All purpose news and politics thread part VI: This Is Not The Time For Posing

[Steel Inquisitor]

I wouldn't bother. There's no winning or changing minds against people who are heavily invested in seeing the country go to ****.

It's not about convincing him, it's about stopping him influencing lurkers.

[Kirby101]

It's not about convincing him, it's about stopping him influencing lurkers.

"These aren't the droids you are looking for."

[Kevinroc]

Trump says US topping world virus cases is 'badge of honour'

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-52733220

US President Donald Trump has argued it is "a badge of honour" that the US has the world's highest number of confirmed Covid-19 infections.

"I look at that as, in a certain respect, as being a good thing because it means our testing is much better," he said at the White House.

The US has 1.5 million coronavirus cases and nearly 92,000 deaths, according to Johns Hopkins University.

In second place is Russia, with nearly 300,000 confirmed cases.

What did Trump say?
On Monday, Mr Trump was hosting his first cabinet meeting since the US outbreak began.

"By the way, you know when you say that we lead in cases, that's because we have more testing than anybody else," he told reporters.

"So when we have a lot of cases," he continued, "I don't look at that as a bad thing, I look at that as, in a certain respect, as being a good thing because it means our testing is much better."

[luprki]

I pray everyday that Trump won’t get re-elected. We can’t afford 4 more years of this idiot.

[shooshoomanjoe]

Trump says US topping world virus cases is 'badge of honour'

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-52733220

It wasn't that long ago when trump said doing too much testing makes the US look bad.

[Mister Mets]

Neither of your links tell the real reason Kennedy opposed those bills. And you see no irony that Health care is becoming unaffordable to so many Americans that to say the one way to bring down costs can't be done. So what, the GOP plan of business as usual, except to kill any reform that helps people?

What is the real reason Ted Kennedy opposed those bills?

Regarding costs, one problem is that costs are unlikely to go down when the government decides to take care of all that.

I will be glad to review any conflicting evidence on that question.

I leave out non-relevant parts because we don't have time for gish-gallops.

I left out that part because it did not negate the false equivalency you were attempting.

Also, you're still not acknowledging what the Republican Party is becoming.



Trump. Pence. Stephen Miller. Steve King. Steve Bannon. Steve Fitzgerald. (This is just the Steves.) Sebastian & Katherine Gorka. Matt Gaetz. Corey Stewart. Jeff Sessions. John Fitzgerald. Seth Grossman. Arthur Jones. Paul Nehlen. Russell Walker. Edwin Duterte. Augustus Invictus. Taylor Rose. Russell Pearce. John Ritzheimer. Warren Love. Dennis Baxley. Kyle Biedermann. Mike Pitts. Laura Loomer. Omar Navarro. Bill Chumley. Adam Hasner. Paul Gosar. Andy Biggs. Matthew Lusk. Jim Lucas. Werner Horn. Bobby Jeffries. Daryl Metcalfe. Phil Jensen. Lou Barletta. Ken Cuccinelli. Kris Kobach. Doug Ducey. Brian Kemp. Ron DeSantis.

That's... a brief smattering. I could go on.

If you need any more proof, ask yourself why the NDAA was altered by Senate Republicans to omit "white nationalism" as a reason to not admit people to the military. Or why the Proud Boys can walk in to campaign events by Republicans as welcome guests.

They are tacitly accepting the worst of their party. Kind of like someone who's bending over backwards to pretend like it's not happening I'm thinking of right now.

I am glad you recognize the immorality of the gish gallop, when someone brings up a lot of points in a small amount of time to be refuted.

It does not apply to a situation in which I acknowledge a problem, and you edit out that portion of my comment in order to then pretend to introduce that problem.

Why does anyone bother to debate Mets. His party is full of violent white nationalists and hes fine with it. He can dress it up with enough 10 dollar words as he likes but the core truth of it is he doesnt care.

I've thought about this a lot. I suspect they're worried that I'm right.

[Mister Mets]

She impeached Trump and got the country out of the longest government shut down in history. She's putting up the good fight but ultimately she's just the Speaker of the House, she still needs the presidency and Senate to do more. The blue wave was badly needed yet it was never going to be enough since it was about 40 seats. Meanwhile, the left got soundly defeated in that blue wave. If they can't get that paltry sum, how do you think they'll do against Trump?

How much did impeaching Trump help anyone?

OH! How did I miss that? I hope it was a *wink wink* gag. Still, only people of certain age would know what that meant anyway.

I suspect younger film geeks get the soylent green reference as well.

I'm sure you do since you rarely address them nor their role within the Republican party.

Not going to spend another fifteen pages trying to get you to admit the obvious -- I have better things to do with my time.

Let's just acknowledge that we're at an impasse and the only solution I see at this point is to both prosecute the criminal members of your party and vote them out of offfice.

"It does seem that the most important immigration question is one that Democrats are unwilling to answer: what should the limits on legal immigration be?"

Even more projection -- accuse people of asking loading quetions while constantly doing it to others.

