General US Politics

[UNLEASH IT]

Alright Sanders, wrap it up. Can't see anyway back for him now

 

 

Edited March 18, 2020 by UNLEASH IT

[Strullemia]

What a shame. Bernie seemed like a really good guy. I might have even voted for him if he was born in my country and unlike America we don’t have some of the big issues he’s talking about or at the very least not to the extent of the US.

Edited March 18, 2020 by Strullemia

[Ingen]

21 hours ago, XRay said:

I think one easy policy to implement immediately is to increase taxation on gasoline and carbon in general. I have voted in favor for every single tax increase on gasoline in California, and I still think those taxes increases are not enough.

Governments around the world also needs to stop propping up the coal industry because it is not really viable economically anymore.
https://www.vox.com/energy-and-environment/2020/3/14/21177941/climate-change-coal-renewable-energy
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/mar/12/wind-and-solar-plants-will-soon-be-cheaper-than-coal-in-all-big-markets-around-world-analysis-finds
https://e360.yale.edu/features/as-investors-and-insurers-back-away-the-economics-of-coal-turn-toxic

Another important policy to implement is to improve public transportation and invest in high speed rail. These are not cheap, but they are crucial in my opinion to help cut the demand for cars.

Something that needs to be talked about more is what a carbon neutral economy would even look like, let alone how it would work. Even if solar and wind power are less costly per kWh to install, maintain and decommission, people want to know what's going to happen when the sun isn't shining and the wind not blowing.

To give an idea, I'm going to point to the highest-hanging fruit I can see: synthetic hydrocarbon fuels. Normally, when fossil fuels are burned up using oxygen, you get water vapor and CO₂. Making synthetic hydrocarbon fuels essentially reverses this process. It's possible to make synthetic fuels using wind and solar electricity. For all intents and purposes, one would need to ingredients to make synthetic fuels: hydrogen and CO₂. The H₂O that makes up water can be split into H₂ (hydrogen) and O₂ (oxygen) using green electricity. CO₂ can be captured from the air. With the right equipment and the right steps, one could end up with a liquid fuel resembling petroleum fuels. Alternatively, one could make synthetic natural gas. So overall, you start with water, CO₂ and energy and end up with petroleum-like fuels. If petroleum substitutes can be made competitively using renewable energy, it would be the ultimate Game Over for fossil fuels.

I must re-iterate that this is the highest-hanging fruit. The thing is, once you have hydrogen, it is often more efficient to just use hydrogen instead of going through the hassle of making synthetic fuels. There will be cases where even the hydrogen production step could be skipped.

The problem of how to manage variable and intermittent wind and solar energy is something I've been dabbling in for quite some time. AMA.

[Johann]

6 minutes ago, Ingen said:

The problem of how to manage variable and intermittent wind and solar energy is something I've been dabbling in for quite some time. AMA.

With enough of an installation base and battery/reserve systems, it wouldn't be a problem. It's common for people with photovoltaic systems on their houses to get credited for their excess energy production. There's also a lot that can be done in terms of efficiency, with decentralized energy systems helping against losses from transmission being one example.

[Zapp Branniglenn]

There isn't a whole lot to talk about in US politics that doesn't reflect very directly back to COVID, but I think we're on the verge of something interesting right now with the Senate's Relief Bill. Beyond just acknowledging the threat of the virus, the discussion seems to have come down to one side saying "what, you think we should just PAY Americans to not work?" and the other side throwing up their hands to say "...yes!". Now I'm not saying Universal Basic Income is right around the corner, but it reminds me of how this country handled the Great Depression. That "Socialist Revolution" that Americans feared for decades had finally come and kind of saved everything. Once we got back on our feet, nobody really pushed to go back to the way things were, even if they initially hoped the changes to be temporary.

Maybe I'm just overestimating the situation, but if our country is going to provide medical care to this many patients, then we'll realize just how trivial the universal health care models always were when only a fraction of people were this sick at a time. 

 

[Lewyn]

That's what Republican officials fear, if Universal Health Care, higher minimum wage, and other "Socialist" measures pass, people will realize how much better things are and not want to go back even the ones brainwashed by Death panel nonsense and other Fox hysterics.  Republicans are the wealthy the powerful, most don't give a crap about the poor or even the middle class. There shouldn't be a minimum wage at all according to Republican core beliefs.  Let businesses do whatever they want without any regulation.  Unions are bad.  Humane working conditions are bad, etc. 

It's why Bernie being elected with a Democrat majority in House and Senate would be so good.  Granted there are moderate Dems not on board with all of his stuff, but it would have been a big push towards making this country a better more humane place.  

