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#121 |
Penultimate Amazing
Join Date: Dec 2012
Posts: 27,922
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Something tells me you're taking whatever he said out of context. In fact, I'd bet every penny I have that you are.
Still, the general consensus among scientists is that if man doesn't curtail the amount of C02 it emits into the atmosphere it is likely that global warming will cause huge population die offs that will likely include man. Is it possible that the planet could reverse that trend then? Possibly. But the concern is that there is a tipping point where it is impossible to keep our planet from becoming like Venus. What I've never understood is why people deny science. Maybe you could enlighten me? |
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Just because I'm paranoid doesn't mean they're not out to get to me. . |
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#122 |
Penultimate Amazing
Join Date: Aug 2007
Location: Hong Kong
Posts: 48,524
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I'm saying it's idealism to think of the party primaries as a platform to demonstrate better voting systems, or that this should be the party's priority.
And it's clearly not an ideal shared by any of the state party organizations, for either major party, ever. Exhibit A: The Iowa caucuses. |
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#123 |
Penultimate Amazing
Join Date: Dec 2012
Posts: 27,922
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We agree on something. That's a shock.
I've been thinking about something Prestige. I'd like to know what you think about it, Both Jefferson and Adams as well as other of the founders lamented the creation of political parties. I do too. I tend to believe it causes division where there is none or little. We end up with a situation where the Majority leader or the Speaker prevent legislation that in itself might enjoy majority support just not of the respective party. For example, while you and I may disagree 80 percent of time why should we fight 100 percent of the time? Why can't we move forward where we share common ground. How can we resolve this impasse? |
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Just because I'm paranoid doesn't mean they're not out to get to me. . |
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#124 |
Banned
Join Date: Nov 2002
Posts: 2,598
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#125 |
Penultimate Amazing
Join Date: Aug 2007
Location: Hong Kong
Posts: 48,524
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I see it as being the other way around. Yes, tribalism has its drawbacks, but political parties are a symptom of divisions that already exist. I also think they're unavoidable. Like money and police, if we didn't have them the first think we'd do is invent them. If we outlawed them, like-minded people would just meet in secret to pool their resources and advance their policy agendas.
Political parties date back to at least the Roman Republic. They probably go back much further. They've been a feature of pretty much every Western democracy ever. I see them as a natural and unavoidable consequence of citizens being free to associate with each other and engage in political advocacy. As soon as you have two people disagreeing about policy, you have two political parties. |
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#126 |
Penultimate Amazing
Join Date: Dec 2012
Posts: 27,922
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Just because I'm paranoid doesn't mean they're not out to get to me. . |
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#127 |
Penultimate Amazing
Join Date: Aug 2007
Location: Hong Kong
Posts: 48,524
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You go to govern with the humans you have, not the humans you wish to have or plan to have at a later date.
The goal is to devise a form of government that's reasonably functional in spite of the fact that humans are imperfect and some of them are highly motivated douchebags. The western parliamentary and federal systems do a pretty good job of this. Soviet Communism tried the other thing: Aspirational government that would produce the perfect humans it wished to have, by fiat and force. We all know how that turned out. |
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#128 |
Penultimate Amazing
Join Date: Dec 2012
Posts: 27,922
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Just because I'm paranoid doesn't mean they're not out to get to me. . |
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#129 |
post-pre-born
Join Date: Dec 2003
Location: Santa Barbara, CA
Posts: 24,825
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His withdrawal was always a matter of when, not if. But I share his complaint about Iowa and New Hampshire. Why do we (the USA) continue the idiocy of letting these two highly non-representative states play such a large role in our presidential election process? Iowa is especially suspect. They vote by a caucus that you have to physically attend to vote in the very middle of winter. If you tried, you'd have a hard time creating a worse process.
