i bet that elphenor vs lucem immigration argument was great

It was boring. To be fair, even though I won, there isn't much information out there on illegal immigration on Canada because it's such a non issue there.

And my main point was that it's harder to immigrate to other 1st world countries than it is to immigrate to the US.

so, you won the argument, right?

Of course. I win about 100% of arguments about 70% of the time.

Edit: Except that one time I lost an argument in the 70th percentile.

I will have to google this, I still don't know what you are talking about.

She still would have been better in that area than a straight up climate change denier though.

Oh yes I do remember that and some BLM members had their panties in a bunch over those statements from the 90s. The thing that bothered me was how she ended up treating them and kind of brushing them off it shows that her opinions haven't really changed much just only on the surface to get those black votes.

If you get so sick of seeing people not even try then why do you bother coming to this thread if you feel like that's the general vibe in here?

You are doing just like you say. It's easy to come in here and talk **** about the same people you don't like instead of sharing your opinion on a specific topic that comes up.

Hoping it'll change? I don't know. It's not just this thread, it's the general discussion it's self.

I have shared my opinion and actually discussed things, but yeah, you're right. I essentially end up talking **** on people that talk ****.

That's the thing you have to come to realize when talking about politics not much is going to change the other person's perspective/opinion. Very rarely does it happen so if that's your intent that you are definitely in the wrong topic of discussion.

Each person says their side/opinion and then you move on because you eventually get to a point in the conversation where you just have to agree to disagree. I have done this numerous times talking to Trump supporter friends on FB. They respect my ability to have a conversation without having to dive into insults.

But other than that, he's cool, yeah? :laughing:
You should watch him on the Apprentice. The guy had more money than God, and any time a former winner, or someone who had made something of themselves came back on the show he ALWAYS said something along the lines of "This guy/girl made a fortune but I get nothing" with a pointed look and a crooked smile at the person. He tried to make it look like it was in fun, but really he was serious, you could tell. It was a real case of "I MADE you. You OWE me!" He was only short of putting out his hand expectantly. ****.
I have nightmare visions of Trump with the briefcase with the codes going "You're all FIRED!"

And we are.
:yikes:

The Apocalypse will resume right after these messages from Trump Realty and Undertakers Corporation.

:d

And I've noticed that too and appreciate you for it. And at the end of the day when you can have a civilized conversation you end up at least having a better understanding or a respect for somebody you disagree with. And it kind of like, makes that person less of an enemy rather than leaving a bitter taste in your mouth. And that's how a political discussion should be. In my opinion. But hey, not only should I expect less out of a political discussion, but I should expect less out of a political discussion on the internet.

Like what positions?

He doesn't sound anything like that to me. He sounds that way to you because he defends Trump from hyperbole.

And why would he lie about his positions?

Cause it's never been a big deal because they don't have that problem

And yet, it's still harder for somebody to immigrate to Canada than it is to America. That was a proven fact. Take your L and move on.

I was originally gonna vote Johnson...but he's kind of an idiot so I abstained this past election since there was no candidate that really lined up with what I wanted.

I agree with a lot of Bernie's positions in regards to how he would have "dismantled" the relationship between money and politics. We agree on most social issues too. My biggest point of skepticism with him was his tax plan and his views on countries like Cuba and Venezuela.

As Lucem points out though, this is an issue of your ego vs mine here. I favor certain issues more than you do because I chose a path outside the traditional workforce so I tend to speak up based on what I have experience in. I don't dislike you as a person or anything: I just don't see Communism as having that great a track record when corruption seems inevitable in most longstanding organizations, whereas Capitalism is flexible enough to work around that problem. I can be a pro-business Libertarian and still agree with Bernie on a lot of important issues. Just like how I can agree with Trump that some of our trade relationships are fucked even if I disagree with how he's handled every other major issue.

I agree with 90% of this. But capitalism is as corrupt as any other system, if not more, based on the US's track record.

Yes, but, potential climate death aside, it still basically functions even with corruption so long as it's kept in check through government regulations. That climate death does kinda sorta throw a monkey wrench in the machine, but you win some you lose some.

This right here is what his administration wants to get rid of. It is part of their ideology of having small government. They just want to be able to get away with much more than they have been.

You should go commune with your spirit animals Salvador Allende + Augusto Pinochet and come back when you have a leg to stand on.

