A boil that needs lancing . . . Weinstein et al.

[Nonc Hilaire]

What is missing are class action suits by the Screen Actor's Guild. The casting couch has been a trope for decades, and SAG has been silent so far when they should be in the vanguard demanding reform.

I don't know if musicians and models have unions, but those professions are just as bad.

[Typhoon]

I haven't seen that 30+ plus people I have seen this being push by the Fake News outlets NYT and WaPo I have seen that people that worked for Biden and Hillary are at least some of those making the allegations.

Anything you don't like is Fake News. Real clever. NYT and WaPo have been doing phenomenal reporting. Nobody on this forum has found more reliable, trustworthy, or professional sources. You've all devolved into reporting Breitbart/InfoWars/Reason/YouTube celebrities. Sad!

But OK do you believe that Bill Clinton should have resigned when he was accused of Rape by so many women? And remember Bill Clinton paid out $850K to Paula Jones

More deflection. Given the zeal with which the GOP, self-proclaimed arbiters of morality that they are, pursued that case, the onus is on them to police their own ranks. And at any rate, Bill Clinton is persona non grata in progressive circles these days. Looks like progressives keep progressing but the right just keeps sinking lower. Deplorable!

Hollowood has covered up for sexaul predators for decades while climing the moral high ground Largely I might add, through the Hollowood sexual THUG Harvey Weinstein's efforts at supporting a left wign agenda.

Absolutely true. Many circles conceal sexual predators in their midst. Especially where money and power intersect. But in the end, it's those "politically correct" liberals that have been making the most fuss about it and leading the way on outing these people, from Ellen Pao and the VC world to feminist activists and the current Weinstein fallout. Meanwhile, conservatives have contributed zero to national discourse. Let's remember what you were doing during this time: defending p*ssygrabber and serial philanderer Donald Trump and pedophile Roy Moore. Congratulations!

Exchanging gotcha's to claim that either the US Left or Right holds the relative moral high ground is infantile.

Sexual abuse and exploitation have been practised by the powerful regardless of politics since the beginning of civilization.

[Zack Morris]

Oh? From a former NY Times reporter.

‘Harvey Weinstein’s Media Enablers’? The New York Times Is One of Them

The bottom line is that NYT reporters unearthed the story and, ultimately, prevailed. Not one of the conservative outlets knew anything about it, not because of internal politics or external pressure, but because they do propaganda, not real reporting.

CNN is a joke and has been for a long time. Peddling infotainment.

That's fair. But despite this, it's still head and shoulders above the alt media and Faux News. CNN's reporters are credible (don't confuse the opinion shows with their reporting) and when they make errors, immediately retract them, unlike even Faux News, which drags its feet and then tries to bury retractions, if they happen at all.

The NYT and WaPo are riding on the reputation they once had, which may not be as deserved as one might think given their history of stooging for government interests.

This is a false statement. You've been reading too much alt media (like "Reason" -- LOL!). The NYT continues to have stellar reporting and in terms of US political reporting, WaPo leads the way. They've cultivated a formidable network of sources and despite the plainspoken tone of their articles, provide substantive analysis from multiple points of view.

Such media have devolved from substantiating any allegations before publishing them re "Deep Throat" to publishing unsubstantiated allegations, as long as they serve their agenda, sometimes followed by retractions. Little difference today between the NYT and, say, Vox.

False. You don't even know what you're talking about. You've been absorbing too much right wing agitprop on this forum and judging by the ill-informed sources you like to cite. The NYT and WaPo's reporting is heavily sourced and relies on independent corroboration. The Moore story, for example, was uncovered by pure happenstance, after which the WaPo spoke with more than 30 individuals before breaking their news. Their digging caught the attention of the Moore campaign, which then turned to Breitbart to draft preemptive propaganda.

Most of the "unsubstantiated" allegations about Trump also turned out to be truthful to the original reporting, by the way.

I'll preempt any claims that this is an endorsement for the mirror looney right sites. It is not. The world is not binary.
Rather, one has to read the Anglosphere MSM with the same skepticism that was once reserved for Pravda and the People's Daily and which still applies to the latter two.

