Do you want someone to go through and find every article about every incident where there was racial profiling or an unjustified shooting? I'm not defending the people in this case but I really don't know what your goal is in posting links to these articles you post without any real comments or analysis other than "hey look at these black people who cried racism".
The problem is that there is a significant number of cases just like this one where absolutely nothing happened and yet people immediately get their cockles up and start protesting and yelling about cops or whoever the people complained about. Exactly what constructive purpose does it serve for these folks to manufacture these stories other then to sow seeds of discontent in our society? There are plenty of actual cases of abuse and racism already, why do they feel the need to make up more? And why are they not held accountable for stirring the pot on an already volatile issue?
We've created a society that is now focused on being a victim. Adam Carolla has an interesting take on it, and uses daytime television to show it. "Back in the day" all the television content was around improving yourself; become a truck driver, go to welding school, dental assistant... do SOMETHING to improve your lot in life. Now? It's all "did you slip on the pee pee at the Costco? Then you too can make millions of dollars." Sure, that's an overgeneralization, but I really believe there's a whack of truth buried in there somewhere.
Pretty sure that people aren't doing this to sow seeds of discontent but because they are self-absorbed assholes. Think of it like rape claims. You know there is always, always, always going to be a small percentage of cases where the victim really wasn't a victim and is just full of shit for whatever self-absorbed asshole reason, and cases like these are always going to chip away at the credibility of the real victims. It's a fact of life being in a world filled with self-absorbed assholes. As for the folks in your story being held accountable, I'm sure there will be consequences to their actions that will not be reported by the press because it doesn't make for a tasty headline.
Ben Carson hasn't officially left the race yet, but he has taken a new position with My Faith Votes, a nonpartisan organization that encourages Christian Americans to vote. http://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/nati...-My-Faith-Votes--371075741.html#ixzz41yRs3WyH Chances are he will officially retire from the race tonight .
He, like Cruz, is somebody that would be potentially dangerous as a President. As a surgeon, he's a genius. Separated the first head-conjoined Siamese twins. Incredible. As a leader and as a Christian he is a Seventh Day Adventist, the religion that calls the incident where Armageddon didn't happen back in the 1800's as "The Great Disappointment". Many Presidents have been openly religious, yes, but a President who actually wants the world to end is not someone you should give the launch codes to. Here's where the GOP may be heading: this is a long shot, but hear me out. Break up the GOP. Trump-- still an asshole-- still managed to light a very big fire and now it appears the GOP is two parties: Conservatives like Rubio or Cruz, and Nationalists like Trump. Why break them up? Your country needs more than just TWO choices to lead your country. You guys have 317 million people, and it's only X or Y? Many countries including my own have three or more parties but majorities still often happen after elections. You could also split the Democratic Party into Liberals and Regressive Twats. More Variety is what your country desires. Look at the attention Trump and Sanders have received by using extreme ways. It seems obvious in America that people want more options and it looks like Cleveland just might be the furnace where it's created this year. That place may cery well turn into a complete shitshow.
Only problem with this is what always happens when there is a serious 3rd party. I'll use 1912 as an example. Taft and Teddy Roosevelt split, and Roosevelt formed the Progressive Party. As a result, Taft and Roosevelt split the formerly Republican vote, giving Democrat Woodrow Wilson an easy path to victory. Any time in history that a major party split, their opponents benefitted. That's why it's so hard in America for a 3rd party to catch on. If Trump becomes the republican nominee and the mainstream republicans decide to nominate Rubio as a 3rd party candidate anyway, it would result in Trump and Rubio splitting the conservative vote and Hilary winning the election easily. Third parties are often what we're seeing today: an offshoot of one of the two major parties, resulting in that party's vote splitting and making the other major party much more powerful. The republicans recognize this and that Trump's win could lead to that scenario, which is why they're melting down so hard right now. They'd rather keep their fractured party together long enough to keep the Dems from power, because now voters need to decide which is more important. Preventing a Democratic win at the White House, or actually realizing their party is irrevocably split and allow that to play out. The irony is that if Trump doesn't get the nomination at a brokered convention, he will take that as the Reps backing out of their word to be fair to him and therefore he will back off on his word to run as an independent, thus splitting the vote anyway.
http://www.cnn.com/2016/03/04/politics/ben-carson-new-role-my-faith-votes-cpac/index.html Carson's out. But this could've been a headline from months ago.
I still do not count Sanders out of this at all. Obama was in the same hot seat eight years ago before people came to their senses. I think he'll win three of the next four primaries, they haven't done a lot of Blue States yet and he seems strong in polls for those states. Trump will bag Kentucky. 100% sure of that.
Hmmm...talk of a Cruz/Rubio ticket already Ted Cruz: A brokered convention “ain’t gonna happen” http://wreg.com/2016/03/04/ted-cruz-a-brokered-convention-aint-gonna-happen/
A dovetail of sorts: http://www.bloombergview.com/articles/2016-03-04/why-aren-t-more-americans-working An interesting review of unemployment and the labor market. Nothing really surprising but a good look at the market. More importantly it is interesting to consider in conjunction with the rise of Trump and Sanders. Both candidate's popularity, in my opinion, a rejection of the establishment which both parties represent equally. As discussed earlier by others, many are waking up to the reality that this year is worse than last year and that next year will be worse than this year. They also, I think, recognize that this will continue until we effect real change.
