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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.
#187451: May 6th 2017 at 8:56:08 AM

[up] That's kind of my point. They are being raging hypocrites who have proven that these issues never really mattered to them.

edited 6th May '17 8:57:04 AM by M84

Disgusted, but not surprised
Falrinn Since: Dec, 2014
#187452: May 6th 2017 at 8:56:44 AM

[up]x5

I believe so. But those books contain the codes needed to authorize a nuclear strike.

I do know for sure that the idea that you could control the nuclear arsenal directly from the nuclear football is a Hollywood invention. And no matter what the actual people operating the nuclears silos/submarines technically have the final say since they could always refuse orders.

edited 6th May '17 8:57:59 AM by Falrinn

Zendervai Since: Oct, 2009
#187453: May 6th 2017 at 9:01:37 AM

[up] There was a joke in LEXX where the nuclear football looked like a literal football.

That show was bizarrely prescient about Trump, considering the American president in that show was apparently supposed to be a parody of Bush but the parody's so extreme it turns into Trump. Including the following whoever he's talking to at any given point thing.

fruitpork Since: Oct, 2010
#187454: May 6th 2017 at 9:25:10 AM

So the bill the senate is writing-it has to go back to the house, right? I'm gonna keep my eyes peeled-the fight is far from over.

M84 Oh, bother. from Our little blue planet Since: Jun, 2010 Relationship Status: Chocolate!
Oh, bother.
#187455: May 6th 2017 at 9:27:41 AM

[up] Hence why I'm not celebrating. Not until this bill is dead.

Disgusted, but not surprised
LSBK Since: Sep, 2014
#187456: May 6th 2017 at 9:31:39 AM

[up][up][up][up][up]That's preachingvto the choir, man.

[up]I mean, even if this dies, they're not going to stop. But this can probably be used as a lithmus test to see how situations like this are going to go from now on.

edited 6th May '17 9:33:28 AM by LSBK

PolarPhantom Since: Jun, 2012
#187457: May 6th 2017 at 10:17:03 AM

They will never stop trying to kill the poor and weak until they are unable to.

sgamer82 Since: Jan, 2001
#187458: May 6th 2017 at 10:18:17 AM

They will only be unable to when they succeed or are rendered irrelevant

fruitpork Since: Oct, 2010
#187459: May 6th 2017 at 10:31:28 AM

[up] at this rate, they might have he latter before the former.

Luigisan98 A wandering user from Venezuelan Muscat Since: Oct, 2013 Relationship Status: I <3 love!
A wandering user
#187460: May 6th 2017 at 10:38:53 AM

The GOP you mean?

The only good fanboy, is a redeemed fanboy.
DingoWalley1 Asgore Adopts Noelle Since: Feb, 2014 Relationship Status: Can't buy me love
sgamer82 Since: Jan, 2001
#187462: May 6th 2017 at 11:06:24 AM

The fact he's using "Deep State" unironically is probably telling on its own

megaeliz Since: Mar, 2017
#187463: May 6th 2017 at 12:47:20 PM

This made me laugh. Sort of reminds me of an old onion article.

http://www.breakingburgh.com/god-reminds-republicans-prayer-based-healthcare-plans-shit/

edited 6th May '17 12:47:51 PM by megaeliz

SeptimusHeap from Switzerland (Edited uphill both ways) Relationship Status: Mu
#187464: May 6th 2017 at 3:11:44 PM

That congresscritter from Idaho who claimed that "Nobody dies because they don't have access to healthcare." on the other hand...

"For a successful technology, reality must take precedence over public relations, for Nature cannot be fooled." - Richard Feynman
sgamer82 Since: Jan, 2001
#187465: May 6th 2017 at 3:14:55 PM

[up]I saw the story but hadn't looked. Hadn't realized my rep was the dumbass who said that.

Indeed he did though

Labrador: ‘Nobody dies because they don’t have access to health care’

http://www.idahostatesman.com/news/local/article149013339.html

I think I'm sufficiently motivated to properly register with the Democratic party

edited 6th May '17 5:29:50 PM by sgamer82

fredhot16 Don't want to leave but cannot pretend from Baton Rogue, Louisiana. Since: Jan, 2015 Relationship Status: Too sexy for my shirt
Don't want to leave but cannot pretend
#187466: May 6th 2017 at 3:17:40 PM

You know, I've been thinking about something and it might seem a bit philosophical but I think it's relevant here, especially today.

Is being American a nationality or is it more of a...personality, for lack of a better word? Does it come with being born in America or is it something more...abstract?

[down] Edit: Alright, I'll take it there. Anybody want to answer it on this forum, go ahead.

edited 6th May '17 3:22:01 PM by fredhot16

Trans rights are human rights. TV Tropes is not a place for bigotry, cruelty, or dickishness, no matter who or their position.
SeptimusHeap from Switzerland (Edited uphill both ways) Relationship Status: Mu
#187467: May 6th 2017 at 3:19:46 PM

Well, I don't think it's a question for this thread. The US culture thread, rather.

"For a successful technology, reality must take precedence over public relations, for Nature cannot be fooled." - Richard Feynman
Draghinazzo (4 Score & 7 Years Ago) Relationship Status: I get a feeling so complicated...
#187468: May 6th 2017 at 3:22:55 PM

If you were born in America, or attained citizenship, you're american.

