Political Roundtable Part XVII

[verbal8]

It hasn't happened with elected officials, but a fair number of anti-Trump Republcans have left the GOP.

Listen man things like values, honesty and integrity don't mean **** as long as you get tax cuts, judges and "sustainable government".

It would be the height of tribalism to conclude that many Republicans are in fact depraved scumbags. I shall not stoop to that level and besmirch the good name of the Grand Old Party.

There are a lot, but give credit to the Republicans that have been speaking out against Trump early on because they realized the disaster that would arise with a Trump Presidency. The problem is that the leadership has shown zero integrity or morality (staying silent at a pedophile being elected is not admirable). So rightly or wrongly the leadership is representative of the party and if the voters keep rewarding bad faith politics then how are they immune from criticism?

[stilldropin20]

Read on Twitter

[stilldropin20]

oh my gahd ju guys!!! you gotta check out this new emoji!!!

Read on Twitter

[TGW]

Nate enters this thread once every six months and it takes him ~30 minutes to declare black people racially inferior. Good stuff.

It took you even less time to blame all the problems of the 3rd world on whitey.

Your inability to admit that "whitey" has had a hand in destabilizing Africa and the Caribbean is what makes you a racist POS.

And btw I thought you were leaving this thread for good. It was better off without your constant pseudo-scientific racist bullspit.

[CobraCommander]

Nate enters this thread once every six months and it takes him ~30 minutes to declare black people racially inferior. Good stuff.

It took you even less time to blame all the problems of the 3rd world on whitey.

Your inability to admit that "whitey" has had a hand in destabilizing Africa and the Caribbean is what makes you a racist POS.

And btw I thought you were leaving this thread for good. It was better off without your constant pseudo-scientific racist bullspit.

Uh what I miss?

[CobraCommander]

Read on Twitter

You know how I know trump doesn’t get the message of MLK? Trump called every BLACK person he knew and asked them to be there to celebrate the MLK signing. If Trump got it, Trump would have rebuked his racist followers and had some white, Asians, Hispanics and other AMERICANS there highlighting what MLK faught for...equality and inclusion of everyone. MLK isnt a BLACK hero...he is an American hero/icon and you dont just roll out the negros for the photo opt while not taking on the good people in the alt right.

[verbal8]

Read on Twitter

You know how I know trump doesn’t get the message of MLK? Trump called every BLACK person he knew and asked them to be there to celebrate the MLK signing. If Trump got it, Trump would have rebuked his racist followers and had some white, Asians, Hispanics and other AMERICANS there highlighting what MLK faught for...equality and inclusion of everyone. MLK isnt a BLACK hero...he is an American hero/icon and you dont just roll out the negros for the photo opt while not taking on the good people in the alt right.

+1 million

This isn't opposition to Republican policies that may have unintended negative consequences on minorities. This is opposition to a man who clearly has negative feelings and against minority groups.

[verbal8]

Interesting. It is pretty clear that we need to up our immigration policy. Specifically, we need to weigh advanced education, sex and age to maximize the benefit to the US.

But the Ds are specifically blocking this to keep familial and birthright citizenship. Interesting that the Ds are actually the ones blocking progress...

Trump considers sex in his personal immigration policy, but I don't think that is what you are referring to in your comment. I actually am a little curious about what you intended with that aspect of it.

The Democrats are likely to have a much stronger position for compromise legislation in 2018. They would need to flip one or two moderate Senators to put legislation on Trump's desk. Right now it would be flip multiple Reprssentatives and a few Senators. Right now I think a lot of Republican Reps fear the primary as much as the general election.

[dckingsfan]

Interesting. It is pretty clear that we need to up our immigration policy. Specifically, we need to weigh advanced education, sex and age to maximize the benefit to the US.

But the Ds are specifically blocking this to keep familial and birthright citizenship. Interesting that the Ds are actually the ones blocking progress...

Trump considers sex in his personal immigration policy, but I don't think that is what you are referring to in your comment. I actually am a little curious about what you intended with that aspect of it.

The Democrats are likely to have a much stronger position for compromise legislation in 2018. They would need to flip one or two moderate Senators to put legislation on Trump's desk. Right now it would be flip multiple Reprssentatives and a few Senators. Right now I think a lot of Republican Reps fear the primary as much as the general election.

My intent by the comment is that both sides know we need to fix immigration. But neither acknowledges why or the benefits to the US. Trumps comments are clearly racist - go figure. But he inadvertently points out a couple of the issues. Namely familial and birthright citizenship.

The Rs are wrong and specifically Trump - we need immigrants due to our demographics - and he is limiting immigration in ways that will hurt us in the long-run.

