All-purpose news and politics thread: Two Steps Beyond!

[Tendrin]

Sorry, but I see this a lot. There's all these unbelievable hyperbolic predictions about what WILL DEFINITELY HAPPEN OMG WHY AREN'T YOU DOING SOMETHING...then when it doesn't occur (and the opposite happens even) it's "No one REASONABLE actually believed that"

Trump will go to war with Russia
Trump will get us nuked by North Korea
If Trump gets elected the stock market will crash
Trump can't get nominated
Trump can't win the election

No one believed Trump would go to war with Russia. We all knew that he was in bed with and an apologist for Russia for a long time.

[PunishedFire]

No one believed Trump would go to war with Russia. We all knew that he was in bed with and an apologist for Russia for a long time.

Are you making this easy on purpose?

https://www.npr.org/2017/04/06/52285...rt-by-accident

http://www.businessinsider.com/trump...-russia-2018-4

https://www.theguardian.com/world/20...en-instability

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/...ump/467806002/

https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/207003...orea-tensions/

https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry...b06f8c18beed9b

"No one"

Your words. Not mine.

BTW, this was a cursory, one page search.

Would you like me to dredge up the insane twitter replies from prominent members of the media, Hollywood and political establishment?

EDIT:

You can actually still find the WWIII hash-tag from that time that was being spammed left and right by people that don't understand geopolitics at all.

But "no one"...despite being a top twitter trend.

Okay.

Double Edit:

Do people want to race to edit older posts before I find THEM predicting WWIII with Russia in this very thread and quote them?

[stephens2177]

Hey PunishedFire,I see your over here with a pack of liberals being their normal ASSUMING and gang mentality way.

[Tendrin]

Are you making this easy on purpose?

https://www.npr.org/2017/04/06/52285...rt-by-accident

http://www.businessinsider.com/trump...-russia-2018-4

https://www.theguardian.com/world/20...en-instability

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/...ump/467806002/

https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/207003...orea-tensions/

https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry...b06f8c18beed9b

"No one"

Your words. Not mine.

BTW, this was a cursory, one page search.

Would you like me to dredge up the insane twitter replies from prominent members of the media, Hollywood and political establishment?

EDIT:

You can actually still find the WWIII hash-tag from that time that was being spammed left and right by people that don't understand geopolitics at all.

But "no one"...despite being a top twitter trend.

Okay.

Fair. Let me put it this way, then: no one who paid attention to Trump. Bombing Syria after warning Russia we were bombing Syria wasn't going to do it. Dude's been an apologist for Russia from the get-go. And why not? They're both white nationalists at heart.

[Tendrin]

You're gonna need to be more specific than that.

Do we mean "because of my parents" in general where they raised me well?

Or..."because of my parents" because they gave me something?

If the former, yes absolutely I credit them a lot.

If the latter, no. I don't ask my parents for things. Especially not money. They've given me more than enough in my life. My debt has all been paid off with my money. Decisions have also been mine to make.

My parents grew up in the 70's so both have had drugs. Both drink alcohol. Both smoke (despite my best efforts). I do none of those things and never have simply as a matter of personal preference. I once calculated that based on average times dining out and my preference for what to drink with dinner (I don't drink caffeine either except in rare cases, like recently having had a Cherry Coke for my birthday) I had saved about $5000 in a decade. I can only imagine what some people spend on things like cigarettes. Crunching the number on cigarettes is even wilder! Like $1000 per year!

Because I didn't have the chance to reply to this earlier: Yes, being raised well in a stable family home sure helps, but I suspect, rather, that you don't see the good fortune you did have, and instead, see your life as the sum of your 'good choices' without considering the advantages you pretty obviously had. While I can not be sure, it's the sense I get from your posts on this subject. I find it a trait shared by many on the right.

A lot of people see their lives as only the sum of their good choices, and therefore, everyone else who didn't wind up where they are by their age clearly made 'bad choices' and therefore don't deserve anything but to reap their results.

[numberthirty]

Well, this is a first step...

https://www.fda.gov/NewsEvents/Newsr.../ucm611046.htm

FDA approves first drug comprised of an active ingredient derived from marijuana to treat rare, severe forms of epilepsy

[stephens2177]

Hey PunishedFire, in just the last 20 minutes since I started reading this thread, you have been called a racist, and using white privilege, even though they are using other words.

Lol, good job, keep it up.

[Tendrin]

Hey PunishedFire, in just the last 20 minutes since I started reading this thread, you have been called a racist, and using white privilege, even though they are using other words.

Lol, good job, keep it up.

It's pretty racist to believe that black folks should be able to be denied service by white folks because 'they'll go out of business'. That isn't how Jim Crow ended.

[numberthirty]

There is a time not to engage.

[Tendrin]

True enough.

