The Republic Is Saved.

[orange87]

[jack]

20 hours ago, JFW657 said:

Unlike civilian gun owners, military enlistees are required to undergo a battery of mental and psychological tests designed to evaluate their mental and emotional competence. 

Only after and IF they pass those tests, they then undergo several weeks of intensive training on the use of the weapons they are to be entrusted with. 

Also, the only times they are allowed to carry and/or operate weapons, are during supervised training exercises and during actual combat. While on base during normal non-combat operations, no weapons are allowed to be carried by any member of any rank outside of necessary security personel.

The other stuff you mentioned re: marriage, smoking, etc., do not have potentially lethal consequences for others.

Start requiring every civilian gun purchaser to go through something similar to military weapons training and maybe I'd be on board.

But as it is, there are too many angry, pissed-off, anti-social jerks running around loose in society today, to continue allowing anyone who wants a gun to just go to a store and buy one like a toaster oven.

Guns are still by far the weapon of choice for most violent acts, whether against others or oneself.

The argument against guns is not restricted just to others who become victims of their criminal use, but of those who use them to harm and kill themselves as well.

Certainly, if guns were to suddenly disappear, there would still be suicides.

But there wouldn't be as many.

Not many people are willing to jump off of buildings or bridges, etc., or stab or cut themselves with knives or jump in front of trucks, busses, trains, etc., etc., etc.

Those are gruesome, messy and not always successful ways to kill onesself compared to the quick, sure, neat and relatively clean method of putting a bullet through ones head.

All fair points but it does not change my reasoning. The military does the best they can do with the recruits but no process perfect. 

As to suicides, I am not sure the rate would drop if the number of guns in our society were reduced. If we had the one of the highest rates in the world, I expect the gun ownership rate and the suicide rate would be linked. Our rate is high but not he highest. 

Let me be clear, I am not a gun nut but I believe every man and woman has a god given right to defend themselves. Make it harder to purchase them? Sure. I am a bit of a snob about this so increasing the regulations and hurdles to purchase would get my support. 

19 hours ago, orange87 said:

Personally, I think the second amendment is antiquated and should arguably be repealed. "Because it's in the constitution" isn't a be all end all argument IMO. The second amendment was beneficial and practical prior to the 20th century. In modern times though, I believe the negatives far outweigh the positives. I wish people would stop beating around the bush about this, get over the initial knee-jerk shock and just be open about what needs to happen. Repeal the 2A.

That fine to believe but lets be realistic, getting a super majority in congress and 3/4s of the state will not happen anytime soon. Especially now that the rate of ownership has expanded in the last few years. 

Also, if we ban guns, only one group will still have them. The group that does not follow the law. 

[orange87]

41 minutes ago, jack said:

All fair points but it does not change my reasoning. The military does the best they can do with the recruits but no process perfect. 

As to suicides, I am not sure the rate would drop if the number of guns in our society were reduced. If we had the one of the highest rates in the world, I expect the gun ownership rate and the suicide rate would be linked. Our rate is high but not he highest. 

Let me be clear, I am not a gun nut but I believe every man and woman has a god given right to defend themselves. Make it harder to purchase them? Sure. I am a bit of a snob about this so increasing the regulations and hurdles to purchase would get my support. 

That fine to believe but lets be realistic, getting a super majority in congress and 3/4s of the state will not happen anytime soon. Especially now that the rate of ownership has expanded in the last few years. 

Also, if we ban guns, only one group will still have them. The group that does not follow the law. 

By that "logic," murder shouldn't be illegal because criminals don't follow the law and still murder people anyway. Also, if guns are banned, new guns entering into circulation will be greatly outnumbered by guns being taken out of circulation and given enough time, guns will be nearly impossible to obtain even illegally.

That being said, if the almost daily mass shootings doesn't convince people that we need to repeal the 2A, then nothing will. I understand that it will likely never happen.

Edited October 26, 2021 by orange87

[orange87]

FDA vaccine advisers vote to recommend Pfizer's Covid-19 vaccine for children 5 to 11

Article: https://www.cnn.com/2021/10/26/health/covid-19-young-kids-vaccine-fda-discussion/index.html

[JFW657]

10 hours ago, orange87 said:

By that "logic," murder shouldn't be illegal because criminals don't follow the law and still murder people anyway. Also, if guns are banned, new guns entering into circulation will be greatly outnumbered by guns being taken out of circulation and given enough time, guns will be nearly impossible to obtain even illegally.

