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#161 |
Fiend God
Join Date: Oct 2005
Location: In a post-fact world
Posts: 91,292
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#162 |
Fiend God
Join Date: Oct 2005
Location: In a post-fact world
Posts: 91,292
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https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine...p-goes/600736/
An interesting article, possibly fanciful, but with Trump you never know. I especially like this bit:
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#163 |
Self Employed
Remittance Man Join Date: Nov 2009
Location: Florida
Posts: 29,963
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Regardless of how valid Trump's impeachment is (fun fact, it's super valid) the idea that Impeachment is more likely to just be another political tool moving forward isn't insane.
We've had four (as always I include Nixon's "You can't fire me I quit" in there despite it technically bla bla bla) impeachments in this country's 243 year history and if you're 45 or older 3 of them have happened in your lifetime and the last two happened in a 21 year timespan. That's not a check in the "They aren't getting more common" side of the scoreboard. |
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Yahtzee: "You're doing that thing again where when asked a question you just discuss the philosophy of the question instead of answering the bloody question." Gabriel: "Well yeah, you see..." Yahtzee: "No. When you are asked a Yes or No question the first word out of your mouth needs to be Yes or No. Only after that have you earned the right to elaborate." |
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#164 |
Unbanned zombie poster
Join Date: Jun 2007
Location: Poughkeepsie, NY
Posts: 15,126
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I was thinking more along the lines of the Saturday Night Live Nixon tape skit. Where they portray Nixon and Dean talking about the hush money as if they were doing a joke tape for kicks. https://snltranscripts.jt.org/78/78tnixon.phtml |
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BRAINZZZZZZZZ |
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#165 |
Fiend God
Join Date: Oct 2005
Location: In a post-fact world
Posts: 91,292
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#166 |
Self Employed
Remittance Man Join Date: Nov 2009
Location: Florida
Posts: 29,963
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Yahtzee: "You're doing that thing again where when asked a question you just discuss the philosophy of the question instead of answering the bloody question." Gabriel: "Well yeah, you see..." Yahtzee: "No. When you are asked a Yes or No question the first word out of your mouth needs to be Yes or No. Only after that have you earned the right to elaborate." |
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#167 |
Fiend God
Join Date: Oct 2005
Location: In a post-fact world
Posts: 91,292
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#168 |
Self Employed
Remittance Man Join Date: Nov 2009
Location: Florida
Posts: 29,963
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With the unnecessary but still annoyingly needed obvious caveat that things like this almost always never have a single root cause or point in history where they happen and everything you mention is certainly a factor in it, I still pin most of... blame I guess (not exactly the right term but close) on our current situation on how we as a society and government handled the move from an manufacturing/agriculture based society and economy to a tech sector / service job based one.
A lot of people get left behind in a narrative that was all about how things where getting better and now, to paraphrase the Dark Knight Returns, in their desperation turned to man they don't fully understand and unleashed something they never meant to. But there's also too much pride and stupidity to admit it. A lot of people felt betrayed by their country and lot of bad people stepped up to fan the fear into flames of hatred, bitterness, and outright "Eff the system, I wanna watch it burn because everyone knows I'm not gonna get mine in the end." |
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Yahtzee: "You're doing that thing again where when asked a question you just discuss the philosophy of the question instead of answering the bloody question." Gabriel: "Well yeah, you see..." Yahtzee: "No. When you are asked a Yes or No question the first word out of your mouth needs to be Yes or No. Only after that have you earned the right to elaborate." |
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#169 |
Penultimate Amazing
Join Date: Jan 2002
Location: Canada, eh?
