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Did we already discuss David Duke's interview with Bill O'Reilly? He was trying to defend his White supremacist views and his association with the KKK by attacking Robert Byrd for HIS association with the KKK, then proceeded to say that he was never a White supremacist, but that he thought Black/Hispanic/Jewish supremacists were ruining everything. 
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Jan 9, 2015 07:51
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Mayor Dave posted:What's your count? I see at least 3 predictions from the OP so far. It's admittedly early (so most of these have only just been introduced), but most of the items that have already come true were gimmes, widely expected to be passed or return:
The DHS funding catches, TPP fast track, and Iranian sanctions are widely expected in the next month or two as well, so I won't really chalk those up as really hard guesses either. Two slightly more out-of-left-field ones that still came true:
Several joint resolutions calling for a balanced-budget amendment have been proposed, too, but unless we actually see it tacked on as a rider on legislation that passes (or one of the resolutions makes it out of committee), I'm not going to count the mere introduction of these joint resolutions a prediction that came true. There are a few negative predictions in there that we really can't evaluate until end of 2016, so not everything will bear out at once.
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Jan 9, 2015 08:33
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Samurai Sanders posted:II wish that term could just be abandoned entirely. It's just too easy to come up with a billion reasons you're not racist based on its association with specific actions in history. "Prejudiced" is a much better term I think, as long as people can be made to understand that it's about how you think (and really, we all think), and actions are just a symptom. The moment you do this is the moment that term will be vilified as well. Just like progressives and social justice. Hell, even anti-racist is vilified.
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Jan 9, 2015 11:11
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blackguy32 posted:The moment you do this is the moment that term will be vilified as well. Just like progressives and social justice. There is nothing wrong with words being vilified. The problem lies with whom. If the KKK are butt hurt about people being "anti-racist", then ok. If some blue collar asshat who spends most of his time watching Fox News, then why care about his opinion? Until you can do something about Fox News, his opinion is basically set in stone up until something personal happens to him to change his mind. But he'll only change his mind if it benefits him personally. If it's just some guy who hasn't actually sat down and thought about why racism is inherently wrong and stupid, then you may be able to persuade him. However if he still can't come to grips with that reality, there isn't much you can do and you can safely say that their objection to "anti-racist" or anti-whatever is inherently also very stupid. Stupid things are easily discredited (as long as you have enough blatant evidence). The ultimate goal is to make their word more vilified than yours. If I can make you feel like an rear end for being a racist more than you can make me awkward for not being one through peer pressure, then we're making progress. Even if you try to vilify me as being prejudiced against you, if I'm doing a better job vilifying you with evidence of your douchebaggery, then we don't care if you try to victimize yourself or vilify the opposing term. This is why gay marriage is such an easy sell now. Most people have experience with at least one family member or friend who has come out at this point. Terms used to put down the gay community have become personal insults to the relatives of gay people and this has creeped into the collective consciousness. You still see people trying to bemoan gay marriage with ridiculous accusations and coining their own terms to reflect them. But they're so vilified at this point, it doesn't matter.
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Jan 9, 2015 11:56
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HBNRW posted:. If some blue collar asshat who spends most of his time watching Fox News, then why care about his opinion? Until you can do something about Fox News, his opinion is basically set in stone Literally jizzed when I found out Fox News was dropped from Dish. To mom: "Maybe this will de-radicalize you."
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Jan 9, 2015 13:04
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Like I said at the beginning of the thread, I have been really excited for all of this. Back in 2001, the whole Bush thing kind of blindsided us. We took the 2000 election real casually, half-assed it, and figured hey; he's just a harmless retard, what's the worst that can happen? The 9/11 thing had everyone making GBS threads their pants and signing on to terrible poo poo without thinking. By 5-6 years in we realized that conservatives can really do a lot of damage when they get hold of enough of the federal government. But this time? This is a whole new level of fun and excitement. There are no surprises here. You've got six loving years of pent-up, racist, vicious, corporate-funded anger, frustration, and bile, and now we have two years for all of it to just pour out in a mighty river of terrible legislation, dismantling of all protections for the poor and minorities, and sheer, brutal rapacity. Only Obama's veto pen will stand against what now is "obviously" the unquestionable will of the people in both houses of congress, and holy poo poo will they piss and cry victim and moan and capitalize on their false victimhood as only privileged WASPY congressdivas can do. It's going to be glorious. They're going to try to destroy everything, and if they can outplay Hillary and the rest in 2016, we may actually get to see the wrath of a fully-armed and operational Republican government. What, did you really think that the Democrats were just going to keep winning at least one branch forever? Like really, that there was 0% chance of a Republican House, Senate, and Presidency? The Republicans know how to do certain things very well; when they don't hold the whole government, it's like Dragon Ball fuckin Z, charging up their hatred rays for episode after episode, getting that base more and more cranked. They have enough terrible ideas for decades of despoilment and destruction, and if they luck out and take a sweep, you'd better hold on to your rear end, because they'll have the means to make their dreams come true, and this thing with Bush and Cheney and the torture has taught them that there are no consequences, not even for assraping teen boys anymore. Live boy or dead girl? Bullshit. If you're neither pro-life nor pro-choice, but pro-death like I am, it's a glorious thought. But hey, we'll temper this all at the end with the soothing thought that the youth, female, and minority demographics will certainly save whoever the Democratic nominee is in 2016, and they'll vote real hard and straight-ticket for a bunch of Senators and Reps with a (D) behind their name, not just stay at home because they've given the gently caress up. Quidam Viator fucked around with this message at 13:34 on Jan 9, 2015 |
