Political Randomness

gbasden · Post by **gbasden** » Tue Oct 03, 2017 3:45 am

Rip wrote:

Really? Football fans lean Democratic?

The only thing that would surprise me more is if it was Nascar.

Rip · Post by **Rip** » Tue Oct 03, 2017 4:39 am

Yea, I was surprised as well which is why I posted it. I might have went with a little left leaning but that only seven teams don't lean left. Never would have thunk it.

LawBeefaroni · Post by **LawBeefaroni** » Tue Oct 03, 2017 6:29 am

Based on a phone poll of 2,300 fans. Not a huge fan of polls.

Holman · Post by **Holman** » Tue Oct 03, 2017 6:31 am

I think the most conservative areas of the country are more invested in college football than in pro football. A chart that included SEC teams would look very different.

noxiousdog · Post by **noxiousdog** » Tue Oct 03, 2017 8:46 am

Holman wrote:I think the most conservative areas of the country are more invested in college football than in pro football. A chart that included SEC teams would look very different.

Concur. Urban areas, especially the largest in the country, lean heavily democratic.

Carpet_pissr · Post by **Carpet_pissr** » Tue Oct 03, 2017 8:47 am

LawBeefaroni wrote:Based on a phone poll of 2,300 fans. Not a huge fan of polls.

Yeah, this was my first thought, it's very small (both in scope and in time), but also very interesting concept/poll. I would love to see a much bigger sample and expand this with all the kneeling/praying/standing/ brou ha ha going on.

Correlating with fan base size per team would be cool also. Then wrap it all up in a Tableau dashboard for me, so it's easy to digest, mkay? Thanks!

You would be hard pressed to answer this question from the data, but it would be interesting to see if fans of football in general, are fans of their closest NFL cities' team, even if they are not politically aligned. i.e. Charlotte based Panthers, for someone living out in the boonies of NC. I suspect these people are likely more college based football fans [edit: oops, sorry Holman, just read yours], than pro. Just a hunch.

I know people who likely lump NFL teams in with "big city livin" and all the political implications of that, and even if they love football, they are not likely to be big fans of a particular team. I'm stretching it here, but I think it goes back again to rural v urban. Not a lot of pro football teams in places like Bamberg, SC for instance.

Remus West · Post by **Remus West** » Wed Oct 04, 2017 9:30 am

There is also a large number of "didn't answer" people in there. They could easily have swung the poll either way.

Rip · Post by **Rip** » Wed Oct 04, 2017 9:34 am

Remus West wrote:There is also a large number of "didn't answer" people in there. They could easily have swung the poll either way.

Much like most elections.

LordMortis · Post by **LordMortis** » Wed Oct 04, 2017 9:43 am

https://www.newyorker.com/news/news-des ... ps-gorsuch

Interesting bit on Gerrymandering, something my state literally suffers from pretty badly.

Isgrimnur · Post by **Isgrimnur** » Wed Oct 04, 2017 3:09 pm

Veteran who deployed once, never fired weapon, now expert on police use of force

Army veteran Ryan Smith, who deployed once to Iraq in 2011 and never fired his weapon in anger, has now transferred these experiences into critiquing police use of force within the United States on social media, sources confirm.

Smith, who served one 12-month tour as a trainer for the Iraqi Army, and received a Combat Action Badge as the result of an errant mortar round landing 300 meters from his hooch, has taken to social media to boldly criticize what he views as “a completely out of control police force, with no regard for escalation of force or rules of engagement.” according to his 15th Facebook status update on this subject over the last few months.

“When I was in combat,” begins Smith’s latest tweet. “We had very strict rules of engagement that every single person in the entire military followed at all times.”

He added: “I would know, I stood guard duty at the gate like 300 freaking times.”

Spoiler:

Max Peck · Post by **Max Peck** » Fri Oct 06, 2017 11:46 am

Why do I get the feeling that this is the counterpart to Obama's Nobel...

Anti-nuclear weapons group Ican wins Nobel Peace Prize

The Nobel Peace Prize has been awarded to the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (Ican).

Berit Reiss-Andersen, the Nobel committee chair, said it was due to the group's "groundbreaking efforts to achieve a treaty prohibition" on nuclear weapons.

"We live in a world where the risk of nuclear weapons being used is greater than it has been for a long time," she continued.

She cited the North Korea issue.

I remember, back in the pre-Great days, when citing the "North Korean issue" would automatically mean that Kim was the threat. It was a simpler time, a less nuanced time.

El Guapo · Post by **El Guapo** » Fri Oct 06, 2017 11:49 am

They are so close to abolishing nuclear weapons.

