2020 US Election

  On 8/20/2023 at 3:17 PM, ignatius said:

apparently woody harrelson came out in support of robert kennedy jr. ugh. wtf. 

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In a recently unearthed video interview, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the noted anti-vaccine conspiracy theorist and a Democratic challenger of President Joe Biden’s 2024 reelection bid, claimed chemicals in the water supply are turning boys trans.

“A lot of the problems we see in kids, particularly boys, it’s probably underappreciated how much of that is coming from chemical exposures, including a lot of sexual dysphoria that we’re seeing,” the scion of the Kennedy political dynasty said during an interview with Canadian psychologist and ring-wing pundit Jordan Peterson.

“I mean, they’re swimming through a soup of toxic chemicals today, and many of those are endocrine disruptors,” Kennedy said, adding, “there’s Atrazine throughout our water supply, and atrazine, by the way, if you, in a lab, put Atrazine in a tank full of frogs, it will chemically castrate and forcibly feminize every frog in there and 10 percent of the frogs, the male frogs, will turn into fully viable females able to produce viable eggs.”

“If it’s doing that to frogs,” he said, “there’s a lot of other evidence that it’s doing it to human beings as well.”

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Damn. That's pretty crazy, Robert.

  On 8/20/2023 at 4:42 PM, Squee said:

Damn. That's pretty crazy, Robert.

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there's studies happening about PFAS chemicals working as endocrine disruptors but it's not completely understood yet.. but that line of thinking isn't totally far fetched according to science but is really maybe the least controversial thing RFK jr has shit out of his mouth. 

i think i posted this in the microplastics thread. 

  On 8/20/2023 at 3:17 PM, ignatius said:

apparently woody harrelson came out in support of robert kennedy jr. ugh. wtf. 

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desantimonious needs to double up his attacks now that he's actually getting recognized for not taking L's

rudeboi needs dough bad for an attorney, so the least trump could do is ask his peeps to cough up

$100,000? insanity! camacho approves!

  On 8/2/2023 at 10:50 PM, taphead said:

If you guys wanna see the details of what's getting cooked up for the next republican president, the think tanks that make the actual policy have put out some extensive documents https://www.project2025.org/policy/

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As someone who actually does policy work in government, I just want to say that think tanks don't make policy.

Also that document is full of so many contradictory recommendations it is near worthless. It may have some worth printed out and then lit on fire to keep Texans warm in the winter when the power grid goes out.

  On 8/24/2023 at 1:24 AM, chenGOD said:

As someone who actually does policy work in government, I just want to say that think tanks don't make policy.

Also that document is full of so many contradictory recommendations it is near worthless. It may have some worth printed out and then lit on fire to keep Texans warm in the winter when the power grid goes out.

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and yet those same heritage foundation douchebags have done their thing more than once.. the "Contract for america" back in the 90s. same shit but this project 25 bullshit is updated with fresh cruelty and late stage capitalism vibes.  i think the nick name for that contract for america was the "Contract On America" but people equated it to a series of hits put out on america. 

So I live about an hour from the border so should I be arming myself to the teeth (legally, with PAL in hand ofc) in preparation for spillover from the coming civil war next door?

  On 8/24/2023 at 2:06 AM, Walter Ostanek said:

So I live about an hour from the border so should I be arming myself to the teeth (legally, with PAL in hand ofc) in preparation for spillover from the coming civil war next door?

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right now the right is covered in its own puke. it's over

  On 8/24/2023 at 1:51 AM, ignatius said:

and yet those same heritage foundation douchebags have done their thing more than once.. the "Contract for america" back in the 90s. same shit but this project 25 bullshit is updated with fresh cruelty and late stage capitalism vibes.  i think the nick name for that contract for america was the "Contract On America" but people equated it to a series of hits put out on america. 

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Yeah PNAC and this thing are the same - but they don't make policy. These guys certainly try and influence the direction of government (dem think tanks do the same on the other side), but at the end of the day, it's up to the policy people within the bureaucracy who make policy what they take on board.

  On 8/24/2023 at 2:06 AM, Walter Ostanek said:

So I live about an hour from the border so should I be arming myself to the teeth (legally, with PAL in hand ofc) in preparation for spillover from the coming civil war next door?

