The Political Discussion Thread

[Pharaoh Hamenthotep]

You missed out his weird hair

And his fake tan.

But I was trying to focus on why he's a terrible human being.

[jelgate]

PH can't help she is bald

[aretood2]

And pray tell PH, what big crimes has he caused? What treasonous/contemptible acts has he done?

Aside from curing people of paralysis and other assortments of ailments during the Sabbath and walking on water, I'll tell you what he has done.

Let's see, there's the whole Trump university fraud case. Walking a fine line with bankruptcy laws. Questionable ties to the mob. Then his lying about donating to Vets. Posting false stats on twitter to back up racists ideologies involving black people and crime. Lobbying New Jersey to forcibly evict a woman from her home so he can build his casinos (He's a huge eminent domain fan, and I mean taking people's land for private business eminent domain fan). Flat out telling bold faced leis about his attempts to build casinos in Florida in National TV (Regarding Jeb Bush's refusal to give in to his demands). Several lies about American Muslims. Denouncing companies for "outsourcing" when his own cloth line does not employ Americans, but Central Americans and Mexicans in Mexico and Central America. Worrisome censorship of the press. Lies about being a Christian, or is so deluded to think that he is a Christian despite the fact that he doesn't pray, or read the Bible (Unless he has the reading comprehension of an 8 year old).

As for his policies...He wants to start trade wars with Japan, China, and Mexico. Is advocating actions that a president has no authority to take. Tax plans that threaten to sink the US further into dept. Protectionism that seems (to the uneducated and economically ignorant, no economically stupid and deluded) be able to bring jobs in when in reality it would have the same effect that tariffs did in the 1920's and 1930's...ruining trade and making a bad economy even worse. Because anyone who thinks beyond their stupidity for a second realizes that if the US places tariffs on imports, other countries will do the same thus impacted American exports. No exports=no first class economy.

Honestly, does the guy even understand the separation of powers and how it works? Not to mention his has the morality of Machiavelli's evil twin. He wants to legalize torture, destroy the protections of the 5th amendment and institute religious discrimination all in the name of security. But I guess the only amendment you care about is the 2nd. Well let's just hope he's not feeding everyone lies about that too.

[Falcon Horus]

And this is the Democrats' choice for POTUS? They are truly scraping the bottom of the barrel.

At least, Hillary is still in the barrel. Same cannot be said of your hero.

Then maybe they should have shut the doors before getting overrun! Along with not *****ing at countries which HAVE tried to secure their borders (like Hungary and Estonia did)..

Before getting overrun?!

Did you see the exodus?
I mean, it was reported left, right and center. Couldn't have missed it.

I guess, you fully approve the Turkish army shooting at Syrians daring to cross the border from wartorn country into a potential safe haven. Lethal force, btw. Right up your ally.

In what regards. Have any of the shootings used fully auto capable weapons? Large caliber/round capacity machine guns?

"The 20 children and six adults who died in Newtown were killed, in part, by a version of the AR-15. So were the 12 who died in an Aurora, Colorado, movie theater. So were the 14 who died in San Bernardino."

"The Virginia Tech and Charleston mass shootings were tragic and traumatizing, and the shooters in each only used handguns."

A list of (mass) shootings spanning 34 years

And as i (and others keep saying) exactly how would a more thorough check have denied those shooters a gun..??

Information known about someone is stored in a database which can be accessed when someone wants to buy a gun.

In order to build the database, you collect information about the future gun owner.
Background checks, psychological profiling, an eye exam if need be, ... and a renewal every year (or longer periods are fine too).

It's not that hard, you know.

Future gun owners will have to take a course, theory and practice. And again, after the license has been issued to know the specific gunn they bought. You get a learner's permit. One toe outside the line during that period and you can kiss your permanent license goodbye.

Let's see, a little fingerprinting couldn't hurt.

And pray tell PH, what big crimes has he caused? What treasonous/contemptible acts has he done?

Apparently he still hasn't made his taxes public... what's up with that? Isn't he paying any?

[Coco Pops]

*adds a few things*

His personality.. his temper, how sensitive he is to insults and how far he will go to get revenge on those he feels have wronged him in some way..

