not helped. America became the world police super power, fighting several impossible to win wars with worse and worse tactics. We became the baddies in many situations and although we grew wonderfully socially in the Obama era we did some pretty terrible things like increased drone strikes, secret prisons, NSA spying on citizens, etc that I think brought me to these crossroads.
Please note I am not saying Obama did this. Reagan, Bush, Clinton, Bush, Obama led us here. Along with the entire political organization we elected. It was created before this all started. Plenty turned us into the Empire, I wish we had a Palpatine to blame...
Thanks again for helping me process my thoughts. I'll try to close this out or figure out how to make this into a separate thread as to not derail this thread.
Has anyone read Dan Rather's book What Unites Us? I haven't yet, but after seeing him interviewed recently, I'm thinking it might be a good read for everyone.
Six female Democratic U.S. senators called on Sen. Al Franken to resign immediately after a new sexual harrasment allegation surfaced on Wednesday. The accusation is from a woman who said the senator had sought to forcibly kiss her in a 2006 incident.Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) was the first to release a statement calling for Franken to step down.
She was quickly followed by Sens. Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.), Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii), Maggie Hassan (D-N.H.), Patty Murray (D-Wash.) and Kamala Harris (D-Calif.).
It's 7. Sen. Tammy Baldwin just added her name to the list today. This seems like a fairly coordinated effort by the Democrats (I'm not sure what the difference is between the latest accuser and the last 3.
EDIT: 10 and counting.
EDIT EDIT: And DNC Chairman Perez. Like I said, it's obviously coordinated, and I suspect it's to give the party the moral highground over the Republicans, ahead of Moore's probable victory in Alabama.
EDIT EDIT EDIT: And there it is.
JUST IN: Sen. Franken "will be making an announcement tomorrow," his office tells @NBCNightlyNews
I'm all for the left taking a hard line on sexual abusers, and kicking them the hell out.
I just super wish that doing that would get the right to do the same. Instead, they're doing the opposite and unilaterally embracing sexual abusers, while simultaneously criticizing the left for not doing anything about the ones on the left. It's staggering the amount of double think happening here.
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