I’m not even going to try to pretend y’all want to talk about anything other than the midterms.
Instead, I’m gonna let this dude lead things off today.
https://twitter.com/KhushbuOShea/status/1059864496729194496
Go Dawgs!
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Get The Picture · Bloviation for the Dawgnation
Get The Picture 
Gridlock is good.
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Also, a dead white male pimp is better than a live anyone else! Today’s GOP for the win: https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/elections/dennis-hof-brothel-owner-who-died-last-month-wins-election-n933366?fbclid=IwAR3s8zpx9oZjOox5tKAvQqByjsL_VFGJE1Cn_kDSAYYmeog4yUYdr3RznnQ
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You said it!
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“I voted for Abrams’ because she’s black and I’m black. Regardless of her values or policies!”
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I saw three different people interviewed yesterday who said exactly that. So if you are white and vote for a white candidate over a black candidate you’re a racist. But if you are black and vote for a black candidate over a white candidate you are progressive and on the right side of history. I understand now.
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They would have voted for Kemp against a white democrat. No doubt.
Just tell the truth. You aren’t butt hurt because they voted for the black candidate, you’re butt hurt because they showed up at all.
Also, am I really to believe that the voters of “Mexican rapist” fame aren’t racist? Really? Mr. “both sides” supporters are really open minded on the issue of race right?
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I’m not butt hurt at all, I don’t care who is running but if they want to ban assault weapons when they can’t even define what one is they won’t get my vote. It just seems like a double standard to me to say I’m voting black because I’m black when most anyone who is white would be eviscerated if they said the inverse. What if a white tv host said the opposite of what Don Lemon said? I know racism is real, I see examples of it daily.
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^this is what happens to your brain on FOX News. You come away with a feeling of white victimhood despite 250 years of white domination of American politics.
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I have sling and don’t have access to fox news, just CNN. Sorry to disappoint you.I don’t feel like a victim. I don’t paint with a broad brush either.
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So the only way to atone for a wrong is like physics ? An equal and opposite reaction ? Well, not equal exactly, since element of the initial first force is long dead and gone—only leaving their descendants to absorb the equal and opposite reaction. I guess that passes as OK.
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Name one white racial slur that has ever genuinely insulted you and I’ll agree that white people are victims of racism just like everyone else. Do you accept my challenge you cracker honky?
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I’m offended…
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I never said white people are victims of racism just like everyone else. I was pointing out the double standard that goes without notice today. If I’ve ever been offended I got over it. As for your epithet, you can kiss my cracker honky ass.
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Cracker and honky don’t carry the same weight as other slurs for obvious reason. Therefore it isn’t really a double standard because the terms aren’t equal in scope.
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True. I was talking more about Don Lemon. All white men should be banned. What about the one he sleeps with every night? The hypocrisy is ridiculous.
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Yeah, why would a member of one of the most discriminated racial groups in America not want to vote for the party that enriches the rich at the expense of public goods?
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Thank you for your socialist input.
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So are we just calling all public goods socialist now? Socialized roads, socialized schools, socialized military?
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Saw a lot of red neck socialists accepting free ice, tarps, MREs, and bottled water for the last three weeks.
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I’ve come to realize that “socialism” has simply become the old white Republican default for any program/idea that they deem retarding the Money Men. Because they either envy those monied interests or put money above most other pursuits.
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Kind of like how racism has become the response for disagreeing with Democrats? Public schools are so good that we all jump at an opportunity to get our kids out of them. Public roads are overbuilt like Hayak observed. The interstate system is designed to move troops and subsidize Detroit. Also, you cannot be an environmentalist and support this. The troops are not socialists but the companies that contract DoD are certainly rent seekers. If Eisenhower could see there is a danger from the military industrial complex, why can’t you?
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Thanks for voting, my real question to you is, you don’t mind if she digs her hand deeper into your pocket and takes from you by force that which you have worked hard for to support your family?
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Yeah. That goes for all of my bills too. I ain’t paying anymore. Taxes are robbery and so is rent.
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Rent is voluntary. It’s an important distinction.
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Yeah, if you don’t mind being homeless. Taxes are voluntary if you don’t mind being countryless. Move to a boat in international waters. I bet the IRS will leave you to yourself.
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So you can’t grasp the distinction. Interesting.
Since rent is “necessary”, should we task the police with collecting it? Should we put people who don’t pay their rent in cages? That would be awfully progressive of you.
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Police can evict you or arrest you for trespassing. We can keep going if you would like. Obviously there are nuanced differences, as there are with all comparisons, but if you don’t understand the functional similarities then it’s probably best to move on with your life.
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I understand perfectly well. Rent still isn’t compulsory. Taxes are unique in the fact that they’re coercive. Other expenses, even if for necessary, items are voluntary.
If you don’t want to pay rent, buy your own property and avoid it. Or live with someone who agrees not to charge you rent. If you don’t want to buy food, grow your own.
And, of course, you’re free to set the level of your expenses voluntarily. If you want to spend $1,000 a month on rent, fine. If you want to spend ten times that much, also fine. Try telling the government you’re going to send in less than they demand. It won’t go well.
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Yeah, it’s called moving to a place with less taxes. 🤷🏻♂️ keep em comin though.
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Still wrong. What is confusing you, the government’s monopoly on force? The idea of voluntary interaction between individuals? Most people can easily understand the distinction we’re discussing.
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Yeah I guess I’m just really stupid and you’re really smart. Either that or you care way too much about something that doesn’t really matter and don’t know the difference between a general reference and defending a dissertation. I’m fine with either conclusion.
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The dude above is an older white man.
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White guilt is insanity.
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White power is the only way!
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Yep. Those two statements are the exact same. That was stupid, Derek.
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I’m shocked, shocked that Derek is spewing stupidity into the ether. Fortunately, it’s past his bedtime.
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I don’t even dislike Derek. And contrary to some here who disagree with him, I don’t dismiss him as an idiot who wants people to think he is smart. I think Derek is pretty damn sharp. But in spite of that he says a lot of stupid shit. The reason? He’s too emotional.
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What does it even mean the dude above is an older white man?
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I was just pointing out that the dude in the tweet is white. Seemed like proper were commenting as if he were voting for Abrams bc they were both black.
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Got it. I was wondering what I missed. Go Dawgs!
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Go Dawgs indeed sir.
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Of course.. I wonder how many of the know anything more about her, beyond her skin color. “Do as I say, not as I do”, it’s the motto of the intolerant tolerant left..
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An hour and a half? I call voter suppression. Clearly the Repubs didn’t want this guy voting. Just look at him…
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I call “welcome to the future” if voter registration is done away with and anyone can just walk up and vote. Counties won’t be able to adequately plan to have the resources to handle long lines — although this appears to be Atlanta area so no amount of time would likely prevent a clusterfuck.
If we really want a “man on the moon” type initiative to pursue, we need to figure out how to have free and fair elections from your own computer in your own home.
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Oregon has remote voting via paper ballets and it works great.
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….. and the hacking/hijacking of individual votes on that initiative would never happen!
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Is this like “I have 4 inches of global warming on my car” in January?
If a white guy waits there must not be any systematic suppression at all, anywhere right?
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So, where’s the evidence of suppression, then? Waiting to vote clearly isn’t racist, is it? Why so many complaints about wait time from the left as evidence of racism?
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Purging 340,000 people from the voter rolls (largely minorities) doesn’t stand out to you?
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They were ALL Democrats?
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How about the voting machines without power cords in Gwinnett? “Aw shucks, sorry y’all, it’s gonna be a few hours, come back later!”
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But only Democrats were inconvenienced?
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Gwinnett county is a big democratic county.
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Someone should pull the drain plug on that sewer.
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Hell of a coincidence
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Or using the official SOS website to throw a last minute, completely baseless, charge of a crime against the SOS’ challenger in a race he’s acting as his own referee?
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Completely baseless? You know this how? Does it strike you as odd that only Republicans do wrong? Or
that only Republicans behave badly or have bad intentions? Maybe not, but with the money at stake, really?
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A last minute baseless charge of a crime ? /hold my beer
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It took my wife and I 4 hours in Pooler, just outside of Savannah.
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Are y’all still running that speed trap on I-16?
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Of course. It’s a friendly rivalry with Cook County over on I-75.
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Darrien got me on I 95. Sumbitch. Waze even told me he was there but I didn’t listen like a dumbass.
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Does Georgia have early votin? I’ve been gone for the better part of 25 years and they did not when I lived there. If they do, then anyone who waited has no reason to complain. We have early voting that lasts about 2 weeks prior to the elections here in Texas so plenty of opportunity to get to the polls early. I voted this past Thursday and had to wait a grand total of 15 minutes. My wife chose to wait to the last minute and got to the polls around 6:30 yesterday. She had the privilege of waiting over 2 hours to vote.
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Georgia has early voting. I think it started over two weeks ago. I went last Thursday, and I was in and out in five minutes.
The only thing that stood out to me were two people turned down to vote. They were in the wrong county.
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Ole Greg looks like he could be retired. Probably should have headed over and early voted after his McDonalds coffee one morning last week. I wonder if he even knows about the interent? It took myself and the wife less than 10 minutes to early vote last week.
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Yeah. The waskaly wepubwicans are suppressing votes. They didn’t let anybody early vote. Liberal Democrats are to politics what Alabama fans are to college football. They never do anything wrong and they never just lose. If they lose it absolutely, positively has to be that somebody cheated.
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A slave can only complian about a whipping if he can establish a solid work record. You can NOT be abused or have your rights violated without first showing of complete perfection. If you’re a white male you get your rights no matter what.
This is not white mans entitlement. It’s just fairness. We as white men complian because we own the place. If you don’t fit that demographic, show me that you derserve to complain and then maybe I’ll listen. Likely we’ll find your kind wanting.
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Who are you talking to? What rights do white people have that black people don’t have. The answer of course is none. Can you guys still not see that calling everybody a racist all the time is kicking your asses worse than the Republicans ever could? The strident bleating of the left is probably the one thing keeping them from realizing their wildest dreams. As somebody who is repulsed by much of what I see from them I wish I could buy them all a beer and tell them to get a little louder but I know they will do that anyway.
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REEEEEEE!!! ORANGE MAN BAD!!! REEEEEEE!!!!!
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Problem is, they’re all self-serving assholes….
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Bam! Senator throwing red meat to the crowd! I’m taking the over on 250 today.
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Sorry, this was supposed to be a general comment, not a reply to you, Godawg.
BTW, how am I supposed to argue with your comment when you speak truth?
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True dat. That’s why it’s up to us.
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Yep. Can’t look at the personality of who’s running. Look at the agenda of each candidate & determine how it impact you, your family & society. Sometimes the biggest jerk has the best overall agenda.
Sadly, this poor, old soul is lacking in the ability to discern & go beyond appearances. Thus he made a decision w/out using his brain.
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I can not disagree more. No politician can implement their agenda alone. And when morally bankrupt, egotistical, self-serving, corrupt assholes form alliances, because they are doing it for themselves, and to tilt the scales to benefit people like them. They don’t give a shit about your family or society at large. Without some humility and altruism, you don’t have public servants, you have public con artists.
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Very well said DawgFlan.
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You’re looking for altruism in politics? Bless your heart.
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I know, right? I would even settle for some noblesse oblige. How quaint.
Seriously, maybe not the best word choice, but it sure would be nice to have leaders with a mindset that mutually beneficial outcomes are possible. Alas, we live is a world of zero-sum, no-compromise, white-knuckled fights where many have to lose so that a few can win for a bit longer.
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Mutually beneficial outcomes are best accomplished when people are free to interact with each other voluntarily. Bureaucrats putting their thumbs on the scales only leads to harm.
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Another thoughtless cliche… Apparently you are blind to Trump’s use of tariffs, executive orders, protectionist subsidies, and his own army of bureaucrats to place a lot of thumbs on a lot of scales.
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What part of my stance against government interference in the economy excepts Trump? FWIW, economics isn’t a thoughtless cliche. It’s simply the antidote to banal thinking that one set of masters can centrally plan the way to prosperity better than another set of masters, in spite of all evidence to the contrary.
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Having studies economics for 10+ years, I’d put my banal thinking up against most. No one said anything about central planning. Wilhelm Röpke is my guy – free market principles grounded by an Aristotelian understanding of human nature and the proper role for collective action to ensure the destructive side of the capitalist equation doesn’t overwhelm the creative. Look at the economy of (West/unified) Germany in the 70+ years since WWII and get back to me on how banal ordoliberalism is. The US, by benefit of having preserved its manufacturing, infrastructure, monetary system, and workforce coming out of WWII had a 3-4 decade head start on most of the world, and the trickle-down, survival of the fittest economic thought of the last 30 years has done its best to give it all back.
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What part of Abrams’ agenda is about free market principles? She’s on record repudiating the free market. If your understanding of economics is that more government intervention (i.e. central planning, or to use Röpke’s term, “office economy”) is better than less, then you need to study a bit more. I suggest Rothbard.
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Surprised you didn’t come back with Rand. Ordoliberalism has been put into practice, and the economies of Germany and Switzerland are case studies. Yet you counter with idealistic, distilled Austrian economic theory that has no practical application. You could probably give it a go in Somalia, however…
From your comments my take away is that you seem to prefer ideals that can’t be proven, cliches that have little substance, slap in the face lies over kick in the nuts honesty, and that you saved us from the horror of an Abrams as should promptly convinced the Republican legislature to take away our guns, freedoms and money.
I’m sure you have an equally kind set of takeaways for me 🙂 It’s all good. Go Dawgs.
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An absolutely free market hasn’t existed in any place in the West for at least a few hundred years. That doesn’t mean that a particular form of state intervention in the economy is better than strictly voluntary action.
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Like the bureaucrats running private insurance companies? There are plenty of bureaucrats in the private sector who don’t give a shit about the public interest and in fact try to exploit the public (and government) for profit.
You know what the “free market” means Napster? it means billionaires and special interests are free to set the rules and kick your ass.
Some people just don’t understand that they are closer to being poor than they are rich.
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Florida and Georgia, leading the way with electing racists again.
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Sad, but not shocking. Worst part is that it’s going to get worse now because both of those hicks went all-in on the racism and it paid off.
