Politics & Stuff

[Sir Mikel OBE 4,920]

1 hour ago, Fernando said:

That's a possibility but I doubt he will do it, we shall see. 

But now how things stand I can say that I'm confident this will go to convention and at convention Ted Cruz will get the nomination. 

Ted Cruz to be the Republican nominee for me (which I wanted because he is Christian...now doesn't mean he might be a true Christian as there's many phony out there but still I would vote for him as it can't be any worse then Bush and Obama...). 

Now weather Ted can beat Hillary at the general elections is a whole another thing. That would be much harder but we shall see. 

I don't think Ted would fare well against Hillary either.

 

As a christian what do you make of Trump's faith? Do you think that he is a legitimate follower of the christian faith?

[kellzfresh 7,229]

1 hour ago, Fernando said:

That's a possibility but I doubt he will do it, we shall see. 

But now how things stand I can say that I'm confident this will go to convention and at convention Ted Cruz will get the nomination. 

Ted Cruz to be the Republican nominee for me (which I wanted because he is Christian...now doesn't mean he might be a true Christian as there's many phony out there but still I would vote for him as it can't be any worse then Bush and Obama...). 

Now weather Ted can beat Hillary at the general elections is a whole another thing. That would be much harder but we shall see. 

Exactly. I want a Republican to win, anyone that's not a Democrat please. 

[iseah100 5,612]

Exactly. I want a Republican to win, anyone that's not a Democrat please. 

Why is that?

[iseah100 5,612]

That's a possibility but I doubt he will do it, we shall see. 

But now how things stand I can say that I'm confident this will go to convention and at convention Ted Cruz will get the nomination. 

Ted Cruz to be the Republican nominee for me (which I wanted because he is Christian...now doesn't mean he might be a true Christian as there's many phony out there but still I would vote for him as it can't be any worse then Bush and Obama...). 

Now weather Ted can beat Hillary at the general elections is a whole another thing. That would be much harder but we shall see. 

Ted Cruz is quite possibly the worst candidate possible. He's a fascist sociopath and his peers support him!

He is the reason the government shut down in 2013 after Obamacare and cost the USA $23 billion and advocated another shutdown after the funding of Planned Parenthood.

What the fuck is this? https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-fix/wp/2015/11/30/ted-cruz-cites-reports-that-planned-parenthood-shooter-could-be-transgendered-leftist-activist-what/

This after he said Christians don't commit acts of violence. Robert Lewis Dear, a Christian, killed three people at a Planned Parenthood clinic in Colorado Springs that same week.

He gets donations from people who think someone should be MURDERED for providing a woman with the option of abortion. And pretty much agreed with him. He said most violent criminals are democrats. Cruz is a nut. Do some research.

Religion and government don't mix. Cruz is the worst candidate, rather Trump or Clinton than him. And that's saying a lot.

[kellzfresh 7,229]

1 hour ago, iseah100 said:

Why is that?

I like balance, Democrats have ruled for 8 years now Republicans should rule. Also I don't like Clinton at all. I would be ok with Sanders, but I'll rather have any Republican including Trump over Hilary. 

[CHOULO19 24,332]

21 hours ago, Robguima said:

BTW, I suspect you haven't really read and heard everything Trump said.

Because, IMO, while Hilary is part of establishment, and also part of the problem especially according to the right wingers who hate government *, Trump is the problem according to the left wingers and pretty much anyone who can add and divide.

* without the government the power goes (exclusively) to who controls the capital.

The distribution of wealth is skewed and Trump is the face of the useless wealthy, who inherit everything, produce very little and have little success. It's very hard to lose wealth once you have it: money begets money.

Like Mitt said recently, Trump is really not that great a businessman, but he sure likes to make people believe that. You can really say the most absurd things as long as you do so confidently.

Capitalism only works if all players have chips to play. Think about this a bit: a poor guy will spend 100% of all the money he makes or is given, but it's still not much money (not much moves). Middle class will spend a very high percentage of what they acquire and it is a meaningful chunk. The wealthy will spend very small percentage of what they have parked. So, from an economic POV, you really want a large middle class and if you can follow any prosperous times, even here in the US, you will see a very large middle class with a lot of purchasing power. That's really not what republicans want.

In the end none of this really matters that much as money casts a much stronger vote than the actual electoral votes.

Do you want to understand politics in the US? It's really easy: follow the money. Now, the actual following demands a bit of an effort, because money exerts so much influence that laws are created to help who have it and don't want to be tracked - btw corporations are people too!  NPR's marketplace addressed this a bunch times (good show).

BTW, once you do (follow the money) both parties become somewhat similar. As a independent who usually votes democrat, I find that the republicans usually lose me, ironically, when they offer fewer freedoms: when they try to force religious ideas down my throat, their prejudices, gun craziness (I am not against ownership), and their ideas on the trickle down economics: how they work more for the wealthy and in consequence against the majority.

