US Politics Mega-thread - Page 8557

On August 26 2017 10:00 ZerOCoolSC2 wrote:

How long ago was the hurricane announced? I feel like people were given enough time to prepare and to get provisions.

On August 26 2017 09:58 Godwrath wrote:

Read the article instead of flamebaiting for once ?

Also, i don't see where Mark Lilla falls apart. The "interviewer" is proving what Mark is pointing out by every word that gets out of his mouth. From the outside it is really amazing how much the discourse focus on minorities rather than the poor.

Q- And you felt that that was the case during the 1960s?

L- Well, the people who were active in the 1960s were at first appealing to that—that here we’re supposed to be a country based on equality, and African Americans are not being treated equally. Women are not being treated equally. Poor people in the country couldn’t really exercise their citizenship and be part of the country because of their poverty. So that was the tail end of this great period in American history.

Q- But in the majority of that period, we had segregation in this country, for example.

L- I’m not talking about the reality on the ground. I’m talking about the way we thought about the reality on the ground. The reason we fought in the civil rights movement isn’t because of difference. We fought for equal rights because every citizen, by virtue of being a citizen, deserves to have those rights. And so the language we employed on the left was that of equal citizenship and solidarity. When you lose that language, then you no longer have a weapon. The word we is the most important word in the Democratic lexicon. If you cannot appeal to that, you cannot rally people.

On August 26 2017 09:57 xDaunt wrote:

You can't conflate the concept of peak hurricane season with the particularly rapid development a given storm any more than you can conflate weather with climate.

On August 26 2017 10:00 ticklishmusic wrote:
hurricanes are most frequent this time of the year, but its factors like warm water and the particular pressure fronts that cause a hurricane to strengthen or weaken. its more likely that there will be more powerful storms, but not more likely a particular hurricane will suddenly strengthen. people were freaking out over a cat 2 for little reason, then outta nowhere a cat 4 happened. it's like freaking out over a stray cat, and then the cat suddenly is a starved lion and then saying the initial freak out was justified.

this may be more a sign that climate change is really fucking with the hurricane season so the old measures dont work as well anymore.

On August 26 2017 10:05 Plansix wrote:
https://twitter.com/thehill/status/901184678840987649

Speaking of pieces of shit. Ted wants federal money now.

On August 26 2017 10:04 Wulfey_LA wrote:


This is exaclty where Lilla falls apart. I have added Qs and Ls and bolded where Lilla has to give up on his entire premise about the Golden Age of Pre-Identity Politics. All politics is inescapably identity politics, especially when it concerns Civil Rights.

On August 26 2017 10:13 Introvert wrote:


Fake news in action. you do know why certain senators didn't vote for the Sandy aid bill that came up, right?

Hint: it's in the article. Think of it like a "clean debt-ceiling increase" but substitute out "debt-ceiling" and insert "disaster aid."

On August 26 2017 10:08 IgnE wrote:


calling it a cat 2 from yesterday's info is a bit misleading as theyve known for a long time that it was going to stall and dump more rain than texas was prepared for

On August 26 2017 10:19 Godwrath wrote:

I don't see it. Except if it's the language barrier, everything he said was coherent with what he previously said, he literally says "women are not being treated equally..." in his first response that you quoted. He is speaking the whole time about the ideals and values that rallied the left during those times, not that those times were perfect and social changes happened overnight.

Identity politics aren't as much of a deal on many other countries by the way. Even ones with the same or higher diversity of cultures than the US. The left focuses more on the poor and working class to conflate everybody, rather than minorities. It is ultimately why it find it baffling and a self-defeating strategy.

On August 26 2017 10:22 Plansix wrote:

So voted down the bill because he didn't like what was in it? Think that will happen again? Think his conservative principles will hold this time? Because riders will make it on to this bill.

I think we all know the answer.

What has happened in Hungary since 2010 offers an example—and a blueprint for would-be strongmen. Hungary is a member state of the European Union and a signatory of the European Convention on Human Rights. It has elections and uncensored internet. Yet Hungary is ceasing to be a free country.

The transition has been nonviolent, often not even very dramatic. Opponents of the regime are not murdered or imprisoned, although many are harassed with building inspections and tax audits. If they work for the government, or for a company susceptible to government pressure, they risk their jobs by speaking out. Nonetheless, they are free to emigrate anytime they like. Those with money can even take it with them. Day in and day out, the regime works more through inducements than through intimidation. The courts are packed, and forgiving of the regime’s allies. Friends of the government win state contracts at high prices and borrow on easy terms from the central bank. Those on the inside grow rich by favoritism; those on the outside suffer from the general deterioration of the economy. As one shrewd observer told me on a recent visit, “The benefit of controlling a modern state is less the power to persecute the innocent, more the power to protect the guilty.”

On August 26 2017 10:28 Introvert wrote:


if memory serves the sandy bill was especially egregious. either way that tweet is so warped I'm surprised they went with it.