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Post by Vince524 on Jul 3, 2017 21:44:18 GMT -5
Just now.
Really Donald? Really? NK has nothing better to do?
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Post by Deleted on Jul 3, 2017 21:57:34 GMT -5
I mean, right? North Korea could be tweeting or watching cable news or eating chocolate cake with two scoops of ice cream.
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Post by Vince524 on Jul 3, 2017 22:13:05 GMT -5
I mean, right? North Korea could be tweeting or watching cable news or eating chocolate cake with two scoops of ice covfefe. fixed it for you
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Post by robeiae on Jul 4, 2017 6:55:22 GMT -5
The technology has changed, yes -- equally so for the media, for protesters and for Trump and other government officials. But the substance of what the media and protesters do has not: criticize, dissent, and lampoon, sometimes harshly and vulgarly. Ancient Romans had to paint it in graffiti, cry it out in the forum, or act it out in a theater, Regency media was limited to what a printing press could put out and disseminate -- but what they were doing is the same. If the reach of the media has increased due to technology, so too has Trump's. Disagree. It's not exactly the same because of the lack of time between responses (coupled with the volume). I did note that. I agree: Trump's responses and sometimes what I guess one might generously label "preemptive" attacks is what has changed. And in turn, that has changed how people respond to him, how the media treat him. So I agree with the last, as well: it is Trump's idiocy that is the problem. So again, how is having someone in the media needle him for things like his penis size helpful? You suggest that if people stopped, Trump might get worse. I submit that if this were to happen, Trump would actually get weaker; as hypnotized as many of his supporters appear, there's always a limit. And if people stopped feeding the troll and Trump didn't get worse, if he actually calmed down to some degree, that would be an improvement, as well. But I know people aren't going to stop. Again, the media doesn't have it in them. And people on twitter are having far too much fun, demonstrating their superiority and/or imagining that they're "doing something."
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Post by Don on Jul 4, 2017 7:53:26 GMT -5
If people put all the effort they're wasting on Trump into actually doing things to improve society, it might actually, you know, improve society.
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Post by Deleted on Jul 4, 2017 8:23:19 GMT -5
Yes, because it is impossible to protest Trump, and, say, practice law and write and submit poetry. Typing "What the fuck is wrong with you" means that everything else must go by the wayside.
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Post by Don on Jul 4, 2017 8:29:16 GMT -5
Yes, because it is impossible to protest Trump, and, say, practice law and write and submit poetry. Typing "What the fuck is wrong with you" means that everything else must go by the wayside. I don't think any of those things. It's quite possible to protest law while also practicing law and writing and submitting poetry. It's quite possible to type and multi-task. Nonetheless, I'll still argue that if all the time (and resources) being wasted on politics was spent on actually improving society instead, we'd all be better off.
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Post by Deleted on Jul 4, 2017 8:35:51 GMT -5
Perhaps. Or perhaps our leaders would trash our republic. I tend toward the latter theory, and believe it is important for us all to be vigilant and hold them accountable.
ETA:
Now, if we had a president who attended briefings and did his job rather than pursuing vendettas against Joe and Mika...
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Post by Don on Jul 4, 2017 8:55:05 GMT -5
The republic was trashed and replaced with empire decades ago. All the vigilance in the world didn't prevent that. Holding them "accountable" by voting a few new clowns in every few years didn't prevent that either. Meanwhile, the standard of living continues to advance, despite them standing athwart history yelling "stop."
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Post by Deleted on Jul 4, 2017 9:15:42 GMT -5
You realize, of course, that it is singularly ironic that you are decrying the waste of time in discussing politics on a political discussion board.
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Post by Don on Jul 4, 2017 12:17:13 GMT -5
You realize, of course, that it is singularly ironic that you are decrying the waste of time in discussing politics on a political discussion board. Absolutely, and my comment was perhaps only tangentially aimed at you. I was just thinking about the ginormous resources that are expended in battling for The One Ring, and what those resources might mean to the standard of living if productively employed instead. One Ring Warfaretm is becoming a sizeable component of the economy, from dogcatcher to first dude.
