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

Forenperser Foreign Troper from Germany Since: Mar, 2012
Foreign Troper
#326026: Sep 3rd 2020 at 5:08:38 PM

When you are evil and you don't care.

Certified: 48.0% West Asian, 6.5% South Asian, 15.8% North/West European, 15.7% English, 7.4% Balkan, 6.6% Scandinavian
BearyScary Since: Sep, 2010 Relationship Status: You spin me right round, baby
#326027: Sep 3rd 2020 at 5:19:09 PM

Regarding Animal Crossing and Biden and Harris advertising their campaign logo in it: I confess that I thought it was pretty cute. Then again, I'm a total mark forAnimal Crossing. waii

Do not obey in advance.
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
#326028: Sep 3rd 2020 at 5:20:41 PM

It’s very much just digital lawn signs, I see no difference between it and the rollout of physical lawn signs.

“And the Bunny nails it!” ~ Gabrael “If the UN can get through a day without everyone strangling everyone else so can we.” ~ Cyran
Blueeyedrat Since: Oct, 2010
#326029: Sep 3rd 2020 at 5:22:13 PM

Yeah, it comes across to me as "harmless fun, probably took about twenty minutes to make in-game, probably not worth the dozen thinkpieces that will inevitably be written about it".

Kayeka (4 Score & 7 Years Ago)
#326030: Sep 3rd 2020 at 5:28:08 PM

Even though the think pieces themselves are also free advertising.

PointMaid Since: Jun, 2014
#326031: Sep 3rd 2020 at 5:29:18 PM

[up] Exactly.

Not to mention the ordinary people like us discussing it just because.

Rationalinsanity from Halifax, Canada Since: Aug, 2010 Relationship Status: It's complicated
#326032: Sep 3rd 2020 at 5:32:30 PM

Trump's comments on war dead would have sunk any politician 8-12 years ago.

Sadly, the GOP and their base were radicalized by a black man becoming President.

Politics is the skilled use of blunt objects.
MorningStar1337 The Encounter that ended the Dogma from 🤔 Since: Nov, 2012
The Encounter that ended the Dogma
#326033: Sep 3rd 2020 at 5:44:37 PM

[up] I'd argue that Obama was merely the tipping point for them, and that they were radicalized long ago, via a series of processes as far back as Reagan if not post-Nixon at the latest.they were just better at hiding it until recently.

Edited by MorningStar1337 on Sep 3rd 2020 at 5:44:55 AM

Rationalinsanity from Halifax, Canada Since: Aug, 2010 Relationship Status: It's complicated
#326034: Sep 3rd 2020 at 5:45:43 PM

Gingrich was probably a huge factor as well.

Politics is the skilled use of blunt objects.
AlleyOop Since: Oct, 2010
#326035: Sep 3rd 2020 at 5:59:30 PM

Most of the reaction I've seen to the Animal Crossing thing is still fairly negative and that while it is slightly better than "Pokemon Go to the polls", it's not by too much.

minseok42 A Self-inflicted Disaster from A Six-Tatami Room (4 Score & 7 Years Ago) Relationship Status: Wishfully thinking
A Self-inflicted Disaster
#326036: Sep 3rd 2020 at 6:34:21 PM

What will you do if Trump doesn't leave?

If Trump loses the election, could the police, god forbid, start a coup against Biden?

"Enshittification truly is how platforms die"-Cory Doctorow
sgamer82 Since: Jan, 2001
#326037: Sep 3rd 2020 at 6:38:45 PM

I'm going to say "no" and leave it at that, on the grounds that I'm sure nobody wants this discussion yet again.


https://whatthefuckjusthappenedtoday.com/2020/09/03/day-1323/

    Day 1323: "Playing with fire." 
😷 Dept. of “We Have It Totally Under Control.” Global: Total confirmed cases: ~26,129,000; deaths: ~866,000

U.S.: Total confirmed cases: ~6,142,000; deaths: ~187,000

Source: Johns Hopkins University

https://coronavirus.jhu.edu/map.html

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

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/09/03/world/covid-19-coronavirus.html?action=click&module=Top%20Stories&pgtype=Homepage

https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2020/09/03/coronavirus-covid-live-updates-us/

https://www.cnn.com/world/live-news/coronavirus-pandemic-09-03-20-intl/index.html