Moliere · Post by **Moliere** » Fri Oct 06, 2017 11:50 am

Max Peck wrote:Why do I get the feeling that this is the counterpart to Obama's Nobel...

Obama winning the Nobel Peace prize was total b.s. He didn't do anything (e.g., broker peace in the Middle East) except get elected President. Then as President he escalated the drone war killing hundreds of civilians.

Post by **ImLawBoy** » Fri Oct 06, 2017 11:57 am

Moliere wrote:
Max Peck wrote:Why do I get the feeling that this is the counterpart to Obama's Nobel...
Obama winning the Nobel Peace prize was total b.s. He didn't do anything (e.g., broker peace in the Middle East) except get elected President. Then as President he escalated the drone war killing hundreds of civilians.

To his credit, Obama seemed to acknowledge that he did nothing to deserve it. I think he was doing a resume sketch with Stephen Colbert (i.e., putting together his resume since he was going to be out of a job soon), and Colbert noted the Nobel and asked him what it was for. Obama said, "I have no idea." (Or something to that effect.)

Moliere · Post by **Moliere** » Fri Oct 06, 2017 12:02 pm

ImLawBoy wrote:
Moliere wrote:
Max Peck wrote:Why do I get the feeling that this is the counterpart to Obama's Nobel...
Obama winning the Nobel Peace prize was total b.s. He didn't do anything (e.g., broker peace in the Middle East) except get elected President. Then as President he escalated the drone war killing hundreds of civilians.
To his credit, Obama seemed to acknowledge that he did nothing to deserve it. I think he was doing a resume sketch with Stephen Colbert (i.e., putting together his resume since he was going to be out of a job soon), and Colbert noted the Nobel and asked him what it was for. Obama said, "I have no idea." (Or something to that effect.)

I would have been extremely impressed by Obama if he had declined the award and told them to give it to someone who deserved it.

pr0ner · Post by **pr0ner** » Fri Oct 06, 2017 12:11 pm

Trump is now attacking Virginia gubernatorial candidate Ralph Northam over MS-13 and sanctuary cities while encouraging people to vote for Gillespie.

Thanks, Trump, for making it less likely that I will vote for Gillespie in November.

Captain Caveman · Post by **Captain Caveman** » Fri Oct 06, 2017 12:56 pm

pr0ner wrote:Trump is now attacking Virginia gubernatorial candidate Ralph Northam over MS-13 and sanctuary cities while encouraging people to vote for Gillespie.

Thanks, Trump, for making it less likely that I will vote for Gillespie in November.

It looks like he's just following Gillespie's lead.

The mainstreaming of the alt-right cesspool is so disheartening and something the GOP needs to reckon with... unless they're totally cool with being the party of racists and conspiracy theorists. So far, it seems they are.

pr0ner · Post by **pr0ner** » Fri Oct 06, 2017 1:13 pm

Amazingly, I haven't seen that ad on TV yet. Oy.

FWIW, Gillespie said he wasn't expecting Trump to tweet out support today.

El Guapo · Post by **El Guapo** » Fri Oct 06, 2017 1:18 pm

pr0ner wrote:Amazingly, I haven't seen that ad on TV yet. Oy.

FWIW, Gillespie said he wasn't expecting Trump to tweet out support today.

I am sure that he was delighted to receive Trump's explicit support in a state that Trump lost by 5 points in what was a strong Republican year.

Captain Caveman · Post by **Captain Caveman** » Fri Oct 06, 2017 1:46 pm

Captain Caveman wrote: The mainstreaming of the alt-right cesspool is so disheartening and something the GOP needs to reckon with... unless they're totally cool with being the party of racists and conspiracy theorists. So far, it seems they are.

OMG. Watch this to see how fucking crazy some of these guys are:

https://twitter.com/jbouie/status/916355294531272704

malchior · Post by **malchior** » Fri Oct 06, 2017 2:16 pm

He mentally wanders all over the place in his interview. I mean what is with elected GOP officials and insanely idiotic conspiracy theories. He is saying that George Soros is a Jew who might have turned other Jews into the Nazis...good lord. Oh and he might be behind the Charlottesville rally?!? How did we get here?

tjg_marantz · Post by **tjg_marantz** » Fri Oct 06, 2017 4:19 pm

The big divide.

Pyperkub · Post by **Pyperkub** » Fri Oct 06, 2017 6:03 pm

Lawsuit incoming, IMHO:

Attorney General Jeff Sessions instructed federal agencies and attorneys on Friday to protect religious liberty in a broad, yet vague, guidance memo that critics fear could give people of faith — including government workers and contractors — a loophole to ignore federal bans on discrimination against women and LGBT people.

