American Politics Thread: Orange is the new POTUS (Archive)

[GreenLantern2814]

Originally Posted by nik-

You're an average blue collar or white collar worker. You make an average salary, explain to me how the Iraq and Afghan wars impact your day to day existence. Without using abstracts, using tangible impacts to the average person.

If the United States is not on a war footing, they are not able to pass the Patriot Act unopposed and establish the modern surveillance state overnight.

Whether the average person noticed it or not, their lives changed.

[FlamesAddiction]

From the time of the Declaration of Independence until the present, how many year has the U.S. not been at war?

I think for most Americans, being at war is normal and even desirable.

[PepsiFree]

Originally Posted by Matata

It's because he outgrew them, Milo has been on a runaway freight train of success since the Berkeley riots.

A runaway freight train? lol.

He advocated older men playing the daddy role to help awaken "sexually mature" 13 year old boys. So far, that's not playing well in any circle (right or left).

[northcrunk]

Originally Posted by PepsiFree

A runaway freight train? lol.

He advocated older men playing the daddy role to help awaken "sexually mature" 13 year old boys. So far, that's not playing well in any circle (right or left).

He was also a victim of abuse that was obviously using humour as a coping mechanism. He said in his press conference that one of the men he was abused by was a priest and repeated his position that the age of consent is good where it is at and does not support pedophiles. The video was also highly edited and the material has been sitting out in public for a year. It's hard to argue he hasn't been riding a wave of success and gained a ton of exposure. This looks and smells like a attempt to shut him up whether you agree or disagree with his views.

[Mean Mr. Mustard]

I can't believe the disconnect associated with some of the Trump supporters on t_d and twitter. This Milo fellow is apparently being unfairly persecuted as a pedophile based upon his own statements, while at the same time unquestioningly believing the Hillary Clinton is somehow tied into a child trafficking ring out of a pizza place. How someone can change/skew facts to make them fit their own narrative is beyond me. What a bizarre situation.

[northcrunk]

Originally Posted by Mean Mr. Mustard

I can't believe the disconnect associated with some of the Trump supporters on t_d and twitter. This Milo fellow is apparently being unfairly persecuted as a pedophile based upon his own statements, while at the same time unquestioningly believing the Hillary Clinton is somehow tied into a child trafficking ring out of a pizza place. How someone can change/skew facts to make them fit their own narrative is beyond me. What a bizarre situation.

Doesn't really surprise me when your talking about T_D. It's as bad as some of the SJW subreddits.

[Senator Clay Davis]

Originally Posted by northcrunk

He was also a victim of abuse that was obviously using humour as a coping mechanism. He said in his press conference that one of the men he was abused by was a priest and repeated his position that the age of consent is good where it is at and does not support pedophiles. The video was also highly edited and the material has been sitting out in public for a year. It's hard to argue he hasn't been riding a wave of success and gained a ton of exposure. This looks and smells like a attempt to shut him up whether you agree or disagree with his views.

Or, he's a terrible human being who was always destined to take things waaay too far, and sure enough that's exactly what he did. When the only people defending him right now are Ann Coulter and related, that pretty much says it all.

[Matata]

Originally Posted by PepsiFree

A runaway freight train? lol.

He advocated older men playing the daddy role to help awaken "sexually mature" 13 year old boys. So far, that's not playing well in any circle (right or left).

His book is selling like crazy, all his events sell out, everyone in politics and media know him by name, was a featured guest on Bill Maher.
If you think you'll be seeing less of Milo, I got some real bad news for you.

Don't get sucked into the outlandish things he says, or what people say he says, that's how he rope-a-dopes people.

[Lanny_McDonald]

Originally Posted by nik-

You're an average blue collar or white collar worker. You make an average salary, explain to me how the Iraq and Afghan wars impact your day to day existence. Without using abstracts, using tangible impacts to the average person.

I'm not sure if you are serious? How about $3 trillion dollars stolen from the coffers? How about that money NOT going to things that matter, like repairing roads, repairing bridges, repairing an outdated electrical grid? How about not having access to affordable healthcare? How about living under the oppressive Patriot Act? How about the country being turned into a police state?

This is like saying that government has no impact on Canadians? Really? Then why the bitching and moaning about the Liberals and the NDP and the effect they have on the O&G sector. After all, government doesn't have an impact on the day-to-day lives of the average blue or white collar worker.

[nik-]

I am serious. Most people don't even care because they don't notice it in their day to day lives. You care, others care, because you're more invested. Most people just aren't and just go about their lives. If you're the average Joe, honestly how does the Patriot Act "oppress you". Is it a violation of the 4th amendment? Yes. Should it have existed? No. For the VAST majority of people does it make any sort of difference in their lives when it comes down to it? No.

I never said government has no impact on people's lives, I'm saying there's not a real big difference for the majority of people regardless of who is in power in terms of tangible impact on their day to day.

This isn't exactly controversial. It's the reason congress has sub 10% approval ratings and yet people still keep getting re-elected. Because for the most part, people just don't care.

[Lanny_McDonald]

Originally Posted by Matata

His book is selling like crazy, all his events sell out, everyone in politics and media know him by name, was a featured guest on Bill Maher.


