Some unpopular questions that need to be asked.

[The 13 Wise Buttlords]

1) I bet my left nutsack that Barack Obama is going to be assassinated if he becomes president. What happens then?

2) When will be get to the point that being an atheist or a muslim isn't going to be instant political poison?

3) What would happen to the United States if we just did a completely clean break down the 'Red States and Blue States'? Both nations were completely non-aggressive to each other and had open trade and transportation comparable to Canada in this scenario.

4) 'This guy is an elitist'. What the hell? It seems really weird to hear this statement from the GOP, especially when used as an insult for one. For two, what's so inherently bad about being an elitist?

[SphereOfFeetMan]

1) Every President has millions of people that hate him. How many people would wish death upon Bush? I really don't think that the number of people who want Obama dead significantly outnumber the number of people that want people in the Bush administration dead. Yes, racism is significant, irrational, and passionate. But so is some of the hatred for every world leader.

2) Possibly within our lifetimes. As Bill Maher often likes to say, ~16% of Americans are agnostic/atheist. This is a bigger minority than blacks, Jews, homosexuals, NRA members, and many other groups that initiate political change. He even has a new movie coming out entitled Religulous, which mocks and evaluates religion. If you go on Youtube, there are many atheists which are highly ranked, and few religiously motivated demagogues (as far as I can tell). It appears that the flow of ideas and rational thought are moving in the right direction at a historically speedy pace. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-CWiASiqDdU

4) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qgVUxmjf0G8

[PhoneLobster]

4)Look this has been "The Narrative" since forever. Right wing con men push this imaginary image of them all being yo'buddy and anyone remotely left wing being out of touch ivory tower elitists who don't care about you, don't understand you and who wouldn't even drink a beer with you.

You know WHY? Because they are con men. They are trying to sell political policies and ideas that are bad for the majority AND which the majority doesn't actually want. Did you know for instance that the majority of US citizens actually WANT a single payer public health provider? It is a POPULAR idea.

They actually rely on idiots thinking that either A) McCain would actually be their beer buddy, and B) Obama might like, snub them and go drink some tea with his little pinky lifted or something. Because without getting people to swallow that shit and vote on it they got nothing (well actually they have several other classic big lies and distractions as well, but nothing of actual VALUE).

3) That would be dumb. Because...

A) Vast swathes of nice regular people would be trapped in "Holy Chriztain Unitedstatesistan" Because oddly its not even franctionally as clear cut crazy right winger frother/gay metrosexual elitist as is made out by (you guessed it) right wing con men trying to sell you something.

B) All the right wing overlords would be separated from their power bases of gullible peasants since a lot of them are ACTUALLY living among, and like, gay metrosexual elitists.

C) Who gets the nukes?

2) Actually you are going BACKWARD on that one. Your politicians are getting more openly fawning toward Christianist nut jobs. I mean back in the day you had presidents who actually did things like personally edit the bible tearing out vast swathes including all the miracles all the bastardry and all the "unbeliavable" supernatural crap get left with basically a pamphlet and declare that they had created something they felt had a message they could believe in.

On the other hand atheists are getting more organised and active in the US and UK in response to the right religious anti secular push.

Also even the left in religious circles (not that those guys are seriously worth much on this particular issue) are getting wise to the organised right wing fundamentalist assholes and their methodology of taking over positions of power within their religions and advocacy groups.

1) I hear his deputy is pretty cool.

[Absentminded_Wizard]

1. Joe Biden becomes president and makes frequent trips to England to get material for his speeches.

2. Give it a couple decades.

3. One problem is that they're not all solidly red or blue. I mean, sure Bush polled 80% in Alabama, but he only took a little over 50% of the vote in Ohio. And that was with the lack of voting machines in Cleveland.

4. Sphereguy linked the video I was thinking of and PL covered everything else, so I got nothing.

[Neeeek]

3) Ignoring the issues with attempting such a thing, and where purple states like Iowa, Colorado, Nevada, Ohio, Michigan, New Hampshire, New Mexico, Virginia, and Florida would go, the former Red States would probably suffer economic collapse pretty quickly and Texas would probably re-ceded from them to protect itself and the Blue States would probably enter a boom period since their taxes will no longer be heading to the former Red States who mostly live on a charitable grant from the Blue States.

[JonSetanta]

1) We riot. I will fucking kill the local skinheads if that happens because that is NOT the kind of country I want to live in.
Look back to 1964 when King died. Learn from history.

2) When the WW2 generations die out. Unfortunately, now we have the Gulf War veteran bias to contend with.

3) We split up and we lose. A divided America(s) would be easy to spy on, invade, and occupy by Mexico, Canada, Russia, China, whichever.

4) Fuck the GOP. Fuck the rich Democrats too, but the GOP really is a cancer to this country.

[tzor]

1) I bet my left nutsack that Barack Obama is going to be assassinated if he becomes president. What happens then?

I don't know. I think you get to keep your left nutsack. I mean what is with this shit. Just because he is from Illinois and just because he looks a whole lot like that guy in hte five dollar bill (only he doesn't have to grow a 'stache in order to avoid small girls telling him he's ugly) doesn't mean that he is going to be assassinated. Get real.

