POLITICS: what have you done for us lately?

[Jwar]

Absolve me of criticism? Laziest of intellectual positions? Why would I waste my breath on you who so obviously only regards opinions that match your own.

Boy you sure are pretentious aren't you?

You can criticize any of what I say, that's ok. ILF at it's best even for a newer member. Doesn't mean I have to care or engage you on any level if I don't want to.

[Chankgeez]

Now interrupting this conversation for something truly absurd:

https://twitter.com/SenMikeLee/status/1 ... 0614610945

[Bassist_Diver]

He actually used Raptor Reagan:



What the fuck is the GOP doing?

[Chankgeez]

Should stick to attempted legislatin' and leave the comedy to other people.

[Sonaboy]

Absolve me of criticism? Laziest of intellectual positions? Why would I waste my breath on you who so obviously only regards opinions that match your own.

Boy you sure are pretentious aren't you?

You can criticize any of what I say, that's ok. ILF at it's best even for a newer member. Doesn't mean I have to care or engage you on any level if I don't want to.

I don't need anyone's opinions to match my own in a political debate, but the whole simplified "all politicians are liars, so I don't vote for any of 'em" position is the most pretentious shit ever.
This comes from a person who has engaged at the local level since he was of voting age and watched locals he voted for move on to higher callings and even national office and understands that the journey makes a bit of room for idealists but that the true art of politics is compromise. Hopes and ideals are one thing - workable solutions in a divided country are another. Deciding that you're just above it all and that they're all just takin' muh rights n' jobs n' freedums so suck mah dick simply speaks to how disengaged from tangible politics at the local and state levels you are - so OF COURSE you hate every national candidate. It speaks of privilege that's essentially wasted because whoever is in office left or right doesn't affect you in any real way.
That must be nice.

I know people who might not make it past the dissolution of the Affordable Care Act. But you just pinch your nose because ewww, maybe HRC has ties to Wall Street or pulled some strings in an election between two candidates you weren't interested in voting for anyway? Go clutch your pearls somewhere else.

[Bassist_Diver]

Changing gears for a sec so I can rant.

My grandfather was a coach for over 40 years and spent the last 20 years of his post-retirement life volunteering with the Houston Livestock Show & Rodeo and the Special Olympics. When I was in HS and college I helped him with both of those organizations and the latter was beyond rewarding. For many of those kids this is the only activity they are able to do. This is where their friends are, this is the one thing that makes them happiest, and it gives them a tremendous sense of pride and something to work towards and feel accomplished about. Not to mention the physical activity and social opportunities it provides to students who, sadly, are more often than not kept in a far-removed corner of schools and basically told to keep quiet and not interact with anyone. I still work with my alma mater to help with their Special Olympics programs, as they're one of the major universities that host the tryouts, regionals, and qualifiers.

Now, you may be wondering why I bring this up. It's because Betsy DeVos, the sadistic, despicable, racist, hypocritical, idiotic, oxygen-wasting shitstain who should never be allowed anywhere near a leadership position decided that it would be in the DoEd's best interest to cut funding for the Special Olympics and other after school programs (in addition to the billions in cuts she always wants). Not even the GOP agrees with her insane, selfish ideas - last year when she asked for similar cuts to after school programs, the GOP-led Congress ADDED $1 billion to education funding.

Why would she do this? Because she has ties to one of the largest for-profit charter schools in the country and wants to completely privatize education. You know what one thing a majority of Americans have in common? They can't afford charter or private school. If DeVos gets away with this a huge majority of the country will be superfucked, especially those with learning disabilities or special needs. It's not a coincidence the worst funded schools are also the worst performing (aka the reasons why Oklahoma and Arizona went on strike), and under DeVos's plan the school systems like those in Mississippi and Idaho would be the norm, not the horrible outliers. Thankfully this will not pass, but it's just another example of who Trump picked to run his Cabinet.

WaPo:

Education Secretary Betsy DeVos on Tuesday defended her request to cut billions of dollars from the agency’s budget, as Democrats attacked her plan as outrageous and damaging to students who need the most help.

Democrats were also cold to DeVos’s plan to use the federal tax code to support private school scholarships, suggesting that the secretary’s priorities will face another tough year in Congress.

“I believe this budget is cruel, and I believe it is reckless,” said Rep. Rosa L. DeLauro (D-Conn.), who chairs the education subcommittee of the House Appropriations Committee and presided over the hearing on Tuesday. “I really am left with a very serious question for you: How can you support this budget? I mean that genuinely.”

Lawmakers cited a variety of programs targeted for cuts or elimination by the Trump administration, such as the $17.6 million supporting the Special Olympics.

“I still can’t understand why you would go after disabled children in your budget. It’s appalling,” Rep. Barbara Lee (D-Calif.) said.

Even the top Republican on the panel, Rep. Tom Cole (Okla.), said that while some proposed reductions make sense, others are “somewhat shortsighted.”

DeVos responded that she was forced to make difficult decisions to control spending, but appeared to be realistic about her chances.

“This reduction is similar to last year’s request, and the year before that, as well. I acknowledge that you rejected those recommendations,” she said.

Overall, the budget plan cuts more than $8.5 billion, about 12 percent, from the Education Department. Programs that would face cuts include one that supports after-school activities for children in impoverished communities, as well as a grant program for textbooks, equipment, counseling services and other needs for schools. That pool of money — the Student Support and Academic Enrichment Program — also underwrites school safety efforts, including mental-health services and safety equipment.

“We’ve proposed this particular program elimination because it’s been thinly spread and not that effective on any particular thing,” DeVos said.

