2020 Election Thoughts

[caulfield12]

1 hour ago, Kyyle23 said:

Georgia off to a rousing start

 

Spalding went to Trump by 5.7% in 2016, fwiw.  All three GA key races will be tight.  Obama wouldn’t have been there last night for no reason.   Handel will get creamed.   ATL suburbs hemorrhaging votes that were former GOP, like Gingrich’s old district.

Edited November 3, 2020 by caulfield12

[pettie4sox]

10 minutes ago, Dallas Kong said:

So if Google, Apple, and Microsoft decided to move their entire operations to ND at one time, assuming those techies are an ideological monolith in the first place, they could steal three whole EC votes, and that’s why you don’t like it? C’mon man, that’s as nutty as something Q would come up with.

Listen, you are playing checkers when you should be playing chess.  They do this systematically for let's say 2-3 states (in reality they could do more).  Not only is it 9 EVs but that's 6 senate seats and some reps seats as well.  That is effectively a coup.

[Look at Ray Ray Run]

Housing, food, and health care should be universal rights for the richest country on earth.

 

But but but.... the poor people should just try harder. Says the archaic dinosaurs that grew up in a generation in which the inequality was no where near where it is today.

Edited November 3, 2020 by Look at Ray Ray Run

[poppysox]

14 minutes ago, Tony said:

So you brought it up, Poppy. Explain to me why you want to keep the electoral college in 2020 and beyond. What's the argument? 

The argument hasn't changed since the founding fathers initiated it.  They didn't want highly populated States having all the power while dictating to smaller states.  An example is the $15.00 minimum wage being pushed by the liberals as if there is no difference between New York and Iowa.  That shouldn't be a National issue at all.  The liberals simply use it in their bag of free stuff to attract voters.  Same reason every State gets two Senators.  Heavily populated states like California, New York, and Texas get more electoral votes and for that matter more house seats than the smaller states.  The big States are given a heavily weighted advantage in national elections and creating laws.  However, the founding fathers in their wisdom saw to it that all states have a voice in who leads the country.

 

[mqr]

2 hours ago, Kyyle23 said:

Not gonna argue this, I believe that democrats need to play a lot tougher.   

 

[Quin]

3 minutes ago, poppysox said:

The argument hasn't changed since the founding fathers initiated it.  They didn't want highly populated States having all the power while dictating to smaller states.  An example is the $15.00 minimum wage being pushed by the liberals as if there is no difference between New York and Iowa.  That shouldn't be a National issue at all.  The liberals simply use it in their bag of free stuff to attract voters.  Same reason every State gets two Senators.  Heavily populated states like California, New York, and Texas get more electoral votes and for that matter more house seats than the smaller states.  The big States are given a heavily weighted advantage in national elections and creating laws.  However, the founding fathers in their wisdom saw to it that all states have a voice in who leads the country.

 

At the same time, smaller states get more House seats per person than larger states, because we put a cap on the number of seats allowed in the House in 1929.

[Danny Dravot]

1 minute ago, pettie4sox said:

The bolded is your opinion.  I do not believe in the richest country on earth we should have homeless people begging for money and sleeping on the street.  We can pull money out of our asses to give 5T to rich fucks but we cry poor when it comes to helping our most vulnerable.  The US a fucking failed state.  Just because some are doing well and think all is good in their egocentric bubbles doesn't mean other people are doing great.  If we start taking care of our vulnerable population America will run like a fine tuned machine.  The rich people will still get their dough because people will have money to spend.  Not everyone can work or find great jobs... your location and the local economy dictate what jobs are available for the most part.  That is why metro areas have the most people... more opportunities in theory.

The last part, you're telling me some poor broke ass person could easily find a house if they wanted?  I would give you whatever odds you want in a wager you're dead wrong.  The government's job isn't necessarily to be a nanny to its people but to have resources available to help people who are down in a succinct manner.  If this pandemic taught the US anything, it should be that this country is a virus away from totally crumbling and that's because it's foundation is weak.

Likewise, the bolded is your opinion.