[KNIGHT OF THE LAKE]

Heh, I bet you all wish it was just the Bernie supporters now. Leave this thread for a few hours and things go haywire.

[Tendrin]

*snoooooort*

[KNIGHT OF THE LAKE]

*snoooooort*

Listen Tendrin, I'm not the one who let this thread get out of control.

[PunishedFire]

Fair. Let me put it this way, then: no one who paid attention to Trump. Bombing Syria after warning Russia we were bombing Syria wasn't going to do it. Dude's been an apologist for Russia from the get-go. And why not? They're both white nationalists at heart.

This phrase means nothing and is a weak ad hominem.

It's baseless and weak. Not worth replying to.

I'll take the "Fair" as you conceding that you're wrong. No moving the goalposts. Your statement was wrong.

Because I didn't have the chance to reply to this earlier: Yes, being raised well in a stable family home sure helps, but I suspect, rather, that you don't see the good fortune you did have, and instead, see your life as the sum of your 'good choices' without considering the advantages you pretty obviously had. While I can not be sure, it's the sense I get from your posts on this subject. I find it an trait shared by many on the right.

I literally said my parents worked very hard and that I am in awe of that effort and thankful for it. I suspect you are projecting things on to me and not actually reading what I'm writing because you're making vast assumptions. I find it a trait shared by many on the left.

Scratch that. I find it a trait shared by many that can't properly discuss topics without lobbing accusations.

My "advantages" were created by the decisions and efforts my parents made. I am continuing to make the best decisions I can based on how they raised me.

I've previously acknowledged all of this...and did so up front.

A lot of people see their lives as only the sum of their good choices, and therefore, everyone else who didn't wind up where they are by their age clearly made 'bad choices' and therefore don't deserve anything but to reap their results.

Bad choices are the number one cause of bad outcomes. Full stop.

We are beings with agency. Every decision we make ripples out. Statistical information supports all of this. Are there other factors in play? Oh absolutely. Do those factors erase agency? No, or you wouldn't see people having come from the SAME PLACE but with different outcomes that can be traced back again and again with statistical evidence to decisions that were made.

A perfect example is my extended family. All the ones doing bad? It can be traced to the same kind of bad patterns of bad decision making.

It's pretty racist to believe that black folks should be able to be denied service by white folks because 'they'll go out of business'. That isn't how Jim Crow ended.

rac·ism
[ˈrāˌsizəm]
NOUN

prejudice, discrimination, or antagonism directed against someone of a different race based on the belief that one's own race is superior.

Your assertion is baseless and ignorant.

Private business owners should be able to do as they please because I believe that is the right of a business owner. They are free to be bigoted or prejudicial. Nowadays, that would only hurt their business not only because it is a dumb business practice that reduces your consumer flow but because it shows that the person running the business is, frankly, stupid.

As I pointed out, it is a morally complicated situation because, in my opinion, people have a right to associate with and do business how they wish. However, morally I also disagree with racism. Does that mean I want the government to force people to do business against their racist beliefs? Again...difficult situation. I err on the side of no nowadays and a big part of that is because it would put those bad businesses out of business very quickly AND create the opportunity for competition to just eat them alive in the market.

I'd rather know someone is a bigot and not give them money because of it than have them forced to serve me and be ignorant of who I'm doing business with. Forced altruism isn't altruism, after all. Forced non-racism, isn't non-racism. It's compelled association & business.

Naturally, I don't really expect any philosophical discussion...it's easier just to mindlessly point like a pre-programmed drone and say "RACIST!" against the person repeatedly pointing out the folly of racism. It doesn't create any dialogue or greater understanding but it usually bolsters the accusers sense of moral fortitude. It does so without any basis in reality and is ultimately hollow, gaining them nothing, but c'est le vie

[aja_christopher]

"Bridgewater Associates sent out a note to its clients predicting that the Dow Jones Industrial Average could plunge nearly 2,000 points in one day if Trump is elected president. That would be the biggest one-day slump in stock market history, by more than double, besting the 777 point plunge that happened on October 29, 2008, at the high of the panic surrounding the financial crisis. The drop would translate into a 10.4% dive, and immediately send the stock market into correction territory."

No reasonable person...except the largest hedge fund in the world?

Key word being could plunge -- not will plunge.

And it's only Trump's second year -- again, let's see what happens.

Naturally, I don't really expect any philosophical discussion...it's easier just to mindlessly point like a pre-programmed drone and say "RACIST!" against the person repeatedly pointing out the folly of racism. It doesn't create any dialogue or greater understanding but it usually bolsters the accusers sense of moral fortitude. It does so without any basis in reality and is ultimately hollow, gaining them nothing, but c'est le vie

Well, if that's what you expect, I doubt anyone here will sway your opinion, since nothing being said on the matter will have "any basis in reality".

You sound pretty convinced so I guess we'll just see how things play out under the "non-racist" president Trump.