Now with the election mostly sidelined, and everyone focused on the virus.  Trump is getting constant attention.  His daily briefings are mini rallies, where status of bills/Corona is stated but of course tons of gloating about how awesome he is at everything followed by Pence who looks at him like he is Jesus Christ 2nd coming showering him with extravagant praise.  

 

[Interdimensional Observer]

34 minutes ago, Lewyn said:

Now with the election mostly sidelined, and everyone focused on the virus.  Trump is getting constant attention.  His daily briefings are mini rallies, where status of bills/Corona is stated but of course tons of gloating about how awesome he is at everything followed by Pence who looks at him like he is Jesus Christ 2nd coming showering him with extravagant praise.  

I wouldn't go so far as to call them "mini-rallies". Trump does not like press briefings, he loathes the criticism of the journalists, and the sycophantic praise from Pence and other public officials (although they might just be trying to avoid antagonizing their employer so they can do their job despite what they really think of him) is likely not enough for him. He is only doing these because he has been forced to, he can't do his beloved rallies with thousands of his adoring base for the time being.

He is trying the make the most of an unfun situation for himself. If he can't sweep Coronavirus under a rug as a hoax, as he originally wanted to, he'll admit to a temporary crisis, and during it claim himself the savior. Yet as his desires to prematurely reopen the economy despite the Coronavirus still raging indicate, he'd rather have the markets return to normal ASAP for the sake of his re-election chances and get back to his rallies, at the price of human lives and inflicting additional suffering. He basically admitted as much today.

 

Yes, Biden and Sanders have been sidelined for now, which I can understand the perspective as this benefitting Trump. But, I don't think his poll numbers deviated from where they usually were when this crisis had just begun. Not sure where they are now, but considering Trump is the "teflon caked in grease + base" president, it can't have deviated very much from where it has stood since his presidency began.

Democratic morale and passion? Those I can see having taken a hit, even if Biden clinching Super Tuesday and the Tuesday thereafter meant it was just a victory march and residual resistance that remained.

[Zapp Branniglenn]

Trump and his cronies are eeking out a few propaganda talking points here and there. Mostly trying to convince Americans they must get back to work for the DOW, so that Trump's poor numbers can be as high as he wants. And some right wing pundits trying to convince you that dying to this virus by going outside should be considered an honor since you "died for your country". But yeah those press briefings are far from rallies. There's no applause, no smug tones, he has to answer questions from reporters which he never enjoys, he has to read the script, and some of the actual experts up there with him are not afraid to directly contradict anything he just said on national TV. Trump has lived his life denying everything - and it always worked for him. But he can't deny the coronavirus was something he failed to protect us from. Less than a month ago he was insisting that the threat posed by the virus was just a cheap hoax talking point, and look where we are now. Heck we can't even accurately gauge how many people are infected simply because we don't have the appropriate infrastructure to run enough tests for that data. There isn't a single American that avoided inconvenience by the virus, not even the most privileged. Come November, it will be hard to forget. This whole crisis will also have armed the democratic party with plenty of ammunition for the general election. Not that lack of ammunition was ever the concern, but the virus is different from past allegations in the sense of who was affected. 

That having been said, Democrats can't just look at the election as an easy win, or we'll get a repeat of last time. Their priorities ought to include making sure all Americans can vote on Super Tuesday. I don't think anybody is projecting that quarantines will last until then, but this is a hell of an excuse to make mail-in ballots the standard nationwide. Something like "holding a national election today is impossible, whose to say that won't be the case in seven months? Flu seasons reverberate, can we afford to take risks on so important an election?". I've enjoyed that ease of voting for years, it's excellent. I can't imagine having to go to a place and stand in line like some kind of chump.

Bernie's roast of the Senate is also pretty entertaining. 

 

Edited March 26, 2020 by Glennstavos

[eclipse]

I did some research on how easy it is to obtain a mail-in ballot in a state that wasn't my own.  It was horrifying.  I think absentee ballots on demand should be a right.  I'm lucky that Hawaii is pretty reasonable about it.  Thought it was the same elsewhere, got a rude awakening.

[Tryhard]

So it appears that Biden has his own sexual assault accusations if you look up the name Tara Reade.

I'm sure any feminists are looking forward to having a choice between two old men accused of sexual assault.

[Shoblongoo]

25 minutes ago, Tryhard said:

So it appears that Biden has his own sexual assault accusations if you look up the name Tara Reade.

I'm sure any feminists are looking forward to having a choice between two old men accused of sexual assault.

