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

SeptimusHeap from Switzerland (Edited uphill both ways) Relationship Status: Mu
#167926: Jan 20th 2017 at 2:27:05 PM

And all the other people who voted for her...?

"For a successful technology, reality must take precedence over public relations, for Nature cannot be fooled." - Richard Feynman
math792d Since: Jun, 2011 Relationship Status: Drift compatible
#167927: Jan 20th 2017 at 2:27:08 PM

Because the country should be ruled by California.

I mean, it's the largest economy in the country, the most sensible gun laws, the only clean energy program that doesn't make me want to vomit blood and all the nicest beaches.

It sure would be an improvement over a greedy incompetent rapist.

Still not embarrassing enough to stan billionaires or tech companies.
Matues Since: Sep, 2011
#167928: Jan 20th 2017 at 2:27:34 PM

Anyway, I'm certainly worried about a crackdown on protesting rights.

We'll have to hope that some Republicans actually care enough about the first amendment to stop them.

edited 20th Jan '17 2:29:43 PM by Matues

Zendervai Since: Oct, 2009
#167929: Jan 20th 2017 at 2:27:37 PM

Because the President should be elected by the popular vote. The electoral college affects absolutely nothing else. You remove it, and Democratic presidents become more common, most likely, but it has no impact whatsoever on Congress or the state legislatures.

Elle Since: Jan, 2001
#167930: Jan 20th 2017 at 2:27:40 PM

And just for an example of how the system can work when you don't need to present ID at the polls, New York does fine. You need ID to register but you can use your SSN (or a number of other things like a utility bill in your name) as ID. The ID check is validated through the registration process. (If for some reason this fails, *then* you get asked for ID at the poll.) On election day, you go to your designated polling location and they have a list with all the voters registered for that location and you sign next to your name on the list.

Fighteer MOD Lost in Space from The Time Vortex (Time Abyss) Relationship Status: TV Tropes ruined my love life
Draghinazzo (4 Score & 7 Years Ago) Relationship Status: I get a feeling so complicated...
#167932: Jan 20th 2017 at 2:28:05 PM

"Racism is not about what people feel" Literal definition. "prejudice, discrimination, or antagonism directed against someone of a different race based on the BELIEF that one's own race is superior."

The problem here is that by limiting yourself to strictly this definition, you are missing the larger point about how people who aren't virulently racist can still propagate ideas and do things that end up harming people of different races.

Let's assume for a moment that I do not think that black people are inherently inferior to me. However, let's say that I instead believe they have a "cultural problem" where they're encouraged to be lazy, mooch on welfare, and turn to crime. My rhetoric is then based on telling these people to "get their act together", because I believe they can be better.

You don't have to be a racist person to propagate this idea, but the thing is that it's a very limited perspective that shows little sympathy and understanding for the circumstances of the black community and their historical struggles.

There's also the fact that very few racist people are ever going to admit to being racist, but that's another can of worms altogether.

To use an analogy to make this more palpable, let's say that I'm driving and I hit a person by accident.

Did I mean to hit the person? No. Do I have any reason to have a grudge against that person? No, I don't even know them.

That doesn't mean I didn't hurt them anyways.

RBluefish Since: Nov, 2013
#167933: Jan 20th 2017 at 2:28:13 PM

Don't you all know? Californians don't count as Americans. Neither do New Yorkers or anybody else who happens to have an inconvenient opinion.

"We'll take the next chance, and the next, until we win, or the chances are spent."
SeptimusHeap from Switzerland (Edited uphill both ways) Relationship Status: Mu
#167934: Jan 20th 2017 at 2:28:54 PM

I'd like to dispute the California gun laws. I think they are too trigger happy with banning them.

"For a successful technology, reality must take precedence over public relations, for Nature cannot be fooled." - Richard Feynman
math792d Since: Jun, 2011 Relationship Status: Drift compatible
#167935: Jan 20th 2017 at 2:30:08 PM

[up] Your punmanship is impeccable.

Also, I'm talking gun legislation from a Nordic perspective, so you're probably correct in saying California might be too strict by American standards.

Still not embarrassing enough to stan billionaires or tech companies.
Bat178 Since: May, 2011
#167936: Jan 20th 2017 at 2:30:35 PM

[up][up][up] Well, California was originally part of Mexico, not the US, but that's besides the point.

edited 20th Jan '17 2:30:46 PM by Bat178

Elle Since: Jan, 2001
#167937: Jan 20th 2017 at 2:30:36 PM

[up][up][up]*sigh* [awesome]

edited 20th Jan '17 2:31:02 PM by Elle

Parable Since: Aug, 2009
#167938: Jan 20th 2017 at 2:31:00 PM

The sad thing is that is taken seriously by the right. I've had pro-Trump family members tell me that Trump won the popular vote if you take out New York and California, as if we're some sort of aberrations that don't count.

RBluefish Since: Nov, 2013
#167939: Jan 20th 2017 at 2:31:50 PM

If you take out Texas and Florida, he won the EC.

If you count Venus as a state, and give it a million electoral votes, and give those million votes to Hillary, then Hillary won the EC by a million votes.

"We'll take the next chance, and the next, until we win, or the chances are spent."
Fighteer Lost in Space from The Time Vortex (Time Abyss) Relationship Status: TV Tropes ruined my love life
Lost in Space
#167940: Jan 20th 2017 at 2:31:52 PM

It is rather amusingly hypocritical. Democracy is only, apparently, for people who agree with them. Everyone else can suck it.

