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

[InformationGeek]

Ed Schultz has passed away at the age of 64. A controversial figure, his views changing a lot over the years (some good, some not so good), that may leave people mixed and unsure of what to think of him. I will extend a simple nod and wish his family and friends the best in this situation.

[ZombieHavoc]

You age colors your opinion about this. But as I said, no obligation to tell us.

Can I take that you could not support Bernie Sanders because of his age?

That's different because Bernie iz Gawd. He's unbeatable and is the only person on the left who can ever win an election again.

[Mister Mets]

There were some comments about how Democrats aren't advocating for open borders, so I'm curious about any comments from current elected officeholders, or potential presidential candidates (Joe Biden) on clear and unambiguous limits on immigration. What are the limits, and how many should be allowed into the country?

Why is 86-year old Joe Arpaio allowed to take part in the Arizona race for the U.S. senate elections? He would probably die before inauguration as a United States senator from Arizona? What are the odds that he will live or even be healthy enough to complete his six-year term?

This one's up to the voters.

That's absurd, isn't it? And why is 84 year old Dianne Feinstein running? Can the country not get along without her?

If 75 were the upper limit, then Ronald Reagan wouldn't have served his second term with Alzheimer's.

This is not a partisan issue. All Americans should get behind it.

It's quite ageist so you'll have some pushback.

And people on all sides have someone they like in elected/ appointed office above the age of 75. Socialist-leaning Democrats have Bernie Sanders. Aggressive liberal Democrats have Maxine Waters. Moderate Democrats have Diane Feinstein. Most Democrats like Ruth Bader Ginsburg. Meanwhile, Republicans have Mitch McConnell.

Look, I'll be blunt. Do I want a second bill of rights yes. Do I think that it would be great to have that, yeah. But there is so much that has to be considered culturally since we are so vastly diverse that just throwing bullet points is not going to get me on board with something.

I need to see plans, and unless she has a dedicated website that goes into details of how she wants to hit each of these points, and until she puts her money where her mouth is and shows some proof of what she can do and what she influenced in regard to all of this, I have very little to think about her.

Again, you have your views in regard to things, I have mine. Regarding wars and taxes, yes I do ask questions. I ask questions to everything.

And again, my big issues are on education and transportation and healthcare as well as her view on gun control.

But here is the thing. I'm not in NY, so I'm not gonna be dealing with her. So why then are you pushing her when she hast yet been voted into office.

The current bill of rights is politically easier to handle because it's about things the government can't do rather than what it should do. Saying that people should be free to join whatever church they want doesn't cost anything financially. Promising decent homes and adequate medical care are expensive.

Rigging elections in favor of incumbents is not democracy. Nancy Pelosi's whole pitch is, 'You need to reelect me because I can raise a lot of money from wealthy donors."

But this problem can be solved.

Some of these politicians are running for a particular office for the first time after a successful career. We'll likely see more of this as people stay healthier, longer.

For Democrats, this is quite useful since they have an immensely popular candidate for Senate in Tennessee in the former Governor.

[Trey Strain]

It's not ageist to tell someone who holds an important public position that he's at the end of his life expectancy and is at high risk for dementia, and that he and everyone else would be stupid to keep pretending otherwise.

[PaulBullion]

It's not ageist to tell someone who holds an important public position that he's at the end of his life expectancy and is at high risk for dementia, and that he and everyone else would be stupid to keep pretending otherwise.

But it would be unconstitutional to make it a law.

[Adset]

What has this got to do with me and how old I am? I'm not running for office or seeking a judgeship. Let's say I'm 78 though, the same age as the "indispensable" Nancy Pelosi, who Father Time will dispense with fairly soon anyway. Would that make my opinion legitimate?

very little would help in making your opinions legitimate.

[PaulBullion]

very little would help in making your opinions legitimate.

But knowing that they're 16 would make them kinda bearable, wouldn't it?

