Democratic primary watch

[Mori Chu]

Little late, no?

I'm also trying to learn and read more about Amash. Maybe he and Cuban can get together and make something happen. Cuban the name/face recognition and Amash the politician who can help him along in DC.

Living in MI I know a bit about Amash. He is a basic tea party GOP that came in during the wave of the Tea Party Movement. He is not a good choice for any seat in government because he seems to fundamentally believe the government isn't needed for anything. I get when things are good and you are well off and don't want people telling you what to do, that can be appealing. But right now, when the need of a government is as important as ever, it seems strange to still campaign as a tea party guy.

But I am hoping he sucks enough votes away from Trump in Michigan and AZ and maybe even Utah to ensure Trump loses. Early polling look really bad for him.

All the polls I saw had him taking more votes from Biden than he takes from Trump. The idea being that Republicans who dislike Trump want somebody else to vote for, and they'll hold their nose and vote for Biden if he's the only noteworthy other choice, but that if Amash is on the ballot right there as well, they'll pick him over Biden. Not likely enough of an effect to swing the election, but Biden's campaign has to be a little concerned about Amash.

[3rdside]

Small government - another philosophy of the right wing yet also complete bullsh*t. Like a small government could manage a crisis like a pandemic .. unemployment, the economy etc - these are massive undertakings.

You wonder how they keep peddling this stuff but then you realise the far right is party of cultist headlines, and not reality, which are of course lapped up by the masses.

Which is one more thing I'd change about the USA - get rid of Rupert Murdoch and his headlines as he serves no one but himself.

https://www.theguardian.com/media/2020/ ... kevin-rudd

[Nodack]

The thing about the USA is that we don’t just get rid of people. He gives the right a voice that they don’t feel they have in mainstream media. Trump has been pimping a different cable TV channel One American News trying to bully FOX into towing the Trump line. I see that channel on Dish and even RT, which is Russian TV. How Russia has a propaganda news channel in the US I’ll never know. It’s mostly Americans talking about American politics but, their bosses pulling the strings are Russian.

[Indy]

Little late, no?

I'm also trying to learn and read more about Amash. Maybe he and Cuban can get together and make something happen. Cuban the name/face recognition and Amash the politician who can help him along in DC.

Living in MI I know a bit about Amash. He is a basic tea party GOP that came in during the wave of the Tea Party Movement. He is not a good choice for any seat in government because he seems to fundamentally believe the government isn't needed for anything. I get when things are good and you are well off and don't want people telling you what to do, that can be appealing. But right now, when the need of a government is as important as ever, it seems strange to still campaign as a tea party guy.

But I am hoping he sucks enough votes away from Trump in Michigan and AZ and maybe even Utah to ensure Trump loses. Early polling look really bad for him.

All the polls I saw had him taking more votes from Biden than he takes from Trump. The idea being that Republicans who dislike Trump want somebody else to vote for, and they'll hold their nose and vote for Biden if he's the only noteworthy other choice, but that if Amash is on the ballot right there as well, they'll pick him over Biden. Not likely enough of an effect to swing the election, but Biden's campaign has to be a little concerned about Amash.

I think nationally that might be true. But it really only matters in about 7 or 8 states. Also, keep in mind early polling for 3rd party candidates is always a lot higher than it is as you approach the election. I think Gary Johnson was polling at like 15% at one point early on. People typically hate both candidates, so early on when they see a different option, they glom on. But once you get closer to the election and realize there is no way it won't just be a protest vote, most end up backing one of the 2 other candidates.

It is so stupid that we don't have ranked-choice voting in every election in this country.

[Nodack]

We lost sanity and reason awhile ago in this country.

[Nodack]

Russian media company recruiting US journalists ahead of 2020 election
https://nypost.com/2020/05/07/rt-americ ... -election/
The Russians are coming — and this time they’re looking to recruit US journalists who have lost their jobs because of the coronavirus.

RT America, a newsgathering unit of Moscow-based media company RT, is looking to beef up its US staffing ahead of the 2020 election, a flurry of recent job postings shows. Formerly called Russia Today, it’s the same stateside operation that was accused by intelligence agencies of spreading misinformation in the US prior to the 2016 election.

In September 2017, RT was forced by the Justice Department to register as a foreign agent of the Russian government. At the time, RT representatives disputed the Justice Department’s findings but said they agreed to register to avoid charges.

Currently, the company is posting on journalism job boards under the name RT — without disclosing its Russian roots or its alleged ties to Vladimir Putin’s government.

