World is Falling Apart Thread (Locked forever)

[MrPopo]

Maybe we could stop letting politics be ruled by extremists on both side and instead work towards compromise that bests serves the nation as a whole?

[Sarge]

I absolutely advocate working together when we can. But the policies of each "side" are very much diametrically opposed to each other, and I don't advocate compromise in those cases without vigorous debate and opposition. I believe that the conflict is actually what produces meaningful compromise in the end.

[MrPopo]

I absolutely advocate working together when we can. But the policies of each "side" are very much diametrically opposed to each other, and I don't advocate compromise in those cases without vigorous debate and opposition. I believe that the conflict is actually what produces meaningful compromise in the end.

I think vigorous debate is healthy, and you're right that it produces some good things. But we've gone past that to complete vilification of the other side. The abortion debate is not "I believe that life begins at conception so I don't feel it's right for me to have an abortion" but "you're murdering children!" How do you arrive at any meaningful compromise when that's the rhetoric being used?

[Sarge]

I'm not going to jump down that rabbit hole right now.

[MrPopo]

It was the quickest example I could think of. I hope you can agree with me that painting the opposition as being utterly horrible human beings (and both sides do this) is not conducive to getting any sort of compromise.

[Sarge]

I agree with that, absolutely. I probably don't have to state how I feel on the abortion issue, though. It's why I don't want to get into it right now.

[marurun]

Ah, so pretty much similar behavior to how Democrats reacted to President Bush or other Republican presidents at times.

Frankly to expect either party to behave "respectfully" to each other and not at times try to openly harass and oppose is to invite folly.

If I recall, the Democrats were a lot more willing to negotiate with the Republicans and with Bush on legislation than the Republicans were with Obama. That may not say a lot, because yes, the opposition never gets along with the other side, but I think the Republicans have stonewalled Obama more than any other president has been stonewalled since I've been voting (basically, Clinton onward). That may be more an artifact of who held the House and Senate during the respective presidencies, but the effect is that Obama has been more solidly obstructed than any other president since before Clinton.

As for shutting down Bork's nomination, that's what confirmation hearings are for. Hell, even the ACLU opposed Bork, and they've only ever opposed 3 nominees. Kennedy was nominated later and passed through unanimously. For the Republicans to not even hold hearings on an Obama nominee when the right to nominate is decidedly his is ridiculous. I think Obama should have appointed him anyway and let that run its course in the courts. Let the courts decide if congress has the right even to refuse to consider. Instead, Republicans were too embarrassed to publicly turn down the Garland nomination for fear of public disapproval.

[CRTGAMER]

An inspiration from the game Mass Effect 2, watch the fan made video before YouTube pulls it. Even if you can't stand Trump, the video is well done. EA had it removed from the original Twitter post; captured the video to my PC before it gets removed.

The Donald Trump Effect - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eWYix2MnDWc

Trump Interview 1-18-2016 on Fox Friends - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pU9h3PQ7YxA

More then 60 Democrats will not be attending the Presidential Inauguration. So much for respect to the Democratic process. Pathetic so many Congressman are not representing their entire district and just backing their Congress party instead! Ironic the "Not Attending" list increased dramatically following John Lewis who is supposed to stand for "Civil Rights For All" and not just who they choose.

By not attending the Inauguration; a hollow Trump protest with a fear of being called racist if they do not back Lewis!

http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/growing- ... d=44783997

65 Democratic Congress Members Planning to Skip Inauguration
Dozens of Democratic members of Congress have announced they will skip Donald Trump's inauguration this Friday. While some of the 65 made their decision in previous weeks, many more have come forward in recent days, citing the president-elect's perceived insult of Rep. John Lewis as the final straw. Trump lashed out at the civil rights icon Saturday morning after Lewis said in a Friday interview he didn't view Trump as "a legitimate president." Lewis, a Georgia Democrat from an Atlanta-area district who protested alongside the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., also said he would not attend the inauguration.

"Congressman John Lewis should spend more time on fixing and helping his district, which is in horrible shape and falling apart (not to mention crime infested) rather than falsely complaining about the election results," Trump tweeted Saturday morning. "All talk, talk, talk - no action or results. Sad!"

Trump, however, said in an interview with Fox News that aired this morning: "As far as other people not going, that's okay because we need seats so badly. I hope they give me their tickets. Are they going to give us their tickets? I will give them to other people."

