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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.
#168501: Jan 23rd 2017 at 10:49:28 AM

[up] A lot of people defend torture because too many works of fiction in the past brainwashed them into thinking Torture Always Works.

And some who know it doesn't actually work defend it anyway because, deep down, they like hurting people whom they think deserve it.

edited 23rd Jan '17 10:51:12 AM by M84

Disgusted, but not surprised
tclittle Professional Forum Ninja from Somewhere Down in Texas Since: Apr, 2010
Professional Forum Ninja
#168502: Jan 23rd 2017 at 10:53:14 AM

White House Switchboard has been removed, now a recording.

"We're all paper, we're all scissors, we're all fightin' with our mirrors, scared we'll never find somebody to love."
Draghinazzo (4 Score & 7 Years Ago) Relationship Status: I get a feeling so complicated...
#168503: Jan 23rd 2017 at 10:56:39 AM

Yeah I always got the distinct impression that the defense of torture had a strong component of authoritarians wanting to unleash their violent and hateful urges on "the enemy". It's about power and instilling fear.

DingoWalley1 Asgore Adopts Noelle Since: Feb, 2014 Relationship Status: Can't buy me love
Asgore Adopts Noelle
#168504: Jan 23rd 2017 at 10:58:13 AM

[up][up] wild mass guessTrump doesn't want to hear negative after negative comment from the Poor Rural Folk he lets down in the next 4 years. And E-Mails are easily ignorable/deletable.

edited 23rd Jan '17 10:58:24 AM by DingoWalley1

Journeyman Overlording the Underworld from On a throne in a vault overlooking the Wasteland Since: Nov, 2010
Overlording the Underworld
#168505: Jan 23rd 2017 at 11:02:11 AM

By the end I doubt he'll get many emails. This is probably a sign of things to come. As things get more automated the jobs that support those rural people are going to dry up. By the end, most of them probably won't even own a computer or have access to the internet.

This is the main reason there's been growth on the Full Luxury Communism front. The pressure's building, and if we don't change the economy in some way that doesn't count on physical labor for jobs, we're probably going to see most of the US population driven into a Great Depression that doesn't even affect the wealthy because they simply won't need most of us anymore.

Julep Since: Jul, 2010
#168506: Jan 23rd 2017 at 11:02:42 AM

I'm just catching up on this weekend's events...

Trump said that "All questions should be like that" when talking about...soldiers in Afghanistan congratulating him for his election - so obviously, they are not asking anything too daring.

He compared those congratulations to journalist questions. It has a nice North Korean vibe to it.

rmctagg09 The Wanderer from Brooklyn, NY (Before Recorded History) Relationship Status: I won't say I'm in love
The Wanderer
#168507: Jan 23rd 2017 at 11:06:46 AM

Spicer's doing the press conference right now.

Hugging a Vanillite will give you frostbite.
kkhohoho (4 Score & 7 Years Ago)
#168508: Jan 23rd 2017 at 11:07:02 AM

[up][up][up]And of course, once that happens, there will be only thing left to do: Kill the Poor. (No no, sorry, really, I kid! They'll still need us for emergency rations after all.)tongue

edited 23rd Jan '17 11:07:34 AM by kkhohoho

rmctagg09 The Wanderer from Brooklyn, NY (Before Recorded History) Relationship Status: I won't say I'm in love
The Wanderer
#168509: Jan 23rd 2017 at 11:07:45 AM

"Multinational agreements put every party on the same level as the United States"

The fuck?

edited 23rd Jan '17 11:08:13 AM by rmctagg09

Hugging a Vanillite will give you frostbite.
LeGarcon Blowout soon fellow Stalker from Skadovsk Since: Aug, 2013 Relationship Status: Gay for Big Boss
Blowout soon fellow Stalker
#168510: Jan 23rd 2017 at 11:09:18 AM

Wait what?

Oh really when?
rmctagg09 The Wanderer from Brooklyn, NY (Before Recorded History) Relationship Status: I won't say I'm in love
The Wanderer
#168511: Jan 23rd 2017 at 11:09:28 AM

[up] In relation to why the TPP was bad.