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Jan 9, 2015 13:32
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Shifty Pony posted:Could this be something that makes the US less appealing as a host nation? The kind of government-enforced branding, marketing, and generally anything not IOC approved Clean Zone that the IOC and sponsors demand is against the 1st amendment and the ACLU has stepped up fighting them in court. On the contrary, since most sponsors are giant American corps, whatever American city won this round was going to automatically be the IOC favorite. The IOC might not like the idea of a frugal Olympics, but without seeing the bid (even the Boston2024 rep sent to debate No Boston Olympics last month hadn't read it), saying that this will only cost $5 billion and will all be covered by private investment (less the giant infrastructure requirements of course) is a lot of smoke and weasel words. When they submit to the IOC, that bid is a binding document, and we are required to go through with whatever we promised the IOC in our attempt to gain their favor, no matter the cost. This is why the Olympics have become a blank check. The average modern Olympics costs $19 billion. Every Olympics since 1960 has overrun, an average of 179% http://eureka.bodleian.ox.ac.uk/4943/1/SSRN-id2382612_(2).pdf
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Jan 9, 2015 13:42
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Why is the John Ensign stuff back in the news all of a sudden? I remember all this stuff coming out a year or so ago.
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Jan 9, 2015 13:58
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Quidam Viator posted:Like I said at the beginning of the thread, I have been really excited for all of this. Back in 2001, the whole Bush thing kind of blindsided us. We took the 2000 election real casually, half-assed it, and figured hey; he's just a harmless retard, what's the worst that can happen? The 9/11 thing had everyone making GBS threads their pants and signing on to terrible poo poo without thinking. By 5-6 years in we realized that conservatives can really do a lot of damage when they get hold of enough of the federal government. This reads like the backstory to Liberal Crime Squad
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Jan 9, 2015 14:15
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Today is Richard M. Nixon's 102nd birthday.   (I assume Kissinger found a way to keep him alive and slowly feed off his remaining life essence.)
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Jan 9, 2015 14:19
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Joementum posted:Today is Richard M. Nixon's 102nd birthday.
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Jan 9, 2015 14:27
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Wow, I guess the job creators are really anticipating some great things out of the 114th congress, they've already started hiring more!quote:Total nonfarm payroll employment rose by 252,000 in December, and the unemployment rate declined to 5.6 percent, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today.
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Jan 9, 2015 14:34
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baw posted:Wow, I guess the job creators are really anticipating some great things out of the 114th congress, they've already started hiring more! Plus average hourly wages went down .2% Bet the GOP will gloss over that 
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Jan 9, 2015 14:37
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baw posted:Wow, I guess the job creators are really anticipating some great things out of the 114th congress, they've already started hiring more! Anytime I hear the term "job creator" I always think of the god those kids worship in 'Children of the Corn".
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Jan 9, 2015 14:37
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Fried Chicken posted:I'd be more enamored if the proposal covered certifications and provided some sort of basic allowance for housing as well. A little bit back, but I'd appreciate it if you could post some links or details to those job listings? I'm always trying to encourage people to pick up simple coding languages and get a job working in them, and am willing to help bankroll someone's certification, but I have a problem finding jobs that want Python developers. It's a little off topic, so feel free to just PM me.
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Jan 9, 2015 14:38
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Politico compiled some opinions from economists about McConnell's claim that the economy is picking up due to expectations of the incoming congress. Nearly everyone they interviewed said the statement was bullshit, with one notable exception. Guess which think tank he works for!
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Jan 9, 2015 14:45
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I mean fortunately the American public only has a vague idea of who controls congress and blames/credits the President for the economy so Mitch can talk all he wants, nobody will listen.
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Jan 9, 2015 14:47
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If something cracks and the economy melts down in the next two years, I'm sure he'll accept responsibility.
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Jan 9, 2015 14:48
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Joementum posted:Today is Richard M. Nixon's 102nd birthday. Hey thanks, Nixon, for making the EPA.
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Jan 9, 2015 15:12
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I wish Nixon was alive to today if only to see him kick the poo poo out of Ted Cruz.
