. After each census, reapportionment takes place. In order to achieve 1 man/1 vote, legislative districts have to be redrawn, and some states lose, or gain, congressional representation. The party that controls the legislature after the census is in a position to redraw legislative boundaries as it sees fit, except that egregious gerrymandering is liable to result in court challenges. — Bitter Crank
And how is a Trump presidency going to help stop abortion? The Supreme Court has already ruled that abortion is a constitutional right, and that's not something that the President can overrule. The best he can do is appoint a pro-life Justice to replace Scalia, hope that the Supreme Court agrees to consider the case again, hope that this new pro-life Justice disagrees with the previous decision (one can believe that abortion is immoral but still agree that it's allowed by the Constitution; as Scalia himself said "I think it is up to the judge to say what the Constitution provided, even if what it provided is not the best answer, even if you think it should be amended. If that's what it says, that's what it says."), and then hope that a majority of the other Justices think the same way. — Michael
If they do not follow the teachings of the Bible, then they are not Christians - that much is self-evident, because we call someone a Christian who follows the Bible. — Agustino
Should you help the ungodly, and love them that hate the Lord? therefore is wrath upon you from before the Lord.” - 2 Chronicles 19:2
I urge, then, first of all, that petitions, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for all people -- for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness. This is good, and pleases God our Savior…” - 1 Timothy 2:1-3
It's pretty much a sure thing at this point right? — VagabondSpectre
Trump's "victims" never came forward — Harry Hindu
What is this, some quotes from Robert Greene's 48 Laws of Power and other silly writings like that? Machiavelli's Prince? These things have no place in this world. — Agustino
I know for certain that he cannot betray the social conservatives without ruining his presidency, probably even risking losing his seat due to Congress. He will satisfy social conservative agendas so long as he is permitted to satisfy his own agenda - which in this case is an economical one. Trump is a man who makes compromises - he's a man who is rational - you can strike a deal with him, even if he doesn't agree with you. — Agustino
You see Steve Jobs bully employees once he's rich and powerful. Why? Because for people to be willing to work for you and to do what you want (along general lines, because at micro-level they still need freedom, simply because you yourself will lack the expertise) they have to either be given sufficient freedom and status in the company, OR they have to think that you are great, a different sort of human being. The bullying helps prove that. But Steve Jobs didn't get there by bullying people - quite the contrary, he got there by being servile, and like Trump, a snake. — Agustino
Look, Trump is a businessman. He got some very complex building projects completed without losing all his money - that's quite an achievement in itself - an achievement that is impossible if his narcissism was wholley unrestrained. This shows that he has intelligence, and he is able to collaborate with others to get things done. He is narcissistic, but not to the point where this would outright harm himself. You mistake pathological narcissism - which actually harms the one who is narcissistic - with Trump's narcissism, which doesn't harm him directly because he knows when he has to hold it back. He just knows how to work with others to get things done. One cannot easily flip-flop on deals without losing his reputation (and his money) in business. — Agustino
This ignores that Trump isn't alone in this race. He needs an entire support network to do anything as President - a support network he must satisfy. That support network includes a lot of social conservatives, including the VP Mike Pence. He cannot betray the social conservative agenda without screwing himself up. Trump may be a narcissist liar, but he's not stupid. — Agustino
Hillary is just as big or bigger of a flopper though, and according to the recently leaked "wall street speeches" she has both a real and a private position because "if everybody's watching, you know, all of the back room discussions and the deals, you know, then people get a little nervous, to say the least. So, you need both a public and a private position.". — VagabondSpectre
I gather that you really dislike trump and all, — VagabondSpectre
It's much more accurate to say that he got airtime for two reasons: 1, because he gets good ratings (they made money off of him. Period. It's their own damn greedy fault), and 2, because ridiculing Donald Trump fits well with the established agenda of the dems (the pubs get in on it too though it seems). — VagabondSpectre
This current election is unprecedented because a part of the American pubic :D has become so blasé and lackadaisical toward the election that the only rhetoric and content capable of stirring them must be in some ways "extreme". — VagabondSpectre
Trump "asking" Russia to hack the DNC for instance... Alleging that the two are any way in-cahoots is certifiably insane, and yet as an extreme point of rhetoric I see it falling out of everyone's mouth with extremely persuasive prejudice. Maybe the Kremlin do want trump to win, but why? Could it perhaps be that Russia desires a "regime change" in America so that it could possibly have it's economic sanctions eliminated? — VagabondSpectre
That said, if and when Russia does release more evidence of some new Hillary scandal, will you literally blame it on trump because he once said "I hope Russia releases what they hacked"? After-all, Hillary is the victim in all this and trump is a misogynist... — VagabondSpectre
Yeah for a very simple reason that he says he will appoint conservative Judges, he will put tougher restrictions on abortion, he will end illegal immigration, etc. ... Social conservatives have a degree of control over Trump that they don't over Clinton. I don't really care if Trump himself will be immoral so long as he will be a useful tool for the social conservative agenda. It's a calculated sacrifice - lose a pawn, in order to win the game. — Agustino
But then again, when you factor in that 95% of TV advertisement spending leading up to the election is by Clinton, you've got to suspect 95% bias. — tom
I am genuinely concerned that someone whose Presidential campaign is 20% funded by Saudi Arabia, whose personal charity received huge donations from Saudi, and who claims Islam has nothing to do with terrorism, becomes president. — tom
“Wealthy Muslims Helped Donald Trump Build His Empire,” Including Via Deals With Saudis And Qataris. A December 7 Quartz article detailed “some of the more prominent deals and partnerships with Muslim individuals, governments, and companies that have buoyed the Trump brand over the years.” These business ventures involve Qatar Airways, which has had a “‘corporate campus’ in the Trump Tower … since at least 2008;” two Saudi princes who live in Trump Tower; Saudi Prince Alwaleed, who took “majority control of New York’s Plaza hotel, [which gave] Trump ‘more breathing room with bank creditors’” and purchased Trump’s $18 million yacht; the Trump International Golf Club in Dubai; and Trump Home partnerships in “Kuwait, the UAE, Saudi Arabia, and Qatar.” Quartz later reported that regional retailer Lifestyle stopped selling Trump Home products in its stores in Kuwait, the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and other countries following Trump’s anti-Muslim comments. — Quartz
“Donald Trump Sought Investment Partnerships With Muammar al-Qaddafi And The Libyan Regime.” A BuzzFeed investigation posted on June 7 found that “Donald Trump sought investment partnerships with Muammar al-Qaddafi and the Libyan regime,” revealing that Trump “rented his Westchester estate to the dictator, tried to set up a face-to-face meeting, and took the Libyan ambassador golfing.” BuzzFeed reported that Trump “saw possibilities in a partnership with the Libyan Investment Authority, which invests profits from Libya’s lucrative oil industry” and that he ultimately sought “to gain access to Qaddafi, who was in a position to release billions in investment capital.” — BuzzFeed
The latest exposé of Trump's vulgarity is a good thing because it will offend even more people even more deeply. Fine by me. The offended should vote for somebody else--like Hilary or Jill.
