Current Events And Politics

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Perrydotto
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Current Events And Politics

Post by Perrydotto (?) » Mon Nov 06, 2017 9:15 pm

You know the drill - Talk about current events in the world and in general here.
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Re: Current Events And Politics

Post by Perrydotto (?) » Mon Nov 06, 2017 9:16 pm

Some stuff is going down in Saudi Arabia. Lot of royalty getting arrested as part of what looks like a coup, and tensions are rising with Iran again.

EDIT: Saudi Arabia claims Lebanon has declared War

EDIT2: Saudi Arabia Charges Iran With β€˜Act of War,’ Raising Threat of Military Clash

Oh. :backaway:
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Re: Current Events And Politics

Post by Factory Factory (?) » Mon Nov 06, 2017 10:00 pm

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Re: Current Events And Politics

Post by Fizzbuzz (?) » Mon Nov 06, 2017 10:42 pm

I have woefully little understanding of the general relations between various nations of the Middle East, but I have so little faith in the Trump administration and its foreign policy that I'm pretty sure we'd just fuck things up more if we got involved at all in whatever Saudi Arabia is starting with Iran.
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Re: Current Events And Politics

Post by stuff (?) » Tue Nov 07, 2017 8:12 pm

Virginia elects Ralph Northam as their next governor.
New Jersey elects Phil Murphy as their next governor.
New York City reelects Bill de Blasio as their mayor.

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Re: Current Events And Politics

Post by The Doctor (?) » Tue Nov 07, 2017 8:41 pm

Also out of Virginia

The man who wrote the anti-trans bathroom bill just lost the election to a trans woman. Let that sink in.

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Re: Current Events And Politics

Post by Octavia (?) » Tue Nov 07, 2017 8:42 pm

Virginia also featured a trans candidate beating a 20-year incumbent that kept intentionally referring to her as the wrong gender. :cooliebelle:

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Re: Current Events And Politics

Post by RudeCyrus (?) » Tue Nov 07, 2017 9:16 pm

An open socialist and a transwoman winning seats in Virginia's legislature is amazing. I hope Northam's victory won't make the Democrats rest on their laurels, but let's be honest, it probably will.

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Re: Current Events And Politics

Post by RudeCyrus (?) » Tue Nov 07, 2017 9:49 pm

I'm so happy right now. Democratic Socialists have won in several states, including Massachusetts, Virginia and Tennessee. Medicaid expansion is winning in Maine.

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Re: Current Events And Politics

Post by Fizzbuzz (?) » Tue Nov 07, 2017 10:01 pm

That Democratic Socialist who won down here is just a member of Knoxville's city council, and unfortunately Tennessee's state legislature is all too happy to fuck with city governments that try to be less than batshit conservative (something I learned repeatedly, growing up in Nashville). Still, it's a start? I hope we'll keep seeing real progress next year.
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Re: Current Events And Politics

Post by BackgroundPony (?) » Wed Nov 08, 2017 12:39 am

A lot of good news today. God, I hope we can look back at this as the point where everything started to turn around, and not just a solitary glimmer of hope in these dark years.

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Re: Current Events And Politics

Post by RudeCyrus (?) » Wed Nov 08, 2017 12:52 am

Looks like a total of 11 DSA members won elections. Most of these are small, like city councils, but every bit counts.

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Re: Current Events And Politics

Post by Quanta (?) » Thu Nov 09, 2017 5:11 pm

So does the recent election results lower the likelihood of a Republican-led constitutional convention happening, or is that still an existential threat?
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Re: Current Events And Politics

Post by SlateSlabrock (?) » Thu Nov 09, 2017 6:43 pm

Quanta wrote: ↑
Thu Nov 09, 2017 5:11 pm
So does the recent election results lower the likelihood of a Republican-led constitutional convention happening, or is that still an existential threat?
The key is flipping control of state legislatures. A Constitutional convention can be called by 34 states to propose amendments that then need to be ratified by 38 states. It can also be done by 2/3 of both houses of Congress, but that's not happening any time soon.

