TVTropes Now available in the app store!
Open

Follow TV Tropes

Following

The General US Politics Thread

Go To

Nov 2023 Mod notice:


There may be other, more specific, threads about some aspects of US politics, but this one tends to act as a hub for all sorts of related news and information, so it's usually one of the busiest OTC threads.

If you're new to OTC, it's worth reading the Introduction to On-Topic Conversations and the On-Topic Conversations debate guidelines before posting here.

Rumor-based, fear-mongering and/or inflammatory statements that damage the quality of the thread will be thumped. Off-topic posts will also be thumped. Repeat offenders may be suspended.

If time spent moderating this thread remains a distraction from moderation of the wiki itself, the thread will need to be locked. We want to avoid that, so please follow the forum rules when posting here.


In line with the general forum rules, 'gravedancing' is prohibited here. If you're celebrating someone's death or hoping that they die, your post will get thumped. This rule applies regardless of what the person you're discussing has said or done.

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

Completion oldtimeytropey from Space Since: Apr, 2012
oldtimeytropey
#36376: Nov 2nd 2012 at 7:51:50 AM

What pissed him off so much? It seems like something really got under his skin, since he seemed offended about a question - not angry about a "gotcha question".

edited 2nd Nov '12 7:52:22 AM by Completion

ohsointocats from The Sand Wastes Since: Oct, 2011 Relationship Status: Showing feelings of an almost human nature
#36377: Nov 2nd 2012 at 7:52:08 AM

@that video: wow, so he's not an android.

[up]It sounded like — I don't know because I don't listen to radio talk-shows — he was continually getting questions about his faith, uncalled for questions that he wouldn't have gotten if he was, say Methodist or Episcopalian. I would be really fucking sick of that, too.

edited 2nd Nov '12 7:53:30 AM by ohsointocats

Greenmantle V from Greater Wessex, Britannia Since: Feb, 2010 Relationship Status: Hiding
V
#36378: Nov 2nd 2012 at 8:02:01 AM

@ Midget:

Read Glenn Magus Harvey's post (#36365) on the last page. To quote:

This might be partly a legal problem. I think that there is some law that states that corporations are obligated to maximize profits for their shareholders, or something like that. I remember reading that some companies (Ben & Jerry among them?) have had trouble doing things like selling to a lower but more ethical bidder, for this reason.

I get the point of the law—it was probably made to prevent corrupt executives from embezzling everything—but it seems it needs tweaking.

Note I said "tweaking". When a law doesn't work, the first thing to do is to ask why it exists, and how to keep its good parts while fixing the bad parts. NOT to throw the baby out with the bathwater. So shut up, "repeal Obamacare" folks.

Keep Rolling On
Midgetsnowman Since: Jan, 2010
#36379: Nov 2nd 2012 at 8:09:59 AM

@Green: I saw that, yeah. My point is, Businesses pretty much have this awful habit of perverting laws to their purposes anyhow.

storyyeller More like giant cherries from Appleloosa Since: Jan, 2001 Relationship Status: RelationshipOutOfBoundsException: 1
More like giant cherries
#36380: Nov 2nd 2012 at 8:14:17 AM

Traditionally, the entire point of a corporation was to make as much money as possible for shareholders.

Blind Final Fantasy 6 Let's Play
ohsointocats from The Sand Wastes Since: Oct, 2011 Relationship Status: Showing feelings of an almost human nature
#36381: Nov 2nd 2012 at 8:16:43 AM

Also, at various points in history, there were forces to balance this out. Not so anymore.

Lanceleoghauni Cyborg Helmsman from Z or R Twice Since: Jan, 2001 Relationship Status: In my bunk
#36382: Nov 2nd 2012 at 8:23:24 AM

ugh, I hate living in a swing state.

Damn robocallers CRASHED THE PHONE NETWORK last presidential election...

"Coffee! Coffeecoffeecoffee! Coffee! Not as strong as Meth-amphetamine, but it lets you keep your teeth!"
Chalkos Sidequest Proliferator from The Internets Since: Oct, 2010
Sidequest Proliferator
#36383: Nov 2nd 2012 at 8:23:44 AM

In most— or at least many— cases, I'd suggest that making money doesn't necessarily conflict with morality. A restaurant, for instance, mostly makes money by gaining a reputation for good food and service, which happens to coincide with the moral ideal of hospitality.

#36384: Nov 2nd 2012 at 8:27:07 AM

Yes, and in addition to that I've known business owners who risked not eating rather than compromise on the service they provide to their customers.

Of course none of these are people Obama or Romney know, or people you'll even see in the news. But they are the main people who suffer from a lot of anti-business legislation.

edited 2nd Nov '12 8:33:12 AM by EdwardsGrizzly

<><
DrunkGirlfriend from Castle Geekhaven Since: Jan, 2011
#36385: Nov 2nd 2012 at 8:37:18 AM

Yeah, small businesses tend to be much better about giving a damn than large corporations, and not just when it comes to product and service, but also when it comes to how they treat their employees.

Then again, all the small business owners I know have started voting Democrat after the Republican party tried to stymie the stimulus bill, which kept them open.

edited 2nd Nov '12 8:38:13 AM by DrunkGirlfriend

"I don't know how I do it. I'm like the Mr. Bean of sex." -Drunkscriblerian
Midgetsnowman Since: Jan, 2010
#36386: Nov 2nd 2012 at 8:42:03 AM

[up][up]

Meh.

I live in the midwest. the only small businesses that still exist are the ones that walmart hasnt decided to do yet.