On the other hand, I would suggest playing it safe and not betting your right nutsack for the next eight years if you ever want to have an heir.

2) When will be get to the point that being an atheist or a muslim isn't going to be instant political poison?

2020, or the year we all got perfect hindsight.

3) What would happen to the United States if we just did a completely clean break down the 'Red States and Blue States'? Both nations were completely non-aggressive to each other and had open trade and transportation comparable to Canada in this scenario.

In the first place they don't really fall down perfect lines; it's a messy border. In the second place some of the red states actually like the blue states and vice versa.

4) 'This guy is an elitist'. What the hell? It seems really weird to hear this statement from the GOP, especially when used as an insult for one. For two, what's so inherently bad about being an elitist?

Elitist is unfortunately used instead of cultural and political snob. Generally speaking I don't think Obama is an elitist in the sense they want to make it out to be. The idea is that an elitist thinks they know what's best for everyone and come hell, high water, the opposition of the people, or just the fact they have their facts wrong, they will force their superior will upon the people.

The fictional Khan Noonien Singh was an elitist. On second thought perhaps Obama does look a bit like Ricardo Montalbán.

[Prak]

1) Every President has millions of people that hate him. How many people would wish death upon Bush? I really don't think that the number of people who want Obama dead significantly outnumber the number of people that want people in the Bush administration dead. Yes, racism is significant, irrational, and passionate. But so is some of the hatred for every world leader.

Except the people that would hate obama are more likely, percentage wise, to be violent and gun toting. Also there's a serious difference between "NO BLOOD FOR OIL!!" and "NO [EDITED] IN THE WHITE HOUSE!!" Usually that difference is a few psychological dissorders...

C) Who gets the nukes?

I vote for the gays and athiests...

[PhoneLobster]

doesn't mean that he is going to be assassinated. Get real.

I don't know I'd be pretty careful about declaring that Butt Lords isn't about to win his third testicle.

There are a LOT of violent fringe terrorist crazies who have various "reasons" to hate Obama. And those guys really like the whole bombs and guns thing, unlike gay-marriage-metrosexual-abortion-elitists.

I mean did you know Tzor that there are actually credulous fools running around on the internet screaming about how Obama eats babies? With the FULL knowledge that there are even MORE credulous fools that shoot and bomb health workers and medical clinics for the dread crime of being denounced as baby eaters by frothing delusionals who speak to imaginary friends?

And that's not even the MOST likely violent lunatic group to make a try on Obama.

C) Who gets the nukes?

I vote for the gays and athiests...

That's hardly fair, after all they clearly aren't the ones who have a pressing desire to use them...

[Prak]

doesn't mean that he is going to be assassinated. Get real.

I don't know I'd be pretty careful about declaring that Butt Lords isn't about to win his third testicle.

There are a LOT of violent fringe terrorist crazies who have various "reasons" to hate Obama. And those guys really like the whole bombs and guns thing, unlike gay-marriage-metrosexual-abortion-elitists.

I mean did you know Tzor that there are actually credulous fools running around on the internet screaming about how Obama eats babies? With the FULL knowledge that there are even MORE credulous fools that shoot and bomb health workers and medical clinics for the dread crime of being denounced as baby eaters by frothing delusionals who speak to imaginary friends?

And that's not even the MOST likely violent lunatic group to make a try on Obama.

C) Who gets the nukes?

I vote for the gays and athiests...

That's hardly fair, after all they clearly aren't the ones who have a pressing desire to use them...

precisely.

[Josh_Kablack]

But Obama is a l337ist, he's got mad rhetorical skillz yo, the other guy is made of so much fail that he doesn't even use the interwebs, set his own ship on fire, killing hundreds of US servicemen and then got pwned by the Viet Cong. By the way, he couldn't make a marriage to a supermodel work

....

And if the democrats were a real party that actually wanted to win, then here in my swing state, I would be seeing my third month of at least 5 TV ads per hour spinning the facts that way.

Heck, if the democrats were playing by the rules as they exist now, they would have assuaged the 57% who worry about Obama's assassination by staging a failed assassination attempt Thursday morning during the hubub of moving to Invesco field, which would have "proved" both the importance of Obama's message and the capability of Democrats on security.

That they are instead playing the "honorable loser" role yet AGAIN by playing by pre-Nixon rules has me filled with ire of near-revolutionary proportions.

[The 13 Wise Buttlords]

The Democrats, post-Reagan are a party of fucking pussies.

That's the way it always has been, that's the way it always will be.

If they screw it up this go round despite having the factors for a perfect storm, I think it'll just be time to start a new political party with a whole new structure. Let's kick out pussies-in-chief Emnauel, Reid, and Peloski.

[tzor]

I mean did you know Tzor that there are actually credulous fools running around on the internet screaming about how Obama eats babies?

And there are a ton of people who are screaming that McCain wants to send your babies to die in Iraq for the next 100 years! Not to mention the people who want to impeach Bush like yesterday because of crimes against humanity.

Yes I know that some want to make Obama their messiah which means they want him to die gloriously, like the divine Kennedy. It's practically an obsession with them.