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According to the National Journal, who scored all the candidates on their agendas, the most progressive candidates in races across the country last night went 0-8.
AZ Gov (Garcia), FL Gov (Gillum), Ga Gov (Abrams), MD Gov (Jealous), TX Sen (Beto), CA 45 (Porter), NE 02 (Eastman), PA 01 (Wallace), VA 05 (Cockburn)
It must be those hicks from check notes California, Maryland, Pennsylvania and Arizona that are the racist too. Or maybe, just maybe, we think the radical progressive policies are bad for the country.
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Beto O’Rourke a “radical progressive?” LOL, tells me all I need to know about your source.
As far as Maryland goes, you out yourself for being an idiot. Larry Hogan didn’t win because of Ben Jealous’ platform, Larry Hogan won because he’s a popular centrist governor who is nothing like the Trumplicans who dominate the GOP. That race was NOTHING like the ones in Florida and Georgia where you had two slack-jawed rednecks running racist campaigns against POC. Hogan won because of the job he’s done. Kemp and DeSantis won in spite of the lack of doing anything.
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What about John James in Michigan? Is that 2 million more racist that didn’t vote for the black guy?
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John James, the guy who ran a snuff film as a campaign ad? Can’t imagine what people found unappealing about him….
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If you think Beto is anything other than a radical progressive, you must be pretty far left on the spectrum yourself.
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Your list is missing Baldwin (WI) and Brown (OH). Is that because they won?
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As you can see in my original comment Senator, I didn’t put that list together. I relied on a DC institution with 50 years experience in such media matters.
I was simply pointing out that attributing millions of peoples choices in representation to racism over the general dismissal of their opponents policies seems to be short sighted.
Just as an example, I’d never vote for a candidate who introduced a gun confiscation bill into the Georgia House and had to backtrack on reversing tax cuts.
Was Kemp the perfect candidate? Of course not. No candidate will every match up 100% to your beliefs. (I think Kemp’s stance on marijuana is asinine) But, you have to choice the one that matches the best.
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Well, they need to head back to the drawing board, then. Those are two big omissions.
BTW, my objection to Kemp isn’t ideological. He’s been an incompetent Secretary of State (two massive data breaches and a complete mess redoing the corporations website) who has refused to accept any responsibility for his screw-ups. Doesn’t bode well for his term as governor.
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He white tho!
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Nice of you to put up the photo of the man who framed a President with : If he is what white supremacy is all about, I don’t think we have to worry about anything….or something to that affect.
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What’s wrong with that statement?
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Old Al cant catch a break. He gets criticized for talking about racism being a problem, then he gets criticized for saying is less of a problem. Take a look at his comments on the royal wedding and the outrage from Breitbart and company about him saying white supremacy is on its “Last Breath”. I guess the strategy is to attack him regardless of what he says.
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Have you ever met him though? He was a total scumbag piece-of-shit when I first met him ~10 years ago. He is much worse now. Each Governor gets worse and worse. I blame the primary process.
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I’ve never met the man. Just judging him on his performance in office.
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More like, the country as a whole is becoming a DAMN bunch more racist. And the main cheerleader still may have two years of vitriol.
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Based on what? A black candidate in Georgia getting 49.8% of the vote? That’s racism? Or wanting border security? That’s racism? It’s like the boy who cried wolf. If any politician actually wanted to be racist, this would be a perfect time because nobody will believe the left’s accusations anymore.
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If any politician actually wanted to be racist, this would be a perfect time because nobody will believe the left’s accusations anymore.
It’s remarkable watching you people almost stumble upon an epiphany but ultimately just keep staggering on by it….
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Don’t worry. There’s a never ending supply of scary right wing things to worry about. #MillionsWillDie
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That’s Governor asshole, misogynistic piece of shit to you!
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Classic
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Do liberals call any man they don’t like a misogynist? Is there a preferred adjective list that they’re encouraged to use?
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Wingers should start calling people they disagree with: communists, radical leftists and socialists. Try that new labeling out just for shits and giggles.
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You mean like left calling people they don’t agree with Nazis?
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Exactly. Everyone throws around their labels. It isn’t unique to any side. Of course now the wingers say the Nazis were “socialists” not fascists because of the name. Like North Korea is a democratic republic because it’s in the name. Stupid. It’s everywhere.
.
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I actually agree with you. IMO the labeling and the general shitshow is what is keeping better people from running for office on both sides.
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Labeling isn’t what keeps better people from running. Stupid voters is what keeps better people from running.
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Maybe good people don’t want to be accused of being serial rapists by stupid voters, um, I mean liberal politicians.
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Yeah, even if they probably are, or were….. uh. I like beer.
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Probably were? Adorable.
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You missed my reference. That’s a shame.
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Why is a voter “stupid” just because they disagree with the way you think?The fair exchange of ideas is one of the things that made this country great. I have friends and co-workers that I disagree with on a lot of issues and agree with on other issues. Doesn’t make either of us “stupid”.
Also, just because I may vote for the white candidate doesn’t make me a racist no more than voting for the person of color make me a liberal!
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You free market freaks can really dish it out, but you can’t take it.
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You called me a freak? I’m triggering so hard right now. REEEEEEE!!!!!
Seriously though, nice point. Voluntary actions are so radical and out of place in the 21st century. Better to argue over which master we should choose. Carry on.
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Allow me to remind you that Donald Trump emerged from a field of 14 candidates in a primary. Don’t you dare clutch your pearls at me over calling Americans stupid.
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I know for a fact that not all Republicans are Nazis, because my grandfather fought Nazis and was a Republican, and I also know plenty of American Jewish Republicans who are far from Fascists. However, it seems that there has been a platform given to people who march under Nazi (and other Fascist) flags recently and it sure ain’t Liberals chanting “Blood and Soil” and “The Jews Will Not Replace Us” at “Unite the Left” rallies. Racism and xenophobia has worked to energize Republicans in a way I didn’t think was possible prior to 3 or so years ago.
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The alt-right is an understandable reaction to leftist racial identity politics. If you call white people evil for decades, eventually the white guilt runs out.
As for actual Nazis, even if all 200 of them united nationally behind one candidate, they don’t matter. Now send some dangerous “Nazi” (like Ben Shapiro or Jordan Peterson) on a random college campus and watch the leftist violence ensue.
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So, what would you consider an understandable reaction to leaders of White Nationalist movements? The KKK? Aryan Nations? Confederates?Should we not protest people who would forcibly remove black citizens from our country?
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Personally, my reaction is to ignore them. I recognize that they have no influence and it’s not worth my time to combat a dead ideology. An overreaction would be to equate their support of one party or politician with that politician’s morals. If an awful person supports candidate A, that doesn’t mean candidate A is awful.
If one wants to spend time protesting Nazis, it’s fine with me. I don’t know how to find any to protest, but whatever. But if one wants to insist that Republicans are Nazis in order to protest against them, it’s dishonest.
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And should a political candidate arise that thinks they aren’t awful, but “good people”? I’m sorry, but that Charlottesville rally was a stain on our country. These were a lot of fringe groups not long ago, but for some reason they seem to think that they have like minded people within the ranks of the current Republican party.
And I literally just said that Republicans aren’t a bunch of Nazis. There are a lot of ‘traditional Republican” values that I agree with. Unfortunately the Anti-Obama/Alt-Right movement has guided the Republican base to take a hard right turn. I am saying this as someone who lives in Georgia and sees/hears all of this stuff for myself.
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Who thinks Nazis are “good people?” Again, it’s dishonest. And yes, you were very generous to admit that not every Republican is a Nazi. But even that is dishonest. If I admit that not every Democrat is a wife beater, is that a fair statement? Of course not. Even though it’s true, it implies that many, or most, Democrats are.
I also live in Georgia. And I’ve seen both parties move away from the center. But the extreme left has more institutional support than the extreme right.
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Ok I’ll bite, what do you consider an extremist Leftist group in Georgia, and what institutions are supporting them?
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Nationally, Democrats are running openly as socialists. The short list of presidential hopefuls includes Bernie, Elizabeth Warren, and Cory Booker. All of these support more than doubling the federal minimum wage, single payer health care, open borders, and a federal jobs guarantee. The party has moved far to the left of even Obama’s policies from just two years ago.
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True about extremists on both sides, but the extreme right shoots up black churches and mails bombs to people. The extreme left might make a Christian bake a cake for a gay couple, or take your AR-15 and leave you with only a 12 gauge and a 30 aut 6. So if you’re gonna make me choose.
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Or the extreme leftists might shoot up a Congressional baseball game. Or kill a bunch of cops. Or break six of a senator’s ribs. Or club a man over the head for holding an American flag.
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Fair, but if you tallied the score wouldn’t it be true that crimes of the extreme right would outweigh the crimes of the extreme left?
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I doubt it. Fortunately, the problem is so statistically small that in a country of 330 million, it’s hard to calculate. But if we expand internationally, Stalin, Mao, et al. run away with the prize for the left.
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I can prove you’re a socialist in less than 15 seconds:
Do you support the Troops?
Do you support the Police & Fire departments?
Do you support the University of Georgia, a public institution?
Congratulations, welcome to the club!
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Lol, Liberals are extremists because they think poor people should earn a living wage and that our healthcare system is broken, which it is. BTW the loony liberals in Arkansas and Missouri just voted to up their minimum wage to 11 and 12.00 respectively. You talk about Stalin and Mao, as is the United States is somehow comparable to Communist Russia and China. What a joke. And your examples of left wing violence include a shooting of a senator (which is sick and unacceptable and should be confronted), a fight between neighbors, a tragic attack on police and a fight during a white nationalist rally. Do you really want for me to start listing off a truly comprehensive list of right wing violence? I could go on for days.
Here’s just a few since Jan 21, 2017:
In March 2018, a young conservative named Mark Conditt sent a series of letter bombs in Austin Texas, killing 2 people, and wounding 6 bystanders. The bombs appeared to target the east side of Austin, which predominantly consists of poorer, African-American and Latino residents.
On February 14th, 2018, white supremacist Nikolas Cruz shot up his high school in Parkland Florida, killing 17 and wounding 15 more. Cruz repeatedly espoused racist, homophobic and anti-Semitic views on social media, and displayed an obsession with violence and guns. He was openly hostile to the antifa movement, and muslims. According to Republic of Florida (a white nationalist militia) leader Jordan Jereb, Cruz trained with and received a rifle from another member in the group, and was caught on video training wearing his Trump MAGA hat.
On October 20th, 2017, after a Richard Spencer rally in Gainesville FL, 3 white supremacists from Texas drove around in a pickup truck, shouting pro-hitler slogans, and then opened fire on a crowd of protesters. They drove off, and were arrested. One of them, in an interview with HuffPost, laid out the grievances that had brought him to town. “Basically, I’m just fed up with the fact that I’m cis-gendered, I’m a white male, and I lean right, towards the Republican side,” wearing a pin of the 3rd SS Panzer Division Totenkopf of the Waffen-SS. “And I get demonized if I don’t accept certain things.”
On July 14th, 2017, alt-right activist, anti-feminist, and former intern of Milo Yiannapoulous, Lane Davis, murdered his father for calling him a nazi.
On August 14th, 2017, at the Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville VA, 20-year old Neo-nazi James Alex Fields Jr., drove his car toward a crowd of antifascist counterprotestors, wounding 19, and killing Heather Heyer, a paralegal from Charlottesville. Heyer’s mother said she wanted Heather’s name to become “a rallying cry for justice and equality and fairness and compassion.”
On May 29th, 2017, Jimmy Kramer, a 20 year old Native American, was run over during his birthday party in Washington state by a man and woman in a large pickup truck who first circled the party yelling racial slurs and taunts at the group from inside the truck. Kramer died and his friend was hospitalized.
On May 28th, 2017, White supremacist Jeremy Joseph Christian stabbed and killed two men who defended a 16-year-old and her Muslim friend on a train in Portland OR. As he was brought into court, Christian yelled, “”Get out if you don’t like free speech,” and, “You call it terrorism, I call it patriotism. You hear me? Die.” 16 year old Destinee Mangum told reporters, “He told us to go back to Saudi Arabia and he told us we shouldn’t be here, to get out of his country,” Mangum told KPTV. “He was just telling us that we basically weren’t anything and that we should just kill ourselves.” Taliesin Myrddin Namkai-Meche, 23, of Portland, and Ricky John Best, 53, of Happy Valley, died defending them the two high-schoolers.
On March 20, 2017, Timothy Caughman, a black 66-year-old man, was collecting cans for recycling in Manhattan, New York City when James Harris Jackson, a white 28-year-old, allegedly approached him and stabbed him multiple times with a sword, killing him. Jackson subsequently turned himself in to police custody and confirmed that he traveled from Maryland to New York with the intention of killing black men in order to prevent white women from having interracial relationships with them.
On Feb 22, 2017, white US navy veteran Adam Purington, shot and killed 1 Indian man and wounded another, whom he had mistaken for Iranians, at a restaurant in Olathe, Kansas. He yelled, “get out of my country” and “terrorist” before firing. A third man, Ian Grillot, was wounded after he came to the two men’s aid.
On Jan 29th, 2017, White supremacist Alexandre Bissonette shot and killed 6 people and wounded 19 others at a Mosque in Quebec city, Canada. He was charged with 6 counts of first-degree murder, and not domestic terrorism. People who knew him said he had expressed support for Marine Le Pen and Donald Trump, and had far-right, white nationalist, and anti-Muslim views. The manager of a refugee-support Facebook page said Bissonnette frequently denigrated refugees and feminists online.
You want to keep comparing? This doesn’t even count the three events in the past week or so. Right wing America has a violence problem, and we are watching it in real time.
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Interesting version of socialism you’ve got there. Fairly unrecognizable from an economic perspective.
I would support a military tasked with repelling invasion. Which would only need to be about 5% of the size of the current MIC.
I support private security and fire forces. Why bloat necessary services by involving government?
And I don’t support and education funded by coercion. Let students pay tuition and businesses pay for research. Private scholarships and grants work, too.
Voluntary action really is an underrated concept. You should look into it.
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Liberals aren’t extremists because they want to reform health care. They’re extremists because the way they want to reform it is to ignore morality and economics and get something for nothing. Medicare is bankrupt, so let’s put everybody on Medicare and make it up on volume. Dumb.
