Religion, politics, sex .. and other taboo subjects

River

Active member
Here's a thread in which we may disregard the "taboo" against open discussion of topics like sex, politics and religion. Here we can discuss any damn thing, so long as we're relatively kind, adult and friendly (with a bit of politeness in the mix too).
 
So, any Bernie Sanders fans in here?

I remember -- not so long ago -- when pretty much everyone said "He has no shot at the White House" ... "... or even at the Democratic nomination.

But now it looks as if he does! Doesn't it? Just like I've been saying since before it became okay to say such a "crazy" thing.

What do you think?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CGGvunShwqg
 
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So, any Bernie Sanders fans in here?
Keeping my fingers crossed for him ever since I first heard of him. If I were American, I'd vote for him in a heartbeat without a moment of tummygrumbles... can't say that I've ever seen any US politician before about whom I could've said that (not even Obama).
 
Both my partners and I are feeling the Bern. I have no problem at all with democratic socialism. It's just a no-brainer. Fuck this country's wealthy selfish 1%. Free health care, college tuition, 4-6 weeks of paid vacation, and all the other things Western European countries have seems worth a few more taxes to me. Donald Trump is an ass clown and his followers scare the hell out of me. My primary partner and I have donated about $100 to Bernie's campaign.
 
I'd like to see Bernie Sanders win, but I'm not ready to get my hopes up yet.
 
Donald Trump is an ass clown and his followers scare the hell out of me.

Ain't that the truth! I wouldn't have guessed there were enough stupid people in the country to take his campaign seriously, or make it a serious contender for a major party nomination. But there you have it! Obviously this country is spilling over with scary people without much intelligence.

One thing he has shown, though is that the Republican party has gone entirely off the tracks into the zombie apocalypse of pure madness.

....

As much as I'd like to have a woman president, I could only just barely--and only maybe--get myself out of bed to vote against her opponent if she wins the Democratic party nomination.

I support Bernie. I have little faith in American politics, but I do support Bernie. He's the best, and most authentic, of the folks running. All the rest are losers or schmucks, crazies or bozos, or establishment butt-kissers.
 
I said,

Here we can discuss any damn thing, so long as we're relatively kind, adult and friendly (with a bit of politeness in the mix too).

And then I just said really terrible, mean, rotten things about a lot of people, didn't I? Damn. This being an adult thing is HARD!:(
 
As much as I'd like to have a woman president, I could only just barely--and only maybe--get myself out of bed to vote against her opponent if she wins the Democratic party nomination.
While I do think Hillary is kinda "meh"... if it should boil down to her vs. Trump, please, for the love of puppies and Christmas, do get out of bed and vote for her.

It would be "will probably not make the US a noticably better place" vs. "is all but guaranteed to try and turn the US into a fascist shithole".
 
I've liked Sanders since I first heard him on Thom Hartmann's radio show back around 2002.

I can't say as I'm wild about ANY candidate this year. Sanders is the one that I'm least unenthusiastic about, though. :D However, he's 74 :eek: -- four years of POTUS seems to steal a decade from the lifespan, & I'm not sure Bernie can last... which is okay by me IFF (a) he accepts this likelihood, & (b) he shows me a great VP selection.

I've been tracking the odds for about five years.
http://www.betvega.com/u-s-presidential-election-odds/
http://www.oddschecker.com/politics/us-politics/us-presidential-election-2016/winner

Poor Ben Carson -- worse chances than Mitt Romney. :(

Clinton has ~even odds to take the whole thing... but those numbers are based on the fragmented GOP slate. I'm keen to see how her numbers shift as the Reds flame out.

The Donald is a puffed up blowhard, but I'd take him in a heartbeat over Marco Rubio, who (IMO) would be happy to lead the charge toward nuclear Armageddon so that Jesus would give him a big hug (because apocalyptic Xtians really do have that failed an understanding of their own most-cherished prophecies).

Trump's big problem is that at some point he's gonna have to choose a veep. If he gets someone too much like him, this'll push away a bunch of marginal supporters who expect two people to have a MORE diverse skill-set than does either one. But if he grabs someone discernibly different, he'll probably lose the Extremist Nutball faction.

And if the GOP tries to rein Trump in, he could go independent & split the Rightist vote, ensuring a Dem win.
 
I have no problem at all with democratic socialism.

Same here. I'm really hoping the momentum he's gained with the younger crowd is enough to pull him through.

On Trump, I know more than a few people who are behind him only because they want to see someone other than a career politician take the nomination. I understand the sentiment, but not the candidate.
 
Current polls show that Trump is almost certain to win the Republican party nomination.

