Pattern Ghost Posted February 26, 2019 Report Share Posted February 26, 2019 51 minutes ago, megaplayboy said: Which is fine, I guess, though as has been stated, you will find similar or comparable flaws among most of the major candidates. Harris has issues related to her conduct as a prosecutor and AG. Klobuchar has issues with how she treats her subordinates. Biden...dear lord, where to start? Sanders has an oppo file a foot thick. Booker is tainted by association with Wall Street and charter schools. Tulsi Gabbard has so many issues she arguably is already disqualified. Yeah, isn't it great to have so many choices? It's getting hard to decide who's not as bad as the next candidate. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old Man Posted February 26, 2019 Report Share Posted February 26, 2019 1 hour ago, Dr.Device said: Republican Congressman Matt Gaetz commits felony obstruction of justice Yeah, I saw that. Couldn't happen to a nicer Floridian. He's already been permabanned from Twitter and that is by far the least of his worries today. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DShomshak Posted February 27, 2019 Report Share Posted February 27, 2019 Possibly relevant and of interest: Today, the radio program Marketplace began a three-part series about the Great Recession. Specifically, why did no one go to jail for massive and blatant fraud and other financial malfeasance? You can hear all three parts on the show's website, marketplace.org. Dean Shomshak Pariah and TrickstaPriest 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old Man Posted February 27, 2019 Report Share Posted February 27, 2019 Some highlights from Cohen's leaked statement: Quote 1. He has the personal check Trump used to reimburse him for paying paying hush money in violation of campaign finance laws. ["Stupid Watergate"] 2. He has financial statements from 2011-2013 given to Deutsche Bank for the loans Trump Org was getting. The last legit loans they ever got. They're almost certainly going to be falsified. 3. Repeated communication about Trump Moscow during the entire election while he was repeatedly denying looking for a hotel there. 4. Possible evidence of Trump's personal lawyers suborning perjury to Congress by editing Cohen's statements before they were handed over. 5. To my knowledge, the first official, public document that explicitly says "Individual 1 is Donald Trump". 6. Direct communication with Stone about Wikileaks and the Clinton emails. 7. Trump telling Cohen that Junior is an idiot and never does anything on his own, essentially undermining any claims that Junior did anything on his own. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doc Democracy Posted February 27, 2019 Report Share Posted February 27, 2019 16 hours ago, Old Man said: I have yet to see conclusive evidence that Warren intentionally misrepresented her race for personal gain. As an outsider, where none of the political heat reaches, this looks to me the key aspect. If there is a strong family narrative of native American heritage then she may have a legitimate belief that she had that heritage. Indeed, if you were able to go back through her ancestry in detail, the story might even be true. All that, to my knowledge, been proven is that there is no DNA evidence to substantiate this. It would be entirely possible for both things to be true. I get 50% of my genes from each parent, that is mostly true of everyone. From my mother's mother I could have anything from 0 to 50% of her DNA. I might have randomly picked up every gene that my mother's mother passed to her or I might have randomly picked up every gene that my mother's father passed to her. It is likely that I have a mix but there is no guarantee of such. At every generation, there is the chance for ancestral heritage, even if it is reasonably recent, to vanish from the gene pool and thus from evidence such as DNA tests. People have too much faith in DNA stuff especially those heritage testing things that claim to tell you where your ancestors came from (while slowly compiling their own DNA databases that will be used for enriching someone (but not you) in years to come). Did ticking that box differ from her family stories? Did it advantage her? Did she knowingly tell a lie? These are (to me) the most pertinent questions... Doc Netzilla 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pariah Posted February 27, 2019 Report Share Posted February 27, 2019 Kirschner: Trump ally Matt Gaetz's tweet threatening Michael Cohen sure looked like witness tampering Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pattern Ghost Posted February 28, 2019 Report Share Posted February 28, 2019 CNN has some Cliff's Notes on Cohen's testimony. Pariah 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Starlord Posted February 28, 2019 Report Share Posted February 28, 2019 Canadian PM facing calls to resign Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Starlord Posted February 28, 2019 Report Share Posted February 28, 2019 Israeli PM Netanyahu indicted on bribery and fraud charges Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lord Liaden Posted February 28, 2019 Report Share Posted February 28, 2019 Sometimes it feels like the whole world is in a spiraling nose dive. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old Man Posted February 28, 2019 Report Share Posted February 28, 2019 Spiraling, or straight nose down plunge? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
