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slcpunk
 Rep: 149 

Re: 2016 Presidential Election Thread

slcpunk wrote:

I don't understand all this talk about Wisconsin and Pennsylvania being up for grabs. Polling shows Hillary ahead in both. Yes her average in PA is just about the margin of error, but her last poll she was up 9 points on Trump.

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polluxlm
 Rep: 221 

Re: 2016 Presidential Election Thread

polluxlm wrote:

Latest polls are 3 weeks old though. He's been trending upwards all of July.

slcpunk
 Rep: 149 

Re: 2016 Presidential Election Thread

slcpunk wrote:
polluxlm wrote:

Latest polls are 3 weeks old though. He's been trending upwards all of July.

GE polling is not the same as state polling. And, if the argument is being made that these states are on play, I'd like to see evidence of that.

Also for both candidates, I wouldn't pay too much attention to new polling numbers during the conventions. I'd imagine we'll get some bumps, then the smoke will clear.

polluxlm
 Rep: 221 

Re: 2016 Presidential Election Thread

polluxlm wrote:

No, but when he's done this in the GE polls the last week, it stands to reason he could get a jump in the state polls as well.

343gifn.jpg

I don't think the argument boils down to more than the states being close enough for it not to be a shock were it to happen, and Trump's been doing well lately.

Smoking Guns
 Rep: 330 

Re: 2016 Presidential Election Thread

Smoking Guns wrote:
polluxlm wrote:

No, but when he's done this in the GE polls the last week, it stands to reason he could get a jump in the state polls as well.

http://i67.tinypic.com/343gifn.jpg

I don't think the argument boils down to more than the states being close enough for it not to be a shock were it to happen, and Trump's been doing well lately.

Thanks for all this data. People have a hard time acknowledging that this will be a battle

James
 Rep: 664 

Re: 2016 Presidential Election Thread

James wrote:

Bri.....when whipping up a map.....I click embed....it shows a huge nerdy code.....I grab the link to the jpg in that code and ignore the rest. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesnt. If you cant get that to work, CRamer's way of doing it sounds easy.

James
 Rep: 664 

Re: 2016 Presidential Election Thread

James wrote:

Acquiesce...you got me intrigued on this Jill Stein candidate. Haven't paid any attention to these independent candidates running. Mainly focused on Trump and even though I didn't support Sanders, I loved how he refused to be bought off.

Why are you supporting her specifically? Just as a protest vote or does it go much deeper?

I just googled her and checked out her site. I got some issues concerning her issues.....

Enact an emergency Green New Deal to turn the tide on climate change, revive the economy and make wars for oil obsolete. Initiate a WWII-scale national mobilization to halt climate change, the greatest threat to humanity in our history. Create 20 million jobs by transitioning to 100% clean renewable energy by 2030, and investing in public transit, sustainable agriculture, conservation and restoration of critical infrastructure, including ecosystems.

Sorry...this isn't feasible. The whole planet would have to get involved on this scale for it to be possible.

All it will accomplish is 'green' taxes and more carbon trading among corporations. Fuck that. I'd also like her to explain to me why the entire solar system is heating up, not just the earth. Scientists aren't even sure why.....might just be a natural cycle the Sun and solar system go through periodically over time. I know that Americans do not need to be taxed because the Sun likes to get a little hot every now and then.

Implement a Just Transition that empowers those communities and workers most impacted by climate change and the transition to a green economy. Ensure that any worker displaced by the shift away from fossil fuels will receive full income and benefits as they transition to alternative work.

TRanslation= move hard working americans who deserve their jobs but must lose them over to welfare. I don't have a problem with welfare but I do have a problem intentionally taking away jobs and forcing them on the program until some "alternative" job is figured out. As Livia Soprano would say, "She doesn't fool me for a second".

Enact energy democracy based on public, community and worker ownership of our energy system. Treat energy as a human right.

Uh......no.

