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Edited by Mrph1 on Nov 30th 2023 at 11:03:59 AM

CookingCat Since: Jul, 2018
#300426: Feb 2nd 2020 at 5:22:49 AM

[up] And yet Saudi fucking Arabia is not banned...

Edit: Well, this is a brilliant pagetopper...

Edited by CookingCat on Feb 2nd 2020 at 5:23:22 AM

TechPriest90 Servant of the Omnissiah from Collegia Titanica, Mars, Sol System Since: Sep, 2015 Relationship Status: Above such petty unnecessities
Servant of the Omnissiah
#300427: Feb 2nd 2020 at 5:30:19 AM

Oh sure. Ban the Kingdom. The same Kingdom that is a vital ally in the Middle East, is one of the very few that is (more-or-less) conciliatory towards Israel (because Iran).

Oh, and has Saudi Aramco - the world's biggest oil company. And which caused the 1970's oil shock which fucked the whole world over when the Kingdom got a little bit upset.

Sure, ban them. What Could Possibly Go Wrong?

Trump is an idiot - but he's not actively suicidal.

No one likes the Wahhabi maniacs causing mayhem hiding behind the Kingdom's facade. No one has a choice either. You can only make the best of a shitty situation.

For the record, the Nation Bans are ridiculous to begin with, since it does precisely fuck-all where national security is concerned. But hey, optics right?

Edited by TechPriest90 on Feb 2nd 2020 at 8:33:40 AM

I hold the secrets of the machine.
DrDougsh Since: Jan, 2001
#300428: Feb 2nd 2020 at 6:20:09 AM

The incessant need to coddle Saudi Arabia just provides one more reason why the world can't move away from fossil fuels soon enough.

Fourthspartan56 from Georgia, US Since: Oct, 2016 Relationship Status: THIS CONCEPT OF 'WUV' CONFUSES AND INFURIATES US!
#300429: Feb 2nd 2020 at 6:28:36 AM

They trust Bernie. Being a former Reagan supporter isn’t conducive to trust among many on the left. And her changing positions on health care signalled - rightly or wrongly - that she’ll back off on progressive positions if she gets enough pushback.

Yes, and if they support Sanders giving Cenk an endorsement they're giant hypocrites.

Even if they don't they're fools, Warren being a Republican in the height of their power and then shifting on her own volition is evidence of her intellectual capacity not any reason for distrust.

"Sandwiches are probably easier to fix than the actual problems" -Hylarn
DingoWalley1 Asgore Adopts Noelle Since: Feb, 2014 Relationship Status: Can't buy me love
Asgore Adopts Noelle
#300430: Feb 2nd 2020 at 6:45:51 AM

[up]x3 I would argue that we do have a choice now; Alternative Energy. If we want to stop using Greenhouse Gasses, we also have to stop feeding our 'addiction' to it, and while some work does need to be done to get Alternative Energy to being Mainstream, we are at a point where it's much easier and more doable to do so. The only reason we don't is because of Oil nations that keep feeding the 'addicts'.

Course, I'm not advocating banning the Citizens of Saudi Arabia (or any State, friend or foe, to us), but the Kingdom is deplorable and I hate that we have to support it because of its oil.

Edited by DingoWalley1 on Feb 2nd 2020 at 9:46:49 AM

Forenperser Foreign Troper from Germany Since: Mar, 2012
Foreign Troper
#300431: Feb 2nd 2020 at 6:55:11 AM

Condemning Iran while being allied to Saudi Arabia is certainly peak hypocrisy, seeing how most people would probably agree to the fact that the Kingdom is way worse in terms of human rights abuses.

Certified: 48.0% West Asian, 6.5% South Asian, 15.8% North/West European, 15.7% English, 7.4% Balkan, 6.6% Scandinavian
Grafite Since: Apr, 2016 Relationship Status: Less than three
#300432: Feb 2nd 2020 at 7:51:20 AM

There have been rumours that the cancelled poll was good for Warren. It's anyone's guess why, but the DNC worker suggests the Rogan controversy may have hurt Sanders. Anyway, this is just to say, it's anyone's game in Iowa and no candidate is inevitable yet.

Life is unfair...
3of4 Just a harmless giant from a foreign land. from Five Seconds in the Future. Since: Jan, 2010 Relationship Status: GAR for Archer
Just a harmless giant from a foreign land.
#300433: Feb 2nd 2020 at 8:16:16 AM

If the poll was called for errors made thats not really saying anything.

"You can reply to this Message!"
Parable Since: Aug, 2009
#300434: Feb 2nd 2020 at 8:25:47 AM

My understanding is that the poll was canceled because Buttigieg's name might not have been listed with the other candidates.

Either way, that was a such a let down. This was the gold standard of polls and would have been on everyone's minds in Iowa going into caucus night. Tomorrow is gonna be a nail bitter.

Galadriel Since: Feb, 2015
#300435: Feb 2nd 2020 at 8:28:14 AM

I don’t think I fully understand how the Iowa caucuses work, though I’ve checked a few different websites. Do you need 15% of people statewide to get through the first round, or 15% of people in any given caucus site? And if it’s the former, how does each caucus site know what the statewide vote total is?

Edited by Galadriel on Feb 2nd 2020 at 11:31:13 AM

Parable Since: Aug, 2009
unknowing from somewhere.. Since: Mar, 2014
#300437: Feb 2nd 2020 at 8:44:20 AM

"Warren being a Republican in the height of their power and then shifting on her own volition is evidence of her intellectual capacity not any reason for distrust."

Or it could be she is and oportunist who saw the writing on the wall - sure probaly isnt but this is politics and is easy to see why alternative explanation can happen.