We also know that women are less violent (and go figure, they have the babies), so we should slant our policy to that end.

We need talent as well. That helps productivity, that helps GDP and that helps us with a more sustainable government.

I don't agree with the Ds either. They do not want to keep familial and birthright citizenship. But that undermines our ability to have immigration benefit the country. And those policies have led us to the dreamers. They are right to protect the dreamers but want to keep the same policies in place so that it happens again. Before the racist Trump, the Ds were the problem on this issue, IMO. With the Haitian debacle - Trump has dragged the Rs to the wrong side of the issue. You don't take out your frustration on those that have immigrated here and are busting their asses. Or make comments about those from Africa.
https://www.ghanaweb.com/GhanaHomePage/NewsArchive/CNN-anchor-tears-up-over-hero-soldier-from-Ghana-who-died-in-Bronx-fire-617094

[nate33]

Nate enters this thread once every six months and it takes him ~30 minutes to declare black people racially inferior. Good stuff.

It took you even less time to blame all the problems of the 3rd world on whitey.

Your inability to admit that "whitey" has had a hand in destabilizing Africa and the Caribbean is what makes you a racist POS.

And btw I thought you were leaving this thread for good. It was better off without your constant pseudo-scientific racist bullspit.

[Pointgod]

Yup. Every s***hole country is that way because of mean old whitey. It's never their own fault. Nevermind that the Dominican Republic is in much better shape while living on the same freaking island with the same freaking natural resources. The island is practically a case study in why people and culture matter. The GDP per capita of the Dominican Republic is 10 times that of Haiti!

Great take, dude. Here's an expert on Haiti to school you:

Read on Twitter

@KatzOnEarth
In order to do a victory lap around the GDP difference between, say, Norway and Haiti, you have to know nothing about the history of the world.

That includes, especially, knowing nothing real about the history of the United States.

@KatzOnEarth
You have to first of all understand nothing about the Trans-Atlantic Slave trade.

You have to not understand anything about the systematic theft of African bodies and lives. And you have to not understand how that theft built the wealth we have today in Europe and the US.

@KatzOnEarth
You’d have to not know that the French colony that became Haiti provided the wealth that fueled the French Empire — and 2/3 of the sugar and 3/4 of the coffee that Europe consumed.

You’d have to not know how rich slave traders got off their system of kidnapping, rape, and murder

@KatzOnEarth
You’d have to not realize that Haiti was founded in a revolution against that system, and that European countries and the United States punished them for their temerity by refusing to recognize or trade with them for decades.

@KatzOnEarth
You’d have to not know that Haiti got recognition by agreeing to pay 150 million gold francs to French landowners in compensation for their own freedom.

You’d have to not know that Haiti paid it, and that it took them almost all of the 19th century to do so.

@KatzOnEarth
You’d then have to not know that Haiti was forced to borrow some money to pay back that ridiculous debt, some of it from banks in the United States.

And you’d have to not know that in 1914 those banks got President Wilson to send the US Marines to empty the Haitian gold reserve

@KatzOnEarth
.@RichLowry would have to not know about the chaos that ensued, and the 19-year US military occupation of Haiti that followed (at a time when the US was invading and occupying much of Central America and the Caribbean).

@KatzOnEarth
He and others have to not know about the rest of the 20th century either—the systematic theft and oppression, US support for dictators and coups, the US invasions of Haiti in 1994-95 and 2004 ...

@KatzOnEarth
... the use of the IMF and World Bank to impose new loans and destructive trade policies, including the now-famous rice tariff gutting that Bill Clinton apologized for but had been a policy since Reagan, and on and on ...

@KatzOnEarth
And you’d have to understand nothing about why the US (under George W. Bush) pushed for and paid a quarter of the UN “stabilization mission” that did little but keep Haiti’s presidents from being overthrown and kill 10,000 people by dumping cholera in its rivers. Etc.

@KatzOnEarth
In short, you’d have to know nothing about WHY Haiti is poor (or El Salvador in kind), and WHY the United States (and Norway) are wealthy.

But far worse than that, you’d have to not even be interested in asking the question.

And that’s where they really tell on themselves ...

@KatzOnEarth
Because what they are showing is that they ASSUME that Haiti is just naturally poor, that it’s an inherent state borne of the corruption of the people there, in all senses of the word.

And let’s just say out loud why that is: It’s because Haitians are black.

@KatzOnEarth
Racists have needed Haiti to be poor since it was founded. They pushed for its poverty. They have celebrated its poverty. They have tried to profit from its poverty.

They wanted it to be a ****. And they still do.

