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[Amir0x]

I've been on GAF since the 90's, I've been in my 30's for a while now.

you're part of the super Old Guard. I hit GAF in 2004

 

[Tamanon]

Late 90's for me, and I joined GAF in my early 20s already. It's just so weird, but also cool to remember how much knowledge Hitokage would drop whenever needed. He was great in the Cosmos thread lately.

 

[HylianTom]

Turning 36 in September. Been following this stuff forever, it seems. I was that weird little kid in 6th grade homeroom with the Walkman on NPR. One time, my teacher told me, "Thomas, take off your music," to which I answered, "But.. it's not music - it's Morning Edition." The look on his face was priceless.

 

[Particle Physicist]

I turned 37 this year. When Gaborn, Scorcho and now Hitokage passed, I found myself reminded to really try to savor every day. We don't know when it's going to be all we have. Sorry for the soppy sentiment, just still very upset.

It's so sad. I am older than he was as well. The father of a good friend also passed away this week and my brother's wife has been hospitalized for the past 13 days will all kinds of autoimmune issues. It's been... surreal, not really sure how else to put it.... but it definitely makes me appreciate my health.

 

[Link]

Geez, PoliGAF is old.

I'm older than that. Where is your god now, Dax?

you're part of the super Old Guard. I hit GAF in 2004

Crazy how I remember you arriving like it was yesterday. 10 years? Holy crap...

 

[Wilsongt]

Geez, PoliGAF is old.

It's why we're all so cynical! This sort of personality comes with age!

Anyway, found this interesting article posted on Facebook. I've never heard of the source before, but the points it makes are pretty spot on.

15 Things Americans Would Know if There Were a "Liberal Media"

Reince Priebus (and apparently many others) still thinks there's a liberal media.

While I share Reince's frustration with the media, as a liberal, I'd like to go on record and state that the media isn't focusing on issues I care about. They seem to be far more focused on entertainment and making money.

1. Where the jobs went -- overseas
2. Upward wealth distribution and/or inequality
3. ALEC -- Fucking up laws one day at a time
4. The number of people in prison -- Hint, black and hispanic make up the largest portion while the US has the highest proportion of people in prison relative to population size.
5. The number of black people in prison (See point 4)
6. US has highest healthcare cost in the world (Most people know this, though)
7. Glass-Steagall
8. Gerrymandering -- This is why Republicans hold the House. Most liberals know this, though, but it's not reported as being the reason why our Congress is disfunctional
9. Number of bills blocked by Republicans in Congress -- "but but but both sides do it!" Nope.
10. Citizen's United
11. Nixon's Southern Strategy
12. Tax Cuts primarily benefit the wealthy -- See Kansas
13. Bees?
14. Impact of temp workers on the economy
15. Media consolidation

Have at you, PoliGAF.

 

[The Librarian]

I'm older than that. Where is your god now, Dax?

Somewhere not playing Zelda.

 

[FiggyCal]

I'll be 31 soon. One thing I'll say about getting older -- it's like as soon as you near the end of your 20's you not only realize time moves much faster than before, but you are far more aware of how frail life is. For example, people who had underlying conditions they previously didn't know about or once had under control are more prone to having increased complications or possibly dying. People who have really been struggling with mental health may actually go through with doing something crazy like suicide. "Starting to get older" comes with more baggage than one may first realize when it comes to the well-being of others in your age group, and it's very depressing.

31 isn't even old yet.

 

[alstein]

37 myself, and met Hito once. He will be missed.

Just hope today I don't get a potential job loss notification. Sounding like government cutbacks may finally bite me and I need to get a new career.

 

[Fox318]

It's why we're all so cynical! This sort of personality comes with age!

Anyway, found this interesting article posted on Facebook. I've never heard of the source before, but the points it makes are pretty spot on.

15 Things Americans Would Know if There Were a "Liberal Media"






Have at you, PoliGAF.

Gerrymandering isn't exclusive to one party but its been killing this country since the 1800s

 

[eBay Huckster]

It's why we're all so cynical! This sort of personality comes with age!

I'm barely 23 and I'm probably just as cynical, just... manifested differently.

Spoiler

By which I mean I'm cynical about this kidney disorder.

Gerrymandering isn't exclusive to one party but its been killing this country since the 1800s

As far as current gerrymandering goes, there's basically Illinois/Maryland on one side and then (at least) 6 of the other 9 most populous states on the other.

