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DrunkenNordmann from Exile Since: May, 2015
#263001: Nov 28th 2018 at 10:06:32 AM

Has anyone ever explained to Trump that giving your enemies nicknames is supposed to make them look bad and not awesome?tongue

We learn from history that we do not learn from history
sgamer82 Since: Jan, 2001
#263002: Nov 28th 2018 at 10:26:32 AM

I don't think the Republicans get that in general, given their attempt to smear Beto o'Roarke be bringing up good rocker past vs Ted Cruz the zodiac mime.

PhysicalStamina i'm tired, my friend (4 Score & 7 Years Ago) Relationship Status: Coming soon to theaters
i'm tired, my friend
#263003: Nov 28th 2018 at 10:27:09 AM

Now that you mention it, "Gang of Angry Democrats" is actually a really good name for a Democratic organization.

i'm tired, my friend
TobiasDrake (•̀⤙•́) (Edited uphill both ways) Relationship Status: Arm chopping is not a love language!
(•̀⤙•́)
#263004: Nov 28th 2018 at 10:50:32 AM

Has anyone ever explained to Trump that giving your enemies nicknames is supposed to make them look bad and not awesome?

No one's ever explained to him that badmouthing specific news stories, outlets, and/or individuals encourages people to look them up and see what all the fuss is about. So probably not, no.

Quoth Stephen Colbert, "I knew there was a lot you didn't know about when you took this job but I didn't expect one of those things to be show business. Oh please, Mr. President, don't make me trend on Twitter again!"

Edited by TobiasDrake on Nov 28th 2018 at 11:50:58 AM

My Tumblr. Currently side-by-side liveblogging Digimon Adventure, sub vs dub.
TechPriest90 Servant of the Omnissiah from Collegia Titanica, Mars, Sol System Since: Sep, 2015 Relationship Status: Above such petty unnecessities
Servant of the Omnissiah
#263005: Nov 28th 2018 at 11:03:11 AM

[up][up] Better yet, Gang of Angry Democrats For Liberty and Youth.

I hold the secrets of the machine.
Rationalinsanity from Halifax, Canada Since: Aug, 2010 Relationship Status: It's complicated
TechPriest90 Servant of the Omnissiah from Collegia Titanica, Mars, Sol System Since: Sep, 2015 Relationship Status: Above such petty unnecessities
Servant of the Omnissiah
#263007: Nov 28th 2018 at 12:24:57 PM

So who were the absolute morons who voted No? (Can't open the link on my phone).

I hold the secrets of the machine.
TheWanderer Student of Story from Somewhere in New England (Time Abyss) Relationship Status: Wishfully thinking
Student of Story
#263008: Nov 28th 2018 at 12:25:21 PM

Well, here’s a criticism of Trump surprising enough that I felt I had to post about it during lunch: Ammon Bundy, from the same Bundy family that had a standoff with government agents and later occupied government lands with his militia buddies, called out Trump for depicting all migrants and refugees as criminals, pleaded for a more humane approach in a 17 minute video.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2018/11/28/ammon-bundy-breaks-with-trump-anti-migrant-rhetoric-its-all-fear-based/

The images beaming out of the U.S.-Mexico border — migrants storming barricades, children gagging on tear gas — have intensified the debate regarding the Trump administration’s bare-knuckled approach to immigration.

On Tuesday night, an unlikely critic took President Trump to task for his comments portraying members of the migrant caravan now massed in Tijuana as “criminals” and “gang members.” In a video posted on Facebook, Ammon Bundy, the anti-government militia leader, pushed back against Trump’s heated rhetoric.

“He has basically called them all criminals and said they’re not coming in here. It seems that there’s been this group stereotype,” Bundy said in a 17-minute clip. “But what about those who have come here for reasons of need? . . . What about the fathers, the mothers, the children, who have come here and are willing to go through the process to apply for asylum so they can come into this country and benefit from not having to be oppressed continually by criminals?"

Along with his father, Cliven, and brother, Ryan, Bundy became an ascendant figure on the right after a long-standing land dispute with federal authorities sparked an armed standoff at the family ranch in Nevada in 2014. Since then, the Bundys have regularly clashed with the government both inside and outside the courtroom, making them figureheads of the anti-Washington energy that also propelled Trump to the White House.

Along with his father, Cliven, and brother, Ryan, Bundy became an ascendant figure on the right after a long-standing land dispute with federal authorities sparked an armed standoff at the family ranch in Nevada in 2014. Since then, the Bundys have regularly clashed with the government both inside and outside the courtroom, making them figureheads of the anti-Washington energy that also propelled Trump to the White House.

...

In his video Tuesday night, Ammon Bundy said he attempted to do his own research on the border to separate fact from fiction.

