Second cup of Coffee Talk

[jstewismybastardson]

 

[elocomotive]

So once again the Senate is introducing a new bill and trying to get a vote done before a cost estimate even comes out. Remember when conservatives claimed Obamacare was "jammed down our throats" even though it spent a year in development and committees before being introduced for a vote.

Well now they're trying to rush something in less than 2 weeks without proper analysis of the actual outcomes it would create. ...Again. This is not what good governance looks like. And some of the motivations behind these policies used to be implied, while now they are just painfully obvious if not stated overtly.

I had swung gradually more moderate over the past decade or so, even agreeing with conservatives on a few issues, but I just have to ask Republicans out there, isn't this all fucking embarrassing? And what do you all stand for anymore? And why no criticism of this "process?"

I wouldn't say I'm always prideful of the Democrats, but I certainly have a good grasp on the basic principles of the party. But some of the motivations behind these policy machinations of the Republicans seem incredibly poorly prepared at best, and downright terrible for the American people at worst. I never loved Obamacare, but it certainly accomplished the objective of allowing MORE people (tens of millions more) to get health insurance either by ponying into the system we all are in or by allowing people that work hard but just don't make enough money to actually ya know, not die if they get cancer or something. We still pay for them either way through our own insurance, by the by. But how did NOBODY in that party develop improvements to the current system OR a competent alternative path in the past 5+ years.

By most measures, we've been stronger as a nation when we essentially subsidize the working/lower middle class with health care bennies and such so people can have decent lives if they work hard. I understand (even if I don't agree with) your total hard on for getting out the illegals that "took your jobs," but I don't understand the self-inflicted wounds of refusing health care subsidies while struggling with job transition, drug addiction, psychological issues, and work shortages. That's just dumb. Really, really dumb. If people are working hard, why shouldn't they be able to live at least a passable life? Are you all that stupid? Or does it offend you that much that a brown or darker skin complexion could possibly get those same benefits? Neither of those are flattering options, but I just want to know which it is or if there is a legit alternative I haven't though of. And if you are the party of personal responsibility, where is the shame for those rural opioid addicts you had for decades for urban crackheads? Besides, we know you all smoke weed, too. Where is the asking what you can do for your country in solving your own joblessness and changing with the economy like history has (period) always (period) required. (full stop)

I don't hate Republicans, but what the fuck is up with y'all? I have no problem with disagreeing with you, but I can't even understand what you are about at this point.

</rant>

 

[forty_three]

Who dat is?

 

[elocomotive]

Who dat is?

Maximum age limits are really something we should start adopting for national public offices.

 

[Comeds]

Maximum age limits are really something we should start adopting for national public offices.

yep, for every 75 (maybe 70) or older person I know who I would say is as sharp as ever, there are probably 2 who I would say are not. Still often functional, but not like they used to be.

 

[jstewismybastardson]

 

[Bloody Brian Burke]

Who dat is?

It seems like he's saying "she really wanted to be with us, and therefore is". Just a weird way of saying it, as is most Trump stuff.

 

[elocomotive]

That's a really interesting and well written article from a guy who was a conservative talk show host for 15 years. I think he mentions a lot about media consolidation and messaging being a huge part of the problem...

"But at some point in the past decade, Drudge began linking to Infowars, a website run by Alex Jones, a conspiracy theorist extraordinaire. On his site, Jones has suggested that the U.S. government was behind the September 11 attacks, the Oklahoma City bombing and the Boston Marathon explosions. He would be hilarious if people didn’t take him so seriously. And in linking to his stories, Drudge broke down the wall separating the full-blown cranks from the mainstream conservative media, injecting a toxic worldview into the right’s bloodstream.

...Never mind that these sites were pushing fake news and Pravda-style propaganda—that was the point. By then, conservative media—from Fox News to Rush Limbaugh—had convinced their audiences to ignore and discount anything that came from the mainstream press. The cumulative effect had destroyed much of the right’s immunity to false information. The media’s dramatic failure to get the election right made it easier for conservatives to ignore anything outside their bubble. So it should have come as no surprise when false stories—blasted out by Russian interests and others—became a major campaign issue. “The American Right,” Matthew Sheffield wrote on the American Conservative website, “has become willfully disengaged from its fellow citizens thanks to a wonderful virtual-reality machine in which conservatives, both elite and grassroots, can believe anything they wish, no matter how at odds it is with reality.


This goes back to the issue of ignorance again. It's one thing to know you must be a critical reader of information and to question the veracity of the media you consume. We should all do that. Personally, I look to the Post and newspapers of repute in getting information on policies, news, etc., but when it comes to opinion pieces, I try to consume a diet of liberal, conservative, and moderate information to inform my worldview.

The danger lies in the total rejection of anything brought to light by that media. When you combine that rejection with an embrace of a state-like media on the other side that ranges from biased party directives to tabloid-esque reporting of conspiracy theories and intentions, you create a dangerous fuel.

I think our system of governance can endure a man as stupid and dangerous as Trump, but he has routinely questioned our democratic institutions - our elections process, the free press, and even the scientific process. Leaders are supposed to build those up. He has torn them down. And it is that, not his policy decisions or building a wall, that could have real negative consequences in the long term.

The author of that article is standing up for principles. It's too bad more people aren't joining him.

 

[Comeds]

The author of that article is standing up for principles. It's too bad more people aren't joining him.

I stood up to a lot of principals, it didn't work out so well for me.

 

[jstewismybastardson]

 

[dash]

I stood up to a lot of principals, it didn't work out so well for me.

Leaked footage of comeds standing up to a principal.

 

[Comeds]

Leaked footage of comeds standing up to a principal.

Wow, a movie set in the 50s? No Breakfast Club or Ferris Bueller? I'm not that old. I mean this usually wouldnt bug me but with my wife leaving me for a younger man and my suddenly excessive ear hair - this really hurts.

 

[forty_three]

Maximum age limits are really something we should start adopting for national public offices.

And Drivers licenses

I imagine if they went with a different Cypress Hill song, like "Cock the hammer, it's time for action", they'd be in some kind of trouble.

Were Ted Nugent and Gene Simmons there to discuss the merits of grabbing pussies? Particularly underage ones?




And psssst.... Fox.... Kimmel is not really speaking from a political point of view. He's speaking from the point of view of a parent who had to watch one of the hardest things any parent would ever have to be exposed to. He understands that he is fortunate enough to be rich enough to survive it financially, but that doesn't make him ignore the fact that his financial reality is WAY different than pretty much everyone else's. He has a unique perspective on how hard it is as a parent to go through it and he is just saying how shitty it is that even if the kids survive, the parent's way of life probably won't. And this bill makes that reality WORSE.

THAT is why he's relevant and we should listen to what he is saying.



And fuck Ted Nugent

 

[Comeds]

So these are supposed to be "funny"?

 

[Nasty_Magician]

I prefer The Far Side.

 

[dash]

You think he gets his canned Jerks from the "Jerk store"?

 

[elocomotive]

You think he gets his canned Jerks from the "Jerk store"?

 

[dash]

 

[Darkstone42]

On the one hand, I'm glad I don't have to do the calling my representatives thing thanks to McCain's conscience.

On the other hand, I'm not sure how I feel about McCain, and he keeps going back and forth between making me like him and making me wish he'd retire.

 

[Darkstone42]

I stood up to a lot of principals, it didn't work out so well for me.

Ah, insight into a young Comeds.

Or maybe the current Comeds, honestly, if "principal" is his code-word for HR folks.