So it might not be exclusive, but it's certainly slanted significantly more to one party.

 

[teiresias]

November 24. Evilore also has a birthday very nearby to that, he is also turning 30.

(it suggests to me that all of the old guard of GAF is starting to enter their 30s. Which is truly bizarre)

I'm 35. You youngins'!!!

 

[Sibylus]

I'm barely 23 and I'm probably just as cynical, just... manifested differently.

Spoiler

By which I mean I'm cynical about this kidney disorder.

All of this is true of myself also.

Spoiler

Barring the kidney disorder and "barely" 23 (I'm ripe 23). Sorry to hear that, huckster!

 

[The Technomancer]

23 here as well, spending my first year as a "real adult" and yeah, feeling life kick into gear

 

[Baraka in the White House]

28.

:-/

 

[thezerofire]

guess I can join the 23 club while we're all doing this

 

[Armoured Priest]

I've not been here that long and while I will speak up, I still mostly lurk. I'm probably still a pretty optamistic person (learned responce from my mom who dealt with Lupus for 30 years...if she could do it, so can I).

Can't say I knew Hitokage really at all (I so recall seeing some of his posts, they were generally thoughtful)...still, he clearly was known by a number of you guys, and as someone who tries to look at possibilities, that is one possibility that can no longer be. I'm truly sympathetic. Someone 31 years old still had a bunch of his life before him, and that is tragic.

Not going to say the cynicism is totaly age based as I'm a bit older then most of you guys (I'm 39 in October). Sometimes its good to step back from the politics and see that in spite of the nonsense going on right now, for most people, today is better then yesterday and there are a lot of people legitimately working to leave the world better then how they found it.

Certainly, there's more work to do, and there's been a wierd influx lately of people who are seemingly cartoonish in their villany. Always remains the need to remain vigilant.

Anyway, my positive pep talk for the day.
Carry on.

 

[Rhomega Beta]

28.

:-/

Same.

 

[Mike M]

Buncha spring chickens up in PoliGAF, honestly thought I was closer to the median than this.

 

[Cat]

