Re: continuing proofs America is wacko [2]

by Mrs Figg Fri May 09, 2014 9:05 pm

that would explain Petty. Only he is a tight ass(hole)

by Pettytyrant101 Fri May 09, 2014 9:10 pm

by Eldorion Fri May 09, 2014 9:30 pm

Pettytyrant101 wrote:I remember watching this at the time, was funny then still funny now, not least because the whole scandal was weird from a European perspective- President gets blowjob from woman who is not his wife.

The scandal is pretty weird from an American perspective too, at least when looking back at it. JFK is one of the most beloved Presidents since WWII, and he had more affairs in his administration than Bill Clinton had breakfasts. Ultimately, the case against Clinton was flimsy (which is why they failed to get a conviction in the Senate) and he's remembered fairly favorably these days. Honestly, I think he may have benefited in the long run because the Lewinsky thing overshadowed all of his other scandals, some of which were far more worrying.

Pettytyrant101 wrote:Maybe the UShobbits can enlighten us as to why they are so scared of sex.

My preceding paragraph notwithstanding, there certainly are a lot of hang-ups about sex in American public discourse. I think that Figgy is on the right track with the Puritan thing; those guys cast a long shadow over American history. Plus we're a relatively religious country, compared to other post-industrial ones, and many religions make a big deal out of sex. There's been a lot of research into how the lack of an established church in America may have actually increased the prominence of religion in policymaking, just on a (somewhat) informal level.

by Eldorion Fri May 09, 2014 9:34 pm

David H wrote:Though if you're interested, watching reruns of the Bill O'Reilly shows as he flip-flops on the Lewinsky issue under pressure from FOX could probably be good fun!

I hadn't heard of that before. Laughing

Was O'Reilly of the "fucking interns is a-okay" school of thought?

by halfwise Fri May 09, 2014 9:43 pm

My favorite joke from that period:

"The Center for Disease Control has just announced you can get sex from aides."

by David H Fri May 09, 2014 9:48 pm

Eldorion wrote:
David H wrote:Though if you're interested, watching reruns of the Bill O'Reilly shows as he flip-flops on the Lewinsky issue under pressure from FOX could probably be good fun!

I hadn't heard of that before. :lol:Was O'Reilly of the "fucking interns is a-okay" school of thought?

Just from memory it went something like this:

Bill: You know what? After 2 weeks, I'm sick of this story. There's more important stuff to talk about, and besides I may not like Clinton but he's still our president and deserves a certain amount of respect. I've got SOME journalistic standards!

FOX: Very Well. You're entitled to your opinion. And by the way, we're moving your time slot to the third circle of Hell.

Bill: Clinton's a pervert, Monica's a slut. and Hillary smokes cigars!

by Mrs Figg Fri May 09, 2014 9:56 pm

maybe, probably, when Americeur was a very young country the founding fathers wanted it to be as different from those decadent Europeans as possible, you know start afresh without sin so strict moral laws were put inplace to stop any lawlessness in a wild and 'savage' (from their perspective) land. Maybe thats why they were so evangelical because they as Europeans were faced for the first time with a truly alien and ancient culture they didnt understand, so they needed to dominate it before the 'heathens' dominated them. it must have scared the Puritans shitless. They Christianized as the English and French Christianized the South Pacific and everywhere else.

by Eldorion Fri May 09, 2014 10:08 pm

David H wrote:Just from memory it went something like this:

Bill: You know what? After 2 weeks, I'm sick of this story. There's more important stuff to talk about, and besides I may not like Clinton but he's still our president and deserves a certain amount of respect. I've got SOME journalistic standards!

How times have changed. Sad

by David H Fri May 09, 2014 10:10 pm

Speaking strictly from out West, puritanism has had very little to do with it.

Up until about 1960 the town 45 minutes north of here had the largest concentration of brothels per capita of anywhere in the nation I'm told. The 'proper ladies' of the town considered that to be a good thing, as it allowed the loggers, mill workers, and sailors an outlet for their "animal lusts" without threatening the virtue of the "good people". It was still really the Wild West out here within living memory.

Because of that, the memories of the vice and corruption aren't far below the surface. That has an affect on these discussions, no matter what side of the line you're on.

by halfwise Fri May 09, 2014 10:19 pm

Interesting. There was a seething underbelly to Victorian England as well, might be a parallel. But I don't think it's much of a factor in the more genteel midwest on to the eastern seaboard.

Overall I think Eldo's point about early separation between church and state plays a larger role: the community scope creates more trust and attachment to the church as compared to the more institutionalized presence of Europe of the time. So people actually pay attention to church related mores.

