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

M84 Oh, bother. from Our little blue planet Since: Jun, 2010 Relationship Status: Chocolate!
Oh, bother.
#146876: Oct 28th 2016 at 12:58:37 AM

[up] True, but it would still be more comforting if this was a landslide victory. That would go a long way to counter accusations of voter fraud and "rigging".

Disgusted, but not surprised
BearyScary Since: Sep, 2010 Relationship Status: You spin me right round, baby
#146877: Oct 28th 2016 at 12:58:46 AM

I've heard that Melania's platform as the hypothetical First Lady would be fighting cyberbullying, which I totally understand, but it's a bit ironic considering that her husband is a bully.

Do not obey in advance.
Memers Since: Aug, 2013
#146878: Oct 28th 2016 at 1:02:19 AM

Thanks to twitter he literally is a cyberbully, sigh the amount of bullshit this election is staggering.

BearyScary Since: Sep, 2010 Relationship Status: You spin me right round, baby
#146879: Oct 28th 2016 at 1:09:26 AM

I saw the newest episode of Epic Rap Battles Of History. Well.

Do not obey in advance.
Ramidel Since: Jan, 2001
#146880: Oct 28th 2016 at 2:03:52 AM

DNC sues RNC over Trump's "ballot security" enforcers.

Turns out that that shit is actually in violation of a court order, yo.

TacticalFox88 from USA Since: Nov, 2010 Relationship Status: Dating the Doctor
Parable Since: Aug, 2009
#146883: Oct 28th 2016 at 2:22:33 AM

The Twitter of a guy who knows a guy who saw a poll doesn't exactly infuse me with confidence.

TheHandle United Earth from Stockholm Since: Jan, 2012 Relationship Status: YOU'RE TEARING ME APART LISA
United Earth
#146884: Oct 28th 2016 at 2:52:47 AM

An Honest if Very Begrudging Endorsement.

Pretty much. For a lot of people the military is probably the only way to guarantee any sort of retirement.

So it's not like back in the day when joining the military was a path to social ascension (or death) for hungry young men:

"[HAMILTON] Well, I don’t have your name. I don’t have your titles I don’t have your land But, if you—
[WASHINGTON] No—
[HAMILTON] If you gave me command of a battalion, a group of men to lead, I could fly above my station after the war

[MULLIGAN] Yo, I’m a tailor’s apprentice
And I got y’all knuckleheads in loco parentis
I’m joining the rebellion cuz I know it’s my chance
To socially advance, instead of sewin’ some pants!
I’m gonna take a SHOT

Instead, they get hired and fired as needs be, their pensions keep getting slashed, and they keep getting treated like dirt. See the National Guard debacle, which is ridiculous; if the Government makes an error in your favour, they get to live with it, and you get to keep the money, that's basic common sense. It's the government that fucked up; this shouldn't even be a conversation.

edited 28th Oct '16 2:54:09 AM by TheHandle

Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.
TacticalFox88 from USA Since: Nov, 2010 Relationship Status: Dating the Doctor
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
#146886: Oct 28th 2016 at 6:11:53 AM

Scholarship fund embezzler and transphobe Milo Yiannopoulos was forced to cancel a speaking appointment at the University of Maryland due to the student group inviting him being unable to afford the fees to actually do so. Cue cries of censorship.

A scheduled speech by conservative writer Milo Yiannopoulos at the University of Maryland was canceled because a student group was unable to raise enough money to cover fees the university required shortly before the event, including more than $2,000 for security.

The costs led to complaints from students and others that the university was silencing a potentially contentious speech rather than encouraging free and open debate. But a spokeswoman for the school countered that the security fee included the speaker’s request to have officers present, and that university officials had worked to help the students.

“This garbage about a fee for security . . . it’s a con job,” said Yiannopoulos, a provocative speaker who supports Donald Trump’s presidential campaign and had been invited by the group “Terps for Trump” to speak on campus. He said he doesn’t charge speaking fees and brings his own security. “It’s censorship.”

Yiannopoulos writes for Breitbart Tech and has a large following as a self-proclaimed “free-speech fundamentalist” who has been crusading against political correctness. He was permanently banned from Twitter this summer after he sent a series of tweets targeting a black actress. Yiannopoulos, better known as Milo, is touring college campuses across the country giving speeches, including George Washington University last week, George Mason this week and Dartmouth, Ohio State and Columbia in November.

Because his appearances often generate intense responses, some schools have canceled or indefinitely postponed them. That has led some to complain that his speech is being censored while others say that students are free to invite speakers but that universities should not be required to pay the related expenses.