I'm 33.

~~~

Slate: Obama Is on a Pro-Labor Roll
http://www.slate.com/articles/news_...arbitration_huge_news_for_workers_rights.html

What’s this about? Bear with me for a minute, because there’s a reason this one isn’t lighting up TV screens or Twitter. It’s important, but it’s also kind of technical. The order, called Fair Pay and Safe Workplaces, does two things. It requires companies bidding for federal contracts worth more than $500,000 to make previous violations of labor law public, if they have any to report. That’s a shaming device that the administration hopes will push companies to settle back wage claims and nudge them toward better behavior in the future.

The second part of the order is what Bland is so excited about. This provision says that companies with federal contracts worth more than $1 million can no longer force their employees out of court, and into arbitration, to settle accusations of workplace discrimination. “Here’s why this is so important,” Bland said when I asked him to explain. “For the last 20 years, the Supreme Court has been encouraging employers to force their workers into a system of arbitration that has been badly rigged against the workers. And so this order will result in millions of employees having their rights restored to them.”

What say you, PoliGAF?

Also:
Huffington Post: How Americans Scared Walgreens Out Of A $4 Billion Tax Dodge

 

[Wilsongt]

That didn't take long.

National Organization For Marriage Announces Target Boycott

Well, we all saw this one coming.

Less than 48 hours after mass market retailer Target publicly solidified their support for marriage equality in a court filing on Tuesday, the National Organization for Marriage announced a boycott of the chain.

Target officially announced their public support for marriage equality by signing an amicus brief before a Chicago federal appeals court, following similar moves made by other large companies.

Target and other companies need to be forced to realize that it is their alignment with the radical cause of redefining marriage that is "bad for business"—not states' marriage laws that uphold and protect the common-sense idea that kids do best with a mom and a dad!

So I'm announcing a new boycott today, against Target, for insulting consumers like you and me. The brief they signed in court this week insinuates that people like you and me, who would vote to uphold traditional marriage, as akin to segregationists and racial bigots. Would you want to shop at a place that viewed you in that way?

Irony.

 

[speculawyer]

That didn't take long.

National Organization For Marriage Announces Target Boycott

Irony.

Whatever. They are a joke now and they know it. At this point, such organizations are nothing but scams to extract money from religious people because that battle is OVER.

 

[AntoneM]

National Organization for Marriage
NOFM
NO FM
No females!

They're secretly gay!

 

[Cat]

I don't know how to quotes inside quotes, but kids do best with a loving environment, studies have shown that, yes? I've read repeatedly, and I do this because I'm a relatively new parent, that the BEST approach with kids is to show empathy and be compassionate, not what that organization is doing.

And you are bigots. I wouldn't like to be called one, but I wouldn't like to be one either.

 

[GhaleonEB]

National Organization for Marriage
NOFM
NO FM
No females!

They're secretly gay!

The National Organization for Marriage argues against marriage. The lack of self-awareness on every level with these guys is remarkable.

 

[Fox318]

I'm barely 23 and I'm probably just as cynical, just... manifested differently.

Spoiler

By which I mean I'm cynical about this kidney disorder.

As far as current gerrymandering goes, there's basically Illinois/Maryland on one side and then (at least) 6 of the other 9 most populous states on the other.

So it might not be exclusive, but it's certainly slanted significantly more to one party.

If the Democrats won in 2010 I would bet all the money in my pockets against all the money in your pockets that the districts wouldn't be fair.

 

[platypotamus]

National Organization for Marriage
NOFM
NO FM
No females!

They're secretly gay!

The National Organization for Marriage, or "NAMBLA", as they're also known...

 

[zargle]

National Organization for Marriage
NOFM
NO FM
No females!

They're secretly gay!

nonono, they just want to go back to the good ol' days when all we had to listen to was the soothing static of AM radio.

 

[Metaphoreus]

You all might appreciate this article, particularly in light of where it was published (the right-wing Washington Examiner): On immigration, Obama may be cynical, but he's not breaking the law

Conservatives are outraged that President Obama is threatening to use his executive authority to shelter undocumented foreigners from deportation now that immigration reform seems dead this year.

But whether they like it or not, existing immigration laws give the president vast discretion to temporarily legalize an unlimited number of foreigners.

The president hasn’t yet said exactly what he’ll do, but some reports suggest that he might “defer action” against undocumented aliens who are parents of U.S. citizens or have held steady employment. This means that instead of being hunted down and deported, they’d be officially notified they won’t be targeted for some period during which they would be allowed to work. This is what he did with illegals brought into the country as minors after Congress failed to pass the Dream Act. His new dispensation could potentially cover as many as 5 million undocumented workers.

This prompted New York Times columnist Ross Douthat to accuse the president of “domestic Caesarism.” Granting temporary legal status by executive fiat, he insisted, would be “an extraordinary abuse of office” and tantamount to rewriting existing immigration laws.

But Margaret Stock, a Republican immigration lawyer and a Federalist Society member, notes that such accusations don’t appreciate that all this is fully authorized by those laws. "The Immigration and Nationality Act and other laws are chock-full of huge grants of statutory authority to the president,” she explains, a point also emphasized by the nonpartisan Congressional Research Service in its 2013 brief. “Congress gave the president all these powers, and now they are upset because he wants to use them. Other presidents have used the same authority in the past without an outcry.”

 

[speculawyer]

You all might appreciate this article, particularly in light of where it was published (the right-wing Washington Examiner): On immigration, Obama may be cynical, but he's not breaking the law

They need to start breaking it to their base that they won't actually be able to impeach him despite having talked about it for a long time.

 

[PhoenixDark]

I'm 33.

~~~

Slate: Obama Is on a Pro-Labor Roll
http://www.slate.com/articles/news_...arbitration_huge_news_for_workers_rights.html



What say you, PoliGAF?

Also:
Huffington Post: How Americans Scared Walgreens Out Of A $4 Billion Tax Dodge

Read about the labor exec orders yesterday, very impressive. Little to no fanfare but it matters.

 

[FiggyCal]

They need to start breaking it to their base that they won't actually be able to impeach him despite having talked about it for a long time.

I'm wondering if they'll try anyway. I have this feeling like they might not be able to help themselves.

 

[benjipwns]

You all might appreciate this article, particularly in light of where it was published (the right-wing Washington Examiner): On immigration, Obama may be cynical, but he's not breaking the law

Yeah, but Shikha's an open borders advocate. (And libertarian.)

Also, Indian, so there's always some nice comments on her articles everywhere along the lines of "why don't you go back and fix your shithole of a country instead of trying to ruin ours."

