Miscellaneous And Off Topic Subjects

[Mike]

I view it as a golden opportunity to weaken Russia. It's like their Afghan war all over again. And people do the same shit to us, China and Russia supporting North Vietnam, Iran supporting insurgents in Iraq. The amount of money we're spending in Ukraine is a rounding error in the federal budget. Even if a big chunk of it is wasted, it's still degrading Russia's military, and by extension, Putin's power. There's also the ancillary benefit of reminding the West the fossil fuels and nuclear power are still kind of important.

[THE_WIZARD_]

....

[Dr. Strangelove]

A pretty credible looking poll (shows Dewine up +15) has Tim Ryan with a one point lead. Potential disaster shaping up in Ohio. Tim Ryan is running a really good campaign. if he fools enough people into thinking that he will be a "moderate" then he can win.

Tim Ryan actually was something of a moderate before the Trump years. His voting record def got more liberal after that.

Anyways I think he's about the best candidate Ohio Dems could've run but he'll still lose. I don't trust polls showing an enormous difference between DeWine and Vance (although DeWine obviously will win big).

[Mike]

27% of Mississippi's state budget is federal funds which makes them the 3rd most federally dependent state. It averages out to $6,880 per capita for 2022.

[Hannibal]

I view it as a golden opportunity to weaken Russia. It's like their Afghan war all over again. And people do the same shit to us, China and Russia supporting North Vietnam, Iran supporting insurgents in Iraq. The amount of money we're spending in Ukraine is a rounding error in the federal budget. Even if a big chunk of it is wasted, it's still degrading Russia's military, and by extension, Putin's power. There's also the ancillary benefit of reminding the West the fossil fuels and nuclear power are still kind of important.

Why do you care about weakening Russia? They don't have any troop transports ready to land at Miami Beach. Putin is not a Marxist ideologue who wishes to spread an evil ideology around the world. He's an asshole but he's not an enemy of the US.

Or at the very least, he's not enough of an enemy to justify spending hundreds of millions of dollars to prolong a proxy war.

[iam416]

Tim Ryan actually was something of a moderate before the Trump years. His voting record def got more liberal after that.

Anyways I think he's about the best candidate Ohio Dems could've run but he'll still lose. I don't trust polls showing an enormous difference between DeWine and Vance (although DeWine obviously will win big).

It'll be close. Vance will run way behind DeWine. I'd have it as about 60/40 for Vance. But, Ryan's refusal to mention the word "Democrat" and even his statement that is "running more as independent" is what he needs to do. It'll last 6 years if he wins because he'll vote lockstop with the Ds and the Ds will force him to vote for shit that won't fly in Ohio. And I doubt Ohio Rs can put up a worse candidate. I mean, they could certainly find someone functionally as bad. But, Vance is also running a non-campaign at the moment.

I still tend to think Vance narrowly wins. But "narrowly" is a testament to how badly this race is fucked up.

[Dr. Strangelove]

Who is telling them that this is a good idea???

I "might" have considered something like this if it also guaranteed abortion rights up to 15 weeks. It doesn't. It allows states to ban abortion entirely and places new, national restrictions on states that have broader limits right now.

Also, re-defining abortions in weeks 16-25 as "late-term" is kinda cynical.

Lindsey Graham to propose new national abortion ban bill (axios.com)

[Hannibal]

If the ads I'm seeing in Ohio are representative of how establishment-backed Republicans are running around the country, then the Rs are fucked.

[Hannibal]

Who is telling them that this is a good idea???

I "might" have considered something like this if it also guaranteed abortion rights up to 15 weeks. It doesn't. It allows states to ban abortion entirely and places new, national restrictions on states that have broader limits right now.

Also, re-defining abortions in weeks 16-25 as "late-term" is kinda cynical.

Lindsey Graham to propose new national abortion ban bill (axios.com)

The Rs are the Stupid Party.

They are doing this to satisfy the base. But it's an unpopular position. How do you deal with this? You pass the bill quickly after the election and then rely on short voter memories to nullify it as an election issue. You don't do it in an election year.

[Mike]

If the ads I'm seeing in Ohio are representative of how establishment-backed Republicans are running around the country, then the Rs are fucked.

It's unbelievable that they seemingly can't find anything to run on other than wildly unpopular abortion policies. Border? Inflation? Energy? Crime? Wokeness? Guess not...

[lineygoblue]

306160174_510177424443791_6246962968585106112_n.jpg?stp=dst-jpg_p526x296&_nc_cat=102&ccb=1-7&_nc_sid=8bfeb9&_nc_ohc=sibcb6QbMxoAX9IGNTF&tn=OBzq7Vkkwg0LCeMv&_nc_ht=scontent-ort2-1.xx&oh=00_AT9oO6s53wZQC56UKL-Eaf3eX5DNhr7bvS0okLX
In about 10 years, the only kind of car you'll be able to buy in California will be an electric vehicle.
Don't make plans to use it very often.

[Hannibal]

I am seeing a few people in Right Wing circles spreading around this article...

How Weed Became the New OxyContin - Tablet Magazine

I wonder if we will see a pushback against weed legalization in the coming years. Me -- I'm highly skeptical of these anecdotes being representative of the population as a whole. I haven't seen anything that leads me to believe that weed is more detrimental to society than alcohol. Both of them have a lot of potential for abuse.

[Dr. Strangelove]

I was in California for about 3 days this past week. Haven't been there in over 10 years I think. It was certainly eye-opening seeing how many Tesla stations and EV charging stations in general there are

[Hannibal]

I was in California for about 3 days this past week. Haven't been there in over 10 years I think. It was certainly eye-opening seeing how many Tesla stations and EV charging stations in general there are

Are you sure that you weren't confusing them with piles of shit and used needles left on the ground by the homeless population?

[iam416]

Surprisingly inflation comes in at a worse than expected at 8.3%. It actually got a little worse from last month and that's with gas prices considerably down -- about halfway back to where they were.

I fully expect The Chairman to, again, claim there's zero inflation and things going great and whatever issues there are can be blamed entirely on MAGA!!!!!! folks which, to be clear, aren't ALL Rs, just those people who vote for Rs.