And if you don't mind being depressed, read Republic Lost by Lessig: http://republic.lessig.org/ (free pdf download) While some of his ideas, especially on the solutions part, may seem controversial, the parts (2/3 of the book) about the influence of money and how congress works are spot on - hard to disagree with any of that. If money had no influence in politics, why there is so much money, and increasingly so, in politics? 

 

Couldn't agree more on all of that, Brilliantly put, my friend.

I would like to add though, that I think I have heard/read most of what Trump has said and I believe that he actually means what he's saying as much as Hillary saying that she opposes the TTP or cares for the rights of minorities. 

I can't help but feel that elections in the US are like a game show. "Super-Tuesday", "Super Delegates", "Winner-Takes-All States", caucuses, and dice throwing to determine winners!  I mean it's just entertainment, I feel...

Frankly, what I care most about from the US presidential race is foreign policy and the amount of damage that is going to be cause. Not because I don't care if the American people get the rights and representative democratic system they deserve, but because I feel the system won't change regardless of who takes office and even the changes in internal politics will be too minuscule. 

In that sense, I have no doubt that Hillary will be the most destructive of the bunch because of her relation with the weapons and oil corporations., hence my original statement that I will have my fingers crossed for anyone other than her, including Trump.

Also, obviously TTP and TTIP are also very important (and incredibly scary) but I've lost any hope that they won't get passed regardless of who wins the elections because every single lobbying group in DC will be pushing for it. 

We need a revolution, man... 

[twobanger 13]

11 hours ago, Fernando said:

That's a possibility but I doubt he will do it, we shall see. 

But now how things stand I can say that I'm confident this will go to convention and at convention Ted Cruz will get the nomination. 

Ted Cruz to be the Republican nominee for me (which I wanted because he is Christian...now doesn't mean he might be a true Christian as there's many phony out there but still I would vote for him as it can't be any worse then Bush and Obama...). 

Now weather Ted can beat Hillary at the general elections is a whole another thing. That would be much harder but we shall see. 

At a brokered convention it would go to Rubio.  Cruze and Trump would get locked out.  The establishment would rather throw the election to Hildog than support either of them.  I say that as a Cruze supporter that donates regularly to his campaign.

[johnnythefirst 1,076]

16 hours ago, kellzfresh said:

I like balance, Democrats have ruled for 8 years now Republicans should rule. Also I don't like Clinton at all. I would be ok with Sanders, but I'll rather have any Republican including Drumpf over Hilary. 

Remember the previous eight years a republican ruled?

I'd love to see Sanders get the presidency, he's the only decent person in the whole pack, but I'm afraid that's very much not going to happen. 

[johnnythefirst 1,076]

7 hours ago, twobanger said:

At a brokered convention it would go to Rubio.  Cruze and Drumpf would get locked out.  The establishment would rather throw the election to Hildog than support either of them.  I say that as a Cruze supporter that donates regularly to his campaign.

Could you tell me why you would support someone like Cruz? I'm not attacking you, I would just like to know...

[johnnythefirst 1,076]

On 3/5/2016 at 9:20 PM, CHOULO19 said:

Why, though? Why is that even a question for governments that have absolutely nothing with the country of the uprising? 

 

Because I believe people in need should be helped. Ideally, we should have an actual UN Peacekeeper army with a good mandate to stand in between warring parties, specifically to prevent these kind of civil wars from escalating. I'm very aware that interference from national armies like the US are not beneficiary. But hey, I can dream. ;-)

[CHOULO19 24,332]

1 minute ago, johnnythefirst said:

Because I believe people in need should be helped. Ideally, we should have an actual UN Peacekeeper army with a good mandate to stand in between warring parties, specifically to prevent these kind of civil wars from escalating. I'm very aware that interference from national armies like the US are not beneficiary. But hey, I can dream. ;-)

That's very admirable, but you have to ask yourself why that very same question is not being asked about Bahrain where the ruling US allied dictator ship has been brutally crushing the revolution for 5 years now with the help of the Saudi Army. Why is it not being asked about the Turkish dictatorship (a member of NATO) who are destroying entire Kurdish villages and killing civilians? These images are not from Syria. They are from Sur and Cizre in Turkey:

 

And the examples are endless...

So when the sympathy is 'selective' it becomes more than likely that your humanitarian feelings are being used by your government to achieve its political agendas. 

 

Btw, for me, the feeling of individuals anywhere in the world wanting to help those being oppressed anywhere is completely different from governments wanting to intervene. As an individual you have every right to fight any struggle you find worthy anywhere on earth. After all, injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. 

[kellzfresh 7,229]

1 hour ago, johnnythefirst said:

Remember the previous eight years a republican ruled?