I think it's more than a little grating when people try to define who "real" americans are, or I suppose it would be more accurate to say when they try to weaponize that idea to disregard and "other" people they don't like. The truth is that America, and indeed, most countries, are extremely diverse and home to all kinds of different people. No one person can represent the entirety of the american experience.

fruitpork Since: Oct, 2010
#187469: May 6th 2017 at 3:49:26 PM

When people say "real American" it's racist code for "white people."

pwiegle Cape Malleum Majorem from Nowhere Special Since: Sep, 2015 Relationship Status: Singularity
Cape Malleum Majorem
#187470: May 6th 2017 at 4:14:25 PM

[up]"White people who aren't Evil Democrats, Bleeding-Heart Liberals, or SJWs." In other words, people who think exactly like the self-professed "Real Americans" do.

This Space Intentionally Left Blank.
CenturyEye Tell Me, Have You Seen the Yellow Sign? from I don't know where the Yith sent me this time... Since: Jan, 2017 Relationship Status: Having tea with Cthulhu
Tell Me, Have You Seen the Yellow Sign?
#187472: May 6th 2017 at 6:11:21 PM

I think these two were good neighbors once: Canada considers retaliation for US tariff on softwood lumber

Canada is considering multiple trade actions against the US in response to tariffs on softwood lumber.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said on Friday he was considering banning US coal exports in response to the "unfair" tax on Canadian lumber.

The government is also looking at duties against several Oregon industries, the BBC has learnt.

Oregon has been one of the loudest supporters of an up to 24% tax on Canadian softwood lumber.

Mr Trudeau wrote to British Columbia (BC) premier Christy Clark to say that he was "carefully and seriously" considering trade action on coal exports. He said trade officials will explore next steps.

Ms Clark had previously asked Ottawa to ban US thermal coal exports, and has said she will impose a tax on thermal coal entering BC ports regardless of the federal government's decision, because "it is the right thing to do".

BC is one of Canada's largest producers of softwood lumber.

"We share the commitment to fighting climate change and protecting the environment," Mr Trudeau wrote in his letter on Friday.

"We strongly disagree with the US Department of Commerce's decision to impose an unfair and punitive duty on Canadian softwood lumber."

The government is also considering imposing duties or other trade action on several Oregon industries, the BBC has learnt.

This has nothing to do with US President Donald Trump, who has been a vocal opponent of Nafta and criticised Canada for protectionist dairy policies, the BBC is told.

Instead, the government is considering levying duties on several Oregon industries, including wine, wood chips, plywood, flooring and packaging material, that receive state support which the Canadian government believes may constitute illegal subsidies.

Democratic Oregon senator Ron Wyden is one of the biggest critics of the Canadian softwood lumber industry.

Canada and the US have long had a trade dispute over softwood lumber, with the US arguing that Canada unfairly subsidises its industry by charging minimal fees to log publicly owned lands.

Last week, the US Commerce Department announced it will charge five Canadian softwood exporters duties ranging between 3.2% to 24.12% to make it a "level playing field".

Look with century eyes... With our backs to the arch And the wreck of our kind We will stare straight ahead For the rest of our lives
Zendervai Since: Oct, 2009
#187473: May 6th 2017 at 6:16:39 PM

Oh god, that's hilarious. Taking the exact arguments used and throwing them right back.

LSBK Since: Sep, 2014
#187474: May 6th 2017 at 7:10:35 PM

So, what, does Oregon export a lot of soft lumber and doesn't like the competition or import a lot from Canada and thinks its being short-changed?

Zendervai Since: Oct, 2009
#187475: May 6th 2017 at 8:18:01 PM

Here's how it works, as I understand it. In Canada, gigantic areas are Crown land, that is, government owned. There are a lot of restrictions on when Crown land is able to be sold, so a lot of the time, if there isn't going to be permanent development, the government doesn't bother. This means the government owns most of the land that would be used for logging, so the government basically lets the logging companies onto the land in exchange for, well, rent basically. It also means that the logging companies are less likely to completely deforest the region because they signed a contract with the government preventing them from doing that.

In the US, the logging companies just buy the land and own it. That creates a really high up-front cost, and they have to pay a property tax on it, and they're stuck with the land unless they find someone else to dump it on.

The argument the US uses is that because the Canadian or Provincial governments (because some land is Federal and some land is Provincial) can easily change the "rent" that it creates an effective subsidy by lowering costs on the logging companies. In practice, the rent stays pretty stable, mostly because the contracts actually state the interest rate and how much they can change year by year. It also creates an extra revenue flow for the government that can't be messed with. You don't pay the fee, you don't get to do any logging, while taxes can be fiddled with through deductions and things like that.

What this all boils down to is that Canada has a different system than the US, and the Canadian system genuinely takes pressure off the logging companies and leaves the land in the hands of the government. This is considered unfair by people who are in a different system that has problems filling the domestic demand, in part because of the way the US system works.

The reason the tariff is dumb is because the US only produces between 60-70% of the domestic demand for softwood lumber. Canada provides the rest. Potentially pricing over 30% of a product out of the market to "protect" the local market which doesn't come close to meeting demand is idiotic. Especially since Europe and China are both currently negotiating with Canada on a bunch of things, one of which is the softwood lumber market.

edited 6th May '17 8:20:51 PM by Zendervai


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