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

TheHandle United Earth from Stockholm Since: Jan, 2012 Relationship Status: YOU'RE TEARING ME APART LISA
United Earth
#115726: Mar 14th 2016 at 12:02:27 PM

That Father Fuhrer thing is the most "Disdain for Plebs" article I've ever read. Like, holy shit. So much bile, hatred, contempt, mistrust, and high-handedness.

Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.
PotatoesRock Since: Oct, 2012
#115727: Mar 14th 2016 at 12:22:33 PM

Related to the Breitbart thing to a degree:

The Rise of Trump Shows the Danger and Sham of Compelled Journalistic “Neutrality” (For example, NPR employees are forbidden from condemning Trump)

The mainstream news media, in search of ever dwindling revenue returns and streams, will resort to normalizing even Authoritarianism/Fascism, for a quick buck.

Ogodei Fuck you, Fascist sympathizers from The front lines Since: Jan, 2011
Fuck you, Fascist sympathizers
#115728: Mar 14th 2016 at 12:25:32 PM

It makes the contempt that the oligarch republicans have for their working-class constituents all too plain. The problem is those working-class saps are still saps because even knowing this won't convince them to vote Democrat.

They are, effectively, beyond help, because unlike other poor groups, they've wedded themselves utterly to a party that doesn't care about them. At least poor black and hispanic Americans can hope for Democratic victories to better their lot, but that will only lift up the whites along with them in the blue states, and those Democrats won't be beholden to the whites because little of their power came from them.

SeptimusHeap from Switzerland (Edited uphill both ways) Relationship Status: Mu
#115729: Mar 14th 2016 at 12:27:36 PM

You know, if memory serves one common argument of these folks is that liberals are arrogant jerks. I suspect some of them would perceive the commentary here as such.

"For a successful technology, reality must take precedence over public relations, for Nature cannot be fooled." - Richard Feynman
NativeJovian Jupiterian Local from Orlando, FL Since: Mar, 2014 Relationship Status: Maxing my social links
Jupiterian Local
#115730: Mar 14th 2016 at 12:30:52 PM

[up][up][up]There's a fine line to walk there. You don't want to report opinion pieces as fact. At the same time, you shouldn't not report facts because they make someone look bad.

"Trump would be a bad president" is an opinion and shouldn't be presented as a factual statement. However, "Trump has proposed policies that are patently unconstitutional" is a fact and should be reported as such.

edited 14th Mar '16 12:31:26 PM by NativeJovian

Really from Jupiter, but not an alien.
Luminosity Since: Jun, 2012 Relationship Status: Lovey-Dovey
#115731: Mar 14th 2016 at 12:46:29 PM

Sometimes the line between "opinion" and "fact" does indeed blur... "Trump would be a horrible president" is the closest thing to fact an opinion can get.

MadSkillz Destroyer of Worlds Since: Mar, 2013 Relationship Status: I only want you gone
Destroyer of Worlds
#115732: Mar 14th 2016 at 12:47:20 PM

My respect for John Mc Cain just went up.

Protagonist506 from Oregon Since: Dec, 2013 Relationship Status: Chocolate!
#115733: Mar 14th 2016 at 12:48:56 PM

The thing with opinions is that, while no opinion is objectively true, some opinions are more sound than others. For example, it's safe to say that Hitler is an all-around worse person than Fred Rogers. Technically, an opinion, but also entirely true.

Leviticus 19:34
sgamer82 Since: Jan, 2001
#115734: Mar 14th 2016 at 12:51:44 PM

I've liked McCain for a long time. I voted for him back when he was a candidate for California governor in the recall that have it to Schwarzenegger. I remember being told that voting for him was the same as voting for the Democrat, though I felt that was only really true if I intended to vote for Schwarzenegger in the first place.

