megaplayboy 1,642 Posted October 30, 2018 Report Share Posted October 30, 2018 35 minutes ago, Sociotard said: No one ever thinks they are the lesser offender. See Trump's kid tweeting " maybe we aughta play by their rules" It's not actually that difficult to objectively determine who is, frankly. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
unclevlad 691 Posted October 30, 2018 Report Share Posted October 30, 2018 I agree with Lord Liaden. The degree of violence by each side is much less important than the fact that both sides of the spectrum appear to be doing it. The other aspect is, I believe things are escalating, in terms of both frequency and intensity. Racially motivated bombings...an unfortunate, long history. Pulse and the attack in Pittsburgh iarerooted in, if you will, routine (extreme) bigotry. Random sociopathy...Las Vegas, Unabomber, etc.... But political? I don't recall for sure, but the shooting at the Congressional baseball practice wasn't partisan, was it? General disgust with Congress, I think. And it's naive to deny the possibility that the overall increasingly inflammatory, partisan rhetoric is disconnected. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
megaplayboy 1,642 Posted October 30, 2018 Report Share Posted October 30, 2018 My point is that, instead of saying "both sides do it " and having little net effect on civil discourse, it's better to make clear distinctions where such distinctions exist, in order to "name and shame" offenders into either shaping up, or shipping out, via electoral defeat. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Lord Liaden 6,839 Posted October 30, 2018 Report Share Posted October 30, 2018 No argument in principle, mega. Unfortunately, at this point in the political divide in the States, any naming and shaming will not come from a group nominally including the person named, but from another group opposed to at least some features of the first group. That naming and shaming will immediately be held up by the first group as biased unfair treatment, to be either ignored or responded to with attacks of their own. If there is still a moderate majority in America, it's being drowned out by the rhetoric of the more extreme factions, so its ability to shame offenders is muted. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Starlord 4,843 Posted October 30, 2018 Report Share Posted October 30, 2018 We had someone take BB shots here at the county Republican political offices a few years ago and threw bricks into their offices injuring 2 people a few years before that. Then someone backed into the local democrat offices here in town and dumped an entire pickup bed full of manure just 2 years ago. Some of this stuff has always gone on.... Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Cygnia 13,899 Posted October 30, 2018 Report Share Posted October 30, 2018 Twilight, Pariah, Iuz the Evil and 10 others 4 7 2 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
DShomshak 1,668 Posted October 30, 2018 Report Share Posted October 30, 2018 On 10/27/2018 at 12:19 AM, Lord Liaden said: Question from your neighbor in the Great White North: I've seen some Republican campaign ads on television lately telling voters that if the Democrats take control of Congress, everything you value in life will be destroyed (not quite in so many words, but not far off). Oddly, I haven't caught any Democratic ads yet (but I don't watch much television). What's the tone of the ones you Americans have seen? Same as Republican, or different? I've only see ads for local races. The big one is to replace a retiring Republican representative; it's pulling in a lot of outside money becaue the seat is competitive for the first time, well, ever. The attack ads accuse the R candidate, Dino Rossi, of being a career politician (true; he's been at this for decades) who hurts the poor and helps the rich; and accuse the D candidate, first-timer Kim Schrier, of wanting to raise taxes sky-high. So, same-old same-old. Another D running for state rep is accused of being "too radical," with mailers citing various anti-Trump statements she's made, but it still seems fairly mild to me. Perhaps the most interesting local race involves incumbent Republican state rep Michelle Caldier. Her D opponent, another first-timer, has barely run at all: All I've seen is her stement in the voter's guide that she Cares A Lot. Caldier also faced a primary challenge from a perennial local candidate, Randy Boss, who got his start campaigning against tolls on a new bridge and since then has run for something, anything, every cycle. Caldier managed to offend some local Republicans by working with state Democrats to pass practical legislation instead of fighting scorched-earth anti-tax crusades or culture wars, and Boss ran (in part) on this. His campaign also produced a big fat lie about her financial impropriety, which would have been slanderous except the state Supreme Court ruled a while back that in political campaigns, big fat lies are permitted speech. So, I'm voting for Caldier despite the straight D ticket I'm voting otherwise. When your own side attacks you for doing your job well, that's a pretty good recommendation. Dean Shomshak Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Old Man 11,254 Posted October 30, 2018 Report Share Posted October 30, 2018 stochastic terrorism [stuh-kas-tik ter-uh-riz-uh m] -noun- the public demonization of a person or group resulting in the incitement of a violent act, which is statistically probable but whose specifics cannot be predicted: "The lone-wolf attack was apparently influenced by the rhetoric of stochastic terrorism." Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Sociotard 1,332 Posted October 30, 2018 Report Share Posted October 30, 2018 Vox has an article interviewing some legal experts vis a vis Trumps announcement that he will end Birthright Citizenship. https://www.vox.com/2018/10/30/18042638/trump-birthright-citizenship-14th-amendment-legal-experts TLDR, it will most likely go nowhere. If anything, he will appeal to the "jurisdiction" clause. Normally, that just means that Diplomats can't say their kids have citizenship, or if Russia invaded, the occupiers couldn't say their kids were citizens. So, Trump might try to keep up with his "invaders" rhetoric to say that some impoverished migrants count. Even though they are clearly under US jurisdiction, in that even an undocumented immigrant working illegally can be arrested and prosecuted. There's a reason the bad guy in Lethal Weapon 2 didn't just sneak across the border and claim no one had jurisdiction over him. Quote 14th Amendment All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside. EDIT: FWIW, the relevant supreme court case here is United States v. Wong Kim Ark. Think about how racist the country was in 1898. If the court of 1898 couldn't be persuaded a Chinaman was not a citizen, it won't work today. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Old Man 11,254 Posted October 30, 2018 Report Share Posted October 30, 2018 You may be underestimating this new Kavanaugh court, but I do hope you're correct. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Sociotard 1,332 Posted October 30, 2018 Report Share Posted October 30, 2018 Huh. Graham is set to introduce legislation to end birthright citizenship too. https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/graham-to-introduce-legislation-to-end-birthright-citizenship/ar-BBP6UUh Quote Link to post Share on other sites
archer 1,734 Posted October 31, 2018 Report Share Posted October 31, 2018 NYTimes runs an expose' on Beto O'Rouke detailing his political dealings to help his billionaire father-in-law's real estate deals. Some Democrats apparently aren't exactly happy at the Times. https://www.dailywire.com/news/37777/yikes-leftists-lose-their-minds-bash-new-york-emily-zanotti https://www.nytimes.com/2018/10/29/us/politics/beto-orourke-el-paso-texas-senate.html TrickstaPriest 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
st barbara 137 Posted October 31, 2018 Report Share Posted October 31, 2018 On 10/27/2018 at 8:20 AM, archer said: I don't trust that Trump can remember anything which any advisors try to tell him long enough to relay it to someone else over the phone. But I also don't trust that Trump understands, at all, the difference between information which should be kept secret vs things which you can say in public. Having to listen to Bannon is punishment enough without being expected to pay for the "privilege". Quote Link to post Share on other sites
archer 1,734 Posted October 31, 2018 Report Share Posted October 31, 2018 3 minutes ago, st barbara said: Having to listen to Bannon is punishment enough without being expected to pay for the "privilege". Too true. I'm a political junkie so I'd go to a free dinner to hear any political figure, even Bannon. But I could only think of maybe two people who I'd pay $10 to hear at a dinner and no one alive that I'd pay $20 to hear. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
archer 1,734 Posted October 31, 2018 Report Share Posted October 31, 2018 2 hours ago, Sociotard said: Vox has an article interviewing some legal experts vis a vis Trumps announcement that he will end Birthright Citizenship. https://www.vox.com/2018/10/30/18042638/trump-birthright-citizenship-14th-amendment-legal-experts TLDR, it will most likely go nowhere. If anything, he will appeal to the "jurisdiction" clause. Normally, that just means that Diplomats can't say their kids have citizenship, or if Russia invaded, the occupiers couldn't say their kids were citizens. So, Trump might try to keep up with his "invaders" rhetoric to say that some impoverished migrants count. Even though they are clearly under US jurisdiction, in that even an undocumented immigrant working illegally can be arrested and prosecuted. There's a reason the bad guy in Lethal Weapon 2 didn't just sneak across the border and claim no one had jurisdiction over him. EDIT: FWIW, the relevant supreme court case here is United States v. Wong Kim Ark. Think about how racist the country was in 1898. If the court of 1898 couldn't be persuaded a Chinaman was not a citizen, it won't work today. An appeal to the jurisdiction clause by the administration is completely useless in my opinion. We have illegal aliens in jail right now because they've committed crimes inside the US and have gone through our judicial system to be tried and sentenced. If we have no jurisdiction over them, there would have been no basis for our courts to have heard those cases at all. We have laws to keep non-citizens out of the country. If we have no jurisdiction, those laws couldn't exist. If we had no jurisdiction over them, how could we have laws which would allow us to change their status and naturalize them? If illegal aliens stuffed the ballot boxes during the mid-term election, we would have no way to stop them (legally) if we have no jurisdiction over them. If