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

Fourthspartan56 from Georgia, US Since: Oct, 2016 Relationship Status: THIS CONCEPT OF 'WUV' CONFUSES AND INFURIATES US!
#325051: Aug 25th 2020 at 2:01:10 PM

I read that post and my literal brain decided he was genuinely upset about a reunited Germany

Brain no

Your brain: Brain YES

wink

But seriously, happens to the best of us.

Edited by Fourthspartan56 on Aug 25th 2020 at 2:02:01 AM

"Einstein would turn over in his grave. Not only does God play dice, the dice are loaded." -Chairman Sheng-Ji Yang
sgamer82 Since: Jan, 2001
#325052: Aug 25th 2020 at 2:18:55 PM

'He's going to be unleashed': Republican DOJ appointees urge against Trump second term – The officials said they’re backing Joe Biden in the hope of restoring “basic honesty and integrity.”

https://www.politico.com/news/2020/08/25/justice-department-against-trump-401279

A group of onetime Republican presidential appointees who served as senior ethics or Justice Department aides are endorsing Joe Biden for president, warning that Donald Trump has “weaponized” the executive branch and is putting in peril the legitimacy of the Justice Department.

“I think a lot of us are extremely alarmed, frankly, at the threat of autocracy,” Donald B. Ayer, former deputy attorney general during the George H.W. Bush administration, said in an interview with POLITICO. “He’s going to be unleashed if he gets a second term. I don’t know what’s going to stop him.”

The former officials endorsing Tuesday served under the Reagan, H.W. Bush and George W. Bush administrations.

The officials said they’re backing Biden in the hope of restoring “basic honesty and integrity to the U.S. Department of Justice and to Executive Branch decision-making.”

“There’s no reasonable choice here at all. Trump is a person who is utterly unfit to serve. I don’t want to be apocalyptic but if he were reelected then all of the tendencies that we’ve seen in the first term — and they keep getting scarier and scarier — would [only get worse] in terms of the militarization and peaceful protests and the use of the justice system to do whatever he wants.”

For his part, Trump has railed against Democrats taking the reins at the Justice Department, saying Biden would radicalize the nation’s response to protests. Trump has said he is the president whose chief interest is maintaining law and order.

The endorsement for Biden and against Trump from a cadre of Republicans comes on the second day of the Republican National Convention. On Monday, former Sen. Jeff Flake of Arizona led more than two dozen former GOP congressmen in forming “Republicans for Biden,” to coincide with the launch of the convention.

Edited by sgamer82 on Aug 25th 2020 at 2:20:14 AM

Redmess Redmess from Netherlands Since: Feb, 2014
Redmess
#325053: Aug 25th 2020 at 2:48:27 PM

Sounds bad, but I wouldn't say he is particularly leashed right now.

Hope shines brightest in the darkest times
Clarste One Winged Egret Since: Jun, 2009 Relationship Status: Non-Canon
One Winged Egret
#325054: Aug 25th 2020 at 4:18:37 PM

[up][up] That is obviously not true. We need some amount of hierarchy to run our civilization. Our civilization simply could not exist at its current scale without a hierarchical structure. You need leadership at the top making decisions at some point. You need to delegate your power as a citizen to leaders who can wield that power to get things done.

What you should actually be against (and what I think you actually mean) is class society.

This is from a few pages back, but I don't think that's true at all? An ant colony has no hierarchy, and in fact every single member of the colony is incredibly stupid, but by each individual following a number of simple rules, they can in aggregate be unbelievably productive and efficient. "Leadership" is itself an inefficiency, a kind of bottleneck that slows down production and growth.

This sort of self-regulating system is also the platonic ideal of market capitalism. The idea being that individuals making personal choices within a specific ruleset will be of net benefit to society. While there are some obvious problems with how that's turned out, I don't think that's necessarily something that can't be fixed with the proper rule tweaks. Significant rule tweaks, but still.

As a perhaps more practical example, studies have shown that airplanes get seated faster if no one has assigned seats and no one tells anyone where to sit. When people are allowed to just personally make their own judgments about where they want to sit and which seats are empty, that actually works out much better than someone on top trying to impose their own imperfect order.