Max Peck · Post by **Max Peck** » Fri Oct 06, 2017 8:04 pm

https://twitter.com/wolfenstein/status/ ... 1382585344

@wolfenstein wrote:Make America Nazi-Free Again. #NoMoreNazis #Wolf2

Who could have guessed that Nazi snowflakes are a bunch of snowflakes?

It's a hell of a time in America when a video game taking an anti-Nazi stance is considered by some to be too controversial. Yet here we are.

The video game Wolfenstein II, the latest iteration of an exercise in killing virtual Nazis, has angered Nazis with an online presence because it is about... killing Nazis.

"Make America Nazi-Free Again. #NoMoreNazis #Wolf2," reads a tweet from the video game's account, alongside a trailer for the upcoming release.

The video is brief, just 13 seconds long, but shows heavily armored, mask-wearing, jackbooted soldiers marching through the streets under Nazi flags. "Not my America," reads the text over the top of the images.

A certain subgroup of folks got angry online with the game-maker, Bethesda Softworks, for producing a product that thinks Nazis are bad. Many claimed they weren't angry about the anti-Nazi stance per se, but rather that the game was tapping into liberal anger. Certainly it is political to co-opt President Donald Trump's "Make America Great Again" slogan, but Bethesda Softworks is hardly the first one to play with the line made famous by the billionaire Republican.

But in the wake of the deadly Charlottesville, Virginia, rally, where Nazis marched and chanted anti-Semitic slogans under the banner of "Uniting the Right," Nazism is now apparently a right vs. left debate.

So, people on Twitter got angry about a promo saying Nazis were bad.

Holman · Post by **Holman** » Fri Oct 06, 2017 8:17 pm

GamerGate was in bed with the Alt-Right from the beginning.

I grew up thinking gaming nerds like me were special and sensitive and good. It's hard to accept that nerd culture is where some of America's racist/sexist/fascist pathology is rooted, but that's the reality. There's no denying it.

We have to fix this.

Max Peck · Post by **Max Peck** » Tue Oct 10, 2017 12:47 pm

It's not just Trump...

Puerto Rico has received millions less in donations than the mainland

In the days after Hurricane Harvey flooded Houston, hundreds of millions of dollars’ worth of donations poured into disaster relief agencies. But that level of aid is nowhere to be found for victims of Hurricane Maria, even though it’s been weeks since the storm knocked out clean water and power to much of Puerto Rico and nearly leveled the island’s infrastructure.

So far, the American Red Cross has received $350 million in donations and pledges to rebuild after Harvey, dwarfing the $9 million collected for Hurricane Maria. And while the private sector has donated $271 million to Harvey and Irma relief efforts in cash and other quantifiable donations, according to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation Corporate Citizenship Center, they’ve given only $32.9 million toward Maria relief.

“We’re seeing a trickle of funds still coming in, but it’s a trickle,” explained Bob Ottenhoff, who heads the Center for Disaster Philanthropy, which seeks to improve how people give to disaster relief. “It’s in part because the news cycle has moved onto other things. So now there’s a new hurricane that people are paying attention to … there’s guns, there’s been Las Vegas. So all of that just kind of hastens the normal end of the giving pattern.”

Rip · Post by **Rip** » Fri Oct 13, 2017 1:32 pm

Word on the street is Trump is about to appoint me Ambassador to the U.S. Virgin Islands.

malchior · Post by **malchior** » Fri Oct 13, 2017 3:10 pm

Max Peck wrote:It's not just Trump...

Puerto Rico has received millions less in donations than the mainland
In the days after Hurricane Harvey flooded Houston, hundreds of millions of dollars’ worth of donations poured into disaster relief agencies. But that level of aid is nowhere to be found for victims of Hurricane Maria, even though it’s been weeks since the storm knocked out clean water and power to much of Puerto Rico and nearly leveled the island’s infrastructure.

So far, the American Red Cross has received $350 million in donations and pledges to rebuild after Harvey, dwarfing the $9 million collected for Hurricane Maria. And while the private sector has donated $271 million to Harvey and Irma relief efforts in cash and other quantifiable donations, according to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation Corporate Citizenship Center, they’ve given only $32.9 million toward Maria relief.

“We’re seeing a trickle of funds still coming in, but it’s a trickle,” explained Bob Ottenhoff, who heads the Center for Disaster Philanthropy, which seeks to improve how people give to disaster relief. “It’s in part because the news cycle has moved onto other things. So now there’s a new hurricane that people are paying attention to … there’s guns, there’s been Las Vegas. So all of that just kind of hastens the normal end of the giving pattern.”

