Board 8 > Politics Containment Topic 408: War Crimes Are Bad

(+) Yeah! (+)

Manchin was useful only in that he is the 50th nominal Democrat and therefore serves to keep the Senate out of Republican control. Aside from that his voting record is abysmal and I'm only sad to see him go because I know whoever his replacement will be can only be worse.

made himself the most important man in politics just to help further line his own pockets.

I come back after awhile and see people still respond to redsox. Oh, B8, you're just as I remember you.

On behalf of everyone's sanity, I apologize for being the first

The thing about redsox is, there are bits of obvious bait and things that seem like genuinely held points or opinions. That one was obvious bait!

LightningStrikes posted...

The thing about redsox is, there are bits of obvious bait and things that seem like genuinely held points or opinions. That one was obvious bait!

Hey, a sign of a good troll is that they sprinkle in things that seem "genuine" to keep you biting.

I'll never say redsox isn't a good troll.

I'll just always say he's a troll, period.

Though, I'm not one to speak. I used to bite, all the time. Then I finally decided I was wasting my time and blocked him. I wanted to be better than I was. ...I, admittedly, only kinda am, but... Baby steps, right?

making up arguments he doesn't actually hold is redsox entire shtick

How people don't have him blocked yet is astounding to me but live your life however you choose to

PeaceFrog posted...

How people don't have him blocked yet is astounding to me but live your life however you choose to

some of us don't block anyone but ertyu

The troll polls redsox does are occasionally funny. Though it has been a while since a good one.

BREAKING NEWS!

https://www.cnn.com/2023/11/09/politics/jill-stein-green-party-2024-election/index.html

Jill Stein really crushing RFK Jr.'s chances here!

War Crimes Are Bad

And water is wet.

Esuriat posted...

Jill Stein really crushing RFK Jr.'s chances here!

Recent polling actually was/is showing RFK Jr. is pulling more votes from Trump than Biden - which isn't surprising given he's basically gone full alt-right. One imagine Stein jumped in at the behest of those who saw that and realized "oh shit, should have just stuck with a proven commodity."

She lost my vote!

Thorn posted...

Recent polling actually was/is showing RFK Jr. is pulling more votes from Trump than Biden - which isn't surprising given he's basically gone full alt-right. One imagine Stein jumped in at the behest of those who saw that and realized "oh shit, should have just stuck with a proven commodity."

Oh for sure, I definitely expected RFK Jr. to hurt Trump way more than Biden. I still kind of see it as pulling more from RFK Jr. (and Cornel West) than from Biden. Like in 2016, she mostly just gets votes that might not have ever been cast in the first place. She's been quite a strong isolationist for a while and the rhetoric has only strengthened since Ukraine got invaded. I also remember Stein was adjacent to the pre-covid antivax crowd, though she never actually acknowledged this one way or the other.

Obellisk posted...

some of us don't block anyone but ertyu

who would ever do such a thing

Yeah I just don't block anyone, but totally understand why one would. Red Sox is more of an innocuous troll to me than an actually bothersome person. He used to contribute meaningfully to the stock topics here when we had those. There was something of worth there.

To prevent mischief by pro-abortion courts with Issue 1, Ohio legislators will consider removing jurisdiction from the judiciary over this ambiguous ballot initiative. The Ohio legislature alone will consider what, if any, modifications to make to existing laws based on public hearings and input from legal experts on both sides.

As an Ohioan, fuck all the way off with this.

Yeah, Ohio citizens passing a state constitutional amendment and the state GOP reaction being, "Fuck that. Oh, and we're going to ban the courts from ruling on the matter so we can have absolute dictatorial power on the matter to overrule the will of the people" is batshit.

Republicans: "The people should be allowed to decide."

The people: "We want abortion to be legal."

Republicans: "On second thought, we should get to decide."

I wish this would backfire on them, as people vote Democrats in droves in the state, but it won't. So glad that I live in a deep blue state now.

Well, in Ohio - and a lot of other states - Republicans are used to ruling with a minority, or at the very least with a ridiculously outsized amount of power thanks to gerrymandering. So ignoring and overruling the will of the people is basically standard practice at this point, and one where they have a lot of practice.

In Ohio specifically, they won over 2/3s of the seats in the state House despite not winning nearly that many in terms of the popular vote (though it was still safely a majority, but not even 60-40.) Similar deal in the state Senate.

To prevent mischief by pro-abortion courts with Issue 1, Ohio legislators will consider removing jurisdiction from the judiciary over this ambiguous ballot initiative. The Ohio legislature alone will consider what, if any, modifications to make to existing laws based on public hearings and input from legal experts on both sides.

