Trump

[TheHangedOne]

Close down coal mines, increase taxes on the rich and big corporations, tighten gun controls applicable to assault rifles and machine guns... everything else was ok to me personally. If that is your question... 

If you're worried about the miners losing their jobs, a push to green energy solutions will also create a plethora of jobs, both in the initial construction, as well as in the maintenance.  As well, backing green energy may, in time, allow us to free up money (and create even more jobs), in order to revive our country's significantly decayed infrastructure.

As for increasing the taxes on the rich and big corporations, we wouldn't be doing anything that hasn't been done before, and to great success in other countries. This will allow us to, again, have more funding available to reinvest into the nation, ultimately strengthening it.

Now, don't get me wrong here, I believe an armed society is a polite society. That being said, I can't really justify ownership of fully automatic weaponry. Much like owning a car, licensing such things, to ensure that people are properly trained; how is that bad? If you have a reason against it, please let me know.

[Andol]

Now, don't get me wrong here, I believe an armed society is a polite society. That being said, I can't really justify ownership of fully automatic weaponry. Much like owning a car, licensing such things, to ensure that people are properly trained; how is that bad? If you have a reason against it, please let me know.

I don't have anything against licensing it to ensure that people are properly trained, nor do I have a problem with a stricter vetting process for fully automatic weaponry. I just don't like the idea of it being banned when there are uses for it. Narrow mind you, but out were I live when you get problems with large number of feral hogs... yeah... some of those things do need extra firepower to be put down in large numbers safely. Beyond that... eh... as I said in the first sentence as long as the proper procedures are being followed and put down for people to get down that kind of stuff, I just don't see the problem.

[Haibane]

Wow maybe some of those things you listed are not supported by everyone.

I did not suggest they were, but that is how a little thing called a democracy works, you know?

The tone here is the is the exact type of scariness I am talking about... one that creates a system where one sides opinion is never heard, or better yet told they are bad just because they think something that isn't agreed with it.

Well that is in your head and no-one can help you with that. My post never suggested any of that, you did. All you are doing is wanting what you want and not what others want. You can achieve that at the polls.

[Haibane]

That is the most laughably stupid idea I have ever heard. The last time anything resembling a legal duel or whatnot was in France in... I want to say 1960 or 1970... and since then that kind of stuff isn't legal anywhere that I know of. I mean if he is going to pull something out his ass he needs to try harder than that.

After yesterday I think there's a fair chance he could be charged with incitement to violence after that little speech.

[Iniquitous]

Close down coal mines, increase taxes on the rich and big corporations, tighten gun controls applicable to assault rifles and machine guns... everything else was ok to me personally. If that is your question... 

It is long past time we move past using coal as an energy source.  Our planet is dying.  Retrain the miners for other jobs and shut down the coal industry.

Trickle-down economics does not work.  This has been proven again and again and again.  We had our best years economy-wise during the 1950s and 1960s when the tax rate of the wealthy was 91% (NINETY-ONE PERCENT!).  We need to get back to that.  There is no reason the middle and lower class citizens should shoulder the largest part of the tax burden while the rich hoard their money.

An armed mob just stormed our Capital building.  Let me repeat that - AN ARMED MOB OF US CITIZENS JUST STORMED OUR CAPITAL BUILDING.  They weren't there for tea and cookies mind you.  They were there to cause damage and terrorize. Your desire to have a gun does not outweigh the need for peace and stability in this land.

[Andol]

An armed mob just stormed our Capital building.  Let me repeat that - AN ARMED MOB OF US CITIZENS JUST STORMED OUR CAPITAL BUILDING.  They weren't there for tea and cookies mind you.  They were there to cause damage and terrorize. Your desire to have a gun does not outweigh the need for peace and stability in this land.

Yes and they where wrong for what they did, but what they did and my desire to have a gun as long I follow legal process and I act responsible are two totally separate things. You are making an apples to oranges comparison there, but those people did damage to our countries ideals in many forms. In one way you could consider this one...

[Andol]

I did not suggest they were, but that is how a little thing called a democracy works, you know?

Well that is in your head and no-one can help you with that. My post never suggested any of that, you did. All you are doing is wanting what you want and not what others want. You can achieve that at the polls.

Oh and sorry for the double post... I meant in my last post to apologize to you for what I said in my last post. I got a little heated over everything that has happened. I am sorry for any offense I caused. 

