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Edited by Mrph1 on Nov 30th 2023 at 11:03:59 AM
You might as well argue that politicians shouldn't be allowed to endorse candidates. Is the fact that Hillary had a record number of endorsements a sign that the primary was "rigged" or just that people thought she was a good candidate?
Blind Final Fantasy 6 Let's Play... Say, how would Trump's supporters react if Trump had a heart attack from sheer rage at losing to Clinton?
Fiat iustitia, et pereat mundus.
x4 — In one of Tom Clancy's novels, Jack Ryan was serving as interim Vice-President (after the original Veep resigned due to a scandal.) There was a terrorist attack, and the President wanted to nuke a city in the Middle East in retaliation.
Ryan refused to confirm the order because, in his estimation, the Prez was angry and stressed out and not thinking clearly. The Prez tried to bully Ryan into confirming the launch order, but Ryan was having none of it. "Do you really want to kill ten thousand people, just because your pride has been wounded? Do you??"
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Ah yes, the classic "the system we have now is the best we have, ergo we shouldn't bother with changing it".
The fact that we have some shambles of a democracy compared to how other countries have no real democracy at all doesn't excuse our own failures. It's the "starving African children" argument of political discourse. No, we don't have the worst, but we sure as hell don't have the best. And there are plenty of propositions for alt systems. CGP Grey has a rather good video
about one such potential option. I can't possibly see how anyone can look at the current results of this election and honestly say that American democracy is in a quality, well made functioning state when the only thing keeping voting turnout from becoming an absolute shitshow is how much voters absolutely hate the opposing candidate.
edited 6th Nov '16 12:04:35 PM by InAnOdderWay
After training, U.S. militias gird for trouble as presidential election nears
“How many people are voting for Trump? Ooh-rah!” asks Chris Hill, a paralegal who goes by the code name “Bloodagent.”
“Ooh-rah!” shout a dozen militia members in response, as morning sunlight sifted through the trees late last month.
As the most divisive presidential election in recent memory nears its conclusion, some armed militia groups are preparing for the possibility of a stolen election on Tuesday and civil unrest in the days following a victory by Democrat Hillary Clinton.
They say they won’t fire the first shot, but they’re not planning to leave their guns at home, either.
Trump’s populist campaign has energized militia members like Hill, who admire the Republican mogul’s promise to deport illegal immigrants, stop Muslims from entering the country and build a wall along the Mexico border. Trump has repeatedly warned that the election may be “rigged,” and has said he may not respect the results if he does not win. At least one paramilitary group, the Oath Keepers, has called on members to monitor voting sites for signs of fraud
Armed paramilitary groups first gained prominence in the early 1990s, fueled by confrontations in Ruby Ridge, Idaho and Waco, Texas, culminating in a militia sympathizer’s 1995 bombing of a federal office building in Oklahoma City that killed 168 people.
Their numbers dwindled following that attack but have spiked in recent years, driven by fears that President Barack Obama will threaten gun ownership and erode the power of local government. The Southern Poverty Law Center, which tracks extremist groups, estimates there were 276 active militias last year, up from 42 in 2008.
In recent years, armed groups have confronted federal authorities in a series of land-use disputes in the U.S. West. Federal officials fear more clashes could come after seven militants were acquitted on conspiracy charges for occupying a federal wildlife refuge in Oregon.
Many fear Clinton will push the county further to the left.
“This is the last chance to save America from ruin,” Hill said. “I’m surprised I was able to survive or suffer through eight years of Obama without literally going insane, but Hillary is going to be more of the same.”
The Oath Keepers, a prominent anti-government force that sent gun-toting members to the 2014 race riots in Ferguson, Missouri, called on members late last month to monitor voting sites on Election Day for any signs of fraud.
An hour south of Atlanta, the Three Percent Security Force started the day around the campfire, taking turns shooting automatic pistols and rifles at a makeshift target range. They whooped with approval when blasts from one member’s high-powered rifle knocked down a tree.
The group operates independently, but is affiliated with a national armed movement that calls for members to defend individual rights in the face of what they see as an overreaching federal government. The movement draws its name from the notion that no more than 3 percent of the American population fought in the Revolutionary War against Britain.
Amid the war games, Hill weighed plans for a possible armed march on Washington if Clinton wins.
He said he does not want his members leading the way, but they will defend the protesters if need be. His group will not hesitate to act if a President Clinton tries to disarm gun owners, he said.
“I will be there to render assistance to my fellow countrymen, and prevent them from being disarmed, and I will fight and I will kill and I may die in the process,” said Hill, who founded the militia several years ago.
Trump’s candidacy has emboldened extremist groups to speak more openly about challenging the rule of law, said Ryan Lenz, a researcher at the Southern Poverty Law Center.
“Prior to this campaign season, these ideas were relegated to sort of the political fringe of the American political landscape,” he said. “Now these ideas are legitimized.”
Over the past two weeks, some prominent Trump supporters have hinted at violence.
“If Trump loses, I’m grabbing my musket,” former Illinois Rep. Joe Walsh wrote on Twitter last week. Conservative commentator Wayne Root fantasized about Clinton’s death while speaking at a Trump rally in Las Vegas on Oct. 30.
Back in Georgia, the Three Percent Security Force wrapped up rifle practice in the midday sun. They then headed further into the trees to tackle an obstacle course with loaded pistols at their sides, ready for whatever may come.
“We’ve building up for this, just like the marines,” he said. “We are going to really train harder and try to increase our operational capabilities in the event that this is the day that we hoped would never come.”
edited 6th Nov '16 12:13:33 PM by carbon-mantis
Even if she did, I'd never vote for a grown man who likes to creep on teenagers. That is a bridge too far. I sincerely don't care if he "thought she was 18" or what have you. You're a man in your fifties. It's still totally unacceptable—even more so given the girl was an employee.
edited 6th Nov '16 12:28:30 PM by AmbarSonofDeshar
Why should I believe anything coming from a man who likes to prey on teenage girls?
I'm all for giving criminals second chances if their acts were motivated by desperation, or immaturity. A man his age screwing a teenager? That's neither. I wouldn't hire him to wash my car, let alone vote for him. No matter how great he might be at his job—and I have no real reason to think he is—there is probably an equally capable candidate out there who doesn't bang teenagers.
Reading the article, his behavior was sleazy for all number of reasons but eighteen is the legal age, if she actually did lie about her age then that's not really something I can call him out on. Dating an employee and boasting about it to a friend, yes I can condemn that but not having a relationship with someone you thought was a legal adult. She married the guy so it's kind of murky for me.
Hell most of the states and the western world have the age of consent at sixteen.
edited 6th Nov '16 12:37:24 PM by Mr.Didact
Stand Fast, Stand Strong, Stand Together

edited 6th Nov '16 11:01:30 AM by NativeJovian
Really from Jupiter, but not an alien.