m308gunner

Do people still listen to Ben Shapiro?

Welcome to VGS Jaden! Glad to have you.

Well to be fair Joe Rogan does not pretend to be a political commentator. He just invites people onto his show that he thinks would be interesting to talk to. I still think he's kind of a meat head, to be honest, but he does keep conversations going. Neither Scott nor Joe are republicans though. They're both residents of California and espouse some pretty far left policies. They've just made enough "F#@& You Money" (their words, not mine) in their entertainment careers that they feel more free to not adhere to a more easily defined political ideology/agendas.

Well played

Oh God, not until you mentioned it! Good times...

Truly your level of analysis is leaps and bounds beyond the common man. With such a well laid out argument I humbly prostrate myself before your considerable intellect and beg for mercy.

I thought we already covered this point? A quick google search turned up a BBC article that seems pertinent to the subject at hand . https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-42557818 As to the "personal benefit", *shrugs* I've addressed that point multiple times, though obviously not to everyone's satisfaction.

Sorry, was busy with real life stuff for a few days there. If you have 20 minutes of free time check out the video. Mr. Adams describes the persuasion game of Trump much better than I.

Collect? No. But use? All the dang time. I will add that proper pre-heating is key to an effortless cleanup, depending on the meal being prepared. I cook eggs in mine all the time with no muss or fuss. It's practically non-stick at this point.

Then perhaps we should find a way to retroactively label this thread a debate, since for the most part it looks more like a conversation, to me at least. And considering the subject at hand (Trump) unless you want to have an aneurysm it is vital that one maintains some level of humor (which the left ironically has lost for all intents and purposes). I contest your characterization of my clearly labeled troll comment, especially now that I have explained it's point and meaning. I'll read the article again. It looks like I may not have understood it the first time. And there's PLENTY of evidence that Democrats (and a fair number of people in this thread) continue to try to read Trump's mind (and mine apparently). Go back and read some of my posts for context. Also, again, keep in mind that the way to read Trump is through the lens of persuasion. Until the Democrats stop treating Trump like the Republicans of old they will continue to hit the same wall, to their most likely 2020 decimation.

Republicans, Moderates and a few Democrats (if Scott Adams is to be believed). And your sophistic hand waving and poor characterization of the sum and total of what I have said in this thread is below the level of discourse we have been enjoying so far, Link's one point not withstanding.

*runs out to mailbox in vain hope that maybe Santa came late...*

Little Mermaid CIB, Mega Man 3 CIB, and TMNT CIB (admittedly after the newest Cinemasacre video :P).

What's old is new again. Welcome to VGS!

Wow! Welcome back. I always thought the second guy in from the front looked like Mr.Bean (Rowan Atkinson) with an afro

Perhaps I am less inclined to an emotional state of mind, but from an objective standpoint if two adults engage in certain behaviors that may raise the eyebrows of the common man or woman, and neither party raises a red flag, we literally have no room to make a value judgement on it (depending on what kind of authoritarian or libertarian worldview one uses as their reference point). That would be scenario A, which is what Trump seems to be alluding to. You can claim that "no context makes this ok", but it is your subjective opinion and assumption that the situation matches a perceived model you seem to already be holding to. If one of them does raise the red flag (scenario B), then that is when people should start to take notice and move though the proper channels of law enforcement and the courts (of which Link was kind enough to provide a list of). No line of thinking another person holds is responsible for people coming or not coming forward. If you think I'm trying to excuse any behavior you would have to deliberately misinterpret my statements. Human interactions and psychology are far too complex for pat answers and mind reading.

As much as I hate referencing Wikipedia, search for "List of federal political scandals in the United States". It gives a breakdown by administration and branch for all the scandals dating back to George Washington. The Affordable Care act's intention may have been decent. I say may, because I don't have the time and energy at the moment (with all the Christmas prep work) to delve into that subject in detail. The one issue I didn't appreciate was the mandate, but again, time is a factor. As far as the ideologies you follow... man that's a book's worth of posts to address. Not all bad, but not all good either (but that depends on how you define good and bad, or even if you subscribe to the notion that either exist ). As for draining the swamp and impeachment, I'm sure there are correlations, but it would require more in-depth analysis. Right off the bat though, the circumstances surrounding both impeachments are rather different, though the common factor you mentioned does lend one to think there's something to the swamp biting back.

I wasn't aware you were the arbiter of humor, but just to be clear, you're not. If I want to inject some frivolity into the preceding that is my prerogative, just as apparently it's other people's prerogative to impose their own interpretations of my statements that do not reflect what I actually said. But I digress. And yes, Trump's main strength is in the art of persuasion, though one could characterize it as fooling. He seems to intuitively know what to say when and to whom for whatever effect he desires, for good or ill. I did read the article you linked to. And sure, things could turn out just as that article purports. Truth be told the intricacies of the economy are not in my wheel house. But you know what? Experts have been spelling out doom for the economy since before Trump took office, before his tax plan was signed, so color me cautious. I'm not sure it's a good idea to lump all conservatives into a single group and characterize them the way you have, unless you're talking about "conservative" politicians, in which case, yeah, I'd say your closer to the truth than not. Regarding whether or not good economies include the things you mentioned, I think you'd first have to define what you consider a "good economy" and then pinpoint how you believe those issues are caused solely by economic factors and not societal/psychological/biological factors. Ok, so we're both saying the same thing. Good. Issue cleared up.

+1 on the scotch. Happy Birthday!

Ah, yes, point taken.

No, I don't believe my coworkers are representative of the average but I don't pretend to know if there is an "average Trump supporter" as it were. How do you even measure that? The cult of personality is one of Trumps most effective persuasion techniques, and I had hoped the Democrats and media would have learned that by now. They are literally making him stronger almost every day. As I mentioned early in this thread, they seriously dropped the ball by starting things out at "11". There's just nowhere to go after that, but since Trump keeps getting them (the media) clicks I'm not sure they care or are thinking ahead all that much.

As I told Link, please refer to the *enters troll* notification. Maybe that means something different than I assumed it does?...

I never said they wouldn't or couldn't or shouldn't. I'm not sure why you think I did. It seems like we're constantly misunderstanding each other. Not mad, just puzzled. I think you missed my *engage troll* notification at the beginning and end of that line. It was meant as tongue in cheek. I'm sure I could dig up an article or two as well, but it seems like different people measure a good economy different ways. Keep in mind that Trump doesn't deal so much with facts as persuasion, and his persuasion game is strong economically. As for whataboutism, I agree, it is bullshit. Now refer back to the "troll" notification. You can stop assuming facts not in evidence now.

All I can say is I work for and with viciously smart people who are Trump supporters who hear opinions much like the ones I've seen in this thread and say "Boy they must really want to see a second term for Trump". I thought I was being general enough with the "we hired" that you wouldn't feel the need to be so specific, but yes, what you said. And I LOLed at the bolded part.