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

kkhohoho (4 Score & 7 Years Ago)
#258501: Oct 23rd 2018 at 9:45:12 PM

[up][up]On the other hand, I'd argue having such a position selected and voted on by a group of elected officials who may not actually have the people's best interests at heart isn't much better.

Edited by kkhohoho on Oct 23rd 2018 at 11:46:01 AM

CharlesPhipps Since: Jan, 2001
#258502: Oct 23rd 2018 at 10:02:47 PM

The problem continues to be the election of officials in America are insufficiently restricted from appointing assholes.

Author of The Rules of Supervillainy, Cthulhu Armageddon, and United States of Monsters.
FluffyMcChicken My Hair Provides Affordable Healthcare from where the floating lights gleam Since: Jun, 2014 Relationship Status: In another castle
My Hair Provides Affordable Healthcare
#258503: Oct 24th 2018 at 12:29:08 AM

Here in California, the most surefire way to research a judge's political leanings is to simply look up which governer appointed them; voters then choose "Yes" or "No" regarding whether or not the appointments should pass through.

If they were originally selected by a Republican governor, they'll likely be conservative. If they were selected by a Democrat, probably liberal.

tclittle Professional Forum Ninja from Somewhere Down in Texas Since: Apr, 2010
Professional Forum Ninja
#258504: Oct 24th 2018 at 6:19:41 AM

breaking: bomb found at the Clinton's New York home.

"We're all paper, we're all scissors, we're all fightin' with our mirrors, scared we'll never find somebody to love."
Rationalinsanity from Halifax, Canada Since: Aug, 2010 Relationship Status: It's complicated
#258505: Oct 24th 2018 at 6:24:06 AM

[up]This is just a day after a device was found near George Soros' residence.

Edited by Rationalinsanity on Oct 24th 2018 at 10:26:28 AM

Politics is the skilled use of blunt objects.
M84 Oh, bother. from Our little blue planet Since: Jun, 2010 Relationship Status: Chocolate!
Oh, bother.
#258506: Oct 24th 2018 at 6:25:30 AM

The logical conclusion of all of this conspiracy mongering that paints Soros and Clinton as the root of all evil in the world. Inevitably someone was going to act on it. At this point I wouldn't be surprised if someone finds a bomb at the Obamas'.

Edited by M84 on Oct 24th 2018 at 9:25:59 PM

Disgusted, but not surprised
SteamKnight Since: Jun, 2018
#258507: Oct 24th 2018 at 6:43:47 AM

If this ends up as another crazy lone wolf, America really need to rename that War on Terror.

I'm not as witty as I think I am. It's a scientifically-proven fact.
Silasw A procrastination in of itself from A handcart to hell (4 Score & 7 Years Ago) Relationship Status: And they all lived happily ever after <3
A procrastination in of itself
#258508: Oct 24th 2018 at 6:45:39 AM

Just got breaking news that a package was also sent to Obama.

“And the Bunny nails it!” ~ Gabrael “If the UN can get through a day without everyone strangling everyone else so can we.” ~ Cyran
speedyboris Since: Feb, 2010
#258509: Oct 24th 2018 at 6:49:33 AM

EDIT: [nja] Yeah, whoever did this was totally not motivated by Trump's rhetoric.

Democrats' hope of a 'blue wave' midterm shrinks as Trump delivers for the GOP base Ugh. Headlines like this are not helping. Some non-committed left-leaning voters are gonna see this and go, "Why bother voting?" and stay home.

Edited by speedyboris on Oct 24th 2018 at 8:52:43 AM

SteamKnight Since: Jun, 2018
#258510: Oct 24th 2018 at 6:49:39 AM

[up][up] They move fast, huh? Did the (predicted I guess) blue wave set this off?

Edited by SteamKnight on Oct 24th 2018 at 8:49:54 PM

I'm not as witty as I think I am. It's a scientifically-proven fact.
M84 Oh, bother. from Our little blue planet Since: Jun, 2010 Relationship Status: Chocolate!
Oh, bother.
#258511: Oct 24th 2018 at 6:52:55 AM

Ugh, I hate being right sometimes.