Edited by Clarste on Aug 25th 2020 at 4:22:26 AM

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
#325055: Aug 25th 2020 at 4:28:06 PM

This is from a few pages back,

It’s also from an off topic tangent that was very hard to shut down. So maybe use the general politics thread for your reply? Before the thread derails agains?

“And the Bunny nails it!” ~ Gabrael “If the UN can get through a day without everyone strangling everyone else so can we.” ~ Cyran
ShinyCottonCandy Everyone's friend Malamar from Lumiose City (4 Score & 7 Years Ago) Relationship Status: Who needs love when you have waffles?
Everyone's friend Malamar
#325056: Aug 25th 2020 at 4:28:58 PM

You make your ant comparison as though their system works in spite of their stupidity and not because of it. Ants aren't capable of desires that go against their group's interest (well, I know that there are an extremely small number of exceptions.)

My musician page
Rationalinsanity from Halifax, Canada Since: Aug, 2010 Relationship Status: It's complicated
#325057: Aug 25th 2020 at 4:29:08 PM

....Humans aren't eusocial and I don't really see how ant comparison to any colonies works.

Edited by Rationalinsanity on Aug 25th 2020 at 9:06:34 AM

Politics is the skilled use of blunt objects.
Clarste One Winged Egret Since: Jun, 2009 Relationship Status: Non-Canon
One Winged Egret
#325058: Aug 25th 2020 at 4:35:30 PM

The point is that ants aren't motivated by their group's interest because they don't even know what their group's interest is. They are too dumb to be altruistic. They can't see the bigger picture at all, all they know is that the ant right in front of them smells a certain way and that that means they should follow them. Or maybe kill them. In that sense they are still motivated by their own individual needs and desires (which happen to have evolved that way because of their particular genetic situation).

The analogy for humans would be making certain behaviors more attractive through artificial incentives. Like, say, money. Self-interest is predictable.

Edited by Clarste on Aug 25th 2020 at 4:44:37 AM

Rationalinsanity from Halifax, Canada Since: Aug, 2010 Relationship Status: It's complicated
#325059: Aug 25th 2020 at 4:45:39 PM

Moving back to US politics:

Apparently Melania Trump's speech hasn't been been vetted by anyone in the West Wing, and she refused to used professional speech writers to help her.

https://www.cnn.com/politics/live-news/rnc-2020-day-2/h_004528fbe503944a34dafe6334bc0107

Last time she did this she blatantly ripped off Michelle Obama. And even if she's smart enough to avoid that pitfall tonight, she's no particularly great orator. In a normal White House, political staff would insist that she gets help before she makes them all look bad. But since Trump has largely declared his family immune to all scrutiny...

Politics is the skilled use of blunt objects.
sgamer82 Since: Jan, 2001
#325060: Aug 25th 2020 at 4:55:28 PM

https://whatthefuckjusthappenedtoday.com/2020/08/25/day-1314/

Day 1314: "Grossly misrepresented."

    😷 Dept. of “We Have It Totally Under Control.” 
Global: Total confirmed cases: ~23,742,000; deaths: ~816,000

U.S.: Total confirmed cases: ~5,770,000; deaths: ~179,000

Source: Johns Hopkins University

COVID-19 Live Blogs: CNN / Washington Post / New York Times

🐘 RNC Fact Checks: CNN / NBC News / Washington Post / New York Times

🐘 RNC Night 1 Recaps: Wall Street Journal / CNN / NBC News / Politico / New York Times

🗳 How To Vote In The 2020 Election In Every State. Everything you need to know about mail-in and early in-person voting in every state in the age of COVID-19, including the first day you can cast your ballot in the 2020 election. (FiveThirtyEight / NBC News / Wall Street Journal)

