GasBandit
Staff member
It would!
Gas Bandit's Political Thread V: The Vampire Likes Bats
- Thread starter GasBandit
- Start date
Dave
Staff member
Meanwhile in Alabama...
State senator sets up a GoFundMe to try and cover Alabama's $300 million deficit.
Things they are planning on cutting in the current budget (emphasis mine):
State senator sets up a GoFundMe to try and cover Alabama's $300 million deficit.
Things they are planning on cutting in the current budget (emphasis mine):
- Medicaid cut by $156 million.
- Closure of all driver license offices except Mobile, Montgomery, and Birmingham
- Close 13 Trooper Posts
- Shut down the Agriculture and Rural Crime Unit
- Layoff Aviation Staff and Fleet Management Staff
- Layoff 1/3 of all non-sworn personnel
- Layoff 75 of 431 Highway Patrol Troopers
- Layoff 30 of 147 Special Agents
- Layoff 8 of 31 Capitol Police Troopers
- Reduction in Staff for Restaurant Health Inspections
- Loss of Federal Funds for Marine Resources and Wildlife and Freshwater Fisheries
- Closing of facilities, which could include several State Parks, Lands Division facilities, and Wildlife facilities. The size and scope is yet to be determined.
- Closure of the Huntsville Morgue
- Elimination of Fire Debris (Arson) Analysis
- Closure of two diagnostic labs which test for deadly livestock diseases
- Closure of the seed lab which will risk the purity and integrity of products for farmers
- Loss of $2.55M of Federal Funding (Federal 69%; State 31%)
- Increased costs by diverting clients from Medicaid Waiver program ($838 monthly) back into costly intuitional care ($5,900 monthly)
- Increase in abandoned waste landfills and tire dump sites
- Increase in illegal dumps
- Deferred or eliminated cleanup of petroleum releases into soil and groundwater
- Layoff two of seven positions (Will leave only five employees in Mine Safety Division)
- Reduced and delayed mine safety inspections that prevent accidents and fatalities
- Eliminate training contract with Bevill State College for mine rescue teams
Dave
Staff member
Wrong. It helps the businesses themselves. Less oversight into the mining companies means that they can cut corners and make more profit on the backs of the workers...an when those workers get hurt or trapped they're fucked.
But the most nefarious part of this whole thing is that Alabama has this fairly new voter registration law that says you can't vote unless you have a government ID. Guess who won't be able to go to the big cities to get sais ID? That's right, the poor and minorities. Coincidence?
But the most nefarious part of this whole thing is that Alabama has this fairly new voter registration law that says you can't vote unless you have a government ID. Guess who won't be able to go to the big cities to get sais ID? That's right, the poor and minorities. Coincidence?
GasBandit
Staff member
Yeah, my insistence that voter ID wasn't an undue burden was sort of implicitly predicated on the idea that the state would NOT be closing all but 3 of its ID office branches.
Meanwhile, up in Canuckalstan, we're getting ready for an election, too. At the moment, most are convinced current Prime Minister Stephen Harper will DEFINITELY NOT get re-elected. He's run this country into the shitter in the last 8 years and made Canada an international embarrassment for almost everyone involved.
Right now, it's really a toss-up between the other three parties. Trudeau is a popular choice, partly because his dad (Pierre Trudeau) was arguably one of the greatest Prime Ministers in Canada's history. And his overall platform is getting a lot of support. But the Mulclair and the NDP are getting a lot of support for their platforms. And Elizabeth May is showing a lot of people she has what it takes, too, after the recent 4-way debate where the Green Party was invited for the first time in history. If anyone of the four shined more than the others in that debate, it was May.
There's also talk of the three parties forming a coalition. I'm not entirely what that means, to be honest. I think it means all three have close to equal power and no one person is the most powerful. I think? I'm not big into politics, so a lot of this stuff goes over my head.
There's an image rolling around Facebook right now that sums up each of the party's promises and platforms. It's kinda big, so I'm gonna spoiler it.