And thanks for the anecdotes of right wing violence. That totally overwhelms the anecdotes i provided because I literally listed every instance of leftist violence ever, didn’t I? Well, maybe not. But hey, if you really need to believe that all the kooks in the world are Republican, you go right ahead. Some people believe in Bigfoot. It works for them.
And and disavow Mao and Stalin? They weren’t socialist enough for you? Are you one of those people who thinks “Democratic Socialism” is totally different? The next time Socialism is tried will be the magic time it works out without mass starvation and violence?
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Medicare has been around for over 50 years, and would absolutely be solvent for a long, long time, if we didn’t keep pretending that tax cuts for billionaires would somehow fix the budget. The idea of most Republicans is to make sure that the government cannot function, and you have confirmed that many times just within this thread. As a healthy adult, I have subsidized the healthcare industry to the tune of well into 6-figures, and will get absolutely nothing out of it because costs are in a death spiral (far outpacing inflation), and the Republican wing of our government wants to steal what I put into medicare and spend it in Iraq or give it to people like Donald Trump who don’t even pay taxes anyway. I’d much rather my taxes pay for healthcare for poor and elderly people than for blowing up foreign countries that didn’t attack us or arbitrary tariffs, btw.
I don’t think all of the violent political kooks are Right wing, just somewhere around 75-80% of them. Left wing violence used to be more of a thing back in the 60s & 70s but has really slowed down in the past 50 years or so. I’d be happy to continue listing examples, if you would like to compare.
Yes, I think that Bernie Sanders’, Corey Booker’s and Elizabeth Warren’s policies are far, far different than Chairman Mao’s and Stalin’s. To be honest they are probably a little to the left of me on a lot of issues, but I do believe that wealth inequality and spiraling healthcare costs are serious national issues. We may not be able to legislate our way to prosperity, but I don’t have a problem with the government serving it’s people and providing a social safety net in some basic capacity.
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Existence isn’t proof of solvency. Every Ponzi scheme exists right up to the point of blowing up. Social security, Medicare, and Medicaid have been actuarially bankrupt since day one. That’s why no private company can offer similar programs. They’re illegal. But government can just keep rolling until the cash stops coming in. Then it can borrow and print money. But eventually, the programs will fail. Not because of tax cuts. Because of math.
And I agree with you on foreign wars. We shouldn’t be in them. That’s why it was so good that Obama/Clinton lived up to the campaign promises to end middle Eastern wars. Wait, they surged troops into Afghanistan and bombed every country in the region? That doesn’t sound right. Must be fake news. Maybe the Republicans tricked them into it
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The reason a private company cant do what medicare does, is because private companies are focused on what they should be focused on. Keeping the company profitable. Providing care for our elderly citizens is no doubt an expensive task, as nearly all costs we incur for healthcare happen in the last few days/weeks/months of our life. Private companies are not going to be able to absorb those costs, and would simply increase premiums until it was impossible to afford, and putting the healthcare costs squarely on the (assumedly retired) consumer, and their families. In a world where a broken hip costs $80,000+, or a broken femur costing $100,000+, are you going to be ready to absorb, at a moments notice, those costs for a parent? Your wife? Yourself? And costs are going to continue to spiral beyond inflation until something is done.
You have no idea what the cost/benefit analysis might be, because you have never had to cover the full costs of your elderly grandparents/parents/etc. Medicare covered most of that. Sure if you want to have an ideological discussion about whether there is a better way to do things, I am all for that, but to simply say it’s “illegal” and “broke” is a fundamental misunderstanding of how its funded, how it was implemented and how it benefits our aging population.
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There are non-profit companies and charities who would happily subsidize healthcare for the poor and elderly without concern for profit. And even if a company wanted to profit, a modest 5% profit wouldn’t raise costs much over the non-profit companies. They can’t do it because Ponzi schemes are illegal. And rightly so.
You’re correct that healthcare costs are high. But I lack your faith in turning to the very actor (government) that made them high in the first place. Politicians certainly have a good deal. Pass a law, watch the unintended consequences raise costs, then clamor about needing a new law to fix the problems the old law caused. And the public buys it. Pretty soon, we’ve got thousands of pages of laws, rules, and regulations, healthcare providers are suffocating under compliance costs, and the solution to it is more regulation. It’s hard to argue with that.
Sure. Medicare/Medicaid/Social Security benefits the recipients. No argument. But it’s not economically sustainable. The programs were passed when birth rates were high, life expectancies were shorter, and healthcare costs were less and every worker contributed a little to benefit each retiree. And it was still an actuarially bankrupt Ponzi scheme. Since implementation, birth rates have fallen, life expectancies have increased, and healthcare costs have soared. But we should keep the same bankrupt model?
And that ignores the morality of forcing people to pay for other people’s goodies. I’m against that. I happily donate to charity. But taxation isn’t charity.
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NB, you shouldn’t be on this blog…you’re too honest and too right!
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Incites
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Forget it…. he was in a roll. He loves his pithy pictures.
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You’re obviously being metaphorical, because for you to believe that there are that few Neo-Nazis or actual classic Nazis in the U.S. at this moment is truly stupid.
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Bless your heart. Don’t worry, the Nazis can’t get you. If you leave a night light on, they won’t come out of your closet.
Seriously though, if you’re interested in real numbers, they’re tiny. The KKK has gone from 4% of the population to 0.003%. The Nazis have always been smaller than the Klan.
Of course, if you think everybody to the right of Rachel Maddow is a Nazi, then you should probably hide under your bed for the rest of your life.
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Did that in an era called the 60s.
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Dude has a wife and three daughters who don’t seem to think he’s a misogynist. But I guess some 70-yr-old bitter white fuck knows more than the women who know Kemp best. And I’m not a huge Kemp fan.
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Men with daughters are never misogynists. My father in law wants to know why “supposed” rape victims dress like that, so you’re no doubt right.
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No, Derek, everyone here has come to accept the metaphysical certitude that you’re the one who’s always right. Why we even have ideas and opinions that don’t match up exactly with yours is a mystery.
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There’s a difference between infallibility and plain stupid.
We’re all subject to mistakes. I make dozens a day. I try to avoid being boldly stupid like “fathers of daughters aren’t misogynists.” Or “why do liberals label people they disagree with?” Or “a white guy waited to vote? Where’s the voter suppression?”
These statements are not different opinions on matters subject to dispute. They’re just fucking stupid. I like pointing that out.
Continue to dissuade me all you like but it won’t work. Too much damn fun.
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Dissuade you? Are you kidding me? I just wanted to poke the bear. You, and me, and just about everyone else, unfortunately, see what we want to see in politics today and are absolutely blind to the same stuff that happens on “our side” that we rail and bitch about on the “other side.”
I never said fathers of daughters weren’t misogynists. I’d just like to know where 70-yr-old bitter white dude got his information. How did he come to have that opinion? Is he just parroting labels like others? You are right — the other side does the same. But in many cases, the people that are being called socialist have stood up and said, “I’m a socialist.” I don’t recall Kemp saying he’s a misogynist.
And if you’ll read my other comments today, I’m calling for a way to allow folks to vote from their own computers. Seems that would hardly put me in the voter suppression camp.
Anyway, like you, I’ve had my fun and now have to go on about the business of living. Have a great day!
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You’re first paragraph is 100% right. Politics today is a team sport. There are people on here who believe UGA linemen never hold and the opposing line holds on every play. ( That is probably a bad example because we never hold). Anyway, you get my point.
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Oprah told him Kemp was racist mysoginist. Who knows Kemp better than Oprah?
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The left uses long wait times as evidence of voter suppression. Don’t move the target now. Either you’re deliberately wrong or stupid. You decide.
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It can’t be? Ever?
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Saying I don’t care for Kemp is like saying I don’t care for Auburn, a massive understatement. But I would not call him a misogynist, or even a racist. It’s much easier to prove he is an empty suit, entitled 3rd generation political rich-kid prick who married into another political family to enrigh himself financially and politically, and then has proven to be corrupt and/or incompetent (hard to tell which sometimes) in pretty much every position he has held.
That his copy/paste dog whistle campaign tactics work so effectively speaks to his cynicism and ethics, but to me it weighs more heavily that such a large portion of the population, one that is in large part emotionally/financial/intellectually insecure, fell for it.
Working-class and rural America is dying, especially in Georgia (https://troubleingodscountry.com/) by any metric – health, drug use, economic mobility, quality of life, broken families, debt, etc. Instead of fully admitting and wrestling with reality, and electing politicians that want to focus on helping their financial insecurities, a large number of people have instead chose to elect politicians to buttress their mental insecurities. They would rather FEEL better than BE better. And being told that IF ONLY we put the immigrants and blacks and socialists and communists and foreigners and jews and media in their proper place, THEN your (white) middle-class (1950’s sitcom) fantasies will all be unleashed, making America great… again.
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That’s one hell of an analysis. A simpler one is that votes didn’t want higher taxes, higher spending, and more government bureaucracy telling them how to live their lives.
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higher taxes, higher spending, and more government bureaucracy
You prove my point, falling for vague and meaningless bumper sticker talking points that are patently absurd.
How much lower taxes can you have than 0%?
https://taxfoundation.org/states-vary-widely-number-tax-filers-no-income-tax-liability
Nine of the ten states with the largest percentage of nonpayers are in the South and Southwest. In Mississippi, 45 percent of federal tax returns remit nothing or receive money with their federal tax returns; that is the highest percentage nationally. Georgia is next at 41 percent.
Spend less, or spend less on the “wrong” people?
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2016/09/09/the-truth-about-people-who-dont-pay-taxes/?utm_term=.36550b54b811
Now, in 2016, polls suggest that Donald Trump’s supporters are heavily concentrated among the same “47 percent” (of non tax payers) that Romney dismissed four years ago.
Arlie Russell Hochschild, a University of California sociologist, has written incisively about the rise of the populist right and their champion. Trump, she argues, “solves a white male problem of pride.”
Unlike some other Republicans, Trump doesn’t stigmatize government assistance programs. In the division between “makers” and “takers,” he legitimizes being a “taker.” He accomplishes this, Hochschild says, in part by shifting the scrutiny to other groups, such as immigrants and Muslims. For instance, when Trump claimed (incorrectly) that the welfare system helps undocumented immigrants more than it benefits “native American” households, the subtext was that his own supporters are among the deserving recipients of government assistance.
In Trump’s view of the world, the problem isn’t welfare, necessarily. It’s that welfare goes to the wrong people.
When it comes to fiscal responsibility, when CATO and Forbes are too liberal for you, maybe it’s a problem:
https://www.cato.org/publications/commentary/budget-deficits-are-only-getting-bigger-under-trump
https://www.forbes.com/sites/stancollender/2018/05/20/trump-may-be-the-most-fiscally-reckless-president-in-american-history/#5c93768a564a
https://www.thebalance.com/trump-plans-to-reduce-national-debt-4114401
And the government bureaucracy is just as silly. Everyone hates bureaucracies, but they don’t seem to mind the military, highways, social security benefits, utilities, internet, GPS, stock markets, incorporation benefits, cleaner food and water, safer drugs, lower crime, improved zoning, public schools, government-funded research, energy reserves, public parks, and so forth that should all be able to apparently operate with an invisible hand…
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“In Mississippi, 45 percent of federal tax returns remit nothing or receive money with their federal tax returns; that is the highest percentage nationally. Georgia is next at 41 percent.” Which has absolutely nothing to do with state tax rates that Abrams wanted to change. I pay ZERO state income tax in Texas just like Jerry Jones and the homeless guy on the street corner, but I bet our FEDERAL tax returns look a little different.
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I’ll concede that it is not a direct 1-for-1, but there is overlap between the non-payers at the federal and state level. According to the GA DOR’s own reports, over 20% of Georgians who filed had no state income tax liability, almost 1M of close to 5M filers, and another 10% of GA filers had a bill of less than $100. Close to 1/3 of the state pays nothing or next to nothing, in a state that is in the bottom half of overall taxes when you combine federal, state, property and sales tax. And this is in a top-10 growing state in the country. And people wonder why we are in the low 40s of states when it comes to education, healthcare, infrastructure, etc….
Also, I guess you know what was in Abram’s mind more than she did. She plainly stated that it would have been better to wait on state tax cuts until after seeing the actual effect of the Federal changes instead of relying on projections. But she also stated that she wasn’t in favor of rolling back the tax cut bill that already passed.
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so by no liability, do you mean didn’t owe additional taxes on top of the taxes taken from their paycheck? because you don’t pay additional doesn’t mean you didn’t have to pay, or did i miss math class, and a refund is not always the complete amount you paid in
then there are sales taxes, which are regressive
sin taxes also regressive
when receiving .5k back from 3k paid in is not paying any taxes, then math has failed me once again, guess i shouldn’t have attended college in GA
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By no liability, it means filers that paid $0 net. They received 100% of anything withheld from their paycheck (for GA income taxes) back as a refund.
See page 19 of the below for a 2016 version of the DOR’s report: https://dor.georgia.gov/sites/dor.georgia.gov/files/related_files/document/ADM/Report/2016_Statistical_Report.pdf
Of about 4.5M filers, almost 1.4 Million GA filers paid less than $200 net state income tax, including 43 filers who made over $500k.
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That’s a lot of hand waving to avoid the point. Given that either Abrams or Kemp would have absolutely nothing to do with federal budgets, how about we focus on Georgia?
Let’s look at Abrams’ own web site for her stances on the issues, shall we? She wants an Affordable Housing Trust Fund (higher government spending). She wants to “fully fund” schools (higher government spending). She wants government child care for children from birth to school-age (higher government spending). She wants to expand the HOPE scholarship to help eliminate college loan debt (higher government spending). She wants to expand Medicaid (higher government spending).
Now, that’s not some right-wing propaganda lying about her. Those are her own stances from her own website. And Kemp is against most, or all, of those spending programs. Of course, increased government spending means higher taxes to pay for it (or just increased debt) and more bureaucracy to oversee it.
If you love government bureaucracy, fine. You should be in hog heaven in 2018. But it’s a pretty silly idea to suggest that people need commissars to tell them how to live their lives. Leaving people alone is such a radical and dangerous idea …
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seems like Stacey could help with funding government if she paid her own taxes. I guess, what is 50 grand when you’re doing it for the chirren?