Redirect research funds from fossil fuels into renewable energy and conservation.  Build a nationwide smart electricity grid that can pool and store power from a diversity of renewable sources, giving the nation clean, democratically-controlled, energy.

I have no problem with investing in alternatives but please define "democratically controlled".


End destructive energy extraction and associated infrastructure: fracking, tar sands, offshore drilling, oil trains, mountaintop removal, natural gas pipelines, and uranium mines. Halt any investment in fossil fuel infrastructure, including natural gas, and phase out all fossil fuel power plants. Phase out nuclear power and end nuclear subsidies.  End all subsidies for fossil fuels and impose a greenhouse gas fee / tax to charge polluters for the damage they have created.

I agree some of these things like fracking are going too far but I am against phasing out nuclear power as our military uses it for various things we absolutely need and I don't think US carrier groups should be mothballed just because she hates nuclear power and she can cram this greenhouse tax as punishment for "the damage we have created". I'm sorry Jill but my car needs gas and so does your plane you're flying around in. I'm not being "punished" because the car was invented and she shouldn't be punished because airplanes were invented.

Label GMOs, and put a moratorium on GMOs and pesticides until they are proven safe.
Support organic and regenerative agriculture, permaculture, and sustainable forestry.
Protect our public lands, water supplies, biological diversity, parks, and pollinators. Ban neonicotinoids and other pesticides that threaten the survival of bees, butterflies, and other pollinators.

If handled properly, I'd support this.

Enact stronger environmental justice laws and measures to ensure that low-income and communities of color are not disproportionately impacted by harmful pollution and other negative environmental and health effects.

Communities of color? Why not just say ALL communities? Oh yeah...gotta pander to #BlackLivesMatter.

Create living-wage jobs for every American who needs work, replacing unemployment offices with employment offices. Government would be the employer of last resort, and the unemployed would have an enforceable right to make government provide work. Create direct public employment, as the Works Progress Administration did,  in public services and public works for those who can't find private employment.

Wait....what? Every citizen has a right to a government job? This would be the largest expansion of government in history. It would creat millions of bean counters who sit around doing nothing. Ms. Stein, go to a local clinic or DMV. Most of the workers sit around talking about music and other shit laughing instead of doing their jobs while there's a mile long waiting line. We need to eliminate some of these jobs, not a historic, record breaking expansion.

Replace NAFTA and other corporate free trade agreements that export American jobs, depress wages, and undermine the sovereign right of Americans and citizens of other countries to control their own economy and political choices. Enact fair trade laws that benefits local workers and communities.

Agreed here. NAFTA has to go.


She's all over the map concerning health care, some I agree with, some I don't, and I'm sick of this separating whites from blacks shit. It just makes all this racial tension even worse....it feeds it. ALL poor people need help so stop specifically stating "people of color".


Free universal child care.

On this I do agree but on one condition and so did Reagan....don't include illegal immigrants.

Guarantee tuition-free, world-class public education from pre-school through university.

Absolutely not. This will turn colleges into a cesspool in the fourth circle of hell. Poor people who want to go to college can do so if they really want to. Making it free for everyone is one of the dumbest ideas I've ever heard of in my life.

Evaluate teacher performance through assessment by fellow professionals. Do not rely on high stakes tests that reflect economic status of the community, and punish teachers working in low income communities of color.

Ensure racially inclusive, sensitive and relevant curriculums.

jesus Christ.

I was unaware that people who teach black kids are unfairly punished. Oh yeah I forgot...this problem only exists in their imagination.

Stop denying students diplomas based on high stakes tests.

Sorry but there's nothing wrong with someone having to be smart to get a diploma.

Restore arts, music and recreation to school curriculums.

I agree with this.


Guarantee a living wage job for all.

How do you do this? Oh yeah I forgot, just have everyone work for the government.

Demilitarize border crossings throughout North America.

Nah.....we're getting sick of the constant flow of people coming into this country. Go ask Europe how they feel about allowing a constant flow and read news stories on how that's turned out. Its not peaches and cream.

