Watched the Republican Debate

BikerDude · September 18, 2015, 10:47:44 AM

DigitalBuddha · September 18, 2015, 07:34:51 PM

They're all human paraquats! We need the Dude to abide as President!

Reverend Al · September 21, 2015, 08:50:12 PM

jgiffin · September 22, 2015, 11:52:12 PM

It's all fun and games until we have to vote for one of these retards or Hillary Clinton. They're so deep in the tank for the right-wing evangelical vote, it makes me question myself anytime I agree with them.

I gotta say, though, I listened to several of those Root Boy Slim tracks and was singularly unimpressed, too. Was it a comedy-troupe thing or what? I mean, I get the message and kind of agree to an extent. But it isn't particularly witty, well-phrased, musical, or persuasive. I guess I don't get what they were going for, other than catering to a severely leftward crowd pissed at what they perceived to be republican excess rather than the coordinated two-party governing structure that oppresses everyone not serving or funding it.

Reverend Al · September 24, 2015, 07:27:03 PM

Quote from: jgiffin on September 22, 2015, 11:52:12 PMIt's all fun and games until we have to vote for one of these retards or Hillary Clinton...

I'm giving serious consideration to not voting. I'm tired of voting for "the lesser of two evils" instead of "the best person for the job", and it doesn't really matter anyway because the person who gets elected will just pursue their own agenda(s) instead of trying to fix anything that's wrong in this country. It's the same shit in a different bag over and over and over, and I'm done supporting a system that clearly doesn't work.

BikerDude · September 25, 2015, 11:37:59 AM

Quote from: Reverend Al on September 24, 2015, 07:27:03 PM
Quote from: jgiffin on September 22, 2015, 11:52:12 PMIt's all fun and games until we have to vote for one of these retards or Hillary Clinton...

I'm giving serious consideration to not voting. I'm tired of voting for "the lesser of two evils" instead of "the best person for the job", and it doesn't really matter anyway because the person who gets elected will just pursue their own agenda(s) instead of trying to fix anything that's wrong in this country. It's the same shit in a different bag over and over and over, and I'm done supporting a system that clearly doesn't work.

YES! EXACTLY!
The paraquat have been moving public opinion by setting things up so basically about 95% of the people who vote, vote AGAINST a candidate rather than FOR a candidate. It's fear mongering and mud slinging. Fox News politics.
It completely keeps the voting public from holding politician's feet to the fire.
There is no need to have a real dialog. Each side just portrays a stereotype of the other and never gets down to brass tacks. And later, after they haven't done shit for the voters the same people go back and vote for the same politicians expecting things will change. The definition of insanity is what? Repeating the same mistake and expecting a different result.
It's pro wrestling. They are all in it together. There is no choice between these 2 parties.

As far as the system goes the system resembles the will of people who actually express their will.
Rich people and corporations who aggressively pursue an agenda.
The voting public sits by and watches the rain fall silently. SHOW US THE MONEY! PERIOD!
Hopefully people are starting to learn and in the very least STOP GIVING APPROVAL TO EITHER OF THESE FAKE POLITICAL PARTIES!

LotsaBadKarma · September 25, 2015, 12:23:41 PM

IMO this is not a democrap or a rethuglican problem. Here in my home state of Wisconsin Scott Walker defeated Tom Barrett in the gubernatorial election and immediately began an assault on public unions. This angered the dems in the state so they engineered a recall movement which resulted in yet another election about 2 years after he took office. And who did the Einstein-like dems choose to run against him? Tom Barrett! The same doof he beat in the general.
And this is not a question, IMO, of the pols being stupid. They have the public figured out and have for the last 50 years. Look at how the school system has been dumbed down since the 60s. It used to be that teachers taught to the 2 or 3 smartest kids in the class and the rest kept up or they didn't. Those at the bottom had to repeat the grade the following year. Then the philosophy became "everyone's a winner" and so as to not damage anyone's self esteem those who would have been left behind were now passed through and this is where kids who didn't know how to read were actually graduating from high school.
And the result at this point is that we now have the fabled "single issue voter", the guy who votes against his own best interest because he's pro-life or anti-gun because the voting public has literally become a nation of retards who vote without knowing anything about the issues.
So I have become one of those who have decided that voting is a waste of time. Where at one point I would do research on candidates and make a brain vote I began to slack off and make heart votes and when I realized what I was doing I decided to opt out. Our system is corrupt and does not tolerate the presence of honesty. Anytime a candidate emerges who pledges to clean up corruption and actually gets elected he spends the first couple of years sitting in the back of the room watching the big boys play the game. He doesn't get to chair committees or even sit on them. But once they learn the rules they are allowed to compete. And at that point it is too late.
A good You Tube video to watch is a Joe Rogan interview with a guy buy the name of Dan Carlin. It's about a 20 minute vid and the title has something to do with overthrowing the government where they talk about these militia groups who are stockpiling guns and food for the coming war. But then they start to talk about government corruption and Carlin has an explanation for why corruption is so commonplace that pushed me over the line and helped me to decide that voting is a ridiculous exercise of our supposed freedoms. The link follows:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uD5BkVzeKis
And I totally am on board with the "lesser of two evils" idea meaning that I get it. But as a friend told me once, "when you're voting for the lesser of two evils you're still voting for evil".
I also have to wonder about the mental state of any person who spends millions of dollars to campaign for 2 years for a job that pays $150K. Who are they beholden to?

jgiffin · September 26, 2015, 11:12:41 AM

I agree with the prior posts 100%. The problem is: (1) voting for one of the candidates won't change a damn thing; and (2) not voting at all won't change a damn thing.