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And if you disagree with any of HER STATED positions, then your are a racist, bigot, Nazi, child hater, etc, etc, The fact that you disagree with her on the simple economics of her proposals is not allowed.
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Now you’re getting it. REEEEE!!!!
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If I’m hand waiving you’re hand wringing. See above for my response on state vs. federal.
On to your laundry list of spending. If I remember the article correctly, the education measures Abrams favored were calculated to cost GA $300M. The fiscally prudent Kemp, however, has pledged (on his own website!) to give teachers a permanent $5,000 pay raise. Cost: $600 million. And that doesn’t account for the additional pension and benefit costs that accompany a pay bump.
Other Kemp positions from his own website?
workforce development initiatives
expand access to High Speed Internet
Improve access to healthcare by protecting rural hospitals, recruiting physicians.
Give rural communities the same opportunities as the rest of the state
Support farmers, agri-business, and small town start-ups
Fully fund public school education, raise teacher pay
Improve literacy with early childhood education
Lower healthcare premiums and prescription drug costs
I am sure this will all be done without the addition of a single bureaucrat or increased spending, because, you know, incentives and growth and bright happy futures are just a result of government getting out of the way…
Again, no one likes bureaucrats. I’m an independent that never voted for Obama and typically leans 3rd party, but the bullshit of “it’s the other party’s fault” and appeals to an ignorant, shallow understanding of economics, markets, public goods, and the government are just that – bullshit. Then layer that with cynical fear-mongering, prejudice, close-mindedness, and tribalism.
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You’re underestimating Abram’s spending proposals. She claims that her childcare measure alone would cost $350 million (assuming she’s not low balling here). Add in the $400 million or so for Medicaid expansion (not including the inevitable increase in health care costs) and the costs for her HOPE expansion, etc., and she’s talking about spending more than Kemp.
Both candidates have the same vague proposals to “invest” (i.e. spend taxpayer money) in infrastructure, business, etc., so I mostly ignored it. And I’ve never argued that Kemp will cut government. I’m simply arguing that, according to their own stances, Abrams want to expand government more than Kemp does.
Now, again, if your understanding of economics is that central planning can work, I’ll just have to say I disagree. And facts, logic, and history is on my side.
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if your understanding of economics is that central planning can work…
Just laughing at you repeatedly trying to cram those words in my mouth, while acknowledging that both parties are running on spend more platforms. So it’s not the spending that you have a problem with, it’s the fact that they 1) may want to spend it well (planning, you know), or 2) actually pay for the spending?
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If I have a choice between a kick in the balls and a slap in the face, it doesn’t mean I endorse one of the choices. Even if I argue against the more painful.
What seems particularly ignorant is arguing that a kick in the balls is just what this state needs. “Everybody knows that a good kick in the balls from an elite expert who knows just how to kick people in the balls is good for you.” No thanks.
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Excellent response, but facts reason and logic don’t work with emotional ideologues.
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Misogynist, a you used it (“a misogynist”) is a noun.
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Come on, Greg! Tell us how you really feel! A bennie of growing older is you realize time is getting too short to pussyfoot around, so you can just cut to the chase and tell it like it is! Greg has no fucks to give but he did vote, so good for him.
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A candidate for the highest office happens to also control the electoral process. Is this democracy?
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No, it’s banana republicanism.
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No. It’s Trumpism.
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Up here in North Carolina, the Republicans lost their super-majorities in the House and Senate. For those that don’t know, NC is a state where gerrymandering turned a purple state into one where Republicans owned a veto-proof majority in both houses. And as you might expect, when all the races are determined in the primary and not the general, winning a House or Senate seat often became an exercise in ideological purity over common sense. So, yesterday was the first step in breaking that process.
Politics should be a contest of ideas, not who can rig the boundaries better or design a more perfect voting system where voting is easier for your voters and harder for theirs. That should be a bipartisan mandate.
Despite a butt load of rain, turnout seemed strong in my neck of the woods. And my Sunday School class made it through midterms without any political snarkery whatsoever. So, it’s all good in our quest for a more perfect union.
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Political boundaries should be drawn by non-ideological experts focusing on centralizing districts and not by politicians. All gerrymandering, including those to create minority/majority districts, should be terminated post haste.
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Colorado passed an ammendment to our constitution to have all redistricting done by an outside panel- of really partisan former party leaders, I’m assuming.
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That’s a good start.
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In total agreement with Derek on this one, and just had this conversation with a colleague yesterday. There is a way to let a computer draw lines, but the minority-majority issue is the hangup. Using Georgia, for example, in the U.S. House start in one corner of the state (determined by blind draw) and work your way to a mid-line then back to a boundary going county-by-county, then precinct-by-precinct within a county, to get to the magic number.
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Wrong. Political boundaries should be drawn by computer algorithms that are designed to create districts of a uniform shape and population. Non-ideological experts still have bias.
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Who sets up the algorithms stupid?
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Have you still not figured out that there is supposed to be a comma before the word stupid? You should also pick a new generic insult.
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There’s a Gallagher riff that still brings a smile:
“There’s a politician, and there’s the politician’s wife and kids.
Oh look, his dick works.
Tired of doing it to her, wants to try you.”
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Go Greg and Go Dawgs!
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Extremely disappointed in Georgia. I don’t know how you look at yourself in the mirror when you vote for a slack-jawed hayseed dipshit like Kemp. Same goes for Florida.
Republicans elected two neo-Nazis, two men under felony indictment and a dead pimp. Nice party you have there.
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In GA your party ran a candidate that wants to violate the 2A amongst other socialist tendencies….
In FL your party ran a candidate who took bribes from undercover FBI agent…
Nice party you have there…
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It’s hilarious that THAT is the best you can come back with. It’s no wonder these idiots keep winning because they can always count on people like you to buy their laughable bullshit. You are the bane of the republic.
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So which part of the items listed above are BS?
The fact is Stacey said she wants guns turned in on tv..
The guy in Fl was recorded accepting Hamilton tickets…
Classic behavior that when someone else disagrees with you that you result to name calling, etc
Would be amazing if people could just agree to disagree and act civil.
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A majority of Americans want gun reform. Abrams has supported an assault-weapons ban. That’s not the same as confiscating all your guns.
A “bribe” is when you accept something in return for something of value, like political favors. Gillum got free Hamilton tickets. There was nothing exchanged in return. It’s not a bribe. It’s not even a story. Just the best that the completely-devoid-of-ideas DeSantis campaign could come up with.
But go ahead and keep trying to equate that with Republicans electing two felons, two nazis and a dead pimp. It’s amusing.
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Abrams wants all semi-auto weapons turned in not just so called “assault weapons”… a real smart position to take given it would be 100% deemed unconstitutional by the Supreme Court…
On Gillum and tickets…. no such thing as a free lunch….
And there you go calling people nazis again…
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What word would you use to describe Steve King?
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Forget the Supreme Court. How would she get that past the Georgia legislature?
Much ado about nothing.
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A politician’s stand on an essential freedom is nothing? If she wanted to legalize pedophilia, should we ignore it because it’s impractical?
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Gun control = pedophilia?
Put down the crack pipe, man.
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I’m just wondering if you object to policies, or policies capable of being realized? As my example shows, there are lots of stupid policies incapable of being realized. Do you dismiss all of them?
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Depends on how stupid they are.
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Not sure any artificial substance is required. The crazy and stupid comes a natural.
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You know the makeup of the Georgia Legislature… How would she get anything through the State House? Her mandate, should she eventually crawl through a runoff, is the thinnest of margins and won largely on an anti-Trump suburban vote and an inept campaign by Kemp. She’s a much better campaigner and organizer but it remains to be seen how far to the right she would shift considering the right center make up of the legislature and the vast Red areas outside the core metro counties.
Even if Kemp is inept, I think the alternative is potentially 4 years of gridlock with her. Neither is a good alternative.
Historically, Georgia was a yellow dog Democratic state going back to Reconstruction but the core DNA was conservatism. The change to Republicanism wasn’t due to Demographic changes as much as the National Democratic Party shift to the left which lead Politicians and voters to simply change to the other side of the aisle but philosophically nothing changed. Massive growth in the Atlanta donut has impacted the demographics especially in the last 10 years but I’m inclined to believe the results from last night are exacerbated by the ongoing distaste for Trump by voters that would normally vote Republican and those were enough to make this closer than it would otherwise have been. If the core metro continues to grow at the pace we’ve seen for the past 30 years, then we’ll probably see a true demographic shift toward the Democratic party and that will show up in the grassroots elections for local and state offices.
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Gridlock is GREAT! Don’t ever let anyone tell you it’s not. Bad is all blue or all red legislatures.
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The second amendment is the new abortion.
Wake up the fuck up, don’t you see how they incite you to vote their way? You’re voting for a NeoNazi because you think someone is going to take your guns.
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Similarly, ridiculously claiming a politician is a Nazi because he’s against government-run health care is how people get incited to vote a particular way.
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Chili do you know how long it would take to murder everyone at a school with a shotgun or a pistol? I need an AR-15 street sweeper. When each and every muthafuckas got to go, accept no substitute!
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Which is exactly why the military issues 30 aut 6’s to the troops instead of assault rifles…. oh wait.
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And can the public but those fully automatic rifles? Or do they buy semi-automatic lookalikes that only perform like hunting rifles? That’s right!
Don’t worry, they only look scary.
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Right, 8 out of the top ten deadliest shootings in US history have involved one of these harmless lookalikes, but that’s just a coincidence.
Speaking of fully automatic weapons, you know that thing about how criminals will get guns regardless of laws? Then how is it that all these mass shooters almost never use fully automatic weapons? If laws/availability are no deterrent and the goal is to inflict the most casualties what gives?
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I didn’t say the scary looking guns don’t function like hunting rifles. They do. They just don’t function like the military’s automatic rifles. So if you want to ban them based on how they function, then you’re only banning a tiny fraction of guns. That’s like banning red cars because of looks, rather than large engine cars that are fast.
Fully automatic assault rifles now cost tens of thousands of dollars because of scarcity. In part, that’s because of gun bans. Although not many of them were in the private market in the first place. Most high school kids don’t have that kind of money. Unfortunately for gun grabbers, scarcity isn’t just something you can easily impose. There are hundreds of millions of semi-automatic firearms in this country. If you think you can sign a piece of paper and make them go away, you’re delusional.
Get back to me when Chicago and Detroit are safe cities because of gun bans. We’ll talk.
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Wow. That post proves you know nothing about firearms except the media buzz words. Pistols are hands down the criminals choice for violent crimes at about 99%. Blame your DA and judges for throwing out gun charges in criminal cases in plea dealsas those require mandatory jail time.
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I understand that weapons of mass murder must be protected. I just won’t be able to be an American if the body counts dont reach the “dozens.”
Fuck 1,2,5 or even 7. I want 35 or 47 or 68. Those are American numbers.
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I understand that weapons of mass murder must be protected. I just won’t be able to be an American if the body counts dont reach the “dozens.”
Fuck 1,2,5 or even 7. I want 35 or 47 or 68. Those are American numbers.
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You better start talking about banning alcohol because DUIs kill more people than guns.
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Chili do you know how long it would take to murder everyone at a school with a shotgun or a pistol? I need an AR-15 street sweeper. When each and every muthafuckas got to go, accept no substitute!
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Looks like the Marine was able to do just fine with a glock and extended mags.
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There’s that word again…
I can prove you’re a socialist in less than 10 seconds. Do you support the Troops? Congrats angry old white guy, you’re a socialist.
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You keep using that word. I don’t think it means what you think it means.
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Is the military owned and operated by our government, or by the private sector? Do you have the ability to opt out of paying taxes that fund the military?
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The logical fallacy you’re using is called False Dilemma.
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Chili Dawg, apparently the only method you choose of responding to something that you don’t like is to call someone a bunch of names. Go back to fourth grade because that is what you do when you are 9 years old. Not when you are an adult.
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Accurate representation of a person =/= “name calling.”
Dennis Hof is a dead pimp. Steve King is a neo-Nazi. These are not opinions.
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He’s not a hayseed, he just plays one on TV.
He is, however, a dipshit.
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Do the people that voted for Kemp simply not realize his massive failures as Secretary of State and subsequent refusal to accept the blame, or do they just not care?
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They probably think that all politicians are corrupt assholes. And even if Abrams is as pure as the driven snow, the fact that she wants to tell voters how to live their lives (more than Kemp does) kind of limits her moral authority.
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They don’t care.
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Bah Bah Beto
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Sorry….I meant Bah Bah Nacho….Nacho Senator
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His name was Robert Francis. His name was Robert Francis. His name was Robert Francis.His name was Robert Francis. His name was Robert Francis. His name was Robert Francis.
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If I catch notice of his, Greg Martin, age 70 of Atlanta demise I will dance a jig. What an arse.
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Someone has a differing political opinion and you welcome their death? Jesus.
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+1
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I think I sense a sting talk regular posing as a Dawg fan.
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Don’t wish death on the man. Just call him a communist redneck or liberal nazi.
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Welcome to the new age. A strategy pioneered and mastered over the last decade or so. No attempt from either side to convince the middle, just mobilize the uneducated and/or disenfranchised that don’t normally vote and lather up the radicals at the bottom of the barrel and make a lot of noise. It’s easier, cheaper, and all their votes count the same as the thoughtful moderate that does his/her research and hears each side out. Coherent debate is dead, if the other side doesn’t agree just call them some kind of “-ist” or ”-Phobe” and your army of functioning morons will eat it up. That said, it’s still the greatest country on earth.
Idiocracy is now.
I GOT A SOLUTION, YOU’RE A DICK! GEORGIA, WHATS UP?!
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Sick and tired of this “both-sides”-ing. The Democratic candidates in Georgia and Florida BOTH campaigned on issues and appealed to the middle. The Republicans literally ran to the right, embraced the racist crowd and did nothing but whip up fear. The problem isn’t that both sides are not appealing to the middle – it’s that white America is clinging to racism, bigotry and religious fundamentalism with a death-grip.
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I disagree but respect your opinion, Chili.
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About what? What they campaigned on or white America’s death-grip? Because the former doesn’t really seem debatable.
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I disagree that it is only one side that plays that game. Basically what i said in my original post.
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When did a bunch of America hating commies become the “middle”.
