Dutch Wrote:

that guy in AZ Wrote:

Fortunately, our allies in Europe know that the "threat" from Iran is nonsense. If Trump (or Bolton) is dumb enough to escalate the situation, they are not going to get any sympathy from anybody else.

Intelligence and military officials in Europe as well as in the United States said that over the past year, most aggressive moves have originated not in Tehran, but in Washington — where John R. Bolton, the national security adviser, has prodded President Trump into backing Iran into a corner.

The anti-Iran push has proved difficult even among the allies, which remember a similar campaign against Iraq that was led in part by Mr. Bolton and was fueled by false claims that Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction.

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/05/14/world/middleeast/trump-iran-threats.html?smid=nytcore-ios-share

Bolton and trump are out of luck; Iran just announced that they absolutely don't want an war and will not instigate it.

But yeah Trump and Bolton may be stupid enough to start something. The UN may interfere as well this time I hope.

The UN won’t interfere. The U.S. will veto anything and everything. The U.S. only pays attention to the UN when it wants something. Being a permanent member of the security council means that we can do whatever the fuck we want.

The main problem with the Idiot-in-Chief and his chicken hawk sidekick is that an invasion of Iran would make Iraq look like a walk in the park.

that guy in AZ Wrote:

The Alabama law would even penalize women who traveled out of state to have an abortion in states where it is legal, so apparently Alabama lawmakers think that women are property of the state. The paragraph below explains the rationale for all the crazy abortion laws that are sweeping the country.

Opponents have vowed to challenge the measure in federal court if it becomes law. Even the legislation’s supporters expect that a lower court will block the measure. But it was drafted with exactly that in mind. The ban’s architects, reflecting the rising confidence of abortion critics nationwide after the appointment of Brett M. Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court, hope that the justices will use the case to reconsider the central holding in Roe and allow the Alabama measure to take effect.

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/05/14/us/abortion-law-alabama.html?action=click&module=Top%20Stories&pgtype=Homepage

As always, the states are taking their "marching orders" from ALEC, which published the article below in 1985:

https://www.alecexposed.org/w/images/1/11/5B5-Parental_Consent_For_Abortion_Act_Exposed.pdf

The ALEC website itself has a HUGE number of positions. You won't find "abortion" using the search bar, but their positions on many topics will make you cringe.

Karen Hedwig Backm Wrote:

I do not believe in anything other than science and facts. However, I am fine with the beliefs of others, true or false, as long as they do not injure or restrict others.

But, I am having a serious problem with the Alabama litmus test for political candidates:

Are you a member of a faith community?

Are you pro-life?

I am seriously offended by those questions, especially as a non-member of a "faith" community, or as a person who questions the real meaning of the term "pro-life".

How can you call yourself pro-life when you do not have a problem with the fact that an American woman is seven times more likely to die of pregnancy-related complications than a Finnish woman, simply because these so-called "pro-life" people do not believe in prenatal and obstetric care for pregnant women, especially poor women. These harsh facts of American life are even harsher in the so-called "pro-life" state of Alabama.

Hypocrisy. Pure and simple and evil hypocrisy.

And, the issue of so-called "faith". What kind of evil devil do these so-called "pro-life" people worship if they refuse to feed the hungry, give water to the thirsty, homes to the homeless, medical care to the sick?

What kind of "faith" is that?

Hypocrisy. Pure and simple and evil hypocrisy.

Just stop it with the sanctimonious litmus test for political candidates.

And the endemic deceit and dishonesty found in your ranks.

wwjd Wrote:

If the Mueller report were to summarize Donald Trump as president and person: "A total fuck-up".

The report clearly provides evidence that Trump is not even remotely qualified to be president. In all seriousness, 99% of the adult population is more qualified.

