Malazan Empire: The USA Politics Thread - Malazan Empire

Jump to content

  • 706 Pages +
  • « First
  • 629
  • 630
  • 631
  • 632
  • 633
  • Last »
  • You cannot start a new topic
  • You cannot reply to this topic

The USA Politics Thread

#12601 User is offline   Azath Vitr (D'ivers 

  • Ascendant
  • Group: Malaz Regular
  • Posts: 3,027
  • Joined: 07-February 16

Posted 05 March 2021 - 06:48 PM

View PostAptorian, on 05 March 2021 - 06:15 PM, said:

Context?


'Biden sharply criticized states such as Texas and Mississippi for lifting Covid-19 restrictions against pleas from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and other top public health officials, accusing those in power of "Neanderthal thinking." [...]

"The last thing -- the last thing we need is Neanderthal thinking that in the meantime, everything's fine, take off your mask, forget it. It still matters," Biden said, referencing a card he keeps in his pocket with the daily death toll of the virus amid his administration's push to get vaccines into arms.'

https://www.cnn.com/...irus/index.html

'Shift in scientific consensus about demise of Neanderthals

For long, one theory seemed most likely: the emergence of the highly intelligent Homo sapiens, or modern humans. This competition hypothesis is no longer the dominant theory among scientists, research among archaeologists and anthropologists has shown.

Think of Neanderthals and [most people who don't follow science are] likely to think of a bunch of savages, a kind of half-ape that pales in comparison with modern humans with their boundless intelligence and refined manners. This image is often linked to the demise of the Neanderthals: they had to die out when their brainy cousin Homo sapiens came on the scene.

But [...] most experts—in Palaeolithic archaeology or anthropology—no longer believe this competition theory to be the most plausible explanation for the disappearance of the Neanderthals. Most scientists now think a demographic explanation is more likely.

Dusseldorp attributes the paradigm shift to recent findings that make the competition hypothesis seem less plausible. Previous Leiden research has shown that the 'stupid' Neanderthals made tar from birch bark and used this to glue spearheads to a spear. Not so dumb after all. And in February it was announced that Neanderthals had left cave paintings in Spain, when for a long time art had only been attributed to modern humans.

Archaeological differences vanish almost completely

This means that archaeological differences between Neanderthals and Homo sapiens have almost completely vanished, [...] "It would seem that Neanderthals were about as clever as Homo sapiens, as long as you compare them in the same period." Neanderthals and Homo sapiens walked the earth together an impressive 200,000 years ago, and it seems as though these contemporaries were more or less equally developed.'

https://phys.org/new...anderthals.html

Seems like Biden was trying to sound 'educated' or 'scientific' by using 'neanderthal', but ended up revealing his own (belligerent) ignorance (or bad memory for new information).

Comparing conservatives to 'less evolved' primate species is not necessarily a winning strategy.

But this sort of 'throw-back', 'insensitive', 'ignorant' insult could appeal to conservatives (... if they don't feel it's directed at them). Then when people criticize Biden for being scientifically ignorant and un-PC it's similar to criticizing conservatives for repeating traditional sayings that are inaccurate or un-PC, or more generally speaking in a way that isn't precise (this is one way Trump &co get less educated and/or rural voters to identify with them, and get outraged by criticism of their language).

This post has been edited by Azath Vitr (D'ivers: 05 March 2021 - 06:51 PM

0

#12602 User is offline   Azath Vitr (D'ivers 

  • Ascendant
  • Group: Malaz Regular
  • Posts: 3,027
  • Joined: 07-February 16

Posted 05 March 2021 - 07:22 PM

'Meghan McCain Melts Down: "We're Just Deplorable Neanderthals!"

"The View" host went off on Biden for saying Republicans were engaging in "Neanderthal thinking" before admitting she had no problem with Trump calling gang members "animals."

[...] Conservatives had found their new "basket of deplorables" and would start self-identifying as cavemen to own the libs.

On Friday, Joy Behar opened The View by asking if this whole "scandal" could be considered a "win to just get Republicans to admit that evolution exists?"

[...] explaining the difference between calling someone a "Neanderthal" and saying, as Biden did, that they are engaging in "Neanderthal thinking."' [Same goes for 'acting like animals' vs 'they are animals'.]

