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MorningStar1337 The Encounter that ended the Dogma from 🤔 Since: Nov, 2012
The Encounter that ended the Dogma
#256651: Oct 5th 2018 at 7:16:57 AM

[up][up][up] Agreed, and I consider it of several factors why the GOP and the Game industry seem to support each other (the other factor being a taboo topic). Because of its recent emergence (especially springing up long after unions became too demonized to be viable, thanks McCarthy) and the then running opinion that games are just a fad, the industry gets to enjoy the kind of unfettered corporate power that would had never been viable if it was any other industry.

I'd hope that after Telltale and EA's fiascos and the Midterms that the the US (and the UN) starts taking a good long look at this and rectify it before it grows worse.

Edited by MorningStar1337 on Oct 5th 2018 at 7:19:43 AM

TobiasDrake (•̀⤙•́) (Edited uphill both ways) Relationship Status: Arm chopping is not a love language!
(•̀⤙•́)
#256652: Oct 5th 2018 at 7:20:58 AM

I disagree. Other industries enjoy the same level of corporate power. The gun industry basically owns the entire red half of Washington.

My Tumblr. Currently side-by-side liveblogging Digimon Adventure, sub vs dub.
Mio Since: Jan, 2001
#256653: Oct 5th 2018 at 7:24:24 AM

Media industries are generally not as well scrutinized for their monopolistic or general greedy capitalist practices (they are generally only scrutinized for moral panic things)I don’t see why video games would be any different.

BigMadDraco Since: Mar, 2010 Relationship Status: [TOP SECRET]
#256654: Oct 5th 2018 at 7:42:47 AM

@Fourthspartan 56 It would not be too late because there is a full 2 months between the election and the new congress convening.

megaeliz Since: Mar, 2017
#256655: Oct 5th 2018 at 7:56:09 AM

I’m not sure what to say about this.

The very rude elevator screamers are paid professionals only looking to make Senators look bad. Don’t fall for it! Also, look at all of the professionally made identical signs. Paid for by Soros and others. These are not signs made in the basement from love! #Troublemakers

wisewillow She/her Since: May, 2011
She/her
#256656: Oct 5th 2018 at 7:58:22 AM

Those protesters were trespassing on government property (The Senate, Supreme Court and Flake's office in Arizona), just so the usual suspects don't pessimize.

Yeah, no. It’s deeply messed up that people were arrested for protesting on PUBLIC property. The right to protest is in the freaking bill of rights; this isn’t just a “oh of course you can be arrested for trespassing” thing.

Wyldchyld (Old as dirt)
#256657: Oct 5th 2018 at 7:58:54 AM

I'm seeing reports of the vote.

Nomination advances 51-49.

Manchin, Collins and Flake voted yes.

Murkowski voted no.

It's sad that this is a better result than I was expecting (four yes votes). Collins has stated she will be giving an explanation on the final plan later on today (3pm EDT, I think).

Roll on tomorrow, I guess.

Edited by Wyldchyld on Oct 5th 2018 at 4:04:52 PM

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.
SeptimusHeap from Switzerland (Edited uphill both ways) Relationship Status: Mu
#256658: Oct 5th 2018 at 7:59:44 AM

^^Typical conspiracy mongering. Soros is a bogeyman across many of the right because he funds leftist groups and is Jewish too.

"For a successful technology, reality must take precedence over public relations, for Nature cannot be fooled." - Richard Feynman
archonspeaks Since: Jun, 2013
#256659: Oct 5th 2018 at 7:59:44 AM

[up][up][up][up] I can’t even bring myself to care about what he tweets any more. It has nothing to do with what’s going on down here in reality.

[up][up][up] There are limits to the right to assemble, and I’ll point out that the interior of a government building isn’t public property.

Edited by archonspeaks on Oct 5th 2018 at 8:00:53 AM

They should have sent a poet.
Cris_Meyers reluctant author, willing misanthrope from Chicagoland (Fifth Year at Tropey's) Relationship Status: Showing feelings of an almost human nature
reluctant author, willing misanthrope
#256660: Oct 5th 2018 at 8:00:46 AM

[up][up][up]I'm pretty surprised they had a single defector, honestly.

