U.S. Politics: High Nunes or Russian to Judgement

[DireWolfSpirit]

Regards to the recent actions of the U.S. Congress passing legislation making it possible for internet providers to sell your personal info such as web browsing history. I recommend using a VPN. I was able to download a free app and have had no issues with using it. 

I think it might be a good idea to become proactive at protecting our privacy till I see evidence otherwise ( assumption being that this data will probably get sold to some nefarious entity eventually). I'm going to assume consumers have/will be sold out in the not too distant future. Long story short, I will be using a VPN for all internet usage for the forseeable future.

[DireWolfSpirit]

L.A. Times serving up some great critical editorializing of the Donald- http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/la-times-editorial-board-releases-scathing-4-part-series-on-train-wreck-trump_us_58e1a6a7e4b0c777f7885d72?ncid=inblnkushpmg00000009

A snippet- 

“It was no secret during the campaign that Donald Trump was a narcissist and a demagogue who used fear and dishonesty to appeal to the worst in American voters,” the board wrote. “Still, nothing prepared us for the magnitude of this train wreck.”

[Fez]

6 hours ago, DireWolfSpirit said:

Regards to the recent actions of the U.S. Congress passing legislation making it possible for internet providers to sell your personal info such as web browsing history. I recommend using a VPN. I was able to download a free app and have had no issues with using it. 

I think it might be a good idea to become proactive at protecting our privacy till I see evidence otherwise ( assumption being that this data will probably get sold to some nefarious entity eventually). I'm going to assume consumers have/will be sold out in the not too distant future. Long story short, I will be using a VPN for all internet usage for the forseeable future.

The legislation sucks, but my understanding is that it doesn't actually change anything on the ground. The bill blocked some late-term Obama regulations from going into effect that would've prevented ISPs from selling personal info, which just means we're in the same position we were in before the regulations were drafted; aka roughly last June.

[OldGimletEye]

Remember how all the violence was coming from mean old lefties, while Trump supporters or conservatives were just sitting there advocating peace and goodwill to all while singing Kumbaya?

Yeah, I don't either.

http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/court-case-test-donald-trumps-role-inciting-violence

Quote

It’s genuinely difficult to count the number of ways in which Donald Trump wasn’t a normal presidential candidate, but among the most alarming was the Republican’s tacit embrace of violence as a legitimate tool at his rallies. While many have credibly argued that a candidate shouldn’t be held responsible for the actions of his or her supporters, in Trump’s case, we saw a candidate who seemed a little too eager to encourage vicious behavior.

 

Quote

And in Kentucky in March 2016, three protesters were physically assaulted at a Trump event – a known white nationalist helped initiate the confrontation – and the trio filed a lawsuit alleging that the Republican bears some responsibility for the violence. The president’s lawyers, not surprisingly, have tried to get the case thrown out, but as the Washington Post reported, a federal judge, citing Trump’s own public comments, has decided to allow the case to proceed.

Judge David J. Hale ruled against efforts by Trump’s attorneys to throw out a lawsuit accusing him of inciting violence against protesters at a March 2016 campaign rally in Louisville.

 

[Tywin et al.]

I saw three different ads this morning urging people to call their Senator to vote to confirm Gorsuch. I guess we're in the era of permanent campaigning now......

[Fez]

2 minutes ago, Tywin et al. said:

I saw three different ads this morning urging people to call their Senator to vote to confirm Gorsuch. I guess we're in the era of permanent campaigning now......

Also seems like a waste of money. There's maybe 3 Senators where we don't know how they'll vote no matter what.

[Commodore]

looks like the source of the felonious unmasking of Mike Flynn might be revealed (leaked?) soon

that person needs to go to prison for a long time

leaking NSA intercept info on American citizens is police state stuff

[Tywin et al.]

10 minutes ago, Fez said:

Also seems like a waste of money. There's maybe 3 Senators where we don't know how they'll vote no matter what.

Political ads in general are seeming to be more and more like a giant waste of money.

[Swordfish]

On 4/1/2017 at 5:45 AM, DunderMifflin said:

Habitual/daily pot smokers not being able to drive effects a LOT of people. I mean smoking a joint before you go to bed every night then not being allowed to drive to work the next morning is sick fuck shit. Especially in the fear mongering name of vague and unproven safety.

And the "today's pot is too strong" argument is weak. It's the same drug it's always been just more potent. Where instead of smoking an entire joint you get the effect from hitting the joint once or twice. Which honestly is probably better for the lungs since you don't have to smoke as much now to get the same effect.

Really what's needed for pot is sellers being required to somehow provide less vague info about the potency and strain of the weed they are selling, particularly with edibles. As of now, you don't really know how much weed is in that pot brownie before you eat it unless you made it yourself.

I'm not sure where yo live, but at least in states where it's legal, this just isn't true.

The amount of THC in all strains and edibles is tested and marked.

 

 

9 hours ago, DireWolfSpirit said:

Regards to the recent actions of the U.S. Congress passing legislation making it possible for internet providers to sell your personal info such as web browsing history. I recommend using a VPN. I was able to download a free app and have had no issues with using it. 

I think it might be a good idea to become proactive at protecting our privacy till I see evidence otherwise ( assumption being that this data will probably get sold to some nefarious entity eventually). I'm going to assume consumers have/will be sold out in the not too distant future. Long story short, I will be using a VPN for all internet usage for the forseeable future.

It's still illegal to sell anything that is personally identifiable.  So saying 'making it possible for internet providers to sell your personal info such as web browsing history' is not strictly correct.  VPN's are always a good idea, provided you choose a good one, but not strictly necessary at the moment, since as someone else mentioned, nothing is changing.  this is preventing a regulation form going into effect.

 

 

[Swordfish]

On 3/31/2017 at 9:35 PM, dmc515 said:

To the bolded, I've never said that was his intent, because I agree with you in that regard. 

Great.  Since that was what was being discussed, there's not much more to say on this.

[mormont]

2 hours ago, Commodore said:

looks like the source of the felonious unmasking of Mike Flynn might be revealed (leaked?) soon

that person needs to go to prison for a long time

leaking NSA intercept info on American citizens is police state stuff

There's a lot of 'police state stuff' going on but this isn't it. By definition, if one individual made an unauthorised disclosure that's not the 'police state'.

In fact, as I've noted before, depending on the circumstances this is likely to qualify as what would be called a 'public interest disclosure' aka whistleblowing. There's no denying that this particular information was in the public interest. If the state sends a person to jail for that, then you just might be mixed up about where the 'police state' comes in.

[Manhole Eunuchsbane]

3 hours ago, OldGimletEye said:

Remember how all the violence was coming from mean old lefties, while Trump supporters or conservatives were just sitting there advocating peace and goodwill to all while singing Kumbaya?

Yeah, I don't either.

http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/court-case-test-donald-trumps-role-inciting-violence

 Um quite a bit of violence was perpetrated by the "mean old lefties" both before and after the election. Google San Jose Trump Rally and Berkeley Milo Riot. I don't think it's a good idea to downplay this bullshit. I'm not sure how one can even call themselves a liberal and advocate blocking Free Speech in any form. It's a foundational tenet of Liberalism.

[OldGimletEye]

22 minutes ago, Manhole Eunuchsbane said:

 Um quite a bit of violence was perpetrated by the "mean old lefties" both before and after the election. Google San Jose Trump Rally and Berkeley Milo Riot. I don't think it's a good idea to downplay this bullshit. I'm not sure how one can even call themselves a liberal and advocate blocking Free Speech in any form. It's a foundational tenet of Liberalism.

At no point, do I recall denying that some violence was perpetrated by left.

And, at no point, do I ever recall saying it's okay. I deplore political violence. In fact, I think I have so stated in prior post, on prior threads.

