Sinfest

[fritterdonut]

The conservatives in Canada seemed to do an okay job during the recession. AFAIK our total job losses in the recession have already been gained back in new jobs, credit card balances are going down, and loan delinquency is down to levels lower than they were pre-recession.

Although I guess we have the benefit of having a relatively large chunk of our economy being based in commodities. No matter the economic conditions, people are always going to need oil and lumber.
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Ask not what you can do for your country, ask what your country did to you

[Sam]

jesus christ

http://blogs.e-rockford.com/applesauce/2012/12/06/how-ridiculous-can-republicans-get-mitch-mcconnell-filibusters-against-his-own-senate-bill/

what the fuck

how did we get here

[Arc Tempest]

Well, let's see. First the earth cooled. And then the dinosaurs came, but they got too big and fat, so they all died and they turned into oil. And then the Arabs came and they bought Mercedes Benzes. And Prince Charles started wearing all of Lady Di's clothes. I couldn't believe it...
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The older I get, the more certain I become of one thing. True and abiding cynicism is simply a form of cowardice.

[mouse]

it's sorta like mike lee objecting to the u.n. treaty protecting rights of the disabled because it is a threat to u.s. sovereignty - and also pointing out that the treaty has no enforcement power. it's like they can't remember what they've said from minute to minute. they react to what happened in the last moment, and don't even have a clue about how stupid it makes them look.
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aka: neverscared!

[Thy Brilliance]

These political games that they play backfire all the time.

They all do it.

They all try to slip one another up.

Getting a politician to unintentionally make a gaff is a national pastime.

Such is the folly of allowing those that master the liberal arts to gain power.

[Dogen]

Did you just trash the liberal arts? Jesus, that's the stupidest thing I've ever heard you say. Do you even know what's included in the liberal arts (it's probably easier to list what isn't)? Not to mention the ridiculous notion of judging people on the basis of their major. What did you study, Thy? Is everyone who studied it as much of an asshole?
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"Worse comes to worst, my people come first, but my tribe lives on every country on earth. I’ll do anything to protect them from hurt, the human race is what I serve." - Baba Brinkman

[Darqcyde]

[Sam]

And between McConnell and Reid we're talking about two people whose highest educational focus is law school

[Dogen]

No, seriously. Let's forget for a moment that, because it's an evolution of the Greek education ideal, that liberal arts is often "liberal arts and sciences" and includes things like biology. Let's focus on things like philosophy, psychology, history, and economics. All of them are often housed in liberal arts departments (depending on the school). God forbid anyone with a degree in one of those should ever have power! We need to consolidate power among people with technical degrees, not ones focused on broad experience that broadens the perspective. Perspective is dangerous! Or something.

It's like saying we have too many R's. One ought to be enough!
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"Worse comes to worst, my people come first, but my tribe lives on every country on earth. I’ll do anything to protect them from hurt, the human race is what I serve." - Baba Brinkman

[ShadowCell]

if everyone would just vote for the infinitely wise philosopher king who is immersed in the Form of the Good none of this would be a problem

[WheelsOfConfusion]

Well it would be a problem, eventually. But not before we've gone through the highest to lowest forms of government: aristocracy, timocracy, oligarchy, democracy, and finally tyranny.

[Sam]

I don't disagree with you that "Such is the folly of allowing those that master the liberal arts to gain power" is dumb as shit (imagine that, people in politics usually have political science degrees WOW) but we have to keep this in context of this being the guy whose immediate objection to physician assisted suicide laws was because the government would use them to off whistleblowers. Whose position on the cartels is that they exist with the blessing of the US government to provide cheap labor and that this is "generally accepted" fact. That making silly fun of the idea that there are a lot of philosophers working as baristas is literally "bigoted" but being bigoted against all Roma isn't being bigoted because he didn't directly specify he was talking about all Roma when he was expressing why no Roma should be trusted. And I'm just naming the examples I know of in which the core of his position was decipherable.

So basically I'm just disagreeing with you for funsies.

[ShadowCell]

but, see, if we let the engineers have all the political power, we could put all our national resources towards the construction of turbo rocket laser spaceships

if we throw in the biologists we could have them piloted by dinosaurs

[WheelsOfConfusion]

I'd rather keep the dinosaurs where they are, because that's where they can do the most good. God help us if they fail.

[Dogen]

Fair enough, he's said a lot of crazy things. I don't remember the Roma one, but that has the same essence. I can forgive crazy, irrational beliefs. Ignorant bigotry just doesn't seem to sit well with me. What can I say? It's a personal failing.
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"Worse comes to worst, my people come first, but my tribe lives on every country on earth. I’ll do anything to protect them from hurt, the human race is what I serve." - Baba Brinkman