The fact that he has declared corporate bankruptcy four times. How he knows how to cheat the system so he doesn't pay tax. Is he the right person to be in charge of the system?

How all the businesses he started himself have failed. Trump University was just a money making scam.

How nothing he has really came from him. He's not a genius business mogul. All of his money making schemes have cost him money. He would be richer now if he hadn't tried to build a business empire.

How his campaign is based on fear and hate.

I think you will find that most politicians use the fear card when all other avenues have failed to woo the voters. Look here ours love using the fear card and fear of refugees and brown people to scare the voters.

[Gatefan1976]

Exactly.. Are Single folk not part of the economy?

Until you are dead, or a drain.
What do you leave society?
Or do one of you bright sparks want to claim that you have done something amazing?

Seriously, you can't even work out the difference between tax rates and tax breaks.

I guess that's why you are willing to vote for a candidate that can't even manage his own money, let alone your entire countries, why break the habit of a lifetime.

[Womble]

Apparently he still hasn't made his taxes public... what's up with that? Isn't he paying any?

More likely, he is not as rich as he claims to be.

Trump's one claim to being something other candidates weren't was that he "could not be bought" because of how rich he was. He was not, supposedly, in the pocket of various corporate sponsors and he self-funded his campaign.

Now, Trump claims to be worth something like $8 billion. However, he loaned rather than gave his money to his election campaign; meaning he hopes to fund-raise all of it back. His campaign has put out "emergency funding" requests for sums as low as $100 000 - what amounts to a rounding error for Trump's supposed wealth. So he might be more broke than he lets know.

[Gatefan1976]

More likely, he is not as rich as he claims to be.

Trump's one claim to being something other candidates weren't was that he "could not be bought" because of how rich he was. He was not, supposedly, in the pocket of various corporate sponsors and he self-funded his campaign.

Now, Trump claims to be worth something like $8 billion. However, he loaned rather than gave his money to his election campaign; meaning he hopes to fund-raise all of it back. His campaign has put out "emergency funding" requests for sums as low as $100 000 - what amounts to a rounding error for Trump's supposed wealth. So he might be more broke than he lets know.

He is nothing, but that does not stop the rubes from laying out their money.

[garhkal]

Let's see, there's the whole Trump university fraud case. Walking a fine line with bankruptcy laws. Questionable ties to the mob. Then his lying about donating to Vets. Posting false stats on twitter to back up racists ideologies involving black people and crime. Lobbying New Jersey to forcibly evict a woman from her home so he can build his casinos (He's a huge eminent domain fan, and I mean taking people's land for private business eminent domain fan). Flat out telling bold faced leis about his attempts to build casinos in Florida in National TV (Regarding Jeb Bush's refusal to give in to his demands). Several lies about American Muslims. Denouncing companies for "outsourcing" when his own cloth line does not employ Americans, but Central Americans and Mexicans in Mexico and Central America. Worrisome censorship of the press. Lies about being a Christian, or is so deluded to think that he is a Christian despite the fact that he doesn't pray, or read the Bible (Unless he has the reading comprehension of an 8 year old).

Ok, so lets talk about some of those..
The Questionable ties to the mob. Never proven to my knowledge.
Trump U.. So far most every news source i have read on this, indicates the vast majority of the students going to it are FINE with the level of education they are receiving. Only the 3 suing are not.. Sounds like sour grapes to me.
On the donating to vets. He was Checking each group to receive the dosh, before giving any to them. I don't see that as a problem. Or would you have rather he just gave them the dosh BEFORE (or even without) checking them out??
Posting false stats? First i have heard on that. SO can't comment on it.
The lady and ED use.. I agree that was total BS.
Censorship on the press.. He told a guy who kept bad mouthing him to go.. Lets compare that to Shillary who has not had one on one with the press in a while..
Also she often kept press BEHIND a line when she was walking around, with those guys of hers and those bars keeping them back..

As for his policies...He wants to start trade wars with Japan, China, and Mexico. Is advocating actions that a president has no authority to take. Tax plans that threaten to sink the US further into dept. Protectionism that seems (to the uneducated and economically ignorant, no economically stupid and deluded) be able to bring jobs in when in reality it would have the same effect that tariffs did in the 1920's and 1930's...ruining trade and making a bad economy even worse. Because anyone who thinks beyond their stupidity for a second realizes that if the US places tariffs on imports, other countries will do the same thus impacted American exports. No exports=no first class economy.

