US Politics: Hey wanna come to my office and see some Top Secret Eyes only documents?

[Mr. Chatywin et al.]

1 minute ago, Firebrand Jace said:

Only if you're looking for a subscription. 

Gonna do it again in 2 years? 2 after that too?

Solution: Have the largest corporations buy every higher education institution and offer free tuition in exchange for signing a 25 year contract to work for them, waiving away all their rights and ability to negotiate pay. Problem solved, right?

[DMC]

12 minutes ago, Firebrand Jace said:

Only if you're looking for a subscription. 

Gonna do it again in 2 years? 2 after that too?

It's probably gonna be struck down by SCOTUS anyway, maybe before it even goes into effect, so yeah this is definitely just for November.

[Jace, Extat]

7 minutes ago, Tywin et al. said:

Solution: Have the largest corporations buy every higher education institution and offer free tuition in exchange for signing a 25 year contract to work for them, waiving away all their rights and ability to negotiate pay. Problem solved, right?

Yes. But I think parents should be allowed to apply one or more of their childrens labors towards the resolution of this debt. That way the second and third born (no abortion or contraceptives will help you get to three) can work to pay off the debt of the father and mother just in time for the first born to enter the school force 

[Jace, Extat]

1 minute ago, DMC said:

It's probably gonna be struck down by SCOTUS anyway, maybe before it even goes into effect, so yeah this is definitely just for November.

Oooh! That'd be perfect! Then the money isn't burned, the purchased now have their Biden jubilation muted into proper Republican loathing and moar irritation at the imbalance of the court... All at an approval from Biden. 

I take it all back. If this was their play then it's a great one. Policy theater has different rules.

[Mr. Chatywin et al.]

4 minutes ago, Firebrand Jace said:

Yes. But I think parents should be allowed to apply one or more of their childrens labors towards the resolution of this debt. That way the second and third born (no abortion or contraceptives will help you get to three) can work to pay off the debt of the father and mother just in time for the first born to enter the school force 

Talk about two birds with one stone. Now Elon* won't have to worry about the shrinking of the population.

 

*fucking idiot

[Jace, Extat]

8 minutes ago, Tywin et al. said:

Talk about two birds with one stone. Now Elon* won't have to worry about the shrinking of the population.

 

*fucking idiot

Well I don't think he's stupid. 

He's speaking from his own interest base, which is literally Mars. 

He's, like, insane and delusional. But underestimating your enemies is asking them to beat you. 

That dude is smart. And he's also obviously power mad and delusional. That's why he's dangerous. Because even though the things he says are either patently untrue or only true for himself, his power and grandiosity inspire others. THOSE are the idiots. The ones who believe truly that the welfare of some superior will benefit themselves, or are just so apathetic that they enjoy vicarious empowerment of superior forces simply for the spectacle.

[Mr. Chatywin et al.]

12 minutes ago, Firebrand Jace said:

That dude is smart. And he's also obviously power mad and delusional. That's why he's dangerous.

Musk is a good example of why a multi-faceted approach to assessing intelligence is wise. He's clearly brilliant in some areas, but in others he's very much not and that's also why he's dangerous. I doubt he's able to separate the two.

[Zorral]

Only a half hour address, I guess?  We were out for dinner with a friend and hadn't realized it was 8 PM already.

He called out Sauron by His Name! seems to be the take-away?

[Mindwalker]

It was a good speech.

[DMC]

13 minutes ago, Zorral said:

He called out Sauron by His Name! seems to be the take-away?

Pretty much.  I didn't watch it either but sounds like the main takeaway is he tried to make the midterms a referendum on Trump and "MAGA Republicans" and their threat to democracy.  Which, duh, but good he did it.

[Mindwalker]

Network tv didn't carry it, apparently. Only FPOTUS & Co. give them these sweet ratings.

[mcbigski]

Yeah because obviously the guy who got more votes than any incumbent ever and lost on the Wednesday vote is the threat to Our Democracy. 

[DMC]

33 minutes ago, mcbigski said:

Yeah because obviously the guy who got more votes than any incumbent ever and lost on the Wednesday vote is the threat to Our Democracy. 

Yep, he obviously is.  Are you sober or something?

[Wade1865]

11 hours ago, Larry of the Lake said:

Just a reminder that we live in a police state...

10 hours ago, DMC said:

This is a facile and disingenuous description of Biden's plan. 

Larry of the Lake / DMC -- excellent discussion; value-added, thank you! Uncle Joe's scheme sounds great, and it would be amazing if it gets pushed through and achieves its objectives. Unfortunately, in the end, the status quo will continue to be realized, solidified. We live in an incipient police state, and it's expanding in response to the USG's desire for greater fiscal and social control, as a consequence of its incompetence in governing.

