GOP thread

[chef]

15 minutes ago, reo said:

 

yeah, I really like Zeihan but I agree. He makes a lot of assumptions and projections to the point where it's hard to tell what's his opinion and what's fact. 

 

Nuclear tech is probably the safest atm but I think we'll see some sort of scientific breakthrough in the next 5-10 years that could be revolutionary.... granted it'd still take another 5-10 years to industrialize it but i do think it's a very real possibility of it happening.

 

only current viable means of being anywhere close enough to replace our current fossil fuel energy usage.  doesn't mean won't have another watershed moment in technological development but hard to always count on the brilliant scientist to rush in at the end of the movie to save the day.  particularly in world where they are heeded less and less.

 

 

just finished Zeihan's The End Of The World Is Just Beginning.   almost entirely a gloom and doom future (albeit rosier for the US in his view) rooted in fractured supply chains and the domino effect from there, and demographic impact of aging populations vs fewer and fewer kids.    not sure why telling you that as bet you already read it.  I think he might be a bit myopic on his own focal points and gloss over a long human history of adaptation and innovation as challenges arise.  also so focused on US no longer ensuring safe passage for world wide shipping... and Red Sea alone this week might undermine that thesis.  still, I like following his logic as he forces one to consider impact of concepts not always mentioned in MSM.  though I laugh how often his topics from 2-5 years ago become MSM headlines now.  also, nice he tries to put a bit of a smiley face on a morbid presentation.  if you can't laugh you'll cry right?

 

[side note: should start a best books read past year thread.  not everything need be shitty football, Trump du jour and war zones.  gonna die no matter what, might as well read a decent book or 3 and eat well]

  

Edited January 19, 2024 by chef

[IsntLifeFunny]

I am not as well versed in climate science as some around here. My fairly vapid take on the whole thing is it is proven the climate is changing for the worse and CO2 plays a big role. That the climate is changing is undeniable. What can be contentious is how much it is changing and how much is the result of humans. 

 

Go past that and it's undeniable that humans have been a factor in the change. What is then debatable is how much and what can be done about it. 

 

Those arguments and discussions are worth having. What is past the point of stupidity is the climate deniers, AKA Republicans, who say it doesn't exist and point to record cold weather in certain areas. This is simply another in a long line of reasoning where I cannot take the Right seriously. On damn near every topic they deny simple truths. 

[chef]

5 minutes ago, IsntLifeFunny said:

I am not as well versed in climate science as some around here. My fairly vapid take on the whole thing is it is proven the climate is changing for the worse and CO2 plays a big role. That the climate is changing is undeniable. What can be contentious is how much it is changing and how much is the result of humans. 

 

Go past that and it's undeniable that humans have been a factor in the change. What is then debatable is how much and what can be done about it. 

 

Those arguments and discussions are worth having. What is past the point of stupidity is the climate deniers, AKA Republicans, who say it doesn't exist and point to record cold weather in certain areas. This is simply another in a long line of reasoning where I cannot take the Right seriously. On damn near every topic they deny simple truths. 

 

Can't rec this enough:

 

https://vaclavsmil.com/2022/03/07/how-the-world-really-works/

 

I'm pretty sure I couldn't keep up with his less laymen-friendly works - and he is a prolific author - but this ones lays out reality as he sees it pretty clearly.

[IsntLifeFunny]

24 minutes ago, chef said:

 

Can't rec this enough:

 

https://vaclavsmil.com/2022/03/07/how-the-world-really-works/

 

I'm pretty sure I couldn't keep up with his less laymen-friendly works - and he is a prolific author - but this ones lays out reality as he sees it pretty clearly.

I'll check it out. I got a list for my next McCkays run. If it isn't there I'll order it online. 

[reo]

1 hour ago, chef said:

 

only current viable means of being anywhere close enough to replace our current fossil fuel energy usage.  doesn't mean won't have another watershed moment in technological development but hard to always count on the brilliant scientist to rush in at the end of the movie to save the day.  particularly in world where they are heeded less and less.

 

It's not about counting on brilliant scientists. It's about seeing the things that we're working on and what's on the horizon. Room temp super conductors, fusion, AI... self learning AI by itself will be massive when it happens. People are under estimating it. I'm not saying it's going to be all good.. but it's going to be world changing if it happens. And those are just the things off the top of my head. We're on the verge of a lot of huge moments in a lot of areas. Just late last year they were able to reach fusion ignition. That's massive. Then later last year they repeated it. Then in Dec they reached it "over and over". And those are just some of the things that could happen faster than ppl think. 