Right now, it's really a toss-up between the other three parties. Trudeau is a popular choice, partly because his dad (Pierre Trudeau) was arguably one of the greatest Prime Ministers in Canada's history. And his overall platform is getting a lot of support. But the Mulclair and the NDP are getting a lot of support for their platforms. And Elizabeth May is showing a lot of people she has what it takes, too, after the recent 4-way debate where the Green Party was invited for the first time in history. If anyone of the four shined more than the others in that debate, it was May.
There's also talk of the three parties forming a coalition. I'm not entirely what that means, to be honest. I think it means all three have close to equal power and no one person is the most powerful. I think? I'm not big into politics, so a lot of this stuff goes over my head.
There's an image rolling around Facebook right now that sums up each of the party's promises and platforms. It's kinda big, so I'm gonna spoiler it.
Elizabeth may was involved in the 2008 debates as well.Meanwhile, up in Canuckalstan, we're getting ready for an election, too. At the moment, most are convinced current Prime Minister Stephen Harper will DEFINITELY NOT get re-elected. He's run this country into the shitter in the last 8 years and made Canada an international embarrassment for almost everyone involved.
Right now, it's really a toss-up between the other three parties. Trudeau is a popular choice, partly because his dad (Pierre Trudeau) was arguably one of the greatest Prime Ministers in Canada's history. And his overall platform is getting a lot of support. But the Mulclair and the NDP are getting a lot of support for their platforms. And Elizabeth May is showing a lot of people she has what it takes, too, after the recent 4-way debate where the Green Party was invited for the first time in history. If anyone of the four shined more than the others in that debate, it was May.
There's also talk of the three parties forming a coalition. I'm not entirely what that means, to be honest. I think it means all three have close to equal power and no one person is the most powerful. I think? I'm not big into politics, so a lot of this stuff goes over my head.
There's an image rolling around Facebook right now that sums up each of the party's promises and platforms. It's kinda big, so I'm gonna spoiler it.
Also, she shouldn't be. They struggle to get even a single seat, and have no credible chance of forming the government. She is a obnoxious person who wastes time supporting her party's fringier supporters - like when she tabled a bill this year for the government to open up a 9/11 Truther Commission. She tried to backtrack, saying that MPs are required to file all bills they are petitioned for, but that's not true (and would be insane), it is in fact done at the MP's discretion: of which May has little to none.
Furthermore, Canada was just ranked the most reputable country in the world - under PM Harper. To say we're an international embarrassment under him is pretty hard to swallow.
Let me rephrase that: he makes me ashamed to be a Canadian.
And I honestly didn't know any of that about May. Yowza.
As an American, I don't even know who Harper is. I thought you guys had a king.
Well I didn't vote for him! /MontyPythonHolyGrailReference
Here's her drunkenly randomly in a 'poor attempt at humour' at a Press Gallery Dinner http://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/eli...-failed-attempt-to-be-edgy-on-khadr-1.3069089
GasBandit
Staff member
Eh, there are a LOT worse things politicians have done.
Dave
Staff member
In one state. In Iowa she's still far, far ahead. Women especially, are lining up behind Hillary. The funniest thing is, they are both going to be at the Iowa State Fair this week. It'll be interesting to see who steals the show.
The tumblrinas and media are falling for the false flag op pulled on Bernie in Seattle. They were teabaggers.
Well that looks like absolute and definitive proof.
P.E.T. was probably the worst disaster to happen to this country ever. Virtually everything he touched had turned to disaster. It would be a 10 page post to explain everything that has gone wrong as a DIRECT result of acts he put through or things he did. "Just watch me" being one of the least serious.
But I'm just an Albertan who lived through the 80s. Fuck Ontario and your P.E.T. worship. His son is an entitled brat who is used to a fan club. Put the Biebs up there and the result would be the same: all shine, no substance.
And though it's apparently the longest election campaign we've ever suffered through, it'll be over before the American primaries. Hell, if we wind up with a Minority government, we could have two elections before they get through this one.
I like Mulcair. I don't like Trudeau or Harper (though I like Harper MUCH MUCH less). That's about it.