If there is one thing that this whole debacle has proven...it is that the United States is still extremely racist. Despite a black President. It is amazing how good Obama had to be to even get elected considered how abysmally racist we really are.

Skinypupy · Post by **Skinypupy** » Fri Oct 13, 2017 3:38 pm

malchior wrote:
Max Peck wrote:It's not just Trump...

Puerto Rico has received millions less in donations than the mainland
In the days after Hurricane Harvey flooded Houston, hundreds of millions of dollars’ worth of donations poured into disaster relief agencies. But that level of aid is nowhere to be found for victims of Hurricane Maria, even though it’s been weeks since the storm knocked out clean water and power to much of Puerto Rico and nearly leveled the island’s infrastructure.

So far, the American Red Cross has received $350 million in donations and pledges to rebuild after Harvey, dwarfing the $9 million collected for Hurricane Maria. And while the private sector has donated $271 million to Harvey and Irma relief efforts in cash and other quantifiable donations, according to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation Corporate Citizenship Center, they’ve given only $32.9 million toward Maria relief.

“We’re seeing a trickle of funds still coming in, but it’s a trickle,” explained Bob Ottenhoff, who heads the Center for Disaster Philanthropy, which seeks to improve how people give to disaster relief. “It’s in part because the news cycle has moved onto other things. So now there’s a new hurricane that people are paying attention to … there’s guns, there’s been Las Vegas. So all of that just kind of hastens the normal end of the giving pattern.”
If there is one thing that this whole debacle has proven...it is that the United States is still extremely racist. Despite a black President. It is amazing how good Obama had to be to even get elected considered how abysmally racist we really are.

Not that I disagree, but I think the lack of donations to Puerto Rico has much more to do with "donation fatigue" from back-to-back-to-back tragedies.

I'm guessing that if it had happened in a vacuum, donations would have been similar to what we saw for Houston.

noxiousdog · Post by **noxiousdog** » Fri Oct 13, 2017 3:42 pm

Skinypupy wrote: Not that I disagree, but I think the lack of donations to Puerto Rico has much more to do with "donation fatigue" from back-to-back-to-back tragedies.

I'm guessing that if it had happened in a vacuum, donations would have been similar to what we saw for Houston.

Donation fatigue (and available funds) is legit, but it wouldn't have been the same as Houston. Puerto Rico isn't a state and doesn't want to be. In addition, I'd bet that 50% of the folks don't even know they are United States Citizens.

The media and celebrity coverage wasn't anywhere close to the same. There was no JJ Watt pulling in 30 million in donations.

etc/etc

El Guapo · Post by **El Guapo** » Fri Oct 13, 2017 3:49 pm

noxiousdog wrote:
Skinypupy wrote: Not that I disagree, but I think the lack of donations to Puerto Rico has much more to do with "donation fatigue" from back-to-back-to-back tragedies.

I'm guessing that if it had happened in a vacuum, donations would have been similar to what we saw for Houston.
Donation fatigue (and available funds) is legit, but it wouldn't have been the same as Houston. Puerto Rico isn't a state and doesn't want to be. In addition, I'd bet that 50% of the folks don't even know they are United States Citizens.

The media and celebrity coverage wasn't anywhere close to the same. There was no JJ Watt pulling in 30 million in donations.

etc/etc

I do wonder how this is going to effect Puerto Ricans feelings about the future status of the island. I would assume that this is going to erode support for continuing with their current status as a territory. I would think that it could go either of two directions - either, "we would be getting much more help if we were a state, so we should pursue that", or "F you, you're not going to help us anyway, let's go our own way".

LordMortis · Post by **LordMortis** » Fri Oct 13, 2017 3:57 pm

El Guapo wrote: I would think that it could go either of two directions - either, "we would be getting much more help if we were a state, so we should pursue that", or "F you, you're not going to help us anyway, let's go our own way".

I was under the impression that Puerto Rico is already being crushed by massive debt and have been seeking financial relief from the federal government but they don't want to pay federal taxes and that has been tearing at them for a while now.

Skinypupy · Post by **Skinypupy** » Fri Oct 13, 2017 4:02 pm

noxiousdog wrote:
Skinypupy wrote: Not that I disagree, but I think the lack of donations to Puerto Rico has much more to do with "donation fatigue" from back-to-back-to-back tragedies.

I'm guessing that if it had happened in a vacuum, donations would have been similar to what we saw for Houston.
Donation fatigue (and available funds) is legit, but it wouldn't have been the same as Houston. Puerto Rico isn't a state and doesn't want to be. In addition, I'd bet that 50% of the folks don't even know they are United States Citizens.