It's as if we're all having a very weird, bad dream. I would have bet money it could never happen in a million years. What a bizarre country the USA has become!
 
The US has always been a weird place. Mormonism is proof enough. Scientology is more proof.
 
I know one Trump supporter who is a crazy, hateful a-hole. Another who is an anarchist of the "chaos and nihilism, let it all burn" kind. That's about it.

Bernie is blowing up my Facebook feed day in and day out.

There is a group called "Bernie Sanders Dank Memes Stash"...frequently abbreviated BSDM. Which of course I keep mistaking for BDSM. Today I asked if anyone would just please photoshop me a pic of Bernie with a flogger for chrissakes and get it over with.

I call myself a "Liberal-tarian." I like many of the ideologies of the left, but I have trust issues about politicians in general, particularly the whole "I'm just gonna take your wealth and redistribute it right into my pocket." Trust issues. Libertarian is the opposite, the polar opposite, of socialist. And yet, I support Bernie. I like the guy.

Why?

Because listening to a politician say things that sound sensible, human, even...is such a rare event as to be PRECIOUS. And it gives me precious feelings. Also because Trump is one of the most horrifying human beings I've ever felt disgusted to be sharing breathing-air with. He is repugnant. And I'm not sure if Hilldog can beat him, and I don't really like her.

But the whole Trump thing makes my inner tinfoil hat baby nod knowingly. I don't trust the electoral process anymore, either. I think it's all engineered. And I don't think that Trump actually has the support that he pays the media to say he has....but he might be able to buy the election, too.

Trust issues.
 
Bernie is blowing up my Facebook feed day in and day out.

Hillary Clinton has 503 delegates and Bernie Sanders has 71. The alt-vote upstart always gets more buzz around this time in the election. Next Tuesday (Super Tuesday) will be the turning point and we'll likely have a clear sense of the nominees on Wednesday morning.
 
Hillary Clinton has 503 delegates and Bernie Sanders has 71. The alt-vote upstart always gets more buzz around this time in the election. Next Tuesday (Super Tuesday) will be the turning point and we'll likely have a clear sense of the nominees on Wednesday morning.

The fact that a candidate can have a strong majority of votes in any given state and yet lose that state in the primaries is a very big problem. And if Bernie ends up winning the popular vote by a significant margin in the nomination process and nevertheless loses the nomination, the Democratic party will not only look dumb but will in fact be dumb -- in both senses of the word. Or both deaf and dumb.

This problem needs fixing BEFORE it blows up in America's face in 2016, not after.

Hey, Democratic Party! Wake Up!

Will superdelegates hand the nomination to Clinton?

Far more superdelegates support Clinton than support Sanders. Her lead among superdelegates widened last week. Clinton could keep losing the popular vote while winning the delegate count. -- https://www.washingtonpost.com/news...ic-nominee-heres-everything-you-need-to-know/
 
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Politics

I really can't understand why anyone would vote for Hillary.

Please give me a reason, any good reason why someone would vote for Hillary, I would really like to know.

She is as dishonest as the day is long. She has been doing whatever she wants and getting away with things all her life. This is "her normal" She thinks she is entitled to do as she pleases without having to answer to anyone. She has never had to pay the consequences for her actions. She'll say whatever you want to hear as long as she gets what she wants, she's a habitual liar, it's all about her, always was always will be.

I respect Bernie Sanders, he is a man of his convictions, right or wrong whether you agree with him or not, he's an honest man and says what he believes. I agree it would be great to reap the benefits from what he is proposing but not for the price we would have to pay to get it. Socialism is not the answer for this country.

Politics in this country has gotten out of hand, the major corporations run this country and control the politicians, the rich get richer, the poor get poorer and there is no more middle class. We can't have politics as usual any more.

Cruz or Rubio would be just more of the same, Carson and Kasich are good people and could make a difference but it wouldn't be enough to make an impact. If they were to serve a term or two it would revert right back to the same old story.

This country needs to have thing shaken up, a major overhaul. Politics needs to have a change; at this point in time in the history of our country we need a man like Donald Trump to make those changes.

Donald Trump is a builder and a developer; it is in his nature to make improvements to things, that's what builders do. This country needs major improvements.

Here's an example: Sure he doesn't have the "details" of a comprehensive health plan but he doesn't pretend to. The other candidates claim they have a plan, do you really believe that? Do you really think a politician can navigate their way through medical plans and benefit packages and create a plan?

Trump will leave that to the professionals in the health care industry. He'll create the guidelines and ultimately create a plan/plans that will be beneficial to all, better than Obamacare for sure.