Ya know—I’m willing to give Biden a benefit-of-the-doubt that I didn’t give to the guy who bragged “when you’re a star they let you do it. You can do anything. Grab em by the pussy.”

[Tryhard]

1 hour ago, Shoblongoo said:

Ya know—I’m willing to give Biden a benefit-of-the-doubt that I didn’t give to the guy who bragged “when you’re a star they let you do it. You can do anything. Grab em by the pussy.”

That's the thing though, theres videos of Joe Biden not understanding the boundaries of personal space like the rest of us and clearly making people uncomfortable too.

Evidently, the same bad faith actors will jump on this and suddenly start caring about sexual assault accusations when they didnt for Trump, Kavanaugh, or Roy Moore, but perhaps it would be easier to make the argument that each case should be taken on its credibility if Biden hadnt said this type of stuff before.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/joe-biden-when-a-woman-alleges-sexual-assault-presume-she-is-telling-the-truth/2018/09/17/7718c532-badd-11e8-a8aa-860695e7f3fc_story.html

There's going to be a lot of liberals that give this a pass, though, but I'd have a hard time arguing against someone who would say they arent voting for Biden because he's a creep.

Edited March 26, 2020 by Tryhard

[eclipse]

Welp, that's one way to ensure that I vote for a third-party.

[DehNutCase]

Well that's basically the trick of the two party system, isn't it?

 

Give people two awful choices and it doesn't really matter who they vote for. Either they vote for one of the two, in which case it doesn't matter since they're both awful. Or they don't. In which case their vote doesn't matter since either: A, they don't vote at all, or B, they vote for a third party candidate---which means their votes don't matter.

The fact that both parties did that implies both sides want a weak executive branch, though. Interesting choice since we're in a situation where a strong executive branch would be useful, but *shrug.*

[Zapp Branniglenn]

Biden's history of fighting against sexual violence is long and frankly pretty good, so it's shocking news if true. We picked a hell of a time to pick up this story, since the allegations were made public a year ago, and if this had gained traction just a few months earlier it could have flipped the primary results. Biden's lead is still statistically pretty narrow, so Biden getting grilled on this during a debate would have turned heads even in a country prone to ignoring sexual assault allegations.

59 minutes ago, eclipse said:

Welp, that's one way to ensure that I vote for a third-party.

You made that decision before you've heard any options? I guess it's easier to make the less research you do...

Edited March 26, 2020 by Glennstavos

[Shoblongoo]

It’s an easy decision to make when you live in a state where your vote doesn’t matter because of the dumb way we do national elections. Not like Hawaii is in any real danger of going Red.

Edited March 26, 2020 by Shoblongoo

[Lewyn]

It isn't quite a rally, but polls so higher and higher approval ratings for Trump cause of all the publicity he is getting.  Most people are stuck at home and many tune in to the daily briefings, in which case there is a ton of patting himself on the back, saying he did a 10/10, inherited a broken system but made a new great one and much more BS.  If this virus problem extends to close to the election he will be unbeatable unless things go really bad.  

I'm in a blue state too, but Trump is a the biggest piece of garbage even if Biden isn't perfect I don't care Trump must be removed no matter what.  Hell I'd vote for most of the worst violent criminals on Death Row if they were the other party candidate.

Also if hypocritical Republicans bring up Biden being too touchy feely, it is a drop in the ocean compared to Trump.  However they will use this to make it seem like see Biden is just as bad as Trump in this regard or some other BS, so hey both are bad, don't vote for Biden Democrats.  This could have a major impact in swing states.

That Bernie clip was gold, the poor are treated like shit.  You think people want to be on food stamps, disability, welfare?  Most are ashamed and it is barely enough to live on and can be cut off at any time, this is such an offensive argument by Republicans.  I remember during Bush Jr presidency he had some middle aged woman on TV praising her as she was a single mom working 3 jobs and like 100+ hours a week to support her kids.  Hey maybe if wages weren't such crap some people wouldn't have to work 80+ hours just to barely get by?  

[XRay]

4 hours ago, Lewyn said:

That Bernie clip was gold, the poor are treated like shit.  You think people want to be on food stamps, disability, welfare?  Most are ashamed and it is barely enough to live on and can be cut off at any time, this is such an offensive argument by Republicans.  I remember during Bush Jr presidency he had some middle aged woman on TV praising her as she was a single mom working 3 jobs and like 100+ hours a week to support her kids.  Hey maybe if wages weren't such crap some people wouldn't have to work 80+ hours just to barely get by?  

