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[benjipwns]

Spoiler

compare a poll immediately after a school shooting to one without any notable mass shootings in nearly six months

 

[Black Mamba]

The trendline is pretty clear there, though. Newton was just a speedbump to the shift, nothing more.

Also, the question on gun control is always laughably stupid.

When asked about specifics, such as universal background checks, it still has massive support.

 

[Wilsongt]

Peter King is continuing to prove that he is also a complete idiot.

Rep. Peter King (R-NY) suggested that the torture referenced in a Senate report released earlier in the week is actually just referring to "people being made to stand in awkward positions."

"I don’t believe these are torture at all. For instance waterboarding, there were medical personnel present during the whole time. It creates tremendous discomfort there’s no doubt about it. It creates tremendous fear, but the fact is there was no lasting damage to these people and we got information from them, which is very helpful," King said in an interview on New York's WCBS. The interview was flagged by Buzzfeed.

 

[HyperionX]

The trendline is pretty clear there, though. Newton was just a speedbump to the shift, nothing more.

Also, the question on gun control is always laughably stupid.

When asked about specifics, such as universal background checks, it still has massive support.

Indeed. Americans are remarkably stupid about this. There's literally no evidence that guns protect anything. Literally all of the evidence those claims are fraudulent/BS studies from pro-gun groups.

 

[HylianTom]

It would simplify my list of countries to never visit:

Any Middle Eastern Country

Any African Country sans South Africa.

North Korea

Cuba

Confederate States of America


Pretty easy. I wonder if the new congress would pass a law to allow states to rescind their statehood. lmao

This is feeling more and more like a cold civil war, right?

 

[Chichikov]

It would simplify my list of countries to never visit:

Any Middle Eastern Country

Any African Country sans South Africa.

North Korea

Cuba

Confederate States of America


Pretty easy. I wonder if the new congress would pass a law to allow states to rescind their statehood. lmao

I'm batting 1.000 on your list.
Not bad.

 

[NobleXenon]

The trendline is pretty clear there, though. Newton was just a speedbump to the shift, nothing more.

Also, the question on gun control is always laughably stupid.

When asked about specifics, such as universal background checks, it still has massive support.

Pretty much. In my state of Nevada, the most libertarian state with guns everywhere, there will be an ballot question in 2016 that expands background checks just like Washington State's this past month. It'll most likely pass since it'll take place on a non-midterm year.

 

[Wilsongt]

Only in America would a news network give the orchestrator of crimes against humanity an interview and then call it a great interview.

 

[Poodlestrike]

The trendline is pretty clear there, though. Newton was just a speedbump to the shift, nothing more.

Also, the question on gun control is always laughably stupid.

When asked about specifics, such as universal background checks, it still has massive support.

Just goes to show the power of marketing. "Gun control" is unpopular, the actual measures that make it up... not so much It's not that people are stupid, it's just that when you hear a lie 10,000 times it starts to sound like the truth.

Peter King is continuing to prove that he is also a complete idiot.

This is stupid on multiple levels, since "standing in uncomfortable positions" for long lengths of time is sufficiently unpleasant that we had to invent the chair 5000 years ago

 

[Owzers]

Only in America would a news network give the orchestrator of crimes against humanity an interview and then call it a great interview.

Cheney is going to be on Meet the Press sunday, I assume Chuck Todd will apologize to him for any grief he has received about enhanced interrogation, which is completely justifiable and works.

 

[Particle Physicist]

I just want to make some kind of joke about that last line.

Why is that article calling Reid's change 'the nuclear option?' That was not the nuclear option :/ I love how the media continue to perpetuate Republican framing/twisting of reality.

 

[Lucky Forward]

Where are those rock monsters when you need them?

The Lost Ark: Kentucky will not grant tax incentives to Ark Encounter

Kentucky’s Tourism Arts & Heritage Cabinet Secretary Bob Stewart informed representatives of the proposed Ark Encounter tourist attraction today that their project will not be eligible for up to $18 million in tax incentives from the state, due to their refusal to pledge not to discriminate in hiring based on religion.