[PhoneLobster]

And there are a ton of people who are screaming that McCain wants to send your babies to die in Iraq for the next 100 years! Not to mention the people who want to impeach Bush like yesterday because of crimes against humanity.

They however do not have assassins and bomb makers working for their glorious cause.

You do.

I mean WTF? "Oh yeah, well if my guys have proven repeatedly they murder in response to frothing hate filled god rants against baby eaters, well, SOME PEOPLE WANT TO USE DUE PROCESS TO ENFORCE THE LAW AND IMPEACH A CRIMINAL!"

Yeah sure. Totally fucking equivalent.

IF YOU ARE CRAZY.

[Josh_Kablack]

I *am* seeing attack against against Obama for the acts committed by his current neighbor when Obama was only 8 years old, and I *am* seeing them multiple times per hour today.

[JonSetanta]

C) Who gets the nukes?

I vote for the gays and athiests...

The Luddites, maybe some hippies.

[Count Arioch the 28th]

I say that I should have the nukes.

[CatharzGodfoot]

I say that I should have the nukes.

I was going to say the same thing, but unfortunately that would mean living in North Dakota. At any rate, my vote goes to whichever group that is going to make a nuclear powered rocket first. If that's you, so be it.

[Absentminded_Wizard]

But Obama is a l337ist, he's got mad rhetorical skillz yo, the other guy is made of so much fail that he doesn't even use the interwebs, set his own ship on fire, killing hundreds of US servicemen and then got pwned by the Viet Cong. By the way, he couldn't make a marriage to a supermodel work

....

And if the democrats were a real party that actually wanted to win, then here in my swing state, I would be seeing my third month of at least 5 TV ads per hour spinning the facts that way.

Heck, if the democrats were playing by the rules as they exist now, they would have assuaged the 57% who worry about Obama's assassination by staging a failed assassination attempt Thursday morning during the hubub of moving to Invesco field, which would have "proved" both the importance of Obama's message and the capability of Democrats on security.

That they are instead playing the "honorable loser" role yet AGAIN by playing by pre-Nixon rules has me filled with ire of near-revolutionary proportions.

Frankly, I'd love to see the Democrats harp about the fact that John McCain's wealth comes mostly from his wife and that she had him sign a prenup. I mean, the Republicans were all over this kind of stuff about John Kerry's marraige in '04. That said, campaign ads aren't as important in presidential races as people think.

In fact, I think McCain's vice presidential pick reveals that he realizes how desperate his condition is, no matter what the polls said before the Democratic Convention. He realized he needed a Hail Mary play to have a chance, given the structural advantages in Obama's favor. However, his pick makes less electoral college sense than Joe Biden for Obama (and the electoral college is all that's keeping the suspense here, as Obama's virtually guaranteed to win the popular vote). Though Biden is from a small state Obama was going to win anyway, he also has ties to the large swing state of Pennsylvania. Sarah Palin is the governor of a small state (in terms of electoral votes) that McCain was going to win anyway, and has ties to what? Polar bears in Canada?

[Josh_Kablack]

Don't discount the bear vote - they're in firm control of the stock market

[PhoneLobster]

So who fills the presidents shoes if McCain gets assassinated? (yeah sure) or much more likely just dies of old age.

Why surely that would be his vice presidential candidate (right?) a stealth candidate for the ultra scary Christian Dominionist movements and (actually rather closely) affiliated with some ultra scary Christian cults.

Armageddon Alert Sarge!
Everybody stay calm...

[Bigode]

So who fills the presidents shoes if McCain gets assassinated? (yeah sure) or much more likely just dies of old age.

Why surely that would be his vice presidential candidate (right?) a stealth candidate for the ultra scary Christian Dominionist movements and (actually rather closely) affiliated with some ultra scary Christian cults.

Armageddon Alert Sarge!
Everybody stay calm...

Doesn't that make McCain an ideal assassination target? That way, they even get to blame blacks, Muslims and Democrats ...

[Josh_Kablack]

http://www.iht.com/articles/2008/08/31/ ... struct.php

relevant quote:

At the very least, the process reflects McCain's history of making fast, instinctive and sometimes risky decisions. "I make them as quickly as I can, quicker than the other fellow, if I can," McCain wrote, with his top adviser Mark Salter, in his 2002 book, "Worth the Fighting For." "Often my haste is a mistake, but I live with the consequences without complaint."

just what I want in our top executive

[Bigode]

http://www.iht.com/articles/2008/08/31/ ... struct.php

relevant quote:

At the very least, the process reflects McCain's history of making fast, instinctive and sometimes risky decisions. "I make them as quickly as I can, quicker than the other fellow, if I can," McCain wrote, with his top adviser Mark Salter, in his 2002 book, "Worth the Fighting For." "Often my haste is a mistake, but I live with the consequences without complaint."

just what I want in our top executive

He's "a man of action"! (Let me go laugh myself to death, since that's far from the sole nonsense I heard today.)

[Absentminded_Wizard]

And the irony is, that's also the way George W. Bush does things. So much for McCain's "I'm not Bush" shtick.