I'm just an Albertan who voted NDP (who Harper called a "failed experiment" after only 2 months in power, despite the insane amount of bloody work they have picking up the pieces of the recent disaster of Conservative rule).
It also isn't true.
The insidious amount of corruption in our current federal government needs to stop. No party should be in charge for too long.
I'm just an Albertan who voted NDP (who Harper called a "failed experiment" after only 2 months in power, despite the insane amount of bloody work they have picking up the pieces of the recent disaster of Conservative rule).
It also isn't true.
The insidious amount of corruption in our current federal government needs to stop. No party should be in charge for too long.
Where there
Where there is a will, there is a way. I've seen emissions places closed here and shifted to private businesses, so DMV closings didn't seem like a stretch to me. Still, this is worse than even I at my most pessimistic could have predicted.
Yeah, as I said, I don't follow politics closely, so I was just going by what I heard.
What's wrong with democracy in a nutshell: even intelligent people can't always be bothered to keep up, and vote based on what they hear/read in the media...who are rarely actually neutral, but like to claim they are.
Not a personal attack on you, Nick; believe me, politics is a good way to get depressed and/or become a misanthrope anyway...But there's a lot of people out there like that - and, often, they'll still feel like their opinion holds water because they're smarter than average and don't realize how little that matters on subjects they're not actually informed about.
Anyway, Canada is far from an international embarrassment. If we laugh with Canadian politicians, it's with your druggie mayor, not your PM
But Washington did that first. We're always a few years behind the Americans.Anyway, Canada is far from an international embarrassment. If we laugh with Canadian politicians, it's with your druggie mayor
Dave
Staff member
Benghazi is nothing. It's a non-story the right won't let go of. All of the investigations - by both the right and the left - have uncovered absolutely nothing wrong. Harping on that just makes you look like a crazy person.
The email stuff, on the other hand...
Just vote Bernie.
The email stuff, on the other hand...
Just vote Bernie.
Have they actually found that she's committed an actual crime regarding the emails? Or did they even suspect her of a specific criminal act when those emails were brought up? I'm not saying she didn't do anything (she probably did, considering the deletions) but that doesn't mean the entire thing wasn't a fishing expedition brought on entirely by what was, at the time, a perfectly legal act.
Benghazi was nothing. It's a non-story, like Dave said.
Benghazi was nothing. It's a non-story, like Dave said.
GasBandit
Staff member
"Benghazi is a non story" is bullshit. It was a terrorist attack on a US embassy on the anniversary of 9/11 that killed the ambassador. Bad enough that the state department dropped the ball so bad as to allow it to happen, but then they trot out a blatantly false bit of smoke and mirrors about how it was a spontaneous protest about a youtube video that got out of hand. The guy who made the video that got scapegoated sat in jail for over a year despite having committed no crime.
Everyone involved should have had their career ruined, up to and including Hillary, and Susan Rice at the very least should have faced charges.
As for Hillary's e-mail server, they've had plenty of time to scrub it by now, so I'm sure in a month or two it will get huffily dismissed as a "non story" as well.
Everyone involved should have had their career ruined, up to and including Hillary, and Susan Rice at the very least should have faced charges.
As for Hillary's e-mail server, they've had plenty of time to scrub it by now, so I'm sure in a month or two it will get huffily dismissed as a "non story" as well.
The supposed onus of this when it all started was that she kept her emails on a private server instead of on a government one... something she was allowed to do at the time. They (and probably she, because she'd have dumped it in the meantime if she did) had no idea she had ANYTHING on it until they started looking through it in a fishing expedition to pin something on her. Of course, it's apparent now that she probably did have something on it but we'll probably never know exactly what it is.
If ANYTHING should be happening, she should have eaten a Tampering with Evidence charge by now... but everyone's a bit too afraid of what will happen to them if they actually do it. Really, I'm passed the point of caring: it's the same thing that happened when we investigated the Financial Meltdown a few years back. People know who is responsible but are too chickenshit to actually do anything about it... they're all afraid of what will happen if someone up ends the established order.