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Political Discussion Thread (With Rules)


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16 minutes ago, unclevlad said:

If you'll let me switch that to "silent" rather than invisible...that's because Trump alone makes more noise than an entire fighter squadron taking off from a carrier.   

 Fair point.

16 minutes ago, unclevlad said:

But the Mueller investigation is about campaign issues, not Trump's actions as President.  The roots go back to before the nomination. 

True, but doesn't preclude any involvement by the running mate during the campaign time frame. (Still, just idle wishful thinking on my part, admittedly.)

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3 hours ago, Pattern Ghost said:

A thought crossed my mind: Pelosi is incoming Speaker of the House. Putting her in line for the Presidency after Pence.

 

So, has anyone heard of any possible charges against Pence in all of this?

 

I'm not saying I'm hoping for a two-fer, but I'm also not not saying I'm not hoping for a two-fer.

 

I'd be astonished if Pence were entirely innocent after being installed by Manafort, but you never know.

 

That said, once Pelosi becomes Speaker, the odds of a GOP-controlled Senate removing both Trump and Pence will drop to zero or lower.

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Apropos of nothing, I find myself contemplating Zaphod Beeblebrox, the Galactic President from Douglas Adams' Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy.

 

"The job of the Galactic President was not to wield power but to attract attention away from it... the qualities he is required to display are not those of leadership but those of finely judged outrage. For this reason the President is always a controversial choice, always an infuriating but fascinating character."

 

One of the major difficulties Trillian experienced in her relationship with Zaphod was learning to distinguish between him pretending to be stupid just to get people off their guard, pretending to be stupid because he couldn't be bothered to think and wanted someone else to do it for him, pretending to be outrageously stupid to hide the fact that he actually didn't understand what was going on, and really being genuinely stupid. He was renowned for being amazingly clever and quite clearly was so—but not all the time, which obviously worried him, hence the act. He preferred people to be puzzled rather than contemptuous.

 

Out of curiosity, was Douglas Adams descended from Nostradamus?

 

 

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On 12/21/2018 at 6:33 AM, BoloOfEarth said:

Apropos of nothing, I find myself contemplating Zaphod Beeblebrox, the Galactic President from Douglas Adams' Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy.

 

I have had this same thought so, so many times.

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8 hours ago, Starlord said:

You do know you're talking about the same people who consistently vote to give themselves pay raises, right?  :)

 

Not since the 27th amendment was passed they haven't.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Twenty-seventh_Amendment_to_the_United_States_Constitution

 

"No law, varying the compensation for the services of the Senators and Representatives, shall take effect, until an election of Representatives shall have intervened" 

 

They can't change their own pay - they can change the pay of the NEXT congress (which they presumably hope to be elected to, admittedly.)

 

 

13 hours ago, Dr. MID-Nite said:

If the government shuts down...then none of our politicians should be paid. For that matter, they should suffer the same fate I would if I suddenly decided I wasn't going to do my job: I'd be fired.

 

12 hours ago, Sociotard said:

Amusingly, that would be unconstitutional. 

 

Exactly. Clever of them to ratify an amendment that keeps them from raising their pay and ALSO gives them an excuse for not lowering or forfeiting their own pay either.

 

Lucius Alexander

 

"No law, forbidding a palindromedary to be in a tagline, shall take effect, ever, period."

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I think it's a lot more complicated than that. There are stark differences in access, influence, and ability to inform government as you move from local to state to federal. The further from the people you get, the less of all of those there is.

 

It's unfortunate, but I see significant evidence of democratic process locally. A bit at the State level. And very little direct influence nationally. I'm not sure if that's a bug or a feature, but I don't like it.

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It's just Trump responding to all the criticism that he hasn't visited American troops overseas before now, unlike his predecessors; and has blown off military-themed events other Presidents make a point to attend.

 

What amuses me is that amateur POTUS-watchers were tipped off that a trip of that magnitude was in the offing, when Trump's tweetstorms ceased for hours just beforehand. :rolleyes:

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