And you would rather he not go after those other countries, 2 of which have imo very poor track records in their dealings with us (ONE Of which is the source of a LOT Of economic theft/insider stealing)??

At least, Hillary is still in the barrel. Same cannot be said of your hero.

IMO with the laundry list of stuff she's done she should be in jail, NOT running for POTUS.

I guess, you fully approve the Turkish army shooting at Syrians daring to cross the border from wartorn country into a potential safe haven. Lethal force, btw. Right up your ally.

Many countries have border guards at checkpoints/along walls.. Are you saying they should NOT be allowed to use lethal force to stop people rushing across?? Or are you one of those "NO borders, people should be allowed to go ANYWHERE they want" type of people?

"The 20 children and six adults who died in Newtown were killed, in part, by a version of the AR-15. So were the 12 who died in an Aurora, Colorado, movie theater. So were the 14 who died in San Bernardino."

"The Virginia Tech and Charleston mass shootings were tragic and traumatizing, and the shooters in each only used handguns."

And how many of those had large capacity magazines, fully automatic weapons etc??

Information known about someone is stored in a database which can be accessed when someone wants to buy a gun.

In order to build the database, you collect information about the future gun owner.
Background checks, psychological profiling, an eye exam if need be, ... and a renewal every year (or longer periods are fine too).

So toss out Hippa/Dr patient privelage?
Eye exams?
And who get's to decide what info to collect? Which classifies as a 'no gun for you'??
The same asshats who decide that a Marine coming back from overseas, but has the last name ONE letter away from a known Terrorist (so some dumb **** fat fingers it in wrong), can't come back IN? Or the same dumb ****s who felt it ok to target Conservative non profits??

Future gun owners will have to take a course, theory and practice. And again, after the license has been issued to know the specific gunn they bought. You get a learner's permit. One toe outside the line during that period and you can kiss your permanent license goodbye.

Now the lessons i agree with.. Each time we had to do a shoot in the navy, we had 2 days of CLASS learning before going out to a range to shoot. And even then we did ONE full day of practice fire, THEN the days of qualification..
BUT the whole "Lose your license permanently for screwing up".. That's total bull..
Should we remove people's right to vote permanently cause they mess up once??

Let's see, a little fingerprinting couldn't hurt.

Hell, why don't we just take everyone's fingerprints and DNA once they are born and put them into a national database.. No need to worry about probable cause, or due process.

Apparently he still hasn't made his taxes public... what's up with that? Isn't he paying any?

As i said last time you brought that up, he's GOING THROUGH A DAMN AUDIT.. Last time i checked, you can't release your stuff publicly when you are being audited!!!!!

Until you are dead, or a drain.
What do you leave society?

So if we are so useless for society, make it a requirement that once you become a legal adult, you have 2 years to get married or get relegated to a Non citizen if 'being a family man is so damn important'.

[Coco Pops]

So if we are so useless for society, make it a requirement that once you become a legal adult, you have 2 years to get married or get relegated to a Non citizen if 'being a family man is so damn important'.

Some conservatives would love that to happen.

[Falcon Horus]

I think you will find that most politicians use the fear card when all other avenues have failed to woo the voters. Look here ours love using the fear card and fear of refugees and brown people to scare the voters.

It worked - the UK is out.

The Scots want in, so does about 75% of the Northern-Irish.
Sinn Feinn wants to organize a reunification referendum so it would be quite possible the United Kingdom isn't as United as it hopes to be.

Bye bye Brits, it was nice knowing you.

Or do one of you bright sparks want to claim that you have done something amazing?

Plenty of time left to invent something amazing.

More likely, he is not as rich as he claims to be.

Trump's one claim to being something other candidates weren't was that he "could not be bought" because of how rich he was. He was not, supposedly, in the pocket of various corporate sponsors and he self-funded his campaign.

Now, Trump claims to be worth something like $8 billion. However, he loaned rather than gave his money to his election campaign; meaning he hopes to fund-raise all of it back. His campaign has put out "emergency funding" requests for sums as low as $100 000 - what amounts to a rounding error for Trump's supposed wealth. So he might be more broke than he lets know.