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This is a state where Saxby Chamblis, a draft dodger, could equate a triple amputee Vietnam Vet Max Cleland with Osama bin Laden and Saddam Hussein and win. Tell me about “America Hating”.
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Ouch! facts reason and logic wins again!
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Explain to me when supporting murderous cops, building walls, kidnapping and imprisoning children, overturning Constitutional Amendments via executive order, suppressing minority vote, and using the military as a political prop became patriotic?
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Who supports police officer(s) that have been fairly tried and found guilty of murder?
Or do you mean those that are tried in the court of public opinion without fact?
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How many cops that kill people do you think are really “fairly tried?”
Of course that’s the whole issue, and right wingers are very much invested in denying there’s any issue there.
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“Of course that’s the whole issue, and right wingers are very much invested in denying there’s any issue there.”
There probably is issue there and it certainly needs to be addressed. Just point it out and let’s go lock them up along all the other criminals.
That said, is it fair to say that the left is equally invested in saying there is ALWAYS an underlying and systemic issue, even when the facts presented dictate otherwise?
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Indicate otherwise*
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Here we go with the both-sides-ism. It IS always a systemic issue. It’s always a systemic issue because the system is broken and right wingers will allow NOTHING short of undying support for law enforcement. Whether every cop that shoots someone is guilty of murder is not the issue – it’s that the system is built to protect and elevate law enforcement over other citizens, and that the system cannot be trusted to judge it’s own. There is no “both sides” here. It’s just the right side and the wrong side. The side of equal treatment under the law and the side of the bootlickers. Republicans are always dependable in that they will stymie or reverse any attempts at criminal justice reform. Ask yourself why that is. It’s not that hard to figure out.
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I disagree with most of your viewpoints but I can always appreciate your conviction. To be honest, you speak in too many absolutes to debate with over the interwebs.
In the interest of not being cast as a “both sideist”, I guess I’ll just go ahead concede that ALL the worlds problems can be laid at all the feet of evil right wingers and “white america” as you say and the left is the last bastion of sanity and defenders of all things good and righteous. Sound good?
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I think you said what he wanted to hear.
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You have to remember that Chili is a simple minded fellow. All he understands are absolutes. He would make a good Nazi.
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I agree with your stance about law enforcement not being accountable enough. But are there any Democratic states that have significantly more accountable law enforcement? I’m not aware of any.
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I hate when the public forms opinions when they see videos of white cops shooting unarmed black people. How dare they do that.
Of course there have been a few cases of black cops shooting unarmed white people. Guess what happens? Black cop gets fired, arrested and charged with murder. How’s that for justice?
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Spot on. White skin and all. 😉
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Yep. The face of racism. Those poor bastards don’t even know they’re racists. They probably think they have to believe in stupid stuff like the superiority one race over others. They just need people like you to inform them that giving the OK sign is racist. Leaving people alone is racist. Everything is racist. Thank you for your service.
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Your meme was poorly thought out. As usual. Deal with it.
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Even toothpaste is racist now.
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I don’t live in Georgia, so I don’t exactly have a dog in the fight… but when you say crap like “I voted for Stacey Abrams because Brian Kemp is an asshole…and misogynistic piece of shit.”… it’s really that guy’s own politics, not Kemp’s supposed character that kept him from voting for Kemp. I think Trump is the biggest asshole we’ve ever seen in politics, but if being an asshole was a disqualifier for my vote, I’d be voting against my own political views a lot. We can’t just say ‘I don’t think he / she is the best choice’ and vote the way we want… we have to get digs in on top of it.
And people wonder why we’re so divided.
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Yeah, but it’s a lot harder to vote for somebody that you think is an asshole, dip shit, moron etc. Research Kemp a little and you’ll understand where people are coming from.
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“If you vote for me, all of your wildest dreams will come true.” -Pedro
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LOL!
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He who is not a socialist at 20 has no heart. He who is a socialist at 40 has no head!
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Oh well, I guess at 20 I had no heart. I also wasn’t a retard.
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“My power hungry sociopath is so much better than your power hungry sociopath. Muh politishun!!”
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Amen
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One thing we al can agree on regardless of politics, identity, philosophy, religion, etc.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=5m6Sw26gUQo
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I don’t care for Auburn.
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I like ridin’ in my truck.
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Drivin’ *
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Auburn suuuuu-uuuhcks
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Just wonder if Mr. Martin uses those same profane lips to kiss his wife and daughter.
No doubt he has not class or character.
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I don’t have a dog in this fight as I no longer live in Georgia and thus didn’t follow the race; plus I abhor both political parties. But isn’t calling someone an asshole and misogynist piece of shit without really knowing them kinda make you an asshole too? Or, if nothing else, using that kind of language in the first place? (particularly to a reporter, where you know there’s a good chance your language will go public)
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I believe the Senate gained 4 Pub seats, the most in a midterm in over 50 years…
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Georgia governor was a choice between a Giant Douche and a Turd Sandwich. I’ll let each decide which was which.
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Precisely. That’s why I voted for the one-eared wonder.
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November 10th. 243rd Birthday of the USMC.
Giving a big shout out of “Semper Fidelis” to the Corps and all Marines. The motto goes both ways. Plus a “ooh-rah”.
And a side bar for the “dude” Martin.
Combat Marines always have menis.
Just think we took an oath to defend a “dude” like that from all enemies foreign and domestic. And the ungrateful.
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God Bless the United States Marine Corps!
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Goodnight Chesty! Wherever you are!
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I thank the Good Lord for the United States Marine Corps. You Jarhead fuckers.
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The 10th is my birthday and the 52nd anniversary of my enlistment. My dad and uncles were all WW2 Sailors and my cousin was a Marine so, of course, I joined the Army!
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Anybody who joined the Military in the mid ’60s has undeniable courage. Balls of steel.
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Nah, we was just kids.
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There it is.
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Hoo ahh!! US Army 81-86. Thank god for the Marines. If it weren’t for the Marines, the US Army wouldn’t have had a place to send all of our worn out equipment. I kind of felt sorry for you boys because y’all got a lot of our hand me downs.
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As as WW2 Pacific Tin Can Sailor my old man railed against the Army for their abuse of material while Corps was stuck with hand-me-downs.
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My dad was also at the Battle of Leyte Gulf! USN 42’-45’ USS Mount Olympus.
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AGC-8, they were in the same AO. USS Crosby, APD 17. Have you read The Last Stand of the Tin Can Sailors? Great book about the finest day of the US Navy.
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Wow! You knew the hull number! I need to look that book up. Thanks friend. We haven’t forgotten and that is what keeps that generation alive. Dad died in 76’
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Rah, the best birthday present in the world will be a sound thrashing of the War Tigglesmen on Saturday.
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Senator, I’d like to thank you and the rest of your brainwashed, virtue signaling, WASP hating rabble for those BS attacks on Kavanaugh. Not only have you pissed off Kennedy’s preferred replacement, you helped us rally to expand our share of the Senste. Thanks to this and Harry Reid, we get to spend the next 2 years stacking the courts.
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LOUD NOISES!
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Auburn week.
Marine Corps birthday.
The movie series “Pacific”
The back home scenes of Marine Corporal Eugene Sledge [later a writer and professor in life].
Corporal Sledge registers for classes at Alabama Poly Tech, forerunner to current day Auburn. The young lady says it is the best.
Then she wants to know what skills and knowledge the Corps taught him.
Accounting? No.
Journalism? No.
Anything? Leans in. “They taught me how to kill Japs, got pretty damn good at it”.
What that scene shows then and now is just how poorly educated people can be about the events and the world they live in.
Makes you wonder where she had been the past decade re world events and on the home scene….like a lot of Democrats today.
All talk about race, gender, and etc.
Majority of Americans are beyond that, but here are two key words they need to start taking in.
Economic nationalist.
Why? One word. China.
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As usual, I’m left confounded by a Will Trane post. Are you saying Auburn was Alabama Poly Tech as late as the mid-1940’s? Who the hell were we playing since 1892 in the Deep South’s oldest rivalry?
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Chartered in 1856, Auburn University opened in 1859 and became affiliated with the Methodist Church.
Throughout the years, the institution has had four official names:
East Alabama Male College (1856-72)
Agricultural and Mechanical College (1872-99)
Alabama Polytechnic Institute (1899-1960)
Auburn University (1960-present)
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And they’ve had many more mascots/nicknames.
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My father (RIP) was in the first graduating class of Auburn University. Was API for his first 3 years.
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Think of his missives as a form of verbal dadaism — which may be explained by the jar on his head for all those many years. (Incidentally, the US thanks you, ol’ Trane)
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The Democrats are apparently out of ideas to offer other than ‘these people are out to oppress you’. Fill in the ‘you’ in that sentence with – black, woman, hispanic, LGBTQ, etc. That type of identity politics lives and dies in a hyphenated alternate reality – we are all “_______-American” of some description. As long as we hold on to that reality, then we subvert the ideals of our constitutional republic form of governing to satisfying our individual needs. Screw the country, what I want matters. Everyone bow and scrape to me, the almighty individual. When, if you want to be called ‘American’, you more or less say, OK I live in a country and a society and have to put my needs in context. And trust that our system of government, as set forth in the constitution protections we have, will deal with inequities in culture. Our laws already bend over backwards to the breaking point to accommodate the needs of the disparity in our society. The last administration escorted in a new cultural division, by accusing whites of still living in a Jim Crow reality, of oppressing people with unconscious ‘white privilege’, creating narratives of rampant police murder, calling out anyone who wasn’t woke. Do those elements exist? Of course they do. Do they define our true culture? Not for most people. If you think mobs of people rioting in the streets is normal, that following people into restaurants and shouting at them until they leave (after being challenged to do so by Maxine Waters) is normal and healthy, of kicking people at a demonstration in the face because you disagree with them is normal, of having an ex Attorney General talk about ‘kicking’ his political opponents when they are down is normal, of pounding on the doors of the Supreme Court is normal after a judge is appointed, if creating uncorroborated charges against a judicial nominee and having the media sell out on supporting that narrative is normal, then I have nothing else to say to you. And there is this: if the Right had done these things I just mentioned after the two Obama elections, why did we not see video evidence of it every freaking night on the MSM? Why? Why? Because it did not exist and they could not show it. The decline in discourse started with Teddy Kennedy and Robert Bork, accelerated with the Clintons and found its culmination in Obama. I witnessed it all. I voted for George McGovern in an election that took place before most of you were alive. Most of you on this thread don’t have the years behind you that I do. You haven’t SEEN a better time in politics. I have. You are just informed by looking at your iPhone and drinking in Rachel Maddow and Morning Joe, Sean Hannity and Rush, and somehow you think that is a healthy place. The MSM is a symptom and Fox News is a loud attempt to counter it. They both drive me crazy.
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How about gunning down 11 innocent people in a synagogue because you’re upset with Jews helping refugees? Or sending out dozens of pipe bombs to people you disagree with politically? Where do those kind of actions fit in on your outrage scale?
I am so fucking tired of this kind of whiny ass bullshit. To pretend that all the sins are the sole possession of one side of this debate is ludicrous, just as is your false equivalence.
Congratulations on voting for McGovern. I didn’t, but that doesn’t make me blind to what’s gone down in this country for the last 25-30 years.
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I am not blind either. So, I will tell you where it fits. It sucks. And I don’t hold the Left responsible for the idiot shooting Steve Scalise, just I don’t hold the Right responsible for the actions of these two morons. Sorry you can’t or won’t see that distinction. BTW, are you a member of the JDL? I am. Do you financially support the state of Israel? I do. Did you not hear the conservative condemnation of those acts? Or do you just not want to listen? So equivalence is what you are looking for? If you really think that the scale of the actions by the left we have seen in the past two years is equivalent on scale, then I am sorry- you are simply not paying attention. It sort of undermines your argument that one of the perps of the two things you mentioned was a Trump hater.
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What “actions” by the left?
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The ones I mentioned. Harassment, intimidation, etc……how could you have missed that???
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I didn’t miss what you said, it was bullshit.
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You just went off on a rant about the downward spiral of American politics without a single mention of misbehavior on the right. Instead of acknowledging the flaw in your comment, you decide to get into a discussion of responsibility. Not my point at all.
As far as equivalence goes, re-read your comment that I responded to and explain the equivalence there.
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Look, how about just providing some examples of this kind of behavior by those on the right that match up to what I described? I am open to hearing about them. But to my point, if they were there, then why in the name of grapes and bananas haven’t they been on an endless video loop on CNN? Because surely, if they are there, they would use them. I get why Fox uses the video of the restaurants shouting and the peaceful protestors getting beat up by abortion supporters and ANTIFA – it helps make their point. Ad nauseam. I just don’t remember conservatives taking to the streets and marching on Washington just because they lost the freaking election in 2008 or 2012. If they did, send me the video…..and the stats for number of occurrences and frequency…
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And yet, somehow, amazingly, you seem to have missed Newt Gingrich, who wrote the book — literally — on demonizing the opponent for political advantage.
Look, I don’t care if you’ve gone from McGovern supporter to Republican sympathizer, or even believe with regard to the latter that the ends justify the means. Just don’t piss down my leg and tell me it’s raining because there’s never been an analogue on the right to somebody yelling rudely at Mitch McConnell.
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Oh, and one more thing — “found its culmination in Obama”? Seriously?
Trump just spent the last month calling the Democrats the party of crime.
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People ought to face the realization that those on the Right are more like a cult now. It’s been proven for two years now that reality does not compute.
And now that their arch demagogue is backed into a corner it’s about to get much uglier.
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Exactly right. It’s a cult. His rallies are cult gatherings. And everyone in the party exists to protect the cult.
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False equivalence? Someone forgot about Scalise real fast. Mobs of people rioting in the streets? You talking about Charlottesville, ANTIFA , or one of the cities ransacked by BLM?
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Name the “ransacked” cities? Horseshit.
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Ferguson for one. There were also riots in Milwaukee and Charlotte (and a random black man killed by BLM “protesters”). Don’t forget the 4 cops killed in Dallas.
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You have all the buzz words down pat, “mobs” boogie boogie. Right wing Trump Bombers and shooters are “just individual crazy people” but yelling at the turtle in a diner is the end of civilization. What bullshit. I voted for McGovern in my first election AFTER serving in Korea (67-68) and Vietnam (68_-69) so skip the speeches about what you have witnessed.