'[McCain:] "You can laugh and say 'Oh, it's a joke,' whatever, but Republicans across the country already feel like people on the left think they're dumb rednecks," she continued, "they're just stupid deplorables in baskets, nobody cares about their trucks and their flags. That's what Republicans think the media thinks of them."

In the end, she said, "All it does is it's going to help Republicans be more tribal and think that we're just deplorable Neanderthals, the left has no place for us, so there's no unity whatsoever."

"I have no problem calling vicious gang members 'animals,'" she said. "But if it's not OK to call gang members 'animals,' but it's OK to call Republicans who are in the middle of the country 'Neanderthals' it just seems like a lot of hypocrisy."'

https://www.thedaily...omment?ref=home

This post has been edited by Azath Vitr (D'ivers: 05 March 2021 - 07:22 PM

0

#12603 User is offline   Aptorian 

  • How 'bout a hug?
  • Group: The Wheelchairs of War
  • Posts: 24,778
  • Joined: 22-May 06

Posted 05 March 2021 - 07:23 PM

Must be a slow news week. Neanderthal = Primitive = Stupid decisions. It's not a meaning you need a PHD to comprehend.
0

#12604 User is offline   Azath Vitr (D'ivers 

  • Ascendant
  • Group: Malaz Regular
  • Posts: 3,027
  • Joined: 07-February 16

Posted 05 March 2021 - 08:30 PM

View PostAptorian, on 05 March 2021 - 07:23 PM, said:

Must be a slow news week. Neanderthal = Primitive = Stupid decisions. It's not a meaning you need a PHD to comprehend.


Right-wingers are still going on about Hillary's 'basket of deplorables' comment from 2016....

I hope the Trump wing doesn't go too far in trying to claim Dr. Seuss and neanderthals for themselves (the way they proudly labeled themselves 'deplorables' for years afterwards... though neanderthal cosplay and declamatory performances of Seuss's most racist and xenophobic rhymes could be sort of entertaining). Trump did like reciting 'the snake' after all....

'Gov. Mike Huckabee [on Twitter]

Posted Image
'

The misspelling of 'Dr. Seuss' is what makes this perfect....

This post has been edited by Azath Vitr (D'ivers: 05 March 2021 - 08:30 PM

0

#12605 User is offline   Malankazooie 

  • Elder God
  • Group: Malaz Regular
  • Posts: 6,693
  • Joined: 21-June 16

Posted 05 March 2021 - 08:54 PM

Do any of you guys know if Jill Biden has declared a First Lady project yet? I know Ivanka Melania Trump had the 'Be Best' thing, Michelle Obama had a number of projects - WH garden, better nutrition in schools comes to mind, Laura Bush did something with reading and libraries I vaguley recall. Has Jill Biden made public any initiatives she will champion?
0

#12606 User is offline   amphibian 

  • Ribbit
  • Group: Malaz Regular
  • Posts: 7,947
  • Joined: 28-September 06
  • Location:Upstate NY
  • Interests:Hopping around

Posted 05 March 2021 - 08:59 PM

First project she announced was the resumption of the project she did with Michelle Obama - the Joining Forces military support initiative that works on education and employment for military families.

She's still working as a college professor though.
I survived the Permian and all I got was this t-shirt.
0

#12607 User is offline   Malankazooie 

  • Elder God
  • Group: Malaz Regular
  • Posts: 6,693
  • Joined: 21-June 16

Posted 06 March 2021 - 06:01 PM

$1.9 Trillion COVID Relief passed 50-49.