@KatzOnEarth
If Haiti is a ****, then they can say that black freedom and sovereignty are bad. They can hold it up as proof that white countries—and what’s whiter than Norway—are better, because white people are better.

They wanted that in 1804, and in 1915, and they want it now.

@KatzOnEarth
So if anyone tonight tries to trap you in a contest of “where would you rather live”—or “what about cholera” or “yeah but isn’t poverty bad?”—ask them what they know about how things got that way.

And then ask them why they’re ok with it.

Every race has to deal with hardships and unfair circumstances. I'm sure there's a long list of issues that black people had to deal with, or Latinos, or Asians, or Native Americans. How many times have those races been decimated by drugs or lack of jobs? But they recover and prosper. But not white people.

Fix that for you.

[Pointgod]

Best responses I've seen to one of the brain dead morons that SD20 likes to quote.

Read on Twitter

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[popper]

Timeless wisdom from an accomplished progressive:

I HAVE A PLAN TO DESTROY AMERICA
RICHARD D. LAMM

I HAVE A SECRET PLAN TO DESTROY AMERICA. IF YOU BELIEVE, AS MANY DO, THAT AMERICA IS TOO SMUG, TOO WHITE BREAD, TOO SELF-SATISFIED, TOO RICH, LETS DESTROY AMERICA. IT IS NOT THAT HARD TO DO. HISTORY SHOWS THAT NATIONS ARE MORE FRAGILE THAN THEIR CITIZENS THINK. NO NATION IN HISTORY HAS SURVIVED THE RAVAGES OF TIME. ARNOLD TOYNBEE OBSERVED THAT ALL GREAT CIVILIZATIONS RISE AND THEY ALL FALL, AND THAT “AN AUTOPSY OF HISTORY WOULD SHOW THAT ALL GREAT NATIONS COMMIT SUICIDE.” HERE IS MY PLAN:

I. WE MUST FIRST MAKE AMERICA A BILINGUAL-BICULTURAL COUNTRY. HISTORY SHOWS, IN MY OPINION, THAT NO NATION CAN SURVIVE THE TENSION, CONFLICT, AND ANTAGONISM OF TWO COMPETING LANGUAGES AND CULTURES. IT IS A BLESSING FOR AN INDIVIDUAL TO BE BILINGUAL; IT IS A CURSE FOR A SOCIETY TO BE BILINGUAL. ONE SCHOLAR, SEYMOUR MARTIN LIPSET, PUT IT THIS WAY:

THE HISTORIES OF BILINGUAL AND BICULTURAL SOCIETIES THAT DO NOT ASSIMILATE ARE HISTORIES OF TURMOIL, TENSION, AND TRAGEDY……..

II. I WOULD THEN INVENT “MULTICULTURALISM” AND ENCOURAGE IMMIGRANTS TO MAINTAIN THEIR OWN CULTURE. I WOULD MAKE IT AN ARTICLE OF BELIEF THAT ALL CULTURES ARE EQUAL: THAT THERE ARE NO CULTURAL DIFFERENCES THAT ARE IMPORTANT. I WOULD DECLARE IT AN ARTICLE OF FAITH THAT THE BLACK AND HISPANIC DROPOUT RATE IS ONLY DUE TO PREJUDICE AND DISCRIMINATION BY THE MAJORITY. EVERY OTHER EXPLANATION IS OUT-OF-BOUNDS.

III. WE CAN MAKE THE UNITED STATES A “HISPANIC QUEBEC” WITHOUT MUCH EFFORT. THE KEY IS TO CELEBRATE DIVERSITY RATHER THAN UNITY. AS BENJAMIN SCHWARZ SAID IN THE ATLANTIC MONTHLY RECENTLY:

…THE APPARENT SUCCESS OF OUR OWN MULTIETHNIC AND MULTICULTURAL EXPERIMENT MIGHT HAVE BEEN ACHIEVED NOT BY TOLERANCE BUT BY HEGEMONY. WITHOUT THE DOMINANCE THAT ONCE DICTATED ETHNOCENTRICALLY, AND WHAT IT MEANT TO BE AN AMERICAN, WE ARE LEFT WITH ONLY TOLERANCE AND PLURALISM TO HOLD US TOGETHER.

I WOULD ENCOURAGE ALL IMMIGRANTS TO KEEP THEIR OWN LANGUAGE AND CULTURE. I WOULD REPLACE THE MELTING POT METAPHOR WITH A SALAD BOWL METAPHOR. IT IS IMPORTANT TO INSURE THAT WE HAVE VARIOUS CULTURAL SUB-GROUPS LIVING IN AMERICA REINFORCING THEIR DIFFERENCES RATHER THAN AMERICANS, EMPHASIZING THEIR SIMILARITIES.

