Octopus Overlords

Rip wrote:

Holman wrote:

Rip wrote:Which would translate to most townhalls are a waste. I stand behind it.

I am quite comfortable saying that more than 50% of the townhalls for Congressman/Senators turn into pretty much this. Disruptive trolling by the parties opposed to them are practically becoming a national pastime. On both sides.

What ratio of chaotic expression (which still, of course, sends a message) to orderly Q&A would be enough to absolve representatives of their most fundamental and most important responsibility in our democracy?

I don't know that anyone is collecting statistics but you would have to be living under a rock to not read the press coverage talking about it.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/pow ... hold-them/

No Q&As isn't going to change anything.

The town hall meeting essentially ended before it started — a victim of an out-of-control audience.

People screamed and waved signs. They wouldn’t let the congressman on stage talk. He couldn’t get through more than a word or two of an answer without his voice being drowned. Within an hour, he had left the stage, needing a police escort to get safely to his car.

No, this was not the meeting Rep. Jason Chaffetz, R-Utah, hosted at Brighton High School earlier this month. It was a meeting hosted by Rep. Tim Bishop, a Long Island Democrat, and it took place in June 2009, only a few months after he had won re-election by 16 percentage points.

He wasn’t alone. The rise of the tea party a few months before had energized many followers to confront Democratic lawmakers with noise and commotion, protesting Obamacare and bailouts.

At the time, Politico.com made this observation: “… welcome to the new town hall-style meeting, the once-staid forum that is rapidly turning into a house of horrors for members of Congress.” That now seems prescient.

It may be a truism in American politics that once one side unleashes a successful new weapon of incivility, the other side will retaliate in-kind at the first opportunity. Whether it’s the ratification of a Supreme Court justice or the use of executive orders to circumvent real discussion and compromise, politics never seems to retreat to a more civilized time. Folks upset with the nation’s direction seldom look to score points by rising in favor of civil discussion and a meaningful search for common ground.

http://www.deseretnews.com/article/8656 ... plish.html

Defiant wrote:

Rip wrote:I didn't say avoid them. There are dozens of ways to effectively communicate with them that are not townhalls.

Rip wrote:

PLW wrote:From my Congressman

noxiousdog wrote:

Max Peck wrote:

noxiousdog wrote:I don't get it.


edit: nm. you have to watch the clip. I'm not sure I would call it racism though.

Sure, because every bright young American uses Sanskrit instead of the Latin alphabet.

Most immigrant parents (and while I'm assuming her parents are immigrants, she has an accent) teach their children their tongue of heritage. I don't think it's racism to assume that. There's plenty of ignorance though to use "Sanskrit" instead of "Hindi."

noxiousdog wrote:For the record, there's a white guy next to me with a German accent. I don't think it's racist to assume he speaks German.

Max Peck wrote:

noxiousdog wrote:For the record, there's a white guy next to me with a German accent. I don't think it's racist to assume he speaks German.

If you listen to any of the videos of your new national spelling champion, she doesn't speak with an Indian accent. She sounds pretty much like any other 12-year-old Californian.

Not that I'm saying you'd be racist for assuming she does, of course.

Moliere wrote:

Trump the diplomat strikes again: 17 dead in Iran attack? You had it coming.

LordMortis wrote:Lidstrom did none of those things.

Moliere wrote:Theresa May: "I'm clear: if human rights laws get in the way of tackling extremism and terrorism, we will change those laws to keep British people safe."

Paingod wrote:

Moliere wrote:Theresa May: "I'm clear: if human rights laws get in the way of tackling extremism and terrorism, we will change those laws to keep British people safe."

Next up: Redefining what we mean by "British People" to include only those with pasty skin, bad teeth, and a tired, world-weary expression.

I mean ... she's leaving this completely open-ended. Are we going to see Britain dropping chemical weapons in the middle east and kicking back saying "Hey, we're just killing vermin" ... she does know that the world as a whole will still stand up and oppose her attempts at redesigning human rights, yes?

LordMortis wrote:

Skinypupy wrote:In telling you exactly what it is you want to hear, I'm sure he probably is.

YellowKing wrote:It's sort of like believing the 9 accredited doctors who tell you that you have cancer are "making shit up," because the quack across the hall that once read a medical encyclopedia tells you you're fine.

Daehawk wrote: