DMC Posted September 17, 2020 Share Posted September 17, 2020 1 minute ago, tzanth said: I bet people were having conversations much like this in Germany in 1932. This isn't Germany 1932. You mentioned Rittenhouse earlier. If it was Germany 1932, Rittenhouse would be getting a parade, not a trial date. I completely agree that the fact they're in the realm of possibility is terrifying. I just think sometimes people need to take a step back, or lay off on the hyperbole, or in Kal's case, have a goddamned drink and relax. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Martell Spy Posted September 17, 2020 Share Posted September 17, 2020 Barr attacks Justice Department staff, compares them to preschoolers https://www.cnn.com/2020/09/16/politics/barr-justice-department-speech/index.html Quote (CNN)Attorney General William Barr slammed the hundreds of Justice Department prosecutors working beneath him on Wednesday, equating them to preschoolers, in a defense of his own politically tuned decision making in the Trump administration. "Name one successful organization or institution where the lowest level employees' decisions are deemed sacrosanct, there aren't. There aren't any letting the most junior members set the agenda," Barr said, speaking at a Constitution Day celebration hosted by Hillsdale College. "It might be a good philosophy for a Montessori preschool, but it is no way to run a federal agency," the attorney general added. The comments are likely to inflame already strained relations between the politically appointed Justice Department leadership in Washington and the career attorneys across the country who serve through multiple presidencies. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DMC Posted September 17, 2020 Share Posted September 17, 2020 2 hours ago, Martell Spy said: Barr attacks Justice Department staff, compares them to preschoolers What I really wanna know is what preschool allows the 4 year olds to set the agenda? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gaston de Foix Posted September 17, 2020 Share Posted September 17, 2020 7 hours ago, Martell Spy said: Barr attacks Justice Department staff, compares them to preschoolers https://www.cnn.com/2020/09/16/politics/barr-justice-department-speech/index.html The Justice Department staff who have disagreed with Barr have done so because he made decisions that were often contrary to Justice Department policy and virtually always contrary to the rule of law. The A-G has discretion but he is to exercise that discretion in accordance with his duty to uphold the rule of law. Which Barr doesn't give a shit about. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gaston de Foix Posted September 17, 2020 Share Posted September 17, 2020 Does anyone believe the SC Senate polls that show Harrison and Graham tied? I'm putting it firmly in the too-good-to-be-true category. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TrackerNeil Posted September 17, 2020 Share Posted September 17, 2020 Rachel Bitecofer has a lengthy but interesting analysis on this election--it's quite a bit to read, but IMO worth it. For those who might not know, Bitecofer believes that elections are determined not by who is persuaded, but by who is activated, and I might agree with her. Anyway, she makes another interesting point: Quote The inelasticity of American public opinion is a symptom of a democracy in full-blown crisis. A healthy “body politic” does not remain unresponsive to political stimulus on an epic scale. Ours alone is the only democracy in which the public flatlined in this way. I could not agree more. Given a mishandled pandemic, 200K dead and an economy in the toilet, Trump's approval ratings should be in the twenties. Sure, his approval is not great, but, goddamn. Is the new reality that about 45% of Americans will support a president regardless of performance? If so...well, a full-blown crisis of democracy is putting it mildly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigFatCoward Posted September 17, 2020 Share Posted September 17, 2020 Why am I reading about heat rays? Wtf is wrong with your government? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Padraig Posted September 17, 2020 Share Posted September 17, 2020 12 hours ago, Xray the Enforcer said: Pod why in the name of the old gods and the new are you hanging out with some Seppo who needs convincing that Dems don't just...let violent criminals go? Its a very good question. I've know this person for years. I never got the impression that she had these beliefs. American politics isn't my normal topic of choice though. I probably will have to re-consider certain things if things continue as they are. But I wanted to make one attempt. It was the most bizarre conversation i've ever had. I spent the initial 5 minutes convinced I was been teased. And then I realised...she is serious... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Padraig Posted September 17, 2020 Share Posted September 17, 2020 And everyone else. Thanks for your input. That's very useful. Apologies for the very basic questions. I'll be more educated at least! Nothing is surprising me unduly but I didn't have deep knowledge of this. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xray the Enforcer Posted September 17, 2020 Share Posted September 17, 2020 1 hour ago, Padraig said: Its a very good question. I've know this person for years. I never got the impression that she had these beliefs. American politics isn't my normal topic of choice though. I probably will have to re-consider certain things if things continue as they are. But I wanted to make one attempt. It was the most bizarre conversation i've ever had. I spent the initial 5 minutes convinced I was been teased. And then I realised...she is serious... You are a better person than I, Pod. Thank you for trying to have a reasoned conversation with this person. I wish you luck and patience. I don't think you'll ever be able to really dismantle the racism that is clearly driving this person's thought-processes (I mean, nobody but the person holding the racist beliefs can do that, but you know what I'm getting at there), but hopefully you can at least make some headway on Green New Deal. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TrackerNeil Posted September 17, 2020 Share Posted September 17, 2020 2 hours ago, Gaston de Foix said: Does anyone believe the SC Senate polls that show Harrison and Graham tied? I'm putting it firmly in the too-good-to-be-true category. I recognize what the poll is reporting, but I doubt it's indicative of who SC will send to the Senate in January. I'll say this much, though: It's a bad environment for Republicans if Lindsey Graham is fighting for his job. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fez Posted September 17, 2020 Share Posted September 17, 2020 2 hours ago, Gaston de Foix said: Does anyone believe the SC Senate polls that show Harrison and Graham tied? I'm putting it firmly in the too-good-to-be-true category. I believe it. I believe Graham will win in the end, but I believe that Democrats have a surprisingly high floor in SC and that Graham will run a point or two behind Trump; making it even closer. South Carolina is much further behind North Carolina and Georgia, to say nothing of Virginia, in terms of changing partisan trends; but most of the same factors exist there too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
A Prince of Dorne Posted September 17, 2020 Share Posted September 17, 2020 University of Georgia decided it shouldn't allow in-person voting on campus. In-person classes? Fine. Football with fans? Fine. Voting? Unsafe, go downtown instead. I signed the petition: http://chng.it/xPCyC5YfMf Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maithanet Posted September 17, 2020 Share Posted September 17, 2020 13 minutes ago, Fez said: I believe it. I believe Graham will win in the end, but I believe that Democrats have a surprisingly high floor in SC and that Graham will run a point or two behind Trump; making it even closer. South Carolina is much further behind North Carolina and Georgia, to say nothing of Virginia, in terms of changing partisan trends; but most of the same factors exist there too. That's about where I am too. I fully expect Graham to run behind Trump. If it's only a couple points, then Graham will win. But if it's 6 points like this poll shows (or more!), then Graham could get booted. Because while Trump won SC by 14 in 2016, I think this could be one of the states where he has the biggest drop. Not enough to flip it, but with where polls are now I fully expect Trump to win by 5-8 points. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ormond Posted September 17, 2020 Share Posted September 17, 2020 13 hours ago, tzanth said: I hope you are right, but every day we read about things that even just a few months ago I also would have thought were fantastical. Today it was armed gangs manning roadblocks in Oregon and demanding IDs from drivers. A few weeks ago it was Rittenhouse shooting up a protest in Wisconsin. Whats going to be next? The fantastical and terrifying sadly seems increasingly normal and the tempo at which things become more absurd and more violent is speeding up every week. The US is rapidly running down the rabbit hole and I don't think we can reject hypotheticals anymore just because they seem fantastical or absurd. Maybe it's just because I've been alive longer, but "Rittenhouse shooting up a protest", while utterly horrible, seems far from "fantastical" to me. Idiots of various kinds have unfortunately been shooting up events in the USA the entire 69 years of my life. This just doesn't seem like anything "new". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tywin et al. Posted September 17, 2020 Share Posted September 17, 2020 24 minutes ago, Ormond said: Maybe it's just because I've been alive longer, but "Rittenhouse shooting up a protest", while utterly horrible, seems far from "fantastical" to me. Idiots of various kinds have unfortunately been shooting up events in the USA the entire 69 years of my life. This just doesn't seem like anything "new". The new ingredient in modern times is having a President and members of his Administration saying things that suggest this kind of behavior is okay and/or necessary. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ormond Posted September 17, 2020 Share Posted September 17, 2020 9 minutes ago, Tywin et al. said: The new ingredient in modern times is having a President and members of his Administration saying things that suggest this kind of behavior is okay and/or necessary. Yes, but we've known Trump would do that ever since Charlottesville if not before. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maarsen Posted September 17, 2020 Share Posted September 17, 2020 41 minutes ago, Ormond said: Maybe it's just because I've been alive longer, but "Rittenhouse shooting up a protest", while utterly horrible, seems far from "fantastical" to me. Idiots of various kinds have unfortunately been shooting up events in the USA the entire 69 years of my life. This just doesn't seem like anything "new". If you read history, much longer than that. Didn't Stokely Carmichael say that violence is as American as cherry pie way back in the 60's? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xray the Enforcer Posted September 17, 2020 Share Posted September 17, 2020 16 minutes ago, Ormond said: Yes, but we've known Trump would do that ever since Charlottesville if not before. Yes, but it does not lessen the impact of him praising a domestic terrorist facing a murder charge. If anything, it compounds all of the other shitty things he does on the regular. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
argonak Posted September 17, 2020 Share Posted September 17, 2020 7 minutes ago, Xray the Enforcer said: Yes, but it does not lessen the impact of him praising a domestic terrorist facing a murder charge. If anything, it compounds all of the other shitty things he does on the regular. This is where we'd have been with a President George Wallace during the civil rights movement. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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