Virginia came closest to flipping, but the last few seats are tied up in recounts. Georgia Republicans had a super-majority in their Senate but no longer do. So far, that's not enough of a change to say that the situation is any better yet.

Wisconsin's Senate just approved a Constitutional Convention for a balanced budget amendment, which apparently brings us to 28 states of 34. They would need six more. Here's a pro-amendment lobbying group that shows which states have and have not passed it. Georgia has already called for a convention. Virginia has not.

Of course, the bigger concern is that once you kick off a Constitutional Convention, there are no rules saying you can't propose any crazy thing you want, not just the (still terrible) idea they started with.

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Re: Current Events And Politics

Post by Bremen (?) » Thu Nov 09, 2017 11:51 pm

Quanta wrote: ↑
Thu Nov 09, 2017 5:11 pm
So does the recent election results lower the likelihood of a Republican-led constitutional convention happening, or is that still an existential threat?
I honestly wouldn't worry too much about this. The Republican party couldn't manage to repeal Obamacare after screaming about repealing it for 7 years, there's no way they would all agree on a new constitution.

It's easy to see the Republican party as one monolithic entity devoted to hurting minorities or whatever, but in reality it's a thousand factions pulling in a thousand different directions.

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Re: Current Events And Politics

Post by stuff (?) » Thu Nov 09, 2017 11:59 pm

The craziest shit is happening in Alabama right now with the GOP senate candidate accused of MOLESTING a 14 YEAR OLD girl from way back then. She's not the only one who has come forward, there are three others. This is on the front page of the Washington Post and the article is credible. There are calls from both parties for him to step down. Some have mentioned a write-in campaign for his former opponent during the primaries. It's a tragic state of affairs.

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Re: Current Events And Politics

Post by Octavia (?) » Fri Nov 10, 2017 8:33 am

stuff wrote: ↑
Thu Nov 09, 2017 11:59 pm
The craziest shit is happening in Alabama right now with the GOP senate candidate accused of MOLESTING a 14 YEAR OLD girl from way back then. She's not the only one who has come forward, there are three others. This is on the front page of the Washington Post and the article is credible. There are calls from both parties for him to step down. Some have mentioned a write-in campaign for his former opponent during the primaries. It's a tragic state of affairs.
It's Alabama so I'm betting he still gets reelected in 2018.
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Re: Current Events And Politics

Post by SlateSlabrock (?) » Fri Nov 10, 2017 10:08 am

Octavia wrote: ↑
Fri Nov 10, 2017 8:33 am
It's Alabama so I'm betting he still gets reelected in 2018.
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Also, he absolutely would. He got kicked off the Alabama Supreme Court for being a terrible judge, and the people voted him right back in. And he got kicked out again.

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Re: Current Events And Politics

Post by Mr. Big (?) » Sat Nov 11, 2017 4:28 pm

A former staffer to Ron Paul said on Twitter that Democrats are worse than pedophilia.

No, I'm not being hyperbolic.

I don't think he should be allowed near children, ever :starity:

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Re: Current Events And Politics

Post by Mr. Big (?) » Mon Nov 13, 2017 6:48 pm

As another woman accused Roy Moore of trying to rape her, The New Yorker did a column about how he was infamous at a mall in a Alabama for going after teenage girls.

Meanwhile, 50 pastors sign a letter supporting Moore.

They're going to normalize this behavior, huh? :-I

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Re: Current Events And Politics

Post by Octavia (?) » Mon Nov 13, 2017 6:52 pm

Mr. Big wrote: ↑
Mon Nov 13, 2017 6:48 pm
Meanwhile, 50 pastors sign a letter supporting Moore.
Not sure how much an endorsement from clergy would help in trying to combat allegations of sexual assault on minors. :ponder:
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Re: Current Events And Politics

Post by Fizzbuzz (?) » Mon Nov 13, 2017 10:02 pm

Mr. Big wrote: ↑
Mon Nov 13, 2017 6:48 pm
They're going to normalize this behavior, huh? :-I
Well, y'know, uh... anything to crush those liberals, right? :shepspike:
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Re: Current Events And Politics

Post by Pocket (?) » Mon Nov 13, 2017 11:21 pm

The letter appears to be a version of one already posted on Moore's campaign website. That letter, posted prior to the primary, contains all the same wording as below but with three extra paragraphs at the top, including a sentence referencing the Aug. 15 vote.

