The Political Discussion Thread

[Annoyed]

oh my bad - it's just that I recall you railing against government (now I know you didn't mean it)

One other point.. Don't mistake my concern about government overstepping its authority as a lack of support for police officers and the criminal justice system. Enforcing the laws is clearly within the proper boundaries of government authority.

[SoulReaver]

Well, that doesn't seem to be the case, does it? I'm what you call a "commoner", an average working stiff who goes to work, pays his bills and has no connections to police or government.
Yet I don't feel threatened by the police in the slightest.

so much the better if you been lucky so far but harsh fact is as a commoner you're far more vulnerable to crime than they are. tis a risky thing to be a citizen in the US. lol

just remember their job ain't to protect you
(in fact they don't give a **** about you (unless you're one of the elites of course))

One other point.. Don't mistake my concern about government overstepping its authority as a lack of support for police officers and the criminal justice system. Enforcing the laws is clearly within the proper boundaries of government authority.

so basically you support a small & all powerful government
makes sense :|

[Annoyed]

The police couldn't do that without the legislature or executive branches giving them the authority to do that. So the blame is not with the police, it is with the legal entity that gave them the authority.

[SoulReaver]

The police couldn't do that without the legislature or executive branches giving them the authority to do that. So the blame is not with the police, it is with the legal entity that gave them the authority.

that's like blaming the person who pays the hitman instead of the hitman himself

[aretood2]

While you're arguing nonsense with ClockworkNebari and Americans decide which clown gets to run the circus, Saudi Arabia and UAE have declared readiness to send troops into Syrian war, Syria threatened to send any foreign troops back in coffins and the Russian Prime Minister has reportedly implied that a world war would develop (although the Russian-controlled media claims he was misquoted.

In the meanwhile, the BBC has confirmed everything I've been saying here about the Russians' success in Syria and the reasons behind it.

I don't think a lot of people here care or even know enough about what is going on over there. I mean, they think Trump or Sanders are the guys to fix that situation. That alone should tell you where the US stands. The world is on its own on this one, and I don't trust Europeans to have the backbone to do anything meaningful, the Arab league is dragging its feet, and God knows what the Turks are thinking.

that's like blaming the person who pays the hitman instead of the hitman himself

They guy who hires that hitman would also be charged with murder btw...

[SoulReaver]

They guy who hires that hitman would also be charged with murder btw...

of course but the guy who does the killing should get the heavier sentence

[Annoyed]

of course but the guy who does the killing should get the heavier sentence

You're forgetting that the police are carrying out the will of the of the elected government.

I strongly agree that the property confiscation thing is way out of line as it stands now; I don't care if they seize everything, AFTER conviction, but the way it is now, you don't even have to be convicted, and that's wrong.

But it's still not the fault of the police, it is the fault of the lawmakers.

[Annoyed]

YA know, I'm thinking that the pope might want to stick to managing the Catholic church instead of sticking his nose in everyone else's business.

http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/w...isit/80337346/

MEXICO CITY — Pope Francis called on Mexico’s elected leaders to provide basic rights to their citizens and blamed individualism as the root of the country’s most pressing challenges, including rampant corruption and ongoing drug violence.

Flanked by Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto, the pope addressed congressmen and women, governors and the civil and diplomatic corps in the first of three major events Saturday, the second day of his visit to Mexico.

In his introduction, the president welcomed the pontiff and said his visit meant a lot to the people. He also listed challenges his country faced — but notably made no mention of the violence and drug trafficking that has ravaged the nation.

It's real easy to tell the Mexican govt. what to do, but I didn't see any mention of the spectacularly wealthy church paying for any of their dreams.

I didn't see any mention of the Church advocating or offering assistance with the overthrow of the hopelessly corrupt Mexican govt. either.

[garhkal]

Ok, now back to ridiculing Democrats.

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2016...ce-deaths.html

You would think the Democrats are actually against the police.

With the dem's support of black lies matter, imo they are against the cops..

but that's the thing, they're not
in fact in those rare instances where they do get caught they're always given lower sentences than what average joe would get for such are your laws
it's not like the prosecutors & judges have much choice either (they know what they risk if they deal out a harsh sentence against such defendants)

I agree. Back in Norfolk in the mid 90s, we had 2 DUI's in one weekend off base that made the local news. One involved a 20 somthing college student at ODU (his 2nd offense in 3 months) the other an off duty cop (supposedly also his 2nd time he had been popped. The student got 3 yrs jail and lost his license, while the cop just got a 6 month suspension..
I have also heard/seen of other instances of a cop doing the same crime, getting either flat out off the charge or lesser sentences than if it was you or me that did it. BUT the same exact thing goes for politicians..

that's like blaming the person who pays the hitman instead of the hitman himself

Both are done in our criminal justice system, but i feel the one hiring the hitman should be punished more severely as the hitman wouldn't have killed someone (or attempted to) had they not been hired.
Heck iirc in some states, being the hiring one, gets you the death penalty..