"Will you always tell the truth?"

"I believe we should be honest with the American people."

The fuck was Saturday then?

edited 23rd Jan '17 11:10:16 AM by rmctagg09

Hugging a Vanillite will give you frostbite.
M84 Oh, bother. from Our little blue planet Since: Jun, 2010 Relationship Status: Chocolate!
Oh, bother.
#168512: Jan 23rd 2017 at 11:10:16 AM

[up] That was "alt-truth". Which I guess counts as truth in their twisted minds.

Also: That's why Trump killed TPP? Jeebus. So basically they just announced to the rest of the world that Trump's administration will never agree to anything unless they get the biggest slice of pie. Like 99% of the pie.

edited 23rd Jan '17 11:13:05 AM by M84

Disgusted, but not surprised
LeGarcon Blowout soon fellow Stalker from Skadovsk Since: Aug, 2013 Relationship Status: Gay for Big Boss
Blowout soon fellow Stalker
#168513: Jan 23rd 2017 at 11:10:27 AM

What's happening exactly? I wandered off earlier.

Oh really when?
rmctagg09 The Wanderer from Brooklyn, NY (Before Recorded History) Relationship Status: I won't say I'm in love
The Wanderer
#168514: Jan 23rd 2017 at 11:12:01 AM

Spicer's actually answering questions related to policy, but it's all bullshit.

Now he's going on about how much people watched the inauguration.

Hugging a Vanillite will give you frostbite.
IFwanderer use political terms to describe, not insult from Earth Since: Aug, 2013 Relationship Status: Wishfully thinking
use political terms to describe, not insult
#168515: Jan 23rd 2017 at 11:17:43 AM

[up]Is he going to do that every press conference?

1 2 We are what we pretend to be, so we must be careful about what we pretend to be. -KV
TobiasDrake (•̀⤙•́) (Edited uphill both ways) Relationship Status: Arm chopping is not a love language!
(•̀⤙•́)
#168516: Jan 23rd 2017 at 11:18:01 AM

I mean, that is what Trump's voters voted for. Trump opposing TPP on grounds that it creates a level playing field is exactly what he promised to do with his "America First" campaign promise. "America First" literally means preserving the special place of privilege that the U.S. enjoys over other countries and working diligently to ensure that no one else ever rises to our level.

It's toxic, horrific bullshit but there's no shenanigans to call here because it's the toxic, horrific bullshit his voters eagerly wanted to see.

That's probably why the GOP's trying to pull us out of the U.N. too. Trump doesn't want us to be an equal partner with the rest of the world. He wants an authoritarian world order where all other countries bow their heads in subservience to Lord America, Ruler of All.

Y'all didn't think his authoritarian ambitions would be limited just to this country, did you?

edited 23rd Jan '17 11:20:37 AM by TobiasDrake

My Tumblr. Currently side-by-side liveblogging Digimon Adventure, sub vs dub.
LeGarcon Blowout soon fellow Stalker from Skadovsk Since: Aug, 2013 Relationship Status: Gay for Big Boss
Blowout soon fellow Stalker
#168517: Jan 23rd 2017 at 11:20:38 AM

[up]Pretty much.

Oh really when?
kkhohoho (4 Score & 7 Years Ago)
#168518: Jan 23rd 2017 at 11:21:08 AM

REPORTER: Just to clarify, how many people did you say watched the inauguration?

SPICER: All of them.

REPORTER: But, that doesn't—

SPICER: And also none of them.

REPORTER: ...Come again?

SPICER: No, see, this is the part where you get fed up with all of my bullshit and just go along with it out of exasperation.

REPORTER: And I would do that because...

SPICER: Right, glad we got settled that. Everyone and no-one at the inauguration. I look forward to seeing that in the papers, seriously!

REPORTER: ...I'm moving to Canada.

