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August West
Trad climber
Where the wind blows strange
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Jun 27, 2018 - 10:57am PT
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There isn't much shame left in the Republican party. Naked hypocracy is the norm. Being hypocritical isn't a new invention, but it has gotten a lot worse. I think this is another effect of the echo chamber. When you have professional looking commentators presenting this all with a straight face, it is easy to buy into. Those that point out the hypocrisy are the enemy peddling fake news.
There were some down sides when Walter Cronkite and the New York Times had a near duopoly on deciding what did and did not qualify as newsworthy. But neither did you get the across the board lying and hypocrisy that you can get away with today. In today's political world, you can get away with complete lies about simple facts. Like whether the overall violent crime rate is going up or down. Whether the deficit went up or down under Obama. Whether total government spending went up or down under Obama. Those sorts of lies were harder to sustain in that political environment. There were still plenty of problems. The media generally took the governments lies on the Vietnam war far too long. On the other hand, when Cronkite told the nation that he didn't think the war was winnable you couldn't escape to the safety of Fox news saying everything is going great.
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Tom
Big Wall climber
San Luis Obispo CA
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Topic Author's Reply - Jun 27, 2018 - 11:00am PT
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^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
The current news landscape is analogous to the current music landscape.
Back when a few music companies ruled the industry, and were the only ones who could finance the production of expensive studio albums, there was a rather high degree of discrimination, to ensure that only high quality music made it onto vinyl. The companies had a monopoly, but it was a (somewhat) benign monopoly. When you bought an album, you were guaranteed that it would at least have the hit song you heard on the radio, and (if you were lucky), some other tracks that were also good.
Now, anybody with a fake iPhone can use it to record, mix and distribute barely-controlled noise, and call it music. Freedom from the music companies' monopoly has come with a loss of the filtering function that they provided. There is a tremendous range of music available, but it's difficult to sort out what is good music, and what is just noise.
The news environment today is the same. Anybody with a fake iPhone can use it to record, mix and distribute barely-controlled noise, and call it news. The freedom of speech the internet has given us has come with a loss of the filtering function that the newspapers and television stations used to provide. There are many, many sources of "news", but it is difficult to sort out what is valid, factual reporting, and what is just noise.
Previously, there had been "fake news" in the form of scandalous and sensationalist fictional tabloid magazines, like The National Enquirer. Nobody with a brain believed any of that tabloid trash was true. Rupert Murdoch, a publisher of tabloid trash, adapted the scandalous and sensationalist fictional format, put it on television, and called it Fox News.
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August West
Trad climber
Where the wind blows strange
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Jun 27, 2018 - 11:09am PT
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There are some things that are generally regarded as left wing issues that I would support. Single payer universal health care. A much more aggressive approach to climate change.
Not sure what her hand bill means by fully funded Universities. I think you should be able to go to college regardless of income level and not have crushing debt when you graduate. But the totally free model has its own distortions and problems.
But in our kindergarten level of political discourse and angry partisans and angry populists, I think it is likely that the Dems will go down the trail that the R's have blazed. A system where there is only two parties but both parties are reasonably functional and can usually talk about the issues based on facts is not a particularly good one. A two party system where only one party makes much of an attempt to be grounded in reality is really bad. A two party system where each party conducts all of its debates based on its own fantasies... I'm not looking forward to that, but I fear that is where we are headed.
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dirtbag
climber
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Jun 27, 2018 - 11:24am PT
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Looks like Kennedy just retired and trump can nominate a second Justice, which will likely solidify a right wing court for decades.
It sure is a good thing hillary didn’t win!
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couchmaster
climber
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Jun 27, 2018 - 11:34am PT
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Ah ha, hallo. Interrupting the Cabestros circle jerk Querencia Phase discussion uno momento. Regarding todays news: I only have 123 shares of this on Predictit. Sigh, I'd had craploads more but sold them off in a moment of doubt. Base hit, not the home run it could have been but not tired of winning yet, even small wins. Shares went from .53/per to .97/per share in seconds. https://apnews.com/43de809e3c144a1f9048055386394263
BTW, anyone wants to make a buck, Biden shares are only .16/share right now. Somehow, Kamala, doesn't have a chance in hell, Harris, is more popular now at .19/share. Folks aren't lining up behind Elisabeth Warren either, she's at .11/ea. Maybe she has the wrong nickname? https://www.predictit.org/Market/3633/Who-will-win-the-2020-Democratic-presidential-nomination
YRMV!
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Tom
Big Wall climber
San Luis Obispo CA
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Topic Author's Reply - Jun 27, 2018 - 11:45am PT
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^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
How very British of you, wagering sums on everyday outcomes. Did the Brexit vote make your bank?
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Jorroh
climber
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Jun 27, 2018 - 12:20pm PT
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Norton
Annual Per Capita cost of Healthcare:
USA $9k pp
UK 4k pp
5k x 350,000,000 =1750000000k = 1.75T
Not sure I understand the "where is the money going to come from" argument.
As an aside, overall, health outcomes are better in the UK. All this despite the fact that conservative and new labor governments have been trying the undermine the national health service for nearly 40 years.
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kunlun_shan
Mountain climber
SF, CA
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Jun 27, 2018 - 01:04pm PT
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would love to know a bit more about how she plans to pay for it?