Feels like a whole host interrelated issues. We need better education, better infrastructure, better healthcare, better foreign policy, better everything. Felt like nothing was done lately with Republicans in charge. At least back then during the Bush years, I remember No Child Left Behind so they did something. I am not sure what Trump and the Republicans did the last 4 years that was significantly beneficial.

[eclipse]

7 hours ago, Glennstavos said:

You made that decision before you've heard any options? I guess it's easier to make the less research you do...

The only way Trump will get Hawaii's votes is if all the locals mysteriously vanish.  Hawaii has a complicated history, but one of the few things the majority of us can agree on is that Trump is an eyesore.  We'll most likely go third party long before we vote him.

1 hour ago, XRay said:

At least back then during the Bush years, I remember No Child Left Behind so they did something.\

That wasn't a good thing. . .

[XRay]

54 minutes ago, eclipse said:

That wasn't a good thing. . .

It was something. At least the intent was there to attempt to address our education system.

I cannot name a thing that Republicans or Trump did during this administration that has the intent to benefit America significantly. While I support the trade war against China and I think it is a good thing overall, it is fucking over our farmers. They claim the tax cuts will help boost the economy, which it sort of did, but it was temporary and most of the tax cuts went to the shareholders who needs it the least, not the workers who needs it the most; basically it is a poorly disguised excuse to reduce taxes on the rich. Trump's friendly gesture towards North Korea was nice and I think he deserves credit for trying to thaw relations, but it does not really benefit America in any significant way.

[Excellen Browning]

"They attempted to do something and it worked horribly" is probably an accurate description of the Bush jr administration.

[XRay]

27 minutes ago, Excellen Browning said:

"They attempted to do something and it worked horribly" is probably an accurate description of the Bush jr administration.

I lowered my standards to look at purely intent on improving the country significantly, regardless of outcome, and Trump and the Republicans still fail to meet that standard lately.

Talking to North Korea does jack shit for America. Tax cuts are a poorly disguised excuse to enrich themselves. Trump went ahead with the trade war anyway despite knowing China can retaliate against his base and he did it anyway, so he hardly even cares about his constituents and it is just for the ego boost; I might approve of the trade war, but I am also not a farmer who is significantly negatively impacted by it.

[Lewyn]

17 hours ago, XRay said:

Feels like a whole host interrelated issues. We need better education, better infrastructure, better healthcare, better foreign policy, better everything. Felt like nothing was done lately with Republicans in charge. At least back then during the Bush years, I remember No Child Left Behind so they did something. I am not sure what Trump and the Republicans did the last 4 years that was significantly beneficial.

Yeah we need all of that, what is frustrating about Republicans is not only do they move these issues forward they actually go backwards.  Chipping away at the ACA, can't get it repealed in Congress so now trying to through the courts.  Taking away the requirement of schools to have healthy meal choices, taking away the clean water act, the emissions act.  Trying to do away with social security, food stamps, etc.  Cutting funding to schools.  

 

[Zapp Branniglenn]

I dunno what the No Child Left Behind Act was meant to accomplish but I know it didn't take long to spiral out of control with all those standardized tests. Combined with cut funding for schools, the school year shrunk entire weeks while the amount of tests increased. Teachers very strictly had to build curriculums out of those tests and not comprehensive or interesting overviews of the subjects. There just wasn't any time for stuff outside of test prep, since that's how the schools receive additional funding. By the way, who's idea was it to make education a meritocracy anyway? It makes bad schools worse and ultimately have to shut down and that leads to larger class sizes and more workload for teachers. This rant is going to go into six more directions if I don't stop now.

[XRay]

1 hour ago, Glennstavos said:

I dunno what the No Child Left Behind Act was meant to accomplish but I know it didn't take long to spiral out of control with all those standardized tests. Combined with cut funding for schools, the school year shrunk entire weeks while the amount of tests increased. Teachers very strictly had to build curriculums out of those tests and not comprehensive or interesting overviews of the subjects. There just wasn't any time for stuff outside of test prep, since that's how the schools receive additional funding. By the way, who's idea was it to make education a meritocracy anyway? It makes bad schools worse and ultimately have to shut down and that leads to larger class sizes and more workload for teachers. This rant is going to go into six more directions if I don't stop now.

The basic idea is to improve the education system, and they measure that via standardized tests. It was not the best executed policy, but the intention was there and it was pure (I think, I do not think any corporation was trying to profit off of it directly).

Republicans lately on the other hand did not do, let alone tried, anything that is significantly beneficial to the country. The closest thing was the trade war with China, but the politicians knew it was going to hurt their constituents but supported Trump anyways. At least Bush and Republicans back then could claim that they did not know it was a bad policy, and there was large bipartisan support in the beginning too.