[QuickTidal]

 HoosierDaddy, on 12 February 2017 - 04:23 PM, said:

 Apt, on 11 February 2017 - 09:44 PM, said:

 HoosierDaddy, on 11 February 2017 - 09:38 PM, said:

 Apt, on 11 February 2017 - 09:00 PM, said:

 death rattle, on 11 February 2017 - 07:55 PM, said:

your goal shouldn't be to reason with them, but to humiliate them. For having so much faith, so much confidence in an incompetent president, a grifter who's making a fool out of them and himself.

And this is the reason why America has the president it deserves.

You'd rather dig trenches and throw mud than try to bridge the gap in understanding.

Keep going, the people you humiliate and dehumanize will vote Trump again in four years.

We've bridged gaps for a long time.

I have no reason to bridge a gap to hatred, prejudice, and sexism.

You have no idea what we are dealing with. So, either educate yourself or shut up. You are ignorant of these things, Apt.

I think this is the second or third time you respond to me this way on the Discussion board, Hoosier. Why not try to actually argue the merits of your standpoint in stead of just lashing out?

Have you moved to Canada yet?

It's not lashing out. It's calling a spade a spade. It's always the Democrats that have to negotiate, because Republicans WON'T. It's why Obama's supermajority failed to do what they could have. Now that the Republicans have a supermajority look at them go!

Trump's cabinet has mysognists, racists, and genuinely bad people. Not all, but a lot. His Sec of Ed has never once held a position in a school. Bannon is a white supremacist wishing for a holy war on Islam. Flynn blatantly defied the law and wants to be friends with Russia. Feel like being the next satellite state? I could go on.

At what point do you stop building bridges? These people aren't someone I'd invite to a get together, let alone represent me on the international level.

FYI: I'm American. I'm going to fight for America inside America. We are better than this.

For the record, I agree with HD, Amph, and Worry on this topic.

To lighten the mood, considering the above bolded passage by HD...the following seems applicable.

This post has been edited by QuickTidal: 13 February 2017 - 12:47 AM

[Malankazooie]

Some sage advice for a good many regulars on this thread.

[EmperorMagus]

 Una, on 13 February 2017 - 12:15 AM, said:

I want to apologize if I've been sounding really angry. I know there are Americans here who are generally reasonable and not completely crazy. I am not mad at them.

In the interests of hypocrisy (since I'm all about not stereotyping and crap) and fun, I rebuff your assertion with exhibit 1A.

https://www.reddit.com/r/guns/

[worry]

 Malankazooie, on 13 February 2017 - 01:19 AM, said:

Some sage advice for a good many regulars on this thread.

This is a discussion thread dedicated specifically to US politics. Maybe I'm misreading this joke, but it seems akin to going to Burger King during work hours and proposing the employees stop focusing so much on hamburgers.

[Malankazooie]

 death rattle, on 13 February 2017 - 01:38 AM, said:

 Malankazooie, on 13 February 2017 - 01:19 AM, said:

Some sage advice for a good many regulars on this thread.

This is a discussion thread dedicated specifically to US politics. Maybe I'm misreading this joke, but it seems akin to going to Burger King during work hours and proposing the employees stop focusing so much on hamburgers.

No. They should be focusing on the Dr. Pepper milkshakes. Everything else at BK is garbage.

But in all seriously it is just a reminder that when things get heated in these political discussions, to take a break and come back with a perspective that isn't so colored by emotion. So yes, a joke to lighten the mood and also some sage advice.

[worry]

Ohhhh okay, I guess the heat didn't register on me, at least towards each other, as opposed to the issues themselves. I thought it was generic "stop arguing online" scolding but I definitely get your point more now in that light.

[Una]

 EmperorMagus, on 13 February 2017 - 01:25 AM, said:

 Una, on 13 February 2017 - 12:15 AM, said:

I want to apologize if I've been sounding really angry. I know there are Americans here who are generally reasonable and not completely crazy. I am not mad at them.

In the interests of hypocrisy (since I'm all about not stereotyping and crap) and fun, I rebuff your assertion with exhibit 1A.

https://www.reddit.com/r/guns/

There have indeed been some pie-in-the-sky articles about how Cascadia could secede and we should let them join us if they want to. As nice as that would be, assuming they could even survive the ensuing civil war, I think the biggest reason it could never happen is that they would have to give up their guns. For real. We're serious about that stuff. Never gonna happen.