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#130 |
post-pre-born
Join Date: Dec 2003
Location: Santa Barbara, CA
Posts: 24,825
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#131 |
post-pre-born
Join Date: Dec 2003
Location: Santa Barbara, CA
Posts: 24,825
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#132 |
post-pre-born
Join Date: Dec 2003
Location: Santa Barbara, CA
Posts: 24,825
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#133 |
Penultimate Amazing
Join Date: Aug 2007
Location: Hong Kong
Posts: 48,524
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#134 |
post-pre-born
Join Date: Dec 2003
Location: Santa Barbara, CA
Posts: 24,825
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I don't see the aggregation of immense power in the hands of the Speaker or Majority Leader as side effects of a two-party system.
I agree that the two party system has a lot of negative side effects. But the only way to remedy that is to eliminate first-past-the-post vote counting in favor of ranked voting. I hope the Maine experiment serves as a model for the nation. |
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#135 |
Penultimate Amazing
Join Date: Dec 2012
Posts: 27,922
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I'm a 100 percent convinced that Iowa and NH's importance is overemphasized. Bloomberg skipped them entirely and I just read he is in 3rd place in the polls. NH and Iowa combinet make up at most 3 percent of the delegates. I'm amazed that more candidates haven't come to the conclusion that there is a better way to win the nomination.
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Just because I'm paranoid doesn't mean they're not out to get to me. . |
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#136 |
Penultimate Amazing
Join Date: Dec 2012
Posts: 27,922
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Just because I'm paranoid doesn't mean they're not out to get to me. . |
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#137 |
Penultimate Amazing
Join Date: May 2006
Posts: 18,149
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Yes, there is the other option of spending $200 million out of your own pocket on advertising.
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My new blog: Recent Reads. 1960s Comic Book Nostalgia Visit the Screw Loose Change blog. |
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#138 |
post-pre-born
Join Date: Dec 2003
Location: Santa Barbara, CA
Posts: 24,825
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I despise McConnell as much as you do but that's irrelevant to whether his power arises out of a two-party political system. If we had 3, 4 or even more viable national parties, the Majority Leader and Speaker of the House could, over time, aggregate as much power as they have in the current two-party system.
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#139 |
Penultimate Amazing
Join Date: Dec 2012
Posts: 27,922
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It is because of the party system that we have a "majority leader" . McConnell is blocking everything from the house just like he was wihen Obama was President. The party system screws up allegiances. Instead of working for the country, he is working on behalf of his party.
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Just because I'm paranoid doesn't mean they're not out to get to me. . |
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#140 |
Penultimate Amazing
Join Date: Nov 2010
Posts: 20,093
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It is so bizarre that thebcandidate with the most experience for the job is in his thirties. I guess now it is Bloomberg.
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#141 |
Penultimate Amazing
Join Date: Nov 2010
Posts: 20,093
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#142 |
Philosopher
Join Date: Dec 2008
Posts: 8,275
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#143 |
Philosopher
Join Date: Dec 2008
Posts: 8,275
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#144 |
Penultimate Amazing
Join Date: Nov 2010
Posts: 20,093
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In 2011 when he proposed the idea it was part of resolving the debt ceiling deal. In 2012 when he out it out and filibustered it himself it was gamesmanship to resolve the issue.
In 2011, it was already a proposed compromise to resolve the debt crisis. That can hardly be described as a good idea. That is easily attributable to the least bad solution to the crisis that was at hand. |
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#145 |
Penultimate Amazing
Join Date: Nov 2003
Location: Port Townsend, Washington
Posts: 30,582
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My wife had someone on TV interviewing Warren while I was in the bathroom this morning. She was just repeating campaign talking points, sounding very well rehearsed, while evading actual questions. I wasn't impressed.
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Cum catapultae proscribeantur tum soli proscripti catapultas habeant. |
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#146 |
Penultimate Amazing
Join Date: Aug 2007
Location: Hong Kong
Posts: 48,524
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I noticed a long time ago that this is something politicians do. It's actually become a kind of "drinking game" for me, on the rare occasions that I watch a politician give an interview. How diligently do they stick to their program? How smoothly do they work the dodges? Etc. To the point where part of my "grade" for a politician is based on how well they manage the evasion. It sounds like Warren has been working on her technique. She's probably got a a good head for it, and a good coach.
