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

RBluefish Since: Nov, 2013
#168476: Jan 23rd 2017 at 9:13:13 AM

[up][up][up][up] Which may be a very bad thing,

[up] A temporary victory, but I'll take it. The importance of restoring voting rights cannot be understated, and they're going to be under full-fledged assault from the current administration regime.

"We'll take the next chance, and the next, until we win, or the chances are spent."
AmbarSonofDeshar Since: Jan, 2010
#168477: Jan 23rd 2017 at 9:14:56 AM

A lot of people I know are worried that Clinton would have declared a war on Russia.

A lot of the people you know are uninformed at best, lying at worst then. That was never a thing that was going to happen and every time I hear anybody bring it up it makes me want to put my head through a wall.

DingoWalley1 Asgore Adopts Noelle Since: Feb, 2014 Relationship Status: Can't buy me love
Asgore Adopts Noelle
#168478: Jan 23rd 2017 at 9:15:36 AM

In addition to basically killing TPP, he's also reinstated a ban on providing money to International Organizations that help give Abortions (the ban was lifted in 2009), and signed a memorandum that freezes hiring for certain Government workers.

NativeJovian Jupiterian Local from Orlando, FL Since: Mar, 2014 Relationship Status: Maxing my social links
Jupiterian Local
#168479: Jan 23rd 2017 at 9:20:00 AM

Various officials and experts have already said that in any other self-respecting democracy, this election would be declared invalid and a new one would be held.
Someone remind me why nobody with the power to do anything about this [...] call out the election as a sham and order an immediate redo
How would that help? Remember, what Russia did was sway voters. They didn't influence the election by actually tampering with the election results, they influenced the election by getting voters to change their minds on who they wanted to vote for. You could declare the election invalid and hold a new one tomorrow and the result would be the same, because all the propaganda Russia put out is still there.

(Well, it might not be exactly the same, as Trump has continued to be a buffoon and there's a group of people that did a mass Oh, Crap! when he actually won the election, who would presumably turn out to vote against him if we did a re-do of the election.)

In addition, I'm not sure if there are actually any legal provisions for calling for a re-election. Even if you could prove without a shadow of a doubt that the election itself was rigged and a re-election would not be rigged, I'm not sure the legal framework exists to allow the government to order a re-election.

Really from Jupiter, but not an alien.
carbon-mantis Collector Of Fine Oddities from Trumpland Since: Mar, 2010 Relationship Status: Married to my murderer
Collector Of Fine Oddities
#168480: Jan 23rd 2017 at 9:22:57 AM

[up][up][up] I think Russians would find the idea that their leadership is crazy enough to start a global war over. . . whatever it was the attributed to Clinton's eeeeeevil, pretty damn insulting.

Swanpride Since: Jun, 2013
#168481: Jan 23rd 2017 at 9:32:30 AM

[up][up] Germany once repeated a city election because there were posters of one party hung up too close to the ballot. There is a difference between "swaying" voters by convincing them of your argument and outright voter manipulation. What happened in the US was the latter and made a fair election impossible.

tclittle Professional Forum Ninja from Somewhere Down in Texas Since: Apr, 2010
Professional Forum Ninja
#168482: Jan 23rd 2017 at 9:40:58 AM

Just saw this chart of how reputable certain news publications are with a biased curve. Thought it was pretty accurate, except for a few.

"We're all paper, we're all scissors, we're all fightin' with our mirrors, scared we'll never find somebody to love."
DeMarquis (4 Score & 7 Years Ago)
#168483: Jan 23rd 2017 at 9:42:17 AM

@Swanpride: What criteria do you use to distinguish between the two?

I'm done trying to sound smart. "Clear" is the new smart.
Swanpride Since: Jun, 2013
Julep Since: Jul, 2010
#168485: Jan 23rd 2017 at 9:49:07 AM

I know it's cynical, but I think the EU has a golden opportunity to strengthen its ties with China now - especially since China now seems quite motivated to fight global warming, ironically. Give it four more years, and the Chinese Communist Party might be more progressist than the GOP.

math792d Since: Jun, 2011 Relationship Status: Drift compatible
#168486: Jan 23rd 2017 at 9:50:46 AM

So who will be Europe's Richard Nixon?

Still not embarrassing enough to stan billionaires or tech companies.
DingoWalley1 Asgore Adopts Noelle Since: Feb, 2014 Relationship Status: Can't buy me love
Asgore Adopts Noelle
#168487: Jan 23rd 2017 at 9:50:48 AM

[up][up] Technically, in China, the Communists are always the Conservative party.

The only difference is they have a brain.

[up] ... Geert Wilders? (/joke)

edited 23rd Jan '17 9:51:11 AM by DingoWalley1

LeGarcon Blowout soon fellow Stalker from Skadovsk Since: Aug, 2013 Relationship Status: Gay for Big Boss
Blowout soon fellow Stalker
#168488: Jan 23rd 2017 at 9:51:41 AM

China is also living on borrowed time. Their economy is set to collapse any day now. It's why we and almost everyone else on the planet is actually moving away from them and shifting most of our cheap manufacturing into the rest of Southeast Asia.

The only places China is expanding are the really poor parts of Africa, everyone else is avoiding them like the plague so they won't get pulled down when they go under.