***

Americans just aren't socialized in a way that provides the population an adequate quantity and quality of police officer (i.e., cops). We're too heavy-handed and risk-averse. It's irrelevant if we get 100,000 or 1,000,000 more cops. At most, only a minority, 3-5% of them hold the will and capacity to adapt in a way that would secure Uncle Joe's end-state. The remaining 95-97% will just overwhelm the minority, maintaining existing conditions.

Instead, transform the cops into peacekeepers, by compelling adaptation. Disempower them: disarm, dismount, and defund (i.e., reallocate / redirect). Deny the authority to apply armed violence, excepting combatives and batons. Force them to walk the streets, demonstrating availability and presence. Train them to engage locals, gaining goodwill and atmospherics. There should be no verbal, visual, and physical barriers between peacekeepers and populations. Granted authority and training, they need to assume the greater risk. Couple this with career incentives as a means of influencing adaptation. Compel and influence -- over decades, this will lead to an increasing % of peacekeepers in lieu of cops, able to adapt to a population's needs.

Facilitate their success with emplaced cameras and flying drones in public areas. Reinforce them when overwhlemed by way of motorized and airborne quick-reaction forces of shocktroopers. Release all non-violent drug-crime offenders. Empower the court system; peacekeepers should be light-handed, while court officers should be heavy-handed. Maximize the application of "healthcare as crime prevention" via reallocated / redirected funds.

Choose a city, make it a test case, then go all out for at least a generation. Once the cop has been transormed into a peacekeeper, and the peacekeeper has achieved pacification in an area, transform the peacekeeper into something that reflects a (wholly apolitical) UK police officer, as modeled by Sir Robert Peel. See what happens, then give me an award for my foresight and wisdom. You're welcome.

(anecdotally -- shockingly -- never seen a cop, much less a pair of them, walking a beat; at most, seen a few NYPD cops enforcing subway toll fares or standing in a subway car. the rest -- the vast majority -- were riding around in autos, or flashing speed cameras at me)

[Jace, Extat]

Speaking of speed cameras, tickets should be essentially abandoned.

We've seen how it corrupts the system by attaching a financial incentive to enforcement of law. The fact that I wrote that sentence and it's true is reason enough to abolish the practice. 

 

[Ser Scot A Ellison]

7 hours ago, mcbigski said:

Yeah because obviously the guy who got more votes than any incumbent ever and lost on the Wednesday vote is the threat to Our Democracy. 

- claims without evidence the election was stolen

- encouraged a mob to storm the Capitol 

- refuses to acknowledge he lost despite having his loss certified by most members of his own party after sending that mob

- Steals secret documents from the White House on his way out

- Refuses to return all those documents when asked

- Claims a valid search warrant properly served is “a raid”

- Now promising to pardon the criminals who stormed the Capitol

Yes, the losing one term former President who lives in Florida and loves the Russian dictator is absolutely a “threat to Democracy”.

[Jaxom 1974]

3 hours ago, Ser Scot A Ellison said:

- claims without evidence the election was stolen

- encouraged a mob to storm the Capitol 

- refuses to acknowledge he lost despite having his loss certified by most members of his own party after sending that mob

- Steals secret documents from the White House on his way out

- Refuses to return all those documents when asked

- Claims a valid search warrant properly served is “a raid”

- Now promising to pardon the criminals who stormed the Capitol

Yes, the losing one term former President who lives in Florida and loves the Russian dictator is absolutely a “threat to Democracy”.

You forgot the part from the other day where he declared that the 2020 election was invalid and he should be reinstated immediately...

[Mindwalker]

... or the part where he cheered on the Hang Mike Pence crowd... or where he conspired to pay off porn stars with campaign funds... 

But wait, are we really doing this? At this point in time, if you didn't get the memo, you clearly don't want to get it.

[Ser Scot A Ellison]

20 minutes ago, Mindwalker said:

... or the part where he cheered on the Hang Mike Pence crowd... or where he conspired to pay off porn stars with campaign funds... 

But wait, are we really doing this? At this point in time, if you didn't get the memo, you clearly don't want to get it.

Not entirely.  Just had a long talk with my Dad.  He voted for Trump twice and sees the danger now but he, and he claims others like him, remain angry and frustrated with the options presented to him.  He claims his anger stems from MSM being in the bag for Democratic Politicans.

He says he will simply stop voting.  I wonder how many on the non-MAGA right will follow that example?  Could that be part of the reason for Democratic pick ups in unexpected locales?

[Zorral]

Advanced Dementia! I call in to tell the world Advanced Dementia!

Projection! So much projection!  Cannot stop projecting!  

Or lying. Or stealing.

But more seriously folks, now gingrich is in the hot seat, his treason participation revealed.  Glad to see this is how he shall end his days in history.