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Jan 9, 2015 15:15
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Xibanya posted:The most hilarious form out-of-touch suburban whiteness is people who bring up dogwhistle talking points who themselves are not actually using them as dogwhistles. That is to say, people who support racist policies or make comments that come from a racist place not as a shibboleth to mask their racism but because they heard that poo poo somewhere and have decided it's a good idea. With a few such people at work I've talked to them about the ramifications and in some cases gotten people to go "Huh, I guess that's not a good idea after all!" These folks were all Gen Xers, some of whom would consider themselves liberal but can't help but repeat dumb dogwhistles because they're not politically tuned in leftists like all of us fine people here in the Debate Disco (and this is Texas). I feel like most of the racist things I've heard from Xers and Millennial falls under this banner. http://www.salon.com/2014/08/23/white_privilege_an_insidious_virus_thats_eating_america_from_within/ quote:Recognizing white privilege does not mean that white people don’t get to express our views on controversial racial topics, or that we have to defer to whatever a person of color may say. It does mean, however, that we have a responsibility to be alert to advantages we may possess, whether as ordinary citizens on the street, economic agents or wielders of rhetoric that appears neutral rather than “racial.” By definition, it means that some of those advantages are things we don’t notice, or take entirely for granted.
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Jan 9, 2015 15:17
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Mr Interweb posted:Did we already discuss David Duke's interview with Bill O'Reilly? He was trying to defend his White supremacist views and his association with the KKK by attacking Robert Byrd for HIS association with the KKK, then proceeded to say that he was never a White supremacist, but that he thought Black/Hispanic/Jewish supremacists were ruining everything. You really have to wonder though, whether O'Reilly knew what he was getting into when he let David Duke onto the show. Like, what was he expecting from a guy with his reputation?
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Jan 9, 2015 15:21
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evilweasel posted:I mean fortunately the American public only has a vague idea of who controls congress and blames/credits the President for the economy so Mitch can talk all he wants, nobody will listen. 
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Jan 9, 2015 15:25
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Satsuki Kiryuin posted:They should have had it in D.C. which is already almost fully equipped to do it. ... Clearly you haven't been to DC
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Jan 9, 2015 15:39
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NYT put a hi res photo of Boehner in the Sherman Williams Color Matcher No exact match but it put him in between "Spicy Hue" and "Husky Orange".    Also: Americans are identifying as liberals at record levels. 24%! Wooo! 
zoux fucked around with this message at 15:45 on Jan 9, 2015 |
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Jan 9, 2015 15:42
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He's the tint of one of those Willy Wonka imps.
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Jan 9, 2015 15:45
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Quidam Viator posted:Like I said at the beginning of the thread, I have been really excited for all of this. Back in 2001, the whole Bush thing kind of blindsided us. We took the 2000 election real casually, half-assed it, and figured hey; he's just a harmless retard, what's the worst that can happen? The 9/11 thing had everyone making GBS threads their pants and signing on to terrible poo poo without thinking. By 5-6 years in we realized that conservatives can really do a lot of damage when they get hold of enough of the federal government. You sound like someone who would immediately dress in assless chaps and a mohawk as soon as the Great Depression hit.
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Jan 9, 2015 15:45
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Xibanya posted:I went to the most expensive university in Spain quote:Unfortunately, outside of the U.S. many parts of an application are easy to forge. The bulk of a U.S. student’s high school learning is reflected in the high school transcript, and extracurricular activities, while they can be overstated, are usually kept in check by communal guidance counselors and colleges’ institutional memory of high schools. In China, the integrity of the transcript is rarely assured. With the exception of a few high schools, there is also no system of guidance counselors who receive a stable income from the school itself. quote:Guessing the percentage of fraudulent transcripts in applications from China is a popular parlor game among educators over here. Unscientific estimates abound: One prominent agent who works with students at some of the best high schools in China recently estimated to me that at least half of the transcripts in China are doctored to look like the students have done well in a robust high school curriculum, when the reality is one of almost constant memorization and practice tests. Unfortunately, no one in the college prep industry in China would be surprised if the actual percentage was significantly higher. http://www.theatlantic.com/education/archive/2015/01/what-students-in-china-have-taught-me-about-us-college-admissions/384212/ As far as what makes minority immigrant students succeed, there was a pretty interesting (though as how scientifically valid it actually is beats me) while mentioning the crazy amounts of Nigerians in Harvard, a few key factors shared by most successful (i.e. high income, graduates) immigrant groupings: moral superiority (we are the best!), insecurity (we can never be the best!), and deep ingrained impulse control (terrible childhoods!). And here's the article: http://www.nytimes.com/2014/01/26/opinion/sunday/what-drives-success.html EDIT: Also forgot to mention that time a town in China rioted because educators would not let their children cheat. One decisive test + few chances of opportunity = incentives anything goes, I suppose.