Trump has been in business for many years, has faced many real life situations using real money. Has had to make decisions that affect the return on his investments. He has built a very large company with his knowledge and his business acumen. He knows how to get things done; this is what our country needs. We need to be led in a new direction, cut out government waste and corruption, eliminate the corporate welfare, the pandering to the corporations from which the lobbyists are from. (rich getting richer)

Just look at how he has ran his campaign, his money, spent about the least and is ahead in the polls, (LOOK-return on his investment-Pretty Good). Look at the other candidates, other people's money, spend like a drunken sailor, behind in the polls, they don't care, it's not their money. What do you think they'll do when they get in office, just more of the same. There goes the deficit.

Well I guess you can see who I'm voting for, sorry I went on and on, but that's how I see it.
 
Well, firstly, you should put down that Kool-Aid & step away from the punchbowl. :p Clinton's been the Big Scary Feminazi for two decades, & the Right has been specifically stocking the survival shelters against Hilary since 2006 or so.

To backfill a little: since 1988, a GOP tactic has been (in essence) "let's take what we're doing, or intend to do, then blame our enemies for doing it!" because it weakens the likely criticism (making it appear as a tu quoque response). As an example,
I really can't understand why anyone would vote for George W Bush.
Please give me a reason, any good reason why someone would vote for Bush, I would really like to know.
He is as dishonest as the day is long. He has been doing whatever he wants and getting away with things all his life. This is "his normal" He thinks he is entitled to do as he pleases without having to answer to anyone. He has never had to pay the consequences for his actions. He'll say whatever you want to hear as long as he gets what he wants, he's a habitual liar, it's all about him, always was always will be.
It also works pretty well with "Donald Trump." :D I expect that those who had no problem with GWB will find The Donald a comfy fit.

(That's also the faction that actually looked into removing images of Thomas Jefferson from U.S. currency & even Mount Rushmore, & stirred up all the motheaten "he was screwing his slaves!!" hand-wringing. The plan was to replace his mug with that of Saint Ronnie. :eek: Why? Because Bill Clinton's middle name is "Jefferson." The pettiness only gets shallower.)

In any case, it's just prefab propaganda, from the faction that brought us tropes & memes like
  • "gas prices have doubled under Obama" (doesn't THAT one seem quaint now!!)
  • "Bush bashing"
  • France is a nation of cowards (for not leaping into a really stupid war)
  • "flip-flop"
  • purple Band-Aids
  • W Ketchup (because John Kerry's wife is the widow of Sen. Heinz :rolleyes:)
  • "save Medicare" (by removing people from the program, thereby "saving" it for a few)
  • & of course "blame gaming"
Here's a pretty good list, but the page has a bunch of trackers, so be warned.
http://www.addictinginfo.org/2015/1...-to-guide-for-understanding-gop-catchphrases/

As for Bernie turning the nation socialist... well, Kool-Aid comes in more than one color. ;) Vermont is less socialist than Minnesota (due to our Populist roots, which is why our Leftie party is named Democrat-Farmer-Labor, or DFL). Unless someone grants Sanders godlike powers, an Executive Order only goes so far, & he'd probably have to get a LOT of support from Congress, SCOTUS, & a huge majority of state governments to make even a few changes.

The term we've been using since the '90s is social capitalists -- I believe the best thing for business is to have a healthy & financially secure labor force. Business can & must take a back seat to that because, like cranky toddlers being forced to take medicine, they struggle simply because it's their wont. If megacorporations had a functioning brain amongst 'em, they'd FUND a free nationwide healthcare system!! (We could call it Donaldcare, if that makes some feel better.)

If you truly fear corporate domination, you wouldn't back Trump. If you want Trump, you want a government/corporate coalition that sees "the 99%" as little more than trivial, expendable assets, at best.

Two common warning signs that you've been infected with propaganda:
  1. demonizing imaginary villains (a "straw man" setup)
  2. sancitifying a Savior & getting all damp when speaking of him/her/it/them
 
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Does anyone else find it odd that the Reds have suddenly stopped demonizing queerfolk? We couldn't think of ONE MENTION of "gay marriage" in the GOP debates, much less a promise to (like every Obama-era advance) immediately repeal it.

Has Jaaaaaaayzuss been found to actually support them homersekshals...? :D
 
The Reds? I assume you mean the Right?

They haven't, they are just disguising the same old bigotry as 'religious freedom'. There are plethora of state bills on this topic. It's just another tactic to discriminate. Or they are targeting trans people - see all the heinous 'biological sex bathroom' bills pending in states (North Dakota legislature passed one, not sure if the governor signed it yet.)
 
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