At a time when freedom of speech on campus is a particularly volatile issue — with debates about trigger warnings, code words, safe spaces, implicit bias, microagressions, free-speech zones, academic freedom, and a divisive presidential election — his events have become flash points.

Yiannopoulos said Maryland’s move was a clear violation of the First Amendment. He said college administrators often slap students with huge security fees for his speeches, “a slippery suggestion that I’m some sort of dangerous figure, when all I do is stand up in glittery tops and talk about free speech.”

The first thing U-Md. sophomore Eileen Walsh thought about when she learned how much “Terps for Trump” would have to pay for the event was a James Madison quote: “I believe there are more instances of the abridgement of freedom of the people by gradual and silent encroachments by those in power than by violent and sudden usurpations.”

“It wasn’t like the university just came out and said, ‘No you can’t have this.’ They just made it impossible for a group of college students to raise a ridiculous amount of money for an event that was supposed to be free,” she said. “They just went about it by the rules and got what they wanted.”

Crystal Brown, a spokeswoman for the university, said the school wasn’t involved in the decision to invite Yiannopoulos or to cancel the event. “As an institution that thrives on respectful exchange of ideas and opinions, we support the fundamental right to freedom of speech,” she wrote in an email.

The cost estimate for the speech that the undergraduate student group was given a week and a half ago was about $5,050, she said, and $2,211 for security for the event. She said school officials found a campus location with lower security costs than the place the group initially sought.

Capt. Laura Dyer, special events commander for the U-Md. Police Department, said as students were planning the event she learned there had been a request from the speaker for the university to provide three to five officers for the event. She said she spoke with a member of Yiannopolous’ security team and discussed roles and responsibilities, with the campus police set to ensure it was a safe and successful event. That’s typical, she said, as speakers often have their own security staff members who are there to protect them.

The university determined that six officers should be present, and the cost was based on the standard hourly rate for the officers, she said.

Brown said one large student group which hosts many speakers gets money from the student government association, from student fees, to pay for events, but Terps for Trump just recently formed.

Yiannopoulous said colleges don’t want to say no outright, “so they gerrymander, finagle, come up with weird strategies to try to damage the event.” The university knew the students wouldn’t be able to meet those costs, he said. “It’s fee censorship.”

Students in Terps for Trump did not respond to requests for comment.

Two of Yiannopoulos’ events this fall were derailed by large fees for security, said Ari Cohn, senior program officer for legal and public advocacy with the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education.

The Supreme Court has been clear that when things such as permits and security fees are imposed on an event that they have to be based on objective, content-neutral criteria, Cohn said; a city could reasonably require security for a street procession expected to draw tens of thousands of people, for example. But his organization is concerned that freedom of speech is being unfairly restricted when they see requests made because college officials “are worried that the content of the speech might be offensive to others who might cause a disturbance of some sort.”

He said he’s especially wary of security fees when they’re imposed, or increased, at the last minute — especially with such a well-known, and known-to-be-controversial, speaker, a tactic FIRE has criticized.

At De Paul University, student protesters swarmed onto stage during his speech in May, and a noose and a message to “F — Mexico” were found nearby. University officials denied a request for him to return to campus this fall.

At Florida Atlantic University in September, Yiannopoulos was planning to talk about “How Feminism Hurts Women.” But a threat of violence was made, prompting a criminal investigation, according to a spokeswoman for the university, so the university postponed the event.

At the University of Alabama, the cost of security was estimated at nearly $7,000, which the College Republicans initially were asked to pay. The university ultimately paid the expense, and the event was held this month with about 450 attendees, according to a spokeswoman.

View of Washington Square Park and a portion of the New York University campus in Manhattan (courtesy NYU) View of Washington Square Park and a portion of the New York University campus in Manhattan. (Courtesy of NYU.) Earlier this month, New York University canceled his appearance, telling the College Republicans that “on other campuses, his events have been accompanied by physical altercations, the need for a drastically enlarged security presence, harassment of community members both at the event and beyond, and credible threats involving the presence of firearms or explosives.”

John Beckman, an NYU spokesman, said that a speaker’s views are irrelevant and that numerous controversial speakers have been allowed on campus. But the school takes a case-by-case approach based on the “welfare of our community.”

“Looking at the history of events involving Mr. Yiannopoulous, we thought the right decision — for reasons of safety to our community — was to tell the student club that the event cannot be held in campus facilities, the same decision that was reached by a number of other universities prior to NYU,” Beckman said.

[Just how offensive did Milo Yiannopoulos have to be to get banned from Twitter?]

Jacob Penrod, a U-Md. freshman, knew he disagreed with Yiannopoulos, but then he started to get worried: “When I read more about what Milo says and the events surrounding different college speeches, I got more offended and outraged. Also I started to worry about the physical safety of students.”