    Main Stories 
1/ The FDA “grossly misrepresented data” about the use of blood plasma therapy to treat coronavirus patients, according to the Center for Pharmaceutical Policy and Prescribing at the University of Pittsburgh. Trump, Dr. Stephen Hahn, the commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration, and Alex Azar, the health and human services secretary, announced the emergency approval of convalescent plasma, claiming that it would reduce coronavirus deaths by 35% this year. Experts and scientists, however, say the way the administration framed the data is misleading and don’t know exactly where the statistic came from. The data may have been calculated based on a small subgroup of hospitalized COVID-19 patients in a Mayo Clinic study, but does not appear in the official authorization letter issued by the FDA, nor was it in a memo written by FDA scientists. (New York Times)

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/08/24/health/fda-blood-plasma.html

2/ FDA Commissioner Stephen Hahn apologized for overstating the benefits of treating COVID-19 patients with convalescent plasma. While the therapy is considered safe, plasma has not yet been proven effective against the coronavirus. Hahn did not dispute Trump’s assessment that plasma is a “very effective” treatment at a news conference, but distorted the findings from a Mayo Clinic study when he said “if you are one of those 35 out of 100 people who these data suggest survive as a result of it, this is pretty significant.” Hahn later conceded scientists found that patients given plasma early in their illness fared better than those who received it later. The Mayo study, however, lacked a control group. (Politico / Associated Press / Bloomberg / CNBC)

https://apnews.com/a7f0e8aac34a860ad502912564681b7c

3/ Stephen Hahn pushed back against Trump’s baseless claim that the “deep state” is deliberately stalling coronavirus vaccine development at the FDA. “I have not seen anything that I would consider to be ‘deep state’ at the FDA,” Hahn said in response to Trump’s accusation that people working at the FDA are intentionally complicating efforts to test COVID-19 vaccines in order to delay the results until after the November election. Despite Trump’s attacks, Hahn says he still has “a very good relationship with the president” and that he feels “very comfortable and continue to feel comfortable with that relationship.” (Reuters / The Hill)

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-usa-hahn-exclusive/exclusive-fda-commissioner-disputes-trump-says-no-deep-state-thwarting-vaccine-idUSKBN25L0A2

4/ Dr. Anthony Fauci warned against an emergency use authorization for a coronavirus vaccine until it’s proven safe and effective. “One of the potential dangers if you prematurely let a vaccine out is that it would make it difficult, if not impossible, for the other vaccines to enroll people in their trial,” Fauci said. Health experts say they’re worried that the White House may pressure the FDA to push out a vaccine under an emergency use authorization before it has been fully tested. Fauci also declined to comment on Trump’s recent tweets about the “deep state” and the FDA, but he reiterated the risks of rushing vaccine development “before you have a signal of efficacy.” (Reuters)

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-vaccine-approval-e/exclusive-fauci-says-rushing-out-a-vaccine-could-jeopardize-testing-of-others-idUSKBN25K2M0

5/ New York and New Jersey sued Trump and Postmaster General Louis DeJoy over changes to postal service operations. The lawsuit asks the court to vacate recent changes, including the removal of mailboxes and mail sorting machines, and curtailing of overtime, made to the U.S. Postal Service and to stop it from implementing additional service reductions at a time when a pandemic has prompted millions more people than usual to plan to vote by mail. New York Attorney General Letitia James said in a statement: “This USPS slowdown is nothing more than a voter suppression tactic […] these authoritarian actions are not only jeopardizing our democracy and fundamental right to vote, but the immediate health and financial well-being of Americans across the nation.” (Bloomberg / Reuters)

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-election-postoffice-idUSKBN25L2ET

6/ The House Foreign Affairs Committee’s subpanel on oversight is investigating Mike Pompeo’s decision to speak at the Republican National Convention. Pompeo’s choice to speak at the convention “may violate the Hatch Act, government-wide regulations implementing that Act, and State Department policies,” according to a letter sent by Rep. Joaquin Castro to Deputy Secretary of State Stephen Biegun. The Hatch Act prohibits federal employees from participating in certain political activities. On Feb. 18, 2020, Biegun sent State Department employees an email – approved by Pompeo – of legal memos about the limitations on the political activity for U.S. diplomats and other State staffers. And in July, Pompeo sent a memo warning staffers — and specifically Senate-confirmed officials — not to attend political conventions. Castro said that Pompeo’s speech is not only “highly unusual and likely unprecedented,” but that “it appears that it may also be illegal.” (Daily Beast / Politico / Axios / Washington Post / NBC News)

https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2020-election/diplomats-aghast-pompeo-set-address-gop-convention-jerusalem-n1237956

