Idiocracy

[Heroic Shrimp]

https://twitter.com/PeterAlexander/status/953366300042190849

That Trump is 239 lbs might be the most outrageous lie this administration has ever peddled.

Everything other than his height seems suspicious.

The height is fabricated too:

https://twitter.com/Mikel_Jollett/status/953657365986885633

https://twitter.com/Mikel_Jollett/status/953660795040161793

https://twitter.com/Mikel_Jollett/status/953661215091261441

Measurements of 6'3" and 239 pounds puts him (deliberately) 1 pound under considered obese.  He's clearly no more than 6'1" and almost certainly more than 239 pounds, so there's really no question that he's obese and they're significantly fudging the numbers.

 

[mr grieves]

Yeah, that's a colossal bunch of nonsense that he weighs 239 lbs.

The doc (who for all accounts and purposes is a completely reputable doctor) also claims that Trump's "overall health is excellent" despite being 1 listed pound away from being obese, not having any kind of exercise regime, and only sleeping 4-5 hours a night. And it's no secret that he eats like garbage. Ok.

All the energy going into debunking this -- sir, the lies stop here, SIR -- while CHIP goes unfunded, a DACA fix isn't passed (without Dems trading away big cuts to the visa lottery), Jeff freakin Sessions is given control of a security apparatus that'll likely to be used to target BLM and other activists as threats to national security is.... weird.

I think the doctor's report is cool. It'll make it really funny when Trump has a heart attack on the toilet trying to poop out 6 lbs of filet o' fish and charred gristle.

 

[L K]

So this is pretty much Rome burning at this point?  Secret memos that the IC are saying are full of inaccuracies forced the deputy director of the FBI to step down.  The Republicans aren't just propping Trump up at this point, they are actively running obstruction for him.

 

[herman]

Does every Trump appointee literally do the exact opposite of what the job posting is for?

https://www.politico.com/story/2018/01/30/cdc-director-tobacco-stocks-after-appointment-316245

The Trump administration?s top public health official [Brenda Fitzgerald] bought shares in a tobacco company one month into her leadership of the agency charged with reducing tobacco use ? the leading cause of preventable disease and death and an issue she had long championed.

 

[Guru Tugginmypuddah]

Does every Trump appointee literally do the exact opposite of what the job posting is for?

https://www.politico.com/story/2018/01/30/cdc-director-tobacco-stocks-after-appointment-316245

The Trump administration?s top public health official [Brenda Fitzgerald] bought shares in a tobacco company one month into her leadership of the agency charged with reducing tobacco use ? the leading cause of preventable disease and death and an issue she had long championed.

Tobacco companies are also introducing less harmful alternatives to smoking. 

 

[hockeyfan1]

Does every Trump appointee literally do the exact opposite of what the job posting is for?

https://www.politico.com/story/2018/01/30/cdc-director-tobacco-stocks-after-appointment-316245

The Trump administration?s top public health official [Brenda Fitzgerald] bought shares in a tobacco company one month into her leadership of the agency charged with reducing tobacco use ? the leading cause of preventable disease and death and an issue she had long championed.

Tobacco companies are also introducing less harmful alternatives to smoking. 

The "alternatives" - - e-cigarettes or vaping - - may not be so healthy either.  Though while largely inconclusive, studies (done on mice) have linked them to a slew of health damage.

Story:
http://nationalpost.com/news/world/e-cigarettes-may-lead-to-cancer-and-heart-disease-new-study-finds

 

[CarltonTheBear]

https://twitter.com/CBCAlerts/status/959053143731556352

Does this surprise anybody anymore?

 

[Kin]

You just really have to wonder what it says about a person who lies about things that are not only pathetic to care so much about but are easy to check.

Well, I mean, we don't wonder as we can see what kind of person he is but it's still ridiculous.

 

[Bates]

I spend about 4 months each winter in Arizona and golf daily with whoever they pair me up with.  Last year I had a daily conversations with Americans about Politics and they were from both sides of the spectrum.  This year I have been here for two months now and have not heard even 5 things said about Politics.  It seems few are even paying attention to the mess that is occurring and are kinda turned away as if that means it is isn't happening because they aren't looking??  Will be interesting to see how that changes in a couple years as next election approaches.

 

[CarltonTheBear]

https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/964110212885106689

Yes, clearly the fault of this tragedy lays at the feet of the children and teachers who were shot at. JFC.

 

[bustaheims]

Report it to the authorities, eh? They do so much. I mean, how often do we hear that the shooter in these incidents was known by law enforcement, etc. Reporting them does absolutely nothing.

But, the Victim Blamer in chief would never let such an obvious fact get in the way of a stupid opinion.

 

[CarltonTheBear]

Report it to the authorities, eh? They do so much. I mean, how often do we hear that the shooter in these incidents was known by law enforcement, etc. Reporting them does absolutely nothing.

Whaaaat that never happens...

https://twitter.com/jaketapper/status/964160387099873283

 

[cabber24]

USA and their guns is beyond comprehension. I don't know what I would do as parent in US?

 

[Zee]

USA and their guns is beyond comprehension. I don't know what I would do as parent in US?

It's ingrained in their psyche too.  I remember working once with this lady from the U.S., she seemed normal around the office, then one day we got into the topic of guns...bad mistake.  She turned totally vehement about her right to own a gun and protect herself...I stepped away slowly.