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They can dish out but they can’t it.
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If you’re one of the dozens of people that has Cinemax, let me recommend “Tales from the tour bus” by Mike Judge. Season 1 covered country music, including Johnny Paycheck, George Jones and others. Season 2 is covering funk, and the first episode was on George Clinton (Parliament, Funkadelics, etc) and the next episode is on Rick James (bitch!).
The series is a collection of stories told today via interviews with the musicians, or their bands/managers. It’s animated, but of the actual interviews. The events are recreated with the actual voices. I find it hilarious.
Maybe this link will work. If not, check out the trailers for Seasons 1 and 2 on their website.
https://www.cinemax.com/mike-judge-presents-tales-from-the-tour-bus/video/s2-trailer-83382512.embed
S2: Trailer
https://www.cinemax.com/mike-judge-presents-tales-from-the-tour-bus/video/promo.embed
Promo
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I guess that’s the Beavis & Butthead guy, Judge?
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Independent of his callous behavior/rhetoric, what specific Trump policies/legislative goals are the most abhorrent?
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You mean, aside from being perfectly OK with indirectly (if not directly) benefiting from foreign interference in our democratic system?
How about:
pushing through one of the worst tax bills in US history, that even Republicans say benefit corporations and the rich more than the average American, with the CBO reporting that lower-income groups would incur net costs under the tax plan, either paying higher taxes or receiving fewer government benefits?
exploding the deficit and national debt?
Trump’s interventionist/protectionist action to subsidize coal and nuclear energy, thereby distorting energy markets?
roll back of air quality standards, and limiting the EPA’s enforcement?
foreign policies that alienate Canada, the UK and the EU while showing deference to Russia, North Korea, and Saudi Arabia?
the backfiring use of tariffs that are raising prices, slowing the economy, and costing jobs?
Trump’s plan to privatize and sell Indian reservation land out from under “real” Native Americans so they it can be drilled and mined?
Trump’s fixation on a border wall and threatening to end birthright citizenship instead of, you know, actually working on ways to solve the problems with our immigration system?
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You must hate winning!
Take your welder’s mask off and see the light brother!
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I’ve been winning, brother! And no politician is going to keep me from building my business (when I’m not taking a vacation and posting on a blog!) and doing as good as I can for myself and my family. And for the last 10 or so years, the payoff has been great.
Now as for how sustainable the current political decisions are for my family, and how they will impact my community, my country, my brothers and sisters of all races, creed, religions, and nations… I kind of care about them winning too.
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Meh…
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I can appreciate the honesty. That’s how most people feel about things until it directly affects them personally.
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I just don’t see anything in your list that justifies the outrage on the left, let alone rise to the level of an impeachable offense:
1) Taxes. Corporate rate cut to closer to international average and bottom 45% still pay no income tax;
2) Deficit and nat’l debt? Amen, but this has been true for decades;
3) Subsidize coal? Seems like he is trying to help American businesses and workers;
4) Air Quality/EPA. Ditto #2. Last administration put into place punitively restrictive controls which hurt American businesses who are already struggling with competition from overseas with less stringent controls and cheaper labor, etc.
5) Foreign policies. Seems he has a common theme: Do what is best for America.
6) Tariffs slowing economy and costing jobs? Economy and jobs are booming.
7) Privatize Reservations? Haven’t heard about this one.
8) Border wall/ birthright. He asked the Dems to do a deal on DACA and they walked away. Bill Clinton and Obama are both on record as having said illegal immigration is a huge threat–until Dems started seeing a huge voting block..
Mostly seems to be policy differences so I still do not understand the moral outrage and discord. The differences on the specific issues: Meh.
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You don’t understand. IT’S THE MOST IMPORTANT TARIFF BILL OF OUR LIFETIME!!!! #EverythingIsAnEmergency
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The man is an idiot surrounded mostly by younger idiots so hope for any coherence or “plan” is a fool’s errand.
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I’m just glad it’s over. At first I thought either my phone was out of order – then I thought I may be deaf – then I realized no more fucking vote for X,Y or Z robo calls.
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Anybody for repealing the 17th amendment ?
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Trump has caused his own demise. Wait till next April when all those suburban voters along with the well known high income tax states see their tax hit go up thousands of dollars because of the $10k cap along with the new mortgage interest cap and elimination of second mortgage interest… not to mention alimony.
Trump will not run again and I don’t think Nikki Hailey can save the pubs from the 2020 massacre.
At least we get a reprieve for a few months till the democrats 2020 presidential primary gets in full swing.
Seriously considering cutting the chord for no other reason than I am sick of having every single thing forced on me through the prism of politics. Washington is just too damn big and it’s getting bigger. But hey… only a few more years till social security and medicare. woohoo.
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I can’t wait to watch tax bills rise in states that wouldn’t have voted for Trump in the first place. NY, Ca, Il might want to rethink their fiscal policy.
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Enjoy your low taxes while your infrastructure crumbles and your children get dumber. The sad spiral of red states.
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Taxes make children smart? Interesting position to say the least.
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If tax and spending made children smarter, then the D.C. Public school system would be pumping out MENSA candidates left and right.
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If red states are in such spirals of doom, why are so many people fleeing blue states to move there? It would be ok of they didn’t try to bring their failed blue state approaches with them
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In what fantasy land are people fleeing blue states to red states??? OH that’s right, FOX news.
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#FakeNews
https://www.cnbc.com/2018/03/19/californians-fed-up-with-housing-costs-and-taxes-are-fleeing-state.html
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It’s better for people to assume you’re an idiot, rather than open your mouth and prove them right.
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“Hillary Clinton has a 92% chance of winning!”
Hope ain’t a plan. 😉
this thread just makes me sad for America. I guess I’ll just keep voting for the lesser of whatever two evils are presented.
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New thread:
Make Saturday Night Live Funny Again.
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Nice thought, but there is about as much chance of that happening as there is of Vanderbilt winning the SEC. In theory it could happen but then reality smacks you right up side the head.
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So you’re saying there’s a chance?
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FWIW, having spent a lot of years working in Downtown Athens, thought I recognized Mr Martin.
Dude owned Boneshakers for years.
Probably not ever going to even consider the Republican candidate.
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Yep
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Hitler and Stalin: The two greatest historical figures of the 20th century. Long live Comrade Stalin, the Father of Nations and the Locomotive of History; und Es lebt der Fuehrer.
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Who had the over at 250? I think you may win
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I called it up above this morning. So much WINNING!
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In the wake of the recession, the American Working Class was suffering significant economic stress. The Obama Administration showed their lack of cultural understanding by proposing extended Unemployment Benefits, Disability claims, Food Stamps, and Medicaid, as the solutions to their problems. The American Working Class, especially those in small towns and rural areas, have always taken great pride in their work and the identified contempt on behalf of the Obama Administration disillusioned a long held Democratic constituency.
In the 2016 election, the Democratic Party basically abandoned the work class in favor of going all-in on the Hispanic vote. Now spend an entire year talking about how white Working Class voters opposed unchecked illegal immigration because they are racist white-supremacists while dismissing the idea that the Working Class see it as pressure on working class wages that have been stagnant since the 1990s.
Donald Trump saw this schism before the rest of us. He is using it to remake political constituencies. He has staked out the Working Class and Middle Class through a loosely defined agenda of economic populism and Civic Nationalism. That is to say, he is adopting the policies of business friendly Democrats from the 1990s (remember, Democrats opposed NAFTA in the house 156-102). http://clerk.house.gov/evs/1993/roll575.xml
This has left the Democrats with the following groups as its core constituencies: Unmarried women, ethnic and racial minorities, the LGBTQ community (they are losing Gay men though), the Social Justice Morons, smug urbanite hipsters, and those the subsist on government benefits instead of working.
This is not a winning group. This is also why they have basically no platform. The entire message for the 2018 election was basically: Orange Man Bad, White people are racists, spend more money on failed policies, and promise more welfare benefits. This is especially perilous for the Democrats as Hispanics tend to self identify as white after they have fully integrated.
http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2014/05/05/millions-of-americans-changed-their-racial-or-ethnic-identity-from-one-census-to-the-next/
With the pathetic showing of the “blue ripple” yesterday, the Democrats have basically conceded the 2020 presidency to Trump. If they are smart, they will drop the race baiting, reform this policy positions, and build new constituencies while looking to 2024. The question is, how do they attempt to defeat a domestic populism that is resulting badly needed economic growth?
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Good analysis. I would also add that Trump has continued to stay focused on improving the economic situation in the inner cities. His 2020 re-election is going to be determined in Cleveland, Detroit, Philly, and Chicago. If he can pull 40% of the vote out of these areas then he will cruise to re-election.
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Been a long time since I typed anything on this site. Not interested in getting involved in any arguments with any of you about the shape of American Politics.
I am, however, a close personal friend of Brian Kemp. Our children are the same age and my wife and his are very close. The Kemp family was there when my wife fought cancer a few years ago. He doesn’t need me to or want me to defend him, so this post is so I can sleep better tonight. He knew what he was getting in to when he signed up for this circus.
He and I discussed the idea of running for Governor over two years ago. I was baffled that he was willing to offer up himself and his family to such incredible scrutiny in order to represent 50% of the population who would hate him no matter what he did or said. Many of the comments above (from folks who come to a site to discuss college football) have validated my concern.
If you want to disagree with his performance as SOS and use that as a basis for not voting for him, then that is your privilege and I applaud you on your vote. If he was so bad at his job, I’m confused as to how he was appointed and then won reelection twice, but I guess that’s just my being a simple minded fellow.
The personal accusations and attacks shown in this thread are just disgusting. And then I realize that most (perhaps all) of you who call him a racist- Jew hater- whatever- don’t know him. So your opinion of the person you think he personifies is unsubstantiated and it’s just you getting your rocks off by spewing hate in the cloak of anonymity under catchy pen names.
Until we change the narrative (both on the right and left) and return to civility in how we treat one another, we will continue to be limited in our choices on who represents us in public office- from dog catcher to President. Look in the mirror to see why this is the case. For me, I don’t need to look any further than watching what my friend has had to go through to know I lack the thick skin needed to represent any of you in anything.
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I have some very close friends who have a similar relationship with Kemp as you. Basically they say the image that he has projected is not him, he did it to appeal to “The base”. They consider him and his family and supported him all the way. So I empathize with what you are saying but I ask you, if it is not him, why would he do that crap?
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“racist- Jew hater- whatever- don’t know him.”
Citation please? Where did anyone say that?
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See Derek, ChiliDawg, et. al. above. They do not believe that a person can disagree with them in good faith because they have good intentions.. The only reason that someone could disagree with them is if they had bad intentions – namely racism, sexism, homophobia, xenophobia, etc. It works the same way as how Napoleon BonerFart et. al believe that everyone that doesn’t have a Donald Trump / NASCAR / Jesus tattoo is an America-hating Commie NPC that wants illegals do rape their daughter.
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Where the hell did you get that notion? While I am Christian, I don’t support Trump and I hate NASCAR.
What I object to is mindlessness and dishonesty. Insisting that Trump is a Nazi because he campaigned on border security is stupid and wrong. Insisting that anybody who doesn’t vote for a black candidate is racist is stupid and wrong.
Just because I argue mostly against the left doesn’t mean I support the right. The right wingers on this page just aren’t as vocal, dumb, and rude as the leftists are.
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“campaigned on border security ” Is that what you call that horseshit of freaking out about a ragtag bunch of people 1000 miles from the border and sending the Army to the border?
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Do you think their plan is to stop in Juarez? Or would you prefer to meet them in Houston?
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Listen pal, I spent a good deal of time dealing with real threats so don’t try to scare me with that bullshit
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I doubt you’ve ever dealt with a real threat, pal. But I simply asked a question. The members of the caravan have stated they are coming to America. Do you think they’re lying? Do you want to let them in? Just curious.
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Yea, we kept telling the 1st Shirt we didn’t need no stinkin wire! https://c2.staticflickr.com/8/7329/15925978224_df5b973d21_b.jpg
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“In the weeks leading up to Tuesday’s midterm elections, President Donald Trump, his Republican allies, and Fox News teamed up to fearmonger about a caravan of people traveling from Central America toward America’s southern border — not stopping even after a gunman motivated by an anti-Semitic conspiracy theory about it opened fire at a synagogue in Pittsburgh on October 27, killing 11 people.
The caravan received heavy coverage on Fox & Friends, where it was portrayed as “an invasion” that Democrats weren’t doing enough to stop. According to transcripts, the caravan was mentioned 19 times on Friday’s edition of the show, 10 times on Monday, and nine times on Tuesday. Fox News has even embedded a reporter with the caravan to provide updates about its progress.
Yet on Wednesday’s edition of Fox & Friends, it was mentioned just once in passing.
“Many in the media laughed as well when the president framed [the midterms] as about [Supreme Court Justice Brett] Kavanaugh, the caravan,” host Ed Henry said at one point — the only time the caravan was mentioned on the entire show.
The White House didn’t try to conceal the cynical political motivations at work. For instance, days before the Pittsburgh shooting, an unnamed senior Trump administration official told the Daily Beast that “it doesn’t matter” if the fear-mongering campaign surrounding the caravan is “100 percent accurate” — the important thing is that “this is the play” to motivate Republicans to vote.
Trump urged people to blame Democrats for the caravan.”
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A political party politicizing an election? I’m shocked, shocked! #MillionsWillDie
BTW, you never answered my question. Are the immigrants going to stop in Mexico? How many can stay at your house?
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That’s a lot of wire. What invasion were you defending against? I must have missed it.
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Please don’t take it personally. I just had to pick a name to fit the stereotype. I don’t read most of the political comments thoroughly. You post the most NPC memes so I basically pulled your name out of a hat. I am not trying to ascribe actual beliefs to you, and I apologize.
I still believe my general point holds true. Different types of people who do not understand each other are just yelling insults at each other based on ascribed intentions. I write well though-out pieces, with documented facts, that are designed to start an actual conversation, yet these comments get ignored.
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Try including more memes in your posts. 😉
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That’s great but that is not what CP said.