Posts: 16,876
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And in a bit more economic news:
From: https://markets.businessinsider.com/...-11-1028656446 The Commerce Department said Monday factory goods orders fell 0.6% in September...US manufacturing slipped into a recession this year as an economic standoff between the Trump administration and China piled onto pressure in the sector... The Commerce Department also said a measure of business investment plans, September shipments of non-defense capital goods, declined 0.6%. That figure was a steeper drop than reported last month and came after a gross domestic product report last week showed business investment fell by the most in more than three years in the third quarter. It doesn't necessarily mean the economy as a whole will have a recession before the next election, but its certainly not a good sign. |
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Trust me, I know what I'm doing. - Sledgehammer I'm Mary Poppin's Y'all! - Yondu We are Groot - Groot |
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#170 |
Philosopher
Join Date: Mar 2012
Location: Rochester, NY
Posts: 5,186
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Using federal authorities to try to silence critics. I'm sure there's nothing wrong with that. Justice Department targets the anonymous author of an upcoming anti-Trump book.
Quote:
Wasn't the consensus way back at the start that Trump's anti-leak NDAs were a load of unenforceable rubbish? |
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#171 |
Unbanned zombie poster
Join Date: Jun 2007
Location: Poughkeepsie, NY
Posts: 15,126
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Well, as one of my coworkers claimed, he knows Trump is a liar and doofus, but he's just so afraid of liberals. He actually claimed that we'd end up like Venezuela if "they" ever take power. The kool aid is so strong with this one that he prefers absolutely anything including a moronically criminal president to that RWM propaganda nightmare scenario. |
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#172 |
Maledictorian
Join Date: Aug 2016
Posts: 14,399
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Trump's NDAs have generally been considered to be far more scary than enforceable.
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Ceterum autem censeo fox et amicis esse delendam. |
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#173 |
Philosopher
Join Date: Dec 2007
Location: Philadelphia
Posts: 5,211
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The man with one watch knows what time it is, the man with two watches is never sure. |
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#174 |
Crazy Little Green Dragon
Join Date: Sep 2011
Location: East Coast, US
Posts: 7,345
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Well... If the Republicans keep putting forward guys that brazenly break the law when they get someone in office and shamelessly impeach Democrats as a dirty political ploy to shield their guys when their guys commit crimes like crazy, it's not quite too far-fetched. "As a matter of course," though, isn't quite properly descriptive of that.
And it's just as evil and stupid as it was then. In other things of some interest... Yovanovitch / McKinley testimony transcripts released by House Intel. - Volker / Sondland tomorrow Includes easy links to them and pokes at a few things in them. Federal appeals court rejects Trump's immunity claim, orders tax returns turned over to grand jury Things are bad when I'm actually letting out a sigh of relief at Judges actually doing their job. Trump will be appealing the unanimous decision against him, of course, by the sound of it, which means that this still isn't over, though. |
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So sayeth the crazy little dragon. |
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#175 |
Self Employed
Remittance Man Join Date: Nov 2009
Location: Florida
Posts: 29,963
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To be blunt, I think it's pretty damn naive to even entertain the idea that next Democrat President isn't going to be at least targeted heavily for impeachment.
