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

BestOf FABRICATI DIEM, PVNC! from Finland Since: Oct, 2010 Relationship Status: Falling within your bell curve
FABRICATI DIEM, PVNC!
#51201: Mar 14th 2013 at 3:58:11 PM

Of course you have to go outside - at least if there's no designated smoking area (which should only exist if it can be ventilated so well that no one is bothered by it if they don't want to smell it.)

I'm old enough that before smoking in bars (and clubs and so on) was banned I was one of the people who would sometimes smoke in a bar. When the ban came I was really happy because it meant that people who didn't want to breathe what other people are smoking were still able to go to the best/most popular bars without having to worry about cigarette smoke.

I had been part of the problem because when I used to smoke in a bar I was always surrounded by people who were doing it anyway so it didn't really make a difference, but I would have preferred that no one smoke inside.

This is a tangent, I know, but I just wanted to post a defence of the ban on smoking in bars and so on.

Naturally, I don't want smoking inside to be allowed anywhere else, either. Well, you can do it in your own home if you don't have kids and none of the adults mind, at least if you own your home. But other than that...

edited 14th Mar '13 3:58:36 PM by BestOf

Quod gratis asseritur, gratis negatur.
Achaemenid HGW XX/7 from Ruschestraße 103, Haus 1 Since: Dec, 2011 Relationship Status: Giving love a bad name
HGW XX/7
#51202: Mar 14th 2013 at 4:19:41 PM

least if there's no designated smoking area

Except in quite a lot of places, even if there is a smoking area you still have to go outside, such as in the UK and a few places in America. And, frankly, I don't want to drink outside in the cold with the clegs and the midges, I want to be inside.

Schild und Schwert der Partei
Fighteer Lost in Space from The Time Vortex (Time Abyss) Relationship Status: TV Tropes ruined my love life
Lost in Space
#51203: Mar 14th 2013 at 4:21:09 PM

Slight topic change: remember how the GOP is all about "Debt BAD". Well, who would be surprised to observe that they don't all practice what they preach? This ThinkProgress article lists a few.

Now, I don't want to fall into the ad hominem trap, but it is at least interesting to note when a person who extols the virtue of frugal living is not doing so themselves.

Some of those numbers toward the bottom end of the list aren't that extreme, though. TP is reaching a bit.

edited 14th Mar '13 4:23:42 PM by Fighteer

"It's Occam's Shuriken! If the answer is elusive, never rule out ninjas!"
Achaemenid HGW XX/7 from Ruschestraße 103, Haus 1 Since: Dec, 2011 Relationship Status: Giving love a bad name
HGW XX/7
#51204: Mar 14th 2013 at 4:24:15 PM

[up]

Not convinced by that. So, a few them have had or have mortgages. So what? I don't know any homeowner that doesn't. Anyway, given that being in debt only makes banks richer, they aren't being hypocritical at all, merely true to their base and backers. tongue

Schild und Schwert der Partei
OhnoaBear I'm back, baby. from Exiting, pursued by a... Since: Jan, 2011
I'm back, baby.
#51205: Mar 14th 2013 at 4:24:49 PM

To be honest, the entire idea of "Debt BAD" is a ludicrous one. How else will the majority of people ever own a home without a mortgage? Or a car without a payment plan? Or even a goddamn snuggie without five easy installments of $5.55?

"The marvel is not that the Bear posts well, but that the Bear posts at all."
Achaemenid HGW XX/7 from Ruschestraße 103, Haus 1 Since: Dec, 2011 Relationship Status: Giving love a bad name
HGW XX/7
#51206: Mar 14th 2013 at 4:27:20 PM

Isn't a student loan pretty much mandatory in the USA unless you are rich as Crassus?

Schild und Schwert der Partei
OhnoaBear I'm back, baby. from Exiting, pursued by a... Since: Jan, 2011
Greenmantle V from Greater Wessex, Britannia Since: Feb, 2010 Relationship Status: Hiding
V
#51208: Mar 14th 2013 at 4:29:41 PM

[up][up]

It is now in the UK as well...