The media and celebrity coverage wasn't anywhere close to the same. There was no JJ Watt pulling in 30 million in donations.

etc/etc

Not sure I buy that argument. Haiti got $15 billion in donations after their earthquake. If the Puerto Rico devastation had happened without being on tail-end of everything else, I could see the same sort of money coming in.

I have no data to back that up, mind you. Just a gut feeling.

malchior · Post by **malchior** » Fri Oct 13, 2017 4:09 pm

I don't believe that a 10:1 lag in fund raising can be explained by donation fatigue. I will say that I bet there is a lot of informal aid coming to PR. I know of 2 people who just flew down with 700 lbs. in supplies on their own. There is a relatively deep network in the NYC area and Florida that is helping out. Still I can't help but think that the very disparate level of help is pretty damning. It doesn't help that the racist-in-chief is blasting them. Useless POS.

El Guapo · Post by **El Guapo** » Fri Oct 13, 2017 4:09 pm

LordMortis wrote:
El Guapo wrote: I would think that it could go either of two directions - either, "we would be getting much more help if we were a state, so we should pursue that", or "F you, you're not going to help us anyway, let's go our own way".
I was under the impression that Puerto Rico is already being crushed by massive debt and have been seeking financial relief from the federal government but they don't want to pay federal taxes and that has been tearing at them for a while now.

IIRC (and not an expert on this) but part of the problem is that its territorial status is hurting it in a lot of ways now - I believe states can declare bankruptcy, but Puerto Rico can't (because of its territory status and a some archaic law I think).

Which sounds like it makes the case for statehood stronger, though I think there's also a reasonable (albeit emotional) "FU United States" case to be made as well.

But this all seems to hurt the argument for ongoing territorial status.

malchior · Post by **malchior** » Fri Oct 13, 2017 4:13 pm

States can't declare bankruptcy. Only municipalities of *states* with their state's permission. Some have pushed to allow Puerto Rico to file but it hasn't gone anywhere.

Max Peck · Post by **Max Peck** » Mon Oct 16, 2017 6:42 am

Ah, crap. I was hoping we won't need a thread for the Kurdish-Iraqi-Turkish War at least until IS was dealt with, but the hope seems to be fading.

Clashes have been reported between Iraqi and Kurdish forces after Baghdad sent troops towards disputed areas held by the Kurds in Kirkuk province.

State TV said government forces had taken control of some areas, including oil fields, "without fighting". But Kurdish officials denied this.

An exchange of artillery fire is said to have occurred south of Kirkuk city.

The US government has said it is very concerned and urged dialogue "as the best option to defuse tensions".

Max Peck · Post by **Max Peck** » Mon Oct 16, 2017 7:23 am

It's sounding less likely that Chris Christie will be able to appoint a replacement for Bob Menendez.

Corruption case against U.S. Senator Menendez may fall apart

The heart of the bribery case against U.S. Senator Bob Menendez could collapse mid-trial on Monday, after the judge overseeing the trial suggested he might throw out the most serious charges in light of a U.S. Supreme Court decision limiting the definition of corruption.

Judge William Walls, of federal court in Newark, New Jersey, is expected on Monday to rule on the defense’s motion to dismiss, five days after U.S. prosecutors rested their case against Menendez, a New Jersey Democrat.

Walls expressed serious doubts at that time that the evidence was sufficient, citing last year’s Supreme Court decision vacating the corruption conviction of former Virginia Governor Bob McDonnell.

Prosecutors have accused Menendez, 63, of taking bribes from Florida ophthalmologist Salomon Melgen in exchange for using his office to help the doctor in a variety of ways. Both men deny wrongdoing and say Melgen was acting out of friendship.

Following several hours of arguments on Wednesday, Walls seemed prepared to accept the defense’s contention that McDonnell invalidated a bribery theory known as “stream of benefits,” in which someone offers bribes essentially to keep a politician on retainer, rather than paying for specific acts.

“Does stream of benefits still live?” Walls asked prosecutors. “If stream of benefits still lives, then you’ve got a chance.”

The McDonnell decision has already caused several corruption convictions to be overturned, including those of former top New York state lawmakers Sheldon Silver and Dean Skelos.

Even if he dismisses the top charges, Walls has said the trial will continue on at least one charge: that Menendez made false statements by failing to disclose the gifts.

Would it be ironic if a corrupt GOP Virginia governor getting off scot-free prevented a corrupt GOP New Jersey governor from replacing a corrupt Democratic New Jersey senator? Or is that just routine business for the swamp?

El Guapo · Post by **El Guapo** » Mon Oct 16, 2017 10:24 am

Well, looser corruption rules protects all corrupt politicians of any party. A rising swamp lifts all yachts, as it were.