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  1. #14626
    Uncanny Member XPac's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by KNIGHT OF THE LAKE View Post
    Only in America is it a tough sell lol. Go to any other country and try to take it away and it’s political suicide
    For people who can't afford health care, it should be an easy sell. Unfortunately a lot of those people don't vote.

    I think you'll have more trouble convincing the people who have it and can comfortably afford it that what you'll be getting is AS GOOD as what they presently have. And those are likely the people who DO vote.

    If there are some assurances that what you're getting is comparatively as good WITHOUT doubling the state budget to get there, I think it'll start being a bit more receptive to the public.

  2. #14627
    Incredible Member Jackmando7's Avatar
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    It seems The USA is losing it's foothold on the worlds top dog. Go China, right?
    When I was seventeen,
    I drank some very good beer,
    I drank some very good beer
    I purchased with a fake ID.

    My name was Brian McGee,
    I stayed up listenin' to Queen
    When I was seventeen.

  3. #14628
    Astonishing Member Kal-El Summers's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Tami View Post
    Attachment 94941

    Don't anyone say she doesn't have a right to be a little snarky right now. Twitter Link
    Hilary's been coming for necks the entire week on Twitter, lol. Watching the Right-wing Bib Brigade get in their feelings about her jokes has been a nice distraction.

  4. #14629
    Spectacular Member Maine Starfish's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Jackmando7 View Post
    It seems The USA is losing it's foothold on the worlds top dog. Go China, right?
    I don’t think we’ve been top dog for a while now

  5. #14630
    Ol' Doogie, Circa 2005 GindyPosts's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Maine Starfish View Post
    I don’t think we’ve been top dog for a while now
    America's actually been middle of the road for quite a while. We've been good at presenting the illusion that we've been a superpower. That's the power of marketing.

    After World War II, most countries couldn't develop any products worth a damn due to their factories being blown up or scrapped, but we either had ours still standing or freshly built, so we became a superpower economically, while the Soviet Union existed as a force that was there to throw its weight around politically. Unfortunately, Americans failed to recognize an unfortunate truth; other countries inevitably would rebuild their facilities, letting themselves recover and we would lose out on our financial stake.

    There are still things America is great at, that we should never take for granted (despite politicians complaining about $7.25 an hour being too damn much money for minimum wage, for example), but the mythos that America is the best country in the world is dead.

    However, I'm not raising China's flag anytime soon, either. Screw Xi Jinping.

  6. #14631
    Ol' Doogie, Circa 2005 GindyPosts's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by KNIGHT OF THE LAKE View Post
    Only in America is it a tough sell lol. Go to any other country and try to take it away and it’s political suicide
    That's because Americans have been conditioned to vote against their better interests in the name of tribalism. Indeed, the price tag is a steep cost, but due to poor finagling and a willingness to keep letting corporations get away with bloody murder, it's not like that price tag is going to go down any time soon.

  7. #14632
    Uncanny Member XPac's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Jackmando7 View Post
    It seems The USA is losing it's foothold on the worlds top dog. Go China, right?
    It's not all bad news. Highest infection rate for the coroni virus, but still one of the lower fatality rates.

  8. #14633
    Ol' Doogie, Circa 2005 GindyPosts's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by ed2962 View Post
    It's not a war. It's a disease. But, hey...the only organization that puts out more misinformation than Ben Shaprio's Daily Wire is probably Dennis Prager's PagerU which put outright lies on their YouTube channel.
    (proceeds to post graphics that don't show any actual statistics but look pretty to justify argument)

  9. #14634
    Ol' Doogie, Circa 2005 GindyPosts's Avatar
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    The Iranian methanol death and illness cases are very alarming, to me. People are so desperate right now they'll do whatever it takes, even if it means listening to godawful advice.

  10. #14635
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    American society has always had to deal with the inherent contradiction between what we think our successful attributes are, and the fucked up history of depredations and mass murder that was the real reason why some, but certainly not all, Americans are able to enjoy this comfortable lifestyle we always fellate ourselves over. The fundamental rot was there long before Trump, but he just couldn't play act well enough to fool anyone anymore, at least within the country, foreigners have long known the truth and despised us for it.

  11. #14636
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    Quote Originally Posted by XPac View Post
    For people who can't afford health care, it should be an easy sell. Unfortunately a lot of those people don't vote.

    I think you'll have more trouble convincing the people who have it and can comfortably afford it that what you'll be getting is AS GOOD as what they presently have. And those are likely the people who DO vote.