The sole prospect for change is revolution against the ruling political class (i.e., the two dominant parties). That doesn't appear to be forthcoming. So, you can abide or check-out. I'm doing the former until I can do the latter.

LotsaBadKarma · September 26, 2015, 06:48:51 PM

I believe that maybe Lenin (I am the Walrus) or perhaps Stalin said once that "he who casts the votes decides nothing. He who counts the votes decides everything". That being said, and in light of the results of the 2000 presidential election, I think opting out of the process and simply observing from a comfortable distance sounds like the least exhausting thing to do. I'll watch the process occasionally for entertainment purposes unless it conflicts with something of real importance like strongly vaginal art.

Reverend Al · September 26, 2015, 07:00:32 PM

Quote from: LotsaBadKarma on September 25, 2015, 12:23:41 PM...Our system is corrupt and does not tolerate the presence of honesty. Anytime a candidate emerges who pledges to clean up corruption and actually gets elected he spends the first couple of years sitting in the back of the room watching the big boys play the game. He doesn't get to chair committees or even sit on them. But once they learn the rules they are allowed to compete. And at that point it is too late...

I wish I could remember who it was, but several years ago I heard a comedian discussing the election process, and as part of the routine he said something to the effect of, "On their first day in office each new President is taken into the basement of the Capitol building, shown the Zapruder film (the only publicly-known footage of the assassination of John F. Kennedy), and when it's done they turn on the lights and ask, 'Any questions?'" These days the President really isn't much more than a figurehead anyway; it's their party that's really calling the shots (literally, in some cases). Yeah, they can do some things without too much interference, but I'm sure their reminded of their "place" if they stray too far from their party's true agendas.

Quote from: jgiffin on September 26, 2015, 11:12:41 AMI agree with the prior posts 100%. The problem is: (1) voting for one of the candidates won't change a damn thing; and (2) not voting at all won't change a damn thing...

True, but at least those of us who no longer participate in the Presidential elections won't be wasting any more of our time trying to figure out which of the candidates is simply the best liar.

LotsaBadKarma · September 26, 2015, 07:06:10 PM

Quote from: Reverend Al on September 26, 2015, 07:00:32 PM
Quote from: LotsaBadKarma on September 25, 2015, 12:23:41 PM...Our system is corrupt and does not tolerate the presence of honesty. Anytime a candidate emerges who pledges to clean up corruption and actually gets elected he spends the first couple of years sitting in the back of the room watching the big boys play the game. He doesn't get to chair committees or even sit on them. But once they learn the rules they are allowed to compete. And at that point it is too late...

I wish I could remember who it was, but several years ago I heard a comedian discussing the election process, and as part of the routine he said something to the effect of, "On their first day in office each new President is taken into the basement of the Capitol building, shown the Zapruder film (the only publicly-known footage of the assassination of John F. Kennedy), and when it's done they turn on the lights and ask, 'Any questions?'" These days the President really isn't much more than a figurehead anyway; it's their party that's really calling the shots (literally, in some cases). Yeah, they can do some things without too much interference, but I'm sure their reminded of their "place" if they stray too far from their party's true agendas.

I think it might have been Al Franken, now Senator from the state of Minnesota.
Something else to consider that was made plain in the video is who stands to lose if corruption in DC is ever really outlawed? Follow the money.

Reverend Al · September 26, 2015, 07:34:15 PM

Quote from: LotsaBadKarma on September 26, 2015, 07:06:10 PM...Something else to consider that was made plain in the video is who stands to lose if corruption in DC is ever really outlawed? Follow the money.

It's always "follow the money". Whenever they start running those "Vote yes/no on Proposition X" commercials, I pay more attention to who's paying for them than to the "cause" they're trying to either support or discard. You can almost always tell which way to vote based on who's merely trying to protect their own selfish interests.

LotsaBadKarma · September 27, 2015, 01:19:16 AM

Strangely enough I had a thought about this whole corruption thing that actually gave me some relief. If I figure that the Constitution was ratified in 1787 and directed the government to provide for the common defense and promote domestic tranquility and yadda, yadda that it wasn't long afterward that they realized that they could actually regulate the practices of business and industry by the laws that they made. I figure that after the first law of that type was written it was probably a year or so before people started showing up with saddlebags full of gold to attempt to influence future legislation. So the guy who got elected 42 years or so ago, I think that's the senior member of either house, walked into a system that had already been corrupt for 150 years or thereabouts.
I can't answer the obvious question that pops into my mind which is why that makes me feel better. It just does.

BikerDude · September 28, 2015, 10:10:36 AM

I've actually been taking some solace in the strange phenomenon of The Trump.
In a way I believe that the democratic process is best served when there is someone like him to suck all the batshit crazy swine away from the pure politicians who cynically pander to scum to pad the numbers. What is left accounts for some measure of semi rational human beings.Well probably not even then.

But I'm telling you, Trump is not what he seems.

Reverend Al · September 28, 2015, 08:29:14 PM

Quote from: BikerDude on September 28, 2015, 10:10:36 AMI've actually been taking some solace in the strange phenomenon of The Trump.
In a way I believe that the democratic process is best served when there is someone like him to suck all the batshit crazy swine away from the pure politicians who cynically pander to scum to pad the numbers...

The danger is that there could be enough batshit crazy swine out there to actually get that egotistical asshat elected.