Ding Dong.....the US Politics Thread (Part 1)

I agree, but it’s always been at the heart of the contradiction of what the NRA told people they needed guns for and what they argued to people who didnt like guns that they recommend gun owners doing.

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Almost like they don’t actually care

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I’d like to see the changes where there is broad consensus take place to improve the situation with guns. Lots of surveys have been done, and there is bipartisan support for some sensible measures. Start there.

A tougher sell would be to treat owning a gun as similar to owning a car. It is a responsibility, so you need training to learn to drive, you need to pass a test, you need a license, and you are also required to carry insurance.

Something like that would be a good step for gun owners.

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You’ll always come up against the very simple and understandable thin end of the wedge argument. I’ve fired guns in the US, I like them, they’re a primal thing. But I’d ban them in a heartbeat and then hang anybody caught with one. Might actually cause a variation on civil war if they start to go down the path. Arming bears was always a bad idea though.

just what you need for your nightstand. a safe for your gun, in urban camo decor

I saw one that popped up the other day on social media, had a wireless phone charger built in.

https://vaulteksafe.com/store/index.php?route=product/category&path=18_37_54&tracking=pewpew

In Canada you need all of these things except the insurance

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This debt ceiling situation may get interesting. Republicans want to force spending reductions in exchange for approving it. This might be the moment when we see the limits of a weakened Speaker.

When does it come to a head? I am being lazy, I can look up the date!

I see a stalemate coming, under a weak speaker, with a minority of extremist nut jobs forcing an ugly spectacle. I expect lower paid government workers who offer essential services having to take a leave of absence. An ideological war will be fought, with expensive things like the bloated military and tax cuts for the most wealthy being left alone, while some community do gooder who votes the wrong way will get shit on. En masse.

Thursday, although that is an arbitrary line. The numbers move around slowly, and the various departments can take measures to allow some spending to be deferred. But I don’t think anyone believes you can get more than a week out of that.

Putin’s investment in the Republican Party is on the cusp of paying off more than he ever could have expected.

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They took what, 4 days to pick a Speaker, a matter that had not gone to a second vote in decades? I expect the Government to be shutting down over the weekend, and serious talk by Monday of a default.

It won’t get solved that quickly. They say with a little creative accounting on the part of the Treasury, they can stave off disaster until June. This is what happened last time. I think it went on a couple of months beyond the actual “default date.”

It didn’t reach the default date - but yeah, the equivalent of Thursday hit and they went another 10 weeks or so. June would seem a stretch though. My recollection was 2011 was beginning of May to end of July, and that was with significant curtailment in July and government spending started being postponed in June.

Default would require not meeting a bond payment of some form, and then 30 days. If I recall correctly, the US has never even hit that 30 day countdown. The previous four defaults by the US have all been by specie - refusing to pay gold or silver as promised - but never on interest.

Early look at currency markets suggest mixed confidence in Congress, but I wonder if that is because there are so many questions swirling around GBP and EUR.

QThe real question is, where do you put your money

Can you PM me your address, not forgetting to list the valuables you have (just so I come in the correct sized vehicle). Most importantly tell me when you’re out. Thanks. :wink:

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The last time this happened, it barely rippled the bond market, because no one believes the U.S. would miss a payment. The U.S. was downgraded by Moody’s, too. Probably the same now. It should be resolved with some drama. However, you have a House Speaker who can be challenged by a single member, which would create its own chaos as the members tried to replace him with someone else. It’s going to add to the fractiousness of this session. These loons are ten years wackier now.

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It’s going to be a spectacle to watch it unfold.

Unfortunately some jobs and services will be vulnerable to extremists, who have a disproportionate amount of power in relation to their number.

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This whole situation just drives home the absurdity of the press acting like we need to take what politicians say on face value. The GOP have demonstrated that a legislative body they care absolutely nothing for deficits or the debt. We know this is not actually about the deficit. They know that we know this. Yet the press in general still allow them to pretend this is what it is about and then force the Dems to respond as if this is really what it is about.

Whatever political play the GOP think they can get out this only exists as a possibility because they know the press will treat their arguments with a seriousness they have demonstrated they don’t deserve.

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You’d think , after Trump , that the press would have stopped this nonsense of taking everything they say at face value , and by doing so aiding and abetting their bullshit. It seems they’ll never fucking learn. smh

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To this very point…

This is so utterly disgusting. If I was a “good cop”, this sort of thing absolutely would not stand and I would make it my mission to make sure this is not representative of Police. We really very hear criticisms from within though. And when we do, we generally see those people get treated as pariahs by their own people. What does that say?

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