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Don't worry, we're going to build a wall and make Trump pay for it.

  On 8/24/2023 at 2:57 AM, chenGOD said:

Yeah PNAC and this thing are the same - but they don't make policy. These guys certainly try and influence the direction of government (dem think tanks do the same on the other side), but at the end of the day, it's up to the policy people within the bureaucracy who make policy what they take on board.

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yeah. totally. there's lot's of bargaining that goes on... and back scratching as well. 

they do sometimes write the bills in the initial go. same for lobbyists/corporations etc. there's a kind of revolving door right? same as the pentagon? i remember investigative journalism bits over the years when they compare the final bill with the wants/wishes of industry/lobbyists etc.. and how it's often word for word same as the papers/recommendations of relevant industries. sort of consistently happens with environmental regs and things like predatory lending check cashing places.. regulations for financial institutions.

not that all laws happen that way but the influence is overwhelming at times. aren't there like 100 lobbyists for every person in congress? like 15,000 in DC or something? 

  On 8/24/2023 at 3:14 AM, ignatius said:

yeah. totally. there's lot's of bargaining that goes on... and back scratching as well. 

they do sometimes write the bills in the initial go. same for lobbyists/corporations etc. there's a kind of revolving door right? same as the pentagon? i remember investigative journalism bits over the years when they compare the final bill with the wants/wishes of industry/lobbyists etc.. and how it's often word for word same as the papers/recommendations of relevant industries. sort of consistently happens with environmental regs and things like predatory lending check cashing places.. regulations for financial institutions.

not that all laws happen that way but the influence is overwhelming at times. aren't there like 100 lobbyists for every person in congress? like 15,000 in DC or something? 

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I mean I'm up in tiny Canada, so my experience is definitely different, but it really depends on the expertise of the policy person/people in question. Sometimes they'll take on the think tank/contractor documents word for word, other times they'll recognize that it's a lot of BS.

Regs for financial institutions are particularly problematic for sure. Lobbyists in the US are way out of control.

  On 8/24/2023 at 1:24 AM, chenGOD said:

As someone who actually does policy work in government, I just want to say that think tanks don't make policy.

Also that document is full of so many contradictory recommendations it is near worthless. It may have some worth printed out and then lit on fire to keep Texans warm in the winter when the power grid goes out.

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Well I mean ALEC does provide a lot of copy-paste laws that pop up in many states on the legislative side, but I'll admit I don't know a lot on how it works with executive branch departments. I mostly just wanted to try to see if there could be any movement away from the horserace/wacko candidate/prison speculation type of stuff.

  On 8/24/2023 at 2:24 AM, trying to be less rude said:

right now the right is covered in its own puke. 

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agreed

  On 8/24/2023 at 2:24 AM, trying to be less rude said:

it's over

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hardly. never underestimate the power of stupidity and nonsensical decision making in biased humans. "it doesn't make any sense," yet people will do it any way.

people will vote R no matter what. donald is 100% proof of this. doesn't matter who it is, they stick to the party because why? due to some personal attachment to it... tunnel vision. won't accept factual information. fingers in the ears. will never EVER vote dem because of some stupid self-perpetuating reason. why tf anyone would vote for donald again is insanity. there are a massive amount of people in this country that should be deemed legally insane, and have their voting privileges revoked. 

me, I'm not perfect, just try and always follow the path of logic, common sense, and reality. I don't like politics at all, but follow what's going on nonetheless. the 2 party system isn't the way to go, but what other choice do us Americans have. vote for the lesser of the 2 evils is how I see it.

first 15 minutes of the daily news morning program today was directly/indirectly Trump. the more coverage he gets, the better his chances get.

Preghozin was assassinated yesterday, we’re a month into a record breaking heatwave in America, there’s growing fires, hurricane just covered a few cities in Califuckingfornia in mud and flooding…but the first 15 minutes? R debates (talking almost exclusively about T) and then T’s indictment ‘will he get a mugshot?!?!?!? what are the local jail conditions like omg what if he’s treated like a commoner???? we secretly want that but let’s report it like it’s news!!!!?!?!?!!’ this was the main story of the day. of course the media hasn’t learned anything, who expected them to, but it’s just so much the exact same shit, really fuckin pathetic

  On 8/24/2023 at 3:43 AM, chenGOD said:

I mean I'm up in tiny Canada, so my experience is definitely different, but it really depends on the expertise of the policy person/people in question. Sometimes they'll take on the think tank/contractor documents word for word, other times they'll recognize that it's a lot of BS.

