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

Serocco Serocco from Miami, Florida Since: Mar, 2010 Relationship Status: Faithful to 2D
Serocco
#45201: Dec 28th 2012 at 2:59:16 PM

If the LA Times and the Chicago Tribune get bought by Murdoch....

Well, that's just business as usual for News Corp.

In RWBY, every girl is Best Girl.
Greenmantle V from Greater Wessex, Britannia Since: Feb, 2010 Relationship Status: Hiding
V
#45202: Dec 28th 2012 at 3:00:08 PM

@ Ace:

libertarian and liberal "let people do what they want" going on

...and some that are both, right?*

edited 28th Dec '12 3:00:39 PM by Greenmantle

Keep Rolling On
deathpigeon Since: Jan, 2001 Relationship Status: One True Dodecahedron
#45203: Dec 28th 2012 at 3:01:39 PM

[up] ...So anarchists? Aka the people who actually made the term Libertarian in the first place.

Kostya (Unlucky Thirteen)
#45204: Dec 28th 2012 at 3:01:40 PM

[up][up]I believe that's called social anarchism.

edited 28th Dec '12 3:01:49 PM by Kostya

deathpigeon Since: Jan, 2001 Relationship Status: One True Dodecahedron
#45205: Dec 28th 2012 at 3:02:33 PM

And, to an extent, individualist anarchists as well.

Greenmantle V from Greater Wessex, Britannia Since: Feb, 2010 Relationship Status: Hiding
V
#45206: Dec 28th 2012 at 3:06:30 PM

Unsurprisingly, there is Left-libertarianism, including Libertarian Socialism. But, that's enough of that for the moment...

edited 28th Dec '12 3:06:47 PM by Greenmantle

Keep Rolling On
Couchpotato20 Will kill you from Hell Since: Apr, 2011
Will kill you
#45207: Dec 28th 2012 at 3:13:14 PM

@Ace Of Spades

It's wonderful news. I never thought the Senators in my district were such a cool bunch of gents. Can't wait till Jan so they legalize the bud to help folks cool down. I mean I'm certain we're all aware of how well the profit from legalizing can bring up the economy. Shit cuz of having it labeled as legal Cali and Denver should do well in sometime cuz of it. Shoot they're living the fashionable life IMO.

Makes me wonder how far Bone-head Boehner has spread his venomous nonsensical-ism amongst other politicians.

"I don't give a rat's ass about going to hell. I guess it's because I feel like I'm already there." -Mugen
deathpigeon Since: Jan, 2001 Relationship Status: One True Dodecahedron
#45208: Dec 28th 2012 at 3:15:33 PM

[up][up] That's anarchism. The term was made by anarchists to refer to anarchism. Specifically, it was made by anarchists to distinguish their form of anarchism from the mutalist anarchism of Proudhon.

RadicalTaoist scratching at .8, just hopin' from the #GUniverse Since: Jan, 2001
scratching at .8, just hopin'
#45209: Dec 28th 2012 at 3:17:46 PM

[up][up]Bone-head Boehner has no political power. He hasn't even done anything particularly boneheaded asides from seeking to become the Speaker of this Congress, which is admittedly pretty stupid. He hasn't done anything, because he can't do anything, because the lunatics run the particular asylum he's been named Speaker of.

edited 28th Dec '12 3:18:04 PM by RadicalTaoist

Share it so that people can get into this conversation, 'cause we're not the only ones who think like this.
AceofSpades Since: Apr, 2009 Relationship Status: Showing feelings of an almost human nature
#45210: Dec 28th 2012 at 3:20:05 PM

@Greenmantle: I'd guess so, but there's so many varieties of political philosophies I have trouble keeping up with and naming them all. But yeah, Austin is liberal in general, and a lot of the politicians that define themselves as libertarian are from here. (Ron Paul, etc.) There's bound to be some overlap or whatever at some point here.

@Couchpotato: I've long thought the opposition to medical marijauna had more to do with pharmaceutical companies and such than anything else. What with copyright being such a serious thing as regards medical patents and the like, and innovation being even more serious business there than other places. But I guess that's a bit broad for the Illinois subject.

I think that the vote in Colorado and Washington has acted as something of a tipping point. Not a large one, but it's notable that it happened during a presidential election year and all.