Penrod created an online petition to stop him from speaking at U-Md. which read, in part:

Milo Yiannopoulos is a hate-mongering, right wing extremist. He is sexist, racist, Islamaphobic, and generally hateful. He has written articles calling for the mass deportation of all Muslims from the U.S., said, ‘women’s liberation was probably a mistake’, called Leslie Jones, a famous black actress, ‘barely literate’ and a ‘black dude’.

… Hate follows Yiannopolus where he goes, and we do not want that hate on our campus.

More than 200 people signed it, and Penrod met with university officials. “I felt the university heard my concerns and it was canceled because there was not funds raised to address those concerns,” about security, he said.

When they got the cost estimate from university officials, Terps for Trump created an online crowdfunding page to try to raise the money before the deadline.

“We do not wish to cancel this highly hyped event, but at the end of the day we’re a group of college students who don’t have large amounts of disposable income, and if we can’t get any outside funding we’ll have to shut it down,” they wrote on the page, which is no longer active online. “We hope to be able to have Milo grace our University, and can’t do it without you all. If you’re a proponent of free speech, wish to debate him on his points, a Trump supporter, a conservative, a liberal, a libertarian, or just want to see a good ol’ fashioned triggering, please help us out!”

But on Saturday, the campus newspaper the Diamondback reported that the group canceled the event, unable to raise the $2,000 deposit by the deadline.

Breitbart reported that as “censorship” by the university, and some backlash followed on social media, including some people posting on U-Md.’s Facebook page.

Yiannopoulos said he would have an event at U-Md. — not as soon as Wednesday, but before this tour is over. “It will happen. My talk was going to be about something else. Now it will be an hour and a half on the risks to free speech at the University of Maryland.

“I’ll be back whether they like it or not,” he said. “Now I’ll make their life hell.”

$2,211 sounds like an awfully small price to not cop a Mk.80 SMAW-NE to the face. Evidently that sugar daddy money only can pay for the untrained security he has.

I have disagreed with her a lot, but comparing her to republicans and propagandists of dictatorships is really low. - An idiot
Ogodei Fuck you, Fascist sympathizers from The front lines Since: Jan, 2011
Fuck you, Fascist sympathizers
#146887: Oct 28th 2016 at 6:19:12 AM

@ Parable, internal polls often provide a different picture than public polls, though i haven't learned about why that's the case, but internal polls of course need to be "leaked" which makes them unreliable for public consumption.

Generally how campaigns act are often based on their internals, though. Like when the DSCC abandoned Pat Murphy in Florida despite him being about dead even with Rubio in the polls, it could've been because their internal polling showed a larger gap. Or, for instance, how panicked Republicans in Nevada seem to be right now, because they see something that the public doesn't.

But yeah, it becomes a question of leaking with all the credibility problems that entails, just like the long wait for NX or news about Episode VIII.

Kostya (Unlucky Thirteen)
#146888: Oct 28th 2016 at 6:30:55 AM

Why would internal polls be more accurate than polls done by professionals?

TheWanderer Student of Story from Somewhere in New England (Time Abyss) Relationship Status: Wishfully thinking
Student of Story
#146889: Oct 28th 2016 at 6:34:08 AM

You know, something that's really starting to bother me (and has probably bothered a lot of you for awhile) is how people act like they're owed a candidate putting on a show for them or making them feel warm and fuzzy inside, otherwise what point is there in voting.

I overheard some girls talking about how if this year is your first time voting, and this is your field, why would you even bother. Compared to with Obama (and I assume if Sanders had been nominated). And while I get it, that it really does come down to that for so many people is incredibly frustrating.

It is rapidly becoming a major pet peeve for me too. I did a little mini-rant on here at one point about it, and I have barely kept myself from doing for real rants about it a number of times over the course of this election.

| Wandering, but not lost. | If people bring so much courage to this world...◊ |
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
#146890: Oct 28th 2016 at 6:34:26 AM

Internals are also done by professionals, I suspect that they're more targeted then general polls and draw from additional in house data that might not be oublically available.

“And the Bunny nails it!” ~ Gabrael “If the UN can get through a day without everyone strangling everyone else so can we.” ~ Cyran
KarkatTheDalek Not as angry as the name would suggest. from Somwhere in Time/Space Since: Mar, 2012 Relationship Status: You're a beautiful woman, probably
Not as angry as the name would suggest.
#146891: Oct 28th 2016 at 6:35:52 AM

In that case, is there anything else that might cause us infer that certain internal polls are giving different information than regular polls?