IV. HAVING DONE ALL THIS, I WOULD MAKE OUR FASTEST GROWING DEMOGRAPHIC GROUP THE LEAST EDUCATED – I WOULD ADD A SECOND UNDERCLASS, UNASSIMILATED, UNDEREDUCATED, AND ANTAGONISTIC TO OUR POPULATION. I WOULD HAVE THIS SECOND UNDERCLASS HAVE A 50% DROP OUT RATE FROM SCHOOL.

V. I WOULD THEN GET THE BIG FOUNDATIONS AND BIG BUSINESS TO GIVE THESE EFFORTS LOTS OF MONEY. I WOULD INVEST IN ETHNIC IDENTITY, AND I WOULD ESTABLISH THE CULT OF VICTIMOLOGY. I WOULD GET ALL MINORITIES TO THINK THEIR LACK OF SUCCESS WAS ALL THE FAULT OF THE MAJORITY – I WOULD START A GRIEVANCE INDUSTRY BLAMING ALL MINORITY FAILURE ON THE MAJORITY POPULATION.

VI. I WOULD ESTABLISH DUAL CITIZENSHIP AND PROMOTE DIVIDED LOYALTIES. I WOULD “CELEBRATE DIVERSITY.” “DIVERSITY” IS A WONDERFULLY SEDUCTIVE WORD. IT STRESSES DIFFERENCES RATHER THAN COMMONALITIES. DIVERSE PEOPLE WORLDWIDE ARE MOSTLY ENGAGED IN HATING EACH OTHER-THAT IS, WHEN THEY ARE NOT KILLING EACH OTHER. A DIVERSE,” PEACEFUL, OR STABLE SOCIETY IS AGAINST MOST HISTORICAL PRECEDENT. PEOPLE UNDERVALUE THE UNITY IT TAKES TO KEEP A NATION TOGETHER, AND WE CAN TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THIS MYOPIA……

IF WE CAN PUT THE EMPHASIS ON THE “PLURIBUS,” INSTEAD OF THE “UNUM,” WE CAN BALKANIZE AMERICA AS SURELY AS KOSOVO.

VII. THEN I WOULD PLACE ALL THESE SUBJECTS OFF LIMITS – MAKE IT TABOO TO TALK ABOUT. I WOULD FIND A WORD SIMILAR TO “HERETIC” IN THE 16TH CENTURY – THAT STOPPED DISCUSSION AND PARALYZED THINKING. WORDS LIKE “RACIST”, “XENOPHOBE” THAT HALTS ARGUMENT AND CONVERSATION.

HAVING MADE AMERICA A BILINGUAL-BICULTURAL COUNTRY, HAVING ESTABLISHED MULTICULTURALISM, HAVING THE LARGE FOUNDATIONS FUND THE DOCTRINE OF “VICTIMOLOGY”, I WOULD NEXT MAKE IT IMPOSSIBLE TO ENFORCE OUR IMMIGRATION LAWS. I WOULD DEVELOP A MANTRA – “THAT BECAUSE IMMIGRATION HAS BEEN GOOD FOR AMERICA, IT MUST ALWAYS BE GOOD.” I WOULD MAKE EVERY INDIVIDUAL IMMIGRANT SYMPATRIC AND IGNORE THE CUMULATIVE IMPACT.

VIII. …………………...

“THE SMART WAY TO KEEP PEOPLE PASSIVE AND OBEDIENT IS TO STRICTLY LIMIT THE SPECTRUM OF ACCEPTABLE OPINION, BUT ALLOW VERY LIVELY DEBATE WITHIN THAT SPECTRUM.” — NOAM CHOMSKY, AMERICAN LINGUIST AND US MEDIA AND FOREIGN POLICY CRITIC.

https://www.snopes.com/politics/soapbox/lamm.asp

[Pointgod]

Timeless wisdom from an accomplished progressive:

I HAVE A PLAN TO DESTROY AMERICA
RICHARD D. LAMM

I HAVE A SECRET PLAN TO DESTROY AMERICA. IF YOU BELIEVE, AS MANY DO, THAT AMERICA IS TOO SMUG, TOO WHITE BREAD, TOO SELF-SATISFIED, TOO RICH, LETS DESTROY AMERICA. IT IS NOT THAT HARD TO DO. HISTORY SHOWS THAT NATIONS ARE MORE FRAGILE THAN THEIR CITIZENS THINK. NO NATION IN HISTORY HAS SURVIVED THE RAVAGES OF TIME. ARNOLD TOYNBEE OBSERVED THAT ALL GREAT CIVILIZATIONS RISE AND THEY ALL FALL, AND THAT “AN AUTOPSY OF HISTORY WOULD SHOW THAT ALL GREAT NATIONS COMMIT SUICIDE.” HERE IS MY PLAN:

