Political Discussion Thread (With Rules)

[Ragitsu]

http://www.mediaite.com/online/clinton-uses-noise-machine-to-keep-journalists-from-hearing-speech/

[csyphrett]

Several places are reporting that Cruz's legitimacy as a candidate is up in front of the Supreme Court. Won't they rule him a citizen and be done with it?

CES 

[Old Man]

Do you have a cite?  Cruz' citizenship status is way more complicated than Obama's, but I hadn't heard that it had actually been taken up by a court.

[BoloOfEarth]

Not the US Supreme Court (that I can find), but a state supreme court:  http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/wireStory/cruz-wins-citizenship-case-pennsylvania-supreme-court-38059265

[csyphrett]

USA Today had a thing on the front page but it's not on their online service.  The only thing I could find was case was struck down because man didn't serve papers on Cruz or the board of elections in Illinois That was last month, but three other states were looking at it.

 

All I saw was a big picture in the middle of the front page with a blurb. I didn't see a page number for the resulting story.

 

I might be able to get a copy on Monday to make sure depending if the stores sold out or not.

CES   

[csyphrett]

Not the US Supreme Court (that I can find), but a state supreme court:  http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/wireStory/cruz-wins-citizenship-case-pennsylvania-supreme-court-38059265

Maybe this is what I saw. I'll know better on monday when I pick up the old journals/USA Todays for Jerry.

CES 

[Lectryk]

http://lawnewz.com/uncategorized/u-s-supreme-court-will-get-a-look-at-case-about-ted-cruzs-eligibility-to-be-president/

 

And, from the article:

http://www.supremecourt.gov/Search.aspx?FileName=/docketfiles%5C15-1243.htm

[csyphrett]

So maybe I'm not crazy?

CES

[Ranxerox]

So maybe I'm not crazy?

CES

 

I'm pretty sure that nobody here said that.

[csyphrett]

let's put the crazy to the test.

Bruce Springsteen canceled his concert in Greensboro over HB2. The projected financial impact is 100,000 dollars plus because they don't really know how much business is going to be hurt but the minimum is the 100,000 around the Coliseum. Near the end of the story a quote by Dallas Woodhouse, the chairman of the NC Republican party in the state had this to say

 

“This is bizarre,” Dallas Woodhouse, the state party’s executive director, said in a statement.

“The Greensboro Coliseum has men’s restrooms, women’s restrooms and presumably family restrooms. The policy passed by the General Assembly rolled back the radical change in bathroom policy by the Charlotte City Council and maintained the status quo. For years young girls have safely used the restrooms at ACC Tournament games and other events at the Greensboro Coliseum separated from grown men. The legislature and governor simply secured the long-standing common policy of safety and security and privacy.”

is it just me, or did this guy just criminalize 1% of the population because they had a sex change? A bunch of companies are leaving NC over this, other state governments are telling their guys not to come here, people are cancelling the furniture market. What's more important? Interfering in a city's local government's ability to do its job, or losing the economy.

 

And the idiots went back to recess after signing HB2 into law after one day of debate in a special session.

CES       

[TheDarkness]

Safely used the restrooms in a coliseum is not an assertion I would ever comfortably make, especially for women.

 

I'm gonna guess that the percentage of men going through gender reassignment for rape purposes is probably pretty low...

[Michael Hopcroft]

There is considerable objection on the religious right (including some in the leadership of my own church) to the legality of gender reassignment treatment and surgery. In their view gender is a physical arrangement rather than a mental one. If you are physically born with certain plumbing, you're stuck with that gender.

 

One of my oldest and dearest friends came out to me as transgender a few months ago, and has started the reassignment process in her forties. Clearly it was a very difficult decision for her. And hearing the public disapproval or controversy clearly does not help. But it does make me glad she lives in the Portland area as opposed to the American South or even Eastern Oregon. She would have a much harder time there -- not that the time she's having in Portland isn't hard enough.

 

And I personally am struggling how to react to this. I have always viewed her as male as long as I've known her. I am empathetic to her issues, but am unsure what to make of the question of gender identity. Part of me is mentally still in the Modern Stone Age: where men were men, women were women, and animals were household appliances.

[TheDarkness]

There is considerable objection on the religious right (including some in the leadership of my own church) to the legality of gender reassignment treatment and surgery. In their view gender is a physical arrangement rather than a mental one. If you are physically born with certain plumbing, you're stuck with that gender.

