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

Wyldchyld (Old as dirt)
#251401: Aug 7th 2018 at 7:10:06 PM

Donald Trump says rest of world must choose between trade with US or Iran

Donald Trump tweeted "anyone doing business with Iran will NOT be doing business with the United States".

The EU has launched a "blocking statute", designed to allow companies within the bloc to sue the Trump administration, if they are adversely affected by US sanctions, and has encouraged member states to continue trading with Tehran.

This EU legislation should protect businesses in member states who do not wish to break off economic ties with Tehran despite the reinstatement of US sanctions which came into effect on Tuesday, Mr Burt told the BBC.

"If a company fears legal action taken against it and enforcement action taken against it by an entity in response to American sanctions then that company can be protected as far as EU legislation is concerned," added Mr Burt.

The Obama-era deal, which Mr Trump promised to scrap before taking office, gave Iran sanctions relief in return for curbs on its nuclear programme.

"The Iran sanctions have officially been cast. These are the most biting sanctions ever imposed, and in November they ratchet up to yet another level," the president tweeted on Tuesday.

"Anyone doing business with Iran will NOT be doing business with the United States. I am asking for WORLD PEACE, nothing less!"

EU officials, however, have said the US' demands do not apply beyond its borders.

Firms which decide to follow the Washington directive will need to seek permission from the European commission first, and a mechanism will allow EU companies whose business is affected by the US move to sue the Trump administration for damages in national courts of member states.

If my post doesn't mention a giant flying sperm whale with oversized teeth and lionfish fins for flippers, it just isn't worth reading.
archonspeaks Since: Jun, 2013
#251402: Aug 7th 2018 at 7:11:06 PM

"Spirit animal" could fall on either side of the line between appropriation and exchange in my view, but obviously if people are uncomfortable or asking about it there's no reason to keep using it.

Edited by archonspeaks on Aug 7th 2018 at 7:13:06 AM

They should have sent a poet.
TheWanderer Student of Story from Somewhere in New England (Time Abyss) Relationship Status: Wishfully thinking
Student of Story
#251403: Aug 7th 2018 at 7:11:41 PM

Balderson is now up 700 votes with 95% of precincts in and supposedly most of the areas left to report are Republican friendly. I wonder if there'll be a recount, but at the moment it looks like Republicans are pulling it out by the skin of their teeth.

| Wandering, but not lost. | If people bring so much courage to this world...◊ |
Bur from Flyover Country (Living Relic) Relationship Status: Having tea with Cthulhu
#251404: Aug 7th 2018 at 7:16:12 PM

Oooo, things are looking good for Missouri shutting down "right-to-work". So far it's 65% pro-union, 35% against.

Rationalinsanity from Halifax, Canada Since: Aug, 2010 Relationship Status: It's complicated
#251405: Aug 7th 2018 at 7:17:27 PM

Which is still good news for Democrats, because a near loss in a red district equals decisive wins in less Republican areas if the swing applies there. And all the signs point towards that being the case.

Politics is the skilled use of blunt objects.
CharlesPhipps Since: Jan, 2001
#251406: Aug 7th 2018 at 7:32:58 PM

I think its appropriation if it's used in a religious context.

Otherwise, isn't it like a agnostic or atheist using the term "guardian angel"?

Author of The Rules of Supervillainy, Cthulhu Armageddon, and United States of Monsters.
LSBK Since: Sep, 2014
#251407: Aug 7th 2018 at 7:44:18 PM

Is guardian angel a religious thing?

Anyway, the context of this specific thing does seem a bit murky. Things eventually just drift into common lexicon, and acquire more colloquial meaning.

Edited by LSBK on Aug 7th 2018 at 9:44:07 AM

Demongodofchaos2 Face me now, bitch! from In a Cultivation World (Ancient one) Relationship Status: 700 wives and 300 concubines
Face me now, bitch!
#251408: Aug 7th 2018 at 7:44:29 PM

I don't care either way about "spirit animal" being seen as offensive. Its all semantics to me.