Below is the full running list of Congress members who are planning not to attend the inauguration:

Rep. Terri Sewell, D-Ala.
Rep. Ruben Gallego, D-Ariz.
Rep. Raul Grijalva, D-Ariz.
Rep. Karen Bass, D-Calif.
Rep. Tony Cardenas, D-Calif.
Rep. Judy Chu, D-Calif.
Rep. Mark DeSaulnier, D-Calif.
Rep. Jared Huffman, D-Calif.
Rep. Barbara Lee, D-Calif.
Rep. Ted Lieu, D-Calif.
Rep. Zoe Lofgren, D-Calif.
Rep. Jerry McNerney, D-Calif.
Rep. Grace Napolitano, D-Calif.
Rep. Lucille Roybal-Allard, D-Calif.
Rep. Raul Ruiz, D-Calif.
Rep. Mark Takano, D-Calif.
Rep. Juan Vargas, D-Calif.
Rep. Maxine Waters, D-Calif.
Rep. Alcee Hastings, D-Fla.
Rep. Darren Soto, D-Fla.
Rep. Frederica Wilson, D-Fla.
Rep. John Lewis, D-Ga.
Rep. Luis Gutierrez, D-Ill.
Rep. Dan Lipinski, D-Ill.
Rep. Jan Schakowsky, D-Ill.
Rep. Mike Quigley, D-Ill.
Rep. John Yarmuth, D-Ky.
Rep. Chellie Pingree, D-Maine
Rep. Anthony Brown, D-Md.
Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md.
Rep. Michael Capuano, D-Mass.
Rep. Katherine Clark, D-Mass.
Rep. John Conyers, D-Mich.
Rep. Keith Ellison, D-Minn.
Rep. Bennie Thompson, D-Miss.
Rep. William Lacy Clay, D-Mo.
Rep. Carol Shea-Porter, D-N.H.
Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman, D-N.J.
Rep. Donald Payne Jr., D-N.J.
Rep. Yvette Clarke, D-N.Y.
Rep. Adriano Espaillat, D-N.Y.
Rep. Grace Meng, D-N.Y.
Rep. Jerry Nadler, D-N.Y.
Rep. Jose Serrano, D-N.Y.
Rep. Louise Slaughter, D-N.Y.
Rep. Nydia Velazquez, D-N.Y.
Rep. Alma Adams, D-N.C.
Rep. G.K. Butterfield, D-N.C.
Rep. Marcia Fudge, D-Ohio
Rep. Earl Blumenauer, D-Ore.
Rep. Peter DeFazio, D-Ore.
Rep. Kurt Schrader, D-Ore.
Rep. Brendan Boyle, D-Pa.
Rep. Mike Doyle, D-Pa.
Rep. Dwight Evans, D-Pa.
Rep. Steve Cohen, D-Tenn.
Rep. Joaquin Castro, D-Texas
Rep. Lloyd Doggett, D-Texas
Rep. Al Green, D-Texas
Rep. Don Beyer, D-Va.
Rep. Gerry Connolly, D-Va.
Rep. Donald McEachin, D-Va.
Rep. Pramila Jayapal, D-Wash.
Rep. Adam Smith, D-Wash.
Rep. Mark Pocan, D-Wis.

Steve Harvey defended on his radio show all the back lash simply because he met Trump at the Trump Tower. Musicians have been threatened with boycotts should they participate at the Presidential Inauguration. Even the state college Talladega Band was boycotted by their own stupid ignorant college board, rescued by O'Reilly Show Viewers at the Talladega Go Fund Campaign.

http://thehill.com/blogs/in-the-know/31 ... with-trump

Steve Harvey defends meeting with Trump
Steve Harvey is defending his face-to-face with President-elect Donald Trump, saying, “Change can only happen when we sit at the table.” Harvey who had been critical of Trump during the 2016 White House race called it “important” to meet with the real estate mogul because “the only way we can heal the divide in this country is through conversation.”

The entertainer gave credit to Trump, saying after he told the president-elect he wanted to "aid in any way I could to help improve the housing conditions in the inner cities," Trump "immediately got Dr. Ben Carson on the phone." Carson is Trump's pick to head the Department of Housing and Urban Development. "I've never seen anybody jump into action so quickly at a request," Harvey exclaimed. "I'm not a politician, so quite naturally I'm thinking there's a ton of red tape."

