Yes, it might seem like I'm quote mining. He may have said, "Well, that's awful" but he then gone on and said that "my supporters are very passionate". He did not directly address those hooligans. Really, saying something like "my supporters are very passionate" right after throws out the honesty of your statement down the trash.

My issue with him is that he's doing nothing to distance himself from them aside from a wishy-washy "well, that's a shame".

Posted by xKitten

bernie: he's a good guy.. in terms of how he acts.

he's socialist, or democratic socialist or whatever. Hasn't it already been proven that socialism has failed? It's basically communism's economic policy. Whether it's a democracy or not, it's a terrible economic system that fails.

I think you don't really understand democratic socialism. Here's a basic Wikipedia entry.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Democratic_socialism

This is an important sentence:

Democratic socialism is distinguished from both the Soviet model of centralized socialism and from social democracy, where "social democracy" refers to support for political democracy, regulation of the capitalist economy, and a welfare state.

Unfortunately, "socialism" is a buzzword in the U.S. and people jump to conclusions when they hear that word and don't really understand its meaning.

Additionally, Bernie Sanders may not even be truly democratic socialist, where, according to Wikipedia: "critics assert that he speaks about social democracy, not democratic socialism".

I voted for Bernie, but I don't think he's going to make it at this point.

As for your coal miners statement, I don't know enough information about it.

I also don't advise you trusting infowars. It's Alex Jones stuff. It's conspiracy theory central. One time, it said that there are more volcanoes erupting, the planet is becoming unstable, and there is a period for immense earthquakes, yet it's wrong.

Posted by xKitten

I love how you construct your posts and always add sources.

anyway, my response:

-If Bernie isn't a democratic socialist, then he probably should go around saying that everywhere if it's not true. >.>

-About infowars; the article seemed pretty legit. thanks for the heads up though, I'll try to find better sources next time lol

Just because Bernie has critics on the label doesn't necessarily mean he's wrong, but either way, I think it's refreshing someone politically affiliates himself strongly with the left. Clinton is right/center-right. So is Obama. I'm tired of issues that drive them to the right and ultimately be a stupid centrist.

Anyhow, I don't blame you. A lot of articles might seem well-written to you, but there are several red flags aside from the blatantly wrong information.

-The linking between Bernie Sander's socialism and the failures of Britain's housing plans don't convince me. It seems pretty hasty. I don't see the parallels.
-You have top articles such as "Obama Prepares America For Jihad Army Invasion!", "The Truth About the Gay Nightclub Massacre ", and other links such as "Monday: The Infowars Nightly News. Is Gun Control Legislation Really The Mass Murderer?", "The NRA Warned LGBT Community One Week Before Massacre: Further proof Hillary fueled rise of ISIS". It also sells this

Deep Cleanse
Scientifically formulated to use powerful nano-colloidal zeolites and organic ingredients to aid the body's normal function of cleansing itself from chemicals and toxic metals.

Detoxing is quackery. This is what the product is. Your liver does a great job at doing that, removing toxic metals (which are never specified when people are touting that they remove "toxins"). Also, "nano-colloidal zeolites" sounds like a lot of techno-rubbish. If your site peddles something like this, it's sleazy. I know, even mainstream sites are guilty of advertising utter crap (like bogus universities) but it seems like alternative medicine is sold the most in these off-the-rails websites.

Oh, and I tend to give out sources that may have a left-wing slant (since I myself have clear left-wing opinions), so I'm wary of that too. Oh, my username has nothing to do with politics either. I'm left-handed and I somehow started using the green-colored Mario in Smash Bros. ever since Brawl.

Posted by xKitten

Hey, Yami and I had sensible posts too :/

also this is relaxland, this is what you get

Frankly, Yami's posts are full of conspiracy-mongering nonsense. I mean, if the nonmainstream stuff she cites are actually full of good content, there should be more qualified independent sources (such as skeptic circles) accepting them, but no, they're fringe for a reason. Experts like Steven Novella, David Gorski, Stephen Barrett, Ben Goldacre, they sound like they know what the hell they're talking about (like, what they say is consistent with science) and they do a good job at examining what people like Mike Adams say and then dismantling their arguments.

Posted by xKitten

Also, Trump isn't saying that Mexicans are racist. He's referring to (some) people crossing the border illegally.

That's a sidestep and won't patch up all the other hateful words he's said to Mexicans. And it doesn't matter, Trump holds an 87% disapproval rating from Latinos.

Trump isn't also shy of sexist remarks, but that's not surprising. The Republicans are a sexist party and I hope Trump really exposes them for who they are.

Posted by Lunarius

Sadly, as a family member of an immigrant family, I feel threatened by both Trump and Clinton. However, Trump is the largest threat to us Mexican immigrants. I don't like how he made that remark about Mexicans being “rapists and drug lords.” Sure, it may seem logical for Trump to get on immigration and especially for South American countries but the way he handles the situation is wrong. He's lived in a wealthy family. He doesn't know how a poor Hispanic family with income suffers through every day. Most people who cross the border without documents do it because they want live a better life, not to take advantage of the system.

Oh, and before anyone asks why not wait to get your documents to come to the US legally, let me tell you why. It isn't possible. Many people have a low income. Try living in a slum south of Monterrey, Nuevo León, MX with an income of 10,000 pesos or $528 a month. And the documents required to legally go to the US aren't free.

That, however, is the least of my concerns. What threatens me and pisses me off a lot is this. I feel like Trump is going too far. I don't want to lose my citizenship. I want to stay in the US with my family if possible. Being deported or my family being torn apart just because of politics is my greatest nightmare.

Thanks for sharing that. That is also another reason I support some sort of system that allows a path to U.S. citizenship for illegal immigrants.

I don't have the unfortunate experience of being with a family of immigrants, but I do sympathize with immigrants, even the illegal immigrants. A big percentage of these illegal immigrants are minors who have to escape home, which are horrible places like Sen Pedro Honduras and that slum you mentioned. The situation is incredibly complex and I believe those who cry out for building a giant wall or want to deport, deport, deport or are afraid that they'll "steal" jobs and don't pay taxes (which are untrue) don't really understand the perilous circumstances that leave a lot of people with no choice other than escaping home. You know what happens after these people are deported? They'll attempt the trip again. People arrive here illegally for mainly these reasons:

-Escape crime and corrupt regimes
-Reunite with family
-Economic opportunity

Obama has record deportations looming on him too, so that's a legit criticism of him from me. I think he's aware of his deportation record, though that's a consequence of sticking way too close to the center for comfort. You end up pleasing little people.

Posted by Hiccup

This thread would've probably been a trainwreck if it wasn't for LeftyGreenMario's sensible posts.

Hey, thanks a lot for that!

Well, you're not bad at all. It's nice to have another perspective because I've been raised as left-wing and I'm exposed to left-wing information.