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

Euodiachloris Since: Oct, 2010
#49726: Feb 15th 2013 at 3:27:43 PM

[up][up]Ah, yes: but, you see... few people can be turned on by the one and thus get guiltily offended. The other? Is a guilt-driven offence all the way. tongue

[up]Nudity in a professional kitchen is ill advised... Not to mention problematic for Health and Safety for both staff and customers... [lol]

edited 15th Feb '13 3:29:25 PM by Euodiachloris

DrunkGirlfriend from Castle Geekhaven Since: Jan, 2011
#49727: Feb 15th 2013 at 3:29:03 PM

[up][up] It's mostly got to do with the curios lack of personal hygiene that exists in this country. It's definitely unsanitary to sit on a public bus without properly wiping your arse after you shit.

And yes, I've seen people leave skidmarks on bus seats before.

edited 15th Feb '13 3:29:38 PM by DrunkGirlfriend

"I don't know how I do it. I'm like the Mr. Bean of sex." -Drunkscriblerian
TheStarshipMaxima NCC - 1701 Since: Jun, 2009
NCC - 1701
#49728: Feb 15th 2013 at 3:30:27 PM

No, pigeon. That's not true at all. If you go by the Straw Creationists, then yes, that's a valid assumption. To be sure, a lot of Dr. Krause's statement is immenently reasonable.

But alas, the fact is the science isn't nearly absolute. Just like it isn't about the immutablity or cause of homosexuality, or the precise moment a fetus becomes "viable", or how dead certain Einstein's Special Theory of Relativity is, or about so many things we take as sacrosanct because somebody with a fancy title said so. There's nothing wrong with saying "Well, actually, science has quite a few holes in it. There are some alternative theories."

There's no crime in teaching an alternative theory when there's no dead set certainty in the first place. No matter how much one wants to say it is.

And yes, I've seen people leave skidmarks on bus seats before.

List of ways TV Tropes Will Ruin Your Life Number 36.

edited 15th Feb '13 3:31:29 PM by TheStarshipMaxima

It was an honor
Fighteer Lost in Space from The Time Vortex (Time Abyss) Relationship Status: TV Tropes ruined my love life
Lost in Space
#49729: Feb 15th 2013 at 3:30:31 PM

To wax scientific, on the other hand, it has been proven that taboos are what create lust, not the other way around. If toplessness is the norm, it will cease to be tittilating surprisingly quickly. People will still wear clothing, of course, for comfort or adornment, but there is no need for it to be enforced by Mrs. Grundy.

[up] Sorry, Starship, that won't sell here. Human evolution by natural selection and the geological age of the Earth are facts. One hundred percent certainty. You would do better to bet against the sunrise.

edited 15th Feb '13 3:32:42 PM by Fighteer

"It's Occam's Shuriken! If the answer is elusive, never rule out ninjas!"
Wildcard Since: Jun, 2012
#49730: Feb 15th 2013 at 3:31:10 PM

What's the name of that town? Vulcan??-The Starship Maxima

Um...excuse me! Vulcan is a planet. What kinda trekkie are you?tongue

Hopefully this law won't pass.

TheStarshipMaxima NCC - 1701 Since: Jun, 2009
NCC - 1701
#49731: Feb 15th 2013 at 3:32:57 PM

[up] Shut up! I'm shoehorning a bad analogy here.

It was an honor
Euodiachloris Since: Oct, 2010
#49732: Feb 15th 2013 at 3:33:38 PM

[up]With a chainsaw... I noticed. wink

DrTentacles Cephalopod Lothario from Land of the Deep Ones Since: Jul, 2012 Relationship Status: Having tea with Cthulhu
Cephalopod Lothario
#49733: Feb 15th 2013 at 3:34:22 PM

Starship, it's pretty dead set. The only sort of creationism that isn't flatly contradicted by hard evidence is the "It's possible that god sparked the big bang"-(Not my personal belief. Just a form of creationism. Currently, we have no idea what started off everything. You can call it God, Xenu, the Laws of the Physics, or Betty-Joe for all the difference it makes)

(I won't comment on my personal opinion of that. It's...less stupid than young-earth. It's plausible in that we haven't disproved it. And it's honestly no worse than most of the explanations for the Big Bang we have.)

edited 15th Feb '13 3:35:36 PM by DrTentacles

TheyCallMeTomu Since: Jan, 2001 Relationship Status: Anime is my true love
#49734: Feb 15th 2013 at 3:35:07 PM

Fighteer presents a good argument: I vote that we should mandate shirts on everyone, so that boobs remain sexy.