"It's Occam's Shuriken! If the answer is elusive, never rule out ninjas!"
IFwanderer use political terms to describe, not insult from Earth Since: Aug, 2013 Relationship Status: Wishfully thinking
use political terms to describe, not insult
#167941: Jan 20th 2017 at 2:32:16 PM

EDIT: guy got banned while I was typing this. Leaving it up for posterity anyways.

OK, I'm going to try and refute the argument in a new comment because the thread moves fast. Wolf, you said this:

"Because poor people and minorities are too stupid to know where the DMV is. That is what you're saying.

Do you think so poorly of those people? That those poor poor sheep need to be herded by those brave stronk liberal freedom fighters?"

Before we start keep in mind this two things:

  • When you're poor, it's very hard to keep savings and you have very demanding job hours (if you aren't unemployed).
  • Minorities on average (not the same as "every person who is a minority") are disproportionately poor thanks too factors outside of their control.

Now, let's say you have a political situation that's so polarized that you can have a very good idea (say, within +-3% of the totals) of how the results will go in most states. Because of this data, you know that a certain demographic will disproportionally vote for party A. And you happen to be a representative of party B in your state's legislature, and for some reason your party manages to have control of the House. Now, how can you stay in power?, one way is to make sure that group that goes strongly for party A has a harder time to register to vote (remember the two things I asked you to keep in mind), and how do you do that? here's some ways:

  • 1. Close down DMV's in parts of the state where most of the people from that demographic group live, maybe even require them to even go to a different county to register.
  • 2. Make it so you require another type of ID, one that's more expensive to get (like a gun-license?).
  • 3. Make it so there's very few voting stations in those districts, so the people there can be up to four hours waiting in line to vote. (which, being poor, means you could lose your job with shitty hours and one bastard of a boss that'll fire you at the first opportunity, and since you have to feed the kids, you cannot afford to do that)

With only those things, it's harder for that demographic to vote. It's not "poor people and minorities are too stupid to know where the DMV is", it's that they intentionally make it harder for poor people and minorities to get to a DMV. Do you understand?

edited 20th Jan '17 2:36:33 PM by IFwanderer

1 2 We are what we pretend to be, so we must be careful about what we pretend to be. -KV
Matues Since: Sep, 2011
#167942: Jan 20th 2017 at 2:32:23 PM

So what do people think the chances of a spree of anti-protester laws are now?

I'm hoping enough Republicans actually subscribe to their affirmed love of the first amendment.

RBluefish Since: Nov, 2013
#167943: Jan 20th 2017 at 2:33:18 PM

[up] Guaranteed. The Republicans don't give a shit about the Constitution.

"We'll take the next chance, and the next, until we win, or the chances are spent."
sgamer82 Since: Jan, 2001
#167944: Jan 20th 2017 at 2:34:26 PM

So he won if your discount two states with every right to be part of the vote?

M84 Oh, bother. from Our little blue planet Since: Jun, 2010 Relationship Status: Chocolate!
Oh, bother.
#167945: Jan 20th 2017 at 2:34:31 PM

[up][up] They're fans of the second amendment...at least when it comes to white people.

edited 20th Jan '17 2:34:59 PM by M84

Disgusted, but not surprised
Pseudopartition Screaming Into The Void from The Cretaeceous Since: Dec, 2013 Relationship Status: YOU'RE TEARING ME APART LISA
Screaming Into The Void
#167946: Jan 20th 2017 at 2:34:45 PM

Adding to the Voter ID discussion - many African-Americans born in the South before the Civil Rights Movement do not even have birth certificates, and have to go to court to get them (again, something that requires both time and money).

There's probably dozens of little "quirks" of the system like this that make it difficult to obtain proper voter identification.

And of course, there was the Trump campaign practically calling for their supporters to intimidate voters on election day. That was fun.

edited 20th Jan '17 2:40:56 PM by Pseudopartition

Killfuch_Soulschitter Villain Number 6 from where memes go to die Since: Jan, 2017 Relationship Status: Healthy, deeply-felt respect for this here Shotgun
Villain Number 6
#167947: Jan 20th 2017 at 2:37:22 PM

Donald Trump was sworn in and Gabe the Dog died on the same day. This is a dark day for many on both sides of the political compass.

—HARDCORE SATAN-LEVEL HEAVY METAL SCREAMING—
sgamer82 Since: Jan, 2001
#167948: Jan 20th 2017 at 2:38:31 PM

Mattias has been confirmed as defense secretary

Elle Since: Jan, 2001
#167949: Jan 20th 2017 at 2:39:05 PM

History check: are there paralells in the 60s and 70s that got passed, re: suppressing protests? At the federal level as opposed to the state?

[up]The Dems actually like Mattis, at least. He's against torture and his experience right now might be more important than the military-civilian separation.

edited 20th Jan '17 2:42:20 PM by Elle

Rationalinsanity from Halifax, Canada Since: Aug, 2010 Relationship Status: It's complicated
#167950: Jan 20th 2017 at 2:46:57 PM

He's also a NATO supporter (most officers are); and the world needs those really badly right now.

Politics is the skilled use of blunt objects.

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