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

Blueeyedrat Since: Oct, 2010
#243726: May 28th 2018 at 9:28:29 AM

Opinion piece: campaign-wise, "leftist" and "centrist" Democratic candidates are pretty much all on the same page.

Stacey Abrams and Conor Lamb are supposed to represent opposite poles of the Trump-era Democratic Party. She is the new progressive heroine — the first black woman to win a major-party nomination for governor, who will need a surge of liberal turnout to win Georgia. He is the new centrist hero — the white former Marine who flipped a Western Pennsylvania congressional district with support from gun-loving, abortion-opposing Trump voters.

But when you spend a little time listening to both Abrams and Lamb, you notice something that doesn’t fit the storyline: They sound a lot alike.

They emphasize the same issues, and talk about them in similar ways. They don’t come across as avatars of some Bernie-vs.-Hillary battle for the party’s soul. They come across as ideological soul mates, both upbeat populists who focus on health care, education, upward mobility and the dignity of work.

Yes, there are some tensions on the political left. But these tensions .... are most intense among people who write and tweet about politics. Among Democrats running for office, the tensions are somewhere between mild and nonexistent.

Democratic candidates aren’t obsessed with President Trump, and they aren’t giving up on the white working class as irredeemably racist. They are running pocketbook campaigns that blast Republicans for trying to take health insurance from the middle class while bestowing tax cuts on the rich (charges that have the benefit of being true).

tricksterson Never Trust from Behind you with an icepick Since: Apr, 2009 Relationship Status: Above such petty unnecessities
Never Trust
#243727: May 28th 2018 at 9:34:01 AM

@ M84 #243617: Wholesale slaughter no, but Jefferson Davis, his cabinet, every member of the Confederate Congress (Did they call it that or something else?) and every general officer should have been tried for treason and if found guilty, hung or shot. or both.

edited 28th May '18 9:34:35 AM by tricksterson

Trump delenda est
Wyldchyld (Old as dirt)
#243728: May 28th 2018 at 9:35:58 AM

[up]x5

I guess this 'informant' business is a sign that he's moving from simply rolling back and insulting Obama to openly trying to get a 'criminal' investigation into him started. It was only a matter of time.

edited 28th May '18 9:37:44 AM by Wyldchyld

If my post doesn't mention a giant flying sperm whale with oversized teeth and lionfish fins for flippers, it just isn't worth reading.
Parable Since: Aug, 2009
#243729: May 28th 2018 at 10:00:54 AM

That'll work as well as his "bugged tower" thing did.

Steven (Edited uphill both ways) Relationship Status: YOU'RE TEARING ME APART LISA
#243730: May 28th 2018 at 10:07:46 AM

Quite a number of republican politicians have called it quits ever since Trump became president. CNN asked a few and this is what their reasons were, summed up in a tl;dr by me:

  • Supreme Court redrew the map in Pennsylvania to be more in favor of the Democrats. Every question directed at me was always about Trump. I also have kids to raise. Being in Congress makes me feel like you're the bad guy no matter what you say or do. (Ryan Costello)
  • I'm retiring from Congress because Trump is fucking nuts, we're in massive debt, and we are not the country we're supposed to represent. Many people in the GOP are concerned with what Trump is doing, but only talk behind the cameras. (Jeff Flake)
  • We need more women in committees. I don't regret what I've done, but Congress can be a pretty tough place and it's kind of grown a bit more antagonistic. (Ileana Ros-Lehtinen)

Remember, these idiots drive, fuck, and vote. Not always in that order.
archonspeaks Since: Jun, 2013
#243731: May 28th 2018 at 10:28:52 AM

On a more somber note, since last Memorial Day 14 soldiers have been killed in combat and 75 more died in the line of service. It's a grim reminder that our wars around the world are still costing us lives even now.

I've criticized US foreign policy my fair share, but regardless I have nothing but respect for those who laid down their lives. Whatever their political alignments or personal politics they all cared for this country.

They should have sent a poet.
TobiasDrake (•̀⤙•́) (Edited uphill both ways) Relationship Status: Arm chopping is not a love language!
(•̀⤙•́)
#243732: May 28th 2018 at 10:52:41 AM

14 dead and 75 wounded? That's the combined casualty total for all American conflicts around the globe? For an entire year?

Numbers like that really do go to show just how effective modern training and technology is at protecting our men and women in uniform. And just how full of bullshit the claim that we need to increase military spending is.

Ending the year with under a hundred combined casualties says to me that our military's already doing pretty great.

My Tumblr. Currently side-by-side liveblogging Digimon Adventure, sub vs dub.
KazuyaProta Shin Megami Tensei IV from A Industrial Farm Since: Jan, 2015 Relationship Status: [TOP SECRET]
Shin Megami Tensei IV
#243733: May 28th 2018 at 11:17:11 AM

[up] Sorry but you just come off as dismissing their deaths. I know that is not your intention but still.

Watch me destroying my country
archonspeaks Since: Jun, 2013
#243734: May 28th 2018 at 11:24:17 AM

[up][up] It reflects a change in the way the US fights wars.