“As you know, since the filing of the original incentive application in 2010, we have strongly supported this project, believing it to be a tourism attraction based on biblical themes that would create significant jobs for the community,” wrote Stewart in a letter to Ark Encounter’s attorney. “However, based on various postings on the Answers in Genesis (AIG) and Ark Encounter websites, reports from Ark Encounter investor meetings and our correspondence, it is readily apparent that the project has evolved from a tourism attraction to an extension of AIG’s ministry that will no longer permit the Commonwealth to grant the project tourism development incentives.”

“Certainly, Ark Encounter has every right to change the nature of the project from a tourism attraction to a ministry,” wrote Stewart. “However, state tourism tax incentives cannot be used to fund religious indoctrination or otherwise be used to advance religion. The use of state incentives in this way violates the Separation of Church and State provisions of the Constitution and is therefore impermissible.”

Stewart went on to wish the Ark Encounter project well, despite the fact that it will receive no money or incentives from the state.

 

[Joe Molotov]

Goddamn it. Sean Hannity just retweeted someone who tweeted a picture of one of the Isis beheading. I had avoided them for so long...

Why are you following Sean Hannity's twitter?

 

[Metaphoreus]

Huh. I wonder to what extent Heller and McDonald contributed to that change? I also wonder whether more widespread personal experience with guns--or simply the combination of increasingly lax gun control laws coupled with a declining crime rate--have had any role in it?

Spoiler

This is also another data point suggesting that the nation is not becoming more progressive, but more libertarian.

 

[Wilsongt]

Anal leakage is running for president again. Yaaaaaaaaaaaassss!

 

[zero shift]

It would simplify my list of countries to never visit:

Any Middle Eastern Country

Any African Country sans South Africa.

North Korea

Cuba

Confederate States of America


Pretty easy. I wonder if the new congress would pass a law to allow states to rescind their statehood. lmao

I wonder what I Confederate States of America would even look like. Kansas meets Arizona?

 

[B-Dubs]

Anal leakage is running for president again. Yaaaaaaaaaaaassss!

Butt-juice is running? Oh man, all we need at this point is the return of the Cain Train and this will be even better than last time!

 

[Mike M]

Santorum's going to get shut down out the gate.

The GOP's not going to entertain another clown show.

 

[ivysaur12]

Lololol

PPP North Carolina poll:

Ben Carson leads the way for the Republicans with 19% to 15% for Jeb Bush, 14% each for Chris Christie and Mike Huckabee, 11% for Paul Ryan, 7% for Rick Perry, 5% each for Ted Cruz and Rand Paul, and 4% for Marco Rubio.

Carson's name recognition isn't as high as the other Republicans, but among those familiar with him 47% have a favorable opinion to just 12% with a negative one. Huckabee (67/17) and Bush (61/17) are also pretty popular with the Republican base, while feelings toward Christie (42/32) are considerably more mixed.

On the Democratic side Hillary Clinton continues to be pretty dominant. She's at 52% to 18% for Joe Biden, 7% for Elizabeth Warren, 5% for Bernie Sanders, 4% for Andrew Cuomo, 2% for Jim Webb, 1% for Martin O'Malley, and less than half a percent for Brian Schweitzer.

What's particularly noteworthy in Clinton's numbers is how consistent they are across various demographic lines. She's at 55% with 'very liberal' voters, 55% with 'somewhat liberal' ones, and 52% with moderates. She's at 57% with African Americans and 52% with whites. She's at 53% with seniors, 52% with middle aged voters, and 52% with younger voters. The only place where you see a real divide is along gender lines where she gets 56% with women and 48% with men.

