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

Protagonist506 from Oregon Since: Dec, 2013 Relationship Status: Chocolate!
#134876: Aug 9th 2016 at 9:22:47 PM

I'd argue that interpreting the entirety of someone's (or everyone's) actions in such a cynical light is a bit closed-minded and prevents mutual understanding (which is something that one should seek, even if only to better know their enemies). Most people, at their roots, have certain interests that are often good on paper. Also, in a democratic system, people at least need to pretend to represent the interests of their voters.

Finally, somebody profiting off of doing good things is not necessarily "just in it for the money". For example, a doctor might not do his job for free, but that doesn't mean he doesn't have a desire to help people either. It means that his desire to help people has driven him to choose to find a way to profit off of helping people as opposed to other fields.

Leviticus 19:34
NickTheSwing Since: Aug, 2009
#134877: Aug 9th 2016 at 11:26:14 PM

Translation from Trumpese into English; "We need the Waffen-SS, we need all of them, we need to make a singular elite unit to focus all our military resources into, and a bunch of temperamental tank fighting teenagers on the side, and maybe a unit led by an unhinged geriatric psychopath who never should've been released from that asylum. Yeah we need to build that. Because I'm Orange Hitler!"

TerminusEst from the Land of Winter and Stars Since: Feb, 2010
#134878: Aug 10th 2016 at 12:12:17 AM

@VA things:

Oh come on, we're trying!

Si Vis Pacem, Para Perkele
AceofSpades Since: Apr, 2009 Relationship Status: Showing feelings of an almost human nature
#134879: Aug 10th 2016 at 12:25:26 AM

So I'm watching some late night MSNBC where they're discussing how Trump did in the last few primary debates. I'd lost most of my interest at that point, but according to them he just sort of faded into the background after saying a few things every now and then. This isn't something he can do in a one on one debate, and we already know he's hedging around whether or not he'll show up at the scheduled debates. (And quite frankly while his support base will still vote for him I very much doubt he'd be able to do that without looking like a coward to most of the voting public.) He's apparently demanding "fair" moderators and such.

Did that really happen, that he just said a few things and was otherwise oddly quiet?

DrDougsh Since: Jan, 2001
#134880: Aug 10th 2016 at 12:32:52 AM

Yes. In the last few debates, he really did not have much to say. The novelty had worn off, and the other candidates consistently refused to engage with him.

CaptainCapsase from Orbiting Sagittarius A* Since: Jan, 2015
#134881: Aug 10th 2016 at 3:59:42 AM

Aces: My cynicism of governments, and of humankind in general is driven by an understanding of just how deficient the emotional responses which govern human motivation is at regulating large scale behavior. By which I mean behavior beyond the scale of the tribe. There is no conflict whatsoever between being a lovely person in person and being a callous monster on a grand scale; the difference is simply scale.

edited 10th Aug '16 4:01:07 AM by CaptainCapsase

Rationalinsanity from Halifax, Canada Since: Aug, 2010 Relationship Status: It's complicated
#134882: Aug 10th 2016 at 5:24:26 AM

That's an interesting theory and certainly true in sone cases. But you are going too far by presenting it as an ironclad fact.

edited 10th Aug '16 5:24:38 AM by Rationalinsanity

Politics is the skilled use of blunt objects.
Demonic_Braeburn Yankee Doodle Dandy from Defective California Since: Jan, 2016
Yankee Doodle Dandy
#134883: Aug 10th 2016 at 8:29:48 AM

Paul Ryan wins primary, defeats longshot GOP challenger praised by Donald Trump.

edited 10th Aug '16 8:31:13 AM 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.
thatguythere47 Since: Jul, 2010
#134884: Aug 10th 2016 at 8:30:07 AM

@captain: I wouldn't say we even become monsters at scale it's just that the scope itself is inhumane. Like something that most people don't think about but voting on budgets is literally life or death decisions. Every time a politician grabs a few mill from the arts project to pay for roads they save lives and every time they pull money from homeless shelters they cost lives. It doesn't make them monsters or unfeeling bureaucrats, you just have to accept that we now operate on a scale and with so many factors of interplay that the end game is unknowable.

Is using "Julian Assange is a Hillary butt plug" an acceptable signature quote?
sgamer82 Since: Jan, 2001
#134885: Aug 10th 2016 at 8:35:45 AM

I've been thinking about the whole "Second Amendment people can do something about Clinton" thing. While a lot of people took it to mean Trump was suggesting someone shoot Clinton, I'm curious, is there anything showing that a good chunk of Trump's own supporters actually took it that way?

SantosLHalper Since: Aug, 2009
#134886: Aug 10th 2016 at 8:41:43 AM

IIRC, >60% of North Carolinian Trump supporters believe that if Trump loses, it's because the election was rigged.

sgamer82 Since: Jan, 2001
#134887: Aug 10th 2016 at 8:42:59 AM

[up] So I've heard, but that doesn't directly relate to my question.