That being said, if the almost daily mass shootings doesn't convince people that we need to repeal the 2A, then nothing will. I understand that it will likely never happen.

Yeah, one would think that Sandy Hook would have been sufficient to disgust enough voters into demanding something drastic be done. But what did the hard core extremist gun goofballs do? They started claiming Sandy Hook never happened and that it was a hoax created by the lib'rul media to turn people against guns or some such nonsense. 

If the mass murder of over two dozen six year olds doesn't make America sick enough to spur society into taking adequate measures to stem the flow of guns into our country, nothing will.

Maybe the next massacre of children will be two or three times what Sandy Hook was. 

And still nothing will get done because politicians of a certain stripe will stand in the way for their own political benefit.  

[orange87]

I wonder if President Biden will run for a second term. His approval rating is very low, he hasn't accomplished a whole lot (not necessarily his fault) and he's old as heck and just appears lost. I think Kamala Harris was a bad pick for Biden's VP because he needs someone who can help him since his mental sharpness is questionable at best and she doesn't seem very helpful. There is very little leadership coming from the executive branch right now and I think the American people can sense that. I fear the Democrats are set up for a whooping in 2022 and I think if it's Biden against Trump again in 2024 that there's a very good chance Trump could win. Say what you want about Trump's behavior and political views, but he does come across as a strong leader. With all the crises going on now, I think a strong leader is very appealing to people right now. Biden needs to seal the deal on the infrastructure bill and the social spending bill. And I think he's passing up a golden opportunity to gain popularity by ending federal cannabis prohibition. He can tell Congress that if they don't send him a marijuana legalization bill by the end of the year, he'll legalize it via executive order. I think a small raise to the federal minimum wage could pass in Congress too. I think there would be bipartisan support to raise it to $8/hr starting January 2022. That's certainly better than nothing.

[spenser1058]

26 minutes ago, orange87 said:

I wonder if President Biden will run for a second term. His approval rating is very low, he hasn't accomplished a whole lot (not necessarily his fault) and he's old as heck and just appears lost. I think Kamala Harris was a bad pick for Biden's VP because he needs someone who can help him since his mental sharpness is questionable at best and she doesn't seem very helpful. There is very little leadership coming from the executive branch right now and I think the American people can sense that. I fear the Democrats are set up for a whooping in 2022 and I think if it's Biden against Trump again in 2024 that there's a very good chance Trump could win. Say what you want about Trump's behavior and political views, but he does come across as a strong leader. With all the crises going on now, I think a strong leader is very appealing to people right now. Biden needs to seal the deal on the infrastructure bill and the social spending bill. And I think he's passing up a golden opportunity to gain popularity by ending federal cannabis prohibition. He can tell Congress that if they don't send him a marijuana legalization bill by the end of the year, he'll legalize it via executive order. I think a small raise to the federal minimum wage could pass in Congress too. I think there would be bipartisan support to raise it to $8/hr starting January 2022. That's certainly better than nothing.

Ummm, he’s only been in office 9 months. I know we’re used to the Trump hyper cycle (where precious little actually changed except an endless flurry of executive orders) but this is just returning to a normal cycle.

[JFW657]

38 minutes ago, orange87 said:

I wonder if President Biden will run for a second term. His approval rating is very low, he hasn't accomplished a whole lot (not necessarily his fault) and he's old as heck and just appears lost. I think Kamala Harris was a bad pick for Biden's VP because he needs someone who can help him since his mental sharpness is questionable at best and she doesn't seem very helpful. There is very little leadership coming from the executive branch right now and I think the American people can sense that. I fear the Democrats are set up for a whooping in 2022 and I think if it's Biden against Trump again in 2024 that there's a very good chance Trump could win. Say what you want about Trump's behavior and political views, but he does come across as a strong leader. With all the crises going on now, I think a strong leader is very appealing to people right now. Biden needs to seal the deal on the infrastructure bill and the social spending bill. And I think he's passing up a golden opportunity to gain popularity by ending federal cannabis prohibition. He can tell Congress that if they don't send him a marijuana legalization bill by the end of the year, he'll legalize it via executive order. I think a small raise to the federal minimum wage could pass in Congress too. I think there would be bipartisan support to raise it to $8/hr starting January 2022. That's certainly better than nothing.