Ouch...

The Questionable ties to the mob. Never proven to my knowledge.

I think the Mob would know better.

Posting false stats? First i have heard on that. SO can't comment on it.

Weird cause a few months ago I think I posted the lie-stats and Trump came out on top.

Or in his own words:

""People may not always think big themselves, but they can still get very excited by those who do. That's why a little hyperbole never hurts," Trump wrote in his 1987 best-seller The Art of the Deal. "People want to believe that something is the biggest and the greatest and the most spectacular. I call it truthful hyperbole. It's an innocent form of exaggeration — and a very effective form of promotion.""

Politifact keeps track!

Donald Trump's record
Hillary Clinton's record

Guess who wins in the "Liar, liar, pants on fire" department?

Censorship on the press.. He told a guy who kept bad mouthing him to go..

So not allowing journalists from certain papers in to your press conferences isn't censorship?

IMO with the laundry list of stuff she's done she should be in jail, NOT running for POTUS.

Like 85% of all other politicians in your government.

Many countries have border guards at checkpoints/along walls.. Are you saying they should NOT be allowed to use lethal force to stop people rushing across?? Or are you one of those "NO borders, people should be allowed to go ANYWHERE they want" type of people?

I oppose deadly violence, yes. There are plenty of other ways to prevent people crossing a border, less lethal ways.

And how many of those had large capacity magazines, fully automatic weapons etc??

Are you really splitting hairs here?
Isn't the fact that 26 children died a reason to control who gets to buy a gun or who doesn't gets to buy a gun. Do lives mean that little to you?

Guns over lives -- that's what I see here.

So toss out Hippa/Dr patient privelage?

A doctor advices -- doesn't have to reveal that the patient is a sociopath in disguise. He'll just strongly deny the license on grounds of deep concern.

Eye exams?

Yup, it's part of gaining a driver's license over here. Why not a gun license, I say.

And who get's to decide what info to collect? Which classifies as a 'no gun for you'??

Psychologists, FBI or hey Homeland Security (or any of the other alphabet agencies you got lying around).
So, that's the info you're gonna get: mental state, rep-sheet, priors, connections, ... criminal past.

The same asshats who decide that a Marine coming back from overseas, but has the last name ONE letter away from a known Terrorist (so some dumb **** fat fingers it in wrong), can't come back IN? Or the same dumb ****s who felt it ok to target Conservative non profits??

Try being the lady who mentioned she had three bombs in her backpack at airport security. While she meant she had three bottles of perfume (apparently French slang for this is a bomb). One giant misunderstanding but the judge decided to set an example, and on top, 2 years on the no-fly list of Jet Air (the company she was flying with at the time of the incident).

However, mistakes happen. In every database... nothing is perfect.

BUT the whole "Lose your license permanently for screwing up".. That's total bull..

Don't your cars get seized when you've done too much speeding? DUI's?

Same for a gun license.

Should we remove people's right to vote permanently cause they mess up once??

Don't you already do that with the people in jail?

Hell, why don't we just take everyone's fingerprints and DNA once they are born and put them into a national database.. No need to worry about probable cause, or due process.

I have no issue with that. The positive side, identification in case of disaster and/or crime committed against me.

As i said last time you brought that up, he's GOING THROUGH A DAMN AUDIT.. Last time i checked, you can't release your stuff publicly when you are being audited!!!!!

For the record:

An audit is an objective examination and evaluation of the financial statements of an organization to make sure that the records are a fair and accurate representation of the transactions they claim to represent. It can be done internally by employees of the organization, or externally by an outside firm.

The IRS can perform audits to verify the accuracy of a taxpayer’s returns or other transactions. When an audit is being preformed by the IRS, it usually carries a negative connotation and is seen as evidence of some type of wrongdoing by the taxpayer.

[Gatefan1976]

So if we are so useless for society, make it a requirement that once you become a legal adult, you have 2 years to get married or get relegated to a Non citizen if 'being a family man is so damn important'.

Isn't that what has happened, and what you are complaining about?

Oh, and I did not say you were useless, you put that in of your own volition.

