Lurker > Antifar

Setting aside everything else, it is wild that we've now had two "dresses stained with the president's semen" scandals in 20 years.
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Eve-L posted...

She calls out LeBron and Durant, but completely ignores Steve Kerr and Gregg Popovich.

They've been even more outspoken about it then them.

*thinking emoji*
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*sigh*
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Trump 40%
Cory Booker 18%
Kamala Harris 12%
Bernie Sanders 10%
Elizabeth Warren 7%
Joe Biden 3%
Other 10%
...
Andrew Cuomo -20%
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I sold it to Gamestop recently and got like $24. It's super valuable
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Giant_Aspirin posted...

so Conservatives are torn between standing up to social justice vs allowing the market to be free. that must be rough.

It's not a tough choice for those in power.
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Turnout I think is the key variable moreso than the race of the electorate.

Tangentially, I think there's a an interesting case to be made that the discourse following 2016 has examined just about every group except white women, who are also obscured by the dichotomy in the title.
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https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-02-16/google-firing-of-damore-was-legal-u-s-labor-panel-lawyer-said

No surprise to see this decision from a GOP controlled board.
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Funbazooka posted...

Sure but "Keep politics out of sports" is referring to political activism. That's what people mean.

This is very obviously political activism
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https://twitter.com/MattBinder/status/964594541578932224/photo/1
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Funbazooka posted...

"Keep politics out of sports"

Standing for the anthem, as the text on the car is promoting, is patriotic tradition. It isn't politically divisive.

But kneeling in protest and making a scene is politically divisive.

Politics isn't just the stuff that's divisive. Sports are littered with Department of Defense partnerships, military tributes and flyovers that aren't divisive, but are absolutely political
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Giant_Aspirin posted...

a foreign power, especially one as adversarial as Russia, meddling in our democracy isn't alarming to you?

The most damning allegation made so far is that they attempted to breach state level election systems. Were they even successful in that? I'll allow that that is a big deal, but so much attention has been given to Facebook pages that reached 146 people and makeshift rallies attended by even fewer.
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Yes, but not on a scale deserving of the attention it has received
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I'm curious about the aerodynamics of that fin sticking up on the driver's side of the truckbed; there doesn't seem to be one on the opposite side.
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C. Cel Damage
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What are we talking about here? Twitter accounts followed by 143 people? Rallies with tens of attendees?
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https://kotaku.com/kentucky-governor-blames-violent-video-games-for-shooti-1823075688

During an interview yesterday on a talk radio program, Kentucky Governor Matt Bevin said violent video games are partly responsible for mass shootings like this weeks in Parkland, Florida which killed 17 people and wounded 14 more.

Guns are not the problem; we have a cultural problem in America, Bevin said on the Leland Conway show Thursday morning, as noted by Ars Technca. The Governor went on to cite other factors he believed to be responsible for the dramatic increase in mass shootings, including mental illness and side-effects of prescribed medications. He also pointed to American society having lost its moral compass before arriving at violent video games and the culture of death he believes they help celebrate.

There are video games that, yes, are listed for mature audiences, but kids play them and everybody knows it, and theres nothing to prevent the child from playing them, he said. They celebrate the slaughtering of people. There are games that literally replicate and give people the ability to score points for doing the very same thing that these students are doing inside of schools, where you get extra points for finishing someone off whos lying there begging for their life.

These are quote-unquote video games, and theyre forced down our throats under the guise of protected speech. Its garbage. Its the same as pornography. They have desensitized people to the value of human life, to the dignity of women, to the dignity of human decency.

Conway, the host, followed up by asking if the governor was calling for a ban on violent video games or just urging parents to pay more attention. I think we need to start by having an honest question about what value any of these things have, Bevin said.

Why do we need a video game, for example, that encourages people to kill people? Whether its lyrics, whether its TV shows, whether its movies, Im asking the producers of these products, these video games and these movies, ask yourselves what redemptive value, other than shock value, other than the hope youll make a couple of bucks off it. At what price? At what price?

His rationale for blaming violent video games and other media was that guns havent changed while our culture has. The gun is not the problem, Bevin said at the beginning of his interview. When we were young people after Christmas would bring their guns to school and show it off to their friends. He mentioned shotguns and .22 Long Rifles specifically, both of which are much different than the AR-15-style rifle Nikolas Cruz used to massacre students.