BlueNinja0 The Mod with the Migraine from Taking a left at Albuquerque Since: Dec, 2010 Relationship Status: Showing feelings of an almost human nature
The Mod with the Migraine
#115735: Mar 14th 2016 at 12:54:58 PM

Should be interesting to see how [assisted suicide] fares in the courts, because you know the hard-line Pro-Lifers are going to be all over that.
I doubt it. Most Pro Life™ folks don't give a damn about suicide or the death penalty, they're strictly in favor of forcing women to carry their rapists' babies.
Plus, it needs to be classified as 'treatment' (and as death related to the illness) rather than suicide, or life insurance won't pay.
Doesn't that depend on the policy? But then, given that most life insurance companies won't give any policy once you've been diagnosed with something series, I'm not sure it matters.
If it were up to me, Trump supporters would be sterilized on their way to a penal colony. Or, you know, just disenfranchised from voting, deprived of benefits and health-care, and left to win their Darwin Awards on their own merit.
I'm not sure Humor Mode was the best Pot Hole for that.
For example, anti-Trump vets and military folks aren't exactly hard to find.
*waves*
if Trump gets elected and then assassinated,
I think this gets awfully close to violating forum rules.
I'm Russian, I can't vote in American elections, so I'd probably make pancakes
Wait, you wouldn't be planning the invasion of Alaska?

That’s the epitome of privilege right there, not considering armed nazis a threat to your life. - Silasw
FFShinra Since: Jan, 2001
#115736: Mar 14th 2016 at 12:56:40 PM

[up][up]....but Mc Cain wasn't from California...how does that even work?

edited 14th Mar '16 12:57:44 PM by FFShinra

TheHandle United Earth from Stockholm Since: Jan, 2012 Relationship Status: YOU'RE TEARING ME APART LISA
United Earth
#115737: Mar 14th 2016 at 12:58:21 PM

You know, if memory serves one common argument of these folks is that liberals are arrogant jerks. I suspect some of them would perceive the commentary here as such.

When you're poor, let alone poor and ignorant, people condescending on you is a uniform feature of your existence. Party elites taking your vote and your power with a smile while spitting on your name behind your back is going to be the rule. And shattered illusions and hopes as your energy is channeled, redirected, compromised, or, if you're irreconcilably stubborn, buffered down to background noise, is your motherfucking fate. You're at the mercy of those few powerful who would actually give a damn about you.

Being poor sucks.

That's where I find that Christian values are amazingly useful. The Seven Heavenly Virtues, and the promise of reward in the next world, will get you through this one. The religion seems designed to soothe the existence of the disenfranchised and the exploited.

edited 14th Mar '16 1:01:45 PM by TheHandle

Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.
sgamer82 Since: Jan, 2001
#115738: Mar 14th 2016 at 12:58:54 PM

[up][up]Neither was Arnold. I don't think gubernatorial races have the same "gotta be from here" rule as President does. I remember that time fairly well, it was the first time I'd voted ever, and I don't recall anyone having an issue with McCain running other than because he was a potential spoiler.

edited 14th Mar '16 1:00:56 PM by sgamer82

GameGuruGG Vampire Hunter from Castlevania (Before Recorded History)
Vampire Hunter
#115739: Mar 14th 2016 at 1:01:21 PM

Despite how people may view Trump, he's been successful enough to get the most Republican primary voters and cause the Republicans to be in a sheer panic. Thing is that given Trump's success so far, there will be more like him in the future unless things change. This is a bad thing and needs to be nipped in the bud as soon as possible. It is quite dangerous for that many people to give so much support to a person like Trump, especially given the violence and protests at Trump rallies. I mean if violence and protests are already happening now, imagine what will happen when he loses or is shut out of the nomination. I fear shit's going to get real real fast.

Wizard Needs Food Badly
ironballs16 Since: Jul, 2009 Relationship Status: Owner of a lonely heart
#115740: Mar 14th 2016 at 1:04:27 PM

[up]

Wait, how was McCain a California candidate when he's been in Arizonan politics since '82? Or did you mean the similar-sounding John McClane?

"Why would I inflict myself on somebody else?"
Parable Since: Aug, 2009
#115741: Mar 14th 2016 at 1:07:09 PM

You have to be a a California citizen to run for governor. McCain isn't, and wasn't even on the ballot.

sgamer82 Since: Jan, 2001
#115742: Mar 14th 2016 at 1:09:24 PM

[up] Then who did I vote for, because it wasn't Arnold or Cruz Bustamante. Am I mixing up McCain and McClintock?

Weird, i'd've sworn it was McCain...

edited 14th Mar '16 1:17:22 PM by sgamer82

Ogodei Fuck you, Fascist sympathizers from The front lines Since: Jan, 2011
Fuck you, Fascist sympathizers
#115743: Mar 14th 2016 at 1:09:28 PM

I mean, i know it sounds elitist as hell, but it's true: poor white Republicans have been voting against their own interests for 30 years, and in a democracy, they have only themselves to blame for that. They already know they're getting screwed, but damnit, get informed, find out who's giving you this crap (hint: it's not illegals, minorities, unions, ivory tower liberals, or muslims!), and vote accordingly.

