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Fried Chicken posted:Then I suppose my background in it is insufficient, my exposure to it has been the post 9/11 "the wars are stupid, labor is needed to balance the power of capital, global warming is real and serious, public programs are important and need to be sensibly designed, racism is still a thing that needs to be fought, we need serious Justice reform, invest in infrastructure" type Add in support for universal health care and anti-intervention and this describes most of my beliefs. Is that called something? I can never figure out what each of the different classifications of liberal/conservative/socialist/labor even means anymore.
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Apr 1, 2015 21:00
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So that wage increase is for corporately run McDonald's only right? I didn't realize there were so many of them. I thought nearly all the locations were franchises.JT Jag posted:Congratulations, you're a leftist. That's what I figured. You all just have some crazy labels that I've never heard before, like paleo-conservative, so I was curious.
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Apr 1, 2015 21:53
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PostNouveau posted:I don't know, but Obama's speech did have a section about Congress where he said "if Congress kills this deal." No the Iranians probably just used the fact that the US congress is insane and unreliable to extract better concessions from the Europeans.
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Apr 2, 2015 20:29
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shrike82 posted:Kinda scratching my head at why someone would be arguing so stridently against education. It's more an understanding that no amount of financial literacy is going to stop you from getting completely hosed if you're poor in America but by lamenting the meager knowledge currently in place you can effectively blame the poor for incredibly predatory practices. Case in point, I just this past week was at a talk given by a regional Credit Union CEO and he quite clearly blamed the financial crisis and resulting recession on the shoddy financial literacy of the people taking out mortgages while ignoring any culpability banks had in the entire system. Later he discussed the liar loans and the like while showing apparently zero recognition that those might have contributed to the loving problem.
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Apr 5, 2015 08:34
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Dr.Zeppelin posted:You're forgetting the talking point where those banks were only giving out bad loans because Jimmy Carter forced them to. Haha no but he did talk about Clinton pushing for everyone to get house being part of the problem. The bizarre thing was, he actually had great policies for his customers he was just completely ridiculous when it came to the financial crisis.
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Apr 5, 2015 19:58
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This was the best interview and discussion of Snowden I've ever seen, thank you John Oliver. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XEVlyP4_11M Everyone should watch this.
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Apr 6, 2015 07:55
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Samurai Sanders posted:I wish I knew what the Dems' was going to look like other than Hillary Hillary Hillary. Jim Webb baby. http://www.usnews.com/news/blogs/run-2016/2014/12/30/whats-driving-jim-webbs-potential-bid-for-president-in-2016 And my favorite quote about Jim Webb: quote:“His constituency is people who feel like they’re getting screwed,” Relentlessboredomm fucked around with this message at 19:09 on Apr 6, 2015 |
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Apr 6, 2015 19:07
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PupsOfWar posted:
I know, they're so ridiculous. They did make an interesting point there that a lot of Democratic hopefuls are waiting for Hilary to announce or not because so much of the money is waiting on Hilary.
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Apr 6, 2015 19:25
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oh god i love southern democrats
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Ghost of Reagan Past posted:Hayden, AZ has 662 people and is apparently the godless socialist urban paradise of Arizona  You got that too? I didn't even know of the place until it got recommended. At least I know where the tiny enclave of socialists live in this hellscape.Also, I found it interesting that Miami is the location in FL instead of Key West which would've been my first guess.
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Apr 9, 2015 20:27
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JT Jag posted:I don't see an Obama on the horizon this time, but maybe someone will surprise me. Jim Webb
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Apr 10, 2015 19:05
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Nonsense posted:The American Nigel Farage. How? I don't love Jim Webb but he'd be a decent candidate and I don't see how he's anything like Farage.
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Apr 10, 2015 19:12
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site posted:I just don't get how the Tea Party crazies can help push a resurgence of Republican dominance in like every state legislature, governorship, and Congress, but all that can be completely discounted when it comes to the Presidential race. I thought it was widely accepted that the Tea Party had reached their peak(nationally) a few years back and have had a precipitous decline since? Either way if the conservatives I know are any indication no one likes Cruz. They all either prefer Jeb, Rand, or Rubio.