Moore's campaign did not respond to questions related to the letter or why it was posted with the date and identifying information removed. At least one of the pastors listed as supporting Moore is no longer at the church listed on the letter.
Sounds like this letter is months old and has been strategically altered to make it look recent. If so, wow. I'm not sure what's worseβ€”50 churches writing a letter of support for a known pedophile, or falsely accusing them of doing so to make him look better.
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Re: Current Events And Politics

Post by Mr. Big (?) » Tue Nov 14, 2017 12:36 am

Fizzbuzz wrote: ↑
Mon Nov 13, 2017 10:02 pm
Well, y'know, uh... anything to crush those liberals, right? :shepspike:
There are literally people saying liberals are worse than pedophiles without a shred of irony.

When they said "win by any means necessary", they were not kidding. Not kidding at all.

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Re: Current Events And Politics

Post by Octavia (?) » Tue Nov 14, 2017 8:06 pm

So of all the people supporting Roy Moore, I wonder how many of them have teenage daughters and would be willing to leave them alone with him.
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Re: Current Events And Politics

Post by Mr. Big (?) » Thu Nov 16, 2017 8:44 pm

I know that "What about Clinton?" is an annoying tactic right-wingers use whenever a GOP politician is caught doing something bad, but with the recent news that Al Franken groped a female comedian, many progressives are finally giving a second look on the rape accusations Bill Clinton faced over 20 years ago.

This column by Caitlin Flanagan is a good read. I'm sure more will come out soon enough.

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Re: Current Events And Politics

Post by Frith (?) » Tue Nov 21, 2017 1:10 pm


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Re: Current Events And Politics

Post by West Filly (?) » Wed Nov 22, 2017 3:28 am

The next "election" in Zimbabwe will be interesting now that the military has new friends.
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The General Political Thread

Post by Soft Snow (?) » Sat Dec 02, 2017 10:43 pm

It seems like the new tax reform bill passed last night. While the Republicans are happy with their victory, a day later and it seems there might be some morning after regrets. Some think dropping the corporate rate rate down to 20% from 35% might be to steep. While others think there should have been more tax breaks for the middle class. This bill was finished just hours before it was voted on and had a lot of hand written lobbyist notes on the margins. This bill was rushed together at the last minute and no one had time to check all five hundred pages of it. Critics say it will raise the debt by a few trillion more while proponents say the new tax cuts with spur enough growth to make up for it.

Regardless of what happens, this is all on the Republicans. They repetitively said no Democrat supported this bill. If it succeeds they can take credit for a job well done. If it fails they will quickly turn on each other in a desperate plea to keep their seats. We are in for a fun ride.
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Re: The General Political Thread

Post by Pocket (?) » Sun Dec 03, 2017 1:50 am

It also straight-up raises taxes on everyone making less than $100G a year, from what I hear.

This is the Republican Party declaring all-out war on the non-rich. This is the Purge. I'm praying that something gets purged, all right.
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Re: The General Political Thread

Post by Factory Factory (?) » Sun Dec 03, 2017 1:55 am

It eliminates the tax deduction for tuition assistance. So a PhD candidate grad student making $30,000 a year, with $50,000 of tuition waived, will be taxed as if the student were making $80,000 per year. This gives grad students a $10,000 tax increase and essentially makes grad school entirely unaffordable for anyone except the independently wealthy.

