Political Discussion Thread (With Rules)

[Lawnmower Boy]

11 hours ago, dmjalund said:

with all these "no reasonable person" defenses, you'd think only reasonable people voted

I resent that! I vote every election!

[DShomshak]

Speking of Brexit, a week or two ago I heard an interesting report -- I think it was BBC -- on the fruits of Brexit.

 

One: The prediction that it would destroy many British businesses that depend on trade with continental Europe? Happening.

 

Two: That it would inflame Scottish independence? Also happening. Supposedly, 80% of Scottish voters age 25 or less now favor 'Scoxit," and the Scottish Nationalist Party is now dominant, even with voters who really dislike the word "Nationalist."

 

Because if it's okay for the UK to leave the EU, why shouldn't Scotland leave the UK? There's a treaty behind the union of Scotland and England as well.

 

But once again, be careful what you ask for. The report ended with a visit to the Orkney Islands. As a local political leader said, the Orkneys owe more, culturally, to the old Norse than to Scotland. They don't really think of themselves as Scottish. And certainly not Scottish Nationalist. So if Scoxit happens, how about... Orxit?

 

(Insert joke about Orks. Or orcs.)

 

Fun, fun, fun.

 

Dean Shomshak

[tkdguy]

29 minutes ago, DShomshak said:

But once again, be careful what you ask for. The report ended with a visit to the Orkney Islands. As a local political leader said, the Orkneys owe more, culturally, to the old Norse than to Scotland. They don't really think of themselves as Scottish. And certainly not Scottish Nationalist. So if Scoxit happens, how about... Orxit?

 

(Insert joke about Orks. Or orcs.)

 

WAAAGH!

[Dr. MID-Nite]

18 hours ago, Lord Liaden said:

That there are many ignorant, gullible, petty, stupid people who vote didn't used to be something you could say in public. Then again, you couldn't say that people who vote for a particular party are evil monsters in public before, either.

 

I've just about given up on American society. Corruption and ignorance are its pillars and quite frankly it's mind numbing to be in the middle of it all. 

[Old Man]

2 hours ago, DShomshak said:

Speking of Brexit, a week or two ago I heard an interesting report -- I think it was BBC -- on the fruits of Brexit.

 

One: The prediction that it would destroy many British businesses that depend on trade with continental Europe? Happening.

 

Two: That it would inflame Scottish independence? Also happening. Supposedly, 80% of Scottish voters age 25 or less now favor 'Scoxit," and the Scottish Nationalist Party is now dominant, even with voters who really dislike the word "Nationalist."

 

Because if it's okay for the UK to leave the EU, why shouldn't Scotland leave the UK? There's a treaty behind the union of Scotland and England as well.

 

But once again, be careful what you ask for. The report ended with a visit to the Orkney Islands. As a local political leader said, the Orkneys owe more, culturally, to the old Norse than to Scotland. They don't really think of themselves as Scottish. And certainly not Scottish Nationalist. So if Scoxit happens, how about... Orxit?

 

(Insert joke about Orks. Or orcs.)

 

Fun, fun, fun.

 

Dean Shomshak

 

Scottish independence is one obvious consequence, but Northern Ireland is the bigger crisis.  The Good Friday agreement that finally ended the Troubles depends on the lack of a hard border between Ireland and Northern Ireland, which is now impossible under Brexit.  At this point the only question is whether Irish reunification will occur with or without shooting and bombs.

[Lord Liaden]

4 hours ago, DShomshak said:

Speking of Brexit, a week or two ago I heard an interesting report -- I think it was BBC -- on the fruits of Brexit.

 

One: The prediction that it would destroy many British businesses that depend on trade with continental Europe? Happening.

 

Two: That it would inflame Scottish independence? Also happening. Supposedly, 80% of Scottish voters age 25 or less now favor 'Scoxit," and the Scottish Nationalist Party is now dominant, even with voters who really dislike the word "Nationalist."

 

Because if it's okay for the UK to leave the EU, why shouldn't Scotland leave the UK? There's a treaty behind the union of Scotland and England as well.

 

But once again, be careful what you ask for. The report ended with a visit to the Orkney Islands. As a local political leader said, the Orkneys owe more, culturally, to the old Norse than to Scotland. They don't really think of themselves as Scottish. And certainly not Scottish Nationalist. So if Scoxit happens, how about... Orxit?

 

(Insert joke about Orks. Or orcs.)

 

Fun, fun, fun.

 

Dean Shomshak

 

My own country danced with this scenario back in 1995, when Quebec came literally within less than 1% of the vote of declaring independence from Canada. At the time of the referendum some of the aboriginal communities in the province, under federal jurisdiction, asserted they would remain part of Canada if the vote was for independence; but the Quebec nationalist government decreed that Quebec's territory was indivisible.

 

There may be a practical population limit at which secession will be seriously discussed. Ultimately, though, in any political relationship it comes down to who has power, how much power in comparison to others, and how far they're willing to go in wielding it.

[TrickstaPriest]

Remembering the good times

 

 

[TrickstaPriest]

 

Just linking this for the monologue here

[TrickstaPriest]

 

😕

[Pariah]

JFK family honors Utah Sen. Mitt Romney with Profile in Courage award

[Dr. MID-Nite]

58 minutes ago, Pariah said:

JFK family honors Utah Sen. Mitt Romney with Profile in Courage award

 

Where was his "courage" when the Reps were rushing through nominees so they could stack the court? SMDH

[Lord Liaden]

I agree that this award is questionable. Still, being the only American Senator to ever vote to impeach a president from his own party does count for something.