I think we all understand that there are biases and omissions in the media. But your essential claim that the NYT and WaPo are not leading authoritative papers is completely false. Certainly nothing outside the Anglosphere comes close, especially when covering US affairs. The NYT, WaPo, Bloomberg, etc. are at least as good if not better than any of their foreign counterparts.

[Zack Morris]

Exchanging gotcha's to claim that either the US Left or Right holds the relative moral high ground is infantile.

You like to pretend there is a moral equivalence but there is not: the left generally does have the moral high ground right now in the United States, despite its flaws. It also has the intellectual high ground but that's been the case for a long time.

[Typhoon]

Yada, yada, yada.

In the Anglosphere, Reuters [Canadian], the National Post [Canadian], the Economist [UK], the Financial Times [UK, owned by Nikkei Shimbun] and the Spectator [UK] are all superior media sources and publications.

With regards to the looney left, the Grauniad [UK] sets the standard for loonyness. The US equivalents are but pale imitations.

[Zack Morris]

Drawing a moral equivalence between Trump and every other President and justifying inaction and stasis on the basis that no one is perfect essentially transforms your commentary into meaningless white noise. You should really think about that.

[Typhoon]

Drawing a moral equivalence between Trump and every other President and justifying inaction and stasis on the basis that no one is perfect essentially transforms your commentary into meaningless white noise. You should really think about that.

That's rich. I do think rather then accepting as revealed truth and parroting whatever vested interests in the media are promoting.

[Zack Morris]

Drawing a moral equivalence between Trump and every other President and justifying inaction and stasis on the basis that no one is perfect essentially transforms your commentary into meaningless white noise. You should really think about that.

That's rich. I do think rather then accepting as revealed truth and parroting whatever vested interests in the media are promoting.

Some vested interests are better aligned with the country's fate as a whole than others. Most of us are very happy with where the country was heading prior to Orange Hitler. And it will eventually revert to that course, albeit not without having taken significant and possibly permanent damage.

[Typhoon]

Drawing a moral equivalence between Trump and every other President and justifying inaction and stasis on the basis that no one is perfect essentially transforms your commentary into meaningless white noise. You should really think about that.

That's rich. I do think rather then accepting as revealed truth and parroting whatever vested interests in the media are promoting.

Some vested interests are better aligned with the country's fate as a whole than others. Most of us are very happy with where the country was heading prior to Orange Hitler. And it will eventually revert to that course, albeit not without having taken significant and possibly permanent damage.

Drama much?

That's democracy for you. Suck it up.

[Typhoon]

Exchanging gotcha's to claim that either the US Left or Right holds the relative moral high ground is infantile.

You like to pretend there is a moral equivalence but there is not: the left generally does have the moral high ground right now in the United States, despite its flaws. It also has the intellectual high ground but that's been the case for a long time.

A delusion.

One that has resulted in the Demopublicans being the minority party at the federal and state level.

It used to be that the Chinese and Russian Politburos were filled with ancient corrupt geriatrics*, bereft of ideas, clinging to power.

Now it is the US DNC and RNC.

*now they are filled with younger corrupt opportunists and ideologues

[Simple Minded]

Drawing a moral equivalence between Trump and every other President and justifying inaction and stasis on the basis that no one is perfect essentially transforms your commentary into meaningless white noise. You should really think about that.

That's rich. I do think rather then accepting as revealed truth and parroting whatever vested interests in the media are promoting.

Way back in the days of spoken ORZ, the proper reply to Zack's claim would be "that's the pot calling the kettle black."

now, "That's rich" is a better reply. I salute your tact.

[Simple Minded]

Exchanging gotcha's to claim that either the US Left or Right holds the relative moral high ground is infantile.

You like to pretend there is a moral equivalence but there is not: the left generally does have the moral high ground right now in the United States, despite its flaws. It also has the intellectual high ground but that's been the case for a long time.

sometimes, well always actually, actions speak louder than words:

5MGhgGDhnWg

"Your righteous indignations's just a new fangled hood"

[Simple Minded]

Exchanging gotcha's to claim that either the US Left or Right holds the relative moral high ground is infantile.

yep. it get's more difficult each year to tell the difference between a Zack Morris and a Mr. Perfect, or a Mr. Perfect and an Enki.