[Womble]

So Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas held a speech in front of the EU parliament and threw in a classic medieval anti-Semitic blood libel, claiming that "some rabbis" have called for poisoning Palestinian wells. The claim is so false even the Saudi TV Al-Arabiya noted the falseness of it... but neither the EU nor the US leaders dare to condemn the "moderate".

Some intrepid journalist attempted to corner the US State Department Spokesman into condemning Abbas, and had him dodge and run in hilarious rhetorical circles:

QUESTION: Are you familiar with the comments – the part of his speech in which he said that there were some rabbis who were wanting to poison Palestinian water?

MR KIRBY: I’ve seen the comments. I can’t confirm the veracity of that.

QUESTION: You can’t – I’m not asking you to confirm it. I’m asking you what you think of it.

MR KIRBY: Well, look, I mean --

QUESTION: I mean, is this the kind of – is this the kind of language that you guys want coming from someone who says that he’s a partner for peace and wants to negotiate, and then he accuses the other side of trying to poison his people?

MR KIRBY: We’ve been – without speaking to specific comments, as you know I’m not wont to do, we have been very clear – the Secretary’s been clear about our concerns about inflammatory rhetoric and incitement and --

QUESTION: Well, this is before the EU parliament. What --

MR KIRBY: Again, we want – here’s how I’d put it, Matt: We --

QUESTION: You don’t think it’s --

MR KIRBY: As we’ve said before, we --

QUESTION: You don’t think it might be true, do you?

MR KIRBY: I – again, I’ve seen nothing to indicate the truth of that. But we have long said what we want is for both sides to ratchet down not just the violence but the rhetoric, which can inflame some of the violence. And we just don’t find that sort of rhetoric helpful.

QUESTION: Why can’t you demand evidence from the Palestinian side?

MR KIRBY: Why can’t I what?

QUESTION: Why can’t you demand the Palestinians submit an evidence on this? Will you ask the Palestinians that if that – these are serious allegation, and if they exist, they ought to submit evidence, right?

MR KIRBY: Look, we just saw the comments today, Said. Again, what we want to see is that kind of rhetoric – the kind of rhetoric that could inflame tensions, we want to see that stop and for tensions to be --

QUESTION: And this is that kind of rhetoric?

MR KIRBY: I’m not going to characterize each and every comment. As I said earlier, we just don’t – we want to see both sides take affirmative steps to get us closer to a two-state solution, and we believe a part of that is showing the kind of leadership that goes with reducing the kinds of rhetoric that could inflame tensions. I’m not going to characterize each and every comment.

QUESTION: All right. How about I ask you again tomorrow, because I have a feeling you’re going to want to say something a little bit stronger than what you just did. So --

QUESTION: Central African Republic?

MR KIRBY: Now you’re just encouraging me not to change my story.

QUESTION: Well, no. I mean, I just can’t believe that you’re saying that there might be some credence to this.

MR KIRBY: I didn’t say that.

QUESTION: Well, you’re --

MR KIRBY: I said I’ve seen absolutely no indication that there’s any truth to that.

QUESTION: Yeah.

MR KIRBY: That’s what I just said. I see absolutely no indications that there’s any truth to that.


The funniest (and saddest) part is Kirby's sheer surprise at the idea that one could request actual evidence of the Palestinian claims. "Why can't I what???"

[Falcon Horus]

Ugh, interviewers that don't let the interviewee finish a sentence...

I don't imagine it's true since you said that Palestinians rarely if ever use their wells, and take water from the side of Israel.
So, unless there's a hidden agenda. What would the point?

Also, after 50 years FARC and the Columbian government has reached a peace agreement.... There's hope for Palestine and Israel yet, even though that conflict is older than that of FARC and Columbia.

[aretood2]

Ugh, interviewers that don't let the interviewee finish a sentence...

I don't imagine it's true since you said that Palestinians rarely if ever use their wells, and take water from the side of Israel.
So, unless there's a hidden agenda. What would the point?

Also, after 50 years FARC and the Columbian government has reached a peace agreement.... There's hope for Palestine and Israel yet, even though that conflict is older than that of FARC and Columbia.

And yet a high ranking Palestinian official is telling other high ranking officials that Israel is poisoning the wells, raping the women, and pillaging the villages, and eating babies. Okay, so he didn't mention the other parts, but it's only a matter of time.