Edited by Cris_Meyers on Oct 5th 2018 at 10:00:28 AM

Wyldchyld (Old as dirt)
#256661: Oct 5th 2018 at 8:05:41 AM

Yes. It'll be interesting to see what the confirmation vote will be like.

The optimistic observation is that some 'yes' votes may be about quashing the debate, rather than supporting the confirmation (as in, they just want to get the process done and dusted, and don't view the procedural vote as any kind of reflection on how they'll vote on the man himself).

Edited by Wyldchyld on Oct 5th 2018 at 4:08:40 PM

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.
sgamer82 Since: Jan, 2001
#256662: Oct 5th 2018 at 8:08:21 AM

What prompted Manchin to vote Yes to advance, I wonder. Isn't he the one who's supposed to vote party line when it matters?

Also:

"Special Report: The Trump trap - Republicans duck president in key House races" - http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-election-battleground-special-rep/special-report-the-trump-trap-republicans-duck-president-in-key-house-races-idUSKCN1MF13Y

An excerpt:

Trump largely enjoys strong support within his party: Reuters/Ipsos opinion polls put him at 82 percent approval among Republican likely voters. But that backing softens among Republicans with college degrees and higher incomes. In 2016, he ran poorly in many districts where those voters hold sway.

Some disenchanted Republicans take issue with Trump’s policies, particularly on immigration, the environment and U.S.-Russia relations, polling shows. More often, they condemn the president for being divisive and disrespectful.

Now, with polls and analysts favoring Democrats to win the House majority, battleground Republicans need every vote. And few questions loom larger than how closely they should align themselves with the president.

The answer for many: keep quiet.

Among 56 House battleground districts, the Republican nominees in 19 – more than a third – have offered no support for Trump on their campaign websites or on campaign Twitter and Facebook posts made this year, a Reuters analysis shows. 

The trend is particularly profound in the 10 wealthiest of those battlegrounds. Just four of the Republican candidates in those districts have supported Trump on their websites or social media accounts. In the 10 battlegrounds with the lowest median incomes, eight of the Republican candidates have expressed support for him

Edited by sgamer82 on Oct 5th 2018 at 9:12:04 AM

Cris_Meyers reluctant author, willing misanthrope from Chicagoland (Fifth Year at Tropey's) Relationship Status: Showing feelings of an almost human nature
reluctant author, willing misanthrope
#256663: Oct 5th 2018 at 8:11:19 AM

I'd guess a combo of being a Democrat in a red-state and what Wyldchyld observed above: not wanting to appear like he's obstructing the process.

kkhohoho (4 Score & 7 Years Ago)
#256664: Oct 5th 2018 at 8:11:46 AM

[up][up]I am hoping that he only voted yes to advance the vote to save face and will actually vote no for the actual confirmation vote. Because if he does, with one Repuplican gone and Murkowski having defected to our side, we might actually be able to eke out a win.

Edited by kkhohoho on Oct 5th 2018 at 10:11:35 AM

sgamer82 Since: Jan, 2001
#256665: Oct 5th 2018 at 8:13:35 AM

Are the confirmation debates open/public?

Fourthspartan56 from Georgia, US Since: Oct, 2016 Relationship Status: THIS CONCEPT OF 'WUV' CONFUSES AND INFURIATES US!
#256666: Oct 5th 2018 at 8:18:58 AM

I am hoping that he only voted yes to advance the vote to save face and will actually vote no for the actual confirmation vote. Because if he does, with one Repuplican gone and Murkowski having defected to our side, we might actually be able to eke out a win.

He almost certainly only voted yes because Collins and Flake voted yes, he'll vote depending on where the wind is blowing. The odds of him being the deciding vote and voting yes is incredibly unlikely given his record, he'll vote yes if the voters are there but won't otherwise.