At least at this very early stage it looks like North Carolina will yet again be a swing state in 2016 if Clinton is indeed the Democrat nominee. She is very closely matched with all of her potential Republican opponents, leading Mike Huckabee and Chris Christie each by 2 points at 46/44 and 44/42 respectively, while tying Bush and Carson at 46% and 44% respectively. Those numbers show there isn't a big electability difference between the Republican candidates at least at this point. We also tested Joe Biden and Elizabeth Warren in head to head match ups with Bush and Carson, and they fare a good bit worse than Clinton. Biden trails Bush 47/42 and Carson 45/40, while Warren trails Bush 46/39 and Carson 44/37.

http://www.publicpolicypolling.com/main/2014/12/nc-still-looks-like-a-swing-state-for-2016-clinton-and-carson-lead-primaries.html

#Carson2016

 

[WayneMorse]

Wait so you're telling me that Ben Carson not only has traction in the Republican primary, but is competitive in a general election?

 

[Aaron Strife]

There's been a lot of buzz about Ted Strickland running for the U.S. Senate race in Ohio and he's said he's interested, but that he might defer to a younger candidate like Tim Ryan. Either one would be a great candidate.

My dream slate:

FL - Pat Murphy
IL - Tammy Duckworth
NC - Kay Hagan
NH - Maggie Hassan
OH - Ted Strickland
PA - Joe Sestak
WI - Russ Feingold

AZ and IA could also be competitive - I'd pick Kyrsten Sinema and Tom Vilsack for those.

And of course the only really competitive seats the Democrats will have to defend are Bennet in CO and Reid in NV.

 

[HylianTom]

If they're still struggling to defend North Carolina 18 months from now..? Ha!

 

[B-Dubs]

Wait so you're telling me that Ben Carson not only has traction in the Republican primary, but is competitive in a general election?

Just wait for him to open his mouth.

 

[Aaron Strife]

If they're still struggling to defend North Carolina 18 months from now..? Ha!

Amazing how North Carolina is a swing state now, albeit the reddest one. Gore lost it by 13 points while winning the national popular vote by .5.

 

[WayneMorse]

Amazing how North Carolina is a swing state now, albeit the reddest one. Gore lost it by 13 points while winning the national popular vote by .5.

It's going the way of Florida and Virginia and the psychotic state government/legislature may accelerate that.

Do you think Indiana might be in play again?

 

[FiggyCal]

Dick Cheney is a scumbag for throwing his buddy under the bus like that.

 

[Aaron Strife]

It's going the way of Florida and Virginia and the psychotic state government/legislature may accelerate that.

Do you think Indiana might be in play again?

Hillary would have a very outside chance of winning it if she invested there. So no, not really.

The Senate race might be winnable if like, Evan Bayh ran or something.

 

[AntoneM]

There's been a lot of buzz about Ted Strickland running for the U.S. Senate race in Ohio and he's said he's interested, but that he might defer to a younger candidate like Tim Ryan. Either one would be a great candidate.

My dream slate:

FL - Pat Murphy
IL - Tammy Duckworth
NC - Kay Hagan
NH - Maggie Hassan
OH - Ted Strickland
PA - Joe Sestak
WI - Russ Feingold

AZ and IA could also be competitive - I'd pick Kyrsten Sinema and Tom Vilsack for those.

And of course the only really competitive seats the Democrats will have to defend are Bennet in CO and Reid in NV.

Sinema made a big deal about the recent VA scandal and made claims that the delays in treatment directly caused the deaths of veterans. When the OIG report came out and said no veteran died as a direct result of the delays, when confronted with objective evidence, her campaign said that they didn't believe the report. Lost a lot of respect for her.

 

[Particle Physicist]

Huh. I wonder to what extent Heller and McDonald contributed to that change? I also wonder whether more widespread personal experience with guns--or simply the combination of increasingly lax gun control laws coupled with a declining crime rate--have had any role in it?

Spoiler

This is also another data point suggesting that the nation is not becoming more progressive, but more libertarian.

Or fearmongering by the media is at extraordinary levels. I am willing to bet that the majority of the population, especially the majority of gun owners are not aware about the declining crime rate.