And I do believe in robust free speech protections as well.

[Ice Queen]

2 hours ago, Commodore said:

looks like the source of the felonious unmasking of Mike Flynn might be revealed (leaked?) soon

that person needs to go to prison for a long time

leaking NSA intercept info on American citizens is police state stuff

Valerie Plame. Did Richard Armitage and Karl Rove go to prison over that one? 

[Swordfish]

Just now, Crazy Cat Lady in Training said:

Valerie Plame. Did Richard Armitage and Karl Rove go to prison over that one? 

Should they have?

[Dr. Pepper]

3 hours ago, Commodore said:

looks like the source of the felonious unmasking of Mike Flynn might be revealed (leaked?) soon

that person needs to go to prison for a long time

leaking NSA intercept info on American citizens is police state stuff

Alternative definition?

[Manhole Eunuchsbane]

32 minutes ago, OldGimletEye said:

At no point, do I recall denying that some violence was perpetrated by left.

And, at no point, do I ever recall saying it's okay. I deplore political violence. In fact, I think I have so stated in prior post, on prior threads.

And I do believe in robust free speech protections as well.

No, but the tone of your post kind of suggested that perhaps the Left was less complicit when it comes to this sort of violence. It seems to me that this sort of behavior on the Left is becoming more and more common, and I think it's a bad play to downplay it in any way, shape or form. 

[OldGimletEye]

12 minutes ago, Manhole Eunuchsbane said:

No, but the tone of your post kind of suggested that perhaps the Left was less complicit when it comes to this sort of violence. It seems to me that this sort of behavior on the Left is becoming more and more common, and I think it's a bad play to downplay it in any way, shape or form. 

Okay, here is what I wrote:

Quote

Remember how all the violence was coming from mean old lefties, while Trump supporters or conservatives were just sitting there advocating peace and goodwill to all while singing Kumbaya?

At what point reading this, would you infer that I was suggesting the left was "less complicit". The plain text of what I wrote does not suggest that no violence came from the left. In fact, it may even suggest that some violence has come from the left.

The truth is that there does seem to be some acceptance by some on the left for both authoritarianism and the use of political violence. And I don't like that one bit.  And I think most left leaning people don't like it. I'm not sure though whether it's becoming more and more common though. There has always been radical lefties, like extreme righties that have been willing to use violence to achieve political goals.

However, it also seems to me that many on the right are trying to sell this narrative that it is only the left that does it, while not taking stock of the actions on their own side.

Also, the other reason I posted the link is because I think it's interesting that Trump himself likely encouraged it.

[Manhole Eunuchsbane]

1 minute ago, OldGimletEye said:

Okay, here is what I wrote:

At what point reading this, would you infer that I was suggesting the left was "less complicit". The plain text of what I wrote does not suggest that no violence came from the left. In fact, it may even suggest that some violence has come from the left.

The truth is that there does seem to be some acceptance by some on the left for both authoritarianism and the use of political violence. And I don't like that one bit.  And I think most left leaning people don't like it.

However, it also seems to me that many on the right are trying to sell this narrative that it is only the left that does it, while not taking stock of the actions on their own side.

Also, the other reason I posted the link is because I think it's interesting that Trump himself likely encouraged it.

I hear ya. All I can say is that I tend to hold my side to a higher standard. And my side has been failing on that particular front for the past couple of years. I'm not sure what switch got flipped, but perpetrating violence in order to block speech that you don't care for is a bullshit tactic that should be called out anytime it occurs.

[Fez]

And it looks like Kansas' attempt to expand Medicaid is once again dead. The state's lower house voted to override Brownback's veto 81-44, but they needed 84 votes to succeed. 

Still, considering there's only 40 Democrats in the lower house, that's a pretty impressive showing. So long as expanding Medicaid is still a thing, it seems almost certain that Kansas will expand once Brownback is gone; but unfortunately that's still a couple years away.