Yet both sides are so certain of their moral and intellectual superiority.

I suspect it has always been such with Crusaders promoting their religion.

[Typhoon]

Exchanging gotcha's to claim that either the US Left or Right holds the relative moral high ground is infantile.

yep. it get's more difficult each year to tell the difference between a Zack Morris and a Mr. Perfect, or a Mr. Perfect and an Enki.

Yet both sides are so certain of their moral and intellectual superiority.

I suspect it has always been such with Crusaders promoting their religion.

The greatest evils in the history of civilization have been perpetrated not by crooks and con men, but by those who believe that their dogmas are absolute. Those possessed of a "monstrous certainty*".

*Jacob Bronowski

[Zack Morris]

Exchanging gotcha's to claim that either the US Left or Right holds the relative moral high ground is infantile.

You like to pretend there is a moral equivalence but there is not: the left generally does have the moral high ground right now in the United States, despite its flaws. It also has the intellectual high ground but that's been the case for a long time.

sometimes, well always actually, actions speak louder than words:

5MGhgGDhnWg

"Your righteous indignations's just a new fangled hood"

You're right! Just look at the actions of the Trump administration and Deplorable voters compared to the mere verbiage that caused this professor's liberal employer to sack her.

[Zack Morris]

A delusion.

One that has resulted in the Demopublicans being the minority party at the federal and state level.

You don't seem to comprehend the situation very well. That's okay. Your sources are right-wing extremists like Mr. Perfect and Reason Magazine. Let me enlighten you: there are more Democrats than Republicans. Trump lost the popular vote by 3 million votes. Network effects mean that economic prosperity clusters in particular cities/regions. You of all people should understand this given that the situation is even more extreme in Japan, where Tokyo and Osaka, and maybe a couple of other large cities, have decimated rural communities.

Due to archaic peculiarities in the apportionment of legislative representation, Wyoming voters have far more voting power than any individual Californian, despite the latter being the dominant driver of the US economy and culture (both popular and intellectual). Politics is supposed to be about reaching consensus, not "winning" at any cost, but the GOP went off the rails beginning sometime in the 1980's with the ascent of nefarious turds like Newt Gingrich, and the flipping of racist bigots from the Democratic Party to the GOP all across the south. Coupled with the rise of extremist talk radio, the GOP have continuously reached new lows in demagoguery to the point where now, their ignorant voters are impervious to facts and despite having a Congressional majority, they cannot muster any legislation.

The situation is obviously untenable and will naturally sort itself out. Rural backwaters are not suddenly going to become prosperous on the backs of Real America. Overall US culture continues to change in surprising ways, largely in sharp but permanent lurches, often toward more progressive and open attitudes. Rule-by-technicality is how conservatives have put the nation in a headlock. The regions currently politically ascendant have always been laggards in terms of social change, never leaders.

The mechanics of how this will all play out are uncertain but the outcome is all but certain: the GOP will destroy US governing institutions and judicial norms (they've now astoundingly appointed a record number of judges deemed totally unqualified by the ABA, including conservative bloggers who have never tried a case before!), cede global hegemony to China (which is going to be really bad for you), and will flame out as a party leaving a reconstituted Democratic Party to pick up the shattered pieces.

It has never been less acceptable to be outed as a Republican in professional circles. Is that unfair discrimination? Probably. But this alone is going to decimate conservatives.

[Typhoon]

Well, that is how the US Electoral College works.

To win the POTUS election, one has to win the Electoral College.

Odd that the superior intellects at the DNC could not figure it out. It's not like it's their first time.

Come to think of it, the US Senate is similar. Two senators from each state, be it California, North Dakota, or Rhode Island.

Probably a good thing otherwise New York and LA/SF would run the country and everyone else's view/vote would count for nada.

As for predictions about the future, they're like hemorrhoids.

[Simple Minded]

As for predictions about the future, they're like hemorrhoids.