 

[Tamanon]

It's a pretty silly question when you look at it. Tells you nothing about what Americans actually want in legislation. Framing it as just which is more important to someone, without any context for what either means in actual law.

 

[Metaphoreus]

Or fearmongering by the media is at extraordinary levels. I am willing to bet that the majority of the population, especially the majority of gun owners are not aware about the declining crime rate.

I think it's true that most people mistakenly believe that crime is rising, but I'm not sure which side most benefits from that mistake.

It's a pretty silly question when you look at it. Tells you nothing about what Americans actually want in legislation. Framing it as just which is more important to someone, without any context for what either means in actual law.

Welcome to the world of opinion polls.

 

[HylianTom]

Amazing how North Carolina is a swing state now, albeit the reddest one. Gore lost it by 13 points while winning the national popular vote by .5.

I love it.

Meanwhile, the Republican base (seen very easily over at FR) seems thinking, "hey, it's been two terms of one party in the White House.. now the electorate will swing to us - it's our turn! That's how it works, right?" If Hillary does indeed win, they're going to be as shocked as they were after the Great Unskewing Fiasco of 2012 - maybe even moreso, actually.

Those numbers also tell something else - that Hillary has still somehow maintained a separate branding from Obama. I'm wondering if the contentious 2008 primary race left an impression in people's minds.. maybe they're wondering about the road not taken?

 

[Mike M]

So the spending bill didn't pass and we're facing another shut down at midnight? Fucking seriously?

 

[Jooney]

Dick Cheney is a scumbag for throwing his buddy under the bus like that.

Coincidentally, throwing someone under the bus is now considered an enhanced interrogation technique.

 

[PhoenixDark]

Honestly I have no problem with not rubber stamping this shit spending bill, and it's fun seeing liberals and far right conservatives rebel against corporate interests.

 

[KingGondo]

Coincidentally, throwing someone under the bus is now considered an enhanced interrogation technique.

All the cool kids call it "speedbumping."

 

[Tamanon]

Coincidentally, throwing someone under the bus is now considered an enhanced interrogation technique.

Eh, it's just an awkward position.

 

[dabig2]

So the spending bill didn't pass and we're facing another shut down at midnight? Fucking seriously?

That spending bill was chock full of shit. Would most likely screw us over more in the long run than even a shutdown could (as long as shutdown doesn't last too long of course...)

But the gameplan of continuing to shoot ourselves in the head rolls along.

 

[Mike M]

I am by no means a booster of the spending bill, just surprised that the wheels are falling off this quickly.

They'll probably just cobble something together to last until next January and then use their control of both houses to make something even worse.

 

[Third Strike]

I love it.

Meanwhile, the Republican base (seen very easily over at FR) seems thinking, "hey, it's been two terms of one party in the White House.. now the electorate will swing to us - it's our turn! That's how it works, right?" If Hillary does indeed win, they're going to be as shocked as they were after the Great Unskewing Fiasco of 2012 - maybe even moreso, actually.

Those numbers also tell something else - that Hillary has still somehow maintained a separate branding from Obama. I'm wondering if the contentious 2008 primary race left an impression in people's minds.. maybe they're wondering about the road not taken?

If Hilary runs and wins in 2016, and subsequently does the same in 2020, the Democrats will have their second longest hold on the White House, next to the FDR/Truman dynasty. The opposite will remain for the House, unless demographics and turnout can outweigh the political bias of the many gerrymandered districts 2020.

 

[Crisco]

Huh. I wonder to what extent Heller and McDonald contributed to that change? I also wonder whether more widespread personal experience with guns--or simply the combination of increasingly lax gun control laws coupled with a declining crime rate--have had any role in it?

Spoiler

This is also another data point suggesting that the nation is not becoming more progressive, but more libertarian.

Eh, I see clear inflection points due to fear mongering over terrorism and Obama. People were ok with the idea of controlling guns when they didn't think Obama was going to disarm them so Osama could slit their throats. Now it's just a partisan issue, like all the rest. This is really nothing but a sign that GOP scare tactics are very effective. I bet you'll see an immediate warming towards gun control when the black guy is out of the WH.