DeviantBraeburn Wandering Jew from Dysfunctional California Since: Aug, 2012
Wandering Jew
#45211: Dec 28th 2012 at 3:25:37 PM

Again, those things can be signed by anyone from any state, and it's been signed by what amounts to a very tiny fraction of the Texas population. (Which is 13 mil last I checked.)

That seems rather low.

You sure Texas' population isn't higher?

edited 28th Dec '12 3:26:15 PM by DeviantBraeburn

Everything is Possible. But some things are more Probable than others. JEBAGEDDON 2016
Greenmantle V from Greater Wessex, Britannia Since: Feb, 2010 Relationship Status: Hiding
V
#45212: Dec 28th 2012 at 3:25:43 PM

@ deathpigeon:

I'm sure there's a version of anarchism for almost all Political tastes — even Conservative Anarchism...

Keep Rolling On
Kostya (Unlucky Thirteen)
#45213: Dec 28th 2012 at 3:27:35 PM

[up]Isn't that just anarcho-capitalism?

Greenmantle V from Greater Wessex, Britannia Since: Feb, 2010 Relationship Status: Hiding
V
#45214: Dec 28th 2012 at 3:28:18 PM

See what I mean? [lol]

Keep Rolling On
AceofSpades Since: Apr, 2009 Relationship Status: Showing feelings of an almost human nature
#45215: Dec 28th 2012 at 3:28:31 PM

Okay, after checking it's about twice that. Which makes the whole thing about treating the petition like it's important even stupider. STOP BRINGING IT UP DEVIANT.

[up]This just proves that a lot of people don't like being told what to do. In spite of the fact that a world with rules is safer, and a world that can't enforce those rules simply doesn't work.

edited 28th Dec '12 3:29:26 PM by AceofSpades

DeviantBraeburn Wandering Jew from Dysfunctional California Since: Aug, 2012
Wandering Jew
#45216: Dec 28th 2012 at 3:33:28 PM

Obama "modestly optimistic" about a "cliff" deal

Everything is Possible. But some things are more Probable than others. JEBAGEDDON 2016
deathpigeon Since: Jan, 2001 Relationship Status: One True Dodecahedron
#45217: Dec 28th 2012 at 3:42:33 PM

@Green: I know... Sadly, there's... National Anarchism... Aka a bunch of people who accepts the critiques of anarchism, and uses it as an excuse for neo-fascism.

@Ace: Anarchism doesn't mean no rules, though. It means no hierarchy. It means decentralized, yet confederated, communities run on direct democratic principles. No hierarchy. No state. Some rules.

Couchpotato20 Will kill you from Hell Since: Apr, 2011
Will kill you
#45218: Dec 28th 2012 at 3:46:21 PM

@Radical Taoist

He is the one who encourages the rest of his party to follow through with a deal. The reason why he isn't going to fully embrace any policy Obama lays down is because he wants to save face. It's pathetic.

@Ace Of Spades

Ending marijuana prohibition would save the US $7.7 BILLION annually. That is nearly as much as Congress’ proposed Budget Control Act. Think of the jobs it would create, the court time I would save and the jail space it would free up for actual criminals. It's no doubt because politicians being pushed by companies veto the deals because it ruins their interest. Same reason which William Hearst Randolph jerk self pushed to make it illegal.

"I don't give a rat's ass about going to hell. I guess it's because I feel like I'm already there." -Mugen
RadicalTaoist scratching at .8, just hopin' from the #GUniverse Since: Jan, 2001
scratching at .8, just hopin'
#45219: Dec 28th 2012 at 3:55:05 PM

He is the one who encourages the rest of his party to follow through with a deal.
Yes, and the rest of his party doesn't listen to him.

The traditional threat of the Republican Party to disobedient congressmen is "We're going to primary you next election with someone further out there, and between our money and the cultivated True Conservative voter base raised on AM Radio, they will stomp you." Well, in 2010, all the people further out there got elected to Congress, and they have that True Conservative voter base that has been cultivated for generations behind them.