I kind of doubt Biden will run again mainly because of his age and not any percieved lack of metal acuity, which I do not believe is a problem. I listened to him speak during his address to Congress yesterday and he seemed to understand all the issues a lot better than most of his civilian critics.

Re: Harris, I think she was a good pick for getting him elected, but not such a great pick to be the Dem candidate in '24. I imagine she'll get primaried. As for Trump's reelection chances, that will depend on who the Dems nominate to run against him. If the Dems could nominate a strong no-nonsense type, I don't think Trump would have much of a chance due to the clown show that was his first term. A lot of people who voted for him in '16 realized their mistake and likely wouldn't repeat it if given a decent alternative.

But as far as Biden's approval is concerned, he hasn't even been in office a year yet. Wait until around the middle of next summer and we'll be able to tell better whether his coattails will pull the party up onto the roof or drag it down into the toilet.

.

Edited October 29, 2021 by JFW657

[spenser1058]

I always remember that if you asked in 1971 whether Nixon would be re-elected, the consensus was no way.

Fast forward to November, 1972 and he pulled off one of the biggest landslides of all time. 

Things change fast in politics.
 

[nite owℓ]

22 minutes ago, JFW657 said:

I kind of doubt Biden will run again mainly because of his age and not any percieved lack of metal acuity, which I do not believe is a problem. I listened to him speak during his address to Congress yesterday and he seemed to understand all the issues a lot better than most of his civilian critics.

Re: Harris, I think she was a good pick for getting him elected, but not such a great pick to be the Dem candidate in '24. I imagine she'll get primaried. As for Trump's reelection chances, that will depend on who the Dems nominate to run against him. If the Dems could nominate a strong no-nonsense type, I don't think Trump would have much of a chance due to the clown show that was his first term. A lot of people who voted for him in '16 realized their mistake and likely wouldn't repeat it if given a decent alternative.

But as far as Biden's approval is concerned, he hasn't even been in office a year yet. Wait until around the middle of next summer and we'll be able to tell better whether his coattails will pull the party up onto the roof or drag it down into the toilet.

.

I have some family members who either voted for Trump as an irrational protest vote against HRC or because they are cuckoo religious hypocrites. I didn't ask who anyone voted for during the last election to preserve what little strand of tolerance I have for some of them, but I suspect the latter group did not have a change of heart. I believe Trump lost because a lot of people who voted for him the first time had buyers remorse, saw the chaos that he inflicted upon the country and I suspect some Republicans voted Dem in moral protest (like Cindy McCain for example). That said, I would not discount Trump from winning a 2nd term... that element of society is NOT going anywhere. Whereas conspiracy theorists, toxic bigots, deplorables, etc. were once were once cast aside and considered outliers, they are now given soapboxes and elected to office (a la MTG). They finally had a taste of power they've always longed for and do not want to return to being "oppressed" by the liberal status quo.

There seems to be a penchant for extremism in both parties which only furthers the divide of the country and exacerbates fear of the opposing party taking over. Misinformation/propaganda via social media has contributed to metastasizing the worst of human nature... who needs to go to war when we are tearing the country apart perfectly fine by ourselves. I could get behind traditional respectable Republicans/Democrats, but it's scary if we continue down this path of being drawn to extremists within each party. I prefer middle-of-the-road, boring, respectable candidates who keep their nose to the grindstone and prefer to focus on the work. Politics isn't supposed to be a clown-show for our entertainment. America chose to halve the baby in two in 2016. It's frightening to see politicians use false equivalence, downplay or totally rewrite events about what actually happened on January 6th so it's evident that some people have no intention of changing course. I honestly don't know where we are heading as a country but the undercurrent is very unsettling.

[JFW657]

5 minutes ago, nite owℓ said:

I have some family members who either voted for Trump as an irrational protest vote against HRC or because they are cuckoo religious hypocrites. I didn't ask who anyone voted for during the last election to preserve what little strand of tolerance I have for some of them, but I suspect the latter group did not have a change of heart. I believe Trump lost because a lot of people who voted for him the first time had buyers remorse, saw the chaos that he inflicted upon the country and I suspect some Republicans voted Dem in moral protest (like Cindy McCain for example). That said, I would not discount Trump from winning a 2nd term... that element of society is NOT going anywhere. Whereas conspiracy theorists, toxic bigots, deplorables, etc. were once were once cast aside and considered outliers, they are now given soapboxes and elected to office (a la MTG). They finally had a taste of power they've always longed for and do not want to return to being "oppressed" by the liberal status quo.