TheStarshipMaxima NCC - 1701 Since: Jun, 2009
NCC - 1701
#49735: Feb 15th 2013 at 3:35:23 PM

Sorry, Starship, that won't sell here. Human evolution by natural selection and the geological age of the Earth are facts. One hundred percent certainty. You would do better to bet against the sunrise.

Like I said, they said the same thing about the theory of relativity; that it was the surest theory in all science. Right until they started saying "Well, hang on....." I chuckle whenever folks say they're 100% percent certain, because it's usually around then the cracks start to appear.

It was an honor
TheyCallMeTomu Since: Jan, 2001 Relationship Status: Anime is my true love
#49736: Feb 15th 2013 at 3:35:51 PM

It is certain to the extent that there is such a thing as certainty in human thought.

shimaspawn from Here and Now Since: May, 2010 Relationship Status: In your bunk
#49737: Feb 15th 2013 at 3:36:26 PM

It is proven that the more you try to legislate women into modesty, the more violence targets them. This isn't just with nudity laws, but even laws against contraception and abortion. Laws against both cause more sexual and physical violence against women. By treating women as if their purpose is defined by sex and reproduction, you rob their personhood and make them easier to victimize.

Reality is that, which when you stop believing in it, doesn't go away. -Philip K. Dick
DrunkGirlfriend from Castle Geekhaven Since: Jan, 2011
#49738: Feb 15th 2013 at 3:36:37 PM

[up][up][up] Actually, nobody's disproved the theory of relativity either. Even Einstein's original equations were FAR more complicated than what gets taught in schools.

edited 15th Feb '13 3:36:44 PM by DrunkGirlfriend

"I don't know how I do it. I'm like the Mr. Bean of sex." -Drunkscriblerian
DrTentacles Cephalopod Lothario from Land of the Deep Ones Since: Jul, 2012 Relationship Status: Having tea with Cthulhu
Cephalopod Lothario
#49739: Feb 15th 2013 at 3:37:19 PM

[up] Relativity is still pretty certain. And the fact is, we've got pretty damn hard evidence. Like, for Young-Earth creationism/really any Earth Creationism, either god is fucking with us, or we can't trust our measurements, perceptions, and mathematics that have served up perfectly reliably in the past.

...Where's that evolution vs creationism thread? Did it get locked?

deathpigeon Since: Jan, 2001 Relationship Status: One True Dodecahedron
#49740: Feb 15th 2013 at 3:38:47 PM

Nudity in a professional kitchen is ill advised... Not to mention problematic for health and safety...

And stupid, but how about nudity while taking a walk through the park? How about nudity while relaxing at the beach? How about nudity while walking around an outdoor mall? Why should people not be allowed to be nude in those situations?

No, pigeon. That's not true at all.

Yes, yes it is. The DNA evidence alone is enough to demonstrate evolution. Evolution has been observed both in nature and in the lab, and the fossil record supports evolution. All evidence points to evolution being true. To deny evolution requires one to deny the evidence.

There's no crime in teaching an alternative theory when there's no dead set certainty in the first place.

Here's the thing, Creationism is not a theory. It is a hypothesis with no evidence to support it and evidence to refute it. Creationism is as much a theory as the Flat World Hypothesis (which posits that the world is flat and not round).

Also, with the amount of evidence to support Relativity, it is likely that the closest we will ever get to disproving it would be to prove that it is just a special case of some other theory, like we did with Newtonian physics in relation to the Theory of Relativity.

edited 15th Feb '13 3:40:16 PM by deathpigeon

Fighteer Lost in Space from The Time Vortex (Time Abyss) Relationship Status: TV Tropes ruined my love life
Lost in Space
#49741: Feb 15th 2013 at 3:39:56 PM

[up][up] I think so. Never ends well.

Also, Starship, relativity has not been disproven. It has, however, been found inadequate to explain certain observations, which is why a higher order theory is currently being sought. Just as Newtonian physics worked fine for the needs of the society that discovered it, relativity works fine for 99.99999999% of things that humans are likely to ever do (on a macroscopic level, anyway), and Newtonian equations derive directly from relativity equations, given simplified terms. In fact, relativity's competitor in the "what happens at the very small scale" area is quantum physics, which is reconciled (hopefully) via superstring theory.

Both relativity and quantum physics work. Your hard drive and CPU operate on principles of quantum physics. If the physics were wrong, your computer would not turn on. GPS satellites operate on principles of relativity. If the physics were wrong, you couldn't navigate from New York to Los Angeles with sub-meter precision.