I haven't been keeping up too closely with the final particulars. Did they get the $15/hr minimum wage in there, or was that dropped? What are some of the key pieces of it?
0

#12608 User is offline   Tiste Simeon 

  • Faith, Heavy Metal & Bacon
  • Group: Malaz Regular
  • Posts: 11,955
  • Joined: 08-October 04
  • Location:T'North

Posted 06 March 2021 - 06:47 PM

The minimum wage rise did not pass because a bunch of millionaire Dems sided with the republican bellends.
A Haunting Poem
I Scream
You Scream
We all Scream
For I Scream.
0

#12609 User is offline   Aptorian 

  • How 'bout a hug?
  • Group: The Wheelchairs of War
  • Posts: 24,778
  • Joined: 22-May 06

Posted 06 March 2021 - 07:00 PM

Or... You know... The Democrats were worried about how the wage increase would affect businesses and jobs, like the Republicans.
0

#12610 User is offline   Azath Vitr (D'ivers 

  • Ascendant
  • Group: Malaz Regular
  • Posts: 3,027
  • Joined: 07-February 16

Posted 06 March 2021 - 07:20 PM

'Sen. Chris Coons of Delaware: $10.13 million

Sen. Angus King of Maine: $9.49 million

Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia: $7.62 million

Sen. Tom Carper of Delaware: $5.73 million

Sen. Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire: $3.82 million

Sen. Jon Tester of Montana: $3.67 million

Sen. Maggie Hassan of New Hampshire: $3.47 million

Sen. Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona: Not available

Those who oppose raising the minimum wage — with Republican lawmakers among the most vocal opponents — often cite concerns that it would hurt businesses or employment.

But many top economists have thrown cold water on such fears, while underscoring how life-changing a minimum wage increase would be for many American workers. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen during her confirmation hearing [...] said an increase would have a "minimal, if anything" impact on jobs.

"Boosting the federal minimum wage would lift millions out of poverty and serve as a huge additional pandemic stimulus boost for the entire economy," [...] the Director of the Program on Inequality and the Common Good at the Institute for Policy Studies[ said...] "We have seen how many frontline essential workers are poorly paid and most vulnerable. Boosting their pay is both morally right and economically smart."'

https://www.business...-million-2021-3

This post has been edited by Azath Vitr (D'ivers: 06 March 2021 - 07:20 PM

0

#12611 User is offline   Aptorian 

  • How 'bout a hug?
  • Group: The Wheelchairs of War
  • Posts: 24,778
  • Joined: 22-May 06

Posted 06 March 2021 - 07:37 PM

I'm not against the wage increase. I'm just pointing out that politically people have different perspectives. Politicians, hopefully, listen to experts but at the end of the day, they go with their own beliefs and what they think will benefit them and their voters.

It's science Vs ideology.
0

#12612 User is offline   Cause 

  • Elder God
  • Group: Malaz Regular
  • Posts: 5,739
  • Joined: 25-December 03
  • Location:NYC

Posted 06 March 2021 - 08:25 PM

View PostTiste Simeon, on 06 March 2021 - 06:47 PM, said:

The minimum wage rise did not pass because a bunch of millionaire Dems sided with the republican bellends.


I thought they had to remove because the senate parliamentarian told them too
0

#12613 User is offline   Gwynn ap Nudd 

  • High Fist
  • Group: Malaz Regular
  • Posts: 468
  • Joined: 17-February 08

Posted 07 March 2021 - 12:41 AM

View PostCause, on 06 March 2021 - 08:25 PM, said:

View PostTiste Simeon, on 06 March 2021 - 06:47 PM, said:

The minimum wage rise did not pass because a bunch of millionaire Dems sided with the republican bellends.


I thought they had to remove because the senate parliamentarian told them too


The Senate can vote to overrule the Parliamentarian, but this is rare. The Vice President can also overrule the Parliamentarian, but that hasn't happened since 1975.
Manchin and Sinema likely would have been against the minimum wage going to $15 regardless, but some of the other votes not to overrule were likely due to procedure.
I wouldn't be surprised to see a stand alone bill introduced raising the minimum wage, with a slightly lower dollar figure to appease Manchin and Sinema, and to try to bring a the required number of Republicans on board - or at least to make Republicans look bad because of how popular raising the minimum wage is.
0

#12614 User is offline   Obdigore 

  • ThunderBear
  • Group: High House Mafia
  • Posts: 6,165
  • Joined: 22-June 06

Posted 07 March 2021 - 02:02 AM

View PostAptorian, on 06 March 2021 - 07:37 PM, said:

I'm not against the wage increase. I'm just pointing out that politically people have different perspectives. Politicians, hopefully, listen to experts but at the end of the day, they go with their own beliefs and what they think will benefit them and their voters.

