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Edited by Mrph1 on Nov 30th 2023 at 11:03:59 AM

Thorn14 Gunpla is amazing! Since: Aug, 2010
Gunpla is amazing!
#57151: Jun 26th 2013 at 11:19:13 PM

A bit of a thread hop but the concept of Jimmy Carter on steroid amuses me. [lol]

SeptimusHeap from Switzerland (Edited uphill both ways) Relationship Status: Mu
#57152: Jun 26th 2013 at 11:20:44 PM

Aside from being a symptom of scientific illiteracy. Steroids can make a difference between pushover and "iron person".

"For a successful technology, reality must take precedence over public relations, for Nature cannot be fooled." - Richard Feynman
AceofSpades Since: Apr, 2009 Relationship Status: Showing feelings of an almost human nature
#57153: Jun 26th 2013 at 11:43:53 PM

Deviant, the Congress APPROVED THEIR BUDGET. So Congress and conservatives don't have much ground to be mad on when the IRS uses some of that money to amuse their employees. It also stated much of those events were paid for out of pocket by said employees.

It's a non-issue.

DeviantBraeburn Wandering Jew from Dysfunctional California Since: Aug, 2012
Wandering Jew
#57154: Jun 27th 2013 at 12:22:54 AM

Senator Reid Spokesman: No Deal On Student Loans Yet

Everything is Possible. But some things are more Probable than others. JEBAGEDDON 2016
Linhasxoc Since: Jun, 2009
#57155: Jun 27th 2013 at 4:55:48 AM

Not to mention, the Obama administration saw what they were getting up to (remember, this was 2008) and basically told them to knock it off. Old news is old.

tclittle Professional Forum Ninja from Somewhere Down in Texas Since: Apr, 2010
Professional Forum Ninja
#57156: Jun 27th 2013 at 5:30:20 AM

Rick Perry calls for a second special session to deal with the abortion bill and other bills that died with it when it was filibustered.

"We're all paper, we're all scissors, we're all fightin' with our mirrors, scared we'll never find somebody to love."
3of4 Just a harmless giant from a foreign land. from Five Seconds in the Future. Since: Jan, 2010 Relationship Status: GAR for Archer
Just a harmless giant from a foreign land.
#57157: Jun 27th 2013 at 5:33:20 AM

[up]Can't say I'm surprised.

"You can reply to this Message!"
Fighteer Lost in Space from The Time Vortex (Time Abyss) Relationship Status: TV Tropes ruined my love life
Lost in Space
#57158: Jun 27th 2013 at 6:54:15 AM

Back on the drugs topic, while it is true that any amount of taxation and/or regulation will create a black market, those markets aren't enough to sustain criminal empires. Most people, given the chance, will buy their tobacco and alcohol legally. The same will undoubtedly be true of marijuana.

The reason why the illegal drug trade is associated with violent crime is that there is a huge street markup. Sell these drugs legally at market prices with regulated quality and you undermine the profit for the cartels. This is basic economics. Sure there will still be a black market, but there won't be enough money in it to allow an entire country to be held at gunpoint to supply U.S. demand.

As for the "marijuana as a gateway drug" argument, that's pretty much bullshit. It's one of those things that somebody made up ages ago, like Reagan's infamous "welfare queen", in order to justify the continued War on Drugs, and now it's something that "everybody knows" without any real evidence to back it up.

Make no mistake: there are huge financial interests behind continuing to prosecute drug users as criminals. The private prison system is the largest advocate of the War on Drugs. It shouldn't take a genius to figure out why.

"It's Occam's Shuriken! If the answer is elusive, never rule out ninjas!"
terlwyth Since: Oct, 2010
#57159: Jun 27th 2013 at 6:57:38 AM

Mondale was probably the only candidate that really had no chance and got there by fair means.