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Post by nighttimer on Jul 4, 2017 14:01:47 GMT -5
If people put all the effort they're wasting on Trump into actually doing things to improve society, it might actually, you know, improve society. Yes, because it is impossible to protest Trump, and, say, practice law and write and submit poetry. Typing "What the fuck is wrong with you" means that everything else must go by the wayside.
I don't think any of those things. It's quite possible to protest law while also practicing law and writing and submitting poetry. It's quite possible to type and multi-task. Nonetheless, I'll still argue that if all the time (and resources) being wasted on politics was spent on actually improving society instead, we'd all be better off. The most useless thing in the world is a cynic. They think they know the truth and the rest of us poor saps are too dumb to figure it out ourselves. All they do is tell others it can't be done while they're busy doing it. Politics is a means to an end and that end is power. Power gives one the ability to make a difference, change the world and turn what is wrong to right. Only a cynic or a fool would say there's no point to politics. Dr. King was neither. He was an agitator, an activist, and a futurist. He didn't simply dream of a better world, he got off his butt when it would have been safer to stay silent, and went out to change a nation contaminated by its own poisonous, rancid racism. It cost him his life as it did so many others, but it is the spirit of resistance MLK had then which is passed down to the resistance to Trumpism now. It is not only a noble fight, it is a necessary one. Cynics don't change the world. Only Believers can do that.
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Post by Optimus on Jul 4, 2017 14:32:25 GMT -5
The most useless thing in the world is a cynic. I disagree. The most useless thing in the world is my sister's ex-husband.
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Post by maxinquaye on Jul 13, 2017 23:37:29 GMT -5
Also, Trump's poo-throwing is not just a "distraction." It is the fucking most powerful man in the world acting like a monkey in the zoo, bringing down the image of the U.S. in the eyes of the rest of the world. IMO, our rising up to make noise about it -- to wail in condemnation, to howl in protest -- shows the rest of the world that we don't all think it's awesome. And frankly, yes, I think they need to know that if we are to keep some of their sympathy and eventually gain back their trust. (My conversations with European friends jibes with that view. I would be quite interested to hear maxinquaye 's opinion, and for that matter, markesq 's (who, though he now lives in the U.S., is a UK native and retains ties there).) Nationalists nearly always do this. It’s why they’re nationalists. They have to appoint a ‘them’ that’s the root of all problems, and there must always be a problem. That’s why nationalists thrive when there are underlying tensions in a society. When there is no such tensions, or where the tensions are low, most people rightly dismiss the nationalists as the dangerous crackpots that they are. The problem with FPTP systems like you have is that the Ron Pauls and the Pat Buchanans and the Jerry Falwells have to reside in the same party. This is true in the Democratic party as well. There is no logical reason why Joe Biden and Hillary Clinton should be in the same party as Bernie Sanders. In a nomal democratic system, Bernie should be in the Social Democratic Party, and Hillary should be in the right-wing Liberal party. Biden would be in the Everything is Cool party. But you have this system. Britain has this system. And both countries exhibit two things at the moment. One, extremists have captured the Conservative parties, and an extraordinary amount of ink (or electrons) is wasted on trying to defend why these extremists are being treated unfairly by the evil and wicked media. Or by activist judges. Or by Alien Interlopers who are all Lizards. The fact that Alex Jones is a favoured outlet by your president should make the sane conservatives pause. But then again, is Conservatism sane any more? I think that the last few years have shown it to be just as unmoored and unhinged as Third Way Social Democracy and Liberalism. And considering Abbot was the PM of Australia until recently, it seems like the English-speaking world has lost its mind. That’s the view of me. But you asked me to give my view, so I did.
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Post by Deleted on Jul 14, 2017 0:02:13 GMT -5
I have to say, I'm not entirely sure I trust those Alien Interlopers who are all Lizards either. They can be distinctly peevish at times.
I've been questioning whether the alleged conservatives in power are even conservatives. They're pelting poo at people I used to consider conservatives, and doing things that don't feel all that "conservative" to me. I dunno. Things got weird somewhere. Very, very weird.
But I increasingly think you're right that the way the U.S.'s party system works is...well, not working very well.
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