Even if they get both the House and the Senate the Dems aren't going to keep it for more then a few election cycles. The Republicans will be back in power in either the House, Senate, or Both before the sting of this goes away and their honor will demand some sort of retaliation. How exactly it will break down; actual impeachment, an impeachment investigation, just a lot of noise calling for it, remains to be seen but it will happen. |
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Yahtzee: "You're doing that thing again where when asked a question you just discuss the philosophy of the question instead of answering the bloody question." Gabriel: "Well yeah, you see..." Yahtzee: "No. When you are asked a Yes or No question the first word out of your mouth needs to be Yes or No. Only after that have you earned the right to elaborate." |
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#176 |
Orthogonal Vector
Join Date: Jul 2006
Posts: 50,155
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Sufficiently advanced Woo is indistinguishable from Parody "There shall be no *poofing* in science" Paul C. Anagnostopoulos Force ***** on reasons back" Ben Franklin |
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#177 |
Unbanned zombie poster
Join Date: Jun 2007
Location: Poughkeepsie, NY
Posts: 15,126
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#178 |
Crazy Little Green Dragon
Join Date: Sep 2011
Location: East Coast, US
Posts: 7,345
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So sayeth the crazy little dragon. |
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#179 |
Unbanned zombie poster
Join Date: Jun 2007
Location: Poughkeepsie, NY
Posts: 15,126
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BRAINZZZZZZZZ |
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#180 |
Orthogonal Vector
Join Date: Jul 2006
Posts: 50,155
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Sufficiently advanced Woo is indistinguishable from Parody "There shall be no *poofing* in science" Paul C. Anagnostopoulos Force ***** on reasons back" Ben Franklin |
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#181 |
Crazy Little Green Dragon
Join Date: Sep 2011
Location: East Coast, US
Posts: 7,345
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Missouri Official Admits to Tracking Women’s Periods
Quote:
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So sayeth the crazy little dragon. |
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#182 |
![]() Join Date: Jun 2004
Location: Monkey
Posts: 58,947
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You added nothing to that conversation, Barbara. |
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#183 |
Crazy Little Green Dragon
Join Date: Sep 2011
Location: East Coast, US
Posts: 7,345
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Going further than that... The argument is farcical and no honest person should allow it to stand for a myriad of reasons, not least because if it were to be substantiated, Trump would have an easy shortcut to dictatorship. That takes us back to the fact that the Federalist Society (and much of the rest of the far right) can't be trusted to select honest people who are actually working for the good of the country and that their decades long campaign has been all too effective, especially in recent years, and that the far right has already managed to pretty much blind-side and undermine a bunch of things.
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So sayeth the crazy little dragon. |
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#184 |
Maledictorian
Join Date: Aug 2016
Posts: 14,399
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Republicans will only impeach a Democrats' President if they think it will help them win the next election.
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Ceterum autem censeo fox et amicis esse delendam. |
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#185 |
Penultimate Amazing
Join Date: Nov 2002
Location: Sir Fynwy
Posts: 31,041
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#186 |
Maledictorian
Join Date: Aug 2016
Posts: 14,399
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Ceterum autem censeo fox et amicis esse delendam. |
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#187 |
Self Employed
Remittance Man Join Date: Nov 2009
Location: Florida
Posts: 29,963
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Yeah and "Elect us to watch us troll the Demmiecrats while the country goes down the crapper" is probably on the letterhead at GOP Headquarters.
Again there is a sizable part, not all, probably not most, maybe not even many but enough to be a factor, of the Republican Base that has given up on things ever getting their version of "better" and just want to watch it burn. |
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Yahtzee: "You're doing that thing again where when asked a question you just discuss the philosophy of the question instead of answering the bloody question." Gabriel: "Well yeah, you see..." Yahtzee: "No. When you are asked a Yes or No question the first word out of your mouth needs to be Yes or No. Only after that have you earned the right to elaborate." |
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#188 |
Nasty Woman
Join Date: Feb 2005
Posts: 85,862
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#189 |
Nasty Woman
Join Date: Feb 2005
Posts: 85,862
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#190 |
Philosopher
Join Date: Nov 2009
Location: Oklahoma, USA
Posts: 5,140
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True, but all three in my lifetime were based on credible evidence of crime. Nixon and Trump, obviously. I did not support Clinton's impeachment and maintain today that it was a political hack job, but... once it was clear he had lied in deposition, I changed my tune to "Okay, impeach the sleazebag and let's get to the bottom of this."
I am not worried about impeachment happening to every president from here on out, if that's what it takes to get rid of the corruption in our politics. |
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#191 |
Penultimate Amazing
Join Date: Aug 2010
Location: I live in a swamp
Posts: 22,345
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#192 |
Director of Hatcheries and Conditioning
Join Date: Jul 2002
Location: Waiting for the pod bay door to open.