So, if I'm understanding the right, the Ohio legislature is thinking about declaring that the Ohio judiciary is not permitted to make any rulings about whether certain Ohio laws comply with the amended Ohio constitution? Because that seems like a grotesque violation of the whole "separation of powers" concept.

They are going to fuck with things so nothing will change with current abortion laws and you will never see a marijuana store in the state.

FFDragon posted...

They are going to fuck with things so nothing will change with current abortion laws and you will never see a marijuana store in the state.

And they will watch their population move to Michigan for weed and abortions.

That's a feature to them, not a flaw, as those who leave for that reason would be less likely to have voted Republican

right but my home state gets cooler and cooler and they get lamer and lamer and no one goes to ohio state and they lose to michigan forever and ever

TheRock1525 posted...

right but my home state gets cooler and cooler and they get lamer and lamer and no one goes to ohio state and they lose to michigan forever and ever

If that were the case Alabama would struggle with recruitment.

Alabama might struggle soon at the current rate. By soon I mean in like a decade, but still.

David Cameron back as UK Foreign Secretary.

Bloody hell.

https://twitter.com/peterbakernyt/status/1724059038084735219

You don't say

Not The Onion?

We're in the post-parody age.

Forceful_Dragon posted...

Not The Onion?

Literally my thought as well.

Can't wait to start hearing about the re-education centers.

My representative, Abigail Spanberger, won't run for reelection to focus on running for Virginia governor. I don't know if that necessarily makes VA-7 flip red because she really isn't as strong of a candidate as a lot of Democrat strategists think she is. But she probably beats whatever insanity comes up from the Republicans because I'm pretty sure these midterms convinced them that Youngkin isn't far-right enough. If she gets the nomination, that is. I'd be pretty amused if she doesn't.

Esuriat posted...

My representative, Abigail Spanberger, won't run for reelection to focus on running for Virginia governor. I don't know if that necessarily makes VA-7 flip red because she really isn't as strong of a candidate as a lot of Democrat strategists think she is. But she probably beats whatever insanity comes up from the Republicans because I'm pretty sure these midterms convinced them that Youngkin isn't far-right enough. If she gets the nomination, that is. I'd be pretty amused if she doesn't.

If abortion is de facto on the ballot again then the seat hopefully is safe.

I was happy to hear about her running for governor though. Seems like a good candidate for the Dems given that she seems to comes across as being sensible and level headed.

https://twitter.com/andreajenkyns/status/1724124983843045539

The grammar of this letter reads like if chat gpt was trained on boomer Facebook posts and nothing else.

Esuriat posted...

My representative, Abigail Spanberger, won't run for reelection to focus on running for Virginia governor. I don't know if that necessarily makes VA-7 flip red because she really isn't as strong of a candidate as a lot of Democrat strategists think she is. But she probably beats whatever insanity comes up from the Republicans because I'm pretty sure these midterms convinced them that Youngkin isn't far-right enough. If she gets the nomination, that is. I'd be pretty amused if she doesn't.

Hey, that's my district too! I'm not sure what happens with her House seat (Dems probably keep it, but it'll be close?), but she's pretty much a lock for the governor nomination. There's just no other potential candidates with that much name recognition across the state.

Honestly I actually think ChatGPT would have done a better job. Well, that letter certainly sounds like Andrea Jenkyns, she is one of the worst ones in a sea of bad ones!

Okay heres what ChatGPT gave me:

Subject: Letter of No Confidence in Prime Minister Rishi Sunak

Dear [Recipient's Name],

I hope this letter finds you well. As a committed member of the Conservative Party and the European Research Group (ERG), it is with a heavy heart that I express my growing concerns and lack of confidence in Prime Minister Rishi Sunak.
Recent events have revealed a concerning trend in Prime Minister Sunak's loyalty, particularly his unexpected shift away from supporting Boris Johnson. This departure from party unity raises questions about the stability of our leadership and the cohesion of the Conservative Party.

Furthermore, it is disheartening to witness a deviation from core conservative values in the policies advocated by Prime Minister Sunak. The ERG has always stood for a commitment to conservative principles, and there is a palpable sense among members that Sunak's approach does not align with the fundamental values we hold dear.

In these challenging times, it is crucial for our party to have a leader who not only upholds conservative principles but also remains steadfast in supporting our elected officials. The recent turn of events has eroded the trust and unity we once enjoyed, and it is my duty to convey the concerns of many within the party who share these sentiments.