End the failed war on drugs. Replace drug prohibition with harm reduction. Legalize marijuana/hemp. Treat substance abuse as a health problem, not a criminal offense.

I agree in principle. Cant go too far with this though. There will always be reasons why certain drug users need prison sentences.

Support the Black Lives Matter Movement.

Now you really lost any chance at my vote. Maybe you should do a bit more research of #BlackLivesMatter before announcing on your platform that you are supporting it. I'm issuing you a triple dog dare to go into any of those neighborhoods and get up on your soap box and pontificate. Your support will last about five minutes.

Demilitarize police. End use of SWAT teams and no-knock raids for drugs and serving papers.

Jesus....

Eliminate harsh  mandatory sentencing requirements which often result in unjustified sentences.

For certain mandatory sentences for marijuana possession in certain states, I'd agree unless the person was selling to children or selling near schools. Disagree on eliminating other mandatory sentences. Don't want to spend 20 years in prison? Stop commiting crimes. Pretty simple.

America's youth should not be put in jail for offenses they commit.

WOW.

Abolish the death penalty.

Absolutely not. I believe the exact opposite, start eliminating the infinite amount of appeals. That's when the death penalty will become the real deterrent its supposed to be.

Issue an Executive Order prohibiting Federal agencies from conspiring with local police to infringe upon right of assembly and peaceful protest.

Absolutely not. These "peaceful protests" can quickly turn into riots and mass murder. How do you expect to protect innocent civilians in these situations without a police presence?

Repeal the Patriot Act that violates our constitutional right to privacy and protection against unreasonable search and seizure.

I agree that the Patriot Act went a bit too far and should be refined but not sure about actually repealing it....especially in this era we live in.

Cut military spending by at least 50% and close the 700+ foreign military bases. Ensure a just transition that replaces reductions in  military jobs with jobs in renewable energy, transportation and green infrastructure development.

FUCK that. This isn't just incompetent nonsense, its absolutely dangerous. A cut in military spending? As long as the cut doesn't impact the men and women of the armed forces or crucial programs, I'd support a cut of some sort. Closing our foreign bases? Step away from the crack pipe. The US is a hyper power and crucial to world security yet you want to stop this in a world with Russia on the move, China trying to assert itself on the world stage, a very unstable North Korea that has nuclear weapons, the chaos in the Middle East, etc.? Sweet baby Jesus....

Stop U.S. financial and military support to human rights abusers. Barring substantial changes in their policies, this would include Saudi Arabia, Israel and Egypt.

Freeze the bank accounts of countries that are funding terrorism, including the Saudi royal family.

I could support this but you're so far off the rails on a crazy train on your stance on the US military/foreign policy in general that the above doesn't even matter.

Restore the National Guard as the centerpiece of our defense.   

Ban use of drone aircraft for assassination, bombing, and other offensive purposes.

Ridiculous.

Rejoin the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty, which the US dropped out of in 2002 when it installed missiles and missile bases in Turkey, Romania, and Poland.

Sorry Ms. Stein but we are NEVER rejoining the ABM treaty. Its on the ash heap of history. The US has an advanced ABM system in place and Russia is also creating one.

You are not even close to being qualified to be CIC.

Agree to Russia’s proposal to jointly reduce US and Russian nuclear arsenals to 1,000 nuclear weapons each.

I agree that the US and Russia should work towards another nuclear arms treaty.



Remove US nuclear weapons in Germany, Belgium, Turkey, Italy and the Netherlands.

Bat shit crazy.

Support Russia and China’s joint effort to open negotiations on a treaty to ban weapons in space.

Nope. We already have weapons in space and Russia is currently working on a space bomber. Ship sailed in the 80s on this type of treaty being feasible.


and end all nuclear weapons research, design, and modernization at the weapons laboratories.