[TheVillain]

Let you in on a little secret dude. There is no "War on Coal", any more then there was a "War on Typewriters" at the beginning of the age of Computers. What's happening to Coal is the natural result of the free market at work with some known trends and nothing more. That switching from coal turns out will have an even more dramatically positive impact on the environment then we originally thought is just a bonus.

And, to reiterate what others have said - *There is a MOUNTAIN of Evidence saying that the very concept of Supply-Side/Trickle Down Economics was Always A Sham*, and certainly doesn't work.

As for the mob yesterday - they brought Zipties, Assault Rifles, and Pipe Bombs and if they had their way they would have kidnapped and killed several lawmakers. I'm all for everyone being allowed to enjoy anything they can handle responsibly but it's clear that a lot of people who think they can handle guns responsibly are wrong.

Yesterday was a failed Fascist Coup, backed by a wing of the GOP.

[Humble Scribe]

Close down coal mines... 

US coal mines are not closing because of some liberal environmental policy. They are closing because of market reasons. Whatever peoples' views are on fracking, it has changed the oil and gas industry beyond recognition. Natural gas is now dirt cheap, so power generators are using that instead. There used to be export markets, and fair enough, US coal can't be exported to Europe any more in any quantity because of European environmental policies, but China would take all you could sell if (a) you weren't in a trade war with them and (b) you could dig coal cheaply enough. The reason you aren't is because Australia and Indonesia are producing it cheaper.

The thing to do now is get on board the renewable energy bandwagon and take a lead in that. As people note - it will generate jobs, though probably not in the areas that are losing them. But renewables will be the oil of the 21st century, and countries that achieve a strategic position now will benefit. China is installing more renewable capacity than the rest of the world put together. Coal was always just a cheap ploy by Trump to get votes in rust belt states, but I'm sure he knew he couldn't buck the market in the long run.

[Fox Lokison]

To tag on... A large reason the coal industry shutting down hits so hard is because of lack of education and opportunities and infastructure for their workers. Those issues should have been tackled long ago, so people didn't have to work in a planet-polluting industry and it didn't have to stay alive to keep the American people alive.

It's time our money went to American needs (and not in the fashy way), not to our military prowess, which we use to do what happened here yesterday, to everyone else. It's time taxes were raised back up on the rich. It's time we put our money - because it is OUR money, and our taxes - into our communities. There's no reason for us to continue the way we are, when we have the ability to change things. There is no excuse.

Yes and they where wrong for what they did, but what they did and my desire to have a gun as long I follow legal process and I act responsible are two totally separate things. You are making an apples to oranges comparison there, but those people did damage to our countries ideals in many forms. In one way you could consider this one...

And if you want to live out in a commune on some unclaimed island, you and whoever lives with you can make those calls. But when you live in a society of 328 million, you, and everyone else, must act for the best interest of the entire population. What you're putting forth here is the idea that someone else's bad actions shouldn't infringe on your rights. And perhaps that would have been true when your society was small, as were the issues. But you do not live in a small society. You live in a global world, in a massive country, and you must act accordingly. I am against much anti-gun legislation, but the argument that another person's actions shouldn't impact you was lost when you chose to live in a society with everyone else.

If you get to keep yours, then there's loopholes for them to keep theirs. You don't get to isolate yourself from the ripples, and you can't isolate others from the ripples you make. Those are arguments from a time period where your society was a single town, with probably a few hundred to a thousand people. America needs to divest itself of those ideas. We don't live in those times anymore, and we need to accept that. Our values can be continued on without this nonsense.

[Andol]

As for the mob yesterday - they brought Zipties, Assault Rifles, and Pipe Bombs and if they had their way they would have kidnapped and killed several lawmakers. I'm all for everyone being allowed to enjoy anything they can handle responsibly but it's clear that a lot of people who think they can handle guns responsibly are wrong.

Yesterday was a failed Fascist Coup, backed by a wing of the GOP.

While I repeat that what happened yesterday with the mob was sad, stupid, pointless, and tragic... it is still a apples to oranges comparison on what I was talking about when it came to gun onwership. Given though the emotional state of things I don't feel this topic specifically can really get anywhere, because those idiots made those of us who want to talk rationally still look stupid while trying to do so... which is just as sad.