It's science Vs ideology.


So I think you're used to functional democracies where the politicians voted in try to do, generally, what is best for their voters. Many politicians in the US do what is best for the people donating large sums of money to their re-election campaigns, which isn't the same thing.

There is no doubt that raising the minimum wage would be a net boon for the economy, as would forcing places like Walmart to not be able to pay their workers so little the government has to subsidize them.
Monster Hunter World Iceborne: It's like hunting monsters, but on crack, but the monsters are also on crack.
1

#12615 User is offline   Gwynn ap Nudd 

  • High Fist
  • Group: Malaz Regular
  • Posts: 468
  • Joined: 17-February 08

Posted 07 March 2021 - 03:04 AM

View PostObdigore, on 07 March 2021 - 02:02 AM, said:

View PostAptorian, on 06 March 2021 - 07:37 PM, said:

I'm not against the wage increase. I'm just pointing out that politically people have different perspectives. Politicians, hopefully, listen to experts but at the end of the day, they go with their own beliefs and what they think will benefit them and their voters.

It's science Vs ideology.


So I think you're used to functional democracies where the politicians voted in try to do, generally, what is best for their voters. Many politicians in the US do what is best for the people donating large sums of money to their re-election campaigns, which isn't the same thing.



Let's be fair here. Many US politicians are mostly interested in increasing, or at least maintaining, their own power and wealth. Sometimes that can go against the interests of the donor class funding their campaigns and PACs.
0

#12616 User is offline   Mentalist 

  • Martyr of High House Mafia
  • Group: High House Mafia
  • Posts: 9,486
  • Joined: 06-June 07
  • Location:'sauga/GTA, City of the Lion
  • Interests:Soccer, Chess, swimming, books, misc
  • Junior Mafia Mod

Posted 09 March 2021 - 01:49 PM

View PostAptorian, on 02 March 2021 - 05:44 AM, said:

My impression of the major news networks is that it's not actually about news or information. It's a TV-show where a host of characters, hired opinion monkeys, say things that a survey says the viewers like to hear - With special guests, like bored billionaire Bill Gates and reformed piece of shit Michael Cohen.



View PostTsundoku, on 02 March 2021 - 10:36 AM, said:

View PostCause, on 02 March 2021 - 03:32 AM, said:

https://edition.cnn....aria-vpx.cnnNot sure if this is the right place but things like this fascinate me. Why ask bill gates if the stimilus package is the right size. He is a smart guy, a billionaire, philanthropist sure but he is not a world class economist. Why do we ask the wrong people? Bill gates is by no means the worst example of this but we seem to trust fame over anything else.


Why do they ask actors about politics and social issues? It's not about the facts but about the clicks.

View PostAptorian, on 02 March 2021 - 05:44 AM, said:

My impression of the major news networks is that it's not actually about news or information. It's a TV-show where a host of characters, hired opinion monkeys, say things that a survey says the viewers like to hear - With special guests, like bored billionaire Bill Gates and reformed piece of shit Michael Cohen.


"Info-tainment" - with not much info and the rest can barely be classified as "-tainment". Maybe Con-tainment? :p
Also, refer to "it's all about the clicks".



Since "Traditional" media has to compete with "social" media now, the focus has shifted enourmously to retaining a core viewing demographic. This is generally done by presenting deliberately emotionally charged and provocative digest of "news" aimed at further polarizing the audience.

The problem really is, in the West the connections between media conglomerates and poltical parties aren't as blatantly transparent and part of the public discourse as they are in some of the rougher parts of the world that are more open about the neo-feudalism.
The problem with the gene pool is that there's no lifeguard
THE CONTESTtm WINNER--чемпіон самоконтролю

View PostJump Around, on 23 October 2011 - 11:04 AM, said:

And I want to state that Ment has out-weaseled me by far in this game.
1

#12617 User is offline   Azath Vitr (D'ivers 

  • Ascendant
  • Group: Malaz Regular
  • Posts: 3,027
  • Joined: 07-February 16

Posted 10 March 2021 - 06:01 AM

'Tocqueville's interest in American institutions reflected more than mere curiosity: In his native France, a revolution launched with similarly high ideals about equality and democracy had ended badly. His parents had nearly been guillotined during the wave of violence that followed the momentous events of 1789. By contrast, American democracy worked—and he wanted to understand why.