 

1 hour ago, chef said:

 

just finished Zeihan's The End Of The World Is Just Beginning.   almost entirely a gloom and doom future (albeit rosier for the US in his view) rooted in fractured supply chains and the domino effect from there, and demographic impact of aging populations vs fewer and fewer kids.    not sure why telling you that as bet you already read it.  I think he might be a bit myopic on his own focal points and gloss over a long human history of adaptation and innovation as challenges arise.  also so focused on US no longer ensuring safe passage for world wide shipping... and Red Sea alone this week might undermine that thesis.  still, I like following his logic as he forces one to consider impact of concepts not always mentioned in MSM.  though I laugh how often his topics from 2-5 years ago become MSM headlines now.  also, nice he tries to put a bit of a smiley face on a morbid presentation.  if you can't laugh you'll cry right?

 

Honestly I think he's a little too logical. It's like when he says the reason Russia wants to expand to occupy the land routes into their land and that's the only way they'll feel secure... I think Putin wants to rebuild the old USSR. It's not about security. And a lot of other things kinda like that.

 

Edited January 19, 2024 by reo

[Starkiller]

All the technology in the world isn’t enough to change the greed and avarice of the corporate behemoths. Things like climate change and massive environmental pollution of plastics and chemicals is largely a product of the drive for ever bigger profits, and almost as much as it is about convenience and cost for consumers. And they aren’t going to just magically start sacrificing their bottom line to benefit the environment. 

[MadMax]

8 hours ago, Starkiller said:

All the technology in the world isn’t enough to change the greed and avarice of the corporate behemoths. Things like climate change and massive environmental pollution of plastics and chemicals is largely a product of the drive for ever bigger profits, and almost as much as it is about convenience and cost for consumers. And they aren’t going to just magically start sacrificing their bottom line to benefit the environment. 

Yep, this cat is out of the bag.

[Justafan]

Even if all US emissions were stopped, China and India and other developing countries around the world are going to produce more than enough to impact climate change regardless of what the US does. I'm not saying we shouldn't do anything but it isn't realistic to expect parents to intentionally put their kids in poverty or diminish their own wealth on a large scale in order to slow down an abstract idea that is sometimes difficult to see in terms of direct impact to them and theirs.

 

The answer, in my opinion, depends far more on technology and innovation rather than destroying the economy to not even change anything. I'm not saying that companies should be allowed to be irresponsible or that we shouldn't move as fast as possible toward more green alternatives clean initiatives, and renewable sources but I think a lot of people have unrealistic expectations when it comes to climate change. 

[MadMax]

 

@Little Earl@headhunter@El Guapoand whichever other of you guys I may have ignored,  get in here and weigh in.

 

And before you label me as an open border guy, I know the immigration issue is a horrific mess.  But I also know we're set up as the great melting pot.  We just happen to be butted up against Central America, where poverty and oppression run rampant.  It's a tough spot to be in, while I don't know if the Biden administration has all the answers, or even a lot of the answers, it doesn't help that many repuglican members of congress are blocking any funding he asks for to try to help, all in the spirit of hamstringing him, politically.

 

Edited January 21, 2024 by MadMax

[MadMax]

Bring it.

Edited January 21, 2024 by MadMax

[Number9]

5 hours ago, MadMax said:

 

@Little Earl@headhunter@El Guapoand whichever other of you guys I may have ignored,  get in here and weigh in.

 

And before you label me as an open border guy, I know the immigration issue is a horrific mess.  But I also know we're set up as the great melting pot.  We just happen to be butted up against Central America, where poverty and oppression run rampant.  It's a tough spot to be in, while I don't know if the Biden administration has all the answers, or even a lot of the answers, it doesn't help that many repuglican members of congress are blocking any funding he asks for to try to help, all in the spirit of hamstringing him, politically.

I think it is a larger problem in the minds of the voting public that the dems need to address with a recognizable plan.  It would be smart for America to properly address the political football of the last 30+ years.  Trump probably oversaw the largest influx in history and he's running telling people he'll fix it.  No examples to show what he did when in office for FOUR YEARS.  Just wasted resources and increases in the flow of immigrants.