It's not the "most important immigration question at all" -- it's a talking point you repeatedly use to deflect from your party's criminal behavior and moral, ethical, humanitarian, and economic failings.

Enough of the hypotheticals -- Republicans are in power now so let's watch how it plays out.

What is a more important question on immigration than what the limiting principle should be?

[PwrdOn]

I pray everyday that Trump won’t get re-elected. We can’t afford 4 more years of this idiot.

It's not as if Trump or his supporters will miraculously go away if he loses the election, or that we'll just be able to forget that his entire administration ever happened. Trump has really invigorated the Republican base by basically making it okay to be openly racist again, and the GOP will keep trying to tap into that energy by running similar candidates for the foreseeable future, and it's not like they have a shortage of them.

[JCAll]

It's not as if Trump or his supporters will miraculously go away if he loses the election, or that we'll just be able to forget that his entire administration ever happened. Trump has really invigorated the Republican base by basically making it okay to be openly racist again, and the GOP will keep trying to tap into that energy by running similar candidates for the foreseeable future, and it's not like they have a shortage of them.

That just means people will have to be ready to vote against President Alex Jones come 2024, and every other election before and after to keep the GOP out.

[Wildling]

Why does anyone bother to debate Mets. His party is full of violent white nationalists and hes fine with it. He can dress it up with enough 10 dollar words as he likes but the core truth of it is he doesnt care.

What I wonder is, what is the GOP supporting "all is fine it's my politics" folks like Mets and his bed sharing extremists will most fondly remember about this Election Year the most?

I used to think Trump not being able to make Mexico pay for his heap of garbage, not beautiful, useless border Wall was going to be what would define the failure of modern American conservativism. Not the Soylentizing of their own citizens for the sake of an economy they aren't even secure or affirmed that they've gained.

[Malvolio]

Eh, I don't know about that, the sad fact is that Americans tend to reject any kind of working class solidarity because we generally see ourselves as future billionaires, and thus are far more concerned about a hypothetical future where we aren't able to buy our way to the front of the line for surgeries and transplants than we are about the very tangible reality of not being able to afford any of that stuff. The health system as it's currently set up prioritizes selling elective procedures to wealthy patients almost as a sort of luxury commodity, and the fact that the industry is struggling so much even when demand for medical services is higher than ever should be some kind of a wake up call that the system needs substantial restructuring. The Democrats should be hammering home these points nonstop, but it's pretty clear they have no interest in doing that, which means of course that even if they manage to win the election their meek attempts at mild reforms will be easily swatted away by Republican obstruction.

I'm not sure about the rest of what you said, but I agree with the highlighted part. I really can't stand these small business owners who complain about the high taxes they might someday have to pay if their business ever takes off, which it probably won't, at least not enough to make them millionaires, much less billionaires.

[Tendrin]

A recent Quinnipac poll had Biden up ten with voters over 65 over Trump... In Florida.

This trend was also found in Arizona, another 'snowbird' state. If both of these hold at all, Trump is finished. Without the substantial lead in older voters he enjoyed in 2016, there is no way a lot of Republicans get reelected, let alone Trump.

Turns out 'let Grandma die for the Dow Jones' may not be an electoral winner.

[Steel Inquisitor]

How much did impeaching Trump help anyone?

Something had to be done, the Democrats may not have got rid of him but it did stain his legacy and hurt his ego. Doing absolutely nothing with the power they have because they can't win would demoralise their voters. Trump must be fought at every level, he's destroying this country.

What is a more important question on immigration than what the limiting principle should be?

Nowadays a more relevant question is whether America needs immigration and Trump thinks it doesn't. Which is both terrifying and stupid.

[Tendrin]

Something had to be done, the Democrats may not have got rid of him but it did stain his legacy and hurt his ego. Doing absolutely nothing with the power they have because they can't win would demoralise their voters. Trump must be fought at every level, he's destroying this country.



Nowadays a more relevant question is whether America needs immigration and Trump thinks it doesn't. Which is both terrifying and stupid.

Responding to conservative agitrprop and hokum about 'limiting principles' is kinda silly at this point anyway. The only 'limiting principles' that conservatives have proven they will accept is one that enshrines and protects white supremacy.

[PwrdOn]

I'm not sure about the rest of what you said, but I agree with the highlighted part. I really can't stand these small business owners who complain about the high taxes they might someday have to pay if their business ever takes off, which it probably won't, at least not enough to make them millionaires, much less billionaires.

Generally speaking, the middle class in any country tends to be a bit delusional in its self image and sees its class interests as aligning more with the wealthy capitalists than with the workers, but America is unique in that it was the first place where the average person could reasonably call themselves middle class, which means that this kind of attitude extends to practically the whole of society rather than just being restricted to a small segment of petty bourgeois types. The really sad thing is that most people realize that the system is rigged and that everyone else in their position is unlikely to achieve the success they feel entitled to, but somehow believe that they can always buck the trend and beat the odds, inevitably finding plenty of others to scapegoat when they fail to do so.