US Politics Mega-thread - Page 8025

On July 07 2017 06:38 Plansix wrote:

I think a lot of people have that problem. I also don’t’ think the entire party is that bad. But there is a section that craves the victories obtained under Bill Clinton and Obama. Ones that allow them to drink up the narrative that the entire country loves their ideas and process is just happening without a fight. And once that happens, they just sit back and say ‘we have arrived’, only to get dumpstered in 2 years.

These are the same “progressives” that would choke to death clutching their pearls witnessed the race riots of the 1960s. The concept of conflict on that scale is so irrational to them they can't even understand it. The problem is those people made their way into leadership positions and just sit there doing nothing. Claiming that “common ground” is the way forward while they lose election after election. The people who thought that Clinton could win by just showing America how bad Trump was(this is like the Bush elections in 2004) and act surprised when they lost.

I would need to look it up, but there is a quote from the Democratic leadership after that 1976 election that boils down to: “I don’t know anyone who voted for Nixon”. It is a priceless quote that sums up the last 16 years of democratic leadership.

On July 07 2017 08:54 IgnE wrote:


that quote about nixon is not what you think it is

On July 07 2017 09:16 Danglars wrote:
Wasn't that from some media type (apocryphal/adjusted) talking about a very exclusive friend circle? Pauline kaelism is almost a restatement of DC or NYC bubbles.

On July 07 2017 09:19 Plansix wrote:

I stand corrected by a google search.


Yes. And it isn't as out of touch as that. It is someone admitting they live in a bubble.

White House Warns CNN That Critical Coverage Could Cost Time Warner Its Merger

It’s quite possible that Donald Trump would never have become president were it not for CNN. The network nurtured the reality star’s campaign in its infancy, broadcasting entire stump speeches, uninterrupted by correction or commentary. And it is likely that the president would be little more than a cultural artifact — a walking reminder of 1980s nihilism — were it not for the network’s president Jeffrey Zucker, who reintroduced Trump to the American public as a no-nonsense businessman in NBC’s The Apprentice.

But CNN is a journalistic enterprise. Or, at least, it plays one on TV. And so when a politician spews vicious, obvious lies on a near-daily basis — and directs a good portion of that venom at the free press itself — CNN’s anchors and reporters feel compelled to correct and condemn such mendacity. And that makes the president feel “betrayed.”

So, now, his administration is openly threatening to punish the network by sending the Justice Department after its parent company. As the New York Times reports:

Mr. Trump’s allies argue that it is CNN’s conduct that is unbecoming. Starting on last year’s campaign trail, the president and his aides have accused the network of bias and arrogance, an offensive that heated up again in January after CNN reported on the existence of a secret dossier detailing a series of lurid accusations against Mr. Trump. The network’s reporters now routinely joust with Mr. Trump’s press aides, and Jim Acosta, a White House correspondent, recently denounced the administration’s use of off-camera briefings as an affront to American values.

White House advisers have discussed a potential point of leverage over their adversary, a senior administration official said: a pending merger between CNN’s parent company, Time Warner, and AT&T. Mr. Trump’s Justice Department will decide whether to approve the merger, and while analysts say there is little to stop the deal from moving forward, the president’s animus toward CNN remains a wild card. [my emphasis]
This detail is buried 12 paragraphs into a feature on CNN’s combative relationship with Trump. Which is bizarre, given that it’s an open confession of corruption by a senior White House official. It hardly matters whether the administration follows through on its threat: The White House is extorting a news network in the pages of the New York Times. The fact that this didn’t strike the paper as headline material is a testament to how thoroughly Trump has already succeeded in eroding our expectations for good governance.

Shortly after the mogul’s election, Vox’s Matt Yglesias posited politically motivated interference in the Time Warner–AT&T merger as a frightening hypothetical — a development that would signal America’s descent into kleptocracy.

Trump is not going to crush the free media in one fell swoop. But big corporate media does face enough regulatory matters that even a single exemplary case would suffice to induce large-scale self-censorship. AT&T, for example, is currently seeking permission from antitrust authorities to buy Time Warner — permission that Time Warner executives might plausibly fear is contingent on Trump believing that CNN has covered him “fairly.”
[snip]

On July 07 2017 11:22 OuchyDathurts wrote:
While I don't want them to merge because things are already obscene and gigantic enough as is. I don't see how that's not blackmail.

On July 07 2017 06:30 Belisarius wrote:
"Working hard at University" is oxymoronic for the vast majority of students, at least over here.

On July 07 2017 16:52 Simberto wrote:


I hate this idea. This cliché of the lazy student is fucking annoying. Especially if in the meantime i have 10-12 hour days of university and doing some tutoring + additional studies at home regularly.

It might be true in some course, but at least in the STEM or IT areas, there is a different saying amongst the students: "Good grades, social life, sleep: Choose two."

On July 07 2017 18:54 Laurens wrote:


fwiw I studied computer science at Oxford and it was the other way around. Science courses have it easy since they don't have to write essays, just do "problem sheets" and practicals. Meanwhile the Arts courses set 3 essays a week which require a chunk of reading + the actual writing.

Lazy student cliché definitely held true for my course. The large majority of my time was spent gaming, not studying.

On July 07 2017 16:52 Simberto wrote:


I hate this idea. This cliché of the lazy student is fucking annoying. Especially if in the meantime i have 10-12 hour days of university and doing some tutoring + additional studies at home regularly.

It might be true in some course, but at least in the STEM or IT areas, there is a different saying amongst the students: "Good grades, social life, sleep: Choose two."