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
One of the things I noticed when looking up stuff about the stock market, about how to make money off penny stocks (it's NOT easy), and so on, is that there seems to be a real big "dudebro" mentality around it. On one stock advice website, someone casually posted a degrading sexualized picture of a woman (which was totally irrelevant to the discussion) and no-one called that person out on it. One guy making a video about how to trade penny stocks had someone in the comments section telling him to shut up his "annoying girlfriend".
I'd read before about how people in high risk jobs are very likely to be men with high testosterone. And also, separately, how high testosterone tends to result in awful behaviors: increased selfishness, increased tendency to cheat on a spouse or lover, increased violence, etc. I also think that many of these dudebros are misogynists in part because they have the testosterone that may make them sexually desirable, but they totally suck at keeping a girlfriend or getting a wife.
Also, I gotta comment on this:
I have a list of quotes that a friend and I came up with, but I can't link it now since Google Drive is blocked at work and that's where I store the quotes. However, one of the quotes that I came up with is how people try to convince themselves that they're good people no matter what. They try to justify any behavior, even if the justification makes no fucking sense.
A perfect historical (and political) example involves stealing land. Settlers saw people who were "not taking advantage of all their land", and so convinced themselves that it was morally right to steal that land and use it right. Then later, settlers saw another tribe that was very super efficient at plowing their land and growing crops, and convinced themselves that this tribe was "immoral" because they were so good at what they did. Time to steal their land to, for the exact opposite justification.
Does it make sense? No. Does it have to? No. They want to do something horrible, and they need a justification, regardless if it's any good or not, to convince themselves that what they're doing is right or justifiable. You see justifications used by criminals and bullies all the time. It's never their fault. The victim deserved it. No matter what, it's justified.
So the battery charges against Trump's campaign manger were dropped
. Why am I not surprised.
In International news, a Russian jet was caught on video buzzing the USS Donald Cook in the Baltic Sea
, reportedly coming within 30 feet of the ship.
I swear, Putin basically is Donald Drumpf's Russian counterpart.
And I mean that more in the "cult of personality" type of way. And at this point, I'm downright convinced that Putin believes his own hype.
edited 14th Apr '16 1:59:37 PM by ironballs16
"Why would I inflict myself on somebody else?"Not at all. Putin is smart and knows exactly what he's doing. The dude is ex-KGB. He knows how to play the brinksmanship game and the proper procedure. There's actually something of an understanding and a routine between two superpowers doing the whole adversary thing. Nobody's really in danger these days.
Trump is just genuinely insane.
edited 14th Apr '16 1:52:38 PM by LeGarcon
Oh really when?Trump might be considered a sociopath or some other type, but he is not "insane" in the sense of being entirely divorced from reality. Trump's behavior makes sense if you recognize its underlying cause: ego.
"It's Occam's Shuriken! If the answer is elusive, never rule out ninjas!"On the morals thing, keep in mind that there's a difference between businesses/the wealth and the financial industry, due to how to financial industry works it specifically tends to draw in people with a lot less morals due to both its internal culture and the specifics of how the system makes profit.
“And the Bunny nails it!” ~ Gabrael “If the UN can get through a day without everyone strangling everyone else so can we.” ~ CyranIs that including the superdelegates that have committed to a candidate or not?
"It's Occam's Shuriken! If the answer is elusive, never rule out ninjas!"
He's won 7 of the last 8 primaries.
Good news for Trump.
Former New York Gov. George Pataki endorsed John Kasich just days ahead of the New York primary.
edited 14th Apr '16 6:11:33 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.
X4 Even if he gets less normal delegates the Hillary? He's built him entire recent argument on how super delegates should respect the votes of the people, if Hillary has more regular delegates then him that's what they'd be doing by voting for Hillary.
Plus he must realise how a contested convention would go down with the public, and that he can't win one.
edited 14th Apr '16 6:26:33 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.” ~ CyranThe cognitive dissonance there is astonishing. I didn't think that even Sander's supporters could imagine a path to victory where he loses the pledged delegate count. Sander's chances of winning are approximately 0, and I wish he'd just give up instead of trying to drag Hillary down.
Blind Final Fantasy 6 Let's Play![]()
Sure, but if Hillary wins the pledged delegate count nationally then they're simply respecting the will of the party nationally instead of regionally.
Edit: Also are we ignoring that in states Hillary won some superdelegates have declared for Bernie?
edited 14th Apr '16 6:45:05 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.” ~ CyranHmm...Would that be a bad thing, or a neutral thing? It doesn't sound good.
All I really want is for the popular disaffection with democracy to fade away...It's kind of alarming to me, that so many people think doing away with democracy will get them a better deal. That's not going to work, at all, and it's the exactly wrong diagnosis of the problem.

To back up Cassidy's claim, Business Insider reported in 2012 that, according to seven separate studies, wealthy people are more likely to "lie, cheat,
and steal candy from children." The prevailing theory is that, aside from the points mentioned above, it's because the wealthy can afford the societal hit they might take from doing so, because they don't rely upon society to help them.
Of course, with growing media awareness/scrutiny, they're finding that to be a bit less true, at least in regards to building up further wealth. J.P. Morgan, for example, managed to bilk the Union Army on a massive scale by arranging for one division to buy 5,000 dangerously-faulty guns (as in blowing soldiers' thumbs off) from another of its own divisionsnote . He even used the payment from the Army to pay the Army for it in the process
, which is why he got off with only a warning, as someone should have caught him before he could pull it off.
edited 14th Apr '16 12:54:15 PM by ironballs16
"Why would I inflict myself on somebody else?"