Oh really when?
NativeJovian Jupiterian Local from Orlando, FL Since: Mar, 2014 Relationship Status: Maxing my social links
Jupiterian Local
#168489: Jan 23rd 2017 at 10:00:22 AM

Germany once repeated a city election because there were posters of one party hung up too close to the ballot. There is a difference between "swaying" voters by convincing them of your argument and outright voter manipulation. What happened in the US was the latter and made a fair election impossible.
Sure, but "are posters too close to a polling place" is a concrete question with a definite answer. Russia has successfully poisoned much of the American electorate against Hillary Clinton. Simply redoing the election won't remove that influence the same way you can remove posters that are too close to a polling place.

Really from Jupiter, but not an alien.
LeGarcon Blowout soon fellow Stalker from Skadovsk Since: Aug, 2013 Relationship Status: Gay for Big Boss
Blowout soon fellow Stalker
#168490: Jan 23rd 2017 at 10:02:40 AM

Honestly I will say and argue until the heat death of the universe that the Russians tampered with the election and the Republicans should be guilty of treason.

But.

The way they did it was just a massive disinformation campaign. There's just not a ton to do about that. You can't exactly post a federal bulletin to all citizens that anyone speaking like this or that or espousing this set of ideas is a Russian spy and must be reported.

Oh really when?
Julep Since: Jul, 2010
#168491: Jan 23rd 2017 at 10:03:43 AM

[up][up][up] I am wary about the claims of "economy collapsing", because experts have successfully failed to predict the previous crashes, and all in all despite what Trump claimed I think right now the USA is doing pretty great already despite the previous crisis.

edited 23rd Jan '17 10:29:49 AM by Julep

Journeyman Overlording the Underworld from On a throne in a vault overlooking the Wasteland Since: Nov, 2010
Overlording the Underworld
#168492: Jan 23rd 2017 at 10:04:01 AM

If Obama had had the legal ground to do that, it would have been coupled with the power to disqualify Trump from running again. If not outright charging him with treason and having him imprisoned. Otherwise there would have been no point in doing it to start with.

tclittle Professional Forum Ninja from Somewhere Down in Texas Since: Apr, 2010
Professional Forum Ninja
#168494: Jan 23rd 2017 at 10:10:36 AM

[down] The vote to make Betsey DeVos Trump's Education Secretary has been delayed a week over an ethics letter and Democrats in the committee want a second hearing before the vote on January 31st.

edited 23rd Jan '17 10:22:38 AM by tclittle

"We're all paper, we're all scissors, we're all fightin' with our mirrors, scared we'll never find somebody to love."
PhysicalStamina i'm tired, my friend (4 Score & 7 Years Ago) Relationship Status: Coming soon to theaters
i'm tired, my friend
#168495: Jan 23rd 2017 at 10:20:04 AM

[up]...could I get that in a complete sentence, please?

i'm tired, my friend
LinkToTheFuture A real bad hombre from somewhere completely different Since: Apr, 2015 Relationship Status: What's love got to do with it?
A real bad hombre
#168496: Jan 23rd 2017 at 10:37:39 AM

I feel like one of the scariest things is the whole "alternative facts" thing is literally Orwellian as per the term's original definition: controlling language to shape the political thoughts and discourse.

"I have not failed. I've just found 10,000 ways that won't work." -Thomas Edison
RBluefish Since: Nov, 2013
#168497: Jan 23rd 2017 at 10:38:14 AM

Remember how everybody thought Pompeo was all right because he was against waterboarding and whatnot? Well, he's changed his tune now.

I feel like this is what people don't get about Trump's nominees. You don't get handpicked by Trump for being a good, competent person. Even the ones who seem good are quite probably lying through their damn teeth, because they know that once they get in they can do whatever they want.

"We'll take the next chance, and the next, until we win, or the chances are spent."
DeMarquis (4 Score & 7 Years Ago)
#168498: Jan 23rd 2017 at 10:40:57 AM

Trump has this tactic where he keeps everyone off balance and guessing because he can change his mind suddenly and without warning. His cabinet will surely share that approach.

I'm done trying to sound smart. "Clear" is the new smart.
M84 Oh, bother. from Our little blue planet Since: Jun, 2010 Relationship Status: Chocolate!
Oh, bother.
#168499: Jan 23rd 2017 at 10:44:43 AM

At this point, the only certain thing about Trump and his cronies is that I'm not going to like anything they do. Even if the short-term effects don't fuck me over (and even help me), the long-term effects most likely will.

I've set my expectations very low for the next four years — but I fear Trump will fail to clear even that bar.

edited 23rd Jan '17 10:46:28 AM by M84

Disgusted, but not surprised
kkhohoho (4 Score & 7 Years Ago)
#168500: Jan 23rd 2017 at 10:47:08 AM

[up][up][up]So I've probably gone over this story before, but I might as well go over it again. Back in WWII, the Allies captured a couple of German soldiers and they needed to get some info out of them. Now, they could have tried using water-boarding or shock torture or what have you, but when it came time to decide on just what to do with them, they settled on a rather different approach. Instead, they sat them down at a nice restaurant and gave them a couple of hamburgers. And you know what those German soldiers did? They spilled the beans and told the Allies everything. Just because they were treated like actual human beings.

The point is, torture never works and it should have been outlawed ages ago, so trying to reinstate something like waterboarding isn't just unethical; it's outright idiotic.

edited 23rd Jan '17 10:48:11 AM by kkhohoho


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