There seems to be a penchant for extremism in both parties which only furthers the divide of the country and exacerbates fear of the opposing party taking over. Misinformation/propaganda via social media has contributed to metastasizing the worst of human nature... who needs to go to war when we are tearing the country apart perfectly fine by ourselves. I could get behind traditional respectable Republicans/Democrats, but it's scary if we continue down this path of being drawn to extremists within each party. I prefer middle-of-the-road, boring, respectable candidates who keep their nose to the grindstone and prefer to focus on the work. Politics isn't supposed to be a clown-show for our entertainment. America chose to halve the baby in two in 2016. It's frightening to see politicians use false equivalence, downplay or totally rewrite events about what actually happened on January 6th so it's evident that some people have no intention of changing course. I honestly don't know where we are heading as a country but the undercurrent is very unsettling.

Agreed. 

Hopefully IF Trump runs again (I hope he can't because he's either in prison by then or under prosecution) there are enough of those buyer's remorse people out there who won't make the same mistake yet again, and only Trump's rabid, obstinate, "don't care if he's a lunatic, they just like his juvenile insults" base will vote for him, which like last time, though sizable, will not be enough to give him another win.

[jack]

3 hours ago, orange87 said:

I wonder if President Biden will run for a second term. His approval rating is very low, he hasn't accomplished a whole lot (not necessarily his fault) and he's old as heck and just appears lost. I think Kamala Harris was a bad pick for Biden's VP because he needs someone who can help him since his mental sharpness is questionable at best and she doesn't seem very helpful. There is very little leadership coming from the executive branch right now and I think the American people can sense that. I fear the Democrats are set up for a whooping in 2022 and I think if it's Biden against Trump again in 2024 that there's a very good chance Trump could win. Say what you want about Trump's behavior and political views, but he does come across as a strong leader. With all the crises going on now, I think a strong leader is very appealing to people right now. Biden needs to seal the deal on the infrastructure bill and the social spending bill. And I think he's passing up a golden opportunity to gain popularity by ending federal cannabis prohibition. He can tell Congress that if they don't send him a marijuana legalization bill by the end of the year, he'll legalize it via executive order. I think a small raise to the federal minimum wage could pass in Congress too. I think there would be bipartisan support to raise it to $8/hr starting January 2022. That's certainly better than nothing.

Trump never came across a strong leader to me. He always looked weak to my eyes. However, I could see him beating Biden in 2024 for all of the reasons you mention. Kamala Harris added nothing to the ticket or the White House. All she did was make a small group of people happy that would vote for Biden regardless. 

Best case for the DNC and the USA is Biden is a one termer, Harris decides to save face by not running to replace him. Hopefully Trump will realize that his time has passed and does not get in. Voila, the Republic is Saved! 

[orange87]

Being that I'm (I guess) an Independent, here is my "dream ticket" for each party for 2024.

 

Republican: Tim Scott/Nikki Haley

 

Democrat: Michelle Obama/Pete Buttigieg

[spenser1058]

8 minutes ago, orange87 said:

Being that I'm (I guess) an Independent, here is my "dream ticket" for each party for 2024.

 

Republican: Tim Scott/Nikki Haley

 

Democrat: Michelle Obama/Pete Buttigieg

Secretary Mayor Pete is going all the way!

[orange87]

This is what liberal Bill Maher was talking about when he criticized fellow liberals by saying "if what you're doing sounds like something from a satire article from The Onion, you probably shouldn't do it."

Biden Administration considering giving $450,000 per person to immigrants separated at the border

Article: https://www.wtnh.com/news/politics/biden-administration-considering-giving-450000-per-person-to-immigrants-separated-at-the-border/?utm_source=facebook.com&utm_campaign=socialflow&utm_medium=referral&fbclid=IwAR2jqtQhRLKfPkRwNQoYZm5fgci8CjHCvwRF7FQE5V-xTyvslKlwibRlCbg

[orange87]

Excellent move! I've advocated for this and similar moves for a while now. Soon there will be a global corporate tax rate minimum. This would (in theory) disincentivize companies to move out of rich countries like the U.S. that usually have high corporate tax rates to poorer countries that try to lure companies with lower tax rates. This does more to keep businesses in America than anything Trump ever did.

