2016 elections - because it's never too early

[Berkut]

http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2014/07/when-extremism-goes-mainstream/374955/

Jeb Bush is the sane one?

Jesus wept.

[Syt]

http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2014/07/when-extremism-goes-mainstream/374955/

Jeb Bush is the sane one?

Jesus wept.

As for the party leaders, consider some of the things that are now part of the official Texas Republican Party platform, as highlighted byThe New Yorker's Hendrik Hertzberg:

- That the Texas Legislature should "ignore, oppose, refuse, and nullify" federal laws it doesn't like.
- That when it comes to "unelected bureaucrats" (meaning, Hertzberg notes, almost the entire federal workforce), Congress should "defund and abolish these positions."
- That all federal "enforcement activities" in Texas "must be conducted under the auspices of the county sheriff with jurisdiction in that county." (That would leave the FBI, air marshals, immigration - officials, DEA personnel, and so on subordinate to the Texas versions of Sheriff Joe Arpaio.)
- That "the Voting Rights Act of 1965, codified and updated in 1973, be repealed and not reauthorized."
- That the U.S. withdraw from the United Nations, the International Monetary Fund, the World Trade Organization, and the World Bank.
- That governments at all levels should "ignore any plea for money to fund global climate change or 'climate justice' initiatives."
- That "all adult citizens should have the legal right to conscientiously choose which vaccines are administered to themselves, or their minor children, without penalty for refusing a vaccine.
- That "no level of government shall regulate either the ownership or possession of firearms." (Period, no exceptions.)

[derspiess]

Is this what an American xenophobe looks like?

[Valmy]

•That "all adult citizens should have the legal right to conscientiously choose which vaccines are administered to themselves, or their minor children, without penalty for refusing a vaccine.

Nice to see the Texas Republican Party eagerly embraces idiocy from the left as well.  Bipartisanism!

[derspiess]

http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2014/07/when-extremism-goes-mainstream/374955/

Jeb Bush is the sane one?

Jesus wept.

What is your problem with Jeb?

[Valmy]

Yeah that little platform meeting was a disgrace.  The funny part is those were not even the most controversial parts.

[frunk]

"I don't want to get into the debate about climate change. But I'll simply point out that I think in academia we all agree that the temperature on Mars is exactly as it is here. Nobody will dispute that. Yet there are no coal mines on Mars. There's no factories on Mars that I'm aware of." —Kentucky state Senator Brandon Smith (fact-check: the average temperature on Mars is -81 degrees).

I'm not sure I can even pretend to understand what he's trying to say here.

[Valmy]

What he is saying is something along the lines of 'there are planets with no coal mines that are hot as well' which is true.  They either have massive amounts of greenhouse gasses or are closer to a star than we are though.  Of course one of those planets is not Mars.

Wasn't it Strix who made jokes about how the animals in the Jurassic must have driven SUVs because of all the greenhouse gasses in the atmosphere back then?  It is along those lines.

[derspiess]

•That "all adult citizens should have the legal right to conscientiously choose which vaccines are administered to themselves, or their minor children, without penalty for refusing a vaccine.

Nice to see the Texas Republican Party eagerly embraces idiocy from the left as well.  Bipartisanism!

The most time I've spent in Texas was essentially a long layover, but it sounds like a fun place.  A buddy of mine who moved from Denver to Houston last year says there are commercials for local businesses offering discounts for "card carrying Republicans" 

[frunk]

What he is saying is something along the lines of 'there are planets with no coal mines that are hot as well' which is true.  They either have massive amounts of greenhouse gasses or are closer to a star than we are though.  Of course one of those planets is not Mars.

Wasn't it Strix who made jokes about how the animals in the Jurassic must have driven SUVs because of all the greenhouse gasses in the atmosphere back then?  It is along those lines.

So his argument is that global climate change claims that all the heat in the universe is generated by human activity?

[Valmy]

The most time I've spent in Texas was essentially a long layover, but it sounds like a fun place.  A buddy of mine who moved from Denver to Houston last year says there are commercials for local businesses offering discounts for "card carrying Republicans" 

In Houston?  Huh they tend to vote Dem.

[Valmy]

So his argument is that global climate change claims that all the heat in the universe is generated by human activity?

Basically yeah.

[Eddie Teach]

the temperature on Mars is exactly as it is here. Nobody will dispute that.

Indeed, the temperature on Mars is a measurement of how fast particles are moving, just like it is here.

[derspiess]

What he is saying is something along the lines of 'there are planets with no coal mines that are hot as well' which is true.  They either have massive amounts of greenhouse gasses or are closer to a star than we are though.  Of course one of those planets is not Mars.

The part about the temperatures being the same is pretty funny, sad, and embarrassing. 

But to balance it out I'll mention the time Sheila Jackson Lee visited NASA and asked if the Mars rover was able to take a picture of the flag Neil Armstrong planted.  IIRC she was serving on the House Science Committee at the time.

[derspiess]

The most time I've spent in Texas was essentially a long layover, but it sounds like a fun place.  A buddy of mine who moved from Denver to Houston last year says there are commercials for local businesses offering discounts for "card carrying Republicans" 

In Houston?  Huh they tend to vote Dem.

He's in the burbs, about 45 minutes outside of downtown I believe.