The bill is horrible.
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Re: The General Political Thread

Post by Fizzbuzz (?) » Sun Dec 03, 2017 8:10 am

If Republicans are regretting it, at least it has to go back to the House to reconcile differences between each version of the bill. Surely that'll give them a chance to kill the bill, which they'll do once they realize how many of the working class get hurt by it, right? Right? :shepspike:
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Re: Current Events And Politics

Post by Perrydotto (?) » Sun Dec 03, 2017 8:40 am

Merged the new general politics thread with the one we already had.
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Re: The General Political Thread

Post by Bremen (?) » Sun Dec 03, 2017 2:12 pm

Soft Snow wrote: ↑
Sat Dec 02, 2017 10:43 pm
This bill was finished just hours before it was voted on and had a lot of hand written lobbyist notes on the margins. This bill was rushed together at the last minute and no one had time to check all five hundred pages of it.
Anyone else remember how the GOP complained the ACA passage was rushed and lacking transparency since it only got debated for six months?
Fizzbuzz wrote: ↑
Sun Dec 03, 2017 8:10 am
If Republicans are regretting it, at least it has to go back to the House to reconcile differences between each version of the bill. Surely that'll give them a chance to kill the bill, which they'll do once they realize how many of the working class get hurt by it, right? Right? :shepspike:
In theory, the House could straight up pass it and it would be law, which is probably their best bet for that to happen. However, if the House wants any changes it would either go back to the Senate or go to a special committee meant to come up with a compromise between the House and Senate bills (which would then have to be passed by votes in both), and it's unclear if the Senate would pass it again in that case.

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Re: Current Events And Politics

Post by Fizzbuzz (?) » Sun Dec 03, 2017 2:26 pm

I figured there's almost no way the House would agree to the Senate's version of the bill, what with the concessions thrown in to swing just enough moderate Republicans to vote for it. Hopefully it'll die from far-right House Republicans refusing to cooperate with moderates in the Senate, but what I'm expecting to happen is that the House will make it even worse and the Senate will kowtow to whatever the House kicks back at them.
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Re: Current Events And Politics

Post by Soft Snow (?) » Sun Dec 03, 2017 8:53 pm

So this bill isn't in effect yet? They have to merge to two different bills from the Senate and Congress and then vote on the newly formed one first?
:rariwhat:
Perrydotto wrote: ↑
Sun Dec 03, 2017 8:40 am
Merged the new general politics thread with the one we already had.
I swear I did not see the other one when I made this one.
:-I
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Re: Current Events And Politics

Post by SlateSlabrock (?) » Sun Dec 03, 2017 9:22 pm

Whooooo's ready for a war?
CBS wrote:Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-South Carolina, said the United States is "running out of time" when it comes to North Korea and that pre-emptive war is "becoming more likely" as the country's weapons technology "matures."

"We're getting close to a military conflict because North Korea's marching toward marrying up the technology of an ICBM with a nuclear weapon on top that cannot only get to America but deliver the weapon. We're running out of time," Graham said on CBS News' "Face the Nation" Sunday.

"The policy of the Trump administration is to deny North Korea the capability to hit America with a nuclear-tipped missile. Not to contain it," he said. "Denial means preemptive war as a last resort. That preemption is becoming more likely as their technology matures. Every missile test, every underground test of a nuclear weapon, means the marriage is more likely."

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Re: Current Events And Politics

Post by West Filly (?) » Sun Dec 03, 2017 9:43 pm

North Korea is a part of the world bordered by China and Russia. Attempts at altering the North Korean government might not be taken lightly by those other parties with an interest in the location.

At the minute the fact there's a batshit insane territory everyone's willing to leave alone acts as a convenient no man's land between Russia, China and a place that might as well be an annex of the US: South Korea. What happens if the "stability" of this no man's land government is compromised is anyone's guess, but will likely amount to a game of "no, they're my puppet/annex".
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Re: Current Events And Politics

Post by Fizzbuzz (?) » Mon Dec 04, 2017 1:01 am

Under most any other administration, if we had to go to war with North Korea, I'd most likely expect it to get divided up much like Germany was after World War II.

Under Trump, whose foreign policy is as subtle and considerate as a brick to the head, I imagine any such war would rapidly spiral out of control.
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Re: Current Events And Politics

Post by Venusy (?) » Mon Dec 04, 2017 5:40 pm

http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/20 ... tions.html
Once again, the administration isn't just evil, but also completely incompetent about it, because they accidentally killed all corporate tax deductions while rushing.

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