"WE ARE THE PARTY OF THE FUTURE!! AND ALWAYS WILL BE!!"

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zsRo0I3YdXg


Just since Carter was president, I've lost track of how many times each party has claimed that they had banished the other party to the hinterlands forever.

"The few elections we recently won are extremely significant. They indicate the superior of our viewpoints, the wisdom of the American people, and prove we will remain the party in power."

"The several dozen elections we recently lost are not indicative of anything. Except maybe that the common man Is deplorable and too stupid to realize our superiority."

In my lifetime, it appears America seems to dislike one party holding the Whitehouse and a majority in the House and Senate for more than 2-6 years. Would not surprise me to see the GOP pick up seats in the Senate in 2018, and lose the majority in the House.

Fascinates me to no end to see individuals voluntarily don the shackles of group identity. They work so hard to reach back centuries before their birth to search for their grievances or evidence of their superiority, then blindly assume that their own current opinions, perspectives, and group identity will be significant for decades, centuries, or all time to come.

[Simple Minded]

Well, that is how the US Electoral College works.

To win the POTUS election, one has to win the Electoral College.

Odd that the superior intellects at the DNC could not figure it out. It's not like it's their first time.

"Against stupidity (and even deplorable) even the gods themselves struggle in vain."

[Zack Morris]

Well, that is how the US Electoral College works.

To win the POTUS election, one has to win the Electoral College.

Odd that the superior intellects at the DNC could not figure it out. It's not like it's their first time.

I'm surprised the superior intellects on this forum fail to grasp that one cannot appeal to politically disparate regions of the country without alienating one block of voters or another. Clinton becoming a Republican candidate would not have been a viable strategy. I think the Clinton campaign was well aware of what they were doing but failed to energize Democratic voters that do exist in certain swing districts. At some point, the Democratic will be reconstituted in a form that is more appealing to these critical voters and will wrestle power back from the Deplorables.

There are things liberals can do to tilt the advantage to their side again. A few well placed Silicon Valley satellite campuses could very well flip some districts. Nothing like the combination of high education and high income to get people to vote Democrat.

Come to think of it, the US Senate is similar. Two senators from each state, be it California, North Dakota, or Rhode Island.

But not the House, although gerrymandering has cost Democrats some edge. Hence the GOP's scorched earth push to pack the Federal judiciary with ludicrously unqualified judges, like the blogger who has never tried a federal case in his career!

Probably a good thing otherwise New York and LA/SF would run the country and everyone else's view/vote would count for nada.

Their views can be represented proportionally. In such a scenario, NYC/LA/SF carry an advantage but it's hard to argue that they should not given that they are the dominant population centers of the US.

[Typhoon]

Well, that is how the US Electoral College works.

To win the POTUS election, one has to win the Electoral College.

Odd that the superior intellects at the DNC could not figure it out. It's not like it's their first time.

I'm surprised the superior intellects on this forum fail to grasp that one cannot appeal to politically disparate regions of the country without alienating one block of voters or another.

1984: Republican Ronald Reagan won 525 electoral votes against Democrat Walter Mondale, who only received 13 electoral votes.

It can be done.

Clinton becoming a Republican candidate would not have been a viable strategy. I think the Clinton campaign was well aware of what they were doing but failed to energize Democratic voters that do exist in certain swing districts.

Registered Democrats alone won'g get it done.
At some point, the Democratic will be reconstituted in a form that is more appealing to these critical voters and will wrestle power back from the Deplorables.

I did not realize how strong class divisions are in the US until I lived there.
Midwesterners were mostly okay, down to earth as per their stereotype, but too many senior colleagues from the coasts were conceited pretentious classist pricks under the delusion that being knowledgeable about their highly specialized field made them wise in all matters.

They received their comeuppance after lying to the US Congress about the cost of a major new project based on the naive belief that if the military-industrial complex does it, then surely so can they. Only to have it cancelled once the actual costs spiralled out of control. Even offering to name it after POTUS Reagan, whom they despised was not emough to save it.

[Zack Morris]

1984: Republican Ronald Reagan won 525 electoral votes against Democrat Walter Mondale, who only received 13 electoral votes.

