.... http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us+canada-10636746 ....
been making US news too? Talk about Godwin's Law!
Has THIS...
(30 posts) (13 voices)-
RCO
MemberThis is true. The Republican in MN Governor's race first said that MN shouldn't have to pay minimum wage to waiters because with tips, some make $100,000/year. Then switched his stance (since that was a complete and utter lie)to now not wanting to tax tips earned, which his party said would cost the state $17 million in tax revenue while trying to plug an over $4 billion budget deficit.
Posted 2 years ago # -
Kodie
MemberI was reading some senator's facebook page, who asked a question about government spending, and a lot of the input he has invoked an understanding of the US Constitution as for the government to provide no more than a secure border.
The only expense should be defense and that's it. Anything more than that is socialism to a lot of people. They don't agree with deficit spending in any other area, or a deficit period, and cold war mentality that spreading it around in other areas is not just irresponsible but evilly so. That's hate for people.
Posted 2 years ago # -
Brian M
MemberThe really infuriating thing is that these people's definition of "defense" is "WHATEVER TEH GLORIUS LEDER-PREZIDENT (PBHN) (any White conservative Republican President, of course) SEZ WE NEED TO DO IN ATTACKING THEMS SCARY DARK PEOPLE." The reflexive support the troops mentality is astonishing to me.
Posted 2 years ago # -
Elemenope
ModeratorRemember when the only thing we had to worry about was whether someone got a blowjob or not?
Except that doesn't even scratch the surface of discourse nastiness in the '90s. Even for Clinton, to take but one subject, the blowjob thing is memorable only because it actually stuck, whereas at the time some of the nastier charges were that he was a serial rapist and had the Arkansas PD cover it up, that he ordered a former colleague murdered after that colleague impeded a land deal, and even crazier. That's not mentioning the number of times Rush Limbaugh compared Chelsea Clinton to a dog.
Posted 2 years ago # -
"he was a serial rapist and had the Arkansas PD cover it up, that he ordered a former colleague murdered after that colleague impeded a land deal, and even crazier. "
I've met people from Arkansas who insist that some of these things are true. Oddly, though, they all liked Bill and hated Hillary, especially the ones who were taught by both when they were college professors.
Posted 2 years ago # -
Kodie
MemberYeah, so yeah. The relative chivalry here being that he was just a common criminal in the oval office, he wasn't trying to socialize us like a nazi brown man. They almost wish he would be more stereotypical, they can't find anything but his "questionable" birth certificate.
Just for the sake of saying so, I recently received a copy of my birth certificate from the county where I was born, and it looks nothing like the (unacceptable for gov't purposes) copy of my actual birth certificate that my mom ran off for me. I guess none of these people have ever applied for a passport? Certainly not welfare!
Posted 2 years ago # -
UrsaMinor
MemberWhat bothers me most is the disappearance of the middle political ground (or even the pretense thereof). It is no longer acceptable to be a moderate; you are reviled by your party if you are not a gung-ho extremist for either the Left or the Right. And you will be pilloried by the opposite camp. Civilized, productive political discourse, while never in robust health during my lifetime, is definitely dead today.
Posted 2 years ago # -
Kodie
Member@RCO, it is true that people complain a lot more once it affects them personally - I am keeping up with this unemployment extension [taking forever red tape what an inconvenient time for two 1-week+ long holiday breaks/a very old guy to die] bullshit, and life-long republicans who comment can't wait to vote their republican senator out of office, for they are hungry and can't feed their kids, have sold their belongings, defaulted on their utilities connecting them to a practicable work search, had more than one car repossessed, and are losing their homes, while they have worked their whole lives until 2 years ago and been turned down for hundreds of jobs or not even called back in most cases.
In the camp of people who are not affected come the republicans who swear they would never ask the government for a dime, and accuse people of sitting around, not taking the piles of offers that aren't being offered, from the lowly fry-cook to department store greeter that only one lucky applicant can get, not everyone. Have you been to Target, do they look so short-staffed to you that they can hire millions out of work just to keep the senate from getting off their butts to do their jobs? When people complain about their taxes being not only way too high but mishandled, they ought to take notice how this shit goes down. Meanwhile, these peanut gallery wads are likelier to be out of work sooner themselves if this doesn't happen finally.
Meanwhile, they all still hate Obama. They never say anything good about him. He can only wag his finger at the senate, he can't change the pace at which they run, a procedure that seems to endure from secret society rituals of the 12th century. That's not on the list of things they dislike about the man, however; they think he's just rotten all-around.
Posted 2 years ago # -
Kodie
MemberI think that far left is socialism to the extent that most people realize it won't work in practice, not just the bogeyman fear right-wingers make it out to be. As far left as we do go seems extreme to far-right because it is far away from them, and as if we had any danger of succumbing to true socialism, or that our leader could somehow act as some monarch or tyrant and make them share a little with the rest of "we the people" all by himself. There are far too many right-wingers to let that happen, but they don't seem to be able to relax a little. There's a difference between civic-mindedness and holy crap we're going to hell in a handbasket here.
It's funny how the phrase, "if... then the terrorists will have won" sort of spins out of control here. After 9/11 everyone was pretty freaked out and sensitive, then advised toward "normalcy," which to a lot of people seems to mean they can never let anyone sneak up on them again, and that's how they behave. It's the opposite of normalcy, they are living "if" and then the terrorists will have made their goal, they are terrorized. I don't know what it must feel like to think a charismatic secret Muslim terrorist has snuck his way into the highest office in US government and what sick plans he has if we ever let our guard down and let him accomplish anything.
Posted 2 years ago # -
Elemenope
ModeratorThe last thing as a polity that we did that approached "socialism" was the passage of Social Security (and arguably the passage of Medicare). Since then it has basically all been technocratic right-centric mush. It makes me want to hit upside the head every single person who uses "socialist" as an epithet in US political discourse.
With a baseball bat.
Posted 2 years ago # -
James G
MemberThat's a cricket bat, Custador.
I got talking to an American on a train recently and he asked me what Brits thought of Obama and I said that I didn't think he was all that good. He took this as a sign and launched into a tirade about the aforementioned Communist Nazi. He wasn't that pleased when he found out that I didn't like Obama because I didn't think he was left-wing enough.
Posted 2 years ago # -
RCO
MemberYou have to walk a thin line when talking to most people from the US about politics if they ask the question. Most will probably go into a rant of some sort about how they feel you are ignorant and wrong. I myself catch myself doing it, although more when I was at a convention with all conservatives and told my belief that a Democrat should win the 2008 election.
Posted 2 years ago #
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