 

People are greedy.  One segment is seduced by the idea massive tax cuts for the rich corporations will somehow result in the betterment of the services they love.  Now, the message is these migrants will receive support from our system they complain is not giving us enough.  

 

This bogieman is real.  Commonsense says an increase in people willing to work for lower and illegal low wages puts downward pressure on wages across the country.  Americans feel the livable median income of 104K annually isn't easy to live on.  The deplorables can understand if more people work cheap the rich will pay you less money.

 

Greed.  I love all people, but I'm humping it to just be an average Joe in America.  I don't have to have a mansion, but I also don't want to be forced to a lower standard of living.  We do enough.  We don't even get credit for all we do to help people around the world.  Ukraine.  Where did Israel get all those nukes?  No telling how much we sent to Hawaii.  We fight, protect people's rights all over the world, now you're saying I can get by with less?  

 

My kids even less?

[El Guapo]

7 hours ago, MadMax said:

 

@Little Earl@headhunter@El Guapoand whichever other of you guys I may have ignored,  get in here and weigh in.

 

And before you label me as an open border guy, I know the immigration issue is a horrific mess.  But I also know we're set up as the great melting pot.  We just happen to be butted up against Central America, where poverty and oppression run rampant.  It's a tough spot to be in, while I don't know if the Biden administration has all the answers, or even a lot of the answers, it doesn't help that many repuglican members of congress are blocking any funding he asks for to try to help, all in the spirit of hamstringing him, politically.

 

Wait a minute. You and your buddies have been allowing people in without any consequences or even attempt at documentation. You railed against anyone who questioned it… like this asshole in the clip. You labeled anyone who did not want this level of illegal immigration as a racist xenophobe. You lauded sanctuary cities. You ignored the trafficking and the horrific consequences of fentanyl overdoses mostly as a result of unchecked consequences. You railed against Florida and Texas busing migrants.

 

And then, reality in Chicago and NewYork set in and the financial and criminal and political consequences of this crazy shit sets in and those leftists mayors are now pleading for help. And in an election year, the Democrats and Joe and Mayorkas are getting rightfully hammered. And now you are asking for a solution? Get outta here…Its not happening in an election year. And yes, Republicans did little to fix it before. It sucks but its called politics. And yes, the old adage that democrats want voters and republicans want cheap labor is not untrue. And yes, most of the construction around Nashville is done by migrants who are working their ass of. And I gladly take 10 working migrants instead of the criminals in this country that are completely worthless.

 

Here is my solution:

 

Take a fair amount of monies sent to Ukraine and help fix the borders by increasing security and more guards as well as immigration officials.

 

Spend more money on processing legal and documented immigrants from central and South America as well as all other countries willing to go through the process. Prioritize those with skills and education. We should have a liberal policy but with control and documentation. 

 

 No persons with facial tats get in.

 

Shoot all drug traffickers on sight.

 

Immediate deportation if guilty of a crime in the US.

 

Pay schools, hospitals, and doctors for unpaid care.

 

 Change birthright laws.

 

hammer away with your charges of my anger and gullibility 

 

 

 

[reo]

2 hours ago, El Guapo said:

Take a fair amount of monies sent to Ukraine and help fix the borders by increasing security and more guards as well as immigration officials.

 

Why would you have to take money from Ukraine?

[El Guapo]

Not an absolute. But I wonder how many millionaires we are creating in Ukraine.  But since no one really gives a crap where the money comes from just tack the expenses and increase the debt and deficit.

[Justafan]

I think a lot of people underestimate how bad the budget is. The government needs to downsize social security - increase it for the poor but eliminate it for those with money, downsize Medicare, drop failed universal healthcare, stop student loan forgiveness, reform the federal workforce, downsize the military, and eliminate some of the useless organizations and stop foreign aid to countries who take our money but then refuse to work with us when we ask.

 

Then take some of that money and secure the damn border. 

 

It would be a mistake to stop funding for Ukraine and Israel. If anything, send them more. Proxy wars are far cheaper than actual wars. 

 

Oh, and I forgot, repeal the tax cuts and corporate subsidies and close tax loopholes for the ultra-rich while you're at it. Money isn't the problem. The way we spend money is retarded. That's the problem. 

Edited January 21, 2024 by Justafan