U.S. Politics

[il_serpente]

I would also add that George Lopez, who was interviewing him, was on screen and then dropped off immediately before the clip.  The clip was deliberately edited to start after he dropped out of view so people wouldn't assume Biden was referring to him.

[villakram]

Meanwhile, loads of rioting in Philly last night for the second night in a row after the police killed another african american man, while at the same time Joe is in all sorts of mis-spoke mode including an emergency visit to Penn on Monday after his fracking comments during the last debate. I wonder what this will do to those remaining to cast their vote in Pennsylvania.

Minor narrowing of the polls in MI, with Trump visiting once again yesterday, Biden still heavily favored. 

 

[TheAuthority]

13 minutes ago, villakram said:

Meanwhile, loads of rioting in Philly last night for the second night in a row after the police killed another african american man, while at the same time Joe is in all sorts of mis-spoke mode including an emergency visit to Penn on Monday after his fracking comments during the last debate. I wonder what this will do to those remaining to cast their vote in Pennsylvania.

Minor narrowing of the polls in MI, with Trump visiting once again yesterday, Biden still heavily favored. 

 

It's a little more nuanced than that though in the recent climate.

The man was having a mental health breakdown. His family were there trying to help him, and they called an ambulance. Tragically Philly PD got there first and somehow he ended up dead despite the family's presence and trying to explain to the officers what was happening.

His father today was on media outlets pleading that people stop rioting. He said he worked as a street cleaner for the City for decades so please don't destroy the streets.

The "Defund the Police" movement is about reallocating funds so that trained mental health professionals or social workers can be available on call for situations such as this. You would think that the police force would rather not deal with these type of situations too.

Of course though, it's become completely politicized by both sides. So getting to the truth of what policy would look like or any kind of compromise is nigh on impossible.

On another note VK, I see that you capitalized Philly, Joe, Penn, Monday, Pennsylvania, Trump & Biden. However you failed to capitalize African American. Is that a mistake?

[Brumerican]

23 hours ago, villakram said:

Well, how about responding to Trump with actual policies after his election.

Instead we got the Russia nonsense ...

 

The Russian bounty scandal was confirmed by US Intelligence and still hasn't been addressed by Trump.

Oh and Trump is still owned by Putin due to various degrees of Kompromat .

Which bits are nonsense ?

 

[villakram]

3 hours ago, TheAuthority said:

It's a little more nuanced than that though in the recent climate.

The man was having a mental health breakdown. His family were there trying to help him, and they called an ambulance. Tragically Philly PD got there first and somehow he ended up dead despite the family's presence and trying to explain to the officers what was happening.

His father today was on media outlets pleading that people stop rioting. He said he worked as a street cleaner for the City for decades so please don't destroy the streets.

The "Defund the Police" movement is about reallocating funds so that trained mental health professionals or social workers can be available on call for situations such as this. You would think that the police force would rather not deal with these type of situations too.

Of course though, it's become completely politicized by both sides. So getting to the truth of what policy would look like or any kind of compromise is nigh on impossible.

On another note VK, I see that you capitalized Philly, Joe, Penn, Monday, Pennsylvania, Trump & Biden. However you failed to capitalize African American. Is that a mistake?

Straight up oversight, come on.

However, I don't like it to be honest. They are Americans and I just don't understand the fascination with calling people by the "color" of their skin, so I prefer that term, even though the vast majority of these people are much more American that the average White or Caucasian as they should be called. See, I capitalized the color just there and it reads awful imho, and just stinks of that type of dog whistle talk.

btw, I find it interesting how you left out the detail that this individual approached the police with a knife. I used approach because the police are straight up unreliable in these situations, but I've seen it described with more action elsewhere. The police are out saying that they used force as they didn't have tasers due to budget cuts from the D mayor. Politics, yet again.

 

[NurembergVillan]

7 hours ago, Stevo985 said:

Trump didn't invent the term "fake news" as much as he'd like you to believe he did.

What about "Fake Trending"?

 

[TheAuthority]

1 hour ago, villakram said:

Straight up oversight, come on.

