All purpose news and politics thread part v: The quickening

[Jackmando7]

I massively disagree. I think the article was actually VERY pro-Biden, dedicating most of it to really lovely stories about Biden, all the nice things people are saying about him, all the nice things Biden is saying about them. NOTHING about it sounded in tone or attitude to reflect calling it "a real garbage move."

I actually think you posting "The Huffington Post is calling what Buttigieg and Klobuchar did, right before Super Tuesday, a real garbage move" when the article says no such thing (not even close) is a gross mis-characterization. Doing this once, I'll accept as an accident, or misunderstanding. TWICE will start showing a pattern. Please be more careful so it doesn't happen twice.

Well, that's your opinion I guess.

[numberthirty]

The trend with my students started long before 2016. I don't think Putin caused it. If anything he might, I stress might have taken advantage of problems that already existed.

Well, duh.

Folks seems like they want to buy into that the divisions in America are some nefarious master stroke that some diabolical enemy has cooked up. Meanwhile, almost all of the divisions largely make sense.

Very little of it is something where you sit back, and say "Wait, how did they come up with all of that?"

[Kieran_Frost]

Trump is a master at smearing opponents, and his smear tactics have worked. His attacks on the media, calling it fake news, dishonest, hateful and the "Enemy of the People," lowered America's trust in the news. It hit a low of 32 percent in September 2016, during the heat of Trump's campaign. By April 2018, 51 percent of Republicans viewed the news media as the enemy instead of an important part of democracy.

Trump's incessant branding of the Mueller investigation as a "witch hunt" cut America's trust in Mueller in half, and not just among Republicans. By March 2019, 54 percent independents also agreed Mueller was on a witch hunt.

His labeling of Mexicans as criminals, though baseless and false, got traction. By 2017, nearly half of Americans agreed with Trump that Mexican immigrants make crime worse. That year, Trump's xenophobic rhetoric and anti-Muslim policies incited a spike in Islamophobia. In California, vandalization of mosques, physical assaults on and discriminatory treatment by federal employees increased 82 percent.

Trump's smears have often turned vicious. When Ben Carson was leading in the Iowa polls, Trump tweeted, "Too much Monsanto in the corn creates issues in the brain," and likened Carson to a child molester. Carson faded, Trump won.

Trump's endless list of demeaning nicknames is childish, yet they somehow seem to stick: "Howdy Doody" and "Alfred E. Newman" for Pete Buttigieg; "High Tax, High Crime" Nancy Pelosi;" "Crooked Hillary," "Pocahontas" for Elizabeth Warren; "low energy" Jeb Bush; Marco Rubio the "clown," "very slow sleepy" Joe Biden; Lyin', cheatin', liddle' Adam "Shifty" Schiff;, "Fake Tears Chuck Schumer;" "Dumbest Man on Television" for Don Lemon, "That bitch" Katy Tur; and "Psycho Joe" Scarborough.

Trump won't relent. His elevated approval rating will embolden him to double down. He'll give Sanders no quarter, and Sanders will prove more vulnerable to Trump's tactics than most, because Americans reject socialism. They prefer capitalism by a two-to-one margin (57 percent to 28 percent). Republicans favor capitalism over socialism ten to one (76 percent to 7 percent). For independents it's close to three to one (59 percent to 23 percent).

Those ratios could be a glimpse of the results of a Sanders-Trump match-up."

https://www.newsweek.com/bernie-sand...ominee-1490095
[/I][/I]

All horribly, horribly true. But words are power. The right phrase... TANKS an opponent. Or kills a bill. And Trump understands that. I will add he chucks out so much garbage, that of his 1,000 insults, only about ever 20 work. But those twenty destroy his opponents. Though I will add this is the first I've heard "Alfred E. Newman" for Pete Buttigieg. The rat stuff is all coming from Sander's camp, I guess?

Oh that was supposed to be Buttigieg... okay. Yeah dude I read every single post you have when you respond to ten different people. I didn’t know wtf that was supposed to be about

Do you have an opinion on it?

I'm not a fan of Warren (the faux Native American thing hit to close to home), however, she is progressive and has been for decades. Anyone who says otherwise is wrong. Guess those people have never watched "Roger and Me", huh? But hey, Warren is standing in the way of Sanders and by extension his movement thus she is an enemy and has to be a bad person.

Ding ding ding ding! Right now her Twitter is a mess. And it's a shame, because ideologically she's far closer to Sander's fans (in theory) than any of the others. Surely of ALL the other alternatives, they'd want her over the rest???

Well, that's your opinion I guess.

Ahhhhhh. Oh dear. Dear oh dear. Sadly two optioned happened.
a) you misunderstood; and accidentally over-embellished assume you knew what the article will say, but not actually reading it. It happens. Easily forgiven.
b) you intentionally misinformed.

And alas, based on that response, I might have my answer.

[aja_christopher]

Folks seems like they want to buy into that the divisions in America are some nefarious master stroke that some diabolical enemy has cooked up. Meanwhile, almost all of the divisions largely make sense.

Never said it was the only reason for division.

Only that exploiting it was part of Putin's plan and many Americans are all too willing to play into it by supporting his goals.

As someone who talked about Russian-sponsored WikiLeaks and Hilary's emails incessantly, you have no room to talk regardless.

[numberthirty]

Never said it was the only reason for division.

Only that exploiting it was part of Putin's plan and many Americans are all too willing to play into it by supporting his goals.

As someone who talked about Russian-sponsored WikiLeaks and Hilary's emails incessantly, you have no room to talk regardless.