Let our arsenal rot? No thanks. Russia recently modernized its ICBMs. Time for us to do the same and there's nothing wrong with research and better design. It creates more accurate weapons and lessens the chance for collateral damage(cities, civilians)...unless of course cities are the actual target.


Eliminate the doctrine of corporate personhood that among other things has been used to justify unlimited corporate spending in elections with a constitutional amendment to clarify that only human beings have constitutional rights.

She does make some great points on our corrupt, rigged elections that I agree with but she's not even close to being presidential material.

She talks about other things if anyone here wants to read about her platform.

http://www.jill2016.com/platform

Acquiesce, thanks for mentioning her in that post. Reading her web site is truly frightening but glad to know info one of these other candidates. Now I need to check out Gary Johnson.

TheMole
 Rep: 77 

Re: 2016 Presidential Election Thread

TheMole wrote:

Interesting post James, I love the point-by-point analysis. If you don't mind, I'm ripping off your post to add my own thoughts on top of it. smile.

James Lofton wrote:

Enact an emergency Green New Deal to turn the tide on climate change, revive the economy and make wars for oil obsolete. Initiate a WWII-scale national mobilization to halt climate change, the greatest threat to humanity in our history. Create 20 million jobs by transitioning to 100% clean renewable energy by 2030, and investing in public transit, sustainable agriculture, conservation and restoration of critical infrastructure, including ecosystems.

Sorry...this isn't feasible. The whole planet would have to get involved on this scale for it to be possible.

All it will accomplish is 'green' taxes and more carbon trading among corporations. Fuck that. I'd also like her to explain to me why the entire solar system is heating up, not just the earth. Scientists aren't even sure why.....might just be a natural cycle the Sun and solar system go through periodically over time. I know that Americans do not need to be taxed because the Sun likes to get a little hot every now and then.

First, that whole 'the whole solar system is warming up' thing is hogwash and has been debunked several years ago. Here are the facts:
Mercury: Not warming
Venus: Not warming
Mars: The warming "trend" is based on information from 1977 and 1999, not continuous data. The 1977 data came right after a global dust storm, and the 1999 data right before one. Based on data since 1999 (which is close to continuous), Mars is not undergoing any long term warming.
Jupiter: Jupiter underwent a temperature change due to the merging of several storms temporarily shifting how heat moved through the atmosphere. The poles became colder, the equator warmer, but overall temperature stayed the same. The effect was temporary.
Saturn: Not warming
Uranus: Actually getting colder, due to its wacky seasonal cycle.
Neptune (and its moon Triton): Both are moving into the first southern hemisphere summer we've observed - it's actually been spring (and fall in the north) there since we discovered the planet. Some seasonal warming is expected.
Pluto: Warming, and we don't know why. Pluto's axial tilt and orbital eccentricity should give it even wackier seasons than Uranus, but a full season hasn't passed since we discovered it, and we're not even sure what its surface or atmosphere is like yet, so we're really banking on the New Horizons probe to help us figure this one out.

The correlation between climate change on earth and mankind's activities (particularly, but not limited to, greenhouse gasses) has been statistically proven time and time again, so it's is time to stop using that as an argument in these discussions. There are real problems with green energy that impact the economy and our mobility which need to be considered and discussed, so let's focus on those instead of sticking our heads in the sand and pretend this isn't happening. Taxing non-renewable energy can be a part of the solution, on the condition that there are ample affordable and equal alternatives available to the public. So no, forcing everyone to drive electric cars, when they only have a choice between a $90k Tesla and a friggin' Nissan Leaf is not the answer. Subsidizing development of new tech that makes electric cars affordable to the masses however, is a must at this point.

James Lofton wrote:

Implement a Just Transition that empowers those communities and workers most impacted by climate change and the transition to a green economy. Ensure that any worker displaced by the shift away from fossil fuels will receive full income and benefits as they transition to alternative work.

Translation= move hard working americans who deserve their jobs but must lose them over to welfare. I don't have a problem with welfare but I do have a problem intentionally taking away jobs and forcing them on the program until some "alternative" job is figured out. As Livia Soprano would say, "She doesn't fool me for a second".

