The General American Politics Thread

[CrownSlayers Shadow]

My god, people. Stop trying to control the Internet! You'd think that after all other attempts have failed they would have gotten the hint!

And this is gonna get struck down as soon as it reaches the Supreme Court.

[SenEDDtor Missile]

My god, people. Stop trying to control the Internet! You'd think that after all other attempts have failed they would have gotten the hint!

And this is gonna get struck down as soon as it reaches the Supreme Court.

As long as the internet can expose the scandals and shady deals of the corporations, they're just going to keep trying to control it until it just becomes another mouthpiece, just like journalism and television.

[CrownSlayers Shadow]

But you'd think they realize that it keeps shooting them in the foot everytime they try.

[SenEDDtor Missile]

But you'd think they realize that it keeps shooting them in the foot everytime they try.

Well...I think there was some kind of quote made in "Men in Black", about how "a person is smart, but a group of people are stupid"...or something like that.

[Johnny Boy]

They're still trying to control the Internet in 2013?

[Kuzu]

Well Imma just sit back and enjoy how this fails.

[turbojet]

So I passed by my local College Democrats tent and a girl asked me to sign a petition to do something for the Affordable Healthcare Act. I gave her a weird look and just flatly said no, and kept on walking.

 

You were expecting an epic tale, huh? 

[CrownSlayers Shadow]

Kinda...

 

Remind me what the Affordable Healthcare Act was about in simple terms please?

[turbojet]

Dude, as much as I love reading legislation, I rather not read that cluster fuck of corporate garbage. But I will try to summarize it.

 

The government mandates you(you pay a tax if you don't) to have healthcare. Businesses are required to provide it to employees. There are exceptions to this, however. If you are:

• Facing financial situations
• been uninsured for more than three months
• have religious beef with having healthcare
• Are American Indian
• Are a prison inmate
• Are an undocumented worker
• Been fucking Malia Obama

Then you are not required to get it.

 

EDIT: If you try that last one, you'll probably get a drone strike at your immediate location so I'd advise against it.

Edited March 19, 2013 by turbojet

[Tornado]

But I'm an American citizen. Obama would never do such a thi-

[CrownSlayers Shadow]

I'd get a double wammy of prison and a drone strike if I did that on Malia...she's like underage, dude.

[Tornado]

Put you in prison then drone strike that. Solves the prison population issue too; plus the government can hire people to rebuild it, jumpstarting the local economy.

[Tani Coyote]

So apparently a Republican brought up the idea of rewriting the party to appeal to more Americans (Poor + Minorities) but...

 

http://thinkprogress.org/justice/2013/03/15/1729331/cpac-slavery-minority-outreach/?mobile=nc

 

 

My god.. this is hilarious in a terrible way. You know your party has problems when tons of people make a riot against rewriting the party to reach a wider audience. It even has bigger problems when those people state racist and sexist remarks. Pure gold.

 

I feel myself puking just a little. Trying to hold the bile down...

 

So I'm taking it the attempt at a rewrite was bust? That's a darn shame. The GOP leadership has increasingly thrown the sick, the poor, the non-white, the non-Christian under the bus. They're hurting at the polls every time there's mass turnout, because Americans do not want them for any reason other than to block a tax raise. Otherwise I think most Americans would happily be rid of them at this point. All the fear, all the lies, all the hate.

 

I wouldn't be surprised if the GOP eventually collapses into some shambling third party, with the moderates in the party joining with conservative Democrats to form some other party that isn't totally insane.

 

As a note. While I never really bought the idea that the GOP was sexist at first (I'm not grasping the idea of the pro-life movement as hating women), this makes me reconsider. If scumbags like this guy can make their way into the upper echelons of leadership...

 

Couple of questions:

 

What are the odds that the upcoming hearings on DOMA will lead to its repeal?

 

As I recall there's one justice on the court who regularly flips sides. The Constitution explicitly says states must give full faith and credit to eachother, so if they don't repeal DOMA it will be massive hypocrisy, as heterosexual marriages are recognised. I'm just curious what effect that will have on state constitutions that ban gay marriage.

 

On the other hand, the Court makes some pretty shaking decisions. Wouldn't be surprised if they felt it was time to even the odds and upheld DOMA just to try and lessen the gay rights victories that have been happening these last few years.

 

And will this Obamacare loophole which allows companies to shift the monetary burden onto taxpayers, by denying coverage to anyone working under 30 hours a week, ever be fixed?

 

http://www.forbes.com/sites/rickungar/2012/12/09/walmart-bails-on-obamacare-sticks-taxpayers-with-employee-healthcare-costs/

 

Really this just illustrates why this half-private, half-public approach to healthcare is just ridiculous. All it's doing is enriching insurance companies and making it even harder to pass further reform.

 

There is no benefit to private insurance agencies... confiscate their assets, provide some compensation, and just convert the system to single payer.

 

Then brace yourself for the inevitable "Government can't do anything right" argument. Also prepare the fact this country was built on the government regularly investing in railways and highways. I didn't see any corporations doing that on their own, but let's gloss over it.

 

My god, people. Stop trying to control the Internet! You'd think that after all other attempts have failed they would have gotten the hint!

And this is gonna get struck down as soon as it reaches the Supreme Court.

 

 

Kinda...

 

Remind me what the Affordable Healthcare Act was about in simple terms please?

 

 

Put you in prison then drone strike that. Solves the prison population issue too; plus the government can hire people to rebuild it, jumpstarting the local economy.

 

I used to think drones on American soil were kind of invasive.

 

Now I see their uses for economic growth! Next I propose we hire a million people to dig holes and a million to fill them.

[turbojet]

I used to think drones on American soil were kind of invasive.

