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
Alright. Let's try to keep all discussions about them restricted to there.
And how to do stop extra-judicial killings? I don't know. Remove the culture of fear and paranoia? Constant vigilance?
As Americans, we've had a merry tradition of trampling our judicial rights every single time a war comes up. Like...literally every war. We've also been at war a lot. It almost makes me think some of those supposed "rights" are a myth.
The Founding Fathers knew (from hard experience) that the only "rights" that exist are the ones that you are willing to fight for. If America is complacent about extrajudicial killings and such, nobody is going to stop us, because we are America. America is us. There is no abstract "them" to point fingers at.
"It's Occam's Shuriken! If the answer is elusive, never rule out ninjas!"Yes, there is. The people of America have no choice in their political class. That which our elites decide may not be in line with the will of the people as a whole, because the money of corporate entities and the grand coalition of both Democratic and Republican leaders have systematically removed any possibility of popular choice in, for example, whether we fight the War on Drugs, or whether we engage in extrajudicial killings of alleged terrorists.
And thus, we must have a communist revolution. All power to the tropers!
Or, more seriously, yes there is a Them, and there are options for fighting back against Them through grassroots movements, such as (for example) initiatives to command one's state to sign the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact (which will distribute power more equally across America, which will weaken the existing political machines), or initiatives to command a constitutional convention on term limits. (However, a cynical individual might also mark the majority of American citizens as deadweight, and thus as allies to Them, thus marking America as the enemy. This is counterproductive to finding a workable solution.)
I'm pretty sure Fighteer is counting that kind of fighting as "fighting for your rights."
Writing a post-post apocalypse LitRPG on RR. Also fanfic stuff.
You are correct. What you are missing, Ramidel, is that it is currently the collective will of our people that we live in the country that we do, with immigrants being deported, gays being persecuted, extrajudicial killings, and corporations running everything. We did this to ourselves, willingly, just as it is up to us to fix our shit if we really want to. That's the joy and terror of living in a democracy.
Latest update on the VA Senate redistricting: Howell, the Republican House Speaker, killed it.
![]()
Basically, there was so much outrage that the Republican governor decided the Republican senators had done more harm than good to the party.
Or in most idealistic terms, maybe he has standards and decided they crossed a line.
"And as long as a sack of shit is not a good thing to be, chivalry will never die."On another note, Obama might reduce Greenhouse emissions
, but he has no details over it.
There's also the issue of whether he'll approve the norther half of the Keystone pipeline. Even if he reduced the emissions, the Keystone would still screw the environment (and our water supply).
In RWBY, every girl is Best Girl.The question there is how Obama will go about "reducing greenhouse emissions". Will he ascend into the sky with his magical Presidential powers and suck the carbon out, perhaps spitting it into the sea or outer space? Will he wave his magic wand and Mind Control Congress into passing eco-friendly legislation?
His authority over regulation is his best means of dealing with environmental issues. I know that there are tougher auto emission standards in process, but what else is being done in that regard, I don't know. It certainly seems that he could be doing more.
edited 7th Feb '13 7:02:02 AM by Fighteer
"It's Occam's Shuriken! If the answer is elusive, never rule out ninjas!"All I'm going to say that lowering emissions doesn't totally help when the technology has also increased fuel consumption. In other words, you're burning less CO2 but using more fuel. You need to increase fuel efficiency as well as reducing emissions.
Sorry, this is just something that slightly pisses me off.
Keep Rolling OnSorry, I meant fuel efficiency. Which lowers emissions as a direct consequence.
"It's Occam's Shuriken! If the answer is elusive, never rule out ninjas!"The point that O can't do much still stands.
Which is why I'm pissed at the Green Party for running their elections like they were still in a parliamentary system. FUCK the Presidency, we need Greens in the states and the House right now.
Share it so that people can get into this conversation, 'cause we're not the only ones who think like this.The problem with the Greens, I think, is that most Americans simply aren't aware of them and what they stand for, except for some nebulous memetic association with radical environmentalist groups in America and Europe.
Plus, we have a love affair with capitalism and their anti-corporatist platform guarantees that they will never get major private funding, so they have no way to break into the mainstream media — unless, of course, they can get some billionaire philanthropist to fund them for a few election cycles.
As for the gerrymandering victory in Virginia, that is awesome. It shows that some Republicans are sane enough to admit when they've gone too far with their political gimmickry. In a way, it restores some of my faith in our system that not all Republicans are rabid demagogues or mindless drones of said demagogues.
edited 7th Feb '13 7:54:02 AM by Fighteer
"It's Occam's Shuriken! If the answer is elusive, never rule out ninjas!"True, actually. Interesting to note that the US is not part of the World Forum for Harmonization of Vehicle Regulations
under the United Nations. It means that manufacturers have to make versions of vehicles specifically for the US Market — not that it's the only factor, of course.
edited 7th Feb '13 7:51:49 AM by Greenmantle
Keep Rolling OnProof of concept for quantitative easing, courtesy of Amazon.com.
I posted this here because it's relevant to the idea that the government can charge the economy by printing money and distributing it through subsidies. Amazon.com is already doing this, because they want to expand their Kindle ecosystem, and they're funding it through bonds with negative interest.
Now, if Amazon can do it, why can't our government? Oh, right, big business doesn't want competition.
EDIT: Tinyurl whaaaaat?
edited 7th Feb '13 8:29:03 AM by Ramidel
You need to Tinyurl that. The forum parser breaks the link.
Edit: It's a great idea on Amazon's part. Classic demand stimulus. One wonders if they will pull it off.
edited 7th Feb '13 9:33:35 AM by Fighteer
"It's Occam's Shuriken! If the answer is elusive, never rule out ninjas!"http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2013/02/07/steve-king-karl-rove-launched-a-crusade-against-me/
Looks like Rove's attempt at Pragmatic Villainy is running into some trouble. Is the 2014 race setting up to be a GOP civil war?
edited 7th Feb '13 12:53:35 PM by Rationalinsanity
Politics is the skilled use of blunt objects.One can only hope. Rove seems to be channeling the establishment Republican Party in a battle against its fringe elements, from what I read earlier about this. Or vice versa, I'm not entirely sure.
edited 7th Feb '13 12:55:42 PM by Fighteer
"It's Occam's Shuriken! If the answer is elusive, never rule out ninjas!"

There is a thread about them, unless it was nuked.
Edit: It wasn't.
edited 6th Feb '13 9:34:06 AM by Medinoc
"And as long as a sack of shit is not a good thing to be, chivalry will never die."