L. Marcus Posted March 1, 2019 Report Share Posted March 1, 2019 Swan dive, for the style points. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
csyphrett Posted March 1, 2019 Report Share Posted March 1, 2019 Things are getting better but it's like anything. Sometimes you have to lance a boil to let it heal. We're just seeing that on a global scale. CES Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Starlord Posted March 1, 2019 Report Share Posted March 1, 2019 Former Maine governor argues Electoral College is necessary to keep white people in power Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hermit Posted March 1, 2019 Report Share Posted March 1, 2019 10 hours ago, Starlord said: Former Maine governor argues Electoral College is necessary to keep white people in power Forgotten? But I built this 50foot tall statue of a dude with a manbun and a giant apple tablet with a plaque that reads "Look on my works, ye Mighty, and despair!'" I mean, that stuff is FOREVER DShomshak 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hermit Posted March 1, 2019 Report Share Posted March 1, 2019 22 hours ago, Lord Liaden said: Sometimes it feels like the whole world is in a spiraling nose dive. My respected peer from the far north, you have told me that America is resilient, and it is tough and my nation will yet make it through Trump and our other troubles. Even when we were feeling very defeatist. Let me return the favor... Where Britain Prevails And America rises! There's Canada getting things done more quietly. The moose block the traffic of wicked and kind alike, the snow falls on the rich and poor with little concern for economic state... the bags of milk that freak your southern neighbors out (And thus add to the flavor no doubt) continue on. Witty words continue to trickle down onto the modern pen and paper to delight the television masses , crowds cheer a small puck skittering on the ice, and corruption aside, troubles aside, Canadians continue to get the job done. Outnumbered, Outgunned, but rarely outclassed, they wear their humble maple leaf inside their hearts if not always over them. They strive to make their nation a Mosaic , then sigh as Lenny or Pierre go a bit too free form (DAMN IT LENNY! Quebec we understand but we thought we could count on Alberta to behave!) with the art. But they trudge on, the soldier on, they earn their loonies, love their families, and sing Tim Horton's praises even if they don't go there because..well, damnit it, Canada. They'll deal with political scandals, yahoos, and morons in power just like every other democracy, but hold to a quiet optimism that next decade, they won't screw up in the same old ways, it'l lbe brand NEW Screw ups that occur. And that is progress of a sort they can accept. Utopia? Never happen. Heaven? Well, that's your right to believe in or not. But Canada? Canada rolls up it's plaid sleeves (Having been forced in this bad scenario to all dress like lumberjacks) and gets on to work keeping the snow clear and slowly improving what they got..while waiting patiently for the moose of '#### happens' to clear the path so they can resume. Canada will make it. It has survived sharing a blanket with an elephant that tosses in its sleep for quite a while. It has dealt with an often contrary Mother nation that ignores it or calls it to go hours out of it's way to pick up something would you dear? It takes in the huddled masses then sighs as they keep huddling like a Middle School chaperone trying to get the girls and boys to maybe dance together to some really wonderful songs by Rush... come on, you kids have heard of Rush right? Canada is not the world, and the world is not Canada, but if one nation has a chance of acting as a flotation device in this sea of insanity we seem to be plunging into, I would put money on Canada fitting that niche. And if Canada does it, maybe other countries will go "I can do it too" and bob to the surface as well... until each, inspired by the example, will make its way clear. Of course, on behalf of America, if and when that happens, we'll claim we were the ones who take the credit for it. It's our thang and the world owes us after saving their asses from WW... (Checks date) Oh my god has it been that long? Okay, yeah, that excuse is getting thin. Anyway... you're not doing it for the glory, you're Canada. But do it I think you will Cygnia, Ranxerox, Pariah and 2 others 2 1 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pariah Posted March 1, 2019 Report Share Posted March 1, 2019 Yeah, what Hermit said, eh? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DShomshak Posted March 2, 2019 Report Share Posted March 2, 2019 For another bit of semi-silliness: On today's "Week in Review" program on KUOW-FM, host Bill Radke said Michael Cohen's "don't become me" warning to Republicans reminded him of Jacob Marley to Scrooge: "These are the chains I forged in life!" Which led to a bit more "A Christmas Carol" riffing. Dean Shomshak Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DShomshak Posted March 2, 2019 Report Share Posted March 2, 2019 Oh, and it's official: Washington state governor Jay Inslee is running for President, to the surprise of no one who had already heard of him. Okay, so he's the first governor to declare. But CNN says he's polling at 0%. And he said he's making combating climate change the centerpiece of his campaign. Wow, this is sure to go nowhere fast. Dean Shomshak Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
archer Posted March 2, 2019 Report Share Posted March 2, 2019 19 hours ago, DShomshak said: Oh, and it's official: Washington state governor Jay Inslee is running for President, to the surprise of no one who had already heard of him. Okay, so he's the first governor to declare. But CNN says he's polling at 0%. And he said he's making combating climate change the centerpiece of his campaign. Wow, this is sure to go nowhere fast. Dean Shomshak At least Jay Inslee has the most interesting name so far. The Urban Dictionary defines "slee" as "A drunk slut who is often extremely wasted and is always caught surrounded by members of the opposite sex." https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=Slee Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DShomshak Posted March 6, 2019 Report Share Posted March 6, 2019 Possibly of interest: The March, 2019 Scientific American has an article on "Why We Believe Conspiriacy Theories." The title is not accurate: It's really about the conditions that predispose people to believe conspiracy theories, though the underlying psychology is implied. In brief, conspiranoia is triggered by anxiety and loss of control. Not a surpsie, that. I was more interested to learn that people tend to believe multiple conspiracy theories, in a worldview in which nothing is true and everything is possible: As one of the journal articles cited put it in its title, "NASA Faked the Moon Landing -- Therefore, (Climate) Science Is a Hoax." But apparently conspiranoids are not quite so immune to debunking as some studies showed: As long as you can avoid challenge to a person's self-respect, it is sometimes possible to nudge people into reasoning out that a conspiracy theory is hogwash. Dean Shomshak Pariah and Netzilla 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hermit Posted March 6, 2019 Report Share Posted March 6, 2019 1 hour ago, DShomshak said: Possibly of interest: The March, 2019 Scientific American has an article on "Why We Believe Conspiriacy Theories." The title is not accurate: It's really about the conditions that predispose people to believe conspiracy theories, though the underlying psychology is implied. In brief, conspiranoia is triggered by anxiety and loss of control. Not a surpsie, that. I was more interested to learn that people tend to believe multiple conspiracy theories, in a worldview in which nothing is true and everything is possible: As one of the journal articles cited put it in its title, "NASA Faked the Moon Landing -- Therefore, (Climate) Science Is a Hoax." But apparently conspiranoids are not quite so immune to debunking as some studies showed: As long as you can avoid challenge to a person's self-respect, it is sometimes possible to nudge people into reasoning out that a conspiracy theory is hogwash. Dean Shomshak That's what I've heard as well, it is better to say "The folks who told you X are wrong" rather than to say "YOU are wrong for believing X" Pariah 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lord Liaden Posted March 6, 2019 Report Share Posted March 6, 2019 I've noticed that many people's beliefs are closely tied to their conceptions of self-identity and self-worth. When their beliefs are challenged, they react as though they had been personally attacked, with anger and retaliation. archer 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cygnia Posted March 7, 2019 Report Share Posted March 7, 2019 Source: Leaked Documents Show the U.S. Government Tracking Journalists and Immigration Advocates Through a Secret Database Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
archer Posted March 7, 2019 Report Share Posted March 7, 2019 Even with the IRS having taken less money from each paycheck throughout the year, tax refunds on average are slightly larger this year than last year. https://thehill.com/policy/finance/433127-irs-average-tax-refund-up-22-compared-to-last-year Time for a very, very tiny cheer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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