Politics

[Wheels]

Should anyone want a quick lesson in the pervasiveness of online bias and influence, look up 5th Circuit on Google.

Republican's have been reactionary vs the Democrats proactiveness when it comes to the Courts. Around six years ago the Republican's finally figured out they could do the same thing in the 5th Circuit that the Democrats had been doing in the 9th Circuit for 40 years.

 

[WellThatsNotRight]

I see the same thing happening on the other side of the aisle as well... old blue dog democrats are feeling more and more like outsiders to their own party... centrist D's and R's (who clearly still make up the majority of both parties) are being ignored and left without a voice while the extreme left and right scream and shout and raise hell about minutia as often as they concern themselves with anything that actually matters..

I read an article earlier this week that spoke to the "Bernie Sanders Effect".. where despite him losing handedly to Clinton in 2016 in the D primaries (all while serving as an independent and a declared socialist), that he gained enough public air time to influence and impact the D party and that he is largely causal for the huge shift over a relatively short period of time within the D party... essentially without Sanders there would be no fixation on "the squad" or any desire to appease them, no one would pay any attention to the "green new deal" or any of the outrageous DEI crap that is now in the center of D discussions and legislation attempts... but now that these clowns are all in office and the younger generations are listening to them, the D party doesnt have much of a choice but to play to their whims, or they lose more centrist seats to more people that are following in comrade bernies footsteps..

For a number of reasons the middle, centrist, voters are not represented. Like it or not it’s a two party system, and the most extreme of each party have undue influence over the party well after primaries and well into the supposed governing portion of the process.

Moderates are just not important to either party because elections are determined on the fringe. The majority of Americans are aligned enough with one tribe or the other that their vote is predetermined even when they don’t like the candidate or 49% of the party policy.

Tribal allegiance and hyper partisan politics have normalized scorched earth, all-or-nothing governance (thanks Newt). This tactic will always leave a significant portion of the electorate feeling unrepresented and pretty chapped about it.

There is little chance in this cycle, but do any of you believe that it is objectively good when the House, Senate, and presidency are all the same party? Is it good for the country when either party has carte blanche to act on their every impulse or is it better for there to be push-and-pull and some measure of compromise?

 

[WellThatsNotRight]

So hopefully no more 2 am deliveries?

So why shouldn’t a postmarked mail in ballot be counted? The postal service doesn’t go to sleep when Mr. Mailman clocks out for the day.

 

[Altitude sickness]

My objection is because we most likely won’t have the final results for a week or two if they keep relaxing the laws and voting period.

Unless it’s a landslide. We won’t have results Nov 6th

 

[WellThatsNotRight]

I agree the moment is increasingly irrelevant, but I attribute different causes.

Personally I think it has more to do with the dumbing down of content, excessive advertising and the fact that online sources are on demand and allow you to dig as deep into a topic as you like.

I would personally say that non-trad media is if anything MORE biased than most traditional media. That's a simple factor of audience capture. Fox or CNN have their bias, but they can't be so outrageous that they only appeal to 10% of the population. They need to maintain some mass-market appeal. By contrast, a youtube talk show might be very happy capturing 1 or 2 million subscribers, so they can tailor their content (ie their bias) much more closely, and if their viewership is pretty fringe, it's in their interest to be pretty fringe themselves.

This I think is the crux of the issue. We as viewers need to be really honest with ourselves about what we want from our media.

Do we want objective truth, or do we want validation?

Most of us want the second. It makes us feel smart and comfortable to have our media confirm our preconceptions. Having ones assumptions challenged is stressful, it's uncomfortable, it can be scary. Traditional media knows this, which is why they're biased in the first place.

But to get on my soap box for a minute, it's up to us, the viewers to CHOOSE the hard path, to demand truth, even when we don't like it. Else we just end up taking the position that I hear so often "Oh CNN is totally biased, but FOX never lies." No, FOX just has a similar bias to you, the viewer, so it doesn't challenge you. That doesn't mean they don't lie.

If you watch your favorite YouTube outlet tell a story, then listen. But then go find a source that you know doesn't align with your views, you know will make you angry. Watch the same story there and listen just as closely.

Challenge their assumptions, challenge yours, see if their sources stand up and see if yours do. If something doesn't pass the sniff test, but it their opinion OR YOURS, then reject it, even if its painful.

If you want unbiased media, you have to act like it. You're the customer here, you have the power.

Sermon over!

Please preach on. I’ll happily attend and even add to the collection plate.