US coal mines are not closing because of some liberal environmental policy. They are closing because of market reasons. Whatever peoples' views are on fracking, it has changed the oil and gas industry beyond recognition. Natural gas is now dirt cheap, so power generators are using that instead. There used to be export markets, and fair enough, US coal can't be exported to Europe any more in any quantity because of European environmental policies, but China would take all you could sell if (a) you weren't in a trade war with them and (b) you could dig coal cheaply enough. The reason you aren't is because Australia and Indonesia are producing it cheaper.

The thing to do now is get on board the renewable energy bandwagon and take a lead in that. As people note - it will generate jobs, though probably not in the areas that are losing them. But renewables will be the oil of the 21st century, and countries that achieve a strategic position now will benefit. China is installing more renewable capacity than the rest of the world put together. Coal was always just a cheap ploy by Trump to get votes in rust belt states, but I'm sure he knew he couldn't buck the market in the long run.

Hey Humble thanks for the info... I really didn't know about the situation that much in detail. Thanks for updating me on the situation. 

[Aiden]

Close down coal mines, increase taxes on the rich and big corporations, tighten gun controls applicable to assault rifles and machine guns... everything else was ok to me personally. If that is your question... 

What is it about taxing rich and big corporations that you don't agree with?

Working-class citizens end up paying more in taxes overall.

These big corps take bailouts funded by our taxes.

Trickle-down economics is a lie.


-----

And the greatest lie of the GOP

"When you are rich, you will be glad we kept taxes low for you, My Money bags."

[Cosmo_ac]

On the topic of Coal, I present John Oliver.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aw6RsUhw1Q8

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[CandyLips]

But, y'know... I love you all. You're all so special. I can overlook the fact that you're all criminals, because you're MY criminals.

[Callie Del Noire]

But, y'know... I love you all. You're all so special. I can overlook the fact that you're all criminals, because you're MY criminals.

Nah these are patriots (acting purely on their own of course) and totally not criminals

[Shekinah]

[CandyLips]

I was pretty astounded when one of the news outlets called these people "thugs"

That word is usually only used for little 8 year old black boys who are just trying to walk home.

[Humble Scribe]

Hey Humble thanks for the info... I really didn't know about the situation that much in detail. Thanks for updating me on the situation.

No problem - international energy and petrochemicals is my beat as a journalist.

[clonkertink]

But, y'know... I love you all. You're all so special. I can overlook the fact that you're all criminals, because you're MY criminals.

That "We love you, you're very special" bit turned my stomach. Talking to rioters breaking into the Capitol like they're kids on Mr Rogers' Neighbourhood. This is literally the nicest thing I've ever heard him say, and he's saying it to a mob bent on overthrowing the government.

[CandyLips]

That "We love you, you're very special" bit turned my stomach. Talking to rioters breaking into the Capitol like they're kids on Mr Rogers' Neighbourhood. This is literally the nicest thing I've ever heard him say, and he's saying it to a mob bent on overthrowing the government.

It's just a reminder that his supporters can do no wrong. Like when they were driving into protestors and chanting racist/anti-semitic shit while carrying tiki torches. There were "good people on both sides"

[legomaster00156]

Articles of impeachment have been drafted, pressuring Trump to resign or Pence to invoke the 25th.

[Oniya]

https://torontosun.com/sports/wrestling/mick-foley-wants-donald-trump-removed-from-wwe-hall-of-fame

I guess we'll see if Linda McMahon is still pals with Trump...

[Aiden]

https://www.reddit.com/r/PublicFreakout/comments/ksaabz/it_is_not_your_fault_a_compilation_of/

Fox news spinning terrorist activity.

[Skynet]

I don't have anything against licensing it to ensure that people are properly trained, nor do I have a problem with a stricter vetting process for fully automatic weaponry. I just don't like the idea of it being banned when there are uses for it. Narrow mind you, but out were I live when you get problems with large number of feral hogs... yeah... some of those things do need extra firepower to be put down in large numbers safely. Beyond that... eh... as I said in the first sentence as long as the proper procedures are being followed and put down for people to get down that kind of stuff, I just don't see the problem.

That's a meme.

[Skynet]

Also haven't seen it linked yet, but a study across 18 countries over the past 50 years found out that trickle-down economics does not result in a better economy, in regards to not taxing the rich.