[Trey Strain]

An unfortunate aspect of dementia is that the person who suffers from it tends to be the last one who notices it. Another is that when the sufferer does recognize that something is wrong, he tends to underestimate how bad it is and to imagine that it's manageable.

We can't depend on public officials to realize that they're developing dementia or to respond to it properly, by resigning.

[PaulBullion]

We won't have Scott Pruitt to kick around anymore. He gone.

Scott, by the way, is 49 years old.

[Trey Strain]

Although the Constitution guarantees Arizona two senators, it's had only one since December, as John McCain, 81, battles brain cancer. He deserves the sympathy of us all, but he was too old for that job.

Thad Cochran of Mississippi was mentally lost for at least four years before he finally resigned.

https://www.theatlantic.com/politics...licans/372084/

[WestPhillyPunisher]

An unfortunate aspect of dementia is that the person who suffers from it tends to be the last one who notices it. Another is that when the sufferer does recognize that something is wrong, he tends to underestimate how bad it is and to imagine that it's manageable.

We can't depend on public officials to realize that they're developing dementia or to respond to it properly, by resigning.

And who’s supposed to determine when someone should retire, at what age, and for what reason? How would the Fourteenth Amendment would be changed to satisfy your all to blatant ageism? Then there’s the inevitable howls of outrage from the AARP crowd (which has a pretty potent lobby of its own) who wouldn’t at all cotton to what you’re suggesting.

By the way, you never did answer Kirby101’s question about applying your ageism to Bernie Sanders, would you demand he step down too?

[WestPhillyPunisher]

We won't have Scott Pruitt to kick around anymore. He gone.

Scott, by the way, is 49 years old.

Ten years younger than me. So, by Trey’s way of thinking, I should be immediately put in a home.

[kidfresh512]

We won't have Scott Pruitt to kick around anymore. He gone.

Scott, by the way, is 49 years old.

LONG time coming. Guy was the epitome of a swamp creature

[worstblogever]

Sir... you're happy with a lot of living fossils running the country because they rig the system to keep themselves in power, and you praise that as "democracy."

I'm not happy with it, and since you keep bringing it up, I doubt you're better read anything than I am, as you keep huffing. "You need to read up about democracy." That's the most pompous thing I've heard in a long time. If that's an image of you, you look like George Will, another barnacle who needs to be scraped off of Washington. You certainly sound like him.

I'm not happy about it, actually. I've previously pointed out that the GOP pushed for a Republican Senator, Jim Bunning to be re-elected in 2004 who was OBVIOUSLY suffering from dementia, and they should have absolutely not run him as a candidate. Even with strong support in the 2004 presidential election, a lot of the public saw his deteriorating condition, and didn't vote for him. Of course, Kentucky is a pretty red state, and the GOP did everything they could to try and convince the public it was wrong to point out that it was a bad idea to re-elect a guy already starting to lose it to a full six year term. For their own folly, Mitch McConnell had to deal with a grumpy old lunatic for those six years who wouldn't cooperate even with him.

But rather than go on a rant about wanting an age limit set in place that wouldn't hold up against judicial challenges... that assumes someone suffers from dementia at 70, when a lot of folks keep their mental faculties past that (like say Stan Lee, Christopher Lee, etc.)... and based on a wealth of medical knowledge that gives me a lot of personal experience in working with the elderly...

I go, "Hey, wait a minute... maybe if we don't want old people in office, we should be able to show they don't have their mental faculties, and THEN let the public NOT VOTE FOR THEM.

Because, again, that's democracy.

Besides, Trey, let's do some political calculus... you're expecting a Congress and a Senate loaded with s***birds in their 60s, 70s, and 80s to all unite and pass a law that ends their careers? There are fantasies, and then there's scenarios you can only come up with if you're huffing paint or something. Your hypothetical, unconstitutional, ageist idea seems more like the latter.

[ZombieHavoc]

Democracy dead. Trump rule world. We all fucked.