"My Name is Bolt, Bolt Crank and I dont care if you believe or not"
Draghinazzo (4 Score & 7 Years Ago) Relationship Status: I get a feeling so complicated...
#300438: Feb 2nd 2020 at 8:45:44 AM

I dunno, I just find it a bad argument when you consider what Warren has been doing the last 2 decades. If this was all an act, it's one she's kept up admirably well.

Parable Since: Aug, 2009
#300439: Feb 2nd 2020 at 8:48:03 AM

Any group that says "No Former Republicans Allowed" would bar a lot of people, myself included, from participating or contributing. Fine, you do you, I'll just take my support elsewhere.

unknowing from somewhere.. Since: Mar, 2014
#300440: Feb 2nd 2020 at 8:50:10 AM

[up][up]People love consistency in politics in general, is one of the thing sander have in his favor that he always being unbashadly on the left.

Granted people dont always remenber to well this stuff, I man in 2002 trump look very friendly to the clintons and even defend bill allegations in the howard stern show...by calling the woman ugly lairs because of course he did.

Edited by unknowing on Feb 2nd 2020 at 12:50:55 PM

"My Name is Bolt, Bolt Crank and I dont care if you believe or not"
Parable Since: Aug, 2009
#300442: Feb 2nd 2020 at 8:59:03 AM

For the record: The last Republican she voted for was Ford, and that was after voting against Nixon.

CharlesPhipps Since: Jan, 2001
#300443: Feb 2nd 2020 at 9:03:11 AM

Bernie having a cult of personality that hates anyone that looks like a threat to his position isn't really arguable. You could sort of make a case for attacking Hillary being reasonable, but the way his supporters focus their attacks on Warren when Biden is a much bigger threat to his candidacy suggests that they're more concerned about who's considered the progressive leader than actually accomplishing anything

You're right, it's not arguable because it's flat out not true. Bernie has been taking the high road repeatedly during this campaign and increasing his number of alliances with other politicians while trying to avoid dividing the country's progressives. Your position against Bernie is your own business but this is flat out not true as he's avoided letting people try to set him against Hillary or Warren both.

Bernie has also been moving to correct the problems of his weakness on race, going to greater lengths to address issues of inequality and specific issues on both with help from POC politicians that he has allied with. The "Lone Wolf" Bernie image may have been what he cultivated in 2016 but that's not true in 2020.

Edited by CharlesPhipps on Feb 2nd 2020 at 9:07:41 AM

Author of The Rules of Supervillainy, Cthulhu Armageddon, and United States of Monsters.
PhysicalStamina (4 Score & 7 Years Ago)
#300444: Feb 2nd 2020 at 9:05:07 AM

That would've been a good rebuttal if he was talking about Bernie himself and not his Fan Dumb.

It's one thing to make a spectacle. It's another to make a difference.
CharlesPhipps Since: Jan, 2001
#300445: Feb 2nd 2020 at 9:06:45 AM

Bernie's fans aren't just limited to a bunch of Bernie or Busters anymore either. The demographics of his supporters have changed too. The fact so many younger minorities support him, again, changes the nature of his support.

Author of The Rules of Supervillainy, Cthulhu Armageddon, and United States of Monsters.
M84 Oh, bother. from Our little blue planet Since: Jun, 2010 Relationship Status: Chocolate!
Oh, bother.
#300446: Feb 2nd 2020 at 9:08:44 AM

Heck, even here we've had someone claim that criticism of Sanders was due to the thread being too "centrist".

Which is kind of odd since I'm more or less the only actual centrist here.

Edited by M84 on Feb 3rd 2020 at 1:09:16 AM

Disgusted, but not surprised
unknowing from somewhere.. Since: Mar, 2014
#300447: Feb 2nd 2020 at 9:09:31 AM

Maybe not but he did have a tendecy of not play well with other democrats and a sorta agresive position against hilary which it enbold their fans by thinking he was a ideological who will not bow down to the estableshment, and for some that was powerfull.

That is why people see him as left trump, is not accurate of course but I can see why.

"My Name is Bolt, Bolt Crank and I dont care if you believe or not"
Draghinazzo (4 Score & 7 Years Ago) Relationship Status: I get a feeling so complicated...
#300448: Feb 2nd 2020 at 9:10:09 AM

Unfortunately I'm not sure to what degree younger minorities supporting him will matter as far as the election. I mean in a broad sense it's good but younger voters generally are less committed to voting. But tbf from what I'm reading even with older minority voters Sanders doesn't seem to be doing that badly albeit still behind Biden.

Forenperser Foreign Troper from Germany Since: Mar, 2012
Foreign Troper
#300449: Feb 2nd 2020 at 9:10:33 AM

Bernie certainly does have a portion of his fanbase that is quite loony, but I too think it's a little unfair how this thread seems to disproportionately focus on said base and/or imply that this is how all of his fans are.

Certified: 48.0% West Asian, 6.5% South Asian, 15.8% North/West European, 15.7% English, 7.4% Balkan, 6.6% Scandinavian
CharlesPhipps Since: Jan, 2001
#300450: Feb 2nd 2020 at 9:13:27 AM

Yes, the big surprise of 2020's primary is that Bernie actually seems to have changed course on his presentation as well as brought some people onboard to correct his bigger issues (race, divisiveness) after decades of not.

Also, not trying to engage with his previous, "The Democrats are failures. Why I'm independent" history. Trump has successfully changed Bernie.

Then again, part of that seems to be because a lot of younger Democrats are much more aligned with Bernie and his agenda so, Reality Ensues. Bernie wasn't just being contrary for the sake of being contrary.

Edited by CharlesPhipps on Feb 2nd 2020 at 9:14:13 AM

Author of The Rules of Supervillainy, Cthulhu Armageddon, and United States of Monsters.

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