    If there are some assurances that what you're getting is comparatively as good WITHOUT doubling the state budget to get there, I think it'll start being a bit more receptive to the public.
    It’s not even that. Sanders plan is literally cheaper than the current system and the actual provisions in the Bill are effectively you only lose private insurance that mimics what you get in the government plan. Most studies already said for most people it goes down. People care about what comes out of their pocket, not the state budget

  12. #14637
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    Quote Originally Posted by Maine Starfish View Post
    I don’t think we’ve been top dog for a while now
    We have the biggest army. That’s essentially are claim to fame and why everyone bows to us. Also yeah China has a better economy, but the average person would never want to live there

  13. #14638
    Ol' Doogie, Circa 2005 GindyPosts's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by PwrdOn View Post
    American society has always had to deal with the inherent contradiction between what we think our successful attributes are, and the fucked up history of depredations and mass murder that was the real reason why some, but certainly not all, Americans are able to enjoy this comfortable lifestyle we always fellate ourselves over. The fundamental rot was there long before Trump, but he just couldn't play act well enough to fool anyone anymore, at least within the country, foreigners have long known the truth and despised us for it.
    Our refusal to own up to our mistakes from a historical perspective reflects badly on a global scale. From an image perspective, we want to be looked at as heroic and proud while completely ignoring all the ugly history that we don't want to talk about lest you get branded as a commie, but that's the power of patriotism warped into it's ugly cousin nationalism. It's fascinating that we tie ourselves to a plot of land we're born in, yet here we are.

    This does not mean we should wallow in self-loathing and go on a never-ending apology tour over things that happened, both real and imaginary. Part of the maturity process is understanding that, inevitably, you will screw up as a person, and there are times that you just cannot fix things with a simple gesture or action. You have to live with this and use this previous example as a reminder to never let that happen again. But, for some Americans, we don't want to do that. We just want the good stuff. We want Walt Disney's vision of America.

  14. #14639
    Ultimate Member Mister Mets's Avatar
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    An interesting guy is retiring from the Wisconsin state legislature.

    State Sen. Fred Risser, the longest-serving lawmaker in the nation’s history, announced he will retire after the end of his term, capping his historic 64-year tenure amid a global pandemic and tumultuous presidential election year.

    Risser, 92, is also the last World War II veteran remaining in either the state or nation’s legislatures. His time in the Legislature since being elected to the Assembly in 1956 and the Senate in 1962 has spanned 13 different governors, and he says he never missed a legislative roll call.

    After decades immersed in Wisconsin politics, the Madison Democrat told the Wisconsin State Journal that it was simply time to hang it up, though a number of his friends thought he should soldier on.

    “The truth is, it was a difficult decision for me,” Risser said. “I came to the conclusion, after thinking of all the changes and options, that it was time. I don’t know what else to say other than that.”

    If Risser had chosen to run again, he would have been 97 by the end of the next term.

    “I’m still a practicing attorney, though I don’t practice much,” he said. “I have a garden. I have a wonderful wife. We like to travel and I’m looking forward to a new period where I can spend more time doing other things.”

    Risser said he’ll most miss his co-workers in the Capitol and the fact that no two days there were the same.
    Risser, who even as a nonagenarian says he has never ridden a Capitol elevator — preferring instead to take the stairs — was a rock for many amid the shifting sands of Wisconsin politics.

    Master tactician
    “This is a generational shift,” said Stuart Levitan, a local historian, author and former Dane County Board supervisor who ran against Risser in 1996. “This is the longest-serving legislator in American history stepping down. That’s a big deal.”

    It’s now been almost a quarter-century since Levitan ran against Risser with a “pass the torch” slogan. And just as he was doing then, Risser around his birthday continues to bike a mile for every year he’s lived.

    Levitan said Risser carries a legacy of being a strong supporter of abortion rights, a “fierce foe” of smoking and the state lottery, and a successful minority leader and master of parliamentary tactics who “could tie the Republican majority up in knots.”

    Still, Levitan said Risser’s record-setting time in the Legislature had its downsides, denying people from one of the most politically engaged Senate districts in the state a chance to take up the mantle.

    “There has been a full generation, maybe two, that have aged out,” Levitan said.

    A life’s calling
    Risser said he chose to remain a state senator for so long simply out of enjoyment.

    “I’ve always enjoyed representing people,” Risser said. “I always knew from the time that I was born that I would be involved in some type of political service. I was honored that the people of this district allowed me to serve that long.”

    Risser’s family, too, has had an influential role in the politics of the state. Risser is the fourth generation in his family to represent the Madison area in the Wisconsin Legislature. His father, Fred E. Risser, was the last Progressive member of the state Senate, his grandfather was a Progressive Republican and served in the Assembly, and his great-grandfather, elected as a Unionist, served in both the state Senate and Assembly.

    Risser never ran for elected office outside the Legislature, except for a brief time when he considered running for Congress if Bob Kastenmeier, a Democrat who represented Wisconsin’s 2nd District from 1959 to 1991, had stepped down earlier.
    Sincerely,
    Thomas Mets

  15. #14640
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    The President at today's press conference...

    Reporter: Will everyone who needs a ventilator get one?

    Trump: Don't be a cutie pie!

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