The General American Politics Thread

[Patticus]

Anybody see the State of the Union last night? Obama straight up ripped a few of my ideas off when it came to industry.

I watched the entire thing, and it was interesting to watch the reaction of the GOP side of the house. They clearly didn't enjoy Obama speaking out against obstructionism, which he has come up against time and again, given that many of them were recently elected on purely obstructionist manifestos. According to the NBC newscasters afterwards though, he got more ovations from the GOP this year than in any of his prior addresses, or something to that effect, which I suppose was good.

Anyway, I thought that Obama focused too much on education and construction and not enough on other things.

[Conando]

So, this might be me being a bit of a conspiracy theorist but, does anyone else think the GOP doesn't want to win? I mean, they can't be serious with who they have running, they just can't. It's a stupid strategy but, maybe they think they can prevent Obama from doing anything so they can take 2016.

I mean, freakin' Newt Gingrich said that poor kids should be put to janitorial work.

Edited January 26, 2012 by Crow T. Robot

[Tornado]

Neither of the two front runners are anywhere near unlectable (well, there is a catch to that statement, but I'm not going to get into it at the moment), especially with there still being several months left in Obama's first term. The main thing that sticks out is that, for whatever reason, the GOP hasn't gone out of their way to shoo out the backburning idiots (your Santorums and your Gingrichs) this time like they did in 2008.

Edited January 26, 2012 by Tornado

[SuperStingray]

Anybody see the State of the Union last night? Obama straight up ripped a few of my ideas off when it came to industry.

[Tornado]

This thread is far too serious:

Edited January 27, 2012 by Tornado

[Mick]

This thread is far too serious:

[Legendary Emerald]

Oh, I should point out that there was a Republican debate held here at my college campus in Jacksonville today. Students were not provided with tickets, though I did hear of one guy who was able to stir enough coffins in the higher-up's office to get two tickets.

However, all this amounts to for me is that two of my classes for the day were cancelled. Swag.

[turbojet]

So apparently everybody who is at least registered can vote in any primary in Florida. This means that a hardcore liberal person such as myself could...I don't know...vote for the least capable candidate just to ensure Barack will win again. And it just so happens that the voting place is right across the street.

I'm voting for Gingrich.

[CrownSlayers Shadow]

So apparently everybody who is at least registered can vote in any primary in Florida. This means that a hardcore liberal person such as myself could...I don't know...vote for the least capable candidate just to ensure Barack will win again. And it just so happens that the voting place is right across the street.

I'm voting for Gingrich.

[Kevin]

This thread is far too serious:

[CrownSlayers Shadow]

I was laughing so hard at what Ron Paul said! That has the be the best response ever!

Seriously though, there's no way Newt's plan for colonizing the moon will become reality at this current time. We just ended the space shuttle program and in the current economy, there's no way we would have the money to fund such a large project anyway.

Plus DARPA has their whole 100-year space program thing going on in the works.

It took a lot of research and development to land on the moon during the Cold War, taking 4 years (or even 40) to colonize it is being completely ignorant of how long it would take to solve the technological and physiological issues currently roadblocking us from doing so.

[SuperStingray]

Seriously though, there's no way Newt's plan for colonizing the moon will become reality at this current time. We just ended the space shuttle program and in the current economy, there's no way we would have the money to fund such a large project anyway.

It's really a testament to how much I dislike Newt Gingrich as a politician that I wouldn't vote for him even knowing how much he supports the sciences.

Still, I have a feeling he'll get the nomination but I don't think he'll win the general election.

[Tornado]

Gingrich wouldn't win the Republican nomination if everyone else died.

[turbojet]

Gingrich wouldn't win the Republican nomination if everyone else died.

You don't know Florida. 2000. Just 2000.

[SuperStingray]

Gingrich wouldn't win the Republican nomination if everyone else died.

I might have said Romney at one point, but he's rapidly losing momentum. It's unfortunate, but history shows that charisma can seriously make or break a candidate before anything else short of being a serious criminal, the only two up there with the necessary charisma to win the primary let alone the general are Gingrich and Ron Paul and Paul's stances are just way too radical to command a sufficient following outside the youth vote. Santorum might have had a chance if he had kept his mouth shut on domestic issues.