However, I don't like it to be honest. They are Americans and I just don't understand the fascination with calling people by the "color" of their skin, so I prefer that term, even though the vast majority of these people are much more American that the average White or Caucasian as they should be called. See, I capitalized the color just there and it reads awful imho, and just stinks of that type of dog whistle talk.

 

 

I think it's because African American's are not in the US by choice. Their ancestors were bought here against their will as slaves. Part of the slow reckoning of that truth started with using the term "African American" to make that distinction (I think sometime in the 80's.) No White or Caucasian's were shipped to America as slaves. So even if it doesn't "read well" I think it shows respect to the thought process behind the term to capitalize the title.

Quote

btw, I find it interesting how you left out the detail that this individual approached the police with a knife. I used approach because the police are straight up unreliable in these situations, but I've seen it described with more action elsewhere. The police are out saying that they used force as they didn't have tasers due to budget cuts from the D mayor. Politics, yet again.

I agree. The police are also yet to release any body-am footage which usually means it's pretty damning. Unless they 'malfunctioned' of course...

[Vancvillan]

9 hours ago, villakram said:

It is not binary. There are 2 other individuals, a spoilt vote, a write in and refusing to vote as options.

Healthcare/education/taxation will all remain essentially unchanged. Lot's of branding and re-branding will occur however.

And yet you still fail to give any suggested solution. You're sounding like that person who sits in a meeting complaining about everything but with no thoughts towards resolving the problem.

It is binary - anything other than a vote for Trump or Biden will not get someone other than those two in office. That being the hand that we're playing with - what are you going to do with it?

 

[sne]

5 hours ago, Vancvillan said:

And yet you still fail to give any suggested solution. You're sounding like that person who sits in a meeting complaining about everything but with no thoughts towards resolving the problem.

It is binary - anything other than a vote for Trump or Biden will not get someone other than those two in office. That being the hand that we're playing with - what are you going to do with it?

 

[TheAuthority]

10 minutes ago, sne said:

Saw him on my ballot today. Just thought FFS.

[sne]

18 minutes ago, TheAuthority said:

Saw him on my ballot today. Just thought FFS.

These famous people with too much money, time and influence are dangerous (Trump obviously the extreme) and if they can reach this far in the process for presidential election they really should come under much heavier scrutiny and criticism. Here is a mentally ill person with with hundreds of millions of "followers" who is married to a member of the arguably most influential (and repulsive) family in the world who in turn has access to hundreds of millions of followers. You used to be able to laugh at these people and their wacky projects but with the social media cults it's really not fun anymore.

 

 

 

[Genie]

14 minutes ago, sne said:

These famous people with too much money, time and influence are dangerous (Trump obviously the extreme) and if they can reach this far in the process for presidential election they really should come under much heavier scrutiny and criticism. Here is a mentally ill person with with hundreds of millions of "followers" who is married to a member of the arguably most influential (and repulsive) family in the world who in turn has access to hundreds of millions of followers. You used to be able to laugh at these people and their wacky projects but with the social media cults it's really not fun anymore.

 

 

 

It’s very dangerous. For any other kind of job where there’s enough responsibility to cause a lot of damage you need minimum qualifications to get an interview. 
Kanye still on the ballot despite being mentally ill and having no experience what so ever of politics.

[LondonLax]

1 hour ago, Genie said:

It’s very dangerous. For any other kind of job where there’s enough responsibility to cause a lot of damage you need minimum qualifications to get an interview. 
Kanye still on the ballot despite being mentally ill and having no experience what so ever of politics.

There is a months long interview process in front of an interview panel of some 350m people. 

There should be regulations around making sure voting is free and fair but there should not be regulations (from some controlling power?) on who is allowed to stand. That is what the Chinese government is implementing in Hong Kong, leading to the ‘umbrella protests’. 

[snowychap]

On 27/10/2020 at 18:58, Vancvillan said:

4. The Patriot Act

Excellent post but I would just disagree slightly with the idea that this was 'of a time'. It may have been a particular response to a specific event but it isn't and wasn't 'of a time' - aren't pretty much all of the provisions (with a few exceptions) still law having been extended over time beyond the original sunset clauses under Bush Jr and then Obama and now Trump (and likely under whoever is the next Pres)?