During the Lewinsky incident it was the church going folk who were most scandalized. Felt we had been embarrassed in front of the world. Little did they suspect it was their own embarrassment that really shocked the world.

by halfwise Sat May 10, 2014 7:46 pm

Income distribution in America. This is a very well thought out video...I used to think our progressive tax system was about right, now I'm not so sure. Perhaps the richest people are already plowing their sky-high incomes into investment rather than taxes, but I dunno.

http://www.upworthy.com/9-out-of-10-americans-are-completely-wrong-about-this-mind-blowing-fact-2

by halfwise Fri May 16, 2014 1:37 am

Republican governor debate in the potato state. I need say no more. Don't have time to watch the whole thing, but can't wait.

http://news.yahoo.com/idaho-just-hosted-the-best-political-debate-of-the-year-214051999.html

Edit: OMG, if limited in time, watch the first 11 minutes. It's a friggin' Saturday Night Live skit! Razz

by Eldorion Fri May 16, 2014 2:36 am

I think I see George RR Martin on the left. The other candidates look familiar too but I can't place them. scratch

by Pettytyrant101 Fri May 16, 2014 2:46 am

Its funny, but only till you stop and think that these are the choices real live people in Idaho have for their governance.
America you are doomed. Sad

by halfwise Fri May 16, 2014 3:15 am

Oh, we muddle through. I think America is carried on the backs of its unelected civil servants, who for the most part (despite many horror stories to the contrary) actually do take their jobs very seriously.

Not entirely sure where this came from, though I believe it trickles down from the election process: in some way, no matter how tenuous, somebody up top is theoretically being held accountable.

by halfwise Fri May 16, 2014 3:26 am

Oh, and for further proof that America is wacko, I had lunch with a couple people from our local office of the National Weather Service (NWS). Weather stations located on airports are the backbone of the surface observation system, for they are well situated in uniform grassy fields away from large objects that can muck with wind and temperature.

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) maintains these. They make measurements every minute, but provide data to the weather service only once per hour.

But why? You ask. You'd think the FAA would have a vested interest in improving the quality of weather forecasts. For legal reasons which nobody quite understands, the FAA has been unwilling to turn the data over to any other government agency. But now they are discussing it. Talks between the lawyers of the FAA and NWS have been going on for days.

It's physical data describing the free flowing atmosphere. What the fuck?

by Eldorion Fri May 16, 2014 3:29 am

Bureaucratic pissing match or inter-departmental lovers' quarrel?

by Pettytyrant101 Fri May 16, 2014 3:29 am

Is this final proof that in the US everything is owned by someone somewhere? Even the air?

by halfwise Fri May 16, 2014 3:31 am

It's proof that anything in America can potentially be converted into a lawsuit. Mad

by Pettytyrant101 Fri May 16, 2014 3:39 am

So what you are basically saying is in the US lawyers own everything.

You might want to think of emigrating Blue. Nod

by bungobaggins Fri May 16, 2014 4:29 am

halfwise wrote:Republican governor debate in the potato state. I need say no more. Don't have time to watch the whole thing, but can't wait.

http://news.yahoo.com/idaho-just-hosted-the-best-political-debate-of-the-year-214051999.html

Edit: OMG, if limited in time, watch the first 11 minutes. It's a friggin' Saturday Night Live skit!

Oh wow.

Reminds me of this guy.

by halfwise Fri May 16, 2014 4:48 am

.............. Shocked

EDIT:

by Eldorion Fri May 16, 2014 6:45 pm

Pettytyrant101 wrote:Its funny, but only till you stop and think that these are the choices real live people in Idaho have for their governance.
America you are doomed.

I did a bit of reading up on this after finally watching the video (and it was amazing lol!

). Apparently the incumbent governor, Butch Otter (seriously Laughing

) invited the wacky guys to the debate because he's being challenged from the right, and I guess he wanted to discredit that branch of his party. The Fulcher guy hasn't lost it like the other two guys, but he probably won't benefit from agreeing with the loonies on some of their complaints while the governor gets to portray himself as the sole informed voice of reason.

by David H Fri May 16, 2014 7:21 pm

Eldorion wrote:....while the governor gets to portray himself as the sole informed voice of reason.

Unfortunately that's not always an advantage in an Idaho election. pirat

by halfwise Tue May 20, 2014 12:55 pm

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/chipotle-dont-bring-guns-stores-215921716--finance.html

The wacko part comes in reading the comments. Can't seem to have a calm conversation about this topic. I asked why somebody was so afraid of a bunch of liberal burrito eaters and their kids that they had to bring an assault weapon to lunch, and it was voted out of existence in 30 seconds.

Have to give the National Rifle Association credit for actually providing a rather sane response to this:

Now we love AR-15s and AKs as much as anybody, and we know that these sorts of semiautomatic carbines are among the most popular, fastest selling firearms in America today. Texas, independent-minded and liberty-loving place that it is, doesn’t ban the carrying of loaded long guns in public, nor does it require a permit for this activity. Yet some so-called firearm advocates seem determined to change this.

Recently, demonstrators have been showing up in various public places, including coffee shops and fast food restaurants, openly toting a variety of tactical long guns. Unlicensed open carry of handguns is legal in about half the U.S. states, and it is relatively common and uncontroversial in some places.

Yet while unlicensed open carry of long guns is also typically legal in most places, it is a rare sight to see someone sidle up next to you in line for lunch with a 7.62 rifle slung across his chest, much less a whole gaggle of folks descending on the same public venue with similar arms.

Let’s not mince words, not only is it rare, it’s downright weird and certainly not a practical way to go normally about your business while being prepared to defend yourself. To those who are not acquainted with the dubious practice of using public displays of firearms as a means to draw attention to oneself or one’s cause, it can be downright scary. It makes folks who might normally be perfectly open-minded about firearms feel uncomfortable and question the motives of pro-gun advocates.

Of course, this being America, some people are resigning from the NRA in protest.