Watch Symphogear
ViperMagnum357 Since: Mar, 2012
#251409: Aug 7th 2018 at 7:53:46 PM

How big a swing is this towards Blue for Ohio compared to 2016?

DingoWalley1 Asgore Adopts Noelle Since: Feb, 2014 Relationship Status: Can't buy me love
Asgore Adopts Noelle
#251410: Aug 7th 2018 at 8:00:14 PM

[up] Either a 10% swing (Trump won the District by 11%), or a 36% Swing (Frmr. Rep. Pat Tiberi, Republican, won the District by 37%). Either way, it was a massive swing in the Democrats favor.

Gilphon (4 Score & 7 Years Ago)
#251411: Aug 7th 2018 at 8:18:10 PM

Here's the thing: evidence of a swing like that is good news, but it's also old news. I don't think anyone wasn't expecting it to be close.

So the actually new part is that despite the swing, they didn't win this particular battle.

TheRoguePenguin Since: Jul, 2009
#251412: Aug 7th 2018 at 8:24:45 PM

On the other side of the fence, Kris Kobach (the voter fraud guy) is narrowly trailing Jeff Colyer. Not sure who Laura Kelly has a better shot against, but the further away Kobach is from office the better.

wisewillow She/her Since: May, 2011
She/her
#251413: Aug 7th 2018 at 8:29:22 PM

Here is a brief history of the use of the term spirit animal.

What is your spirit animal? Is it the manatee? Is it the snow leopard? Is it Beyoncé perched upon a bear in the manner of Vladimir Putin? Perhaps it is the goldendoodle (because you are friendly and sassy and possibly hypoallergenic). Or the honey badger (self-explanatory). Or the spork.

...

By December of 2010, "spirit animal" had taken enough hold on the Internet to earn a mention on Urban Dictionary. "Online,” the unusually straightforward entry puts it, “saying something or someone is your spirit animal is a statement that said person or thing is a representation of you or what you want to be."

...

But most casual Internet-ers wouldn't think of it, because most don't think of the spirit animal—the conceptual meme—as an appropriation. Most of us think of the term simply as a shorthand, one that is well-suited to a web culture that has been thoroughly influenced by Facebook and Tumblr and other social media. And one that has also been, at this point, thoroughly commercialized.

As The Toast recently summed things up in its glossary of the Internet: "spirit animal: here’s something I like; I am not familiar with what a spirit animal is or does."

Here’s an article focusing on the issues indigenous people have with the term’s usage.

The reason why the term spirit animal has risen to popularity on the Internet is because it’s so easily understood. What people are saying is that they like this thing a lot and that makes them happy. It’s that simple. Using “spirit animal” is a short hand that shows how into something they are.

The problem is that the continued use of the phrase is a part of the cultural appropriation of Indigenous culture that seeks to commodify and erase the realities of Indigenous people.

...

The effects of colonization did not end after settlement, either. For example, American Indian Boarding schools, known in Canada as Indian Residential Schools, existed well into the 20th century. These church and state run schools sought to aggressively assimilate Indigenous children into European (i.e. Christian) culture, and did so by making attendance mandatory. Children were taken from their families, forced to live away from their traditional cultures, and faced neglect and abuse within these institutions, all while many of their family members struggled to survive on reserves because of the trauma, poverty, and illness stemming from the effects of colonialism.

At the very same time, romanticized images of “noble” savages were seen on the silver screen, and sold as children’s toys and costumes. Today, Indigenous populations still face discrimination, at both the personal and structural level; violent pasts have created difficult presents, and many (if not all) of the same issues still exist today. Movements like #idlenomore3 and #No DAPL 4 are evidence of some of the larger political movements which are gaining ground to tackle these issues, but at the same time, racist representations of Indigenous folks are still found all around us. Maybe this is why it’s so hard for people to understand the issue with the term spirit animal; we have a very long history of normalizing this type of oppression.