7/ Trump will nominate Chad Wolf to be the permanent, Senate-confirmed secretary of the Department of Homeland Security. Wolf has been the acting secretary since November 2019, and the department has not had a confirmed secretary since April 2019 when former Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen was forced to resign. Since taking over from acting Secretary Kevin McAleenan, Wolf has overseen a crackdown at the U.S.-Mexico border and was responsible for sending Homeland Security agents to Portland, Oregon in July. A recent Government Accountability Office report found that Wolf’s appointment is invalid. (Axios / Politico / ABC News / CNN / CBS News / Wall Street Journal)

https://www.cnn.com/2020/08/25/politics/chad-wolf-homeland-security-secretary/index.html

8/ Trump’s reelection campaign has paid his private companies at least $2.3 million for rent, food, lodging, and other expenses, according to Federal Election Commission filings. Trump, the richest president in American history, has yet to donate to his 2020 campaign. (Forbes)

https://www.forbes.com/sites/danalexander/2020/08/25/trump-has-now-moved-23-million-of-campaign-donor-money-into-his-private-business/#154f5f5773c7

9/ U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services canceled a planned furlough of more than 13,400 employees, which would have crippled the processing of applications for green cards, work permits, U.S. citizenship and other immigration benefits. USCIS funds itself almost entirely through the fees it collects, unlike most other federal agencies. The agency said it was considering a planned furlough of more than 13,400 employees after citizenship and immigration applications fell because of the coronavirus pandemic. In May, the agency asked Congress for an emergency $1.2 billion infusion, but a bailout faded following a standoff between Congress and the Trump administration on a COVID-19 relief package last month. (Wall Street Journal / CBS News)

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/uscis-abandons-furloughs-13000-employees-us-immigration-system/

Edited by sgamer82 on Aug 25th 2020 at 4:55:44 AM

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
#325061: Aug 25th 2020 at 4:56:41 PM

[up][up] Fingers crossed for a Biden endorsement? [lol]

Edited by Silasw on Aug 25th 2020 at 11:57:03 AM

“And the Bunny nails it!” ~ Gabrael “If the UN can get through a day without everyone strangling everyone else so can we.” ~ Cyran
Rationalinsanity from Halifax, Canada Since: Aug, 2010 Relationship Status: It's complicated
#325062: Aug 25th 2020 at 5:05:28 PM

Or a divorce announcement.evil grin

Though considering what happened last night, her speech will probably be decentish if it appears she isn't under the influence of cocaine.

Politics is the skilled use of blunt objects.
Redmess Redmess from Netherlands Since: Feb, 2014
Redmess
#325063: Aug 25th 2020 at 5:42:07 PM

I thought the Secret Melania Resistance idea has flown long ago? She clearly does not like the guy, but she's also clearly committed to him, for better or worse.

Hope shines brightest in the darkest times
Eschaton Since: Jul, 2010
#325064: Aug 25th 2020 at 5:48:24 PM

RNC speaker for tonight has been quickly dropped after promoting an antisemitic QAnon conspiracy theorist on Twitter earlier today.

Mendoza, an “angel mom,” was scheduled to speak Tuesday about her son’s 2014 death at the hands of a drunk driver who was in the country illegally. But a Republican source familiar with the programming said the speech had been cancelled amid uproar over her tweet.[...]

[...]While the thread includes extensive anti-Semitism and references to Q Anon, it also alleges that Hillary Clinton is a “Satanic High Priestess” and that Barack Obama’s Washington home smells like sulfur — a reference to the idea, popular with Info Wars host Alex Jones, that Obama somehow smells like sulfur because he’s connected to the devil and Hell.