I. WE MUST FIRST MAKE AMERICA A BILINGUAL-BICULTURAL COUNTRY. HISTORY SHOWS, IN MY OPINION, THAT NO NATION CAN SURVIVE THE TENSION, CONFLICT, AND ANTAGONISM OF TWO COMPETING LANGUAGES AND CULTURES. IT IS A BLESSING FOR AN INDIVIDUAL TO BE BILINGUAL; IT IS A CURSE FOR A SOCIETY TO BE BILINGUAL. ONE SCHOLAR, SEYMOUR MARTIN LIPSET, PUT IT THIS WAY:

THE HISTORIES OF BILINGUAL AND BICULTURAL SOCIETIES THAT DO NOT ASSIMILATE ARE HISTORIES OF TURMOIL, TENSION, AND TRAGEDY……..

II. I WOULD THEN INVENT “MULTICULTURALISM” AND ENCOURAGE IMMIGRANTS TO MAINTAIN THEIR OWN CULTURE. I WOULD MAKE IT AN ARTICLE OF BELIEF THAT ALL CULTURES ARE EQUAL: THAT THERE ARE NO CULTURAL DIFFERENCES THAT ARE IMPORTANT. I WOULD DECLARE IT AN ARTICLE OF FAITH THAT THE BLACK AND HISPANIC DROPOUT RATE IS ONLY DUE TO PREJUDICE AND DISCRIMINATION BY THE MAJORITY. EVERY OTHER EXPLANATION IS OUT-OF-BOUNDS.

III. WE CAN MAKE THE UNITED STATES A “HISPANIC QUEBEC” WITHOUT MUCH EFFORT. THE KEY IS TO CELEBRATE DIVERSITY RATHER THAN UNITY. AS BENJAMIN SCHWARZ SAID IN THE ATLANTIC MONTHLY RECENTLY:

…THE APPARENT SUCCESS OF OUR OWN MULTIETHNIC AND MULTICULTURAL EXPERIMENT MIGHT HAVE BEEN ACHIEVED NOT BY TOLERANCE BUT BY HEGEMONY. WITHOUT THE DOMINANCE THAT ONCE DICTATED ETHNOCENTRICALLY, AND WHAT IT MEANT TO BE AN AMERICAN, WE ARE LEFT WITH ONLY TOLERANCE AND PLURALISM TO HOLD US TOGETHER.

I WOULD ENCOURAGE ALL IMMIGRANTS TO KEEP THEIR OWN LANGUAGE AND CULTURE. I WOULD REPLACE THE MELTING POT METAPHOR WITH A SALAD BOWL METAPHOR. IT IS IMPORTANT TO INSURE THAT WE HAVE VARIOUS CULTURAL SUB-GROUPS LIVING IN AMERICA REINFORCING THEIR DIFFERENCES RATHER THAN AMERICANS, EMPHASIZING THEIR SIMILARITIES.

IV. HAVING DONE ALL THIS, I WOULD MAKE OUR FASTEST GROWING DEMOGRAPHIC GROUP THE LEAST EDUCATED – I WOULD ADD A SECOND UNDERCLASS, UNASSIMILATED, UNDEREDUCATED, AND ANTAGONISTIC TO OUR POPULATION. I WOULD HAVE THIS SECOND UNDERCLASS HAVE A 50% DROP OUT RATE FROM SCHOOL.

V. I WOULD THEN GET THE BIG FOUNDATIONS AND BIG BUSINESS TO GIVE THESE EFFORTS LOTS OF MONEY. I WOULD INVEST IN ETHNIC IDENTITY, AND I WOULD ESTABLISH THE CULT OF VICTIMOLOGY. I WOULD GET ALL MINORITIES TO THINK THEIR LACK OF SUCCESS WAS ALL THE FAULT OF THE MAJORITY – I WOULD START A GRIEVANCE INDUSTRY BLAMING ALL MINORITY FAILURE ON THE MAJORITY POPULATION.