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/live/2020/sep/03/trump-news-today-joe-biden-kenosha-visit-latest-live-election-updates

🗳 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)

https://projects.fivethirtyeight.com/how-to-vote-2020/

https://www.nbcnews.com/specials/plan-your-vote-state-by-state-guide-voting-by-mail-early-in-person-voting-election/index.html?cid=bc_npd_nn_ms_np-1_200816

https://www.wsj.com/articles/how-to-vote-by-mail-in-every-state-11597840923

1/ Another 881,000 people applied for state unemployment benefits last week. In total, the number of continuing claims is about 13.3 million with roughly 29 million people receiving some form of unemployment assistance as of mid-August. (Wall Street Journal / NPR / CNBC / Politico / Washington Post / New York Times / The Guardian)

https://www.npr.org/sections/coronavirus-live-updates/2020/09/03/908722916/new-jobless-claims-drop-below-1-million-but-theres-a-caveat

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer called the Senate Republicans’ new coronavirus relief proposal “emaciated,” saying it lacked relief money for housing assistance, food stamps, and enhanced unemployment aid. Schumer also accused Mitch McConnell of “planning another round of partisan games” and said Republicans are “moving even further in the wrong direction.” (Washington Post / Politico / CNN)

https://www.cnn.com/2020/09/03/politics/schumer-stimulus-congress/index.html

[Last Month] Trump’s executive actions aimed at bypassing stalled negotiations with Congress only has one state paying new jobless benefits, with few evictions paused. (Washington Post)

https://www.washingtonpost.com/us-policy/2020/08/21/trump-unemployment/

[Last Month] Two states are paying out the $300 supplemental $300 jobless benefit. “Part of the reason for the slow start is that implementing the new program falls on overwhelmed state unemployment offices that have already struggled to process applications and deliver benefits during the pandemic. Another complication is that the program’s funding is coming from disaster money at the Federal Emergency Management Agency.” (Bloomberg)

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-08-25/trump-s-new-jobless-benefit-trickles-out-with-two-states-paying?srnd=premium&sref=MIBMEEoj

[Last Month] Grocery shoppers cut back on spending after the $600 in weekly additional unemployment checks expired in July. (Wall Street Journal)

https://www.wsj.com/articles/with-stimulus-checks-on-hold-americans-are-spending-less-at-the-grocery-store-11598526249?mod=lead_feature_below_a_pos1

2/ The Trump campaign and the Republican National Committee sued Montana in an attempt to block an expansion of mail-in voting in the state. Last month, Gov. Steve Bullock issued a directive allowing counties to expand voting by mail and early voting “at their local discretion,” including mailing ballots to qualified voters. The lawsuit alleges that Bullock’s order is unconstitutional because the “directive creates a patchwork election code with no uniform procedures across the state.” Montana, however, already allows voters to request and submit absentee ballots. The Trump campaign also sued New Jersey and Nevada last month for planning to send mail-in ballots to all state voters. Bullock said in a statement that mail-in voting in Montana is “safe, secure, and was requested by a bipartisan coalition of Montana election officials seeking to reduce the risk of COVID-19 and keep Montanans safe and healthy.” (CNN / Axios)

https://www.cnn.com/2020/09/02/politics/trump-rnc-montana-mail-in-voting-sue/index.html

Georgia likely removed nearly 200,000 people from the voter rolls in error after concluding that they had moved and not changed the address on their voter registration. The ACLU of Georgia reviewed 313,243 names that were removed from the state’s voter rolls in late 2019 and found that 63.3% of voters had not moved and were purged in error. (CNN)

https://www.cnn.com/2020/09/02/politics/georgia-voter-rolls-report/index.html

A Baltimore mail facility allowed 68,000 pieces of political mail to sit untouched for five days ahead of the June 2 primary. According to an audit of the U.S. Postal Service’s performance during the primary election season, the delayed pieces were not ballots. (Baltimore Sun)

https://www.baltimoresun.com/politics/bs-md-pol-postal-service-baltimore-audit-20200902-23yhohiebnaw3ipzpgi57qoqpu-story.html