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#147 |
Illuminator
Join Date: Apr 2011
Location: United States
Posts: 4,840
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I'm just as unimpressed by journalists who go up to politicans and ask them "hard questions" and expect them to answer a certain way on the spot.
In many ways it's better if we get to see a prepared speech on the stage, a townhall for ex, or in written form, but most voters I imagine don't want to read. |
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#148 |
Penultimate Amazing
Join Date: Aug 2007
Location: Hong Kong
Posts: 48,524
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There's very little reward, and huge risk, for a politician to speak extemporaneously and on the record. It's much safer - and much more effective - to turn every line of questioning back to their prepared remarks. Even when the dodge is transparent or clumsy, it's still better than trying to craft a suitable response to whatever the question was, in real time.
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#149 |
Crazy Little Green Dragon
Join Date: Sep 2011
Location: East Coast, US
Posts: 7,312
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There's also the matter of wanting people to remember specific things about what Warren's aiming for, and repeating those things is a main way to get out the message. Going a little further, a number of the complaints about Warren's evasiveness during the campaign have basically been... "Why isn't Warren indulging GOP narrative and instead is focusing on pushing a distinctly more correct narrative that is also much more favorable to her plans?" The sheer number of those have ended up making me much less sympathetic to that particular complaint.
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So sayeth the crazy little dragon. |
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#150 |
Illuminator
Join Date: Sep 2006
Posts: 4,327
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SuburbanNerd A blog for making tech make sense |
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#151 |
Illuminator
Join Date: Sep 2006
Posts: 4,327
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Castro just endorsed Warren, fueling even more speculation of him as her VP pick. He's Latino, from a currently red state that might go purple in the near future, young, and has credibility with DNC leadership. He is also very outspoken on issues like justice reform and immigration. He can remind people of 2008 Obama without having all the baggage like Biden.
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#152 |
Penultimate Amazing
Join Date: Aug 2007
Location: Hong Kong
Posts: 48,524
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#153 |
Master Poster
Join Date: Oct 2010
Location: North American prairie
Posts: 2,152
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As far as Warren goes, when she starts a reply with "so...." you know she is not going to answer it. She will give a lecture on a related topic or recite an incident.
This is why I like Klobuchar as a person more from the beginning. I did not always agree with her solution. But all of them were realistic, in a 2 party system. |
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#154 |
Illuminator
Join Date: Sep 2006
Posts: 4,327
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I know too many MidWesterners to like Klobuchar. People keep mistaking their passive aggressive dismissals for politeness.
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#155 |
Penultimate Amazing
Join Date: Nov 2003
Location: Port Townsend, Washington
Posts: 30,582
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I find myself kind of liking Steyer. Which means nothing other than that his commercials are more effective with me than Bloomberg's. I haven't seen any from anyone else.
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#156 |
Penultimate Amazing
Join Date: May 2006
Posts: 18,149
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Here's a fairly long piece on how Bloomberg is upending the race:
Quote:
Quote:
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My new blog: Recent Reads. 1960s Comic Book Nostalgia Visit the Screw Loose Change blog. |
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#157 |
Fiend God
Join Date: Oct 2005
Location: In a post-fact world
Posts: 91,292
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#158 |
post-pre-born
Join Date: Dec 2003
Location: Santa Barbara, CA
Posts: 24,825
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#159 |
Penultimate Amazing
Join Date: Nov 2003
Location: Port Townsend, Washington
Posts: 30,582
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Cum catapultae proscribeantur tum soli proscripti catapultas habeant. |
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#160 |
Penultimate Amazing
Join Date: Aug 2007
Location: Hong Kong
Posts: 48,524
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Also politics are emotional. Some of the best campaign strategists are dispassionate mercenaries. But most people working on the campaign believe in the candidate they're working for.
Bloomberg is a little late to hire any of the top mercenaries. So his campaign is being worked by bench warmer mercs, clock watching wage slaves, and whatever "Bloomberg for president" true believers that are actually out there. And close personal friends. |
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