I empathize with the homeless. But you must consider that many of them deal with substance abuse and mental health issues. It's not simply like you're going to hand them $1,000 a month and their problems are going to vanish. You think the US is a failed state? You're free to do so, but I think many of these are failed human beings. You're living in a fantasy land if you think this is unbelievable just because the nation as a whole is wealthy.

I disagree with the idea that we gave 5T to rich people. You can disagree with tax cuts, but if you can't see that there is a massive difference between "you may keep more of this money you made" and "we are going to give you money these other people made", then I just don't know what to tell you.

[caulfield12]

First lawsuit of the day....

 

And as the polls opened in the key battleground state of Pennsylvania, Republicans filed a federal lawsuit that took aim at how election officials in Democratic-leaning Montgomery County handled absentee ballots that arrived before Election Day. 

The plaintiffs allege officials in this suburban Philadelphia county conducted "pre-canvassing" of ballots before 7 a.m. ET Tuesday and allowed people to fix perceived defects in their ballots. The Republicans want any changed ballots set aside.

cnn.com

[Look at Ray Ray Run]

The good news is orthodox economics is on it's way out, and progressive economics is taking it's place; these orthodox economists are being shouted down or questioned in every conference/meeting I attend and follow.

After 50 years of them saying "just wait, things will turn" only to witness the money "trickle up to the top" via de-regulatory policies pushed by politicians who were paid for by Banks and Investment firms, people are finally waking up.

I recommend reading economists such as Robert Pollin because they have been right the whole time, and are the leaders of the future changes needed to stop this ever growing divide.

[Heads22]

I think democrat turnout is going to be better than expected today - I believe Trump spooked some democrats into not trusting the mail at all, and I know a number that waited to vote in person. I know its anecdotal. 

 

I will be on the road for five hours today to go to a private family viewing for my uncle that passed of COVID today. It has to be private; my aunt will be there but no one can get near her as she has to quarantine. She told me she was told not to get tested unless symptomatic. We will be wearing masks (I was provided a medical grade N95 mask from my job to help mitigate risk, but I will only be there 10-15 minutes because, well, we can't hang around each other). That's the lens through which I will view what's being voted on today.

[pettie4sox]

1 minute ago, Dallas Kong said:

Likewise, the bolded is your opinion.

I empathize with the homeless. But you must consider that many of them deal with substance abuse and mental health issues. It's not simply like you're going to hand them $1,000 a month and their problems are going to vanish. You think the US is a failed state? You're free to do so, but I think many of these are failed human beings. You're living in a fantasy land if you think this is unbelievable just because the nation as a whole is wealthy.

I disagree with the idea that we gave 5T to rich people. You can disagree with tax cuts, but if you can't see that there is a massive difference between "you may keep more of this money you made" and "we are going to give you money these other people made", then I just don't know what to tell you.

We are just going to agree to disagree and that's fine.  May you never be in a vulnerable state and I drive by you because I thought you were a failed human being.

[Look at Ray Ray Run]

3 minutes ago, Dallas Kong said:

Likewise, the bolded is your opinion.

I empathize with the homeless. But you must consider that many of them deal with substance abuse and mental health issues. It's not simply like you're going to hand them $1,000 a month and their problems are going to vanish. You think the US is a failed state? You're free to do so, but I think many of these are failed human beings. You're living in a fantasy land if you think this is unbelievable just because the nation as a whole is wealthy.

I disagree with the idea that we gave 5T to rich people. You can disagree with tax cuts, but if you can't see that there is a massive difference between "you may keep more of this money you made" and "we are going to give you money these other people made", then I just don't know what to tell you.

So wait, they deserve it?

Yes, much of them are addicted to Opiods - that were pushed by the Sacklers not as medication, but a drug of addiction that would enrich their family and destroy the lives of millions. The sacklers got rich and now face no true accountability for being the largest drug dealers on the planet; meanwhile, poor people go to jail for selling a gram of weed.

Or, many of them are soldiers suffering from PTSD that they acquired by being forced into meaningless wars that were fought in the name of oil and money for defense companies.

But yes, tell us how you empathize with people who you go on to state deserve their fate.

We have degraded the safety net in this country over the past fifty years to reinvest that money into a very finite percentage of the population so they could live lavishly and without accountability.