75 non-combat deaths is pretty bad, that number is way way up from previous years. A significant amount of those are aviation-related, a lot of our aircraft types are increasingly in disrepair as the tempo of operations increases and manpower and repair funding decrease.

Of the troops killed in combat, essentially all of them were members of various special units. Those units have taken over the vast majority of combat operations. Their low profile and low overall costs despite their high flexibility and small footprints make them perfect for politicians looking for a "silver bullet" solution despite an increasingly war-averse public.

I think what it really represents is a problematic focus on big ticket items and pork barrel spending as we increasingly neglect critical capabilities. More than a few elected officials have spoken at length about this and called for increased accountability from the Pentagon. Those numbers also don't even begin to cover the thousands of veterans who died this year waiting for care from the VA.

As voters I think it's worth remembering this, since the politicians we support directly impact these things.

edited 28th May '18 11:24:25 AM by archonspeaks

They should have sent a poet.
FluffyMcChicken My Hair Provides Affordable Healthcare from where the floating lights gleam Since: Jun, 2014 Relationship Status: In another castle
My Hair Provides Affordable Healthcare
#243735: May 28th 2018 at 11:24:41 AM

I think he's trying to point out that this is a far cry for the days of the Vietnam War, where hundreds of US soldiers were being killed every week.

If anything, it points to how the US nowadays isn't really involved directly in any high-tempo conflicts against enemy forces equipped and trained to the degree of peer countries. Sure, we've got ISIS, but allied forces are doing the lion's share of the fighting on the ground while the Taliban in Afghanistan haven't made any overt offensives on US troops instead of Afghan government ones.

MrAHR Ahr river from ಠ_ಠ Since: Oct, 2010 Relationship Status: A cockroach, nothing can kill it.
Ahr river
#243736: May 28th 2018 at 1:05:46 PM

It also means things could be so much worse, and lets hope we can keep it far away from that.

Read my stories!
megaeliz Since: Mar, 2017
#243737: May 28th 2018 at 1:17:13 PM

So apparently, Kush spent 7 hours interviewing with Mueller in April.

That's a long time, and I can't imagine the FBI would let him get away with the same non-answers that he gave to congress, especially since Mueller has been more than willing to press charges for lying. I wonder if he could have flipped. We already know he's tied up in a lot of shady business dealings, and if Mueller passed them off to the SDNY's office and than confronted him with them and/or lying to the Special Cousel/FBI, it might have been enough to make him flip.

Don't take this to seriously, since this is just idol speculation on my part, based on what they've done before, but I thought it was at least worth mentioning.

edited 28th May '18 9:38:55 PM by megaeliz

SciFiSlasher from Absolutely none of your business. Since: Dec, 2011 Relationship Status: YOU'RE TEARING ME APART LISA
#243738: May 28th 2018 at 2:13:58 PM

Coconut Creek, Florida cop facing discipline over Facebook post aimed at Parkland's David Hogg.

Coconut Creek police K-9 officer Brian Valenti is in hot water after posting an offensive comment on Facebook related to Friday’s “die-in” protest at Publix, saying he hoped “some old lady loses control of her car in that lot.”

...

A story and photo of the protest appeared on a Coral Springs/Parkland page on Facebook.

Posts started coming in attacking Hogg, including one from Valenti, which read: “Hope some old lady loses control of her car in that lot. Jus saying…..”.

Since I found this story on Yahoo, I'll post some of the comments from that one so you can all suffer with me (and, y'know, see how crazy these people really are...).

Frankly, I agree with the cop.

I think the officer should get an award

ust like Obama did more to boost gun sales in America, these misguided teens and especially Hogg, are doing more for the increased membership in the NRA than they are in thwarting "gun violence". MY guns have NEVER been violent and I attribute that to the EDUCATIONAL signs that are posted on my property. People tend NOT to commit violence when they know it will be reciprocated.

don't see anything wrong with the officer comment.

Gun violence? How 'bout Prozac violence...Way too much credence is given to gun control as a solution. The bigger problem is the vast amount of children labeled with some type of disorder and then given powerful psychotropic drugs (SSRI's) to combat those disorders. Guns have always been available and will continue to be available far into the future as there are so many even if banned outright. Finding a different solution to drugging our children for an attention disorder ought to be top on the list. Most, if not all, of the mass shooters have been on doctor prescribed meds of one type or another. The school system is way too quick to put unruly kids on drugs rather than try other methods like changes in diet or god forbid...discipline. The first question they should be asking (but never do) is what prescribed meds is he on.

"Somehow the hated have to walk a tightrope, while those who hate do not."
Wyldchyld (Old as dirt)
#243739: May 28th 2018 at 2:18:26 PM

[up][up]I really hope you're not idol speculating. I'm not sure I'd be as willing to admit Kush is my hero. [lol]

edited 28th May '18 2:20:01 PM by Wyldchyld

If my post doesn't mention a giant flying sperm whale with oversized teeth and lionfish fins for flippers, it just isn't worth reading.
M84 Oh, bother. from Our little blue planet Since: Jun, 2010 Relationship Status: Chocolate!
Oh, bother.
#243740: May 28th 2018 at 2:21:32 PM

[up][up]This is why I don't read comments sections. This shit is par for the course.

