America - The Official Thread

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PocketZeven
Experience in politics obviously. Having experience in misogyny, tax evasion, scamming, ducking the draft, bullying are not qualities I expect for politicians.
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Yeah but as @Danoff correctly pointed out, the only qualification the candidate needs is Popularity and be over the age of 35.

Those you mentioned are expectations you have, not qualifiers.
 
IMO, the racism issue is a red herring, a useless distraction from the real issues, which are peace and prosperity.
 
Trump Rabbles on about How Omar is a Terrorist sympathizer and a Venezuela Apologist while the Crowd at his Rally chants "Send Her Back"
 
mustafur
Trump Rabbles on about How Omar is a Terrorist sympathizer and a Venezuela Apologist while the Crowd at his Rally chants "Send Her Back"
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I gather this was recent.

This is not racist. It's xenophobic, anti-free speech, anti-democratic, anti-immigration... lots of things the "send her back" chant is (and Trump's message), but not racist. Telling someone to "go back where you came from" when they literally came from somewhere else, simply because they are criticizing you, is a classic Trump counter-offensive deflection to keep the spotlight off of himself, and there is much that is wrong with it, but it's not racist.

Racist is telling people to go back to a country they didn't come from because you think they belong there due to genetics. So this is the classic Trump sidestep.

Edit:

The reason I call this distinction out is because I think the term "racist" deserves some rigor. It's not directed at any particular member, just Danoff on his soap box.
 
Danoff
Telling someone to "go back where you came from" when they literally came from somewhere else, simply because they are criticizing you, is a classic Trump counter-offensive deflection to keep the spotlight off of himself, and there is much that is wrong with it, but it's not racist.
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I can not agree. The context is all important and its use has become synonymous with contexts of racial hatred. Even the administration's own guidelines call it a racist phrase. It's a them-and-us phrase, it's an "othering" phrase (I should add that to Words I Hate). I've heard people tell my sister to "go back where you came from" completely unbidden, people who were completely unknown to her, people who've chosen to use that phrase in passing for only one reason that we can think of.

Arguing the literal point of the words works in some cases but for this phrase it really is about the context. If Trump were to use the "literal meaning" defence for that phrase then he'd once more reveal himself (in my opinion) to have the logical debating skills of a cocky, unlearned adolescent. At least that would represent more effort than his "I'm not a racist but..." defence, often a hallmark of a racist.
 
TenEightyOne
I can not agree. The context is all important and its use has become synonymous with contexts of racial hatred. Even the administration's own guidelines call it a racist phrase.
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Which one, his original racist tweet? Yes that one is racist, for the reasons I mentioned above. This new shift to Omar specifically is a crafty sidestep.

TenEightyOne
I've heard people tell my sister to "go back where you came from" completely unbidden, people who were completely unknown to her, people who've chosen to use that phrase in passing for only one reason that we can think of.
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Yea that's racist.

TenEightyOne
Arguing the literal point of the words works in some cases but for this phrase it really is about the context. If Trump were to use the "literal meaning" defence for that phrase then he'd once more reveal himself (in my opinion) to have the logical debating skills of a cocky, unlearned adolescent. At least that would represent more effort than his "I'm not a racist but..." defence, often a hallmark of a racist.
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Ok, imagine for a moment that Omar is white. She comes to the US from Mogadishu, a white person, and rises to congress. And let's say she starts criticizing the US. And let's say Trump says "go back where you came from" (Mogadishu most originally). That's not racist. Changing the color of her skin in this scenario doesn't make it racist. We all know she is foreign born, and telling her to leave is lots of horrible things, but not racist.

However, assuming someone is foreign based on their skin color is racist. Telling someone to go to another country because of their skin color is racist. So Trump's original tweet was racist, and he sidestepped into something else which is not racist (but which is still bad).

I think it's critical that people understand the game that's being played and how.
 
Danoff
So Trump's original tweet was racist, and he sidestepped into something else which is not racist (but which is still bad).

I think it's critical that people understand the game that's being played and how.
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I think you're being rather generous to Trump's "game skills" there.
 
https://www.rt.com/business/464365-russia-dumps-us-debt/

Russia is reducing its stake in US debt. The article says this is "solving the US debt problem", and even after reading the article I have no idea how they come to that conclusion. The article includes an image of someone dumping US dollars out of a trash can, as if to indicate that this is simply burning... dollars? Somehow? That image makes no sense.

