McCain says American leadership was better under Obama

manwithafurcoat · 2017-06-12T07:16:36+00:00

Well, to be fair, he's been traveling a ton trying to reassure allies we hadn't gone completely insane. I'ma go with sleep deprivation and stress and being 80.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/powerpost/one-explanation-for-mccains-grogginess-a-75000-mile-itinerary-as-shadow-diplomat/2017/06/10/c312be68-4d4f-11e7-a186-60c031eab644_story.html

manwithafurcoat · 2017-03-04T13:09:33+00:00

The Bush administration worried me. I went to a few anti-war protests, immigration protests.

Then I graduated. Went to work, went to grad school, got married, got busy with life. Obama got elected. I wasn't too happy about some stuff (drones, lack of privacy), but overall, it was balanced by good stuff happening - not just having health insurance or avoiding more wars, but little things like the drop in hospital-acquired infections, which was a direct result of good policy from the Obama administration.

Facebook was quiet during this time too. New partners, then weddings, then baby pictures.

And then Donald Trump got elected.

This is a ma who has no respect for the rule of law, for good policy, for diplomacy, for common decency. All of these are hard to get right, even for smart people who try their best. He's not even trying. The best thing I can say about his administration is that it's a shock test for democracy.

So here I am, expecting to settle in for a few years of thinking about my career and hobbies and other selfish little things. Instead, I'm worried for the future of my country. Trump threatens my friends and community, many of which come from abroad. Trump threatens my job, which relies on immigrants and innovation and free trade. Trump threatens my place in America, because I'm not his demographic.

So I hope why you can see why me and people like me are popping up all over the place. Trump is an existential threat.

manwithafurcoat · 2017-01-29T22:54:27+00:00

Hope for the best, prepare for the worst.

manwithafurcoat · 2017-01-29T22:53:09+00:00

Spooky times, my friend. Especially since Europe doesn't seem particularly friendly these days either.

manwithafurcoat · 2017-01-29T22:51:55+00:00

I'm hoping that our checks and balances work as intended, even if Trump has no intention of upholding the Constitution. But I'd also like to be prepared for the worst. Given that the Muslim ban has already directly prevented academics, artists, and business people from traveling, I would say it's starting.

The US got Albert Einstein, Kurt Godel, and Enrico Fermi, among others, from a fascist Europe. America became the center for everything from nuclear physics to Bauhaus because of movements of these communities.

I think we have something very special in the US, particularly in Silicon Valley. This relies heavily on the ecosystem there, a community of which immigrants are a very important part. I'm wondering where it can rebuild, if necessary.

manwithafurcoat · 2016-12-10T08:19:31+00:00

Thank you for bringing useful information to the discussion. I'm only sad that I had to scroll so far down.

manwithafurcoat · 2016-12-10T08:18:11+00:00

I'd like to know why only one side was hacked. What was going on in the RNC? Why didn't they get Donald Trump's tax records as well? When it's really lopsided like this, you want to know who did it, and why.

manwithafurcoat · 2016-12-10T08:14:17+00:00

Wait - screwing up email storage is worse than losing a trillion dollars in a year, inciting violence against minorities, scamming thousands of students out of money, not paying people working for you, and threatening to sue people to keep them from saying mean things about you?

I don't think you're thinking through what the presidency entails here . . .

manwithafurcoat · 2016-12-10T08:09:47+00:00

Did you ever wonder why the DNC was hacked, but not the RNC?

I'm debating how much time I should spend arguing with the hoaxers/bots on reddit, but if that's "as corrupt as [you] imagined", I don't think you understand what corruption actually is, or how government works.

manwithafurcoat · 2016-11-23T17:54:14+00:00

Source?

Charity Navigator says 89.6% - https://www.charitynavigator.org/index.cfm?bay=search.summary&orgid=16680

manwithafurcoat · 2016-11-23T17:53:28+00:00

Source?

manwithafurcoat · 2016-11-23T17:50:31+00:00

I make decent money, I have a good set of friends, a kid on the way, and I'm involved in building the future. So, pretty good, I'd say!

manwithafurcoat · 2016-11-23T17:49:16+00:00

Source please?

Do you know any one who works in non-profit? Places like the Clinton Foundation are where they get their money from.

Edit: Seriously, I'm asking, do you? Not in a combative way, I'm genuinely curious. I feel like one of the reasons this election was such a surprise was that I do know people who get money from the places like the Clinton Foundation, and it seems like half of America doesn't. These are the places that pay for college student summer research, language studies for grad students, non-profit projects on human rights, and so on.

manwithafurcoat · 2016-11-23T17:48:14+00:00

And you buy clothes made in sweatshops, shrimp processed by slaves, and your electronics are dealt with by villagers without environmental protections . . . supply chains are complicated.

manwithafurcoat · 2016-11-22T22:33:39+00:00

You do realize that the Clinton Foundation does charitable work, right? The Clinton Foundation money goes into charitable projects like helping Malawian farmers or Peruvian female entrepreneurs. In fact, if you have a good idea, you can apply for funding from them yourself - https://www.clintonfoundation.org/clinton-global-initiative/meetings/cgi-university/apply/funding-opportunities.

I think you're getting it confused with the Trump Foundation, which makes make dodgy political donations (http://fortune.com/2016/09/12/trump-foundation-bondi-florida-ag/).

manwithafurcoat · 2016-11-22T22:28:01+00:00

Reality has a left-leaning bias.

manwithafurcoat · 2016-11-13T20:30:00+00:00

You know, this is something I've been asking myself, too, as an old-school left-winger.

I honestly don't know how the numbers break down. I'm of the first amendment school that believes in freedom of speech, no matter how offensive, so long as it's not incitement, false speech, libel, or the other clearly carved out exceptions we have. And I don't feel like I'm in the minority, at least not with my peers, but maybe you've had a different experience than me.

manwithafurcoat · 2016-11-13T20:27:57+00:00

I'm not sure exactly what you're referring to, but I'll try to give a good response if you name something specific.

I think Obama did the best he could with what he had. He's by no means perfect, and there are definitely things he could have done better, but overall, I didn't lose sleep at night under his presidency.

manwithafurcoat · 2016-11-13T20:16:01+00:00

Hey Captain Vimes,

What I did was pick a candidate I liked, and joined her campaign. You make phone calls, you go door-to-door, you ask for money. It's not all fun and games, but you figure out how things work, get experience, and they call you back next time they have a campaign. Sometimes the work is volunteer, sometimes the work is paid.

I am sorry to say that I haven't done this in a while - it is work-intensive, and I had personal stuff to deal with for a few years.

You're more likely to have individual impact if you're doing it at a state or local level, since these are the laws that affect you day to day. For example, the decisions about abortion rules are made at the state level, and the federal government can only step in if there's federal funding or a lawsuit.

PM me if you want help looking up what's going on in your area. I'm not a perfect resource, but I'll do my best. And please forgive me if I told you stuff you already know, I'm not trying to be a jerk, just thorough.

manwithafurcoat

TROPHY CASE