General Political Thread

[Hixter]

Well as far as pointless discussions go, looks like we will be turning to the gun debate again

 

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/11/01/lax-shooting-incident_n_4192370.html

Early reports (often incorrect) are that he was a former or current TSA employee. But I'll add that "assault" rifles are already illegal in California and it's already illegal to have a concealed firearm at LAX. The same goes for murder. Not sure what else can be done, but I'd start by having the security checkpoints, metal detectors and screening devices at the entrance to the airport.

[KevinG]

 Not sure what else can be done, but I'd start by having the security checkpoints, metal detectors and screening devices at the entrance to the airport.

 

We differ in the kind of tyranny that we will accept, mine is a tyranny that the government more strictly regulates the type of weapons that are available.  Yours is a tyranny that allows the general citizenry to be treated like prisoners/criminals in public spaces.  

[Hixter]

We differ in the kind of tyranny that we will accept, mine is a tyranny that the government more strictly regulates the type of weapons that are available.  Yours is a tyranny that allows the general citizenry to be treated like prisoners/criminals in public spaces.  

I don't accept tyranny in any form, but I don't think that either of your examples come close to being described as tyranny. That said, "your tyranny" is already in effect and the weapon has already been banned -- to no apparent effect.

 

Like it or not, if the government wants to protect airport passengers then they need to do away with all the pre-screening areas where large numbers of people congregate. The best place to cause mass casualties would be in the security lines themselves and no firearms would be necessary, only a few items easily purchased at a hardware store.

[Atticus]

how does one pronounce "Ciancia"?

[Hixter]

how does one pronounce "Ciancia"?

Hundreds of newscasters are asking the same question.

But the conspiracy theorists will notice that his name begins and ends with CIA.

[Guest Don Draper]

Read the CNN story again. It is completely factual

Pretty sure no CNN story can bear that description.

[Guest Don Draper]

Not sure what else can be done, but I'd start by having the security checkpoints, metal detectors and screening devices at the entrance to the airport.

All this does is create the same bottleneck/screening/scenario 40 feet back from where it presently is. I don't see how this would prevent anything at all.

[IRememberDBoon]

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[Shakespeare In The Alley]

fucking thank god cuccinelli lost in va  

[Magnetized]

fucking thank god cuccinelli lost in va  

Hear, hear! But damn, it was too close for comfort. It was also one of the nastiest races i ever remember. Absolutely obscene to think of how much money was spent in campaign ads. I really think there's a crying need for campaign finance reform. When you think of all the money that's spent in political campaigns that could be going toward something productive, it just makes me want to puke.

[Shakespeare In The Alley]

it was really close, but the fact that the more populated/liberal counties were all 50% in while the rural/conservative counties were 100% in gave me hope while it looked for a while like cooch could conceivably pull it of.

 

i havent watched much tv lately (save for baseball) so i missed most of the campaign ads, but i fully agree that its disturbing how much money both sides spend on them.

 

anyway im just glad that psycho's been cast aside for now. good fucking riddance

[Atticus]

my ballot yesterday did not list political party affiliation.

[KevinG]

my ballot yesterday did not list political party affiliation.

 

I don't know if I would know who to vote for then 

 

Chris Christie win is very interesting.  His victory speech was more like the kickoff to his 2016 Presidential bid.  I don't know much about him other then the glowing reports from the media and his actions after Superstorm Sandy last year.  Admittedly I am a pretty dyed in the wool progressive, however there might be part of me that would consider voting for the man just because I think somethings might actually get done in our government.  Almost assuredly the House will be controlled by the GOP in 2016 (thank you gerrymandering), so I believe the House would be more willing to work and move the country forward if Christie was president.  It would be interesting to see if the Senate would become the obstructionists trying to thwart a GOP agenda.  

 

This is all thoughts as I am sure as I know more about Christie my attitude will change, but now it is an interesting notion.  Also if the House flips I would really want to see a democrat in office.   

[Guest Don Draper]

Chris Christie win is very interesting. His victory speech was more like the kickoff to his 2016 Presidential bid.

Pretty well-known that this is exactly what it was. The democratic party has openly admitted it wishes it launched a stronger attack against him.

 

As progressive/let us sing Kumbaya across the aisle as he is, I think we can expect that a Christie presidency will be as watered down as Obama's.

[KevinG]

Pretty well-known that this is exactly what it was. The democratic party has openly admitted it wishes it launched a stronger attack against him.