Here is the #1 reason why Trump is total fuck-up. Trump never planned to become president, the whole presidential campaign was to increase his public image and brand awareness, he fucked that up and got elected. Trump's ideal scenario would be that he looses the election by a few electoral votes(ie 1 state difference), but he wins the popular vote by a few millions. In that scenario, he gets to be the Republican hero as the self-proclaimed victim of a rigged system by the Deep State. Post election after loosing, he would remain in the spot light as the #1 Republican spokeperson claiming that HC was illegitimate president because he won the popular vote, and she's the head of The Deep State... But, Like everything he touches, he screwed it all up, he won the election. If he had lost the election, nobody would want to have him investigated, nobody would be asking for his tax returns, he would be extremely popular with republicans, and most of all, he would be far richer for having lost, than having won. What a total fuck-up at everything he does, and destroys everything and everyone he touches. If Trump travels through your neighborhood, make sure you have as much insurance you can afford...lol

I have to disagree, wwjd. Trump most certainly wanted to be president. What he didn’t want was to actually do the work. Iirc, he said during the campaign that he would push the domestic and foreign policy onto Pence. In other words he wanted glitz and to be at the center of attention. What he did not realize because he is incapable of realizing is that the job is not that of a CEO. His childish behavior and immaturity categorized as successful businessman, which he wasn’t, exposed him as a fraud incapable of doing the job.

And if the Democratic Party is not careful he will get re-elected.

Chet Ruminski Wrote: I posed the theory to the conservative father that insurance is a form of socialising risk by many people pooling there money to offset the cost of automobile insurance. His right wing reply was "insurance is a choice". I said auto insurance is almost universally required by law.

that guy in AZ Wrote:

I received an ad today on my news feed from AMAC, which touts itself as an alternative to AARP.

AMAC is the acronym that describes the Association of Mature American Citizens, and it prides itself on being a CONSERVATIVE organization.

https://amac.us/

According to Wikipedia, AMAC was founded in 2007, and it has roughly 1.1 million members.

AMAC describes itself as "vigorously conservative" and gained support from talk show host Glenn Beck and other conservative figures. AMAC strongly opposes the Affordable Care Act (ACA) and has pushed for its repeal. In March 2014, AMAC claimed a membership of 1.1 million members, up from 40,000 in 2008, which it attributed to backlash over the ACA.

AMAC supports a plan for Social Security which would gradually increase the earliest retirement age to 64 (from 62) and "guarantee cost-of-living increases in a tiered structure based on income."AMAC supports the oil and gas industry, claiming that they "are safer for the environment than ever." The group's president, Dan Weber, called for a rollback of Obama administration policies to promote clean energy.

The AMAC has a volunteer "delegate" program, aiming to select an AMAC member in each congressional district across the country to meet and lobby members of Congress.

In February 2017 AMAC issued a warning to the upcoming 2017 Academy Awards ceremony to not tolerate speeches against President Donald Trump, threatening to launch a boycott of theaters.

(editors note: what does the 1st amendment say about that?)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Association_of_Mature_American_Citizens

AARP, founded in 1958, has 38,000,000 members.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AARP

If I had to guess, I would predict that 100% of the AMAC members are FOX viewers, and I am fairly certain that ALL of them voted for Trump.

Schmidt Wrote:

I should add that for anyone who wants a hefty dose of realism, join a campaign and knock on the doors of unaffiliated voters. Have conversations with them on a whole host of issues. In my canvassing, I picked out houses by age groups hitting the over 70s in the afternoon (retirees) and hitting the "working class" after 5:00 pm. I would often catch blue collar workers coming home in their coveralls and have a conversation with them in their driveways.

These blue collar workers are proud of what they have achieved in life by their hard work. When I mention free college to them they push back saying they were able to send their kids to college by working hard and don't see why any liberal "elitist" should get anything free. Tax payers like themselves, they say, ultimately end up paying for everyone's free stuff. I have paraphrased that sentiment, but rightly or wrongly it was a common message I heard from the blue collar working class.

Oh and they voted for Trump, and plan to do so again. As the Democratic Party moves further left, don't expect to pick up any of these unaffiliated workers.

Canvassing is an excellent idea. In canvassing the use of language is critical.

Question: What do you think of free college?

Answer: Why should “my tax dollars” pay for some liberal elitist’s kids to go to college.

Question: What would you think of a program that helped YOUR kids get ahead by paying for their education?

I don’t know the answer but I would bet it would be different than the first one.