DeVos was more enthusiastic in promoting her own chief cause: a $5 billion tax-credit plan to help children attend private schools. She refers to the initiative as “education freedom.”

The proposal faces long odds for approval, especially in the House, where Democrats are in control.

DeLauro dismissed the idea as a “tax scheme” and an “unregulated, unaccountable” effort to fund private school vouchers.

The proposal would give individuals and corporations a 100 percent tax credit for contributions to state-sanctioned scholarship funds, meaning that donors could get back their entire donation through federal taxes. The money would be given to students to help pay tuition at private schools and other expenses.

Democrats also pressed DeVos on a report from the advocacy group Network for Public Education that found the federal government wasted up to $1 billion on charter schools that never opened, or opened and then closed because of mismanagement and other reasons.

DeVos replied that more schools options, including charters, are needed.

“When you have experimentation, you’re always going to have schools that don’t make it and that’s what should happen,” she said.

DeVos also faced questions about her decision to withdraw Obama-era guidelines to schools regarding discipline. The guidance had warned school systems that they might be in violation of federal civil rights law if they discipline students of color at a disproportionately high rate compared with white students.

“Are you saying that the problem really is that black children are just more of a discipline problem?” Rep. Katherine M. Clark (D-Mass.) asked.

DeVos sidestepped a discussion of why discipline rates frequently differ by race but said the previous guidance amounts to a quota system for disciplinary action.

“No child should be treated or disciplined differently based on his or her race or color,” DeVos said.

In another exchange, DeVos declined to say whether she believes schools should be allowed to discriminate against students based on their sexual orientation or gender identity. Rep. Mark Pocan (D-Wis.) pressed her on the matter.

DeVos said, “We have laws that cover discriminatory efforts, and our Office for Civil Rights has continued to be very diligent in investigating any allegation of discrimination and will continue to do so.”

Pocan replied, “So is that a yes or is that a no?”

DeVos said, “We follow the law as defined.”

https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/ed ... story.html

https://thehill.com/policy/finance/4359 ... -difficult

So, in closing, fuck Betsy DeVos. If there is a hell, that miserable, rotten cunt will jump the line.

Back to your regularly scheduled program.

[dubkitty]

the degree of evil is just staggering. i can't honestly say that it's worse than Reagan, but Trump et al. aren't even subtle about it.

[Gone Fission]

the degree of evil is just staggering. i can't honestly say that it's worse than Reagan, but Trump et al. aren't even subtle about it.

I go through that in my head. It’s so close to the terminal goals of end-stage Reaganism that perhaps it cannot be separated and compared. Same psychopathic project, different psychopaths. Having the Senate locked up pro-psychopath so that psychopath executive and judicial appointees don’t even need to be ostensibly qualified may make it worse.

[Jwar]

Absolve me of criticism? Laziest of intellectual positions? Why would I waste my breath on you who so obviously only regards opinions that match your own.

Boy you sure are pretentious aren't you?

You can criticize any of what I say, that's ok. ILF at it's best even for a newer member. Doesn't mean I have to care or engage you on any level if I don't want to.

I don't need anyone's opinions to match my own in a political debate, but the whole simplified "all politicians are liars, so I don't vote for any of 'em" position is the most pretentious shit ever.
This comes from a person who has engaged at the local level since he was of voting age and watched locals he voted for move on to higher callings and even national office and understands that the journey makes a bit of room for idealists but that the true art of politics is compromise. Hopes and ideals are one thing - workable solutions in a divided country are another. Deciding that you're just above it all and that they're all just takin' muh rights n' jobs n' freedums so suck mah dick simply speaks to how disengaged from tangible politics at the local and state levels you are - so OF COURSE you hate every national candidate. It speaks of privilege that's essentially wasted because whoever is in office left or right doesn't affect you in any real way.
That must be nice.

I know people who might not make it past the dissolution of the Affordable Care Act. But you just pinch your nose because ewww, maybe HRC has ties to Wall Street or pulled some strings in an election between two candidates you weren't interested in voting for anyway? Go clutch your pearls somewhere else.

Changing my response.

I respect your opinion and will move on.

Don't want to argue over something that isn't worth it for either of us.

[Chankgeez]

Thanks, jwar, appreciate it. (I saw that.)

Just a reminder to all to, please, keep personal attacks out of this thread.

[Sonaboy]

Sorry for the vitriol. I guess I got pretty amped up after watching some posts from friends about T's administration considering dismantling the ACA without congressional approval, knowing my friends will be either financially ruined, or just dead as a result.
I took personal shit and funneled it right into here, where it really doesn't belong because this should be an academic discussion of politics, not a personal firing line.
Apologies.

[Bassist_Diver]

You mean at each other, right? I can still call people associated with the Trump administration evil, cancerous dung beetles, right?

[Chankgeez]

As long as they don't post here on the forum they're fair game.

[repoman]

I don't think people have enough information to form credible opinions on politics. Too much information is hidden from the public. Major news is 100% propaganda. People have very strong opinions on things they know nothing about. People who try to sift through all the lies are labeled conspiracy theorists and laughed at.

What do?

[Bassist_Diver]

I don't think people have enough information to form credible opinions on politics. Too much information is hidden from the public. Major news is 100% propaganda. People have very strong opinions on things they know nothing about. People who try to sift through all the lies are labeled conspiracy theorists and laughed at.

What do?

Read the actual bills
Watch C-SPAN
READ the news from as unbiased a source as possible - major broadcast news is a steaming pile of bullshit.
Engage with your representatives at the local, state, and national level.
Realize that a majority of those labeled "conspiracy theorists" are actual whack jobs (Alex Jones, Breitbart, etc)