I also think there should be a global minimum wage. Even having the global minimum wage at something like $1 per hour would lift millions out of poverty while simultaneously helping keep jobs in America. And of course, countries would still be able to have a higher minimum wage in their own country if they wanted.

World leaders endorse global corporate minimum tax, a major win for Biden

Article: https://www.mynews13.com/fl/orlando/news/2021/10/30/biden-global-?fbclid=IwAR3Tsc2jtmx8rj0JhMUsvf9zcd_R_deXwKPdApGka2KHx0G0O7bu84N__-E

Edited October 30, 2021 by orange87

[spenser1058]

I’m still Ridin’ With Biden!

[orange87]

1 minute ago, spenser1058 said:

I’m still Ridin’ With Biden!

Is something weird going on with the reactions/likes on this forum?  I can't see who reacted to peoples posts or mine and whenever (I think) you specifically react to my posts it says in the notifications that "somebody" (but doesn't give a name) reacted to your post.

[spenser1058]

22 minutes ago, orange87 said:

Is something weird going on with the reactions/likes on this forum?  I can't see who reacted to peoples posts or mine and whenever (I think) you specifically react to my posts it says in the notifications that "somebody" (but doesn't give a name) reacted to your post.

I think @Neo must be working on it. It happened once before since he did the last major site update but went back to normal after a few days. That’s what I’m hoping, anyway.

Edited October 30, 2021 by spenser1058

[jack]

On 10/30/2021 at 1:51 PM, orange87 said:

Excellent move! I've advocated for this and similar moves for a while now. Soon there will be a global corporate tax rate minimum. This would (in theory) disincentivize companies to move out of rich countries like the U.S. that usually have high corporate tax rates to poorer countries that try to lure companies with lower tax rates. This does more to keep businesses in America than anything Trump ever did.

I also think there should be a global minimum wage. Even having the global minimum wage at something like $1 per hour would lift millions out of poverty while simultaneously helping keep jobs in America. And of course, countries would still be able to have a higher minimum wage in their own country if they wanted.

World leaders endorse global corporate minimum tax, a major win for Biden

Article: https://www.mynews13.com/fl/orlando/news/2021/10/30/biden-global-?fbclid=IwAR3Tsc2jtmx8rj0JhMUsvf9zcd_R_deXwKPdApGka2KHx0G0O7bu84N__-E

This is not directed at poorer countries. It's aimed at Ireland. 

[orange87]

All states are now at least 40% fully vaccinated.
39 states are at least 50% fully vaccinated.
19 states are at least 60% fully vaccinated.
4 states are at least 70% fully vaccinated.
58% of the United States population is fully vaccinated.

[orange87]

Winsome Sears will become Virginia lieutenant governor, CNN projects, becoming first female and woman of color in the office

Article: https://www.cnn.com/2021/11/03/politics/winsome-sears-virginia-lieutenant-governor-race/index.html

[orange87]

It looks like there's a good chance both bills will pass in the House today. The infrastructure bill already passed the Senate, so it could be on Biden's desk by tonight. If the social spending bill passes, it would head to the Senate where it will be at the mercy of the attention seeker, Joe Manchin.

[spenser1058]

42 minutes ago, orange87 said:

It looks like there's a good chance both bills will pass in the House today. The infrastructure bill already passed the Senate, so it could be on Biden's desk by tonight. If the social spending bill passes, it would head to the Senate where it will be at the mercy of the attention seeker, Joe Manchin.

If only he dressed as flashy as Sen. Sinema!

Edited November 5, 2021 by spenser1058

[jack]

48 minutes ago, orange87 said:

It looks like there's a good chance both bills will pass in the House today. The infrastructure bill already passed the Senate, so it could be on Biden's desk by tonight. If the social spending bill passes, it would head to the Senate where it will be at the mercy of the attention seeker, Joe Manchin.

So I assume they have a deal in the Senate. Or Pelosi is daring moderates in the Senate to vote it down. And it is not only Machnin. He and Sinema are taking all the heat but I bet there are more that were/are opposed to the larger spending package.