But Harvey, 60, expressed surprise at the intense backlash he said he received. “On a personal note, a lot of ya’ll hurt me. You really did. I didn’t expect the backlash to be so fierce,” he said. “If I’m going to keep getting stabbed at, then at least while you’re stabbing me, you should understand my intent for taking the meeting in the first place.” Harvey said his get-together with Trump left him hopeful: “When I walked away, feeling like there might be a real chance for some positive to come out of what so many people think is all gloom and doom.”

http://insider.foxnews.com/2017/01/19/m ... transition

Pence: 20% of Taxpayer Funding for Trump Transition Will Go Back to US Treasury
Vice President-elect Mike Pence spoke to reporters Thursday as a final wrap-up to Donald Trump's transition process. He said he, as well as the president-elect, were pleased to report that the transition wrapped up "on schedule and under budget. We will actually return some 20 percent of taxpayer funding back to the U.S. Treasury, and that is exactly in keeping with the president-elect's expectations going forward," Pence said. "He's a businessman that knows how to sharpen his pencil, and I'm very pleased to report today that we were able to do that and restore those dollars to the Treasury."

Wow, welcome to the new Washington!

Meanwhile, Trump still negotiating new jobs before even taking office, Inauguration on Friday. Watch what he will do next Monday. Looking forward to the Executive Order cancels with a second swipe of a more sensible pen.

https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/

John Lewis said about my inauguration, "It will be the first one that I've missed." WRONG (or lie)! He boycotted Bush 43 also because he thought it would be hypocritical to attend Bush's swearing-in, he doesn't believe Bush is the true elected president." Sound familiar! People are pouring into Washington in record numbers. Bikers for Trump are on their way. It will be a great Thursday, Friday and Saturday!

The same people who did the phony election polls, and were so wrong, are now doing approval rating polls. They are rigged just like before. With all of the jobs I am bringing back into the U.S. (even before taking office), with all of the new auto plants coming back into our country and with the massive cost reductions I have negotiated on military purchases and more, I believe the people are seeing "big stuff." Thank you to General Motors and Walmart for starting the big jobs push back into the U.S.!

http://insider.foxnews.com/2017/01/17/c ... -pressures

Trump Effect? Companies Announce Billions in U.S. Investments, New Jobs
President-elect Donald Trump has repeatedly vowed to put pressure on American companies that outsource jobs or manufacture products destined for the U.S. market abroad. So far, Trump has been good on his word. On Tuesday, several companies announced billions of dollars in new U.S. manufacturing investments and plans to create thousands of new jobs.

General Motors revealed a $1 billion investment in U.S. factories, moving some production from Mexico to Michigan. Hyundai announced that its subsidiaries, including the Hyundai and Kia brands, have allocated more than $3 billion for supporting their factories in Georgia and Alabama. Walmart, already the nation's largest private employer, touted a plan to create approximately 10,000 jobs in the U.S. this year. German chemical giant Bayer AG promised billions of dollars in research and development spending in the U.S., and committed to creating 3,000 new jobs, if its planned merger with Monsanto receives the necessary regulatory approvals to proceed.

All of this comes after companies like Carrier and Ford reversed plans to move some manufacturing to other countries, in response to critical tweets from the president-elect.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

All I can do is laugh at the irony. In the name of "Freedom Of Speech", let the Trump protesters protest each other.

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2017/01 ... march.html

Pro-life group dropped from list of partners for inauguration protest march
The organizers of a women's protest march set to hit the streets of Washington D.C. the day after Donald Trump's inauguration said Monday it had dropped one of its partner organizations because the group opposes abortion. The nonprofit group, New Wave Feminists, vowed to take part in the protest anyway. "We will definitely be there with our pro-life, pro-woman message," group leader Destiny Hernon-De La Rosa told FoxNews.com. "These are the women we would be trying to reach, anyway."

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I have a mixed take on Fox News Judge Pirro, at first thought she was just loud and not analyzing the issues. After watching this great Opening Monologue concerning Lewis, Waters and O'Donnell; wow she speaks the absolute truth: "Deal With It!"

Judge Jeanine Pirro Opening Statement 1/14/17 - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NO6T5DEvT98

[MrPopo]

Stop editing the same post to make a twenty page monstrosity.

[ZeroAX]

I love how you are praising Trump for bringing over a tiny number of jobs (for the US' size) when during Obama tenure there were way more jobs being created every single month.

But I guess that's the entire point of this narcissistic orange-man. Deflect away any criticism and treat every tiny positive thing like an important victory.