If you think you'll be seeing less of Milo, I got some real bad news for you.

Don't get sucked into the outlandish things he says, or what people say he says, that's how he rope-a-dopes people.

Well, his book hasn't been released yet. Without that publisher he's going to have a hard time getting the distribution he needs.

All his events were sold out based on his celebrity. There is a fine line between celebrity and pariah, and Milo just hit the latter.

Everyone does know him by name, but people know Roman Polanski too, that doesn't give him much of a stage anymore.

You're right, he was a featured guest on Bill Maher, and he looked like a child at the adult table. This was the beginning of the end for Milo. Better to be a Dangerous ###### in a very small pond than to step onto the big stage and be exposed for the Mindless Idiot you are.

I would not be surprised to see Milo retreat back to the U.K. Like his buddy Piers Morgan. He just got bitchslapped in the biggest way and lost everything. He's not like Ann Coulter who has a publisher and Fox News gig to fall back on. He's persona nongrata at the moment. Will be interesting to see if he will morph into something people will listen to again.

[ResAlien]

The sub 10% approval and reelection has far more to do with gerrymandering than it does apathy IIRC.

[PepsiFree]

Originally Posted by northcrunk

He was also a victim of abuse that was obviously using humour as a coping mechanism. He said in his press conference that one of the men he was abused by was a priest and repeated his position that the age of consent is good where it is at and does not support pedophiles. The video was also highly edited and the material has been sitting out in public for a year. It's hard to argue he hasn't been riding a wave of success and gained a ton of exposure. This looks and smells like a attempt to shut him up whether you agree or disagree with his views.

Did you actual listen to what he was saying? He was not "obviously using humour." That wasn't even HIS defence of all of his comments. It's great that he had a press conference and said "Oops! sorry, I said horrible things" but that doesn't mean he didn't say they them or doesn't still believe them. Most of his "apology" was critical of others misinterpreting him.

It may look and smell like an attempt to shut him up, and maybe it is, but I'd be surprised to see you being so generous of anyone else promoting how beneficial it is for underage boys to be in a sexual relationship with older men. His being abused doesn't excuse his own acceptance of child abuse (which, to clarify, he doesn't believe underage boys/old men relationships to be when the child is "willing").

Originally Posted by Matata

His book is selling like crazy, all his events sell out, everyone in politics and media know him by name, was a featured guest on Bill Maher.
If you think you'll be seeing less of Milo, I got some real bad news for you.

Don't get sucked into the outlandish things he says, or what people say he says, that's how he rope-a-dopes people.

A book that isn't even getting published (so much for those sales!), an appearance that was more notable for how over-matched he looked among semi-intelligent adults, and a name known in the media for being alt-right, a pedophilia apologist, a self-hating homophobe, transphobic, anti-semite, anti-muslim, racist, banned from twitter and hating leslie jones?

Milo doesn't rope-a-dope people, as a member of the gay community who has been watching this trainwreck dance around acting like a complete f'n moron for the better part of the last 3-5 years, I can comfortably say that he can get as big as the alt-right wants to make him, it isn't going to matter.

Milo is an idiot, a coward, and a complete embarrassment to humanity. Period.

[JohnnyB]

Originally Posted by FlamesAddiction

From the time of the Declaration of Independence until the present, how many year has the U.S. not been at war?

I think for most Americans, being at war is normal and even desirable.

According to googling, the first answer I see is 21 years without war. So war for 93% of the time.

[CorsiHockeyLeague]

Everyone everywhere should read this.

http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/20...ange-our-minds

Among the many, many issues our forebears didn’t worry about were the deterrent effects of capital punishment and the ideal attributes of a firefighter. Nor did they have to contend with fabricated studies, or fake news, or Twitter. It’s no wonder, then, that today reason often seems to fail us. As Mercier and Sperber write, “This is one of many cases in which the environment changed too quickly for natural selection to catch up.”

[Matata]

Originally Posted by New Era

Well, his book hasn't been released yet. Without that publisher he's going to have a hard time getting the distribution he needs.

All his events were sold out based on his celebrity. There is a fine line between celebrity and pariah, and Milo just hit the latter.

Everyone does know him by name, but people know Roman Polanski too, that doesn't give him much of a stage anymore.

You're right, he was a featured guest on Bill Maher, and he looked like a child at the adult table. This was the beginning of the end for Milo. Better to be a Dangerous ###### in a very small pond than to step onto the big stage and be exposed for the Mindless Idiot you are.

I would not be surprised to see Milo retreat back to the U.K. Like his buddy Piers Morgan. He just got bitchslapped in the biggest way and lost everything. He's not like Ann Coulter who has a publisher and Fox News gig to fall back on. He's persona nongrata at the moment. Will be interesting to see if he will morph into something people will listen to again.

Oh where, oh where will he find a publisher that wants to make a ton of money?

Milo got where he is because he is unbelievably persuasive, he's willing to discuss the taboo and he is funny and charming as hell. He drags people into the mud with him and embarrasses them, but it doesn't stick to him because he presents himself as a ridiculous person who does this sort of thing all the time. Everyone who told him to go #### himself on Bill Maher embarrassed themselves, you can't presume to have moral authority while telling someone to go #### themselves, it makes you look a complete ass.