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Apr 10, 2015 21:49
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site posted:This part I always like to hear though. I'm not close to any Republicans so i don't get their side that often besides what I get here. Well, just grow up in FL and then join the military and you too can be awash in a sea of conservative friends/former co workers. All the conservatives I know are split by age. The older ones prefer either Bush or Rubio and think Cruz is a loud mouthed rear end in a top hat with zero experience. The younger ones all lean hard for Rand and are relatively ok with Rubio because they think he can win. They all seem to find Cruz incredibly irritating and out of touch. That said, I don't know many religious types so everyone I know make up the base of general election conservatives and I've never heard any of them complain that someone isn't conservative enough outside of Cristie.
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Apr 10, 2015 22:45
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JT Jag posted:Jeb and Rubio support is inflated in Florida compared to the rest of the country for obvious reasons, I'm curious to see how an average conservative in Florida's perspective on the candidates compares to one from, say, Missouri. That's a good point but all the military conservative types I know feel about the same. If anything FL natives are less than thrilled about Jeb. My dad talks about Jeb the way a lot of the left talks about Hilary, it's a sort of grin and bear it attitude. Although I suppose the longer Rick Scott runs FL the better Jeb looks in comparison. Either way I'm ready for this clowncar to start moving.
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Apr 10, 2015 23:02
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Here, have a bunch of words on why Ted Cruz has essentially no chance of getting the nomination: http://fivethirtyeight.com/features/lets-be-serious-about-ted-cruz-from-the-start-hes-too-extreme-and-too-disliked-to-win/ Love this graphic: 
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Apr 11, 2015 07:20
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They can bluster all they want. No president* is going to walk into a multi national peace treaty that's already been signed and immediately rip it to shreds to start a war. *Maybe Bush.
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Apr 13, 2015 03:38
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Raskolnikov38 posted:44% of Americans too indecisive to just make up their goddamn minds already! Some of us intentionally register with neither party to make it harder for them to gerrymander everything. Sometimes I register R for the same purpose. Plus for polls rather than simple voter registration I still don't affiliate with either because they don't represent my interests. Maybe 44% of Americans feel the same. Relentlessboredomm fucked around with this message at 18:17 on Apr 16, 2015 |
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Apr 16, 2015 18:15
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Joementum posted:"I've always thought," said Rainsford, "that the Cape buffalo is the most dangerous of all big game." You are a treasure Joementum.
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Apr 16, 2015 21:56
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I know I'm a real American because for the last week or so I kept thinking "I don't particularly like Hilary but I'm tempted to vote for her just to spite all the sexist assholes on the right". Spite based voting. 
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Apr 18, 2015 19:54
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VikingofRock posted:I think mine was Haha I'm glad I didn't have to make the reference but the minute people started talking about school lunches that song plays non stop in my head.
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Apr 19, 2015 04:25
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Joementum posted:Quote of the day, "First of all, it scared me to no end. It could happen naturally by some solar burst, or it could happen by some threat of terror. Both of which are possible. We have to fortify the grid, obviously." ~ Jeb Bush, on the threat of an electromagnetic pulse to the United States. A shockingly reasonable statement from Jeb. Anything that improves the power grid is great.
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Apr 19, 2015 20:18
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I just want to point out that to Jeb's credit he does specifically mention the sun as another cause of power grid failure. A solar flare strong enough to destroy the power grid is absolutely a real concern. One passed incredibly close about 2 or 3 years ago. They've hit Earth before but we didn't have large scale electronic use so it's more a question of when than if. And that will be the last time I ever point out anything to Jeb's credit. I need a shower now.