Humphrey actually narrowly lost,if Nixon didn't sabotage the peace-talks he would've won

Mc Govern was a dark-horse because Nixon took out Muskie who by all means should've won

Carter's re-election was sabotaged by Reagan sabotaging any attempts at getting the hostages freed,and stolen debate notes. Before the 1980 debate,the candidates were tied.

Dukakis lost because of the death penalty question,and frankly Bush wasn't too far right either.

And y'all seem to forget that though the GOP had the Presidency from 1968-1992 except for Carter that the Dems had straight control of the Congress except for 3/4 of the Reagan presidency.

The GOP since Clinton has had Congress for most of the time,but have since lacked the Senate

Greenmantle V from Greater Wessex, Britannia Since: Feb, 2010 Relationship Status: Hiding
Completion oldtimeytropey from Space Since: Apr, 2012
oldtimeytropey
#57161: Jun 27th 2013 at 7:31:02 AM

The death penalty question in question:

He very easily could've answered that with an emotional response. It was made for him to do that and he was aware of the question prior to going in. Ended up sounding like an android.

edited 27th Jun '13 7:31:52 AM by Completion

optimusjamie Since: Jun, 2010
#57162: Jun 27th 2013 at 8:39:50 AM

[up] This has probably been posted many trillions of times, but this sums up my feelings on the death penalty.

Direct all enquiries to Jamie B Good
terlwyth Since: Oct, 2010
#57163: Jun 27th 2013 at 8:44:48 AM

That was an unfair lose-lose situation,if he sounded emotional it would've been that tank fiasco again and he probably wouldn't have even taken any of the states except Minnesota,Massachusetts,and Hawaii since those three are the new Solid South when it comes to loyalty.

So naturally he went for the android approach as to look strong,and then that had it's drawbacks to.

Ringsea He Who Got Gud from Fly-Over Country,USA Since: Aug, 2012 Relationship Status: Above such petty unnecessities
He Who Got Gud
#57164: Jun 27th 2013 at 8:59:21 AM

[up][up].... So, because of some (horrible) mistakes, we ought to not punish the RIGHT people? Innocent people are in jail, should we shut down jails?

The most edgy person on the Internet.
RTaco Since: Jul, 2009
#57165: Jun 27th 2013 at 9:07:28 AM

Putting an innocent person in jail is a much more acceptable evil than putting an innocent person to death.

Also, there's the whole "Better a thousand guilty go free than one innocent punished" idea.

3of4 Just a harmless giant from a foreign land. from Five Seconds in the Future. Since: Jan, 2010 Relationship Status: GAR for Archer
Just a harmless giant from a foreign land.
#57166: Jun 27th 2013 at 9:09:36 AM

[up][up]So no matter how much innocents die, as long as judicial vengeance is carried out?

edited 27th Jun '13 9:09:57 AM by 3of4

"You can reply to this Message!"
Ringsea He Who Got Gud from Fly-Over Country,USA Since: Aug, 2012 Relationship Status: Above such petty unnecessities
He Who Got Gud
#57167: Jun 27th 2013 at 9:09:39 AM

I just looked, and there is a "Death Penalty" thread, so if we're going to debate this it should probably be there.

The most edgy person on the Internet.
Medinoc from France (Before Recorded History)
#57168: Jun 27th 2013 at 9:10:25 AM

[up][up][up][up]We can release innocents, you can't resurrect them.

edited 27th Jun '13 9:11:03 AM by Medinoc

"And as long as a sack of shit is not a good thing to be, chivalry will never die."
Pykrete NOT THE BEES from Viridian Forest Since: Sep, 2009
NOT THE BEES
#57169: Jun 27th 2013 at 10:22:23 AM

while it is true that any amount of taxation and/or regulation will create a black market, those markets aren't enough to sustain criminal empires.