I believe that a change in leadership is essential for the prosperity of the Conservative Party and the effective governance of our nation. I trust that the party will consider this matter seriously and take the necessary steps to address the current challenges we face.

Thank you for your understanding and consideration.

Sincerely,
[Your Name]
[Your Title]
[Constituency or Region]

Should have just gone with ChatGPT Andrea!

That reads like it was written by someone who has some degree of literacy!

Turns out the opposite of artificial intelligence is natural stupidity

Kenri posted...

Turns out the opposite of artificial intelligence is natural stupidity

That sounds like the tagline of some spoof sci-fi novel.

Well, I don't think the current prime minister being disloyal to the former prime minister is a basis to oust the current prime minister. I think an MP would know that. On the other hand, the Chat GPT version contains no grammatical errors.

red_sox_777 posted...

Well, I don't think the current prime minister being disloyal to the former prime minister is a basis to oust the current prime minister. I think an MP would know that. On the other hand, the Chat GPT version contains no grammatical errors.

I mean I would recommend reading her actual letter given that its the first line of the second paragraph. True though, you would think an MP would know that! Hard right Tory MPs and indeed the party members hate Rishi Sunak for betraying Boris. Which is why Liz Truss beat him in the leadership election despite being Liz Truss.

Kenri posted...

Turns out the opposite of artificial intelligence is natural stupidity

Worthy of being a topic title imo

Interesting article using statistical analysis to highlight vote rigging in Russia:

https://europeelects.eu/2023/11/13/russia-understanding-the-flagrant-vote-rigging-with-graphs/

PeaceFrog posted...

https://twitter.com/peterbakernyt/status/1724059038084735219

You don't say

I'm sure that Trump saying he'd "root out" the "radical left" (NYT already doing him a favor by changing it to "political opponents" there when that wasn't what he said) who "live like vermin" will get the same amount of play and pearl-clutching from the media as Hillary's "deplorables" comment.

You don't understand, nothing is more sinister than a woman who knows a big word

Look what a great family man he is too. His sister just died and this is what hes talking about. Such values!

Anyway, while the broad conclusion here should be no surprise to everyone here - I think it is a bit striking in how the right is just laying out their plan to essentially transform the presidency into a dictatorship and the media is barely covering it.

And I really do mean just laying it out there - they made a website for it and everything! I've been aware of it for a while, because again they're not hiding this - they're proudly declaring it - but I'm not sure we've addressed it directly here: Project 2025.

https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/conservatives-aim-to-restructure-u-s-government-and-replace-it-with-trumps-vision

It's a massive operation being helmed by the Heritage Foundation with some assistance from a bunch of other right-wing think-tanks and organizations and it basically is built up to allow an incoming Republican president essentially rip all the constitutional checks and balances out of the executive branch on Day 1.

There's a bunch of different parts of it, but probably the most impactful is reclassifying much of the federal workforce as employees that the President can fire at-will (Schedule F, Trump previously signed it as an executive order. Biden rescinded it upon taking office) and then firing them all and replacing them with vetted far-right conservatives who will carry out their vision.

It's a direct attempt to "fix" what they saw as an issue in Trump's first term where even many of Trump's own appointees were unwilling to go along with some of the more draconian, crazy, and frankly illegal/unconstitutional shit by making sure they have a pre-screened pool of true believers to pull from - not unlike how the Federalist Society came about to give them a pool of extremist judges after they were upset that their previous judges wouldn't always rule for their agenda.

What makes this a bit different from just wishcasting is how they're building the infrastructure to do this - and of course it involves AI.

https://www.axios.com/2023/11/13/trump-loyalists-2024-presidential-election

Axios reports...

Hundreds of people are spending tens of millions of dollars to install a pre-vetted, pro-Trump army of up to 54,000 loyalists across government to rip off the restraints imposed on the previous 46 presidents.

The screening for ready-to-serve loyalists has already begun, driven in part by artificial intelligence from tech giant Oracle, contracted for the project.

Social media histories are already being plumbed.

[...]

The people leading these efforts aren't figures like Rudy Giuliani. They're smart, experienced people, many with very unconventional and elastic views of presidential power and traditional rule of law.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2023/11/05/trump-revenge-second-term/

https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/republicans-gop-president-curb-election-security-agency-angered/story?id=102261352

Some of the other parts (and there's even more than this) within it also include: deploying the military domestically under the Insurrection Act, eliminating the independent nature of the Department of Justice and FBI, eliminate the ability of DHS's Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency from combating mis- and dis-information, prosecuting anyone who provides or distributes abortion pills by mail, getting rid of press work space for the WH Press Corps., and a boatload of anti-LGBTQ+ policies.