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PoliGAF 2017 |OT2| Well, maybe McMaster isn't a traitor.

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I'm not sure I am acting like they are godlike svengalis, but they have constantly kicked our asses for a decade in State Legislatures, Governorships, and Congress. The reason losing the Presidency hurt so much was because the last thing we had.

The GOP is dominating the debate. They are the ones framing things. Trump can tweet a lie that Obama wiretapped him and over half of republicans immediately say it happened. So I am going to push back against the idea that we can just stand back and do nothing and wait for the GOP to mess up. That's not going to happen. What we get back is what we take back.

They did so well over the last 8 years because they were the opposition party. Before 2009ish, it looked like the GOP was on its deathbed.

I think what messes people up is the pendulum swing was mild for the Democrats this time around, due to 9-11. Democrats didn't get the strong 2002 midterm they probably could have had without 9-11, so what could have been 6 years of Democrat gains leading into Obama, was just 2 years (of extremely large gains).
 
"Chinese food" has very little in common with Chinese food.
It was still made by Chinese Americans. It's not like it was white people setting up chinese takeout like taco bell. People can say chinese american food sucks but at the very least, chinese communities were still setting up these businesses and making these recipes.
-------
Soul food and West indian food has connections to African food but it's still fucking good and black people still made it. Mexican food is a whole nother thing with Austinite and SF hipsters gentrifying tacos.
 
D

Deleted member 231381

Unconfirmed Member
I vastly prefer Ranked Choice to a parliamentary style system w/ a rainbow of parties.

Of course, but that's because you have an impoverished and degenerate view of humanity that reduces us to the status of automata, consumers but never agents.
 
C-XQxGXWsAEL8N8.jpg:large
 

kirblar

Member
Of course, but that's because you have an impoverished and degenerate view of humanity that reduces us to the status of automata, consumers but never agents.
Most people don't have a clue about what they're talking about on the majority of subjects out there and yes, this includes public policy. The more checks in place to stop know-nothings from getting power and influence, the better.
I'm not going to apologize that I acknowledge the reality of human nature.
 
They did so well over the last 8 years because they were the opposition party. Before 2009ish, it looked like the GOP was on its deathbed.

Even before 2009ish they still dominated state politics. The people saying the GOP was on it's deathbed didn't understand the party's strength. People completely underestimated how much race and xenophobia provide the party.
 

sc0la

Unconfirmed Member
They're incredibly nutritious and are loaded with omega three and fiber. They're also delicious.

Wtf is going on I here?
I am mildly allergic to avocados, but I eat guacamole occasionally because it is delicious (NEVER pay for it at chipotle though, that shit is highway robbery)
 

chadskin

Member
On May 28, Obama is coming to Berlin in honor of the 500th anniversary of the Protestant Reformation.

On May 31, Bernard is coming to Berlin to promote the German language edition of his book.

OPTICS
 
It was still made by Chinese Americans. It's not like it was white people setting up chinese takeout like taco bell. People can say chinese american food sucks but at the very least, chinese communities were still setting up these businesses and making these recipes.
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Soul food and West indian food has connections to African food but it's still fucking good and black people still made it. Mexican food is a whole nother thing with Austinite and SF hipsters gentrifying tacos.

You're right.
 
We already have multiple parties anyway, we just call them caucuses. What we call parties are just coalitions. Some people don't see it that way because our coalitions are stronger and haven't busted up recently (though this HFC vs. Tuesday Group shit seems like it could be headed that way!).
 
I am mildly allergic to avocados, but I eat guacamole occasionally because it is delicious (NEVER pay for it at chipotle though, that shit is highway robbery)


It wouldn't surprise me if Chipotle added sour cream to their quac to make it more cost effective

Right?! I don't want to live on this planet anymore.

Internet high five

They've probably just never had one that was seasoned properly. They need salt, badly.


Salt and a squirt of fresh lemon .., boom
 

Wilsongt

Member
All of this fuss over who the new DNC chair was going to be, and I just saw the first article saying who replaced Crumpled Foreskin.

Mitt Romney's niece.
 
People who said the GOP was on its deathbed in 2009 were being dumb but not because the GOP was especially strong at the state level.

Governorships:

Democratic: 29
Republican: 21

Legislatures:

Democratic: 27
Divided: 8
Republican: 14
Non-Partisan: 1*

*Nebraska's unicameral legislature is nominally non-partisan although it had a de facto Republican majority.

Really you saw the same things at the state level as you did nationally. Republicans doing well after 2004 then a big swing to Democrats in 2006 followed by a big swing back to Republicans in 2010. I don't see how state level elections following basically normal patterns would be any reason to think Republicans could successfully blame Democrats for an economic downturn occurring during a Republican trifecta.
 
Salt and a squirt of fresh lemon .., boom

Lemon is good, lime is better.

Anyway since Utah already hates Trump and the monuments specifically targeted in his review are both in Utah do we think that it might make it easier to deny him that state in 2020? In favor of McMullin or similar?