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Apr 20, 2015 01:14
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I don't know if its been posted but the Atlantic did a good longform article on ISIS. http://www.theatlantic.com/features/archive/2015/02/what-isis-really-wants/384980/ Worth a read if you don't know much about their motivations or how they fit into the dynamic of Al-Qaeda and other jihadists
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Apr 21, 2015 00:47
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Shageletic posted:That's a pretty controversial article for a lot of reasons, reasons that again, are better elucidated in the Middle East thread. Could you point me to a page of that thread so I don't have to slog through the whole thing?
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Apr 21, 2015 19:09
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After reading that Robert Gates book I believe anything that indicates Cheney tried crazy poo poo to start more wars. In spite of Gates trying to play it down Cheney comes across as convinced of the need for military action in every single possible setting. It's incredibly unsettling.Job Truniht posted:http://forums.somethingawful.com/showthread.php?threadid=3390388&pagenumber=1935&perpage=40#post443998382 Thanks.
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Apr 21, 2015 20:08
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Shageletic posted:I don't know what exact page it was but there's been discussion about it centering when it came out and a few days ago. I would just repost from here and have a couple of knowledgable people have the chance to respond to it (and ignore the dumb ones). Just quickly, its an article that focuses on abstract ideology when ISIS can be more easily framed as a regular criminal organization that has effectively cut itself off from all orthodox Muslim interpretations of Islam. Why is there so much hand wringing about calling ISIS an extremist religious organization? Calling them a criminal organization seems intentionally designed to ignore their fundamental justification for their actions and the basis on which they recruit. I get that it creates an unfortunate side effect where more people can claim that all Muslims are terrorists or feeds into the whole clash of cultures bullshit but they're very clearly a batshit crazy religious group that has been widely denounced by the non crazies throughout the Middle East. I liked the article because it talked about the differences between them and Al-Qaeda, the nature of their recruitment/propaganda, and how exactly they want to operate, like an apocalypse cult based out of a particularly crazy branch of Islam.
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Apr 21, 2015 20:34
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Jagchosis posted:Much of the objections over the article focused on it's characterization of ISIS's supposed ideology as being an authentic version of Islam. If that wasn't the intent of the author then he certainly failed in conveying his message, particularly when he handwringed about political correctness being the driving force behind statements that ISIS does not represent true Islam in any way. Ahh ok. I think calling any branch of any faith authentic is a terrible idea, so I just ignored that whole bit. The hubris required to dub something authentic in a religious context is staggering so I ignore anyone talking about such things.
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Apr 21, 2015 21:01
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Whoever did that Hilary write up earlier, thanks. That was a good/interesting read.Joementum posted:Ted Cruz really does believe they were chanting Boo-urns. Hahahah. You got me with this one.
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Apr 22, 2015 02:20
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Joementum posted:You can disagree all you like, but you're wrong. The "team of rivals" meme from 2008 was explicitly about (and disseminated by) the Obama transition team to highlight his willingness to work across ideological boundaries, chiefly his (poor, as it turned out) decision to retain Robert Gates. Could you expand on this? Considering what he inherited I think Gates did a pretty solid job, but I'd be interested to hear an opposing view.
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Apr 26, 2015 02:29
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Venom Snake posted:Gates is notoriously difficult to work with; he doesn't brook disagreement, and most importantly he will never admit he's wrong. He's not incompetent but assholes that are hard to work with can be very damaging to team synergy. Also keeping gates pissed of a lot of people. What? He talks at length about the various things he hosed up as Sec Def in his book. The difficult to work with thing is interesting. I hadn't heard that. Was that sort of complaint coming from the White House or the Pentagon? Relentlessboredomm fucked around with this message at 02:45 on Apr 26, 2015 |
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Apr 26, 2015 02:42
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I'm shocked the residents of Baltimore have so much restraint. That whole relationship between the black community and the police has been toxic for decades. A few police cars is pretty minor. They have good reason to burn a whole lot more to the ground.
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Apr 26, 2015 04:00
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Which Obama's Katrina was that? 19 or 20? That whole bit is gold.
