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[benjipwns]

 

[benjipwns]

I don't know what the solution is but I'd push aganist denying democratic system power from ever having any kind of that power. I know the questions that raises and I'm not fully in support of many of those things. I don't know where fully I stand. Just not on the side of the state never having power.

I want to note that I'm not even approaching this like even maybe 60% or so from a libertarian/anarchist/liberal perspective. But at least half from a computer/electronic security perspective. A backdoor for a third party is a backdoor for any third party.

The one proposal (and these aren't new, which is why they're in the memo the purpose of which is to explain to ignorant government people why they're unfeasible despite what CSI: Cyber said last week) even wants to essentially insert a permanent Heartbleed type security hole somehow.

From a legal standpoint? Phil Zimmermann already faced charges over PGP back in the early 1990s.

Shit like this: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FREAK

Or this: http://www.lifehacker.com.au/2015/0...encryption-in-australia-will-soon-be-illegal/

No way bro. No way. Not with sovereign and qualified immunity you don't. Not with the way whistleblowers get treated. Not with the growing supermajority movement banging down the doors of Congress to repeal FOIA completely.

 

[thepotatoman]

We will have to respectfully disagree on Bernie's chances; he's already made quite a big splash and I haven't seen anything to suggest that he accepts, in his heart, that he has no chance, and he is putting in this amazing 110% effort, merely to get Hillary (or Joe) to adopt more progressive policies.

On personal taxation, I have no issue with the current tiered income tax levels, but, to win the Democratic nomination, he needs to win over a good deal of Hillary supporters and to do that, I strongly believe he needs keep personal tax levels at current levels, and instead go after corporations to fund his programs and other taxable entities, that aspirational Americans will have little issue with. I fundamentally do not accept that earnings above 413K should be taxed at a higher rate than the current 39.6% and the cap on Social Security should remain.

If and when corporations pay a reasonable rate of tax, on the trillions(?) of existing profits stashed off-shore and on future profits, income equality will start to be addressed. We can always hope...

I don't really get why you're for increasing the corporate tax rate but not the top income tax rate. I guess corporate taxes feel less personal, but the money is coming from somewhere. With income taxes you know for sure it's coming from people that can afford it. With corporate taxes it might come from rich investors and CEOs, but it could just as easily come from consumers paying a higher price, employees taking paycuts/layoffs, or small business startups that are putting everything they own into their business.

I also wonder why you think Bernie has a good chance, while also thinking socialist style policies is bad politically. Like i said earlier those two thoughts seem incompatible to me. What makes you think Bernie has a good chance?

 

[benjipwns]

Eliminate the corporate tax, double every income tax bracket over 20% and remove all the deductions. Make parents pay payroll taxes (remove the cap on those too) for their unemployed children. Add a complicated Georgist Land Tax that Congress has to vote to delay every year.

Replace the mortgage deduction with a bathroom tax.

Go to hell families with homes and children! Also Notch! TRUMAN 2016!

 

[pigeon]

I fundamentally do not accept that earnings above 413K should be taxed at a higher rate than the current 39.6% and the cap on Social Security should remain.

So is the issue here that you think most Americans agree with you (they don't, as noted) or that you yourself just feel very strongly about this topic? Because it seems more like the latter.

 

[benjipwns]

From 2012, I'm surprised at the corporate tax having the same amount of support I would have thought that more popular than any income taxes:

Three-quarters of likely voters believe the nation’s top earners should pay lower, not higher, tax rates, according to a new poll for The Hill.

The big majority opted for a lower tax bill when asked to choose specific rates; precisely 75 percent said the right level for top earners was 30 percent or below.

The current rate for top earners is 35 percent. Only 4 percent thought it was appropriate to take 40 percent, which is approximately the level that President Obama is seeking from January 2013 onward.

The Hill Poll also found that 73 percent of likely voters believe corporations should pay a lower rate than the current 35 percent, as both the White House and Republicans push plans to lower rates.

The new data seem to run counter to several polls that have found support for raising taxes on high-income earners. In an Associated Press-GfK poll released Friday, 65 percent said they favored President Obama’s “Buffett Rule” that millionaires should pay at least 30 percent of their income. And a Pew poll conducted in June found 66 percent of adults favored raising taxes on those making more than $250,000 as a way to tackle the deficit.

But The Hill poll found that a dramatically different picture emerges when voters are asked to specify the “most appropriate” rates.