Posts: 42,986
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There is just so much wrong with this post. The fires driven by hurricane force winds are going to spread regardless of the amount of fuel present. They spread on cleared land and through urban areas out of control. They are more fierce because of global warming and this phenomenon is occurring globally. The idea that clearing undergrowth would take everything back to where it was before is just wishful thinking.
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Continually pushing the boundaries of mediocrity. Everything is possible, but not everything is probable. “Perception is real, but the truth is not.” - Imelda Marcos |
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#193 |
Director of Hatcheries and Conditioning
Join Date: Jul 2002
Location: Waiting for the pod bay door to open.
Posts: 42,986
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Continually pushing the boundaries of mediocrity. Everything is possible, but not everything is probable. “Perception is real, but the truth is not.” - Imelda Marcos |
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#194 |
Penultimate Amazing
Join Date: Nov 2003
Location: Port Townsend, Washington
Posts: 30,659
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Cum catapultae proscribeantur tum soli proscripti catapultas habeant. |
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#195 |
I lost an avatar bet.
Join Date: Dec 2001
Posts: 27,995
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Yes. They work well against small contractors who have had to mortgage their houses to stay afloat because of President Trump’s refusal to pay what he owes people. No lawyer will take their case and they are afraid of a corporate legal team.
Against knowledgeable people who have a publishing company backing them, perhaps not so much. But Aridas has a point Then again, there are variables at play. Once the name is known, President Trump can make fun if the name itself [aside: you’d think that someone who has done that for years would be better at it] but on the other hand, they cannot claim that it is all made up because there is no real source. And a book tour then becomes an option. |
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I lost an avatar bet to Doghouse Reilly. |
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#196 |
I lost an avatar bet.
Join Date: Dec 2001
Posts: 27,995
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There are articles and books that say that Newt Gingrich was the tipping point. He’s the guy who suggested that name calling (e.g. “the loony left”) was an appropriate path. He suggested that Democrats and Republicans stop fraternizing on the weekends. He convinced legislators to look at politics as a zero-sum conflict.
ETA: Rush Limbaugh and his ilk helped a great deal. MORE ETA: And once the internet ushered in the Misinformation Age (2009? 2010?) it was impossible to turn back. The Great Experiment is over. It failed. |
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I lost an avatar bet to Doghouse Reilly. |
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#197 |
Philosopher
Join Date: Nov 2004
Posts: 6,508
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It's nice to be nice to the nice. Aristotle, so far as I know, was the first man to proclaim explicitly that man is a rational animal. His reason for this view was one which does not now seem very impressive: it was, that some people can do sums. - Bertrand Russell |
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#198 |
Penultimate Amazing
Join Date: Aug 2007
Location: Sacramento
Posts: 49,979
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OK, if democracy is de facto dead, what is our next step and what do we replace it with?
I got a feeling that H.G. Wells idea of a small group of scientist taking over the world and producing Utopia will be popular. |
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Pacifism is a shifty doctrine under which a man accepts the benefits of the social group without being willing to pay - and claims a halo for his dishonesty. Robert Heinlein. |
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#199 |
Penultimate Amazing
Join Date: Aug 2007
Location: Sacramento
Posts: 49,979
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Pacifism is a shifty doctrine under which a man accepts the benefits of the social group without being willing to pay - and claims a halo for his dishonesty. Robert Heinlein. |
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#200 |
Philosopher
Join Date: Nov 2004
Posts: 6,508
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The civil rights movement was when the Dixiecrats went Republican and the law-and-order strategy went into play. But, of course the civil rights movement has it roots in the Civil War, and the very constitution as originally written.
Race truly is America's original sin, and while it's not the only issue, it sure tracks the divide in the country fairly well. |
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It's nice to be nice to the nice. Aristotle, so far as I know, was the first man to proclaim explicitly that man is a rational animal. His reason for this view was one which does not now seem very impressive: it was, that some people can do sums. - Bertrand Russell |
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