[csyphrett]

Georgia representative arrested for trying to enter government building where she works

CES

[archer]

USA Today’s fired its sports media group’s "race and inclusion" editor Hemal Jhaveri, for tweets she made shortly after Monday’s Colorado shooting.

 

The most offensive Tweet stated, “It’s always an angry white man. Always.” 

 

Jhaveri, in an essay apparently written after her firing, characterized the Tweet as “a challenge to white supremacy” that was weaponized by “bad faith actors.”

 

“This is not about bias, or keeping personal opinions off of Twitter. It’s about challenging whiteness and being punished for it,” she added.

 

https://thehill.com/homenews/media/545159-usa-today-editor-fired-for-post-colorado-shooting-tweet

 

(The shooter Ahmad Al Aliwi Alissa came to the US from Syria in 2002. From his Facebook page, we know that he doesn't like Trump, that he attributed the Christchurch mosque shooting to anti-Muslim sentiment in the community, that he posted various pro-Islam statements such as “Muslims might not be perfect but Islam is”, and a variety of anti-abortion and homophobic statements.)

[Pattern Ghost]

Well, she's not the first racist to be fired for making racist remarks on the internet. Probably won't be the last.

[archer]

2 hours ago, Pattern Ghost said:

Well, she's not the first racist to be fired for making racist remarks on the internet. Probably won't be the last.

 

Anytime your "inclusion" editor approaches an unknown story with a preconceived notion about how it should be marketed from a racial perspective, that's a fail.

 

IMO

[Lord Liaden]

2 hours ago, Pattern Ghost said:

Well, she's not the first racist to be fired for making racist remarks on the internet. Probably won't be the last.

 

Beyond racism, this is irresponsible journalism. Making statements before ascertaining the facts, sadly common today when everyone feels the need and right to broadcast whatever thought crosses their minds. And when this one bit her on the ass, trying a mealy-mouthed non-apology to walk it back while still justifying her act. But if that's her conduct she has no business being a news editor.

[Pariah]

Your use of the phrase "irresponsible journalism" implies the existence of another kind. I'm becoming less and less convinced by the day of the existence of such.

[Lord Liaden]

At present it's rare in America. But it can exist because it did. Growing up I saw it, heard it, read it. Journalists passionately advocated their obligation to find and publicize the truth, and to be as objective toward it as humanly possible. Those who didn't suffered penalties levied by their own community. Outside the US, while human bias is inevitable, and polarized media are becoming more common, rank hypocrisy and deceit is much less noticeable and much less tolerated.

[Starlord]

Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson on Friday signed into law legislation allowing doctors to refuse to treat someone because of religious or moral objections

[archer]

3 hours ago, Starlord said:

Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson on Friday signed into law legislation allowing doctors to refuse to treat someone because of religious or moral objections

 

The headline doesn't convey how pervasive this law is: a doctor can agree to be your doctor but can refuse to give you particular treatments based on his/her personal religious beliefs.

 

My cousin's family lived in Arkansas. Their religious belief (on her father's side, I'm related on her mother's side) was that all medicine (pills, injections, vaccinations) was evil (seriously).

 

Their sect of Christianity just didn't believe in medicine because they thought God would heal whoever He wanted healed and would let other people remain sick or die. And that interfering in God's will through medicines was sinful. (They were OK with bandages, splints, casts, and other measures, just anti-medicine, don't ask me to explain how that's internally consistent.)

 

So if my cousin had decided to become a doctor in Arkansas, under this law she could practice medicine but could refuse to write any prescriptions.

 

(I'm not completely sure but I think that the law shields the doctor from even having to inform the patient that a treatment is available but he just won't give it due to his beliefs. That's usually how these "doctors' rights" laws are written.)

[Matt the Bruins]

As a resident of the state I'm not happy about this at all. I hope all the legislators responsible have crackpot doctors who'll only prescribe cod liver oil as a treatemnt for anything that ails them.

[Old Man]

17 minutes ago, Matt the Bruins said:

As a resident of the state I'm not happy about this at all. I hope all the legislators responsible have crackpot doctors who'll only prescribe cod liver oil as a treatemnt for anything that ails them.

 

Cod liver oil?  What these people need is a good, long bloodletting.

[Pariah]

Or maybe high levels of hydroxychloroquine.

[TrickstaPriest]

Georgia's made it official that early voting closes at 5 pm, that it's outright illegal to give water or food to voters waiting in line

Nebraska's GOP has been advocating for a new "United States exceptionalism" curriculum

Ohio almost explicitly made illegal punishment for 'religious answers' in schoolwork even if it's content is wrong

Kansas forced almost a million occupants of Dodge City to use a single polling location during the 2018 election and had near-literal entire-day waiting lines to vote.

Trying to legalize driving into protesters in a number of states now, it looks like?

 

I won't even get into the constant anti-cali, anti-detroit, anti-etc propaganda I constantly hear from friends.  Not that those locations don't have troubles, but they parrot things that blatantly aren't grounded in truth, and only stop when they get frustrated enough to research the topics themselves (after arguing the point with me).  It sets the groundwork for utter lack of empathy when bad things happen to other people.

 

Pretty much seems the entire party is seeking revenge for other people existing

 

oh.  can't forget the new anti-abortion laws being pushed...

(and the anti-trans stuff that is now 100% in vogue)