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[Shadowlord]

He said he was going on an Oreo boycott ages ago, though, because Nabisco moved their factory to Mexico. Now he's just holding Christie to that too, apparently.

Because apparently Trump doesn't eat enough Oreos to make them move back, but hey, what if we add Christie to the boycott... #trumpthoughtprocess

Edit: The thread stopped, so here's a quote from Duck Soup (starring the Marx Brothers) during the thread's intermission:
"If any form of pleasure is exhibited, report to me and it will be prohibited! I'll put my foot down, so shall it be... this is the land of the free! The last man nearly ruined this place he didn't know what to do with it. If you think this country's bad off now, just wait till I get through with it! The country's taxes must be fixed, and I know what to do with it. If you think you're paying too much now, just wait till I get through with it!" - Rufus T. Firefly

[Andux]

Marco Rubio amuses me. Can we keep him?

And in shitposting news, the DNC has released their footage of the Nevada state convention.

[Reelya]

I know that a few months after I saw a few of Truean's posts I was talking with a cousin of mine about something or other, she said I should become a lawyer. I just nodded my head. But inside, inside I was thinking, "No. Fuck no. Not in a million years, no."

They're already weaponizing cyberlawyers to replace paralegals (Washington Post).

ROSS has joined the ranks of law firm BakerHostetler, which employs about 50 human lawyers just in its bankruptcy practice. The AI machine, powered by IBM’s Watson technology, will serve as a legal researcher for the firm. It will be responsible for sifting through thousands of legal documents to bolster the firm’s cases. These legal researcher jobs are typically filled by fresh-out-of-school lawyers early on in their careers.

It's also cloud-based, so in theory it gets a lot cheaper the more law firms sign onto this. Obviously in the short to mid term this means a lot let jobs for young graduate lawyers - a lot of the graduate work is button-pushing and sifting through legal data on computer nerwork. ROSS acts as a much smarter front-end for all that data, and cuts through a lot of the grunt work. However it could actually reduce the cost and raise the quality of legal services down the track, so it's not so clear how that would affect the legal profession in the longer term.

[sluissa]

I know that a few months after I saw a few of Truean's posts I was talking with a cousin of mine about something or other, she said I should become a lawyer. I just nodded my head. But inside, inside I was thinking, "No. Fuck no. Not in a million years, no."

They're already weaponizing cyberlawyers to replace paralegals (Washington Post).

ROSS has joined the ranks of law firm BakerHostetler, which employs about 50 human lawyers just in its bankruptcy practice. The AI machine, powered by IBM’s Watson technology, will serve as a legal researcher for the firm. It will be responsible for sifting through thousands of legal documents to bolster the firm’s cases. These legal researcher jobs are typically filled by fresh-out-of-school lawyers early on in their careers.

It's also cloud-based, so in theory it gets a lot cheaper the more law firms sign onto this. Obviously in the short to mid term this means a lot let jobs for young graduate lawyers - a lot of the graduate work is button-pushing and sifting through legal data on computer nerwork. ROSS acts as a much smarter front-end for all that data, and cuts through a lot of the grunt work. However it could actually reduce the cost and raise the quality of legal services down the track, so it's not so clear how that would affect the legal profession in the longer term.

What's impressive is that they've managed to build an AI that can sift through our legal system and not fall apart at all the paradoxes. Of course it could be worse... we could have actually implemented Asimov's 3 Laws and ended up with a machine that decided we were going to allow ourselves to come to harm through our legal system and decided to take over... on the other hand... how would that be bad?

[mainiac]

http://www.motherjones.com/kevin-drum/2016/05/donald-trump-changes-his-mind-value-tax-returns

[sluissa]

I'm honestly not sure what value the tax returns have anyway, but I'd be willing to be enlightened. Not saying he shouldn't release them if he wants to for some reason, but presumably anyone with that much money is going to have a team of accountants making sure they stay legal. And as long as they're legal and there's no risk of him ending up in jail before November, what's the big deal? Maybe ask the IRS to skim the returns of the remaining candidates just before the conventions, but I don't see what good would come of publicizing it.

As for internal campaign stuff... I could see asking for them just to make sure nothing embarrassing or illegal is going to pop up with their running mate.

[Sheb]

For starter, Trump has made a big deal of how rich he is. Tax returns would allow to double check that.

[sluissa]

Why does that matter? How do personal finances matter to the job of President?

[Frumple]

General integrity? They can say a lot about how and how much someone's exploiting the systems as is.

Plus yeah, if someone's been playing up something like personal wealth or financial capability, and it turns out they're more or less lying out their ass on the front, that... kinda' matters. Overtly lying to the public is something that's been seen as somewhat detrimental to the public opinion of a few presidents in the past :V

[Rolan7]

One of his talking points has been that he's rich, because he's great at managing things, so he'll do a great job managing the country (especially the economy).

Some people I know contend that he actually sucks at managing things, and hasn't made significantly more money than a money market account.  He just started rich.  I don't know if that's true, but a tax return would show it.

[sluissa]

I find it hard to fault people for exploiting the system. I completely agree that the system is broken and for people who have the ability and need to hire a team of accountants, is very exploitable, but that's not the fault of anyone actually paying taxes unless they're actively lobbying for more tax loopholes.

The system is what it is and you're a fool if you don't take advantage of it.

As for his claims of wealth... whatever the exact number I can almost guarantee he's still better off than almost anyone voting for him. What makes you think that this, whatever the number might turn out to be, would be the metaphorical straw on the voting camel's back?

One of his talking points has been that he's rich, because he's great at managing things, so he'll do a great job managing the country (especially the economy).

Some people I know contend that he actually sucks at managing things, and hasn't made significantly more money than a money market account.  He just started rich.  I don't know if that's true, but a tax return would show it.

I've seen those reports, and I believe them, and honestly, at this point it doesn't affect my opinion of him. Most politicians are shit at managing things. Most politicians are shit at economic issues. Besides, the president, despite what everyone likes to claim, has very little input in the economy or anything to do with money in the government.

[Rolan7]

Well... yeah, I thought his argument of "The system is broken and I'm experienced in exploiting it, so I know how to fix it" was pretty fresh and not inherently "wrong".  It makes some sense.

But if it turns out he's been lying about this major talking point, his financial success, that would be a pretty big mark against him.  Because... outright lying to promote himself in the race.  That's, bad.

[sluissa]

Lying is politics, Clinton and Sanders are both doing their share of lying. Ted Cruz, who is still getting significant voting blocs despite being out of the race for weeks now, was characterized for a bit as "Lyin' Ted"

Honestly, this election it seems like nobody cares about honesty anymore. The most honest candidates out of the Republican side never gained traction. Not that there was much of a fight over it this year on the Dem side other than Sanders, but Sanders, who is characterized even by many Republicans as the most honest candidate in the race, is losing.

[Shadowlord]

@Rolan: But lying and making claims without evidence are literally his entire thing!

[Rolan7]

And in this case he would be lying about being a good liar- and getting caught in that lie XD