Print

Please login or register.
1 Hour 1 Day 1 Week 1 Month Forever
Login with username, password and session length

[Rolan7]

So far the link (https://www.whitehouse.gov/farewell) is mysteriously, failing, but...

"Four more years" would be an ironic reference to Bush Jr, where that was a very popular shout in his second election.
... I fucking hope, because it was an inane shutdown-all-discussion creed at the time.  Like "Support the troops" (which we all were), but painfully direct.

I guess it was probably an ironic "It's hopeless, might as well ask for the sky" in the wake of this election.  Which is dangerous.  Giving up is, in *general*, a bad thing.  Occasionally it helps, but ideally people work together.

[Lord Shonus]

Only somewhat politics related, but I can't help but wonder what effect Charleston Shooter Dylann Roof's being sentenced to death (very quickly, by the standards of capital cases) is going to have on the political climate, particularly since he still has to be tried and sentenced in South Carolina as well.

[MetalSlimeHunt]

It probably won't. Most people support the death penalty, and even though some of the survivors and relatives of the victims requested a life sentence, it's not the first time that's happened. Perhaps the most high profile, but I suspect it'll be quickly forgotten.

Might agitate some of the people pining for a race war when compared to the Chicago torture case, though.

[Reelya]

Don't know if the story's been mentioned here yet, but Trump appointed anti-vaxxer Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to oversee vaccine safety.

But the thing is, he blames thimerosal as being the active autism-causing agent, despite that it started to be phased out in 1999 purely based on the idea of reducing mercury exposure in general. Thimerosal is basically gone, yet autism rates haven't improved. But in typical goalpost-shifting logic they'll now say it wasn't thimerosal at all, it's some other aspect of vaccines. But coming up with something that vaccines have that the disease themselves lack is going to be difficult. If autism is caused by an immune system response to the vaccine, then you'd have to wonder why common colds etc don't cause autism.

[TheBiggerFish]

Oh god WTF.

Someone bioengineer flying skeletal carp so I can sic them on Trump's Cabinet please.

[Tiruin]

Don't know if the story's been mentioned here yet, but Trump appointed anti-vaxxer Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to oversee vaccine safety.

But the thing is, he blames thimerosal as being the active autism-causing agent, despite that it started to be phased out in 1999 purely based on the idea of reducing mercury exposure in general. So I wonder what aspect of vaccines they're going to blame next? The hard part is coming up with something vaccines have that the actual disease vector itself lacks. Otherwise you'd have to reach the conclusion that diseases in general cause autism.

._.
All of these are disproven to even be connected to autism.
...
Are those appointees qualified given their stances overall? And what are the consequences for having such people in authority during the president's term? (eg Having unqualified appointees)

[☼Another☼]

There are few groups of people I disagree as harshly with as anti-vaxxers. I really hope that he doesn't actually make much change happen.

[smjjames]

Don't know if the story's been mentioned here yet, but Trump appointed anti-vaxxer Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to oversee vaccine safety.

But the thing is, he blames thimerosal as being the active autism-causing agent, despite that it started to be phased out in 1999 purely based on the idea of reducing mercury exposure in general. So I wonder what aspect of vaccines they're going to blame next? The hard part is coming up with something vaccines have that the actual disease vector itself lacks. Otherwise you'd have to reach the conclusion that diseases in general cause autism.

._.
All of these are disproven to even be connected to autism.
...
Are those appointees qualified given their stances overall? And what are the consequences for having such people in authority during the president's term? (eg Having unqualified appointees)

I think Trump shoulda nominated a ham sandwich because if the Senate confirms someone as clearly unqualified as Ben Carson for what he was appointed to, then I bet they'll confirm a ham sandwich.

As for consequences for unqualified appointees, well, I'm sure you can guess. Scandals and general screwing up is the obvious.

[Rolan7]

He should nominate a horse.  Call a spade a spade.

[smjjames]

He should nominate a horse.  Call a spade a spade.

I was making a reference to the whole 'A Grand Jury could indict a ham sandwich' thing, though I did think of the horse thing with Caligula afterwards.

edit: Or was it Ceasar that pulled that stunt? edit2: Yeah it was Caligula.

[Culise]

Caligula, who is rumoured to have planned to make his horse a consul or priest.  To the Senate (who wrote the history), it was a sign of his insanity.  To Caligula himself, most likely, it was a pointed joke at the kind of people who would fit in in the Senate and priesthood. 

EDIT: Ah, you already edited that. ^_^

[Neonivek]

Don't know if the story's been mentioned here yet, but Trump appointed anti-vaxxer Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to oversee vaccine safety.

But the thing is, he blames thimerosal as being the active autism-causing agent, despite that it started to be phased out in 1999 purely based on the idea of reducing mercury exposure in general. Thimerosal is basically gone, yet autism rates haven't improved. But in typical goalpost-shifting logic they'll now say it wasn't thimerosal at all, it's some other aspect of vaccines. But coming up with something that vaccines have that the disease themselves lack is going to be difficult. If autism is caused by an immune system response to the vaccine, then you'd have to wonder why common colds etc don't cause autism.

FREEKEN DAG NABBIT TRUMP! give me a freeken break.

Seriously America is SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO screwed...

Bad enough that Trump now has access to all your phone and internet records.

[Rolan7]

He should nominate a horse.  Call a spade a spade.

I was making a reference to the whole 'A Grand Jury could indict a ham sandwich' thing, though I did think of the horse thing with Caligula afterwards.

edit: Or was it Ceasar that pulled that stunt? edit2: Yeah it was Caligula.

Yeah Caesar was pretty sane, prior to the massive knife fiasco.
Heh, if only they knew what would come... generations later, tbf.

nin-ja'd by Culise, and yeah heh, it probably was meant as a joke.
Fakedit: can't you see I'm typing?  jeez, some people /s

[Strife26]

Don't know if the story's been mentioned here yet, but Trump appointed anti-vaxxer Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to oversee vaccine safety.

But the thing is, he blames thimerosal as being the active autism-causing agent, despite that it started to be phased out in 1999 purely based on the idea of reducing mercury exposure in general. Thimerosal is basically gone, yet autism rates haven't improved. But in typical goalpost-shifting logic they'll now say it wasn't thimerosal at all, it's some other aspect of vaccines. But coming up with something that vaccines have that the disease themselves lack is going to be difficult. If autism is caused by an immune system response to the vaccine, then you'd have to wonder why common colds etc don't cause autism.

FREEKEN DAG NABBIT TRUMP! give me a freeken break.

Seriously America is SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO screwed...

Bad enough that Trump now has access to all your phone and internet records.

Don't forget the precedent to assassinate you without trial.

[Reelya]

I really hope that he doesn't actually make much change happen.

Not too much issue there, since Kennedy's 2014 film Trace Amounts is specifically about the mercury in vaccines. Despite the mercury-based preservative being phased out almost 15 years earlier, without any improvement in the autism rates.

My prediction is that Kennedy will focus on the idea that there's a conspiracy to cover up the continued use of thiomersal. But there's no profit involved in circumventing the 1999 ban on the stuff, and it would required ongoing effort and be costly to cover up. For what purpose exactly? Other countries also phased out thiomersal at the same time, so it's not like there aren't known cost-effective alternatives to using the stuff, unless all the governments around the world all conspiring with all the drug manufacturers to keep putting mercury in vaccines. Plus the conspiracy could be undone by anyone merely testing a sample of a vaccine and finding any mercury in it.