I get the sense that voters in Utah are probably pretty big on conservation.
 

kirblar

Member
I'm sorry, is this responding to me again?
Yes. You're shitting on me for having a pessimistic view of humanity's decision-making capabilities. The UK. California. Direct Democracy is one of the worst forms of government possible! Many, many people are not capable of actually judging things properly, and even fewer are capable of actually having the time to invest getting a grasp on even the basics of an issue.
 
People who said the GOP was on its deathbed in 2009 were being dumb but not because the GOP was especially strong at the state level.

Governorships:

Democratic: 29
Republican: 21

Legislatures:

Democratic: 27
Divided: 8
Republican: 14
Non-Partisan: 1*

*Nebraska's unicameral legislature is nominally non-partisan although it had a de facto Republican majority.

Really you saw the same things at the state level as you did nationally. Republicans doing well after 2004 then a big swing to Democrats in 2006 followed by a big swing back to Republicans in 2010. I don't see how state level elections following basically normal patterns would be any reason to think Republicans could successfully blame Democrats for an economic downturn occurring during a Republican trifecta.

I don't think 2018 will be a repeat of 2010 or 2006. I feel like Younger Dems are still disconnected from the party too much.
 
D

Deleted member 231381

Unconfirmed Member
Yes. You're shitting on me for having a pessimistic view of humanity's decision-making capabilities. The UK. California. Direct Democracy is one of the worst forms of government possible! Many, many people are not capable of actually judging things properly, and even fewer are capable of actually having the time to invest getting a grasp on even the basics of an issue.

Please may you quote where I argued for direct democracy?
 
People who said the GOP was on its deathbed in 2009 were being dumb but not because the GOP was especially strong at the state level.

Governorships:

Democratic: 29
Republican: 21

Legislatures:

Democratic: 27
Divided: 8
Republican: 14
Non-Partisan: 1*

*Nebraska's unicameral legislature is nominally non-partisan although it had a de facto Republican majority.

Really you saw the same things at the state level as you did nationally. Republicans doing well after 2004 then a big swing to Democrats in 2006 followed by a big swing back to Republicans in 2010. I don't see how state level elections following basically normal patterns would be any reason to think Republicans could successfully blame Democrats for an economic downturn occurring during a Republican trifecta.

You do have to knock us a bit though because a few (at least my own state) look like Democratic rocks but wouldn't even be in the same breath as states like CA. Mississippi's state legislature has only been controlled by Republicans for 6 years now, but we uhh aren't the most progressive state in the Union given our penchant for attempting to murder black people for centuries.
 

kirblar

Member
Please may you quote where I argued for direct democracy?
Your line about people being consumers, not agents- yes, I do not trust the average voter to be an agent for positive change. Elites are a good thing! It's just a bad thing when they're elite just because they have a massive trust fund and not a history of expertise! (see: Betsy DeVos)
 

jtb

Banned
why is politico doing puff pieces on Theo Epstein

wow, winning with a massive payroll. and an even more impressive innovation: tanking with a massive payroll!

he's got a bright political future ahead of him.
 

Blader

Member
I don't think 2018 will be a repeat of 2010 or 2006. I feel like Younger Dems are still disconnected from the party too much.

I feel like younger Dems are way more energized and active now than they were in 2006.

As for 2010, well, we should hope 2018 won't be a repeat of that. :lol
 

kirblar

Member
I feel like younger Dems are way more energized and active now than they were in 2006.

As for 2010, well, we should hope 2018 won't be a repeat of that. :lol
I think a big part of the disconnect w/ online discourse is that the most energized people are anything but straight white males.
 
I don't think 2018 will be a repeat of 2010 or 2006. I feel like Younger Dems are still disconnected from the party too much.

I realize your general feelings on these things, but younger voters are literally always disconnected. It's why everyone bitches about their turnout. But the morbid advantage for us is that on the other end of the scale is that the likelihood of a deceased person being a Republican for the next few years is higher than not.

I also really don't see how the increased participation we've seen happens without increased anger at the GOP and thus larger turnout. People (women especially) are pissed as hell.

edit: ^This too. Online activism is bullshit and always was and will be. People pounding the pavement and people who are mostly offline are voters, not people tweeting shit.
 
You do have to knock us a bit though because a few (at least my own state) look like Democratic rocks but wouldn't even be in the same breath as states like CA. Mississippi's state legislature has only been controlled by Republicans for 6 years now, but we uhh aren't the most progressive state in the Union given our penchant for attempting to murder black people for centuries.

For what it's worth, Democratic held legislatures in the South after the 2008 election: AR, LA, AL, MS, NC
 

kirblar

Member
I realize your general feelings on these things, but younger voters are literally always disconnected. It's why everyone bitches about their turnout. But the morbid advantage for us is that on the other end of the scale is that the likelihood of a deceased person being a Republican for the next few years is higher than not.

