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
And coal did not die because Democrats got all teary-eyed over the environment. It was already on its way out. Even today, coal mining is done with heavy machinery and automation, not sweaty, hard-hatted men dying of black lung in their thirties.
edited 7th Oct '16 11:34:53 AM by Fighteer
"It's Occam's Shuriken! If the answer is elusive, never rule out ninjas!"
That.
Coal is seeing less and less use for environmental reasons, but coal is also using fewer and fewer human employees because coal mining is dangerous, toxic work and will f*cking murder you. Even if we were still burning coal in everything, the machines would still have replaced the human workforce because human biology has no business being in a coal mine.
This is just another example of the same Toxic Masculinity Coal Miner Pride that leads to the similar logic train, "Men SHOULD get paid more because women aren't as willing to die stupidly in hazardous work environments with no safety regulations! I only have three fingers and half a lung because I'M A REAL MAN!!!"
Coal mining is a dead industry and it should remain dead.
edited 7th Oct '16 11:41:51 AM by TobiasDrake
My Tumblr. Currently side-by-side liveblogging Digimon Adventure, sub vs dub.Slight digression from Noah Smith: Freedom of Speech in the Digital Age
.
Essentially, he offers the opinion that online communities have a greater interest in promoting the free flow of ideas than they do in allowing people to harass and intimidate each other, even if both technically fall under the umbrella of "freedom of speech".
Traditionally, we usually came down against the face-screechers, with laws against public harassment. Why? I think it's because we recognized that speech that disseminates ideas is more valuable than speech whose purpose is to intimidate others. When forced to choose between two mutually exclusive types of speech, we usually chose to protect the one we deemed less intrinsically harmful to others.
This is, when it comes down to it, the fundamental principle upon which we moderate TV Tropes.
edited 7th Oct '16 12:10:24 PM by Fighteer
"It's Occam's Shuriken! If the answer is elusive, never rule out ninjas!"For another topic, there's some substantial rumors about that after next year Blue Cross Blue Shield will pull out of the federal insurance marketplace in North Carolina, making the ACA's insurance arm effectively dead in the state and leaving almost a million people uninsured in addition to the ones who are already uninsured (not to mention a huge rate hike for their existing customers).
@carbon-mantis
: Any reasons mentioned in those "substantial" rumors?
EDIT: Wow, awkward pagetopper for me.
edited 7th Oct '16 12:31:15 PM by MarqFJA
Fiat iustitia, et pereat mundus.As a liberal, I personally wish this alleged ability to personally conjure hurricanes was a reality, because that's fucking rad, bro, and if you don't think that's awesome, then get out of my face.
It would also make this Trump business trivial at best. Imagine, a category 5 sweeping away all 17 GOP candidates during the first debate...
"For all those whose cares have been our concern, the work goes on, the cause endures, the hope still lives, and the dream shall never die."![]()
They haven't confirmed anything, but after seeing this
(Sept. Article about the BCBS CEO considering it) I talked with my physician and insurance agent about the possibility and they both said it was very possible. Before it was announced by the company my agent said to be on the watch for a rate hike and drug coverage restriction notice, and the company is just now starting to send those out to people on their rolls.
BCBS blames "leechers" who apply for coverage long enough to get medical care and then drop it to avoid monthly payments. Drug prices are also soaring here. One of my meds I and others like me take to stay alive is being produced at a surplus for a a few dollars per vial and the company recently doubled the price for the sheer hell of it. "They need it to live. We feel the price should reflect that" said one of the pharma CEOS.
edited 7th Oct '16 12:47:48 PM by carbon-mantis
![]()
Unclear. It does bespeak the need for stronger anti-trust regulation and the ability to force price controls on companies in inelastic markets.
edited 7th Oct '16 12:56:44 PM by Fighteer
"It's Occam's Shuriken! If the answer is elusive, never rule out ninjas!"Heh. Wonder if they're on speaking terms.
"It's Occam's Shuriken! If the answer is elusive, never rule out ninjas!"So the saber ratling with Russia continues. The Obama administration is officially accusing Russia of the DNC hack.
Seems like we're preparing for (proxy) war.
edited 7th Oct '16 1:25:13 PM by CaptainCapsase
A bit late, but any confirmation on the idea of Trump wanting to be just a figurehead while Pence does all the actual governing? Because the last time I'd heard that allegation was from Kasich saying that Trump had offered him that deal (which the Trump campaign flatly denied, naturally).
"Why would I inflict myself on somebody else?"TV news is showing Rick Scott using the hurricane to his advantage. Says Florida registration ends the 11th and he's refusing to extend the deadline even though they'll be dealing with shit from the storm.
edit-Link
edited 7th Oct '16 1:45:39 PM by carbon-mantis
![]()
![]()
In addition to what Kasich revealed about how the Trump campaign is approaching its Vice President, there's also Mike Pence himself saying he plans to model his Vice Presidency after that of former George W. Bush puppetmaster Dick Cheney.
edited 7th Oct '16 1:47:39 PM by TobiasDrake
My Tumblr. Currently side-by-side liveblogging Digimon Adventure, sub vs dub."I'm automatically attracted to beautiful women — I just start kissing them, it's like a magnet," Trump said in a 2005 conversation with Billy Bush, at the time an anchor for Access Hollywood, in crude, coarse language. "I don't even wait. And when you're a star, they let you do it. You can do anything… Grab 'em by the pussy."
Ten years later, Trump as a candidate and now as the Republican nominee has come under fire for insulting and directing crude language toward women. He's rejected such criticism repeatedly, insisting "nobody has more respect for women than me."
In the 2005 recording obtained by NBC News from Access Hollywood, Trump, then newly married to Melania Trump, spots a young woman through the bus window.
"Woah, woah," he said to Bush about the woman's appearance. "I gotta use some Tic Tacs just in case I start kissing her."
Earlier in the conversation, Trump recalls talking about trying to woo a married woman.
"I moved on her actually, she was down in Palm Beach and I failed. I'll admit it. I did try to fuck her, she was married … and I moved on her very heavily," Trump is heard saying.
http://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2016-election/trump-hot-mic-when-you-re-star-you-can-do-n662116

Compromise isn't a virtue when one side flat out rejects reality.