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Haitian-American soccer player Jozy Altidore
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https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/feb/16/admiral-warns-us-must-prepare-for-possibility-of-war-with-china

The navy admiral nominated to be the next US ambassador to Australia has told Congress America must prepare for the possibility of war with China, and said it would rely on Australia to help uphold the international rules-based system in the Asia-Pacific.

In an excoriating assessment of Chinas increasingly muscular posture in the region, Harry Harris said Beijings intent is crystal clear to dominate the South China Sea and that its military might could soon rival American power across almost every domain.

Harris, soon to retire as the head of US Pacific Command in Hawaii, told the House armed services committee, the US and its allies should be wary of Beijings military expansionism in the region, and condemned Chinas foreign influence operations, predatory economic behaviour and coercion of regional neighbours.

Chinas intent is crystal clear. We ignore it at our peril, he said. Im concerned China will now work to undermine the international rules-based order.

Harris also warned of a cult of personality developing around Chinese president Xi Jinping.

Harris praised Australia as one of Americas staunchest allies in the Asia-Pacific region, noting existing military cooperation at air force bases in the Northern Territory, joint naval exercises and the regular rotation of 1,500 marines through Darwin.

Australia is one of the keys to a rules-based international order, Harris said. I look to my Australian counterparts for their assistance, I admire their leadership in the battlefield and in the corridors of power in the world.

They are a key ally of the United States and they have been with us in every major conflict since world war one.

Harris, the Yokosuka-born son of an American naval officer and a Japanese mother, has been nominated by President Donald Trump as the next ambassador to Australia. His appointment must be confirmed by the Senate.

Australia has been without a US ambassador since John Berry departed in September 2016.

Harris said he was alarmed by Chinas construction of military bases on seven disputed islands in the South China Sea that neighbouring countries lay territorial claims to.

In 2016, the permanent court of arbitration in The Hague, sided with the Philippines in the dispute it brought, saying there was no legal basis for Chinas claim of historic sovereignty over waters within the so-called nine-dash line in the sea.

Regardless, Chinese military build-up continues in the sea.

Chinas impressive military build-up could soon challenge the United States across almost every domain, Harris said.

In a separate answer, he said of the risk of conflict with China: as far as the idea of deterrence and winning wars, Im a military guy. And I think its important you must plan and resource to win a war at the same time you work to prevent it.

At the end of the day the ability to wage war is important or you become a paper tiger. Im hopeful that it wont come to a conflict with China, but we must all be prepared for that if it should come to that.

Should Harris be confirmed as the next ambassador to Australia, his hawkish position would present a challenge for Canberra, as it seeks to navigate an increasingly delicate diplomatic and economic relationship with Beijing.

Ties were severely strained last year after a backlash against Chinas perceived influence on and infiltration of Australias political system, highlighted by the resignation of Labor senator Sam Dastyari over accepting cash from Chinese businessmen for private debts and his position, at odds with his party, on the South China Sea. The Australian government has proposed new espionage laws and tightening of rules around foreign donations to political parties.

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This is also the view held by a lawmaker in North Carolina
http://www.newsobserver.com/news/politics-government/politics-columns-blogs/under-the-dome/article200294174.html

In a Facebook comment on another users post, Pittman speculated the Florida shooter was part of a conspiracy to push for gun control so they can more easily take over the country.

That users post later was deleted. Some people online had circulated this photo of a man who is not the suspected shooter, according to Snopes.

Pittmans full comment: Not surprising to see the people depicted on his T-shirt. So many of these shooters turn out to be communist democrats, that I suspect they are doing these things to push for gun control so they can more easily take over the country.

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The Florida shooter wasn't old enough to drink, but he legally purchased his gun.
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https://twitter.com/benfritz/status/964162218823577602
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https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/boards/400-current-events/76322164
*thinking emoji*
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CruelBuffalo posted...

Im seeing this getting a lot of traction now

Yeah, wasn't this like, Saturday?
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While Democrats do have the power to filibuster some things with 40 votes in the Senate, I'm inclined to think they'd happily join in on a GOP effort to pass regulations on gun sales.

The Republican party found it within them to overhaul our tax system; they have yet to find the will for even a minor legislation towards reducing gun violence of the sort seen in Las Vegas.
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https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2018/02/16/after-trump-clears-the-way-
gop-states-move-to-charge-poor-for-health-care/?utm_term=.1abb6b01becf

Gregory James Tuck Sr., a former chef in Indianapolis who is now homeless, says he has been turned away by six different doctors over the last four months while seeking treatment for high blood pressure, insomnia, and, most recently, the flu coursing through the street people community.