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Oh, you were looking for someone saying that Kemp personally was a racist jew hater instead of all the people in the thread that claim that all white people (that don’t vote Democrat) are racist jew haters and are implicating Kemp via the law of transitivity: Kemp == white Republican; all while people are racist jew-hater; => Kemp is a racist jew-hater. I think he was only directly accused of misogyny in this thread.
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I have never met Napoleon
But I plan to find the time
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Too cute!
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Your projection skills are astounding. Name one person who has said everyone who voted for Kemp is a racist jew-hater.
I’m not even sure where jew-hater came into this discussion, I’m pretty sure you’re the only one who has said that phrase.
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Does the fact that you posted this twice make it feel more important?
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https://babylonbee.com/news/disillusioned-with-democratic-process-more-americans-throwing-support-behind-aragorn-king-of-gondor
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Morality and policy aside. We have a borderline dumbass with a BS in agriculture out here releasing the SS #’s of 6 million Georgians against a Yale Law graduate. I’ll give him credit, it was smart to cancel the second debate.
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Yet the Yale grad is running on the notion that we can tax and spend our way to prosperity. One shouldn’t need an elite education to see the flaw in that logic.
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Yeah, we get it. You’re a conservative ideologue. 👏🏻👏🏻 I’m just pointing out that Kemp was bad at his job as Sec of State and there is no evidence to suggest he is of notable intelligence. At least not from his ads and debate performance. I mean, he damn near lost in the Deep South on the republican ticket. You gotta try pretty hard to screw that up. That’s like failing PE or lunch.
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I’m no conservative. But I think most Republicans are less horrible than Democrats. At least their rhetoric is more valid.
I agree that Kemp did a bad job as SOS. But that doesn’t mean we should embrace a massive spending program for the next four years. That kind of logic is like failing lunch, to borrow a simile.
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I’m no liberal, and I acknowledge that there are plenty of reasonable reasons to vote republican. My issue is with people who try to convince me that Kemp and Trump etc are top notch. Vote for them if you must, I just don’t understand supporting them so vehemently (not that you’re doing that, I’m just speaking generally).
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I’m also no economist so I’m not 100% sure that your view of Abrams’ policies hold up in practice. Basically, I’m in support of moving on from the status quo, but I also acknowledge the risk of things getting worse. I just haven’t seen enough evidence suggesting that a catastrophic end result is a certainty.
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Economies are fairly elastic and can often tolerate abuse for long periods of time. But Abrams wants to spend more then Kemp, even though they both call for increased spending over the status quo.
In the long run, that’s bad. There’s no such thing as a free lunch. The problem is how the repercussions are expressed. If we get a huge crash in year three of the Abrams administration, maybe we can trace it directly to her policies. But if Georgia’s growth slows over what it could have been with more laissez faire policies, most people won’t notice.
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Government spending has always been an issue. I know many government employees who make way more than they could ever hope to if they were doing similar work in the private sector. Some of Abrams’ proposed “spending” is in the form of investment in new industry. Renewable energy for example. That could create jobs and facilitate market growth. Kemp on the other hand is promising raises for teachers, but when asked about specifics he only provides vague generalities that basically amount to, “we’ll just wing it.”
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The issue with investing in industry is that it inevitably ends up being political. If the most cost-effective source of energy for Georgia citizens is natural gas, then the market will usually choose that for power. But the government can’t invest in fossil fuels, so the money that should go to LNG ends up going to the more politically acceptable solar or wind industries, which are much more expensive. Now, government is just propping up an industry that isn’t yet competitive. It’s a bad use of money.
And then you have the issue of the politically connected. Which solar company gets the government subsidies? The one run the by governor’s brother-in-law. Is that the most efficient and cost-effective company? Probably not. Again, it’s a bad use of money on top of morally unacceptable to forcibly take tax money from people to transfer it to your cronies.
Taxpayers never plan to pay for programs. Kemp’s explanation is that the tax revenue for the state grows by enough to offset his spending increases. Abrams wants to close tax loopholes (i.e., increase taxes). But politicians always overestimate tax revenue and underestimate program costs. So the end result is, they’re both wrong. Voters just have to decide which one is slightly less wrong than the other.
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What’s your background in the energy sector? You are repeating old tired worn out republican talking points that are false. I have developed hundreds of large scale commercial solar and storage projects over the last dozen years, I have worked with a who’s who of major utilities west of the Rockies. I am an expert on the energy sector and won’t apologize for it. And I drive a Tesla Model X that I paid cash for thank you very much. 😉
Fact: Oil Coal & Gas (and Utility) industry receives massive government subsides (and have for years) that greatly exceed renewable energy incentives.
Fact: The cost of solar has come down ~80-90% in the last decade and module efficiency (panel energy output) has more than doubled. Energy storage costs have come down ~60% over the last 5 years, the tech is advancing rapidly meaning the battery capacity is growing while cost is coming down. In a few short years EV’s will have batteries with 500 mile capacity (and be cheaper than today’s models).
I’ve sold PPA’s (power purchase agreements) on projects for less than $0.05/kWh which include battery storage (with little to no subsidy). That’s well below the Utility cost of generation from Gas or Coal. I’m sorry NB but it’s game over for the traditional utility business model. They know this, and here in the desert SW they are all deploying more solar and storage. The problem is utilities want to protect their monopoly status and want to own everything, hence the solar propoganda wars you may be reading about.
Here’s the dirty little secret. Monopoly utilities make money on building and maintaining expensive power plants (not on the energy as much):
A 1GW (giga-watt) natural gas power plant costs 5x or more than 1GW of solar/storage. Monopoly utilities are guaranteed ~10% return on equity, meaning a 1GW gas plant that costs $1B nets them $100M on the build, and then they get 10% return of maintenance costs over the next 50 years. Solar and storage cost is a fraction of the gas plant and the maintenance is also cheap. Now do you understand why they dislike solar?
Solar/storage does not require fuel. The largest utility here in AZ spends $1B/year on fuel…which is a commodity. what happens when the price of the commodity goes up up and way? Solar/Storage use very little water whereas gas/coal/nuclear use tons of water. shall i go on?
You’re a free market guy right? If we don’t modernize our grid and energy generation our economy will suffer, capital (and jobs) will flow to those countries that have cheap & clean energy. Why the heck would anyone want to support monopoly utilities that are using 100 year old (inefficient) technology that pollutes the air and water, and costs more, and gives a tax payer guaranteed rate of return to a monopoly?
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He’s an expert on threat assessment too.
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That was very enlightening. Thanks for diggin’ in.
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“Government is just propping up an industry that isn’t yet competitive. It’s a bad use of money.”
And how competitive would the natural gas industry without the DOE’s Eastern Gas Shales Project, the Sandia National Laboratory’s research on micro-seismic technology, or federal tax credits for unconventional drilling? Seems like a lot of propping up of a natural gas market that was much more expensive than coal and nuclear for decades… Is that a bad use of money? Or just when it is given to industries that libruls support?
More cliches, regurgitated talking point, selective acknowledgment, and inch-deep thinking…
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Unsurprisingly, you missed the entire point. It was about economics. I never claimed government spending can’t help boost an industry. I even stated that explicitly. The point was, government spending is less efficient than private spending because it ignore prices and profits. You should have encountered those concepts in your extensive studies.
Rather than respond to economic incentives, government responds to political incentives. But please continue to argue how politicians and bureaucrats are better at directing energy dollars than entrepreneurs and consumers. It’s amusing.
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I’m not the one missing the point, buddy. You’re just hurling statements that are patently absurd. You’re turning a conditional statement “government spending is less efficient than private spending because it ignores prices and profits” into an absolute. While that is true in many cases, and we fundamentally agree on the economic premise, there are also several clear instances where “government spending is MORE efficient than private spending because it ignore prices and profits,” because there are times when private money deems an investment too risky, but government sees the long-term public benefit and becomes the lead/sustaining investor and/or researcher while it is too early to price a product or make a profit. The internet, GPS, AI, LED lighting, MRIs, genetics… you know, super wasteful stuff that no private company has been able to come in and make money off of the government’s initial spending. Maybe you would be OK waiting another 50 years for private investment to get us to the same place we are today, and that is your philosophical choice, but government spending got us here faster.
I’ve conversed in good faith with a guy named bonerfart, so I realize the absurdity involved, but one day I do hope you make room in your idealism for the possibility of nuance. I’ve been the guy with the hardcore libertarian ideals, so I get it, but it’s not a productive place to stay.
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Since you claim to have an extensive understanding of economics, it’s surprising that you keep making basic and fundamental errors. Errors such as failing to consider motivations beyond economics in human behavior and failing to consider both the seen and not seen in actions and their consequences. Bastiat covered the latter 150 years ago. You should check it out.
First, even if something is a lousy investment, some people will still do it. Benefactors lose money supporting all kinds of causes every day. Americans donate over $250 billion a year to charity with zero return on investment. God bless them.
Second, just because something has a potential benefit doesn’t mean that the benefit exists in a vacuum. The government space program produced lots of benefits. Many jobs were created. Many products and processes were invented. That’s the seen. What is not seen is the opportunity cost involved. How many jobs would have been created if the money spent were left in the private sector? What inventions could have been produced with the resources that were tied up in the space program? Is going to the moon better than a cure for cancer? Or a viable electric car decades earlier? Or simply more money in consumers’ pockets? I don’t know, but I feel better letting people decide for themselves, rather than appointing government bureaucrats to decide for them.
Third, you’re assuming that if government doesn’t do something, it just won’t get done. That’s not at all true. If there is a demand, entrepreneurs will find a way to meet it. It will certainly be done differently than the government would do it. But that’s not a bad thing.
Fourth, you’re completely ignoring the issue of using violence. I find it abhorrent to say, “I want something that people may not voluntarily provide, so I want to use violence to force other people to give me what I want.” Obviously, you feel differently. But the use of violence can’t simply be ignored. And, to me, it can’t be justified by claiming that, sure we’re going to forcibly take your money away, but we’re going to use it for a good cause, so it’s cool.
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So after decades of government assistance, solar has finally come down in price to be competitive in the desert? Why it’s a miracle!
I guess the best course of action is to nationalize solar subsidies so the people of Seattle can enjoy the miracles of cheap solar power. Nice analysis.
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Says the guy who doesn’t know the difference between a kW and kWh. Whether you like it or not, the cost of solar (& wind) is now cheaper, without subsidy, than conventional generation. Regardless of location…
If you had to pay to true price for a gallon of gas you’d be driving an EV (or riding a bicycle):
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2015/may/18/fossil-fuel-companies-getting-10m-a-minute-in-subsidies-says-imf
But don’t take my word for it…
Do you know who the number one purchaser of solar is in the US? That would be the Department of Defense. I’m guessing they’ve done their homework and see it as strategic. You support the troops, right?
http://science.dodlive.mil/2015/08/12/militarys-shift-toward-renewable-energy/
My company developed the first phase of solar at Davis-Monthan AFB, 6MW ground mount, plus another ~2MW on the base rooftops.
https://www.dm.af.mil/Media/Commentaries/Display/Article/955831/energy-action-month/
Have a nice day.
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Teh stupid just gets better and better. Just keep believing in your overlords. They will watch over and protect you. Unless they don’t. In which case, you can just vote in some better overlords.
The Guardian story simply redefines what a subsidy is. Neat trick. Most people use the English definition. But redefining it to mean subsidies and non-subsidies alike, then using the word in the headline allows dumb people to be shocked and alarmed. #MillionsWillDie
And no, I’m not shocked that the government is buying the same sources of energy that the government is subsidizing when politicians are making a rabble about the kind of energy. This is the same government buying $1,280 coffee cups. You want to argue that’s a valid use of money? What I find amusing is that you want to use that as support for the validity of the position. What other sources can you cite, your mother?
And finally, give the “support teh troops” drumbeat a rest. No, I don’t particularly support the troops. At least, I don’t support their mission of bombing brown people who pose no threat to us the world over. I don’t support having military bases in every country on Earth. And I certainly don’t support the Military Industrial Complex fleecing taxpayers with $1,280 coffee cups, $14,000 toilet seat covers, and billion dollar planes that don’t really work well.
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You know one of the hallmarks of emotional ideologues is they don’t know when they’re getting their ass kicked and when to STFU. You’re a knucklehead (you just called me dumb & stupid, despite the fact I’ve demonstrated I know way more than you about the energy biz) who doesn’t know how to fact check his talking points. You’re responses lack substance and you’re making shit up. Unfortunately I see this kind of thing all the time.
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I enjoy the hallmarks of irony when one person claims victory in a debate based on logical fallacies and emotional appeals. “Prices are gay. Don’t you support teh troops?”
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You’re making my point, again. Sigh. Not one substantive response to anything I’ve presented here. Please tell us again about your experiences in the energy sector, were waiting…
“Logical fallacies” = pot calling the kettle black. Did you learn that response on 4CHAN? It’s your crutch, a pseudo intellectual nothingburger when you got nothing.
FWIW I’ve enjoyed our chat. Will see you again on the next playpen.
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There’s really nothing to respond to. “Do you support teh troops” isn’t an argument. It’s just pap. Claiming that fossil fuels receive eleventy gazillion dollars in subsidies is just redefining both English and math. Failure in both. And claiming that, because solar works well in Arizona, it will also work well in Oregon is just dumb. Maybe you never noticed in your vast experience, but the sun shines more in the desert than in other climates. That desert sun tends to make solar power work better.
But other than that, great points.
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Yes the sun works better in the desert duh. But for the record I’ve analyzed and worked on projects all over the US and I’m telling ya it works (economically) everywhere now. What you’re talking about is irradiance. Here in AZ we get around 1600-1800 kWh/kW output per year for the average system. Highest in the US. But that’s not the only factor to consider solar viability, utility avoided cost of power is equally important, as well as the local tariff and regulatory situation, many other factors (build cost, labor cost, etc) go into the equation.
Anyway, my point is Oregon is actually good for solar. A good buddy of mine had the Intel account, they did a bunch of solar at their Hillsborough HQ facility. Oregon is in the top 15 states for solar. I helped them with some of the local issues at their manufacturing facility here in Chandler AZ where they installed over 7MW or solar carports.