Edited November 3, 2020 by Look at Ray Ray Run

[mqr]

1 hour ago, Dallas Kong said:

Likewise, the bolded is your opinion.

I empathize with the homeless. But you must consider that many of them deal with substance abuse and mental health issues. It's not simply like you're going to hand them $1,000 a month and their problems are going to vanish. You think the US is a failed state? You're free to do so, but I think many of these are failed human beings. You're living in a fantasy land if you think this is unbelievable just because the nation as a whole is wealthy.

I disagree with the idea that we gave 5T to rich people. You can disagree with tax cuts, but if you can't see that there is a massive difference between "you may keep more of this money you made" and "we are going to give you money these other people made", then I just don't know what to tell you.

Also two abject failures of the US

[The Beast]

36 minutes ago, Dallas Kong said:

I don’t want any of those selfish things and I think the purpose of the federal government and this nation as a whole is altogether different, so get outta here with your belief that I’m getting screwed.

What solution do you propose for workers and current employees whose jobs will be automated away or whose industry is going away because there are more competitive forms of energy (coal miners, for example)? That is one thing I would love to ask blue collar workers since they tend to believe Trump’s statements on bringing these jobs back. UBI might not be the answer but at least Andrew Yang is one of the few political figures I have heard who addressed these problems.

[Danny Dravot]

7 minutes ago, pettie4sox said:

Listen, you are playing checkers when you should be playing chess.  They do this systematically for let's say 2-3 states (in reality they could do more).  Not only is it 9 EVs but that's 6 senate seats and some reps seats as well.  That is effectively a coup.

This is nuts, man. You can postulate about it, but you can't point to it actually happening because it hasn't. It never will.

Google has about 100,000 employees worldwide. In 2016, Trump won each of the Dakotas, Wyoming, and Montana by over 100,000 votes. He won Idaho by 200,000+. So even if Google decided to place EVERY SINGLE ONE of its employees in Fargo, and every single Silicon Valley Google bro decided he was fine with moving his life out there, and every single one of those lads and ladies was an ardent liberal, North Dakota STILL would have gone for Trump.

You're not playing chess. You're playing Calvinball.

[pettie4sox]

Just now, The Beast said:

What solution do you propose for workers and current employees whose jobs will be automated away or whose industry is going away because there are more competitive forms of energy (coal miners, for example)? That is one thing I would love to ask blue collar workers since they tend to believe Trump’s statements on bringing these jobs back. UBI might not be the answer but at least Andrew Yang is one of the few political figures I have heard who addressed these problems.

Come on now man, they just need to pull themselves up by their bootstraps... lazy liberals wanting free shit... goddamn stain on our country.

[Danny Dravot]

3 minutes ago, pettie4sox said:

We are just going to agree to disagree and that's fine.  May you never be in a vulnerable state and I drive by you because I thought you were a failed human being.

Should it happen, nobody will be responsible for it but me.

[Danny Dravot]

5 minutes ago, Look at Ray Ray Run said:

So wait, they deserve it?

Yes, much of them are addicted to Opiods - that were pushed by the Sacklers not as medication, but a drug of addiction that would enrich their family and destroy the lives of millions. The sacklers got rich and now face no true accountability for being the largest drug dealers on the planet; meanwhile, poor people go to jail for selling a gram of weed.

Or, many of them are soldiers suffering from PTSD that they acquired by being forced into meaningless wars that were fought in the name of oil and money for defense companies.

But yes, tell us how you empathize with people who you go on to state deserve their fate.

We have degraded the safety net in this country over the past fifty years to reinvest that money into a very finite percentage of the population so they could live lavishly and without accountability.

I was a soldier and I fought in one of those "meaningless" wars. Nobody forced me to do that. We can agree to disagree on everything else, but please don't talk about soldiers like they were victims of some nefarious plot. We knew what we were getting into.

[The Grinder]

Like I told somone, helluva choice, to re-elect the crazy man we have now or elect the guy w dementia. Politics in America

I doubt the media will let Trump get re-elected. So back to the established life long politician for better or worse

[Look at Ray Ray Run]

11 minutes ago, Dallas Kong said:

Likewise, the bolded is your opinion.