 

One of my oldest and dearest friends came out to me as transgender a few months ago, and has started the reassignment process in her forties. Clearly it was a very difficult decision for her. And hearing the public disapproval or controversy clearly does not help. But it does make me glad she lives in the Portland area as opposed to the American South or even Eastern Oregon. She would have a much harder time there -- not that the time she's having in Portland isn't hard enough.

 

And I personally am struggling how to react to this. I have always viewed her as male as long as I've known her. I am empathetic to her issues, but am unsure what to make of the question of gender identity. Part of me is mentally still in the Modern Stone Age: where men were men, women were women, and animals were household appliances.

I think gender as a construct becomes much easier to understand when one examines it across cultures, and realizes how many traits that are tied to gender in one culture are not tied in others. But, of course, we come from whatever culture we come from, so it is definitely not simple to just ignore that influence.

[Cancer]

My daughter is a delegate (and wife is an alternate) to the 2nd-level (1st level is precinct, 2nd is legislative district) Dem caucus here in WA on Sunday (both Sanders people). We got a call from the national Sanders effort a few minutes ago. I get to be the taxi guy.

 

Wife & I did the delegate thing for Paul Tsongas back in 1992, which was enough for me.

[Michael Hopcroft]

Apparently the hot new thing in American politics, especially Internet politics, is to demand that the country chuck the whole system and go back to absolute monarchy and feudalism.

 

Of course, as a somewhat rational person the thought scares me quite a lot, but some pretty significant people have been chiming in on this (like the guy who helped launch Paypal). I feel like I'm in their crosshairs.

[megaplayboy]

Well, it would be a big boost for the long suffering guillotine and tumbrel industry.

[Lord Liaden]

I've noticed that people say a lot of things when they're confident there's no chance of it actually happening.

[Hermit]

I'll support benevolent monarchies only when the Voltaire proviso also applies

[Ternaugh]

Apparently the hot new thing in American politics, especially Internet politics, is to demand that the country chuck the whole system and go back to absolute monarchy and feudalism.

 

Of course, as a somewhat rational person the thought scares me quite a lot, but some pretty significant people have been chiming in on this (like the guy who helped launch Paypal). I feel like I'm in their crosshairs.

 

That reminds me, it's time to watch the original Rollerball again.

[megaplayboy]

I'm not gonna say it's over for Sanders, but the fat lady has gotten her hair and makeup done, costume fitted, and is doing her vocal warmups backstage.

[Old Man]

Yeah, he's done.  He might as well stay in for the last three primaries but it'd take a massive Hillary scandal for him to win, and possibly not even then.

[Ranxerox]

Yes, gravity has reasserted itself.  Sanders needed win New York at the very least and really he needed a big win.  Instead Clinton won big, exceeding her poll numbers of just a couple of weeks prior.  

 

In the April 26th primaries, the polls strongly favor Clinton to win the delegate rich states with Sanders taking the delegate poor states.  When it's done Clinton is likely have her lead back up where it was before Sander's recent string of victories.

[Hermit]

Yes. As a Bernie Supporter I'm very disappointed at the outcome. I've held out hope, but I think we maybe officially in "It would take a miracle" territory. I'm still for him staying in, if it means that win or lose his presence forces Clinton to commit to curbing corporate excess and the like: Whether she'll actually hold to those commitments if she becomes president I don't know, but it will be pressure

[Lord Liaden]

Given the support Sanders will be bringing to the convention regardless of how the rest of the campaign plays out, IMO he's practically certain to receive a major appointment in Clinton's cabinet should she win the Presidency, where he can hopefully continue to raise the issues he cares about.

 

I also read that Trump has taken new people on his campaign team familiar with various campaign strategies and political issues, so he can start to address policy matters more substantively. Seems rather late in the game for that, but better than never.

[Clonus]

Given the support Sanders will be bringing to the convention regardless of how the rest of the campaign plays out, IMO he's practically certain to receive a major appointment in Clinton's cabinet should she win the Presidency, where he can hopefully continue to raise the issues he cares about.

 

I also read that Trump has taken new people on his campaign team familiar with various campaign strategies and political issues, so he can start to address policy matters more substantively. Seems rather late in the game for that, but better than never.

 

Well I'm inclined to think that's all Sanders was ever shooting for in the first place.  As for Trump, he probably never expected to be in a situation where he might be the actual nominee.  Now he has to take things a bit more seriously.