the Court was to rule that the US has no jurisdiction, it would throw out dozens of laws and create tens of thousands of successful lawsuits for false imprisonment of every illegal alien who has ever been detained or imprisoned. The whole thing is mind-bogglingly stupid. Even if the majority of the court were to want to go along with the administration, there's no way that they could interpret the decision narrowly enough to let the administration have its way without completely tearing apart our ability to police our borders and people who choose to come into this country. Everyone visiting the US from abroad would in essence have diplomatic immunity plus have the ability to not be PNG'ed. DShomshak 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Sociotard 1,332 Posted October 31, 2018 Report Share Posted October 31, 2018 I wonder if he would try treating undocumented persons who commit crimes as combatants and put them in POW camps. In keeping with his invader rhetoric Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Old Man 11,254 Posted October 31, 2018 Report Share Posted October 31, 2018 He puts undocumented toddlers who haven't committed crimes in internment camps. Adult undocumented criminals is a no-brainer. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
unclevlad 691 Posted October 31, 2018 Report Share Posted October 31, 2018 Well, this is a lawyer advancing a stand to serve his client's interest, and it probably won't work...but I do believe there's some truth to it. Not enough to mitigate any sentence, but..... https://www.cnn.com/2018/10/30/us/bomb-plot-kansas-conviction-trump-rhetoric-trnd/index.html Quote Link to post Share on other sites
archer 1,734 Posted October 31, 2018 Report Share Posted October 31, 2018 5 hours ago, unclevlad said: Well, this is a lawyer advancing a stand to serve his client's interest, and it probably won't work...but I do believe there's some truth to it. Not enough to mitigate any sentence, but..... https://www.cnn.com/2018/10/30/us/bomb-plot-kansas-conviction-trump-rhetoric-trnd/index.html There's a heck of a lot of things with some truth to it but which should not mitigate a sentence. Trump has also bad-mouthed Mexicans, journalists, pollsters, Democrats, and many Republicans. No one should ever get a reduced sentence for committing a violent crime against a person or group because Trump has been running on at the mouth defaming that person or group. TrickstaPriest 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Sociotard 1,332 Posted November 1, 2018 Report Share Posted November 1, 2018 Michael Anton (Donald Trump's former Deputy National Security Adviser) posted a couple of opinions giving the legal argument for ending Jus Soli. It was interesting, and referred to the actual Senate debates over the 14th amendment to get at what they meant with the Jurisdiction clause. Linked here for those who like seeing what the other side believes. https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/citizenship-shouldnt-be-a-birthright/2018/07/18/7d0e2998-8912-11e8-85ae-511bc1146b0b_story.html https://www.claremont.org/crb/basicpage/birthright-citizenship-a-response-to-my-critics/ And a rebuttal https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2018/10/31/18047896/trump-supreme-court-birthright-citizenship Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Starlord 4,843 Posted November 1, 2018 Report Share Posted November 1, 2018 Conservative activists allegedly involved in plot to get women to lie about being sexually harassed by Robert Mueller 'Surefire Intelligence'. That name sounds like something from an 80s action movie...or a Champions campaign. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Sociotard 1,332 Posted November 1, 2018 Report Share Posted November 1, 2018 Sarah Sanders was asked if Trump might suspend Habeas Corpus to arrest the migrant caravan. She did not denounce it, saying only that the administration was looking at multiple options. Possibility 1) The White House is not considering that, but the question caught Sanders off guard. She then gave a standard non-answer. Possibility 2) They are totally considering that. I'm leaning to 1, myself. Anyone want to take a $5 bet-to-charity? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
BoloOfEarth 3,166 Posted November 1, 2018 Report Share Posted November 1, 2018 I'm guessing #1 myself, though God only knows what might be rolling around in Trump's skull at any given moment. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Old Man 11,254 Posted November 1, 2018 Report Share Posted November 1, 2018 I'm leaning 2). They already skip over the arrest bit to kidnap small children and put them in camps. They're spending hundreds of millions of dollars to mobilize the military to fend off a few thousand unarmed migrants on foot (who, again, are largely kids). To try to predict what this administration will do in any given situation, I think of the ugliest, most evil possible option, and then think of something more evil than that. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Ternaugh 2,265 Posted November 1, 2018 Report Share Posted November 1, 2018 5 hours ago, BoloOfEarth said: I'm guessing #1 myself, though God only knows what might be rolling around in Trump's skull at any given moment. I'm picturing a Magic 8-Ball die with a little viewing window under the hair flap. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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