I haven't signed up for my Medicaid because it's so confusing, and because I don't have a way to pay for it, said Tuck, 61, from the public library in downtown Indianapolis where he was looking for help finding insurance. Sometimes Id go to the emergency room. But if you dont have insurance, they just keep you waiting for hours and do the bare minimum to keep you alive.

Indiana is at the leading edge of Republican efforts to shift Medicaid in a more conservative direction with the Trump administration giving the green light to states to shift some of the burden for the program onto the poor.

Indiana began asking the destitute to pay a monthly premium for some Medicaid services in 2015, as part of a deal with the Obama administration to expand the program. But more recent moves by Kentucky, Maine and Wisconsin seeking to ramp up patients' payments do not include a goal of expanding the 53-year-old program.

Last month, the Trump administration approved Kentuckys petition to raise premiums and impose work requirements for Medicaid. Earlier this month, the administration approved Indiana's plan to raise premiums for poor people who smoke tobacco.

Some health-care experts say these new Medicaid policies mark a major shift. Medicaid is funded largely by federal dollars, but administered by the states.

These are fundamental changes for a program specifically created to serve people with very low incomes, said Cindy Mann, who spent five years overseeing Medicaid under the Obama administration.

The new Medicaid premiums come at a time when the Trump administration is seeking to overhaul the social safety net. Conservatives say the changes, which give poor people additional responsibilities for obtaining government benefits, will encourage them to join the workforce.

Critics say the requirements will push more people into poverty. The Trump administration also plans on unveiling legislation to create work requirements for public housing programs, and recently called for transforming the nation's food assistance program.

A big part of the rationale behind what they're doing is the idea that these people are not intended to be beneficiaries of Medicaid, despite the law saying that they are, said Judith Solomon, a health policy expert at the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities. This is part of an overall agenda, as evidenced by the budget and elsewhere in the Trump administration, that would take away health care and food and rental assistance including for working families. All these pieces go together.
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Now some states are pursuing costlier premiums than what the Obama administration permitted, or introducing penalties for failing to pay those premiums, according to MaryBeth Musumeci, associate director at the Kaiser Family Foundation. And unlike prior administrations, Trump is poised to permit states to enact premiums without also guaranteeing they expand coverage in exchange.

Federal law prohibits states from imposing Medicaid premiums on anyone earning under 150 percent of the Federal Poverty Line, or those earning less than $18,000 annually, depending on household size.

But the federal government has long issued waivers to the states allowing them to tailor their own Medicaid programs. The Obama administration granted waivers to Republican-led states including Iowa, Michigan and Indiana as part of bigger deals in which those states also agreed to expand the number of their residents on Medicaid.

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tag; these sorts of games have me curious
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Republicans control congress. If they truly support expanding background checks and "common sense regulations," they have the power to pass them into law.

I'm not holding my breath.
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His chief of staff is resigning for doctoring documents to get by ethics officials
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2018/02/16/va-secretary-david-shulkins-chief-staff-retiring-amid-travel-report-findings/344810002/

The third most senior official at the Department of Veterans Affairs is stepping down amid findings she misled ethics officials to secure approval for VA Secretary David Shulkins wife to accompany him on taxpayer-funded trip to Europe.

Viveca Wright Simpson, Shulkins chief of staff, told colleagues Friday morning that she is retiring after 32 years at the agency and more than two years as Shulkin's most senior aide.

The announcement came two days after the VA inspector general released recommendations that she be disciplined for doctoring an email to an ethics lawyer to show Shulkin was getting special recognition or an award during the trip to Denmark and London last year, the criteria for clearing his wifes flights on the publics dime.

Wright Simpson declined to comment.

Shulkin confirmed the move to USA TODAY and said he intends to continue in his post and remains commited to fulfilling President Trumps agenda in overhauling the VA.

He apologized earlier this week for mistakes he and his staff made in planning and taking the trip last July. He reimbursed the government for his wifes airfare and is seeking to reimburse a British veterans advocate for Wimbledon tickets he and his wife accepted improperly.