Greenmantle V from Greater Wessex, Britannia Since: Feb, 2010 Relationship Status: Hiding
V
#36387: Nov 2nd 2012 at 8:43:25 AM

I guess that's because small businesses aren't Listed on the Stock Exchange, and thus are Private Firms; they can afford to that because they haven't got Shareholders demanding Profit.

[up]

Does WalMart do School Transport, Railways or Bus Lines, then? Mind you, a fair few of them aren't small businesses — in some cases, they're not even American-owned...

edited 2nd Nov '12 8:49:19 AM by Greenmantle

Keep Rolling On
#36388: Nov 2nd 2012 at 8:47:38 AM

[up][up] I live the south, and around here there are still an lot of small businesses that have basically said "screw you, wal-mart" and continue to cling to life despite wal-mart's best efforts.

<><
DrunkGirlfriend from Castle Geekhaven Since: Jan, 2011
#36389: Nov 2nd 2012 at 8:50:28 AM

[up][up] Having grown up in Oklahoma, I can say with certainty that none of those are being run by small business either.

School transport is handled by the state, unless you're in a private or charter school, in which case they just don't have transport.

Railways are non-existent unless you need to ship something, and then there's only four or five nationwide companies you can choose from.

Bus lines as in public transit systems are either handled solely by the state, or contracted through a subsidized private company. Inter-city transit is usually through something like Greyhound.

edited 2nd Nov '12 8:50:36 AM by DrunkGirlfriend

"I don't know how I do it. I'm like the Mr. Bean of sex." -Drunkscriblerian
Greenmantle V from Greater Wessex, Britannia Since: Feb, 2010 Relationship Status: Hiding
V
#36390: Nov 2nd 2012 at 9:01:42 AM

[up]

Isn't School Transport sometimes contracted out to a Third-party operator*

?

Was there any outcry about Greyhound being brought by a Foreign Firm?*

Keep Rolling On
DrunkGirlfriend from Castle Geekhaven Since: Jan, 2011
#36391: Nov 2nd 2012 at 9:03:44 AM

[up] Not that I'm aware of. I would assume they exist, but they're not used very often.

Also, Greyhound is one of those things that doesn't get used very often, so nobody really cares about them getting bought out.

edited 2nd Nov '12 9:05:41 AM by DrunkGirlfriend

"I don't know how I do it. I'm like the Mr. Bean of sex." -Drunkscriblerian
GlennMagusHarvey Since: Jan, 2001
#36392: Nov 2nd 2012 at 9:07:43 AM

It's funny that my school contracts out shuttle service, dining service, parking service, and like everything. As in, contractors run the various services on school property.

Except, I think, campus police. We're a large state university and we get real state police, I think.

DrunkGirlfriend from Castle Geekhaven Since: Jan, 2011
#36393: Nov 2nd 2012 at 9:10:26 AM

[up] Universities might be different. The one that I went to didn't have a shuttle service, but the food was contracted out through a national corporation (I think it was Aramark).

"I don't know how I do it. I'm like the Mr. Bean of sex." -Drunkscriblerian
Midgetsnowman Since: Jan, 2010
#36394: Nov 2nd 2012 at 9:11:27 AM

school transport (and most other stuff like that) is handled via contract with large firms.

hell. even local factories go so far as to hire through a hiring agency so you can be let go without having ever been officially on their payroll.

Serocco Serocco from Miami, Florida Since: Mar, 2010 Relationship Status: Faithful to 2D
Serocco
#36395: Nov 2nd 2012 at 9:49:43 AM

"Political polling guru Nate Silver is so confident in his statistical models that he just offered to bet MSNBC's Joe Scarborough $1,000 that Barack Obama will win re-election. "

In RWBY, every girl is Best Girl.
RavenWilder Since: Apr, 2009
#36396: Nov 2nd 2012 at 10:06:52 AM

I'm pretty sure it's illegal to bet money on something you can influence the outcome of.

Swish Long Live the King Since: Jan, 2001
Long Live the King
#36397: Nov 2nd 2012 at 10:09:05 AM

[up]1-on-1 bets are "frowned upon" by the Government, but so long as both parties agree, and no one else is getting money for the bet actually being made, every bet in the US is legal...

RadicalTaoist scratching at .8, just hopin' from the #GUniverse Since: Jan, 2001
scratching at .8, just hopin'
#36398: Nov 2nd 2012 at 10:33:44 AM

I live the south, and around here there are still an lot of small businesses that have basically said "screw you, wal-mart" and continue to cling to life despite wal-mart's best efforts.
They're fighting an uphill battle. More power to 'em; they deserve all the support they get.

Share it so that people can get into this conversation, 'cause we're not the only ones who think like this.
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
#36399: Nov 2nd 2012 at 10:35:18 AM

Real Clear Politics now have Obama in the lead again. http://www.realclearpolitics.com/epolls/2012/president/us/general_election_romney_vs_obama-1171.html

“And the Bunny nails it!” ~ Gabrael “If the UN can get through a day without everyone strangling everyone else so can we.” ~ Cyran
carbon-mantis Collector Of Fine Oddities from Trumpland Since: Mar, 2010 Relationship Status: Married to my murderer
Collector Of Fine Oddities
#36400: Nov 2nd 2012 at 11:34:31 AM

Current tally of voter registrations in NC from the state election board's website-

Democratic: 2,859,075 Republican: 2,046,224 Libertarian: 18,972 Unaffiliated: 1,701,734

It would seem to me that NC's Independents tend to swing more to the right than they would in other regions. Issues like Abortion and Gay Marriage are hot-button topics among the religious groups, and they tend to sway the fiscal liberals more towards republican candidates. However, many of the democratic candidates this year have come out in opposition of both subjects, so they may gain some ground.


Total posts: 417,856
Top