I'd love to see Sanders get the presidency, he's the only decent person in the whole pack, but I'm afraid that's very much not going to happen. 

I'm in support of Sanders too, but I heard that Clinton has so many super delegates by her side already if things get tight. So Sanders has no chance. 

[Fernando 6,585]

20 hours ago, Sir Mikel OBE said:

I don't think Ted would fare well against Hillary either.

 

As a christian what do you make of Trump's faith? Do you think that he is a legitimate follower of the christian faith?

 

No, he just pretending. 

But that being said with Trump we know what we are getting. So it wouldn't be much of a surprise to any one of us. 

 

19 hours ago, iseah100 said:

 

Ted Cruz is quite possibly the worst candidate possible. He's a fascist sociopath and his peers support him!

He is the reason the government shut down in 2013 after Obamacare and cost the USA $23 billion and advocated another shutdown after the funding of Planned Parenthood.

What the fuck is this? https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-fix/wp/2015/11/30/ted-cruz-cites-reports-that-planned-parenthood-shooter-could-be-transgendered-leftist-activist-what/

This after he said Christians don't commit acts of violence. Robert Lewis Dear, a Christian, killed three people at a Planned Parenthood clinic in Colorado Springs that same week.

He gets donations from people who think someone should be MURDERED for providing a woman with the option of abortion. And pretty much agreed with him. He said most violent criminals are democrats. Cruz is a nut. Do some research.

Religion and government don't mix. Cruz is the worst candidate, rather Trump or Clinton than him. And that's saying a lot.

Fair point. 

This is why I said I vote for him because he is a "supposed" Christian but I don't know much about him. 

See with Trump we all know what he's all about so we know what to expect. 

10 hours ago, twobanger said:

At a brokered convention it would go to Rubio.  Cruze and Trump would get locked out.  The establishment would rather throw the election to Hildog than support either of them.  I say that as a Cruze supporter that donates regularly to his campaign.

Yeah that would make sense, Rubio is the chosen one. 

[johnnythefirst 1,076]

2 hours ago, CHOULO19 said:

That's very admirable, but you have to ask yourself why that very same question is not being asked about Bahrain where the ruling US allied dictator ship has been brutally crushing the revolution for 5 years now with the help of the Saudi Army. Why is it not being asked about the Turkish dictatorship (a member of NATO) who are destroying entire Kurdish villages and killing civilians? These images are not from Syria. They are from Sur and Cizre in Turkey:

 

And the examples are endless...

So when the sympathy is 'selective' it becomes more than likely that your humanitarian feelings are being used by your government to achieve its political agendas. 

 

Btw, for me, the feeling of individuals anywhere in the world wanting to help those being oppressed anywhere is completely different from governments wanting to intervene. As an individual you have every right to fight any struggle you find worthy anywhere on earth. After all, injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. 

 

You are completely right in all of those cases. The Saudi alliance with almost every major power in the world is absolutely disgusting (they're bombing Jordan in our name as well these days), and it's about damn time someone told Erdogan to go fuck himself. He's actually helping ISIS by demolishing the Kurds (the only guys who have been fighting them since the start). An independent peacekeeper army under UN rule (and no more UN security council veto rights) would be the best idea ever, but it will not happen in our lifespan. 

[johnnythefirst 1,076]

16 hours ago, CHOULO19 said:

 

I would like to add though, that I think I have heard/read most of what Drumpf has said and I believe that he actually means what he's saying as much as Hillary saying that she opposes the TTP or cares for the rights of minorities. 

 

 

Did you see the brilliant piece on Trump by John Oliver? It turns out the guy literally changed his mind completely on every major issue. The point with Trump is that no one has a clue what he actually believes or what he actually will do.
Hillary, who I don't like as well, will just continue Obama's policies if you ask me. And while Obama has his faults (and he should give back his Nobel Peace Price straight away), he did a lot of decent things as well, seeing what a mess he received from the previous administration and seeing how the republicans would rather see the country go bankrupt than having him succeed. 

 

-He tried to get a decent healthcare system running but failed because they made him water it down too much.

-Deficit is down

-Jobs are up

-Universal gay rights

-He posed some very good questions on the American gun culture

-He didn't START any new major wars. There were interventions, but there are no new massive clusterfuck invasions like Afghanistan and Iraq.

-Better relations with Cuba

-Better relations with Iran

-Essentially outsmarted Putin every chance he got (despite what all the Russian internet trolls on 9gag will say, Putin seriously fucked himself and his country).

-Better relations with the EU (it's true)

 

Essentially history will see him as a decent president, while Bush will obviously still be seen as a terrible one. Now imagine what clowns like Trump (does someone really want that guy as the main representative of his country, the guy is a cartoon character) or Cruz will do.