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Post by Prince Hal on Jun 29, 2018 13:36:50 GMT -5
I've long said the U.S. needs more explicit and stronger conflict of interest laws (along with campaign finance reform which is long talked about). There are things about the U.S. system I have long admired and wished for Canada as well however, but lately the threads are coming loose all around, I really thought your systems were stronger.  I can't say a thing against that! And I also thought our systems were stronger. They may yet be, albeit slower than I'd though. We will see what happens with the special counsel's investigation. Beyond that, it does seem that rampant corruption is running amok unchecked. ...one president denied the ability to do his job and even have a supreme court vacancy candidate considered I'm still enraged about that, both at the audacity and vileness of the GOP to do it, and the aforementioned spineless rolling over the Dems did about it. And then there's this, speaking of swamp-draining, emoluments, and conflicts of interest: From the national treasure, Charlie Pierce: www.esquire.com/news-politics/politics/a21999314/anthony-kennedy-son-donald-trump-deutche-bank/ |
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Post by impulse on Jun 29, 2018 14:13:10 GMT -5
I can't say a thing against that! And I also thought our systems were stronger. They may yet be, albeit slower than I'd though. We will see what happens with the special counsel's investigation. Beyond that, it does seem that rampant corruption is running amok unchecked. I'm still enraged about that, both at the audacity and vileness of the GOP to do it, and the aforementioned spineless rolling over the Dems did about it. And then there's this, speaking of swamp-draining, emoluments, and conflicts of interest: From the national treasure, Charlie Pierce: www.esquire.com/news-politics/politics/a21999314/anthony-kennedy-son-donald-trump-deutche-bank/Yup. The hypocrisy is stunning, and the fact that almost half the country either doesn't know or even care is just demoralizing. |
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Post by Prince Hal on Jun 29, 2018 14:30:27 GMT -5
Yup. The hypocrisy is stunning, and the fact that almost half the country either doesn't know or even care is just demoralizing. First they came for the immigrants, then they came for the journalists, then the unions, etc., etc. Hyperbole? Maybe, maybe not. As a metaphor, I think it's working. |
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Post by beccabear67 on Jun 29, 2018 17:33:58 GMT -5
I started seeing a lot of the "I don't want to know, don't tell me anything" type of responses from people in or from the U.S. back when Bush Jr. was president. I had never really seen anywhere near as much of it before, and it goes double for this president.
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Post by Rob Allen on Jun 29, 2018 22:44:07 GMT -5
The Playlist of ProtestWe still have a few radio stations who let the DJs choose the music they play. One of them is my local jazz station, KMHD: www.opb.org/kmhd/. Last Friday, a DJ who usually plays uptempo funk and soul played a very different set to start his show. He didn't say anything overtly political, but I think you can tell what was on his mind. Here's what he played: Sometimes I Feel Like a Motherless Child Jeanne Lee & Ran Blake Deportees Arlo Guthrie Refugee Man Eric Bibb Lead Me On Lavelle White Immigrants (We Get the Job Done) Hamilton Mixtape Mother's Children Have a Hard Time Blind Boys of Alabama Yes We Can, Can The Pointer Sisters Keep On Keeping On Curtis Mayfield Shine Bright Marcia Ball People Get Ready Eddie Floyd Papa, Can You Hear Me? Nina Simone Migration Blues Eric Bibb
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Post by codystarbuck on Jun 29, 2018 22:56:38 GMT -5
This song sums up my feelings about immigration...
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Post by Roquefort Raider on Jun 30, 2018 7:50:31 GMT -5
This song sums up my feelings about immigration... E pluribus unum, a concept that seems to be forgotten by both the extreme left and right. I long for a world where everyone will belong to one humanity, first and foremost. |
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Post by beccabear67 on Jun 30, 2018 12:39:03 GMT -5
There is a strength in variety, you can observe it in nature. Putting all your eggs in one basket is almost always a big mistake we humans make.