 

[Kin]

Report it to the authorities, eh? They do so much. I mean, how often do we hear that the shooter in these incidents was known by law enforcement, etc. Reporting them does absolutely nothing.

But, the Victim Blamer in chief would never let such an obvious fact get in the way of a stupid opinion.

Exactly. You report him to the authorities and then what? They follow him around 24/7? I mean, it might be nice if the US decided that dangerous and erratic folk who've been reported to the authorities, say, couldn't buy an AR-15 but this was in Florida, where anyone can buy a gun like that at a private gun show without background checks. People on the no-fly list can buy whatever guns they want.

He just has a complete and total lack of knowledge about the laws of his own country and the policies of the party he's supposedly the head of.

 

[Chris]

I spend about 4 months each winter in Arizona and golf daily with whoever they pair me up with.  Last year I had a daily conversations with Americans about Politics and they were from both sides of the spectrum.  This year I have been here for two months now and have not heard even 5 things said about Politics.  It seems few are even paying attention to the mess that is occurring and are kinda turned away as if that means it is isn't happening because they aren't looking??  Will be interesting to see how that changes in a couple years as next election approaches.

It's kind of like - what's the point anymore? Everyone is so polarized and unwilling to consider any opposing viewpoints, so trying to talk about this stuff is like banging your head against a wall. I've basically given up on such topics as guns, climate change, etc. The gun violence here has gotten so ridiculous and pervasive, that events like yesterday hardly even register anymore. "Oh, another school shooting? How many killed? 17? OK." Both sides will trot out their standard talking points, no one will listen, and we'll repeat the same process again and again.

 

[Bates]

Had a gun conversation earlier this week.  It started with me saying that my Wife doesn't like AZ and seeing people with guns is a large part of it.  The guys from Denver said they understand as in Colorado you have to cover your gun???  Yeah that solves it??  They just think differently than most Canadians in regards to guns and healthcare as two big examples.

I spend about 4 months each winter in Arizona and golf daily with whoever they pair me up with.  Last year I had a daily conversations with Americans about Politics and they were from both sides of the spectrum.  This year I have been here for two months now and have not heard even 5 things said about Politics.  It seems few are even paying attention to the mess that is occurring and are kinda turned away as if that means it is isn't happening because they aren't looking??  Will be interesting to see how that changes in a couple years as next election approaches.

It's kind of like - what's the point anymore? Everyone is so polarized and unwilling to consider any opposing viewpoints, so trying to talk about this stuff is like banging your head against a wall. I've basically given up on such topics as guns, climate change, etc. The gun violence here has gotten so ridiculous and pervasive, that events like yesterday hardly even register anymore. "Oh, another school shooting? How many killed? 17? OK." Both sides will trot out their standard talking points, no one will listen, and we'll repeat the same process again and again.

 

[Bender]

If America had two things it vehemently hates: Less social stratification and single payer healthcare a huge portion of their current problems would be solved. Instead you have poor, disaffected people who need help who have easy access to lethal weapons.

I give up. America had turned its back on all logic. Rome isn't burning, it's being sacked.

 

[Bates]

I meet a lot of people who think that the idea of paying for someone else's healthcare is nothing short of full blown socialism. The same folks then later tell me of the horrible story of how much a co-pay medical treatment cost them??? Sometimes I explain the single payer would actually help even them but most times I just laugh inside. 

If America had two things it vehemently hates: Less social stratification and single payer healthcare a huge portion of their current problems would be solved. Instead you have poor, disaffected people who need help who have easy access to lethal weapons.

I give up. America had turned its back on all logic. Rome isn't burning, it's being sacked.

 

[Kin]

It's kind of like - what's the point anymore? Everyone is so polarized and unwilling to consider any opposing viewpoints, so trying to talk about this stuff is like banging your head against a wall. I've basically given up on such topics as guns, climate change, etc. The gun violence here has gotten so ridiculous and pervasive, that events like yesterday hardly even register anymore. "Oh, another school shooting? How many killed? 17? OK." Both sides will trot out their standard talking points, no one will listen, and we'll repeat the same process again and again.

I don't really think it's fair to "both sides" this issue. If the two sides can be broadly described as people who want the USA to have more gun control laws and people who don't then I genuinely don't know what points you think the people who don't want more gun control laws are making that aren't being considered/listened to.

I'm both a gun owner and am fairly well versed in the political writings and philosophies of America's founding fathers. So I'm both sympathetic to the idea of gun ownership as a right as a practical matter as well as the underlying rationale behind it.

So when the "we don't need more gun control" crowd speak I think their arguments are heard, the problem is their arguments aren't very good or, when they are, they seem to be less legitimately held positions than they are deflections away from the fact that they take millions of dollars in contributions from an advocacy group that seems primarily interested in the selling of weapons.

I mean, take the idea that often gets trotted out that it isn't a gun ownership/availability problem but rather an issue of mental health. Well, ok, so where is the Republican plan to improve mental health services?

Instead what the Republicans have done is prevented, by law, the CDC studying gun violence as a public health issue. If there are ways to stop gun violence beyond fewer guns the party that thinks gun control laws are fine as is has banned the government from finding them out.

So I really don't think this is a case of "both sides" being equally obstinate. One side seems genuinely interested in finding a solution and the other seems determined from preventing a discussion from even taking place.