Disgusted, but not surprised
PresidentStalkeyes Eats moldy bread and flies into windows from United Kingdom of England-land Since: Feb, 2016 Relationship Status: Do you like me? (Yes ⎕ Definitely ⎕ Absolutely!!! ⎕)
Eats moldy bread and flies into windows
#258512: Oct 24th 2018 at 6:57:56 AM

To be honest, I don't see how a lot of Republicans going out to vote is a cause for concern; it's already been established that they're much more committed voters than Democrats typically are, if they weren't then getting Democrats to vote on the same level wouldn't be such a high priority. And again, haven't all the numbers been saying that the GOP base is numerically shrinking anyway?

Maybe those defeatist headlines are a deliberate gambit to motivate Democrats in the hope they might counteract it.

Those sell-by-dates won't stop me because I can't read!
Ultimatum Disasturbator from the Amiga Forest (Old as dirt) Relationship Status: Who needs love when you have waffles?
Disasturbator
#258513: Oct 24th 2018 at 7:05:32 AM

> Maybe those defeatist headlines are a deliberate gambit to motivate Democrats in the hope they might counteract it.

So reverse psychology?

Don't think that's going to work,it's nice effort though

have a listen and have a link to my discord server
FluffyMcChicken My Hair Provides Affordable Healthcare from where the floating lights gleam Since: Jun, 2014 Relationship Status: In another castle
My Hair Provides Affordable Healthcare
#258514: Oct 24th 2018 at 7:06:01 AM

[up] problem is that the media is also infamous for deliberately "closing" political races in order to excite audiences and gain readers/viewers, so it's not unlikely that altruism isn't the motivation.

PresidentStalkeyes Eats moldy bread and flies into windows from United Kingdom of England-land Since: Feb, 2016 Relationship Status: Do you like me? (Yes ⎕ Definitely ⎕ Absolutely!!! ⎕)
Eats moldy bread and flies into windows
#258515: Oct 24th 2018 at 7:07:55 AM

Back in 2016, did the media try to 'close' the election in Clinton's favour because it was assumed she'd win? I know that happened with South Park but I don't remember if it happened with anyone else.

Edited by PresidentStalkeyes on Oct 24th 2018 at 3:08:09 PM

Those sell-by-dates won't stop me because I can't read!
Silasw A procrastination in of itself from A handcart to hell (4 Score & 7 Years Ago) Relationship Status: And they all lived happily ever after <3
A procrastination in of itself
#258516: Oct 24th 2018 at 7:10:39 AM

No they tried to close in Trump’s favour as they thought Clinton would win.

They also tried to close in Romney’s favour in 2012.

“And the Bunny nails it!” ~ Gabrael “If the UN can get through a day without everyone strangling everyone else so can we.” ~ Cyran
Friendperson Since: May, 2018
#258517: Oct 24th 2018 at 7:10:48 AM

Why do so many apparently left-leaning people not give a fuck about voting? If rightists are the minority by a significant margin, why aren't they crushed every time?

Edited by Friendperson on Oct 24th 2018 at 7:13:36 AM

M84 Oh, bother. from Our little blue planet Since: Jun, 2010 Relationship Status: Chocolate!
Oh, bother.
#258518: Oct 24th 2018 at 7:14:40 AM

Democratic people want to fall in love, Republicans fall in line.

At this point it's best not to sweat the polls. If you can vote, then do so if you haven't already.

Edited by M84 on Oct 24th 2018 at 10:15:13 PM

Disgusted, but not surprised
PresidentStalkeyes Eats moldy bread and flies into windows from United Kingdom of England-land Since: Feb, 2016 Relationship Status: Do you like me? (Yes ⎕ Definitely ⎕ Absolutely!!! ⎕)
Eats moldy bread and flies into windows
#258519: Oct 24th 2018 at 7:14:50 AM

[up][up][up]That's interesting, if not surprising.

Sounds like a reversal of the infamous 'DEWEY DEFEATS TRUMAN' headline in 1948, where they closed in Dewey's favour because it was assumed he'd win. Although there was some practical concerns in play there that don't apply nowadays, but still.

