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

NativeJovian Jupiterian Local from Orlando, FL Since: Mar, 2014 Relationship Status: Maxing my social links
Jupiterian Local
#117901: Mar 30th 2016 at 7:59:13 PM

That's news? Well, I suppose that hard evidence of it surfacing is. The fact that Iraq's reconstruction was primarily used as a vehicle for further enriching already-rich corporate interests has been an open secret for a decade.

edited 30th Mar '16 8:00:15 PM by NativeJovian

Really from Jupiter, but not an alien.
Fighteer Lost in Space from The Time Vortex (Time Abyss) Relationship Status: TV Tropes ruined my love life
Lost in Space
#117902: Mar 30th 2016 at 8:00:20 PM

[up] No shit, Sherlock. I suppose having it confirmed makes it more impactful, but it's not like we didn't know that stuff was going on.

On minimum wages: study after study has found no statistically significant effect on employment or business solvency from increases in the wage to as much as $15/hour or the local equivalent. They increase prices somewhat to compensate for the higher labor costs, and the swell in consumption from people earning more income more than makes up for the rest.

"It's Occam's Shuriken! If the answer is elusive, never rule out ninjas!"
Demonic_Braeburn Yankee Doodle Dandy from Defective California Since: Jan, 2016
Yankee Doodle Dandy
#117903: Mar 30th 2016 at 8:20:13 PM

Bernie Sanders is likely to be on the D.C. presidential ballot despite a registration error by the local Democratic Party, CNN reports.

Any group who acts like morons ironically will eventually find itself swamped by morons who think themselves to be in good company.
theLibrarian Since: Jul, 2009
#117904: Mar 30th 2016 at 8:46:48 PM

Damn the Democrat race just seems to be getting dirtier and dirtier. Superdelegates in the states Sanders has won ignoring the popular vote and throwing their weight behind Clinton anyway, this DC stuff, Bill Clinton repeatedly obstructing polls...

edited 30th Mar '16 8:46:58 PM by theLibrarian

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
#117905: Mar 30th 2016 at 9:00:12 PM

Superdelegates aren't ignoring the popular vote, they've never been intended as people who should follow the popular vote on a state by state level, many of them aren't even tied to states, plus they can still change their minds.

DC has been fixed and is fine now, paperwork screw ups happen.

The Bill thing I agree on, it's dirty tactics and getting pretty close to voter intimidation.

“And the Bunny nails it!” ~ Gabrael “If the UN can get through a day without everyone strangling everyone else so can we.” ~ Cyran
Demonic_Braeburn Yankee Doodle Dandy from Defective California Since: Jan, 2016
Yankee Doodle Dandy
#117906: Mar 30th 2016 at 9:00:25 PM

The Superdelagates were always a way for the establishment to point the election in their favor. I really hope the Democrats eventually get rid of them.

I wouldn't be surprised if the GOP add more superdelagates to there system, to prevent anymore Trumps in the future.

edited 30th Mar '16 9:00:46 PM by Demonic_Braeburn

Any group who acts like morons ironically will eventually find itself swamped by morons who think themselves to be in good company.
AceofSpades Since: Apr, 2009 Relationship Status: Showing feelings of an almost human nature
#117907: Mar 30th 2016 at 9:08:27 PM

I don't think the GOP HAS super delegates, or the whole brokering a convention thing wouldn't have been brought up as an option. I think that's just how the Democrats have decided to organize themselves.

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
#117908: Mar 30th 2016 at 9:20:26 PM

They do, RNC members in several states get to act as delegates, however it's a lot fewer then the Dems, only 3 per state/territory and not even always that (well everywhere but Florida it's 3 with it being 0 in Florida).

edited 30th Mar '16 9:21:59 PM by Silasw

“And the Bunny nails it!” ~ Gabrael “If the UN can get through a day without everyone strangling everyone else so can we.” ~ Cyran
Parable Since: Aug, 2009
#117909: Mar 30th 2016 at 9:51:58 PM

@Minimum wage: Just want to chime in that in California, when the minimum went up to $10, some places did try to slash hours by a large amount. That didn't last long as quality of service took a hit, so the local managers stared ignoring that particular rule from the higher ups.

Ramidel Since: Jan, 2001
#117910: Mar 30th 2016 at 10:15:49 PM

It's rather amusing that the Republican Party is more democratic than the Democratic Party.

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
#117911: Mar 30th 2016 at 10:24:39 PM

Hardly, the Dems insist on proportional splitting of delegates (the most democratic aproch) while the Republicans have multiple winner take all states that rig the primary in favour of whoever can get a plurality.

“And the Bunny nails it!” ~ Gabrael “If the UN can get through a day without everyone strangling everyone else so can we.” ~ Cyran
AceofSpades Since: Apr, 2009 Relationship Status: Showing feelings of an almost human nature
#117912: Mar 30th 2016 at 10:35:54 PM

I think he's speaking of the whole super delegates thing. Which apparently both parties have so.... they're actually not more "democratic" in that sense.

Frankly, winner takes all has started to rankle me this election season.

Ramidel Since: Jan, 2001
#117913: Mar 30th 2016 at 10:54:33 PM

[up]Yeah, but the Democrats have a far larger number - to the point where it's seriously possible that the Democratic nomination will be decided by the supers.

Then again, the Republican nomination is looking like it'll be decided by a full circus of uncommitted delegates and by desperate meetings in back rooms, but Trump will have had his chance. There's been less outright sabotage on the Republican side - probably because Trump would not have shut up about it if there had been. Sanders, by contrast, isn't going to go for a third-party run just because Schultz' dog ate his votes.