In theory, the fact that these people work in soon-to-be-obsolete industries shouldn't stop us from introducing the new policies. When we shut down our coal mines in Western Europe in the 80's, there was a real impact in the areas where mining was an important industry for local employment, and it took those regions about 15 years to bounce back. We simply invested in new technologies (most not even energy related), and these areas are now as prosperous as ever.

James Lofton wrote:

Enact energy democracy based on public, community and worker ownership of our energy system. Treat energy as a human right.

Uh......no.

Not even sure what that means, but community owned utilities in general do work well in the US, especially in smaller communities so perhaps there's something there? Either way, that one-liner is way to vague for me to make an assessment.

James Lofton wrote:

Redirect research funds from fossil fuels into renewable energy and conservation.  Build a nationwide smart electricity grid that can pool and store power from a diversity of renewable sources, giving the nation clean, democratically-controlled, energy.

I have no problem with investing in alternatives but please define "democratically controlled".

Agreed, subsidies and tax breaks for the fossil fuel industry need to be shifted to renewable energy. No idea what democratically controlled could mean, unless she means (federal) government-owned, in which case: no.

James Lofton wrote:

End destructive energy extraction and associated infrastructure: fracking, tar sands, offshore drilling, oil trains, mountaintop removal, natural gas pipelines, and uranium mines. Halt any investment in fossil fuel infrastructure, including natural gas, and phase out all fossil fuel power plants. Phase out nuclear power and end nuclear subsidies.  End all subsidies for fossil fuels and impose a greenhouse gas fee / tax to charge polluters for the damage they have created.

I agree some of these things like fracking are going too far but I am against phasing out nuclear power as our military uses it for various things we absolutely need and I don't think US carrier groups should be mothballed just because she hates nuclear power and she can cram this greenhouse tax as punishment for "the damage we have created". I'm sorry Jill but my car needs gas and so does your plane you're flying around in. I'm not being "punished" because the car was invented and she shouldn't be punished because airplanes were invented.

I personally consider Nuclear a form of green energy (although at this point not 'renewable' energy), and is a fine way to reduce our carbon emissions and give us a couple of more decades to figure out how to make real renewable energy economically viable at scale.

James Lofton wrote:

Label GMOs, and put a moratorium on GMOs and pesticides until they are proven safe.
Support organic and regenerative agriculture, permaculture, and sustainable forestry.
Protect our public lands, water supplies, biological diversity, parks, and pollinators. Ban neonicotinoids and other pesticides that threaten the survival of bees, butterflies, and other pollinators.

If handled properly, I'd support this.

The part about GMOs is mostly bullshit though. There have been thoroughly researched and there are zero indications they aren't safe. In fact, GMOs have been and will continue to be instrumental in us being able to sustain 7b+ people on this planet, so it's an indispensable tool that we need to continue to develop. The science is on the GMO side here, and just like we need to rely on science to drive our climate change policy, we need to do it here as well. Protecting our biological diversity is good though, I fully support that.

James Lofton wrote:

Enact stronger environmental justice laws and measures to ensure that low-income and communities of color are not disproportionately impacted by harmful pollution and other negative environmental and health effects.

Communities of color? Why not just say ALL communities? Oh yeah...gotta pander to #BlackLivesMatter.

She does say "low-income AND communities of color".

James Lofton wrote:

Create living-wage jobs for every American who needs work, replacing unemployment offices with employment offices. Government would be the employer of last resort, and the unemployed would have an enforceable right to make government provide work. Create direct public employment, as the Works Progress Administration did,  in public services and public works for those who can't find private employment.

Wait....what? Every citizen has a right to a government job? This would be the largest expansion of government in history. It would create millions of bean counters who sit around doing nothing. Ms. Stein, go to a local clinic or DMV. Most of the workers sit around talking about music and other shit laughing instead of doing their jobs while there's a mile long waiting line. We need to eliminate some of these jobs, not a historic, record breaking expansion.

