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
Ok, late replies because I fell asleep for a bit. (Was not kidding about my day.)
@Ilovedogs: Not so sure everyone here is accepting it as inevitable so much as most likely by a significant stretch. Also, "every twenty something in America" is BY FAR a fucking hyberbole: pretty sure there's plenty of twenty somethings that prefer Clinton over Bernie. And also have more recognition of who Hillary is. Also, I genuinely want her to win, because she's my pick out the candidates.
I think the media kind of likes Sanders, at least in part because Democrats themselves didn't want Clinton to basically be crowned even if they did consider the best one in their party to run. Sanders pitching himself lets Clinton her stake out more defined ground in what she stands for, and has actually seemed to have generated far more interest and motivation in potential voters than the other minor voices putting their feet in.
If she wins, I'lltakeer. If Sanders wins, same deal but I'll do a little dance on the way to the polls and maybe cosplay Lenin with a "Feel The Bern" shirt. Che Guevara would probably be more recognizable though.
"Forward to the ballot box, my red state comrades! ...Wait, wait whatareyoudoing?!? Eyaaaagghhh-"
edited 14th Nov '15 10:24:29 PM by Artificius
"I have no fear, for fear is the little death that kills me over and over. Without fear, I die but once."I'd actually be reluctant to associate any of the Communist figures with Sanders, but those two seem just about the cleanest and no one would get Marx. They'd just think I was another unshaven hipster.
edited 14th Nov '15 10:39:41 PM by Artificius
"I have no fear, for fear is the little death that kills me over and over. Without fear, I die but once."I'd rather not encourage celebrating those that headed Full-Circle Revolution...
I'm not all that keen on the idea of an actual socialist leader but I'd probably still take Sanders long before any of the likely GOP frontrunners.
...now I wonder how much #BLM is being astroturfed by Republicans. Then I snap back to reality and lump the guys saying that stuff with anti-vaxxers and PETA.
Aaaanyway. I really don't let Sanders' chances or lack thereof affect my cheering him on. He's still worth trying to push for if we're interested in politics at all (it's not like any of our individual votes will be decisive either, but many of us still vote).
Having Sanders on the stage has certainly changed things up quite a bit, and people frequently point out how the Democratic discussion has moved a bit more to the left in response.
O'Malley sticking around has also proved interesting, since he was able to assert during this debate that the kinds of ideas that Democrats have been pushing for can in fact be done.
Although on the other side, I wonder just how much characters like Trump and Carson cause other Republicans to move even further right, or if they had already been dragged over.
edited 15th Nov '15 4:24:34 AM by Eschaton
I've run into people on social media demanding to know why Palestine/Beirut/Gaza/Nepal/Rakhine don't get as much attention as Paris. Idiots will be idiots, and the bigger a movement gets, the more idiots join it.
I have disagreed with her a lot, but comparing her to republicans and propagandists of dictatorships is really low. - An idiotYeah I mean Beirut is a fair point, when ISIS attacked an Arab capital with suicide bombers there was a lot less noise being made. But the complaints coming from the US are really just demonstrating how Americacentric such people are. Though I think it's important to remember that such complaints are probably a handful of people at most.
“And the Bunny nails it!” ~ Gabrael “If the UN can get through a day without everyone strangling everyone else so can we.” ~ CyranIt's worth noting that we tend to treat everyday tragedies — a black person killed here, a Palestinian killed there — as not newsworthy.
"It's Occam's Shuriken! If the answer is elusive, never rule out ninjas!"I feel like O'Malley would make a decent running mate for Bernie. He makes a lot of good points. Plus he's a veteran, which always helps.
I've been seeing a bunch of people complaining on different sites about the attention Paris gets over other attacks. I've mainly been pointing out that over a thousand people are murdered around the world every day and they don't get lime light. Let alone the organ market China supports off of political dissidents.
Some things catch the news and some don't. But you don't show up to a holocaust memorial angry they're not memorializing the Native Americans too. By all means they deserve the same recognition but don't attack people for having sympathy for what the news decided was important. Look at what happened with boko harem and b their kidnapping. There was a ton of attention for that by the world.(though it largely petered out before much was done).
These things should have attention. People should Fight for it. I've just seen so many insulting others for showing sympathy for France that its disgusting. They come off as completely ambivalent to that attack while wanting sympathy for others.
edited 15th Nov '15 6:41:51 AM by Joesolo
I'm baaaaaaackClinton's hawkishness makes me reluctant to say she's more qualified, but the more I see the more I think that Bernie's laser focus on economic issues and models does come at the expense of some other areas. I'll be supporting him for as long as he's in this, because I see it as the best way to effect change and pull the Democrats leftward, but I won't mourn too much if he doesn't get the nomination, as appears likely.
| Wandering, but not lost. | If people bring so much courage to this world...◊ |![]()
A case of American-centric "It happened abroad so I don't care" feeling?
Keep Rolling OnMaybe just anti-French sentiment?
edited 15th Nov '15 9:02:16 AM by pwiegle
This Space Intentionally Left Blank.Uh, no. Actually virtually all of the people I've seen doing this were either Arabic, or were Americans complaining that we paid no attention to one attack or another over seas(Beirut being popular, but many brought up a Pakistani school attack which DID get attention, or palestine in general).
edited 15th Nov '15 8:19:32 AM by Joesolo
I'm baaaaaaackIt's the usual "why isn't my preferred issues more popular" derail argument. Republicans were complaining when Cecil the Lion got more hits.
I'm usually opposite on this. I tend to feel despair whenever my country ends up as top news worldwide, cause it's usually very bad news.
Plants are aliens, and fungi are nanomachines.With regards to the attack in Beirut, unfortunately a ME city getting bombed has become routine to most of the world, people in the West feel bad but then move on. But when a Western capital gets hit, they feel more vulnerable because "this isn't the Third World it was goddamn Paris, holy crap we are next!". That's one of the reasons why Paris is getting more attention in the West, it hits closer to home.
edited 15th Nov '15 9:05:38 AM by Rationalinsanity
Politics is the skilled use of blunt objects.

FWTW, I initially was more pro Sanders during the debate but kind of came around to Clinton by the end.
It's like I really do like Sanders' bluntness and integrity but after a while the continued talk about breaking up banks/Wall Street grated on point.
And conversely, while I think Clinton has a bit of an integrity gap, she still struck me as ultimately admirable.
Also for what it's worth, I really liked O'Malley for most of the debate but his closing statement was so rehearsed and sounded more like a campaign ad than anything.