Politics

I found the "Pulling off a Nixon" comment interesting-- in how our minds rewrite history based on our conceived notions. Nixon did not extend the war-- see below (from history). Nixon was sworn in as President in January 1969 for his first term-- He immediately started reducing US involvement in the war. I was in the military at the time and was very happy to know I was unlikely to be sent to Vietnam. During Nixon's term as Vice President he spent time on missions to China. He understood that the Vietnam war was a bad idea. He lost his office for good reasons-- the the war was not one of them. The withdrawal was almost complete by the time of the 1972 election. …

Even as a liberal I was impressed by Steve Bannon's speech recently at the Oxford Union (published November 16th, 2018). He clearly has a formidable analytical mind and a deep and comprehensive knowledge of history, economics, and geopolitics. Really interesting to listen to and ponder. This was Trump's lynchpin, the man who won him the election. The man who we were all told is a racist monster, and yet he clearly seems to be looking at the world through an objective, logical lens. If you saw the talk, what were your thoughts on it?

We’ve now weaponized more than just xenophobic rhetoric. Migrants were tear gassed yesterday for approaching the US to request asylum (one threw a rock). The canisters were shot into the crowd and landing beside (sometimes even striking) kids less than 5, even those with no intention of crossing illegally Disappointing, saddening, and infuriating, yet unsurprising. Long term effects? Is US/Mexico border the new Israel/Palestine? Will we ever get passed the damage this is doing to our reputation and credibility?

Europeans had advanced technology so they got to enslaved and control millions of people. Was it because they just knew how to use their resources more than other races or was it because they just have superiority complex? Why do you think white people developed more than blacks, asians, etc..?

No, that’s not some black and white news headline from World War II. It happened, this weekend, one month away from the advanced year of 2018. What do you think of this trend? Are there sufficient nonviolent means to stop it? Will it take force and will things to continue to get worse before getting better? http://www.newsweek.com/poland-nationalist-rally-neo-nazi-slogans-calls-islamic-holocaust-draws-708984

Does anyone know how anyone can vote twice? I have always voted by mail, here in California. No way I could vote twice. BTW, why do many people need to stand in line for hours to vote? Something is wrong with their state. Anyhow, what is it like to vote at the poll? Do you prove your identity, then they look up your name on a list and check you off the list when you vote? Then how can you vote twice, if your name is already checked? Trump claims that people vote then go out to their car and change their appearance and then go into the poll and vote again. Then the dems just say that is ridiculous, but don't explain how it is not possible to vote more than on…

The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) will run a test next week for a Presidential Alert which gives POTUS the ability to directly send messages to nearly all cell phones nationally via the Emergency Alert System. Under current law the wireless emergency alert system can only be used for natural disasters, acts of terrorism, or other man-made disasters or threats to public safety. Is this a good idea? Should the President have the ability to send emergency alerts out directly? I personally do not see the use. This is what we have emergency response agencies for. I do not understand how a Presidential Alert is an improvement. I also am concerned about the po…

Good evening, friends and colleagues! I would like to approach you with a crucial issue that our governmental bodies are facing today--a biased demographic, in an underrepresentation of one of the largest and most integral segments of our population: the youth. Please help me advocate for this cause by signing the petition on We the People at https://petitions.whitehouse.gov/petition/most-underrepresented-group-white-house-youth. Thank you very, very much for your support!

So, if a woman rapes an underage male and she becomes pregnant, she legally has the right to sue the kid for child support. Same as raping a male, but that's basically unheard of, more often it being a young boy. What is the reasoning for this? Do you guys agree with this? Maybe I'm a bigot but that seems stupid to me. So someone justify this to me. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hermesmann_v._Seyer I know it's wikipedia, but the sources do match up and this basically sums it up. The court legally ruled that a woman can sue the father for child support regardless of whether it was due to illegal crime. Also, might I point out they can sue sperm donors, even…

Are these not the same thing? Why is one allowed on this forum, while the other is not?

As a kid I loved fire crackers, even on rare occasions cherry bombs and M80s that my brother and I bought in Tia Juana as kids. However, after grammar school I lost all interest in fire crackers. What kind of adult wants to know how to build a bomb that can kill or seriously hurt people? I never searched the internet for instructions on how to build a bomb, but why does that critical info NEED to be available to anyone? Such instructions should be constantly tracked down and removed from the internet, even if it keeps popping back up. There could be search and destroy bots that track them down.

It appears Hillary Clinton is potentially considering another Presidential run in 2020. In various circles I have seen a lot of trepidation among Democrats surrounding the possibility of another Clinton campaign. To me it is a very interesting situation which seems to have paradoxical feelings on different level among both Conservatives and Progressives. The first being that Clinton is though to be too divisive and flawed of a figure to head a national campaign. Conservatives appear to hate Clinton more than Democrats like her. Yet it is the anti Clinton propaganda pushed by those hoping to defeat Clinton politically who have created those feelings and they will do t…

On March 23rd, 2010 the Affordable Care Act passed into law and mostly took effect on January 1st, 2014(the delay mostly due to infrastructure requirements). Since then it insured on average 11.4 million people in 2017. But it did more than just establish a government insurance program, it also established several independent hospital guidelines, health insurance regulations, and more. However, there are several problems with the ACA that I feel we could improve on. First off, the HACRP, which stands for Hospital-Acquired Condition Reduction Program. It's designed to penalize hospitals scoring in the worst quartile for rates of hospital-acquired condition…