Easy peasy! Just reduce the military budget and there's more than enough to pay for it. ;-)
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10b4me
Social climber
Lida Junction
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Jun 27, 2018 - 01:16pm PT
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I have no beef with her platform as shown on her hand-bill but would love to know a bit more about how she plans to pay for it? Confiscate the wealth of the top 1%? Create significant tax breaks for law-abiding companies that invest in elements of her platform?
Xcon -when you are done bomb-throwing pray enlighten us
anyone know to her republican opponent is?
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wilbeer
Mountain climber
Terence Wilson greeneck alleghenys,ny,
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Jun 27, 2018 - 02:11pm PT
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I believe her district is the Bronx,the only urban area in New York State that Bernie won in.
Good on her!
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Norton
climber
The Wastelands
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Jun 27, 2018 - 02:33pm PT
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Jorroh,
I could not agree with you more in your contention that the US pays far more for healthcare results than anyone else.
My point has to do with the political reality of rounding up enough Republicans to join Democrats to ensure passage of a healthcare bill that would significantly reduce and better prioritize healthcare spending,
I have zero faith in republicans to do anything at all that actually benefits anyone other than the very upper classes in America, those that need help the least.
The ACA, while flawed, was a tremendous step forward and it was passed with zero Republican support, and now with a strongly conservative Supreme Court much of the ACA could be destroyed, depriving ten of millions of Americans of healthcare.
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Ghost
climber
A long way from where I started
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Jun 27, 2018 - 02:45pm PT
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...the ACA could be destroyed, depriving ten of millions of Americans of healthcare.
That, along with the job losses and economic hardship generated by the trade war could send millions of Americans fleeing to countries where they have a hope of a better life.
Hmmm. Maybe Mexico will fund that wall...
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Jorroh
climber
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Jun 27, 2018 - 02:58pm PT
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Norton
Short term, I think the approach that you suggest is what has given the Republicans such a strong hand when setting the agenda, not just for healthcare but for all sorts of issues.
Long term, this Clinton approach (starting with bill) of butting your policies right up against those of the republicans with the hope of electoral success and subsequent incremental progress has been overtaken by events, but more importantly always relied on a misunderstanding of what motivates many (maybe most) republican voters. It worked for a couple of elections, it's not going to work anymore.
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Tom
Big Wall climber
San Luis Obispo CA
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Topic Author's Reply - Jun 27, 2018 - 03:01pm PT
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When Trump met with Kim Jong-Un earlier this month, he demonstrated what a buffoon he is. When greeting one of Kim's generals, Trump fell for the schoolboy's handshake trick, "Down Low - Too Slow", which caught him off guard, so he saluted the general.
Now, Trump is poised to be a laughing stock on a wider scale.
The son of a Russian oligarch, Emin Agalarov, is a Russian pop star, and has produced a song and video to set the stage for Trump's upcoming summit meeting with Vladimir Putin. Aras Agalarov, like all Russian oligarchs, has close ties to Putin.
Emin Agalarov was the person who connected Donald Trump Jr. to Russians with "dirt" on Hillary Clinton during the 2016 election. Both Agalarovs were closely involved in Trump's 2013 Miss Universe beauty pageant in Moscow. Emin Agalarov served as an MC, and performed at least one song during the show. Trump Sr. appears in a music video for one of Emin's songs, In Another Life. Aras Agalarov was Putin's point man for Trump's now-defunct Moscow hotel project, and he has been to Trump Tower at least once.
Emin's song and video, Got Me Good, is sung in English, and mocks Donald Trump and the current American political situation. Trump is portrayed in the video as a buffoon on the world stage, being ridiculed by everyone from Stormy Daniels to Kim Jong-Un. The notorious Steele Dossier, with its lurid disclosure of Trump's urophilia, features heavily in the video. Actual footage of Trump, his family, and various characters in Trump's tragic-comedy world is mixed with actors portraying the same people in satirical vignettes. A recurring theme is information and money being passed from hand to hand; in one scene, Emin hands "Ivanka" a satchel.
The lyrics You Got Me Good are intended to indicate what Trump will be saying to Vladimir Putin at their summit meeting.
[Click to View YouTube Video]
What Trump is doing to America is not funny, and now he's got the whole world laughing at us.
The Russians aren't even trying to hide what they did. They're gloating over the havoc they're wreaking in the United States.
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Gary
Social climber
Desolation Basin, Calif.
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Jun 27, 2018 - 06:22pm PT
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exactly the problem I have with Bernie Sanders' "free college", "medicare for all"
his solution to pay for all that is the same as hers, tax the rich
Or gut the Pentagon.
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wilbeer
Mountain climber
Terence Wilson greeneck alleghenys,ny,
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Jun 27, 2018 - 06:38pm PT
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Hardly have to gut it,really.
You folks are really fake news personified,Bernie proposed free college and he was going to pay for it on a single traders tax,taxing each transaction 25 cents.
Get informed ,really.
And ,seeing this thread is about Trump,why aren’t the left saying ,we should not allow any Supreme Court justices to be nominated by a POTUS under investigation or at least until he has been cleared of ANY crimes.
You know why
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Gary
Social climber
Desolation Basin, Calif.
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Jun 27, 2018 - 07:40pm PT
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You folks are really fake news personified,Bernie proposed free college and he was going to pay for it on a single traders tax,taxing each transaction 25 cents.
The Pentagon should still be disemboweled.
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