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

Zendervai Since: Oct, 2009
#131326: Jul 21st 2016 at 11:08:57 AM

Yeah, up here in Canada our last election was three months. It was the longest election cycle since the 1800s. Your elections are insane.

sgamer82 Since: Jan, 2001
#131327: Jul 21st 2016 at 11:12:59 AM

[up][up]Correlation may not be causation, but it can be amusing.

edit: With Cruz doing what he's done most recently, and iirc being the heavy behind the government shutdown a while back, would it be a bit too Captain Obvious to suggest he has a bad habit of cutting off his nose to spite his face?

edited 21st Jul '16 11:19:14 AM by sgamer82

OblongReality Unwanted Anachronism. Since: Aug, 2015 Relationship Status: One True Dodecahedron
Unwanted Anachronism.
#131328: Jul 21st 2016 at 11:21:54 AM

@sgamer82

Cruz is a classic objectivist. He doesn't view it as cutting his nose off to spite his face, he views it as staying true to the core of his self-concept.

sgamer82 Since: Jan, 2001
#131329: Jul 21st 2016 at 11:23:40 AM

[up] Just seems to me he's doing a lot to hurt himself in the name of hurting Trump here, too. When much the same point could've been made by skipping the RNC altogether like others did

edited 21st Jul '16 11:24:51 AM by sgamer82

ILoveDogs Since: May, 2010
#131330: Jul 21st 2016 at 11:26:39 AM

I've given it a bit of thought, and while I'd normally dismiss it as muckraking it really doesn't look like an accident that Laura Ingraham did the Hitler salute.

Her face goes from smiling to serious to smiling again. Her arm went from loose to purposefully rigid to loose again. And, of course, she faced the massive picture of The Donald as she did it.

Again, I don't want to perpetuate hysteria, but it's a little much to be an accident.

OblongReality Unwanted Anachronism. Since: Aug, 2015 Relationship Status: One True Dodecahedron
Unwanted Anachronism.
#131331: Jul 21st 2016 at 11:28:06 AM

@sgamer82

And miss a chance to maximize his ethical egoism? Bite your tongue.

sgamer82 Since: Jan, 2001
#131332: Jul 21st 2016 at 11:32:36 AM

[up] True. As I was typing it occurred to me that the reason he didn't do what others did was because others were doing it.

Protagonist506 from Oregon Since: Dec, 2013 Relationship Status: Chocolate!
#131333: Jul 21st 2016 at 11:35:20 AM

I don't think Cruz is an objectivist. While Cruz's brand of conservatism (as well as many other brands of conservatism) and objectivism have some overlapping ethos, an actual objectivist would probably be more liberal than he is (objectivist politics is "socially liberal capitalism"-closer to the libertarian party than anything).

If he's just pretending to have these opinions for "self-interest" then he's not following objectivist ethics as they're intended (or even "as written" for that matter)

edited 21st Jul '16 11:39:33 AM by Protagonist506

Leviticus 19:34
Pseudopartition Screaming Into The Void from The Cretaeceous Since: Dec, 2013 Relationship Status: YOU'RE TEARING ME APART LISA
Screaming Into The Void
#131334: Jul 21st 2016 at 11:40:10 AM

Apropos of nothing, came across this video by the Mother Jones You Tube channel. I've never heard of it before now, so don't know where they skew, but it advertised itself as asking Trump supporters at the RNC when America stopped being great and i was curious about others'opinions. Particularly in the case of the last woman who speaks. https://youtu.be/AtgEKe1r008
I'd say that that video contained some of the most ignorant, arrogant nonsense I've ever heard. I shouldn't be surprised, but I'm baffled that people actually believe this garbage. I didn't really understand Trump supporters before, but I think I might now. And I'm kind of horrified.

OblongReality Unwanted Anachronism. Since: Aug, 2015 Relationship Status: One True Dodecahedron
Unwanted Anachronism.
#131335: Jul 21st 2016 at 11:40:22 AM

@protag

Actual objectivism and Ayn Rand objectivism are two very different creatures, I agree. Cruz would not qualify under the more traditional anti-"Walden Pond" objectivism.

However, the Ayn Rand "FYGM"-style where you ramp your self-worth up to Over 9000 levels and make sure that everyone else knows you're the real <s>Slim Shady</s> John Galt seems more like Cruz to me. That's to me, though. You could very easily be correct.

Protagonist506 from Oregon Since: Dec, 2013 Relationship Status: Chocolate!
#131336: Jul 21st 2016 at 11:58:44 AM

[up]I don't think that'd be correct either. Keep in mind that Objectivism puts "not infringing upon others" as its fundamental ethical principle as well as not demanding that people live for something other than themselves. Cruz claims to be a Christian and wants to grow Christianity's influence in society-he's either telling the truth (in which case he's not an objectivist) or he's lying (in which case he's doing something objectivism would consider downright monstrous).

Leviticus 19:34
Fighteer Lost in Space from The Time Vortex (Time Abyss) Relationship Status: TV Tropes ruined my love life
Lost in Space
#131337: Jul 21st 2016 at 12:03:42 PM

Cruz is not an Objectivist; he's a Dominionist Protestant — also known as an apocalyptic evangelical. His basic ideology is that the world is coming to an end and it's his Holy Mission from God Almighty to bring us into compliance with Biblical Law before we're all dragged off, kicking and screaming, to Hell.