Frankly, if the election is rigged, it's rigged by Trump's repeatedly sabotaging himself by shooting himself in the foot then jamming it in his mouth to staunch the bleeding

edited 10th Aug '16 8:47:18 AM by sgamer82

Xopher001 Since: Jul, 2012
#134888: Aug 10th 2016 at 8:48:31 AM

Well we've already talked about how fucked up the entire electoral college is, and there is no arguing that Clinton's nomination was, in some ways, rigged (coughDWScough). But to my understanding it's a lot harder to do the same thing in a national election.

Plus these people are being hypocritical considering how Trump was nominated- iirc it was a contest of who could make the most noise

TobiasDrake (•̀⤙•́) (Edited uphill both ways) Relationship Status: Arm chopping is not a love language!
(•̀⤙•́)
#134889: Aug 10th 2016 at 8:51:34 AM

Paul Ryan wins primary, defeats longshot GOP challenger praised by Donald Trump.

And without even doing anything. We see here the fate of Trump's attempts to fill Congress with cronies who will empower him. Paul Nehlen was the perfect Trump crony. His entire platform was predicated on the fact that Paul Ryan is not devoted to Trump's message and won't push Trump's agendas hard enough. His favorite talking points were Trump's talking points, such as people being routinely raped and murdered by immigrants.

He was openly and unapologetically a Trump puppet. He argued Trump arguments and he received endorsement not only by Trump but by Sarah Palin as well.

Paul Ryan, meanwhile, barely even acknowledged the primary was happening and refused to respond to anything Nehlen or Trump said. And despite literally doing NOTHING to campaign against his opponent, Ryan coasted into a landslide victory with over 80% of the vote.

This does not bode well for Trump's campaign, and one wonders if Nehlen failed despite the endorsements of Trump and Palin, or because of them.

My Tumblr. Currently side-by-side liveblogging Digimon Adventure, sub vs dub.
CaptainCapsase from Orbiting Sagittarius A* Since: Jan, 2015
#134890: Aug 10th 2016 at 9:00:04 AM

@Rational: It doesn't have to hold true universally for this phenomena to cause serious societal problems. That's how the sociology professor who I got this idea from explained it to me, at least.

edited 10th Aug '16 9:04:14 AM by CaptainCapsase

Euodiachloris Since: Oct, 2010
#134891: Aug 10th 2016 at 9:17:31 AM

[up]Ask said professor about basic cognitive theory. As, he seems to have forgotten what macro is built from.

And that, yes... individual humans actually do do empathy and sympathy as basic cognitive functions.

He would do well to remember what that means about groups, the prat.

FFShinra Since: Jan, 2001
#134892: Aug 10th 2016 at 9:23:40 AM

So back to US politics....

According to the Washington Post, it seems there is a balance on how much GOP facing election can err either way on Trump. If they stick too closely, they get destroyed, but if they veer too far from Trump, support bottoms out.

Therefore, expecting too many more defections is probably not gonna happen.

sgamer82 Since: Jan, 2001
#134893: Aug 10th 2016 at 9:25:52 AM

Going back to an earlier question of my own: Did any of Trump's own supporters seen to take his Second Amendment gaffe as a call to arms against Clinton?

Falrinn Since: Dec, 2014
#134894: Aug 10th 2016 at 9:30:57 AM

[up]I haven't seen any hard data on it. But if even 5% interpreted it as a call to action the consequences could be catastrophic.

TheHandle United Earth from Stockholm Since: Jan, 2012 Relationship Status: YOU'RE TEARING ME APART LISA
United Earth
#134896: Aug 10th 2016 at 9:35:10 AM

So Sanders did buy that third house, a 600K lakefront proprety. However, he remains one of the least wealthy memebrs of US congress.

Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.
Krieger22 Causing freakouts over sourcing since 2018 from Malaysia Since: Mar, 2014 Relationship Status: I'm in love with my car
Causing freakouts over sourcing since 2018
#134897: Aug 10th 2016 at 9:36:12 AM

A federal judge has ruled that Glenn Beck must reveal the sources he used to allege that a Saudi Arabian student injured in the Boston Marathon bombing was "the money man" for the attack.

Apparently Massachusetts does not have laws protecting the identities of confidential sources.

I have disagreed with her a lot, but comparing her to republicans and propagandists of dictatorships is really low. - An idiot
Xopher001 Since: Jul, 2012
#134898: Aug 10th 2016 at 9:37:20 AM

I found this very interesting article by to cognitive sciences professor about "How Trump is controlling people's minds, and how we can fight fire with fire"

edited 10th Aug '16 10:22:03 AM by Xopher001

IFwanderer use political terms to describe, not insult from Earth Since: Aug, 2013 Relationship Status: Wishfully thinking
use political terms to describe, not insult
#134899: Aug 10th 2016 at 9:39:25 AM

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