I fully agree with your assessment there. One caveat is that there is a dire need to do something about public infrastructure in the US, which will result in the government to indirectly creating employment for a large number of people (builders, planners and the likes). But that arises from an actual real need, and isn't a stopgap measure to artificially drive down unemployment numbers.

James Lofton wrote:

Replace NAFTA and other corporate free trade agreements that export American jobs, depress wages, and undermine the sovereign right of Americans and citizens of other countries to control their own economy and political choices. Enact fair trade laws that benefits local workers and communities.

Agreed here. NAFTA has to go.

She's all over the map concerning health care, some I agree with, some I don't, and I'm sick of this separating whites from blacks shit. It just makes all this racial tension even worse....it feeds it. ALL poor people need help so stop specifically stating "people of color".

Current free trade agreements are abhorrent, but we need something in their stead. We need a system that uses levies and import taxes to compensate for salary discrepancies.

James Lofton wrote:

Free universal child care.

On this I do agree but on one condition and so did Reagan....don't include illegal immigrants.

I think that last part's a given, you'll always need a social security number or the likes to apply for these government programs, and illegal immigrants by definition won't have that.

James Lofton wrote:

Guarantee tuition-free, world-class public education from pre-school through university.

Absolutely not. This will turn colleges into a cesspool in the fourth circle of hell. Poor people who want to go to college can do so if they really want to. Making it free for everyone is one of the dumbest ideas I've ever heard of in my life.

First, your prediction is way off. Colleges and universities in Germany, Holland, Belgium, Scandinavia, ... are no cesspools in any circle of hell. There's absolutely nothing to indicate that tuition free public education leads to any sort of problems. Second, you can still have private schools even if tuition-free public education exists. Private schools will still be able to charge whatever they want, as well as define their own selection criteria.

James Lofton wrote:

Evaluate teacher performance through assessment by fellow professionals. Do not rely on high stakes tests that reflect economic status of the community, and punish teachers working in low income communities of color.

Ensure racially inclusive, sensitive and relevant curriculums.

jesus Christ.

I was unaware that people who teach black kids are unfairly punished. Oh yeah I forgot...this problem only exists in their imagination.

Teacher evaluation based on standardized test results is unfair (leaving race out of the discussion for a minute). I agree that there should be some correction for the 'economic status of the community'. For instance, instead of working with absolute numbers, evaluations could be based on measurable improvements in knowledge/test scores.

James Lofton wrote:

Stop denying students diplomas based on high stakes tests.

Sorry but there's nothing wrong with someone having to be smart to get a diploma.

Agreed, no need to devaluate diplomas even more than they already have been.

James Lofton wrote:

Restore arts, music and recreation to school curriculums.

I agree with this.

Absolutely, makes for more complete students.

James Lofton wrote:

Guarantee a living wage job for all.

How do you do this? Oh yeah I forgot, just have everyone work for the government.

Agreed, no way to guarantee people jobs.

James Lofton wrote:

Demilitarize border crossings throughout North America.

Nah.....we're getting sick of the constant flow of people coming into this country. Go ask Europe how they feel about allowing a constant flow and read news stories on how that's turned out. Its not peaches and cream.

Hi, Europe here, don't think that everyone over here feels that there's actually a problem with our borders. To the extent that it is feasible, you should always strive to have as much of an open border policy as possible.

James Lofton wrote:

End the failed war on drugs. Replace drug prohibition with harm reduction. Legalize marijuana/hemp. Treat substance abuse as a health problem, not a criminal offense.

I agree in principle. Cant go too far with this though. There will always be reasons why certain drug users need prison sentences.

I agree with her 100%. Personal freedom is what matters here. Sure there might be reasons to incarcerate certain drug users, but those reasons will never be the simple fact that they use drugs (things like public intoxication, stealing to get money to buy drugs, neglecting their kids, selling to minors, ... - like all the things you can't do with/for alcohol).