Milo's ability is not to win an argument, but to win over the undecided observing the argument, particularly young people. He gives voice to a lot of people who have felt silenced. He's able to mock moral authority in a way that appeals to young people while encouraging them to become conservatives. This is why he is hated with such astounding vitriol, he has an exceedingly rare ability to get young people to pick or change teams politically.

Every controversy has fueled him so far with and being shut out again by the mainstream will appeal to his audience. Media is far too fractured for him to be forced out in a meaningful way. He'll fade away if he doesn't adapt because this schtick won't last forever, but it'll probably last a few more years.

[driveway]

Originally Posted by JohnnyB

According to googling, the first answer I see is 21 years without war. So war for 93% of the time.

That's to wildly inflate the notion of what a 'war' is. That definition would likely include things like Reagan's airstrikes against Libya, the Dakota Pipeline standoff, or that Cliven Ranch nonsense as "wars."

The US was at peace from 1898-1917 (19 years) and then again from 1918-1941 (23 years) for 41 years of peace. Add in the years from 1973-1990 and then 1991 to 2001 and you've already got 68 years of peace in the 20th Century pointing to peace being the primary state to which the American public is accustomed.

[PepsiFree]

Originally Posted by Matata

Oh where, oh where will he find a publisher that wants to make a ton of money?

Milo got where he is because he is unbelievably persuasive, he's willing to discuss the taboo and he is funny and charming as hell. He drags people into the mud with him and embarrasses them, but it doesn't stick to him because he presents himself as a ridiculous person who does this sort of thing all the time. Everyone who told him to go #### himself on Bill Maher embarrassed themselves, you can't presume to have moral authority while telling someone to go #### themselves, it makes you look a complete ass.

Milo's ability is not to win an argument, but to win over the undecided observing the argument, particularly young people. He gives voice to a lot of people who have felt silenced. He's able to mock moral authority in a way that appeals to young people while encouraging them to become conservatives. This is why he is hated with such astounding vitriol, he has an exceedingly rare ability to get young people to pick or change teams politically.

Every controversy has fueled him so far with and being shut out again by the mainstream will appeal to his audience. Media is far too fractured for him to be forced out in a meaningful way. He'll fade away if he doesn't adapt because this schtick won't last forever, but it'll probably last a few more years.

As a young person who prefers the federal Conservatives myself (though that admittedly is no further right than a centrist compared to American conservatives) I think you and I have a vastly different view of Milo and his appeal to young audiences on either side of the fence.

If it was so easy to sell his book to a new publisher wanting to make "loads and loads" of money, why didn't S&S just keep it? You think other major publishers are immune from the same pushback? from the same consideration of basic optics?

I think you rely far too heavily on romanticizing what, in truth, isn't much more than an far-right talking head who says a lot of truly hateful things that some people are thinking. This doesn't make him a hero, maybe a hero to vile people, but the reality is so far removed from the picture you're painting.

He is not hated because he's rallying young conservatives and bringing liberals over to the right, that's ridiculous. He's rejected because of the hate he preaches.

To your last sentence, that is a VAST difference from the glowing endorsement you gave him earlier:

Originally Posted by Matata

If you think you'll be seeing less of Milo, I got some real bad news for you.

but much more likely. He won't disappear, but don't be naively fooled by the Alex Jones of the world into thinking he's a rising star. He's running out of friends, out of venues, and sooner or later: he's going to run out of people who will bother to listen. He isn't the first talking head for this rise and fall to happen to, he won't be the last.

Milo is a sad tale, not an exemplary one. A sad tale of someone who hates his own self so deeply that he depends on the acceptance of others to keep him going. What a shame that those others are a toxic bunch themselves, as the more they encourage him the further he goes to appease them, and the further he goes, the worse he'll make his own life in the end.

Sad.

[ResAlien]

Milo is only persuasive to those that would believe it's really about ethics in game journalism. That sad, small man did nothing more than learn how to use social media to mobilize hate. He's a joke and may carve an awful corner out on 8chan for himself but that's about it.

Anyhow, enough about the guy advocating grown men banging 13 year olds.

Now we have "so called" angry crowds meeting Republicans. I know Cory Gardner here is not going to show up to any because he's scared to meet the public. He's taken to only doing taped Facebook videos to interact with the voters of Colorado.

http://www.politico.com/story/2017/0...n-halls-235247

[GGG]

Originally Posted by New Era

I'm not sure if you are serious? How about $3 trillion dollars stolen from the coffers? How about that money NOT going to things that matter, like repairing roads, repairing bridges, repairing an outdated electrical grid? How about not having access to affordable healthcare? How about living under the oppressive Patriot Act? How about the country being turned into a police state?

This is like saying that government has no impact on Canadians? Really? Then why the bitching and moaning about the Liberals and the NDP and the effect they have on the O&G sector. After all, government doesn't have an impact on the day-to-day lives of the average blue or white collar worker.

I think you make an excellent point the NDP have little to with the current state of the oil industry in Alberta. The macro economic conditions dwarf any decisions made by the government.