...

One possible explanation is voters may not know how much the nation’s top earners are already being taxed. The poll did not ask voters to identify current tax rates before saying what rate they favored.

“It might be that people are underestimating how much the rich pay now,” said Bruce Bartlett, a former Reagan adviser and Treasury official under President George H.W. Bush.

...

Republicans were more likely than Democrats to support lower tax rates for the wealthy, but voters in both parties solidly supported lower rates compared to current law. Eighty-one percent of Republicans favored tax rates below current levels, compared to 70 percent of Democrats.

The Hill Poll, conducted by Pulse Opinion Research of 1,000 likely voters, also found broad support for lower rates across income groups. The group most supportive of lowering tax rates on the wealthy below current rates made between $20,000 and $40,000 a year; 81 percent supported tax rates of 30 percent or lower.

House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) proposed last year to lower the top individual tax rate to 25 percent. Twenty-three percent of those polled said that rate would be the most appropriate for top earners.

Of the income groups surveyed, those making more than $100,000 a year were the least supportive of lower rates, with just 66 percent supporting income tax rates of 30 percent or lower. That group was most likely to support income tax rates of 40 percent. Eleven percent of those voters said a 40 percent tax rate was most appropriate.

On the corporate front, 11 percent favored the current corporate tax rate of 35 percent, while 73 percent thought it should be lower.

lol polls

 

[thepotatoman]

Kanye West uses his new clothing line to promote his 2020 presidential run

Kanye West: I think that the world can be helped through design. Because we don’t just sit up there and read the fucking [look] board. We look at it and we ask hours and hours and hours of questions, and the better people that you have in the room and the more information you have, the better opportunity you have of making a great decision and of creating a great proposal that people will connect to. I want everyone to win. When I run for president, I’d prefer not to run against someone. I would be like “I want to work with you.” As soon as I heard [Ben] Carson speak, I tried for three weeks to get on the phone with him. I was like this is the most brilliant guy. And I think all the people running right now have something that each of the others needs. But the idea of this separation and this gladiator battle takes away from the main focus that the world needs help and the world needs all the people in a position of power or influence to come together.

Vanity Fair: Sounds like a presidential stump speech to me. Are you still thinking of running in 2020?

Kanye West: Oh, definitely.

Ben Carson and Kanye's clothing line will bring the world together.

 

[Metaphoreus]

A good read (until the conclusion, where it appears the author ran out of time): The Decline and Fall of American Political Debate

That moment [Bill Buckley telling Gore Vidal to "listen, you queer, quit calling me a crypto-Nazi or I’ll sock you in the goddamn face"], together with all the rancor and ad hominem attacks that had led up to it, inaugurated a new era in American media: the end of the old, sober centrism and the beginning of open ideological warfare. It didn’t happen overnight, but ABC’s success—the Buckley-Vidal debates propelled them to No. 1—didn’t go unnoticed, and on-air political debates between liberal and conservative pundits gradually became a regular feature of TV news programming: “The McLaughlin Group,” “Capital Gang,” “Crossfire,” and all the rest. The personal, vituperative tone of the Buckley-Vidal debates became the now-familiar register of political punditry.

This is beginning to change, but not for the better. Instead of shouting each other down the way they did on “Crossfire,” the new pundits are more apt to sneer and mock in the style of Jon Stewart. There’s little to be gained in arguing with an opponent but much to be gained by mocking him. What this means in practice is that we tend to seek out news and commentary that more or less reflects our own opinions back to us. Reading the news becomes an exercise in confirmation bias.

...

A certain logic sets in: some writers, and perhaps a great many of them, are not to be read because they’re not making good-faith arguments. Their publishers are in the business of advancing an agenda, probably at a financier’s request, and they all can be safely ignored. So we arrive at this unhappy place: why would a loyal reader of (or writer for), say, The New Republic ever read anything in The Federalist or National Review, except to sneer at it, mock its author, and impugn the motives of its publisher? The same goes for conservatives who refuse to read the New York Times or listen to NPR. Ignorance of the other’s argument, in this case, is a point of pride. The enemy is dangerous, after all, and must be stopped, not argued with, not taken seriously.