“I tried to go outside of the media, both in this case the media from the conservative side and the media from the liberal side because I do not believe either one of them are telling the truth,” he said. “On the liberal side, you have, ‘Oh, we’ve got to let them in.’ . . . Then, you have the conservative side of it that has it they’re here because they’ve been sent by the U.N. or they’re being paid by George Soros, they’re a bunch of terrorists. I have found that is a bunch of garbage, too.”

Bundy acknowledged that among the “thousands” of migrants in the caravan, there are some that will “act like criminals.” But he argued the majority of the people are fleeing violence in countries like Honduras. “Then, they come to the border, and they have a right — a legal right — to apply to come into this country,” he argued. “Each one of them should be considered individually.”

... so, uh, did anyone see where that group of flying pigs came from?

Regarding Pelosi: good, but this was just getting the nomination on behalf of Democrats. She has to win a majority of the House in order to officially become Speaker, and if that many Democrats either vote against her or abstain, she won’t make it. Hopefully the blue dogs feel they’ve made their point and won’t throw the party into disarray by voting her down with nobody ready to replace her.

Finally, something strange in a North Carolina House race: the board of elections unanimously refused to certify the results of a race that saw the Republican incumbent re-elected by a very narrow margin. (For the record, said board is 5 Democrats and 4 Republicans.) Definitely something to keep an eye on.

https://www.wsoctv.com/news/north-carolina/north-carolina-board-delays-finalizing-congressional-result/879399464

Edited by TheWanderer on Nov 28th 2018 at 3:36:41 PM

| Wandering, but not lost. | If people bring so much courage to this world...◊ |
TechPriest90 Servant of the Omnissiah from Collegia Titanica, Mars, Sol System Since: Sep, 2015 Relationship Status: Above such petty unnecessities
Servant of the Omnissiah
#263009: Nov 28th 2018 at 12:29:55 PM

[up] I guess even a stopped clock is right twice a day. Or he's just being nonconformist.

Either way, this rather unexpected denunciation from a guy who was expected to be unabashedly pro-Trump holds very little weight in the larger scheme of things.

“It’s all fear-based, and frankly it’s based upon selfishness — ‘I’m going to lose something by them coming in,’ ” Bundy said of the anti-migrant rhetoric. “I think that’s incorrect. But also to base your arguments or your motives or your actions upon fear is a very dangerous thing to do.

Pot, meet kettle.

Edited by TechPriest90 on Nov 28th 2018 at 3:32:45 PM

I hold the secrets of the machine.
Bur from Flyover Country (Living Relic) Relationship Status: Having tea with Cthulhu
Euodiachloris Since: Oct, 2010
#263011: Nov 28th 2018 at 12:59:09 PM

Wow. Those pigs are really good at aerial display formation changeovers. surprised

I thought it beyond unlikely that I'd ever agree with any statement made by a member of that family.

Yet...

speedyboris Since: Feb, 2010
#263012: Nov 28th 2018 at 1:08:07 PM

We'll see if he votes against Trump in 2020.

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
#263013: Nov 28th 2018 at 1:13:34 PM

Pelosi hasn't been voted speaker, she's been voted as democrat leader, the speaker election isn't yet and she will be up against the Republican candidate for speaker.

She's won the democrat speakership primary. That doesn't make her speaker yet.

However more dems voted for her then there are Republicans, so as long as the democrats who opposed her don't vote for the Republican come the speaker election she will be fine.

Edited by Silasw on Nov 28th 2018 at 9:15:36 AM

“And the Bunny nails it!” ~ Gabrael “If the UN can get through a day without everyone strangling everyone else so can we.” ~ Cyran
ironballs16 Since: Jul, 2009 Relationship Status: Owner of a lonely heart
#263014: Nov 28th 2018 at 1:29:46 PM

[up][up][up]

Well, he is in the agricultural industry, and they're rather well-known for hiring illegal immigrants. That said, that's from my experience with crop harvesting, so it might be different when it comes to ranching.

"Why would I inflict myself on somebody else?"
SeptimusHeap from Switzerland (Edited uphill both ways) Relationship Status: Mu
#263015: Nov 28th 2018 at 1:31:07 PM

Huh?

Speaker elections require a majority of all representatives, not just a majority of all representatives of the majority party. If Pelosi does not get a majority of all representatives in the first vote, there will be additional votes until someone gets a majority. That last happened in 1923 and would probably seriously weaken her authority.

That is, if all of these 32 refuse to vote for her in the actual floor vote, she won't become Speaker. So we'll see some bargaining in the next weeks to convince enough of them to vote for her in the main vote early next year.

By the way, representatives who rebel in this manner usually vote for other people from their party. A representative who votes for someone in the other party is one of the few things that are absolutely unacceptable violations of party loyalty and will result in their committee memberships etc. being stripped most likely. Some discussion. Vice versa, independent members such as Bernie Sanders usually get their committee memberships and other party perks by agreeing to follow a certain party's directives, in his case the Democrats. And that includes voting for their speaker candidate. That's what we mean when we say that Sanders and Angus King "caucus with" the Democrats.