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Apr 26, 2015 06:00
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Carrasco posted:"You can ask him anything, but he's going to say what he wants at the pace that he wants. It's like boxing a glacier. Enjoy that metaphor, by the way, because your grandchildren will have no idea what a glacier is." He said he knew when a joke was staying in when his wife would gasp as he read them to her. That is one of the best comedy sets about politics I've ever seen.
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Apr 27, 2015 00:55
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Amergin posted:Sort of how a lot of the anti-corporate/anti-Wall Street narrative is not so much about companies doing anything illegal, but rather corporations just being irresponsible and/or not caring about consumers and consumers' wants. I love that you used two examples where there are consistently illegal things happening. Anti-Wall St rhetoric is based around their ability to commit massive fraud and walk away completely unscathed. The anti cop narrative is about highly questionable uses of force that are routinely ignored by the justice system. Both of those are based around feelings that they are protected classes in this country and have an entirely different legal system than the rest of us backed up by concrete examples.
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Apr 27, 2015 18:12
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^^^^Haha, I had a similar thought. Amergin posted:1) Wall St. companies who are found to commit fraud are penalized through fines. Much of the Anti-Wall St. rhetoric came about after the 2008 crash in which nothing illegal was performed - if anything the housing crash itself was spurred on by terrible government regulations that encouraged a race-to-the-bottom mentality with regards to mortgages for people with terrible credit. 1) Oh good, criminal actions result in zero prosecutions. Instead fines for less than the amount of profit they collected are used. That's definitely justice. Haha, that's nonsense. Robo-signings, liar loans, fraud again, market manipulation, etc. There was a ton of illegal poo poo happening and the banks all walked away scot free or in many cases with virtually 0% interest loans from the fed. 2) So one cop who hasn't actually been convicted is your proof that cops can be punished by the justice system? The problem with Ferguson and NYC is they didn't ever make it to trial when for the average citizen similar cases make it to trial well above 90% of the time. It's not that the legal system isn't covering enough it's that the legal system isn't being enforced consistently. I'm sure you noticed a number of people here were pissed when Petraeus got zero prison time for a crime that would result in 15-20 yrs in Leavenworth for any other military member. There shouldn't be two separate systems of justice. As someone who doesn't care for Hilary I would love if a scandal knocked her out of the race early enough that a better Dem candidate could win, but for that to happen there needs to be actual evidence of wrongdoing not just conjecture. You know, evidence, like the video of a NYC cop choking Eric Garner to death or the email trail showing the banks intentionally and knowingly manipulated the LIBOR rate.
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Apr 27, 2015 18:31
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These Baltimore riots are a honey pot for racists good lord. Are there really so many people in this country waiting for a black person or groups of black people to behave poorly just so they can leap out and scream "AHA I knew it all along, you DONT deserve civilization"? That's the feeling I get reading through random Facebook and Reddit threads.
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Apr 28, 2015 07:15
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Popular Thug Drink posted:uhh I'm always surprised by how bad it is, I suppose I keep hoping these seemingly decent people aren't harboring deep seated suspicions and distrust of black people. ErIog posted:I am actually quite surprised how up in arms white people on my Facebook are getting about this. There wasn't this kind of response from my dumb racist acquaintances at any point during anything with Ferguson. Also this, for some reason the Baltimore thing is getting a bigger response thus far.
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Apr 28, 2015 07:43
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Did you all really think that trains wouldn't be another irritating feather in the pedantry cap of Fish Mesch?
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Apr 28, 2015 21:00
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David Simon had a nice little piece that got put up on the Guardian. http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/dec/08/david-simon-capitalism-marx-two-americas-wire?CMP=share_btn_fb
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Apr 29, 2015 19:31
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Family Values posted:As long as we're quoting and discussing David Simon's take on the situation in Baltimore, I'll go ahead and add this to the pile. (I don't think this was already linked in this thread but apologies if I overlooked it) drat that is a great and depressing interview. I love David Simon.
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Apr 30, 2015 02:29
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