[...] Americans were good at democracy because they practiced democracy. They formed what he called "associations," the myriad organizations that we now call "civil society," and they did so everywhere:

Not only do [Americans] have commercial and industrial associations in which all take part, but they also have a thousand other kinds: religious, moral, grave, futile, very general and very particular, immense and very small; Americans use associations to give fêtes, to found seminaries, to build inns, to raise churches, to distribute books, to send missionaries to the antipodes; in this manner they create hospitals, prisons, schools … Everywhere that, at the head of a new undertaking, you see the government in France and a great lord in England, count on it that you will perceive an association in the United States.

Tocqueville reckoned that the true success of democracy in America rested [...] in these habits and practices. In France, philosophes in grand salons discussed abstract principles of democracy, yet ordinary Frenchmen had no special links to one another. By contrast, Americans worked together: "As soon as several of the inhabitants of the United States have conceived a sentiment or an idea that they want to produce in the world, they seek each other out; and when they have found each other, they unite."

In the nearly two centuries that have passed since Tocqueville wrote these words, many of those institutions and habits have deteriorated or disappeared. Most Americans no longer have much experience of "township" democracy. Some no longer have much experience of associations, in the Tocquevillian sense, either. Twenty-five years ago, the political scientist Robert Putnam was already describing the decline of what he called "social capital" in the U.S.: the disappearance of clubs and committees, community and solidarity. [...]

With the wholesale transfer of so much entertainment, social interaction, education, commerce, and politics from the real world to the virtual world—a process recently accelerated by the coronavirus pandemic—many Americans have come to live in a nightmarish inversion of the Tocquevillian dream, a new sort of wilderness. [...] Instead of participating in civic organizations that give them a sense of community as well as practical experience in tolerance and consensus-building, Americans join internet mobs, in which they are submerged in the logic of the crowd, clicking Like or Share and then moving on. Instead of entering a real-life public square, they drift anonymously into digital spaces where they rarely meet opponents; when they do, it is only to vilify them.

Conversation in this new American public sphere is governed not by established customs and traditions in service of democracy but by rules set by a few for-profit companies in service of their needs and revenues. Instead of the procedural regulations that guide a real-life town meeting, conversation is ruled by algorithms that are designed to capture attention, harvest data, and sell advertising. The voices of the angriest, most emotional, most divisive—and often the most duplicitous—participants are amplified. Reasonable, rational, and nuanced voices are much harder to hear; radicalization spreads quickly. [...]

In this new wilderness, democracy is becoming impossible. If one half of the country can't hear the other, then Americans can no longer have shared institutions, apolitical courts, a professional civil service, or a bipartisan foreign policy. We can't compromise. We can't make collective decisions—we can't even agree on what we're deciding. No wonder millions of Americans refuse to accept the results of the most recent presidential election, despite the verdicts of state electoral committees, elected Republican officials, courts, and Congress. We no longer are the America Tocqueville admired, but have become the enfeebled democracy he feared[...]

[...] We don't have an internet based on our democratic values of openness, accountability, and respect for human rights. An online system controlled by a tiny number of secretive companies in Silicon Valley is not democratic but rather oligopolistic, even oligarchic.

[...] Even as our polity deteriorates, an internet that promotes democratic values instead of destroying them—that makes conversation better instead of worse—lies within our grasp. [...]

[...] Facebook keeps careful tabs on the toxicity of American discourse. Long before the election, the company, which conducts frequent, secret tests on its News Feed algorithm, had begun to play with different ways to promote more reliable information. Among other things, it created a new ranking system, designed to demote spurious, hyper-partisan sources and to boost "authoritative news content." Shortly after Election Day, the ranking system was given greater weight in the platform's algorithm, resulting in a purportedly "nicer News Feed"—one more grounded in reality. The change was part of a series of "break-glass measures" that the company announced would be put in place in periods of "heightened tension." Then, a few weeks later, it was undone. After the Capitol insurrection, on January 6, the change was restored, in advance of Joe Biden's inauguration. A Facebook spokesperson would not explain to us exactly when or why the company made those decisions, how it defines "heightened tension," or how many of the other "break-glass measures" are still in place. Its published description of the ranking system does not explain how its metrics for reliable news are weighted, and of course there is no outside oversight of the Facebook employees who are making decisions about them. Nor will Facebook reveal anything about the impact of this change. [...]