Nope, nope, and nope. Black markets for legal things is a multibillion dollar industry and often comprises a noticeably large chunk of all sales (and like I said before, occasionally outright dominates the market as in the third link).

edited 27th Jun '13 10:29:10 AM by Pykrete

DrTentacles Cephalopod Lothario from Land of the Deep Ones Since: Jul, 2012 Relationship Status: Having tea with Cthulhu
Cephalopod Lothario
#57170: Jun 27th 2013 at 10:25:26 AM

Can someone explain why Tumblr-and everyone else but the Republicans are praising the people in the Texas Abortion fillibuster as heroes? Personally, I think it's a stupid, stupid law.

However, any time the republicans use-or threaten a filibuster to delay a law, we're screaming bloody murder, and with good reasons-it's a cheap way to delay democracy. It's the political version of storming off in a huff. I don't think the fillibuster has any place in the American political system. It just seems like a massive double standard we're running.

Pykrete NOT THE BEES from Viridian Forest Since: Sep, 2009
NOT THE BEES
#57171: Jun 27th 2013 at 10:26:49 AM

Same reason we can never get the filibuster changed. Everyone hates it until they have to use it.

The way bills work, it usually takes a really long time to get one all the way through the system. In the event of something like the abortion bill, where some overwhelming 80% of the constituency opposed it, it occasionally gives enough time to last until elections, where the bill in question will be ammunition for smear campaigns, and even if safeguard legislation never comes up in the state house/senate in the meantime, it can be prop'd in by the citizenry.

edited 27th Jun '13 10:40:10 AM by Pykrete

DrTentacles Cephalopod Lothario from Land of the Deep Ones Since: Jul, 2012 Relationship Status: Having tea with Cthulhu
Cephalopod Lothario
#57172: Jun 27th 2013 at 10:41:50 AM

It still seems like something that subverts the point of American democracy. The fact that 80% of the constituents oppose it means that they needs to elect better representatives, not just delay it.

Karkadinn Karkadinn from New Orleans, Louisiana Since: Jul, 2009
Karkadinn
#57173: Jun 27th 2013 at 10:43:47 AM

I do disagree with the filibuster on a baseline philosophical level. I think it's undemocratic and purely a bad idea from a governmental efficiency standpoint.

However, I don't think it's necessarily hypocritical to be against the ROUTINE use of the filibuster, but not against the OCCASIONAL usage of it. The issue with the filibuster's unpopularity at the federal level is largely because it's been used more and more and more with each passing year, hitting a fevered peak with the Republicans stonewalling everything, including routine legislation, in the past few years. If they hadn't been abusing it so much, most people wouldn't care about the filibuster one way or the other. By contrast, the Texas filibuster is an exceptional circumstance in a special session that was explicitly called to ram unpopular legislation through - the environment is pretty much the opposite of the one the national filibuster takes place in.

And all that is combined with the fact that the Texas filibuster requires you to, you know, actually filibuster, instead of just saying you're filibustering and then sitting down and having a nice cup of tea. I mean, if you're going to obstruct a major branch of government, it does help if you do so in a way that shows physical fortitude and passion, instead of just passively bureaucratic intractability.

Furthermore, I think Guantanamo must be destroyed.
shimaspawn from Here and Now Since: May, 2010 Relationship Status: In your bunk
#57174: Jun 27th 2013 at 10:46:36 AM

Yeah, I honestly don't object to filibusters in principle. I just believe you should actually be forced to get up and do it. Not just say you're going to and have it count somehow. It should mean something.

Reality is that, which when you stop believing in it, doesn't go away. -Philip K. Dick
AceofSpades Since: Apr, 2009 Relationship Status: Showing feelings of an almost human nature
#57175: Jun 27th 2013 at 10:55:50 AM

They're praising them because 1) if this had passed, and if it does next week, it would have closed down all but five abortion centers in this state (And Texas is fucking huge) cutting off care for thousands if not millions of women, and 2) The Republicans fucking cheated to end the filibuster and then the filibuster people spent two hours holding up the proceedings to get things back on track.

And keep in mind that Davis had to keep on topic as according to Texas law; she couldn't read from a phonebook like I think someone did once in the federal Congress. That's eleven hours with absolutely no breaks whatsoever because those are the rules here.


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