I also really don't see how the increased participation we've seen happens without increased anger at the GOP and thus larger turnout. People (women especially) are pissed as hell.

edit: ^This too. Online activism is bullshit and always was and will be. People pounding the pavement and people who are mostly offline are voters, not people tweeting shit.
Good time to drop this study: https://nber.org/papers/w23322
Medical and public health innovations in the 1940s quickly resulted in significant health improvements around the world. Countries with initially higher mortality from infectious diseases experienced greater increases in life expectancy, population, and - over the following 40 years - social conflict. This result is robust across alternative measures of conflict and is not driven by differential trends between countries with varying baseline characteristics. At least during this time period, a faster increase in population made social conflict more likely, probably because it increased competition for scarce resources in low income countries.
Turns out keeping old people alive longer has had some strong externalities in the form of a legion of people addicted to AM Radio and Fox News.
 

sphagnum

Banned
Yes. You're shitting on me for having a pessimistic view of humanity's decision-making capabilities. The UK. California. Direct Democracy is one of the worst forms of government possible! Many, many people are not capable of actually judging things properly, and even fewer are capable of actually having the time to invest getting a grasp on even the basics of an issue.

Perhaps we should move to a system that allows people to have more time and ability to be more than just workplace drones.
 
D

Deleted member 231381

Unconfirmed Member
Perhaps we should move to a system that allows people to have more time and ability to be more than just workplace drones.

Thus, whether we appeal to religious traditions and to the previous life of Humanity, or whether we consult only modern reason and the general agreement of the men of our era; far from condemning the use of material goods, we must see that none of our most noble faculties can be exercised without the mediation of these goods.

From this is follows that, all having been called to the spiritual life and to the dignity of men by the words of the philosophers, all must soar, and that legitimately, towards the conquest of material goods.

It is his dignity, it is his capacity as a man, it is his liberty, it is his independence, that the proletarian demands, when he aspires to possess material goods; for he knows that without these goods he is only an inferior, and that engaged, as he is, in the labors of the body, he partakes more of the condition of the domestic animals than that of man.
 

kirblar

Member
Perhaps we should move to a system that allows people to have more time and ability to be more than just workplace drones.
People like working!

I'm all for a better welfare state that allows people more flexibility in how they live their lives in the form of strong social safety nets. But doing something and getting rewarded for it is something people like! People like working, like competitions, like feeling that they're valuable.
 
Maybe he thinks he has a chance because Luther Strange was appointed by their impeached ex-governor.

There's a state rep getting in there, too. The primary isn't until 8/15 so there's plenty of time to fill up a clown car.


Not to go all Merkel but I'm down to squeeze our own little deadweight states until they maybe figure out that they benefit from the federal government more than they believe.

Good time to drop this study: https://nber.org/papers/w23322

Turns out keeping old people alive longer has had some strong externalities in the form of a legion of people addicted to AM Radio and Fox News.

I don't think humans have ever had better social cohesion than neolithic hunter-gatherers when the avg. life expectancy was 42.
 

jtb

Banned
Perhaps we should move to a system that allows people to have more time and ability to be more than just workplace drones.

People choose to make money because people like money. People care more about their money than they do about their politics, even if their politics directly affects their money. I don't really see how you solve this problem, if it is a problem at all.
 

pigeon

Banned
People like working!

I'm all for a better welfare state that allows people more flexibility in how they live their lives in the form of strong social safety nets. But doing something and getting rewarded for it is something people like! People like working, like competitions, like feeling that they're valuable.

They would like working more if they were working for themselves, or towards goals they like, rather than in order to earn enough to keep from starving to death or being thrown out of their home.

That's not just me saying that, that's how intrinsic motivation works!
 

kirblar

Member
They would like working more if they were working for themselves, or towards goals they like, rather than in order to earn enough to keep from starving to death or being thrown out of their home.

That's not just me saying that, that's how intrinsic motivation works!
What do you think I mean when I say "better welfare state" exactly?
Not to go all Merkel but I'm down to squeeze our own little deadweight states until they maybe figure out that they benefit from the federal government more than they believe.
I wouldn't do it (because I have a conscience) but I can't say that I'm upset that they're giving these rural states what they voted for.
 

sphagnum

Banned
People like working!

I'm all for a better welfare state that allows people more flexibility in how they live their lives in the form of strong social safety nets. But doing something and getting rewarded for it is something people like! People like working, like competitions, like feeling that they're valuable.

People choose to make money because people like money. People care more about their money than they do about their politics, even if their politics directly affects their money. I don't really see how you solve this problem, if it is a problem at all.

I'm talking about
seizing the means of production
reducing the amount of time they have to spend working to survive at the behest of others so that they can use that tike to pursue other interests which include things that may make them smarter, more capable citizens.
 

kirblar

Member
I'm talking about
seizing the means of production
reducing the amount of time they have to spend working to survive at the behest of others so that they can use that tike to pursue other interests which include things that may make them smarter, more capable citizens.
In the modern service economy, people are the primary means of production!
 
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