 

Now I see their uses for economic growth! Next I propose we hire a million people to dig holes and a million to fill them.

Eric Holder has already stated that when it is necessary, he thinks that it is perfectly okay for drone strikes on American soil and has already lent drones to a few police departments. 

[SenEDDtor Missile]

The BS Brigade is back to try to take over the world and instill the corporate controlled regime: http://act.demandprogress.org/act/veto_cispa/%3Freferring_akid%3Da8237645.745446.gPeUHV%26source%3Dauto-e

Edited March 21, 2013 by 743-E.D. Missile

[Tani Coyote]

Eric Holder has already stated that when it is necessary, he thinks that it is perfectly okay for drone strikes on American soil and has already lent drones to a few police departments. 

 

Oh, I was being satirical.

 

But yeah, this is definitely something that worries me.

 

The barrier between the police and military is a fine one, and dismantling it is often a sign of tyranny. I don't mean to sound like a fearmonger, but the idea of military assault vehicles being in the hands of ordinary police doesn't strike me as correct. On home soil the military should be confined to bases or border regions. Civilian control of the military is a key tenant of modern democracy, and keeping that military within certain restrictions should be just as much, if not moreso. Unless we're in an active state of war on our own soil, there's no reason for the military to operate a full capacity here.

[Patticus]

The thing is, though, military technologies often end up in police hands, as they filter down toward the commercial sector. Machine-guns, sniper rifles, walkie talkies, armored police riot vehicles, helicopter units; they and more were born in military environments, before gradually making their way down to police forces, private security firms and the public. The drone will be no different, I feel. How long will it be before private detectives use drones of various sizes to follow husbands and wives suspected of infidelities? How long before local news stations send up drones to monitor traffic, or national ones send them up to watch the spread of wildfires, the big game, or car chases? How long before the president's own security starts using drones when he or she goes walkabout, goes shopping or makes a big outdoor speech? How long, in fact, will it be before home security systems start making use of power-efficient drones armed with warning sirens, smoke/CO2 detectors, cameras and pepper spray? And sooner or later you'll have phone apps allowing you to control your lil friend in the sky from wherever you are and so on.

 

Of course, you'd probably need a special licence to have a drone with a weapon if you were a private citizen, but people would probably find ways to attach BB guns and more to their demilitarized robot helpers, and then of course you'll have a whole new problem - aerial crime. Then you'll get terrorists with small drones packed with explosives flying them into commercial jets.

 

It's not going to remain the preserve of the military forever.

 

A decade ago, it seemed inconceivable that anyone other than the US would ever use drone tech, but now many nations have it. Just you wait, it'll be in the hands of police forces worldwide before you know it, gunning down dissidents and protesters with almost gleeful abandon, and then it'll be in your front yard, and then your kids will be playing with flying toy versions from their phones and computers (or phone-PC-glasses-devices) like they're nothing.

[SenEDDtor Missile]

NOTICE: For the next 10 hours, gifts to the “Block Ryan’s Budget” Campaign will be matched dollar-for-dollar, doubling your impact.

News just broke that the Ryan Budget passed in the House. It absolutely decimates Obamacare and Medicare, leaving 31 million uninsured, to fund another tax break for the Republicans’ largest corporate backers.

By midnight tonight, we must DOUBLE our ad spending against the Ryan Budget to ensure it doesn’t become law. To make it happen, we need just 2,000 more contributions. We see that you made a member contribution in the past, but haven’t yet renewed for 2013:

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IF YOU SUPPORT OBAMACARE:

 

 

I don't know how many of you have cash to spare, but this is worrying.

Edited March 21, 2013 by 743-E.D. Missile

[Patticus]

Paul Ryan must not be allowed to fuck the economy. Not now. If this thing is made into law, or whatever the official budget is, if it passes the senate I guess, and the Obama Recovery falters, they're going to use it as a stick to beat the Democrats with next year and in 2016.

[Tornado]

I don't think ad campaign spending works that way...

[Patticus]

I don't think ad campaign spending works that way...

 

Ads influence the public, who influence politicians. I think that's how it's meant to go.

[Tornado]

Yeah, but that press release is written deliberately to imply that the money would directly prevent it from happening; when the most it will actually do is attempt to influence public opinion.

[Patticus]

Isn't that one of Obama's tactics nowadays; take the issues to the people, in order to try to circumvent the governmental gridlock the past few years have been plagued with?

 

Anyway, since this absolute abortion of a Ryan budget passed in the house, what's next? Does it go to the Senate? Does it go to Obama? How can it be stopped? What happens now?

[Tani Coyote]

Of course, you'd probably need a special licence to have a drone with a weapon if you were a private citizen, but people would probably find ways to attach BB guns and more to their demilitarized robot helpers, and then of course you'll have a whole new problem - aerial crime. Then you'll get terrorists with small drones packed with explosives flying them into commercial jets.

 

The idea of this is quite frankly terrifying and I think it really highlights why we need to stop the proliferation of drone technology (not to mention, re-assess our economic relations with the Middle East on that last part).

 

Anyway, since this absolute abortion of a Ryan budget passed in the house, what's next? Does it go to the Senate? Does it go to Obama? How can it be stopped? What happens now?

 

The procedure, as I recall, is the Senate will pass a budget, and then a reconciliation committee composed of both Representatives and Senators will meet to mend the differences, and then the new bill will be passed by both houses all or nothing.

 

I wouldn't worry too much; besides the Democratic majority, I imagine some of the GOP Senators are getting bribed by the insurance companies and their allies to keep Obamacare around.

[Autosaver]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H_V4JDq2kcU

 

We had a student walk out today. Was fun.