I am committed to continuing the work that I came here to do, which is to support the presidents agenda to reform the VA and fix the VA the way that veterans deserve, the care and services theyve earned, he said. And I am going to remain focused on that task and I am not going to get distracted from what we have to do.

Is any member of the Trump administration not just scamming the public?
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It's the price of freedom
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Darkman124 posted...

i think it is genuinely possible for us to see a democratic candidate run on the platform of "lock them up"

As much as there might be an appetite for that, no Democratic candidate will do that.
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DoctorPiranha3 posted...

What other countries have a powerful two party system that constantly wars with each other?

What does that have to do with "snowflake political views?" If anything, you're describing the opposite.
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DoctorPiranha3 posted...

It just happens slowly in a place like America, where the populous all have their snowflake political views and expectations from government.

Why do you think this is different from any other country?
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Is there a member of this administration who isn't on the take?
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http://www.newsobserver.com/news/politics-government/politics-columns-blogs/under-the-dome/article200294174.html

In a Facebook comment on another users post, Pittman speculated the Florida shooter was part of a conspiracy to push for gun control so they can more easily take over the country.

That users post later was deleted. Some people online had circulated this photo of a man who is not the suspected shooter, according to Snopes.

Pittmans full comment: Not surprising to see the people depicted on his T-shirt. So many of these shooters turn out to be communist democrats, that I suspect they are doing these things to push for gun control so they can more easily take over the country.

The lawmaker has made controversial comments in the past. Last year, he compared President Abraham Lincoln to Adolf Hitler. Thursdays remarks, too, immediately drew criticism.

I vaguely remember the Lincoln Hitler comparison but 2017 was so full of nonsense that it just all glazes over
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https://www.nbcphiladelphia.com/news/local/Marijuana-Criminal-Cases-Dropped-En-Masse-by-Philadelphia-District-Attorney-Larry-Krasner-474228023.html

The Philadelphia District Attorney said criminal charges for marijuana possession against 51 people were dropped en masse last week ahead of a meeting with assistant district attorneys Thursday where the DA would outline a new pot policy.

The new policy will be straight-forward, according to District Attorney Larry Krasner.

"We are going to tell them, yes, drop any cases that are simply marijuana possession," Krasner said at a press conference prior to the staff meeting. He stressed that the policy only applies to simple possession, not charges like possession with intent to deliver or selling it.

His approach builds on 4-year-old rules implemented by Mayor Michael Nutter and the previous District Attorney, Seth Williams. Initially introduced by current Mayor Jim Kenney when he was a city councilman, they gave Philadelphia police the power to issue citations for marijuana possession. That essentially made pot possession punishable by a fine.

Previously, getting caught with marijuana meant an arrest and often-lengthy amount of time being processed at a police district.

Krasner said citations are now issued about 90 percent of the time someone is caught with marijuana.

"What we're talking about is the 10 percent or so that are being charged as they used to be, as misdemeanors in court," he said. From now on, if a police officer arrests someone for marijuana possession, he said his office will not pursue the case.

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K181 posted...

People don't have an issue with people praying for victims. People have an issue with those in power that only offer empty platitudes like that rather than attempting to do something to prevent the next dozen shootings this year.

Correct
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Cookie Bag posted...

Ill never understand this pasta, what was the context or the origin of it, this is just inane.

Its origins are a 2004 post on LUE
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r4X0r posted...

If it were Obama, you'd all be applauding his move to protect job creators while preserving the rights of the disabled.

The rights of the disabled are not protected if they have to go through a lengthy bureaucratic process to secure what are now basic accommodations.
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I think you meant phat
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Doe posted...

Has it ever happened where the media shat on the "alleged" perp only for it to turn out they got the complete wrong guy? Was that person able to seek reparations for libel or something?

The NY Post put the wrong guys on their cover during the Boston marathon bombing manhunt
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Tyranthraxus posted...

Interesting. 1990 was GHW Bush. Why did the Republicans suddenly change their minds?

27 years is hardly suddenly. But the party has undoubtedly moved to the right over the past few decades.
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Eh, a few minutes
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Didn't he brag about shooting looters in New Orleans after Katrina?
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Phantom_Nook posted...

Antifar posted...

Weird ideology to focus on today

It may have something to do with the Florida shooter wearing a shirt with the sickle on it, and that makes him a communist or something. I'm just guessing.

That is not true, though. That was an entirely different person, from Connecticut, pictured.
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Inner city schools often have metal detectors
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