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Jan 9, 2015 15:47
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and there were a fuckload of rich as hell mainland Chinese kids matriculated with me. They were by and large academically mediocre and some were mediocre at playing the piano too! (If they were smarter they would have been able to make it to an American University!)
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This morning the U.S. government condemned the ongoing political gridlock in The Haitian government.
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Jan 9, 2015 16:29
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Fried Chicken posted:This morning the U.S. government condemned the ongoing political gridlock in The Haitian government. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E7HjBr_QMXI
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Jan 9, 2015 16:35
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chitoryu12 posted:You sound like someone who would immediately dress in assless chaps and a mohawk as soon as the Great Depression hit. You're right, I'll be out there rolling around my washtub and jacking off in public. This is a real fuckin situation, and it's like I'm the only one here enjoying it? Can't you see past when the Republicans win? You never could have had an FDR without a Hoover, a Lincoln without a Buchanan. They're going to win eventually, and do W times a thousand, and if they get bad enough, there will eventually be consequences. There's a reason Germans don't talk about Hitler any more. What, you have a foolproof plan to guarantee that the noble citizens of our country will NEVER vote in a straight-GOP government again. You know drat well that I'm right about what they'll do when they win.
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Jan 9, 2015 16:42
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Oh cool accelerationism.
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Jan 9, 2015 16:47
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zoux posted:Oh cool accelerationism. Oh, be sensible. I'm not telling D&D posters to go out and vote for Republicans! I don't loving need to. The GOP is kicking rear end in taking over local and state governments, they're leveraging their complete shamelessness into a media narrative that is still captivating a huge chunk of the country, and really, a Hillary presidency doesn't actually hurt them. They secretly want her to win. Can you imagine another eight years of awful yowling, complete government shutdown, and a full two more terms of getting to play the victim? By that time, they could easily erode the last of the major social institutions of this country. Are you really telling me that this is some accelerationist pipe dream when you're not even a week into this new GOP House and Senate, and the bloodgates are already starting to open? gently caress accelerationism. At this point, the left has no viable plan to achieve anything, as far as I can tell. Please do correct me, and tell me the shining path to a compassionate, liberal, united America. This is D&D after all. You could try to prove that bad things really, really won't happen, and I will listen closely.
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Jan 9, 2015 16:56
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Oh no I think bad things are going to hella happen but I also think that team politics is so deeply ingrained in the American psyche that no matter how bad things get it won't stop people from voting for Republicans.
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Jan 9, 2015 16:59
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From what I can tell the hope is to tread water and don't let conservatives absolutely destroy the country until 2050 when maybe white people won't be the majority or something. Honestly it doesn't look that rosy to me either.
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Jan 9, 2015 17:00
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A good place to start would be with encouraging empiricism in government policy, but that sounds pretty boring I know.
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Jan 9, 2015 17:07
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RuanGacho posted:A good place to start would be with encouraging empiricism in government policy, but that sounds pretty boring I know. Impossible, as that would show that conservative policies are loving retarded.
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Jan 9, 2015 17:07
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Radish posted:From what I can tell the hope is to tread water and don't let conservatives absolutely destroy the country until 2050 when maybe white people won't be the majority or something. Honestly it doesn't look that rosy to me either. Literally my only point is if that's your best strategy, to try to wait out a 30-year demographic shift, desperately hoping that an angry, vicious, and motivated party with terrible ideas doesn't get lucky and win once, then you're basically hosed. Obama was (god forgive me) a black swan event; he conned all of us, including me, into becoming Obamatars, and a lot of sketchy Dems rode in on his coattails. The Democratic Party does not have another Obama waiting in the wings. They have fuckin Hillary. Am I really crazy for imagining that a Hillary presidency after Obama and the Little Congress That Wouldn't is like a perfect recipe for left wing apathy? The Republicans have gotten SO GOOD at obstruction, and they aren't paying a price for stunts like government shutdowns. In America, the Left lack all conviction, while the Right are full of passionate intensity. They're rear end in a top hat idiots, but they are committed firmly to instituting rear end in a top hat policies. And when Brownback trashes Kansas and Scott wrecks Florida, the assholes re-elect them! They don't give a poo poo! Just as long as the lie-berals lose, and that is zoux's point. Who you got on the left? Bernie Sanders is like 900 years old.
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Jan 9, 2015 17:12
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zoux posted:Impossible, as that would show that conservative policies are loving retarded. I completely agree, but it's the first step to killing team politics. I've already seen data take down corrupt officials, quietly. It creates political Darwinism.
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Jan 9, 2015 17:13
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RuanGacho posted:A good place to start would be with encouraging empiricism in government policy, but that sounds pretty boring I know. Well the Republicans are going to switch the CBO to dynamic scoring, so that'll be a start. 
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Jan 9, 2015 17:14
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