You're forgetting that the police are carrying out the will of the of the elected government.

I strongly agree that the property confiscation thing is way out of line as it stands now; I don't care if they seize everything, AFTER conviction, but the way it is now, you don't even have to be convicted, and that's wrong.

But it's still not the fault of the police, it is the fault of the lawmakers.

IMO its both. Just like in many jurisdictions, how speed cameras and such are used as a funding tool rather than a 'reign in speedsters' tool.
And as to that taking property aspect, i also agree it is getting outlandish. it used to be you had to be convicted of a crime to get your DNA taken and put into a database, now days you can just be arrested/detained, not even have any charges filed against you, to get it taken..

[SoulReaver]

You're forgetting that the police are carrying out the will of the of the elected government.

I strongly agree that the property confiscation thing is way out of line as it stands now; I don't care if they seize everything, AFTER conviction, but the way it is now, you don't even have to be convicted, and that's wrong.

But it's still not the fault of the police, it is the fault of the lawmakers.

what are you talking about
there's a difference between duty & authority case in point in your previous post you clearly mention 'authority' which means right not obligation

unless you saying that when the SS stopped & checked that bloke in the middle of nowhere they were compelled to 1) thoroughly check his car and 2) take all his money including what he had in his pocket because the law said they had to and because the Legislators were somehow watching them even at that moment?

those SOBs took his money because they chose to & because they were on a power trip as usual, plain & simple (and whoever guns them down should be called a Freedom Fighter)

[SoulReaver]

I agree. Back in Norfolk in the mid 90s, we had 2 DUI's in one weekend off base that made the local news. One involved a 20 somthing college student at ODU (his 2nd offense in 3 months) the other an off duty cop (supposedly also his 2nd time he had been popped. The student got 3 yrs jail and lost his license, while the cop just got a 6 month suspension..
I have also heard/seen of other instances of a cop doing the same crime, getting either flat out off the charge or lesser sentences than if it was you or me that did it. BUT the same exact thing goes for politicians..

and now you know why that job's so coveted in that country (who wouldn't be tempted? a ****load of perks & ultimately fewer risks than other jobs contrary to popular belief. and all on taxpayer's money, yo)

Both are done in our criminal justice system, but i feel the one hiring the hitman should be punished more severely as the hitman wouldn't have killed someone (or attempted to) had they not been hired.
Heck iirc in some states, being the hiring one, gets you the death penalty..

a hitman ain't a gun (guns are things & hitmen are people with free will)
the hitman's the one doing the killing
worse yet he's killing someone he doesn't even know and has nothing against. that's infinitely worse than the one paying for the killing who at least has a personal reason

Spoiler:

though I reckon you could argue that taking money for murder is compatible with the sacrosanct tenets of capitalism hehe
(business is business etc.)

[Gatefan1976]

YA know, I'm thinking that the pope might want to stick to managing the Catholic church instead of sticking his nose in everyone else's business.

http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/w...isit/80337346/



It's real easy to tell the Mexican govt. what to do, but I didn't see any mention of the spectacularly wealthy church paying for any of their dreams.

I didn't see any mention of the Church advocating or offering assistance with the overthrow of the hopelessly corrupt Mexican govt. either.

Didn't you just ask to get religion out of the politics thread??

[Annoyed]

Didn't you just ask to get religion out of the politics thread??

It is the pope's sticking his nose into politics that I'm objecting to, so it belongs here, as it's not about religious differences.
But the timing could have been better. Not much I can do about that. The world does not (yet) operate on my command.

[Falcon Horus]

...and God knows what the Turks are thinking.

Under the "rules of engagement" they bombed the hell out of the Kurds at Aleppo, who currently won some ground from IS and Al-Nusra. As a result they had to leave those areas and leave them back open for recapture.

[Coco Pops]

but that's the thing, they're not
in fact in those rare instances where they do get caught they're always given lower sentences than what average joe would get for such are your laws
it's not like the prosecutors & judges have much choice either (they know what they risk if they deal out a harsh sentence against such defendants)

But the law should apply evenly to everyone in theory .......... So jail a few corrupt cops for a long stay at the iron bar hotel. Why would that be a bad thing? If the cops protest sack the lot of them. Hire new ones.