 

[Wheels]

Editor Robert Kagan resigns from Washington Post due to the Post not endorsing Harris. He is Victoria Nuland's husband. Victoria is a former DOS employee who has been heavily involved in Ukraine since before the Maidan Revolution. It's always interesting how the political class of DC is tied together.

MSN

 

[Hunt anything]

Looks like Israel has started it’s retaliation strikes against Iran.

 

[steve white]

So why shouldn’t a postmarked mail in ballot be counted? The postal service doesn’t go to sleep when Mr. Mailman clocks out for the day.

Hey, I'll be happy if the overseas military vote isn't delayed somewhere until after it's too late for them to count in the election!

 

[375 Ruger Fan]

Editor Robert Kagan resigns from Washington Post due to the Post not endorsing Harris. He is Victoria Nuland's husband. Victoria is a former DOS employee who has been heavily involved in Ukraine since before the Maidan Revolution. It's always interesting how the political class of DC is tied together.

MSN

Jeff Bezos owns the Washington Post and since the race could go either way, he wants to stay in good graces with both Kamala and The Donald.

 

[Red Leg]

For those who have not seen it, Reagan is now available on Amazon. It is very well done.

 

[Red Leg]

And here is the Joe Rogan podcast interview of Trump today. This sort of one-on-one engagement is Trump's best venue. Harris would not have survived an hour.

 

[spike.t]

Everywhere China goes its bad for the locals....could only read the first part..but its enough....

https://www.wsj.com/world/asia/chinas-massive-fishing-fleet-overwhelms-locals-in-david-and-goliath-battle-a2b64ea6

 

[BSO Dave]

There is little chance in this cycle, but do any of you believe that it is objectively good when the House, Senate, and presidency are all the same party? Is it good for the country when either party has carte blanche to act on their every impulse or is it better for there to be push-and-pull and some measure of compromise?

I honestly don't agree with much of what you have asserted about a two-party political system in this country... Historically, there have always been 3rd parties, and sometimes 4th, and 5th, as in the 1912 election of Wilson's first term... Granted, for much of our political history, 3rd parties have simply not carried enough membership to get their candidate elected, but they have greatly influenced elections by diversifying the electorate...Furthermore, they have succeeded in that they have offered representation for their members who were not aligned with the platforms of the two major parties...

However, in modern politics, it's less likely now than ever that we will see any significant power come from a 3rd party to get a POTUS elected. Very simply, a party's power is determined by the dollar, and the ability to fund raise. For the members, a political party is an investment just like a stock or bond with the desired political outcome being the dividend...

The founders designed our 3-branch system expecting gridlock. This was to be the check and balance on any radical change or one-party dominance... As far as any one party gaining control over the WH and both houses, it has only occurred 6 times in our history... It usually occurs when the other side as failed miserably on collective policy and sweeping change is warranted by the electorate... The "compromise" you mention no longer exists when one party becomes too radicalized as is currently the case with the democrats...

One-party control being a good or bad is in the eye of the beholder... In this upcoming election, I view it to be a very good, and necessary thing especially when the country faces multiple crises and is on the breaking point as we are... For as much as the phrase has been overused in the last 2 political cycles, democracy actually is at stake... Ironically, it's the democrats that are seeking to destroy it, and not the other way around...

 

[Red Leg]

The founders designed our 3-branch system expecting gridlock. This was to be the check and balance on any radical change or one-party dominance... As far as any one party gaining control over the WH and both houses, it has only occurred 6 times in our history...

Forty-four times since 1861 and with inauguration of the first republican president. Twenty-three times republican control and twenty-one democrat. There have been 82 congresses since 1861, so a party has actually controlled the two houses of congress and the presidency more than half the time.

 

[Wishfulthinker580]

And here is the Joe Rogan podcast interview of Trump today. This sort of one-on-one engagement is Trump's best venue. Harris would not have survived an hour.

9.8 million views in 11 hours..

 

[BSO Dave]

Forty-four times since 1861 and the first republican president. Twenty-three times republican control and twenty-one democrat.

I should have been more clear... I meant to specify consecutive eras by the republicans since the domination of the 2-party system. Dems had their reigns as well... I count 5 eras by republicans, and 8 by the dems... Not sure what you are stating? Here's my source:

 

[Red Leg]

9.8 million views in 11 hours..

Maddow pulls 1.8 on a good night.

 

[Altitude sickness]

There are 1.8 million people that watch Maddow at the same time? That is shocking. I would have guessed 100k max

 

[John Wasmuth]

There are 1.8 million people that watch Maddow at the same time? That is shocking. I would have guessed 100k max

You spelled “Mad Cow” wrong……

 

[spike.t]

Fk the UN.....needs getting rid of ASAP