If you have a country that had addressed things instead of allowing them to get worse for decades while looking for a pat on the back, his plan would have had very little chance of being effective.

You can't look at the country that creates all of the reasons that Latinos and younger voters are backing Sanders, and talk about that they are supporting Putin's goals.

[aja_christopher]

If you have a country that had addressed things instead of allowing them to get worse for decades while looking for a pat on the back, his plan would have had very little chance of being effective.

You can't look at the country that creates all of the reasons that Latinos and younger voters are backing Sanders, and talk about that they are supporting Putin's goals.

Or you can just take responsibility for your part in spreading Russian efforts at propaganda and later not "voting against" Trump despite claiming you dislike Republican policies and Republicans in general.

Which you won't do because taking responsibility is not your thing -- that's only something you seem to require in others.

[numberthirty]

Or you can just take responsibility for your part in spreading Russian efforts at propaganda and later not "voting against" Trump despite claiming you dislike Republican policies and Republicans in general.

Which you won't do because taking responsibility is not your thing.

Sure. Ignore the actual issues, and hope that problems that those issues create will go away...

[aja_christopher]

Sure. Ignore the actual issues, and hope that problems that those issues create will go away...

Pointing out that the divisions are both internal and stoked by external factors is not ignoring them or hoping they will go away.

Stop lying.

There is a place for progressive politics on the left, but you'll never gain any respect if you're dishonest in your approach to the issues that affect us all.

[numberthirty]

Here is an actual problem...

I'm not going to lie. Going into ST now I'm feeling depressed.

2 days ago I thought Bernie was on track to dominate but the other moderates dropping out/endorsing Biden, and Warren staying in the race tilt things to Biden. Texas is gone, and Bernie won't even win California by much.

Biden getting the nomination is bad enough, my family needs Medicare for All and deportations to stop, but it gets worse because Biden's got no chance of beating Trump in the general.

If you don't have a way to address that issue?

Putin is the least of your problems.

[aja_christopher]

Here is an actual problem...

If you don't have a way to address that issue?

Putin is the least of your problems.

Many of us have similar issues -- some like myself even dealt with personal health care issues that "Obamacare" helped to alleviate.

Doesn't mean we have to support a candidate who won't even be honest about how he can pay for and pass his policies through Congress.

I pointed out a long time ago that one of Hillary's first efforts was attempting to pass universal health care legislation and you selectively ignored that.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clinto...e_plan_of_1993

I'm way beyond thinking you ever bring any of these things up in good faith at this point.

[numberthirty]

Pointing out that the divisions are both internal and stoked by external factors is not ignoring them or hoping they will go away.

Stop lying.

There is a place for progressive politics on the left, but you'll never gain any respect if you're dishonest in your approach to the issues that affect us all.

There is right around "One..." realistic way contend with the ability of those external factors to have the means to stoke divisions that already existed.

Actually address those issues.

[jetengine]

In other news... Poland has now created "LGBT+ FREE ZONES". So... that's... yeah. Poland is part of the EU. Fun fact.



Nah. I'd say don't worry. Young people are designed to question authority, they think they've cracked the system, they think they've worked it all out and know better. It's just standard rebellion stuff. And (I'll say it) it's also down to privilege. We ultimately (America, Canada and the UK) are very privileged countries. We actually do have democracy. Our vote actually is counted. A privilege so, so many countries don't have. And students who are both privileged AND rebelliously entitled will lament the lack of true democracy (having no idea how lucky they are, and what it's actually like in places that don't have anything close to what we have). The more privileged a country is, the more everyone will complain about how awful it is, and how unjust (oblivious to the irony that if we didn't actually have said democracy and freedom - as they lament - they'd not be able to so publicly make such statements in the first place). The number of people "freaking out" about 'the dictatorship' we are living under in the UK. All I say to them is "oh f*ck off, you privileged idiots, and go live in an actual dictatorship".

In many ways actually... it's kind of insulting to everyone who doesn't get to vote, doesn't get a FREE vote, a honest vote, who live under very real dictatorships; to show such disregard and contempt for our huge privilege. I know that's sounding harsh, it's not meant to. They are students and it's natural to fight authority and "authoritarian views and opinions." They'll grow out of it. Promise.

Whilst I wouldn't say we're in a Dictatorship the UK is not in anyway healthy politically and its very clear people are being duped.

[aja_christopher]

There is right around "One..." realistic way contend with the ability of those external factors to have the means to stoke divisions that already existed.

Actually address those issues.

That takes more than talk on a message board and complaints about "moderates" -- it takes both legislation and money.

You still have yet to explain how Sanders will make either of those things happen.

Conversely, millions of people have already benefitted from health care programs legislated by "moderate" Democrats like Obama and Biden.

[numberthirty]

Many of us have similar issues -- some like myself even dealt with personal health care issues that "Obamacare" helped to alleviate.

Doesn't mean we have to support a candidate who won't even be honest about how he can pay for and/or pass it through Congress.

Which makes it even more confusing when you don't seem to understand the issue when it hasn't been alleviated by the ACA.

Again...

If you are just going back to the old bit about Sanders instead of dealing with that someone has health care issues that the ACA didn't successfully address? Never mind just putting some time discussing those issues on a human level even if you(as someone who is just a citizen) don't have the means to address them directly?

It's leaving those existing issues that outsiders can exploit in place. It might even be creating the scenario where someone throw their hands up, and decides to sit a General out.

[Celgress]

What do you teach?

Sociology in general (I also have a degree in the History of Decolonization) with an emphasis on modern political structures and associated ligatures of social power which bind together different groups (i.e. the modern nation-state).