Keep Rolling On
Achaemenid HGW XX/7 from Ruschestraße 103, Haus 1 Since: Dec, 2011 Relationship Status: Giving love a bad name
HGW XX/7
#51209: Mar 14th 2013 at 4:35:22 PM

[up]

Unless you're a Scot tongue

Schild und Schwert der Partei
Greenmantle V from Greater Wessex, Britannia Since: Feb, 2010 Relationship Status: Hiding
V
#51210: Mar 14th 2013 at 4:39:26 PM

[up]

* Rolls Eyes *

Bleedin' Socialists...

edited 14th Mar '13 4:40:14 PM by Greenmantle

Keep Rolling On
DevilTakeMe Coin Operator from Wild Wasteland Since: Jan, 2010
Coin Operator
#51211: Mar 14th 2013 at 5:05:14 PM

TP is stretching a bit there. A few mortgages is not necessarily a bad thing. Considering a long-term home loan or mortgage is one of the better ways to improve your credit rating. Some people will actually take out a loan on their homes, even when they don't need one to keep themselves financially secure. Without knowing exactly what those Republicans have as their budget, a mortgage on a number of properties is not saying much.

The logic is that some debt will show various lenders that you are a reasonably safe investment for them. Ask anyone who has ever applied for a loan like that, and how that they get a ton of credit card applications they weren't looking for.

The question is whether this thing can be applied to the National Debt. It looks to some that the US is in more debt than it can handle, or question if it can afford to take on a bit more debt to bail itself out. Right now, it feels like the US is trying to pay its credit card bill with another credit card and digging itself into more debt without a clear end in sight.

Is this a bad thing? In the short term, it certainly looks bad. With a downgraded credit rating, there's certainly a lot to be done.

Glove and Boots is good for Blog!
Fighteer Lost in Space from The Time Vortex (Time Abyss) Relationship Status: TV Tropes ruined my love life
Lost in Space
#51212: Mar 14th 2013 at 5:09:32 PM

It's all false analogies. The government is not a household or a business and the same rules do not apply. A lot of people either cannot understand that or refuse to accept it.

For what it's worth, after digging into the TP article, I realized that it is very weak by their usual standards. They're typically above crass muckraking.

edited 14th Mar '13 5:10:30 PM by Fighteer

"It's Occam's Shuriken! If the answer is elusive, never rule out ninjas!"
BestOf FABRICATI DIEM, PVNC! from Finland Since: Oct, 2010 Relationship Status: Falling within your bell curve
FABRICATI DIEM, PVNC!
#51213: Mar 14th 2013 at 5:18:54 PM

Some of these politicians had mortgages on multiple properties. Now, they might have bought (on loan, just like everybody else does) a house in their home state and another property in Washington, where they work. Makes sense. But some of them had more mortgages than that. Maybe they've taken mortgages to invest in housing? It's not that long ago that you could make some easy money doing that, and the banks would love you for it...

Quod gratis asseritur, gratis negatur.
Midgetsnowman Since: Jan, 2010
#51214: Mar 14th 2013 at 7:05:31 PM

so was watching Fox News during dinner at the cafeteria. They were reporting Marco Rubio stole the show at CPAC..then showed a clip of him pretty much saying republican taglines verbatim about why aiusterity is awesome. But he's latino!

LMage Since: May, 2011
#51215: Mar 14th 2013 at 7:11:49 PM

Alabama challenges Voting Rights Act in the Supreme Court.

....Seriously? Are the Republicans that desperate to suppress minority voters?

TheyCallMeTomu Since: Jan, 2001 Relationship Status: Anime is my true love
#51216: Mar 14th 2013 at 7:20:33 PM

And they may even WIN that court challenge.

BestOf FABRICATI DIEM, PVNC! from Finland Since: Oct, 2010 Relationship Status: Falling within your bell curve
FABRICATI DIEM, PVNC!
#51218: Mar 14th 2013 at 7:53:19 PM

Beating one of the Pauls in a pander-to-the-base contest is one of the first steps to becoming a major force in the Republican party, isn't it?

