Politics

In their most recent act of compassion, liberal lefties have decided to add Republicans and neoconservative values to the endangered species list.

Politics FAQ & Useful Links This post is intended to be a reference for three kinds of information: 1) How to go about posting on the politics board (rules and guidelines) (coming soon). 2) Helpful links to reference sites that are useful for discussion here. 3) Links to previous discussions on hot topics so you can refer back to how we talking about an issue before. To that end I could use everyone's help, especially with the second and third points, which you can start adding to right now by replying to this thread. This thread will be open but moderated -- I'll be able to see your replies but I'll only tap certain ones for visibility. Others will be …

Is anyone watching/following the Impeachment Hearings ? Seems the 'quid pro quo', or bribery as the rest of us call it, was pretty blatant. But I've been watching sporadically. I'm not familiar with the 'path' from hearings to actual Impeachment. What needs to happen to finally get rid of clown Donald ?

Intelligence suggests Russia is planning to invade Ukraine in January apparently with the intent to take it over. Likewise, China has been stepping up plans to seize Taiwan. Have been talking about it for years, but seem to sense more opportunity in todays global political climate. Should US respond if/when either of those two things happen? If so, how and for how long? Does your answer change if both events happen at the same time? Game it out…

There have been photos recently spreading on facebook about the recent shooting during the Batman premier. These people are suggesting that it wouldn't have been nearly as bad if someone in the crowd had a gun. Not only do I disagree with this premise, but I think it is insanely ridiculous. Discharging a firearm into a crowded room is extremely dangerous even when trained professionals in ideal conditions. To think that untrained civilians could have safely stopped the tragedy while under a cloud of teargas is insane and dangerously so. Now, moving from the specific to the general case, I found this article citing studies showing the obvious conclusions that more guns…

I'd wager money Trump has a monetary interest (or a close "friend" with an interest) in increasing sales of hydroxychlorquine. His cheerleading to me screams of stock price manipulation.

Donald Trump – president of the US of A, I’m not American but, even so, how scared should I be? And how many of his BS non sequiturs would get through congress?

What is the balance to be found here? Surely, there are valid arguments to be made about the importance of gun right protections and the ability of people to own them, and also valid arguments to be made that this has become a bit of a national health problem or epidemic that we should seriously consider addressing like we would a disease. To frame the discussion, consider these facts: http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2014/01/27/guns-children-hospitalizations/4796999/ Every year since 2006 in the US, in a typical year there are 30 mass killings with 137 victims. http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2013/09/16/mass-killi…

I know it is still early but candidates are already throwing their hats in the ring. So let's discuss it. At present the following candidates (in last name alphabetical order) have already announced their candicacy or filed the necessary paperwork to begin organizing their campaigns. There will be more candidates to come but for now I would like to discuss the ones currently in rather than speculate about others. How does everyone feel about these candidates? Julian Castro Tulsi Gabbard Kristen Gillbrand Elizabeth Warren

Note: I'm not sure if this thread belongs in Politics or as part of another existing thread It might be interesting to discuss the success stories vs the failures so far in the COVID-19 pandemic. My definition of "success" is based on the number of deaths compared to the number of confirmed cases. Success Stories: Japan Singapore Taiwan Hong Kong South Korea Not so Successful: Pretty much every other country. Factors of Success: 1. Widespread and systematic testing - testing is readily available on demand and the throughput for testing (amount of tests that can be completed per day) is significantly higher…

What do you think about the ideas of Jordan Peterson? More precisely the idea that history of human society is that of dialogue between conservatives and liberals and that if conservatives and liberals can agree on something, then it's likely a good thing to do. In other words too much conservatism is bad and too much liberalism is also bad

In your opinion, what is Americas biggest problem? I have been asking this question for a couple days. The answers are very diverse. I am curious on what everyone in this community may have to say. I realize the question is broad, but I appreciate any thoughts you may have to offer.

What socialist services does the US government currently provide? It seems we have several: *military *police *firefighters *voting *Medicare *Medicaid *Social Security *healthcare (via emergency room, for people who can't pay) *public libraries *public schools *government college grants, scholarships, and loans *roads (except toll roads) *the FDA *the EPA I'm probably missing some...

What's the probability? What will it take to impeach Trump considering the GOP has control of senate and house and supreme court? Will it take a change in 2 years when there is an election and the Dems have a chance to take control of the house and/or senate? Or could Trump become so obnoxious that even his party turns against him in less than 2 years? It seems like Trump wants to take his office to the unknown in unpopularity. He has such opposition already, what can happen in the next 2 years? I shudder to think.