The U.S. Postal Service paid Postmaster General Louis DeJoy’s former company about $286 million since 2013. DeJoy still holds at least a $30 million stake in the company. (New York Times)

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/09/02/us/politics/louis-dejoy-usps-paid.html

[Analysis] The Trump Administration Continues to Erode Election Security. “The DHS, the DOJ, and the Office of the Director of National Intelligence have all had recent controversies that bode poorly for electoral integrity.” (Wired)

https://www.wired.com/story/trump-election-security-dhs-doj-odni/

3/ Trump encouraged North Carolina residents to illegally vote twice — once by mail and once in person — to test if “their system’s as good as they say it is.” Voting twice in the same election is illegal and in North Carolina it is a Class I felony. When asked whether he had confidence in the mail-in voting system, Trump suggested to “let them send it in and let them go vote, and if their system’s as good as they say it is, then obviously they won’t be able to vote. […] that’s what they should do.” Trump later tried to clarify his remarks, tweeting that “In order for you to MAKE SURE YOUR VOTE COUNTS & IS COUNTED,” people should “go to your Polling Place to see whether or not your Mail In Vote has been Tabulated (Counted). If it has you will not be able to Vote & the Mail In System worked properly. If it has not been Counted, VOTE (which is a citizen’s right to do).” Twitter added a “public interest notice” to Trump’s tweets that they “violated the Twitter Rules about civic and election integrity.” Attorney General William Barr, meanwhile, defended Trump’s statement, suggesting that he “was trying to make the point that the ability to monitor this system is not good.” When told that voting twice is illegal, Barr replied: “I don’t know what the law in the particular state says.” Barr then added that he’s not sure if it is illegal to vote twice in any state before baselessly claiming that state and local officials are “playing with fire” if they rely on mail-in ballots in the November election. (NBC News / New York Times / Washington Post / USA Today / The Guardian / ABC News / Axios / CNBC / Politico / New York Times / CNN / Bloomberg / The Week)

https://www.cnn.com/2020/09/02/politics/barr-mail-in-voting-playing-with-fire-situation-room/index.html

Among registered voters in North Carolina, Trump trails Biden 45% to 47%. The last three presidential elections were decided by fewer than four percentage points in North Carolina. (Monmouth University / The Hill)

https://www.monmouth.edu/polling-institute/reports/monmouthpoll_nc_090320/

4/ A Homeland Security intelligence bulletin warned that Russia is trying to undermine the integrity of the election by “amplifying” false claims that mail-in voting will result in widespread fraud. Analysts issued the warning to federal and state law enforcement after finding with “high confidence” that “Russian malign influence actors” have targeted the absentee voting process “by spreading disinformation” since at least March. “We assess that Russia is likely to continue amplifying criticisms of vote-by-mail and shifting voting processes amidst the COVID-19 pandemic to undermine public trust in the electoral process,” the bulletin reads. Separately, DHS officials withheld a July bulletin that warned of a Russian campaign to spread misinformation about Biden’s mental health. (ABC News / CNN)

https://www.cnn.com/2020/09/03/politics/russia-intel-bulletin-mail-in-voting-warning/index.html

5/ Democratic senators called on the Trump administration to impose sanctions on Russia for seeking to interfere in the 2020 U.S. election. In a letter to Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, 11 senators cited the nation’s top counterintelligence official publicly stating that Russia is using several measures “to denigrate former Vice President [Joe] Biden” and other Democrats in advance of the election. While the Treasury Department declined to comment, Attorney General William Barr claimed that he viewed China as more of a threat than Russia. “I’ve seen intelligence. That’s what I’ve concluded,” he said, with no elaboration. (Politico / Washington Post)

https://www.politico.com/news/2020/09/03/dems-mnuchin-russia-2020-election-408318