I empathize with the homeless. But you must consider that many of them deal with substance abuse and mental health issues. It's not simply like you're going to hand them $1,000 a month and their problems are going to vanish. You think the US is a failed state? You're free to do so, but I think many of these are failed human beings. You're living in a fantasy land if you think this is unbelievable just because the nation as a whole is wealthy.

I disagree with the idea that we gave 5T to rich people. You can disagree with tax cuts, but if you can't see that there is a massive difference between "you may keep more of this money you made" and "we are going to give you money these other people made", then I just don't know what to tell you.

Wait, you disagree with a fact? You're not really allowed to do that, bud.

They didn't take anything? Jeeze man, take it from someone who works within the industry - they, stole, money. They caused mass starvation across the globe by exploiting commodity prices to make more money - the PRICES OF CORN! There were protections built in to prevent this from happening when futures started being traded in that world, and Goldman lobbied the government to remove those sanctions which directly correlated to over 100 million people starving across the globe because they couldn't afford grains; additionally, it has caused the famers to see a ZERO percent gain in their revenues over 50 fricking years while prices and costs have soared. This is by design to give the edge to corporate farming.

They gave loans they knew would be defaulted on and then sold them as prime to the government; knowing the crash would come and the tax payers would be on the hook for the money.

They stole billions through insider trading and hedge fund exploits - that took away oversight and accountability through technicalities pushed by lobbyist and government employees to enrich themselves and their friends.

I have no problem with people having their own opinions but it's absolutely maddening when people express something as an opinion that is factually wrong.

The top 1% has stolen much MORE than 5 trillion over the last 50 years.

Edited November 3, 2020 by Look at Ray Ray Run

[pettie4sox]

1 minute ago, Dallas Kong said:

This is nuts, man. You can postulate about it, but you can't point to it actually happening because it hasn't. It never will.

Google has about 100,000 employees worldwide. In 2016, Trump won each of the Dakotas, Wyoming, and Montana by over 100,000 votes. He won Idaho by 200,000+. So even if Google decided to place EVERY SINGLE ONE of its employees in Fargo, and every single Silicon Valley Google bro decided he was fine with moving his life out there, and every single one of those lads and ladies was an ardent liberal, North Dakota STILL would have gone for Trump.

You're not playing chess. You're playing Calvinball.

You're actually playing uno because once again you're seeing things linearly.  Let's try this, the 3 million more people that voted for Clinton than Trump move to equally to let's say 3-5 states... how would that mess up the dynamic of the election do you think?

[Look at Ray Ray Run]

7 minutes ago, Dallas Kong said:

I was a soldier and I fought in one of those "meaningless" wars. Nobody forced me to do that. We can agree to disagree on everything else, but please don't talk about soldiers like they were victims of some nefarious plot. We knew what we were getting into.

Good for you dude; I had a best friend who died in Afghanistan. He signed up for the National Guard under the premise they would help him pay for school. He was told he would not be shipped off to war by his recruiter and that it was a way to pay for an education and gain some discipline and experience on the weekends.

He was shipped out 12 months later, and died 3 weeks after. Spare me your nonsense.

The military lies and exploits societies most vulnerable.

I love that you think you can speak for every soldier.

Edited November 3, 2020 by Look at Ray Ray Run

[pettie4sox]

4 minutes ago, Dallas Kong said:

Should it happen, nobody will be responsible for it but me.

I would still want you helped even if you don't think it's important.   “A nation's greatness is measured by how it treats its weakest members.”

We are not all dealt the same cards and I don't know how people ended up in certain situations but I believe we have a duty to help our fellow man regardless.

[mqr]

[pettie4sox]

3 minutes ago, Look at Ray Ray Run said:

Good for you dude; I had a best friend who died in Afghanistan. He signed up for the National Guard under the premise they would help him pay for school. He was told he would not be shipped off to war by his recruiter and that it was a way to pay for an education and gain some discipline and experience on the weekends.

He was shipped out 12 months later, and died 3 weeks after. Spare me your nonsense.

The military lies and exploits societies most vulnerable.

I love that you think you can speak for every soldier, yet my friend who is no longer with me would tell you to f off and that you're a clueless hack.

Ray I feel like your tone is going to lead to some BS and I like the thread open.