Edited by SeptimusHeap on Nov 28th 2018 at 10:57:44 AM

"For a successful technology, reality must take precedence over public relations, for Nature cannot be fooled." - Richard Feynman
Fourthspartan56 from Georgia, US Since: Oct, 2016 Relationship Status: THIS CONCEPT OF 'WUV' CONFUSES AND INFURIATES US!
#263016: Nov 28th 2018 at 1:56:57 PM

So who were the absolute morons who voted No? (Can't open the link on my phone).

Right-wing Democrats, IIRC they ran on opposing her and are thus fufilling their campaign promises.

"Einstein would turn over in his grave. Not only does God play dice, the dice are loaded." -Chairman Sheng-Ji Yang
SeptimusHeap from Switzerland (Edited uphill both ways) Relationship Status: Mu
#263017: Nov 28th 2018 at 2:20:17 PM

By the by, here is a little prognostic for the 2020 Senate elections. To my great annoyance, while the map is more favourable Doug Jones is one of these up for re-election and while he isn't unpopular or anything a red state is a red state.

"For a successful technology, reality must take precedence over public relations, for Nature cannot be fooled." - Richard Feynman
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.
#263018: Nov 28th 2018 at 2:32:01 PM

[up][up]There were only a dozen or so of that, the other 20 probably just made a show to get Pelosi in the backroom to get some promises on their pet projects.

"You can reply to this Message!"
Swanpride Since: Jun, 2013
#263019: Nov 28th 2018 at 2:33:49 PM

Btw, one of the last two New York districts have now been officially called for the democrats. So, whatever happens with the last two open races, they have gotten +39.

I wouldn't worry about the Senate elections just yet. In two years, the Democrats might be more motivated to vote than the Republicans. Especially if Trumps keeps destroying jobs in red states.

Edited by Swanpride on Nov 28th 2018 at 2:34:37 AM

Gilphon (4 Score & 7 Years Ago)
#263020: Nov 28th 2018 at 2:40:25 PM

My takeaway from that look at the 2020 Senate is that it's likely that whichever party wins the presidency will also win the Senate.

LSBK Since: Sep, 2014
#263021: Nov 28th 2018 at 2:50:34 PM

Just looking at that map, my first thought would be the most doable switches from R-to-D would be Colorado and Maine, and maybe Iowa.

But they say we need at least four (not counting the Vice-Presidency) and that's assuming we don't lose any.

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
#263022: Nov 28th 2018 at 2:54:45 PM

Yeah the speaker election requires an absolute majority, but a majority of votes cast, so the democrats who voted against Pelosi can abstain and she will still win.

If they vote for the republican or protest vote she won't win, but I suspect that they can be talked into abstaining and using that as their protest.

As for the senate, it won't be easy, but if the Democrats can will the presidency from Trump that's likely to mean winning the senate as well.

There are a lot of Democratic targets, Colorado, Maine, Arizona, Iowa, North Carolina, Georgia (Abrams could possibly run and win if not facing an opponent who controlled the voting process), Texas, Louisiana, Alaska and even long shots like West Virginia.

As we learnt this year it's about rolling a lot of dice, not counting on rolling high on one or two. If the Dems can push a solid 10-11 good candidates they could well get a few of them though.

There's also the idiot factor to consider, Republicans keep nominating bad candidates, Moore could run again, Arpaio could be the Arizona candidate, some incumbent Republicans could retire, maybe Colbert tries to unseat Graham in South Carolina for shits and giggles.

Stretching the enemy thin and waiting for a few cracks to appear has worked well for both sides over the last few years.

Edited by Silasw on Nov 28th 2018 at 11:05:23 AM

“And the Bunny nails it!” ~ Gabrael “If the UN can get through a day without everyone strangling everyone else so can we.” ~ Cyran
Grafite Since: Apr, 2016 Relationship Status: Less than three
#263023: Nov 28th 2018 at 3:02:20 PM

The Senate has voted to end their support for the coalition in the Yemen War. Something long overdue in my opinion, it's not like Saudi Arabia wasn't committing war crimes before the Khashoggi murder, but whatever, Trump hates pointless wars, so he may sign this bill.

Edited by Grafite on Nov 28th 2018 at 11:02:42 AM

Life is unfair...
AceofSpades Since: Apr, 2009 Relationship Status: Showing feelings of an almost human nature
#263024: Nov 28th 2018 at 3:04:48 PM

Correction; Trump hates wars that don't get him what he wants.

DeMarquis (4 Score & 7 Years Ago)
#263025: Nov 28th 2018 at 3:08:11 PM

Well, Putin wants to mediate a peace treaty in Yemen, so he is likely to approve. Which means Trump will claim it was his idea. "It's going to be a beautiful peace..."

I'm done trying to sound smart. "Clear" is the new smart.

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