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Post by Roquefort Raider on Jun 30, 2018 15:16:34 GMT -5
There is a strength in variety, you can observe it in nature. Putting all your eggs in one basket is almost always a big mistake we humans make. Genetic variety is the key to a species’ survival, as a wide gene pool fairly guarantees that whatever natural selection throws at it, there will be individuals better equipped to deal with it. I’m pretty sure that a culture that is ready to consider and adopts aspects of other cultures (if they don’t appear harmful) will also be in a position to thrive. I’m certainly more interested in an ice cream parlour that has thirty different flavours than only two, even if personally I go for the traditional ones! |
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Post by Deleted on Jun 30, 2018 18:41:04 GMT -5
Lynda Carter Clip
This is precious!
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Post by Deleted on Jul 1, 2018 2:52:54 GMT -5
I wait in trepidation for the Trump machine to set its sights on the 22nd Amendment and mobilize its base in an attempt to repeal it. The 2018 elections hinge not just on the congressional races at a national level, but in the races in legislatures at the state level and the gubernatorial races that will play into how any attempts to amend the Constitution (either adding to or repealing already existing amendments) plays out.
If the major obstacle to policy is that aspects of it are found unconstitutional, stacking the courts is one option for a potential solution, but creating the mechanism to change the Constitution itself is another, and we have seen the Constitution bent in the past to make way for movements of the time like Prohibition that swept the nation is a populist furor but didn't reflect actual majority opinions.
The GOP could lose at the national level later this year, but if they make significant gains at the state level, especially if those gains are by candidates who are riding the Trump base to office, it could create the potential for more long term damage than not winning the Congressional races would.
It's all going to boil down to turn out. The Trump base is active and mobilized, and will turn out. Will those who stand in opposition do so? What obstacles will they face to do so? Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez surprise victory in the NY Democratic primary shows exactly what can happen when turn out defies expectation and unlikely voters show up to make their voice heard. I can only hope come November, enough people turn out to make their voice heard and stymie the wave the Trump base is building with the constant "campaign rallies" that 45 is engaging in.
This isn't going to just play out at the national level. Every local election is crucial too. The Democratic strategy (if there is one, god I hope there is) needs to not lose sight of the local level elections in the swirling chaos that the congressional elections are shaping up to be.
-M
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Post by Hoosier X on Jul 1, 2018 11:55:24 GMT -5
This song sums up my feelings about immigration... E pluribus unum, a concept that seems to be forgotten by both the extreme left and right. I long for a world where everyone will belong to one humanity, first and foremost. Let's be fair. The Extreme Left (whatever that is) does not put its leaders in the White House and then fill the federal government with extremist crazies. |
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Post by Roquefort Raider on Jul 1, 2018 13:21:38 GMT -5
E pluribus unum, a concept that seems to be forgotten by both the extreme left and right. I long for a world where everyone will belong to one humanity, first and foremost. Let's be fair. The Extreme Left (whatever that is) does not put its leaders in the White House and then fill the federal government with extremist crazies. True. The U.S. is a mostly right-wing country, as even the Dems are at best a centre-right party, so the odds that a far-left group could put its own people in positions of power are minute. We still have to endure their views in other spheres, however, when they push identity politics to absurd extremes. |
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Post by Hoosier X on Jul 1, 2018 13:35:04 GMT -5
Let's be fair. The Extreme Left (whatever that is) does not put its leaders in the White House and then fill the federal government with extremist crazies. True. The U.S. is a mostly right-wing country, as even the Dems are at best a centre-right party, so the odds that a far-left group could put its own people in positions of power are minute. We still have to endure their views in other spheres, however, when they push identity politics to absurd extremes. Let's not pretend that "identity politics" is some unique phenomenon of the "far left" (whatever that means). Trump World THRIVES on identity politics. And when you see the lengths the Trump administration goes to implement these ideas, there is scarcely any basis for comparison. |
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Post by Hoosier X on Jul 1, 2018 13:36:01 GMT -5
But it's not politically correct to call it "identity politics" when conservatives do it.
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