To say that they are only victims of the right-wing misinformation machine is to deny them the basic agency of democracy.

Luminosity Since: Jun, 2012 Relationship Status: Lovey-Dovey
#115744: Mar 14th 2016 at 1:13:35 PM

Being poor is still being poor. Not everyone has the time to dabble through the sea of disinformation and misdirection, some people are busy with a little thing called surviving.

Let's not the lose the sight that the right-wing ignorance inducer machine is still the prime culprit.

CaptainCapsase from Orbiting Sagittarius A* Since: Jan, 2015
#115745: Mar 14th 2016 at 1:17:53 PM

@GameGuru: Best case scenario IMHO is Trump winning the primary, and being utterly demolished in the general election. Now, that said, turnouts in the primaries have been anemic at best among democrats, and historically high among Republicans. That doesn't bode well for the general election.

ironballs16 Since: Jul, 2009 Relationship Status: Owner of a lonely heart
#115746: Mar 14th 2016 at 1:20:02 PM

[up]

Of course, it also depends on which interests they prioritize. Keep in mind a number of the poorer Republicans are staunchly against abortion (whether in whole or part), and are otherwise quite conservative on Societal issues, rather than Economic ones. Plus, there's the appealing narrative of "If you work hard enough, you will succeed!" to consider - yes, the corollary is that, if you're poor, obviously you don't work hard enough, but it's the former that gets focused on when Republican candidates speak to their constituents.

"Why would I inflict myself on somebody else?"
TheHandle United Earth from Stockholm Since: Jan, 2012 Relationship Status: YOU'RE TEARING ME APART LISA
United Earth
#115747: Mar 14th 2016 at 1:28:21 PM

[up][up][up]No time, no energy, no resources.

Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.
darksidevoid Anti-Gnosis Weapon from The Frontiers (Time Abyss) Relationship Status: Robosexual
Anti-Gnosis Weapon
#115748: Mar 14th 2016 at 1:36:38 PM

Amalgamated Transit Union endorses Sanders

Edit: Actually, I might as well just quote it in full, right?

Pointing to the urgent need for a candidate who fights for working families; who stands up to Wall Street and the billionaire class, who will break with politics as usual, the Amalgamated Transit Union General Executive Board voted Monday to endorse Senator Bernie Sanders for President.

“The sincerity of Bernie Sanders and his long standing fidelity to the issues that are so important to working people are what convinced us that standing with Bernie is standing with the 99% of America that has been left out of the mainstream public debate, cheated out of our jobs and denied the true meaning of the American dream,” said ATU International President Larry Hanley in making the announcement.

“His unabashed support of civil rights, public services, free tuition at public colleges, increases in Social Security and the minimum wage, make him an ideal candidate. But the Labor Movement owes Senator Sanders so much for his consistent opposition to right wing programs and his championing of first-rate healthcare for all – which is already the global standard,” Hanley continued.

ATU will be recommending that ATU members vote for Bernie in the primaries and caucuses that remain. The union also plans to mobilize members across the country in support of Sanders’ campaign

“We reject the idea that these vital programs are unattainable and resent the notion that we as a country can afford unlimited and unquestioned expenses for war, but must withstand the Tea Party Test on every investment in our own people. The attempt to belittle what so many of us believe in and what Senator Sanders has brought to the national stage is antithetical to the progressive history of the Democratic Party.”

Hanley recalled the brave words of Robert F. Kennedy in South Africa in 1966 in announcing ATU’s support of Senator Sanders:

“‘There is discrimination in this world, and slavery and slaughter and starvation. Governments repress their people; millions are trapped in poverty while the nation grows rich and wealth is lavished on armaments everywhere. These are differing evils, but they are the common works of man. They reflect the imperfection of human justice, the inadequacy of human compassion, our lack of sensibility towards the suffering of our fellows. But we can perhaps remember – even if only for a time – that those who live with us are our brothers; that they seek – as we do – nothing but the chance to live out their lives in purpose and happiness, winning what satisfaction and fulfillment they can.’

“Today we remember those words and are proud to stand with the candidate who was arrested fighting for civil rights, had the judgment and courage to vote against a senseless war, stood up to the drug companies, the banks and Wall Street and remained loyal to the common struggling worker. In the spirit of Bobby Kennedy we ask our members to stand with Bernie Sanders.”