VI. I WOULD ESTABLISH DUAL CITIZENSHIP AND PROMOTE DIVIDED LOYALTIES. I WOULD “CELEBRATE DIVERSITY.” “DIVERSITY” IS A WONDERFULLY SEDUCTIVE WORD. IT STRESSES DIFFERENCES RATHER THAN COMMONALITIES. DIVERSE PEOPLE WORLDWIDE ARE MOSTLY ENGAGED IN HATING EACH OTHER-THAT IS, WHEN THEY ARE NOT KILLING EACH OTHER. A DIVERSE,” PEACEFUL, OR STABLE SOCIETY IS AGAINST MOST HISTORICAL PRECEDENT. PEOPLE UNDERVALUE THE UNITY IT TAKES TO KEEP A NATION TOGETHER, AND WE CAN TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THIS MYOPIA……

IF WE CAN PUT THE EMPHASIS ON THE “PLURIBUS,” INSTEAD OF THE “UNUM,” WE CAN BALKANIZE AMERICA AS SURELY AS KOSOVO.

VII. THEN I WOULD PLACE ALL THESE SUBJECTS OFF LIMITS – MAKE IT TABOO TO TALK ABOUT. I WOULD FIND A WORD SIMILAR TO “HERETIC” IN THE 16TH CENTURY – THAT STOPPED DISCUSSION AND PARALYZED THINKING. WORDS LIKE “RACIST”, “XENOPHOBE” THAT HALTS ARGUMENT AND CONVERSATION.

HAVING MADE AMERICA A BILINGUAL-BICULTURAL COUNTRY, HAVING ESTABLISHED MULTICULTURALISM, HAVING THE LARGE FOUNDATIONS FUND THE DOCTRINE OF “VICTIMOLOGY”, I WOULD NEXT MAKE IT IMPOSSIBLE TO ENFORCE OUR IMMIGRATION LAWS. I WOULD DEVELOP A MANTRA – “THAT BECAUSE IMMIGRATION HAS BEEN GOOD FOR AMERICA, IT MUST ALWAYS BE GOOD.” I WOULD MAKE EVERY INDIVIDUAL IMMIGRANT SYMPATRIC AND IGNORE THE CUMULATIVE IMPACT.

VIII. …………………...

“THE SMART WAY TO KEEP PEOPLE PASSIVE AND OBEDIENT IS TO STRICTLY LIMIT THE SPECTRUM OF ACCEPTABLE OPINION, BUT ALLOW VERY LIVELY DEBATE WITHIN THAT SPECTRUM.” — NOAM CHOMSKY, AMERICAN LINGUIST AND US MEDIA AND FOREIGN POLICY CRITIC.

https://www.snopes.com/politics/soapbox/lamm.asp

Yeah I see that multicultural hellhole Canada sliding into oblivion. America is approximately 75% white what exactly is it that you're afraid of?

[nate33]

Yeah I see that multicultural hellhole Canada sliding into oblivion. America is approximately 75% white what exactly is it that you're afraid of?

LOL. Canada is the kind of multicultural that doesn't include black and brown people. It is less than 2.5% black and less than 1% Mestizo.

[Pointgod]

Yeah I see that multicultural hellhole Canada sliding into oblivion. America is approximately 75% white what exactly is it that you're afraid of?

LOL. Canada is the kind of multicultural that doesn't include black and brown people. It is less than 2.5% black and less than 1% Mestizo.

So what exactly are you trying to say with this comment?

[nate33]

I'm saying it's laughable for Canada to consider themselves some sort of model for governing under multiculturalism when their multiculturalism is a collection of mostly successful and prosperous ethnicities. The ethnic minorities in Canada are mostly Indians, Chinese and Filipinos, whose diaspora seem to do well everywhere. I'm not particularly impressed. America has to deal with much larger percentages of ethnic groups who have not experienced much success anywhere in the world. Indeed, blacks in America are better off than blacks anywhere else in the world, and Mestizos in America are better off than Mestizos anywhere else in the world.

Of course, that won't stop the complaining.

[CobraCommander]

Read on Twitter

You know how I know trump doesn’t get the message of MLK? Trump called every BLACK person he knew and asked them to be there to celebrate the MLK signing. If Trump got it, Trump would have rebuked his racist followers and had some white, Asians, Hispanics and other AMERICANS there highlighting what MLK faught for...equality and inclusion of everyone. MLK isnt a BLACK hero...he is an American hero/icon and you dont just roll out the negros for the photo opt while not taking on the good people in the alt right.

+1 million

This isn't opposition to Republican policies that may have unintended negative consequences on minorities. This is opposition to a man who clearly has negative feelings and against minority groups.