Facebook can make its site "nicer," not just after an election but all the time. It can do more to encourage civil conversation, discourage disinformation, and reveal its own thinking about these things. But it doesn't, because Facebook's interests are not necessarily the same as the interests of the American public, or any democratic public. Although the company does have policies designed to fight disinformation, and although it has been willing to make adjustments to improve discourse, it is a for-profit organization that wants users to stay on Facebook as long as possible and keep coming back. Sometimes that goal may lead the company in a "nicer" direction, but not always, especially if users stay on the site to connect to fellow extremists, or to hear their prejudices reinforced. [...] "News feeds on Facebook or Twitter operate on a business model of commodifying the attention of billions of people per day," [...] "They have led to narrower and crazier views of the world."

[...] the current design of the internet makes it easier than ever to target vulnerable audiences with propaganda, and gives conspiracy thinking more prominence.

[...] We know alternatives are possible, because we used to have them. Before private commercial platforms definitively took over, online public-interest projects briefly flourished. Some of the fruits of that moment live on. [...]

All of that began to change with the mass-market arrival of smartphones and a shift in the tactics of the major platforms. [...] a model that was controlled, top-down, and homogeneous. [...] As a few companies came to control the market, they used their monopoly power to undermine competitors, track users across the internet, collect massive troves of data, and dominate advertising.

It's a grim story, and yet not entirely unfamiliar. Americans should recognize it from their own history. [...] By the end of the 19th century, the country seemed condemned to monopoly capitalism, financial crisis, deep inequality, a loss of trust in institutions, and political violence. fter the 25th president, William McKinley, was murdered by an anarchist, his successor, Theodore Roosevelt[...] broke up monopolies to make the economy more fair, returning power to small businesses and entrepreneurs. He enacted protections for working people. And he created the national parks, public spaces for all to enjoy.

In this sense, the internet has taken us back to the 1890s: Once again, we have a small class of enormously wealthy and economically powerful people whose obligations are to themselves, and perhaps to their shareholders, but not to the greater good. But Americans didn't accept this reality in the 1890s, and we don't need to accept it now. We are a democracy; we can change the rules again. [...] We must alter the design and structure of online spaces so that citizens, businesses, and political actors have better incentives, more choices, and more rights.'

https://www.theatlan...e-awful/618079/

This post has been edited by Azath Vitr (D'ivers: 10 March 2021 - 06:02 AM

2

#12618 User is offline   Malankazooie 

  • Elder God
  • Group: Malaz Regular
  • Posts: 6,693
  • Joined: 21-June 16

Posted 11 March 2021 - 08:52 PM

Trump just can't get any love from the left, fake news, lamestream media. Only former living president who didn't do the vaccine PSA. *rings-bell Shame! Shame! Shame!
0

#12619 User is offline   Cause 

  • Elder God
  • Group: Malaz Regular
  • Posts: 5,739
  • Joined: 25-December 03
  • Location:NYC

Posted 12 March 2021 - 04:21 AM

Trump is sending out press releases in the form of tweets and than having don jnr tweet them as pictures. It’s kinda funny
0

#12620 User is offline   Tiste Simeon 

  • Faith, Heavy Metal & Bacon
  • Group: Malaz Regular
  • Posts: 11,955
  • Joined: 08-October 04
  • Location:T'North

Posted 12 March 2021 - 11:08 AM

You all seen the Republican turds who voted against the Covid relief bill taking credit for it?

I know I shouldn't be surprised by those piles of human shaped excrement but I am.
A Haunting Poem
I Scream
You Scream
We all Scream
For I Scream.
0

Share this topic:


  • 706 Pages +
  • « First
  • 629
  • 630
  • 631
  • 632
  • 633
  • Last »
  • You cannot start a new topic
  • You cannot reply to this topic

2 User(s) are reading this topic
0 members, 2 guests, 0 anonymous users

  1. Google