Regs for financial institutions are particularly problematic for sure. Lobbyists in the US are way out of control.

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canada is very different in this way.. often there is no "expertise" anyone cares about and it's only the $$$$ that matters and who's agenda is getting the green light.  congress is often totally shameless here in the USA. but there are people passionate and smart in government as well but they're swimming upstream all the time and things are so polarized it's difficult for common sense to prevail.

  On 8/24/2023 at 5:33 AM, taphead said:

Well I mean ALEC does provide a lot of copy-paste laws that pop up in many states on the legislative side, but I'll admit I don't know a lot on how it works with executive branch departments. I mostly just wanted to try to see if there could be any movement away from the horserace/wacko candidate/prison speculation type of stuff.

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Do ALEC laws actually appear in many states? I have a hard time taking them seriously, they have Laffer as one of their economists.

I appreciate the movement away from horserace/wacko candidate, but i guess ALEC and that project2025 "think" tanks, are responsible for much of the wackiness. They all want to cut taxes, reduce government (well they say they do - project2025 policy actually increases the size a lot of govt departments lol), and do away with pesky regulations.

  On 8/24/2023 at 4:29 PM, auxien said:

the more coverage he gets, the better his chances get.

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exactly. I made some comment on here years ago that the media powers that be should forgo their differences, and make some pact to not give him any coverage whatsoever. don't mention him at all. but realistically, that's impossible. the media secretly love him. even CNN. he draws eyeballs to their content, which is how they make their money. and all the eyeballs love to see a spectacle/trainwreck happen, which is donald's MO. he knows this, which is why he's been able to survive the way he has for this long.

  On 8/24/2023 at 4:32 PM, chenGOD said:

Do ALEC laws actually appear in many states? I have a hard time taking them seriously, they have Laffer as one of their economists.

I appreciate the movement away from horserace/wacko candidate, but i guess ALEC and that project2025 "think" tanks, are responsible for much of the wackiness. They all want to cut taxes, reduce government (well they say they do - project2025 policy actually increases the size a lot of govt departments lol), and do away with pesky regulations.

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"The Energy Discrimination Elimination Act is just one of the thousands of pieces of legislation ALEC has disseminated nationwide since its formation in 1973. According to a two-year investigation of “copycat” bills published in 2019 by USA Today, the Arizona Republic and the Center for Public Integrity, state lawmakers introduced nearly 2,900 bills based on ALEC templates from 2010 through 2018. More than 600 of them became law."

https://blog.ucsusa.org/elliott-negin/how-the-american-legislative-exchange-council-turns-disinformation-into-law/

20% success rate is pretty good for them (and bad for us). Tho as far as state numbers go, I'm not sure, but I'd guess any of the ones with republican dominance in state governments are getting hit by it

  On 8/24/2023 at 6:15 PM, taphead said:

"The Energy Discrimination Elimination Act is just one of the thousands of pieces of legislation ALEC has disseminated nationwide since its formation in 1973. According to a two-year investigation of “copycat” bills published in 2019 by USA Today, the Arizona Republic and the Center for Public Integrity, state lawmakers introduced nearly 2,900 bills based on ALEC templates from 2010 through 2018. More than 600 of them became law."

https://blog.ucsusa.org/elliott-negin/how-the-american-legislative-exchange-council-turns-disinformation-into-law/

20% success rate is pretty good for them (and bad for us). Tho as far as state numbers go, I'm not sure, but I'd guess any of the ones with republican dominance in state governments are getting hit by it

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Ugh that's so gross. Reading that article it looks like it's mostly "red" states, big surprise. This shit needs to be exposed far and wide across the US.

215 pounds 

  On 8/25/2023 at 1:05 AM, thumbass said:

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was really hoping for that big white ruler in the back on the wall see we could see his height. 

mugshot from coconspirator