Edited by PresidentStalkeyes on Oct 24th 2018 at 3:15:06 PM

Those sell-by-dates won't stop me because I can't read!
Silasw A procrastination in of itself from A handcart to hell (4 Score & 7 Years Ago) Relationship Status: And they all lived happily ever after <3
A procrastination in of itself
#258520: Oct 24th 2018 at 7:16:47 AM

Closing isn’t about who they expect to win, it’s about them misrepresenting the race as closer than it is so as to make things more of a horse race, in 2016 they went further and provided biased coverage so as to create a horse race.

“And the Bunny nails it!” ~ Gabrael “If the UN can get through a day without everyone strangling everyone else so can we.” ~ Cyran
BlueNinja0 The Mod with the Migraine from Taking a left at Albuquerque Since: Dec, 2010 Relationship Status: Showing feelings of an almost human nature
The Mod with the Migraine
#258521: Oct 24th 2018 at 7:21:15 AM

An editorial from the Times is encouraging everyone to vote Democrat to make America America again. It probably won't convince Fox News, but it's another conservative not drinking the Trump koolaid.

    Full article text 
Emphasis mine.
What is there left to say about the terrible murder of moderate Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi and its aftermath? Only one thing, and I have said it before, but I feel it even more strongly now: In the midterm elections, vote for a Democrat, canvass for a Democrat, raise money for a Democrat, drive someone else to a voting station to vote for a Democrat.

I don’t say that because I’m particularly liberal and want to shift the whole country to the liberal agenda. I say that because I’m particularly American and I want to put the best of American values back at the center of our diplomacy and politics. President Trump has spent two years attacking our best values — truth and trust — and I believe that Democrats getting a lever of power is necessary, but not sufficient, to reverse that.

Democrats could blow it if they get back a lever of power and use it just to bully Trump and Republicans the same way he has them. But I’ll take that chance. Because there is a basic respect for truth, science and decency in the Democratic caucus and because I know that two more years of the G.O.P. holding every lever of power and blindly following Trump’s basic disrespect for truth, science and decency will make it impossible to elevate America’s best values.

Truth without power today is just background Muzak to the march of the Trump administration.

You see, I can write that it is vitally important for global stability and the protection of journalists everywhere that those who executed and ordered the murder of Khashoggi be punished. But if Democrats do not control either the House or the Senate, I fear Trump will try to avoid any meaningful U.S. censure of Riyadh or its top leaders, if they are proven culpable.

I can write that the president, by telling us that we must weigh a $110 billion Saudi arms purchase against taking a moral stand on Khashoggi’s murder, is literally telling us the price of our values — about $333.33 for every American. (Your check is in the mail.) But if you think, as I do, that countries that sell out their core values for financial gain suffer in the long run or if you think that such a country is not the America you want us to be, and that the world needs us to be, then you need to vote for a Democrat for the House and the Senate.

I can write that a president who praises a U.S. politician who body slammed a journalist for politely asking a valid question — and who is utterly indifferent to the plight of jailed democracy advocates and journalists from Egypt to Turkey to the Arabian Peninsula to the Philippines — is giving license to thugs all over the world. But that criticism will never have any impact if Democrats control neither the House nor the Senate.

I can write that it is unconscionable that the president of the United States simply dismissed as political spin the latest report by the U.N.’s team of climate scientists — warning that if we don’t undertake immediate carbon emission reductions to prevent global average temperature from rising more than 1.5 degrees Celsius above preindustrial levels, and not let the increase hit 2 degrees, we will be condemning the next generation to a world of environmental hurt by the end of the century.

I can even quote The Economist magazine’s summary of that hurt: “Arctic summers could be ice-free once a decade in a two-degree world, but once a century in a one-and-a-half-degree one. Virtually all the ocean’s coral might be irreversibly wiped out in a two-degree world, rather than 70-90 percent if temperatures rise by less. Sea levels may rise an extra 10 cm, washing away the livelihoods of millions more people. Permitting a rise of two degrees could also see an extra 420M people exposed to record heat.”

But not a finger will be lifted to prevent any of these devastating outcomes unless Democrats control at least the House or the Senate.