[up][up]Now hold on a minute there. As far as we know, the GOP isn't trying to pull us out of the UN. All that was was one lone bill introduced by one rouge Republican who introduces said pill every couple of years only for it to get shot down on the cutting room floor each and every time, as it has been for decades. I understand why there's a bit more cause for alarm here, but I don't think it's anything to worry about just yet.

edited 23rd Jan '17 11:44:45 AM by kkhohoho

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.
#168519: Jan 23rd 2017 at 11:31:18 AM

GOP senators: Give states the option of keeping ObamaCare.

This would be better than the alternative, I suppose.

edited 23rd Jan '17 11:32:13 AM by KarkatTheDalek

Oh God! Natural light!
Fighteer Lost in Space from The Time Vortex (Time Abyss) Relationship Status: TV Tropes ruined my love life
Lost in Space
#168520: Jan 23rd 2017 at 11:34:37 AM

[up] What, so they want to have fifty independent versions of Romneycare (or at least twenty-some, if you count blue states), without any federal support in the form of redistributive taxation? That's one of the key pieces that makes the system work. I suppose there's a bit of a malicious catch-22 there, in that states that do implement their own version of the program will have to increase taxes to provide subsidies, and despite the resulting increase in their tax base, they'll still look less attractive to people who select business or personal residency on the basis of tax rates.

Also, this means that if you live in a red state (and voted for the Republicans currently in power, presumably), you are getting double-screwed, because your governments will sure as hell yank that "free" healthcare right out from under you faster than you can blink, while your blue neighbors will still get it. And you can bet that states like California won't support medical tourism.

There's also the risk of "insurance flight" causing states that implement an ACA variant to get swarmed by low-income "economic refugees" who seek residency in order to gain access to their insurance programs, causing a significant increase in expenditures on subsidies. The individual mandate is a critical part of PPACA because, without it, only sick people will get insurance, causing a death spiral of increasing premium costs.

edited 23rd Jan '17 11:40:43 AM by Fighteer

"It's Occam's Shuriken! If the answer is elusive, never rule out ninjas!"
PhilosopherStones Anyways Here's Darude Sandstorm from The North (lots of planets have them) (Troper Knight) Relationship Status: You can be my wingman any time
Anyways Here's Darude Sandstorm
#168521: Jan 23rd 2017 at 11:45:28 AM

Would like to amend somethin I posted a few days ago.

I linked a video containin "Anti-Trump Supporters" settin a limo on fire.

Turns out they were actually just anarchists. They do it every inauguration.

Carry on.

GIVE ME YOUR FACE
tricksterson Never Trust from Behind you with an icepick Since: Apr, 2009 Relationship Status: Above such petty unnecessities
Never Trust
#168522: Jan 23rd 2017 at 11:45:52 AM

[up]x6 Yes. Every press conference. For the next four years.

Trump delenda est
rmctagg09 The Wanderer from Brooklyn, NY (Before Recorded History) Relationship Status: I won't say I'm in love
DingoWalley1 Asgore Adopts Noelle Since: Feb, 2014 Relationship Status: Can't buy me love
Asgore Adopts Noelle
#168524: Jan 23rd 2017 at 11:46:17 AM

[up][up][up][up] Well, considering how badly Trump wants to completely get rid of ObamaCare for a "replacement" that probably won't exist, StateCare (as I'm calling it) will be a lot better then nothing at all.

Plus, increasing the Populations of Blue/Purple States with people dependent on Health Care is a good thing, especially since in 3 years the next Census will be taken and House Members and Electoral College Votes will give them greater voices (then they already have).

edited 23rd Jan '17 11:47:07 AM by DingoWalley1

Fighteer Lost in Space from The Time Vortex (Time Abyss) Relationship Status: TV Tropes ruined my love life
Lost in Space
#168525: Jan 23rd 2017 at 11:47:35 AM

It'll only significantly help the electoral map if the shift in population adjusts the proportion of House votes, and even then a flight to blue states will give even more weight to red-state voters in choosing Presidents due to the fucking electoral college.

"It's Occam's Shuriken! If the answer is elusive, never rule out ninjas!"

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