It is part of a progression of changes in law and order/response to 'terrorism' that has occurred over in the US and the UK and is still occurring. It was criticised at the time (maybe not properly and enough in legislatures or in the most popular and populist forums) and not just three years after the event in a Michael Moore film.

Your knowledge of the intricacies and nuances of the Act itself is obviously greater than mine so I'll accept fully that there are probablly worthy and useful provisions within it but the point is the tone of the legislation, its part in a widening of state power, how it (along with legislation elsewhere in the west) has given ready-made excuses to other nations like Russia, China, Syria, &c., and the fact that it's proved to be a legislative base rather than an extreme from which the US has pulled back in the years after.

I agree with you that it's not particularly a stick with which to beat Biden (over and above beating anyone else who was a politician at the time or even a public figure who may have supported it) though the circumstances in which it was brought in and has since been extended could be rightly viewed as a reason to highlight a doubt in support of Biden as President (much like it was and should have been acceptable to point out the flaws in Obama and the public's reading of his campaigns without that being viewed as saying that he was the wrong pick).

[snowychap]

On 27/10/2020 at 20:22, villakram said:

The emperor will once again have wonderful new clothes, no more.

It would surely just be a step up not to have a naked emperor who wants to dickslap everyone?

[sne]

1 hour ago, LondonLax said:

There is a months long interview process in front of an interview panel of some 350m people. 

There should be regulations around making sure voting is free and fair but there should not be regulations (from some controlling power?) on who is allowed to stand. That is what the Chinese government is implementing in Hong Kong, leading to the ‘umbrella protests’. 

I'm comfortable with having a system where you can't run for the highest office straight away just because you have money and I don't think it makes it like China. If Kanye, Trump or Mr Garrison want's to get into politics and change things then they should have to go the long way and work their way up. I get that this retarded 2 party system makes it a hassle but tough cookie.

It can't just be a straight up popularity contest where any random famous person with money can come in and be president. Can't speak for anyone else but if Trump or Kanye (or MR Garrison) where running for mayor of NYC, the council in Calabasas or pope I'd be fine with it. 

[NurembergVillan]

1 hour ago, snowychap said:

It would surely just be a step up not to have a naked emperor who wants to dickslap everyone?

[HanoiVillan]

Got a feeling this lad would be an absolute centrist melt if he ever took office, but fair play this is some devastating shit:

'Perhaps you would have been able to respond properly to the covid-19 pandemic  . . . if you hadn't been fending off multiple investigations into insider trading'

 

[limpid]

4 hours ago, LondonLax said:

There should be regulations around making sure voting is free and fair but there should not be regulations (from some controlling power?) on who is allowed to stand. That is what the Chinese government is implementing in Hong Kong, leading to the ‘umbrella protests’. 

There are already restrictions on who can stand as president. A candidate must be a natural citizen, be over 35 with 14 years residency. There is already a "controlling power"; it's called the judicial branch.

[villakram]

13 hours ago, Vancvillan said:

And yet you still fail to give any suggested solution. You're sounding like that person who sits in a meeting complaining about everything but with no thoughts towards resolving the problem.

It is binary - anything other than a vote for Trump or Biden will not get someone other than those two in office. That being the hand that we're playing with - what are you going to do with it?

 

Define the problem first.

Neo-liberalism. Biden is a neo-liberal exemplar. The democratic and republican parties ascribe to this economic orthodoxy.

You and others believe that voting out Trump would solve the problem. It may well solve a problem that you have or perceive, but it does not solve the important/defining problem of our time or even attempt to. We will be in 2024 at the end of this incoming presidency. Sixteen years after the 2008 financial disaster than undermined the fundamental tenets of the neo-liberal economic model. Yet no effort of reform will have occurred.

Factually, the neo-liberal model has been doubled down on by the entire political establishment, the inequality walking around us being the defining characteristic of this obscene nonsense.