The 2016 election.

also RIP public education, watch it all burn

If that were the only topic I had mentioned, that would be a reasonable response. I specifically mentioned that the left was losing their collective minds because there were so many issues taking place completely aside (but in addition to) the immigration issue.

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impulse418 wrote:

The funny/sad thing about the ban, is that it wouldn't have prevented a single 9/11 hijacker from entering.

Are you implying the ban might have been a way to score political points with Trump's base while still maintaining relations with the Saudis because of oil money?

Serious question, though- How common is the knowledge that pretty much all (15/19) the 9/11 hijackers were from Saudi Arabia? What I mean is, I know there was some investigation into how much the Saudi government knew/did regarding the attacks not long ago, but that didn't last very long in the news cycle.

Also, I hear the point of the Saudis brought up in places like here and elsewhere, but how aware is the general population of the connection? Have people forgotten? Do they know, but just don't particularly care?

It does kinda seem this was never mentioned much in actual political discourse. (eg. campaign speeches, debates, etc).

I could be wrong though. I was 15 on 9/11 and because so much has happened since then, my memory might be a little fuzzy regarding the discourse following the attacks and leading up to Iraq. Fox News was also pretty much the only news source in my parents' house during that time as well. It took me a few years after 9/11 to espouse the political leanings I have now.

Maybe it is all common knowledge but most people don't care because that was 15 years ago and we've been bombarded with events and sound bites at an ever increasing rate, news cycles being tuned to attention spans, and political parties becoming akin to your hometown's football team.

That became a wall of text pretty quickly. Thoughts? I'd like to hear someone older than myself give their perspective. It seems to me that the message got muddled pretty quickly as soon as the invasion of Iraq started to become a thing.

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I hear ya. I guess we've been living in a cycle of low-information buzzwords for awhile now. It keeps people distracted, independent research is hard, and everyone likes their echo chambers to reinforce their worldviews (however flawed). I don't think it's a conspiracy so much as it's what sells, and that's what is valued in this society more than facts.

And more depressing, to me at least- I don't see a way out of this. People often say things like, "It's going to get way worse before it gets better." Being a real statesman seems to be dead. Ratings win over actual journalism. Constant social media connection rewires our brains for more of that sweet, sweet dopamine. Tribalism trumps reaching across the aisle to work with your fellow countrymen. Winning elections matters more than governance.

What does 'getting worse' even mean at this point? What is 'better?'

I've been thinking about all this kind of stuff way too much all day. Might have to go for a late night walk along the train tracks. Cheers!

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__sneaky__ wrote:

It just keeps getting better.

And by better, I of course mean, a dumpster fire.

https://goo.gl/images/8cUhdj Not Pictured: Paul Manafort, Victor Yanukovych , Carter Page, who all found themselves suddenly unemployed within the past three years. Oh, and the cleanup http://www.businessinsider.com/ap-top-manager-at-russian-cybersecurity-firm-arrested-in-moscow-2017-1 "Just because it looks like there's a lot of smoke coming out of the dumpster doesn't mean it's a dumpster fire. It could just look like smoke. It could be dry ice! Or maybe you need to get your eye checked."

Edited by rednekk98 - 14 February 2017 at 6:13pm

I haven't watched SNL for years, but the last few months have been amazing.

I wouldn't have made him my class's president in grade school, let alone the ACTUAL president.

I still don't give a damn about Clinton, as I've never truly been a fan, but holy freaking crap. How can anyone genuinely believe that she was a worse/more dangerous choice than Pres. Agent Orange?

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^If that was genuine, I would really appreciate it if you would explain to me why you believe that.

Not a set-up for an attack, I'm just trying to understand.

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I don't necessarily agree on the law-enforcement issue, but I won't entirely disagree that a cactus would have done less harm than the both of them. I would still argue that Trump is worse for our country than if we literally, actually had elected a cactus. I would also argue that this was plain to see well before the election ever took place.

Again, I'm not advocating FOR Hillary. I'm just saying that there probably isn't a worse choice than Donald Trump. Hillary was bad - but not put Putin on hold to ask a staffer about the Nuclear treaty, let's discuss North Korea in plain view at your private resort over dinner, attack the free-press levels of bad.

Edited by __sneaky__ - 16 February 2017 at 9:54pm

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