Taxation without representation is a well worn slogan familiar to most in the western world. Yet throughout the world's democracies and more specifically in the U.S. millions who pay taxes do not have the right to vote. Green card holders, visa holders, and those in the U.S. on deferred action pay taxes yet have no right to vote. Depending of the state U.S. born citizens can be denied their right to vote pending run ins with the law. In Western Democracies what should the standard be? Should paying taxes guarantee you a right to a vote, should a right to a vote be guaranteed regardless of taxation, or should govts be able to restrict voting to tax paying individuals based…

Journalist J Kashoggi was was allegedly ( well, pretty certainly ) killed in the Saudi embassy in Istambul, Turkey. This brazen act was carried out without much thought to deniability on the part of the Saudis, even evidence of the involvement of the Saudi Crown Prince might be forthcoming. What isn't being discussed is the fact that J Kashoggi was a 'hack' journalist, only interested in promoting the interests of the Muslim Brotherhood, and an extremely vocal critic of the Crown Prince, and his reforms. The Crown Prince, on the other hand, has introduced more progressive reforms to Saudi society in the last year than in the previous 100yrs. I realize the ends…

The Bureau of Justice Statistics has release new figures for the number of arrest related deaths around the country and the number is higher than earlier estimate. https://www.bjs.gov/content/pub/pdf/ardprs1516pf.pdf In the past we have debated reason why this happens, compared it stats from other countries, argued about which protest methods are acceptable, and etc. For the sake of this thread I am assuming we all agree the number should be less and that this is a problem which must be addressed structurally (policy, training, organiztion, equipment, etc). Given our new political climate what can be done structurally and where would it begin?

The BBC reports how Ford is getting around US import tax regulations. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-45875405 Is what Ford are doing good business or 'sharp practice' ?

Recently the favorability of Trump has risen. Trump's success can partly be attributed to a large number of Americans that can be enamored, and therefore conned willingly, by a good, SLICK, sales pitch. Many Americans don't see his mannerisms as obnoxious. They are attracted to that brash, combative style, a "street fighter" who fights back. SALES is a major part of the American economy. There are many people in sales. Their commissions depend on how good they are at pushing their product on someone. A good salesman can sell ice cubes to the Eskimos. Many salespersons must admire an expert salesman. People really like to hear an upbeat, brash, carnival barker who…

The recent nomination of B Kavaaugh to the Supreme Court highlights and magnifies the problem with the highest court in the land. Judges are appointed to the Supreme Court by a Government, when the opportunity arises, as an extension of the government's ideology. Republicans nominate extremely conservative judges, while Democrats nominate progressive ( or activist, depending on your viewpoint ) judges and since appointments are for life, the Supreme Court can be right or left leaning for many changes of Government. Once a majority is established in the Supreme Court, laws passed by a government are either 'rubber stamped' by the Court, or modified ( even rendered in…

If Yes, what will it be fought over? If no, why not?

This is not about B Kavanough's suitability for the Supreme Court, nor whether he is innocent or not of the accusations levelled against him ( and certainly not about D Trump ). The issue I want to discuss is whether the MeToo movement has made Due Process a thing of the past. It is no longer 'innocent until proven guilty', but guilty until you can prove yourself innocent. Have we, in our rush to provide a level playing field for victims of sexual assault, taken away the rights of a group of people ( males ) to a fair trial ? The fact that a woman, with dubious recollection ( self admitted ) of events that happened over 30 yrs ago, is to be believed beyond doubt, and …

Racism at the Athens, GA, library Hi, my name is Jb, and I’m a Christian, as you know, the bible teaches about correctable and not correctable people, about saved people and lost boys, about children of the lord and children of the devil, in other words there are immortals and mortals, and both are evil, however immortals can change, I mean we can be less evil, unfortunately mortals can’t, I mean they can’t stop their rebellion, so one day at the library, there was and storm warning, and one lady that works at the counter came to tell me to leave, but she was very ugly, very rude because she was thundering her fingers, for that reason I didn’t leave immediately but I…

What Do you think about gun control? I think that there should be a ban on Citizens using assault weapons because they are weapons of mass murder.

Here it is, Friday, August 31st. If Mueller is going to issue a progress report on his special investigation into Trump, today is the last day. Otherwise, the next 2 months are off limits for any actions, indictments, or announcements because it would interfere with the Midterm elections in November. What do you think? That means we won't be hearing from Mueller until after the elections.

So she was acting crazy and showing signs of mental illness...... does this warrant the police shooting her to death? In the UK or the EU I am certain she would have been taken into hospital and helped through her mental illness..... in the USA? - BLAM! Take that you crazy bitch! That's the end of you. No more troubling your neighbors with crazy shouting. Despicable policing! If the gun laws weren't so stupid in that country then the police wouldn't have been so certain that her BB gun was a real one and wouldn't have had to blow her away just to make sure. Fucking ridiculous. I don't expect her family will get compensation for a wrongful shooting - it will be…