Sexually crude as Donald Trump might be, sexual crudeness shouldn't automatically or effectively disqualify him from being an effective president. — Bitter Crank
But. . . I mean, I just don't agree I guess. Socialism is an economic system where workplaces are publicly owned rather than privately owned. So just because you didn't have to buy something at work that doesn't mean that it's socialist. The workplace is a privately owned entity, where the rules are written and enforced by those who own it (or delegate that out to managers, as is often the case). — Moliere
Caring is important, I wouldn't disagree. But the household is more of a benevolent dictatorship -- which some believe is how socialism must run, but I don't think that's true. It doesn't seem to me to be set in stone. — Moliere
So though we might choose to share, and not turn a profit with every individual action we take, or view school (and push for schools) which are more than jobs training, I don't see any of that as taking away from the capitalist project where there are owners who write the rules, and workers who follow them. — Moliere
Also, I disagree that the household is socialist, or that capitalism is shrinking. — Moliere
But what if there are problems and people do not see those problems? I believe this is why he begins -- because people don't see it as a problem, so they have no reason to look at the solution. So he's making the case, here, for why the rest of his argument should be paid attention to. — Moliere
I don't think it's quite hand-waving. It's not just "well, technology will take care of it" -- but automation has already had a large effect on the economy, and automation is already something which companies are pushing for. Automation is here, and it cuts into the number of jobs that are available (has already cut into jobs that are available). (He goes over this at minute 21 of the video -- still listening, but he starts to cover the topic there) — Moliere
Could you spell this out? I don't know what you're getting at here. — Moliere
Not in a post-capitalist society, but a demand that makes sense right now in our concrete conditions. Is a post-capitalist society even possible? I don't know, but I know that what we have isn't working, and that our relationship to work is a part of that. — Moliere
Only that now they have overtaken the Academia — Agustino
I don't have immense background in this hypothetical. You said that most people wouldn't flip the switch (I assume because then they'd feel responsible for killing one person, rather than creditable for saving a bunch). Does the situation suggest that flipping the switch is morally correct, and merely very difficult and emotionally tolling, or that, by general consensus, one should not use the switch? My intuition seems to reach for the prior, although I don't have any logical arrivals at it. — David
I wish to interject here that I am pro-life, but not virulently pro-gun, if only to confirm that such individuals do exist, despite your having implied that they might. I would not be much distraught if all guns were banned tomorrow. On the other hand, I am persuaded as to their effectiveness as a means of self-defense in certain limited circumstances, so long as one is threatened to the extent that a gun is the most prudent means of said defense. I also believe that there are just wars, on account of the same principle of self-defense. But I am not in favor of guns per se or of hunting and the culture surrounding the ownership of guns. — Thorongil
These things are vague enough to be open to dispute. It was a clever attempt at inserting your political opinions on these matters by assuming them, though. — Thorongil
Of course there are societally pragmatic definitions for morals as those things which can bring about positive effects upon the whole of society. For example, murder is deigned inappropriate because it is harmful to society as a whole. — David
Serial Killers, and rapists of the like I mentioned above aren't most people. Most people would also regret killing someone and the like. Serial killers don't. What makes you think they'll act like most people? Scientifically you CANNOT draw this conclusion, there's not enough evidence, nor theory to support such a hypothesis. — Agustino
The trouble with “white privilege” is the same as “blackness” — it is a condition which one can do nothing to obtain, and can do nothing to get rid of. I can not confer privilege on a black man, nor can he confer upon me the benefits of his heritage. — Bitter Crank
Racism won’t go away if we all just stop thinking about it, obviously, and it isn’t going to go away as a result of endless harping on it, either. What will help is more voluntary, friendly and casual interaction among whites and blacks, coupled with openness to mutual acceptance. I don’t know how to engineer that happy process. We’ve tried lots of different schemes and some work some of the time with some of the people. Some have backfired. — Bitter Crank