Boehner has nothing to threaten the current Republican House members with. He offered a deal that cut the social safety net so viciously Dubya wouldn't have signed it, and his own caucus rejected it, either for not wanting Obama to take credit for anything ever or for not being conservative enough.

edited 28th Dec '12 3:57:14 PM by RadicalTaoist

Share it so that people can get into this conversation, 'cause we're not the only ones who think like this.
DeviantBraeburn Wandering Jew from Dysfunctional California Since: Aug, 2012
Wandering Jew
#45220: Dec 28th 2012 at 3:58:52 PM

GOP senators propose $1 trillion debt ceiling deal

Everything is Possible. But some things are more Probable than others. JEBAGEDDON 2016
RadicalTaoist scratching at .8, just hopin' from the #GUniverse Since: Jan, 2001
scratching at .8, just hopin'
#45221: Dec 28th 2012 at 4:05:35 PM

Tennessee Sens. Bob Corker and Lamar Alexander pitched a plan on Friday to cut federal spending by $1 trillion — much of it from Medicare — in exchange for increasing the nation's borrowing limit by that amount. The plan would raise the Medicare eligibly age to 67 and require wealthier Medicare users to pay higher premiums. Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner has estimated extraordinary measures can push the necessity of Congress addressing the debt ceiling until perhaps February.
Both of the senators said too much of the talk in Washington has centered on income tax rates and where the tax hike cutoff should be for upper income earners. But after that is solved, they hope to use the debt ceiling as leverage to deal with Medicare spending, which Corker estimated will be insolvent by 2024.
HAHAHAHAHAH

Any Dem who voted for this would be massacred by primary and Republican opponents accusing them of cutting Medicare. It's not going anywhere.

Share it so that people can get into this conversation, 'cause we're not the only ones who think like this.
AceofSpades Since: Apr, 2009 Relationship Status: Showing feelings of an almost human nature
#45222: Dec 28th 2012 at 4:13:33 PM

I'm aware of the no rulers thing, deathpigeon. But if no one can enforce their rules, then there's effectively none to begin with. And if you have rules, then there's someone you put in place to enforce them, which means there's an inherent hierarchy, because someone is deciding who the enforcing branch is. For the sake of simplicity and efficiency, a certain amount of hierarchy is inherent to a well run society. Plus, most of the anarchist I've talked to simply have an objection to following the rules of the country they currently live in, regardless of whether those rules are sensible or not. Anarchism, in its most basic, has a lot of attraction to those who simply don't like following rules that don't allow them to do something. Something which could be damaging to society at large. Not to mention, it'd be damned impossible to enforce something like environmental regulations in an anarchist society simply because a lot of them would buck that after being taken over by the organized business organizations.

I fear what a replacement for Boehner would be like. I mean, if the Congress could get someone they would follow, it'd be someone the Democrats simply couldn't do business with on any subject.

DeviantBraeburn Wandering Jew from Dysfunctional California Since: Aug, 2012
Wandering Jew
#45223: Dec 28th 2012 at 4:16:28 PM

Senate votes in favor of $60B Hurricane Sandy emergency-spending bill

John Kerry Endorses Ed Markey For His Senate Seat

edited 28th Dec '12 4:20:03 PM by DeviantBraeburn

Everything is Possible. But some things are more Probable than others. JEBAGEDDON 2016
deathpigeon Since: Jan, 2001 Relationship Status: One True Dodecahedron
#45224: Dec 28th 2012 at 4:26:28 PM

@Ace: Again, no hierarchy or rulers does not mean rules cannot be enforced. People would vote on who would enforce it with a limited mandate and the people would be able to withdraw that power at any time. Hierarchy is not necessary.

Also, I'm an anarchist, and I'm fine with following sensible rules. I object mainly to how the society is organized and some of the rules, such as the stupid war on drugs.

Plus, most anarchists are social and/or individualist anarchists, and the systems of them would preclude big business in favor of either communally owned businesses or self-employed people.

Hierarchy is damaging and constraining. Only with its abolition can humans be able to fully achieve their potential.

DeviantBraeburn Wandering Jew from Dysfunctional California Since: Aug, 2012
Wandering Jew
#45225: Dec 28th 2012 at 4:31:01 PM

Governor Cuomo Launches "Build Smart NY" Initiative

Everything is Possible. But some things are more Probable than others. JEBAGEDDON 2016

Total posts: 417,856
Top