James Lofton wrote:

Support the Black Lives Matter Movement.

Now you really lost any chance at my vote. Maybe you should do a bit more research of #BlackLivesMatter before announcing on your platform that you are supporting it. I'm issuing you a triple dog dare to go into any of those neighborhoods and get up on your soap box and pontificate. Your support will last about five minutes.

Hahaha, someone got triggered smile. Don't get your panties in a bunch about stuff like that, it's all just demagoguery and par for the course. If pandering to black people is enough to lose your vote, you've got your priorities messed up.

James Lofton wrote:

Demilitarize police. End use of SWAT teams and no-knock raids for drugs and serving papers.

Jesus....

Uhm, absolutely demilitarize police. All these police shootings, the excessive violence, eminent domain abuse, etc is due to the way a good deal of US police officials are trained to believe they are some sort of elite military personnel. It's not about gun laws, or racism, it's about police violence and a general attitude that allows and even supports such behavior. It's insane, in any other country that'd be considered the beginnings of a police state.

James Lofton wrote:

Eliminate harsh  mandatory sentencing requirements which often result in unjustified sentences.

For certain mandatory sentences for marijuana possession in certain states, I'd agree unless the person was selling to children or selling near schools. Disagree on eliminating other mandatory sentences. Don't want to spend 20 years in prison? Stop commiting crimes. Pretty simple.

Eh, depends on the case I guess.

James Lofton wrote:

America's youth should not be put in jail for offenses they commit.

WOW.

Of course not, you don't jail minors, you send them to juvenile correctional facilities for re-education and prime them for integration in society. Kids make mistakes, it's part of growing up. You punish them, you might even intern them, but you don't send them to friggin' jail...

James Lofton wrote:

Abolish the death penalty.

Absolutely not. I believe the exact opposite, start eliminating the infinite amount of appeals. That's when the death penalty will become the real deterrent its supposed to be.

I can't even... ugh... no... The death penalty is a barbaric practice that should've been abolished decades ago. This is one of these things... the justice system works perfectly fine (and in most cases better than in the US) without death penalty in the rest of the civilized world. Why not simply look at the facts abroad and use that as an example?

James Lofton wrote:

Issue an Executive Order prohibiting Federal agencies from conspiring with local police to infringe upon right of assembly and peaceful protest.

Absolutely not. These "peaceful protests" can quickly turn into riots and mass murder. How do you expect to protect innocent civilians in these situations without a police presence?

Absolutely, freedom of speech should be absolute in public places! That includes the freedom to assemble and protest peacefully. She's not saying that protests should be unsupervised, she's not saying that violence in those protests should be tolerated, she's saying that as long as these protests are peaceful, no matter how much the establishment might not like it, the people's right to assemble and protest should be protected.

James Lofton wrote:

Repeal the Patriot Act that violates our constitutional right to privacy and protection against unreasonable search and seizure.

I agree that the Patriot Act went a bit too far and should be refined but not sure about actually repealing it....especially in this era we live in.

It worked fine before, and it will work fine once it's repealed. You don't need overbearing legislation to fight terrorism, you need better intelligence, intelligence that is better adapted to a new type of enemy.

James Lofton wrote:

Cut military spending by at least 50% and close the 700+ foreign military bases. Ensure a just transition that replaces reductions in  military jobs with jobs in renewable energy, transportation and green infrastructure development.

FUCK that. This isn't just incompetent nonsense, its absolutely dangerous. A cut in military spending? As long as the cut doesn't impact the men and women of the armed forces or crucial programs, I'd support a cut of some sort. Closing our foreign bases? Step away from the crack pipe. The US is a hyper power and crucial to world security yet you want to stop this in a world with Russia on the move, China trying to assert itself on the world stage, a very unstable North Korea that has nuclear weapons, the chaos in the Middle East, etc.? Sweet baby Jesus....