 

[HylianTom]

I wanna see the trifecta: Hillary gets elected and re-elected, followed by a failed impeachment attempt in her second term.

Then maaaaaybe the public might finally wise-up and wonder if they've seen this goofy, unproductive behaviour somewhere before..

Naaah.

 

[NYCmetsfan]

You all might appreciate this article, particularly in light of where it was published (the right-wing Washington Examiner): On immigration, Obama may be cynical, but he's not breaking the law

They know this. Its partly why they sued over the healthcare law not immigration.

The hand wringing over immigration is red meat for the base nothing more.

And

Ross Douthat to accuse the president of “domestic Caesarism.”

I hate how Ross douthat gets paraded around as some 'smart conservative' because he has a thesaurus and pretends to care about philosophy, all while always coming to the same conclusion as the tea party types.

 

[Joe Molotov]

I wanna see the trifecta: Hillary gets elected and re-elected, followed by a failed impeachment attempt in her second term.

Then maaaaaybe the public might finally wise-up and wonder if they've seen this goofy, unproductive behaviour somewhere before..

Naaah.

I want to see the trifecta of Hillary gets elected, comes out as gay, and converts to Islam.

 

[PhoenixDark]

I hate how Ross douthat gets paraded around as some 'smart conservative' because he has a thesaurus and pretends to care about philosophy, all while always coming to the same conclusion as the tea party types.

He's a dumber David Brooks.

 

[NYCmetsfan]

Also, WTF is up with the Republican's criticism of Obama on Iraq.

The talking point is: "Good that we struck ISIS, but we need a 'foreign policy/plan/outline'"
What the hell does that mean?

Example from the Speaker:

“The president’s authorization of airstrikes is appropriate, but like many Americans, I am dismayed by the ongoing absence of a strategy for countering the grave threat ISIS poses to the region.

Edit: Bill Kristol says theirs bipartisian support for ground troops in Iraq.

HH: I agree. What about, last question, Bill Kristol, Erdogan, who has been, being as anti-Semitic as any national leader has been in the last 50 years, who is not already well-known by the American people, does Erdogan have to rethink this, because ISIS isn’t going to stop at the border of Kurdistan and Turkey.

BK: He might, and of course, sometimes the enemy of enemies becomes friends and all that. And the good news is these groups, that a lot of people are split in the Middle East, so they can fight each other and stop each other to some degree. But at the end of the day, and you and I have discussed this several times, there is no substitute for U.S. leadership, and there is no substitute for a willingness to use force. Otherwise, it’s all just talk. And some of that force has to involve at least the possibility of boots on the ground. No one wants American kids to go back in and fight in Iraq, but a few thousand troops maybe in Kurdistan, just to help them stabilize the situation, some air power to bash ISIS, whether killing Christians or killing other sects, and just to stop their advance, at least, to stabilize the situation, I think the President would have huge bipartisan support if he ordered such things.

 

[FiggyCal]

Also, WTF is up with the Republican's criticism of Obama on Iraq.

The talking point is: "Good that we struck, but we need a 'foreign policy/plan/outline'"
What the hell does that mean?

It means that they can never say he did anything right.

 

[Rhomega Beta]

Also, WTF is up with the Republican's criticism of Obama on Iraq.

The talking point is: "Good that we struck ISIS, but we need a 'foreign policy/plan/outline'"
What the hell does that mean?

Example from the Speaker:

It sounds like they're saying "Ok, we killed some guys. Now what?"

 

[Oblivion]

So Krugman has a bit of fun killing Santa Clause for conservatives by pointing out that Jimmy Carter, the worst president ever until Obama showed up, had a higher job growth rate, than Saint Reagan:

http://krugman.blogs.nytimes.com/20...e=blogs&smid=tw-NytimesKrugman&seid=auto&_r=0

I wish more liberals would point this out.

I get that Republicans need a conservative hero to prove their policies "work", and Reagan is the closest to fitting the bill, but he's been surpassed in many economic areas by not just one but multiple presidents.

I hate how Ross douthat gets paraded around as some 'smart conservative' because he has a thesaurus and pretends to care about philosophy, all while always coming to the same conclusion as the tea party types.

Yup. Same with David Brooks, and any other alleged "centrist" pundit.

 

[Metaphoreus]

Yeah, but Shikha's an open borders advocate. (And libertarian.)