Ogorodnev told our source that he was interested in stories that can investigate the “rumor” that COVID-19 deaths are being exaggerated by US media outlets.

“No anti-Trump coverage,” Ogorodnev told our source. “We’re not The Washington Post.”

[ShelC]

Where's Joe McCarthy when you need him.

[Nodack]

Can you imagine a Russian propaganda TV News channel in the US targeting Americans during that time? I guess these are different times and it’s perfectly acceptable.

[Nodack]

This really pisses me off too. A Supreme Court vacancy opening came up during Obama’s Presidency and Republicans refused to vet anyone he picked and decided to wait an entire year hoping a Republican would be elected claiming they wanted to let America decide. Now they openly laugh about it and say of course they would fill any spot that opens now this close to the election which seems so blatantly dishonest and even evil.

'We're going to fill it': Republicans ready for any Supreme Court vacancy
GOP senators denied Obama a seat on the high court. They'll deliver for Trump.
https://www.politico.com/news/2020/05/0 ... ncy-243574

[ShelC]

Because the Rs play to win. Dems could learn a thing or two from them.

[3rdside]

The thing about the USA is that we don’t just get rid of people. He gives the right a voice that they don’t feel they have in mainstream media. Trump has been pimping a different cable TV channel One American News trying to bully FOX into towing the Trump line. I see that channel on Dish and even RT, which is Russian TV. How Russia has a propaganda news channel in the US I’ll never know. It’s mostly Americans talking about American politics but, their bosses pulling the strings are Russian.

Europe's generally too sensible for his kind of press but in USA the cat's out of the bag already, and in Brexit Britain:

"I once asked Rupert Murdoch why he was so opposed to the European Union. 'That’s easy,' he replied. 'When I go into Downing Street they do what I say; when I go to Brussels they take no notice."

Word for word .. UK press voted least trustworthy in Europe something like three years running now, worse than even Albania and Turkey.

'Just' need a stronger government, and tech co's to help out I guess, but no doubt easier said than done.

[3rdside]

The UK tv media is generally much more credible, and channels like OAN and Fox just don't exist, but the print media - The Daily Mail and The Sun newspapers - are awful, just liars and a big reason why we had Brexit:

https://www.comedycentral.co.uk/news/th ... overs-ever

[Nodack]

With all this new tech, social networking, Youtube, Facebook, Twitter, cable TV News, network news, internet web sites, there are lot of ways to spread propaganda and none of it has to be true. Who do you trust? Nobody really.

[Mori Chu]

It is so stupid that we don't have ranked-choice voting in every election in this country.

Ranked-choice would fix about 80% of what's wrong with our politics. It'd never pass as a constitutional amendment, but if states agreed to do it, they could get enough states doing it that it would sway the overall election. Maine already does it in federal elections (yay!), and many states do it for local/state races:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ranked-ch ... ted_States

[3rdside]

With all this new tech, social networking, Youtube, Facebook, Twitter, cable TV News, network news, internet web sites, there are lot of ways to spread propaganda and none of it has to be true. Who do you trust? Nobody really.

I still think you have to rely on the bigger names - The Times, the Financial Times the Economist and the Guardian (just) in the UK.

Washington Post, New York Times, Bloomberg, Boston Globe in the USA? I'd say the WSJ but it seems every time I pick it up it's a pro Trump piece, which I always struggle with.

[3rdside]

All but the guardian is paid for in the UK - generally what i don't do - but I have a password to the Economist thanks to my student bud.

[Mori Chu]

In the US, The Atlantic has been quite good lately. NPR is good, Politico is decent. I never consume CNN or MSNBC content. BBC news is pretty darn good, as is Reuters. And getting news straight from AP is not bad either.

[Nodack]

I think a Magabilly would call all of them fake news.

[3rdside]

In the US, The Atlantic has been quite good lately. NPR is good, Politico is decent. I never consume CNN or MSNBC content. BBC news is pretty darn good, as is Reuters. And getting news straight from AP is not bad either.

The Atlantic lost me a little with "The Trump Presidency Is Over" article. Why tempt fate a la Maddow four years ago and add even more fuel to the fire? Trump is the sneakiest son of a bitch ever and this election will be the most gutter trawling, lying, interfered with one of all time.

[3rdside]

Maybe I'm being paranoid .. I mean, you've got to think the country sees this shit show for what it is, but I'm obviously not sure saying that.

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/08/opin ... ticleShare

"Let’s not put too much of the blame on Kushner. After all, he’s also got Middle East peace, the border wall, the opioid crisis and reinventing the government on his plate".

Gold. Depressing but gold.