They’re both interesting reads; I think I didn’t learn about the origin of the term or issues with using it until like... a year ago? But when I learn stuff I try to pass it on. Or, as Xkcd puts it, you’re one of the lucky ten thousand today! smile

Edited by wisewillow on Aug 7th 2018 at 11:36:01 AM

Demongodofchaos2 Face me now, bitch! from In a Cultivation World (Ancient one) Relationship Status: 700 wives and 300 concubines
Face me now, bitch!
#251414: Aug 7th 2018 at 8:56:18 PM

Still Meh.

Watch Symphogear
Wryte Since: Jul, 2010
#251415: Aug 7th 2018 at 9:02:25 PM

Otherwise, isn't it like a agnostic or atheist using the term "guardian angel"?

Point of order, but me using Christian terminology isn't appropriation, it's Christian cultural dominance.

CharlesPhipps Since: Jan, 2001
#251416: Aug 7th 2018 at 9:17:30 PM

I feel that is ignoring the use of metaphor in day to day conversation but YMMV.

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.
#251417: Aug 7th 2018 at 9:23:12 PM

[up][up]As an atheist I instinctively still find myself using phrases like this and OMG. I'm trying to deprogram myself of it, but it's so pervasive that it's more less embedded itself in my brain. Probably doesn't help that I went to Sunday School as a kid.

Disgusted, but not surprised
Rationalinsanity from Halifax, Canada Since: Aug, 2010 Relationship Status: It's complicated
#251418: Aug 7th 2018 at 9:25:06 PM

Looks like the Democrats came up a few votes short in Ohio's 12th, but the swing is what's important here, not a random and probably untenable seat pick up.

Politics is the skilled use of blunt objects.
wisewillow She/her Since: May, 2011
She/her
#251419: Aug 7th 2018 at 9:25:10 PM

[up][up][up]Metaphors aren’t immediately beyond criticism, though. For example, we generally don’t use the term gay as an insult anymore, nor sarcastically ask people if they’re retarded when mocking their stupidity. I dunno, the way I see it personally, it’s a tiny linguistic change that costs me nothing but shows consideration and respect to some of the most disenfranchised people in American history.

As a replacement, I like to use the term “kindred spirit” for people, or “it me” for other stuff.

Edited by wisewillow on Aug 7th 2018 at 12:25:28 PM

LSBK Since: Sep, 2014
#251420: Aug 7th 2018 at 9:26:48 PM

NVM.

Edited by LSBK on Aug 7th 2018 at 11:26:24 AM

vandro Shop Owner from The little shop that wasn't Since: Jul, 2009
Shop Owner
#251421: Aug 7th 2018 at 9:30:13 PM

I find it really weird to get hanged up by something that is basically common parlance by now, languages absorb religious terminology from other languages in many cases. But whatever, it's not my hill to die on.

wisewillow She/her Since: May, 2011
She/her
#251422: Aug 7th 2018 at 9:34:21 PM

Shrug. I dunno, this term has been in common usage for less than ten years. I think learning is neat, and I like being informed and trying to be considerate. I can’t make anyone else agree with me, obviously, but I can share info so that others are at least aware.

M84 Oh, bother. from Our little blue planet Since: Jun, 2010 Relationship Status: Chocolate!
Oh, bother.
#251423: Aug 7th 2018 at 9:40:39 PM

If a word that is commonly used has bigoted roots and is still often used in a bigoted context, it's worth it to make a personal effort to not use it anymore.

Words matter.

Edited by M84 on Aug 8th 2018 at 12:40:52 AM

Disgusted, but not surprised
RedSavant Since: Jan, 2001
#251424: Aug 7th 2018 at 10:03:02 PM

Agreeing with M84 here. You can express approval of something on the Internet without using a term that treats the culture of a subjugated people as a funny word like cheezburger.

It's been fun.
CharlesPhipps Since: Jan, 2001
#251425: Aug 7th 2018 at 10:04:20 PM

Well, I am religious and think the use of the words is something that shows they're aware and out in the world along with their concepts.

Which is a good thing.

But it's a matter of taste, I suppose.

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

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