Disgusted, but not surprised
NickTheSwing Since: Aug, 2009
#243741: May 28th 2018 at 3:59:23 PM

The only Kush I'd ever look up to would be the Princeling's dad - Charles Kushner, the American Littlefinger. That is a ruthlessness I have to admire - this is a man who, upon being offended by his brother-in-law, immediately had a prostitute seduce him and put it on tape to send to his sister.

How in the world did we get the dopey Jared from a Diabolical Mastermind like that?

sgamer82 Since: Jan, 2001
#243742: May 28th 2018 at 4:03:08 PM

The same way we got Cersei from Tywin Lannister?

TheWildWestPyro from Seattle, WA Since: Sep, 2012 Relationship Status: Healthy, deeply-felt respect for this here Shotgun
#243743: May 28th 2018 at 4:06:42 PM

243652 and 243654: And the fallen are from special forces should really be noted. Again, these are the best of the best the country sends.

75 is a worrying casualty rate for special forces, especially modern ones nowadays.

So I know it wasn't your intention, but that number definitely is a thing to be concerned about.

For me, it's a lower priority compared to the education budget in the US, but one way or another, the military does need a bit of an increase in spending.

Plus, the average troper here, unless they're interested, is like the public - they don't follow military news and therefore know little about the actual situation.

edited 28th May '18 4:08:07 PM by TheWildWestPyro

archonspeaks Since: Jun, 2013
#243744: May 28th 2018 at 4:12:08 PM

[up] 75 is general noncombat deaths, which includes things like helicopter and plane crashes. It's still worryingly high, though. I believe it's up almost 50% over previous years. Combat deaths were fairly low this year, though like I said special forces (which form only a very small part of the military) accounted for the majority of the deaths there.

edited 28th May '18 4:13:58 PM by archonspeaks

They should have sent a poet.
TheWildWestPyro from Seattle, WA Since: Sep, 2012 Relationship Status: Healthy, deeply-felt respect for this here Shotgun
#243745: May 28th 2018 at 4:13:22 PM

[up]

Notably, the USAAF has suffered a concerning amount of crashes in the past year.

LeGarcon Blowout soon fellow Stalker from Skadovsk Since: Aug, 2013 Relationship Status: Gay for Big Boss
Blowout soon fellow Stalker
#243746: May 28th 2018 at 4:14:08 PM

Our aircraft fleet is too old. We need to seriously start wrapping up work on the F-35 and start replacing planes.

Oh really when?
TheWildWestPyro from Seattle, WA Since: Sep, 2012 Relationship Status: Healthy, deeply-felt respect for this here Shotgun
#243747: May 28th 2018 at 4:16:52 PM

Unrelated, and perhaps a little off topic, but David Hogg can rock a fine suit. Seriously. Combined with his hair, he looked great at that rally. Hope he keeps that look.

archonspeaks Since: Jun, 2013
#243748: May 28th 2018 at 4:25:44 PM

[up][up] Not only that but it’s estimated that a significant portion of the fleet is behind on maintenance in one way or another.

It’s really endemic of a military-wide issue which is that operational tempos and requirements are being increased at the same time as funding and man hours decrease.

The story surrounding the procurement of more Abrams tanks is particularly wild and fairly revealing as to the state of things. A general went before Congress and all but begged them to stop ordering more tanks. They didn’t need them, couldn’t crew them, and they needed that money for maintenance and staffing. Congress politely told him that tanks were important for national security, and he would be getting more next year.

Now, that was a few years ago, and things have gotten better since, but it’s emblematic of the spending issues the military faces.

They should have sent a poet.
megaeliz Since: Mar, 2017
#243749: May 28th 2018 at 5:00:00 PM

[up] That's the other part of the Military-Industrial complex, right?

Money tends to be directed at where politicians get the most kickbacks, with no regard for whether it's actually needed or not, which makes it horribly ineffective.

edited 28th May '18 5:01:00 PM by megaeliz

NativeJovian Jupiterian Local from Orlando, FL Since: Mar, 2014 Relationship Status: Maxing my social links
Jupiterian Local
#243750: May 28th 2018 at 5:21:01 PM

[up][up]Yup. The military needs way more funding for manpower, maintenance, and training, but those are supremely un-sexy so they get shafted. Which is literally killing people. Most aircraft accidents in recent years have been maintenance issues, and the string of ships colliding at sea has largely been issues of training. Here's a pretty typical example — the USS John S. McCain, a destroyer, collided with a tanker, resulting in the deaths of ten sailors. The guy in charge of certifying the crew on being able to control the ship had not been trained on the new software system the ship used.

Butler told the judge Thursday that he never took a single course on the new navigation system, and was given just 30 minutes of training on the new tech from a master helmsman before being thrust into using it. And despite his requests for additional tech support and instruction, help never arrived.

He also thought that several sailors transferred in from other parts of the fleet knew how to use the system, not realizing that the McCain was the only ship in the fleet using the new system.

This is purely a training issue. There's no excuse for sending people into situations where they haven't received basic instruction on how to do things like control the ship they're on, and yet it keeps happening.

Really from Jupiter, but not an alien.

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