I want to highlight this because of the vast misunderstanding that seems to exist with US debt. Everyone (not everyone) was worried about how much debt China owned, and assumed this meant that China had some level of control over us (America)... as though they were a bank holding the mortgage on America and could somehow seize our property. That's not how it works. Being concerned about China owning US debt and being happy (for the US) that Russia is drawing down on US debt is exactly backward.

When China buys US debt, they give us actual value now in exchange for presumed value later. There is no guarantee that they'll get their later value. And in fact if they started shooting at us, I think they would not get a dime of it. In short, when China buys US debt they give the US power over them.

The corollary is also true, when Russia dumps US debt (meaning they sell it to someone else) they reduce the US's power over them. This is good for Russia (if they foresee a conflict with the US). "Let someone else try to collect on US debt" Russia is saying "we're not buying it". And by not buying it, they reduce its value (also bad for the US).

There is a similar version of this for simply amassing dollars in a vault somewhere. Obtaining pieces of paper that will have some future value in exchange for real goods and services today is very similar to exchanging currency for debt today, except that it is more direct. Taking currency out of circulation increases the value of the remaining currency (boosting the value of the dollar). Dumping that currency into the market suddenly could cause a drop in the value of the dollar temporarily, but doing so would drastically reduce the value of China's holdings... which is bad for China.

The best way to avoid US financial control over your country is to refuse to buy US debt, and to refuse to amass US dollars. Which Russia seems to know, but the article writers do not.


Liquid
I think you're being rather generous to Trump's "game skills" there.
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This is his biggest talent, and the reason he persists. His ability to survive criticism comes directly from this kind of sleight of hand.
 
Liquid
I think you're being rather generous to Trump's "game skills" there.
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Is he? Considering Trump managed to play this same game all the way to the oval office, I think he is better at this "game" than some people want to give him credit for. And if they continue underestimating him, I fear he will be able to play the same game and win another 4 years in office.
 
What Trump has done, more than anything, is perfected the art of disingenuousness. It's what he's practiced his whole life. Being a slimy wannabe developer was just warm up for his current position. The rule is basically: "Trump is always right". Repeat this mantra forcefully enough, support it with enough cash, mouth-breathing followers, desperate hangers-on, and exploit the opportunists at every turn, and he has been able to con himself to the top. It's horrifying and yet kind of well aligned with absolutist American idealism, where achieving the dream, for the sake of the achievement, is the only purpose in life. Basically, his dad didn't give him any attention.

I'm starting to sound like Dotini. :lol:
 
@TenEightyOne, @Eunos_Cosmo

Why do I get the feeling that we're going to find out that @Dotini is not the real @Dotini either?

man-in-black1.jpeg
 
Danoff
@TenEightyOne, @Eunos_Cosmo

Why do I get the feeling that we're going to find out that @Dotini is not the real @Dotini either?

man-in-black1.jpeg
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That movie never gets old, Cary elwes is brilliant, Wallace Shaun (the Genius) is funny, Robin Wright is perfect, and Mandy Patinkin (Inigo Montoya) steals the show, heck it even has Andre the Giant and a great cameo by Billy Crystal to top off a great cast. Enduring, memorable characters that you can cite just about every line from the movie make this a classic. One of these days I will get around to reading the book that started it all. An interesting note, William Goldman, the Author, also wrote the screenplay.
 
Northstar
Is he? Considering Trump managed to play this same game all the way to the oval office, I think he is better at this "game" than some people want to give him credit for. And if they continue underestimating him, I fear he will be able to play the same game and win another 4 years in office.
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While maybe this is more credit to his staff than himself if true, there was a Reddit post theorizing that Trump's been going after the 4 congresswomen b/c it forces the rest of the Democrats to spend their time in the media defending them, all the while getting the media off another issue (maybe Epstein, can't remember what the post pointed towards). It also gives Trump another time to play up the "What it means to be American" angle.
 
VolkswagenX
Not Trumps dumb Tweets of Area 51
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Wait, did Trump really comment on Area 51? Because the image I have is a bunch of generals in the Oval Office explaining to Trump what a Naruto Run is and having him think it's some left-wing conspiracy.
 

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