The Trump campaign and Mendoza didn’t respond to requests for comment. Mendoza is also on the advisory board of We Build the Wall, the privately funded border wall effort whose leaders, including former Trump adviser Steve Bannon, were recently indicted for fraud.

In addition to the thread she encouraged people to read, Mendoza also has posted her own tweets that push conspiracy theories about Democratic billionaire George Soros [and the Rothschilds]. One tweet from June 2019 claimed that Soros was pushing for more immigration to install a “one world government.”

Edited by Eschaton on Aug 25th 2020 at 5:49:56 AM

ShinyCottonCandy Everyone's friend Malamar from Lumiose City (4 Score & 7 Years Ago) Relationship Status: Who needs love when you have waffles?
Everyone's friend Malamar
#325065: Aug 25th 2020 at 5:56:44 PM

“How many times do we have to tell you people not to say the quiet part aloud?!”

My musician page
CharlesPhipps Since: Jan, 2001
#325066: Aug 25th 2020 at 5:58:08 PM

Saying that part out loud is literally Trump's entire 'appeal.'

Author of The Rules of Supervillainy, Cthulhu Armageddon, and United States of Monsters.
PhysicalStamina i'm tired, my friend (4 Score & 7 Years Ago) Relationship Status: Coming soon to theaters
i'm tired, my friend
#325067: Aug 25th 2020 at 5:58:17 PM

So they let Q-nuts run under their ticket but don't let them speak? Either you fuck with these people or you don't Republicans, make up your mind.

i'm tired, my friend
ShinyCottonCandy Everyone's friend Malamar from Lumiose City (4 Score & 7 Years Ago) Relationship Status: Who needs love when you have waffles?
Everyone's friend Malamar
#325068: Aug 25th 2020 at 6:02:16 PM

There must be something that triggers a “this makes us look worse than we already do” alarm in their heads, but it must be miscalibrated, because this doesn’t make them look at all worse than they always do.

My musician page
slimcoder The Head of the Hydra Since: May, 2013
The Head of the Hydra
#325069: Aug 25th 2020 at 6:04:25 PM

And now I'm angry again because today I just learned that my younger sister believes in the Qanon pizzagate conspiracy.

"I am Alpharius. This is a lie."
BearyScary Since: Sep, 2010 Relationship Status: You spin me right round, baby
Ayasugi Since: Oct, 2010
#325071: Aug 25th 2020 at 6:06:04 PM

I think it's all about the image. Republicans running for elected office can promote Q Anon because they're already getting dirty. But the sweet innocent grieving mother can't promote Q Anon because it takes away from her angelic image.

CharlesPhipps Since: Jan, 2001
#325072: Aug 25th 2020 at 6:25:26 PM

Share this with her:

https://www.nbcnews.com/tech/tech-news/how-three-conspiracy-theorists-took-q-sparked-qanon-n900531

Its knocked a few people out of it.

Author of The Rules of Supervillainy, Cthulhu Armageddon, and United States of Monsters.
slimcoder The Head of the Hydra Since: May, 2013
The Head of the Hydra
#325073: Aug 25th 2020 at 6:26:47 PM

[up][up][up] I just heard her justify the conspiracy of the cabinet of child blood drinkers simply because Sandra Bullock looked uncomfortable explaining how she looks so young on the Ellen De Generes show.

I'm not even sure how that makes sense.

[up] Not sure she would listen. I asked today if pink frosting on a cake is strawberry & she instantly gave me a glare that says "Are you the most retarded fucking person on the planet?"

Again all because I innocently asked if some pink frosting could be strawberry.

Edited by slimcoder on Aug 25th 2020 at 6:28:20 AM

"I am Alpharius. This is a lie."
M84 Oh, bother. from Our little blue planet Since: Jun, 2010 Relationship Status: Chocolate!
Oh, bother.
#325074: Aug 25th 2020 at 6:31:53 PM

Clearly your sister has been spending way too much time on social media.

Disgusted, but not surprised
BearyScary Since: Sep, 2010 Relationship Status: You spin me right round, baby
#325075: Aug 25th 2020 at 6:33:28 PM

She's spending too much time being rude, at the very least.

Do not obey in advance.

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