The New American Politics thread

[Thor]

Green party candidates it seems in the west are all nuts, maybe not US Green party nuts, but still anti science, conspiracy theorist, whole foods loving, hippie idiots who hate vaccines and love organic farming.

[corporatejay]

Originally Posted by octothorp

I don't tweet, but mine would be:

'A guy who's always dressed in some pretty ethnicky robes and won't tell anyone his name, along with his Mexican buddy, they blow up a bridge and desecrate the graves of american veterans. Pretty-much the future, folks.'

What movie is this?

[octothorp]

Originally Posted by corporatejay

What movie is this?

[afc wimbledon]

Originally Posted by octothorp

Hey Blondie!!!

[corporatejay]

Originally Posted by octothorp

What movie is this?

[Caged Great]

Originally Posted by corporatejay

What movie is this?

The third of the best western trilogy.

[Itse]

Originally Posted by Thor

Green party candidates it seems in the west are all nuts, maybe not US Green party nuts, but still anti science, conspiracy theorist, whole foods loving, hippie idiots who hate vaccines and love organic farming.

I doubt it. There's just no reason to notice a moderate politician of a mid-sized party if you're not actively supporting them.

The Finnish Green Party is essentially a right-leaning liberal party that's mostly green in name only. They have some of that nutcase stuff going on, but it's mostly pretty mild and unnoticable. They used to be very much pro-homeopathy, but that's mostly over now. They even have their "Scientific Greens" subgroup that I believe is somewhat sizable and influential within the party.

(Note that I would never vote for the Greens in Finland. IMO calling them "right leaning" is putting it politely, because for some reason they hate it when people are calling them a right wing party, even if they totally are. "Right wing garden club" is a pretty common term for them.)

[Lanny_McDonald]

Originally Posted by troutman

Diagnosing Mental Illness in Presidential Candidates

http://theness.com/neurologicablog/i...al-candidates/

Sorry, after sleeping on this I couldn't let this slide.

Novella speaking about this is just hilarious. The self-appointed skeptic king, who will rail at lengths about anything beyond his field of expertise, is now suggesting that people with expertise in the field in question have no right to make a comment in regards to their particular expertise? Novella needs to find a new hobby other than telling people what not to believe and what they should be commenting on.

There is a long tradition in the psychological field of not publicly commenting on mental health issues of public figures. Often referred to as the Goldwater Rule, this is an ethical standard by which all APA members are expected to abide; not providing a diagnosis of an individual without first having opportunity to examine the individual and know his or her full case history. This tenet was established long before the the Internet and the 24 news cycle, providing an incredible amount of information previously unavailable, but still holds to the basis ethical standards of the profession. Members will not provide a diagnosis of an individual without first being able to personally examine the individual. That does not preclude a member from providing their opinion of traits or behaviors displayed by a person, and common classes of mental illness those traits and behaviors meet in the DSM 5. Stating behavioral observations is not the same as providing a clinical diagnosis, plain and simple.

This is no different than a lawyer providing his opinion on the various legal matters in the media, or a clinical neurologist providing his opinion on the conspiracy theory dejour. Psychologists are commenting on observation, making almost a psychobiography of an individual, and not providing a clinical diagnosis. This is no different than a lawyer observing a court case and providing opinion on the legal proceedings, without knowing the intimate details of the case itself. A psychologist providing social commentary based on their observations is not a contravention of the Goldwater Rule, nor is it an ethics violation according to the APA Ethical Principles and Code of Conduct. Mr. Novella would know this if he were a member of the APA, but he is not. He is a clinical neurologist and has no association nor expertise in the field of psychology.

Now, back to our regularly scheduled conversation driven forward by a bunch of lawyers commenting on issues beyond their field of expertise.

[MissTeeks]

Manafort has resigned apparently:

Robert Costa
Robert Costa – Verified account ‏@costareports

SCOOP: A close friend of Manafort tells me he has resigned

[ernie]

But he wasn't being replaced. They were just adding reinforcements! Looks like he thinks he had been replaced. Though truth be told they likely needed to dump him due to the potential payments he received as consultant to the Ukraine/Putin puppet regime.

This latest shuffle also seems a way for the Trump group to get some funding. Can't help but wonder if behind the scenes the GOP was already pulling that funding back and putting it towards the Senate and Congress races instead.

[Lanny_McDonald]

The incoming consultants will establish whether the Trump campaign receives more money. The people brought in do not appeal to the money men. Trump is on his own. The GOP and the god makers will be investing money down ticket.

[troutman]

Originally Posted by New Era

Now, back to our regularly scheduled conversation driven forward by a bunch of lawyers commenting on issues beyond their field of expertise.

I don't know if that was directed at me, but I also have an Honors Degree in Political Science.

[Senator Clay Davis]

Originally Posted by MissTeeks

Manafort has resigned apparently:

Robert Costa
Robert Costa – Verified account ‏@costareports

SCOOP: A close friend of Manafort tells me he has resigned

Says who?!?!?

[troutman]

Trump hires the best people.

Lewandowski. You're fired.

Manafort. You're fired.

Bannon.

[Flash Walken]

Originally Posted by Fuzz

Did you know Global Warming is a female conspiracy? Not if it is happening or not, but that they are the cause of it. They have motive. Women are always cold, and want men to turn up the heat. Men didn't so they found another way. Hairspray? Causes global warming. First they tried with minivans, but that wasn't enough so the soccer mom's upgraded to SUV's. It's a conspiracy.

The clouds can smell the menstruations

[calumniate]

Maybe he re-signed

[Lanny_McDonald]

Originally Posted by troutman

I don't know if that was directed at me, but I also have an Honors Degree in Political Science.

Nope, not directed at you specifically. If I ever needed representation I would probably make a call to our resident unfrozen caveman. I like the cut of your jib, counselor. It was more of a general crack at who is driving the debate and then the contradiction presented by Novella. I like our group of lawyers here. They are all fun to debate against.

[RougeUnderoos]

It's on CNN.com that he resigned at the behest of that Bannon weirdo.

I wonder if The Donald is pissed off that he wasn't able to tell him he's fired. He's flying over the Louisiana flood zone in his helicopter right now and probably missed the whole thing. Too bad!

[GGG]

Originally Posted by Fuzz

back on topic...
http://www.cbc.ca/news/world/trump-c...727477?cmp=rss



Is that what he's going with? "Whoops"? Hold on to your seats, folks. We are about to see a kinder gentler Trump. This could be even better than angry fabricating Trump.

This appears to be the first move in a while that looks like an attempt to win.

[Senator Clay Davis]

^Problem is it's almost certainly way too late to actually matter without Hillary collapsing. He needed this right after the conventions and not the Khan meltdown which may have been the death blow. At this point I think he needs Hillary to fall apart and have more scandals come out to truly have a chance. Just turning on the nice guy charm isn't going to work, just as it hasn't worked for Hillary at any point. The only time her approval went up was when other people made her look good at the DNC.