Also, Indian, so there's always some nice comments on her articles everywhere along the lines of "why don't you go back and fix your shithole of a country instead of trying to ruin ours."

It's still nice to see a dissenting opinion in the pages of a right-wing publication like that. And I don't read comments ever. No matter where you're looking, they're all always going to be the worst of the worst garbage.

 

[NYCmetsfan]

So Krugman has a bit of fun killing Santa Clause for conservatives by pointing out that Jimmy Carter, the worst president ever until Obama showed up, had a higher job growth rate, than Saint Reagan:

http://krugman.blogs.nytimes.com/20...e=blogs&smid=tw-NytimesKrugman&seid=auto&_r=0

I wish more liberals would point this out.

Why? Don't you guys get that politics isn't about facts. Its about feelings. And I say that in all seriousness. Pointing out this doesn't really accomplish much.

You don't change peoples minds in politics, you push their buttons and sympathize more on the issues they care about than the other guy (I'm wording this poorly)

Yup. Same with David Brooks, and any other alleged "centrist" pundit.

that guy that sometimes is on slate and vice is awesome though, forget his name .

 

[Oblivion]

Why? Don't you guys get that politics isn't about facts. Its about feelings. And I say that in all seriousness. Pointing out this doesn't really accomplish much.

You don't change peoples minds in politics, you push their buttons and sympathize more on the issues they care about than the other guy (I'm wording this poorly)
.

Oh I agree it'll barely have any effect in changing their opinion. But I'm saying it should be pointed out mostly to see them struggle to find a defense for it.

 

[speculawyer]

Bill kristol got his war boner raging.

 

[WayneMorse]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EV3aMuXsOVQ

Pretty good ad. It's too bad she'll lose.

 

[Cat]

Hey speculawyer, you seem to be pretty knowledgeable about this stuff:

ThinkProgress: Electric Car Sales Are Up Over 70 Percent In Europe And The United States

Good news?

 

[NYCmetsfan]

Hey speculawyer, you seem to be pretty knowledgeable about this stuff:

ThinkProgress: Electric Car Sales Are Up Over 70 Percent In Europe And The United States

Good news?

Still too small but yeah, every bit counts

 

[Oblivion]

Hey, look. It's been a while since we another ObamaSCARE story:

A new TV ad from Crossroads GPS features a Castle Rock mom criticizing Democratic Sen. Mark Udall for voting for the Affordable Care Act – not a surprising mouthpiece in a race that will likely come down to suburban women.

But the woman in the ad, Richelle McKim, is actually an employee of an energy company that is among the biggest donors to Udall’s opponent; and her story, which seemingly contradicts information on her publicly available LinkedIn profile, is at least more complicated than the 30-second version hitting Colorado’s airwaves starting Thursday.

The ad from Karl Rove’s attack operation is online here, but the key takeaway is the degree to which this is familiar – the story of the ACA “victim” that just doesn’t stand up well to scrutiny.

For example, the Crossroads ad suggests to Colorado viewers that McKim “had to go back to work” because of health care, but she told a local news outlet, “It wasn’t the Affordable Care Act. It was just a financial burden, having a single income for so long.”

Complicating matters, McKim’s husband had been treated for high-blood pressure, a pre-existing condition that made coverage unaffordable. For a while, he apparently had to go without insurnnce.

That is, until “Obamacare” came along to protect those like McKim’s husband, making coverage affordable for those with pre-existing conditions. At this point, everyone in McKim’s family now has the benefit of health security and they’re no longer one serious illness away from bankruptcy. Indeed, this sounds like a great success story – the ACA offers this family affordable coverage that can’t be taken away, while guaranteeing coverage for a husband and father who couldn’t afford insurance in the recent past.

http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/another-aca-horror-story-faces-scrutiny

If Obamacare gets repealed, what does this twit think is going to happen to her husband's health insurance due to his pre-existing condition?

Also,

In the local report, McKim is also quoted as saying, “It’s alarming that when we have illegals here, they can still choose if they want health care, but we as citizens no longer have that choice.”

Indeed.

 

[Oblivion]

Hey speculawyer, you seem to be pretty knowledgeable about this stuff:

ThinkProgress: Electric Car Sales Are Up Over 70 Percent In Europe And The United States

Good news?

It's good that sales are increasing, but the total amount out there is pretty pitiful. There aren't even half a million electric cars in the entire U.S. Even the Wii-U has better numbers than that.