skinny21

Can't recall if it's been mentioned, but I really enjoyed Sherlock. Wasn't sure I'd like it set in present day, but they did a great job. Off the beaten path, but I liked the Last Kingdom. Pretty fascinating look at Britain during the raiding and settlement of the Danes and the struggle for the Saxons to hold power. Focuses on a dude that gets captured by the Danes as a boy, raised by them, and then torn between loyalties to both groups. Netflix took over production from BBC for the second season - hopefully releasing sometime soon.

Dan Rather suggested constructing a monument with the names of prominent climate change deniers... at the water line in Miami. Said essentially he didn't think they'd want to be remembered that way and would likely step back a bit.

You know Jumbo, this administration has certainly been playing to (and making up) the fears of a significant swath of the population - their base- but I just realized* that they may be intentionally building up the fears of all those who oppose them as well - ie. creating terror by distorting reality, needling (or threatening) other nations, abandoning our allies, mass deporting citizens, appointing anathema cabinet picks, etc., etc. It's more than a bit scary that this might actually be their plan - terrify people enough to make them react... and then silence them. * I'm a bit slow sometimes Sidenote 1: I feel like every day that passes I find a tin foil hat on my head and I'm like "wait, what? How the hell did that get there?" Sidenote 2: I sort of have a running list in my head of bat**** crazy stuff that has happened regarding the administration and Congress, but I'm starting to think that a lot of it is overflowing - a compendium would be a brave (and welcome) undertaking for some intrepid soul. Edit: I'm also seriously concerned by the (potential?) interconnectedness of different things. For example - Immigrant Ban + Relaxed gun laws for mentally ill + No denouncement of Quebec shooter + Moving resources to Islamic Terrorism exclusively

Came across this as I was following my curiosity. Info on international students studying in the US. https://www.google.com/amp/www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-study-abroad-students-20161124-story,amp.html?client=safari I was actually trying to find out how many Iranian students were in the US. Answer's over 12,000 as of a few months ago.

If you truly do "wish you could get upset", then I would suggest starting with the difference between immigrants and refugees, then take a gander at the statistics, personal stories, the outcry of world leaders, etc. Or you could look into how potentially devastating this is regarding our security and the war on terror.

Someone forgot to get Hannity an Occam's Razor for Xmas. Occam's Razor - It'll save you time, money and make you look sharp.

It's probably the wrong venue (though I don't know where else to put it), but to continue the convo... I believe many bought into a some (or a lot of) of the BS directed towards HC. A lot of people thought Trump would change or didn't really mean much of what he said I don't really have a problem with the protest vote, persay, though there is obviously some culpability there. I find it ridiculous to place blame on HC supporters for the current situation (which is different from criticizing the campaign). There's a huge swath of the population that 1) voted Trump but weren't all that sure of him, 2) abstained from voting (whether from uncertainty, diffidence, laziness or in protest), or voted for another candidate because they didn't like the top 2. I really hope those folks can be persuaded to help this country (attempt) to regain it's footing over the next few years. I may be less of an optimist than I was a short time ago, but I find myself hopeful that this... blight wakes up the American population to the need for political engagement.

There should be more talk about our current vetting process. Seems like Trump's comments about our 'terrible' vetting process is not being questioned/criticized enough. Relating to that... here's an interview with David Miliband - Prez/CEO of the International Refugee Committee. Trumpcast is obviously partisan, but Miliband has a lot of interesting things to say. http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/slates-trumpcast

Yep. I'll mention that this is where the Trump vs Pence thing comes unglued. Pence would be absolutely awful for social issues, but Trump is downright dangerous for the country. At this point, I'm just praying that the administration wakes the hell up. Rachel Maddow pointed out that they've been caving under pressure so far, but less than two weeks in 'we've' kicked Mexico, threatened China, drawn serious concern from Europe (and elsewhere), potentially helped ISIS and other terror groups, drawn criticism from the Pope, and have people routinely marching in the street.... and that's almost sure to be the tip of the damned iceberg. Stunning isn't nearly a strong enough word to describe the incompetence and shortsightedness shown so far.

Can't help feeling that Bannon is absolutely gleeful over this... well on the way to "blowing things up".

Thanks for putting the game up FS#21! Had trouble the last several times I tried, but worked like a charm today.