Cronosonic (4 Score & 7 Years Ago)
#117914: Mar 31st 2016 at 1:01:07 AM

So about that corporate bribery expose, here's why it's even more a huge deal.

Oh, and Hillary Clinton was informed of the whole corruption issue in the Middle East while she was Secretary of State, and she dismissed it. See, this sort of thing is why I can't trust anything she says.

desdendelle Hooded Crow from Land of Milk and Honey (Sergeant) Relationship Status: Hiding
Hooded Crow
#117915: Mar 31st 2016 at 3:29:48 AM

@Minimum wage: what's the minimum wage (if any) over there at the states (per hour)? For comparison, minimum wage here is roughly 6.6US$/hour, and it's customary to tip waiters (and deliverymen), though "we pay you with the tips" is a massive problem here too.

On empty crossroads, seek the eclipse -- for when Sol and Lua align, the lost shall find their way home.
Kayeka (4 Score & 7 Years Ago)
#117916: Mar 31st 2016 at 3:59:27 AM

Over here in the Netherlands, it's roughly 11 dollars. Perhaps not quite enough to feed a family, but enough to make a modest living.

NativeJovian Jupiterian Local from Orlando, FL Since: Mar, 2014 Relationship Status: Maxing my social links
Jupiterian Local
#117917: Mar 31st 2016 at 4:32:06 AM

Minimum wage varies by state to state (and occasionally city to city), but the federally-mandated minimum wage is $7.25/hour, which is not even close to a living wage at 40 hours/week for the vast majority of the country. (You might be able to live on that in a rural area where cost of living is really low, but that's about it.) For reference, the highest state minimum wages is around $10, though a number of cities have passed laws raising theirs to $15 (none of which have actually gone into effect yet, as the increase is phased in over several years to reduce the shock of having a single huge increase).

The $15/hour thing would be huge. It would more than double the federal minimum wage, and it would bring the actual purchasing power (as in, in terms of inflation-adjusted dollars) to the highest it's ever actually been.

Really from Jupiter, but not an alien.
TheWanderer Student of Story from Somewhere in New England (Time Abyss) Relationship Status: Wishfully thinking
Student of Story
#117918: Mar 31st 2016 at 4:38:04 AM

Nationwide, it's $7.25 per hour. Obama made a push to raise it to $10, and naturally Republicans shot it down. State level Democrats were able to push their own increase for their states though, so the result is that almost 30 states have higher minimum wages than the nationally mandated minimum, and sometimes cities within those states have higher ones set for city workers.

Edit: What [up] said.

edited 31st Mar '16 4:39:04 AM by TheWanderer

| Wandering, but not lost. | If people bring so much courage to this world...◊ |
Fighteer Lost in Space from The Time Vortex (Time Abyss) Relationship Status: TV Tropes ruined my love life
Lost in Space
#117919: Mar 31st 2016 at 4:54:30 AM

[up] Yes, and it's possible via these natural experiments to determine the harmful effect, if any, on businesses from higher minimum wages. Needless to say, there isn't any, and there have not been mass exoduses from these places to ones with cheaper labor pools.

"It's Occam's Shuriken! If the answer is elusive, never rule out ninjas!"
ILoveDogs Since: May, 2010
#117920: Mar 31st 2016 at 5:42:56 AM

So, what does this whole bribery thing mean? Will they use it against Clinton, for instance?

LeGarcon Blowout soon fellow Stalker from Skadovsk Since: Aug, 2013 Relationship Status: Gay for Big Boss
Blowout soon fellow Stalker
#117921: Mar 31st 2016 at 5:44:59 AM

Well it seems that she wasn't actually part of it but she did condone it.

So using this against her would involve having to admit that the entire Iraq war and restructuring was bullshit, there were no valid reasons for invading, and that the act of bribery was bad.

Which I'm not sure they're willing to do.

Oh really when?
Iaculus Pronounced YAK-you-luss from England Since: May, 2010
Pronounced YAK-you-luss
#117922: Mar 31st 2016 at 6:43:55 AM

[up]Trump has floated that idea. He could use it.

What's precedent ever done for us?
TheWanderer Student of Story from Somewhere in New England (Time Abyss) Relationship Status: Wishfully thinking
Student of Story
#117923: Mar 31st 2016 at 7:44:01 AM

It still goes against Republican orthodoxy big time, especially since they're still defensive over W. Bush and the events that went on under him. They could make a big deal of Clinton shrugging off the evils Haliburton and the Iraq invasion, (most likely shrugging the whole thing off in a "Well, the horse is already out the barn door, what the hell are we going to do about it now" sort of way, not to mention that the entire Obama Administration's official position was "Lets just get past the Iraq shit already and move on") but then they have to take responsibility for allowing it all to happen in the first place.

Trump might try to do it, because he doesn't really have any association with events, but I'd be pretty surprised if anyone else tried that. (Well, maybe Cruz...)

| Wandering, but not lost. | If people bring so much courage to this world...◊ |
LeGarcon Blowout soon fellow Stalker from Skadovsk Since: Aug, 2013 Relationship Status: Gay for Big Boss
Blowout soon fellow Stalker
#117924: Mar 31st 2016 at 7:45:18 AM

Not to mention that a great deal of the corporations and people involved in the restructuring mess are also big donors to a lot of Republican congressmen.

Oh really when?
SeptimusHeap from Switzerland (Edited uphill both ways) Relationship Status: Mu
#117925: Mar 31st 2016 at 7:51:39 AM

Trump has been questioning the Iraq war, so he probably won't have any problems. The party he's running for on the other hand...

"For a successful technology, reality must take precedence over public relations, for Nature cannot be fooled." - Richard Feynman

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