[Delta Starfire]

I recall Bush making grand proclamations about returning to the moon. Do Republicans make promises about space as half-hearted attempts to win over the science enthusiasts, after totally alienating them by saying they think evolution and climate change are lies of the left?

Edited January 27, 2012 by Eon

[SchemingMinor]

Oh, I should point out that there was a Republican debate held here at my college campus in Jacksonville today. Students were not provided with tickets, though I did hear of one guy who was able to stir enough coffins in the higher-up's office to get two tickets.

However, all this amounts to for me is that two of my classes for the day were cancelled. Swag.

I'm surprised UNF didn't have a mass protest against the candidates since they are holding a gay rights seminar workshop the same entire week.

[SuperStingray]

I recall Bush making grand proclamations about returning to the moon. Do Republicans make promises about space as half-hearted attempts to win over the science enthusiasts, after totally alienating them by saying they think evolution and climate change are lies of the left?

Edited January 27, 2012 by SuperStingray

[Patticus]

If mankind can have a temporarily-inhabited and internationally-built space station in orbit around the Earth, it can certainly have one on the surface of the moon. It just takes a bit longer to get there is all. Technologically I think we're quite capable of doing it. Indeed, it should actually be safer to build on the lunar surface than in Earth orbit, as while in orbit micro-debris can strike from every angle and you're surrounded by billions of pieces of detritus from the past few decades of near-space exploration and satellite telecoms development; all are potential threats if you're not constantly watchful. Planting yourself on the moon, however, means the angle of trajectory for any given particle of debris is severely limited; more so if you dig into the surface, and we don't have nearly as much shit in orbit around the moon as we do the Earth.

The only problems I can see are the time it takes to arrive to and from, and the propulsion of the craft you're using to get in and out. It needs to be affordable insofar as these things can be affordable, while not being shit.

It might be more expedient to, rather than jump right for the moon, instead start building more space stations at the Lagrange Points between the Earth and Moon. Controlling them will probably become pretty important in the early decades (or centuries) of space travel development, so we in the west might as well start working on dominating them now.

[turbojet]

Doesn't space law dictate that the United States technically owns the moon?

[Tornado]

The only problems I can see are the time it takes to arrive to and from, and the propulsion of the craft you're using to get in and out.

Also, depending on what he wanted to put up there, would be illegal as shit. No military bases on the Moon.

[Patticus]

Also, depending on what he wanted to put up there, would be illegal as shit. No military bases on the Moon.

Because treaties totally last forever and are never ever broken ever, right?

Please.

Where man goes, so war goes with him. It is perhaps regrettable, but it's inevitable, just as the militarisation of the sky was inevitable. Already the major powers of our day are developing anti-satellite missiles and similar technologies, plus the counters thereto. If having a dominating presence up there gives one big power an unassailable advantage over all other competitors, and it probably would, then efforts will be made (perhaps under the guise of commercial space-flight development or something) to secure it. Treaties will be upheld publicly at first, but eventually will have to be discarded.

It's going to happen.

[Tornado]

Because treaties totally last forever and are never ever broken ever, right?

We aren't talking about a U.N. treaty.

This was one penned by three groups who actually have influence over the issue, so this one is generally seen as actually enforcable. Why would the U.S. violate one of its own treaties in order to accomplish something most people find to be a joke? To piss off the international community for teh lulz?

45 years ago, shooting missiles from the moon was probably a pretty scary thought. These days, America can carpet bomb the entire planet in half an hour without leaving a bunker, and watch the whole thing from thousands of sattelites in orbit. America already has that unassailable advantage.

Edited January 28, 2012 by Celestia

[Stacy]

I thought nobody owns the moon, so man can't interfere with it?

[SuperStingray]

See, this is EXACTLY what Vanquish was warning us about. You bring arms to space and next thing you know a Russian fringe group invades our base with robots and microwaves San Francisco with it.

I'm joking of course, but while I don't doubt the US would try to use the moon for militaristic purposes, I think other countries would show very active disapproval in, i.e. cutting off trade or something. This isn't exactly something an international treaty could settle, it's kind of hard to enforce activity going on 400,000 kilometers away from everyone else.

I thought nobody owns the moon, so man can't interfere with it?

We already interfered with it by landing on it and putting our flags up there.

Edited January 28, 2012 by SuperStingray