6/ Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar rejected concerns that the Trump administration is rushing the approval of a coronavirus vaccine before Election Day. Three vaccine candidates have entered Phase 3 clinical trials, which take months to complete, and results are not expected until late October at the earliest. The CDC, however, recently directed states to prepare to begin vaccine distribution by Nov. 1 – two days before the election. When pressed about how the CDC selected its target date, Azar denied that the decision was politically motivated, saying “It has nothing to do with elections. This has to do with delivering safe, effective vaccines to the American people as quickly as possible and saving lives.” FDA Commissioner Stephen Hahn recently apologized for overstating the benefits of treating COVID-19 patients with convalescent plasma, which his agency approved an emergency use authorization for after coming under attack from Trump. (Politico / CBS News)

https://www.politico.com/news/2020/09/03/alex-azar-coronavirus-vaccine-race-politics-408349

[Rumor mill] FDA Commissioner Stephen Hahn and HHS Secretary Alex Azar are locked in a “tit for tat” dispute over COVID-19 messaging. “Azar was furious when Hahn openly backtracked on claims about plasma’s effectiveness, at a time when President Donald Trump was preparing to tout the treatment at the Republican National Convention.” (Politico)

https://www.politico.com/news/2020/09/02/stephen-hahn-fda-hhs-coronavirus-feud-408136

7/ Trump ordered officials to find ways to cut federal funding to cities that the Trump administration has deemed “lawless.” In a five-page memo, Trump directed the White House Office of Management and Budget to withdraw federal funds for any “anarchist jurisdiction” that “disempowers or defunds police departments.” The memo also directs Attorney General William Barr to publicly post a list of jurisdictions that have “permitted violence and the destruction of property” within the next 14 days. The memo specifically mentions Portland, Seattle, New York, and Washington, D.C. (New York Post / New York Times / The Guardian / Bloomberg / Politico / Washington Post / CNBC / Axios)

https://www.cnbc.com/2020/09/03/nyc-mayor-de-blasio-threatens-to-sue-us-after-trump-tries-to-withhold-federal-funds.html

[Fox News] poll/ Biden is ahead in key states that Trump won in 2016. Biden leads Trump in Arizona (49-40%), North Carolina (50-46%), and in Wisconsin (50-42%). Trump, meanwhile, tweeted that Fox News should “get a new pollster” because the “Fake News Suppression Poll” is “Fake News.” (Fox News)

https://www.foxnews.com/official-polls/fox-news-poll-biden-tops-trump-among-likely-voters-in-key-states

poll/ 52% of likely voters support Biden, while 42% support Trump. 50% of likely voters say having Trump as president makes them feel less safe, while 35% say it makes them feel more safe, and 14% say it doesn’t have any impact on how they feel. (Axios / Quinnipiac)

https://poll.qu.edu/national/release-detail?ReleaseID=3671

Edited by sgamer82 on Sep 3rd 2020 at 6:39:41 AM

astrokitty Happiness is a cup of tea from Somewhere Out There Since: May, 2014 Relationship Status: Yes, I'm alone, but I'm alone and free
Happiness is a cup of tea
#326039: Sep 3rd 2020 at 6:46:38 PM

I don't think a coup by the police would happen.

Somebody once told me the world was macaroni, I took a bite out of a tree
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
#326040: Sep 3rd 2020 at 6:56:03 PM

Not if they want to avoid getting bombed by the combined power of the DC and Virginia national guards.

Police aren’t going to stage a coup, because they know they’d loose. Now we might see a wave of police brutality with police petitioning Trump to pardon them on his way out, but a coup attempt would fail and wouldn’t be attempted.

Also the DC police answer to the mayor of DC and aren’t going to piss their boss of, the Capitol police answer to congress and aren’t going to start that fight, so you’re left with either federal police or some even more insane scenario where NYPD or such send officers to DC to try and stage a coup.

“And the Bunny nails it!” ~ Gabrael “If the UN can get through a day without everyone strangling everyone else so can we.” ~ Cyran
Hodor2 Since: Jan, 2015
#326041: Sep 3rd 2020 at 6:57:34 PM

I also don't think it is good to rehash this particular discussion.