It is only important if you naively think corporations and their CEOs will stay here based on what he proposed. What we need is a smarter tax code that provides more and more incentives for the wealthy to contribute to society with their wealth, not brackets that tax them to the point where they'll forego their citizenships if it means they could save hundreds of millions. Unfortunately, we don't have too many creative thinkers up in Washington. People who are up above the lower millionaire strata are way more mobile than you realize. They'd cut their ties to the U.S. in a heartbeat depending on how unfavorable the environment here becomes to them. Those that do stay here will do so because they simply have no other choice.

Reading Anteater's posts in the voice of Donald Trump is more hilarious than I anticipated.

I think it's generous to say Trump and his administration are small government types. They're 1 percenters with purely self-interest at the heart of their policies, even if they truly believe in those policies. The difference being extreme greed and a real opportunity to reap the benefits of small government.

You can say goodbye to most of what you (likely) enjoy about modern life if the corporations all leave. The government will monopolize everything and what little efficiency we have will cease. Nobody is going to want to take on the responsibility of managing large infrastructure (which you have whether we have capitalism or no capitalism) for pennies when there's no gain. If you think the risk of corruption is a problem now, wait 'til you see what happens when there's zero incentive.

I support a lot of Sanders wanted in regards to overhauling government, but you think Sanders wants to live in a country where he can't feasibly afford to have his three homes and the best in everything? Puh-leeze.

You're the only one saying there'd be zero incentive. If you want to come in here and pout about argumentative tactics, then you shouldn't be strawmanning all over the place.

What does small government mean to you?

Greed and small government go hand in hand.

Truth.

I was talking about their greed and opportunities, not ours.

Yes with their greed and less involvement from regulations that come from the government is what is known as small government to me.

Small government means less regulations, if you leave them to regulate themselves then they will take as much advantage as they can to make more profit including destroying the environment in the process and taking MORE advantage of their labor force.

Agreed, but a real small government supporter does so because he actually believes that small government will benefit society as a whole, and is not actually a ****, as opposed to someone like Trump, whose motivations, no matter what he tells himself, are likely all about how much money he can plunder from small government.

I really love it when you 100% nail what I was about to post.

Ant's biggest problem is he thinks he's intellectually superior to the rest of us in regard to politics. That he's the only one doing research. That his opinions are somehow superior because, well, they are his. That anyone who doesn't jump on board with his ideals is somehow uninformed, hesitant to dig deep, or just plain below his standards of political discussion.

Kii - nailed it. I'm going to start reading Ant as Trump form now on.

It makes the posts so much more bearable and funny. You'll never get upset again.

Oh look, all I had to do was change one name and suddenly it fits so much better. :D

Anyone who has spent more than five seconds studying something like Communism (or human behavior in general) would come to the same conclusion. A person will not work harder than someone else if everyone is being paid the same despite variation in productivity between people. Is the commonality between all of us known as human laziness a strawman?

That's exactly what Donald Trump would have done.

I'll take that as a compliment in this case. ;)

Have I ever accused you of being politically ignorant? Of not digging deep enough to understand MY ideologies? Of not understanding the subtleties of politics?

You try and act all college level intillect if it fits your point of view but then when you are called out you revert to 1st grade tactics.

Look at the evolution of your poiltical posts on this forum and the rebukes, comebacks, and denouncements of your views on what the hell is going on, as well as your lame comebacks to those who challenge you.

You are like the Wicked Witch of the West in Oz after we've all thrown water on you.

You're melting. Melting. Melting.

*intellect

This is so beautiful.

...you okay there bud? Seriously, you seem really upset. I'm here for you. :(

If I seem to be resorting to 1st grade tactics...well, I've got plenty of role models here. 400+ pages of squabbling, much of it predating me. I was just trying to have some fun. :)

Not upset at all. Sitting here playing my MM Cutlass though a modeled Engle high gain amp and rocking the **** out of it. One of the best things about being semi-retired these past 15 months is that I get to play A LOT. Regardless of my arthritis my chops are as good as they've been in a decade.

Bat, you should try and find a way to earn money off of my typos. They ain't going anywhere anytime soon.

This new Chula vs Anteater thing is amazing.

That sounds fun. I was trying out my newly cleaned up Makarov at the range earlier. +1 for the Commies there. Three conference calls and some coffee later, I find out that I've become Public Enemy #1 in the Current Events subforum. :wavey:

On another note, Trump's gonna roll this out tomorrow. If you want to know why I didn't vote for him, here you go.

Donald Trump Is About To Undo Obama's Legacy On Climate Change | The Huffington Post

So when you gonna stop defending the prick?

You are loving this aren't you :D