What is this the news I hear they are saying repo or injecting billion dollars into the market? Is the stock market not doing well and the government is injecting billions into the market every day to keep the stock market up. Where is this money going and is profiting from it. Is is stock market not doing well now and could crash and that why feds are popping money into every day.

I am not an American, and I struggle to fully understand the cause of the riots in Ferguson, Missouri (link to theguardian.com). Obviously, the shooting of an unarmed black man living in Ferguson was for many people in at town the final straw. But there is surely a deeper problem than that. Is it that black people feel discriminated? Is it that the police are scared shitless patrolling the poor areas, and shoot much too quickly because of that? Is it because there is no good communication between law enforcement and local inhabitants (no understanding)? Can one even point out a single problem that is the major issue? I'd like to hear some input about this, because I j…

America has seen yet another merciless killing of an unarmed person of color at the hands of police. This time though, it seems different. In the past, even with video tape, things happened quickly. An officer overreacted and shot an unarmed person. Sometimes the situation was ambiguous, sometimes not. But there was always a sense in previous police killings that somehow the officer had slipped up; gotten it wrong. Call it a lack of training, tunnel vision, PTSD - whatever term describes a person who under situations of extreme stress cannot act in good judgement and makes a fatal error, costing an innocent person their life. But George Floyd's killing wa…

In another thread someone implied that gun ownership was an indicator of "Right Wing" politics. While I recognize that more guns are probably owned by people on the Right than on the Left, I didn't really think that gun ownership was an attribute of a conservative political viewpoint, so much as an attribute of living a more rural lifestyle. That is, living in rural areas might make you more conservative AND more friendly to guns, but the friendliness to guns didn't come from being conservative, it came from being in a location where a gun can be a tool (hunting, varmint control, etc.) I would suspect conservatives who live in urban areas tend to not have guns, where libe…

The US govt is shut down over the semantics of what the US needs on its' southern border, a wall or a fence. Or border security technology and additional personnel? Trump had said he insisted on a " concrete wall" not a fence, but recently he thinks they are the same. So my question is about the $5 billion he demands for his "wall" does that mean he wants to begin a project of REPLACING the fencing that is already there with his "steel slats" see-thru "wall". Does he want to tear down the inferior fencing and replace it with his super steel slats? What I would suggest is they install total surveillance along the border to find out EXACTLY WHERE the most people ar…

I figured since we had a Donald Trump topic, we should have a Hillary Clinton topic. I thought today would be a good start day with the release of the FBI investigation file. Hillary could find even one of those 13 mobile devices? Not one? http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/article/2600901 Hillary deleted 17500 emails. Wow, 17500. http://www.dailywire.com/news/8779/fbi-hillary-deleted-30-emails-about-benghazi-ben-shapiro At least 30 of those emails were about benghazi. Doesn't sound personal to me. I wonder what else she deleted. Maybe the NSA knows. http://circa.com/politics/accountability/fbis-hillary-clinton-email-probe-found-evidence-…

Guns...

It now appears that the perpetrators of several co-ordinated attacks in the French capital were indeed Islamic fundamental terrorists. My deepest sympathies for the French people. I was almost hoping the violence was due to wacky global warmers ( yes there are some of those ) ahead of the global climate summit in two weeks. These actions will just ratchet up fear in Europe, and the people who suffer most will be Muslims trying to flee Syria and ISIS. I can see a lot of borders being shut in Europe at a time when these refugees need help. Charlie is crying again.

It's about which side will pack the biggest political punch, after all, there's no-one more determined to end smoking than an ex-smoker. It was a throwaway line with a satirical twist about which side wins; when only one side can ever really win.

US special forces staged a raid near the Syria/Turkey border and flushed out Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, who then blew himself up with explosives when trapped. Apparently DNA confirmation of his identity is now possible 'in the field' and much quicker than the usual couple of weeks it takes for criminal cases. Obviously there is a need to be sure, as he has been 'reportedly' killed several times before. D Trump is either trying to draw attention from his escalating problems, or still trying to take wind from B Obama's sails ( the Osama bin-Laden takedown ), as apparently he posted a ( staged ) picture in the Situation Room from the wrong time; he was playing golf during th…

Civil unrest, assault, burning private property, because some of the electorate didn't like the results of a democratic election. This is shameful, and classless. I cannot recall Republicans rioting after the results of '08 and '12 elections, or any other election regarding both sides. Obama is calling for unification and a peaceful transition. your thoughts? ~EE