I dont even know what to think about Trump...his ignorance is confusing. I have stopped being surprised by his behavior. What is more concerning is his base. Some of his base is lost because they dont really have a chance to interact with people that look different or come from a different place in life, so their bias or racist views are actually the result of TRUE IGNORANCE. But there are people within his base that are just purely hateful and bigoted...so forget them. The people that I wish i could talk to are the ones that THINK they are not racist and but they see MLK as this black leader and they dont get that civil rights and the civil rights movement is a triumph for all Americans and something that they should embrace and appreciate as much as any black person appreciates it. These are the same people that buy guns to protect themselves from the black people in Chicago when they have never left their town in West Virginia...these people are the ones that say “I wish a *insert evil Hispanic or black here* would try to come on my land” and they spend a large % of their money to protect themselves from a “threat” that will never impact them directly. But hey...like you said...we got a responsibility to stand up to evil in every incarnation and I think in 10 years there are going to be a ton of people at Fox News that are going to be embarrassed to have stood by and either said nothing to rebuke him or openly supported him....Trump will be out of office and they will be trying to explain to the Americans why we should take them seriously when the world sees trump for what he was/is.

[popper]

Timeless wisdom from an accomplished progressive:

I HAVE A PLAN TO DESTROY AMERICA
RICHARD D. LAMM

I HAVE A SECRET PLAN TO DESTROY AMERICA. IF YOU BELIEVE, AS MANY DO, THAT AMERICA IS TOO SMUG, TOO WHITE BREAD, TOO SELF-SATISFIED, TOO RICH, LETS DESTROY AMERICA. IT IS NOT THAT HARD TO DO. HISTORY SHOWS THAT NATIONS ARE MORE FRAGILE THAN THEIR CITIZENS THINK. NO NATION IN HISTORY HAS SURVIVED THE RAVAGES OF TIME. ARNOLD TOYNBEE OBSERVED THAT ALL GREAT CIVILIZATIONS RISE AND THEY ALL FALL, AND THAT “AN AUTOPSY OF HISTORY WOULD SHOW THAT ALL GREAT NATIONS COMMIT SUICIDE.” HERE IS MY PLAN:

I. WE MUST FIRST MAKE AMERICA A BILINGUAL-BICULTURAL COUNTRY. HISTORY SHOWS, IN MY OPINION, THAT NO NATION CAN SURVIVE THE TENSION, CONFLICT, AND ANTAGONISM OF TWO COMPETING LANGUAGES AND CULTURES. IT IS A BLESSING FOR AN INDIVIDUAL TO BE BILINGUAL; IT IS A CURSE FOR A SOCIETY TO BE BILINGUAL. ONE SCHOLAR, SEYMOUR MARTIN LIPSET, PUT IT THIS WAY:

THE HISTORIES OF BILINGUAL AND BICULTURAL SOCIETIES THAT DO NOT ASSIMILATE ARE HISTORIES OF TURMOIL, TENSION, AND TRAGEDY……..

II. I WOULD THEN INVENT “MULTICULTURALISM” AND ENCOURAGE IMMIGRANTS TO MAINTAIN THEIR OWN CULTURE. I WOULD MAKE IT AN ARTICLE OF BELIEF THAT ALL CULTURES ARE EQUAL: THAT THERE ARE NO CULTURAL DIFFERENCES THAT ARE IMPORTANT. I WOULD DECLARE IT AN ARTICLE OF FAITH THAT THE BLACK AND HISPANIC DROPOUT RATE IS ONLY DUE TO PREJUDICE AND DISCRIMINATION BY THE MAJORITY. EVERY OTHER EXPLANATION IS OUT-OF-BOUNDS.

III. WE CAN MAKE THE UNITED STATES A “HISPANIC QUEBEC” WITHOUT MUCH EFFORT. THE KEY IS TO CELEBRATE DIVERSITY RATHER THAN UNITY. AS BENJAMIN SCHWARZ SAID IN THE ATLANTIC MONTHLY RECENTLY:

…THE APPARENT SUCCESS OF OUR OWN MULTIETHNIC AND MULTICULTURAL EXPERIMENT MIGHT HAVE BEEN ACHIEVED NOT BY TOLERANCE BUT BY HEGEMONY. WITHOUT THE DOMINANCE THAT ONCE DICTATED ETHNOCENTRICALLY, AND WHAT IT MEANT TO BE AN AMERICAN, WE ARE LEFT WITH ONLY TOLERANCE AND PLURALISM TO HOLD US TOGETHER.

I WOULD ENCOURAGE ALL IMMIGRANTS TO KEEP THEIR OWN LANGUAGE AND CULTURE. I WOULD REPLACE THE MELTING POT METAPHOR WITH A SALAD BOWL METAPHOR. IT IS IMPORTANT TO INSURE THAT WE HAVE VARIOUS CULTURAL SUB-GROUPS LIVING IN AMERICA REINFORCING THEIR DIFFERENCES RATHER THAN AMERICANS, EMPHASIZING THEIR SIMILARITIES.