 

As progressive/let us sing Kumbaya across the aisle as he is, I think we can expect that a Christie presidency will be as watered down as Obama's.

 

Feel that reason Obama's presidency has been watered down pretty much because the House refuses to work with him, or support any of his ideas, for fear of giving him a win or making it look like his policies helped the country in anyway.  

 

What makes you think Christie would have an equally watered down administration? 

 

With that being said the house races in 2014 will have a huge effect on what happens in 2016.  

[Guest Don Draper]

I should have clarified that by watered-down I mean adhering to party lines. And I think this because Kumbaya gets you elected and toe-the-line gets shit done.

 

You have a point about the congressional races though. If he's elected and the House and/or Senate are dem-heavy, he may be forced to sing Kumbaya.

[KevinG]

I should have clarified that by watered-down I mean adhering to party lines. And I think this because Kumbaya gets you elected and toe-the-line gets shit done.

 

You have a point about the congressional races though. If he's elected and the House and/or Senate are dem-heavy, he may be forced to sing Kumbaya.

 

I don't see a scenario where Christie is elected without the GOP controlling the House.  With the current state of gerrymandering it is going to take a lot people to vote Democrat to have it flip, which means they are increasingly dissatisfied with GOP politics, which makes them less likely to vote for a GOP candidate for president.  

[uncool2pillow]

The tea party wing of the Republicans will be nearly as hostile to Christie as they are to Obama.

[KevinG]

The tea party wing of the Republicans will be nearly as hostile to Christie as they are to Obama.

 

So what you are saying is that really the only way to get the legislative body of our government to work with the executive branch is to either get the TEA party out of there or elect Rand Paul as president.  

[Hixter]

Here's a cheery piece of good news:

 

Saudi Arabia has invested in Pakistani nuclear weapons projects, and believes it could obtain atomic bombs at will, a variety of sources have told BBC Newsnight.http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-24823846

 

Looks like the Saudis have their (nuclear) sights set on Iran and Israel.

[uncool2pillow]

So what you are saying is that really the only way to get the legislative body of our government to work with the executive branch is to either get the TEA party out of there or elect Rand Paul as president.  

Yeah, pretty much.  One of the main premises of the tea party is that compromise is failure.  Politics is compromise.  They are, and will always be, nothing but obstructionists.  If they had control of all 3 branches, they would obstruct themselves.  Fuck 'em.

[Winston Legthigh]

The 60 Minutes report on Benghazi is worth a watch.

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3t8HeHEO-Qk

 

hmm

[Mr. Heartbreak]

http://www.ibtimes.com/us-embassy-attacks-and-bombings-recent-history-782665

 

Benghazi is the biggest non-story the right have latched onto since the birther nonsense. Embassies get attacked often; it is, sadly, almost par for the course (see the above article). The right have tried to make this a Watergate moment by declaring, "The lies told about the incident were bigger crimes than the incident itself," but it's a load of absolute horseshit. If the people there did not get enough support fast enough, that is a terrible thing, but let's be honest: if you go to Pakistan or Syria or Iraq or any of these trouble spots, and you're an American, you can expect trouble...especially if you're at the American embassy there. It's sad that those people died, but it's not a huge scandal, except in the minds of those who want to make it one.

 

If people want to beat up on Obama, they should go after the drone strikes issue. That might at least have some legs, not only among far-right libertarians but also among leftie peaceniks like me. Benghazi is a dead horse.

 

By the way, I saw an excellent comment online today about this, which I will steal and paraphrase here. Imagine if the Beirut Marine attack (241 Americans dead) had taken place on Obama's watch instead of St. Ronnie's? Wonder what the the far right would have to say about that?

[Hixter]

Embassies get attacked often; it is, sadly, almost par for the course (see the above article).

Only 5 other American ambassadors have been killed and the last one was 35 years ago. It's not an everyday occurrence.

 

Imagine if the Beirut Marine attack (241 Americans dead) had taken place on Obama's watch instead of St. Ronnie's? Wonder what the the far right would have to say about that?

One of those dead Marines was a friend of mine. I'm not sure that you can compare military troops in a war zone to a civilians in an American embassy, but I recall much public anger directed at at the Reagan administration after the bombing -- especially concerning the perceived lack of response.

[twoshedsjackson]

Only 5 other American ambassadors have been killed and the last one was 35 years ago. It's not an everyday occurrence.

So only the lives of ambassadors count?

 

http://www.policymic.com/mobile/articles/40811/13-benghazis-happened-under-president-bush-and-fox-news-said-nothing