Statements like "relativity isn't certain" are made in vast ignorance. It's not your fault, necessarily; a full understanding of the science takes years of study. However, wallowing in that ignorance is your fault.

edited 15th Feb '13 3:48:32 PM by Fighteer

"It's Occam's Shuriken! If the answer is elusive, never rule out ninjas!"
DrTentacles Cephalopod Lothario from Land of the Deep Ones Since: Jul, 2012 Relationship Status: Having tea with Cthulhu
Cephalopod Lothario
#49742: Feb 15th 2013 at 3:40:18 PM

Oh hai there

https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=12986807980A99980100&page=29#701

^ This thread. This is the one we should be in.

[down] /snaps gloves

Get in this thread, Starship, and turn your head and cough. And you kinda made our arguement for us. Sure, having overwhelming evidence for one side, and none for the other doesn't mean you automatically right, but it sure as hell points toward, and to question the level of evidence we have kinda means throwing, oh, the vast majority of human knowledge out the window.

To be blunt (not rude, I'm saying this without intention to offend) you don't seem to know as much about this as your probably should. And although I'm the last person to strip you of your faith, I'd rather you be aware of the facts of the matter.

edited 15th Feb '13 3:46:48 PM by DrTentacles

TheStarshipMaxima NCC - 1701 Since: Jun, 2009
NCC - 1701
#49743: Feb 15th 2013 at 3:41:54 PM

Edited: I'll only say, I've long warned of the dangers of taking a series of observed facts that cannot be disproven since they're..well, facts.....and conflating them with a model to explain them.

edited 15th Feb '13 4:24:41 PM by TheStarshipMaxima

It was an honor
DrunkGirlfriend from Castle Geekhaven Since: Jan, 2011
#49744: Feb 15th 2013 at 3:43:26 PM

[up] Aaaaactually, as a biology major, I can say with certainty that the theory of evolution is a lot more complicated than what you just said, and there's a LOT of supporting evidence saying that we have ancestors in common with other animals.

Especially, since, y'know, we're still evolving.

edited 15th Feb '13 3:44:05 PM by DrunkGirlfriend

"I don't know how I do it. I'm like the Mr. Bean of sex." -Drunkscriblerian
Fighteer Lost in Space from The Time Vortex (Time Abyss) Relationship Status: TV Tropes ruined my love life
Lost in Space
#49745: Feb 15th 2013 at 3:45:02 PM

Okay, it's time to put my foot down. Evolution posts after this one (within a reasonable margin) will be thumped.

"It's Occam's Shuriken! If the answer is elusive, never rule out ninjas!"
Pykrete NOT THE BEES from Viridian Forest Since: Sep, 2009
NOT THE BEES
#49746: Feb 15th 2013 at 4:09:16 PM

Special relativity got "disproved" the same way the Pythagorean Theorem did when we realized it was a specific case of the broader Law of Cosines.

In other words, it didn't.

Anyway, apparently the Violence Against Women Act is up again in the House after passing the Senate with a healthy margin. It should be noted that most of the Republican opposition is sponsoring their own version of it, so I'd be very surprised if it didn't pass again in some form or other. The main question is over jurisdiction of same-sex couples, illegal immigrants, and tribal courts in Native reservations, which is playing out exactly as one would expect.

edited 15th Feb '13 4:12:26 PM by Pykrete

TheStarshipMaxima NCC - 1701 Since: Jun, 2009
NCC - 1701
#49747: Feb 15th 2013 at 4:23:53 PM

Aaaaactually, as a biology major, I can say with certainty that it's a lot more complicated than what you just said,

Dear God, you science geek chicks are the worst. You're almost as bad as Euo! [lol]

It was an honor
Euodiachloris Since: Oct, 2010
#49748: Feb 15th 2013 at 5:28:00 PM

[up]Oi... I'm not almost that bad! I'm a whole tonne worse by quite a demonstrable margin! [lol] Get it right... evil grin

And, one day, I'll get you to note the neurological evidence for gender identity you refuse to take... I'll get you, yet, my pretty. Mwhahahaha! wink

TheyCallMeTomu Since: Jan, 2001 Relationship Status: Anime is my true love
#49749: Feb 15th 2013 at 5:29:24 PM

What does neurological evidence even look like?

Euodiachloris Since: Oct, 2010
#49750: Feb 15th 2013 at 5:30:41 PM

[up]Blobby, and a distressing grey-blue colour, interspersed with just as worrying a shade of pink... <looks innocent> It's quite springy, too... well, unless you press too hard: then, it squelches. <tries to look even more innocent>

edited 15th Feb '13 5:31:53 PM by Euodiachloris


Total posts: 417,856
Top