IV. HAVING DONE ALL THIS, I WOULD MAKE OUR FASTEST GROWING DEMOGRAPHIC GROUP THE LEAST EDUCATED – I WOULD ADD A SECOND UNDERCLASS, UNASSIMILATED, UNDEREDUCATED, AND ANTAGONISTIC TO OUR POPULATION. I WOULD HAVE THIS SECOND UNDERCLASS HAVE A 50% DROP OUT RATE FROM SCHOOL.

V. I WOULD THEN GET THE BIG FOUNDATIONS AND BIG BUSINESS TO GIVE THESE EFFORTS LOTS OF MONEY. I WOULD INVEST IN ETHNIC IDENTITY, AND I WOULD ESTABLISH THE CULT OF VICTIMOLOGY. I WOULD GET ALL MINORITIES TO THINK THEIR LACK OF SUCCESS WAS ALL THE FAULT OF THE MAJORITY – I WOULD START A GRIEVANCE INDUSTRY BLAMING ALL MINORITY FAILURE ON THE MAJORITY POPULATION.

VI. I WOULD ESTABLISH DUAL CITIZENSHIP AND PROMOTE DIVIDED LOYALTIES. I WOULD “CELEBRATE DIVERSITY.” “DIVERSITY” IS A WONDERFULLY SEDUCTIVE WORD. IT STRESSES DIFFERENCES RATHER THAN COMMONALITIES. DIVERSE PEOPLE WORLDWIDE ARE MOSTLY ENGAGED IN HATING EACH OTHER-THAT IS, WHEN THEY ARE NOT KILLING EACH OTHER. A DIVERSE,” PEACEFUL, OR STABLE SOCIETY IS AGAINST MOST HISTORICAL PRECEDENT. PEOPLE UNDERVALUE THE UNITY IT TAKES TO KEEP A NATION TOGETHER, AND WE CAN TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THIS MYOPIA……

IF WE CAN PUT THE EMPHASIS ON THE “PLURIBUS,” INSTEAD OF THE “UNUM,” WE CAN BALKANIZE AMERICA AS SURELY AS KOSOVO.

VII. THEN I WOULD PLACE ALL THESE SUBJECTS OFF LIMITS – MAKE IT TABOO TO TALK ABOUT. I WOULD FIND A WORD SIMILAR TO “HERETIC” IN THE 16TH CENTURY – THAT STOPPED DISCUSSION AND PARALYZED THINKING. WORDS LIKE “RACIST”, “XENOPHOBE” THAT HALTS ARGUMENT AND CONVERSATION.

HAVING MADE AMERICA A BILINGUAL-BICULTURAL COUNTRY, HAVING ESTABLISHED MULTICULTURALISM, HAVING THE LARGE FOUNDATIONS FUND THE DOCTRINE OF “VICTIMOLOGY”, I WOULD NEXT MAKE IT IMPOSSIBLE TO ENFORCE OUR IMMIGRATION LAWS. I WOULD DEVELOP A MANTRA – “THAT BECAUSE IMMIGRATION HAS BEEN GOOD FOR AMERICA, IT MUST ALWAYS BE GOOD.” I WOULD MAKE EVERY INDIVIDUAL IMMIGRANT SYMPATRIC AND IGNORE THE CUMULATIVE IMPACT.

VIII. …………………...

“THE SMART WAY TO KEEP PEOPLE PASSIVE AND OBEDIENT IS TO STRICTLY LIMIT THE SPECTRUM OF ACCEPTABLE OPINION, BUT ALLOW VERY LIVELY DEBATE WITHIN THAT SPECTRUM.” — NOAM CHOMSKY, AMERICAN LINGUIST AND US MEDIA AND FOREIGN POLICY CRITIC.

https://www.snopes.com/politics/soapbox/lamm.asp

Yeah I see that multicultural hellhole Canada sliding into oblivion. America is approximately 75% white what exactly is it that you're afraid of?

I'm not afraid Pointgod, but I'm one of the fortunate ones who's retired and have enough resources to live anywhere in the world I want. I think the progressive Democrat that gave the speech though was warning the country that we are on a path to national suicide if we don't change our ways. I thought the progressives on this thread might be more open to hearing this message from one of their own.

[dckingsfan]

For those of us that believe in alternate energy - this is fascinating.

The article also forgets to mention the AMT - which blocked many from taking the deduction and reduced the number of solar projects.

https://www.greentechmedia.com/articles/read/how-to-halve-the-cost-of-residential-solar-in-the-us#gs.ZYcMgY4