Nor should anyone. The vast majority of Clinton's lead is in superdelegates. Their votes count, but their purpose is to give an edge to the establishment candidate. In actuality their votes aren't likely to matter, as I can't see the superdelegates choosing against the popular vote. It would be a black eye the party couldn't afford. If the popular vote goes to Sanders, they'll flock to him before they take the risk of enraging the public by subverting the democratic process. Most of them are incentivized to maintain the status quo. so while I don't think they would be bold enough to vote against the public they can discourage Sanders' supporters by creating the perception of a substantial lead Clinton doesn't actually have. She does currently hold a lead in the regular delegates, but it's much less than the total tally would suggest. More over, most of that lead was won in Texas, and Clinton doesn't have another Texas. It's no surprise she's leading after the early primaries had the lion's share of delegates being decided in the more conservative states. The later primary demographics are more favorable to Sanders and he still has time to close the gap in a race that is much closer than it appears. Several months ago people scoffed at the idea of Trump being the Republican nominee. Now, he's all but got it locked up. Nobody predicted a tighter contest in the democrat party, just handing it to Clinton. A lot of them still are, and I can't help but wonder if the shake up in this election has a lot of the polling/prediction experts confused. I wonder too if they're factoring in that Sanders and Trump are winning votes from people who don't usually vote in the primaries.
That is a fantastic article, but I'm a little biased because it reflects my own opinions on the labor market. The official unemployment figure is meaningless. Every president since Nixon has tinkered with the definition to make them selves look better, and everyone with an iota of knowledge about this agrees that it is meaningless. So why even continue to use it? Jobs, or lack thereof, is a huge issue, I think one of our biggest issues, and it underlies many of the other problems we are having. Recently I watched a video, maybe posted on the TiB, of a new robot that Amazon is working on that will replace pickers in their warehouses. Honestly, I was horrified. Who thinks that yet another means to eliminate jobs is actually a good idea? We need every damn job we can get. There seems to be a basic lack of understanding that fewer jobs means fewer people to buy your crap.
This cracked me up. Trump on the issues: https://www.donaldjtrump.com/positions Sanders on the issues: https://berniesanders.com/issues/ Sanders will never be able to implement all that he wants to do, but there's a detailed plan in there. What the hell is Trump pushing for? Immigration reform by building a wall across the entire border that's both outrageously expensive and impractical ever since the invention of the ladder. Unless he actually plans to post guards across the entire thing. He likes the second amendment. Ummm... that's good. He's going to be tough on negotiations with China. This will fix our trade problems and whatever other foreign policy issues. After all, he also plans to be tough on negotiations with countries like Iran and Russia. The few actual issues he has addressed he's flip flopped more times than a gymnast. Make America great again. Shit, there's an idea. This is hilarious. I can't remember a candidate ever being so devoid in not only avoiding the positions in his speeches, but those positions not even existing altogether. One who's going to be a party nominee no less. In other news, this is his only remaining competition. He's black, so winning over a Republican base won't be easy, but one does not simply underestimate a five time smack down champion.
Well, well, well... http://docquery.fec.gov/cgi-bin/forms/C00431171/1047622/ It just keeps getting more interesting.
Romney has said he won't accept it, as has Paul Ryan. I don't see either of them wanting to take that nomination from a brokered convention. The truth is, if there is a brokered convention, and they don't pick Trump, whenever they do pick will take a shocking amount of heat from Trump backers, and may even go down in history as a person who helped destroy the Republican Party. I can't imagine anyone would want that.
Yup. Right now it seems like the joining of Rubio and Cruz would be the only way to over come The Donald's numbers without him crying too much foul, which he'd do anyway. I don't want Mitten's or Ryan stepping in because Trump would run 3rd party for sure if he ended up losing the delegate count to them. The Republican establishment has had this coming for a while. The years of gridlock have fostered extreme animosity of congress and the ever changing election rules spilling out of the RNC have lead to this situation where people feel voiceless in choosing their leaders. On the gun form I frequent hardcore Trump supports have resigned to supporting almost purely out of spite of the establishment. They really have no other reason as he has flip flopped, it seems almost daily, on any position that could have resembled conservative stances.
I genuinely picture Trump as George Costanza. He will just say or do anything. I've seen him answer questions with absolutely no answer. It's almost brilliant how he talks around every issue because he genuinely has no idea what he'd do. Trump is like a kid who takes an essay test but never went to class. Just throw a bunch of shit out there and hope it gets you an A. The other candidates are guys who have been to every class and studied their asses off, and they're watching this guy who has never attended a day walk in and ruin the curve, and they're PISSED. Based on everything I've seen and read, I know Cruz won't back down or accept being Rubio's Veep. It would never, ever happen. Cruz's ego is just too big to allow that. The only way there is a combined Cruz/Rubio ticket is if Rubio bites the bullet and drops his campaign and becomes Veep. If Rubio loses Florida, that is the most likely scenario. If Rubio wins Flordia, I see a brokered convention in the future.
I wasn't sure if this should go here, or in the Drunk Thread, but since it has to do with the Republican candidates, I'm putting it here: http://theweek.com/speedreads/609839/piss-poll-london-pub-lets-brits-vote-republican-hate-most
Aside from being shamelessly obvious about which candidate I support, this is a good example of why so many Americans are sick of the establishment. No character. No stance on anything. Just fuck you, give me your vote. Whatever you want to hear right now. In other interviews, the ways she's dodged questions about corruption and payoffs is downright disgusting. She's leading a potential race against Trump in the national polls at the moment, and by a significant margin. The more I think about it though, he's going to go straight on the attack and she's not going to have answers. Trump could pull it off.