"Einstein would turn over in his grave. Not only does God play dice, the dice are loaded." -Chairman Sheng-Ji Yang
Wyldchyld (Old as dirt)
#256667: Oct 5th 2018 at 8:19:35 AM

The American Bar Association is re-evaluating Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh's 'well-qualified' rating ahead of the Senate vote to confirm him

The American Bar Association informed the Senate Judiciary Committee on Friday that it was re-evaluating Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh's "well-qualified" rating just hours before the Senate was scheduled to make a key vote to advance Kavanaugh's confirmation.

"New information of a material nature regarding temperament during the September 27th hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee has prompted a re-opening of the Standing Committee's evaluation," a representative for the ABA's Standing Committee on the Federal Judiciary said in a letter to Judiciary Committee Chairman Sen. Chuck Grassley.

"The Committee does not expect to complete a process and re-vote prior to the scheduled Senate vote," they said, adding that their former "well qualified" rating would stand until their evaluation was complete.

A former Supreme Court justice even came out against Kavanaugh's confirmation, leading Kavanaugh to write a rare Wall Street Journal op-ed defending his independence and impartiality.

"At that time, I thought (Kavanaugh) had the qualifications for the Supreme Court should he be selected," former Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens said at a Florida event on Thursday. "I've changed my views for reasons that have no relationship to his intellectual ability … I feel his performance in the hearings ultimately changed my mind."

Edited by Wyldchyld on Oct 5th 2018 at 4:23:06 PM

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.
PushoverMediaCritic I'm sorry Tien, but I must go all out. from the Italy of America Since: Jul, 2015 Relationship Status: watch?v=dQw4w9WgXcQ
I'm sorry Tien, but I must go all out.
#256668: Oct 5th 2018 at 8:23:51 AM

Kavanaugh is just too emotional to be a Supreme Court judge. He might fly into fits of hysterics at a moments notice.

Larkmarn Since: Nov, 2010 Relationship Status: Hello, I love you
#256669: Oct 5th 2018 at 8:24:07 AM

What prompted Manchin to vote Yes to advance, I wonder. Isn't he the one who's supposed to vote party line when it matters?

If the Rs already have 50 votes, then it doesn't matter.

Found a Youtube Channel with political stances you want to share? Hop on over to this page and add them.
danime91 Since: Jan, 2012 Relationship Status: Above such petty unnecessities
#256670: Oct 5th 2018 at 8:29:13 AM

Yeah, they already had their 50, meaning Pence would step in as a tie-breaker. If one more Republican voted no, then he would have voted no as well.

Medinoc from France (Before Recorded History)
#256671: Oct 5th 2018 at 8:34:33 AM

Would Pence be uncomfortable with being the tiebreaking vote (due to further damage to his reputation)? I have no doubt that he would do it anyway, though. He might just wish he weren't the one sticking his neck out.

"And as long as a sack of shit is not a good thing to be, chivalry will never die."
sgamer82 Since: Jan, 2001
#256672: Oct 5th 2018 at 8:35:07 AM

And there was no benefit in forcing the tie breaker?

Edited by sgamer82 on Oct 5th 2018 at 9:34:39 AM

Ramidel Since: Jan, 2001
#256673: Oct 5th 2018 at 8:36:28 AM

If Manchin and Murkowski vote no, and Daines is absent for the final vote? That's 49-50, game, set and match.

[up][up]No. Pence is a theocrat of the same breed as Moore. He'd embrace putting a rapist on the Supreme Court, because it isn't rape if she doesn't scream because you're holding her mouth shut, or something equally noxious.

Edited by Ramidel on Oct 5th 2018 at 7:37:58 AM

M84 Oh, bother. from Our little blue planet Since: Jun, 2010 Relationship Status: Chocolate!
Oh, bother.
#256674: Oct 5th 2018 at 8:37:50 AM

Pence would vote in Kavanaugh in a heartbeat if it came down to that.

Disgusted, but not surprised
danime91 Since: Jan, 2012 Relationship Status: Above such petty unnecessities
#256675: Oct 5th 2018 at 8:38:45 AM

So really, it's Manchin realizing that voting no would be pointless, and he wants to get to the final vote as soon as possible to take advantage of Daines' absence, as long as Murkowski sticks to her guns and votes no again.


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