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What does a TRUMP presidency look like?

Started by FunkMonk, November 08, 2016, 11:02:57 PM

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celedhring

Spain's pulled the escort ship we had in that carrier's task force, so I guess there's real chance of fireworks this time.

Why? This came out of nowhere all of a sudden.

The Brain

Quote from: Berkut on May 11, 2019, 09:16:13 AM
Quote from: viper37 on May 10, 2019, 10:10:22 AM
Quote from: DGuller on May 10, 2019, 08:56:56 AM
they just sink into it through a combination of lack of education and lack of foresight. 
and the second often comes with the first.
that is why education is preferable to arbitrary rules.

But education doesn't actually work for a LOT of people.

Studies have shown that there are a lot of people who just make bad decisions, even when they are completely educated and aware that they are making bad decisions.

There have been some interested studies done on this - an example that is often used is the Miranda warning. The social pressure to accede to the demands of authority figures is surprisingly high for a lot of people. A lot of people, even after being informed of their right to not talk, talk to the police anyway, even when it is abundantly clear that they should absolutely not do that.

I'm not really sure what we should do about that as a society. But I think the analogy to predatory lending is apt - we mostly focus on making sure people are informed. But there are a lot of people, who even when completely informed, still make decisions that are objectively terrible for them.

I used to pretty much say "Well, tough shit for them". But now I think a lot more that the "tough shit for them" response is not very useful.

On the other hand, the alternative is almost certainly some form of nanny-statism, right? And I am not fan of that either.

I think this is why I mostly come down on the "It depends on the particular circumstances" on damn near everything now - there aren't any principles at more than a very fundamental level.

Humans are what we are - people make bad decisions *predictably*. How do we account for that in policy?

Do you not actually care about freedom?
Women want me. Men want to be with me.

derspiess

"If you can play a guitar and harmonica at the same time, like Bob Dylan or Neil Young, you're a genius. But make that extra bit of effort and strap some cymbals to your knees, suddenly people want to get the hell away from you."  --Rich Hall

Valmy

#22413
Having good policies that account for social realities instead of basing everything on ideology does not mean you do not care about freedom. Just as the same as not being willing to restrict everything in a fanatical attempt to ensure everybody gets treated fairly does not mean you do not care about justice.
Quote"This is a Russian warship. I propose you lay down arms and surrender to avoid bloodshed & unnecessary victims. Otherwise, you'll be bombed."

Zmiinyi defenders: "Russian warship, go fuck yourself."

PDH

Quote from: Valmy on May 15, 2019, 02:08:00 PM
Having good policies that account for social realities instead of basing everything on ideology does not mean you do not care about freedom. Just as the same as not being willing to restrict everything in a fanatical attempt to ensure everybody gets treated fairly does not mean you do not care about justice.

Commie
I have come to believe that the whole world is an enigma, a harmless enigma that is made terrible by our own mad attempt to interpret it as though it had an underlying truth.
-Umberto Eco

-------
"I'm pretty sure my level of depression has nothing to do with how much of a fucking asshole you are."

-CdM

The Brain

Quote from: Valmy on May 15, 2019, 02:08:00 PM
Having good policies that account for social realities instead of basing everything on ideology does not mean you do not care about freedom. Just as the same as not being willing to restrict everything in a fanatical attempt to ensure everybody gets treated fairly does not mean you do not care about justice.

OK New Berkut.
Women want me. Men want to be with me.

Valmy

Quote from: The Brain on May 15, 2019, 02:14:51 PM
Quote from: Valmy on May 15, 2019, 02:08:00 PM
Having good policies that account for social realities instead of basing everything on ideology does not mean you do not care about freedom. Just as the same as not being willing to restrict everything in a fanatical attempt to ensure everybody gets treated fairly does not mean you do not care about justice.

OK New Berkut.

Well I mean there is the concept that your right to swing your fist ends when it connects with my face. So people's freedom to make idiotic decision might need to be curtailed the second it starts doing society wide damage to the rest of us. I mean it might not be but there is certainly a discussion that could be had without an obvious good answer, but rather perhaps only a less bad one.
Quote"This is a Russian warship. I propose you lay down arms and surrender to avoid bloodshed & unnecessary victims. Otherwise, you'll be bombed."

Zmiinyi defenders: "Russian warship, go fuck yourself."

The Brain

The Lord let Lucifer choose to fall.
Women want me. Men want to be with me.

viper37

I don't do meditation.  I drink alcohol to relax, like normal people.

If Microsoft Excel decided to stop working overnight, the world would practically end.

Berkut

"If you think this has a happy ending, then you haven't been paying attention."

select * from users where clue > 0
0 rows returned

derspiess

"If you can play a guitar and harmonica at the same time, like Bob Dylan or Neil Young, you're a genius. But make that extra bit of effort and strap some cymbals to your knees, suddenly people want to get the hell away from you."  --Rich Hall

Habbaku

Pretty rich coming from a guy who carries so much water for the supporters of Trump.
The medievals were only too right in taking nolo episcopari as the best reason a man could give to others for making him a bishop. Give me a king whose chief interest in life is stamps, railways, or race-horses; and who has the power to sack his Vizier (or whatever you care to call him) if he does not like the cut of his trousers.

Government is an abstract noun meaning the art and process of governing and it should be an offence to write it with a capital G or so as to refer to people.

-J. R. R. Tolkien

derspiess

"If you can play a guitar and harmonica at the same time, like Bob Dylan or Neil Young, you're a genius. But make that extra bit of effort and strap some cymbals to your knees, suddenly people want to get the hell away from you."  --Rich Hall


The Minsky Moment

The Conrad Black pardon isn't that big a deal in the grand scheme of things - he has already served his sentence and suffered the reputational harm.  But it does exemplify what is wrong with this President.  The view that the vast powers of his office are not a public trust to be exercised in the public interest, but a personal spoil of war to be used to satisfy his whims, to enrich himself, and to reward cronies and toadies.
The purpose of studying economics is not to acquire a set of ready-made answers to economic questions, but to learn how to avoid being deceived by economists.
--Joan Robinson