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
I'm a guy, so I may be completely wrong about this, but isn't pregnancy possible for about a week out of every month? That doesn't sound like a 'rarely' thing.
Also, the body just goes, "time to fulfill my genetic imperative!" without bothering to check with your conscious mind. You can't skip all precautions and just think, "I'm not going to have a kid". It doesn't work that way.
edited 2nd Mar '13 12:00:42 PM by Zendervai
I swear the GOP needs to put out a memo saying "Stop talking about rape you idiots, even if you're a woman! If you get in trouble we are not bailing you out!"
It probably wouldn't help but if they make it clear their party finds these statements reprehensible it will be far easier to remove these idiots from power.
edited 2nd Mar '13 12:15:52 PM by Kostya
Senator McCain: 'I think everybody can share some of the blame' on sequestration
More than 700 pages of healthcare rules released
edited 2nd Mar '13 2:32:24 PM by DeviantBraeburn
Everything is Possible. But some things are more Probable than others. JEBAGEDDON 2016So what the fuck's going to happen with the sequesture? How are the Democrats going to fix this?
I say the democrats, because the republicans apparently hate America. (Not hyperbole. There is no fucking justification for letting the sequester take place that doesn't involve desire to see America become an impoverished third world-hellhole.)
And why aren't the Congressmen getting salary cuts?
edited 2nd Mar '13 7:49:20 PM by DrTentacles
That's easy. Congress votes on how much money the country spends, so they vote on how much to pay themselves. Who else is going to do it?
edited 2nd Mar '13 7:56:29 PM by Fighteer
"It's Occam's Shuriken! If the answer is elusive, never rule out ninjas!"At the very least, the House should set the Senate's salaries and vice versa. (don't know if it already works like that)
Writing a post-post apocalypse LitRPG on RR. Also fanfic stuff.![]()
These same die hard capitalist that reject golden parachutes for failed CE Os? Oh wait.
And if the Republicans want to continue alienating women... that's fine by me. Their positions will allow the Dems to reuse Obama's tactics on focusing on key groups that they have needlessly alienated, Hispanics, single/educated women, blacks and everyone under 30. Hope they enjoy never winning the White House.
edited 2nd Mar '13 8:05:08 PM by Rationalinsanity
Politics is the skilled use of blunt objects.Karl Rove tells California's struggling GOP to work harder, diversify
edited 2nd Mar '13 8:10:38 PM by DeviantBraeburn
Everything is Possible. But some things are more Probable than others. JEBAGEDDON 2016Average income doesn't necessarily mean much because our wage discrepancy causes it to be bloated upward by extreme outliers. For instance, University of North Carolina tried to plug one of its programs by advertising some ridiculous average wage of its graduates...but neglected to mention that one of said graduates was Michael Fucking Jordan and deleting his considerably higher income from the data caused the average to tank back down to quite mediocre numbers.
To the relevant point, the average wage in the US is in the area of $48k...but the median wage that most of us are actually at is barely half that.
Ultimately, all average wage in the country measures is how much total money is in circulation compared to how many people there are. It says nothing about distribution.
edited 2nd Mar '13 8:49:33 PM by Pykrete
It's worth pointing out that Congresspeople have an added expense that most people don't: their job is in Washington, D.C., so they have to have a place to live there, but they're also required, by law, to maintain a residence in their home state/district. That might be hard to manage on a median wage income.
![]()
Only the successful lobbyists.
Speaking of lobbyists:
Everything is Possible. But some things are more Probable than others. JEBAGEDDON 2016Sequester Insanity -- Why the Pentagon budget cuts are far worse than you think
: Looks like the Sequester cuts are already happening — it's a 9% cut on every single individual program.
And expect no flypasts or air shows either. They've all been cancelled, along with the USAF Thunderbirds entire 2013 Program.
edited 3rd Mar '13 6:30:37 AM by Greenmantle
Keep Rolling On

Rape rarely leads to pregnancy, according to the California GOP.
“Granted, the percentage of pregnancies due to rape is small because it’s an act of violence, because the body is traumatized. I don’t know what percentage of pregnancies are due to the violence of rape. Because of the trauma the body goes through,” she told the newspaper before arriving at the state GOP’s spring convention in Sacramento.
Ironically, she got on the subject while criticizing Rep. Todd Akin, the former Missouri Senate candidate who infamously said women’s bodies have a way of shutting down pregnancies in the case of “legitimate rape.” “That was an insensitive remark,” Greig said. “I’m sure he regretted it. He should have come back and apologized.” Greig, however, went on to essentially reaffirm part of Akin’s logic.
Some studies have found that women are actually more likely to get pregnant from rape, because contraception is often not used, while others have found the rate is similar to that of consensual sex. In any case, pregnancy from rape is very very real.
The remark drew immediate rebuke from California Democrats. “It’s just outrageous, beyond absurd. It’s insulting. It’s the same line of thinking of ‘If we just dress differently, or behave differently, we won’t be raped.’ They’re basically saying ‘while we’re being raped, if we hate it enough we won’t get pregnant,’” Democratic Assemblywoman Nancy Skinner of Berkeley told the newspaper.
Republican pollsters and other strategists have warned GO Pers to stop talking about rape all together, as it never leads to good things, but that moratorium sometimes seems impossible considering the obsession with abortion of many in the party.
Charming, ain't it. Even more chilling is the fact that it is a woman saying these things.
Schild und Schwert der Partei