I can write that the growing tribalization of our politics, the notion that members of the other party are not just opponents but “enemies” who must be crushed, is being fueled by a president who has no desire to be president of all the people, but rather only his base, and who delights in dividing us and insulting people, thereby debasing his office. But it will be impossible to impose any accountability on Trump for his toxic behavior and reverse the tone of incivility that has overtaken U.S. politics if the Democrats do not control either the House or the Senate.

I can write that it is impossible to have a healthy democracy when our president spews a steady stream of lies every day, has denounced the F.B.I. and the Justice Department, refused to take seriously Russian interference in our elections and still has not revealed his tax returns. But this president will continue soiling our institutions and his office unless Democrats control at least the House or the Senate and can impose penalties for such corrosive behavior.

I could write that one reason the Saudis probably thought they could cross a red line with their depraved murder of Khashoggi was that Trump never appointed an ambassador to Riyadh — relying instead on his and his son-in-law’s personal contacts with the Saudi ruler — and because Trump regularly denounced journalists as purveyors of fake news. Why Trump never sent an ambassador to Saudi Arabia needs to be investigated, but it won’t if Democrats do not control the House or the Senate.

In sum, words today are not enough, investigative journalism is not enough, television special reports are not enough, documentaries are not enough, endless columns and editorials calling out Trump are not enough — even an audiotape of Khashoggi being killed inside the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul may not be enough — because the truth is just not enough today — not as long as we have a president who has no shame, who is backed by party that has no spine, that controls the House, the Senate, the White House, the Supreme Court and, indirectly, a major television network that has no integrity.

One day I hope the truth will be enough again. One day I hope great journalism will be enough again. But today only a lever of power — the House or the Senate — will make it so. Facts, science and truth — without power — are just leaves floating through the air in the age of Trump, scattering aimlessly without impact.

So, this year: No third party, no Green Party, no throwing up our hands and saying, “They’re all bad.” All of that’s for another day. For today, in these midterm elections, vote for a Democrat, canvass for a Democrat, raise money for a Democrat, drive someone else to a voting station to vote for a Democrat. It’s the only hope to make America America again.

Nothing else matters. Pass it on.

So it's not all the news outlets pushing a close race narrative.

That’s the epitome of privilege right there, not considering armed nazis a threat to your life. - Silasw
Robrecht Your friendly neighbourhood Regent from The Netherlands Since: Jan, 2001 Relationship Status: They can't hide forever. We've got satellites.
Your friendly neighbourhood Regent
#258522: Oct 24th 2018 at 7:32:55 AM

...Seriously, just because most of us here aren't cool with the idea of a violent overthrow of government doesn't mean we're throwing LGBT people under the bus or ignoring what's happening here.

The words 'forceful' instead of 'violent' and 'administration' instead of 'government' in my post were not accidental.

Angry gets shit done.
TacticalFox88 from USA Since: Nov, 2010 Relationship Status: Dating the Doctor
#258523: Oct 24th 2018 at 7:34:09 AM

It felt like it was only a matter of time before the right turned to violence. They’ve been radicaized for damn near a decade.

New Survey coming this weekend!
Rationalinsanity from Halifax, Canada Since: Aug, 2010 Relationship Status: It's complicated
#258524: Oct 24th 2018 at 7:34:15 AM

538 is still giving the Democrats a 85% of taking the House (which is about as high as its been this cycle), and Democrats are winning the fundraising war in key races.

Trump's approval rating going up marginally doesn't seem to be helping greater GOP prospects, and remember that Reagan, Clinton and Obama were more popular than him when their parties got hammered in the midterms: https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/trumps-approval-rating-is-up-republican-house-chances-are-down-does-that-make-any-sense/

Localized polling is not looking for the Republicans either: https://www.cnn.com/2018/10/23/politics/washington-post-poll-swing-districts/index.html

Politics is the skilled use of blunt objects.
speedyboris Since: Feb, 2010
#258525: Oct 24th 2018 at 7:35:15 AM

CNN got a bomb too, apparently.

These all HAVE to be connected.


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