Yes my comment about supporting the troops was snarky. The point is this is one example of many validating solar/renewable energy. The article I shared from the DoD clearly demonstrates their commitment to renewable energy. They state that it reduces their operating expense, it’s more reliable and provides them a strategic advantage i.e. not having to rely on single source of power. They’re now looking at portable solar applications for deployment in battlefield scenarios.
Walmart, Amazon, Google, Apple, Microsoft are all examples of private sector companies all in on renewables. They lock in fixed cost of clean power for less than utility prices for 20-25 year terms. (Utility rates can go up each and every year)
With respect to subsidies, solar gets a 30% federal ITC (on 85% of the total project cost which is net ~25%), but that’s goes away in a few years (2021 I think, it reduces in each of the next three years). State & Local incentives i.e. utility rebates have long since gone away in most zip codes (or are so small they are insignificant to the ROI). The Guardian article I sent is just the tip of the iceberg, with all due respect, to how much we subsidize carbon. All things being equal, Solar & wind get maybe a billion or two per year in the US, where Exxon and the like get hundreds of billions per year in subsidy. (Subsidy being a grant, tax deduction, or tax credit.) Sorry man, it’s not even close.
For the life of me I can’t understand why “free market” guys would support policies that maintain monopolies that use antiquated, inefficient and expensive tech that pollutes. GA Power probably needs ~5GW or more capacity available at any given time, but because of line losses (transporting electricity over power lines long distances) they have to actually have about 130% of peak demand ready to go. You’re paying for that extra 30% (plus their profit 10%) which is a waste given new tech capability.
In 2009, at the height of the recession, we added 10,000 jobs in AZ because of the passage of a modest 15% renewable energy standard (we’re only up to 6% penetration). The program cost was less than a quarter of 1% of our state budget. Solar was the only sector of our economy growing until about 2011. FWIW, Georgia has fairly recently adopted an expanded solar/renewable program with the blessing of GA Power. Just saying.
See ya around NB.
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Yale law graduate. That doesn’t seem to mean a damn thing when its a Republican with one.
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If you’re referring to George W, he was a Yale undergrad with a C average which is a lot easier to pull off when you’re the son of an alumni who also happens to be an oil tycoon and a rising politician.
Also important to remember that Bush was running against fellow Ivy League grads, as opposed to some dude from Athens with a BS in ag who stiffs people on $500 k loans.
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Yeah, because an education in agriculture is the last thing we need for our politicians to have in a largely agrarian state.
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I agree with your premise, but at least a masters degree would be nice. And perhaps a track record of not being awful in your previous elected position.
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I’m not going to begrudge anyone with a Yale degree, even if made possible by personal connections or obtained with Cs. I would have liked to see What W could have done had he not been blindsided by 9/11 and turned into a puppet of the neocons.
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Yeah, I’m not hating on the guy, but graduating from Yale ain’t the hard part, getting in is the real bitch. Really helps to be a legacy applicant with a rich father who has a checkbook.
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The funny thing is, I voted for Brian Kemp just because Greg Martin, 70, of Atlanta thinks: “Brian Kemp is an asshole…and misogynistic piece of shit.” Also, I only waited in line one hour and twenty-nine minutes to cancel out his vote.
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Funny
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As an ardent Dawgs fan, I love this blog for the opinions, insights, and general info however a small reason I love it is the ability to escape all of the political BS that we get bombarded with, particularly this time of year, on a daily basis…..sigh…oh well
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All you have to do is avoid the weekly Playpen. Problem solved!
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Ah politics is funny. I enjoy sitting back and watching all the lemmings argue whether licking the right boot or the left boot is more dignified.
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It’s a very simple explanation – he had an R by his name and most people these days stick with their tribe. He did an absolute shit job as secretary of state, but nobody that votes R cares as long as he had that R by his name.
He’s the only candidate I remember with a commercial of him riding around in his truck to round up illegals. If you don’t believe that was pandering to the racist xenophobes in his base then you’re letting your personal relationship cloud the reality of his candidacy.
General comment – I don’t really give a shit who voted for who, but the outright denial that your preferred candidate (whichever side of the aisle you fall on) couldn’t possibly be a real piece of shit despite all evidence pointing to the contrary is the problem with our tribalism today.
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Illegals is not a race.
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You call for a return to civility, but the President spews bile and lies on a daily basis, including today. Until someone puts a muzzle on that petulant asshole then incivlity will be the order of the day.
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Damn. This thing is still rolling with 300+ posts? I know the Senator created the Playpen out necessity, but what a genius move in hindsite.
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Sessions wasn’t fired AFTER the election the benefit of the voters. Just like we didn’t know russia supported trump in June of 2016 and sent Jr. an email to that effect. We also didn’t need to know that Nixon had a back channel to South Vietnam telling them not to take LBJ’s deal and wait until after the election and get a better one.
You might call these things treason but what are definitions of words any way?
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Wait till all these “Patriots” turn on a real Marine. It’s coming.
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You are forgetting that, Natalia Veselnitskaya, the Russian lawyer that let Donald Jr. know that “Russia supported Trump” worked for Fusion GPS, the outfit that was paid to put together OPPO research that led the the infamous Steele Dossier.
The Hillary campaign and the DNC paid for the law firm Perkins Cole to pay Fusion GPS to put together OPPO research. Veselnitskaya is friends with Fusion GPS CEO Glenn Simpson and has performed work for him and for Fusion GPS on multiple occasions. She also met with SImpson the day before and the day after the Trump Tower Meeting that is basis for alleged collusion with Russia.
There is a reason that the main stream media has shut up about the incident. That reason is because the circumstantial evidence shows that collusion was much less likely than the situation being a setup performed by peopled funded by the Hillary campaign and the DNC that didn’t go anywhere.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trump_Tower_meeting
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Natalia_Veselnitskaya
Also, the “Pissgate” story that led to much of the initial looks into Trump and his possible connections to Russia come from a 4-Chan prank on Rick Wilson.
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You are not expecting people to consider wikipedia sources seriously are you? Let go of the propaganda, friend, before it is too late.
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Oh, FFS. The information on the wikipedia article is sourced. Specifically, the information about Natalia Veselnitskaya working for Glenn Simpson and Fusion GPS is from that hive of right-wing villainy, The New York Times.
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Even assuming the russian government lawyer was a plant, isn’t it grossly irresponsible not to report it to the fbi?
You can say it wasn’t treason because I’m a stupid pawn but what about the treason?
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The Trump administration is actual who reported the meeting. It came to be public information when Jared Kushner was filling out the paperwork for his security clearance. The evidence doesn’t point to the Hillary campaign or the DNC having anything to do with this directly. The evidence suggests that an organization that was paid to do OPPO research tried to setup their target and the target did not take the bait. I’m not sure why you think there is treason here other than that your chosen sources of media keep claiming that it is treason. The Trump admin was looking for dirt. Operatives paid by the Hillary campaign and the DNC did a bait and switch. If you think that what the Trump admin did was treason, then getting the Trump Dossier from Christopher Steele, a British national and former spy, is also treason for Hillary and the DNC. Hint: that wasn’t treason either.
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They had a meeting with someone who said the Russian government supported candidate trump and wanted to further the mission. Then they didn’t tell the authorities. At a minimum that’s attempted treason as stated by non other than Steve bannon.
Hiring someone to ask around about somebody who is told things by private people in Moscow is not the same thing.
Here’s the difference:
The ayatollah sent me to tell you X about Y so you can win like he wants you to.
I heard the ayatollah sent X to see Y about Z.
Get it, dummy?
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I see that you have chosen a new general insult and have successfully learned that you should put a comma before it. You still haven’t learned what treason is, but, I’m fine with baby steps.
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oops, extra comma on my end. I forgot to delete it as my final sentence was going to include a dependent clause.
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Good to know you have such little interest in your own nations protection and would rather deal in party politics and the minutiae of grammar than deal with the fact that the president very is likely a traitor and his son is a confessed traitor. So long as both deny the obvious, who cares right?
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If that were true, Rachel Maddow would have told me.
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So here is my thoughts on the wonderful conversation today and what really has me in a quandary. I believe words have meaning and words need to be defined. The unfortunate thing is I don’t know the definitions of words anymore. Does making a racist comment make one a racist? Does supporting someone who made a racist comment make one a racist? If I stare a little too long at a beautiful woman on the beach in a bikini, does that constitute harassment? If I see you doing something juvenile and say “good lord, that’s gay!” does that make me a homophobe? Are these words on a sliding scale like sexuality? One side is pure hetero the other is pure homo, but everyone tends to fall somewhere along the specturm. Does the same apply to misogyny, or race, or sexual harassment? Is that on a sliding scale? Or is it only in the offended? For example, we both believe that people have a right to own weapons. You think shotguns and single shot rifles are the limit and I think that all weapons are on the table. Does that make me the NRA right winger and you the compassionate liberal? If we both agree that the SNaP program is good for the impoverished, but you think we need universal government funded healthcare, does that make me a right winger to you and you a far left left loony? If I don’t believe in abortion, does that make me anti-women’s rights? What if I don’t believe in abortion, but agree that a woman has the right to that choice, does that make me an uneducated/misguided supporter of women’s rights?
If I have to choose between two candidates who are both flawed— and I pick the least flawed to me, does that make me a socialist? communist? racist? neo-nazi? Fill in the label?
I ask all these questions/hypotheticals because those who are in power and those who want power use labels to describe things that can’t be described very well. Like porn… I can’t really describe it but I know it when I see it. Because of this, people want to make the issues very binary. If you believe in this, then you must believe all of these other things. People aren’t built that way. Until we understand that everything is not binary, we will continue to bicker and argue about things that aren’t important and totally miss on the things that are important.
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Like the fact the governorship is a fairly weak position in GA. Yet everyone gets crazy about it despite the fact the legislature holds so much power.
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My suggestion isn’t to even try to accept any candidate or party completely. I would suggest looking around the area the candidate is looking to govern and decide: which candidate or which party, since most of what you get is from the party writ large rather than any narrow individual deviations, is more likely improve things or more likely to make them worse for everyone. Exclude your narrow personal interests and personal tastes and preferences that will never be. For example, if you’re for unilateral nuclear disarmament. That ain’t happening. Keep it to yourself.
I think that’s the best you can do as a citizen.
Looking broadly I think you have one party looking to create a nation similar to Northern European models and one that looks at America in 1900 and says: that looks pretty good to me!
Do your research. Read some Upton Sinclair. Figure it out.
In addition, despite your preferred model either one can take things too far and sometimes you want a check out in their power. So you might say: I like the 1900 model but without the child labor and systematic racism. Beyond the question of whether these ideas are compatible or not, you might want to vote the other side to get those things modulated. Likewise if you choose the Northern European model and they raise taxes to 90%, you might want to put the brakes on in and get someone in who may not like that model, will change the tax structure, but won’t be able to dismantle the model in its entirety.
What doesn’t get discussed for whatever reason is that the GOP has had power for a long time and it’s been attacking the New Deal and Great Society programs with the ultimate goal of them being history. They keep getting closer and closer to that goal despite the fact that almost no one wants it and no one has voted for it.
Isn’t focusing on the big picture of the sustainability of social security and Medicare more important than the relatively minor disagreements and confusions you’ve referenced?
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I rarely comment during The Playpen either, but you come off as an awfully sanctimonious turd, fella. Enjoy your billiard game and cigars with him.
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Chris,
I work for Brian. I think he’s a generally good person and have no doubt that he’s the man you think he is. That said, its not just his performance as SOS, which has been abysmal, its pointing a shotgun at a teen, its pandering to the Trumpers, its having absolutely zero platform to run on besides Trump Train and Stacy and Socialism. His campaign page is nothing but one-pagers.He leaned all in on Trumpism and won because of it. I’m sorry if that doesn’t reflect the man you know, but the man you know isn’t the man the public sees. He won reelection because incumbents don’t lose in Georgia.
Brian is one of the least intellectually curious politicians I’ve ever met in office – I would report things to him expecting a reply or a question and he had nothing. He’s also surrounded himself with terrible fucking people. I voted against him because of the people who will rely on. Nobody has ever pushed back on him and that serves him terribly. Plainly said, at SOS, he didn’t give a flying fuck about any policy except policy that would help him get elected governor. He knew what he wanted when he took the SOS job and he knew he wanted to be governor so spare us the bullshit politician sob story. He has no answers on anything and terrible policies, He did nothing but disparage Abrams as a “socialist” because she didn’t fit in “R” politics in GA and suppressed who knows how many voters with his bullshit voter policies (which were his choice and not federally or state mandated). Glad your guy won and glad you can sleep well at night but spare us the bullshit attacks on Brian and his character.He is who he looks like in public and if he’s not then that’s his fault for kissing republican ass instead of being himself.
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Also, nobody has ever said he hates Jews
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“I would report things to him expecting a reply or a question and he had nothing. He’s also surrounded himself with terrible fucking people.”
It is always good to proofread before you publish.
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Do me a favor next time you see your buddy Brian Kemp – tell him I said “fuck you, hayseed.”
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You really are a piece of shit.
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I live in a basically white, conservative area and there were long lines there too. A lot of people voted and that’s a good thing.
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I hate the fucker but just from a pure politics standpoint Il Douche succeeded in pushing his voters out. It’s a pity that there are so many for whom his message resonates, but we all have to accept that they’re here amongst us.
We ain’t as separated from the 1960’s as we’d like to think.
Had he done like most presidents and stayed in washington for a midterm, it would have been really ugly for the GOP imho.
On to 2020!
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Napoleon BonerFart
Everywhere I was stationed in Korea and Vietnam had Concertina Wire. Why am I not surprised you missed it?
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Oh, I see the disconnect here. I was talking about threats to American people and you were talking about American imperialism abroad. So yes, I’m not surprised that you were in danger while you were a member of an occupying force in a foreign country. That goes without saying.
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That certainly proves your point that I never faced a threat. It also really reinforces what bullshit this “caravan” crap was. They told us we’d could fight the commies here or fight them there. That was a stupid as your baloney.
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And the caravan is coming. There’s no denying that. Now, they’re not coming as an army. But, of course, nobody has claimed that. What seems to have your panties in a bunch is that some people have suggested that there are likely some undesirables among the thousands heading for the border. And some of the “Nazis” have even suggested we enforce border security and immigration laws. Which is, of course, very bad orange man policy.
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Time for Stacey to stop being a sore loser and concede.
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