Further, Cruz's father has seemingly raised him to believe that he himself is the embodiment of the Second Coming of Christ and is destined to cleanse the filth from this evil, evil world and raise up the righteous from the ashes.

edited 21st Jul '16 12:04:50 PM by Fighteer

"It's Occam's Shuriken! If the answer is elusive, never rule out ninjas!"
Protagonist506 from Oregon Since: Dec, 2013 Relationship Status: Chocolate!
#131338: Jul 21st 2016 at 12:05:14 PM

To put it another way:

Cruz is a saner Zachary Hale Comstock; Rand is a saner Andrew Ryan.

edited 21st Jul '16 12:05:45 PM by Protagonist506

Leviticus 19:34
AlleyOop Since: Oct, 2010
#131339: Jul 21st 2016 at 12:07:01 PM

GOP interns vs Dem interns.

Ahaha. Aha. Ha.

I think I might see one black intern towards the back center left.

ILoveDogs Since: May, 2010
#131340: Jul 21st 2016 at 12:07:22 PM

Speaking of Rands, Rand Paul apparently took the RNC off to do pro-bono eye surgeries for needy people who couldn't afford them.

Hate his politics, but that was a good thing for him to do.

OblongReality Unwanted Anachronism. Since: Aug, 2015 Relationship Status: One True Dodecahedron
Unwanted Anachronism.
#131341: Jul 21st 2016 at 12:08:15 PM

Saner.

That's disturbing on an emotional level.

AlleyOop Since: Oct, 2010
#131342: Jul 21st 2016 at 12:10:53 PM

[up][up]

Isn't that altruism and therefore against his tenets?

ILoveDogs Since: May, 2010
#131343: Jul 21st 2016 at 12:13:27 PM

[up] I don't...think so? IIRC, Objectivism discourages charity but says that if people want to do it, it's their business. Perhaps he just thought it was necessary?

Fighteer Lost in Space from The Time Vortex (Time Abyss) Relationship Status: TV Tropes ruined my love life
Lost in Space
#131344: Jul 21st 2016 at 12:17:45 PM

One can perform charitable acts for selfish purposes, but Rand Paul is not an Objectivist, either; he's a Libertarian. A grumpy one, but a Libertarian nonetheless (or maybe all Libertarians are inherently grumpy; it's hard to tell).

The faux-Objectivist in the room is pretty boy Paul Ryan, current Speaker of the House, who infamously required all his staffers to read Atlas Shrugged and swear the Pledge of Allegiance to Ayn Rand. He dropped that shtick like a hot potato once someone pointed out that Rand was an renowned atheist.

edited 21st Jul '16 12:19:06 PM by Fighteer

"It's Occam's Shuriken! If the answer is elusive, never rule out ninjas!"
Protagonist506 from Oregon Since: Dec, 2013 Relationship Status: Chocolate!
#131345: Jul 21st 2016 at 12:20:04 PM

I mean, Cruz and Rand had fairly extreme ideologies, though Bioshock villains are very much strawmen (this is basically being Damned by Faint Praise, though). For example, Cruz does not literally worship the Founding Fathers, but he seems to sanctify them in a pseudo-religious manner. Cruz is nowhere near as bigoted as Comstock, even if he's not exactly egalitarian himself.

Rand would probably take issue with some of the things that went on in Rapture, and even John Galt's actions are more justified in-universe than actual suggestions (Galt ran away from America to form a micronation only because in-universe America's already become a communistic dystopia. Rand however, was actually very patriotic towards the US)

@Charity: it's morally acceptable under objectivism, according to Ayn Rand. It is not, however, required.

edited 21st Jul '16 12:27:18 PM by Protagonist506

Leviticus 19:34
Elle Since: Jan, 2001
#131346: Jul 21st 2016 at 12:27:08 PM

Yes, it's voulenterisim (charity mandated by an external source) objectivisim hates, but doing it on your own initiative because you support a thing is a non-issue.

Demonic_Braeburn Yankee Doodle Dandy from Defective California Since: Jan, 2016
Yankee Doodle Dandy
#131347: Jul 21st 2016 at 12:27:39 PM

Bill Clinton has privately expressed his support for Senator Tim Kaine (D-VA), according to three Democrats briefed on the conversations with the former president this week.

Any group who acts like morons ironically will eventually find itself swamped by morons who think themselves to be in good company.
Fighteer Lost in Space from The Time Vortex (Time Abyss) Relationship Status: TV Tropes ruined my love life
Lost in Space
#131348: Jul 21st 2016 at 12:29:25 PM

[up] Wait, you mean there's someone else besides Trump running for President? Someone should tell the media.

"It's Occam's Shuriken! If the answer is elusive, never rule out ninjas!"
JackOLantern1337 Shameful Display from The Most Miserable Province in the Russian Empir Since: Aug, 2014 Relationship Status: 700 wives and 300 concubines
Shameful Display
#131349: Jul 21st 2016 at 12:30:11 PM

No doubt the Sanders supporters on Tumblr will be overjoyed at the prospect of Hillary having and old Cis white guy as her Veep, especially with all the hype for Elizabeth Waren.

I Bring Doom,and a bit of gloom, but mostly gloom.
Kostya (Unlucky Thirteen)
#131350: Jul 21st 2016 at 12:33:46 PM

So is Bern the Convention still a thing? I have to admit, as annoying as they are, it would be funny if they try disrupting things only for Sanders to take the stage and tell them to go home.


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