This one I always find flabbergasting. How is it that conservatives continuously harp on about how inefficient the government is, and how we need to cut down on government jobs and all that... yet, no one seems to want to accept that the US military is a horribly inefficiently managed mastodont that can withstand a massive reduction in budget without losing any of its power and effectiveness by simply increasing its efficiency to a level that would be considered mediocre in other government branches? Seriously... I fully agree that the US plays an incredibly important role in world security, and that it needs to continue to do so. But it doesn't require $600 billion dollars to do so. Russia makes due with $82b, and while they aren't half as strong as the US, they aren't 7 times weaker either. In fact, their PwrIndx score is remarkably close the that of the US And that's fucking communist russia!

There is plenty of room to cut the military spending budget, without having to sacrifice on quality.

James Lofton wrote:

Stop U.S. financial and military support to human rights abusers. Barring substantial changes in their policies, this would include Saudi Arabia, Israel and Egypt.
Freeze the bank accounts of countries that are funding terrorism, including the Saudi royal family.

I could support this but you're so far off the rails on a crazy train on your stance on the US military/foreign policy in general that the above doesn't even matter.

I support her on this.

James Lofton wrote:

Restore the National Guard as the centerpiece of our defense.   

Ban use of drone aircraft for assassination, bombing, and other offensive purposes.

Ridiculous.

Don't have an outspoken opinion about this, but it feels like she hasn't really thought this through.

James Lofton wrote:

Rejoin the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty, which the US dropped out of in 2002 when it installed missiles and missile bases in Turkey, Romania, and Poland.

Sorry Ms. Stein but we are NEVER rejoining the ABM treaty. Its on the ash heap of history. The US has an advanced ABM system in place and Russia is also creating one.

You are not even close to being qualified to be CIC.

These things are important steps forward though, and next to maintaining and building out its military, the US should in parallel take the lead on initiatives like this, not step back, wherever possible.

James Lofton wrote:

Agree to Russia’s proposal to jointly reduce US and Russian nuclear arsenals to 1,000 nuclear weapons each.

I agree that the US and Russia should work towards another nuclear arms treaty.

That's a given.

James Lofton wrote:

Remove US nuclear weapons in Germany, Belgium, Turkey, Italy and the Netherlands.

Bat shit crazy.

Not bat shit crazy, but a natural extension of the former point.

James Lofton wrote:

Support Russia and China’s joint effort to open negotiations on a treaty to ban weapons in space.

Nope. We already have weapons in space and Russia is currently working on a space bomber. Ship sailed in the 80s on this type of treaty being feasible.

All the more reason to have a ban on this type of weapon, while they haven't been used yet.

James Lofton wrote:

and end all nuclear weapons research, design, and modernization at the weapons laboratories.

Let our arsenal rot? No thanks. Russia recently modernized its ICBMs. Time for us to do the same and there's nothing wrong with research and better design. It creates more accurate weapons and lessens the chance for collateral damage(cities, civilians)...unless of course cities are the actual target.

Of course there is something wrong with research into better ways of committing mass murder. Focus developments and tech on defensive innovations.

James Lofton wrote:

Eliminate the doctrine of corporate personhood that among other things has been used to justify unlimited corporate spending in elections with a constitutional amendment to clarify that only human beings have constitutional rights.

She does make some great points on our corrupt, rigged elections that I agree with but she's not even close to being presidential material.

This should be the first item on her list.

misterID
 Rep: 475 

Re: 2016 Presidential Election Thread

misterID wrote:

That was a good post, but the boarder issues between Mexico and the United States is MUCH different than Europe. We cannot afford an open boarder for a myriad of reasons.

And even if you refuse to acknowledge climate change exists, I think we can all agree pumping poison into the atmosphere is a bad thing?

Smoking Guns
 Rep: 330 

Re: 2016 Presidential Election Thread

Smoking Guns wrote:

Bill Clinton would mop the floor with anyone including Obama, Michelle, Hilary, and Trump. He just would.

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