Different era. The country is more polarized now. Right wing hate radio was only beginning to take off and the GOP's current anti-consensus model of political extremism was only a twinkle in the eyes of the likes of Gingrich et al. Obama's victory is a more relevant model these days.

I did not realize how strong class divisions are in the US until I lived there.

It's gotten worse.

Midwesterners were mostly okay, down to earth as per their stereotype, but too many senior colleagues from the coasts were conceited pretentious classist pricks under the delusion that being knowledgeable about their highly specialized field made them wise in all matters.

Well, not we have even worse: the mirror opposite. People who delight in ignorance. This is reflected in Trump's appalling appointees. It's literally the Trump University model -- whereby Trump conned rubes out of their life savings by offering real estate "courses" taught by former Buffalo Wild Wings employees -- applied at the Federal level.

[Mr. Perfect]

You like to pretend there is a moral equivalence but there is not: the left generally does have the moral high ground right now in the United States, despite its flaws. It also has the intellectual high ground but that's been the case for a long time.

Lol.

You are the party that owns the largest sex scandal in US history. Hundreds of offenders and enablers, several hundred victims, all Democrat Liberal, a huge chunk intimately connected with the most powerful Democrats of all time, while even people totally disconnected like me knew what was going on. Democrat sexual predators outnumber Republican sexual predators 100 to 1, at least.

You are the party that is with no precedent trying to actively have a duly elected President overthrown or assassinated or unjustifiably impeached. You are an enemy of Democracy itself.

You are the party that exploits the blood of dead jews, minimizing the holocaust by calling an elected President a Nazi while he has a jewish son in law as one of his closest aides. To date, zero dead jews at the hands of Donald Trump.

You are the party that nominated the most corrupt person in US history as the leader of your party. Nobody in US history has made more money off of politics, domestic and foreign money than the Clintons. There is not even a close 2nd place. Maybe Nancy Pelosi. But your party owns the record, the GOP is not in the running.

You are the party that also called George Bush a Hitler for his foreign policy, actively rooting for your own nation to lose a war. And when you replaced him you continued his Nazi policy with almost no alteration, in the process stupidly creating ISIS and turning over Libya to terrorists for no particular reason. The slave trade now exists in the country you destroyed. You destroyed Libya while drawing red lines all over Syria, while playing Vietnam style whack a mole leaving hundreds of thousands dead, keeping a war going you had no business interfering in and no intention of winning. You authored an extra legal drone program that seems to exist for on other reason than to kill innocent brown people for sport. You also authored the greatest assault ever on the 4th amendment with your domestic spying programs and sexual assault policies at airports along with other programs.

You are the party of slavery, Jim Crow, segregation, KKK, government poverty creation, soviet appeasement, Islamic terror appeasement, abortion, and destruction of the human family.

Your intellectual superiority under obama created the worst economy since the Great Depression. Lowest GDP growth since WWII, generational unemployment records, record debts, poverty, homelessness, food stamp dependency and wealth inequality. The first year of Trump is better than any year under obama.

If that is intellectual superiority then let me be eternally inferior.

But the naked truth is liberal Democrats are stupid and evil, and the American people have seen you for what you are. Your durian President presided over the largest political collapse of all time in this country, and he earned every single seat that he lost.

[Mr. Perfect]

Different era. The country is more polarized now. Right wing hate radio was only beginning to take off and the GOP's current anti-consensus model of political extremism was only a twinkle in the eyes of the likes of Gingrich et al. Obama's victory is a more relevant model these days.

It's gotten worse.

The GOP is 60% of all government, close to an all time record. We've rarely been more united. You simply live in an low information insular bubble.

[Mr. Perfect]

You don't seem to comprehend the situation very well. That's okay. Your sources are right-wing extremists like Mr. Perfect and Reason Magazine. Let me enlighten you: there are more Democrats than Republicans. Trump lost the popular vote by 3 million votes.

Independent voters skew GOP, more Democrats cross parties in the polling booth than GOP, resulting in GOP arc of dominance started in 1980. US politics 101.

Several million more people voted GOP than Democrat last election. You guys are finished.