I always go a little bug-eyed when I watch those Border Security shows and somebody gets surprised when they can't bring their guns into the country. And the Officers who find the guns always kind of have this look on their faces like, "Why do you even have this?" Sometimes they even say it. And it's what we are all thinking, but I guess that sort of thing is normal for them. ( I do cry a little inside when they catch students who get busted because the care packages their mothers gave them contain prohibited food.)

[worry]

To prove I'm not entirely humorless, here's something on the lighter side.

If you were ever into the sub-sub-sub-Taking Back Sunday era of emo, which was like whiny/screamy pop-punk in the Hawthorne Heights mold, 1) you should be ashamed, and 2) you might get a kick out of this:

[EmperorMagus]

Since we're posting DT humor videos now:

[worry]

It makes me think about the tension between these two POVs:

Kurt Vonnegut: "During the Vietnam War, which lasted longer than any war we've ever been in - and which we lost - every respectable artist in this country was against the war. It was like a laser beam. We were all aimed in the same direction. The power of this weapon turns out to be that of a custard pie dropped from a stepladder six feet high."

Mel Brooks: "One of my lifelong jobs has been to make the world laugh at Adolf Hitler."

I don't know who's right. Maybe they both are. Maybe it's situational.

[EmperorMagus]

ACLU just tweeted a video in response to a question. It's hilarious and disturbing at the same time:

[Aptorian]

To be fair, if those toddlers hadn't educated themselves on immigration law, why did they come to America? We need to teach children to be responsible and educate themselves.

[Gorefest]

Indeed. The insight and mental capacity of toddlers is wildly underestimated by many. They can do so much more than we give them credit for. Luckily, in a similar vein as Obama breaking the glass ceiling for black people to reach the heights of power, Trump has now done the same for toddlers. It is a bright future for our future bright ones (or our dim ones, let's not igmore the fine Bush Jr years).

[Primateus]

With regards to the negotiating with the republicans, I can definitely say that the democrats should vie away from that. Amphibian is right, sometimes, the reasonable thing to do, is to not do the "reasonable thing and negotiate".

There's this otherwise sensible argument that if we negotiate, the other side will see how reasonable we and it will be easier to make them see our point of view. Well guess what? The "other side", ie. the republicans, don't give a flying fuck how reasonable you are.

They. Don't. Care!

Because it's not about that. It's about power. It's about having the power to implement their policies and now they have it. Obviously, they're going to use it and they're not going to care that you might want to negotiate, because you have nothing to offer them that they want, except your surrender.

[QuickTidal]

Today's a big day. Trudeau is meeting with him...I'm split on how I'd like it to go...If Trudeau tows the line without capitulating on his (or Canada's) values or goals...that's fine by me...But I'd be lying if I didn't want him to give a LOVE ACTUALLY-style speech where he basically puts the US president in his place and tells him we won't tolerate a bully.

That said, IF he stood up to him in any kind of strong way...ALL the Conservatives in our country (the ones who have already been bitching about him since day 1) would crow that this is exactly why he shouldn't be prime minister and isn't a good leader.

So yeah, it will likely be Option #1....but it would be hella cool to see Option #2.

[Abyss]

PMJT isn't an idiot and he has good advisors. He's not going to turn this into a confrontation at this stage. It's way way too soon to start pushing anything in any direction.

...tho i also suspect that's what Freeland's comment the other day about retaliative border taxes was all about, just in case anyone needs to point out we aren't just sitting back waiting for the big bad bully to take our lunch money.

[QuickTidal]

 Abyss, on 13 February 2017 - 03:40 PM, said:

PMJT isn't an idiot and he has good advisors. He's not going to turn this into a confrontation at this stage. It's way way too soon to start pushing anything in any direction.

...tho i also suspect that's what Freeland's comment the other day about retaliative border taxes was all about, just in case anyone needs to point out we aren't just sitting back waiting for the big bad bully to take our lunch money.

Yeah, this is pretty much how I expect it to go...unless Trump hits on Sophie...then Justin may go off, Canadian Styles!

[Abyss]

Well, yes, if Trump tries to GHBTP i would expect JT to give him the same treatment he gave Brazeau.
And then we burn down the White House.
Again.

[HoosierDaddy]

Don't burn it down, there's some cool stuff in there.

[Vengeance]

 HoosierDaddy, on 13 February 2017 - 05:38 PM, said:

Don't burn it down, there's some cool stuff in there.

I am sure that they will loot it before burning it down. Then we can visit the cool things in the Toronto Museum.