This got me thinking: I feel like I get decent exposure to liberal news coverage through my Edge browser home page and Google News, which include sites like HuffPo, Mother Jones, and The New Republic, as well as from my regular visits to NeoGAF. But my RSS reader--which is more commentary than news--is almost full of exclusively conservative and libertarian sources. So, what are some good liberal or otherwise-left-of-center RSS feeds that you all would recommend I follow?

EDIT:

And, what the hell? I'll spot you this one, benji: Liberals' Aversion to Debate

Liberals are done with debating. Not always. Not everyone. But enough.

. . .

When a group confuses its politics with moral doctrine, it may have trouble comprehending how a decent human being could disagree with its positions. This is probably why people confuse lecturing with debating and why so many liberals can bore into the deepest nooks of my soul to ferret out all those motivations but can’t waste any time arguing about the issue itself.

. . .

Or maybe you favor inequality, injustice, rape culture, and poverty because privilege clouds your sense of decency. If you were born wealthy (anything over 130 percent of the poverty level or so), how can anyone expect you to have empathy for the destitute? You certainly don’t possess the life experience or skin color to challenge leftist economic doctrine. For inexplicable reasons — that can’t possibly have anything to do with a genuine belief in supply-side economics, a belief in property rights, or an aversion to punishing success — tens of millions of you spend your political lives protecting the interests of billionaires for no other reason than that you hate the poor.

. . .

You hate a lot of things, don’t you? Like half the country, you’re furtively racist and irrationally misogynistic. The American idea is erected on a foundation of intolerance, according to one of the most celebrated thinkers on the left. You hate black people, sure, but also brown people. So this bloodlust manifests when you oppose the president on foreign policy, for instance. (Then again, maybe it’s the Israel lobby paying you off.) You’re not anti–Iran deal; you’re pro-war. Just as you’re not pro–Second Amendment; you’re pro–mass shootings. You’re not concerned about terrorism or (genuine) illiberalism; you’re a bigot. You’re not pro–school choice; you’re anti-children. You’re not pro–traditional marriage; you’re anti-dignity. You’re not pro–entitlement reform; you’re anti-retirement.

. . .

Or maybe you can’t see things clearly because you’re hooked to the most addictive opiate imaginable, religion — which, let’s face it, you probably don’t properly understand or adhere to correctly. Here, let them tell you what Jesus would do.

. . .

What conservatives (and some libertarians) possess are not arguments but corrupt and nefarious ambitions. Defend yourself. What you can’t possibly have are legitimate differences of opinion.

 

[benjipwns]

Interesting that he didn't mention Firing Line at all.

How did I not hear about this movie, Retro? Retro? You let me down.

The comments on the clipped video of Buckley jokingly referencing the threat to Chomsky are some of my favorites to visit: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PEIrZO069Kg

Ian Cooper 5 months ago
Here we see a glimpse of the thug behind Buckley's seemingly refined mask.

Texas Arcane 3 months ago (edited)
That shabbas goy would wet his own pants before he would lay a hand on his masters. Buckley almost passed out one time when one of his writers suggested that Israel's interests might not intersect with America's. The only jew that Buckley was not terrified of was Jesus Christ. All others he was like a grovelling dog. He knew he was paid to keep conservatism kosher and his whole career would be destroyed in a millisecond if he ever so much as grimaced at the wrong beany baby.

Ricky Jones 11 months ago
Oh look a JEW thats supports the idea of communism…surprise surprise.

t4705mb6 9 months ago (edited)
Chomsky works for MIT. MIT is is funded by tax exempt "foundations" run by the international globalist New World Order.
A Zionist PSYOP shill, Mr. Chomsky vehemently denies that 911 was the inside job it so obviously is and and labels anyone presenting the mountain of hard empirical evidence that the US and other governments, including Britain, Saudi Arabia and Israel, were indeed involved in the planning and the execution of the mass murders of those 3,000 innocent people.... "stupid", "morons" and "idiots".

Smart people only have to hear one lie before they stop believing ANYTHING any "authority" has to say about... anything.

BTW: Buckley worked for the same masters. It's called: Divide et impera or "Divide and rule". It's a VERY old tactic used by psychotic power hungry criminals worldwide.(Look up: Order from Chaos.)

It keeps all the brainwashed sheep fighting each other while their "masters" continue to commit their disgusting horrible crimes against humanity.

 

[benjipwns]

And I mostly just go here because I let other people create my "feed": http://www.memeorandum.com/

Or Drudge if I want FACTS YELLED AT ME whenever POSSIBLE:

Woman gives birth to a 1.5 lb 'miracle baby' on cruise ship...