ATU is the largest labor organization representing transportation workers in United States and Canada. With more than 192,000 members in 253 local unions spread across 47 states and nine provinces, including 3,000 workers at Greyhound Lines, Inc., ATU members work as bus drivers, light rail operators, maintenance and clerical personnel and other transit and municipal employees.

“This is no ordinary time in U.S. history and our nation is crying out for a leader who owes nothing to the corporate interests responsible for undermining the American middle class,” says Hanley. “Our executive board recognizes what’s at stake in this election and have made the bold decision of endorsing Bernie Sanders for President. Bernie is right for working people and right for America."

edited 14th Mar '16 1:40:13 PM by darksidevoid

GM: AGOG S4 & F/WC RP; Co-GM: TABA, SOTR, UUA RP; Sub-GM: TTS RP. I have brought peace, freedom, justice, and security to my new Empire.
NativeJovian Jupiterian Local from Orlando, FL Since: Mar, 2014 Relationship Status: Maxing my social links
Jupiterian Local
#115749: Mar 14th 2016 at 1:52:19 PM

Now, that said, turnouts in the primaries have been anemic at best among democrats, and historically high among Republicans. That doesn't bode well for the general election.
It doesn't really bode anything for the general election, honestly. The Republican primary has been divisive and vicious, with the result that Republican primary voters feel very strongly about their preferred candidate, and thus turn out to make sure they get their vote in. The Democratic primary has been relatively low key, so there hasn't been that pressure to make sure your guy wins the nomination.

In other words, many Republican primary voters have some combination of really love [preferred candidate] and really hate [opposing candidates], so they're feeling a lot of pressure to vote in the primary. But Democratic primary voters are more like they would prefer [preferred candidate] but are okay with [opposing candidate], so they don't necessarily feel the need to cast a primary vote for either.

This will almost certainly change in the general election, where Democrats will feel just as strongly about [Sanders or Clinton] vs [Trump, Rubio, or Cruz] as Republican primary voters feel about Trump vs Rubio vs Cruz. It's also worth keeping in mind that most people don't pay a whole lot of attention to politics during the primary season. They'll glance at headlines in the newspaper or on the internet, and they'll listen if it's mentioned on the 5 o'clock, but they won't really go out of their way to seek out information about it. You've got to remember that this is the politics thread — we're a self-selected group of people who are interested in politics, not a representative sample of the average voter.

Really from Jupiter, but not an alien.
BlueNinja0 The Mod with the Migraine from Taking a left at Albuquerque Since: Dec, 2010 Relationship Status: Showing feelings of an almost human nature
The Mod with the Migraine
#115750: Mar 14th 2016 at 1:57:36 PM

In support of the newer version of Rethuglican, Palin spoke out against counter-Trump protestors.

Sarah Palin's description of the protesters increasingly disrupting Donald Trump's rallies? "Punk-ass, little thuggery."

Palin campaigned with Trump in Tampa Monday before returning to Alaska to be with her husband, Todd, who was in a serious snow machine accident. "We don't have time for all that petty, punk-ass little thuggery stuff that's been going on with these 'protesters,' who are doing nothing but wasting your time and trying to take away your First Amendment rights," she said. "And the media being on the thugs' side — what the heck are you guys thinking, media?"

The GOP presidential front-runner's rallies have turned increasingly violent in the past week as supporters have clashed with protesters. Trump was forced to cancel a rally in Chicago over the weekend and was given a scare when a protester rushed the stage Saturday.

Trump told CNN's Wolf Blitzer Monday "there's no violence, nobody's been hurt" at his rallies, which have had a number of high-profile incidents of violence in the past week. "First of all let's not even use the word violence, there's very little disruption generally speaking. It's a function of the press, the press likes to say what the press likes to say," Trump said. "If one person gets up and starts shouting and the police walks that person out, they try and make it like it's a violent thing. It's not violent. It's a protester that stands up or probably a disruptor, because I think they're sent there by people on the other side," he said.

Trump added: "But there's no violence, nobody's been hurt." But he reiterated that he doesn't support any violence at his rallies. "No, I don't like that. And we don't condone that, Wolf. And I've said that numerous times," Trump said, when asked about the North Carolina supporter who punched the protester.

I think I sprained my eyes rolling them so hard.

That’s the epitome of privilege right there, not considering armed nazis a threat to your life. - Silasw

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