 

[benjipwns]

Wait so you're telling me that Ben Carson not only has traction in the Republican primary, but is competitive in a general election?

Carson's name recognition isn't as high as the other Republicans

And that's WITH Republicans, so he's basically "Generic Republican" for probably half the people or more polled for the head-to-head.

 

[PhoenixDark]

Eh, I see clear inflection points due to fear mongering over terrorism and Obama. People were ok with the idea of controlling guns when they didn't think Obama was going to disarm them so Osama could slit their throats. Now it's just a partisan issue, like all the rest. This is really nothing but a sign that GOP scare tactics are very effective. I bet you'll see an immediate warming towards gun control when the black guy is out of the WH.

Guns have been a partisan issue for decades...

 

[thepotatoman]

Chuck Schumer and Barack Obama have both come out for passing what this republican budget, willing to give up the one piece of good wall street regulation we've added since they blew up the economy in 2008, cutting money from the nutrition program to pay for military planes no one asked for, and raising campaign contribution limits tenfold.

And once again, democrats get nothing for the "compromise", except a still running government.

Thank god Pelosi isn't having any of it, and has miraculously whipped the entire party to vote against it in the house.

Unfortenately, with the added GOP house and senate seats, there's nothing to stop this thing from happening next time, because Obama clearly wont stand up to them on battles like these. So congratulations american voters. You'll finally get those gifts to wall street, military waste, food stamp cuts, and the even more lax campaign finance laws you've all been asking for. Because if there's one thing this country clearly needs, it's for the upper class to do even better, because they clearly haven't done well enough the past 5 years.

 

[HyperionX]

Eh, I see clear inflection points due to fear mongering over terrorism and Obama. People were ok with the idea of controlling guns when they didn't think Obama was going to disarm them so Osama could slit their throats. Now it's just a partisan issue, like all the rest. This is really nothing but a sign that GOP scare tactics are very effective. I bet you'll see an immediate warming towards gun control when the black guy is out of the WH.

It drop when people learn how much bullshit pro-gun positions actually are. The don't know that there's no evidence that guns protect anything, nor do they know that countries that tightened or banned guns got a lot safer as a result.

 

[eBay Huckster]

Because if there's one thing this country clearly needs, it's for the upper class to do even better, because they clearly haven't done well enough the past 35 years.

FTFY

 

[thepotatoman]

FTFY

Indeed, but these last 5 years have been particularly egregious when paired with the very real hurting the middle and lower class are feeling, which is clearly not being felt whatsoever by the upper class.

 

[speculawyer]

Guns have been a partisan issue for decades...

Somewhat. But the Dems have largely avoided the issue for a long time. They only really picked it up again after Sandy hook & colorado shooting. And they've let it go since those failures. If people don't want it then there is not much you can do. We have decided as a country that it is acceptable to have so many people die from gun deaths in order to allow citizens to have guns.

I'm sure we'll revisit this at the next huge gun tragedy or when gun deaths exceed automobile deaths.

 

[gutter_trash]

Anal leakage is running for president again. Yaaaaaaaaaaaassss!

More comedy

 

[thepotatoman]

Somewhat. But the Dems have largely avoided the issue for a long time. They only really picked it up again after Sandy hook & colorado shooting. And they've let it go since those failures. If people don't want it then there is not much you can do. We have decided as a country that it is acceptable to have so many people die from gun deaths in order to allow citizens to have guns.

I'm sure we'll revisit this at the next huge gun tragedy or when gun deaths exceed automobile deaths.

That's so crazy that gun deaths are actually likely to exceed automobile deaths in the relatively near future.

Firearm deaths have flat lined on the low side of 10 per 100,000 per year since the late 90s.

Motor vehicle deaths have been dropping fairly consistently since 1980, and is now on the high side of 10 per 100,000 per year.