Glad to see the conversation going again in here... was genuinely a little worried ithe thread had been de facto killed

Personally, I think it's stupid to always take the Machiavellian route. Of course, if enough people have the wool over their eyes, it works - see election laws, gerrymandering, obstruction, et. al. I think it was "stupid" of Reid and I'll think it's "stupid" of the GOP.

@Tshile - Is it that posters are saying Reid didn't do anything? I thought people were taking exception to the notion that the filibuster is dead (it's not yet), and if the GOP finalizes removal of the filibuster, then it's all Reid's fault. That's like blaming Trump on Democrats. Reid screwed up from what I can tell (even though I get his frustration). If the GOP does their part, I'll feel the same about them.

Yeah, the "sour grapes" thing is concerning to me - you likely won't convince the necessary people with that attitude (even if it's a perception thing).

Does seem that Reid was a bit short-sighted regarding filibusters, even if I understand the frustration with obstruction. Did this stem from Butts not getting appointed? I'm fuzzy on the background. How viable is campaign finance reform with the Citizen's United ruling? There was a lot of interesting talk regarding redistricting in the election thread - I'd like to see Dems gain control of congress by 2020 and find a way to towards a bipartisan solution. I'm not interested in swinging everything to the other extreme, but a level playing field (or as close as we can get) would be nice. I'd also like to see less outrage from the left (even if I understand it) and the media, and more of an attempt at rational discussion. Much of the GOP is obviously struggling with reason and I'd like the Dems to show America that they're the adults in the room. Obama has been doing an ice job in this vein, though I suspect it's hard as hell for him.

Highly, highly recommend John Oliver's Last Week Tonight. It's on HBO, but you can YouTube it.

What a waste, they should have made their continued employment contingent on airing their dirty laundry on the news. Imagine the ratings, people! The ratings!!

What I like most about his show is the information he imparts and the passion he delivers. The humor is a great addition, but it's more the cherry on top for me. Oh, and I love the use of HBO's money for the "screw you" stunts. Sorry, off topic a bit... though I recommend him to everyone (YouTube has the show divided up for those without HBO).

One of the best things to come out of Britain in a long time. (that's intended as a compliment)

Yeah, its my best attempt at trying to appease both sides. Nothing will be perfect, but this at least nullifies (or attempts to) the "good guy with a gun argument", the "someone may need a gun quickly for self defense", the idea that "they're coming for our guns", etc. I feel like if we can get many of those arguments out of the way, it makes the conversation marginally easier. An attempt at a middle ground that would probably piss off both extremes... which means we'd be on the right path, lol.Edit: sorry, should have lumped this in with my previous post.

Dunno about the regulations really. Something that would at least moderately appease the gun control crowd - primarily aimed at trying to prevent mass shootings and criminals getting (at least certain) guns... some kind of fairly extensive background check and psychological eval. Obviously the tricky part is 1) deciding how to work the evaluations, 2) how to pay for them and 3) getting congress and the general population to agree. What I like about this idea is that it still allows ease of access, doesn't outright ban any guns, doesn't mess with concealed carry (and open carry) laws, doesn't affect ammo sales. On the other hand, in theory anyway, it works towards limiting the people with (hopefully fairly specific) mental issues from getting the type of guns typically used in mass shootings. Obviously it would have to include a lot more details, but that's the gist of it. Does that make sense? What do you think would be a logical step, regulation-wise, to trying to prevent those with anger, hate or resentment issues being able to get their hands on a gun that can fire a significant amount of bullets in a short time (and taking it out on innocents)?

Still think separating (currently legal) firearms into two categories makes sense. Extremely relaxed regulation for guns that don't hold clips, stringent regulation (and registration) for those that do. No (currently legal) guns are banned. Someone who feels they need one suddenly for self defense (or sport) can get one quickly. Of course, it would still run contrary to the interests of gun show sellers, but that can be worked around to some degree.

They'd definitely take the Texans - people abroad are fascinated by us. As to the 25 mark, some studies have shown that people's brains (believe it was males in particular) have a portion of the brain that doesn't develop until around that age. If I recall, that portion is what tempers risk. It's a big reason for a push to change incarceration laws for offenders under 25.

I like that they're talking about finding recourse to getting off a watch list too - shows they (or some) are looking at both sides of the issue. Really hope the GOP steps up on this one.