15 weeks premature, doctors able to save...

POLL: Most people believe aliens exist in universe...

EU chief fears union will collapse...

Migrant stream shows no sign of slowdown...

'Greatest tide yet to come'...

Tech chiefs put brave face on Xi meeting...

Fall TV ratings off to disappointing start...

NETFLIX to make more shows of its own...


'SOUTH PARK' RAPES, KILLS TRUMP...

FOXNEWS GUEST: 'CUT HIS BALLS OFF'...

WEEKEND: Catalonia to vote in fierce independence row with Spain...

White teacher files suit accusing NY school district of racial discrimination...

White Liberals Angry About Kids Going to Black School...


'MUPPETS' Slammed As 'Perverted'...

ABC's sordid prostitution...

ZUCKERBERG SPEAKS CHINESE

 

[Metaphoreus]

And I mostly just go here because I let other people create my "feed": http://www.memeorandum.com/

Or Drudge if I want FACTS YELLED AT ME whenever POSSIBLE:

You've never even heard of Web 2.0, have you?

Seriously, I've seen better-looking Geocities pages. =/

 

[Aaron Strife]

He doesn't even draw people. He draws fucking lines and puts little googly eyes on them

Here you go, template for all of ramirez's shitty shitty cartoons

I hate political cartoons because none of them know how to fucking draw anyone so they have to put giant buttons on them that say "DONALD TRUMP" or something. Like no fucking shit asshole

 

[benjipwns]

You've never even heard of Web 2.0, have you?

Seriously, I've seen better-looking Geocities pages. =/

Sorry, Drudge is the pinnacle of web design, it's all been downhill since him.

I'm on like Web 42.0 I don't want content pushed to me, I want to push on content.

I have no idea what that's supposed to mean, but I dumped all feeds and crap a few years ago. Probably during the 2012 cycle. Stopped posting on/following twitter, everything but my shitty tumblr really. Which you'd love the design of with its black text on white default layout.

What I'm trying to say is, drivel that's not my own is easy enough to find, why would you want an updating stream of it...

Spoiler

Real Talk: You're going to add too many sources and realize you're skipping over all but like five. Just you wait.

I hate political cartoons because none of them know how to fucking draw anyone so they have to put giant buttons on them that say "DONALD TRUMP" or something. Like no fucking shit asshole

Political cartoons are produced by and for those who neither understand and truly enjoy politics nor cartoons. Discuss.

 

[benjipwns]

WHAT DOES IT EVEN MEAN?!?!?


The only good political cartoonist is Kelly:

 

[Aaron Strife]

Political cartoons are produced by and for those who neither understand and truly enjoy politics nor cartoons. Discuss.

 

[benjipwns]

kelly da god

omg the newspaper

 

[Chichikov]

The only good political cartoonist is Kelly:

Kelly is the fucking best.
That Giuliani cartoon is just the greatest.

 

[benjipwns]

kelly says what we're all really thinking

 

[ivysaur12]

pls print

 

[Metaphoreus]

Spoiler

Real Talk: You're going to add too many sources and realize you're skipping over all but like five. Just you wait.

Oh, I'm at that point already. I just want to be sure that the titles I skim are balanced in terms of ideological sources.

 

[GnawtyDog]

The worst of the bunch when it comes to political cartoons.

 

[benjipwns]

Oh, I'm at that point already. I just want to be sure that the titles I skim are balanced in terms of ideological sources.

https://libcom.org/blog/feed
http://feeds.feedburner.com/leninology
http://socialistworker.org/recent/feed
http://www.wsws.org/en/rss.xml
http://www.democracynow.org/democracynow-blog.rss
http://www.epi.org/feed/

 

[User 406]

Kelly is a CUCKSERVATIVE TURNCOAT. There's no crying Statue of Liberty in this one! He's clearly been SUBVERTED by SHRILLARY and COMMUNISTY WHOREGANIZER OBOZO'S MEXLAMOFACIST TAXACHUSETTS KENYAN FEMINAZI ILLEGAL CRIMMIGRANT CHICAGO STYLE DEEP DISH TRANSFATS LIEBERAL GAYTHEIST HOMOBORTION AGENDA. BENGHAZI. Also, EMAILS.

Tim Kreider would never let us down like that.

 

[Coriolanus]

Best page in the thread.