Quod gratis asseritur, gratis negatur.
DeviantBraeburn Wandering Jew from Dysfunctional California Since: Aug, 2012
Wandering Jew
#51219: Mar 14th 2013 at 8:25:47 PM

Romney, McCain were not conservatives, says Rick Perry at CPAC

Man, it's gonna be really awkward when Romney goes onstage to give his speech.

Everything is Possible. But some things are more Probable than others. JEBAGEDDON 2016
terlwyth Since: Oct, 2010
#51220: Mar 14th 2013 at 8:34:15 PM

Well he is right,...Obama's the true Conservative,he's so much that and the Dems have been shifted so far right,that he's we're back to Grover Cleveland again.

The opposing team simply isn't liberal,but reactionary.

DeviantBraeburn Wandering Jew from Dysfunctional California Since: Aug, 2012
Wandering Jew
#51222: Mar 14th 2013 at 9:26:31 PM

Obama's the true Conservative, he's so much that and the Dems have been shifted so far right, that he's we're back to Grover Cleveland again.

Your exaggerating. Cleveland was the second most Conservative President this nation ever had (Coolidge being the first).

I'll even compare Cleveland and Obama views on welfare:

Obama: "That's why we extended or increased unemployment benefits for more than 18 million Americans; made health insurance 65 percent cheaper for families who get their coverage through COBRA; and passed 25 different tax cuts."

Cleveland: "The people support the Government, the Government should not support the people."

Senator Graham wishes Christie were invited

Senate Democrats raised concerns about the implementation of President Obama's signature healthcare law during closed-door meetings this week with Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius.

The White House has started an audio series, “Being Biden,” in which the vice president shares behind-the-scenes official photos and narrates the story behind each shot.

Everything is Possible. But some things are more Probable than others. JEBAGEDDON 2016
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
#51223: Mar 15th 2013 at 6:01:56 AM

Someone obvious saw the 'Biden reality TV show' petition and went "That's not actually a terrible idea. "

“And the Bunny nails it!” ~ Gabrael “If the UN can get through a day without everyone strangling everyone else so can we.” ~ Cyran
Achaemenid HGW XX/7 from Ruschestraße 103, Haus 1 Since: Dec, 2011 Relationship Status: Giving love a bad name
HGW XX/7
#51224: Mar 15th 2013 at 8:26:18 AM

This story has cheered me up immensely. Rob Portman, a GOP senator, has reversed his position on gay marriage after his son came out:

I have come to believe that if two people are prepared to make a lifetime commitment to love and care for each other in good times and in bad, the government shouldn’t deny them the opportunity to get married.

That isn’t how I’ve always felt. As a congressman, and more recently as a senator, I opposed marriage for same-sex couples. Then something happened that led me to think through my position in a much deeper way.

Two years ago, my son Will, then a college freshman, told my wife, Jane, and me that he is gay. He said he’d known for some time, and that his sexual orientation wasn’t something he chose; it was simply a part of who he is. Jane and I were proud of him for his honesty and courage. We were surprised to learn he is gay but knew he was still the same person he’d always been. The only difference was that now we had a more complete picture of the son we love.

At the time, my position on marriage for same-sex couples was rooted in my faith tradition that marriage is a sacred bond between a man and a woman. Knowing that my son is gay prompted me to consider the issue from another perspective: that of a dad who wants all three of his kids to lead happy, meaningful lives with the people they love, a blessing Jane and I have shared for 26 years.

I wrestled with how to reconcile my Christian faith with my desire for Will to have the same opportunities to pursue happiness and fulfillment as his brother and sister. Ultimately, it came down to the Bible’s overarching themes of love and compassion and my belief that we are all children of God.

Good for him.

EDIT: Also posted in Gay Rights And America thread.

edited 15th Mar '13 8:26:39 AM by Achaemenid

Schild und Schwert der Partei
terlwyth Since: Oct, 2010
#51225: Mar 15th 2013 at 8:54:41 AM

Well I always thought better of Portman compared to the rest of the Repubs


Total posts: 417,856
Top