Oh God! Natural light!
megarockman from The Sixth Borough (Experienced Trainee)
#146892: Oct 28th 2016 at 6:36:26 AM

They might also allow campaigns to ask the questions they want to ask about such-and-such issue, rather than leave that to outside 3rd parties who may not ask them at all or word questions in a certain way.

edited 28th Oct '16 6:36:50 AM by megarockman

The damned queen and the relentless knight.
Kostya (Unlucky Thirteen)
#146893: Oct 28th 2016 at 6:41:30 AM

If they're more accurate then why don't the third party pollsters take notes on their procedure?

Fighteer Lost in Space from The Time Vortex (Time Abyss) Relationship Status: TV Tropes ruined my love life
Lost in Space
#146894: Oct 28th 2016 at 6:44:25 AM

Internal polling is generally not made public, and it's not considered "scientific" in the sense of being conducted by a disinterested third party. That doesn't mean it's not accurate, necessarily, but it is harder to make that determination.

edited 28th Oct '16 6:44:46 AM by Fighteer

"It's Occam's Shuriken! If the answer is elusive, never rule out ninjas!"
CrimsonZephyr Would that it were so simple. from Massachusetts Since: Aug, 2010 Relationship Status: It's complicated
Would that it were so simple.
#146895: Oct 28th 2016 at 6:49:04 AM

"You know, something that's really starting to bother me (and has probably bothered a lot of you for awhile) is how people act like they're owed a candidate putting on a show for them or making them feel warm and fuzzy inside, otherwise what point is there in voting.

I overheard some girls talking about how if this year is your first time voting, and this is your field, why would you even bother. Compared to with Obama (and I assume if Sanders had been nominated). And while I get it, that it really does come down to that for so many people is incredibly frustrating."

This is mostly the fault of America's appalling standard of civics education. We're taught the standard civic religion of the Founding Fathers, Honest Abe, FDR, and the white man's version of MLK, Jr., but the actual functions of government and the struggles inherent in a bureaucracy are deliberately kept as opaque as possible. We only really learn about the inspiring stuff, so we assume that it's the norm.

edited 28th Oct '16 6:49:32 AM by CrimsonZephyr

"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."
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
#146896: Oct 28th 2016 at 7:08:52 AM

[up]X3 Who says they don't? But especially when it comes to things like access to additional private data there's not much they can do.

“And the Bunny nails it!” ~ Gabrael “If the UN can get through a day without everyone strangling everyone else so can we.” ~ Cyran
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
#146897: Oct 28th 2016 at 7:15:37 AM

Ex-Miss Finland says Trump groped her

A former Miss Finland has accused U.S. presidential candidate Donald Trump of groping her in 2006 when she was representing the country in the Miss Universe beauty contest.

Ninni Laaksonen told the Ilta-Sanomat newspaper that the Republican presidential nominee had grabbed her behind before she appeared on a television show in New York with other contestants.

"He really grabbed my butt. I don't think anybody saw it but I flinched and thought: 'What is happening?'," Laaksonen was quoted as saying in the newspaper.

The accusation follows a stream of allegations of inappropriate conduct by Trump from other women in the United States which have put pressure on his campaign as he trails in opinion polls ahead of the Nov. 8 election. Trump has denied the accusations.

Laaksonen could not be reached for comment on Friday.

I have disagreed with her a lot, but comparing her to republicans and propagandists of dictatorships is really low. - An idiot
Shippudentimes Since: Dec, 2012
#146898: Oct 28th 2016 at 7:29:16 AM

Is the New York Times' election forecast on the fritz? It's been consistently saying that Clinton's been in the lead with a 92% chance to win over Trump's 7%.note  This week, it's been going haywire (though never below a 90%), with Trump going between 7, 8, and 9% and back again within the span of a few days, and drastically a few hours, and now (as of this posting) it says some guy named Patrick McMullin has a 32-point lead over the other candidates in Utah despite Trump's 66% chance of winning the state's electoral votes.

edited 28th Oct '16 7:32:35 AM by Shippudentimes

Balmung Since: Oct, 2011
#146899: Oct 28th 2016 at 7:38:00 AM

I dunno ablut the national thing, but McMullin is a conservative Mormon former Republican late entry to the election running as an independent in Utah, where he's quite popular, as Utahans in general really hate both Hillary and Donald.

Rationalinsanity from Halifax, Canada Since: Aug, 2010 Relationship Status: It's complicated
#146900: Oct 28th 2016 at 7:59:37 AM

Mc Mullin is trying get the GOP to knock it off, he isn't on enough ballots to hit 270 but he can turn deny Trump one of the reddest states in an attempt to show what a dead end this rush to the far right is.

Politics is the skilled use of blunt objects.

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