Anyone know why people focussing more on Jinping as of late? Iran, Isis and The Vlad i can see why, but Xi?

also while looking for pics of angry khamenei ran into him pulling a Cain Train

there are several of those. For... some reason.

 

[FiggyCal]

Kanye 2020 is real. In an exclusive interview with Vanity Fair, West unveiled a multitude of ideas both grandiose and granular that he has about his brand Yeezy, his partnership with Adidas, his new album, and the political process. Here's everything we learned from the interview.

He thinks Ben Carson is brilliant.
"As soon as I heard [Ben] Carson speak, I tried for three weeks to get on the phone with him. I was like this is the most brilliant guy."

But he doesn't like the idea of competing to be President.
"When I run for president, I’d prefer not to run against someone. I would be like, 'I want to work with you.' But the idea of this separation and this gladiator battle takes away from the main focus that the world needs help and the world needs all the people in a position of power or influence to come together."

www.gq.com/story/kanye-west-tried-to-call-ben-carson-three-weeks

 

[User 406]

I'm happy for you, and imma let you finish, but Ben Carson has the best mumbled biblethumping of all time, OF ALL TIME!

 

[NYCmetsfan]

RIP pigeon's avatar.

He's resigning

 

[Roland_Gunner]

Boehner's retiring at the end of October!! Hold on to your butts....

 

[benjipwns]

Speaker John Boehner announced to House Republicans that he is retiring from Congress at the end of October, according to multiple sources in a closed party meeting.

pls tan

 

[FiggyCal]

What is a good rss reader?

pls tan

Neat.

 

[BSsBrolly]

What does Boehners resigning mean? He's gonna keep the government open? That's the only thing I can think of.

 

[NeoXChaos]

why is he resigning?

 

[Teggy]

why is he resigning?

Would you want to be Republican majority leader? Who's got time for that?

 

[Poodlestrike]

why is he resigning?

Because he has the worst job in the world.

 

[RDreamer]

Wonder if that means Boehner will keep the government going and just said fuck it after that.

 

[benjipwns]

Donald Trump has announced he is also running for Speaker of the House. He will find out later from experts what the position actually is.

 

[Teggy]

Donald Trump has announced he is also running for Speaker of the House. He will find out later from experts what the position actually is.

He'll be great at it. The best.

 

[NYCmetsfan]

Does Ryan make the run

Betting on a GOP presidency and completely gutting our social safety net?

 

[Roland_Gunner]

Does Ryan make the run

Betting on a GOP presidency and completely gutting our social safety net?

Ryan doesn't want the responsibility of being the Speaker. He's happy pushing the agenda in the background. Kevin McCarthy has to be the heavy favorite. Its really him or chaos.

 

[teiresias]

Already dreading the next debt limit increase fight.

I wonder if establishment Republicans are willing to work with Democrats to keep the crazy out of the Speakership?

 

[benjipwns]

look at all the congressional party politik experts in the Boner thread

it's weird how everybody seems to have the same talking points

 

[Coriolanus]

I wonder if establishment Republicans are willing to work with Democrats to keep the crazy out of the Speakership?

And risk getting Cantored? Unlikely.

 

[RustyNails]

why is he resigning?

Probably because he is facing an insurgency from teabaggers and he did not want to be seen taking support of Democrats to hold his speakership.

 

[pigeon]

This is the worst day of my life.

 

[NYCmetsfan]

look at all the congressional party politik experts in the Boner thread

it's weird how everybody seems to have the same talking points

This is why I hate politics threads in OT. They're full of "wisdom" and "great insights" its far worse than "conventional wisdom" of the elite and that's saying something

 

[Fenderputty]

This is the worst day of my life.

you're avatar looks like he's blowing goodbye kisses now

 

[NeoXChaos]

Can he put the Senate Immigration Reform Bill from 2013 on the floor or is that expired from the previous Congress?

 

[benjipwns]

Boehner has served the 12th longest as Speaker. (Out of 53.)

Only one Speaker has become President.

 

[HylianTom]

Man oh man, the inmates are loose. They are in NO mood for moderation of any sort.

 

[BertramCooper]

Depending on the nominees, Democrats might actually have a somewhat decent shot at winning Boehner's seat.

I wouldn't put money on it, but I wouldn't say it's impossible. His district isn't quite as blood-red as a lot of the other Ohio districts.