I'm trying to put this delicately, but I think what makes it a particularly unhelpful discussion topic is that if that did happen, the kind of solutions on the table are not to going to exclusively or necessarily primarily peaceful. Let's just say that comparisons to various Roman emperors would be appropriate...

And since that kind of discussion is appropriately banned on this site and likely to attract the attachment of law enforcement, it's not really a source of fruitful discussion.

archonspeaks Since: Jun, 2013
#326042: Sep 3rd 2020 at 6:59:05 PM

And it’s a David Brooks piece. We can go ahead and file this one under “wildly irresponsible fearmongering”

I mean, come on:

On the fringe of the left there are those who want to overthrow the racist, cisgendered, patriarchal neoliberal oligarchy. This is their chance at mayhem, too, and they seize it with sometimes violent passion.

A coup is not going to happen, and worrying about it is a waste of all of our time.

Edited by archonspeaks on Sep 3rd 2020 at 6:59:46 AM

They should have sent a poet.
LSBK Since: Sep, 2014
#326043: Sep 3rd 2020 at 6:59:16 PM

It also just mostly seems like the same couple of people coming in with the same questions, that have been answered the same way, repeatedly.

M84 Oh, bother. from Our little blue planet Since: Jun, 2010 Relationship Status: Chocolate!
Oh, bother.
#326044: Sep 3rd 2020 at 7:04:29 PM

This is one of the reasons I tend not to link to Op-eds.

Disgusted, but not surprised
Hodor2 Since: Jan, 2015
#326045: Sep 3rd 2020 at 7:04:47 PM

[up][up][up]

I didn't click on the article, assuming that it was one previously discussed. That's even worse.

It's not directly on topic, but there's this book out called "In Defense of Looting" or something like that. It legitimately sounds pretty terrible, but I don't think anyone has heard of it except for some right-leaning public intellectuals who are treating it as an influential work of left-wing opinion. And it sounds like that kind of thing is in Brooks' mind.

Edited by Hodor2 on Sep 3rd 2020 at 9:07:03 AM

Rationalinsanity from Halifax, Canada Since: Aug, 2010 Relationship Status: It's complicated
#326046: Sep 3rd 2020 at 7:05:24 PM

Ah yes, David Brooks. The New York Times Pitchbot on Twitter loves screwing with him.

[up][up]Agreed. Sometimes I make an exception if its an expert writing on something relevant, but political talking heads rarely have anything worthwhile to add.

Edited by Rationalinsanity on Sep 3rd 2020 at 11:08:02 AM

Politics is the skilled use of blunt objects.
CharlesPhipps Since: Jan, 2001
#326047: Sep 3rd 2020 at 7:24:08 PM

I remember Hurricane Katrina.

Black people were described as looting while white people were described as, "gathering supplies."

Author of The Rules of Supervillainy, Cthulhu Armageddon, and United States of Monsters.
Galadriel Since: Feb, 2015
#326048: Sep 3rd 2020 at 7:31:42 PM

To me, it depends what “in defense” of looting means. I think what Trevor Noah said is pretty spot-on: there’s a basic social contract between society and individuals, and when society breaks it - in the form of systematically killing innocent people for the colour of their skin - then the individuals who are victims of that breakage have no reason/incentive to continue upholding the contract.

If the options are “break the law, we might kill you”, and “keep the law, and we might kill you anyway”, then the ideas underlying the social order start to break down.

The central issue around looting in these circumstances is not one of right/wrong so much as cause/ consequence. If you want people to abide by the law, create a society where abiding by the law doesn’t get you murdered by the state.

Edited by Galadriel on Sep 3rd 2020 at 10:32:10 AM

Redmess Redmess from Netherlands Since: Feb, 2014
Redmess
#326049: Sep 3rd 2020 at 7:52:04 PM

I don't think there would be legal repercussions for the site for discussing coups (or any crimes, really). That would only happen if people were actively planning something criminal.

As for forum rules, I don't think we have a rule against that sort of discussion in particular.

Hope shines brightest in the darkest times
sgamer82 Since: Jan, 2001
#326050: Sep 3rd 2020 at 7:57:59 PM

I think the issue is more we've had this conversation multiple times and it mostly revolves around calming down the doomsayers.


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